"Careful- on your right!" Sonic said.

"Left, right- Everywhere! They have us surrounded." Espio said.

"Have you and The Chaotix tracked down Eggman yet?"

"We- Hold on, incoming."

"Thanks for the help with the Badniks. They've been getting more organized lately. I guess Eggman is gearing us for something big again."

"Actually, I don't believe the doctor behind this."

"Oh? So you guys have a lead?"

"Better than that. We began our search in the Ruins of Imperial City and found nothing but wreckage. So we tried his last known lab. Orbit and Cubot were cooperative, but knew nothing. Eggman's computer system showed no escape plans or personal traffic. He seemed certain he'd win our last encounter. Searching his other bases turned up nothing but trouble."

"Well nuts. You guys are the best detectives I know."

"We're the only detectives you know."

"Semantics. So why did you call me out here if you haven't found him?"

"We did ahem sort of."

"Wait- What?!"

"We received an anonymous tip that led us to the Village I'm taking you to now. So technically, we didn't find him..."

"You could've just skipped ahead to "I'm taking you to Eggman.""

"I wanted you to understand how hard we worked..."

"Duly noted. Now let's get moving!"

"What gives? Everything looks fine here." Sonic said.

"Sonic! You made it!" Charmy said.

"Hey little buddy. Is everything okay?"

"Oh yeah! This place is great! There's lots of kids my age! And tons of mountain flowers! And they have the best Honey Tarts ever!"

"That's cool, but what about -Y know- "The Big Guy?""

"That's right! You haven't met him yet! Hold on- we'll get him!" Charmy said. "C'mon! C'mon!"

"НАНАНА! No need to get all excited! How do you do? They call me "Mr. Tinker."" Eggman said.

"Did you really think I'd buy this act, Doc?" Sonic asked.

""Doc?" I... I don't think I've earned a Doctorate..." he said. "...But then again I'm afraid I don't remember much of anything."

"Except how to fix and build stuff! He's the best!" Charmy said.

"Heh. Well, I certainly try..."

"Uh-Huh. So you don't remember any of our fighting over the Chaos Emeralds?" Sonic said with her arms crossed.

"I'm not familiar with that cut."

"Lost Hex?"

"Somebody lost a magic spell?"

"The ARK?"

"...Has a parabola?"

"The Death Egg?"

"Are you just throwing random words together? I don't understand."

"Don't sweat it, Mr. Tinker. This is all a case of mistaken identity." Vector said.

"Are you sure? If I can help, I'd love to, but..."

"Nah. You just get back to what you were working on."

"This is what I meant when I said we "sort of" found Eggman." Espio said.

"And you're sure it's not an act? He's pulled similar stunts in the past." Sonic said.

"We've thoroughly interrogated him and observed him for a couple of days. It's legit. He remembers nothing." Vector said.

"Yeah, but... he can be extremely dangerous. Never mind the close calls I've had while fighting hm. He can threaten whole planet's at a time..." she said and thought about what he'd done. "But seeing him like this..."

"That's why we called you- we have no clue what to do! Sure, he's done some nasty stuff in the past, but can you really punish a guy who doesn't remember doing any of it?"

"The crimes have been committed and justice must be served. Eggman must be punished." Espio said.

"Right. But would you really say that's Eggman?" Sonic asked.

"...No."

"Excuse me. I'm the Head of the Village. May I weigh in on the subject?" someone asked.

"Sure. Your town, your rules, right?" Sonic said.

"Yes, But in this case, I would defer to the judgment of a famous hero. Before you make your decision, please consider this, that man appeared in our Village one day without warning. We're still not sure how he arrived. We locked him up immediately. But the next day we found he'd broken out-just to reinforce his own cell."

"I did what I could for the hinges, but you'll need an entirely new deadbolt." Eggman said.

"Just like The Chaotix, we questioned and tested him for days. Never once did he show signs of his old, villainous ways. Once we realized he wasn't-well, himself-we nursed his wounds and took him in. In return, he repaid our kindness Tenfold. He repaired anything we brought him. From the smallest, most delicate work to the largest, most grueling efforts. I know Dr. Eggman is a terrible man. I've heard stories of horrors I can hardly imagine. But has been a blessing to our village. I know that he cannot undo the evil he's done but I'd rather he remain free to do some good than rot in a cell and do nothing."

"Ugh... This was so much easier when it was just "I hate that hedgehog."" Sonic said rubbing her forehead with a headache.

"We could stick around and keep an eye on him." Vector said.

"Nah, that's just delaying things. It's better we figure this out before-"

"Badniks! Coming in from the South! They're coming up the Mountain! Run!" a rabbit said.

"You guys head 'em off! I'll handle Eggman!"

"You got it! Charmy! Get out here! We got work to do!" Vector said.

"I'm Comin'! I'm Comin'! Sheesh!" Charmy said.

"Alright Egg-Face! The gig is... up?" Sonic asked.

"I-It'll be okay everyone The Chaotix are here! They'll protect us!" Eggman said.

"W-will the robots find us in here?" a bear asked.

"Shhh! You just hide behind this barricade. Everything will be fine, I promise! I'm sorry. I never caught your name. But if you can- will you help defend the village? I-I'm ashamed to say I'm too afraid to fight."

"You just worry about keeping these folks safe, Mr. Tinker, I'll help The Chaotix smash those Bots!" Sonic said and ran to help them.

"Gotcha! Huh? Can't Hide From me!" Charmy said.

"No! Why were Sonic and The Chaotix there? Did my forces stumble upon a settlement? Or have they figured me out?" someone said.

"Yeeeeoooowrm!" Charmy said.

"That's the last of them. Seems like a pretty puny rescue force." Vector said.

"It wasn't a rescue force. Eggman was terrified of his own robots." Sonic said.

"Yeah! I tolja Mr. Tinker was a good guy!" Charmy said and landed on Vector's face.

"Gah!" Vector said.

"Then he truly is a new man. What do you intend to do?" Espio asked.

"Oh, I know exactly what I'm going to do." Sonic said.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Tinker. I got you mixed us with somebody else. I'd like us to start over, so," Sonic said and shook hands. "Hi. I'm Sonic the Hedgehog."

"The pleasure is all mine, Sonic!" Eggman said. "I hope you do manage to find who you're looking for. He sounds worrisome."

"I wouldn't worry about It. I think he's gone for good."

'I hope.' she thought.

"Maybe so, but The Chaotix Detective Agency never does a half-baked job! We'll keep looking for the doctor. But you're free to stay here, Mr. Tinker. You've been very helpful in our investigation." Vector said.

"Thank you. It looks like I have an awful lot of tables to rebuild." Eggman said and they laughed. "I cannot thank you enough for helping these people."

"Don't sweat it. It's what I do." Sonic said.

"I hope you'll come back to visit! I'd love to show you Eggman Land once it's completed!" he said and she froze.

'Eggman Land?! His terrifying personal theme park?! Did he just slip up with his ruse? Or is he?' she thought.

"You'll never menace the world with Eggman Land again." someone said and they turned to see Team Dark. "I'll destroy you first." Shadow said.

'Shit.' Sonic thought.