Meropis on the surface is painted as a wonderful city, and by all intents and purposes, it is a beautiful place filled with whatever you desire between fun, food, and just some rest. But under this surface, the queen, who often shows herself as just and regal, is equal parts manipulative and, if pushed, quite cruel. Very rarely do people see this side of her. And those that do are often silenced…

Within the halls of a base, Snively walks out of a change room in his uniform, adjusting his belt as he grunts in frustration.

Snively: "I can't believe I got caught… And just as I was finally relaxing… I swear, that fatso can get quite annoying…"

Snively walks into a teleporter as he transported to the deck of the ship where Metal Sonic is seen beside Eggman, who rests on his chair overlooking the skies of Mobius.

Snively: "You called for me, sir?"

Eggman: "Yes, Snively. I want to know about our hidden project under the oceans of Mobius."

Snively: "You mean the brine productions?"

The short man checks the monitors, which show their project has changed course for Meropis.

Snively: "Hm? Sir, did you set a new course for it? The Brine-topus has changed course to head straight for Meropis."

Eggman: "Why, yes. I figured I'd show that upstart city that there's a new, far more advanced city in town. And my new utopia has no use for such useless cities as that. Like the story of Icarus in the old tales… 'Fly too close to the sun, you'll drop back to earth'."

Eggman then smiles evilly as he stands from his seat.

Eggman: "But with the right set of wings… You can fly as close to the sun. Time to show Mobius what I mean… Send word to the Brine-topus. To drown Meropis in a sea of brine."

Snively: "Oh sir. You are quite the demon."

Snively starts typing away at the keyboard as Eggman starts laughing maniacally.

Within the very trench that contained the brine rivers, an octopus-like robot could be seen, about the size of a sperm whale, using its tentacles as a drill to make the trench bigger as brine leaked from its large mouth, increasing and overflowing the amount of brine within its system. It continues its way towards Meropis, ready to bury it and drown its citizens in its brine.

Aleena: "You let my son leave for Meropis?"

Within Tiara and Gazebo's bakery shop, the queen of the Kingdom of Snow was seated across from Rei, who was drinking her coffee, whilst everyone else of the World's Knights gathered around them.

Rei: "That's right. Meropis is a fairly known place, but I've only been there a handful of times and never truly got to know the royal family. You're my closest contact who knows of that queen and her husband. I figured you could tell me a few things."

Aleena looked at her cup of tea and sighed, really not wanting to get involved in Meropis' personal affairs; but if her son was involved, then she's likely in too deep herself.

Aleena: "Queen Angelica is… the real ruler of Meropis. Puff is a king in name only as his tantrums can be seen as anything other than kingly. Those two do love each other deeply, that much is certain, but… Up until you told me, I was unaware of any daughter…"

Rei: "Is it because they don't trust you with that kind of info or something else?"

Aleena: "It might be just Sonic and Sally. Those two aren't - to Angelica anyway - what you call prime rulers. Rulers who take their roles as Kings and Queens very seriously. Of course, in Sally's case, that couldn't be more wrong. And regardless of what she says about Sonic, I do love him as he is. But if I had to guess, she fears that interacting with them too much may 'corrupt' their dearest daughter."

Rei: "So Angelica wants to perfect image of a queen - one who's dedicated solely to her people and not of the troubles of the world as a whole."

Aleena: "Up until Robotnik's involvement, Angelica was very against giving aid to any kingdom, seeing those issues as none of her business. Whether that makes her stubborn or neutral is hard to tell. Though given she runs the largest capital in Mobius, starting a war with Meropis as your enemy or ally would quickly turn the tide of any battle."

Rei: "I see. That is a very selfish way of looking at it if you ask me. If you command such a large army and large capital… Why not just help out where you can?"

Aleena: "Bernie, Nigel, and I ask the same thing. Elise is often quoted as saying "She has the might of an elephant, but the will of a mouse. Rarely will she lift a finger to help unless it affected her directly."..."

Aleena then chuckled as she sipped her tea.

Aleena: "Elise said that with such a scowl that I'm surprised her face didn't freeze from that."

Rei: "You do bring up a good point though… What are the other royals' thoughts on Meropis' own?"

Aleena: "Lupe is the most vocal, outright calling Angelica a coward with less backbone than the fish she commands. A bold thing to say, given the size of her Wolf Pack… The President of the United Federation is less vocal, stating that her military force could be used for other things than over protecting a city that doesn't need it as much. And Nigel… Well, he tries to hide his frustrations, but he's equally temperamental with Meropis. Like I said before, the only thing keeping us from actively fighting Meropis is the size of her army."

Rei then stands up and begins pacing, beginning to think.

Rei: "Let me put the pieces together real quick. Princess Undina… Do you think she was kidnapped?"

Aleena: "Well… A rogue kidnapping a prince or princess for ransom isn't unheard of."

Rei: "No. But let me put down another scenario. You are the daughter of a royal family with the strongest military in Mobius. You, as the daughter in this scenario, would know most of the family secrets. Including Meropis' intention of keeping out of aiding any wars. As the princess, soon to be queen, you could easily change those policies and better your kingdom. So then why run away?"

Aleena: "Why do you assume she ran away?"

Rei: "Because things aren't adding up. If it was a kidnapping, I'd have heard about a ransom note from my contact. And trust me, the guy's known for details like those. So that leads me to believe it had to be simple running away from home."

Aleena: "...Okay. Assuming you are correct… If I had to guess why, I can think of three reasons. One would be parental abuse. Because I have not heard of Princess Undina until today, that leads me to think that to be the likely cause. The second reason would be there was no hope of saving her kingdom and chose to abandon it. I cannot see this as a concrete reason, but I have seen such stories of children of royals who leave their old kingdom behind due to being too far gone to save. And finally, simple teen rebellion."

Rei thinks between each reason before latching to the first.

Rei: "Let's go with the first. If Undina left because of some potential family drama then she'd need a plan to leave. Like a second home where she can rest."

Tiara: "So like a friend's house?"

Rei turns to Tiara, giving her a look of modest shock and a slight smirk.

Rei: "Indeed. A friend's home or residence. A place she can spend the night at to think of her next move. But then… Ahh… There's not enough evidence to even suggest that."

Rei drinks her coffee, but then hears the shop phone ring. Gazebo goes to answer it, but then comes back.

Gazebo: "Rei, old girl. It's for you. It's your contact from Meropis."

Rei raises an eyebrow and goes to answer.

Rei: "Hello? … WHAT!? Sonic is where!? … This is bad…"

Aleena stands up, starting to panic now as Rei walks out, looking rather angry now.

Rei: "I knew I should've just taken this job…"

Aleena: "Rei. What happened? What's happened to Sonic?"

Rei: "Sonic and his friends have been arrested by the queen herself under the pretense of working with pirates. There's no word of them being executed now, but I'm not standing around to wait."

Everyone gets up as they suddenly see the urgency of the situation.

Rei: "Relic, Tiara, get the boats ready. Antoine, get some scuba gear ready. We're heading to Meropis right away!"

Everyone: "Right!"

The group head out upon being given their orders, but Aleena walks up to Rei.

Aleena: "I am coming too. My son is in potential danger and I refuse to leave him."

Rei: "Don't worry. You are coming with me. And if it means starting a one- …Er… Two-woman war with Meropis, then so be it."

Aleena nods, showing no fear or hesitation to take down the mightiest capital in Mobius just to save her son. The duo then rush out, ready for whatever may lie between them and their goal.

Darkness surrounds a tired Titania as she stirs herself awake. Darkness that soon is enveloped with light as the shark captain is met by the scent of a freshly cleaned marble floor and the sight of the beautifully crafted throne room. She tries to move her hands, but she finds them tied behind her back. She looks down to see bandages over her stomach where Striker slashed with his bident.

Striker: "Finally awake, are you? You're lucky the queen is being merciful to you, otherwise I would've stomped your face in."

Striker stomps his foot on Titania's face, reinforcing his point before a calmer voice calls out to him.

Angelica: "Enough, Striker. You have made your point quite clear. Now sit her up."

Striker doesn't put up any fight against the order, but he does make it fun by roughly pulling on Titania's ponytail "hair" and forcing her to look at the queen.

Titania: "...So I'm still alive, eh? That usually means two things… One, I'm about to be tortured by the bitch captain behind me while he cackles like some toddler… Or two, you're keeping me alive because you want something."

Striker: "I'd be careful if I were you. I could end negotiations right here."

Angelica: "An astute observation, Titania. You are correct in that I do want something. Simply put, I want you to join as one of my royal guards."

Titania: "...If that was some attempt at a joke then I might've missed the punchline."

Puff: "it is no joke. Bite your tongue as Angelica speaks or it will be the gallows for you right away!"

Angelica: "My reasoning is simple. Your mother is Borea, yes? The former captain of Meropis before Striker."

Titania: "...Yes. She is my mother."

Angelica: "Then you could be exempt from any punishment. You show excellent control in a battle and your skills are quite remarkable. It would be a waste to let you remain as a pirate."

Titania glares at Angelica, not buying this was just some simple negotiation.

Titania: "I know there's more to what you are saying. Now spill."

Angelica: "Your pirate friends would be no more. They are not exempt from my punishment."

Titania: "...Yeah, I knew you'd say that. Once a bitch queen, always a bitch queen."

Angelica's calm demeanor slowly shifts to something more cold as she glares down at Titania.

Titania: "So let me ask something. Did you ever guess why Mom and I left? I can tell you it isn't because we got a sudden urge to rob on the nine oceans. It's because of you. A lady who's got her whole head - bauble and all - shoved so far up her own ass that she can't even see just what kind of damages she's doing from the inside of her own kingdom. Everyone kisses your feet because they fear you, not because of respect. Everyone but Mom, who gave you a chance. A chance to change into a better monarch. But every day… Every week… Every damn month! You would never change… It got to a point where even your own daughter left you. Left you because you wanted nothing but the thinnest possible resemblance to a perfect kingdom, knowing damn well that there is no such thing. And that's not getting into the neglect of Undina as well…"

Titania stands up, kicking Striker off of her as she continues her defiance.

Titania: "My mom knew just what kind of person you truly are and gave you a chance to redeem yourself. But you are far past the point of redemption. You vain, egotistical, manipulative, self centered, heartless bitch!"

The guards - and even King Puff - was stunned silent. None of them really knew what to do. Almost like… they knew Titania was right… But Angelica remained calm; or rather she simply hid her anger very well, not giving the shark the satisfaction that she got under her skin.

Angelica: "...I see… So you would rather die with your crew than join me? …Very well. Striker!"

Striker: "Ma'am!"

Angelica: "...See to it that Titania undergoes… the re-education program."

King Puff then finally snapped out of his silence as he turned to his wife.

Puff: "Um! Angelica, honey. That's… quite unnecessary. She has already made up her mind; why try to force her?"

Angelica: "Strength that rare only comes once in a blue moon. Why let it fade away… when we can strengthen our army?"

Puff: "But to do it so… forcefully… Is it truly wise?"

Angelica's stoic face started to distort into a twisted smile as her eyes widen with an even more intense glare.

Angelica: "All in the name of our kingdom."

Puff looked at his wife, now starting to question everything he knew about her.

Titania: "I guess it just took someone speaking out against you. You are no queen! You are just some brat who only pretends to be a benevolent queen! When you couldn't be any more mali-"

Titania is grabbed and slammed onto the marble floor by Striker, he slamming her head until she was thoroughly out cold.

Striker: "That'll be enough out of you. Time to see what kind of soldier we turn you into."

Striker then chuckled before grabbing Titania by her leg and dragging her out of the throne room. Through a single conversation, Titania was able to sprout a seed of doubt within Meropis' royals. But what comes next…? As Striker drags Titania, he passes by a guard - one of his men - in the halls.

Striker: "Set up the gallows. Three at a time so as to not rouse suspicion. Regardless of what the queen says, these pirates need to be taught a lesson…"

Striker smirks as he looks down at Titania, ready to break her spirit in the cruelest way possible.

To be continued…