The world of Mobius is calculated to be about 86% ocean, covering a large portion of the planet in a blue hue. Of course, there are various islands to which many of the land creatures live on. But with the sizable ocean, this leaves namely boat and air travel as the only means of getting from island. And under this massive ocean lies the largest kingdom in the world - Meropis, ruled by Queen Angelica, King Puff, and their daughter, Princess Undina. Of course, relations with this kingdom can be summed up as… shaky at best…

On a random tropical island, lying on the beach with nothing but boxers, Snively was seen relaxing, drinking from an open coconut as he smiled.

Snively: "Ah, talk about a lovely day. No stupid AI, no noisy twerp bot, none of those stupid animals… And finally, no Uncle Ivo. And the best part, I got everything I need on this island. Freedom at its best."

Snively puts on his sunglasses and lays back, sighing deeply as he tries to get a sun tan. But as he tries, a shadow creeps over him.

Snively: "Ugh… Did the tree suddenly move? Great… I better get my axe…"

Snively takes off his sunglasses to see what stood over him. What he saw made his lightly tanned skin turn immediately pale as his eyes widened. Standing over him… was his uncle, Dr. Eggman, and his new flying fortress.

Eggman: "My, Snively. You seem to be enjoying yourself. Perhaps you'd like a bit of wine?"

Snively: "U-Uh! P-P-Please…?"

Eggman smiles evilly as he grabs Snively by his head and ties him to a coconut tree before setting up a camera… which doubled as a laser that slowly trailed its way over to Snively.

Eggman: "I wouldn't worry, Snively. This is just a little mini-roboticizer. Once the laser trails over you, you'll be turned into a far more obedient minion. Or it'll slice your neck off. I haven't tested it yet."

Snively starts to whine very loudly, making all kinds of noises as he tried to beg for his life.

Eggman: "Silence, Snively! I don't need your apologies. Just your reasoning for deserting my army."

Snively: "I'm sorry! It won't happen again! I-I'll make it up to you, I swear, Lord Robotnik!"

Snively saw the laser trail closer and closer to his body until… nothing happened. His adrenaline was pumping through his veins and his heart was beating fiercely, but he was unharmed. …At least until Eggman pulled him off the tree, glaring at him with a far scarier smile.

Eggman: "Then let this serve as a warning to never desert my army… unless you want to see what an angry Ivo looks like. Understand me, Snively?"

Snively: "Y-Yes, sir…"

Eggman then tosses Snively into his Egg Mobile before entering it himself, taking off from the island to the waiting flying fortress above.

At Genocide City, a sparring match was under way as Sonic and Sally were in the ring, exchanging punches and kicks in a friendly match. The two were a match made in heaven as they were able to out pace each other, knowing when to block and when to dodge. This match enlisted a crowd in the other Freedom Fighters and even Tiara and Antoine, who were watching as well.

Antoine: "So quick zese two are. Like me and Bunnie during our first date."

Tiara: "You're not going to go full old man on us, are you?"

Antoine: "Phooey! I am only 23 years old! I am not ze old man!"

Tiara: "Suuuure… old timer."

As Sonic and Sally were about to get more serious, Rei walks in with Relic, causing Sonic to stop… and take a right hook to the jaw and get knocked out.

Sally: "O-Oops. You didn't…uh… call time out…"

Sonic: "Yeah, I know…"

Rei: "I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but… I'm calling all Freedom Fighters to the landing path."

Sonic: "The landing path? What's up, Rei?"

Rei: "You all have some new missions. But first, we need to meet with someone who's coming here to visit. So up and at 'em everyone!"

The Freedom Fighters looked to each other with a bit of confusion before following Rei to the Genocide City landing path.

At the landing path, the gathered group of heroes saw a signal officer start to signal to a plane in the air. Sonic and Tails jump to their feet as they recognized the plane; it was the Tornado, driven by Uncle Chuck. Uncle Chuck lands as directed, coming to a slow and steady stop before hopping out of the biplane, only to then get greeted by a hug from Sonic.

Uncle Chuck: "Whoa, boy! Talk about speedy service."

Sonic: "Sorry, Uncle Chuck! But after the attacks on West Island, I can't help but be a little worried."

Uncle Chuck: "All fair, my boy."

Tails flies over to Uncle Chuck and hugs him too as everyone else joins their friends in greeting Chuck.

Rei: "Good seeing you, Charles. Well… 'Seeing' may be the wrong way of putting it."

Uncle Chuck: "Ah don't worry over it, Rei. I'm just glad to see you are still kicking."

Sonic: "What are you doing here, Uncle Chuck?"

Uncle Chuck: "Ah, well. I'm here to deliver this ol' girl to you all. And to bring a special someone."

Uncle Chuck climbs the Tornado and picks up the small mini-computer holding Nicole's AI.

Nicole: "Hello, everyone. It's good to see you all again."

Sally: "Nicole? Where's Jen then?"

Nicole: "Lady Jen has made a rather fascinating discovery and is… well… neck deep into studying it for the benefit of Project Paradise. Though my being here was her suggestion as well. To quote her: "You've been feeling out of it lately, Nicole. If you want, maybe going on an adventure would help clear your head." And… She isn't wrong… Ever since Omelette's attack on West Island, I did feel responsible for everything I did and… I just need to clear my head…"

Sonic: "Well, hey. It's what the doctor ordered, right? Welcome to the team, Nicole!"

Sonic gives Nicole a thumbs up, making the lynx blush on her screen. Rei then clears her throat in order to get everyone's attention.

Rei: "Alright, everyone! Time for those missions I mentioned. For these missions, you will be split into two teams, each consisting of four members thanks to the added, last minute member in the computer girl."

Nicole: "How will we be split up?"

Rei: "I thought about that question. And I figured it would be best to go with an even team. And I even went ahead and thought of the names for the two teams: Team Freedom and Team Fighter."

Tekno: "Taking 'Freedom Fighter' and splitting them into team names? Clever. I like it."

Rei: "Glad you do. Team Freedom will be led by Sally Acorn and will be undergoing the following mission… Relic?"

Relic steps up and clears her throat before pulling out the red dragon pendant that Fiona was unable to snag thanks to Team Tiara's intervention.

Relic: "This pendant is one of three that Fiona Fox and those hooligans were aiming to steal. Sadly when police tried to frisk the other pendants out of her custody, they found that they were gone. Even she was shocked by the revelation…"

Rei: "The other two pendants are likely in Jet or Nack's… whatever he calls himself these days… possession. But trying to find him now will only be a waste of time and energy. So that is not your mission."

Relic: "No. Instead, I would like you to go to the Dragon Kingdom and find Zan, the master of the Dragon Zodiac. He might know something about this dragon pendant."

Relic hands Sally the pendant, which the Acorn princess pockets away.

Sally: "The Dragon Kingdom… You mean Chun-nan?"

Rei: "That's right. The archipelago of Chun-nan is your destination. I imagine Nicole has information on the island?"

Nicole: "I do. Jen and I went there once as part of our world tour expedition."

Rei: "Good. That leads into the other mission. Team Fighter will be tackling this other mission, led by Sonic."

Sonic: "Aw, man. Splitting me and Sally up?"

Rei: "I lost sleep trying to figure out who should lead who. Give me gripes and I'll use you as my bowling ball."

Sonic took a step back as he began to sweat bullets and hold his hands up in sheepish defense. Sonic didn't mean it in an offensive way, but maybe he should've said nothing.

Rei: "Anyway, an informant from the underwater city of Meropis arrived to my office this morning leaving a request from the King and Queen themselves. To summarize, their daughter, Undina of Meropis, is missing. Team Fighter, you'll be taking on a search and possibly rescue operation."

Sonic: "Alright, bring it on! What're the details?"

Rei: "You'll have to speak with the royal family themselves to get anything else. That was all that was told to me personally."

Sonic: "Oh… Crap… Guess I got to talk to them, huh…?"

Uncle Chuck: "Oh dear… Knowing how King Puff and Queen Angelica are, I doubt negotiations will go swimmingly for Sonic…"

Sonic: "Oh yeah. Let's not mention the fact that their city is UNDER FREAKING WATER!"

Rei: "HEY! Man up, you lily livered swashbuckler! Besides, there's a reason I had the Tornado delivered!"

Rei hands off the spotlight to Uncle Chuck, which he acknowledges.

Uncle Chuck: "Team Fighter will be going to Meropis via the Tornado, which has been personally upgraded by me to now have a new submarine form. This submarine form, called the Sea Fox after my dear assistant, is able to carry up to four passengers and can go to a depth of at least 700 meters under the surface."

Sonic: "O-Oh… I guess that's… uh… cool…"

Sonic was still very nervous about the idea of being underwater, but he knew who to bring to pilot it.

Rei: "Now… Begin picking your teams, you two! And remember to work together if things happen to go awry."

Sally: "...You pick first, Sonic. Whoever is left is who will join my team."

Sonic nods before thinking carefully of who to choose. Tails was an obvious choice as a better pilot than him and a general genius. Amy was then chosen for both her diplomatic prowess as the daughter of a nobleman and her strength. That left only Julie, Tekno, Rosie, and Nicole. Well… Maybe not Nicole, since she was probably more useful with Sally than with him. After taking a moment to think, he chose Julie.

Julie: "Alright. Looks like we're working together again, Amy."

Amy: "I can get behind that!"

Sally: "That leaves Nicole, Rosie, and Tekno with me. Alright, this is a good crew to work with."

The teams formed together, with Rei nodding in approval.

Rei: "Impressive composition. Alright. Team Freedom, you'll be traveling by boat to Chun-Nan. Be mindful of whatever may be ahead. And Team Fighter…"

Sonic: "Traveling by air on the Tornado. We got this, right, Sal?"

Sally: "Just don't run too far ahead of the pack, blue boy."

Sonic: "Hardy har har… At least you can swim…"

Rei: "Good luck to you both. And may Gaia give you grace."

Sonic hops onto the wing of the Tornado with Amy on the other wing. Julie and Tails enter the passenger seats before Tails turns on the plane, taking off shortly after towards the sky and into their next adventure.

Rei: "...And remember what we talked about, Sonic… About teamwork… No playing hero recklessly…"

Rei gave a serious look as she saw the Tornado take off, a bit worried over Sonic's safety, but confident that he will have everything under control.

To be continued…