"Sonic? Surge? Can you read me? Yup, looks like they're definitely underground." Jason said. "All the more reason to be on our guard. We are isolated, too. Whisper said. "We do have backup on standby if need be." Jason said. "I'd rather pretend we don't so that we can be more vigilant. If something happens and we need their help now...they're minutes away." Whisper said. The last part of Whisper's response made Jason think for a moment. "Yeah... you're right." Jason said. The two had been prone on the flat grasslands on the Southeast side of the mountain since Surge and Sonic made entrance.
Jason and Whisper were wearing ghillie suits to blend in with their surrounding foliage to hide in plain sight. "You forgot to tell me what kind of rifle you're using before we left the shed." Whisper said. "Oh yeah, I forgot. I was busy trying to get here before Surge and Sonic got impatient. Anyway, I'm using a Steyr HS .50 rifle." Jason said. "Anything special about it?" Whisper asked. "yes and no. It's not special, like your Variable Wispon. But, special in a sense that it's not like your regular long-range rifle." Jason said. Whisper nodded her head to signal Jason to continue. "It's an anti-material rifle. To avoid all the geek stuff, these rifles are made to penetrate thick armor. There is enough punch to Swiss cheese, most of Eggman's goons. Jason explained. "Sounds loud." Whisper said. "And powerful. Don't forget powerful." Jason said. "Let's hope "powerful" makes up for our position getting exposed immediately after you shoot one bullet." Whisper said, with annoyance. "Oh... Then I guess I'll let you shoot until we're in deep shit." Jason said. "Sounds like a plan." Whisper said. The two looked back into their rifle scopes and resumed surveying the area.
###
"And, if those tin cans are nearby, I'm breaking them. I'm done hiding." Surge said. "Well, can we at least go back to whispering? I'm pretty sure they heard us back there because we stopped whispering." Sonic said. "Fine." Surge said. The two had been walking for a couple of minutes since the time they almost got discovered. "Does this key even exist?" Surge asked, now whispering. "We'll find it, don't worry." Sonic said, whispering as well. The two walked through the hallways and checked every door they came across and came up with duds. After a while, they came across another elevator. "We must've reached the other side of the mountain." Sonic said. "What now?" Surge asked. "Well, we go up a floor and check there." Sonic said. "Uh, how about no. I have a better idea." Surge said, pressing the elevator button. "What do you have in mind?" Sonic asked. "Just wait." Surge said.
The elevator door opened with no one inside the lift. Surge walked towards the floor buttons and placed her right palm over the trefoil radiation symbol. Sonic stood quietly, intrigued by what Surge was doing. "Hopefully this works." Surge said. Surge concentrated and focused on her right palm. Surge's right palm produced a small burst of electricity. The electricity spread to the entire interface of the elevator buttons. Nothing happened at first. Then the floor button's light turned off. Then, the diagram of the mountain disappeared. "Uh, Surge." Sonic asked. Surge was about to respond before the entire elevator seemed to shut down, and the lights turned off. Surge and Sonic were still able to see somewhat, thanks to the elevator door that was still open.
"Surge, what did you do!?" Sonic said, now breaking the whispering code. "I don't know!" Surge said, almost panicking. The lift began to emit a humming sound, and then the lights turned back on. The two looked at the floor buttons and noticed that all of the lights were blinking. Surge quickly pressed the button with the trefoil radiation symbol. There was a brief moment of silence until the lift responded. The elevator door closed, and the lift began its descent. "Did that really just work?" Sonic asked. "Of course it did. Why wouldn't it work?" Surge said, proudly. Sonic rolled his eyes but was happy that they were at least making progress. "Even though we almost got caught twice, I was expecting more tin cans here." Surge said. "It's not surprising when you think about it. This base is pretty close to the Resistance HQ. They wouldn't be able to do much without us noticing it sooner." Sonic said. "So, the further away an operation is from our base, the harder it is?" Surge asked. "Generally. It's not always the case, but yeah." Sonic said.
The lift had stopped. The two prepared to act for anything that may be waiting for them on the other side of the elevator door. The elevator door opened. Except, it wasn't the one they were expecting. The larger elevator door on the opposite side opened. The two looked behind them and saw an Egg Hammer accompanied by two Egg Flappers. "Well, you got what you wanted, Surge. I don't know how we're going to hide from this one." Sonic said. "Finally!" Surge said. "Let's try to take this fight off the elevator first." Sonic said. "Works for me!" Surge said. Surge zipped through the elevator door and in between the Egg Hammer's legs. Sonic followed suit and ran behind Surge.
Neither of the two paid attention to their surroundings as they zipped through the hallways of the facility. Surge took a sharp right turn and entered a large room. "Woah." Surge said, as she took in the view of the room. Sonic entered the room a few seconds later. "We didn't have to run this far- Oh." The room they entered was circular. The walls were metallic orange, and the floor was metallic black. In the center of the room were two thick cylinders erecting from the floor and the ceiling. In between the cylinders was a gap. In the gap was an oblique shape mass of energy. The energy mass constantly changed colors and was the main source of light in the room. The energy mass would grow larger and smaller at random moments and appear volatile.
Surrounding the structure in the middle of the room was a line of computers. The computers had a display screen and a series of bright buttons and lights. The screen displayed a constant flow of command prompts and readings of what was assumed to be the energy mass. On each computer was an Egg Pawn that was now aware of the two intruders who entered the room.
"How about this, I take care of the robots while you try to destroy the reactor or whatever it's called." Surge said. Before Sonic could even respond, Surge immediately crouched and started up her spin attack. Surge began to build up an electrical charge and released the tension of the build up. Surge accelerated at high speed and sliced through all the Egg Pawns in the room. As Surge was attacking, Sonic noticed something odd. Surge's electricity would zap into the computers monitoring and controlling the energy mass. He couldn't see much from the entrance of the room but figured it wouldn't be a good idea for the reactor to explode while they were still deep in the base. Surge finished her assault and made quick work of Egg Pawns. "I don't know why we were hiding when this is how weak they all are! This is too easy!" Surge said, Maniacally laughing. "Surge, try to be careful. Your electricity might destroy the reactor." Sonic said. "Wasn't that the whole reason we came here?" Surge asked. "Yeah, but-" Sonic got cut off when he heard heaving stomping nearby. Sonic turned around and saw the Egg Hammer with its two Egg Flappers enter the room.
Sonic figured they must've alerted every enemy they ran past as more Egg Pawns arrived to back up the Egg Hammer. "Great! More to the slaughter!" Surge said. Surge began her assault by homing attacking four Egg Pawns in a row. As of now, Surge appeared to be holding her own, and the fight was away from the computer and the energy mass. With this in mind, Sonic ran towards the computers and searched for a way to destroy the reactor. Although it wasn't intentional, Surge had the right idea in damaging the computers as it appeared the energy mass was more volatile. However, it would be preferred if the meltdown of the reactor was remote-controlled or delayed. Sonic dashed to each computer, trying to see if he could get a clue on how to destroy the reactor without immediately blowing up.
In the background, he could hear Surge having the time of her life destroying Eggman's robots. Sometimes, her laughter and trash-talking were louder than the destruction she was causing.
The command prompts and buttons, mind as well, have been hieroglyphics, as Sonic couldn't understand anything. He looked into his satchel and saw the thermite charges they had yet to use. However, there weren't enough of them for every computer, and it wouldn't guarantee a meltdown. Sonic tried to think of what to do, but it was difficult when there was a fight going on in the room. As Sonic was thinking of a plan, Surge crashed right into him, and they both slammed into a wall. "Surge, what the heck?" Sonic said. "I wasn't trying to do that, doofus." Surge said. Sonic moved Surge's head out of the way and saw what she meant. It seemed only the Egg Hammer remained, and Surge had trouble destroying it. "I'll help." Sonic said, pushing Surge off of him to stand up. "No! Keep working on the computers, I got this." Surge said, as she ran off to re-engage the Egg Hammer. Sonic stood up and observed the fight between Surge and the metal giant. Surge attacks had little effect on the Egg Hammer, and it seemed one-sided. As long as Surge can dodge its attacks, it could give Sonic time to think of something.
Sonic returned to the computers and was back at square one. Sonic had a feeling the thermite charges were the key but wasn't sure how to use it. "FUCKING DAMMIT!" Surge yelled. Sonic looked up to check on the fight. Surge was once again recovering from being hit to the floor. Reinforcement arrived, and there were now two Egg Hammers and several Egg pawns. Sonic dashed towards Surge and gave his hand. "C'mon, let's take these guys." Sonic said. Surge slapped Sonic's hand out of the way and got up on her own. "What is taking you so long? It shouldn't be hard to blow up a sensitive reactor." Surge said, taking in deep breaths. "It gets kinda difficult when you're trying not to blow yourself up along with it." Sonic said. "Well, if you don't take care of it, We're going to be here for a while." Surge said.
"What we need is to not be their main focus." Sonic said. Sonic flicked his Scroll and pressed the emergency button on the displayed screen.
###
"Whew, looks like something is going on." Jason said, looking through his scope. Jason and Whisper observed multiple Egg flappers and buzz bombers patrolling the area. Suddenly, their Scrolls sounded an alarm and were blinking red. Their Scrolls displayed a red screen with white text. The text read: Sonic is in need of immediate assistance. Jason's screen was different from Whisper's. Jason's screen displayed an additional prompt reading: Under Control? Yes or no? Jason pressed yes and minimized the notification. "I got it." Whisper said. Whisper began to aim and fired rounds at the airborne targets. Eggman's robots were alerted and began to survey the area to see where the shots were coming from. Whisper stopped firing and hid underneath her ghillie suit. "We'll keep firing every so often and hide. I'd say we should relocate after the third volley." Jason said. "Ok." Whisper said.
###
Surge and Sonic were in the middle of fighting off the onslaught of Eggman's robots in the reactor room. They managed to take down the first Egg Hammer they encountered and were in the process of doing the same to the second. While they were fighting, all of the Egg Flappers and Buzz Bombers left the fight. Sonic created distance between himself and the robots. "Looks like the distraction is working." Sonic said. "Working? That barely changed anything. We need to take out the reactor so we can get out of here." Surge said, while avoiding an attack from the Egg hammer. "I still don't know how to destroy the reactor without killing us!" Sonic said. "Give me the satchel! I'll handle it." Surge said. Sonic took off his satchel and held it above his head. Surge ran around the room and picked up the satchel from Sonic's hand. "I'll handle the reactor. You take on the robots. Hopefully, you can at least do that!" Surge said. Sonic nodded and engaged Eggman's security.
Surge approached the computers and was lost in the cryptic prompts. "Fuck this shit. We don't have time for this." Surge said. Surge took all the thermite charges from the satchel. All thermite charges had a string coming from within the taped-up and sealed plastic bag. Surge snapped her fingers and sparked electricity. The spark caused the strings to catch on fire. Surge threw all the thermite charges into the energy mass. The Energy mass consumed the thermite charges and placed it into the center of it. "Ok, it's done! Sonic, let's get out of here." Surge said. Surge dashed through the army of Eggman's robots, piling through the entrance of the room. Sonic followed suit and ran through the army as well.
The two retraced their steps as they ran through the hallways. They entered the elevator; their shoes grinned on the floor to stop themselves. Surge quickly pressed the top floor button. The large elevator door closed, and the lift began to ascend. Surge and Sonic gasped for air as they rested. "That was quick. What did you do?" Sonic said. "I just lit the thermite charges and threw them in the energy core or whatever it is." Surge said. "You did what?" Sonic asked.
The mountain began to shake to the point where it felt like there was an earthquake. "Let's hope we can make it out before this place crumbles." Sonic said. "Maybe if this elevator moves faster." Surge said. The lift continued to move as the mountain continued to shake. Suddenly, the elevator stopped moving. "Let's break 'em fast so we can get out of here." Surge said, thinking the elevator stopped because they were going to fight more robots. "I don't think we're on a floor." Sonic said. Both of them looked at the buttons on the wall. Neither of the buttons was illuminated to indicate they were on a floor. The diagram of the mountain didn't appear either. The shaking of the mountain got more violent and caused Surge and Sonic to fall to the floor. "I think we're stuck." Sonic said. "Like hell we are." Surge said. Surge placed her palm over the floor buttons and produced a controlled shock. The elevator rebooted, and Surge pressed the top-floor button again. The elevator did not move. "Shit." Surge said.
"The elevator is out of order. Let's see if we can leave through the ceiling." Sonic said. Sonic ran to a corner of the elevator on the ceiling and pushed on a ceiling tile. The tile moved a bit but stayed in place. "Little help?" Sonic asked. "You're hopeless." Surge said. Surge ran next to Sonic and started pushing on the ceiling tile as well. "Ok, this is heavy." Surge said, struggling to push the ceiling tile. "Really? You sure you can't do this by yourself?" Sonic taunted. "Shut up and push." Surge said. The two slowly lifted the ceiling tile off and moved it to the side of the roof of the lift. Surge quickly climbed on top with Sonic close behind.
"Ok, all we need to do is dash up to the top and we'll be home free." Sonic said, catching his breath. "Sounds good." Surge said. The two got into running position and dashed up the elevator shaft. The elevator shaft had cables and wires running from the top of the elevator shaft to the elevator itself. There was also a ladder to the side, but Surge and Sonic paid it no mind. The fast duo kept running as the mountain started to crumble. Bits and pieces of pebbles and small rocks started to fall. "Be careful!" Sonic said. "I see them! Worry about yourself!" Surge said.
###
"Is it just me, or do you feel an earthquake?" Jason asked. Whisper and Jason were in the middle of relocating to a different position to avoid detection. The two were crawling through the grass. "I'm starting to feel it, too." Whisper said. "I hope those two get out of there in time." Jason said.
###
Surge and Sonic continued to run up the elevator shaft. This time, it was larger rocks that were falling towards them. Surge managed to avoid the debris. Sonic reacted accordingly and dodged the falling rocks as well. Another set of rocks began to fall. Surge dodged the rocks again. Sonic prepared for his maneuver to dodge the rocks. Suddenly the mountain rumbled again just as Sonic was strafing to the side to dodge the rocks. Sonic misplaced a step and lost his footing. As he tried to balance his footing, he was struck by a rock in the middle of his chest. Sonic immediately lost his momentum and was taken with the rock. "SURGE!" Sonic yelled as he descended the elevator shaft.
Surge looked back and saw Sonic falling. "Crap!" Surge said. Surge slid on the walls until she came to a complete stop and made a dash down the elevator shaft. She quickly caught up with Sonic and matched his falling speed. "Give me your hand!" Surge said. Sonic reached out with his hand. Surge got close to Sonic and grabbed his hand. Surge slowed down her speed and grabbed onto the ladder nearby. "Thanks! Lost my footing back there." Sonic said. Surge remained quiet and looked at Sonic. "Surge! This place is coming down. Pull me up, and let's get out of here!" Sonic said. Surge remained quiet again. Sonic looked at Surge and was confused about what was preventing her from pulling him up.
Surge eventually pulled Sonic onto the ladder. Surge did a horizontal wall run to get a running start. She increased her speed and dashed up the elevator shaft. Sonic did the same and dashed up the elevator shaft. Sonic noticed that every breath he took, his chest hurt. The two reached the peak of the elevator shaft and stopped on the ladder. Surge reached out from the ladder and placed her hand on the elevator door. Surge did a controlled shock, and the elevator door opened. Surge and Sonic side hopped into the hallway. "How did we get in here again?" Surge asked. "From the top, we'll have to wait until one of them leaves or enters." Sonic said. "Shouldn't be hard. Look." Surge said, pointing down the hallway. A buzz bomber was elevating through a hole in the ceiling.
Surge and Sonic dashed and escaped the base close behind the buzz bomber. "This is Sonic, the reactor is exploding and we just left the base." Sonic said, to his Scroll. "Heard you loud and clear. You can watch your handiwork from a distance." Jason said. "Copy!" Sonic said. Surge and Sonic dashed down the mountain while they dodged bullets and debris. They reached the flat grasslands and started putting distance between them and the mountain. They were about two miles away from the mountain before they decided they were far enough. Surge and Sonic stopped and looked at the mountain, or at least where it used to be. The entire mountain was covered in dust and fallen snow. The mountain continued to shake as explosions broke out from all sides of the mountain.
Sonic began to laugh as he fell backward and laid on his back in a starfish pose. "Another mission accomplished." Sonic said. Surge looked at Sonic on the ground and did the same. She didn't realize how sore and tired she was until she lay on the ground. Unless they were getting attacked, it would be difficult for her to get up. "This is Sonic, we made it out ok. We're going to rest a bit." Sonic said. "Copy, We'll meet you at the shed for a debrief. Good work out there, you two." Jason said. "Got it." Sonic. Surge didn't mind resting on the ground for a bit to catch her breath.
Surge's heart rate slowed down as she rested on the ground. She felt the wind brush on her body as she heard the distant destruction of the base in the mountain. Surge stayed in this state in complete bliss despite her injuries. "Ok, let's head to the shed. I think we stayed here long enough. Don't want to get caught by any of the robots." Sonic said. Surge opened her eyes to see Sonic already standing and ready to move. Surge groaned before slowly getting on her feet. "The quicker we get to the shed quicker we can rest." Sonic said. Sonic Dashed away towards the shed. Surge took a moment to start up her momentum and followed behind Sonic.
The two reached the shed. Sonic knocked on the door in a sequence. Jason opened the door and welcomed the two in. "Glad to see you guys are alright." Jason. "Glad to see you two are alright too." Sonic said. Sonic, Whisper, Surge, and Jason gathered around the table. "Not much to say besides...Good work! Everyone did their part well, and no one died." Jason said. "Told ya it would be easy." Surge said. "You say that, but you two look like crap." Jason said, laughing. Surge and Sonic looked at each other and noticed each other's condition. Surge had dried blood near her nose and a few bruises on her face. Sonic had bruises all over his arms, and he was clutching his chest where the rock collided with him. "Nothing a little sleep won't fix." Sonic said. "Yea, it's nothin." Surge said.
"You sure? We can get you guys checked out." Jason said. "We're good." Surge said. "Alrighty then. Are you three available for tonight?" Jason said. "What?" Surge asked. "After every operation that is completed with full numbers, we go out to drink to celebrate. It's completely optional though." Jason said. "Oh. That doesn't sound so bad." Surge said. "Sonic?" Jason asked. "Sure." Sonic said. "Whisper?" Jason asked. Whisper put a thumbs up. "Awesome. We'll meet at Sam's bar at 2100 hours?" Jason said. "Sounds good to me. That gives me time to clean up." Sonic said. "That works." Whisper said. "I'll be there." Surge said. "Cool! I'll see you guys there. Again, good job, everyone. I'll end the operation." Jason said.
Everyone exited the shed and eagerly went home. Surge and Sonic entered their dorm building together. "Want to meet here in the common room at 2045 hours so I can walk you there?" Sonic asked. "Sure. Whatever." Surge said, as she continued to walk. Surge was more interested in a shower than planning on what to do later tonight. Surge entered the dorm room. She was expecting to be bombarded with questions from Kit about her condition. But Kit was nowhere in sight. Surge assumed Kit was busy. Surge received a notification from her Scroll. The Scroll displayed a green screen with white text. The text read: Operation successful! Your payment will be wired to your account in 1-3 business days. Surge was interested in the payment but decided it could wait until later.
Surge proceeded to take a shower and clean up from the operation. The feeling of the cold water hitting her body was soothing and rejuvenating. After she finished, she checked the time and noticed it was 1945. Surge decided to take a nap before putting on her outfit. Surge drifted off to sleep. Before she knew it, there was a knock at the door. "Who is it?" Surge said. "It's Sonic. It's 2055, and I tried calling you, but you didn't pick up. " Sonic said. "Oh shit." Surge said to herself. "Give me a minute." Surge said. "Yup." Sonic said. Surge quickly put on her clothes and got herself ready. She opened the door to see Sonic patiently waiting. "Hey, ready to go?" Sonic asked. "Yea." Surge said. "You know you don't have to go right? You look like you could use some sleep." Sonic said. "I was just taking a nap. I'm fine." Surge said.
"Ok, just making sure. Let's go." Sonic said. The two exited the dorm building and made their way to Sam's bar. "Just wanted to throw it out there and say thanks for helping me out back there. Not to mention your work with the elevator. The operation probably would've lasted a lot longer had you been someone else." Sonic said. "Don't mention it." Surge said. The two continued their walk through the Resistance HQ until they arrived at Sam's bar. The bar looked more like a pub than a bar. The bar had a brick surface and plenty of windows to see inside. It must've been happy hour as the bar appeared to be full of patrons, with more still arriving. "Let's head in, I'm sure they're waiting for us." Sonic said. Surge looked at the time on her Scroll and saw it was 2120 hours. She cursed herself for being this late.
The two entered the bar and looked for Jason and Whisper. The bar looked a lot bigger on the inside compared to the outside. There were wooden tables and chairs throughout the bar. For every space between tables was a ceiling fan working overtime in ventilating the air. The bar stand was a classic L shape with several bar stools filling every space. Surge and Sonic slipped through the crowd as they tried to find where Jason and Whisper were sitting in the bar. "There they are." Sonic said, pointing in a direction. Surge barely heard Sonic through the loud ambiance of music and chatter. Surge looked in the direction and saw Whisper and Jason waving at them at a table near a window. Sonic and Surge made their way to their colleagues.
"Man, ever since Surge joined the operation I've always seen you two together. You guys aren't dating, are you?" Jason said, with a smirk on his face. "NO!" Surge and Sonic said in unison. "The last thing I want to do is date this loser." Surge said. "Relax, I was joking, haha." Jason said, unable to control himself from laughing. Whisper was covering her mouth, trying to hide her giggling. "Anyways, fill us in on how you two destroyed the base. Whisper and I only saw the fireworks." Jason said. "It wasn't too crazy up until the part where we got to the reactor." Sonic said. "Yeah, I figured much. I wouldn't expect a decent sized force so close to our Headquarters. Eggman probably starved the base for whatever resource it had and placed it in others where it's more useful." Jason said. "I was saying the same thing. Anyway, we entered a dark hallway from the entrance which we walked until we got to an elevator." Sonic said. Jason and Whisper were contently listening to Sonic.
"The elevator was huge! I'm talking like, big enough to fit a tank. Surge and I walked in and saw a map of all the floors in the base." Sonic said. "How many were there?" Jason said. "I'd say thirty-one, fifteen above ground and fifteen below." Sonic said. "But, that adds up to thirty." Jason said. A bunny waitress approached the fighter's table and placed down four open beer bottles. "Enjoy!" the waitress said. Each one at the table grabbed a bottle. "The thirty-first floor was the one with the reactor. We thought it would be easy to just press the reactor floor button and head down there but-" Sonic stopped to take a drink from his beer. "But, what?" Jason said. "We needed a key to head down there. So, me and Surge-" "Surge and I." Jason said, interrupting Sonic. Sonic looked far from pleased with the comment while Whisper and Surge were laughing. "Ok... Surge and I went to the lowest floor we could go, to find the key." Sonic said. "Did you find it?" Jason asked. "No. We almost got caught down there, actually." Sonic said.
"Almost? You mean you guys managed to hide and not make noise? Doesn't sound like you two at all. How did you guys avoid getting caught?" Jason said. Sonic took a glance at Surge while Surge avoided eye contact with Sonic. "We hid behind an open door in a dark room." Sonic said, awkwardly. "Is that it? Pretty crude but, if it works it works. You made it sound like it was a bad thing." Jason said. "Right. We continued to search for the key on the rest of the floor but came up empty." Sonic said. "Don't tell me you guys checked every floor for the key before finding it." Jason said. "That was the plan until Surge did something pretty neat." Sonic said. "Oh yeah? What did you do Surge." Jason said.
"Honestly, I'm not even sure. We got into another elevator at the other end of the hallway. I just zapped the elevator buttons with my hands, and that got us to the reactor floor." Surge said. "Wait, really?" Jason said. "Yeah, I must've short-circuited the buttons or whatever, but I managed to make the elevator take us to the reactor floor without the key." Surge said, proudly. "That little trick probably cut the operation time by like thirty five percent. Good stuff." Jason said. "How come you pressed the emergency button? Doesn't sound like you guys were seen at all." Whisper spoke up.
"It was that way until the elevator door opened at the reactor floor. When the door opened, an Egg Hammer was waiting on the other side!" Sonic said. "What!? No way! I guess Eggman didn't want it to be too easy taking over one of his bases." Jason said. "Surge and I made a beeline to the reactor core and waited for him to get there." Sonic said. "Fighting in a reactor room?" Whisper asked. "It was the biggest room we could find." Surge said. "Of course, you two would think blowing stuff up in the reactor room would be the best idea available." Jason said. "We thought he was the only one until every robot in the facility came in to throw down." Sonic said. "What happened next?" Jason asked. "We both fought the robots while also thinking of a way to destroy the core without killing ourselves. Surge ended up lighting the thermite charges and throwing them all in the core." Sonic said. "That's certainly one way of doing it. Glad you use of it." Jason said.
The Four fighters continued their night, drinking and talking amongst each other. For the most part, the talking was Sonic and Jason trying to one-up each other in-jokes until the other ran out of ammunition. Whisper and Surge were more than happy to have front row seats to Sonic and Jason making fun of each other. Unfortunately, their night wasn't forever, as Whisper checked the time. "I'm going to have to go. It's midnight." Whisper said. "Already? Crap, me too. Got stuff to do tomorrow." Jason said. "Then I guess we'll head out too." Sonic said. "We, huh? How do you know Surge doesn't want to stay?" Jason said, smirking again. Surge looked at Sonic, interested in his response now that he was in the spotlight. "It's not like she's going to spend the rest of the night talking to me." Sonic said. "True. The drinks and food were already put on my tab. Have a goodnight, guys." Jason said, getting up from his seat. "Good night everyone." Whisper said, leaving her seat as well. Whisper and Jason walked out of the bar with Sonic and Surge walking behind them. Whisper and Jason went their separate ways while Surge and Sonic walked back to their dorm.
The streets were quiet, and there, but a few members were walking through the base at this point. "Told ya the operation would be easy." Sonic said. "Of course it was. We were the ones doing all the work." Surge said. "C'mon, don't be like that. Jason and Whisper helped too. Taking the Egg Flappers and Buzz bombers with them helped out in not worrying about getting shot at. " Sonic said. "I still think it didn't change much." Surge said. "So, what do you think? About being in operations, I mean. A fun way to make a living." Sonic said. "It was pretty fun. Would be more fun if I was the leader and get to decide what to do." Surge said. "It will be a while before that happens but I'm rooting for ya." Sonic said. "How long till you think the others will see I'm on their side now?" Surge asked. "It shouldn't take long. The base was pretty close so, the others will hear about it in no time. Which will be followed by them talking about who destroyed it. Your name will pop up, I'm sure. But it wouldn't change everyone's mind just like that." Sonic said.
"Are you kidding me? After all I just did back there?" Surge said. "It takes a while to earn trust. It takes even longer when you started off on the wrong foot." Sonic said. Surge groaned in her mind. "How come you trust me?" Surge asked. "Well it's not just me that trusts you. Amy and Lanolin trusted you enough to let you join." Sonic said. "Yea, but they didn't trust me enough to invite me on a mission where their life may depend on me." Surge said. At this point, the two had entered their dorm building and were walking down the halls. "What's wrong with that? It worked out well didn't it? What's the issue?" Sonic said. "I honestly think you forgive too easily. Someone could take advantage of that." Surge said. "Someone like you?" Sonic asked. "N-No, I wouldn't do that." Surge said.
"Relax haha. You're right, though. I probably do forgive too easily, " Sonic said. The two had stopped at Surge's door. "But, If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't have many of the friends I have now." Sonic said. "And what if you forgive someone who's planning on stabbing you in the back?" Surge asked. "Well, that's what my friends are for, right? To protect me from them." Sonic said. Surge thought about how Jason and Whisper acted towards her recently. "Anyway, It's getting real late. Again, great job out there. You killed it. Literally." Sonic said, as he turned around and walked back to his dorm. "Goodnight." Sonic said. "Goodnight." Surge responded. Sonic stopped walking and looked back to make sure it was actually Surge that responded to him. "What?" Surge asked. "Sorry, I wasn't expecting you to say it back." Sonic said. "Well, I did. Not a huge deal." Surge said, entering her dorm.
Surge entered her dorm and saw Kit fast asleep in bed. "There you are, you little squirt." Surge whispered. Surge called it a night and went to sleep.
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Surge suddenly felt her body was weightless. She opened her eyes and immediately recognized the dark void that surrounded her. If her memory served correctly, the last time she was here, she spoke to- "We need to talk...now." Dr. Starline said, emerging from the void.