The Oak Clan had maintained good relations with the various people of Angletic Island, and she could tell just by looking that the Fox before her was not from here. While Cosmo could see friendliness and goodwill in his deep blue eyes, she did not want to make a bad first impression. He had bright yellow fur with white fur around his mouth and on the insides of his ears. He had a pair of heavily tinted goggles with a steel-grey strap on his head. It wasn't unusual for Mobians to have one or two accessories like this, but the Fox was more well clothed than most male Mobians. He was wearing a sleeveless maroon vest with a platinum-colored broach set with a hexagonal amethyst. The broach also had three purple and white feathers sticking out from the bottom of it.

Cosmo was suddenly very glad she had decided to reread her Mobian etiquette guide during her recovery, as she would have been confused when he removed one of his gloves and offered the revealed hand, "My name is Miles Prower, it's nice to meet you Cosmo."

"Likewise," Cosmo replied as she shook his hand. Miles Prower? I know I've heard that name somewhere before, but when and where?

"Oi!" Marrow exclaimed, "Ya didn't shake my hand."

Tails turned to him, "You didn't give me the chance."

It was universally impolite to look at another person's rearend, but Cosmo couldn't stop herself from glancing at Miles' tail. Especially since he not only had two tails, but they were constantly and rhythmically swaying in opposite directions.

So that's where I know his name Cosmo thought. Some of her people literally lived under rocks, and they all still knew who Sonic the Hedgehog was. To Cosmo's shame, she couldn't say that she recalled all the names of the other heroes Sonic worked with, but Sonic was rarely seen without Tails the Fox. The two of them were notoriously inseparable not just when saving Mobius from calamity, but even when they were just living their lives. Cosmo didn't recognize Miles' name because he almost always went by 'Tails,' and it struck her as odd that this seemed to have changed.

"That's fair," Marrow stated before addressing Cosmo again, "I felt like it was yer story to tell, so I brought 'em here."

Cosmo nodded, "I appreciate the consideration."

Cosmo turned her head to face Miles again and couldn't keep the dark expression off of her face, "Eggman attacked my people last week. The Oak Clan is currently being held in an internment camp in one of the artificial deserts Eggman caused during the war."

Miles stayed silent, letting her finish her story, "I was barely able to escape and was lucky enough to find the River Weed and followed it here. I had hoped to call for Sonic and the rest of your friends for help, but telecommunications still can't get off the island."

"She just made it to the outskirts of town when we saw'er," Marrow explained, "We also found sum'a Eggman's bots tailing 'er. We were planning a rescue-op but knew we had to wait fer Eggy to hit us first, or he'd just swarm the city while our fighters were gone."

Tails nodded, "I guess it was a good thing that Nicole and I happened to be nearby. I'd be more than happy to help."

Cosmo smiled, "Thank you," While she was glad to have help, she did have to wonder where Sonic was. Maybe he got hurt during the train incident? I wouldn't be surprised if people started panicking if they heard found out he was too hurt to stop Eggman. Before the war, people simply admired that Sonic and a small group of his friends could stop such a madman from doing anything faster than the world's governments could. After entire militaries were routed and countries were conquered, the people of Mobius started seeing the Blue Blur as their one hope.

"Are you well enough to fight," Miles asked, "Do you know how?"

"Hold up!" Marrow interrupted, "She could barely stand when she got here, she's in no condition to fight."

"Actually, the doctors discharged me earlier today," Cosmo retorted, "I would be in the city proper, but I had just been given a clean bill of health when the alarms started going off."

"Support duty then," Miles announced, "I've been in and out of hospitals enough times to know that no one who has just left is in any condition to fight. However, I'm also not going to stop you from helping your own people."

"That is a fair compromise," Cosmo said, "But we need to hurry. Eggman built some kind of tower that suppresses sunlight in and around the camp and he's been rationing water heavily. My people don't have much time and the camp is two days away on foot."

"Worry not, my plane can seat eight people," Miles assured, "Do you want to come with us Marrow? Even if you're not as fast, I can't imagine that you'd be a hinderance."

"Do ya just invite everyone with you on suicide missions?" Marrow asked.

"Waiting for the government to do something didn't stop Eggman before, why would it now?" Miles asked rhetorically.

Marrow laughed at that, "I wesh I could say ya were wrong. Alright, give me time to say goodbye to mah family. Where should I meet with the lot of you?"

"One moment," Miles said as put his goggles over his eyes and tapped the side of one of the lenses. He then began typing in the air like there was a keyboard in front of him, "It looks like Nicole set the Pteropodidae down by the docks."

"The terra-what?" Marrow asked.

"The Pteropodidae, it's our plane," Miles answered.

"I don't think I could pronounce that," Cosmo admitted, "Why is it called that?"

"It's the scientific name for Fruit Bats," Miles replied, "They're also known as 'flying foxes,' but calling it that seemed egotistical and unfair to Nicole," Miles rotated his tails for emphasis.

Both Cosmo and Marrow were taken aback by this. It was commonly believed that Miles just snapped his tails back and forth like whips to fly and to run, that his tails spun in place like a ceiling fan was quite the revelation. How in the world does that work?

"Alright, please lead the way to your… plane," Cosmo said carefully, not wanting to speak a Demon's name.

Miles nodded with an eager smile and led her out of the hospital room. Marrow followed them out but broke off almost immediately. They had to stop and wait, as the hallway leading to the stairway out was crowded with people who desperately wanted to get out and start restoring their city. Cosmo was fine with standing for however long they would need to wait, since she had been confined to a bed for most of the time she was in Newfound Sanctuary. Miles was absent mindedly tapping a foot to the tune he was humming to himself. Cosmo was doing her best to keep her composure, but she had spent enough time waiting to help her friends and family.

Thankfully, they did not have to wait long, "Hey everyone!" Someone in the crowd called out, "Tails is trying to get out! Let's make way for the hero!"

Miles looked like he wanted to say something, and Cosmo was sure he would have insisted he didn't need special treatment if he didn't know the Oak Clan was in danger. The crowd split itself down the middle to let her and Miles through, a lot of people even going into the adjoining hallways to ensure there was enough space. Miles and Cosmo both fast-walked out of the bunker, silently agreeing that they shouldn't look like they were in a hurry. Giving the impression that the danger hadn't passed in any way could make people overreact, badly.

Cosmo decided to break the silence between them with a question, "By the by, what was it you did with your hands and goggles?"

"Oh, my Prower Lens Goggles have an Augmented Reality Interface feature," Miles answered like that explained everything, "I actually have implants in my fingertips to use AugRI's. They'll really come in handy when the Federation gets the internet back up and running, especially with everything I have Open Sourced."

"Uh, could you explain more plainly," Cosmo asked, concerned that she was making herself look foolish.

"Sure can," Miles replied, "Augmented Reality, or AR, is technology that improves one's perception of the world. Normally, it's just basic things like directions or non-intrusive signs for businesses and the like. Some people, especially me, are realizing the full potential of AR and are exploring how it can improve everyday life. The Pteropodidae has all kinds of sensors and other equipment to support this, including an advanced mapping function that lets me and Nicole know where it is at all times."

Miles stopped talking, waiting to see if Cosmo needed more clarification. Cosmo appreciated that Miles wasn't talking down to her or expressing annoyance. Miles continued after a moment of silence, "In the context of technology, something being Open-Source means that it's publicly available without cost and that individuals are free to do with it as they please. Is there anything else?"

"No, you explained yourself perfectly," Cosmo assured, "I apologize for my ignorance. My people get all we need from the land itself and don't really have a need for technology."

"I can understand that," Miles replied, "Technology largely exists to exceed limitations of the body. No need to harvest the resources needed for research and development if you don't need to."

Miles put his goggles back on his forehead, stopped walking, and turned to look Cosmo in the eyes, "And you don't need to apologize for not knowing something. No one knows everything, and you shouldn't feel shame over needing something broken down for you."

Cosmo gave him a small smile, "You sound like my parents. But this is clearly something you're passionate about."

"How about this, I'll tell you everything you want to know about technology in return for everything you know about botany," Miles offered, "The furthest I've ever gone from mechanics and engineering is chemistry, and that has largely been to support mechanics and engineering."

"That seems like a fair trade to me," Cosmo said, "I have to admit, I didn't think I would meet a Mobian so eager to learn about plants."

"There's a lot worse ways I could be spending my time than broadening my horizons," Miles replied, "I could be turning people into robots or building concentration camps."

Miles slapped a hand over his mouth, "Er, sorry. That sounded a lot less insensitive in my head."

"I took no offense," Cosmo insisted. She was surprised that Miles had talked about her peoples' plight so bluntly, but was genuinely not insulted, "Besides, you are working on changing that."

Miles gave a sigh of relief before continuing to lead her to his plane. Cosmo couldn't help but notice that he had stopped talking entirely. I hope I didn't make him self-conscious she thought. Cosmo hadn't had many interactions with sapient mammals, but Miles seemed especially different from most people. I suppose exceptional ability begets exceptional personality, maybe the stress of having to be one of the ones who save the world again and again has done this to him? I wonder what Sonic is like in his day-to-day life.

After a few minutes of fast walking, and detours to go around wreckage, Miles' plane was in sight, and it was not what Cosmo was expecting. Sonic was almost always seen running at sound-speed in the media, but it was common knowledge that he had an old-style biplane. The Pteropodidae was much more modern in design, so much so that Cosmo wasn't sure if it belonged in this century or the next. The plane was at least fifteen feet long and wide, but the wings looked like they were folded or slid into themselves and could splay out to greater width. The Pteropodidae also had three cockpits: the frontmost cockpit was where one would expect, just coming short of the nose of the plane. It had a pair of seats in a line within with a large console between them. The other two cockpits were roughly a half-dozen feet back from the pilot cockpit and were at least as far apart from each other. While they were devoid of any special equipment or technical consuls, they both could easily and comfortably seat three people.

There was also a Mobian Lynx, who Cosmo had to assume was Nicole, she certainly hadn't seen anyone like her before. The Lynx woman was coming out from underneath the Pteropodidae, likely having just finished with maintenance, giving Cosmo a good look at her. Nicole was taller than her and Miles by more than a head, but Cosmo couldn't be sure if that was because of Lynxes naturally larger sizes or because Nicole was simply older than them. Her coat was mostly a soft brown, but her long hair and some places in her fur were black: the upper halves of her ears and the fuzzy tuffs at their ends, triangles below her eyes, an especially tall triangle between her eyes, and the tip of her tail were all stygian black. The black spot at the end of her tail made it look like a giant matchstick to Cosmo. Despite the distance between, Cosmo could see Nicole's piercing church glass green eyes locked on to her.

Cosmo opted to focus on Nicole's clothing to distract herself. The Seedrian was almost certain that it was considered impolite to stare at someone's clothing for too long, but she was too far away to see feeling in Nicole's eyes and didn't want to overthink it. Nicole wore a sleeveless lavender dress with splits that were white on the outside and black on the inside. Her gloves were the almost opposite of her dress splits, being white on the front and black on the back. Her glove cuffs were the same soft purple color as her dress. In between the dress splits, Cosmo could see plain black pants that completely covered her legs. Her shoes were white at the toes and black at the soles. Curiously, her shoes had the same purple cuffs her gloves did, and gilded broaches set with purple gems. Cosmo saw that she had a broach on her chest that was identical to the ones on her shoes, when Nicole started approaching the pair of them and inadvertently rid herself of the glare the gem was reflecting. Nicole's whole getup was beyond strange to Cosmo.

"Hello Miles," Nicole said with a smile before turning her head towards Cosmo, "I am Nicole."

"M-my name is Cosmo Rhodoreae, p-pleasure to make your acquaintance," Cosmo spoke with a slight stutter. She didn't like thinking poorly of someone she had just met, but Nicole's eyes had no emotion or life in them. It was what Cosmo imagined the eyes of a corpse would have, and it scared her.

Miles, either didn't notice her stutter was being polite and not bringing it up, "How did she do?"

"The Pteropodidae's performance exceeded our estimations," Nicole replied, "I even had the chance to use the Overcharge function."

Nicole's smile fell into a neutral expression, "Unfortunately, the power draw, heat generation, and emissions, were more than double what they were supposed to be. We're down to twenty percent coolant, forty-four-point five percent power, and half of the IES Cylinders are full."

"Wow," Miles replied, clearly understanding everything Nicole had just reported, "Looks like we'll have to go back to the drawing board on the thermodynamic aspects."

"That will have to wait though," Miles said, "Eggman has a bunch of prisoners that need rescuing."

"Understood," Nicole said, "The Auxiliary Power Reserves are still full. The spare PSGs should be in the Port side cargo compartment."

"Ah, thank you Nicole," Miles walked past his Lynx friend and over to the furthest wing of the Pteropodidae, leaving Cosmo alone with Nicole.

Stay calm. If this woman was a bad person, surely, she wouldn't be in Miles' company. Sonic and his friends need good intuition to not get themselves killed With that train of thought, Cosmo tried getting to know Nicole a little better, "If you don't mind me asking, how long have you known Miles?"

"A little less than a month," Nicole replied, "Dr. Prower helped me in a great time of need and I'm willing to fight Dr. Robotnik, so I've been traveling with him."

Doctor? Eggman had spoiled that title and the idea of advanced technology for a lot of people. Even people with doctorates and medical degrees had started referring to themselves as 'professor' or 'doc.' Calling Miles 'Doctor' was odd, especially given that he wasn't old enough to have attended a university. It was also strange that Nicole had used Eggman's real name.

"I didn't know anyone still called Eggman 'Robotnik,'" Cosmo admitted, "Most people use nicknames or insults."

"Dr. Robotnik has found power and identity in 'Eggman,'" Nicole started, "I simply refuse to give him that modicum of respect."

"I think I like that train of thought," Cosmo said, "Do you think he can be bullied into adopting a more ridiculous name?"

Nicole gave the Seedrian a smirk, "With how often he's been beaten, people should call him 'Dr. Scrambled.'"

Cosmo giggled at the joke. So, she just looks threatening. I suppose that makes since for an apex predator "I think I'm going to start calling him that."

"Has Nicole convinced you to start calling me 'doctor' as well?" Miles asked as he came back.

"We're talking about Dr. Robotnik," Nicole explained.

Miles nodded before giving Cosmo a technological bracelet of some kind. Unlike traditional bracelets, this one had no jewelry whatsoever on it and was fairly plain. There was a comparatively large glass screen on the front of it with buttons, lights, and dials around it. It had a Velcro strip in addition to buckles to fasten it around one's wrist.

"That is a Personal Shield Generator," Miles said pointing at the bracelet, "It should protect you from harm as long as you have a supply of Rings. I went ahead and charged it for you, just put it on and flip the switch here to activate it."

Cosmo did as she was instructed. Technology wasn't forbidden by her people, they needed planes and ships to go to other islands and continents, but it was taboo to use it excessively and owning something so high-tech would be frowned upon. However, Cosmo knew she was going into a warzone and denying herself any advantage endangered herself and her Clan. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

"Now we just need to wait for Marrow to come find us, and we can leave," Miles announced.

"So, you've made two new friends," Nicole observed, "I wonder who else we'll find."

"Several alive, if ill, Seedrians," Cosmo replied, "Speaking of, I spot the captain."

The adult Porcupine was making his way to them. However, whereas Cosmo and Miles had come from the city directly, Marrow was coming from further down the docks. Miles had neglected to tell Marrow where on the docks they were going to be, and it seemed he had guessed poorly. If he was bothered by this, it didn't show. Despite the great distance he must have walk gone on foot, Marrow didn't even look tired. When he realized Cosmo had seen him and pointed him out, he waved with one of his large hands.

"There you all are!" He yelled out. He ran up to the group.

"So, you're the 'friend' Tails had mentioned," Marrow had surmised, "Ah'm Marrow, nice to meet you."

Nicole nodded at him, "I am Nicole. I take it you both are coming with us."

"Aye, we are," Marrow replied, "The Oak Clan hev always been good folk to da rest of the island, Cosmo here has even baby-sat for my kids a few times. Ah'm not gonna leave'm hangin.'"

"Are you not going to use that armor you had earlier," Tails asked.

"I deh use armor," Marrow replied plainly.

The SWAT captain raised an arm like he was looking at a watch. More of his white spines started growing out of his arm. Miles and Nicole were both visibly surprised, "Fascinating," Was all Miles said at first, his awe reflecting in his voice, "That's incredible. Do you take vitamins to help your body generate the extra cells it needs for this… phenomenon, or do you just consume nutrient dense foods and drinks."

"All of the above," Marrow answered, "I kin even mess with the density of ma spines. I downed a gallon of milk treated with nutrient powder before I came here, that's why I took so long."

Miles opened his mouth to say something else, but stopped himself, "I'll find out everything about this I can without dissecting you later, there are people who need help. Oh, I guess that means PSGs won't do you any good."

"'fraid not lad," Marrow replied.

Miles nodded his head. Without another word, he flew up onto his plane. Nicole followed him by jumping up, grabbing an edge, and pulling herself up with a single hand. A moment later, a ladder extended and lowered itself to the ground from the front of the plane, "Come on up," Miles said. Cosmo and Marrow did as they were told and started climbing. On top of the Pteropodidae, Cosmo saw that Miles and Nicole were already seated in the cockpit with pilot canopy closed. There were another pair of seating pits further down the body of the plane and both of their canopies were open. I guess we can sit wherever we want Cosmo and Marrow simply made their way over to the closest seating area and got comfortable.

The canopy closed automatically, which wasn't too surprising. What did catch both of them off guard, were the holographic warnings on the glass telling them that their seat belts were not on, "Bloody hell," Marrow said, "Our patrool cruisers aren't this nice, 'nd we got a whole bunch of funding and equipment from the Federation."

"He's been helping Sonic save our world for most of his life and he's allegedly as smart as Eggman," Cosmo pointed, "The Sonic Team probably needs funding more than any police department and I wouldn't be surprised if Miles could put to better use than anyone else."

"That's fair," Marrow said as the Pteropodidae started lifting from the ground, "I was afraid my spines were ruin the leather, but they slid right in like it was puddy."

Leather? Cosmo knew that most Mobians had their bodies donated to various causes after they died, the most popular of which was leatherworking. She personally admired how the Mobians all wanted to continue serving their community even after death, but she found the idea of things made from people being bought and sold disturbing. Not being able to stop herself, Cosmo reached a hand up to her headrest. Seedrians could commune and manipulate plants, but they could feel the life in all things. However, there was no trace of life in the leather of their seats. Synthetic leather then, Cosmo realized, Maybe the Echidna's dreadlocks are spikes instead of hair?

As they were flying over Newfound Sanctuary, Miles was speaking to them through the intercom to tell them what they could do in the 'passenger pits;' how to adjust the seats, how to speak to someone in another pit, and even how to use the emergency eject. It was a lot of information at once, but it was all very simple.

"Can we order food and drinks," Marrow asked sarcastically, "It wouldn't be a luxury flight without refreshments!"

"Check the left side of your seat for a button and push it," Miles replied.

"No way!" Though Marrow was the one who spoke, both he and Cosmo checked their seats.

Pushing the buttons caused a screen to pop out of the wall next to them. The screen had lists of both food and drink, "All diet?" Marrow asked himself, "I guess beggars can't be choosers," he joked as he pushed the screen back into the wall. Cosmo ordered mineral water for herself, expecting a normal cup. What she got was a spillproof bottle with what she assumed was the liquid she had ordered. Oh, I guess a normal cup would instantly spill when the plane twists in the air.

AUTHOR'S NOTES-

This chapter was entirely in Cosmo's perspective, yet we don't learn much about her here. Of course not, she just got out of the hospital and her family is in danger. She has better things to do than sit down with Tails and Nicole and discuss the differences between their cultures. That said, we did learn that Seedrians are native to Mobius in this universe. As fun as retellings of Sonic X Season 3 can be, I thought this direction was more original and I don't know how I would shoehorn in Seedrians being aliens without putting too many plot hooks in the story. Despite that, I still wanted to stay somewhat faithful to the source material, so Eggman is actively threatening Cosmo's people and they usually stay away from Humans and Mobians: the in-universe as to why the Seedrian race hasn't been brought up in the games, which are cannon in this story. I will sprinkle in things about Seedrian culture in the Slice-of-Life portions of the story focusing on Cosmo, but not all that much. Maybe I'll write a side-story or something about the Seedrians in this universe, but it isn't at all the focus of this story and it will rarely be plot relevant.

There is one thing I feel the need talk about the Pteropodidae: why Cosmo thought of Knuckles and not Sonic when Marrow didn't destroy the seats with his spines. If Sonic's quills were the only concern, then Tails would almost certainly make a special seat just for him. They are brothers in all but blood, and small favors like that are understandable. So if all of the seats in the plane are designed to take things that would ruin the leather, then it stands to reason that Sonic isn't the only one of Tails' friends who have bodily features that could damage the seats.

Please, don't hesitate to leave to a Review. Anything from a critique of my writing to theories about the story direction is welcome and I would love to read it all.