To Void Reader: Look, I don't feel like dealing with a person who can't even write proper words in sentences to get their message across. You can't just apologize, and then proceed to insult me for a recontextualization of a character from an alternate universe. It's not right and shows how immature you truly are. As for your criticisms about Sonic's character arc, I will not repeat myself. Just watch Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX (subbed) and thoroughly study Judai Yuki's character arc. That is what I am deriving RESURGENCE Sonic from. He is a guy who used to run around fast and explore for fun before real life kicked in and ripped off his metaphorical rose-tinted glasses. And I know who Sonic is. His character has been consistent in Japan for years since 1991, unlike his Western localized interpretations. The darker tone in RESURGENCE was maintained due to this story replacing Sonic 06 and having elements of that game. If you want to keep reading until the end, fine by me. I honestly don't care if you stick around or not. But if you're going to use your reviews to shove your expectations in my face and harass me just because of an alternate take on a fictional character, then keep your comments to yourself. If not, I'll just keep deleting your reviews until you learn to write to me like a human being or leave. And by the way, using an AI while you are delusional enough to believe it to be your favorite fictional character in REAL LIFE just to justify your reasoning of an OPINION does not validate your review whatsoever. It makes you sound crazy. This isn't the Sonic Universe you know or grew up with, so stop acting as if you know this version of these characters. The Sonic that you are following is a 16-year-old kid with amnesia and superpowers who got himself caught in a war he knew nothing about. This is essentially a coming-of-age story.
One last thing, Void Reader.
Deconstruction (Trope): A trope involves taking an existing trope, playing it straight, and examining the likely/realistic consequences or implications of that trope that tend to be ignored by straight examples of it. This trope does the same thing but for fictional character archetypes.
To Boss Teal: Thank you for your appreciation. My friend UltimateDemonBeast65 and I try to take our time crafting ways to tackle character flaws and incorporate them into these new adaptations. I want characters to have substance or if they are flat, I want that flat character to serve their purpose in an interesting and/or impactful way.
Never Woods, Christmas Island
"IT'S BIG!" Cream and Amy shouted with smiles on their faces.
Big chuckled in a dopey tone, saying, "Ha ha! Yup, I am big."
The two Mobian girls ran up to the large cat and gave the loveable young adult a hug.
"We missed you so much!" Amy expressed, happy to see the third member of Team Rose.
"Aw! I missed you too, Amy." Big said, gently reciprocating the hug as he turned to the rabbit that he was also embracing. "And you too, little one."
Noticing the field leader of the Freedom Fighters, Big let Cream and Amy go as he asked, "Is she a new friend?"
Cream nodded, bringing the fisherman to the princess of Acornia, saying, "Yes! Mr. Big, this is our new friend, Ms. Sally! Ms. Sally, this is Big! He's a close friend of ours and a really great teammate!"
"Hello," Sally formally greeted, waving to the giant cat.
Big waved back while Froggy jumped from his free hand to his shoulder, "Hi there. Thank you for watching over my friends."
"It's not a problem, Big. It's been a pleasure having Cream and Amy with me." Sally said with honesty before asking him, "Say, you happen to have come from a tribe called the Felidae, would you?"
Cream and Amy gazed at the princess with perplexed expressions but Big answered, "I think so. Pa and Ma took me away from the village as a kitten. Pa said something about a war breaking out during a great famine. Anyway, I left them once I got big enough and learned how to fish. I've been living my days roaming around ever since."
"Oh my…" Sally whispered as she thought, '...Was the Naugus War the cause of the Felidae starving out?'
"How awful!" Cream commented, placing a hand over her mouth.
"Oh, Big! I'm sorry that happened to you! How come you never said anything to us?" Amy questioned, feeling bad about her friend's upbringing.
"I don't like thinking about sad things. The past was hard, but it happened, so I let it be. I like being happy, and there's always a reason to be. For me, waking up the next day, finding new places to relax and fish with my best pal makes me the happiest." Big smiled with Froggy croaking on his shoulder. "Besides, seeing you beaming bright also makes me happy."
Hearing Big's outlook on life touched Sally, given the weight of responsibility on her shoulders. The cat's words resonated with the chipmunk. He had such a way with words yet…
"That was very heartfelt and yet, simple," Sally admitted.
Amy and Cream couldn't help but giggle with the pink hedgehog stating, "Hehe! That's Big for you!"
"What brings you to Christmas Island, Mr. Big?" Asked Cream, turning to her friend.
Big placed his right hand on the back of his head, bashfully explaining, "Heh heh! Well… I heard that there were special flowers on the island. So I brought Froggy with me to look for it until he got lost again. And I have this…um, friend, that I want to give them to, so…"
With the other three girls registering what Big was trying to say, Amy let out an ear-piercing squeal out of excitement.
"Big, you have a crush!?" Amy exclaimed.
"...Is that what that is?" Big rhetorically and innocently questioned, placing his hands on his stomach. "No wonder why I feel so warm and funny inside. I can even hear my heartbeat in my ears thinking about her."
Amy gushed, "Oh my gosh! I'm so excited for you!"
'He's innocent for someone who looks to be about Bunnie and Antoine's age.' Sally analyzed. 'Sonic has a lot of interesting friends.'
"You know, one of the things that we're looking for is flowers too!" Cream mentioned, catching Big's attention.
"Really?" Big questioned the girls with a smile. "Do you think I can tag along? I don't mind helping each other out."
"Oh! That would be fantastic! It'll be just like old times!" Amy said with her jade eyes shining brightly before turning to Sally. "You wouldn't mind, would you?"
Sally blinked as a bead of sweat dropped from the back of her head.
'With hopeful eyes like that, how could I say no?' Sally wearily remarked as it translated to a similar smile.
"S-Sure! The more the merrier." The girl answered, prompting the other two girls to cheer.
With that being settled, the group of four continue on their way to the next location.
Lake of Rings, Forest Clearing, Great Forest, Acornia
Sonic and Espio's battle for dominance without their enhanced abilities had grown intense. However, in Sonic's case, it was a losing battle. Originally, Espio had one kunai for himself while the blue hedgehog had his own. Sonic was quick enough to counter and dodge stabs and slashes from the skilled shinobi. Unfortunately, this all changed when the shinobi began to use underhanded tactics like throwing smoke bombs to obscure Sonic's vision striking vital points like the neck with an open hand or kneeing the hedgehog in the groin.
Currently, Sonic was sent barreling back after losing his weapon to the former Hayashi clansmen,who threw him with a judō throw. The blue hedgehog did manage to stop tumbling and landed on the ground with a crouch while facing his opponent.
The purple chameleon made direct eye contact with Sonic, now holding both kunai.
'What will you do now, Sonic-san?' The ninja questioned, readying himself for the next move.
Sonic dashed toward his new teacher with the intent to attack him with Espio doing the same. Espio reacted first, placing his hand down to stretch his right leg out to kick the blue hedgehog. Sonic jumped back, evading the attack. Espio rolled on the ground and scooted up with a leg locked onto the runner. With this, he tried using the other leg and threw a high kick to discombobulate Sonic, only for Sonic to swiftly reel back to avoid it. Sonic then reeled himself back and torqued his body forward, performing spinning kicks that Espio shifted away to the opposite side to avoid it. Taking both kunai and lunged at the hedgehog with the two tools. Sonic weaved out of the way of the first stab, and took the other hand that aimed the second kunai, twisted it, and forced it out of Espio's grasp, reclaiming his kunai before clashing arms with Espio.
Sonic grabbed Espio's stabbing arm and tried to force it out of the way to go for a stab, only for the Mobian chameleon to do the same, ending up coming to a deadlock with Sonic.
This didn't last long as Espio perceived Sonic reeling his stabbing arm back to go for the thrust. As a response, Espio kneed Sonic in the chest, took Sonic's armed hand, twisted that arm away from the hedgehog's body while stretching that arm out, and then knocked the kunai out of the hand before Espio got the weapon back upon kicking Sonic back four feet.
The battle continued with Espio taking a swing at Sonic who ducked out of the way in time. The hedgehog saw the next strike coming and kicked out of the way, successfully knocking the kunai out of Espio's hand.
Sonic then went to attack Espio, but the shinobi landed a well-timed elbow strike at him, knocking the wind out of Sonic as he staggered backward. Sonic regained foot and tried again, except this time, lunged at him, but Espio quickly butterfly-kicked Sonic to the ground.
Sonic took off his sweat jacket, revealing multiple cuts on his arms and torso, but they looked like minuscule paper cuts compared to the four diagonal claw-singed scars he got from Metallix months prior.
"Good, good." Espio complimented as he picked up the second kunai. "You were not as shabby as I thought you would be with a kunai. I could even see the potential killing intent."
Sonic cringed at the meaning behind Espio's words as he took off his jacket, revealing several light cuts and the scarred claw marks left by Metallix from his last encounter with him. After the shinobi used Natural Sol Energy to heal the hedgehog's wounds before giving him the blade that he originally selected.
From there Espio took out his tantō, pointing it at Sonic while Sonic mimicked the stance. The two began their tantōjutsu battle with a single clash. Both hedgehog and chameleon were struggling to overtake one another, causing grating grinding noises between metals. Espio and Sonic were surprised by each other's upper body and arm strength.
Sonic tried to go on the offensive, quickly jabbing at the shinobi's cheek which caused the reptile to stagger backwards. Seeing an opening, Sonic took a step forward and swung his tantō at Espio overhead. However, Espio, as calm and collected as he could be, predicted Sonic's movements and parried them all with his tantō, studying Sonic's strikes.
'...This is ironic. With a kunai, Sonic-san seems to be a natural at pinpointing vital areas to accurately go for. But with a blade, he's sloppy. Merely relying on instinct and speed to overwhelm the opponent with no regard for what kind of weapon he is using. But if Sonic-san was to be on the defensive, he would excel at avoiding and parrying attacks with his enhanced perception and reflexes.' Espio analyzed mentally, comparing Sonic's performance now to back when he fought King Max. 'I will need help to work on his form and technique before he can implement his standard finesse.'
Sonic continued swinging at Espio, who continued deflecting the blue hedgehog's attacks. With each strike, Sonic took a step forward, prompting the ninja to take a step back. They went about this scenario for a solid minute until Espio stopped parrying and flat out dipped and weaved out of the way flurry of slashes. Reeling his arm back, Sonic swung the blade back at Espio, who parried the attack. This created a moderately sized shockwave that shook the nearby trees in the area. Despite this, Espio stood firm, ever unwavering.
Espio looked at Sonic's eyes and swore that there was a mysterious red fire burning in his emerald-green irises. Something about it was foreign, yet the shinobi could tell that it reflected Sonic's will had not only returned, but it grew stronger than it'd ever been.
The seasoned fighter decided to take the sparring seriously and lunged for a tantō swing of his own. Seeing that it was Sonic's turn to block, the Hero of Mobius did so, only to find how much strength Espio put into the blow as Sonic barely parried it.
'Crap! He's not goin' easy on me anymore! Where did all of that power come from!?' Sonic pondered for a split second before getting kicked back.
Espio backflipped away from his opponent and landed on the branch of the nearest tree.
"Sonic-san! From here on out, I will no longer treat this spar lightly." Espio ominously stated as he folded his fingers in a specific manner (Pyou). "Prepare yourself! Ninpō: Meisaigakure!"
Within seconds, Espio gathered Natural Sol Energy around his body before completely vanishing from sight, catching Sonic off guard.
"Shit! Didn't think he'd pull this off." Sonic whispered.
Suddenly, Sonic was lashed on his back as if he was being whipped. He turned his head around, only to find nothing.
"Argh! What the heck was-Oomph!" Sonic questioned, before feeling what seemed to be fist impacting his gut.
Sonic staggered back, shook his head, and kept his tantō close to him.
"Okay… Okay… I got this!" Sonic said to himself.
Utilizing his acute sense of hearing, Sonic picked up the next two whip attacks which to Sonic, seemed to be flashes of pink.
'Is he using his tongue!?' Sonic mentally shouted, slightly disturbed.
Sonic used the flat surface of his blade to parry. He was then kicked in the ribs, then took an uppercut, sending Sonic flying.
Sonic got up from the floor and wiped a bit of blood that Espio drew from the uppercut. A whistling sound ripped through the air, altering Sonic's twitching ears. He quickly snatched the kunai from the air and threw it back at his assailant. However, it was blocked by the air, or rather by an invisible Espio as he threw several shuriken at Sonic. The hedgehog deflected them all with the tantō before seeing a flash of light heading toward him.
The next thing Sonic knew, his tantō was knocked out of his hand while a visible Espio had his blade inches from his throat. However, Espio barely felt Sonic's kunai poke against him.
A small grin graced the ninja's muzzle as he said, "Well done, Sonic-san."
Sonic didn't respond to the compliment as he snapped out of his battle trance and realized how close he was to essentially killing his friend. Sonic dropped his kunai, feeling sick of what he almost did.
"...Sweet Mobius! I think…I think I'm gonna be-!"
The blue hedgehog ran to the nearest garbage can and wretched into the can for a minute and a half.
Once Sonic was done, the blue hedgehog turned to Espio, who stood five feet behind him.
"Daijoubu, Sonic-san?" The chameleon question.
'Maybe using the Hayashi Hiden: Shitauchi was a bit too much for him to handle…' Espio thought to him.
Understanding certain phrases in Espio's native language while quaking, Sonic said, "I-I almost…! You almost…! We-"
"Sonic-san," Espio said calmly but wasted no time beating around the bush. "This is just a taste of what the world around you is like. And what kind of situations it could put you through. In such a cruel setting, it is kill or be killed. …Even I was subjected to its hardships."
"...What do ya mean?" Sonic questioned, wiping his mouth.
"...I have many enemies. Both now and before I met you or the Chaotix. While I was on the run, I came across hired gunmen, assassins, and other shinobi/kunoichi. I had not begun my adolescent years, yet they were sent my way to end my life. …None of them have survived."
A chill ran past Sonic's spine, comprehending what Espio meant as he thought, '...This guy could have killed me at any time. Hell, he could have killed Lightnin' Lynx. Is this what it's gonna take to end this war?'
"...I never had to act like this before. I mean, I want to get back at Metal. More than anythin'." Sonic admitted, clenching his fists together. "But..this? This ain't me. I ain't no hero, man. I never claimed to be... I'm wild at heart with an adventurer's spirit. For me to…kill another guy. To take someone's life away…I don't know if I can do that. It's like robbing their freedom to live."
Espio looked at Sonic's dilemma, sighed, then challenged Sonic's thinking by asking, "If a person or a group of people were to threaten the freedom of your loved ones, and you have exhausted alternative methods, will you be willing to do what needs to be done?"
With that, Espio then left Sonic pondering to pick up the weapons used for practice.
Never Cave, Christmas Island
The four Mobians made their way to enter the Never Cave. At this point, Sally summoned Nicole, who appeared in her Holo Lynx form to offer lighting as they delved into the cave.
While walking in the cave, Big asked, "So, what brings you girls to the island?"
"We're on a mission!" Cream was brought up excitedly before coming calm. "There's this wizard, he's a really bad man who wants to take over the world like Dr. Eggman. And what makes him so dangerous is that he has this spooky dark magic."
"Dark magic?" Big repeated with concern as if he heard of the term before.
"Yes. Since the wizard has teamed up with Dr. Eggman, they have been mixing their strengths and powering up robots with that magic. It's too much for everybody to handle." Cream explained before lowering her head. "...Not even Mr. Shadow or Mr. Sonic could beat it. That's why we're here. To find a way to fight off the dark magic."
"...That's not good." Big frowned with Froggy croaking in agreement. "Ma told me stories about witches and how they cast hexes with their dark magic. I hope our friends are doing okay."
Trying to steer away from such a bleak topic, Amy turned to Sally and asked, "Hey, Sally? Could NICOLE detect any of the materials Wendy listed?"
Sally then turned to NICOLE, never needing to verbally ask the question as her eyes spoke themselves.
NICOLE nodded, saying, "Entering dowsing mode."
only for her eyes to emit a sweeping beam that scanned around the area.
"Dowsing…searching…" The AI uttered.
After thirty seconds, NICOLE concluded, "Dowsing complete. Four results were found. I've found readings of rubies, quasi-magic stones, mythril, and gold ingots. They are a kilometer away from here up north."
"You heard the lady! North!" The pink hedgehog said, pointing at the direction in excitement.
Heading deeper into the cave, the group found boulders and mounds of different kinds of minerals. There were even stalagmites made of sapphire that glowed, allowing for there to be light without the need for flashlights. Beside them was a small pond that held spring water.
"Oh wow! Look at all of the bright lights," Big pointed out.
"So pretty!" Amy and Cream marveled as the rabbit roamed around the mounds and boulders.
"...Perhaps it's not just the forest itself that is magic. Maybe, just maybe the cave itself has magic in it too." Sally inferred, pondering out loud.
"I have also detected high concentrations of magic within the perimeter. However, it is not specific. Purely raw magic power." NICOLE mentioned, confirming Sally's suspicion.
"Hey, look what I found!" Cream called out, prompting the others to head over to her location.
What they ended up finding was a boulder with gold in it.
"Good eye, Cream!" The princess complimented. "Now, how are we going about extracting the gold…?"
"Stand back, everybody," Amy stated, walking past everybody.
Utilizing her magic, Amy materialized a variant of her signature hammer. Instead of the head being yellow and red, the faces of this new hammer are green, with the midsection being purple and decorated with blue squares. The handle is also a metal bar and the shaft is purple.
Amy eagerly declared, "Let me give it a good smack! I'll get those rocks out in no time!"
Sally and Cream felt sweat pouring from the back of their heads at the sight of a fired-up fortune teller.
'She seems too eager about this…' Sally pondered
Big, on the other hand, said, "Your hammer looks pretty, Amy."
"While your volunteering is appreciated, maybe we should go about this differently. One that doesn't involve potentially crushing the materials needed in the process." Sally suggested with a wry smile.
Amy pouted but placed her hammerhead down to lean on the handle with a bit of sass.
"Fine." Amy conceded. "Any bright ideas?"
"Maybe if we had a pick ax, we could mine the stones out of the boulder." Cream suggested.
Turning to NICOLE, Sally asked, "Does my Ring Blades have that kind of configuration?"
"It is not impossible to try. Although unconventional, a pick ax could classify as a weapon." NICOLE answered.
While the girl's discussion continued, Big looked at the boulder and then walked up to it without the others noticing. The cat then picked up the boulder with relative ease, catching the attention of the girls.
"Big! What are you-?"
Without warning, Big put enough pressure on the stone with his grip strength. With a grunt, he cracked and then shattered the boulder into pieces. But much to the shock and surprise of the Mobian girls, the gold ingots were unharmed, further impressing the princess.
"Impressive grip strength," NICOLE muttered.
"Big, that was amazing!" Amy said, running up to her friend with Cream behind her. "I forgot how strong you are!"
"How did you do that, Mr. Big!" Cream asked.
"It wasn't much, girls. I had lots of time to practice control." Big said, flexing his hands and fingers at them. "Besides, I don't want to hurt anybody by accident when I give hugs. Hugs are nice."
This time, Sally joined the other girls when laughing at Big's second reason. He was just a big old softy who liked to brighten up the room.
'...Soft or not, I'm glad he's on our side. With Big's help, we should have an easier time completing our tasks.' Sally said before telling Big and the others to continue looking for the rest of the minerals to collect.
Lake of Rings, Forest Clearing, Great Forest, Acornia
Espio and Sonic eventually resumed training with the chameleon giving him the pair of nunchakū. …It didn't come with great results. So, Espio held off on Sonic's nunchakūjutsu training for another day. However, the former Hayashi heir had something else in mind for the speedy blue hedgehog..
"Sonic-san, since we know where your strengths and weaknesses lie in bukijutsu, we will be shifting focus to hand-to-hand combat. Or, taijutsu."
"Finally, somethin' I can get behind!" Sonic said, relieved that he was doing something that wasn't going to involve fighting with the intention of killing. "Where do we start?"
"That depends." Espio replied before asking, "What is an attack that you use the most?"
"That's easy. The Homing Attack. What, do you think I should spice things up, right?" Sonic guessed in the form of a question.
"You excel as a close-ranged physical fighter, however, developing a projectile attack would prove to be beneficial," Espio suggested, crossing his arms.
Sonic placed his hands on his hips, pondering aloud, "A new projectile attack, hm?"
"...Wait, do you have any projectile attacks, Sonic-san?" The chameleon questioned.
"I mean, there's the Sonic Wave, and by extension the Sonic Storm," Sonic stated, scratching the back of one of his ears. "It all kind of came from the wind and the kinetic energy generation I gained from how long I've been runnin'."
'...Hold on. According to Tails-kun, he seemed to have developed electrokinesis during the Music Festival when facing Robotnik's latest machines. Possibly beforehand. If I could get Sonic-san to control his power by creating new techniques involving that power, it could better prepare him for when he starts his Natural Sol Energy training.' Espio planned mentally.
Turning to Sonic, he told him, "Sonic-san, I want you to concentrate your kinetic energy from one of your legs and kick towards the closest tree."
Nodding, the Hero of Mobius closed his eyes and focused his inner potential energy on his right leg. From there, blue lightning surged through the leg. From there, Sonic swung that leg in an arc, directing it to the closest oak tree trunk. As a result, Sonic created a shockwave that was strong enough to take a large chunk of bark off of the tree trunk. What was peculiar about the wind-based shockwave made a large booming sound, emulating the sound effect of the sound barrier breaking.
"WOAH!" Sonic emoted, grinning with excitement before turning to his teacher. "How was that?"
"It's a start. I can see great potential in the attack." Espio said with a small smirk. "For now, I believe the best course of action for your taijutsu training is to learn how to channel your power in short bursts. Now, try it again on another tree."
"You got it, pal!" Sonic said, continuing to create shockwaves with his kicks.
While he watched Espio recalled the brief encounter he had with Sonic in his Dark form.
'Hm… It would be difficult, but perhaps it's possible to apply it somehow.' The ninja thought.
South West Grotto, Christmas Island
Team Rose and Sally finally managed to find the grotto after backtracking to the road where the Cabin was located. Despite the eerie silence coming from the pondering Amy, everybody generally enjoyed the presence of the large, fluffy, and relaxed purple Mobian cat.
When it came time to look for the mysterious ring that Wendy the White had instructed the girls to find, Sally decided to venture a little farther than the others, allowing Team Rose to interact with each other. However, Amy's distant and unusually quiet behavior caused Cream to compensate for Amy's lack of engagement.
Cream decided to walk near her older brother figure and friend, wanting to know more about Big's mysterious friend.
"Mr. Big?" Cream questioned while skipping along the dirty road.
The older young adult questioned, "Hm?"
"This person you were talking about. The one that makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside." Cream specified. "What's she like?"
"Oh, she's great! I met her on a dock near the Emerald Coast two years ago. She wanted some fish but didn't want to pay a whole lot of money. So, I gave her one of my fishing poles, then me and Froggy taught her some good ol' fishin'."
"You showed her how to catch fish?" Cream inquired with interest.
Big explained with a smile. "Uh-huh! She didn't think much of it at first, but when she got the hang of it, it brought a big smile to her face. She was happy that she'd never have to pay for fish ever again. I was just happy to help. Seeing her smile made my stomach feel funny."
"What happened after that, Big?" Cream asked, eager to know more.
"She stopped coming to the dock. That made me sad. But one day, Froggy and I went to a small town. I got hungry, so I looked for a place to eat. We found a cozy diner that sold buttermilk waffles. That's my favorite! I went inside and sat down at the counter. When the waitress came to my table, I realized that Moggy was taking my order. "
"Moggy?" Cream echoed, confused.
"That's what I call her." Big beamed.
"That's adorable!" Cream gushed.
"She looked at me, and then she smiled. When she remembered who I was, it made me happy again. Since that day, we have kept in touch as really close friends." Big concluded. "I wanna show her how much she means to me."
"Aw, that's so sweet of you! Don't worry, Ms. Amy, Ms. Sally, and I will make sure you get those flowers for Ms. Moggy."
Big chuckled, simply stating, "I feel lucky. You're wonderful friends."
Sally came back to the group further into the bunny rabbit and the large cat's conversation. Detecting the aloofness of Amy trailing behind the other two members of Team Rose, Sally decided that enough was enough and got Amy to talk to her.
"Amy!" Sally called out, getting Team Rose's attention. "I could use some help over here! Mind lending me your eyes and hands?"
Amy's ears perked up as she answered with a forced perky grin, "Oh! Sure thing, Sally! Be there in a moment!"
Amy told her team to have fun before jogging over to the princess' side. She gave Sally an awkward grin while rubbing one of her arms.
"...Thanks for the save back there," Amy uttered gratefully.
Sally gave her a nonchalant wave, stating, "It's not a problem. It seemed like you weren't as jolly as before."
Amy placed her hands on her cheeks, babbling, "Gosh, was I that obvious? How embarrassing… Honestly, I have a lot of things on my mind lately. They're not exactly happy thoughts. I didn't want to say anything to bring down Cream or Big's mood, you know?"
Sally raised an eyebrow before giving her a deadpan yet knowing glance.
"...This is about Sonic, isn't it?" The chipmunk princess questioned.
Finding her boots interesting, the female hedgehog asked, "...Am I that much of an open book?"
Sally cheekily answered, "No, you're just predictable. And besides, you've never been this quiet."
"As always, you're right." Amy sighed, folding her arms.
Sally tried approaching the conversation diplomatically with a bit of gentleness as she said, "We can both agree that what Sonic has tried to pull on you and Knuckles was wrong, but there's more to this that's eating away at you. What's on your mind, Amy?"
Amy threw her hands up in the air, shouting, "I don't know anymore! And that's what's driving me up the wall! He hurt me, Sally! And yet, Sonic's all that ever crosses my mind! I-It's like he's sending me mixed signals. One day, he says that doesn't date and yet somewhere down the line, the guy hooks up with some random broad-!"
Sally stopped the girl, holding a hand up, "-Woah! Easy on the venom. Breezie's isn't that terrible."
'...At least, not anymore.' Sally uttered in her mind.
Amy took a deep breath and continued speaking, "-My point is that who I thought I'd known for years isn't who I believed he was. I can forgive the fact that he's dated somebody in the past. It hurts, but I can get past it. …But I'm getting this feeling that Sonic is purposely leaving me behind important parts of his life. I didn't even know that he came to New Mobotropolis. I just happened to tag along on Cream and Ms. Vanilla at the airport because I heard it was a place to vacation at."
Sally placed a hand under her chin, thinking out loud, "...This sounds consistent. I heard from Bunnie that he didn't know. Cream and she were relatives, let alone your arrival."
"Even if we're not together, I thought I was still at least somewhat important to him after all we've been through. We're supposed to be friends, yet he stooped so low as to use my feelings. …Sonic never bothered to tell me about his family or bothered to tell me his real name. I don't even know who I'm talking about anymore." Amy bitterly concluded.
Sally stood in place, gazing at Amy for a good ten seconds like she had lost her mind before retorting, "Okay. Amy? We're going to take several steps back because there are so many things wrong about what you just said."
Amy took her field leader/superior officer's words in complete offense.
"Excuse you! I was being honest about how I feel!" Amy heatedly shot back.
Sally frowned, placing her hands on her hips as she retorted, "And there's nothing wrong with being honest about your feelings. But you're wrong about Sonic. He is a complicated matter. Thanks to the coup, he became an amnesiac, no different from your associate, Shadow. When he begins to remember things like his name and a smidgen of his past, he shrugs it off. And as for his heritage, the reason why he never discussed it with you is because he doesn't accept it."
"What do you mean he doesn't accept it!? Wouldn't he be thrilled to learn more about his family?" Amy inquired.
"I thought he would too," Sally sighed, thinking back to her conversation with the blue hedgehog at his house on South Island. "But I was still thinking about the little boy that I used to play with. The one who never came back and was believed to have died in the carnage. But that's not who I've come to know. Recently, I came to realize that I met a completely different guy several months back. I had gotten to know Sonic the Hedgehog. And believe it or not, he's still the same guy you've come to adore."
At first, Amy winced, feeling her resolve waver. Sally mentally noted that her reasoning seemingly got through to Amy a little bit. However, the hammer wielder's famous (or infamous) stubbornness kept her from faltering completely, allowing Amy to stand her ground.
Amy stomped on the ground, reminding Sally, "H-He still kept his relationship hidden! If it wasn't wrong, then there shouldn't be a reason to hide it."
Sally mentally groaned, placing a hand on her forehead, thinking, 'Gosh, and I thought Antoine back in the day was a handful.'
Massaging the bridge of her snout, Sally begrudgingly iterated, "Amy, Sonic is rightfully entitled to his privacy in his personal life. Everybody is. Why did he keep it from you and your other friends? I'm not entirely sure, but given your track record of overreacting, I'm starting to guess that he had the right idea to keep it to himself."
Amy glared daggers at the princess, demanding, "And what's that supposed to mean?"
Sally smacked her lips, dryly answering, "Fine, I'll cut to the chase. Regardless of who she is and how she acts, you still did insult Sonic's ex-girlfriend, a person that he still cares about in front of him in an event you strong-armed Sonic into going to. Yet, he still found it in his heart to forgive you, one of his closest friends, because he loves you. But you can't do the same the one-time Sonic hurts you?"
"He tried to manipulate me!" Amy reiterated sharply.
"YES!" Sally shot back with an equally loud volume. "He tried, and I don't condone nor exempt him from his mistake! But I warned you what he was trying to do beforehand! And you caught it. Meaning, you know that Sonic was at the lowest point in his life. He was in complete desperation. These aren't excuses for his behavior and actions, but you could at least understand that he wasn't in the best mental state. So tell me, what makes Sonic's mistake so significant that it dwarfs all of the nonsense you've done to him?"
"It just is, okay!?" Amy retorted, remaining defiant.
Sally scoffed, "I don't buy that for a moment. You've shown me that despite a person's flaws, you are compassionate enough to see the best in all people. So, what's going on?"
Amy released a heavy sigh and decided to tell Sally a bit of her background to give the princess context.
"...When I was a little girl, I was given a fortune via a tarot card reading. According to the cards, I was going to meet someone who would change my life forever. I had believed that this person was my soulmate. Not too long after, I met Sonic on Little Planet. I didn't know why at the time, but I found myself being drawn to him. Like he was the special person that reading was discerning about. And then, when I ran into Sonic again, Metal Sonic kidnapped me. It took a little while, but Sonic eventually came to my rescue and saved the day. On that day, I fully believed that maybe he was the guy that I was fated to be with."
Sally remained silent. She didn't verbally judge Amy, but she could sense how genuine Amy was when telling her about herself and her motivation. A great deal of the princess felt for her naivety. After all, Sally was a hopeless romantic once, too. But events in her life forced her to see the world for what it was.
Seeing that Sally wasn't moved, Amy tried reasoning, "I know it sounds nuts. Trust me, there are times when I doubted this. But I've seen powers and forces greater than us all the time. And there's something in me, telling me that I'm right about this! That's why I've been trying my hardest to get Sonic to notice me during our adventures. To love me like I love him."
Amy gazed at Sally and frowned when she saw that the princess was not pleased with the girl's explanation.
"...Alright, I'm through with beating around the bush," Sally declared. "Amy, are you in love with Sonic because of who he is, or because of a tarot card reading?"
This question was like a smack to the face of the long-haired pink hedgehog.
"W-What?" Amy stuttered.
Sally stepped closer, reiterating, "Do you love him for him, or do you love the idea of being with him through fate?"
"What kind of question is that!? Of course, I love who Sonic is!" Amy answered heatedly.
Sally then argued, "It doesn't sound like it to me from what you described. How can you love someone, truly love them with all your heart and being, and yet be unable to recognize or relate to him? That makes no sense, Amy. It's like you chose to jump at the opportunity of loving a person before getting to know that person."
"But he's the only one for me!" Amy countered, glaring at Sally while trying to reassure herself.
Sally continued questioning Amy's mentality, prodding, "Why? Because it's fated to be? So you're telling me that you'd force your affections onto a person who's primarily a free spirit because of destiny? The same guy who defied the laws of space-time with his speed and the Time Stones to save Little Planet and you from Dr. Robotnik when he could have just left it up to someone else? And what about Sonic's feelings? Doesn't that mean anything to you?"
"O-Of course it does-!" Amy shouted, suddenly feeling like her reasons were swiftly losing weight behind them.
"Then which is it, Amy?" Sally questioned, face to face with the adventurer. "Because believe it or not, your reasons aren't sound as you make them to be. And for the record, I don't think you've been a saint to Sonic as much as you think."
The weight of reality began to seep inside of Amy's mind, prompting the younger Mobian girl to sweat, uttering, "I-I…!"
This, however, did not stop Sally from continuing to put pressure on Amy and her ridiculous rhetoric.
"I know this isn't what you want to hear, but I'm a realist. What I see is a naive girl with an overactive imagination running wild of living happily ever after with the image of what she perceives as her heroic prince charming. Instead of getting to know the first boy you saw and becoming friends, you let a possibility cloud your judgment and fell in love with the idea of being swept off your feet. And whenever Sonic tries to reject your advances and deny your perceived fate, you lash out as an attempt to get him in line with that agenda."
Sally's harsh truth proved to be too much, causing the metaphorical dam to finally collapse, causing Amy to suddenly break down.
"I-I JUST WANT TO BE LOOOVED!" Amy broke down, putting her hands to her face, and sobbed profusely.
Sally immediately regretted how harsh she was being, remembering how emotional and how young Amy was.
The chipmunk scolded herself mentally, 'Darn it, Acorn! You were trying to make a point, not interrogate and make her cry! I better fix things while I can.'
Sally tried consoling the girl, softly saying, "...Amy, forgive me. I didn't mean to upset you and I shouldn't have been so harsh. But I was trying to get you to notice something important about yourself. On how this obsession is hurting you on the inside, and other people around you. Including your crush. I am worried about you."
The teary-eyed Freedom Fighter scowled at her leader and said, "It's not a crush! My love for him is real! If it comes down to choosing between the world and Sonic, I choose Sonic!"
"Easy... I wasn't implying that your feelings aren't true, but I do think that you're misinterpreting them. What you've expressed right there was unconditional love. Loyalty." Sally corrected while refraining from deliberately talking down on the girl. "But how you act upon your heightened attraction towards Sonic, that obsession, it's not romantic love. That's clear as day."
"Oh yeah? And how would you know so much about this if you're so knowledgeable at reading someone else's emotions!?" Amy bitterly questioned.
"I never claimed to be an empath, Amy," Sally responded seriously. "But I understand where you are coming from better than most. I've been there."
Amy's eyes widened, asking, "...Y-You have?"
Sally gave the hammer wielder a solemn smile as she nodded.
"Why yes I have," Sally confirmed before lightly joining, "What, you thought Spike was the only person that I've been with? You can love more than once, Amy. And you can have more than one love of your life."
Amy gave the princess a reassuring smile of her own, pitying the older Mobian girl recently revealed, commenting, "...I didn't know that. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You're beautiful."
"Flattery will get you nowhere with me, Ms. Rose." Sally snorted out of amusement before she revealed a crucial detail about her past. "Flattery will get you nowhere with me, Ms. Rose. Did you know that I was engaged for a time?"
"Oh, okay." Amy nodded nonchalantly, only for the girl to register the princess' sentence moments later. "YOU WERE GOING TO GET MARRIED!?"
"For a time, I was." Sally nodded sadly.
"Gosh, that must have been wonderful and scary!" Amy gushed before pausing, placing her palms on her cheeks. "…Wait, it didn't work out?"
Sally sighed, "Sometimes, things don't always go according to what you've envisioned. In the past, I've been betrayed, led on, and had been heartbroken due to my shortcomings. These instances resulted in my failed relationships."
"...That's awful! And you had to deal with all of that on top of the war? How could anybody get past that? To be willing to try and find love again?" Amy questioned.
Sally's eyes shined with hope as she stated, "I still take chances because I know that there is someone out there worthwhile waiting for me. A righteous man who can stand by my side and is willing to compromise as much as I am when I eventually take my place on the throne. That man will be the one I will spend the rest of my days with. I do believe in that."
Amy began admiring the older Freedom Fighter's romantic yet grounded approach to finding love. Then the pink hedgehog suddenly found herself looking down in dejection.
"...D-Do you think I should give up on chasing Sonic?" The usually passionate teenager questioned with insecurity.
Sally placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, advising, "What I'm saying, Amy, is to take a step back and give yourself to grow as a young lady. Take the time to get to know yourself on a personal level, and see what you want and what you are looking for in a partner. And while you're doing this, apply what you're looking for while in search of your partner. That is when you're ready."
Amy sniffled, then asked, "Is that what you're doing right now?"
Much to Amy's astonishment, Sally simply shook her head, revealing, "Heavens, no! I am in no position to be in a relationship, especially considering that we're at war. And from what I've been shown, not to mention the rough patch you're going through with him, I don't think you are mentally prepared to handle that step even if Sonic did reciprocate your feelings. Heck, from what I've gathered, Sonic's too scared to commit."
Amy thought about the current state of the world and Sonic's constant refusal of any relationship or romantic advances that were thrust onto him, then sighed once more, saying, "...I guess that makes sense."
"For what it's worth, he may not be in love with you like you want him to be, but Sonic does love you. Regardless of what could come of it, your friendship with Sonic is special. Especially to him." Sally noted. "What he's tried to pull on you and Knuckles was horrible, but he's a person too. One that makes mistakes. We are allowed to make mistakes, atone, and make amends. I'm sure you've made plenty of mistakes, too. I don't think it would be fair to not allow a person to make up for their past actions if they aren't given the chance. You'd be shutting them out, then."
It was here when Amy came to a horrible realization, making an audible gasp as a reaction.
Newly formed tears emerged from Amy's jade eyes as she thought, '...He did try to apologize, and here I am running away from my problems. I'm being a hypocrite. I'm practically pushing him away at the worst time!'
Amy cried once more, this time out of guilt and panic, "...What have I done? Sally, I don't want to lose him as a friend! He's been the best thing that ever happened to me! What can I do to fix this!?"
Sally took Amy's hands into her own while telling her, "Amy? Amy! Look at me! You're overloading yourself! Just focus on me and breathe…"
Amy calmed down per her leader's instructions as Sally continued to speak.
"Amy, breathe. You're overloading yourself again. You're not going to lose Sonic. You're one of his best friends." Sally said, putting Amy's worries at ease. "...But if he is worth the world and then some to you, a grudge shouldn't be worth jeopardizing a precious bond like that. Take your time here to get a handle on your current feelings, and then when we get back, talk things out with him. No shouting or hammers. Just talking. That shouldn't be too much of a hassle, would it?"
Amy mustered as much of a confident smile as her weak heart could muster, stating, "I can manage."
A high-pitched scream echoed and the sound of a tremendous explosion caught the attention of both girls.
"CREAM!" Both Sally and Amy shouted.
Turning to the direction of the explosion, they could see Big carrying both Cream and Froggy in his arms as he jumped out of the fire and rolled on the ground safely.
When everybody regrouped, Sally put on her serious face and demanded, "What happened?"
Big put Froggy and Cream down, turned around, and took in front of the girls as he said lowly, "Trouble!"
Suddenly emerging from the smoldering ground in the smokeless fire was a large levitating being the size of the Death Egg Robo. The magical being appeared to be a humanoid specter with a streamlined body and no lower body or neck. Its body was mostly black with shades of crimson on its large arms and lower torso, crimson patches on its shoulders and forehead, and what resembled yellow drawings for a face and flames on its forearms. It also had a green gem in its chest with a crimson drawing around its waist which had yellow outlines, two elaborately decorated cones for ears, a high topknot on its head, and mittens for hands. For attire, it had wrist cuffs and dark golden bands on its wrists and lower torso.
None of them knew what the thing was, but one thing was for sure. Things just got a lot more complicated.
Living Room, Uncle Chuck's Apartment, New Mobotropolis
After two hours of training with Espio, Sonic decided to spend some time with Tails, walking the neighborhood, chatting, and grabbing a few chili dogs to eat along the way. When two more hours had passed, the boys headed back to their respective homes, as odd as felt for both of them.
Entering the apartment home, Sonic called out, "Hey, Uncle Chuck! I'm home!"
"I'm in the living room, Sonny Boy!"
Sonic took off his shoes, leaving them on the newly added shoe rack Rosie bought for the house before making his way toward the living room. He spotted his uncle sitting in his chair, reading the latest news from the newspaper from The Acorn Press.
Putting the papers down, Sir Charles greeted, "Welcome back, sport! Rosie was just preparing dinner!"
"Rosie, huh? You sure you two aren't secretly married?" Sonic playfully joked.
Sir Charles grinned at his nephew's sense of humor and lightly shushed Sonic while winking, whispering, "Hey, now. Not so loud. You'll blow our cover!"
Both hedgehogs chuckled at each other for a moment until Rosie spoke from the kitchen.
"Charlie? Is Oliver home, love?" The woodchuck questioned.
Sir Charles lightly blushed before answering, "Y-Yes, dear."
"Yeah, Auntie!" Sonic greeted while flashing a mischievously coy smile at his uncle.
"Sonny, come on. You know we're not like-" His uncle tried reasoning, only for Rosie to respond.
"-Good evening, sweetheart! I hope you worked up an appetite. Your auntie's making vegetable soup!" Rosie cheerfully replied. "It'll be extra special for my favorite boys."
Sir Charles coughed a little in embarrassment, mentally noting to himself to find a proper day to propose to the beautiful woman who was cooking in his kitchen. Sonic laughed at this. Sir Charles could also hear the faint sounds of giggling in the kitchen.
"Anyway, how was your day?"
"It was alright, for the most part. Trainin' with Espio was rough. I had to make a quick stop to the king to fix my clothes again." Sonic mentioned as he went over to the couch and adjacent to his uncle.
"That rough, eh? That reminds me of my younger days as a knight-in-training." Sir Charles sighed.
"...Say, can I ask you somethin'?" Sonic asked slowly, taking a serious tone.
"Shoot,"
"If I was still a Freedom Fighter, would I have to kill under King Max's orders?" Sonic asked, not taking his eyes off of his uncle.
Sir Charles went quiet for a moment, as did the kitchen, signifying that Rosie had been listening as well.
The uncle of Oliver Cobalt then opened his mouth and answered, "That is not a simple question to answer, I'm afraid. Legally speaking, while the Parliament may have some influence, the king's word is law at the end of the day. If His Majesty ordered to take a target's head and bring it to him, that's what is expected to be done. What led to this question, Sonny Boy?"
"Something's been on my mind lately," Sonic confessed, opening up to his paternal uncle. "Espio, he asked me if someone was to threaten the freedom of my loved ones, and I have exhausted alternative methods, if I was willing to do what needed to be done. I knew what he meant…but I don't think I have it in me to take a person's life. Whether they are Overlander or Mobian."
"...Oliver, I believe there's a story that needs to be told." Sir Charles said, staring into his nephew's emerald green eyes. "One mostly focusing on your father."
Sonic paused for a moment, feeling his eyes dilate for a moment before he stiffly nodded.
According to Sir Charles, Sonic's paternal grandfather, Maurice Hedgehog, although a commoner, was a hardworking man who had good values. He instilled in him and Jules that a strong man stands up for himself, but a stronger man stands up to others. He and his wife, Sonia, tried giving the brothers a chance to prove themselves by having them join the local guard in hopes that they could rise through the ranks.
While they eventually did, it was more difficult for Jules due to his constant challenging of the aristocrats for their exploitation of the civilian people thanks to their ranking. By the height of their career as knights in the Order of the Azure, Jules' idealism and longing for the knights to uphold the romanticized depiction of them went so far, that he actively challenged the last king, Nicholas V (Sonic's maternal grandfather), and verbally criticized the corruption that the Royal Court allowed to spread.
For his transgressions, Jules was forced to execute captive foreign warriors who were on death row in a continuous gladiator battle until twenty-five men lay dead below his feet. To Jules, the only thing that ran through his mind was that potentially innocent blood was on his hands. Sure, the men and women could have been killers on their fruition, but they could have had no other option but to choose their path. They could have had families waiting for them. And he snuffed their lives out in a do-or-die situation.
This was where Sir Jules earned the title, Jules the Relentless.
When the horrific event was finished, King Nicholas told Jules and all the other knights that they were tools to serve the crown and that his word was absolute. This crushed Jules' idealistic view of knighthood, but King Nicholas still valued the man's tenacity, so he put him and Sir Charles together on the frontlines of the Great War. And while the war had scarred everyone, it strengthened Jules' sense of comradery with his fellow Mobian war brethren domestic and foreign. He may have had to do terrible things, but he did so for the sake of protecting his homeland as a means to redeem his honor.
Hearing the story, Sonic was horrified at how messed up his maternal grandfather was and how screwed up Azuron's corrupt monarchy screwed over his father. Not that Sonic would like to think about Sir Jules. But all that he felt for him at the time was pity and anger for the injustice King Nicholas put him through.
"What is the point of tellin' me all this?" Sonic inquired. "That Mom's dad was a low-down jerk?"
"...Being involved in politics and war is messy. Especially both at the same time. But there are times when the horrors of war can take its toll. And push you to the brink." Sir Charles stated. "Personally, with your special gifts, I prefer that you find other ways to settle matters before it comes down to bloodshed. Believe that you can do that. If there are precious people's lives on the line, I hope to Illumina that you'll be the stronger man who is willing to do what he has to do. And if you know in your heart that your ideals are right, you mustn't let any man tell you otherwise. Even if it means death."
Sonic looks back at some of his most triumphant battles, thinking back to Perfect Chaos, Metal Overlord, Nazo, and a certain pale, red, and black Nightmaren. They were serious fights, ones that he was willing to do anything to bring down. Perhaps he did possess the intent to kill and Sonic never noticed?
He wasn't too sure.
"Hey," Sir Charles called out to his nephew, snapping Sonic out of his thoughtful days. "Let's not dwell too much on it. You still have to work on bettering your mind and body before returning to duty."
Sonic chuckled to himself, scratching the back of his head.
"Heh heh! You're right." Sonic smirked.
"Dinner's ready, boys!" Rosie said, coming into the living with two bowls of vegetable soup on a platter.
Sonic and Sir Charles grin at each other, saying at the same time "Let's eat!"
South West Grotto, Christmas Island
When spotting the Red Ma Djinn reeling its head back, Sally cried, "INCOMING!"
Team Rose, NICOLE, and Sally immediately dodged a firebreath attack by scattering.
Amy, officially scared, summoned her Long Hammer and screamed, "WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT!?"
"...Data not found," NICOLE spoke, uncertain about the species of the creature.
"Ms. Amy, Ms. Sally, if we don't stop it now, it's going to burn down the woods!" Cream worried, using her ears to hover in the air temporarily.
Big dashed forward as Froggy jumped into Big's clothes for protection. He did so, foreseeing a fireball that the Red Ma Djinn spewed. The purple cat opened his palms and caught the fireball in his gloved hands before throwing it back at the being, hurting the djinn somewhat.
"Nice one, Big!" Sally called out running over to Amy and Cream with her arm blades drawn from her Blue Ring bracelets.
"...Princess, I'm receiving a large amount of Sol Energy coming from that entity. Whatever it is has to be a spiritual being." NICOLE suddenly revealed.
"Wait, it's a spiritual being?" Sally pondered aloud before noticing that there wasn't any smoke coming from the entity. "...This is a Ma Djinn!"
"A what?" Amy questioned before whacking a few fireballs with her Long Hammer back at the Djinn.
" A Ma Djinn, or Djinn!" Sally responded. "I've learned about them from a book Sonic let me read one time!"
Cream dodged streams of fire, asking, "W-What are they?"
"They're magical creatures made of smokeless fire that possess great power. Some are more powerful than others. If caught in certain items like bottles, the strongest of Djinn could be capable of granting wishes."
"Okay, dandy! Why is one attacking us!?" Amy screamed before shrieking as she narrowly missed a fire blast from the Ma Djinn.
Seeing that a flicker of fire burnt one of her bangs' hair strands, a white-hot rage ignited in Amy's heart.
"My hair!?" Amy yelled. "You know what, I don't care what this thing is. It's going down!"
Amy used her magic to shift her Long Hammer into her Large Hammer before bringing the weapon down, summoning a torrent of magical energy that struck the large Red Ma Djinn in the face, doing noticeable damage.
Sally watched the attack in awe before a realization came rushing through her head.
'...Magical and spiritual attacks are its weaknesses! That's it!' The princess thought.
"Guys! I got a plan!" Sally said, causing Big, Amy, and Cream to rush near their leader while NICOLE floated beside her.
"Big, Cream, I need you two to buy us time. NICOLE will protect you. Amy and I will deal the final blow. Got it?"
"Uh huh!" Team Rose said in unison.
"Okay, break!" Sally commanded, followed by the group scattering, narrowly avoiding the incoming fireball.
Big the Cat stood directly in the path of the large djinn, staring it down without fear. The Red Ma Djinn saw this as an offense and blew fire at Big. As a response, Big took a chunk of the earth and used it to protect himself from the blast. As a result, the cat was sent backward but held his ground.
Noticing that her friend was in trouble, Cream took flight by using her long and powerful ears to lift herself off the ground. With her superior agility, Cream flew at the face of the Ma Djinn and rammed into one of the eyes of the spiritual creature. Although, while not taking much damage, the spiritual entity winced in irritation and decided to burn the little ten-year-old Mobian girl but found it difficult due to Cream flying circles around it.
One of the stray fireballs flew past Cream and would have burnt Big to a crisp if it wasn't for NICOLE, who erected a barrier to save him.
"I'm all for bringing down the hammer, but not without a plan," Amy said, standing next to Sally as she used her Large Hammer to knock away a stray fireball.
"I'll amputate its arms, and then you go for the final blow. Sounds good?" Sally questioned.
An eager glint shimmered in Amy's eyes as she smirked at her superior office, "Perfect!"
The two girls turned to the Red Ma Djinn with determined expressions. Taking a deep breath and concentrating, Sally again tapped into the Deep Power Stones and allowed its power to manifest as a white mystical outline and purple particles surrounding her, changing her Ring Blades' standard blue energy to holy white energy.
In her empowered state, Sally shouted, "LETS DO IT TO IT!"
Cream's ears had started to tire, causing her flight to slow down. The Red Ma Djinn saw this as an opportunity and tried striking her with a fire blast. Fortunately, Cream was saved by NICOLE erecting a barrier as she descended to Big's arms.
From there, Sally blurred to the Red Ma Djinn's legs and somersaulted upward. In a bright white and purple, the arms of the spiritual were severed. The sensation of overwhelming pain resulted in the djinn cocking its head back and screaming to the heavens while breathing fire.
"NOW, AMY!" Sally ordered.
Amy, who despawned her hammer, ran up to Big and she told him, "Give me a boost!"
"Okay!" Big nodded before he grabbed her while she was curled into a ball and then threw the hedgehog upward.
Cream, seeing her friend airborne, caught up with Amy and grabbed her hands with hers.
"Listen, Cream. Let go of my left hand and whirl me as best you can!" Amy instructed, receiving a nod from the younger Mobian girl.
Right as Amy resummoned her Large Hammer, Cream spun the pink hedgehog around three times before letting her go directly at the damaged spiritual big.
Amy lifts her hammer while flying towards the Red Ma Djinn, twirling vertically as she screams, "THIS IS GONNA HURT!"
With the Large Hammer, Amy channeled a bit of her magical power from the connection with the hammer's essence (Power Ring) before deliberately slamming it into the face of the arm's Djinn with a flashy thunderous strike.
The force of the hammer strike was so great, the spiritual being combusted into Sol Energy.
Team Rose, NICOLE, and Sally emerge from the dust that settled.
Sally, now in her base form, talked in between coughs, asking, "Is…Is everybody okay?"
"I-I think so, Ms. Sally," Cream squeaked, dizzy from the shockwave the explosion caused.
"Cream! Thank goodness you're okay," Amy said, running up to the girl and hugging her.
Big walked over to the girls with Froggy jumping back out of his clothes, then turned to Amy.
"Nice hit, Amy. I've never seen you thump a foe that big to the ground in one go." Big said with a dopey smile.
"Yeah, you looked so cool back there!" Cream gushed with stars in her eyes.
Amy blushed, holding her cheeks with her hands.
"Gosh, you think so?" The jade-eyed girl questioned.
"I'll admit, that was quite the spectacle." Sally complimented. "Wouldn't have done that better myself."
"You've shown phenomenal strength." NICOLE praised. "Well done, Amy."
"Thanks guys," Amy said gratefully before her eyes caught something where the djinn once stood. "Wait a minute, what's that?"
Team Rose, NICOLE, and Sally walked over to the area where the spiritual entity was last seen. When inspecting the site, they all gasped at what they had found. As it turned out, the group stumbled upon a red Power Ring with a column of fire lit at the center, assuming that the creature left it behind.
Silver Wind Village, Holoska
Corpses. Lots of them. That was what Dr. J. Ivo Robotnik, Drago Wulfe, and Zero alongside his Black Arms/Chao hybrid had found upon arriving in the scientist's new ship, the Egg Fort II.
The ship itself was a gray airship made up of three components, the large center piece shaped like an arrowhead. This was used to pilot the ship, and smaller two parts that resembled jet thrusters.
When the ship landed on the blood soaked battlefield, Robotnik and the two newly recruited Egg Bosses were left speechless at their surroundings.
Obviously, in war, there would be signs of a skirmish through the debris from collateral damage, a cascade of emptied bullet shells and magazines left scattered. But that wasn't a notable feature. No, it was the body count of Overlanders in comparison to Mobians.
As it turned out, by Eggman sending the care package, the Mobian Revolutionary Army of Holoska ended up slaughtering the entire population of Overlanders. No male, female, nor child were spared in the carnage. Some bodies were charred, heads were blown off, and some were cut to bits or had parts of their torso impaled/ bitten into. This was clear due to the fires still running across multiple Overlander forts and houses, indicating the unified Mobian tribes had bombed the settlements with potentially innocent inhabitants inside among the former GUN soldiers and associates the founded the colony to enslave the native Mobians.
"...Well, fuck me sideways, Doc. These hicks did a better job than I expected." Whistled, Drago Wulfe as he pinched his nose. "Blargh, nasty! I can almost taste the blood through my nose!"
"...It's like a hellstorm swept through here." Zero the Hunter added with his Chao/Black Arms hybrid cringing out of disgust.
"Ah, that's to be expected with weapons of my ingenious design." Dr. Robotnik grinned while adjusting his glasses. "And if you thought this was brutal, just imagine how callous my Swat-Bot Units were during the Great War!"
"...Wait, you made those things!?" Wulfe cried in shock.
Zero shot the gray wolf a glare and said, "Where were you living all this time, under a rock? The guy was the reason why GUN even had robots in the first place."
"A cave, actually, and second, bite me, Hunter!" The former Waya prince growled.
"Now, now, gentleman. Settle down. We have company." Said Robotnik as a group of Mobians approached them.
And company they did have. Approaching Eggman's group were several soldiers led by a small entourage made up of a familiar elder male walrus, an elder female arctic wolf, an elder male white polar bear, an elder male ermine, and a elder female penguin.
Many of the soldiers picked up their weapons and aimed at Eggman's crew, but Robotnik grinned and held his hands up while conversing with the other Mobians.
"What the hell is another Overlander doing here?" The Mobian penguin elder questioned.
The elder polar bear tribesman aggressively disregards the thought, electing, "Who cares, let's waste the skinless swine and be done with it!"
Robotnik smiled, saying, "Hold on, let's not make any drastic choices! After all, I'm the sole benefactor that led to your instrumental victory."
"He speaks lies! He's no different from the rest of his kind!" The arctic wolf shouted, riling up the soldiers. "We should hang him!"
"ENOUGH!" A powerful and notable voice spoke as the walrus, Tundra, walked up and stood for Robotnik's group. "This man's words hold the truth."
"Finally, someone who has some rationality." Eggman commented.
"Tundra," The male ermine elder spoke as the other tribesmen that made up the MRAH peered at their founding member with scrutiny. "What is the meaning of this?"
"It is as I said, this man tells the truth. He has helped us in ending the war." The walrus chief explained.
"How can this be? These beasts have been our enemies for decades! Everybody knows they are not trustworthy!" The polar bear exclaimed. " Explain yourself!"
Many of the soldiers roared in agreement, demanding the walrus before Drago took out a handgun and shot at the sky to get their attention.
"Hey, asshats! Quit your yapping and let the man speak already!" The wolf barked, making the other Mobians get quiet.
Robotnik turned to Tundra and asked, "If I may?"
"Of course," The walrus chief obliged.
Eggman walked up to the rest of the MHRAH group while clapping his hands together, saying, "Congratulations! You've finally taken back your lands! I must commend all of you for your acquired skill in using my inventions. I was half expecting that your indigenous pride would prevent you from making an excellent and crucial choice."
"Your inventions?" The ermine echoed. "You expect us to believe that the convoy sent over was made by scum like you?"
Robotnik kept his friendly grin, "Well, yes. Didn't you recognize this handsome face? I made sure to engrave it on all of my creations. We Overlander capitalists call such a practice brand recognition. If you don't believe me, go ahead and check."
All of the soldiers look at their Egg Guns and Egg Bazookas, noticing the symbol that was described by the scientist. This sparked murmuring amongst the soldiers before they were hushed by the remaining elders.
"...Fine, let's consider that this was no trick. That you made these contraptions that help our cause," The penguin elder said. "Why send them here to aid us in the extermination of your own people? And what brings you here to our lands?"
"Why, oh why indeed!" Eggman said as he unclasped his hands and began pacing. "Firstly, I could care less for my own kind. Just like any man, woman, or animal, deep down we're all in for ourselves. Selfish to the core. And some people would revel in the misery of others if it meant a chance at clawing their way to the top. All of you would know that pain too well. So, I cast aside my loyalty to my birth country and made a way for myself in the world. A couple of thousand of them slaughtered is no skin off my nose."
"So you're a traitor to your brethren." The polar bear tribe chief scowled.
"Ah! Technically speaking, yes." The mad doctor smiled while raising one gloved index finger with one of his hands. "But you cannot call me a traitor to myself, can you?,"
The arctic wolf grunted, "Get to the point, Overlander! Why are you here?"
"Temper, temper, madam. I was getting to that," Eggman said as a glint came off of his glasses. "Let it be known that through a middleman, one of you had contacted me for assistance. And in exchange for my benevolence, this land is now under the protection and the command of the Robotnik Empire."
"WHAT!?" All of the council of the MRAH except Tundra hand shouted while the other soldiers gasped.
"TREASON!" The polar bear shouted out of blind fury as he turned the councilman and the other soldiers. "I knew it! This was too good to be true! Which one of you sold us out? Out with it right now, so I can tear your throat open!"
Many of the soldiers and most of the councilmen voiced themselves, proclaiming their innocence to the polar bear, who just so happened to be the second-in-command army. Some of the soldiers also voiced for the traitor to come forward. The tension grew to a point where a certain walrus bowed his head in guilt ridden shame.
So one could imagine that nobody in the military faction could have predicted that their leader would step closer to them.
Everybody, except the polar bear were horrified and shocked by the revelation. The polar bear, however, wasn't in the slightest and only snarled.
"...I never liked you, but I never took you for a filthy renegade!" The bear spat.
"I thought someone was off when you suggested using their weapons, but I never expected this." The ernmine chief uttered, giving the walrus a glare.
"Tundra, why!?" The arctic wolf howled, visibly in tears at the betrayal. "You accomplished the impossible! You founded this army, united all of the tribes under a common cause! Boasted on about how strength and perseverance alone was the only way to win over the enemy! And promised to help rebuild everything together! And you…y-you..!"
Zero remained stoically cold and uncaring while Drago wished he brought popcorn with him.
Tundra clenched his hands tightly as he found the words to speak to his former comrades.
"... The army had already lost more than half of its soldiers within the last five years. We weren't going to last much longer-"
"Because of YOU!" Shouted the arctic she-wolf. "You were our commander! Our leader! And you crossed us for this pig!"
Tundra sighed then calmly stated, "It was either seek out a third party willing to aid us, or lose the war. And I couldn't let that happen after the sacrifices that were made. So, I made the choice."
"Choice? CHOICE!?" The polar bear chief growled before roaring and charged at the walrus like a rabid animal with the intention of murdering him. "WHO ARE YOU TO MAKE THAT CHOICE FOR EVERYBO-!?"
Before chaos could ensue, the sound of gunfire rang into the ears of everybody present as the polar bear fell onto the floor, lifeless and covered in his own blood.
Tundra turned to see Zero, holding his Chao/Black Arms hybrid, who turned into a large green handgun that resembled a bird.
"A smart leader who realized the gravity of his mistakes. And if any of you has an iota of intelligence then I suggest you stay put." Zero said.
"Or what!? There's only four of you and all of us!" One brave soldier commented.
"Oh, my. This just slipped my mind, but I forgot to mention that each one of those weapons has a small detonator that I can activate on command." Eggman sheepishly mentioned as he rubbed the back of head but failed to hide his obvious devious nature.
"You what-!?" The same random soldier shouted before his gun exploded, causing the charred chunks of him to fly everywhere, hitting some of the other warriors and one of the councilmen.
"...Now, will you comply? Or do I have to take more…drastic measures on you animals?" Dr. Robotnik questioned with a malicious edge evident in his tone.
Realizing their fate, the soldiers and the rest of the MRAH dropped their weapons and held thier hands up high in surrender.
"Good, good. Eggman said with satisfaction. "Now, as you know through your intelligent leader, my act of kindness has allowed you to conquer your enemies. Ergo, as part of the agreement, Holoska is now under my empire. I hope you all can adjust to that well and soon. I expect great things from you as my loyal subjects. In fact, as your new rule, my first order is for all of you to kneel before me. So kneel!"
Under his command and out of fear, the other tribesman chiefs and the rest of the Mobians kneeled before Robotnik rather quickly.
Eggman let out a loud cackle before saying, "HO! I'm never going to get tired of this! By the way, failure to accept me and my genius as a sign of eligible rulership will result in your immediate termination. Not that you didn't catch the example I made out of that bumbling fool from before."
The Overlander than turned to Tundra and said, "And I couldn't have done any of this without you, may most faithful subject of this sector. This calls for a reward."
Facing the Holoskan Mobians, Eggman declared, "From this day forward, Tundra is not only my new Egg Boss, but will also act as my proxy and lead this sector of the Robotnik Empire while I am! All hail the Robotnik Empire!"
"All hail the Robotnik Empire!" The rest of the Mobians chanted, not out of reverence but out of fear.
Eggman grinned at the sight, marveling at his latest accomplishment.
Tundra, while outwardly stoic, inwardly dreaded the grim future that lies ahead.
'...What have I done?' Tundra thought to himself.
Mystic Meadow, Never Woods, Christmas Island
Sally and Team Rose (with NICOLE back in the handheld) left the grotto with the Fire Soul now in their possession. After some back tracking and another journey through the Never Woods, the group stumbled upon a gorgeous meadow filled with different beds of flowers. Roses, lavenders, daffodils, and much more.
"Oh my gosh! Look at this place!" Sally beamed, marveling at the gorgeous scenery.
"Its breath taking!" Amy added.
"I'll say," Big chuckled. "I guess Christmas Island isn't as scary as what people make it out to be."
"Let's take split up for a little bit. Big, you may go and look for your flowers with Cream. Amy and I will search for what the rest of us had came for." Sally instructed. "Sounds good."
"That's okay with me." Big agreed before turning to Cream. "What do you say, Cream?"
"I don't mind, Mr. Big! It'll be fun!" Cream chirped before everybody split off into their groups.
Cream skipped around with the large purple and white cat, in search of flowers. While doing so, Cream asked an important question.
"What kind of flowers are you looking for, Mr. Big?" Asked Cream.
"I'm looking for two kinds of the same flower. Zinnia." Big specified, lifting his index and middle fingers of his left hand while Froggy was riding onto of his furry friend's burly shoulder. "I'm looking for yellow and pink colored Zinnia flowers."
Cream, listening as she was on the lookout, pointed out to a bed of Zinnia with various colors, saying, "Ooh! Mr. Big, look!"
Big and Cream moved over and saw that the bed of Zinnias were moving to the gentle breeze of the wind, having yellow, pink, red, and white colors making up composition of the flower bed.
Big smiled brightly, gently telling his frog companion, "We've made it, Froggy!"
"Ribbit!" The green amphibian croaked with happiness.
Soon enough, everybody regrouped with their respective bundle of flowers.
"Good job, everybody! We managed to check off everything from the list with little to no hassle." Sally complimented Team Rose before turning to the muscle of the group. "We couldn't have done it better without your help. Thank you, Big."
"Aw, shucks! You're too nice. I'm glad I got to see old friends." Big said, looking at his old teammates before looking at the veteran Freedom Fighter. "And make a new one along the way."
"Its a shame you have to leave so soon. We could use people like you on our side in trying times like these." Sally said with bittersweet grin.
"I'd love to help out, but you do not need me, really." Big said with wisdom. "You have my friends by your side. As long as you stick together don't lose hope, you'll find a way to get through the hardest trials, no matter what."
Sally nodded, saying, "I suppose you're right. I would at least like for us to try and keep in touch."
Big nodded and said, "Sure. We'll meet again."
Amy heard Big's advice to Sally triggered her memory of the conversation she and the princess had before.
'...They're both right. When I get back, I'll fix things with Sonic no matter what!' Amy promised with determination running through her body.
When Big turned around and silently waved goodbye to his friends, the others bid the large around cat farewell.
"Bye, Big!" The girls shouted.
When Big left to another part of island, the girls decided to head back to the cabin where Wendy awaited them.
.
Sunshine Valley, Westside Island,
The tall Mobian fisherman managed to back track to where he left his boat. It took him two hours of travel from Christmas Island to Westside Island on boat, but the patience of Big made it peaceful for the cat.
Once he made it the island, he took his boat to Sunshine Valley, a quiet and peaceful town where both Overlanders and Mobians lived in peace and harmony. A utopia, one might call it. As it turned out, this was were Big had been staying for the last several months. Heading into town, Big and Froggy found a box of carmel chocolates for his special person but made sure that there were no nuts in them.
The special person was allergic.
After paying money for the box of chocolates, Big the Cat walked through the suburban neighborhood until he found himself standin in front of a small but cozy looking cottage.
He knocks on the door and waited for a minute and a half. Footsteps from inside of the house were heard and got closer until a English accented feminine voice spoke from the other side of the door.
"Who is it?"
"Its me, Moggy." The cheery big cat answered.
Within a second, the door had been unlocked as it swung open. Standing at the doorway was a slender female Mobian black cat with yellowish green eyes, a small pink nose and pink inner ears. For her attire, the cat wore a purple tunic with green cape, adorned with a matching gold belt and broach, over black tights.
This was Ebony the Cat, also known as the Mystic Mog.
"Big! What a surprise-" The female cat was in the middle of saying before gasping at what she saw him holding.
"I brought these for you," The jolly cat said, giving her both the bundles of pink and yellow Zinnia flowers to her along with the chocolates.
The black cat felt her eyes tearing up as she said, "Oh Big, you shouldn't have…"
While still holding her gifts, Ebony embraced the goofy larger cat loving. Big, smiling and feeling his heart pound hard in her chest out of happiness, gently reciprocated the hug all the while Froggy hopped in the middle of the hug, safely in between his compainion and his companion's love.
To Be Continued…
Author's Note:
Hey guys, I'm kind of tired, so I'll make this brief. I will be taking a bit of a break on Sonic RESURGENCE to keep myself from developing writer's block. I don't know how long this story is going to be, but based on how much stuff I'm setting up, its going to be long. Possibly longer than Dragon Ball Z: PRIMAL, and that nearly has fifty chapters.
Meanwhile, I wil be working on Racing Though Dreams, a crossover between Sonic the Hedgeohg and NiGHTS. And just to let you know, what occurs in that story is canon to this one but can act as its separate or side story.
Another thing, next chapter, Sonic will regains his memories while we see some of the others develop new powers to prepare for tougher challenges ahead.
As for notes regarding the decisions of this chapter, I will not be explaining here. I am tired from dealing with college finals and I would like to rest my mind. You are all free to leave your comments, thoughts, complaints, and suggestions down at the comment section if you're reading this on Wattpad or leave a review if you're reading this on .
One last thing, thank you. Every single one of you who have my story a chance. I know its not perfect. It's not meant to be perfect. Its just an interpretation of a franchise that is near and dear to me. This story, in all honesty, isn't for you guys. Its for me and a friend to put things together in a way that is satisfying to us. But posting it on Wattpad and gives us an opportunity to inspire other people and start conversations regarding areas of the thirty plus year old franchise that we may or may not like. That's the beauty of art. Anyway, thank you guys for your support and crtiticism.
One last thing, Sally's dissection of Amy's obsession was NOT a jab at Amy herself or even SonAmy fans, it was a critique of the naivety of childhood romance and moreover, the localization of American Amy Rose (Sonic X Amy) and her over exaggerated tsundere/yandere personality. I'm merely pointing out the flaws of that interpretation of Amy which I grew up with and played her unhealthy habits straighter, much like how Invincible plays superhero tropes straight when deconstructing things.
Please, have a good Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and happy holidays. Hope you guys have an answersome New Year, too!
-DarkShadowGames451