Paulie was frowning as he turned the dial on his old-fashioned radio set.
"This is Lupe of the Wolf Pack to all other Freedom Fighter groups. My friends, can you hear me?"
"– repeat, all inhabitants of Robotropolis must stay in their homes! Whatever's going on, the city keeps turning radioactive, on and off like a light switch! It doesn't seem to enter buildings, so please, even if you don't trust the Resistance, you have to stay in your homes –!"
"No, I'm the head of G.U.N.! I don't know who on Earth you think you are, but –!"
"This is station K-TBR 199.2. Folks, I realise there's a lot of chaos on the airwaves today, but I promise we're doin' our best to sort the mess out. In the meantime, lower your stress levels with this soothing hit from –"
"– tune in next week for another exciting episode of Edgar Eagle!"
"There's this very anxious human on the other line who seems rather desperate to talk to me. Could somebody from G.U.N. please explain to me what a 'U.N. secretary-general' is?"
His frown deepening, Paulie took off his headset and leaned back from the radio.
He was an adult hedgehog, noticeably overweight, with a light stubble covering his chin. He wore a brown pilot jacket over his back, with an emblem of Sonic the Hedgehog on the back. (For good luck, he'd always said.)
"Still no luck?" Asked Brenda. While a hedgehog like Paulie was, Brenda was slim, and had yellow spines instead of Paulie's blue. She also had a green bow in her hair and wore a frilly dress.
"Nope." Paulie leaned back with his arms folded, still frowning. "Everything's a right mess! Everyone's talking over each other!"
"Oh, dear." Brenda placed a hand to her face in worry. "I do hope the kids are alright…"
"Bah, if our kids can deal with Eggman, they can deal with this." Paulie nodded firmly. "I'm more worried about all the maps! I can't deliver the mail if I can't find anyone's address!"
Brenda sighed at her husband's antics. "I'd still feel a lot better if I at least knew where they were…"
The radio set suddenly let out a squawk, startling Paulie into giving a little jump. In a hurry, he put his headset back on.
Brenda waited for a moment, but Paulie didn't react to whatever he was hearing, instead just listening intently. Feeling the urge to do something, and never having really been one to fidget, Brenda walked over to the kitchen and started scrubbing the sink.
It didn't really need scrubbing, but Brenda knew that if she didn't keep her mind filled with busywork then it would be filled instead with worry.
Paulie was right – Nicky and Tania were more than capable of taking care of themselves. Eggman had kidnapped both of them before – and Paulie too, on one occasion – and they'd all been fine until Sonic had gotten there to save them. Tania had even treated the whole occasion like a visit to an amusement park – she'd told Brenda (when she came back home) that she'd asked Sonic if she could have another go through Eggman's trap-filled lair, she'd had so much fun the first time.
But that didn't change the fact that both of her kids were in elementary school, and had no business being caught up in the schemes of a crazy man like Eggman. She loved Paulie, really she did, but his carefree attitude did little to ease her worries. Nicky had taken more after her, with her dislike of conflict, while Tania was very much her father's daughter. Honestly, if Nicky was a brave like his father… well, he'd probably end up a lot like Sonic, come to think of it.
Her hands absentmindedly continuing on their task, Brenda's thoughts turned to Sonic. The mysterious speedster had been looking after her family for a very long time – since just before she and Paulie had met, in fact. Paulie had been a test pilot at the time, and the jet plane he'd been testing had hit a major turbulence while going near its maximum speed. If Sonic hadn't somehow appeared in the cockpit with him and guided him to the ground, he might not have survived the crash.
That was how the two of them had met, in fact – Paulie's plane had crashed very nearly directly outside her house. It was no exaggeration to say that without Sonic, there would be no Nicky or Tania. And for that, Brenda would forever be grateful.
She just wished her kids didn't keep getting caught up in Eggman's fight with Sonic.
Rinsing out the suds, Brenda looked up out of the window and saw something very strange.
Of course, 'strange' had become a very relative term in the last few hours. All sorts of buildings that were definitely not there last night had suddenly appeared smushed in amongst all the other buildings of Hedgehog Town; filled with strangers who were just as confused to see her as she was to see them. Paulie had gotten on his radio and heard that, apparently, things were like that all over the world.
But even compared to that, the person hurrying down the street was very strange. They were dressed in a long grey cloak with a hood up, sticking as close as possible to one side of the street, out of easy view. On their back they was carrying… Brenda thought that might have been an anteater? His eyes were unfocused, and his tongue was hanging out of his mouth; drool dripping down it. Brenda thought he looked like he had been drugged.
Brenda had half a mind to raise an alarm. In fact, she was reaching for the phone on the counter, ready to do just that.
But then the figure glanced to the side, towards Brenda, and suddenly their eyes met.
The figure was another hedgehog, like her, with long purple spines. Her eyes showed, not the hardened eyes Brenda would expect from a kidnapper… but the panicked gaze of someone running from something.
Beyond that, though… Brenda couldn't help but feel a jolt of familiarity at this other hedgehog woman's face. The kind she might have felt at meeting a distant relative for the first time in many years, the memory of their face tingling at the back of her mind…
Before she could really think about it, she pulled off her washing-up gloves and sprinted out the door before the other woman could run away.
"Excuse me!" Brenda called. "Are you alright?"
To her slight surprise, the other woman did not sprint off at her call. Indeed, she hadn't moved since her eyes had met Brenda's though the window.
After a moment of silence, Brenda tried again. "Is your friend hurt?"
The other hedgehog woman reacted this time, her eyes flickering to the figure on her back. "I…" she hesitated, her beautiful melodic voice filled with uncertainty "…in a manner of speaking, yes."
"Well, come on then." Brenda gestured towards the front door of her house, wondering where on Earth she was going with this. "Let's get him inside!"
The other woman's eyes opened wide with surprise. She glanced at Brenda's house, at the figure on her back, at Brenda herself… then bit her bottom lip and sprinted across the street, dashing inside.
Brenda followed her in, closing the door after them. She helped the other woman pull the man off her back and lower him down gently onto the couch.
The man didn't react much at his being moved, staring up into the ceiling with no hint that he was actually seeing it. His tongue rolled around inside his mouth, and what might have been a few words slipped out… but they were mumbled and quiet, and Brenda didn't catch them.
"Is he sick?" She asked, wondering if she should call a doctor.
The other woman shook her head. "I am afraid that the calamity afflicting my friend is not a problem of the body… but instead of the mind."
Brenda looked over at the other woman in confusion. "What?"
The other woman sighed. "No simple physician will be able to treat him. What will aid him, let him walk under his own power again, I do not yet know."
"No, I mean," Brenda corrected, her head tilted to one side "why are you talking like a fortune cookie?"
The other woman blinked, looking up at Brenda. "I… a fortune cookie, you say?"
"Yes dear." Brenda nodded. "All vague and airy, and using much bigger words than you need to."
The other woman was silent for a moment. "Forgive me," she eventually said, hanging her head "it has been a… very long time since I have had what you might call a regular conversation."
Brenda smiled. "Well, you can get in some practice now. I'm Brenda."
The other woman nodded in acknowledgement. "My name is Qu… is AleenaHedgehog."
"Oh, another Hedgehog?" Brenda perked up. "I thought you looked familiar! Tell me, which side of the family are you from, Michelle's or Steven's?"
While Aleena floundered, clearly not knowing how to answer this question, Paulie let out a whoop from the other room.
"Found 'em!" He cried, rushing into the living room. "I found out where our kids…"
He trailed off, staring in confusion at Aleena and her friend. "Honey, who are these?" He asked, scratching his head.
"Paulie, honey, this is Aleena Hedgehog." Brenda answered quickly, gesturing at the hedgehog in question. "I spotted her outside with her friend."
Paulie blinked, then smiled. "Ah, okay! Which side of the family is she from, Michelle's or –?"
"Is this really the most important question to be asking right now?" Aleena cut in.
Paulie stopped, thought for a second, then decided that it really wasn't. "Right, right. Brenda! I know where the kids are!"
Brenda perked up. "You do?!"
"Yeah!" Paulie nodded. "Tania's with Amy, over on West Side Island. Nicky's with some kid named Manic over on South Island."
Aleena perked up. "Manic? By any chance, did you happen to hear if Manic was travelling with his siblings?"
"Uh…" Paulie scratched his head. "I think he mentioned a Sonia? Why, you know them?"
Aleena sighed. "They are my children. It is… good to hear that they are alright."
Paulie grinned widely, giving her a thumbs up. "Glad I could help!"
The anteater on the couch suddenly let out a moan, drawing everyone's attention back to him.
"Speaking of people being alright… is he?" Brenda fretted, wondering if she should fetch a glass of something. She thought she might have had smelling salts in a cupboard somewhere...
"My friend's problem lies not in the physical world, but in the land inside his mind –" Aleena began.
Paulie frowned. "Why's she talking like a fortune cookie?" He asked Brenda.
Aleena paused, then sighed. "He can see the future." She said, cutting to the chase.
Both Paulie and Brenda blinked.
"Seriously?" Paulie scratched the side of his head.
"What does that have to do with him being like this?" Brenda asked.
Before Aleena could answer, a wave of glitching took hold of the four adults. They cried out as their outlines shifted and writhed in place, as they felt their limbs grow numb and then painful and then –
As their various fits finished, Brenda collapsed to her knees, panting.
"The fleet is stopped, our foes are scattered to the winds." the anteater on the couch muttered deliriously, his eyes spinning in their sockets. "But without the princess in place, it is the Nothing that will win."
Aleena reached back, removing her hood and letting her long spines show. Out of the corner of her eye, Brenda thought she could see Aleena slip something glinting from her head into a pocket.
"If the present has been corrupted to this incredible degree…" Aleena resumed her earlier point, looking meaningfully at her friend on the couch. "Then I can only imagine how badly the future must be affected."
Brenda… didn't really know how to respond to that.
Grand adventures had never really been her ken. The mess happening to the world was so far removed from her ability to deal with that she almost wanted to ignore it altogether. The life of a loving mother and housewife was all she'd ever wanted.
Despite that – or, perhaps, because of it – she felt like she had to help Aleena.
"Dear," Brenda said, addressing Paulie, "do you think you could fly Aleena to South Island? You could pick up Nicky while reuniting Aleena with her children."
Paulie scratched his head. "Sure, but the Tornado's out of fuel. Next shipment was supposed to come this morning, but with how crazy everything is…"
Aleena seemed to pause at that. Her hands started to fiddle with the clasp of her cloak, and her posture became nervous. "There is…" She seemed to struggle to find the words. "…no urgency in my reunion with my children. They will be fine on their own. You need not trouble yourselves…"
"Oh, it'd be no trouble at all!" Paulie said, before Brenda could. "Just need some fuel is all…"
"Hello? Tails?" A new woman's voice called from the direction of the garage.
While this unexpected visitor surprised Paulie and Brenda, Aleena reacted quite strangely indeed. She immediately crouched behind the couch, her eyes narrow and focused on the door to the garage. Her hand went to her side, as though to grasp a holstered weapon that wasn't there.
"Hello?" Paulie stuck his head through the doorway. "Can I help – yikes!"
"Honey?" Brenda walked up behind her husband, halting as she saw what Paulie had seen.
There was yet another strange hedgehog woman, walking into their garage through the open doorway – this one with purple spines and a yellow highlight at the front. In contrast to Aleena's grey cloak or Brenda's frilly yellow dress, this new woman wore a simple purple dress with white gloves.
Behind her, was –
"Look out!" Aleena called, her voice on the verge of panic. "That man's been roboticized!"
The robot hedgehog standing behind the new woman crossed its arms. "Oh, really? I hadn't noticed." It (he?) said, synthetic sarcasm dripping from their words.
The new woman gently swatted the robot. "Dear, be nice." She muttered, before raising her voice. "Sorry to barge in like this, but…"
Her eyes met Brenda's, and for the second time that day Brenda had the curious feeling that she knew this woman, she just couldn't figure out how.
"…have you seen a two-tailed fox anywhere?" The new woman finished lamely. "I'm sorry, I… have this strange feeling, like I know you from somewhere?"
The robot hedgehog glanced at its companion, then at Brenda and Paulie… before giving a little start. "Cripes, I see what you mean." It muttered in surprise, rubbing its chin as it looked at Paulie. "Have we met somewhere before?"
"Don't think so…" Paulie scratched his head. "But who knows! I'm Paulie, and this is my wife Brenda. What are you looking for Tails for? I kinda doubt you're his parents."
Brenda wasn't sure if Paulie was making a joke or not, but the other hedgehog woman laughed all the same.
"Sorry, we should introduce ourselves." She said. "I'm Bernadette Hedgehog. This is my husband, Jules."
Brenda blinked slowly. This Bernadette woman had… married a robot? She… supposed it took all manner of folks, but…
"Oh, another Hedgehog?" Paulie perked up, completely missing the oddity. "It's a real family reunion! The three of us are Hedgehogs as well!"
"Oh really?" Jules tilted his head. "Which side of the family, Michelle's or Steven's?"
"How?" Aleena hissed.
Brenda glanced back to see Aleena's eyes locked onto Jules, her teeth grinding together. She rose slowly from her crouching position, but was glaring hard enough that Brenda was half-surprised Jules hadn't started smoking.
"That monster was all too thorough in that infernal machine." Aleena spat. "Even my family's magic could restore the soul within for only a brief time. How can it be that you stand free?"
Brenda had no idea what Aleena was talking about, but Jules seemed to. He shook his head. "You're a real ray of sunshine, you know that? It's been a few things… the Ultimate Annihilator, a Power Ring wedding band… then the Bem, of course… have you not been paying attention to the news?"
Paulie and Brenda shared a perplexed look with each other.
"I'm sorry if this comes off as rude, dear, but… what are you talking about?" Brenda asked.
Bernadette responded with a confused look of her own. "You don't know about roboticization? I'd love to know what kind of rock you've been living under for the last twenty years…"
Before Paulie or Brenda could respond, Bernadette blew a dangling spine out from in front of her face and continued talking. "Jules wasn't always a robian, of course. That madman Robotnik misused the technology to turn everyone he could into his mindless slaves."
"Misused?" Aleena hissed. "If there is some way to use that vile machine for something other than evil, I have certainly never heard of it!"
Bernadette was glaring at Aleena now. "The roboticizer was invented as a medical device! Without it, Jules would have never lived to see our son become a man!"
"H-hey, hey!" Paulie waved his arms, standing between the two women. "No shouting, please!"
Bernadette and Aleena glared at each other for a moment longer, before turning away with a simultaneous "Humph!"
"Why are you looking for Tails?" Brenda asked again, trying to steer the conversation back to topics she could understand.
"We wanted to ask if we could catch a lift back to New Mobotropolis in the Tornado." Jules pointed a thumb at the plane behind him – even as a wave of glitching passed though it and turned it from a biplane to a monoplane.
Paulie blinked. "But that's my plane?"
"Oh!" Bernadette broke off her glaring contest with Aleena and started blushing. "Sorry, we thought that was Tail's plane."
"…Tails owns a plane?" Paulie scratched. "I've only ever seen him driving around in that car of his."
"Tails owns a car?" Jules echoed back, his head tilted.
Aleena groaned into her hands. "Why is it that your circumstances necessitate such urgency?" She asked, trying desperately to finish the conversation so the roboticizer victim would leave before he inevitably lost control of himself.
Bernadette stared at Aleena, then covered her mouth with one hand and stage-whispered to Paulie and Brenda "Does she always talk like a fortune cookie?"
"Truth be told, we don't actually know how we got to this island." Jules explained. "But our son must be worried sick about us. He's come close to losing us too much as it is."
Paulie beamed. "Oh, well, that's no trouble! I can drop you off on the way to drop Aleena off with her kids! Er, assuming you know the way… and I can find some fuel for the Tornado."
Jules paused. "Well, if your Tornado is anything like Tail's Tornado… it'll run just fine on this."
And with that, Jules opened a small compartment in one of his legs and pulled out a brilliant red gemstone that seemed to shine from within.
Brenda's eyes went wide. "Is that a Chaos Emerald?"
She'd heard the legends, of course, and knew that that lunatic Eggman was searching for them, but she hadn't heard of anyone ever actually finding one.
Aleena sucked in a breath. "Put that away!" She hissed. "Don't you know how dangerous those are?!"
"Will this do?" Jules asked, ignoring Aleena and offering the gemstone to Paulie. For his part, Paulie took the emerald without hesitation, eagerly turning it over in his hands. Brenda couldn't help herself, staring over his shoulder with rapt attention at the enormous and brilliant gem.
"Who-ee! If the legends are true, we'll have no problems flying with this baby!" Paulie smirked, before looking bashful. "Er, you'll have to ride on the wings, though…"
"If Sonic can manage it, so can we." Jules grabbed his wife's shoulder from behind, squeezing gently.
Paulie and Brenda looked up from their examinations of the Chaos Emerald in sudden shock. "You know Sonic?" They exclaimed together.
Bernadette chuckled. "I should certainly hope so! We're his parents!"
There was abject silence in the house for a moment, broken only when Aleena sucked in a breath.
"You are?!" Brenda and Paulie shouted in stereo.
Bernadette took a nervous step backwards as the other two hedgehogs suddenly advanced on her… but her fears were unfounded, as all they wanted to do was shake her hands vigorously.
"Sonic is your boy?!" Brenda beamed.
"Well, blow me down!" Paulie laughed, slapping Bernadette on the back. "And here I was, starting to think he just popped out of thin air! That kid's been looking after our family for so long, we could never thank him enough!"
"H-he has?" Bernadette said, feeling slightly rattled by the vigorous shaking. "I don't think he's ever mentioned you…"
"Ah, well, Sonic probably saves a lot of people." Paulie beamed, not at all offended. "You really raised a good kid there!"
Bernadette's mouth suddenly twisted in pain, and she looked down, suddenly unable to meet anyone's eyes.
"Two and two and one are two…" Aleena muttered under her breath. "So… that's what he meant."
Jules glanced over at Aleena, and at the figure on the couch. "I hope you don't think I'm being rude… but who's the anteater?"
Aleena sighed. "My oldest and most dearest friend. His wise words and council I have relied upon for many years. Even now, in this state, it was what few words of his that I could understand that led me here."
"…alright…" Jules said, thinking that that didn't really tell him anything but not really feeling like pushing further. "So, do you want to ride in the co-pilot's seat then? Bernie and I can take the wings…"
"Thank you, but… I cannot accompany you." Aleena glanced at her friend, unmoving on the couch. "I must remain to insure that my friend remains well…"
"Dear, I can do that." Brenda broke in, face set in a frown. "Don't your children need you more?"
Aleena hesitated. "My children have… managed without me so far."
The four other parents all turned as one to stare at Aleena, staring at her in uniform confusion.
"Managed without you… what does that mean, exactly?" Bernadette asked pointedly.
Aleena glared back at Bernadette. "Do not think this is a separation done lightly! I am… acting on information from beyond our time –"
"If it's from a hedgehog with silver spines, you can ignore everything he says." Bernadette interrupted, her face scowling.
Aleena growled. "Do not make the mistake of thinking that the Oracle is some kind of charlatan! His prophecies have led my kingdom though some of the worst crises imaginable! He has shown me what happens, in the worlds where I do not take his advice! He has… he has…!"
Abruptly, the anger and indignation seemed to drain out of Aleena all at once. She slumped to her knees, her cloak draping over her feet.
"We had been preparing, for so long." She croaked. "The road was hard, yes, but the end… the end would all be worth it…! But this…" She gestured out the window, at a passing badger who was having a glitching fit. "This… was not foreseen."
Aleena sniffed, her eyes watering. "A-and if this world has been changed… if the future has been changed… t-then, what what was all that pain…all those years of waiting… really for?"
Now Bernadette looked taken aback, almost guilty. She took a step forwards, but looked back to find Jules's hand on her shoulder, shaking his head.
Brenda had no such person holding her back.
She strode forwards, putting her hands around Aleena's, causing the other woman to look up into her eyes.
"Then go now, dear." Brenda said, softly. "They're your children. I'm sure they'll want to see you."
Aleena stared up at Brenda for a long moment.
But then her eyes dropped down to her friend on the couch, and she gave a defeated sigh.
"You must promise to look after him." She said, quietly.
"I will." Brenda promised.
Aleena stood to her feet, assuming something like a regal bearing. "T-then… we must head out as soon as we can."
Paulie blinked, realising that the focus was now back on him. "Right! Come on!" He sprinted off for the Tornado, the Chaos Emerald held out in front of him. "I'll get the engine running!"
Jules exchanged a silent look with his wife, his LED eyes communicating entire sentences.
Bernadette sighed, and turned to Aleena.
"I'm sorry." She said. "But, as someone who was also separated from their child…" She hesitated. "There will be pain, yes, and they might even blame you… but the pain of not seeing them again is far worse."
So saying, she and Jules also left the room.
Aleena took a deep breath, centring herself. After a moment, she opened her eyes and focused on Brenda.
"Thank you." She said, her voice strong and confident again. Only a slight warble betrayed her inner turmoil.
Brenda smiled. "Oh, nevermind that dear. I'm sure you would have done the same for me."
Aleena smiled enigmatically, and also strode for the door. Before passing though it though, she turned to Brenda, and paused.
"I'm glad." She said, her expression unreadable. "That you and she were far better mothers to him than I was."
So saying, she walked out to join the others.
Brenda stared in confusion. "Dear? What on Earth does that mean?" She walked out, fully intent on getting an answer.
"Trees and darkness, octopuses and fish…" The Oracle of Delphius muttered deliriously. Nobody heard his words, alone in the room as he was. "Across the emptiness they rage, each with their own wish. Between each other they war, none of them our friend. If any emerge victorious, 'tis our world which will end."
AN: There are four princesses that have been named in this fanfic so far – five if you count the one who wasn't specifically mentioned to be a princess. Can you remember them all without going back to check? :)
Paulie and Brenda are from the Sonic Manga, well and truly predating both Underground's Queen Aleena and pre-SGW Archie's Jules and Bernadette. (The Oracle of Delphius is also from Underground).
Paulie's plane is never given a name, but it is a two-seater prop plane and Tails doesn't have his own plane in the manga (Sonic 2 wouldn't come out for several months after that chapter), so I'm saying that Paulie's plane is the local Tornado.
