Tails gulped, conscious of the growing loudness of the wind and the rumbles of thunder in the sky outside. He silently hoped that there would be no escalation into lightning.

"I hope he's going to be okay…" Silver spoke up worriedly, finding it hard to keep his eyes off of the sleeping echidna. They had done all they could for now, having set him on the couch and covered him with the thickest blanket they could find. No one really wanted to leave him – so they had stayed in the living room, yet to even change out of their outfits.

"Well, he's obviously not okay." Rouge said with some irritation. She was sat on her knees on the floor, with a notepad on a low coffee table. She was sketching something – quite vigorously, in fact. "The guy passed out from just… what, emotional distress?"

"I don't get it." Amy said with frustration making her voice waver. She leaned against the wall, shaking her head. "He never said anything about this… this is the first I've ever even heard of Guardian powers! He never said anything about the fact he didn't earn them! So… did he not feel comfortable telling us?"

"You know he's always been the private type." Tails turned his gaze away from the window, back to Amy.

"But we're his friends!" Amy emphasized. "Why didn't he tell us? Did he not feel safe, did he think we'd shun him? We'd never do that!"

"I don't think it's anything to do with you." Blaze said, taking in a breath before clarifying – straightening her posture on the leather chair. "As a Guardian myself – I suppose I can sympathise. If I were to find that my bloodline would deem me unworthy of my position, I… it would be crushing. Shameful, in many ways. If I… could reasonably believe I had a chance of never admitting to it, I would probably have kept it hidden too…" She reflected.

"What? Do you not think we'd support you either?!" Amy's voice raised in hurt.

"It's not that at all." Blaze clarified. "I would trust you with all my life. You have shown me nothing but compassion. That said… Guardianship is something very difficult to talk about. It's a unique experience, one that I don't think anyone but a Guardian could truly understand."

Blaze inhaled slowly. "You have all experienced your lives with the ability to live independently and make your own choices. Being a Guardian is different. Your life and your wants are always put second – first is always your duty. Thus, it is easy to define oneself by their job, their ability to carry it out, and their usefulness and capability to serve others. So… to be rejected from a position you spent dedicating your whole life to, at the expense of your own independence no less – I can only imagine it to be devastating. From what I know of him, I don't think he would know how to even… begin living for himself."

Their gazes drifted downward towards the sleeping echidna, Amy's eyes softening in pity – perhaps realising she had been too harsh.

"When I compare myself to him, I consider myself fortunate." Blaze said. "I have the freedom to step down when I choose, I am not bound to the castle – there aren't really any strict guidelines in place, I am trusted to make my own judgements on what will keep my people and the emeralds safe. So, I don't even think I could truly grasp the grief he feels… mourning the life he could have had."

Silence hovered in the air – cold and uncomfortable until Rouge opted to break the ice. "Gotta say… never thought I'd admit to feeling sorry for Knuckles - of all people." She smiled slightly, giving the others permission to find humour in her remark as she went back to her sketching. Silver was grateful for her small attempt to ease the conversation.

"We can't do anything about the fact he hid all this from us, Amy." Tails told her gently. "But what we can do is be there to support him now."

"You're right." Amy said. "You're…" She trailed off with a small exhale.

The conversation was interrupted by two more making their entrance into the room. Shadow and Omega seemed oblivious to the sombre atmosphere. The hedgehog stroked back his quills while his robotic friend moved himself into the centre of the group.

"THAT WAS FUN." Omega announced.

"You two blown off all your steam?" Rouge smirked at them.

"I DO NOT HAVE STEAM. HOWEVER, IF YOU STATEMENT IS IN THE METAPHORICAL SENSE - NO I HAVE NOT. THE SPAR WAS ADEQUATE, BUT I AM STILL ANNOYED AT NOT BEING ABLE TO ACCESS MY FULL ARSENAL."

"You'll probably end up getting to use your missiles sooner than you think." Rouge said surprisingly. "If things are going to continue to be difficult…"

"THEN I SHALL HOPE FOR THINGS TO GET MORE DIFFICULT."

"Really appreciate the support there, Omega." Silver said sarcastically but smiled. As odd and violence driven as he was – there was something endearing about him. Omega wasn't all that different from a hyper child.

"Have we got progress on a plan?" Shadow asked, interrupting the conversation.

"It's coming along." Rouge informed him. "But I do believe that it would be best if I got some information from Nakum…"

"Good luck." Blaze said dryly. "Trying to get him to do… well, anything is a struggle."

"I'm sure I can convince him." Rouge said. "I have my methods."

"BEAT HIM UP FOR INFORMATION." Omega suggested.

"Hmm… well, I suppose it's not off the list." Rouge grinned mischievously.

"Please try not to use violence. We should preferably try to keep our allies." Tails pleaded her, causing Rouge to laugh.

"Don't worry about it, kid." she said. "I've got this handled, you guys keep an eye on Knuckles – yeah?" She got up from the floor, notebook in hand as she made her way towards the cases.

"WAIT!" Silver suddenly called. Everyone's heads snapped to attention.

"Head-! Buzzing-! Sonic-!" He stumbled over his words, "We can talk-!"

The group practically leapt towards Silver, aside from Shadow and Omega that kept much calmer and didn't move an inch. Rouge frowned temporarily, but then her expression eased. She didn't appreciate her work being interrupted, but she supposed she didn't mind the reason why.

Silver spread his arms apart, unveiling a large blue portal in the centre of the room.

Before anyone could say anything, Tails shot inside like a bullet. Amy almost followed, but she looked over her shoulder at the unconscious Knuckles with concern.

"I'll wake him up so he can see Sonic too." Silver assured her. "Go, you guys reunite with Sonic."

Amy gave him a wide, grateful smile before hopping in – followed by the rest of her friends.

…

Colours flashed away quickly, giving way to darkness. Tails' eyes scanned his surroundings desperately searching for a sign of his friends' signature blue fur. Even as his search seemed to yield no results – his heart clung to hope.

He was here somewhere. Just where?

Why couldn't he-?

Where-?

… Then there he was.

Just a speck in the distance – but instantly recognisable.

"Sonic!" Tails exclaimed.

His legs took off into a sprint before he could even think, and Sonic's body drew closer in an instant flash. Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around him – and Tails felt his feet get lifted off of the ground as he was spun around.

"Tails!" Sonic laughed with utter relief, eventually setting Tails down so he could squeeze the fox tight. "Buddy…" The hedgehog sighed softly, comforted by at last being able to see his brother again.

Tails sniffed. "Sonic… - I- I'm so glad you're okay!" Tails clung to the hedgehog,. "I was so worried-!"

"It's okay, it's okay." Sonic soothed him gently. "I'm here. I'm right here buddy."

In some odd way, it felt like Sonic was home – even if his surroundings were empty, to be with Tails was enough to bring a cosy familiarity that warmed him inside and out. Things until now had felt so… wrong without the fox by his side.

But he was here now. He could be grateful for that.

Tails couldn't see the tears that brimmed in Sonic's eyes. The hedgehog was quick to blink them away.

"I wish I could be there with you." Tails admitted, his voice straining.

"SONIC!"

Both Sonic and Tails found themselves toppling over – being rammed into the invisible floor.

"Amy…" Sonic smiled gently, freeing one of his arms so that he could wrap it around her – but still keeping his hold on Tails.

"I'm so, so relieved!" Amy exclaimed. "Silver told us all about how you've been in awful alternate timeline, and-!"

"Amy." Sonic laughed softly. "I'm okay, seriously."

"I'm glad you're not hurt!"

"Same to you." Sonic tightened his grip on his friends, never wanting to let go.

"I've missed you guys." Sonic grinned. "I can't overstate that enough." He managed to sit up onto his knees – Tails and Amy following suit. They kept their hands on each other's backs, their heads lowered.

They were together. At long last. Why could this moment not last forever?

"Gang's all back together, huh?"

Sonic's ears sprouted upwards, and he tilted his head up. Rouge was smirking down at the three. "Good to see you, Blue."

"It is a relief to see you safe and sound." Blaze smiled pleasantly, standing beside the bat as Shadow then emerged with a nod of acknowledgement. Omega wasn't far behind everyone else – and the robot simply gave a wave.

"And I've missed you guys too." Sonic told them sincerely.

"From what we've been told, sounds like things have been pretty rough." Rouge said with some sympathy.

"EGGMAN HAS WON. THAT SENTENCE FILLS ME WITH RAGE." Omega stated.

"You and me both, big guy." Sonic agreed with him before turning his attention to the bat. "Gotta say, it's nice seeing you and not… other… murderous Rouge."

Rouge snickered. "Murderous? Good on her, I guess."

"It's great to see you all, actually, as just yourselves." Sonic admitted to them. "Dealing with your alternate versions has been… something."

"We haven't been causing you trouble, have we?" Amy asked him with concern.

"Don't say it like it's your fault, you have nothing to do with it." Sonic said with a shake of his head. "Since Eggman has retained his memories – he made sure to interfere with things. Both you and Tails are working for the Empire."

Amy gasped, while Tails' eyes widened. "You're serious?" The fox questioned in disbelief.

"I wish I wasn't. It's a whole long story." Sonic sighed; his gaze then flitted to the feline. "I don't know if there's an alternate you, Blaze. I'm sorry. I don't know what the state of Sol even is right now…"

"It's alright." Blaze said. "I still feel the presence of Sol in the wind… and the emeralds' whispers assure me that they are fine. I'm… still yet to know what exactly has happened to my home, though."

"I'll find out as soon as I can-" Sonic began, but Blaze cut him off.

"Please keep yourself focused on fixing the timeline, my home dimension is not a problem for you to bear." Blaze told him.

"Right…" What she said was true, Sonic needed to stay on track if he wanted things to return to normal again.

Something still felt missing.

Sonic then blinked. "Where's Knuckles…?"

The hedgehog watched as Amy and Tails exchanged uncertain glances. Sonic felt his heart begin to beat faster, his nerves tingling under his skin.

"Sorry! Sorry-" Silver said as he entered the realm. "We're here now!"

While relieved to see Silver was still okay, his eyes admittedly glossed over him quickly. Right beside Silver was an echidna – his fur red like a rose, blossoming in the darkness. Sonic couldn't help but stare at him in his attire – the hedgehog could never have imagined him looking so good in a shirt and waistcoat, not to mention that jacket over top-

Why was he so focused on his appearance, anyway?

"Knuckles..." Sonic grinned warmly. "About time you showed up."

The echidna tore his own gaze away from Sonic's bright, emerald eyes.

Knuckles held onto his own arm; his shoulders slightly hunched as his gaze shifted nervously downward. "I…"

Tails freed one of his arms, holding it out and allowing Knuckles an entrance into the team hug.

Sonic, Amy, and Tails all smiled up at him brightly, but for whatever reason… Knuckles couldn't bring himself to join them.

"You're taking too long-" Sonic huffed abruptly.

Sonic disappeared into a streak of blue and Knuckles almost stumbled when he suddenly felt the force of Sonic pulling him close. The echidna was practically forced to cling to him if he wanted to hold himself upright.

Knuckles gasped, unprepared for how soft Sonic's fur was – like a silk pillow that he could sink into. Knuckles tentatively placed one of hands on the back of Sonic's head, ignoring the occasional prick from his quills. He couldn't even think about that if he wanted to.

Sonic buried his head into Knuckles' shoulder, and the echidna could just see the corners of a wide, grateful smile. Knuckles allowed Sonic to lean into him – he always would allow it. He had always vowed to be the rock, the pillar – the shoulder his friends could cry on when they needed something stable to hold.

Knuckles felt a shiver as Sonic turned his head to the side, his cheek pressing into Knuckles' body. Never before had Sonic seemed so delicate – fragile like a flower. He fought the urge to squeeze tightly, in fear that he would break.

"Missed me?" Sonic smirked.

The corners of Knuckles' mouth lifted. "Not in the slightest." He lied.

Sonic quietly chuckled. "Keep telling yourself that."

"I'm…" In a way Knuckles failed to describe, Sonic made him feel weak. The echidna could barely hold his head up, so he lowered it. Little did he know that Sonic was there to meet him. The two gently pressed their foreheads together, and in this position – they were content. "I was worried." Knuckles finished at last., closing his eyes.

"You've got no reason to be." Sonic said. "Did you forget who I am? When have I ever let you down?"

"You're so…" Knuckles grinned, "So stupid…"

"Says you." Sonic teased back.

"Listen-" Their eyes shot open, surprised at the sound of Shadow's voice cutting through their intimate moment. "I hate to interrupt… whatever this is…" Shadow began, unamused, "… But I feel like we should start discussing what's important."

Sonic took in a breath, and stiffly parted from the echidna – as though he didn't really want to move. "Yeah… you're right. Um, I've figured some things out-"

Knuckles slowly recoiled, yearning to cradle the hedgehog in his arms again – who knew when he'd next have the opportunity?

"Speak." Shadow told Sonic.

"I got Knuckles from the other world to use the Master Emerald to fix the timeline – entered this weird dimensional cavern thing where there are 14 pillars – I'd assume for each emerald, right?"

Tails and Amy walked up closer, and the fox nodded to that assessment. "One set of emeralds for each world – 14 altogether."

"How many of the emeralds do you have?" Amy asked.

"One…" Sonic rubbed the back of his head.

"Better than us." Silver shrugged. "We're on a grand total of zero."

"But luckily, we know where they are!" Amy told the blue hedgehog.

"But unfortunately, we're having some complications." Blaze admitted. "We're dealing with Echidna… Demi-Gods?" She added with uncertainty, unsure of how to refer to them. "They aren't exactly willing to give us the emeralds."

"Echidna what-?" Sonic questioned, baffled. "Why they being a nuisance?"

"But we've got things covered, Blue." Rouge said. "Don't you fret." Relief swept over the group when the bat prevented them from explaining the full story.

"Well, I wish you guys luck." Sonic said. "I don't know where the other emeralds are – but I'm working hard to find them."

"We had no doubts." Tails said. "You've got this, Sonic. We've all got this – we're going to get the emeralds in no time!" Tails gave him a thumbs up.

"Right you are, buddy." Sonic ruffled the fur on top of Tails' head – causing the fox to giggle. The hedgehog then turned his attention to Shadow. "By the way – fought the Biolizard again, saved the world, saved you, and you're now my friend."

Shadow's eyes widened in surprise.

"Told you I could save you." Sonic smirked.

"Hmph." Shadow folded his arms. "Doesn't matter to me. I'm not him."

Sonic stuck his tongue out at him, causing Shadow's frown to increase. Sonic's brows then furrowed as he looked around at everyone. "What's with the fancy dress, then? You been at a party, or what?"

"I wish it was a party." Rouge remarked.

"It's what we wore when we spoke with the Echidna Council." Blaze explained. "But it would seem our appearances weren't enough…"

"Too bad, really. Because I think I look great." Silver pointed to himself confidently, prompting Sonic to give him an amused eye roll.

"Gotta admit – seeing you in a suit is kind of weird." Sonic admitted to Knuckles, but his jest was clear. "You look great in it though."

Knuckles' cheeks flushed. "Oh-! I uh…"

Sonic laughed at Knuckles' embarrassment; his stuttering never failed to be adorable. "Although it's kind of funny – there's some differences between you and alternate you that I'm curious about…" Sonic rubbed his chin.

Knuckles tilted his head as Sonic continued. "The Knuckles I'm seeing now has like… a really deep connection with the Master Emerald. Like – scarily proficient with Chaos Energy. I've never seen you with anything like that though – how come?" Sonic asked.

It was such an innocent question, but it invoked a level of response that Sonic hadn't expected. Tails and Amy shook their heads quickly with clenched teeth – letting Sonic know that he should divert from the topic. Blaze cringed, while Silver merely gave a look of pity.

Sonic saw the light fade from Knuckles' eyes. "He's just… better than me… I guess."

The blue hedgehog narrowed his eyes. "Not true at all." Sonic shook his head. "You okay, Knux? That was a weird thing to say.

"He can actually carry out his job, for one." Knuckles spoke bitterly, frowning now.

"And you can't-?" Sonic questioned. "That isn't-"

"At least he was deemed worthy by his ancestors." Knuckles' voice raised in frustration. "That's fine… that's great!"

"Knux?" Not even Sonic could hide his worry. "What's going-?"

"I could always have gotten those powers… I was strong enough!" Knuckles his hands over his face. "But in this timeline I chose to be weak!"

"What are you on about?" Sonic asked desperately, turning his head up towards the sky as a white light flashed – rapidly expanding in size. He didn't have much time. "Knux-!"

Sonic reached out his hand, but it was too late.

…

The group stumbled back into the living room, with Silver unfortunately tripping as he made his return.

"Smooth landing." Rouge said sarcastically but offered a hand to help the hedgehog up.

"Thanks-" Silver took hold of her hand and allowed her to help pull him up.

"Knuckles." Amy spoke his name loudly. "Where are you going?" Her tone was accusing, and while they didn't need conflict – at this point, the group could recognise that this confrontation needed to happen in some form.

"I need a moment. Alone." Knuckles' voice was low as he was already heading towards the stairs.

"HIGH LEVELS OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS DETECTED." Omega remarked suddenly. "RECOMMENDATION: TALKING ABOUT YOUR PATHETIC MEATBAG FEELINGS."

"Exactly, you're staying here. We're not avoiding this anymore!" Amy told him.

"Knuckles…" Tails interrupted nervously, stopping Knuckles from disappearing up the staircase. "I… We can talk about this all privately, okay? But you've been acting weird, before you passed out you even mentioned your dad- I… it's clear something is wrong, and we just want to be there for you-"

"I don't want to talk about it." Knuckles spoke through gritted teeth.

"You'll never want to talk about it!" Amy pointed out, getting frustrated. "You'll keep putting this off, and the pain will get worse, and you're going to fall apart-!"

"Let's be productive first, shall we?" Knuckles spoke with a considerable force; much louder than even Amy was. Knuckles turned, stepping down the steps and coming into the room again – frowning at Rouge. "What's that plan of yours?" He asked her sternly.

Rouge was very aware of the fact that she and her plan were a distraction from Knuckles having to talk about his issues, but she found little reason to argue back. "I mean… I'm kind of in the drafts of it, but I can give a basic rundown."

"… Better than nothing." Blaze spoke up hesitantly.

"I did my best to recall the layout of the castle and the possible entry points. Entering in from the top seems to be our best bet at remaining undetected-"

"Why does that matter?" Knuckles furrowed his brows.

"So… we don't get caught?" Rouge pointed out obviously. "The entire objective of a heist is to take things without people knowing, hon."

Knuckles stared at her as though she was crazy. "Shit…" Knuckles breathed out in disbelief. "Shit…" He brought his hands up to his head, pacing back and forth. "Why did I expect anything different from you?"

Rouge took a few seconds to look at the others – and they all seemed to share in the confusion that she felt. "What were you expecting? Not a heist? Hon, stealing is kind of my thing-"

"I know it is!" Knuckles snapped at her. "It's the only thing a selfish bat like you knows how to fucking do!"

"Woah, woah, woah!" Amy stepped between them with her arms out. "Don't talk to her like that!" Amy lectured Knuckles. "She's trying to help us!"

"It's not helping." Knuckles growled. "She's seriously suggesting that we steal from the most important people in the afterlife, my bloodline!"

"What other choices do we have?" Rouge's arms were folded, her frown deep in a way not often seen. Shadow watched her carefully, and Omega almost looked ready to jump at Knuckles for his comments until the hedgehog placed his hand on the robot's arm.

"More than just resorting to thievery, that's what." Knuckles clenched his fists at his side. "How can I ever earn their approval if I steal from them-?!"

"Knuckles, do you honestly believe that you have a chance regardless?" Blaze questioned cautiously. "They all seemed… rather set in their ways."

"Well, we hardly know until we try." Knuckles' fangs were visible as he snarled. "I understand that watching another Guardian fail is satisfying for you to see and all, considering your own failures. But that isn't going to stop me from trying to earn back my position in an honest way!"

"What?" Blaze narrowed her eyes. "I never insinuated that I enjoyed watching your predicament! Not once!"

"Knuckles, these insults are becoming petty!" Amy exclaimed. "You know you don't mean any of it! I think we all need to step away, and take breathers-"

Knuckles gave her a particularly nasty scowl. "Of course… I'm not allowed to be petty. I'm not… allowed to be jealous of the lives of others, I'm not allowed to feel sad about my loneliness or even angry at my position- or hell! I'm not allowed to struggle! I'm not allowed to be less than perfect, less than selfless, less than-! Ugh-! I've never been allowed to be these things, all because of my damn job – and despite all that… it still wasn't enough!"

"Knuckles…" Amy's eyes softened. "It's okay to be mad, but please-"

"But what? Grin and bear it? Tough it up? Stop talking about it because it hurts your feelings?" Knuckles glared at her. "None of you have any idea what it's like to be rejected from your whole fucking life's purpose! And I'm not going to let any of you take my opportunity of earning it back away from me!"

"They… already told you how you can earn it back." Silver said quietly. "They said… you have to kill Shadow for it."

The echidna and dark hedgehog made eye contact.

"But we all know you wouldn't do that." Silver said.

"Of course, I wouldn't." Knuckles spoke with disdain of the thought.

"Then like it or not, they perceive you as too weak to be a Guardian." Shadow said dryly. "You're not the problem – it's their lofty standards."

"There has to be another way for me to-!"

"Don't be delusional." Shadow interrupted him. "The more we argue about this, the more we waste time. We are already aware of the fact we are on a time limit, so let's get back to the person who actually has a pl-"

Knuckles suddenly raised his hands in surrender. "Fine, fine – you know what? Just take my job from me. You don't want to give me a chance? Fine. Go claim the powers, take my purpose – they like you more anyway. Just do it – it's convenient after all."

Shadow slowly took in a deep breath. "Even if I wanted to…" Shadow began with irritation. "I can't claim those powers. I need inhibitor rings to survive because my body can barely contain the energy I already possess. If I decide to take on those powers – I will, quite frankly, die – I will explode." He emphasized. "I can think of better ways to die, thank you."

Knuckles groaned loudly, and Shadow rolled his eyes. "I don't get it!" Knuckles exclaimed. "They chose… they chose you. Over me. They chose… a guy that would literally explode… over me."

Shadow scratched behind his ear. "Yes, it's stupid. Couldn't agree more."

"Why does shit come so easy to you?" Knuckles asked.

Shadow scoffed.

"Created with your powers already handed to you on a silver platter – you already had all the tools you needed for your purpose! You've never had to work for it – you've never had to struggle!"

"If that is what you wish to assume, I can't be bothered arguing."

"I'm not wrong! But yet… fucking- despite everything, despite all the work that I put in… I was the one rejected, and you were the one… they chose. You." Knuckles' voice wavered as his emotions slipped further and further out of his control.

"Yes, we both agree that this is stupid." Shadow tried to get through to him. "They made a stupid decision, clearly showing that they don't know what they're doing and that they don't understand anything about us-!"

"They're not the problem!" Knuckles shouted. "I'm the problem! For not being able to follow three simple rules… I'm the one causing the problems right now – if I had just gotten my powers like I was supposed to – there would have been no Time Eater! Hell, likely no Eggman either!"

"You cannot keep asking yourself what if." Blaze pointed out to him. "This is the path that you are on today, and it has been made clear that there is little chance to change course… all you can do is do the best within your own perimeters."

"Even if that means pissing off your great-great-great-great grandmas and grandpas." Rouge tagged on as a small attempt at brevity.

"Is that… is it seriously that easy for you?" Knuckles asked in quiet disbelief. "None of you have ever had a legacy to uphold… which means none of you understand." Knuckles shook his head.

"You're right. We don't get it." Rouge said. "You let your life be dictated by ghosts! That's an experience pretty unique to you, my friend."

"So, I'm crazy. That's what you're trying to say." Knuckles felt a seething hot rage begin to build.

"You're putting words in my mouth-"

His anger burst into flame.

"I'm just saying what you don't want to SAY!" Knuckles' fist flung out to the side of him, colliding with the nearest wall and breaking it apart. Cracks formed along the wall until it broke apart – leaving a gaping hole that exposed the hallway on the other side.

Tails stepped back in shock, while everyone else stood their ground – but most were unable to hide their concerned faces.

Knuckles panted, his arms trembling. He lowered down the one he had just used to punch down the wall, staring at his closed fist.

"Shit…" Knuckles' voice cracked. "I need… a moment- I-I don't want to end up hurting anyone-"

"Knuckles?" Tails' fingertips covered his mouth.

"Sorry… I'm so sorry-"

Knuckles broke into a sudden run, heading up the staircase as far as he could – far out of sight, away from everyone else – as he deserved to be.

As he always should have been.

Amy flopped herself down on the couch, head in her hands as Tails reached over to soothe her by rubbing her shoulder gently.

"THAT WAS A VERY GOOD PUNCH." Omega complimented the hole in the wall, pointing to it. Rouge smiled slightly before it dropped again.

Blaze turned to stare out of the window, and Silver watched her from behind – uncertain as to what he should do with himself.

Shadow walked over to his teammate, standing close by her side. "What else do you need to figure things out?"

"I just need to speak with Nakum to find out what he knows about the castle." Rouge told Shadow. "I need to know about the security and the like – if there is any."

Shadow nodded. "Understood. Speak with him regardless of this conversation today. I don't see us finding an alternative."

"Was going to do that anyway." Rouge shrugged, and her attitude earned a small smirk from Shadow. Despite the personal attacks, she was unfazed. He held a great admiration for her attitude.

"Knuckles isn't going to agree with it." Tails said.

"Then we'll have to do it without him, won't we?" Shadow countered.

"Is isolating him as we go off to complete a mission… really the best move?" Silver asked. "I think that would just be… more upsetting."

"If anyone can come up with a better plan, we'll hear it." Shadow responded to Silver. "But for now, Rouge's plan is the one we'll stick to – as it's the only we've got."

"Winning by default." Rouge smugly flipped her hair, another joke – but it failed to make anyone smile.

The dark hedgehog looked around at everyone's discouraged faces, and their dejected postures. He sighed with mild annoyance, but shook his head. "Get some rest. Look after yourselves. Do something that will make you less miserable until Rouge can present us with a full plan." Shadow told the group.

He turned to his companion. "Do you need my help?"

"Hmmmm… I'll find a way to make you useful."

"WHAT ABOUT ME?" Omega piped up.

"I'm afraid planning isn't a violent job, but you can hang around." Rouge smiled at the robot. "Guess that's us three sorted."

"We'll…" Tails looked ready to speak confidently, but it instead turned into another sigh. "We'll figure out how to get through to Knux, we promise you that."

"Good." Shadow said. "He's your friend after all."

The gang reunited with Sonic at last! Happy times! :) Sonic and Knuckles continue to be gay afff, more news at 10
But Knuckles has finally seemed to have reached his boiling point and has started to take it out on his friends :( Not nice stuff.
On the... maybe plus side - a heist plan is in the works!

Shorter chapter, but I hope it was juicy ;) Next time! Sonic's alternate gang make their first moves in the war effort, just how will Robotnik react? As always - feel free leaving a review to let me know what you thought! Hope you enjoyed! But for now - I'll see ya'll later! :)