A/N: This is arguably my best chapter yet. It hasn't even been a month quite yet. Woohoo, new record!
So… That Area 51 raid was really something, wasn't it? But did you know that Sonic was already there sixteen years ago? Apparently he escaped with a living science experiment from another planet, and is said to be the first person ever to raid Area 51 and get away with it. The cameras he smashed must have been expensive…
Except for uploading chapters, I've largely stopped using the FFN docs and switched over to Google Docs. I've heard a lot of bad things about the FFN docs. At least Google Docs auto-saves your work. My only regret is that FFN docs de-formats all my italics, which means I have to manually scroll through my story and reformat the bold and italics. At least it keeps line breaks.
Also, I uploaded the last chapter and my recent oneshot Fall of the Ultimate Lifeform using the FFN app, which I've recently uninstalled for similar reasons.
First Sonic movie news in a long time: a Sonic movie poster showed up in Russia at a gaming convention. Fun Fact: Sonic's Russian name is СОНИК. Also, instead of saying "Every hero has a genesis" or "A whole new speed of hero", the Russian tagline is "Speed is his middle name" But look at this quote from the SatAM pilot episode "Heads or Tails", as said by Sonic himself:
"I was built for speed and born for danger! Speed is my middle name and danger is my game!"
See?! It's totally a reference!
Also, this chapter ended up being smaller than I thought. My first draft ended up being over 10,000 words, but the final story, counting author's notes, is only around 19,800 words instead of over 21,000 as I originally predicted.
I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. Too much, in fact. I think I did really well writing with Rouge, Topaz, and GUN. (I had a lot of fun writing Rouge's scenes.) I also ending up extending some of the tiny scenes from this episode.
SHAMELESS PLUG: Speaking of Rouge and GUN, I rewrote the end of IDW Issue 19 as a oneshot, fixing some issues that people have stated with it. It's called "Fall of the Ultimate Lifeform"; check it out!
Just a heads-up: I've renamed E-13 Guardbot "Guardian" (see Chapter 1), E-14 Sneezer "Warhead", and E-70 Noizi "Siren", in order to take this story more seriously.
I want to thank Evan Vergel, SuperTailsFan0812, Sigmamaxis450, IceMage11, and elizaveta2000kuz for favoriting and following since my last chapter!
With that being said, let's move on to the reviews and what matters most: the story!
stardust902
great chapter as always, love how you rework and extend parts of the story to give more detail. one little thing which is only minor really is when chris identifies the game may be a trap, chuck says 'thats why we shouldn't be careful at all times'. just needs amending to should be careful, otherise keep up the good work
Thanks for your kind words!
I've switched over to Google Docs now, so I'm much more likely to catch mistakes before you guys. I still have to author's notes and review responses on FFN docs, though.
SuperTailsFan0812
i really enjoyed this chapter. I love how you extended the scene where Tails and Albert were chatting, very excited for the next chapter. Keep up the fantastic work
Thanks; you too! I'm loving your Bad Case of the Mobian Flu story!
GuardianDragon98
Hahaha, you did the 4th wall break :D Wonderful. I was going through this chapter and wondering if you'd do it and I'm glad you did :)
Me too. It's a shame 4Kids removed it. You know I had to re-add it. :) I've been trying to limit fourth wall breaks to Sonic, Amy, Eggman, and the Chaotix, since they did it in the anime.
Alexandria Prime
Great chapter! Hands down! Even if I'm not very much of a fan of this episode.
Thanks! This episode doesn't stand out to me much either, and I think the only reason it's canon is because there's a Chaos Emerald in it. But I think I did a good job with it. :)
kitsune
one of best chapter :D
If you think that one was good, check this one out! :D
Cyan Quartz
Pretty good, not at all 'forced'.
That's good to hear. I was a little concerned about that.
(EDIT: It took me two years until I saw your review again, and only now I just got the pun!)
D.J. Scales
Well that right there was interesting. I rarely watched Sonic X but even so you have some good thoughts.
If you can see through the cringey moments, Sonic X is actually a pretty decent anime. You may want to give it a watch if you're curious as to what to expect.
Animation Adventures
As I'm not a baseball person, this review is probably going to be a bit shorter than my other comments.
I liked the scene expansion with Albert. Obviously the show needs to get to the point since they're on an animation budget, but since text doesn't have that limitation, you're able to expand as you'd like.
The tweaks to the dinner scene were nice. I remember watching the show, and thinking it's like the gang have never seen utensils before the way Ella was teaching them. I did find the bit about wondering how Bokkun got in to give them the message a bit needless, but that's just me. If it was a real criminal, then I'd wonder, but considering it's one of Eggman's robots, not that interested in finding out.
The additional scene with Elmer was nice. It certainly explains when people started showing up in the stands during the game. Not personally sure how moving the turf is supposed to work, but good on him for deciding to move it to the new stadium. Also, I think you meant to use 'convinced' instead of 'convicted'.
Alright, Rouge's original debut is up next. If she appears alone, does that mean she got separated from Team Dark? If so, I wonder where Shadow and Omega got sent in the world. Hopefully Omega has enough sense to stay out of people's sights so he doesn't scare them.
Until next time!
That's one of the great things about fanfiction - the sky's the limit, and why stop there? I don't care for scene cuts and time skips, so I like to fill in what happens between those cuts and skips.
Having been among humans, I'm pretty sure the Mobians have had experience with dinner utensils. In fact, how else would they eat in the Mobians' neck of the woods?
Also, if I thought I had my doors and windows locked, then I too might be questioning how a messenger robot breaks into my house to throw baseballs at me. But who's to say any of Eggman's robots aren't real criminals? :P
I kinda didn't want Elmer to show up without explanation, so I added that scene. Also, it's nice filler material that will explain his presence. And since Scarlet Garcia is used a bit too much in my opinions, that was probably a good way to tone her back a bit. And thanks for 'convicting' me with that word; I'll go back and change it when I go through the chapters again.
I can tell you, she will appear alone. An explanation for Shadow and Omega will be given in this chapter as well. If you're curious, Omega will still make a physical appearance in this story, but it won't be for a while. Still, I'd like to see what people will think of him.
The Green Seer
Hello!
Nearly 200k words… I'd say you totally deserve a break. Focus on planning and plotting, that's the most fun part of writing in my opinion. About the filler episodes, I don't mind if you skip them (mostly because I don't remember them anyway) but you could summarize them in a paragraph or have the characters do small talk about some worthwhile events.
1. Eggman having baseball equipment at ready for his mortal enemy is not creepy at all. I find that thought as funny as it is odd. At least he compensates with actually appearing competent in this story.
2. I like that Sonic picked up table etiquette fast, as uninteresting and useless as it must be for him. Small details.
3. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this episode is the only episode where the emeralds make a beacon appear when they meet. I don't think it's done later on and the first time I saw this show (since it was my introduction to this franchise) I found it very weird that something like that never happened again or that it wasn't explained. I do appreciate you explaining it though.
4. I like that the others point out why Eggman didn't just take the emerald while he had the chance. I thought I was going to have to mention how weird that was.
5. Sonic's dignity line… that made me chuckle a bit. The fourth wall-breaking fanfiction one was a bit too on the nose.
6. I enjoyed how mature Sonic and Knuckles were, like the strong silent protectors. It was nice to see Sonic being a big brother to Tails and Chris too, and he also had some funny moments.
Overall, this was very well written. You are definitely improving. The characters didn't overreact and the dialogue flowed very well. I don't know anything about baseball but the game was entertaining even more so rigged. It was pretty good. I have no idea what the "Fly Spy" episode was about so I'll be waiting for it.
Two more chapters after this one and I'll take a break. I plan on omitting Episodes 14 and 18 (I'll summarize 14 in 15 and 18 in 19), so after I write out the drafts for episodes 15, 16, 18, and 19, I'll resume writing. I will put a percentage on my profile page that indicates my progress. When I finish the episode 15 draft, it will be 25% until I return to writing the story; when I finish the episode 16 draft, it will be 50%, and so on. It may be three or four months until I return, but I promise to keep you all updated. In the meantime, I can also get back to writing Super Mario Bros: The Novelized Comic if I feel motivated enough to do so.
I've tidied up your review, since it looks like FFN butchered it a little bit. I hope you don't mind.
1. It is indeed odd, especially since he's been planning it for a while. I originally had him knowing about the Emerald since the first one was discovered, but that would raise questions as you why he hasn't collected it this whole time. And as for the jerseys Eggman gave Team Sonic, well… they got to keep them.
2. Even if it's uninteresting, I love fluff and filler material. Also, I think my version is better than Tanaka saying "Kindly use your fruit knife." I mean, who even uses a fruit knife on a whole apple?!
3. Actually, a Chaos Beacon does appear a second time, in the episode "Emerald Anniversary". It did a number to the film equipment, and even inadvertently made Chris' parents mad at each other. I thought it needed explanation, especially when Cream identified it as the light from a Chaos Emerald. Where had she seen it before? We need answers. And so I provided them.
4. I also like Eggman's response. Even villains need some down time from being villains every once in a while. This is why he participates in the Olympics, and also why Bowser goes go-kart racing with Mario.
5. I know the fourth wall break might have been on the nose, but in the Japanese version, Sonic said that "this is an anime", and since 4Kids removed it, I wanted to bring it back.
6. I'm starting to get used to writing with Knuckles more. He's a little more difficult to write than most of the others, but I'll get plenty of opportunities to practice. I absolutely love Sonic's big brother moments, especially with Tails and Chris.
Speaking of Tails and Chris, I've heard that one negative thing people have said about Chris is that he is too much like Tails sometimes, even taking his roles in some cases. Let me know if this is the case and I'll correct.
Thanks for your compliments! I think you'll really like this next episode.
Disclaimer: Eggman's Fortress is not responsible for any tinnitus, ringing in the ears, deafness, PTSD, death, imprisonment, roboticization, or other injuries incurred from trespassing. Lawyers are not standing by because Eggman doesn't have any.
Chapter 11
Episode 11
The Beautiful and Mysterious Jewel Thief! Her Name is Rouge the Bat!
Special Forces
Station Square Museum – Tue September 21; 1:53 AM – Third-person POV
Station Square boasted one of the grandest museums in the western United States. Built in 1958, it was home to one of its most valuable treasures: the Fire Diamond, a sizable gem that had been discovered twenty years ago in Yellowstone National Park. It was so valuable that it was enclosed within a barrier of security lasers and extra-durable glass.
The night shift was keeping watch over the museum during the early morning hours of September 21. One of the officers down at the security room glanced up at the clock, wondering when his shift would be over. About seven minutes, he figured.
He was told to be extra alert tonight. There were news stories of a burglar who had taken priceless jewels from other local museums and jewel shops, so the museum staff thought it was wise to increase the security just in case the jewel thief would show up here at the Station Square Museum.
The officer yawned. Night shifts really did a number to one's internal clock.
Just then he thought he saw a movement coming from one of the screens, now moving onto the view on another screen. It was unmistakable; there was an intruder.
Leaning closer to the screens, his eyes widened slightly in recognition.
"Guys, we got an intruder," the officer said, motioning the other two guards to the surveillance screens. They were able to get a good look at a solitary figure cartwheeling and flipping over infrared laser traps that were only visible on the screens.
"Is it her?" one of the guards asked.
The first guard turned to face him. The solemn look on his face, and his slight nod, told him everything he needed to know.
Without hesitation, the third guard pushed a button that set off the museum's alarms and initiated lockdown throughout the building. The three guards then sprinted from the security room.
The second guard picked up his walkie-talkie.
"There's an intruder," he reported. "Last seen approaching the precious stones exhibits. I repeat: we have an intruder!"
Meanwhile, the intruder was able to reach the Fire Diamond exhibit without even a stray strand of fur touching any of the security lasers or otherwise setting off the alarms. The bat Mobian didn't even need an infrared scope during this run. Earth technology was so predictable…
And then she saw it - the Fire Diamond. It was so large, so beautiful… and it would be absolutely perfect for her ever-growing Earth jewel collection. After all, she did once claim to be entitled to all of the world's gems.
"Hello, gorgeous…" she purred.
Suddenly the alarms sounded throughout the entire museum, startling her. The thief knew she had to act fast if she was going to make it out with this beauty.
She neatly executed four well-placed kicks, cutting a perfect square in the glass. Then she caught the pane before it fell, and laid it against the wall. Then came the best part…
The jewel thief snatched up the Fire Diamond and flew off. It was a great thing most Mobians wore gloves; that way people like her wouldn't leave fingerprints anywhere.
About a dozen officers ran into the room with pistols drawn and shouts of "Put your hands up!" But there were no responses to be heard from the thief.
It was a good thing the officers wore special badges that negated the effects of the security lasers. This technology was installed a few years ago, as false alarms had kept being set off when the patrolling officers kept accidentally activating them.
"Hey, I found something," one guard called, summoning the others toward him. He picked up a card-like object from inside the exhibit where the Fire Diamond used to rest.
In the dim light, which occasionally flashed red due to the alarm lights, the guard could make out a few details on the card. It depicted a somewhat seductive image of the thief, as well as the words "Thank you" in cursive font.
"This must be the thief's calling card, literally," the guard said. "I got reports that they found this same kind of card at a lot of other places the thief went to." He turned back to the others. "We're breaking this to the authorities."
Chuck's lab – Tue September 21; 12:00 PM – Third-person POV
The next morning, Cream and Cheese were watching TV up in Chuck's lab. Chuck was in the house getting ready for lunch at the time, and Cream had entered the lab in curiosity because he had accidentally left the TV on. The local news was on, and the young bunny and her Chao friend became engrossed in the current news story. Scarlet Garcia was giving a top-of-the-hour news update.
"Last night's robbery is just the latest in a string of jewel thefts plaguing Station Square over the past week," she was saying. "The Fire Diamond, estimated to be worth roughly twenty million dollars, has been stolen from the Station Square Museum. Police are left baffled as to how the thief managed to escape so easily."
"Hey, Cream?"
Cream and Cheese's concentration from the news story was broken by the new voice, and they turned to see Amy in the doorway, propping the trap door open.
"We're about to have pizza in a minute," Amy invited. "Oh, and do you know if Sonic went out with Tails earlier?"
"He did," confirmed Cream, propping herself up on her beanbag. "I think they left fifteen minutes ago."
Amy nodded. "Oh, okay. Do you know if they're looking for any more Chaos Emeralds?"
Cream looked confused. "I think so…?" she guessed.
Amy smiled. "It's a good thing Ella and I made two pizzas together. We made Hawaiian and… um…"
It was only then that she saw the news headline that was still being reported.
"What are you watching there, Cream?" she asked as she stepped into the lab and stood next to her friend.
"The jewel thief appears to be an alien, and based on its appearance, it is likely to be from the same planet Sonic the Hedgehog is from," continued Scarlet. "Additionally, we have confirmation that all the recent robberies are connected; a calling card similar to this one was left at the scene of each crime."
The calling card appeared on the screen. Amy and Cream shared a gasp when they saw whose picture was on the card.
"H… How did Rouge even get here?" Amy exclaimed. "I don't think she should even be here, unless… unless she was somehow in Chaos Control!"
"Miss Amy, she was there," Cream insisted.
Amy turned to Cream, confused. "Wait, how'd you know that?"
"Remember when Dr. Eggman was making me his prisoner inside his tower?"
Amy nodded.
"I saw Rouge hiding, and she winked at me. Maybe she knew you were coming to save me."
"Chao-chao!" Cheese echoed.
Amy pondered this for a moment.
"Why was Rouge even there to begin with…?"
She paused, and her eyes widened as realization hit her.
"Oh wait wait wait! Maybe she found out that all seven Chaos Emeralds were going to be together. You know how much she loves treasure, and she definitely wouldn't wanna pass up an opportunity like that!"
"That makes a lot of sense, Miss Amy!" Cream said as she stood up.
Amy started back toward the door. "Come on!" she urged excitedly. "The pizza isn't gonna eat itself, you know."
Cream giggled as followed her friend down the ladder and out of the lab. Cheese switched off the TV and joined them.
Station Square – Tue September 21; 12:02 PM – Sonic's POV
Tails and I were in the X-Tornado, scouring the city for any signs of a Chaos Emerald. So far, we were not having any luck at all. Not even the Miles Electric seemed to be helping us this time.
This time, instead of riding on the wing as I usually did, I was sitting right behind Tails. He said it was best for me to sit with him, so I could save my energy in case we ran into trouble. Besides, there was the off-chance it could be a long search. I decided he was right, so… there I was.
Before we left, Tails asked Chris if he wanted to come along, since he loved doing things with us. Sadly, he couldn't come with us because he had school. However, we agreed to go back and pick him up after school so we could look for the Emeralds together. I couldn't blame him for wanting to do everything with us, though; if anyone was in Chris' shoes and they were once as lonely and without friends like him, I'm sure they too would want to hang out with their friends as much as possible.
We agreed to not go anywhere near Eggman's base today. At the moment, it felt like we were underprepared for an attack on the base, and besides, I would know when the opportunity would arise, but it definitely wasn't now.
As we flew on, we concluded that there was nothing in the north part of town. The Chaos Emeralds seemed way harder to find this time, especially with the limited technology we had now compared to when we were back on Mobius. I hoped that we would find something by the end of the day, just to prove that our outings weren't pointless.
The White House – Tue September 21; 5:48 PM EDT – Third-person POV
The Oval Office was abuzz with activity. Among its many occupants were President Remerson, Vice President Adrian McMahon, Rod Stafford, Jerome Wise, and several aides, advisers, and chairmen. The President had just announced that he plans to launch an attack on Dr. Robotnik's headquarters.
"I consider Robotnik to be a threat to not only the safety of the city of Station Square, but to the safety and welfare of the entire world as well," he said. "He has been here for only a month, and already he has damaged the Eckstein Building in Station Square, sought to steal dangerous foreign gemstones, held several children hostage at a school, attacked the opening ceremony of Thorndyke Resort and Spa, and even tampered with federal and international satellites."
"All of these acts in themselves are more than enough to incriminate him," Jerome pointed out. "Robotnik is a menace to America's infrastructure, as well as society as a whole."
"Mr. President, how can we defeat him if every aspect of his technology is vastly superior to our own?" Stafford asked, raising a point.
"So far, we have observed his frequent use of laser weaponry, hovercrafts, miniaturized missiles, highly advanced drones, combat robots, and various other tools of destruction," one chairman spoke.
"The military has succeeded in salvaging the remains of the robot destroyed during Robotnik's first attack," reported another chairman. "It was brought to Area 99 and analyzed, and the staff concluded that its technology is nearly impossible to replicate on their own."
"Well, we do have one advantage over the doctor," the Vice President said optimistically. "Where he outmatches us in technology, we have him beat in combined intelligence."
"Hear, hear," agreed Jerome. "But I do have a suggestion. What if... we were to enlist the help of Sonic?"
The President thought for a moment. "Sonic," he repeated.
"The only individual who has been consistently successful in thwarting Dr. Robotnik's schemes is one Sonic the Hedgehog and those closely affiliated with him," explained Stafford. "It is possible they may be our only hope."
"Perhaps," the President said, closing his eyes. "Is it possible to communicate with Sonic? I mean, does he speak English?"
"Of course," confirmed Stafford. "Our officials have observed Sonic speaking English on numerous occasions."
President Remerson stood up. "Then it's settled," he announced. "We will arrange a part for Sonic in the attack on Robotnik's headquarters."
"With all due respect," a chairman spoke up, "suppose Sonic refuses."
"I wouldn't worry," the Vice President replied. "Sonic has always been around to stop the doctor every time he appears. Either way, it's a victory for us, and for our country."
Oakwood Elementary – Tue September 21; 8:38 PM – Chris' POV
I picked up the purple pencil and began to color the next Emerald, making sure to shade it. If I colored it in one shade of purple, it wouldn't look as good as I might have wanted it to.
Today, we had extra time in class, so Mr. Stewart had announced that our class was joining the school's art contest. This year, the theme was "Out of This World." Upon hearing the name of the theme, I knew exactly what I wanted to draw.
My picture of Earth and the seven Chaos Emeralds was coming along nicely. I had picked them because they were out of this world in more ways than anyone could possibly imagine.
I had known about the contest since last week, which gave me time to prepare for it. I had asked Tails to tell me again what the colors of the seven Emeralds were. I had only seen two of the seven Emeralds, so I knew I could use a touch-up on what the others looked like.
So there I was, drawing the Emeralds with colored pencils. I found that they were much more effective than pens, crayons, or markers. I decided that it was best to color the blackness of space last after I had colored everything else.
As per the new usual, I shared my table with Danny, Frances, and Helen. I had gotten used to being with them, and I would even say they would be my best friends if it weren't for Sonic, even though I didn't know my classmates all that well yet.
It was then that Danny noticed what I was drawing.
"Hey, aren't those the gemstones that Sonic's trying to find?" he asked.
"Yeah," I whispered. "They're called Chaos Emeralds." I leaned closer to Danny. "My friends are trying to find all seven of them so they can get back home."
Just then I came up with a brilliant and daring idea. I would have been against this on any other day, but today, I felt daring.
"Hey guys…" I whispered with some unbridled excitement in my tone. "Wanna come over to my house after school? Because I really want you to meet Sonic and his friends!"
Danny, Frances, and Helen's eyes all widened at the same time, with a shared expression of "Really?!" However, Frances looked a bit sad.
"Sorry, but I can't come today," she said regretfully. "I'm gonna be going out to the movies."
"And I need to be back home so we can fly out to see my grandma in Idaho," Helen said. "Maybe later, though."
"Hey you guys, let's keep the chatting to a minimum and focus on your pictures, okay?" Mr. Stewart requested from the front of the class. He then got up from his seat and walked around the room, looking at the pictures the other students were making, complimenting and making notes of them.
Danny leaned forward in his seat. "I can still come today. How far away is your house?"
"I think it's about seven minutes when I'm on my bike," I answered before returning to my work.
However, Mr. Stewart stopped when he came to my picture. I looked up just in time to see his eyebrows raise in the slightest movement.
"Hey, I'm just curious, are those the same kind of gemstones you and Sonic are collecting lately?" he quietly asked, fortunately making sure the other students were out of earshot. I nodded.
"Pretty cool," he noted. "I'm going to have to do my own research on them someday, and maybe find out why they're called 'emeralds' when not all of them are green, you know?"
He bent down and whispered, "Oh, and, uh, speaking of Emeralds, that reminds me, a friend of mine told me he heard there was a red Chaos Emerald in an abandoned warehouse up in Silky Heights, so tell that to Sonic as soon as you get home, okay? I think you can still get it if you hurry."
As Mr. Stewart moved on to the remaining few pictures, I couldn't help but smile. Chaos Emerald number three was practically found already!
Just then the school bell went off, which kicked off my mission to find that Chaos Emerald. I must have been the first to leap out of my seat.
Except I realized, there were still several classes left today. I was being very impetuous.
"Remember to turn in your homework assignments tomorrow, and you can continue your drawings as well. Heads up, the deadline is Friday, September 24."
But I barely heard him as we filed out the door. There was a newly-found Chaos Emerald on the line, and I wanted to make sure my friends and I got to it first before anyone else did.
Thorndyke Mansion – Tue September 21; 3:23 PM – Chris' POV
As Danny and I entered through the gates of home, Danny looked around, looking very awed at the sheer scale of the property.
"Whoa, your house is like… huge, Chris…!" he said.
"Yeah," I replied, excitement welling up for my friend, seeing that he was about to meet my friends for the first time.
As we approached the front door, we saw it swinging opening for us. Mr. Tanaka was standing there in the foyer, waiting for us,.
"Welcome home, Master Chris," he greeted. "And I see you've brought a friend today."
"Yeah," I nodded. "This is Danny from school."
But Danny didn't say anything to Tanaka; he was so mesmerized at the size of the foyer alone. I was sure that for anyone outside my family, just being in my house made them feel like millionaires.
Entering the foyer, I looked in the direction of the living room.
"Okay, I know they're usually home at this time, so I think they should be around here somewhere," I told Danny.
And my hunch was correct. I spotted Amy, Tails, Cream, and Cheese in the living room, gathered around the card table. It looked like they were playing gin rummy, which was a game Ella had taught them. I wasn't really surprised to see that Sonic wasn't here.
"Hi, Chris!" they all said in near-perfect unison before Amy stood up, noticing Danny.
"Hey, are you one of Chris' friends?" she asked him.
"Yeah, I'm Danny," he introduced himself. "Chris was telling me a lot about you guys."
As my friends shook hands with him and introduced themselves, I looked around the room quickly.
"Um, is Sonic still out right now?" I asked.
"Yeah," Tails confirmed. "We didn't have any luck out there, so as soon as we came back, Sonic said he would have a go at it on his own for a while."
"Chris told me about the baseball game you guys were in," he started, looking at Tails, who nodded. "I saw some of it on TV, but I didn't get to see the whole thing. Did you guys win?"
Tails rubbed his arm, unsure of how to answer Danny's question.
"…Yes and no…" he replied, which brought confusion to Danny. "I mean… yeah, we technically won, but Dr. Eggman got away with one of the Chaos Emeralds."
"Oh, so was that the glow I saw at the stadium?" Danny asked in realization.
"Yeah, it was," confirmed Amy. "I think it happened because, um… some of the Chaos Emeralds were reuniting with each other. Um… It's actually a bit more complicated than that, but it's kinda hard to explain, and we just met."
"It's okay," said Danny.
I noticed that Amy didn't mention the Master Emerald, because I didn't know if Danny would understand it. Even I have a hard time wrapping my head around the whole Master Emerald thing.
And then I remembered something…
"Oh oh oh! Speaking of Emeralds," I spoke up, "my teacher said he thinks there's a Chaos Emerald in Silky Heights!"
I could swear that Tails, Amy, and Cream's jaws all dropped at the same time. This was like bombshell news to them, probably the best news any of us had heard all day.
"That makes number three!" Cream piped up, holding up three small fingers.
"Two if we get it before Eggman does," added Amy.
"Oh yeah..." Cream said, remembering the baseball game.
"Okay, I know what we're doing this afternoon!" Tails excitedly exclaimed as he turned toward the door. "I'm gonna go warm up the X-Tornado. Cream and Cheese, I think you should stay here just in case it gets dangerous, okay?"
"Okay, Mr. Tails!" Cream agreed as she and Cheese waved. "Bye-bye!"
"Bye, Cream!" Amy and I said at almost the same time as we, Tails, and Danny headed toward the side door.
The four of us walked through the yard in the direction of the garage and the X-Tornado. It was a good thing Tails decided to leave the X-Tornado outside for occasions like this. We hadn't gotten a storm in quite a while, so he figured it was okay for him to leave it outside.
"I didn't think to ask this until just now," Tails began, "but Danny, do you wanna come with us and look for the Emerald?"
Now Danny was able to have a good look at the X-Tornado up close, and I could tell that he was amazed at its sleek and unique design.
"Wait, do you mean… I actually get to fly with you in there?" he asked with an undertone of sheer joy.
Tails chuckled. "Yeah, only if you want!"
Danny let out a whoop of joy. It seemed there was something about going on adventures with Sonic and his friends that brought indescribable joy to me, and if that joy was a disease, then it was contagious.
"Okay, then it's settled! So Danny, you can sit in the back with Chris, and Amy's gonna sit up front with me. Sound good?" Tails asked. He looked like he was feeling secondhand joy from Danny.
"Yup!"
"Also, I got some good news," he announced. "I finally got some free time, so I was finally able to build the new ladder I kept talking about, so that means everyone can have an easier time getting in."
"That's great!" I commented.
Tails was walking toward a specially-constructed ladder. It has six rungs, and while it was big and cumbersome, it had four wheels and a locking mechanism so that it wouldn't move too much when people were climbing on it.
So Tails began to push the ladder into position next to the X-Tornado, then locked it into place as Danny climbed it toward the fourth seat.
"Oh Tails, there's something I really wanted to tell you since you left," Amy said.
"Yeah?" the fox replied.
"Just a heads up, we're gonna have some extra competition from here on out, just so you know."
Tails looked confused. "What do you mean?" he asked, his head tilting slightly to one side.
"We were watching the news this morning, and we found out Rouge made it here too," Amy recalled.
"Whoa, really?" Tails voiced his surprise. "Yeah, okay… That's gonna complicate things for sure," he said.
"Wait, who's Rouge?" I asked.
"Rouge the Bat… she's a treasure hunter who works for the government back on Mobius," Amy explained as she scaled the ladder toward the second seat. "Specifically, GUN." By this point, I had been told that GUN exists on Mobius as well.
I too climbed in and buckled up as Tails made sure Danny was secure in the seat behind me.
"So, uh… How did Rouge get here if she wasn't in the fortress with you?" I asked a follow-up question.
"It turns out she actually was," Amy said as Tails finished securing Danny in and flew above us to his own seat. "Cream told me she was secretly spying on Eggman inside the base. It was probably because all seven Chaos Emeralds were there, but I don't know for sure."
Once we were all settled in, Tails pressed the buttons that closed the hatches over us and turned on the engines. Once again, it was so quiet inside.
"You okay back there, Danny?" Tails asked.
"Yup," came the reply. "And I didn't know you have an air conditioner and cup holder back here, too!"
"Yeah, I thought you'd like them," Tails replied with a smile from the front. "It's a good thing I recently installed the intercom in here, so that means both compartments can communicate to each other. Before I made that upgrade, you couldn't even talk to anyone in the other compartment. Cream learned the hard way."
"Yeah…" replied Amy.
Silence reigned in the craft as Tails set the coordinates. I could finally say this was my first real trip in the X-Tornado. The only other time I was in it was when I was being brought back home from the disaster of an opening ceremony. Fortunately, that was scheduled to reopen in just over a week from now.
"It's really quiet in here, even with the engines on," Danny remarked.
"Yeah, I know!" replied Tails. "Okay, I'm gonna take off now, so hang on tight!"
The plane began to taxi down the driveway. As it picked up speed, I saw the upper wings unfolding on either side of us. It was still amazing that our driveway essentially turned into a runway for Tails.
I noticed that no one bothered to lower the palm trees this time. The remote was in the garage, and besides, the X-Tornado was able to easily clear the trees. Tails usually stuck to the dead center of the driveway just in case, though.
"Taking off!" he announced.
The plane quickly lifted off the ground, beautifully clearing the trees on the other side of the road.
As the landing gear retracted and the lower wings extended, I turned back to look at Danny.
"Are you okay back there?" I asked.
"Yeah, this is really cool!" Danny said in awe as he looked down at the scenery passing by far below us. I had to admit, it was truly a sight to behold.
No one said much after that. However, I could hear the chatter up front through the intercom.
"So where's Silky Heights from here?" Amy asked.
There was a pause.
"Um… Let me check… It's about thirty-ish miles south-southeast," Tails responded. "It's closer to Los Angeles than Station Square."
"Can you please hurry?" Amy urged. "Because I feel like it's possible Rouge already got there!"
"I'm doing my best," Tails said. "Hey Chris, did your teacher say where in Silky Heights the Emerald is?"
I thought for a moment. It wasn't as fresh in my memory as I thought it would be, since I had all the other classes between then and now. I thought back hard.
"Um… I think he said a warehouse somewhere…?" I recalled. "I don't know where, though."
"Okay," said Tails. "Hopefully the scanners are gonna pick it up like before."
The warehouse – Tue September 21; 2:05 PM – Third-person POV
It was about two in the afternoon when Rouge the Bat landed on the grounds just outside an abandoned warehouse. She figured she had about two hours to kill before the boy Sonic had befriended would raise the alarm about the Chaos Emerald that was supposedly there.
It didn't take the bat very long to piece together that Sonic was staying at a mansion where the boy lived. During her time on Earth so far, she had caught a few glimpses of him. Furthermore… Sonic seemed to be secretly following him to school sometimes… but why?
So one day, she decided to go on a little interception mission of her own. She planned to check in on the boy at school - and it was a good thing she was at the right place at the right time. As a bat, her excellent hearing allowed her to listen in on a conversation from just outside his classroom's window. The boy's teacher was telling him something about a Chaos Emerald in an abandoned warehouse in Silky Heights.
She had been worried that the Chaos Emeralds didn't make it to Earth, until she caught word of the green Emerald surfacing in midtown Station Square. She was too far away to claim it, so she decided to leave it to Sonic. She was also there at Diamond Stadium to watch most of the ball game that was going on. It was most unusual, to be honest.
As Rouge watched the boy's teacher walk back to his desk, she decided to wing it. There seemed to be something different about that man… He wasn't what he seemed… In fact, Rouge could swear she was picking up familiar vibes from him.
Having been on this strange yet familiar world for over four weeks now, Rouge had gotten a pretty good idea of her surroundings. She knew by heart where Silky Heights was located, but it still took her a few hours to finally find the warehouse. The boy's teacher should have been more descriptive of its location.
Nevertheless, when Rouge found an old, decaying building, she was sure she had reached her destination. There was still a sign that pointed her in its direction, even years after the building's closure. So she repositioned it so that no one else could follow her. Besides, no one would suspect it was her who changed the sign. A little misdemeanor wouldn't hurt anybody.
She planned to hold onto the Emerald as soon as she found it, at least until all the others were found. She didn't have the desire to hoard them for herself and end up keeping everyone here. These days, she wasn't as much of a jewel thief, but she felt her old habits slipping back in when she learned of all the different kinds of jewels that were in store for her here on Earth.
Now, Rouge was advancing toward the warehouse. A nearby sign said it was private property, though that didn't deter her one bit. Looking around, she saw that the place had been abandoned for quite some time. The grass was overgrown, there was graffiti everywhere, and there was even a broken window - her way in, she decided.
She braced herself, flapped her wings, and expertly flew through the window. Not a single shard of exposed glass grazed her fur or wings.
So how did Rouge get here?
The fateful day she was sent here was one of her days off from GUN work. Being the spy she was, it didn't take her very long to catch word of Cream's capture, the ransom, and the plan to rescue her.
Shadow and Omega couldn't be bothered to help; they had their own things to do. She really missed them, and she didn't know if she would see them again, as she knew as a fact that they were not there at the fortress when Chaos Control occurred.
Knowing all the secret entrances to Eggman's fortress, Rouge was able to sneak inside without being detected by the surveillance or any robots. Even though security was heightened that night, she didn't let that stop her from getting to the command center.
Rouge used the relatively unguarded ventilation system to access the command center, and she found a perch where she could overlook the action. She was able to spot Cream in a heartbeat. It didn't take overly long for Cream to find out she was there, and, to confirm that help was on the way, she put a finger to her lips and gave a secret wink. Cream seemed confused at first, but she seemed to understand, because she returned the wink.
Rouge wondered if that was a mistake, as Bokkun seemed suspicious of the cryptic activity. Rouge, however, knew the courier robot had a little something going on with Cream. Young love was always precious. If she wanted him to do something, she knew exactly what she would do. A little blackmail wouldn't hurt anybody, she figured.
Relief spread through Rouge when she saw Sonic bursting the wall. His friends followed moments later, and the inevitable fight ensued. She would have joined in as well, but she couldn't find an opportunity. Besides, she wasn't really able to obtain any of the Chaos Emeralds without detection. And she couldn't escape in time to avoid the phenomenal Chaos Control explosion that occurred mere moments later.
Rouge shook her head to clear her mind. She was getting distracted again. She was on a mission, and she wouldn't back down, especially when a Chaos Emerald was involved.
She looked around the spacious room, taking occasional glances through her Jewel Scope she always carried with her, to no avail.
"Where are you, my pretty…?" she purred to herself. She promised herself that she would do anything to get the Chaos Emeralds, not just for her own pleasure, but to keep them out of the hands of Dr. Eggman, at least until it was time to return to Mobius. Rouge never did truly consider Eggman to be a real villain; to her, he was just a misshapen, misunderstood individual. She had worked both with him and against him various times before.
Her sixth sense began to kick in. A thought crossed her mind that she wasn't alone in this old, dark building. Still, she decided to keep her wits about her and continue on with the search. When she was done, she planned to kick back and relax-
That glow.
That warm, familiar glow.
Rouge looked down over the edge of the catwalk she was crossing to see a glint of light that caught her eye. Could it be…?
She flapped her wings and lifted herself down over the ledge and onto the ground below. But she was dismayed when she saw that the object was not a Chaos Emerald, but a shiny red glass ball slightly smaller than an Emerald.
She had been clearly informed that there was a Chaos Emerald here. Had she been tricked?
"Don't move!"
"On the ground!"
"Hands behind your back!"
These and other authoritative cries filled her ears. There was only one organization that acted this aggressive back home. Nevertheless, the Mobian bat complied.
A female agent with short, dark blonde hair stepped forward from the group of soldiers behind Rouge. Even though her hair was short, she brushed it to one side away from her eyes.
"So… I take it you're behind the recent string of jewel thefts around here," she identified.
Rouge smirked from the floor. "Guilty as charged."
"Stop acting so flippant!" the agent demanded. "Don't you realize you are in the custody of the Guardian of the United Nations?"
Rouge was taken aback. That was not the acronym she was so used to. She turned her head to face the group.
"W-Whoa whoa, h-hold up a second," she stuttered. "Guardians of the United Nations? I have to admit, that's a new one. Although, you do got that familiar rough edge I'm so used to."
The agent would have silenced Rouge again, but it was her turn to be taken by surprise. In fact, it was a mixture of both shock and slight anger.
"How do you know us?" she asked curtly.
Rouge debated how to answer than question.
"Hon, you wouldn't believe a word I said if I told you," Rouge stated.
"Hit me," the agent dared, before pausing a moment. A grimace crossed her face. "Hmph... Never mind; we'll do this at HQ. Stand up."
Rouge rose to her feet, feeling glad to be off the dirty floor, which was clearly not good for her fur, let alone restrained by tough soldiers on said floor. The female agent then proceeded to handcuff Rouge's arm to her own to prevent her from escaping. Rouge was mildly surprised at the agent's strength.
"Pretty tough for an old lady, I gotta say," Rouge wisecracked. This set off the agent.
"Watch your mouth," she demanded. "You're lucky I didn't slap you just now."
"Stand down, Topaz," the GUN captain instructed. Even in the darkness of the warehouse, Rouge could tell by the captain's rank badge that he was indeed a GUN captain.
"State your name," he ordered.
"Rouge the Bat," she recited without missing a beat.
The captain nodded. "Rouge the Bat, okay. You fell for a trap that we set for Sonic the Hedgehog."
Rouge's eyes widened. "Oh really?" she said with intrigue. "Looks like somebody made a pretty big mistake-"
"Zip it," the female agent seethed.
"One sec, lady. What makes you think you can ever catch Big Blue anyway? And more importantly, what do you want with him?"
"That's classified information," the captain responded. "Now come with us quietly. We will be watching you very closely."
As the agent named Topaz led Rouge onward with the rest of the GUN troop, Rouge had absolutely no fear at the prospect of being their prisoner. In fact, she believed she had a pretty good shot at even joining the ranks of this world's GUN.
GUN Commissioner's Office – Tue September 21; 2:47 PM – Third-person POV
Rouge was now sitting quietly in the office of the Station Square GUN Commissioner's office. She was under heavy surveillance, so escape was nearly impossible – not that she wanted to, of course. The drive there in the back of a GUN mobile headquarters was shorter than she expected. She figured it was because the headquarters was located on the southern outskirts of the city.
So there she was, sitting in the midst of nine guards. Under the captain's orders, she was to stay there until the commissioner arrived. How soon that would be was as good a guess as anybody's.
However, the stone silence in that stuffy office was getting deafening.
"Hey, anyone got any coffee around here?" Rouge dared to ask.
"You are to remain silent," the guard closest to Rouge stated.
Rouge smirked in reply. She had a knack for getting her way sometimes. After all, she wasn't part of Mobius' GUN for nothing. She knew that, as soon as the opportunity presented itself, she could get what she wanted.
Just then the female agent, the one the captain addressed as Topaz, entered the room. She reminded Rouge of someone she used to work with, down to the appearance.
"Commissioner James Perrault will be here soon to speak with you, Rouge," she announced, before leaning toward Rouge's face. "Don't give him a hard time."
Rouge was completely unfazed. It wasn't like she hadn't dealt with harsh superiors before.
"While you're here," Rouge stopped Topaz as she was about to leave the room, "could you get me some coffee? I've been on my feet all day and could stand to down a little caffeine."
Topaz turned back to Rouge from the doorway. "You're a GUN prisoner," she emphasized. "You have no right to just simply demand whatever you want from us. This is not a five-star hotel."
"Isn't that a little harsh?" Rouge answered back in mock hurt.
"Get her a coffee, Topaz," the captain requested. It seemed like he too didn't feel like putting up with Rouge's laid-back nature.
"Easy on the caffeine, though," Rouge butted in, "and make it dark."
Grudgingly saluting to her captain, Topaz stepped out of the room to get her coffee. Just like that, Rouge was already entitled to GUN's coffee.
Rouge was lucky to be a bat, for she could hear Topaz mutter under her breath, "She's going to drive me up a wall. Thinks she's all that." Rouge couldn't help but smirk.
Ever since the days when Sonic went to recover the Lost Hex and battle the Deadly Six, Mobius' GUN had been recruiting more and more Mobians, mostly because Commander Abraham Tower said he wanted "more people like Rouge and Shadow". They proved to be a vital asset during the Phantom War, as they were once able to storm a heavily fortified outpost and drive one of Dr. Eggman's Egg Bosses into custody.
Not long afterward, Topaz entered the room with a steaming hot cup of coffee.
"Your Majesty's brew," she muttered as she handed the cup to the bat.
"There, that wasn't so hard, was it? So, they call you Topaz around here?" Rouge asked. Topaz raised an eyebrow, wondering what the alien was getting at. "Well, did you know that topazes have a hardness of 8 on the Mohs scale? That means they can only be scratched by corundums and diamonds."
Topaz shook her head. "You're quite the smart-alec, aren't you…" she dryly commented.
Just then all the guards stood to attention as Commissioner Perrault entered the office. Topaz snapped to attention a little late, though, as she was distracted with Rouge.
Perrault seemed very much like Commander Tower back home, but was slightly shorter and had a softer face.
"Westwood, Topaz, thank you for waiting," he said as he took his seat behind the desk. Rouge turned her own seat to face the commissioner.
"So you're Rouge the Bat, aren't you," he stated. Rouge waved slightly.
"That's little old me," she answered, earning her a scowl from Topaz. She was a real piece of work in return.
"I believe you're already acquainted with Sergeant Topaz and Captain Eric Westwood of GUN Division Alpha," Perrault continued.
So she was a sergeant… That would explain why she was a bit rough around the edges… Not to mention she was a higher-up.
"Anyway, it strikes me that you seem to be very laid-back in spite of the situation you are in. In fact, I'm sure you already know the authorities have a warrant for your arrest."
Rouge nodded, taking a sip from her coffee. She sighed; it really hit the spot.
"And furthermore, you raised a very interesting question earlier. You claim to have… somehow… worked with us before. How, though? How do you know us?"
Rouge cleared her throat. "Well, believe it or not, my world, which is a planet called Mobius – as in the Moebius strip – has its own version of Station Square and GUN, and I work for GUN there – or used to before I came here, I mean. And on top of that, we call our GUN the Guardian Units of Nations, but here it seems to be called… what did you call it again? Guardians of the United Nations?"
Perrault nodded as he took a moment to mull this information over and let it sink in.
"Very confusing," he said at last, "but interesting." He then shifted gears in the conversation. "Moving on; judging by all the security footage we were sent for examination, we know what you are capable of, and, in fact… we would like to make a deal with you."
Rouge perked up. This could be her big moment.
"We will make arrangements to grant you immunity from your crimes in exchange for your official service for GUN. Do you agree?"
"I agree," Rouge calmly answered. But she was anything but calm on the inside. Secretly, she was exhilarated, but she dared not show it.
Being with GUN would legally get her close to any Chaos Emerald, and, given the opportunity, she could even claim it. She planned to hold onto it until it was time to return home. She knew Eggman had at least one from the baseball game. She would have to find out for herself if he managed to secretly acquire any others.
"Now when you say official service, do you mean field or desk?" Rouge asked for clarification.
"Field service, as in a front lines GUN agent."
Rouge shuddered at the term "front lines". Fighting was not her style. Stealth suited her much more.
"Oh, okay," she said as she leaned back in her chair once more.
"There is one condition, though."
Rats. Too good to be true.
"You must be willing to answer any and all questions you are asked."
"I am," Rouge nodded.
Perrault leaned across the desk and extended his hand toward Rouge, which she shook.
"You are now an unofficial recruit, Rouge; however, you will still have to go through training," he said. "Even if you were a highly-trained agent back on your world, you still need to prove to us you're not all hat and no cattle."
That was a small price to pay for her services with GUN; it wasn't anything she hadn't done before.
"I accept," Rouge calmly said.
Perrault rose to his feet and moved over to the front of the desk.
"Normally I don't do this," he said, "but we already have a mission prepared, and we will arrange a part for you immediately."
Rouge looked up at the commissioner expectantly.
"Ooh, a stress test," she said to herself. "I like the sound of that."
"You are to go with Sergeant Topaz and Captain Westwood to Dr. Robotnik's headquarters on Santa Maria Island."
Rouge could sense Topaz cursing inwardly behind her. She must have been holding quite a grudge with her. It must have been because Rouge was calm and collected, as well as pushy with her – not the kind of teammates Topaz preferred to work with, Rouge gathered.
"This mission has been in the planning stages for quite some time," Perrault continued, "but the reconnaissance agents stationed on the island have reported back, saying they detected an energy shield surrounding the entire main tower. This is why we have not launched an attack the whole time Robotnik was here." He paused to let those words soak in. "However, that is going to change today. Engineers have developed a device they are sure will penetrate the shield, so now is as good a time as any to launch this mission."
He waved everyone toward the door. "You are all dismissed. Report for briefing in twenty minutes."
As everyone else filed out of the room, Rouge turned back to Perrault. "So, um… Does this mean I can't keep the jewels I stole?" she asked with some dismay.
"That's right; you will still need to return the jewels, but we will make sure the authorities do not press charges. Now off you go."
As Rouge followed her new comrades out of the office, Rouge was inwardly disappointed that all her hard work had to be undone. On the bright side, though, her kleptomania was able to land her in GUN. Funny how things worked that way.
Station Square – Tue September 21; 6:52 PM – Chris' POV
The internal clock in my compartment of the X-Tornado read 6:52. We had been sitting still for the past three hours, and I was getting very restless. I stifled a yawn, and it seemed Tails heard me.
"I'm sorry, guys…" he said. "I had no idea we'd be out this long…"
"Hey Tails," Amy spoke up, "do you think you can land somewhere so we can stretch and the kids can use the bathroom?"
"Sure," Tails said. "I kinda need to stretch too anyway."
"Same here," said Amy.
That's when I realized just how much I needed the bathroom. I hadn't gone since school was out. I hoped Tails could land us near a gas station or a fast food place so we could relieve ourselves.
We began to descend toward a grassy area flanked by a few trees. The sun was setting, but there was still plenty of light left for us to see where we were landing.
We made a beautiful three-point landing and slowed to a stop on the smooth grassy lot. It was more than likely that we were seen landing, but there wasn't really time to care about small things like that. What did matter, though, was that there was a Subway nearby.
After Tails helped me and Danny down (the ladder would have come in handy about now), we made our way over to the Subway and walked inside toward the bathrooms. I was pretty hungry, though. As much as I wanted one a sub (and I knew Danny did too), I didn't have any money, and we didn't have any adult supervision. And I sure couldn't bring Tails and Amy in there either.
Both restrooms were vacant, and it only took us about a minute to do our business and walk out. We made our way up the hill and through the trees back toward where the X-Tornado had landed. There we saw Tails and Amy looking through one of the X-Tornado's external compartments. At a closer look, I saw that it was filled with several small bags of chips, bottled water, and candy bars.
"I didn't know you had food in the plane," I marveled.
"Oh, you're back," said Tails, just now noticing me. "Yeah, it was actually Cream's idea for if we ever went on longer flights. This is gonna be our dinner break for now, because sadly, we can't really abandon the Emerald. Like… Literally anyone can claim it."
"Yeah... okay," I nodded.
"We'll eat a good proper meal when we get home," Amy added.
We selected our snacks and some water and began eating. I picked the original Lays, while Danny chose cool ranch Doritos.
"What I don't understand is how my scanners haven't picked up the Chaos Emerald yet," Tails mentioned after a few moments. "I mean, I'm pretty sure I've been over the whole area by now."
Amy turned to Danny and me. "Guys, are you 100% sure your teacher told you there was a Chaos Emerald in a warehouse here in Silky Heights?" she asked in a somewhat pointed manner.
Danny was slightly taken aback. "Y-Yes," he answered, "but Mr. Stewart never said what kind of warehouse."
"And Sonic is still looking for it?" I asked.
"I haven't seen him since half an hour ago, so I don't know," Tails recalled. "I don't think he would have stopped, he… he doesn't give up easily."
Amy finished her bag of chips and set it aside. "Chris, I think you should text home to let your family know we're out," she said. "You know we don't want them worrying about you."
"You're right," I said, pulling my phone from my pocket.
I started to text Grandpa, telling him we were searching for a Chaos Emerald, but we were running late, and the search was harder than we thought. It was kind of difficult to text with the chips' grease on my fingers. At least I could always clean the screen later.
While I was texting, Danny asked, "Did we cover all the ground here yet?"
"For the most part," Tails answered before taking a sip from his water bottle. "Silky Heights is a pretty small place, but I honestly wouldn't be surprised if there are still a few stones left unturned. For all we know, the warehouse is just outside the region."
"Hey Danny, I think maybe you should text your folks too," I recommended once I sent the text.
"I can't; I didn't bring my phone," he said. I didn't have Danny's number (yet), so I couldn't text them myself either.
A minute later, my phone pinged with a text from Grandpa. Even though he was born way before the Millennials and Generation Z, he was still able to get their lingo, and he even used it whenever he could. He was a kid at heart sometimes. But professionally, he used plain English.
"Don't let anyone see you, and please be fast. Cream is getting worried," I read.
"It's not like we can just give up on the search," Amy said, hands on hips. "Like Tails said, anyone can get the Emerald, especially Eggman. After all, he does have the technology to quickly find them."
"So do we," added Tails, "but the Emerald should glow if there's another Emerald nearby. That makes me kinda suspicious."
"Yeah, me too," agreed Amy.
It didn't take us much longer for us to finish our snacks and water.
"Okay, are we ready to get back in the air?" Tails asked.
"Is it okay if I can bring my chips in the plane?" asked Danny.
Tails shook his head. "Um… I don't think that a good idea, Danny. I don't really want any crumbs on the floor, as I wanna keep the X-Tornado really clean."
"Oh, okay," Danny said. "Where do we put our wrappers?"
"Just put 'em in the bin with the rest of the snacks for now." He gestured to the bin. "I'll throw away the garbage when we get back home."
After we put our trash in the bin, Tails lifted me, Danny, and Amy back into our seats.
"I'm formulating a plan to maybe add some retractable steps in the X-Tornado. That way we can get back in easier when we're away from home."
A few minutes later, Tails started the engines, and we were soon airborne once again.
"Tails, when's a good time to call it a night?" Amy asked from up front.
"Um… How about nine?" the fox suggested. "If we don't find anything in the greater region by then, we'll drop off Chris and Danny at Chris' place and keep looking ourselves for just a little while longer."
"Okay, sounds like a plan," Amy agreed.
A GUN military plane – Wed September 22; 1:03 AM – Third-person POV
It was now one in the morning. Rouge was in the back of a small military transport jet with Topaz, Captain Westwood, and two other officers. Everyone was equipped with parachutes, even Rouge. It was a good thing the bat got some well-needed caffeine in her system when she did. This was going to be a long night…
Rouge took another look at the device fastened to her wrist. It was under Westwood's orders that it be attached to her before departing. She was told that it was a tracking device, and that it would alert her new superiors should an escape attempt be made. A second warning would come in the form of a knockout pulse. This meant that the device ensured her usefulness to GUN.
"Is this thing really necessary?" Rouge deadpanned.
"Well, like I said," Westwood said from across the aisle, "we still don't have a legitimate reason to trust you, even if you do claim to work with a GUN branch on whatever planet you're from."
"What do you mean?" asked Rouge. "Does the security footage you reviewed not do me justice?"
Westwood was having none of it. "Mind you, young lady, this is not the GUN branch you are used to."
"Rouge. Out of curiosity," Topaz spoke from next to said bat, "does your version of GUN have bands like the one you're wearing?" Topaz seemed to have calmed down quite a bit since the briefing.
"Yes, they do," Rouge answered, "but they can double as explosive devices." Her eyes widened slightly in realization. "Don't tell me yours do too."
"You're out of luck," Westwood stated. "We'll only use it as a last resort unless you comply."
Rouge was a tad annoyed. "So you basically strapped a bomb to me knowing I've proven myself useful to my branch of GUN for over ten years. And besides, this looks a bit too gaudy to be a real bomb. In fact," she smirked, nudging Topaz, "it kind of looks like something a little old lady might wear."
The last of Topaz's sanity departed her as she rose to her feet. "Listen, if you don't shut up about the old lady thing, so help me I'm going to physically pick you up and throw you out of this-"
"Both of you, that's enough," demanded Westwood, holding a hand up. "Rouge, you are not going to jeopardize the mission, and Topaz, you're going to have to learn to cooperate with our new recruit."
"Girl can't take a joke..." Rouge muttered under her breath.
"Approaching drop point in thirty," came the pilot's voice over the intercom.
"All right, attention, everyone," Westwood called. "The first thing we do once we land is rendezvous with the reconnaissance party and search for an entrance to the place. Keep your eyes peeled; a cursory search hasn't revealed a single visible door. Remember the mission: locate and deactivate the fortress' generator."
"Rouge, assuming you and Robotnik are from the same planet, how well do you know about his fortress?" Topaz asked.
"Well enough to know he's got more than a few flaws in his security," Rouge said. "But GUN – my GUN – never sent me to the fortress; my discoveries were on solo missions."
"We have reached the drop point," the pilot announced.
Westwood the open the sliding door. "Let's go," he said, ushering Topaz, Rouge, and the two soldiers forward. All five of them leaped from the craft.
On their way down, they activated their parachutes. Rouge looked down at the island. While it was dark, it was illuminated by some lights coming from the main fortress. It was a pretty eerie sight. She was mildly surprised that there weren't any patrol units in sight anywhere on the island. There was no way the mission could be this easy…
About a minute later, the infiltration party touched down on the beach of Santa Rosa Island.
Rouge cast her parachute aside. "I totally didn't need that," she remarked. "I'm a bat. I can fly."
"It's GUN protocol," snapped Topaz. "You're supposed to wear a parachute."
"Keep your voices down," warned Westwood. "There could be sentries out there. Now let's go."
He quietly led his group in the direction the reconnaissance party was in. A minute later, they met up with the four soldiers gathered at their camp.
"Good to see you made it, Captain," one of the reconnaissance men said, rising from his perch and saluting once Westwood's party walked into the area.
"Is there anything new to report?" Westwood inquired.
"Nothing new since the dropship," came the reply.
Rouge perked up. "Dropship?"
Only then did the surveillance officer notice Rouge, and he was taken aback at how she wasn't exactly… human. He quickly regained his composure, though.
"Um, yes, uh, w-we observed a dropship leaving the base about five nights ago. When it returned a few hours later, the doctor was accompanying it, and we detected a strong energy signature with them."
Rouge nodded in understanding. Westwood took notice and turned to her.
"Tell us about that energy signature," he ordered pointedly.
"A Chaos Emerald," Rouge responded without hesitation.
"Chaos Emerald," repeated Topaz. "You're gonna have to be a bit more specific on that."
"Okay, so you know that gemstone that was playing havoc with machinery in town last month?" Rouge asked. Topaz and Westwood nodded. "That was a Chaos Emerald. There are seven of them in all."
"Everything seems to come in sevens, I see…" mused Topaz.
"Pardon my asking, but who is she?" the officer asked.
"This is Rouge the Bat," Westwood answered, motioning to the Mobian. "She's from the same world as Sonic, and she is our accomplice as well as our guide."
"Guide?" sassed Rouge. "For your 'guide', you sure are keeping me on a short leash. A girl needs room to breathe, you know?"
"Be quiet," ordered Westwood.
To the agents stationed on the island, he asked, "Are there any sentries out there tonight?"
"No, sir," the officer reported.
"Give us a heads-up in case there are."
"Yes, sir."
Over the next two minutes, Westwood's team began to take up positions outside the base in the bushes, so they could spy on it easily without being seen themselves.
Topaz lowered her night-vision binoculars. "There isn't a single patrol unit in sight," she reported. "Something's up."
Westwood mumbled his agreement. This was going to be harder than they thought…
Topaz pulled out another device – this one being a round object with a flat plane, not unlike a clothes iron – and inched her arm toward the fortress with the device in hand. Once her hand with the device went out far enough, it stopped when it pressed against something solid and invisible in midair. Upon contact, that section of the force field lit up in a brilliant shade of green, and a large hole appeared around the section where the device was. The hole was large enough for someone to walk through, which is exactly what the infiltration team did.
Once inside, Westwood took the binoculars from Topaz and scanned around the entire perimeter of the base.
"I'm not seeing an entry point anywhere," he mumbled. "I mean, there's literally no way in."
"Who says our way in has to be a door?"
All heads turned to Rouge as she bolted toward the fortress wall. Westwood reached for the controller to stun the bat.
"Wait!" Topaz halted the captain. "Let's see what she's going to do first."
Rouge spent a few moments scanning the walls, as if searching for a secret entrance. She then stopped, seeming satisfied, and Screw Kicked a certain part of the wall, creating a hole large enough for the group to walk inside.
"You're welcome," she nodded to the others before stepping inside.
As the rest of the GUN patrol followed Rouge inside the dark room of the base, Rouge thought to herself that maybe she could have been a little quieter.
"Wow…" was all Topaz could mutter as she entered last.
The room the GUN patrol was gathered in was dark and stuffy, with the moon being their only light source.
"This is a storage room Eggman doesn't use all that much," Rouge said. Topaz gave her a quizzical look. "You wonder how I know, hon? I've been snooping around the base long enough to know which rooms can be accessed from the outside."
Topaz looked mildly surprised at the nickname Rouge gave her, but quickly regained her composure.
"Good on you for finding us an entry point, but you can't run ahead of us," she scolded.
"I know," replied Rouge, "but without me, Eggman would surely know you're here by now. If you wanna be sneaky, then you're talking to the right girl."
Westwood pulled Topaz aside. "Rouge is acting as if she knows exactly what to expect," he whispered.
"Still," Topaz responded, "it's best to keep an eye on her."
While they were conversing, Rouge glanced around the closet and the various purple uniforms that were hanging on a clothes rack.
"That was sure exciting," she muttered.
"What are you talking about?" Topaz asked, squinting.
"Listen, about the second Chaos Emerald that came here a few days ago?" Rouge asked rhetorically. "Eggman 'won' that at a baseball game. You know anything about that?"
Topaz nodded. "Yeah, who doesn't?"
Rouge turned to the closet door and made a move for it, but Westwood grabbed her arm.
"Look, do you want me to help you or not?" Rouge asked with some frustration.
"What part of 'stay with us' do you not understand?" Westwood hissed.
"Unlike you, I know my way around this place, and besides, I can get to the Chaos Emerald faster on my own," she fired back, before she immediately regretted it.
"Let me remind you again; we're here to find the generator, not some fancy gem," Westwood explained.
"Well, what you don't understand is that Eggman plans to use all seven of those 'fancy gems' to literally conquer the world," retorted Rouge, struggling to keep her voice down.
But Westwood wouldn't give in. "Simply taking it from him won't defeat him in the end; only stall him. We've seen what he's done. He's still a threat even without any of these Emeralds. From now on, you're to do as I say."
"Fine," shrugged Rouge, "but don't come crying to me if your little operation goes wrong."
"Rouge, this is exactly why we needed you," Topaz jumped in. "Because you know this base so well. All you have to do is cooperate, okay?" To Westwood, she said, "Should we proceed, Captain?"
"Let me get my facility mapper out first," he said while pulling out a tablet-like device. While he booted it up, Topaz turned back to Rouge.
"Believe me, I used to be as headstrong as you," she said quietly. "But I underwent a lot of mental training and discipline, and I managed to rise to the rank of sergeant. Just cooperate, and you'll be well-respected, okay?" Rouge nodded.
It wasn't like Rouge had never been part of GUN before, but it seemed that, while things seemed the same with Earth's GUN, they were a bit different. In fact, they seemed to be the marines of the FBI and National Guard. They were much like the United States Marines, but were more utilitarian.
"Finished," Westwood announced a minute later. "We can proceed."
"Finally," muttered Rouge under her breath.
Westwood carefully opened the door, and the five agents looked around outside. It was well-lit, but there were absolutely no robots in sight.
"This must be Eggman's mandatory maintenance shift," surmised Rouge. "This is our lucky day…"
"So that's why we haven't seen any robots the whole time we're here?" Topaz asked as the group gingerly stepped out of the closet. "Not even a sentry…"
"Well, the thing is, the doctor is over-reliant on his force field. But that doesn't mean we should let our guard down." Rouge glanced up at the surveillance cameras. "He's got surveillance, but he's not doing anything. For all we know, maybe he didn't even expect us to come tonight."
Silky Heights – Tue September 21; 8:52 PM – Chris' POV
It was now almost nine – nearly two hours had passed since we took our break. It was almost time to head home at last.
For the past hour and a half, Danny and I had been playing Angry Birds on my phone back and forth. However, Danny wasn't as keen on playing while flying like I was, and he had to stop after a while.
So now I was absorbed in the game, trying to beat one of the harder levels. My battery life was around 40%, but I figured I wouldn't be out that much longer.
I looked up when I became aware of part of the conversation up front.
"I see Sonic waving to us," Tails was saying.
"So does that mean he found the warehouse?" Amy asked.
"Only one way to find out." In a slightly louder tone, he said, "Okay, guys, I think Sonic found the warehouse."
Down below, we could barely make out the run-down warehouse in the dark. It had a parking lot, but it was small and empty.
"Is this the place?" Tails called.
Danny sat up, having dozed off during the tranquil flight.
"Huh? Uh… Yeah, I think so," he said in a tired tone.
Over the next two minutes, we descended toward the abandoned parking lot. Granted, it was quite a bumpy landing, as the pavement had many cracks, not to mention weeds.
I yawned. As much as I wanted to go home, this was an important mission. I didn't want to chicken out of my friends' cause.
Once we stopped, both canopies opened, and Tails helped me and Danny down to the ground. Danny was shocked that Tails could actually fly, let alone carry him, and while he was a little bit scared, Tails was able to help him out. Meanwhile, Amy was able to get down on her own, since it seemed Mobians had a lot more agility than humans.
Sonic walked up to us.
"Well, it may have taken us about six hours tops, but I figured this is the place," he said.
"Yeah, it should be," I added.
"I would have found it sooner," Sonic continued, "but apparently the sign that was supposed to guide us here was pointing the wrong way, and that led me on a two-hour detour. But that being said, let's go have a peek inside and see if the Emerald's still there."
So the five of us began our walk across the parking lot toward the dark warehouse.
"Hey Sonic?" I began.
"Hm?"
"How did you know about the warehouse? I don't think we told you about it."
"Oh, Tails left a note for me at home," he explained. Tails nodded.
Sonic was pretty quiet after that. I couldn't really tell, but he seemed to have something on his mind.
"This place is already giving me the creeps," Amy shivered, "and we haven't even gone in yet."
"We're only here for the Chaos Emerald, and then we'll be right back out," Tails assured.
Taking deep breaths, we all entered the warehouse. Just like I thought, it was really creepy inside. There were a few broken windows, abandoned appliances, and even cobwebs; not to mention it was much cooler inside than it was outside.
The five of us looked in various places – under tables, inside cabinets – but there was no sign of a glow anywhere.
"Hey guys?" Sonic called. "What color is the Emerald?"
"Red," Danny and I said at the same time.
We continued our search and started to split up, but we made sure to not walk too far away from each other. It didn't help that Danny and I were really tired from being out all day. At the same time, I felt safe in my friends' company. There really were unlike any other friends anyone could ever have.
"So far I'm getting a big fat zero…" Sonic muttered.
"I think it would really help if we had a light with us," I said. It was just dark enough so that we couldn't easily make out some things.
"We could technically use the Miles Electric' screen," opted Tails, "but it's too big and bulky to really work as a flashlight."
If I thought I was tired, Danny seemed to be even more tired than I was. He had a hard time keeping his eyes open long enough to avoid nearly walking into a load-bearing pole. Amy stopped him in time, though.
"Hey Danny, I know you're tired, but can you at least try and stay awake enough to help us look for the Emerald?"
"I… I think so…" he said, stifling a yawn.
"Hey guys, over here! I found some stairs!" Tails called from across the room. Finally, something to break the monotony of tools, tables, cabinets, and other warehouse stuff. Plus, the room was a bit musty.
"Great job, Tails!" said Sonic, walking across the room to his brother. "I'll go first to make sure they're safe."
Step by step, he cautiously walked the stairs. Some of the steps creaked as he went, but he was able to make it to the bottom without any trouble.
"All clear," he called to us, flashing a thumbs-up.
The rest of us headed toward Sonic and Tails. Exhaustion got to us even more than what we already had, and Danny practically couldn't see, so Tails and Amy were with us to guide us down the stairs.
"You're not the only ones who are tired, guys," whispered Tails, "but we'll find the Emerald before you know it."
"Yup," Sonic said. "We're all gonna sleep good tonight."
Once we reached the bottom, I looked around. There was more of the same environment as upstairs, but there was broken glass on the floor in front of us.
"Watch out for the glass," Sonic cautioned as we bypassed it, making sure not to step on any of it, as we passed in front of the window where the glass used to be.
"Just how old is this place?" Amy wondered, looking around.
Tails ducked under a cobweb. "I don't know, but it's old enough to be rotting."
I glanced at a part of the wall that had been spraypainted. The warehouse had been vandalized as well. It was strange how no one was doing anything about it so far. No one was buying the property, no one was tearing down the building or fixing it up so it would shine once again, so it was just left the way it was. It was kind of sad now that I thought about it.
And speaking of shine…
My gaze rested on a shiny red object on a nearby shelf. Its glow was unmistakable.
"I think I found it!" I called.
Like moths to a flame, the others hurried over and gathered around me and the Emerald… or so I thought it was. Sonic got there first and picked it up.
"It's just a glass ball," he announced before setting it back on the shelf.
Tails looked up in dismay. "What…? Wait, does this mean…?"
Sonic nodded. "We've been duped."
"Or it may just be circumstantial," speculated Tails. "Maybe it's still around here somewhere." He paused as he realized his theory wouldn't work.
"Too many coincidences, Tails," Sonic said. "Besides, wouldn't your Chaos detector thingy pick it up if it was here?"
Tails slowly nodded. "You're right, someone did trick us."
Amy started to get worked up, and she paced back and forth. "Who in their right mind would feed us false information?" she ranted. "Chris, Danny, are you sure Mr. Stewart was telling you the truth?"
"I don't know," I responded. "I mean, I'm pretty sure this is the warehouse we're supposed to be at. But maybe the person who told Mr. Stewart accidentally made a mistake…"
Amy pondered this. "Maybe…?" she said. "Either that, or someone already got the Emerald and left that ball here instead to trick us."
Sonic nodded. "That checks out, because to me, Mr. Stewart doesn't sound like the kind of guy who would set you kids up." He glanced back at the glass ball. "This was done on purpose."
"But there's something else to consider here," Tails piped up. "Sonic, you said someone moved the sign that was pointing this way. Who could have done that?"
"Maybe someone else wants the Emerald," I guessed. "I think it can either be Eggman, or maybe that other guy you said to watch out for besides Eggman…" I had completely forgotten the name, and my friends seemed confused at who I was talking about for a moment.
At last Tails seemed to understand. "Oh, you mean Rouge?" he prompted.
"Whoa, hold up, did you say Rouge?" Sonic repeated, clearly surprised.
Amy nodded. "Yeah, Cream and I were watching the news this morning and we saw a story about her," she explained. "It looks like she went back to being a jewel thief."
Sonic shook his head slightly. "Unless she was somehow at the fortress when we got sent here, she shouldn't even be here."
"That's exactly what I thought this morning," Amy said. "And yet one way or another, here she is."
"So now the Chaos Emerald hunt has just kicked up a notch," he mused aloud. "Well, now that we know nothing's here, I think we should probably head back home."
Home… nothing sounded better than that right now.
With that, we began heading back toward the stairs to leave, but Tails stopped when he noticed Danny studying something. The fox broke away from us and headed over to him.
"What are you looking at…?" he asked softly.
"There's a footprint here," Danny quietly replied.
Tails crouched down to take a closer look at the footprint. It looked like it was made by a boot. Even though it was not well-noticed, his eyes widened at how familiar it looked.
"I guess no matter what world you're in, some things stay the same…" he mused.
"What do you mean by that? What did you find?" Amy asked as the rest of us gathered around Danny and Tails.
"Danny found a footprint here," Tails explained, "and to me, it looks like the only person who could have left it is someone working with GUN."
GUN… Now this was a new development… I was a bit surprised, and so were Sonic and Amy. What was GUN doing here?
"Good job, Danny," Tails smiled up at the boy. "This is a really huge discovery!"
"I may not be a GUN whiz like Rouge or Shadow," Sonic said, "but one thing for sure is they're very thorough in their operations, and never leave anything behind… even footprints in some cases."
"But what would they be doing here?" pressed Tails. "I mean-"
"EEEK!"
Suddenly Amy squealed, startling us all. I looked down to see a mouse scurrying away from us.
"I-I've h-had it with th-this place," Amy said in a shaky voice.
"Okay," a sympathetic Sonic said. "Time to go."
So we walked back up the stairs together, Sonic walking next to Amy for comfort after her little scare. We were finally going to go home. I had been away for nearly six whole hours.
No one spoke until we stepped out into the warmer, much fresher air. Apparently I didn't know just how close the air was in the warehouse, because I found the night air was much more refreshing to me.
"So what if Rouge was here after all?" Tails spoke as we approached the X-Tornado. "She's the only person I can think of who would move the sign."
"Yeah, you got a good point, Tails," agreed Amy, who was now over her fright.
Tails helped me, Amy, and Danny into the plane. By now, Danny and I were dead tired. I figured I could try and get a little sleep on the way home. As for Sonic, he always preferred to "hitchhike", as he called it.
"Maybe Rouge did move the sign to try and trick us," continued Amy. "That way, she could cover her tracks and be sure to have the Emerald all to herself." She giggled. "But it looks like she got tricked too!"
As we taxied down the parking lot and lifted into the air, I felt myself starting to drift off to sleep already. I was too tired to add anything to the conversation.
"Well, that's only assuming there is an Emerald," corrected Tails. "But that still doesn't explain GUN's role in all this. Of course, we know Rouge works for GUN back on Mobius, but…"
"Wait! What if GUN wanted to hire her, so they used the glass ball to trick her into thinking there was a Chaos Emerald?" suggested Amy optimistically.
Tails seemed reluctant. "That… doesn't really seem like how GUN works," he said after a moment. "They're not the kind of organization that would just, like… hire anyone on the spot. It takes an awful lot of training to join their ranks."
"Backing things up a bit," said Amy, "who even fed the kids false information? Who gave Mr. Stewart false information?"
"I… don't know," Tails said slowly. "Someone who knew him had to have told him about it. It all seems fishy to me."
There was a long, thoughtful pause afterward. I sensed myself drifting off to sleep.
"Do you think this could have been a trap set for Sonic?" Tails said. I became a little more alert, not just because the silence was broken, but at this new possibility.
"How so?" Amy wondered.
"Think about it," started Tails. "GUN is a military branch of the government, kind of like this world's FBI and SWAT teams from what I can figure. And this is not the first time they tried capturing Mobians. Remember when we ran into GUN when we were bringing you to Chris' house?"
"Yeah," Amy recalled. "They're definitely not gentle."
"That's for sure," Tails agreed. "Well, not long after that, Sonic told me he picked up a few clues that they could still be after him… Maybe they need him for something?"
Amy seemed confused. "But I thought they would see him as an obvious good guy by now."
"Maybe…" said Tails, "but a lot of people here on Earth still don't know much about him yet. The same goes for the rest of us Mobians." He was silent for a moment. "But for the time being, though, we can't say we have 100% solid evidence that Rouge was ever there."
"…I guess you're right…" Amy sighed. "So I guess our best hope of finding out for sure would be to watch tomorrow morning's news."
The rest of our flight home was silent and calm – a perfect sleeping environment. Today had been a long day for all of us.
Eggman's base – Wed September 22; 2:45 AM – Third-person POV
"Two hours later and they still haven't caught us," marveled Topaz.
She, Rouge, Westwood, and the two soldiers had been roaming the fortress, mapping every room they had access to. Of course, most of them were locked with passcodes, and Westwood had decided against attempting to enter those rooms in order to avoid setting off the alarm. That was something they could not afford.
Their nerves were heightened, and adrenalin coursed through their veins. They were across enemy lines for the first time since Doctor Robotnik manifested himself on Earth. One time they thought they heard a robot nearby, but it was just a part of the fortress settling. While they got over that scare quickly enough, it still served as a wake-up call to remain on guard at all times. Just because the surveillance was down did not mean they were immune to the robots' line of sight.
"This must be some maintenance shift," continued Topaz.
"Oh, it's more that that… This also happens to be the night Eggman upgrades all of his systems to the latest version," said Rouge. "They're shut off all night for this process. I gotta hand it to you, you guys couldn't have picked a better time to break and enter."
"Keep your voice down, Rouge," cautioned Topaz. "We don't need attention." But after a moment, she asked, "How do you know all this about Eggman's schedule? Were you seriously here that often?"
"Believe me, you have no idea how often I check in on the doctor," Rouge said matter-of-factly.
"Okay, except for a few rooms that are irrelevant to our cause, the map is nearly complete," Westwood announced a minute later. "All that's left is the generator and the command center. And there's no way we're going up to the command center, so we need to prioritize the generator."
Turning to Rouge, Topaz asked, "Would you happen to know where that is too?"
"Oh…" Rouge pondered. "I'm never over there, especially since that's one of the most heavily-guarded sectors in the entire fortress. Or so I've heard, since I don't actually know where it is."
Topaz was bewildered. "How do you not know where the generator is? Didn't you just tell me you come here all the time?"
Rouge shrugged. "As much fun as it is to pay the doctor a house call, I got my own life to live as well. And besides… he's always had some secrets I've never been able to crack."
"Two hours, and we still haven't found the generator," grumbled one of the soldiers.
"This is ridiculous," said Westwood. "You'd think the generator would be one of the easiest sectors to locate." He glanced at his watch. "All right, one more hour and we're outta here."
Rouge's eyes wandered over to a well-concealed seam in one of the walls. Then she realized: it was most likely a hidden door!
"Hey, if you don't mind, I'm gonna go poke around a little more," Rouge volunteered.
"No, you're staying with us," interjected Westwood. "Remember the deal."
"Give her a chance," Topaz vouched. "After all, she's the one who got us in here to begin with."
Westwood contemplated it for a moment, before he made up his mind.
"Fine," he decided, "but you're going with her."
Rouge mentally facepalmed. "Ugh, I why am I always the baby around here?" she muttered under her breath.
"I won't fail you, Captain," Topaz promised.
Nodding in satisfaction, Westwood handed her the remote. "Rendezvous on the beach in thirty minutes."
Topaz was mildly surprised. "I thought you said one hour-"
"Look, it's already almost three, and we need to be out of here ASAP. You and Rouge are to shut down the generator and be right out."
Topaz saluted. "You can count on us, sir."
As Westwood and the two soldiers headed out the way they came, Topaz turned to Rouge. "All right, Rouge, lead the way," she instructed.
Rouge walked over to the door. "This is all-new territory for me too," she said. "But I got a gut feeling this is where the generator is at…"
It didn't take Rouge long to find that the way to open the door was a hidden button camouflaged within the door itself. It slid into the ceiling, allowing the two agents to proceed within.
They were met by several more hallways leading in virtually every direction. It was like a maze in there.
"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Topaz asked with some uncertainty.
"Sometimes, the best thing to do is trust your instincts," Rouge stated simply.
"…So, I take it as somewhat of a 'no'."
Rouge chose to ignore Topaz. She could say what she wanted, but as for Rouge, she was adamant.
"Seriously, where is everybody…?" she wondered to herself.
There was silence as the two proceeded down hallway after hallway. Rouge had a feeling the generator was most likely on one of the lower levels, near the center of the fortress.
"You kinda remind me of an agent I used to work with sometimes," Rouge said, attempting to break the ice. "Madonna, her name was. She too was with GUN, but she was more… I don't know, relaxed. You could actually give her a run for her money, I will say."
Topaz didn't reply. She was too focused on her goal to banter about what could easily be her Mobian doppelganger.
At last they saw a specially-marked door in front of them, the first door that wasn't an unmarked metallic door they had come upon since entering the labyrinth.
"Well, I guess it doesn't take instincts to know what lies behind this door," Topaz said.
"That's for sure," agreed Rouge.
She walked up to the door and attempted to open it. However, the bat was not surprised to find that it was locked.
"Of course…" she muttered. To Topaz, she said, "Stand back. It could get messy in there."
Topaz nodded and stood back, watching as Rouge used her powerful heels to kick a near-perfect square hole in the door in four amazingly clean kicks. Needless to say, Topaz was amazed.
"You did all that with your shoes?" Topaz breathed.
Rouge smirked. "Mad skills, hon," she said.
Next, Rouge pushed the cut part of the door into the room. She wondered if she would regret it, as it fell onto the concrete floor with a loud metallic clang, causing her to cringe. That would surely spell danger in a few minutes.
"Did you have to do that?" asked Topaz once the echo stopped reverberating around the walls.
Rouge glanced up at Topaz, shrugging. "It's a wonder the alarm hasn't gone off yet," she said. "As long as we remain under the radar, we still got a chance. Now let's have a look-see at what the doctor's hiding…"
Rouge was the first to crawl through the hole she made, She carefully made her way over the fallen block, followed by Topaz. It was a good thing she cut it large enough for an adult human to crawl through. Standing back up, she was met by a large round console in the center of the room, and to her amazement, the cyan Chaos Emerald inside the console.
"When have my treasure hunting senses ever failed me…?" she gasped in delight as she approached the Emerald.
Topaz sighed in annoyance. "Please don't tell me you led us on a wild goose chase for this…"
"It's entirely coincidental, Topaz," Rouge said. "Entirely. Coincidental."
"Whatever…" sighed Topaz as she stood up and looked around the room. "Looks like we found the generator's breaker room instead. So I guess that means the generator itself has gotta be close by."
She began to search every control panel for some kind of master switch. Meanwhile, Rouge was trying to resist the urge to ogle over the Chaos Emerald. Priorities first; it had to wait for now, as there was a sudden movement from the opposite door.
"Topaz, we got company!" Rouge warned. Topaz looked up just in time to see a robot bigger than her lumbering into the room.
"Yeah, just give me a moment!" Topaz called.
"We don't have a moment!" Rouge urgently shouted. She sounded desperate – and there was good reason to be, as the robot that entered the room was an E-70 Siren unit. It was designed to be a security robot.
The Siren grabbed Topaz with one of its claw hands when the human wasn't looking, causing her to give a squeak of fright. Rouge saw this coming and prepared to execute a Screw Kick to attack the robot. She leaped into the air and spun like a drill, feet first, toward the robot, when it suddenly emitted an extremely loud high-pitched sound. It sounded like a smoke alarm, only much louder and far more ear-piercing. It was so suddenly loud that it caused Rouge to lose control of her attack and sprawl on the ground, covering her ears. Topaz did too, since her hands we not bound. Now the Siren was sure to bring everyone running.
Rouge slowly uncovered her ears, trying to become more accustomed to the sound, but it proved to be futile. She charged back toward the Siren anyway, but it produced its sound even louder, causing Rouge to scream aloud at its volume, which gradually rose in pitch. Already a headache was coming on.
"It feels like my head's gonna explode!" shouted Topaz. Even with her excellent hearing, Rouge could still hardly hear her. Topaz was still lucky, though. As a bat, she could hear ultrasound, which meant she would have to put up with the Siren's alarm much longer than Topaz in case it rose even higher in pitch.
To make matters even worse, several more robots appeared in the doorway Rouge had come from. She recognized them as an E-12 Behemoth, an E-13 Guardian, and an E-14 Warhead. It seemed Eggman hadn't recalled his Guardian units ever since Chaos Control happened.
Now it was four against one. Rouge had to take them all on with an incessant tone blaring in her skull. And for once, she didn't know if she could do it.
Thorndyke Mansion – Tue September 21; 9:48 PM – Third-person POV
"…Chris…"
"…It's time to get up, Chris. We're back home now."
Chris drowsily opened his eyes. Both canopies were now wide open, and he could feel the night air around him. He slowly looked around to see that he was home.
"Wh… What time is it…?" he asked as Tails helped him down.
"Almost ten," he replied. "I have a feeling you're going to sleep pretty well tonight."
"I… hope so," he whispered, yawning.
The five friends walked across the lawn toward the mansion's side door. Even Sonic followed at a leisurely pace. The front door was usually locked for the night by now, but the side door remained unlocked.
When they stepped inside the house, they saw Chuck reading in the living room. He looked up.
"Welcome back," he said quietly. "Cream and Cheese are in bed for the night, and Ella and Tanaka are having their down time upstairs, so I pretty much had the house to myself for the past half hour." He stood up. "Chris, Danny, you both look exhausted. We should get you to bed soon."
To Tails, he asked, "Any luck out there?"
Amy shook her head. "Nope, it was a bust."
Chuck looked concerned. "How so?"
Tails sighed. "We found the warehouse, but the Chaos Emerald wasn't there. We think that either someone else found it, or we were given false information."
"Well then..." Chuck pondered. "Who told you about the Emerald?"
"Mr. Stewart did," Amy explained.
Chuck was silent for a moment. "I wonder how he found out…" he thought. "Anyway, I should get you all something to eat before bed. You've been out for over six hours."
"Sounds great! You got any chili dogs left?" asked Sonic.
"I do," Chris' grandfather nodded as he started for the kitchen. "Would everyone like some?"
Everyone mumbled their agreements. Chris and Danny were visibly tired, and they felt great relief when they sat down in the dining room.
Their "midnight" snack felt like a blur to Chris, and neither he nor Danny spoke much at all as they listened to Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Chuck talk about their hunt and their plans for tomorrow. Chris wondered if the reason he felt more tired was because humans didn't have the seemingly boundless energy that Mobians did.
Toward the end of their meal, Chuck said, "Because of how late it is, I think Danny should spend the night here, and I'll call his mother to let her know he's here. How does that sound, Danny?"
Danny nodded, feeling too tired to say much.
"I'll go ahead and sleep on the roof tonight," volunteered Sonic, "and Tails, if it's okay with you, Danny can have my bed."
"It's fine," Tails agreed, and Danny nodded again.
After exchanging good nights, Chris and Danny headed up the stairs.
"It's been a super long day for them…" thought Amy.
Chuck began cleaning up the dishes, and Tails ushered Sonic and Amy over in the direction of the living room.
After making sure the elderly inventor was out of earshot, Tails asked, "How come Mr. Stewart misled us about the Emerald? Did he lie to us?" Tails wanted to get to the bottom of this mystery somehow.
"Probably not," thought Sonic. "It sounds like he heard it from someone who just got the info wrong. What about it?"
"Because Tails thinks that GUN was trying to set a trap for you tonight," piped up Amy. "I wanna hear what you think about this."
Sonic nodded. "I figured as much," he said as he stretched. "So I guess Rouge fell for it instead… well, assuming she was ever there to begin with. But about Mr. Stewart… call me crazy, but I think there's a bit more to him than he lets on."
"What do you mean?" asked a puzzled Amy.
"Well, the way I see it… the government set up a trap for me, and they let Mr. Stewart know about it, and then he passed the word on to Chris. They knew he'd come straight to me with the news, hoping I'd go to the warehouse alone and fall into the government's hands for whatever they want me for. You see where I'm going with this?"
This new perspective surprised Tails and Amy.
"But… why… would they use Chris like that…?" Amy said.
"This was GUN's operation," explained Sonic. "We all know they tend to do things a little bit different."
"Wait a minute…" Tails started to piece the puzzle together. "If the government told Mr. Stewart about the news of a 'Chaos Emerald'… then what if Mr. Stewart is actually an undercover agent?"
"Wait, for real?" a shocked Amy exclaimed, still trying to be careful not to let Chuck hear.
"As much as I have to say it, that actually makes a whole lot of sense," Sonic said. "I think we should probably keep tabs on him in case he says or does anything else that's weird. And this should strictly be kept between the three of us, okay? Chris doesn't need to know this. If he finds out, he may not see him the same way again. And that goes for Cream too. We can't tell her either."
"You're right, Sonic," Amy said. Tails nodded his agreement. Not even Mr. Stewart would know that they were on to him.
Eggman's base – Wed September 22; 3:20 AM – Third-person POV
The Guardian turned its cannons on Rouge and opened fire, but even with the Siren's infernal noise blaring across the room, the bat was still able to nimbly roll out of the way. She then quickly got up and leapt away from another shower of lasers coming from the Guardian's gun barrels.
There were only four robots in the room, and Rouge wondered why there weren't any Badniks present. Perhaps Eggman was confident he could subdue her with only his E-Series robots. He seemed to be doing a great job at it so far.
However, while Rouge was preoccupied with the Warhead, the Behemoth lumbered further into the room, raised its left arm, and fired a large blue beam that swept across the entire room. Rouge dodged, noting that it didn't cause any damage to the room. Eggman probably thought this out when designing them.
Next, the Warhead advanced into the room with its tank treads, and launched its missiles directly at the bat. She would have made a witty remark about playing with dynamite indoors, but she was too disoriented to do so. Fortunately, all of the missiles flew wide of her, but only because she was flying erratically on account of the deafening tone. If it was this bad for Rouge, she could only imagine how much worse it felt for Topaz.
The missiles blew a hole in the floor, and the resulting explosions caused Rouge's ears to ring even more than they already were, and she nearly fell into the hole. She chided herself to be more careful.
Rouge took a quick peek down the hole. As dark as it was, she could make out some very large components in there. Her gut told her that it was indeed the generator. They had finally found what they were looking for.
However, there was no time to investigate due to her immediate situation and Topaz's endangerment. Topaz was in a terrible situation – at this rate, she would go deaf if nothing was done before long.
She turned around to face the Guardian again. She knew from experience that it was slow to cease fire – she saw it firsthand before Chaos Control. And thanks to Sonic, she knew exactly how to use it to her advantage.
Rouge backflipped, Olympic gymnast style, clear over the Warhead and landed on the other side while the Guardian was firing again. Just as she planned, the Guardian shot the Warhead, causing it to spark. Her prior training with GUN was really paying off.
The Guardian finally stopped shooting, but not in time. In a freak chain reaction, the Warhead launched its arsenal at the Behemoth, destroying it. The combined noise of the explosions and the Siren's namesake was now unbearable.
A piece of the Behemoth's arm squarely struck the Chaos Emerald and the console it resided in with enough force to create yet another explosion. This explosion caught the Siren off guard, and it dropped Topaz. The GUN agent picked herself up. She was visibly shaken, but at least she was safe.
That was the good news. The bad news though, was that the Chaos Emerald had disappeared in the ensuing explosions. It was gone, and so were Rouge's expectations that night.
Two robots were down, but that still left two more to go. The Guardian was menacing, but Rouge had to make the Siren her next priority. As if to ward her off, the Siren's pitch rose even higher than before. It was now an ultrasound, at least to humans.
Rouge got an idea. Fortunately it was somewhat easier to hear each other now that the sound didn't seem as oppressive, even with her headache.
"Topaz!" she called. "Get this bracelet off me!"
"Why?" Topaz asked in confusion.
"Just do it!"
Topaz was slightly reluctant, but she was curious about what Rouge was up to. She pressed the button to detach the bracelet. Rouge caught it before it fell and hurled it into the Siren's top-mounted speaker.
"Like throwing the ring in Mount Doom…" mused Topaz.
"All right, Topaz, light it up!" ordered Rouge.
Now Topaz caught onto Rouge's plan. She pressed the detonation button, and the resulting explosion severely damaged the Siren's speaker. Now that the infernal noise finally stopped, the two agents could breathe again.
But the Guardian was still active. It once again fired at the agents, but they ran out of the way, causing the robot to misfire at the Siren, ultimately destroying it. The Guardian stopped firing, then turned toward Rouge.
"Get going!" Rouge pointed toward the door. "I'll handle this!"
As Topaz fled the room, Rouge Screw Kicked the Guardian down the hole into the generator room, taking care of the last robot in the room. However, she regretted how she destroyed it, because she could hear an explosion starting up beneath her. She inwardly lamented about losing the Chaos Emerald to an explosion that could have easily been prevented. But now was not the time to wallow in her self-pity. She wouldn't let that get the better of her, because she had to act fast and evacuate.
Rouge ran from the room and back down the hall she and Topaz had come through. It didn't take her long to find Topaz.
"Hope you're not afraid of heights," she told her as she scooped her up and flew down the hall.
Topaz squinted at their surprising speed as the air rushed past them. The explosion continued to build behind them, and they could already feel the heat it was creating. Topaz wondered if they could make it out in time.
"Do you know the way out?" Topaz shouted over the wind.
"I know this place like I know my jewels," Rouge called back.
"And yet you didn't know where the breaker room was until tonight," Topaz shot back.
"Details, details…" dismissed Rouge.
Just then Rouge caught sight of many various Badniks starting to appear in their path up ahead.
"Where were you all tonight?" wondered Rouge as she expertly dodged their laser fire. "You missed all the fun!"
But the Badniks were the least of her problems. As they flew on, the explosion started to gain on them, taking out all the Badniks that were now behind them. At last, they approached a glass window up ahead – a rarity in Eggman's fortresses.
"Brace yourself," Rouge warned.
Time seemed to slow down as Rouge flew feet first through the window, breaking through the pane and sending thousands of glass shards raining down to the ground below them. Neither Rouge nor Topaz suffered cuts when they passed through the window.
The moment the two agents escaped, the explosion violently burst out of the side of the fortress where they had just been, lighting up the night in a brilliant flash and severely damaging that part of the fortress. If that was the generator exploding, then Rouge's cause had struck a major blow again Eggman.
Rouge started to get tired as she drifted toward the ground below. Topaz looked around.
"Whatever you did, Rouge, you knocked out the shields," she commented.
"And the generator," Rouge added. "Eggman's gonna go without power for a week, at least."
Rouge landed on the beach near Captain Westwood, who had met back with the reconnaissance team, and set Topaz down.
"Report," instructed Westwood. "And what on Earth was that siren in there?"
Rouge and Topaz still felt their ears ringing heavily from their prolonged exposure to the piercing noise they had to endure, not to mention they both had a splitting headache.
"The room we found ended up being the breaker room, and not the generator itself like I originally thought," Topaz recalled. "Though, I do think Rouge found out that the generator is directly underneath the breaker room." Rouge nodded in confirmation. "We got ambushed by a few robots, and one of them tried to disorient us with that ultrasound. Rouge ended up destroying them all, and I must say… I'm impressed. And the explosion seems to have knocked out the shield."
"Frankly, that was a lot of fun," Rouge added. "My only regret, though, is that we lost the Chaos Emerald… Maybe we cam pencil in a return trip for it later."
"We'll see," Westwood said. "It all depends on what the higher-ups decide. Now, the ship is gonna be here any minute, and we'll get you both through a thorough check-up."
Topaz took a moment to admire the sun rising over the Pacific Ocean, despite the smoke from the explosion still rising from the fortress.
"Rouge…"
"Hm?"
"I can't believe I'm admitting this…" Topaz paused, unsure if she wanted to continue.
"Well, what is it? Trying to say I'm not as bad as you thought I was? Come on, say it," she playfully urged.
Topaz hesitated before nodding slightly. "Well… Yes… We actually do make a decent team. And… I'm sorry for being blunt with you earlier. It's just… well, I'm not used to anyone being this laid-back around GUN."
"When you're with GUN for as long as me, hon, nothing surprises you anymore," said Rouge.
"From the sounds of it, Rouge, you're well composed and have the makings of a true agent," Westwood said. "In fact, you seem like a natural. When we get back, we'll discuss your official hire with Commissioner Perrault. Congratulations on completing your first official mission with GUN." He paused. That came out funny. "Or, uh… our GUN, really."
Oakview Elementary – Wed September 22; 8:20 AM – Chris' POV
The last thing I remembered was slowly going up the stairs to bed. Now, I was being nudged awake by my teacher at school. I must have really needed the sleep, because I couldn't remember anything in between.
And I wasn't alone. Danny had passed out as well. Frances and Helen were also at my table, but since we briefly told them about our hunt, they didn't wake us up themselves.
"What time did you finally get to sleep last night?" Mr. Stewart asked.
"Midnight," I replied. "Maybe even a little later than that." To make up for not eating as much yesterday as I probably should have, I had a big breakfast that morning.
"Listen," Mr. Stewart spoke in a hushed tone, "it's okay to go on adventures with your friends, but you should really try and get to sleep at a good time, so you're not tired the next day like you are now."
He leaned a little closer to me and whispered in my ear: "About the red Chaos Emerald up in Silky Heights, I think it might have been a mistake. I'm sorry for sending you all on a wild goose chase."
As he walked back to the front of the class, I was confused. This whole thing felt a little strange, and I had no idea why.
A/N: And that's "Fly Spy"! I greatly enjoyed writing this chapter. If you haven't noticed, I leaned toward mystery over adventure during Chris and Sonic's scenes. That's something I'm considering doing in a later chapter – can you guess which one?
(Hint: It has something to do with a certain teacher, hitchhikers, and an escaped scientist.) (EDIT: I'm sorry to say that I'm not adapting episode 44 in this story as it's filler and it's a bit complicated for me to salvage.)
Our main changes I've compiled:
- I removed the blackjack scene, but not for the reason that 4Kids removed it. It's because I wanted the guards to focus on their shift.
- I removed the second scene with Rouge before the opening theme in order to make her more mysterious.
- Amy no longer brings pizza into Chuck's lab, but instead she tells Cream about it. Also, she already knows Sonic is gone.
- In the original episode, no one knew about Rouge at all. In this chapter, everyone knows Rouge is on Earth.
- Chris no longer goes in the X-Tornado the first time to look for the Chaos Emeralds.
- I introduced two new characters: Vice President Adrian McMahon and GUN Commissioner James Perrault. I came up with Perrault to avoid having Rouge go to Washington and back.
- I changed the theme of the art contest from "Things That I Want" to "Out of This World", as the first ione sounds like it might be for 5-year-olds, and Chris is 12.
- Any point where Chris says or does something embarrassing is either heavily edited or removed altogether.
- I made an explanation about how and why Rouge is at Chris' school to begin with.
- Even though I left in the parts where Rouge calls Topaz an "old lady", I removed the parts where GUN laughs at them.
- I made Rouge a little less seductive and a little more business-like, but I still let her have her moments at more appropriate times.
- For technical reasons, I have removed Eggman from this episode. However, he will appear in the next chapter.
- Even if they aren't many, I added Badniks for more variety.
- Rouge no longer weight-shames Topaz.
- I added actual side effects from being near Noizi when it is producing its siren sound.
- All overreations are toned down.
And that's that! Good thing I renamed this to "Special Forces"; the name "Fly Spy" made my brother cringe until he learned it was a play on "I Spy". Even to this day it still makes me cringe, and I end up calling it "The One with the Laughing GUN Soldiers".
Let me know if anyone is out of character, or if there are plotholes. Also, I hope no one minds that I bounced back and forth between time periods during Chris' scenes and Rouge's scenes; if I did it in chronological order, we would have all of Chris' scenes, then all of Rouge's scenes, and it might get boring after a while.
Another reminder that I plan to put this story on hiatus after Chapter 13 so I can expand the backlog and prevent unnecessarily long delays. I will put a percentage on my profile page that will hopefully indicate how long it will be until I resume writing. When it reaches 100%, I will continue the story. In the meantime, I will tweak the first thirteen chapters of this story, especially the first eight, before porting them onto Archive of Our Own and DeviantArt. If you like the cover image I arranged for this story, I plan to make cover images for each chapter for the DeviantArt release.
Next time is "Beating Eggman Part 1", where the third Chaos Emerald is found, and the government launches its attack against Eggman! Don't miss it!
