Sonic The Hedgehog: And The Odysseys Through Time

by SomeRandomSonicFan

When the Prower family creates a time machine to save their parents from a tragic death at the hands of Dr. Eggman, they accidentally unleash war and chaos across time and space. Worse yet, their future is not the only world line at stake... and worth making sacrifices for.

32. Chapter 0: Friends and Foes (Part 2)

Mimic the Octopus led the group despite his injuries, a single scalpel held tightly in his hand. As he walked, droplets of blue blood left a trail behind him. Dr. Starline was next in the line followed by two of the three still standing Hooligans while the third of their trio, Bean the Dynamite, rested on the shoulder of Fang the Sniper. Guarding the rear of the impromptu formation had been enthusiastically entrusted to Rough and Tumble who talked incessantly to the irritation of all.

"Let's pick up the pace back there. Perhaps a little less talking and a little more walking is in order? Hmmm?" Dr. Starline said as he panted and picked up his own pace in an effort to catch up to Mimic the Octopus.

Automatic gunfire was heard echoing throughout the prison. Distant screams and wailing reached the group's ears prompting everyone to come to a stop and listen. The mesh of sounds blended together to form what to Buster and the two conscious Hooligans could only be described as an orchestra from hell. The gunshots were slow and deliberate, forming a staccato rhythm as slowly but surely the distant screams petered out so all that remained was the gentle humming of the prison's fluorescent lights. Buster looked toward Fang and Bark who both stared back at him with pale complections, all three wore a face that displayed horror and disgust and were glad that Bean the Dynamite was still out cold and had been spared from the horrors that had just occurred, and with any luck, might yet be spared the horrors and dangers that still awaited the group further ahead… yet to others, the same sounds conjured nothing but fond memories of joyful retribution.

One member of the varied group found this sudden orchestra of death advantageous.

"This is an excellent development. We'll need to pay close attention so as to deduce their number and position. We'll deal with them accordingly should we cross paths," Dr. Starline turned his head to give Fang the Sniper a side glance, "It seems you'll earn your pay today after all. Time to put that gunslinging to good use. We're all counting on you."

"Don't worry. You'll get your money's worth of blood."

"Fabulous. If only Bean was conscious. Assuming he could compose himself a few controlled micro-explosives would do wonders for funneling the security forces into a killing field, assuming Bean didn't just deal with them directly with lethal efficiency.

"What happened to it being too dangerous to use explosives?" Buster asked.

Dr. Starline raised an inquisitive eyebrow, "Hmmm? Oh. That. I've altered my position based on my analysis of the structural soundness of this facility. A small explosion or two in this concrete fortress poses no real risk. Speaking of which… Fang, I don't suppose you could wake Bean up? His assistance would trivialize our encounters ahead."

Fang the Sniper uncomfortably adjusted his grip on Bean the Dynamite as he glared at Dr. Starline. "I don't see that happening. He was given some strong painkillers that knocked him out cold."

"What a shame. Oh well, you'll have to suffice. Are you confident you can take on the prison's security forces?"

"It won't be a problem. Consider them dealt with."

"Most splendid." Dr. Starline clapped his hands and turned his gaze to the front where Mimic stood. "Now one last matter to attend to. Mimic, I wish to hire your services for a little operation I am designing. Consider this jailbreak a small sample of the benefits of working for me."

Mimic's breath was ragged, each word he spoke was a struggle to form and speak and he wheezed as he inhaled, his injuries still not fully healed. "You… you want to hire me… for a mission? Heh, heh, hahahahaha!" Mimic the Octopus stopped laughing abruptly and put a hand to the wall as he choked then wretched, then coughed and spat out a mixture of blood and mucus, scalpel still held in his hand. "You must really want some people to disappear if you want to hire my services."

With this said, Mimic the Octopus began walking towards the gunfire and the group followed.

"Indeed." Dr. Starline began, "You will find the terms of my offer to be both generous and indispensable to your own pursuits. I have my pulse not only on Dr. Eggman but G.U.N. as well. I can provide technology, resources, information and all manner of data you would no doubt find indispensable. In addition, my portal technology would trivialize any assassination missions you'd carry out."

"You… you can shut up… I'm… not leaving… or making deals… until… Warden… dealt with. I'm going to kill him with… with my own hands."

"Get in line." Fang the Sniper shouted from the middle of the group's formation.

Mimic stopped walking, glanced behind himself, then stared quizzically at Dr. Starline. "You brought a wannabe cowboy to a prison break?"

"While his interpersonal skills and personality leave much to be desired-" Dr. Starline began to say.

"Hey. Watch it chump." Fang shouted.

"-I must confess, when it comes to marksmanship, you'd struggle to find someone better than Fang the Sniper." Dr Starline said with his hand over his heart for added emphasis.

"I heard about him back in the day. Heard he got cold feet and left the underworld. He went from being a feared assassin to the complete joke he is today." Mimic grinned towards Fang the Sniper. "He became washed up."

Fang handed a blissfully drugged and unconscious Bean the Dynamite to Bark as Fang picked up his pace to confront Mimic.

"Hey buddy, If you have something to say to me why don't you go ahead and say it to my face?"

Mimic let slip a sadistic smile. "You heard me. I don't like repeating myself, especially when I have the taste of vomit, blood, and my own flesh inside my mouth. I prefer to keep my daily level of disgust to a minimum, so before I get really annoyed, why don't you go to the back of the pack and play baba with that little duck of yours before something tragic happens to him one of these nights."

Fang the Sniper stepped closer to Mimic the Octopus and raised the rim of his stetson so he could look Mimic directly in the eyes.

"Ya got a lot of guts for someone who could drop dead from twelve pounds of pressure."

"Go ahead. Try me. You'll have a blade in your throat before you could even reach for the gun."

"Maybe I would. Maybe I wouldn't. But you know what? Even if you could, I have two Angels watching my back. Who would send you to the afterlife? Who do you have? Newsflash bucko, ya got nothing. Nobody. Zilch. You're a loner. A loser. A freak. You'll die all alone in a puddle of your own vomit, shit, and blood. Starline seems to have some use for ya but me? I got no problem putting some lead in between your eyes. So go ahead. Threaten my boy, my team, one more time and we'll find out for the first and last time who's faster on the draw.

The two glared at one another as the tension between them grew and grew until it was nearly at a bursting point.

"Gentlemen." Dr. Starline began as he got between the two of them as the rest of the group caught up and gathered to observe the heated standoff, "We are all on the same team here. We still need to leave and I shall remind you that this is an underwater prison, and since none of you, I presume, can handle the water pressure of the ocean at this depth we need to focus on obtaining a means of escape. We must not lose sight of our objective and endeavor to leave this place sooner rather than later. So let's stop threatening to kill each other and get back to the business at hand. The Warden won't kill himself now will he? Heh. heh. Shall we carry on gentlemen?"

"Fine."

"Fine by me."

"Excellent." Dr. Starline said. "I have a great feeling that everything ahead will all fall into place."

The lights cut out and the humming of the air conditioning system died down then fell silent.

The prison was instantly put into absolute darkness.

"Hey Starline, I want to make it clear that I am glaring at you." Fang the Sniper said.

"Yeah, you really fucked us with that jinx of yours." Mimic said.

"Yeah you's really messed up." "Yeah, messed up!" Rough and Tumble added.

"You really shouldn't talk like Dr. Starline." Buster said.

"What? It was purely coincidental." Dr. Starline said in protest. "You all can't really expect my statement to have any effect on the causality of this facility's vast electrical infrastructure?"

Emergency lights that scarcely made the hallway and walls visible powered on.

"I still cants sees ah thing." Rough grumbled through gritted teeth.

"Oh dear, this is not good. Jiminy Christmas this is most assuredly not good." Dr. Starline said.

Mimic furrowed his brow. "What? Why? The powers back on now. We can actually see… a little. Did you want us to be trapped down here in the darkness?"

"Quiet." Buster said softly.

"Oh, we can be quiet, we're super good at being quiet- OW!" Rough said before being hit in the head by Tumble. "Quiet you idiot!"

"The Warden could have done this anytime so why now-" Dr. Starline said.

"Quiet!" Buster said louder but below shouting. As if he was worried something in the dimly lit darkness ahead might hear them…

Everyone was silent.

The fur on Buster's body stood on end.

"No shooting?" Fang the Sniper whispered to himself.

"Shhhhh." Mimic uttered to Fang's irritation.

Far ahead of the group, deeper into the midst of the complex labyrinth that was the prison, the abject silence came to an end and was replaced with the sound of panicked and desperate automatic gunfire.

Then… just as soon as the shooting had started…

The silence returned.

Everyone was silent.

"So… what do you all think the chances are that they saw a cockroach? Ha ha ha."

The group did their best to glare at Dr. Starline.

"Ahem. My sincere apologies."

Erratic footsteps were heard approaching. As the footsteps drew closer, muttering was heard.

Fang readied his pop gun and was about to fire when the creature came out of the darkness and into the dim light, falling to the ground.

Blood trickled out of his chest and onto the ground.

"Please. Help me." The man begged.

It was a desperate plea which filled Buster with dread. More dread than he had felt all night. This desperating was… familiar and caused a pit in his stomach. A pit that was only growing tighter with every passing second as his hands began to shake and his face started to turn pale-

"Buster, give me a hand with him." Fang the Sniper said.

"S-sure."

Fang the Sniper lowered his weapon and cautiously stepped closer. It was then he noticed the person wasn't a prisoner but a security guard, with the smell of gunpowder still heavy on him.

As Fang and Buster stepped closer they understood the cause of the guards desperate plea.

Blood flowed out of five small puncture wounds on his chest. With each beat of his heart more blood pulsed out of him drawing him ever closer to death. The security guard was panicked, dazed, and clearly in shock.

"What happened to you?" Fang the Sniper asked as Buster came over to help him up. Together they placed the security guards back against the wall so they could better tend to his wound.

"Get his shirt and belt off. We need to dress the wound."

Buster -his hands still shaking- undid the human's belt, took off his body armor, and lastly his shirt. The guard did not protest let alone notice as his pale and sweat covered face darted around the room erratically, then towards everyone in the room in quick succession, his lip trembled all the while, as he quivered in fear of his life.

Buster covered the wound site with the human's shirt. Whatever had penetrated his chest had been razor sharp to pierce the body armor and had been of a relatively small diameter, so much so that Buster could not fill the five small wound cavities with the shirt's fabric without enlarging the holes and causing even more harm. It took only a second for Buster and Fang to realize they would not be able to dress the wound properly, regardless the two decided they would do what they could.

Fang held the shirt tightly against the man's chest wounds as Buster wrapped the belt around the man's chest and began to tighten it to create a makeshift compression bandage. Buster tightened the belt as tight as he could then put the belt's prong into the notch securing the makeshift bandage. It was the best they could do for him given the circumstances.

Fang wiped the blood on his hands onto his legs before speaking. "How did this happen?"

As the security guard answered he hyperventilated and stuttered at times. "A monster. It was a monster. It slaughtered everyone. I… I… I… I Thought it was going to finish me off but I played dead. I… I don't know how I'm alive."

"You're safe now," Fang began. "Can you walk? We need to get you to the medical wing."

The man continued to hyperventilate then whimpered and fell silent.

"I… I don't think I'm going to make it?"

"How much blood had he lost?" Was everyone's thought.

"Listen to me, you're going to be okay. All right? There is a medical wing not far away. Bark here will carry you."

Mimic stepped closer to better examine the man, "You're all wasting your time and making fools of yourselves, he's done for. Trust me. I know death when I see it."

Fang and Buster ignored Mimic as they squatted in front of the security guard.

The guard once more began softly hyperventilating as he was helped up but then he was gently let go of as the guard weakly pushed back against Buster and Fang the Sniper.

With his one remaining hand the security guard grabbed the hand of Fang the Sniper.

He held the hand tightly with all of his remaining strength. Out of empathetic instinct Buster held the Man's hand too.

After a moment the security guards hyperventilating slowed down and became very shallow.

"So, this is where I die?"

Everyone was silent for a heartbeat… then Fang the Sniper broke the silence.

"Yeah, it looks that way pal. For what little it's worth, I'm sorry."

Buster and Fang held the man's hand tightly.

"I'm… so cold and scared."

"We know. We're-" Buster choked back his tears as he forced himself not to cry. "-We're with you."

"Chaos. My life has been such a waste. To think I'd be comforted by the very kinds of people I set out to hate and destroy… It's all so simple now and clear now. The choices I could have made. The man I could have been." The man chuckled as blood continued to overpower the makeshift compression bandage and seep out of his wound.

"Y-you don't have to die. We can get you to the medical wing. Get you some proper treatment. You'll be find. Please. Let us help you." Buster said.

The man looked towards Buster and smiled. "Thank you."

Then… the guard was silent as he gently released a final breath, as his head gently tilted then fell backwards to rest upon the wall.

Buster, Bark, and Fang the Sniper were silent as they paid their last respects.

A trio of tears fell down Bark's cheeks as he used a giant arm to wipe them away as his face before he quickly returned to his stoic and intimidating blank expression.

Fang gently let the man's hand fall from his grasp. He rose to his feet, wiped the blood off his hands as best he could, then removed his stetson hat and bowed. His face was like stone, as if he had long ago gotten accustomed to the sight of death.

Buster on the other hand…

"I… I need a minute." Buster's voice was raspy as he rose to his feet and began to rush back the way they came. He walked as fast as he could as he failed to hold back tears…

Then his sorrow turned to rage.

"What does he got in his pockets?" Rough said as he rushed up and was about to start fishing around through the man's pockets-

-Buster slapped away the encroaching, groping, pilfering hand and shouted, "Leave him alone."

Rough smiled and laughed at the pathetic act. "What tick bit your butt furball? The guy is dead. He ain't gonna need anything anymore. In fact, he'd want us to help ourselves." Rough said.

"Yeah!" Tumble chimed in to the defense of his brother.

"Just… just leave him alone. Show a little respect for the dead." Buster pleaded as he tried and failed to hold back his tears.

"I do show respect for the dead." Tumble began to say with a gleeful grin… "By making use of the dead's stuff. I follow an until… untilian philosophy. Whatever creates the greatest happiness for myself. Sides, haven't you ever heard the saying, waste not want not? Trust me, we'll put his goodies to good use."

Buster glared at the skunk and clenched a fist. He was about to strike Tumble when Fang the Sniper stepped forward and grabbed the fox's hand. "Buster, it's okay."

"T-they can't do this. It's wrong. It's disgusting. They're desecrating a body."

"A corpse to be specific." Mimic added.

"You're not wrong Buster. You're not wrong. Come on. Let's go have a chat in private. Cmon. This way."

"But…"

"I know Buster. I know. Let's go."

"Give us a minute will you?" Fang the Sniper said as he walked past Dr. Starline.

"Really? Is this absolutely necessary? We're on a tight schedule as it is without all this unnecessary drama."

"I know that." Fang the Sniper said with a biting tone.. "Just give us a minute."

As Fang glared at Starline the latter knew the former wasn't asking.

Fang began to half push, half guide Buster down the long hallway and around the corner out of earshot of the others who were arguing and pilfering whatever they could find from the recently deceased while Bark learned against a while and tended to Bean the Dynamite.

Fang the Sniper looked at Buster. The fox reminded the stetson-wearing hooligan of himself when he was younger. Before he had almost lost himself to an abyss of darkness, isolation, and self destruction.

"There's blood on my hands." Buster said as he stared intently at his blood covered white gloves.

His hands trembled.

"So there is." Fang said.

"I… I… I've killed people."

Fang the Sniper froze and gazed at Buster in shock. The fox was so young, he never imagined him to be the kind who'd…

Fang took a moment to collect himself.

"Was it in self defense?"

"No." Buster whispered, he could barely say the word as he internally fought like a demon to hold back his tears.

"Was it to protect another?"

"Hate. It was out of hate." Buster wrapped his arms around himself and shook as he stared not to the ground, but beyond it, to a horrible memory that would torment him for as long as he lived.

The memory that replayed in his mind every day and every night.

Buster heard the father grunt and struggle as he fought to protect his family.

Buster heard yet again the heart piercing, blood curdling cry of a mother in fear for her infant's life.

A house filled with the blood and corpses of two parents while an infant cried out in confusion and terror.

Buster looked up to see Fang's mouth moving.

"Huh?" Buster said not having heard him.

"I said, do you want to talk about it?" Fang spoke softly and without judgment.

"I… I just… When my parents… I… oh chaos."

"It's alright. Take your time kid."

Buster took several deep breaths to steady his nerves. He was totally silent as he worked up the courage, not just to speak to Fang but to acknowledge and relive all that he had done and gone through.

Then, after taking a moment to mentally brace himself… Buster poured out his heart and soul.

"No matter how much I scrub, I can't ever get rid of it. The blood. It's seeped into my very bones. I-" Buster knelt down then collapsed onto the ground, leaning against a nearby cement wall as he began to sob. "-Chaos damn it. What the hell am I doing here?"

"Hey, Buster. Take deep breaths. Come on, you're okay. You'll be okay. There will be better days ahead. Trust me, better days are just ahead. An outstanding fella like myself has had plenty of my share of tragedy and dark days. Times can be rough but so long as you don't lose hope you'll come out stronger and wiser for it. Now… I'm not a therapist but maybe I can help. I know a thing or two because I've seen and done a thing or two. Was there anything specific you wanted to talk about? Even if it's only to get something off your chest?"

"How," Buster cried out in long sobs, "How do you live with… with killing people? How do you get rid of the blood on your hands?"

Fang the Sniper thought on how best to answer. He took out his popgun and twirled it as he thought. He took note of the plastic cork and what it represented to him.

Fang the Sniper decided brutal honesty was the best policy.

"That's the thing champ. You don't, and it never really goes away. The fact of the matter is this. The dual gifts of life and freedom are worth more than all the Chaos Emeralds in existence. There is nothing more evil or damning than depriving someone of their life or freedom. If you can realize that, and feel it in your heart, then you're not all gone. There's still some goodness left inside you."

Buster began to silently sob. Fang's words served only to worsen his guilt.

"Now listen up, Buster. I got a little story to tell, so pay attention. I am not what you would call a good guy. I've killed my share of people. Duels. Assassinations. I honestly had lost count of how many I had killed. In fact…" Fang squinted his eyes in thought as he stared at Buster, "I was around your age when my assassination career really took off. It became easy. Routine. Like breathing. I ended up in a dark place. I decided I had to leave that life behind me before I had nothing left of my heart and soul, and eventually I did leave that life behind I met Bark and Bean. Since that day I had kept a promise I made to myself of never taking a life. Don't get me wrong. We'd steal, threaten, blackmail, break some bones here and there, but the Hooligans? We don't kill. Or at least we… I… didn't kill. That is… until today."

Fang the Sniper was silent as he thought about the choices that led him to where he was standing. The choices that had led him to who he had become.

"Bean was ripped from my grasp. I thought he was going to die. I give Bark and Bean a hard time. It's part of an act I do, a hat I wear. It lets me explore my goofy and spontaneous side, to feel some semblance of emotions, good and bad. But when I heard Bean screaming bloody murder… "

Fang clenched his fists and ground his teeth in regret.

"I didn't want to kill anyone, it's just, when I saw and heard Bean screaming in terror and agony… the old me just took over. I felt nothing. Not even the recoil. My brain and body both went on autopilot. I can't even say it was easy. It was… automatic. Thoughtless. It was once again as if all I was doing was breathing. No emotion, no thoughts, just death."

Buster stared at Fang, his silent sobbing having stopped as he listened intently.

"I'm not proud of what I did today or of what I still might do before the day's end. I owe the Warden a debt for what he's done here. For who he's proven himself to be. For what ultimately did to Bean. I might need to do more killing for us to escape from this hellish place, but I can promise you this. I'd kill again if it's to protect Bean and Bark. Hell, I'd slaughter half the world if my hands were forced. Lives aren't equal in value. Maybe you'd agree? I'm sure that makes me a hypocrite. It probably does, but I'm just sayin' it how it is. I'm not a good guy, remember? Now, this is where you fit into this story of mine buckeroo. I don't know what you've done, or where you come from, or what challenges you have yet to face but I can tell, you're a smart kid with a good heart. You're young. You remind me of myself when I was much younger. You can do better than I did. You can flip Starline the bird and live your best life far away from the shadows we live in. You aren't too far gone Buster, you can find your place and people to cherish on the all while staying on the right side of the law, out in the sunlight."

Buster held himself tightly, his body hunched forward as if he was trying to fold into himself and disappear.

"No… I can't." Buster's voice was quiet and frail, as if he felt that should he talk any louder his body would break.

"W-what do you mean? You have your whole life ahead of you. Starting right now you can choose who you are and how you will live going forward."

Buster's emotions floated around his mind. Fear, anger, sadness, guilt, and regret crashed against his conscience in a futile attempt to fill the void that was left by his parents. In that moment, Buster, more than ever, felt like the child he was, wishing for nothing more than to be embraced by his parent's, to be tucked into bed and told to rest, to relax, for tomorrow would be a new day filled with joy, and free of worries and fears. That he could sleep soundly because his parents were there, and would protect him from harm and danger.

Most of all, Buster wished to hear his parents say that they loved him.

Buster wiped the tears from his face as the warm fantasy left his mind, only to be replaced by his tragic reality. "My life is a living hell. I just, I never wanted any of this. I never wanted any of this!" Tears once more rained down from Buster's cheeks as he let all his pent up anger, hatred, fear, and regret boil over as he cried out in anguish. "It's not fair. It's not fair. It's not fair. It's not fair. It's not fair. It's not fair. Dammit. Lifes not fair!"

Buster hugged himself and assumed the fetal position as he tilted his body to lie on the floor as his emotional dam 's mind and strength were both spent. He felt so very small and weak. Worst of all… Buster felt totally, and utterly, alone.

Fang knelt down next to Buster, hesitated, then wrapped his arms around him helping the young fox to sit upright.

"Hey, come er' kid. Come on. You're okay. Don't tell anyone I'm hugging you or I'll have to kill ya. Ya see, I have a reputation to keep… but you're right. Life is not fair. Life is not fair at all."

"I-It's not fair." Buster sobbed, "I just wanted to be with my family. I just wanted to be a kid. To have pancakes with my parents and sisters. Was that too much to ask for?"

"It's not. It wasn't." Fang said.

"Why is life so unfair? Why is life so… so god damn unfair?"

"It just is. The sad truth is that kids die all the time for the damndest of reasons. You just blink, then they're gone. Never even had a chance… Their life snuffed short by some asshole or some dark twist of fate. Sometimes I wonder if there really is a god. It's like you say, the world just isn't fair."

Buster began crying once again upon hearing Fang's words. Words that, like daggers, penetrated his defenses and carved up his soul, leaving him bleeding guilt, with no other course of action to take than to hate and damn himself for what he had done… and what he might still have yet to do.

"Hey, come on, you've got your whole life ahead of you. Think of all the good you can do in the world – ahem, do as I say, not as I do."

Buster half laughed, half cried. "I just wanted to be a kid. I just wanted to be a kid but it's like the whole world is conspiring against me. I've screwed up so much. There's so much blood on my hands. I killed innocent people. I shot my own sister in the leg. She's crippled because of me yet she still loves me unconditionally. I don't deserve her love." Buster cried as his body trembled. He looked up with tears in his eyes then down toward the ground as he spoke. "How do you manage to go on living?"

"One day at a time, Buster. One day at a time, and someday, when you're able and ready, you try however you can to atone for your sins. The blood on your hands will never wash away but it will remind you of what you have done and what good you can still do, but be warned. If you can't make peace with your past and what you've done then yer gonna lose yourself to the darkness. It will devour you whole from the inside, and make no mistake Buster… if you continue down this dark path of yours that you're on, sooner or later, you are going to lose yourself. Call it a conscience or a soul, call it whatever you want. You'll sink into that dark abyss, never to return."

Buster wiped another wave of tears away as he listened. "An abyss?"

"Yeah, an abyss of hatred and sorrow. Take that octopus guy for example. What do ya think his childhood was like? Huh? What turns people into mass murdering psychopaths? I don't mean psychopaths like I used to be, I was a professional. I'm talking about the really depraved freaks. Maybe it's something in the head. That may well play a large part of it. I could believe that up to a point. But… if you try to tell me that Mimic grew up in a loving family, that he had an easy life surrounded by people that cared for him, cared for his future, and his happiness, that he was tucked into bed and read stories to at night? If you tried to tell me that lack of love and family has nothing to do with the creation of absolute monsters in this world of ours, that it was all some brain matter that got jumbled before birth, nothing more… then I'd have a gun to sell you, because I'd bet your life and mine, you'd be dead wrong. But what do I know? I'm not a doctor."

Buster pulled away from the embrace. He sat down and stared at the floor as he collected himself. His tears finally passed. "You know, I've thought about killing myself. I was never going to do it, except for one time when I had no choice-"

"-You always have a choice." Fang said regretting his recent idiom.

Buster chuckled. "People keep telling me that. I just… I wondered what it would be like to end it all. To cease to exist. No more pain. No more suffering. No more struggle-"

"-Buster, please, please don't kill yourself. I know first hand how hard this life can be. Trust me. I was walking down a path not too different from yours. I caused a lot of pain to a lot of people. Heck, I killed a lot of people. I'm a thief, a mercenary, and a murderer. I'm not anyone to look up to or to be inspired by… but…with all that said, for what it's worth, I'm glad you did not commit suicide. I truly mean it. So please Buster, please don't kill yourself."

"Thanks, I won't."

"Promise me." Fang gasped Buster's shoulders, squeezing them.

"Listen, I have no intention of ever killing myself. I have a family that needs me and is counting on me."

Fang soke sternly as he squeezed Buster's shoulders harder. "Promise me that no matter what happens. No matter the betrayals and harships you face, promise me you won't kill yourself."

"...I promise."

Fang let go of Buster's shoulder as both rose to their feet.

Fang slapped Buster's back. Hard. "Good! Good… well, that's enough talk for a month I'd say. We shouldn't keep that drama queen waiting any longer. How about we rejoin the others and ditch this concrete hellhole?"

"Heh, sure. Sounds good to me."

As they turned and began to walk back to rejoin the others Buster stopped walking for a moment as he collected his thoughts. He was trully grateful towards Fang the Sniper and the Hooligans.

"Fang?"

"What's up kid? We gotta get goin."

"Thanks… for everything."

Fang the Sniper frowned at his words. "Don't thank me yet kid. Let's get out of this place first. Then, maybe then you can thank me. Now let's get a move on."

"Right."

…

"We have a problem." Dr. Starline said. "While you two were fraternizing I came to a disturbing realization."

"What's that?" Fang the Sniper and Buster both said in unison.

"Our former security pal here…" Dr. Starline began, "His injuries were severe. You may not have noticed Buster but that compromised armor you took off of him was rated at level three steel plate. Suffice to say, we need to be extremely careful going forward."

"That's not good." Fang said as he bit his lip.

"You're telling me! All I have for a weapon is a damn scalpel. This is going down as the worst jailbreak attempt ever." Mimic said.

Dr. Starline pushed up his glasses causing a brief reflection of light to shine forth as he gazed sternly at Mimic. "Be grateful you're even getting one. If I had not come for you, you would still be locked up in the medical wing being force fed your own protein shakes."

"Yeah, yeah. I remember I'll show my appreciation by offing some people for you, would that make you happy? Would that make us even and get you off my back?"

"Yes. Very much so."

"Great, after that my debt will be paid. Besides, I'm sure you can make yourself useful and help me plan a surprise party, it has quite the guest list."

I'd be delighted to assist. Undoubtedly, this is the start of a fabulous alliance."

Mimic frowned, unable to hide his irritation. "Great, just great, now can we all shut up and focus on getting out of here?"

Dr. Starline beamed with excitement, ,asking a self serving grin that appeared for but a nanosecond. "Well said Mimic, now what are we waiting for? Bark and Tumble, please take point."

"Why's I gots to take point?" Tumble said.

"Yeah? Why's my bro gotta put himself in danger. Why not have Shorty here take point? He'd make a great meat shield." Rough said as he pointed toward Buster.

Mimics eyes twitch in irritation. "Chaos. It's not a big deal, just walk in front or I'll carve up your flesh and turn you into a coat!"

"Threaten us all you want,

If you get on our bad side,

Rough and Tumble will mess you up!"

Mimic screams, "AAAAAAAHHHHHG! I hate all of you. That didn't even rhyme. Forget it. I'll take point. Bunch of absolute, moronic, amateurs. The lot of you."

The group made good time and soon realized something was off.

Every cell they passed the prisoners were either missing or dead. Blood and bullets riddled the scenes. Dozens had been exterminated.

"I can't believe this would happen." Buster said as he looked at a prisoner that had made a run for the exit near the hallway exit. He had nearly crossed the threshold to the other jail wing when he had been riddled with bullets. His body lay limp.

"Everyone, be ready." Dr. Starline said.

"Ready? For what?" Bean said as he stirred back to consciousness.

"Bean." Fang shouted.

"Shutup!" Dr. Starline began, "We need total silence." Dr. Starline looked towards and nodded to Mimic and the group pressed onward.

"Well, would you look at that?" Mimic tapped a bloody corpse of another security guard with his foot as he checked for signs of life. None were found. "Someone did our job for us."

"Awe man, Tumble and I have been itching for a fight." Ruble said as his brother nodded in agreement.

"It just keeps on going and going and going-" Mimic halted suddenly. "We took a wrong turn somewhere but that might be the least of our problems. Have you all noticed their wounds?"

"Yes, we're not blind," Starline said.

Fang the Sniper knelt down and looked at the remnants of what surrounded them. "Shotgun shells, flechette rounds to be precise, and 6.8mm incendiary rounds. These guys aren't your normal security guards. These guys are no doubt the remains of a tactical team from the surface. They meant business. The question is, what on this green planet killed them?"

Buster glanced around the prison wing they were in. Markings where bullets impacted and ricocheted off walls riddled the entire wing. The ground had been flooded in spent casings. Buster walked up to three… bodies. They were kitted out in full tactical gear, headsets, body armor, the works. A pool of blood rested beneath them and was still slowly expanding outward out of their wound sights.. Buster hated how used to the smell of death and blood he was becoming. "What the hell pierced their armor?"

"If these fellas are from the surface, that means our ride out of here is waiting for us. Right?" Bean asked weakly.

"Shhhhhh, don't speak. Just conserve your strength. Yes, our ride should be here now. I don't know what did this but we're not going to stick around too much longer to find out. I just need to give our regards to the Warden then we'll skedaddle out of here."

Dr. Starline thought for a moment as he examined the dead and their wounds. His brows furrowed then the color drained from the platypus' face. "No. Change of plans everyone. We're skipping the Warden and leaving immediately or all of us will be dead."

Mimic and Fang the Sniper frowned and furrowed their brows in anger upon hearing Dr. Starlines words, "What do you mean skip the Warden? I have a debt to settle with him. Did you forget what he did to me? I plan to spend a long time returning the favor." Mimic spun the scalpel in his hand for emphasis.

"The Warden needs to be dealt with. I can't believe I am saying this, but I agree with crazy here-" Fang said as he gestured towards Mimic.

"Watch it." Mimic growled.

Buster did a double take as his head swung to face the stetson-wearing sharpshooter. "Fang? W-what about the whole vow you took?"

"Relax kid, I don't need to kill him. I have a feeling Mimic here will take care of him just fine. I just want to watch, is all. Make sure he's finished the job. Then we can head home and all sleep a little better tonight knowing scum like him no longer walks the earth."

"You idiots, you don't get it, you simply can't comprehend the danger we're in." As Dr. Starline spoke, his voice began shaking with fear while his body was flooded with adrenaline. "I have no doubt that the Warden is already dead. So any desire for vengeance or vigilante justice I suggest you bury it inside you."

Everyone turned to face Dr. Starline, some with shock, disappointment, and confusion.

"If we don't want to join the dead we need to leave. Immediately." Dr. Starline's legs were violently shaking, though he did his best to hide it. Sweat was forming under his brow as he turned away from the group and covered his face as he internally panicked as he accepted the horrifying reality he had led himself… and the others… toward.

He had been made a fool.

He had once more been outplayed by that genius of a man.

"Dr. Starline, what's wrong? What is happening?" Buster said with concern.

"Ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! You ask what is happening dear Buster? How wonderfully ironic. What is happening is Eggman has played us all, especially me, for a fool and it was my own blunder that allowed him to corner us into checkmate. All thanks to you."

"What?" Buster said.

"Your watch boy, or rather, what's in it. It's how I found you to begin and your watch have doomed us all."

"Wait… Eggman tracked us? Why? How!? How could you have overlooked this."

"Be silent!" Dr. Starline shouted, startling all present. "I knew Dr. Eggman would interfere, I did not expect him to resort to this… brutal method. Robots we can handle. Him… we cannot."

Dr. Starline broke out into psychotic laughter. The Doctor's sudden grief turned comical in his mind.

Fang readied his revolver. "Chaos, well okay doc, let's… let's just… all double back and make sure we take the correct turn then head for the sub and get out of here. How's that sound doc?"

"No… we're already dead."

Fang put Bean down on the ground, making sure Bean could rest against the wall. Fang then walked over to Dr. Starline, slapping him across the face with the butt of his revolver, then grabbed him by the neck and shook him violently. "Listen to me you self serving asshole. You got us into this mess and I'll be damned if you don't work your ass off to get us out of it."

Mimic walked up and violently half pushed, half tossed, Fang aside to the latters great irritation,

"Let me try my way." Mimic said.

Mimic grabbed Dr. Starline and put his scalpel millimeters away from the Platypus's eye. "If you quit on us, I will carve out your eyes and skin you alive. You hear me. I did not endure this hellhole just to wind up a corpse during my jailbreak. So pull yourself together."

"I-It doesn't matter, we can't beat him… unless?"

"Unless?" Mimic, Buster, and Fang all screamed in unison as Mimic stepped backwards, giving the Platypus room to think and speak.

Dr. Starline spoke, more to reassure himself than those with him. "Maybe.. Maybe we can beat him, if we work together we may yet pull off a miracle. Heh, miracle. Such an unscientific term but the only word that is suitable for our situation."

"W-what do you mean, him? Who is he?" Buster began to say but was quickly interrupted by Rough who abruptly and rudely stepped in front of Buster to voice his own objections.

"What the hell are you talkin about doc?" Rumble began to say, "Speak for yourselves. Tumble and I together have no problem taking on anyone, anytime, and anywh-"

Before Rumble could finish his sentence, before anyone could even blink, let alone process what had happened, a blast of hot air and unfathomable heat flowed past everyone as red droplets splattered onto the walls, floors, and everyone's clothes and faces. When everyone's brain caught up to process what had happened and what stood before them, they gazed in fear, terror, and awe at the metal hand that had pierced through Rough's chest and lifted him off the ground.

A metallic face stared at Buster, its lifeless red eyes fixated on him unnaturally with nothing but a cold lifeless, emotionless stare that promised nothing but death. The metal monster moved his arm, with Rough still impaled by the metallic appendage, then tilted it's hand at an angle that allowed Rough to unceremoniously slide off and fall onto the ground. The motion was fluid, swift, and unsympathetic. It was no different than how one reflexively brushes off an insect that per happenstance had landed on their arm.

"No… it can't be." Buster whispered to himself as time, for but a second, seemed to slow down to a crawl then freeze. Buster was unsure if it was the chaos emeralds or merely a matter of perception based on the activation of his fight or flight response, thus altering his relative perception of time. Buster refocused his mind and buried the thought, as in a mere second, it might not even matter.

"If we run we die-" Dr. Starline said as he jumped backwards and readied himself to use the Warp Topaz.

Fang, fast as lightning drew his steel revolver, aimed it at the head of Metal Sonic, minding the angle, then pulled the trigger.

The bullet bounced off of Metal Sonic not leaving so much as a scratch.

Fang the Sniper didn't even have time to curse under his breath.

Metal Sonic launched forward but was blocked by Bark and Tumble, the latter of which screamed in anger and agony. Both used every bit of their super-strength to hold the metal monster back.

It was not enough.

Bark and Tumble were pushed backwards by the three foot tall metal nightmare and sent falling to the ground. They landed next to Tumble who lay dying.

Bark moved to confront Metal Sonic as the battle continued once more while Tumble, staring for a moment into his dying brother's eyes, remained on the ground across from him in shock and disbelief.

Nothing mattered to Tumble anymore.

Not the fight. Not his pride. Not his missing tail.

Without his brother nothing mattered.

Rough and Tumble's eyes meet as Rough lay bleeding on the ground. No words were spoken, the two simply intuitively knew what the other's heart was speaking as they stared into each other's eyes.

"Little Bro."

"Bro."

"W-we can fix this, hang in there."

"Bro… I'm scared."

As Bark was rising to his feet, Rough reached out a bloody hand for his Brother Tumble to take, only for it to fall lifeless to the ground short of reaching his grasp.

In that precise moment, Tumble became a lifeless husk, a zombie, alive in only a clinical sense of the word.

In his heart of hearts he had died and all that remained to fill the void was sorrow and rage.

Before Rough or Bark could react and fully recover their will to fight or their footing, Metal Sonic dashed forward to execute Buster with a single strike.

Buster's life flashed before his eyes when a portal materialized in front of him to the shock and surprise of both Buster and Metal Sonic. Unable to change direction or slow his speed in time, Metal Sonic was sent through the instantaneously summoned portal whereupon he exited at a great speed… directly into a concrete wall.

As if processing what happened, Metal Sonic was frozen for nearly a quarter of a second. Its blood red artificial eyes, which pierced through the low light conditions of the prison, gave Metal Sonic the gaze of a Reaper of Death, a Reaper that yet again stared at Buster and him alone. Chunks and bits of cracked concrete fell to the ground as Metal Sonic slowly -for him- stepped backwards, its body rotating to realign with its head that was already facing Buster.

Bark and Fang changed forward towards Metal Sonic while Tumble fell to his knees and held his dear brother Rough in his arms as he began to sob.

Bark moved to grapple Metal Sonic but Bark was outclassed in speed, power, and tactical analysis. Metal moved the dagger-like digits of his hands to stab into Bark's comparatively tender flesh but Metal's hand was blasted to the side by an explosive projectile at the last moment allowing Bark to shift his body to barely avoid the attack.

Metal Sonic's eyes turned to scan the new threat, and in a nanosecond it acknowledged Fang and his smoking Lever Action Rifle. It instantly registered that the round that Fang had fired had been a specialized titanium 45-70 armor piercing explosive round. Metal Sonic ran simulations of all the variables at play. In the end, Metal Sonic upgraded the current encounter's threat level from nonexistent… to minimal.

A half dozen shots rang out causing everyone's ears to pop and ring, while metal in response had instantly activated a black shield causing all six rounds to detonate or deflect upon contact with the shield without any damage being inflicted.

Dr. Starline had watched everything unfold as he calculated his next move when an idea formed in his mind. He grinned and waited, the moment Metal Sonic canceled his black shield, Dr. Starline with a flex of his wrist created a portal that appeared in front of Metal Sonic which unleashed a torrent of water from the ocean. It spilled forth with such force at such speeds that Metal Sonic was blown backwards down the hallway, first from the initial contact of the high pressered water, second was as he was carried by the rapid current that had formed as a result of the pressurized water of the entire ocean being forced through a single portal. The room was quickly flooded with water and when the water had risen to the group's knees Dr. Starline closed the portal.

Now looking very much the part of a scientific genius, Dr. Starline spoke with equal measures of arrogance and confidence as he pushed up the brim of his glasses with a grin spread across his face. "Here is the plan. Force Metal Sonic into the next portal I create and we all may yet live to see tomorrow."

"Wow, you really make it sound easy." Mimic said.

Dr. Starline was about to reply when Metal Sonic shot forward through the air, his jet turbine going into overdrive, their roar magnified by the flooded concrete hallway.

Almost no one had time to react, except for one, who had repositioned himself to take Metal Sonic head on.

Metal Sonic had sent Tumble backwards, his feet struggling to move forward as he fell to his knees as Metal Began to push him down toward the ground as Tumble screamed all the while.

"I'm going to kill you old man, you hear me Eggman? I'm going to bash your skull in when I find you. I'll recycle Metal and turn him into a microwave. You'll pay for this. I'll find you Eggman. I'll kill you with my own hands-"

For the second time, Metal Sonic changed his focus off of Buster and turned it towards Tumble. One heartbeat later, as if a new directive had been given, Buster saw Metal Sonic become a blur of blinked as he noticed the water at his feet beginning to turn red as droplets of water ran down his fur.

"Ehck-" was all Tumble could utter as his throat was flooded with blood. Yet more blood ran down his neck as Metal Sonic withdrew his metallic hand and the five razor sharp digits attached to them leaving a gaping hole where Tumble's neck and throat used to be. As Tumble fell to the ground, undoubtable deceased, Metal returned his unnatural and ominous red eyes back toward Buster who now stood within arms reach.

As Metal turned his gaze, Fang had already been in the process of jumping in front of Buster as Dr. Starline created a portal behind Metal Sonic that showed a brilliant blue sky as the hallway was flooded once more, but this time by strong torrents of wind that caused the water to bounce and disperse.

Fang the Sniper fired an explosive round from his Lever Action Rifle but Metal Sonic simply raised a hand to deflect the round leaving it to blow a chunk of concrete wall off behind him. Metal changed forward but instead of grabbing Buster, Metal Sonic grabbed Dr. Starline and threw him into the portal with Buster and Fang the Sniper thrown in after him.

Their ears popped once more from the sudden change of air pressure. Buster had momentarily blacked out from the pain and when he opened his eyes he found himself hurtling towards the earth in a freefall from far above the clouds at terminal velocity. His heart felt as it would burst out of his chest as his screams of terror were muted by the roaring air currents.

"Look alive kid, hold onto me if you want to live." Fang shouted from above him. Fang extended his tail as Fang the Sniper scanned the horizon.

Buster grabbed Fang's tail, confused, as the latter pulled him close and instructed buster to wrap his arms around him. Buster was about to ask a question when Fang fired his rifle.

The recoil sent the pair flying downward at an increased speed, creating just enough space that Metal Sonic flew past them just out of arm's reach, his Turbine Engine roaring across the sky as he turned to make another pass.

"Starline." Fang shouted. "Starline!" Fang adjusted his and Buster's position so they were now falling with their body vertical to the ground in an effort to obtain greater speed with which to catch up to Dr. Starline. Dr. Starline, for his part, was trying to slow his fall by stretching his body out to create as much surface area as possible to take advantage of wind resistance and drag while he kept his eye on Metal Sonic.

Metal Sonic flew through the air like a jet fighter as he moved into attack position, this time targeting Dr. Starline.

Dr. Starline created a portal below him that he fell into just as Metal Sonic was about to sever his body in two. The platypus appeared above Fang and Buster then created another portal that the two fell through and exited right next to him.

"Nice of you two to drop by."

"This is no time for jokes-" Fang the Sniper shouted.

"Oh please, I have everything under con-"

Fang the Sniper grabbed Dr. Starline with his tail and fired several shots at metal sonic, two of the three shots connected and Metal Sonic barely missed his attempt to execute them as he once shot off his trajectory and out of position to perform a lethal strike on any of his three targets.

"-trol… Okay. It's unfortunate but the best course of action is to abandon the others."

"Like hell we will." Fang shouted. "If you abandon them I will kill you myself."

"Buster? Your thoughts?"

Metal Sonic fired a laser from his chest. it whizzed past them and just as Metal Sonic adjusted his targeting Dr. Starline created a portal and sent it exiting back toward Metal Sonic. The laser connected with Metal Sonic's frame and he quickly abandoned that mode of attack.

"Oh my goodness! I can't believe that worked. I thought for sure we were all dead."

"Glad to see your optimism returning Doctor." Buster said.

"Enough, before he returns what say you, Buster? Should we not leave the others? They're professionals. They can get out on their own. There's nothing of value to be gained by going back."

Fang pulled out his steel revolver, his mouth clenched closed as he glared at Dr. Starline as the barrel of his gun was put to his head, "Bastard, I outta-"

"Fang! I agree with you, we can't leave the others. We have a mission to finish and both the Doctor and Mimic can still prove invaluable at aiding in everyone's safe escape."

"Hmmm I suppose your-"

-Fang fired at Metal Sonic, this time only one explosive round hit his target, while Dr. Starline created another portal that the trio fell through. They exited the portal and fell onto what they thought was concrete, their bones threatening to break with each blunt impact as they rolled across the floor at extreme speed. Their speed slowed and Buster realized what they were skidding and tumbling across.

Buster's body was consumed as his momentum died just enough to send him falling into the now knee high water.

Eventually the trio came to a stop and Dr. Starline let out a single groan of pain.

"-right." Dr. Starline said as he finished his sentence then grimaced in pain. "Say 'here' if you're alive."

"Fuck you." was Fang's labored and prompt reply.

"Here." Buster said wishing the Doctor had broken his neck so he could take his Warp Topaz device.

"Fang!" Duck yelled as he paddled over to see him. "Fang, I was so worried."

"Okay. Okay! Stop hugging me, I'm fine. Don't be so needy runt."

"I was so worried I was going to have to blow my way out of this base with just Bark and I."

"Uh, I'm still here." Mimic said.

"We- would have been all alone!" Bean said dramatically as he turned to Mimic and stuck out his tongue."

"You both would have been fine." Fang said.

"But only you have the wifi password." Bean said with watery eyes as he held back tears and hugged Fang the Sniper.

"I- yeah… yeah, good thing I made it then." Fang said with deflated enthusiasm and a deadpan delivery. "How's your leg mook?"

"Oh Fang, it's wonderful! I'm so high on painkiller drugs I can see sounds."

"That sounds concerning."

"No. It's amazing. I want to blow something up so badly. I'm just trembling thinking about it."

"I'm pretty sure that's your body on the verge of going into shock-"

"Forward unto victory." Bean cheered as he pointed in the direction they were originally headed then fell face first into the water and was promptly helped up by Fang the Sniper.

"Before that, what about them?" Buster said as he pointed to Rough and Tumble who were lifeless in knee high reddish water.

"What else? We leave them." Mimic the Octopus bluntly.

"I agree. At the end of the day everyone of you is expendable."

"Heh, speak for yourself Doctor. Also, you owe me a new hat."

"Yes, well, I'll add it to your payment."

"How are you holding up Bark?" Buster turned to look at bark who was covered in dried blood, much of it his own. The Polar Bear gave a thumbs up but Buster could tell he was at the limit of his strength.

"Let's get going." Buster began, "There's nothing left here for us. I know Rough and Tumble were criminal scum, who really sucked at rhyming. They had a short temper and even shorter fuse attached to an inferiority complex, but at the end of the day, when the chips were on the table they were brothers who loved one another. That is worth remembering. They-"

"Oh will you shut up and get walking? You two are falling behind." Mimic screamed down the hall."

Buster looked up and noticed only Bark stood beside him paying his respects to the dead.

Bark turned and gave Buster a somber look, then a 'gentle' jab into his rib cage as he turned to join the others.

Buster took one more look at Rough and Tumble as their lifeless bloody bodies lay partially submerged in the water.

In a way, Buster thought, they weren't that different from him in the end.

Family against the world.

Willing to kill and die for one another.

…

It only took a moment for both Mimic and Fang to verify that yes, the Warden had been executed by Metal Sonic.

"It seems Metal or rather Dr. Eggman had hacked into the prison's computer system and downloaded a layout of the facility as well as sabotaged the main power systems."

"But.. how did he get in the prison?" Mimic said.

"Maybe he swimmed?" Bean said cheerfully.

The group stepped foot into the submarine.

"I think we'll find our answer here."

Soon they did. The smell of death greeted them as they entered the submarine. The bottom of their shoes and boots turned red with blood that had not yet fully dried.

"Oh chaos. Metal did some work. We'll have to thank him for the time saved when we next see him." Mimic said with a grin.

"I have no plans to ever see him again." Dr. Starline said.

The submarine was littered with bodies.

"Let's just… go home." Buster said, his body and heart both heavy with exhaustion.

"Hmmm. Home. Such a sentimental word. Where is home Buster?" Dr. Starline said.

"F-forget I said anything." Buster stared at the ground. "It's a force of habit."

"As you wish, now let us chart a course for… home." Dr. Starline said with a grin as he set a course for the sub and turned on the autopilot.

Fang scratched his head. "So, I got to ask ya Doc… Doctor Starline. How's that portal thingy even work?"

"Really? Have you not been paying attention to anything that happened today?"

"I have, it's just, it's just been used inconsistently. I was just wondering. What changed? Couldn't you just, you know, portal us back to our base?"

It's not that easy. I need to have a clear picture in mind of where the portal will be created. Something vague like the ocean or or far above the clouds is general enough to work without issue. Something more specific like a room or a closet requires either a picture or far too much variable risk then I am willing to make. I still have not tested this device's full capabilities so I am erring on the side of caution.

"Seriously, it's the greatest invention I've ever seen, Dr. Eggman will need to watch out for you." Fang the Sniper said with a smile as he gave Bark the Polar Bear a quick double-pat on the back.

Buster understood that Fang was clearly buttering Starline up, but for what possible purpose he was unsure.

"Oh please stop it Fang, you're embarrassing m-."

Bark's hand wrapped around Dr. Starline's throat and lifted him off the ground, choking him, which cut off his sentence before he could finish speaking.

"What the hell is-" Fang raised his revolver to Mimics chest.

"Don't get any ideas, either of you two. Doctor, if you so much as pinch Bark, never mind stabbing him with those spurs of yours I give Bark full permission to snap your neck like a twig."

Bark lessened his grip allowing Dr. Starline the ability to breathe and speak, albeit barely.

Mimic was about to throw his blade at one of Barks carotid arteries when Fang shot Mimic in his chest with a hollow point round.

"Mmmmmm that felt good. I can't say how long I've been waitin to do that." Fang the Sniper said with a grin.

"You… shot me?" Mimic said more out of delirium than out of genuine surprise.

Fang spat on the ground, "Sure as shit on a sunday morning, I sure did. And I'll shoot you again if you cause any further issues."

"F-fang?" Buster said with trepidation. "W-what's going on?"

"Don't worry kiddo, I'm not going to kill you or anyone… as long as you all cooperate."

Buster's body shook in terror, he stared in shock at Mimic who was losing blood fast.

"Don't worry about him, he has two or three hearts and his body regenerates cells at a rapid pace. He'll be fine. Probably. If not, it's not like anyone will miss him."

"F-fuck you!" Mimic said as he coughed up blood.

"Oh please, it was a grazing shot… sort of."

"My left shoulder is gone, you asshole!" Mimic screamed.

"You're fine. Don't be a baby." Fang the Sniper said with an added wave of his gun.

"W-why are you doing this?" Buster said in equal measures shock and appall.

"Oh, no. Please don't look at me like that. You're going to make me feel guilty. I never feel guilty. Come on Buster, don't be like that. Surely you knew this was bound to happen? I mean, what did you expect? We all were going to go merrilly-merrilly-merrilly our separate ways? Come on. You're smarter than that."

Rage flowed throughout Buster's body as he put two and two together.

"I trusted you. I poured my heart out to you and you… you… you're going to rob me?"

Bean the Dynamite hopped over towards Buster with his sole single functioning foot; his voice was the same unsettling mix of hyperactivity and disturbing verbal and physical threats of aggression. "Ding ding ding we have a winner! Now…" Bean held out a hand. "Hand over the shiny, and no funny business or I'll make some micro bombs and blow off random bits of ya, and I'm starving so I'd rather not ruin my appetite."

"Why?" Was all Buster could say as he stepped backwards away from everyone and clutched his Interdiminsional teleportation device that housed a single chaos emerald… his sole ticket back to his world.

I meant what I said you know." Fang the Sniper said.

"What?" Buster said.

"I meant what I said…" Fang the Sniper raised his revolver at Buster's chest. "Every word."

"I… I need this. My family needs this. I can't let you have it!" Buster said begging. Pleading.

"Don't care. Hand the Chaos Emerald over. Now."

"Please."

"I don't have all day." Fang raised his revolver further and aimed down the sight.

"Please. I… my sisters."

"You're a smart kid, you'll figure something out. We each have our people to look out for. It's nothing personal, kid. It's just business."

"That's bullshit and you know it." Buster said, his words were seeped in vitriol.

"Okay then, it's just mere survival. Either way, hand it over. I like you Buster. I'd hate to shoot you. I don't want to shoot you…"

Buster bit his lip until he broke the skin and a small trickle of blood formed. "But you will…"

Fang the Sniper cocked the hammer of his revolver. "But I will."

"Then do it-"

Fang pulled the trigger.

The bullet flew through the air and hit the wall next to Buster and bounced harmlessly around until it came to a stop on the ground.

"Hmmm, seems I missed. Whelp, I'd hate to waste more ammo. Must be your lucky day kid. Now… what to do?"

Fang the Sniper began to walk about. "What to do, what to do, what to do? Ah… we'll do things the hard way. Bark, hold the Doctor for me."

Fang the Sniper walked over to Bark who was still holding Dr. Starline by the neck. Bark lowered Dr. Starline closer to the ground for Fang."

"It's like I said Buster. I like you." Fang the Sniper put the barrel of his gun to Dr. Starlines forehead. "I can't say the same for the Doctor here. So what is it going to be, Buster? What do I have to do to get you to give up the Emerald?"

"..."

"Hmmm? No answer huh? That's fine. We'll do a little workshopping. Bark, break the doctor's leg. As slow and painfully as you can."

Bark's face was diluted of all emotion, except for his eyes. Buster saw great pain in his eyes as he shifted his grip from Dr. Starlines neck to his legs.

"Oh please, oh please, oh please don't-" Dr. Starline screamed in pain. Then as soon as it began he stopped, merely turning to sobbing as he begged for mercy. Saying nothing more than please over and over again.

"Well Buster, are we going to have to break his leg? His legs? How many bones will we need to break? If we need to, we can start chopping off tentacles and cook calamari for lunch should we need a break. He has a few left."

"F-fuck you." Mimic spat. "Calamari is squid you dumbass."

Buster did not give a damn about Mimic or Starline but he needed their power and resources to get his sisters back. In the end, Buster found himself with no real choices once more."

"Fine. Take it."

"Bean." Fang said with a flick of his head towards the Emerald.

"Wahoo!" Bean said as he seemingly floated over toward Buster, landing on his good foot. His words were drenched in childlike excitement. "Shiny please."

Buster entered a code into his 'watch' and the device opened revealing a single chaos emerald which Buster handed over with a long drawn out moment of hesitation.

Bean grabbed the chaos emerald and Buster, barely keeping his composer unconsciously held onto the emerald for dear life. Bean the Dynamite had to use two of his hands to pry the Emerald out of Buster's hand.

"Got it!" Bean said.

"Pleasure doing business." Fang the Sniper said.

The room was silent except for Bean who was over the moon and rubbing his cheek against the chaos emerald whispering sweet words to it.

"Well, everyone get comfy, it will be a long ride back to the coast I reckon. Oh, and Doctor, don't worry about the hat, I think this'll cover it." Fang the sniper flashed a wide toothy grin that shone like silver.

Buster meanwhile had nothing to say. There was nothing he could say. All he could think to do was curl up into himself, holding his legs, and try not to cry as he mentally replayed on loop what had just happened. He tried to understand and process that he was not in a nightmare but reality. Buster tried not to cry as in his mind's eye he saw his hopes and dreams of uniting with his family being pried from his hands as he would be left to wallow aimlessly in this strange land, betrayed by those he had foolishly came to trust and even respect.

"Life isn't fair." Buster thought as darker parts of his mind began to grow louder. What was once a whisper that was rejected and ignored sprang forth from the darkest parts of his being and overwhelmed his consciousness.

"You're too trusting," Buster's mind answered back.

Buster's sorrow turned to a rage and hatred he had become much too accustomed with.

"Life isn't fair." Buster thought once more, as the fires of his rage inflamed the vitriol of his thoughts.

"It wasn't Fang's fault this happened to you. You were too weak. Did you really think you could trust anyone? Had anyone else been in their place instead, they would have done the same… they would have betrayed you, used you, tossed you out like expired mushrooms."

"They used me…" Buster thought.

His traumatized and broken mind answered back… "They did."

"They made a fool of me."

"You are a great fool. Because you are weak. You lack power over others."

"I'm the son of Miles Prower. I'm better than this. I deserve better than this!" Buster screamed internally to his conscious mind.

"You do. You just wanted your family to live happily together. Was that too much to ask for?"

"Starline… Mimic… the Hooligans… Eggman. They're all the same. They're all backstabbing worthless scum who don't even deserve to breathe the same oxygen as my sisters and I." As Buster spoke to himself he bit his lip. He was starting to enjoy the pain as it distracted him but for a moment from the pain he was feeling on the inside.

"You're a little fish in a big pond, Buster. This happened because you are weak. Because you give others strength over you. You wait and follow like a child. Always reactive, never proactive. Trusting their poisoned honeyed words as they sharpen daggers and cock hammers ready to rid your naivete from the world as they grind your dreams to dust."

Buster was breathing heavily, as his dark thoughts assaulted and overwhelmed his mind.

"It's time you played by their rules. It's time for you to actually, truly, bathe yourself in the blood of the naive and innocent, if that is what it takes to survive and see your ideal world take form. It means using and casting aside anyone and anything."

"I see it now." Buster thought to himself, "It's so clear to me. The world truly is just a zero-sum game after all. People will take more than they need to survive. It's the natural way of things. It's simply survival of the fittest… no matter how many others lives need to be destroyed, no matter how much blood needs to be spilled. No matter how many more lives I'll need to take…" Buster looked up as if he saw the world for the first time…

"No matter what the cost in blood or time… the Prower family must survive."

With no moves to make, Buster silently waited his next turn… biding his time.

…

"Ah, smell that fresh salty air!" Fang the Sniper began. "And look, our rides here! Ha ha ha ha ha! Almost like I sent a signal ahead for the hoverbikes to meet us here. I'm so smart."

"You're so smart Fang!" Bean said as he ran his cheek across the Chaos Emerald for the millionth time.

"Oh crap, we gotta split." Fang said as he, Bean, and Bark jumped off the deck of the submarine and onto their floating hover bikes. "And don't worry about us. The Marvelous Queen here has a proper Chaos Emerald jammer to prevent us from being tracked by Eggman and Metal."

Fang the Sniper took the Emerald from a very reluctant Bean then put the Emerald inside the Marvelous Queen "Smell ya later. He he he."

Fang the Sniper, Bark the Polar Bear, and Bean the Dynamite flew off, but Fang stopped abruptly and turned around, "Oh and Buster…"

"What."

"Please take care of yourself. Remember the promise you made to me."

"..."

"Heh, see you around kid."

Then… the Hooligans were gone.

Buster, Mimic, and Dr. Starline stood on top of the submarine.

Mimic scoffed in frustration. "The water will sting like hell."

"We're not swimming." Dr. Starline held up his Warp Topaz.

"Oh, right." Mimic said.

…

After stepping through the portal, with their feet on solid land the three collapsed onto the sand.

Mimic rubbed the outskirts of his formally blown off shoulder that was now almost entirely healed. "So… am I the only one that wants to hunt down those three assholes and skin them alive?"

Buster ignored Mimic as he stood on his knees, bent over, with his hands gripping the sand in disbelief. His mind raced with a million thoughts. Dr. Starline looked to the sky and scanned for threats, specifically G.U.N. or Metal Sonic."

Mimic furrowed his brow as his question went unanswered. "Hello? Anyone? Are either of you going to answer? No? Pffft, fine then," Mimic twirled his scalpel in his hands and grinned. "More fun for me. Hey Doc, teleport me out of this place. Send me to some… dark alley somewhere. I need to blow off some steam."

"Cer…tainly." Dr. Starline said without thinking as he finished staring at the sky, the Platypus now at ease that they were, if only for a moment, free from danger.

Buster got off his knees and hands as sand clung to his fur. He turned to Dr. Starline, grabbed him by the collar with the look of a man possessed in his eyes.

"W- What are you doing?" Dr. Starline said.

"I need another chaos emerald or I'll be trapped here. You are going to tell me where I can get one."

"Let go of me." Dr. Starline said as he pushed Buster away.

Buster stepped forward and grabbed the Doctor by the collar. Dr. Starline tried to push the fox away, and roughly pulled on his fur to get him to cease his assault but Buster ignored everything, pain and all, and stared into Dr. Starline's eyes with the look of someone about to mentally lose control.

"Dr. Starline. Where... Is... The child?" Buster said slowly, as he emphasized each word.

"What?"

Buster was filled with rage as he pulled the terrified Platypus closer toward his face.

"Where is the little girl with the chaos emerald? I need a chaos emerald. I don't care what I have to do. I am getting one, even if I need to bath myself in blood to get my hands on one."

"Forget it. That is the one chaos emerald you cannot go for. We could barely escape from Metal. Some of us died for chaos sake. If you go after that little girl's emerald, Shadow will find you and kill you. By all means, if you wish for death, go ahead and give it a try, but keep me out of it."

"Then I'll have to kill him first."

Dr. Starline rolled his eyes. "Imputant and ignorant child, Shadow is not something that you can kill. Trust me. The government tried several times with his consent. They stopped short of nukes for obvious reasons."

"Is… is he a god?"

"Heh, certainly not."

"Then he can be killed. What was created can be destroyed. Now tell me where the child is and I'll be on my way."

Dr. Starline thought for a moment, as mischievous plots and plans swam through his brain as Buster represented a unique tool and resource he did not want to let go of. "While you are not wrong, compared to you and I Shadow might as well be a god. Even if you were to defeat him, should you lay a finger on Cream I half expect him to rise from the dead and fight alongside over a dozen other people who would not rest until her assailant was contained if not destroyed. Cream the Rabbit, while weak, has a friend group whose individual strengths rival the best attributes Doctor Eggman, Metal Sonic, and I can offer. Friends that, I shall add, have beaten Dr. Eggman and Metal Sonic time and time again in a seemingly endless cycle. This… informal league of vexing vermin as Dr. Eggman calls them, are fully capable of toppling governments, eviscerating the governments chain of command through effortless assassinations and electronic warfare, physically raze the very foundations of the Federations Institutions to the ground, and exterminate every last G.U.N base and soldier… if they were ever so inclined. Do you know what they do instead, Buster? Hmm? Any idea what these extraordinary beings do?

Buster's grip on Dr. Starlines Collar weakened.

"What do they do instead?"

"They stop so-called evil plots, keep the world safe, and do their best to have brunch once a month at a fabulous little diner. I'm sorry Buster, they are simply out of your league. For you and I, Cream the Rabbit is untouchable."

"Speak for yourselves, I messed Cream and her friends up and I'll do it again soon enough." Mimic said.

"Even knowing all that… I don't care. Tell me where she is. I have to… I'll do anything. Just tell me where to go. No questions asked. No mercy given."

"You're delusional. You're Insane. Did you not hear a word I said? You're not thinking clearly."

"I'm thinking very clearly." Buster shouted as he held back tears. "I need a chaos emerald or I will never see my sister and family again. So don't you dare tell me I am not thinking clearly. I am thinking very fucking clearly."

"..."

"Well? Speak."

Dr. Starlien stared at Buster silently as the Platypus racked his brain then smiled.

"Speak-"

"-So, if I happened to have lied to you earlier and knew where you could obtain a chaos emerald easily, what would you be willing to do for me?"

"Anything."

Mimic did a double take as he began to give their conversation his full and undivided attention.

"Let go of me." Dr. Starline said with softly spoken words and with a patronizing smile.

Buster let go of Dr. Starlines collar.

"Let's… get your sister, then we can talk about quid pro quos."

Buster nodded. "That sounds… good. I'm sorry about earlier."

"Think nothing of it dear Buster." Dr. Starline said.

Dr. Starline looked towards Mimic. "Mimic, we have need of your services." Dr. Starline said.

"Forget it, whatever it is, I'm not interested."

"You owe me, remember? Or perhaps you would prefer I teleport you back to the prison?"

Mimic exhaled and sighed. "Fine. But after this we're even. Now what are we doing?"

"We are going to assault a police headquarters and perform a jailbreak. We'll stop by my base of operations to make our preparations. Grab something to eat. Have a drink perhaps, then you'll take the lead and do what you do best."

Mimic laughed hysterically. "Alright then. Sounds fun doc. I'll play along and pay that debt I owe you. Then I'm gone like a ghost."

Dr. Starline opened a portal to his base then turned to Buster. "After you."

Dr. Starline grinned mischievously as Buster stepped through the portal.

…

"Out of the way. Get out of the way." Buster shouted as he pushed Dr. Starline and Mimic aside. "Give me the key." After the key was tossed to him by Dr. Starline, Buster wasted no time in unlocking the prison door that held his sister.

"I was wondering how much longer it would take you. Who did you bring along?"

Buster swallowed nervously, he knew what his sister was really asking was, "Can we trust them?"

"Sorry, something came up. Let's get you out of here."

Annabella squinted her eyes. That was all she needed to hear. She took her brother's offered hand and stepped off the bunk she had been laying on and rose to her feet with her brother's assistance.

Dr. Starline entered the cell and offered Annabella her previously confiscated walking cane.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Annabella. My name is Dr. Starline. Buster has spoken very highly of your intellect and expertise in physics and transtemporal research. As a fellow scientist I am ecstatic to converse with you once we have left this dreary place behind us."

"Thank you. Doctor. It is always a pleasure to meet a fellow scientist."

"I'm surrounded by nerds and losers." Mimic said as he transformed from a human police officer back into his standard octopus form.

"You know what they say, nerds shall inherit the earth." Annabella let slip a cheeky grin.

Mimic rolled his eyes. "So, you are the prick's little sister."

"Older sister actually."

"Hmph." The octopus walked off twirling a bloody blade in his hand as he stepped over several bloody bodies.

"Buster."

"Yeah, sis?"

Annabella closed her eyes and inhaled deeply before she opened them and turned to her brother. "You didn't kill anyone to get me out of here did you?"

Buster smiled. "No, I didn't. It was all Mimic."

"Do you have the-"

Buster shushed his sister then whispered. "Yes, I already took care of it. Grabbed it from evidence and plugged the drive into the computer. We just need to do the final errand for… him… then we're home free."

"Good." Annabella smiled, limped forward with the help of her cane, she stepped over several bloody corpses then turned back to face her brother. "Let's go, we've got work to do. Where are we headed now, dear brother of mine?" Annabella waved her brother toward her in an attempt to get him to walk with her.

Despite her best efforts Buster remained frozen as he swallowed nervously back inside the jail cell.

"Anna, listen. We can't head home right now… at least, not right away." Buster took a few tentative steps so that he was just outside the cell door.

"What are you talking about?" Annabella's words cut like daggers through Buster's heart. He hoped she would forgive him.

"The Chaos Emerald in my device. It was stolen."

"Oh… is that it?"

"Huh?"

"Little brother, you worry too much, we'll simply get another one." Annabella said to her brother with a belittling pat of his head. Now, where is our next destination?"

"Please madam, allow me." Dr. Starline stepped closer to Annabella and activated his warp topaz causing a portal to materialize near them. "Ladies first."

Annabella looked to her brother who subtly nodded. With her concerns for the moment alleviated, Annabella stepped through the portal.

"I'll see you on the other side, doctor." Buster said before he stepped through the portal.

"Care to join us?" Dr. Starline said as he cranked his neck to look down the hall to where Mimic was messing with a computer system. "Don't fret, I already sent a virus to destroy their security footage."

"Smart, when did you manage that?" Mimic said with great relief.

"Back at my base before we came here."

"Hmmm, cute. I'll be on my way then. My debt has been paid as we agreed."

"Actually… about that."

MImic stopped dead in his tracks, "What do you mean… about that?"

"Oh please, don't be so vexed, I simply mean to say our cooperation is just getting started." Dr. Starline flashed a dishonest smile that Mimic wished to carve away with his knife.

"What makes you say that? You think you can use me like some pawn for your delusional schemes? I'll pass, I've had enough of people for one lifetime, take it from me, you're no exception."

Mimic turned and started to head for the building's exit.

"That is quite the shame, I certainly hope Dr. Eggman does not catch a whiff of where you are… or where you are going."

Mimic stopped in his tracks for a second time, turned, and stomped toward Dr. Starline, and grabbed him by his neck and held a knife to his face. "What did you just say to me?"

Dr. Starline smiled and wheezed out a response, "Please watch the collar, it's quite expensive."

"Oh yeah, maybe I should dye it a nice shade of red, what do you think of that?"

"L-Look, you're not going to kill me."

"Don't tempt me."

"You need me."

"Why would I need you?"

"Because Dr. Eggman wants you dead. He knows you're in the city now. I… -eck- I can help you. Throw him off your scent. Make sure Metal doesn't come knocking. You have unfinished work with Dr. Eggman, and he is not as forgiving as I."

"I can hide well enough on my own."

Dr. Starline jeered, "Oh really? Did you disable the tracking device the Warden put in you?"

"You'll bullshiting me. Why would the Warden put chips in inmates that would never see the light of day again."

"Because he is, heh, excuse me, was, the kind of man that likes to be in control, and if anyone ever did escape, he would be able to catch them without outside help. Didn't you think it's strange that they gave you so many shots when you were incarcerated?"

Mimic put his hand to his neck. Frowned. Then loosened his grip on Dr. Starline.

"Mind the collar if you would be so kind. Unlike people, some things are a little more difficult to replace."

Mimic let go of Dr. Starlines collar. "So… where does that leave us? What do you want from me?"

"I think we would make a great partnership, you and I. If you agree to help me with my plans I will aid you in your endeavors and ensure that Eggman keeps his mind occupied on other matters."

"Fine then. But I have a list of people that need killing. Shadow, Tangle, Whisper, and others. If this is a partnership then I expect you'll contribute to me getting my revenge."

Dr. Starline smiled pleasantly. Mimic found it… disturbing.

"My dear comrade, you need not even have asked. Of course. I will aid you in your goals and endeavors. For now though, why don't you run along and stay off the grid. Don't draw attention to yourself. I have some business to attend to with those foxes first before I can move onto other priorities."

Mimic touched his neck, "What about-"

"-In time Mimic in time, don't worry about the chip, when next we meet I will take care of it."

"Fine then. Where will we meet next?"

Dr. Starline smiled once more to the annoyance of Mimic the Octopus. "Don't worry about finding me. I'll find you."

With those words, Mimic gave Dr. Starline a disconcerted look then left the building.

When Mimic had left, Dr. Starline went through the portal to rejoin Buster and Annabella.

…

"I apologize for keeping you waiting. I had to discuss some things with Mimic. Now, dearest Annabella, may I call you Anna?"

"I prefer-"

"Fabulous. So Anna, you must be hungry. Please allow me to whip something up for you. You must be starving. What are you in the mood for? Spagonian cuisine? Homemade pizza?"

"Thank you but I'm not hungry." Annabella said flatly. "The police gave me some sandwiches to eat. I will say I am much more hungry for knowledge of who you are and what you can do for us."

"Ah, ad rem." Dr. Starline smiled and thrice pointed a finger at Annabella. "I knew you'd be a woman of good breed and sound mine upon your brother speaking of you. As you wish I too shall be to the point. You both need a chaos emerald to get home. I presume you have more there… is my hypothesis correct?"

Annabella's expression was that of stone. She slowly turned her gaze to her brother who nodded his head.

"Yes, that would be a correct assumption."

"Here is my proposal," Dr. Starline continued. "I will lend you my Chaos Emerald and in return you let me see the spacetime from whence you come from. This arrangement would solve your problem and allow me to feed my curiosity regarding space time travel. So, do we have a deal?"

"Excuse us for one moment." Annabella said.

"Certainly. Take all the time you need."

Annabella walked over to her brother and the two stepped aside so they could speak softly so Dr. Starline would not hear them.

"What do you think, Buster? Can we trust him?" Annabella said.

"Of course not, he's insufferable. A psychopath. He just wants to use us to feed his own ego complex and use us as pawns to one up Eggman."

"So… we should not take his offer?"

Buster sighed heavily. "We don't have much of a choice. There are not a lot of options for us in our present situation. I doubt the Eggman of our spacetime is going to care if we never return so we can't count on his fat ass to come floating in on a robot to save the day."

"Obviously not… so… do you think we could… you know… take Starlines."

"Maybe. Problem is he is a lot like Eggman. He wouldn't make a deal like this if he wasn't sure we had no other alternatives, and yes, we could totally take him."

Annabella pumped her fists.

"When did you get so gung ho?" Buster said as he stared quizzically at his older sister.

"I did a lot of thinking when I was in prison. It really is us against the universe no matter where we go. I won't allow or approve of killing but if we need something, we won't ask nicely, we'll just take it. F-f-fuck em… as you say dear brother. As you have said before, we're in a zero-sum game. Too much is at stake. We can't afford to play nice."

Buster smiled brightly as he realized his sister Annabella was almost there. Just one more straw and their ethical modus operandi would be perfectly aligned. "I hear you sis. So, what do you think we should do?"

"Given the situation… we need to ask nicely to get what we want."

Mentally, Buster fell to the ground in shock.

"Okay. I'll trust your judgment. But before all that… are you okay?"

Annabella's smile turned into a disconcerted frown as her entire body tensed.

"Anna…" Buster gently put his hands on his sisters shoulders as he stepped toward her.

Annabella stepped back and swatted his hand. "I said I was fine. Really. Nothing happened."

"That certainly wasn't nothing. I can take it solo for a while if you need time-"

Annabella's eyes filled with an inner fire as she bore her fangs and glared at her brother and shouted, "Do not patronize me." Realizing she had shouted she lowered her voice to below a whisper and spoke again, "They… they scared me. They hurt me. But they did not break me. I'll be fine. So let's just focus on our mission and get our sister back."

"Okay. If you need anything at all or if I can do-"

"-Buster, for our parents sake. Drop it. I'm fine."

"Okay. I trust you."

"Thank you."

"..."

"Ahem." Dr. Starline fake coughed. "Are you two finished? If so, I'd love to hear your answer."

"We are. We accept your offer." Buster said.

Dr, Starlien grinned. "Smart move. When would you like us to leave?"

"Immediately. We have no time to waste."

"Ironic, coming from someone who can travel across time and space. No?" Dr. Starline said with a raised eyebrow and a smug grin.

"The irony is not lost on us." Annabella said.

"Excuse me while I retrieve it. I'll be gone for a minute."

"..."

"As per our agreement, here you are. One Chaos Emerald."

Buster held out his hand and Dr. Starline placed it in his palm. Buster then put it into the watch-like device, pressed a few buttons, then pressed a button and a portal emerged.

Dr. Starline attempted to look through it.

The portal was black and blue and gave no indication as to what was on the other side.

"Hmmm. Rather ominous. If I didn't know better I'd assume you'd lay a trap."

"We'd never." Buster said as he stood next to Dr. Starline casually. "Would you like to go first?" He said as he gestured to the portal?

"Certainly not. We'll have your sister go first followed by me. Ladies first after all."

"Hmmm. Fair enough. Anna, do you mind?"

"Sure. Have the cripple hop through an interdimensional portal. You all are such gentlemen."

Buster felt as if a precision laser had pierced his heart.

"Anna… I'm so sorry."

"B-Buster it's fine. I've already forgiven you. I was making a dark joke. I didn't mean to… I'm sorry."

"No, no, I'm sorry. I never should have-"

"Ugggg, so much drama. Please allow me, madam."

Dr. Starline walked up to Annabella and turned her body to face forward then gently, half pushed, half carried her to the portal and nudged her in.

"Heh? What are you- whaaaaaa!?"

Annabella ungracefully fell through the portal.

"What the hell's your problem?" Buster said.

"Oh please, I was doing you both a favor. You did say you had no time to waste. Ergo, I saved you both time."

"Still, you shouldn't have just manhandled her like that."

"Oh piss posh. I presume no one has done better than I at helping such a lady as her through an interdimensional portal. Am I wrong?"

"You are insufferable." Buster said flatly.

"Thank you. I was a theater kid as a youth."

"I could tell."

"Well then, shall we?"

Buster brushed aside Dr. Starline and went ahead through the portal.

"Some people have no manners." With that said, Dr. Starline stepped through the portal.

…

'I don't believe it."

"Yeah, it's not much but it's our home… one of them." Buster said.

"I knew your parents were gone and you were living alone but I never… I never expected to see a place such as this."

Dr. Starline looked around the underground base the Prower's primarily lived in. He saw a massive cavern wall that looked like it had been dug through with high powered industrial equipment and had been hastily boarded up with aluminum panels. He saw half eaten moldy mushrooms still on the table and a nearby bookshelf with dozens of books spilled onto the floor along with several messy unmade beds.

"This place…" Dr. Starline began to say in awe. "This place… is a shithole. No wonder Dr. Eggman wants to exterminate you. You all live like animals."

"Hey! We haven't exactly had time to clean it up. We've been very busy."

"Hmph." Dr. Starline pushed up his glasses. "Cluttered base cluttered plans."

"Maybe for you." Annabella said.

"So… as we agreed. You're here. You can go home now." Buster said.

"Not just yet. I want to see his Empire." Dr. Starline said as he walked over to a giant screen and keyboard and began typing on it."

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Buster said as he bared his fangs and slammed a hand on the keyboard.

Dr. Starline's face twisted into a glare as he stood up, standing over Buster at a towing four feet/120cm, "Who the hell do you think you are? The both of you? I could have killed you. I could have had both of you killed but instead I saved you -foxboy- from not just the police but the other world's Dr. Eggman… twice. You did virtually nothing but have an emotional breakdown and jeopardize our mission at every turn while in the underwater prison. Your presence was virtually useless. Do you really think you have any right… any right at all to speak to me like that? I am Dr. Starline. I offered you to join the glorious Starline Empire for but the mere price of your eternal loyalty and this is how you speak to me? When all I desire is to see the star I so wish, with every fiber of my being, to shine brighter than? Do you truly wish to deny me this? Furthermore, and more importantly, do you really think you could stop me? Resist me? Defy me?"

Buster ground his teeth and balled his fists. He hated this platypus. He wanted to kill him right there right then. It was a damn shame his revolver had been crushed by Rough and Tumble. How dare Starline talk to him like that, in front of his beloved sister no less. He would pay. Maybe not today, but Buster swore he would pay.

"I'm sorry. I… I was out of line. Please continue."

"I'm glad we could reach an understanding as to our pecking order. Now…"

Dr. Starline entered some codes on the computer and dozens of live feeds of the Eggman Empire filled his screen.

Dr. Starlines' breath was taken away by the sight.

"It's…" Dr. Starline barely was able to say.

"I know. It's terrible. A living nightmare."

"No… it's beautiful. It's everything I imagined he would achieve and more."

That… was concerning. Buster and Annabella thought as they glanced at one another then back to Dr. Starline who was literally crying tears of joy.

"So, as I understand it. Dr. Eggman kills me, yes?"

"Yes! Yes, that is correct." Buster restated his lie with more enthusiasm than perhaps he should have.

"Such a shame. Some days I think I should steal all the chaos emeralds and present them to Dr. Eggman as part of my resume and work beside him… but… we're meant to surpass our idols, are we not."

With Dr, Starline lost in thought and in awe at the polluting megalopolis that is the Eggman Empire, Buster and Annabella whispered to one another. "Just checking dear brother but you did make sure the flash drive the police confiscated was put into a device connected to the internet."

"Yes, sister, I did. I'm no fool."

"I know, I was just checking to make sure our plan is… going to plan."

"It is, we just got to ditch this duck billed-"

"My apologies, what was that you said?"

"Uh, nothing." Buster began. "Sis and I were talking about how we still have some work to do to get our other sister back from Dr. Eggman."

"I see. Well, don't mind me. Go ahead."

Annabella looked at her brother and gestured with her eyes and chin that she wanted him gone.

"We'd like a bit of privacy, as an esteemed scientist I'm sure you understand. You're welcome back anytime… just not right now." Buster said.

"No… I'll be staying until you return."

Buster wracked his brain. Then smiled at his sister and gave her a wink and mouthed, watch this. "While I would love for you to stay, I must urge you to leave. Dr. Eggman has used spacetime technology as well and has and could spontaneously appear any second, especially once we go through another portal in this world… worldline… place."

"And that's a problem because?"

"Well, the Eggman in this world has genocided millions-"

"Millions-" Annabella chimed in for emphasis.

"If Dr. Eggman returns and sees that we're working with a scientist, one who has studied him extensively, well, he'll simply eliminate the variable." Buster said.

"A variable he permanently solved once before." Annabella added.

"I see. He is at the height of his power. Tyrants are infamise for ruling with an iron fist and making problems… disappear. You speak with great wisdom Prower. I will take your words of warning to heart. But remember… you're my lackeys now. Whether you've truly embraced it yet or not."

"We understand." Buster said as he reopened the portal back to his world.

"Dr. Starline was about to walk through it. "Wow. You can open a portal to the previously used location with not but a press of a button?"

"Sort of. It's like the callback feature of a phone. It's handy to save time without having to manually record the space-time destination of a place you're in." Buster said.

"Fascinating. Well, until next time… Oh, silly me. I almost forgot about my emerald. Why don't you give me one of yours, since the portal is open already?"

"Anna." Buster said with a nod.

Annabella disappeared to a separate room then ran back and handed one of their two remaining spare chaos emeralds the Prower family had to Dr. Starline.

"Ah, thank you dear." Dr. Starline held it in his hand. "The same color no less. Remarkable. Well then, until next time, remember, you're my lackeys now. Servants of the Starline Empire. Whether you've truly realized it yet or not."

"We understand." Buster said.

"You don't… but you will. Everyone will." With that said, Dr. Starline stepped through the portal back to his secret base and the portal closed behind him.

Annabella glared, stuck out her tongue, then said, "B-B-Bitch, we have a time machine."

Buster beamed upon hearing his prim and proper older sister curse. "Yeah, fuck him, bill faced looking ass."

"F-f-f-fuck him. How dare he talk to us that way. Talk to you that way!"

"Yeah! Fuck him!" Buster chimed in.

"So… now we need to capture the two targets."

"Or kill them." Buster added sheepishly only for his sister to glare at him.

"He he he, just kidding. We'll capture them. It's only infinitely harder."

"I have the baggie with the spacetime coordinates. Ready?" Annabella said as she pulled the small bag from her tail."

"Good hiding spot."

"Thanks brother."

"Listen… Anna, you should stay here."

'No."

"Listen-"

"-Absolutely not. You can't do this alone. You need me. We're a family. We work together."

"Your leg."

"I can get around well enough with a walking stick."

"Anna. I can't risk losing you."

"I can't risk losing you. You're my brother. I love you. How many times are you going to throw yourself into danger and forget that we're a family? Our friends are our friends. Our foes are our foes. Divided we'll fall. We're not just stronger together. You, me, Colette, we all need each other."

"I know. But… hear me out… you need to sit this one out-"

"-No-"

"-So I can do some recon!"

"Huh?" Annabella said as tears started to form in her eyes.

"I just want to go and do some recon. That's it. We need data to formulate a plan on how to capture the… what was it? A silver hedgehog and a purple princess cat?

"The pyromancer and the psychokinetic."

"Yeah."

"That'll have to be some recon for us to beat them."

"Yeah. Not sure what we'll do but I'll figure something out. Then we'll execute the plan and have our sister back before dinner."

"Okay." Annbella limped a few steps forward and hugged her brother.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Buster opened the plastic bag and grabbed the small slip of paper that had the coordinates to enter.

"I'll only be gone a second or three."

"I know."

"Heh, try not to trash the place while I'm gone."

Annabella let slip a bittersweet smile. "No promises, just promise me you won't take long to conduct your recon, I'd hate for you to return as the older brother."

"Heh, no promises." Buster said with a grin.

Buster walked over to the large immobile teleporter device and removed a large blanket that had covered it from Dr. Starlines eyes.

"Out of sight out of mind." Buster said to himself as he began to enter the spacetime numbers when he stopped abruptly.

"Something wrong?" Annabella said.

Buster was… concerned. Sometime between getting the paper from Eggman and now, heat had caused one of the numbers to smudge. Or maybe it had been a printing error. Either way Buster was not sure if one of the numbers was six or an eight.

"Nope… just… entering the numbers."

"One of them is hard to read, isn't it."

"Nope."

"Don't lie to me brother. Just message Eggman and ask what number it's supposed to be."

"No. I'm not talking to him. I refuse to talk to him until we are ready to exchange the targets for Colette."

"Don't be so stubborn."

"He'll make me say please."

"What a cruel price to pay."

"He killed our parents Anna, I'm not giving him another second of satisfaction if I can help it. Besides, it will be fine. It's one of the last numbers in the sequence, it will be a minor deviation from the destination at the worst."

"It's reckless."

"It will be fine."

"What if you land in a volcano? What if you step into thin air at ten thousand feet?"

"First of all, a volcano? Really? The chances of that happening are astronomically small."

"But not impossible." Annabella said sternly.

"Secondly, if I fall out of the sky I'll simply create a portal back home."

"The sudden deceleration would cause you to splat across the wall like a pancake."

"So, just… put some pillows or a mattress or something to save my butt. Trust me sis. It will be fine. I promise."

Annabella groaned aloud. "Men can be so stubborn and stupid, Father was never like this."

"Yes he was."

"No he wasn't."

"Yes, he was!"

"No, he wasn't!"

Both siblings were silent as they glared at one another before their piercing gaze softened as Buster stepped closer to his sister.

"Listen. Anna." Buster put an arm on his sister's shoulder. "I love you and Colette. No matter what happens I will be okay. I'm not going anywhere… figuratively speaking. I'll be back in three seconds or less. Promise."

"You promise?" Annabella asked hesitantly.

"I swear upon Mother and Father. I promise."

"And the Chaos Emerald won't be detected over there?"

"Nope, I took care of that problem back at Starlines base before we hopped over. Even added a coat of black paint so no one can see the emerald anymore unless they open the thing."

"... okay. Don't keep us waiting."

"Never." Buster held his sister's hand and they both gave each other's hand a squeeze before buster turned and entered the final few digits.

As the portal opened, Buster turned and said, "I'm off."

"Safe journey."

Buster smiled then stepped through the portal.

Annabella started to count aloud…

"One…"

"Two…"

…

Upon exiting the portal Buster could not see anything. It was as if the sun had been snuffed out of existence. A torrent of water pelted his body as in one terrifying second he realized his body was in freefall. Before he could react he splashed into warm salty water. He swam to the surface and began to inhale a breath of air only for his breath to be cut short and water sent down his throat as an ocean wave into his face and sent his entire body tumbling through the ocean. Buster surfaced once more gasping for air as another wave swallowed him whole only to spit him back up once more.

Buster panicked. He could see nothing. He struggled for his life, fighting for every sliver of breath. His arms and legs grew weaker and weaker as he struggled to stay afloat in a raging storm. In desperation and a moment of clarity he attempted to open a portal in front of him and pressed the button to do so… but nothing happened.

In a panic buster pressed the button again, knowing that a portal back home should have appeared. The controls were made foolproof to where a child could use them after all. He pressed the button a third time but once more nothing happened.

Buster screamed.

He cried out for help only for the merciless ocean to try once more to drown him as another mighty wave crashed into his body with such force Buster lost awareness of which way was up and which way was down underwater.

Fortunately, his body was light and he had inhaled enough air to float back to the surface.

Buster was tossed around like a doll lost at sea. He tried to take deep breaths as best he could and remain calm but as time wore on his body grew weaker and weaker.

Then he heard it. The sound of waves crashing into something. A wave quickly picked up Buster and carried him forward closer to the sound. He spat out water joyfully. He just had to let the ocean carry him closer to shore then he'd-

Another forceful wave carried Buster's body through the air then slammed him onto into a rock formation.

Buster felt like he almost blacked out. The pain he felt was unlike anything else he had felt. The indifferent ocean carried his limp body out as the wave receded only for him to be sent once more unto the rocks.

Buster's body ached, his muscles ached, his head hurt, and he felt dozens of cuts, scrapes, and bruises. He barely had the energy to do anything but breath. The ocean waves receded once more and Buster took another breath, barely cognizant of the danger he was in, him mind now as numb as his body-

Then he felt nothing at all as his head slammed into a rock and his body and mind fully surrendered to the ocean.

…

Buster Opened his eyes. His body was covered with cuts that had been stitched while his head was wrapped with bandages and each beat of his heart caused a temporary pulse of pain to course across his skull. He turned to look at the room he was in and saw a cozy hut made of sturdy wood and straw. A cool breeze flew through the hut's windowless openings as heavy curtains on the outside and inside had been drawn to facilitate airflow.

Buster heard snoring and turned to his right to see a koala sleeping in a rocking chair with a book in his lap that threatened to fall out of his weak grasp and onto the ground.

Buster tried to get up but found his body protesting the action resulting in an unbecoming groan of pain. The grain caused the koala to stir, open his eyes with a yawn, blink twice at Buster until his eyes shot wide open surprise.

The Koala darted out of the room as if he was running for his life, nearly losing his footing as he threw open a door and scrambled to exit the room.

"What the hell was that?" Buster thought. "Where am I? Better yet… Who am I?"

Buster slowly inched his body sideways and cautiously rotated his body so that his legs gently hung off the bed. He was about to put his feet down as he continued to fight against the pain of a body in protest when he was startled at the sound of a high pitched, commanding voice that caused Buster to be painfully startled.

"Crikey! Colonel said you'd finally awoken. Some of the mates thought for sure you'd croaked, or at least you'd have kicked the bucket by sunrise. Me? I knew you'd be right as rain come morn. So what's your name ducky?"

"Ducky?" Buster blinked twice at the young racoon girl. The girl was cute but had a very overwhelming personality. She dressed modestly despite her bombastic attitude as she wore a lime green tube top with a white trim, black shorts, Tan gloves, White socks and Lime green and orange sneakers. Tieing her outfit together were twin pigtails.

Buster took a moment to try to recall… anything and everything that had happened since he awoke.

"My… name?" Buster said as he thought deeply.

"Yer name mate? My name is Marine. What does a bloke like you go by?" Marine said.

"I… I don't remember. I don't remember anything."

"Oh, blimey. Well that's a bummer. You really don't remember your name?"

"W-what do you think? That I'm faking this? I just told you, I don't remember anything."

Buster was fuming. He was angry, but most of all he was terrified. Terrified because there was one very important piece of himself that he did remember…

"I don't remember anything… nothing! Except… my parents are dead. They're dead. I don't even know their names but I know they're dead-"

-Bust grabbed a lamp off the table next to his bead and hurled it at the wall-

"-so don't patronize me by asking me if I'm sure, because I am sure… I don't remember anything… but sorry."

Buster folded into himself curling his body into the fetal position as he struggled not to sob then failing softly cried."

Marine put a pause on her peppy personality, she walked slowly toward Buster, knelt down and hugged him.

"Sorry mate, didn't mean for you to spew and go ballistic, just wanted to be sure. You were busted up with something fierce when we found you on the beach. If it's any reassurance I also spent much of my life without parents, trying to find myself and service. Please understand mate, yer not alone. You're going to be okay. We're here for you. You're a member of the crew now, you're like family. We take care of our family."

"I-I don't don't remember anything but pain and suffering. I don't even know my name." Buster cried out.

"Shhhhhhh. she'll be apples." Marine said softly.

Buster choked back his tears as he began to collect himself. "W-what the hell are you saying?"

"Oh, sorry about that mate. Grew up on an island so I have a bit of an accent. You'll catch on."

"I… don't know what I'm supposed to do. Where do I go?" Buster said.

"You can stay with us. As I said, my name is Marine the Raccoon and these two mates are Colonel and Tabby, my trusty crewmates of the S.S. Marine… version three."

"H-hello." Buster said.

Tabby awkwardly waved while Colonel looked at Buster with cautious suspicion.

"What happened to the other two versions-" Buster said.

"We don't talk about those. They were… prototypes. Yeah… prototypes. They got caught in a few bingles back when I was a dipstick. I'm a lot better now. "

"So you're a captain I take it?"

"Well, I haven't quite earned that title yet. I'm more of a captain in training. Though I am something of an expert at finding washed up strangers."

"Really?"

"Okay, so it actually only happened one other time but it's weird that it happened twice. You're the third bloke I ever found washed up unconscious on the beach. Speaking of which, one of the chums looked just like you, though, that might be me not being used to meeting foxes, he he he. Hope that doesn't sound speciesist of me. Fuck in' 'ell, let's start over… I guess we better come up with a name for you. Hmmm. Marine snapped her fingers as a smile lit up across her face. "Let's call you Bruce until your memories return. How does that sound? Everybody knows a Bruce round here."

"Bruce? That sounds fine, I guess." Buster said as he strained to remember what his name was… or anything about who he was or where he was from."

"Marine the Raccoon nearly jumped on the bed as she leaned over Buster. "So you really can't remember anything? Really? Bloody oath?"

"N-no I can't. W-what are you even saying? I only understood half of what you've said."

"Oh, sorry. It's just some lingo we Islanders use round ere."

"Islanders? We're on an island?"

"Yeh nah, we're on Windmill Island but the continental mainland is a skip and a hop across the pond. I reckon ya could swim there if ya put on your Togs, it's that close." Marine turned to her two koala mates and whispered, "Crickey, I hope he's not a dill. Poor bugger took a blow to the head, likely on the rocks, and doesn't even remember where he was or where he ended up." Marine winked toward them. "She'll be right I'd bet."

"I can hear you, you know. I'm not deaf." Buster said.

"Sorry about that mate. Changing topics, you must be hungry, we'll get you some brekkie and show you around the island. You can stay with us and my mates until your memories return and you decide what to do with your life. No wuckers."

Buster furrowed his brows. "So… you… you were the one who bandaged my head and stitched up my cuts?"

"Sure did Bruce, because I am a mature, responsible, and one hundred percent humble ankle-biter. Ask any bloke here and they'll say the same."

Tabby and the Colonel whistled nervously as they fidgeted in place and glanced around.

Marine put her arms around her friend's shoulders and said, "Oie! I've gotten better. Come on now. No need to be galah in front of our new mate here."

Buster stared at the watch and tried to check the time. "My watch seems dead. It won't turn on and I can't take it off either."

"Does it hurt?"

"No. It's just annoying. I've pressed every button but not once has it turned on."

"It probably broke when you were lost at sea. Salt water is no joke."

"Yeah I guess that makes sense."

Buster's stomach growled loudly.

"Ya ere that? That's a sign of what to do if I ever erd one. Are you well enough to walk about?"

"I… I think I am. Breakfast sounds great, I'm starving." Buster said.

"Ripper." Marine said, grabbing Buster's arm. "Now we just need to stop by my place and grab my thongs."

"You need to grab what?!" Buster screamed as he was pulled along by the Racoon with seemingly endless energy.

…

"Please stop laughing at me." Buster said.

Marine continued laughing hysterically as she led him around the village. "Sorry Bruce, I'm gobsmacked you thought I was talking about grundies."

"I'm already humiliated at my existence and my memories are literally less than a day old. Please drop it."

Marine continued laughing. "Bruce you are such a dag."

"Is that… good?"

"nah yeh, it's grouse. Reminds me of another bastard I know."

"I… I don't… what?" Buster said, puzzled, while feeling rather silly being led about by Marine who held his hand tightly as she charged forward toward pulling him along like a lost sibling through a crowd of beach goers as they made their way to "brekkie".

Buster was starving, being dragged around like a child did little to calm his nerves. He decided to distract himself by glancing around the island. Everything had been such a mental shock that he had not really paid much attention to where he was or what was going on around him. Buster took his first real glance around at the Island.

The Village they were in was known as windmill village, a name no doubt the result of several windmills the tropical island had erected to make use of the abundant wind power capabilities to perform various mechanical tasks as well as to power their limited -albeit primitive- industries. The population of the island was made up of mostly koalas though other animals could be seen roaming around here and there. The island had sun kissed sands with a plethora of palm trees many flickies called home. The village had several ports of varying sizes and faced the mainland of a large continental landmass that stretched out as far as Buster's eyes could see. Far in the distance, beyond the water that separated the island and the continental mainland was a massive capital city. It had a grandiose, aristocratic architecture and seemed as if it was a center of power in the region, though this was merely Buster's speculation. Buster stopped squinting at the horizon and turned his focus back to his immediate area. Back towards the area Buster had awoken from were a series of bamboo huts with palm roofs. A short walk from the beach was a wooden boardwalk that he found himself and Marine the Raccoon currently on. Most of the buildings near the beach were built of bamboo with a palm roof while various food stands were made of simple wood dotted the boardwalk while many islanders rushed toward the stands to purchase food and other goods. Gazing further into the depths of the island, permanent dwellings were seen and looked to be made of wood or brick. Buster noted the village must have been artificially elevated in case of flooding or hurricanes with much of the beach housing and boardwalk having been built on stilts.

It was then that Buster heard a calming and energetic tune gently flow through the air and meet his ears. A block away a small band had begun playing what he could only assume was a local song as the beachgoers came and went across the busy boardwalk.

Buster was enthralled by the tune but was startled back to the task at hand when Marine the Raccoon made an announcement, startling buster out of his newfound tranquility.

"We're here. You're going to love this." Marine said enthusiastically, causing Buster to come to a sudden stop and awaited their turn in line.

"Hello Marine. What can I get for you this morning?" The stall owner asked with a smile towards Marine.

"We need two of your best snags… oh and uh, you can put it on the tab."

"Sure thing Marine. Here you go."

"Thanks heaps." Marine took the snags and handed one to Buster as two more koalas that had been behind them walked up to the seller and bought their own snags.

Buster looked at the "brekkie", it was a sausage covered with a generous layer of onions and onto a single slice of bread just as a chili dog would.

Buster took a bite of the snag.

Marine was happily eating when she noticed that Buster was crying. "You okay there mate?"

"It… it's really good. I don't know why I'm crying, the tears just started flowing."

"Yeah, a good snag will do that to you." Marine said.

A koala overheard Marine and said, "Actually mate, they're called sausage sanga."

Another koala next to him disagreed. "What country did you fly in from, mate? They're called sausage in bread, because it is literally a sausage in bread."

"Oi, I bet you put your onions on the bottom you whacker."

"What did you say to me you dipstick?"

One of the Kiwalas tackled the other to the ground as they started fighting as they continued their argument.

Marine walked around them and toward the barbie seller. "Never mind those two having a blue, can I get one more sausage sizzle for my cobber?"

"Of course. I'll put it on your tab."

"Thanks mate, you're a beaut."

Marine walked back around the fight and handed Buster another snag.

Buster thanked her and devoured the brekkie.

"Now that we're finished bogging we can head to the boat. We have a huge day ahead."

"What do you mean?"

Marine stopped and turned to Buster with a grin. "Mate, we're headin to the mainland to visit a friend of mine. Now let's hurry. We'll be a couple of fruit loops if we don't make use of the high tides." Marine grabbed Buster's hand again and began running.

…

As Marine and Buster approached the dock, Buster saw that the Colonel and Tabby were getting the S.S. Marine ready. As they walked down the dock toward the boat another large koala called out from a large vessel towards Marine. "Oi, Marine. Surprised I did not see you this morning to help out. Are you chucking a sickie?"

Marine stopped and put a free arm behind her head and smiled sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Sorry mate! I ran into a bloke who washed up on the beach this morning and has no memory of who he is or where he is from."

"Again?"

"Yeah, washing up on beaches and losing one's memory seem to be a Sol special. If I had a snag every time I found someone washed up on a beach, why, I'd have two snags… which isn't a lot but it's bizarre that it happened twice."

"Well, I suppose you can't fight fate. You take good care of yourself and this castaway while you're sick Marine."

"Will do mate. Hooroo!" Marine said with a wave goodbye.

"He seems nice." Was all Buster could say before he was pulled along by Marine the Raccoon towards her boat.

"Ahoy, Me Hearties!" Marine said to Colonel and Tabby who were busy reading the ship.

The two koalas replied back in unison, "Ahoy, Matey!" As Buster and Marine the Raccoon climbed aboard the vessel.

"Ain't she a beaut? My pride and joy. She is a full aluminum dinghy over eleven meters long with a double helm station. The winches on the piano allow you to control the whole boat with two additional winches on the coamings within reach of the helmsman, which is naturally, yours truly." Marine said proudly as she winked and clicked her tongue for emphasis. "Under sail, she's a joy to steer thanks to her two rudders and can catch up to any filthy pirate and show them what for."

"Wow, I can't believe you built this." Buster said in awe.

Marine put her hand in front of her mouth and coughed deeply, more out of awkwardness and anxiety than to clear her throat. "Well, it's more like I oversaw development, one of my mates funded it and another mate built it, but enough of that yabber. Let me show you the crown jewels on this babe."

Buster nervously followed Marine the Raccoon to the bow of the ship as the vessel rocked to and fro along with the oceans waves.

"Here it is, just look at the sexy beast under this tarp."

Buster followed the gaze of Marine the Raccoon as she removed the large tarp obstructing the object below, when he saw what was revealed as Marine pulled back the tarp Buster's jaw dropped."

"What the-"

Marine the Raccoon's face was flushed as she let out a sigh. Buster could have sworn he saw hearts in her eyes.

"It's… it's…" Buster couldn't even put words together.

"It's my pride and joy. A 12-pounder long gun. It's ripper at tearing through pirates and bots alike. Especially robot pirates. Oh, and there are two 8-pounder guns on the port and starboard. Just… mind the gunpowder stocked below or we'll be swimming with the fishes." Marine said half joking, half seriously, as she slapped Buster's back twice.

"Wait? What? G-gunpowder below the deck? You mean… right under our feet?" Buster blurted out in shock.

"I'm just joshing you… while there is a not insignificant stock of gunpowder beneath our feet, you can trust ol' captain in training Marine the Raccoon when I say we're perfectly safe… probably. As long as Blaze does not find out."

"Who?"

"A dear friend of mine. We might meet her soon. Never mind that though, let's set sail for the mainland." Marine shouted cheerfully and her two shipmates, colonel and Tabby stood silently as Marine the Raccoon pointed across the water to the mainland that was barely visible in the distance.

"Uh, Marine." Colonel said, "The checklist."

"Oh." Marine said as she tapped her head with her knuckle while sticking out her tongue. "I knew that. I was just testing you. Congrats, you passed. Now let's proceed with the checklist… then onward to adventure!"

…

A giant tentacle slammed onto the vessel threatening to drag it under the rough waves.

"Fire!" Marine the Raccoon shouted with glee as she pointed a sword at the oversized squid monster.

"Fire in the hole!" was the immediate replay, as two long guns, the 12 and 8 pounders, manned by Tabby and Colonel, were rotated, then fired upon the seamonster.

The two cannonballs went flying and impacted the savage sea-beast causing it to let out a terrified cry before it retreated back underwater.

"Don't let it get away! Ready another volley! If we slay it, imagine how much money we'll make. The village will have Calamari for days." Marine said as she frantically waved a cutlass in the air.

"It got away." Colonel said bluntly.

"Balderdash. It merely postponed our fated battle. Until next time, yee sea devil. Rearm the cannons and prepare for landfall-

A bright light appeared and a silver figure materialized, suspended in the air by some unseen force before gravity took effect and sent him falling from midair. The figure hit his head on the sail, rolled down the mainsail, then fell onto the deck of the boat.

"Silver! Silver, I've missed you so much." Marine the Raccoon said as she dropped her sword to the ground and ran toward the figure called Silver, abandoning her post at the helm in the process. Upon nearing the silver hedgehog Marine jumped in the air in an attempt to hug-tackle the new arrival when to Buster's shock the hedgehog's hands glowed as Marine the Raccoon suddenly froze in midair.

"It's nice to see you too, Marine, I hope you don't mind me dropping in."

"Not at all ya Bastard, drop in anytime, say, while I'm floatin here can ya spin me round real fast like last time?"

"I… I don't think that would be safe when we're out here on the water. I'm sorry Marine. Maybe later we can."

"Awww, come on mate. Don't be a dag. Spin me round! What, you worried I'll hit a tree? Don't be a dag. Spin me! Spin me!"

The silver hedgehog now having gotten to his feet thought considered giving into Marine's request as he looked around the boat. "Oh gosh, I don't know Marine. What if a giant robot shark were to jump out and chomp a limb off of you. Blaze would never speak to me again and I could never forgive myself."

"Pfffft, she'd still want to have your kittens." Marine said under her breath.

"What" Silver said, not having heard what she had said.

"What?"

"What did you say about Blaze, Marine?"

"I… uh, I said she'd still talk to you even if you caused me to be eaten by a robot shark."

"Huh, we'll, I'm not going to risk it. You two are very important people to me so-" Silver gently put Marine the Raccoon back on her feet and released her from his telekinetic grasp. "-you'll have to wait until later. Sorry."

"Alright ya cunt, I'll hold you to that."

Silver smiled and glazed around the boat then nearly had a heart attack from the sudden panic and realization. "Marine who is steering the boat?"

"I was." Marine answered.

Silver floated Marine back to her post.

"Thanks heaps Silver. So what brings you the present, is the future in danger?"

Silver furrowed his brows and looked away from the energetic racoon. "N-no, I just wanted to drop in and see how everyone is doing. It's been a while."

Marine's face became contorted in a smug expression. "Hmmmm, you did say that not long ago didn't you. Aye, I think Blaze said the same thing a few days ago. She'll be quite the show pony when she hears that you rocked up."

"Oh, you… you think Blaze wouldn't mind me stopping by to visit her? I-I'm sure she's very busy with her princess duties."

Marine, Colonel, and Tabby all covered their mouth with a hand as they snickered and gave Silver half covered smug and teasing smiles and grins.

"Oh, don't worry Silver, Blaze will definitely make time for you." Tabby said.

"Oh. That's wonderful to hear. It's been too long since we- I mean, since we all hung out."

"Too right Silver. Too right." Marine said.

Silver looked at each passenger of the vessel then noticed Buster. "Heya Tails. Long time no see. What are you doing in the Sol Dimension? Not that I'm not happy to see you! It's just a pleasant surprise is what I meant to say."

"Oh, that's not Tails." Marine the Raccoon said as she pointed to Buster." I know, the bloke looks just like him. Glad to know it's not just me who thinks that. Was worried I might have thought all foxes look the same. Anyways, this is Bruce. He's a castaway who lost his memory. Imagine that."

"Huh, weird how that keeps happening to you."

"I know right?" Marine said energetically. "This is the second time!"

Buster had been watching everything unfold. Steadily accumulating memories. He took in every detail he could about everything and everyone he had seen and met. Despite his lack of memories, all he could recall was that his parents were dead and that he was supposed to be doing something of great importance. What that was he could not for the life of him remember. As Buster gazed at the silver hedgehog named Silver he made a mental note of every detail he could identify. Silver wore white, navy and aqua boots with gold cuffs as well as white gloves with gold cuffs and circular aqua symbols. His head had seven quills protruding outward making his head look comically like a plant or leaf of some kind though Buster could not recall the name. It was a plain and curt description but it would suffice, Buster thought, should he ever need to identify Silver for any reason.

"Well Bruce," Silver said as he walked toward Buster and extended his hand. Buster ended his thoughts and stared back toward Silver and the offered hand. "My name is Silver the Hedgehog. A friend of Marine is a friend of mine."

Buster hesitated for a moment then extended his hand in kind and shook Silver's hand.

"Likewise."

…

The ship crested over countless waves as the crew got closer to the shore. Sea birds cried out to nearby flocks as they glided through the sky before diving into the water for their lunch. Nearby, a cargo ship bringing supplies and other private vessels were seen as locals enjoyed the day on the beach and out on the water while others toiled away on the commercial dock, ensuring imports and exports came and went like clockwork.

Marine steered the ship to one of the coastal ports, docked, and moored the boat. As everyone exited the ship a dock worker gave Marine a strange look as he noticed the long guns on her vessel just as Marine was putting the tarps over the cannons.

"Huh, not one for cargo insurance, I take it?" The koala said.

Marine the Raccoon stood and turned to the dock worker and puffed out her chest. "Give a bilge-sucking buccaneer some of my hard earned booty? Ha! Over my dead body. Bullies like that will have to face the wrath of Captain-in-training Marine the Raccoon!"

The koala was surprised at her words. "Wait… this is your boat? You're rather young to have your own boat. Your family must be rich… must be nice."

"Oh, not at all, I don't have any parents." Marine said matter of fact.

"Oh sol, I'm so sorry."

"No worries!" Marine said as she glanced behind her toward Silver. "I have a few mates who mean the world to me so it evens out. Welp, I got to go so hooroo.

"Hooroo."

Marine waved toward the dock worker then caught up to the others that were waiting at a parking lot that was split between the public dock and the beach.

"Ready to go Captain?" Silver said.

Marine let slip a bittersweet smile as her face reddened and she stared at Silver, moving her hands behind her back as she leaned forward slightly and slowed inched closer to the silver furred hedgehog.

"Everything okay Marine?"

Before Silver could react, Marine had leaped forward and wrapped her hands around Silver's waist, burying her head in his chest.

"I really missed you, you know." Marine said.

"I missed you too. I'll be here for a while so there's no need to be sad. I'll be back again." Silver said as he stroked her back.

"Could… could you come back and stay forever?"

Silver's heart melted. "Oh you silly Racoon, what kind of future would I have without you and Blaze in my life." With those words silver knelt down and embraced Marine the Raccoon, wrapping his arms around her waist in a giant bear hug."

Buster watched this with a great amount of jealousy. All he could remember was that his parents were dead. Nothing else except skills and abilities he possessed. He clutched his chest tightly with his right hand.

Buster had forgotten the feeling and raw emotion of being in a loving embrace. He could not help but look away then glare back at the happy platonic pair as he thought silently to himself. "Why does she get love in her life? Friends? Someone to look up to for love and guidance and to call a family. Even if it isn't by blood. Why her? Why can't I have that? Why do I have to be the one to wallow in loneliness and misery? Life simply isn't fair-"

Just as Buster was finishing his thought he felt himself floating a few inches off the ground and gliding forward along with Tabby and Colonel.

"Group hug!" Silver shouted as he wrapped his arms around everyone.

Buster was in shock.

"So… this is what it feels like." Buster could not help but let slip his own bittersweet smile.

…

"Hello, Is Blaze available?" Silver said to a castle guard who was standing by a door that led to the castle. The entire perimeter was protected by a gated fence, while inside this outer perimeter was an intricate and multilayered castle with several layers and rows of walls and ramparts for defense in case of an attack or siege.

"My apologies but I am but a humble guard and do not have the answer to that question. Do you have a pre-arranged meeting with the princess?"

"No… I'm afraid we don't." Silver solemnly admitted.

"My apologies good sir but I am afraid I cannot allow you to enter."

"Oh, I see." Silver said, his spirits deflating at the news.

"Oi! Don't you know who he is?"

The guard looked at Silver. "I can't say I do."

"This," Continued Marine, "Is Silver the Hedgehog. Trusted friend of her Majesty," Marine leaned close to the guard, mere inches from his face and whispered, "He's also her heartthrob, crush, and future lovey-dovey hubby."

"Uh huh, sure he is." The guard said entirely unconvinced of the Racoon's statements. "I'm sorry, who are you all again?" The guard asked as he began to lose his patience.

"He's Silver the Hedgehog and I'm Marine the Raccoon, best mate of Princess Blaze. Surely you've heard of me?"

"Nope… and where does a friend of royalty such as yourself hail from?

"Windmill Village of the Southern Island."

"Ah, a flicky eater, that explains the strine accent… and you?" The guard turned towards the silver furred hedgehog.

"I'm from another dimension two hundred years in the future." Silver said matter of fact.

"Another dimension?" The guard furrowed his brow. "Is… is that even legal? Doesn't that make you an illegal immigrant?"

"Uh… maybe?" Silver said nervously.

Marine the Raccoon "Of course it's legal, like I said we're good friends of the princess. Silver just drops in now and then to visit Blaze and I. Oh, and these three here are our mates, Colonel, Tabby, and Bruce." The three waved awkwardly toward the guard.

"Okay, wonderful. Look, I'm going to need you all to leave and schedule a meeting through the proper channels."

"But… but we're VIP's. This is outrageous!" Marine said as she flailed her arms in the air in faux and exaggerated anger..

"I'm sorry kid, I'll tell you what, let me ask my supervisor and if he's heard of you I'll let you in to speak with someone from the castle. If he hasn't heard of you then you all need to leave. "

"That sounds fair." Silver said.

Marine put her hand to her chin in thought. "Eh, I suppose. But if we don't get in I'll need your name and number ya fruit loop!" Marine said.

The guard left, spoke with his supervisor, then promptly returned. "My sincere apologies. I'm new to the guard and had no idea-"

"-Ah! Tsk tsk tsk. Oh, how the tables have turned matey." Marine said as she pressed forward a single gloved hand, palm facing the guard as she wagged a finger for emphasis. "Fortunately for you it is completely understandable to be suspicious of an ankle biter claiming to be the BFF of the princess. So no need to this said, I bid you g'day."

After the group entered through the gateway they made their way to the castle's entrance. A servant was stationed at the door to greet them.

"Ah, Marine and Silver. Good to see you two again."

"Heheheh, you see Buster. My reputation precedes me."

"I take it you are here to see her majesty?" The servant asked, her voice soft and sweet.

"That we are." Marine said excitedly.

"I'm sorry but her majesty is in an important meeting. You and your friends are welcome to wait inside if you would like."

Marine the Raccoon put her hand to her chin in pretend thought, her mind already made up. "Hmmmm, I think we'll come back later. Spending all Arvo around a stuffy old castle sounds boring."

"Very well, I shall inform her Majesty of your planned visit at the nearest opportunity."

"Thanks mate. Hooroo."

"Goodbye," The servant said with a slight bow of her head."

…

"What will we do now?" Buster said as they stood on the street outside the castle gates.

"Well Bruce, I think we ought to head over to the beach. It's a beautiful day for a swim."

"Uh, Marine," Colonel said, "we're all fine to swim but… what are you going to-"

Marine began to throw off her clothes to the shock and horror of the present males.

"-Tada! I put my bathers under my clothes. I'm ready for the beach!"

Everyone let out a sigh of relief. Noticing this Marine added, "What? Did ya think I was going to swim in the nuddy? You poor Galahs of little faith. Now let's go!"

"Wait!" Tabby shouted, causing Marine to stop in her tracks. "Colonel and I need to head home for lunch with our Oldies…"

Colonel spoke up and added, "We know how excited you are to visit with Blaze and Silver so we'll catch up with you another day."

Marine was surprised by their sudden statement of departure. "Oh… if you're sure. You're more than welcome to join us." She said with sincerity.

"It's okay. You have a lot of fun, Captain."

"Very well then…. Attention!" Marine shouted.

Both Tabby and Colonel stood stiff and straight side by side.

Marine's demeanor changed as she stood up straight, folding her hands behind her back as she passed back and forth and inspected her friends with a stern expression and examined their posture with a critical eye.

"Hmmmm, you both performed adequately today, I suppose you have earned some shore leave…. You are dismissed. Report back in a few days at your convenience." Marine the Raccoon saluted followed by Tabby and Colonel returning their salute.

After their roleplay was finished, a brief exchange of hugs were made then Tabby and Colonel returned home to their families.

Now with their party down to just three, Marine turned to her remaining crewmates, "Last one to the beach is a rotten egg!" Marine shouted as she ran ahead of Silver and Buster.

With Marine rushing ahead, Silver and Buster could do nothing but follow their energetic leader.

…

Marine dove into the beach's water face first and was swallowed by a wave only for the ocean to spit her back up. Marine the Racoon stood up, covered in wet sand, ran back towards the water and attempted again to jump onto the back of an ocean wave and ride it. She succeeded only to have her face pummeled by the next wave. Once more she ended up being pushed back toward dry land.

"Ewwwww, it got in my nose."

"Oh no, are you alright Marine?" Silver said.

Marine coughed up a loogie and spat it onto the sand. She then covered one of her nose and blew it like a trumpet and repeated the action for her other nostril.

"I'm fine." Marine's eyes shot wide open as she had an epiphany. "Silver, spin me around!"

"I don't know Marine, there are a lot of people here."

"Don't worry about them Silver. Comeon. Spin me around!"

Reluctantly Silver gave in to Marine's request.

"Uh, sure, let's do it." Silver said, giving into precious little Marine's pleading. How could he say no to Marine? Especially when it would bring her so much joy.

Silver grabbed Marine in his telekinetic hold and spun her around through the air. Marine giggled and laughed and cheered as she demanded he spin her faster and faster.

"Heads up." A male voice across the beach shouted. Silver turned his head for a split second only for a volleyball to slam into his face. Silver reflexively closed his eyes as his concentration was ruined and his telekinetic grasp shattered.

Marine went flying off across the beach as Silver's heart sank in fear and horror.

Silver ignored the pain he felt and looked into the direction Marine's presence was last felt in his telekinetic grasp.

He saw Marine fall into the ocean.

Buster watched in awe at the distance traveled. "Wow. She got some air. She should be okay-"

Silver didn't give Buster a chance to finish his sentence as he immediately flew toward where Marine had been launched into the water.

"Marine. Marine? Marine!" Silver shouted as he hovered just above the waves. Silver was about to throw himself into the ocean to try to find his friend when Marine the Raccoon surfaced, spit out water, and coughed extensively.

"Marine." Silver shouted as he picked her up and hugged her. "I'm so sorry. Are you hurt? I'm so sorry it's all my fault."

"I'm fine. Can we go back to the beach now?"

"Huh? Oh. Of course!" The two quickly returned to the beach.

"That was so much fun. Can we do it again?"

"Absolutely not little missy. Not after you nearly died."

"Please." Marine pleaded.

Nope."

"Can you swing me around without using your mind powers?"

"That… should be fine."

Silver picked up Marine… he grunted as his face turned red as Marine was lifted mere inches off the ground. "Gosh you're heavy."

"What?" Marine said with a deathly glare. "I hope you don't talk like that around blaze or she'll roast you!"

"Huh?"

"Put me down."

Silver did as Marine asked then was shocked as she found Marine grabbing his ankle and biting it.

Buster couldn't help but laugh at the pair's dynamics.

"Apologize."

"Ah… I'm sorry! Please don't eat my leg."

"Hmph, I'm not heavy, you're just scrawny."

"You know Marine, I think you're right. Peace?"

Silver held out his hand to Marine.

Marine looked at his hand and thought. "Hmmm." Marine then hugged Silver. "You can make it up to me by spinning me around again."

"Oh, I don't know Marine. You almost got hurt."

"Come on Silver, I'm sure Bruce wants a turn too. Spin both of us!"

"I really shouldn't Marine. People are staring at us after you nearly got hurt."

"Oh, I did get hurt." Marine said matter of fact.

"What?" Silver said in shock.

"Oh yeah, no worries mate. A couple bruises and blunt trauma to the head never hurt anyone much."

"Okay, we are definitely not doing this then. I'm very sorry marine but I am putting my foot down."

Marine frowned and parted from him. Then her frown turned mischievous. "You know Silver, Blaze often tells me one of the many traits she loves about you is how great you are with kids."

"W-what was that Marine?"

"Oh no." Buster thought. He knew exactly where this was going.

"Blaze loves how kind, warm, and generous you are to everyone. She especially loves how well you get along with animals and children. She once said it warms her heart more than the fires of the greatest volcanoes or even the sun."

Silver's whole face was bright red. "I-is that so. Well, on second thought. I suppose I could spin you both around so long as we do it safely and quickly."

"Yay!" Marine shouted. "Are you ready for this Bruce?"

"No, I'm good-" Before Buster could finish his sentence he and Marine the Raccoon were picked up by Silver's telekinetic grasp and spun around to the joy of both.

Silver placed them gently on the ground after the fox and racoon had their fun.

Marine the Raccoon was laughing hysterically while Buster was motionless.

"Bruce, are you okay?" Silver asked with great concern.

"I… I can't remember a time I had that much fun. Most people exaggerate when they say something is the most fun they've ever had but when I say it, I mean it. Thank you so much Silver. Thank you both. You and Marine make having amnesia bearable."

"No worries mate." Marine said.

Silver was about to speak when someone tapped his shoulder, Silver turned around to see a lifeguard and a Sol police officer.

"What's your name?" The koala asked.

Silver smiled warmly. "My name is Silver the Hedgehog. It's a pleasure to meet you. What's your name?"

Marine's face was like stone. She had a bad feeling about this but was unable to give Silver any sort of warning or advice on how to interact with the authorities.

"I'm the one asking the questions here. What were you doing with those kids?"

"We were playing a game where I spin them around with my telekinetic ability."

"Uh huh. The lifeguard here noticed that. As we were approaching you went and decided to spin both kids around despite the danger to themselves and the rest of the beach goers."

The lifeguard took advantage of the silence to ask, "Were either of you two kids hurt?"

"Nope. Not at all. Not one bit!" Marine said lying.

"What's that red bruise across your face then?"

"That's a sunburn."

"A sunburn wouldn't be multiple spots across the face then ignoring the rest of the face. You're lying to me kid. I don't like liars. Now hedgehog, I'm going to need to see some identification."

"Heh, oh dear, I'm sorry sir but I don't have any sort of identification. I'm from another dimension visiting some friends. I'm sorry officer."

The Lifeguard and police officer simply stared at the silver furred hedgehog.

"You two kids. Do you know this guy?" The officer asked as he pointed at Silver.

"I…" Buster thought before speaking, "I've known him for years. He's a good family friend."

"Yeah, Silver is practically a father to me. Please don't arrest him."

"Uh, huh, okay. Here's what we're going to do. I was going to give you a ticket, but because you are allegedly not from this dimension, nevermind not being from this country, I'm going to spare you the fine as I doubt you'd be able to pay the fee."

"Oh, thank you so much officer." Marine said overjoyed at the good news.

"Don't thank me yet kid. I was not done talking. As I was saying, I am going to have to take you into custody as an undocumented migrant."

"You can't do that! Silver has saved the universe… dimensions! Multiple times." Marine said.

"Yeah yeah kid I get that all the time. Every character I meet out here on the block has some elaborate backstory about how they saved the Sol Empire, the world, or multiple dimensions. It doesn't matter even if it's true because I'm a simple guy with a simple job to do. The fact is this. If you don't have your paperwork then I'm taking you in. Simple as. Now I'm sorry kid but your friend is all kinds of suspicious." The officer turned to face Silver and barked a command. "Turn around and place your hands behind you."

Silver did as he was ordered in spite of Marine's protests.

Marine looked on the verge of tears when her demeanor shifted radically as her brow furrowed and her fangs were bared. "No. I won't let you take him." Marine said in a fuming rage as she pounced toward the officer and grabbed his ankle then bit it."

The Sol police officer started screaming in panic and pain into his radio device. "Ankle biter. We got an ankle biter. I need backup. Repeat, I need backup. My leg!"

Another two officers arrived shortly and Silver, Marine the Racoon, and Buster were all arrested, placed into the back of what Marine called a "Divvy van" then taken to the station.

…

Buster, Marine, and Silver found themselves in handcuffs and in a single small room.

"Okay Marine, I think that's what you said your name was, who are your parents? I'll give them a ring for you. They must be worried sick."

Marine was silent.

"Come on kid. Who are your parents."

"I don't have any."

"Oh. I'm… very sorry. We'll get you sorted out soon. Don't you worry." The officer gave Marine a gentle smile but it was wholly ineffective at negating the sour mood Marine found herself in.

"Do… Do I get a call?" Silver raised his cuffed hands.

"Yeah we'll get to you in a minute."

"You, Bruce. Who do you want to call?"

Buster thought. "I have amnesia so I have no idea."

The officers sighed and whispered under his breath. "Sol damn it. Of course he does. Great, more paperwork."

The officer then spoke up, returning his focus towards Silver. "Okay,wizard. Who do you want to call?"

"Is… is that me?" Silver said, pointing to himself.

"Yes, that is you. You get one phone call."

"Oh, uh, I would like to call Blaze."

"Blaze? Blaze who?"

"Blaze the Cat."

"Where does this Blaze live?"

"In the imperial palace."

"The palace? You're joshing me."

"No sir, that is who I would like to call." Silver said sheepishly. Feeling very much like a pauper that had a slight crush on the princess, and feeling unworthy of her affections.

"Heh, do you even have her number?"

"I do not. I don't have a phone, you see. He he." Silver chucked awkwardly.

"I'll tell you what. Give me a second to look up their Imperial Palace phone number then I'll give you the phone."

"Thank you very much. That should work."

"Oh, I bet. Listen, while I'm gone would you kiddos and his majesty like anything to eat?"

"Sure!" Said Buster. His body, formully in a half aware daze now at full attention at the mere mention of food.

The officer left the room. Seconds later, laughing was heard from the other policemen. After a couple of minutes he returned with three sandwiches, three juice boxes, and a phone. After handing out the food and drinks the officer dialed a number then gave it to Silver who thanked him for the phone call.

After ringing for a few seconds a robotic voice answered the call.

"Thank you for calling the Sol Royal Palace. To book a visit, press one. For more information on the changing of the guard tourist events please press 2."

"N-no thank you." Silver said.

"Your call is being transferred…"

Silver heard static and a single click from the other line as a voice came through the phone.

"You have reached the Public Information Office of the Sol Palace, royal residence of her Majesty, long may she reign. Might I ask who is calling and for what business I can assist you with?"

"Yes please. Thank you. My name is Silver the Hedgehog. I am a friend of Blaze. I was hoping you could put her on the line as I am in a bit of trouble."

"I am terribly sorry sir, but her majesty does not accept personnel calls. We have many people who claim to be a personal friend of her majesty so I must apologize but I will be unable to fulfill your request."

"Oh, uh, well thank you for your time. If you happen to speak to Blaze please let her know her friends are in jail-"

Marine snatched the phone from Silver and shouted into it, "Tell her majesty she needs to get her butt over here or her best friend and her boyfriend are going to rot in jail… no, I don't care that this is being recorded, in fact I am counting on it being recorded. Do I know whose number I'm calling? You listen here you dill. I am a trusted advisor to the princess. Silver who you just talked to is her secret flame-"

"What is a secret flame? That sounds important. Is it the name she gives to fierce warriors?" A naive and ignorant Silver asked giddily.

"Shhh!" Marine raised a finger to her mouth as she hushed Silver. "Now, here is what you are going to do. You are going to send a Message to Gardon, who is Blaze's personal guard and inform him that Marine, Silver, and a plus one are in Jail and need to be bailed out. "What? What do you mean anyone could look up his name? Fine then. How is this? Gordon calls Blaze 'Majesty' all the time and drives her crazy, he also makes the best waffles with chocolate chips, and lets me and me mates practice with wooden swords, being he is Sol's greatest sword fighter which is his and her majesties best kept secret as Gordon actually looks really weak and scrawny but he's actually really strong and kind. He's such a kindly bastard. Then there is the Head Chef Pepper who sneaks me candy and chocolate when Blaze isn't watching and we gossip about Blaze and Silver behind her majesty's back. How many other people do you need me to talk about until you believe what I say? Do you want me to talk about the royal Falconer, Lorenzo? Do you not understand the situation? Two of Blaze's dearest cobbers, one of which she's cracked onto, are in jail and she will not be happy to learn that you are acting cactus brained-"

"-Okay! Please hold…"

Marine let out a breath then cheekily grinned to everyone in the room as she silently flaunted her genius.

"..."

A clicking sound was heard as the line was reconnected.

"Marine? Marine the Racoon?"

"Yes?"

"Gardon and Her Majesty will be made aware of your situation and location. Was there anything else I can help you with?"

"Nope. That's it. Thanks a million mate. You're a real lifesaver."

The two said their goodbyes then Marine handed the phone back to the officer.

"Now all we do is wait." Marine said as she slurped up the last few remaining drops of her juice box and leisurely laid back in her chair."

"I was wondering," Buster began to say. "How long have you three known each other?"

"Well Bruce," Marine began to say as she put her feet on the table only to be immediately told by the officer to put her feet on the ground. "We've known each other for a couple years but it feels like we've known each other for a lifetime or more. There are some mates in the world that seem like the stars are aligned and you're just destined to be friends. Not unlike fated lovers drawn by the string of fate."

Marine let out a sigh as her eyes turned to hearts. Her face smiled and blushed as she stared off into the distance as a fantasy of a prince charming scooping her off her feet and eloping with her on the high seas played in her mind.

"Marine?" Buster said several times until the racoon snapped back to reality.

"Uh, anyway, Blaze and Silver are ripper bastards. They've always been there for me and I can count on them. Especially now since we're fugitives of the law."

"You're not fugitives, you are simply being detained until a parent or guardian can pick you up and we get confirmation with what to do about your two friends." The police officer said casually yet sternly.

"No worries mate, once good ol Blazey arrives she'll take us off your hands. No worries there."

"Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it. It might be a while so make yourselves comfortable. If you need to use the loo just knock on the door." With that said, the officer got up and left the room.

…

Buster stared at the room's wall and what he had deduced was a hidden camera and recorder. Buster did not know why, but each piece of technology he had seen he had a fundamental understanding of the physical mechanics it operated by and scientific laws that made each piece of technology function. "Was this normal?" Buster thought.

Before Buster could ponder further the door to their holding room opened and an intimidating Cassowary, with thick legs and razor sharp claws, stepped into the room. A bead of sweat had recently formed and was in the process of running down the side of the deadly looking bird's temple. When he spoke it was in a deep bass that reverberated off the walls.

"My name is Erwin. I am the chief of police in the capital here. I wanted to personally apologize for any inconvenience that may have resulted from the misunderstanding that took place at the beach earlier today." Erwin motioned to another officer who rushed over and unlocked the cuffs Silver, Buster, and Marine had been wearing.

"If there is anything we can do to further set right the unfortunate circumstances that transpired today please do not hesitate to call me." The Cassowary handed each a card with his contact information. "Well, if there are no further questions let's get you out into the lobby and on your way."

Buster, Silver, and Marine followed the Police Chief and as soon as they entered the lobby's reception area they noticed how tense the air was. It was so silent the hum of the police receptionists personal fan could be heard. Buster wondered what could cause the station to be so on edge.

Buster, being in the lead of the trio, was the first to see the source of the tension. There, in front of him, standing squarely in the middle of the lobby, her hands crossed and foot tapping impatiently, with a strenuous scowl on her face, was a purple cat dressed in purple clothing, her head adored with a single red jewel. By her side was another of the most prominent species of the Sol Empire that Buster had become acquainted with, a koala. Though, this one was of a different breed. Despite being the same size and of similar constitution, this koala and an air of nobility about him. He stood straight with a single hand underneath the locket of his sword's scabbard.

"Ah, here are your felons, your Majesty. Shall I cast them into the dungeon?" The koala said playfully.

The cat's gaze turned in the direction of Buster and he felt a pit in his stomach. She had a fierce gaze like that of a warrior, though, on closer look, he found himself to be enthralled by her poise and grace. Her gold eyes stared at him and softened considerably for a mere second, as if she saw someone she recognized, then as soon as her gaze had softened they changed back to their previous countenance.

That was, until Silver spoke up from behind him.

"Hiya Blaze! Thanks for the rescue."

"At the hedgehog's words the most fierce and noble creature he had ever laid eyes on seemed to melt on the spot, her expression and disposition appeared to be swept away by an invisible force that overwhelmed her senses and emotions and gave her the look of an innocent girl suffering from butterflies in her stomach and sick with a sudden and overwhelming feeling of gaiety.

Marine and Gardon simply grinned upon seeing the feline lose her composer, then upon seeing one another, racoon and koala let out a cheerful greeting.

"Miss Marine." Gardon said with a much suppressed smile and a dignified bow.

"Gardon. Blaze. I missed you both so much!" Marine said as she jumped forward to give both her friends a giant hug.

The sudden injection of levity in the face of two of the most powerful people of the Sol Empire cut the room's tension greater than any blade might cut butter. The entire staff found themselves smiling at the surprisingly wholesome reunion.

"Silver. When did you arrive in this dimension? You know you are always welcome at the Castle."

"We stopped by the Castle but we were told you were in a meeting."

"Twas true, had I known either of you had arrived I would have rescheduled my meeting and visited you all right away. But enough of what could have been. Let us all depart at once. You all must be hungry. We must get you three a proper meal back at the castle, but before that… Marine. Is there someone you would like to introduce me to?"

"Hm? Oh, oh! Yes, this is Bruce, like Sonic and Tails I found him on the beach in a coma. He has no memory of who he was or where he comes from."

"Dearest Bruce, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, a friend of Marine is a friend of mine. If I might be so informal, please, call me Blaze if you could forgive my informality."

Buster was slightly shaking in his boots, never mind the pussycat being royalty, he had never met someone with such a fiery and formal personality. It caused him to feel almost unworthy by comparison.

Blaze the cat grasped Buster's hand and briefly shook it with both of hers as she boldly stepped closer to examine Buster's physical form. "I look forward to getting to know more about you Bruce. I apologize and hope you'll forgive the ill conceived comparison but you strike me as familiar. I can't help but think of another friend of mine whenever I look into thine eyes."

"I know right! He looks just like him." Marine cried out with great enthusiasm. "I thought I was going crazy."

"He really does. I wonder…" Silver said as Gardon nodded in agreement. "You wouldn't happen to be from the future, would you?" Silver said half jokingly.

"Enough blabbering. I'm hungry. Let's get going!" Marine shouted as she corralled the group and urged them towards the exit. "Blaze, can we get seafood?"

"Of course, I'll have Pepper cook up a splendid fish for you and whatever else your friends desire."

"Nooooooo." Marine whined. "I want crab from that one restaurant. I want to feel my arteries clog with butter. Loads of butter!" Marine was drooling as she pictured the crab in her mind.

"I'm not sure that would be wise, Marine. Nevermind the cost to one's health, it would be unbecoming for maidens such as us to be seen gorging ourselves on crab and butter, and so close to evening as well."

"Awwww." Marine said. Then, she got an idea. A splendid and stupendous idea. Marine moved and stood next to Blaze's side and gave her an endearing hug as the group walked, ignoring the dozens of people who gasped, bowed, and took pictures of them as they walked toward a small park to await their decision on where to dine. When Marine was in close enough proximity, she whispered, "You are right Blaze. It would be so claustrophobic in there. Knowing Silver, he would be unused to eating crab with butter and would make quite the mess. He would need to rely on some kind generous soul to help wipe the butter off of him. Imagine it Blaze, Silver stuck next to you, your bodies pressed close together, both of you drenched in greasy, sticky, butter. Naturally we'd sit in a booth with Buster and Gardon seated alone opposite us. You would sit in the middle next to Silver who would be on the inside most spot as he gets butter all over his mouth and fur. I'd want to sit next to you and would hog all the room and move to the left bit by bit, slowly leaving Silver little choice but to press himself closer and closer to you-"

"-Okay!" Blaze shouted, blushing for a mere moment, though it passed quickly. Blaze's outburst caused Silver, Buster, and Gardon to look towards her. "Okay Marine. You win. We'll go to the seafood restaurant for dinner. But only because you desire it so!"

"He he he." Marine took a step behind Blaze as she rubbed her hands together. She then turned to Silver, smiled, and said, "You're welcome Silver."

"Oh, what for Marine?"

"Oh, nothing. I'm just fighting for you and Blaze's future. No need to thank me. Now catch me, matey!" Marine jumped toward Silver, throwing her body onto him only for her to levitate and be spun around and above the group gently before stopping her next to him as everyone else walked.

Buster watched as Marine was levitated in the air. She put her hands in front of herself and pretended to fly, cheerfully giggling. Buster could not help but notice that this caught the eyes of the Princess known as Blaze, who upon seeing Silver play and please Marine the Raccoon, blushed and let slip a small grin before turning her gaze forward towards the path they walked.

"Your majesty, I beg you, might I call for your transport so you need not humble yourself by walking the streets?"

"Absolutely not Gardon. I have a great distaste for the pomp and circumstance that the royal carriage brings. Some exercise does the body well."

"Exercise? You ran all the way to the prison. I nearly died in my feeble attempt to keep up with you." Gordon said.

"Truth be told Gordon, I would much rather walk and be amongst the people." At that statement, Blaze the Cat turned and noticed a koala family amongst the crowd. She noticed a mother, a father, a boy and a girl. The girl had a cute doll of Blaze the cat, while the boy had a toy dragon. Blaze and the group stopped walking as Blaze turned and walked up toward the crowd the family was in.

"Hello there. Might I have the honor of learning your names?" Blaze said.

"You're too kind, our Princess." The Parents bowed and urged their children to do the same."

"Please friends, raise your heads. Call me Blaze."

"Miss Princess Blaze," the little girl began, "My brother says that you've defeated dragons and are not a 'prissy princess' while I said you were and don't do that boyish stuff. I just want your doll to have a tea party with my other stuffed animal friends but my brother says a warrior would never drink tea. Who is right?"

The parents began sweating profusely.

Blaze laughed, "Both of you are correct. I have fought several dragons before but after befriending them, I find I much prefer their company over tea."

Both the children's eyes widened in awe. Though, Blaze purposely had chosen not to mention that dragon's prefer drinking petroleum rather than that of tea. It was, after all, a minor detail best left out of her story.

"Please excuse me. I have some business I must attend to. I wish you all great happiness and fortune."

"T-thank you, your majesty. You are too kind." The parents said with another bow. Blaze the Cat, Princess of the Sol Empire, shook their hand and with slight of hand slipped into their father's palm a gem of great value from her pocket."

Blaze then returned to the group "My apologies for the delay friends. Let us proceed to dinner."

…

"Welcome to Sol Seaside Seafood how many-" The receptionist froze as her eyes grew nearly as large as a dinner plate upon seeing Princess Blaze and her party step through the restaurant's double doors.

"One table for four in the most private area you can manage." Gardon said.

"Oh, are you not dining with us?" Blaze said, turning to Gardon as she spoke.

"Not today, I had an early dinner. Thus I shall arrange for our transportation to arrive then await your conclusion of dinner. Please enjoy yourselves." Gardon bowed then exited the restaurant leaving Blaze, Silver, Marine, and Buster to be directed to their table by their waitress.

"Y-your majesty, it's an honor to have you at our… restaurant?" The waitress was puzzled as she saw the silver hedgehog and fox take a sat together on one side of the booth only for the Raccoon to insist the hedgehog was in the entirely wrong spot and to move to where she pointed. The Waitress then watched the Princess of the Sol Empire blush as the Raccoon nearly shoved her majesty into the other side of the booth then practically slammed her side into the hedgehog, pushing him closer toward the princess. When all was said and done the Raccoon took nearly half of the room that was available in the booth and left her majesty and the hedgehog practically atop one another, as there was so little room remaining for them.

The raccoon noticed the waitresses stares and shed her assertive and domineering expression, adopting one of excitement and boundless energy.

"C-could I start you all with any appetizers? Our buttered biscuits are delicious… your majesty?"

"Y-yes. Sounds lovely." Blaze said, not able to mentally process what the waitress was saying as she was far too distracted by the warmth of Silver's body pressed up against her side. She smelled his scent and found her body temperature rising as her face became flushed and her eyes dilated. The waitress wrote down everyone's drink order and when it came to the princess' turn to order the waitress asked if her Majesty would be interested in water, tea, or some over beverage.

"That is fine."

"... uh. would tea and water be acceptable to your Majesty?" The waitress stuttered as she spoke and began sweating profusely."

Blaze let out a sigh as she stared at Silver's golden eyes, finding herself lost in them. Silver, Buster, and Marine were chatting about something they saw on the menu. The word catfishing came through her senses as a joke about Silver, Amy, and Blaze caused the Silver the Hedgehog to get flustered, defensive, and smile awkwardly as he flailed his arms about as he turned to Blaze and spoke to her in reassurance. Blaze couldn't understand more than a word of what anyone said, she could do nothing but lean on the table with one arm, her hand supporting her head as she smiled drunkenly -despite being entirely sober- at the silver hedgehog next to her, appreciating and fixating on his adorable fangs.

Marine the Raccoon finished laughing at Silver's expense as she gasped at seeing the hard liquor menu. "Oi, they have grog here. Hey Silver and Blaze, I don't suppose you'd mind if I order a stubby of rum?"

"Sure." Blaze said thoughtlessly, as she was completely lost in Silver's presence.

"Uh, please forgive me your highness b-b-but are you the parent or legal guardian of… I'm sorry, what was your name sweetie?"

"Marine. Marine the Racoon." Marine said cheerfully.

"Thank you. Your highness I just need to confirm, are you a parent or guardian of Marine the Racoon?"

"Yes." Blaze said on instinct.

Marine the Racoon nearly broke down in tears of joy. "I love you too Blaze!"

Silver spoke up and turned toward Marine the Racoon, "Of course, Marine is like a daughter or sister to me. She is an incredibly wonderful person and Blaze and I are so fortunate to have her in our lives."

Marine could not do anything but wipe tears of joy from her eyes. "I love you guys so much."

Even Buster couldn't help but smile at the wholesome interaction that was on display.

The waitress seeing her entire service industry career flash before her eyes, or a possible scandal take root, turned to a fellow employee and told her to lock the doors and not allow anyone else in, out of an abundance of caution toward her Majesty's reputation.

Turning back to the table the waitress tried to find someone who was opposed to the notion of serving a child rum.

"So, sir, are you okay with Marine having hard liquor? It's only legal if a parent or guardian gives her permission and drinks in the presence of said parent or guardian. Are you absolutely sure you want your child to be served hard liquor?"

Silver flashed a charmingly naive smile toward the waitress. "What's hard liquor?"

"Oh Sol. This is a party of secret alcoholics. He doesn't even consider hard liqueurs to be hard liqueurs. Fine then, see if I care if their child has alcohol. It's their business and their consequences." The waitress vexingly mumbled under her breath. After alleviating her frustration the waitress smiled and said aloud. "I'll bring some waters for everyone to start with. What can I get for your entrees and what alcohol would you like for the child?" The waitress emphasized with a sharp tone the last three words in particular.

The group -in other words, Marine the Racoon- ordered crab with butter for everyone. The Waitress then turned to Marine and asked what alcohol she wanted.

"I want a big bottle of rum!"

"I think that will be a bit much for you. How about a nice tinny?

"No, no, no." Marine insisted. "A big bottle of rum. The biggest you have!"

The waitress sweated profusely. She morally backtracked. She was not okay with this. But what could she do? She is serving her Majesty and her adopted daughter. Her majesty was the most powerful person in the Sol Empire, if not the entire world. The waitress turned toward her majesty once more. Surly she would see reason. "My Princess, are you okay with the small child having a tallie? It's 750 ml of hard liquor?"

Blaze suddenly realized the truth…

She was very tired. Her meeting with the Dukes had been… so… boring. Blaze's eyes grew heavy and fluttered open and closed in rapid succession. All the sounds around her turned into relaxing background ambience as she found her body heavy and drifting into the orbit of a silver furred hedgehog.

"Yes, everything is fine." Blaze said as she found herself leaning toward, and resting her head on Silver's shoulder, at utter peace as she breathed in his scent and felt the heartbeat emanate from his neck as he too was now finding himself distracted and flustered by Blaze's affections. This caused Silver to not fully process what the waitress had been asking Blaze.

Buster, meanwhile, was watching the chaos unfold beautifully.

"Fuck me." The waitress whispered under her breath before she spoke aloud, "Thank you for choosing to dine with us today. I'll put in your order and we'll have it out for you soon.

The waiter left the booth then returned a few minutes later with everyone's drinks and gave Marine the Racoon a large bottle of rum. "Please drink responsibly." She then left to check on the food.

"I am the definition of responsibility. Right Bruce?"

"Uh, yeah? Yes! You are. You have taken excellent care towards me and I am very grateful." Buster said in earnest.

"Awww, thanks Bruce. Here, have some rum."

"Oh, I don't know-"

"Come on. A little won't kill you. They gave me this cute little glass for sharing with people."

Marine poured the rum into the small shot glass then gave it to Buster who smelled it and was unimpressed and rather put off by the smell. However, he decided he might as well try it.

"Cheers." Buster said.

"Cheers! Marine shouted excitedly as she raised the bottle of rum high in the air. Both drank the rum at the same time with Marine taking a massive drink from her large bottle of rum.

Buster was disgusted by the taste. It seemed to have a strong, sweet smell not unlike sugarcane but the taste left something to be desired. That was enough alcohol for one lifetime he said to himself.

"It's crab time!" A waiter said as he put a large plate which held several other plates of food then handed everyone their crab dishes and sides of butter. "You all enjoy it!"

Marine smelled the crab and smiled. For her part, she was having a blast and poured herself another shot.

…

Meanwhile in the kitchen area a waitress was sobbing quietly while a coworker consoled her.

"So… you did it?"

"Uh huh." The waitress said sobbing.

"So you gave the girl rum? Well, hopefully she doesnt have more than three shots. You watered it down right?"

The girl paused her crying and looked at her friend and coworker before resuming her sobs but louder. "We were out of the regular rum so I… I…"

"You… what?" The friend said as she rubbed the crying waitresses back.

"I gave her overproof!"

…

Marine the Racoon's face was flushed from the alcohol content as she began pounding the table then belted out a song…

"There once was a ship that put to sea

And the name of that ship was the Billy o' Tea

The winds blew hard, her bow dipped down

Blow, me bully boys, blow!

Hurra!

Soon may the Wellerman come

to bring us sugar and tea and… and… and... rum!

One day, when the tonguin' is done

We'll take our leave and go!"

Marine stopped slamming her fist on the table and looked at Silver as her eyes grew as large as dinner plates as a thought crossed her mind. She put down her precious bottle and leaned forward cupping Silver's cheeks in her hands.

"Hey… hey… hey Silver. Hey…"

"Yes Marine?" Silver said, his voice muffled.

"You and Blaze should make some babies."

Blaze, who had been sipping on some water, spat out her drink all over the nearby wall.

Marine continued, "They would be so cute. You could pop out a few of them then… then… then I could be their captain and we could sail the seas looking for treasure. It- It- It would be great. Hic."

"I'll keep that in mind, Marine. Can I please have my head back now?"

"Yes." Marine said releasing him, then patted Silver on the head. She then turned to Buster.

"Hey Bruce."

"Yes Marine?" Buster had been watching the chaos unfold at the table and found himself thoroughly entertained.

"Why do you cry at night?"

"W-what?" Buster said, taken aback by Marine's question.

"Everynight when you fall asleep you mumble, toss and turn, and cry out. You even shout or scream occasionally. What's with that? I… I… like you Bruce. You're a cool guy and I don't want to see my -oh sol- I don't want to see my friends sad."

"I'm sorry Marine I… have honestly no idea what you're talking about. I don't remember anything. I don't have much that I could cry over."

"At first I thought it might be that you don't have parents, like me, but that can't be because I don't cry anymore after meeting Blaze and Silver. I'm sure you have family somewhere too. You- you say you don't have anything to cry over but I bet deep down in your noggin, your memories are still there waiting to come flowing to the surface." Marine put a hand on Buster's shoulder. "I just want you to know I'm ere' for you." As Marine spoke, she slurred her words while she gestured with her half empty bottle of rum. "Friends are always there for one another. And I consider you a friend."

"Thanks Marine, That means a lot. I'll keep that in mind and let you know if I remember anything."

Marine smiled at Buster, then her cheerful expression turned to horror.

"Oh sol. I'm going to Chunder."

"What?" Buster said, not having any idea what that meant.

Marine the racoon then began vomiting up her crab and rum as she sobbed. "I… I don't feel good." She then continued violently throwing up.

Blaze the Cat, now fully out of her trance-like state both saw and heard the horrible state that Marine was in, stood up in shock and elegantly leapt over the table to be at her dear friend's side.

"Marine? Marine? How in Sol did you get alcohol? Oh, you poor thing."

"I… I want to," Marine throws up once more. "I want to go home!" Marine said with a long and drawn out sob.

While Silver used his telekinesis to clean up the mess with an army of napkins, Buster motioned for the waiter.

"Waiter… waiter! Check please." Buster said as he rubbed Marine's back gently and gave her his water.

…

"Thank you Bruce for helping us with Marine." Blaze said as she bowed her head in thanks towards Buster.

"It's not a problem. It's the least I can do for a friend." Buster said

"I understand you have lost your memories. If I might be so bold as to ask, has anything come back to you? Anything that would help you remember who you are, where you came from, or what you are doing?"

Buster's smile quickly waned, turning into a frown as his gaze moved from Blaze the Cat toward the floor, "No. All I can remember is that my parents are dead. I don't remember how or why they died. Just that they are gone. I know I loved them, why else would only that memory remain?"

"Love is a powerful thing. I am not surprised that the memory remained. A shame you remember nothing else." Blaze became silent in thought. Meanwhile, from where they stood, they could hear Marine toss and turn through the wooden door to her room in the Sol Palace where everyone was staying for the night. After what felt like an eternity Blaze broke the introspective silence.

"I know all too well what it is like to be alone and not be willing or able to confide or trust in others. I am sure the experience for you has been one of no small amount of suffering and terror. While I have no doubt Marine has said something similar, I want to personally inform you that you are our most welcome guest and we would be honored for you to stay at the castle until your memories return. It may not be my place to say but Marine seems to see you as an older brother of sorts. She dotes on you in her own plutonic and chaotic manner. Believe it or not, she always struggled with making friends given her… spirited personality. I learned the hard way that a reliable friend is worth far more than gold and… well… what I am trying to say is that your presence and friendship is both welcomed and cherished here. I hope upon regaining your memories you will make an effort to visit us again in the future."

"Your highness-" Buster began.

"- Please, just Blaze is more than appropriate."

"Blaze, thank you for your kind words. I promise if I remember anything you will be the first to know."

"Wonderful. On that note, I bid you goodnight and pleasant dreams Bruce."

"Thank you Princess, and pleasant dreams to you too."

…

Buster awoke but he felt odd. Specifically, he felt wet. At first Buster thought he had merely sweated a lot as the covers were heavy and bulky and was oldly warm. After a moment Buster realized that it wasn't sweat he felt in the bed. Just as the realization hit him, Marine the Raccoon knocked on the door just before she threw the doors open.

"Knock knock Bruce! Time to eat. Silver's making pikelets!"

Buster wrapped himself in the covers. Too humiliated and embarrassed. Surely this was not normal for him, he thought as he hid himself in the covers, hoping the raccoon would leave him alone to wallow in shame."

It had the opposite effect.

"Come on you bludger, time to get up or Aunty Marine is going to have to make you get up then." Marine grinned and laughed maliciously as she tore off the covers. Despite Buster's protest, Marine threw them on the ground.

"It was an accident." Buster's face was bright red with shame and embarrassment. He couldn't even look her in the eyes.

Marine for her part was dead silent as realization hit her. Then she recovered her wits and returned to her normal energetic self.

"Don't worry about it Bruce. That's nothing." Marine said with a wave of her hand before continuing. "You should see my room. I had a gutful of piss last night. I was so rotten Blaze had to be with me nearly the entire night and let me tell you, I would trade places with you in a heartbeat after what I did to that room and poor Blaze. Not a corner of the room was left untouched by my liquid laugh. So don't worry about it. Now let's get you to the shower so you can clean yourself up and then meet everyone in the kitchen for some brekkie,"

Buster let out a breath he was holding. He wanted to die of embarrassment.

…

Having finished his shower and reunited with Marine, the pair walked through the bodacious and royal halls of the palace.

"What did you say was for breakfast?"

"Pikelets!" Marine said.

Buster could not help but ask himself, "What the hell is a pikelet?"

Buster froze upon entering the kitchen. He did not know why, but he felt an immeasurable amount of joy and excitement and pure unfiltered happiness at what he saw.

"Pancakes!" Buster shouted as he dashed towards the countertop where Silver -in an apron and chef hat no less- was telekinetically flipping miniature pancakes and simultaneously stirring the batter.

"Worry not friends, there is plenty to go around." Silver said with a warm smile. "But this particular pancake is for Blaze."

As Silver spoke he concentrated more on one particular pancake, causing the batter to spread apart and take shape into the image he willed it to be. When one side of the pancake was done Silver flipped it carefully using his mind and made some minor adjustments to the batter while he held an inactive spatula in the air at his side. Silver's focus on Blaze's pancake grew and as he put more of his mind on making the pancake perfect for Blaze his mental grasp of the floating spatula weakened until-

"Oops." Silver said as the spatula fell onto the floor. "Lost my concentration for a second there."

Buster did not know why but he felt this was important to remember.

Silver looked up briefly towards Buster, "Any luck getting your memories back?"

"No. Still nothing of my past other than… you know."

"I'm really sorry to hear that, but look at it this way, you have us as friends, and we're not going anywhere. You're young and have your entire future ahead of you. As someone who traveled to and from the future, trust me when I say it's the little moments of life with those you care about that makes life fulfilling. Now, grab a plate before the Marine eats them all-"

"-You can't stop me. Calories mean nothing to me. I'll eat them all!" Marine laughed evilly as she grabbed a plate and started piling on pikelets. She was about to use a fork and knife to grab a massive bite when the plate of pikelets left her grasp and began to float away from her and was kept just out of her reach.

"No. Wait!" Marine shouted as she stretched and jumped to try to grab the plate."

"I'm sorry Marine but we need to wait for Blaze before we eat. It's proper etiquette." Silver said with a stern wag of his finger.

"Hmph, when did you get so prim and proper? To think, you, spending so much time with Blaze has backfired." Marine said as she pretended to cry.

"Now now Marine. Blaze has taught me all sorts of neat stuff. Like proper social behavior and meal etiquette. It's a fascinating topic steeped in culture and tradition. No two countries are the same. For example…"

Marine for her part quickly found her eyes glazing over and found herself to be becoming incredibly bored as she looked at the floating hot cakes with longing. Then she grinned after noticing a bowl of fresh fruit on the table. Marine picked up an apple, then after making sure she was lined up and positioned under the floating plate of mini pancakes, hurled the apple at Silver with surprising velocity.

The apple flew through the air and struck silver directly on his scrotum.

Silver never had the chance to scream, he simply let out a whimper and collapsed to the ground in excruciating pain as Marine deftly caught the falling plate that was then no longer suspended by Silver's telekinetic grasp as she cheered in victory.

Buster didn't know why but intuitively felt that this was important to remember."But why?" Buster thought, Why do I keep taking mental notes of people's weaknesses? "What good is such information? I have no reason to fight anyone."

After Silver fell to the ground, Marine quickly noticed Silver was suffering greatly. "S-silver? Are you okay? I didn't mean to hurt you, I just, I meant to distract you for a second. I didn't mean to-"

"-Good morning everyone." Blaze said as she entered the kitchen. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Silver on the ground in the fetal position in great pain. Blaze immediately turned to Marine the Raccoon, the feline's eyes glowing with fire.

"Marine, what in Sol happened to Silver?"

Marine was scared. Blaze never got made or lost her cool. Only when she herself or Silver was hurt or in danger did she act out on impulse and cause the fiery temper of her youth to return.

"It… it was an accident. I didn't mean to."

"You poor thing. What did Marine do to you this time, Silver?"

Silver groaned with tears in his eyes as he struggled for a moment before speaking. "It… it was my bad."

"You're so kind Silver. Covering for Marine like that. But we both know you did not harm yourself." Blaze said as she kneeled down next to Silver. "Silver, please tell me how I can help. Where are you hurt?"

"I'm fine." Silver whispered as he clinched his eyes closed.

"Silver, I can't help you if I don't know where or how you were injured."

Silver was silent as his cheeks turned red.

"Bruce. Did you see what transpired?"

Blaze looked toward Buster as she spoke. Buster then looked toward a guilt ridden Marine and a near dead and resolved Silver.

"Uh… It was Silver."

Blaze let out a depressed sigh. "You're a worse liar than Silver is."

Buster did not know why but he intuitively knew that was not true. "Strange." Buster thought. "Another sense of deja vu… only my intentions to lie were nonexistent here. What kind of person was I where I would need to lie through my teeth?"

"Bruce. What really happened to SIlver?"

"It's not my place to say. I'm sorry-"

"-His balls!" Marine shouted at the top of her lungs as tears formed on the outskirts of her eyes. "I hurled an apple with all my strength and it hit him right in the crotch. I didn't mean to. Now he'll never have children with you Bl-"

Blaze was fast as lightning as she covered Blaze's mouth, her eyes filled with a burning flame while her face turned bright red. "Not another word."

Marine was absolutely terrified. Her words said be silent, but her eyes promised death. Marine reminded herself to never come between her and Silver – Not that Blaze had ever or would ever hurt her. She was just a bit Tsundere, so she needs to learn to show her feelings to him. Which is why they're such a great team and so cute together, Marine reminded herself.

"I'm sorry Silver. I'm sorry Blaze. I'm sorry Bruce… I'm not sure what I'm sorry for Bruce, I'm sure I'll do something in the future to hurt or bother you."

Buster assured Marine the Raccoon that everything would be fine in the end.

"It's quite alright Marine." Blaze added. "Everyone makes mistakes and Silver and I both know you would never hurt anyone without just cause." Blaze paused for the moment then corrected herself. "Most of the time."

"What?!" Marine said in shock and disgust.

"Is there anything I can get for you?" Blaze said as she gently rubbed Silver's quills, far too worried about him to notice the affectionate gesture she was doing subconsciously.

"I need ice." Silver said.

Someone! We need ice immediately." Blaze's commanding voice echoed through the halls and soon a bunny girl came running with a brisk pace.

"My apologies, my lady. I came as fast as I could." The bunnygirl curtsied while holding a large bag of ice.

"Thank you Jasmine. You have been most helpful. We'll take it from here."

"As you wish, your majesty." The Bunnygirl curtsied once more then upon arriving at the hallway she curtsied yet again before she turned and disappeared down the hall to return to her duties.

"So. Much. Pain." Silver mumbled.

"What does it feel like?" A curious Marine dared to ask.

"Marine!" Blaze said scoldingly.

"I could tell you." Buster whispered awkwardly. He knew the pain. Somehow. From sometime in his past. Another memory that stubbornly had refused to leave his consciousness.

"It's okay Blaze. I don't mind. It feels a lot like if you get hit by something in your eye. It's a sudden explosion of pain that quickly radiates out from the source and travels throughout all the nerve endings in your stomach. You feel sick and nauseous. Now it's a dull pain that returns every few seconds in waves. I… I think I'll live."

"I'd certainly hope so, Silver. I don't know how I would live without you in my life."

Marine made an 'UwU' face that caused Blaze to glare at the Racoon while her face turned bright red with embarrassment. "It would have been awful if you had died by Marine's hand."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt him." Marine said.

"It's okay Marine. It was an accident. I forgive you." Silver said.

Buster sniffed the air. "Is something burning?"

"No! My special pancake." Silver with great effort stood to his feet and held onto the counter as he moved to the cookware. He tried to use his telekinetic power but he could only scarcely grab the pancake for a moment before the throbbing pain caused him to lose his telekinetic hold on the pancake, only for it to fall back onto the griddle. The spatula was still on the ground and dirty so Silver resolved to use his hands to remove it. Despite the immense pain Silver managed to pick up and drop the pancake onto a plate.

"Ow ow ow ow ow."

Buster had noticed the pancake would burn but decided against warning them. He felt an unfathomable need to observe. Where did this desire come from? Is he just an asshole? Silver, Blaze, and Marine deserve far better than that. They were good people. He needed to do better and be more like them.

"I'm sorry. I saw the pancake burning. I don't know why I didn't say anything. I'm very sorry." Buster said with genuine remorse.

"It's alright Bruce. There was a lot going on." Blaze said.

Silver, however, was not as nonchalant toward his ruined efforts and his words were heavy with disappointment and remorse. "My special pancake. I made it specially for you Blaze."

Silver flipped over the overcooked bottom of the Blaze faced pancake face up to reveal an absolutely scorched top of the pancake. It was entirely black and looked like it had endured an inferno that only the real Blaze could hope to survive.

"While it did not turn out I still genuinely appreciate the kind gesture. Blaze said as she gave Silver a weary smile.

"You look tired. Did you have trouble sleeping last night?" Silver said.

Marine whistled awkwardly and became very interested in the silverware that had been placed earlier onto the table as Blaze began to answer SIlver's question.

"I was up late comforting Marine. It's my fault after all that she became so sick. I did not want to burden anyone else and have them neglect their needed rest. I'm simply glad Marine is feeling better this morning. She had a most dreadful night."

"Oh, had I known I would have helped. It's not fair to you to not get any rest. You of all people need sleep. You do so much for so many."

Buster quietly walked over and sat at the table next to a tired, slightly less energetic Marine and asked her in a whisper, "So, are they like this all the time?"

"Oh yeah. You should see them when they think they're alone-" Marine whispered back.

"I see- wait what?"

"I meant to say, they're such good friends."

"They do seem pretty close."

"Hmmmm? You think so huh?" Marine grinned as she appraised Buster, as if she was seeing him for the first time.

"I mean, they get along really well. Look at them. We've talked for nearly a minute and they're still going on about how amazing the other person is and how lucky they are to know each other. You'd think they'd get a room."

Marine scooted her chair next to Buster and got uncomfortably close to the fox as she practically whispered into his ear. "I know right! They were made for one another. I don't suppose you're willing to join the…" Marine halted her words and glanced toward Silver and Blaze who were still chatting.

The cat and hedgehog pair had transitioned to making pancakes together, with Silver showing off his telekinetic pancake making ability leaving Blaze blushing in awe at the skill and spectacle.

Marine turned back to Buster after determining she would not be overheard, "Okay Bruce. I think I can trust you. There is a secret plot to get Silver and Blaze hitched. It's top secret."

"That's cute."

"No. It's not." All joy and excitement was instantly wiped out of herself.

Buster was startled by this sudden change in demeanor and tonation.

"Follow me." Marine grabbed Buster's hand and led him out of the kitchen to a secluded library that was almost entirely empty except for a royal librarian and a guard.

"Okay, Bruce. I can trust you right?" Marine asked as she closed a door to a conference room and lowered the drapes to keep eyes from spotting them. Not that she had any need to hide or be secret.

"Yes." Buster said flatly.

"There is a secret organization that I lead to get Blaze and Silver married."

Marine the Raccoon was blushing maddingly and Buster could have sworn he saw hearts in her eyes.

Buster burst out laughing. "What?"

"I said I am leading a plot to have Blaze and Silver married."

"So… you and a few others-"

"- around half of the royal staff and Gardon."

"So you, Gardon, and half the staff are plotting to play matchmaker and get Blaze and Silver married?"

"Yes. Would you like to join us?" Marines eyes filled with glee as she smirked.

Marine had little energy at the beginning of her day but now Marine seemed to be fully recharged and back to her normal hyperactive self.

"Thanks but I'm not really… that's not my area of expertise. I think I was more of a tinkerer or tech guy, so I'll have to politely decline. I wouldn't know the first thing about… that mushy lovey dovey stuff."

"It's okay Bruce. No need to apologize." Marine smiled as she got to her feet and stepped close to Bruce then grabbed his collar and pulled him face to face with herself. Her smile disappeared and was replaced with a fiery glare that would make even Blaze proud. "But if you do anything to damage their blossoming love-" Marine stopped her sentence short leaving her words to hang in the air.

"Y-yeah?" Buster asked nervously.

Marine's death stare dissipated, replaced with an equally cute and confused rumination as she furrowed her brows and contorted her eyes in thought. "-I haven't thought that far ahead yet but if you ruin their future together it will be really really bad for you!"

Buster let out a breath he had been holding and spoke in a sincere reassuring tone to the racoon. "You have my word. I will not do anything to destroy their inevitable union."

"Good." Marine, pleased at Buster's words, let go of his collar and stepped out of his personal space.

"Heh. Wow. You… you're actually really serious about this-"

"-We both are. True love is no joking matter." Gardon said curtly.

Marine and Buster nearly had a heart attack and jumped back from the new sudden voice.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Just thought I'd check up on you kids and see how you all were doing after the busy night you all had yesterday."

"Gardon, you can't keep sneaking up on people like that." Marine said, feeling as if her soul had left her body for a moment.

Gardon had a massive grin on his face then it vanished as he returned to his normal 'Personal Guard of her Majesty', persona.

"I'm hurt, dear Marine. Surely you know I am merely testing your ability to detect intruders and pirate ninja's."

"Oh. Of course I knew that. Pfft. I was speaking on behalf of poor Bruce here. He never heard you coming."

"You didn't either?" Buster thought angrily.

"So, you're in the secret organization to get Blaze and Silver paired up?" Buster said.

"Betrothed, married, and producing heirs for the kingdom, that is correct."

Buster was taken aback about how forward he was with such intimate ambitions. "Wow. Okay. I need to take a seat for this. That's a lot to take in when you put it like that.

"There's a lot for Blaze to take in- ow!" Marine said as Gardon lightly karate chopped Marine's head.

"Doesn't that seem a little creepy?" Buster said as he eased into a wooden chair as Gordon quietly closed the door he had silently opened behind him.

"Not at all." Gordon began. "We are not forcing them to act in any manner they wouldn't otherwise choose. Nor do we act in a manner that would put either of them in harm or jeopardy. We merely create opportunities for them to bond and grow closer. Sometimes this means arranging an appropriate atmosphere. Other Times it's arranging a spectacular multi course meal and the importation of exotic birds from overseas using taxpayers money -thus being the most beneficial use of such funds might I add- you see Bruce, we do this because It is evident to all of us that Blaze and Silver have strong feelings for one another as so called, 'good friends'. They aid and support one another, promote and strengthen each other's virtues and bring out the best of each other with grace and patience. We merely give them a helping push in the right direction."

"Wow. This is a lot to take in. I'm fascinated, disgusted, and creeped out all in one. I can't say I recall a time in history this has ever been done.

"Yes. Well-" Gardon began to say.

"-That was a joke by the way. No memory remember." Buster tapped his noggin.

"I see. Clever. Well, I hope you won't judge us too harshly Mr. Bruce. We only want what is best for Silver, her Majesty, and the Kingdom."

"How would getting hitched help the Kingdom? You mentioned producing heirs… can… can they even have kids?" Buster said as his cheeks began to turn pink.

"I'm quite certain. I'm not a doctor nor a geneticist but my understanding is that nearly all humanoid species are capable of successful reproduction. Naturally I have no personal experience with testing this theory but anecdotal evidence suggests that while rare, it is not entirely unheard of in this world. Of other worlds, I know not. That is a question for Prower." Gardon said.

Marine leaned in while wiggling her eyebrows and added, "We have a plan for everything. Even if they couldn't produce an heir, they could always use the Sol Emeralds to help them work their magic."

"What. The. Hell." Buster said without thinking. They'd stoop to using some sort of magical artifact? Buster could not believe what he was hearing.

"Don't be ridiculous, Marine." Gardon said.

Buster was relieved. Finally, A line that wouldn't be crossed. Some semblance of normalcy that respects the laws of nature might yet prevail.

"If they prove unable to conceive they'd both have to go to their super form in order to conceive. Silver would use the Chaos Emeralds and Blaze, her Majesty, would use the Sol Emeralds."

"I'm sorry, what? What the hell are the Sol Emeralds?"

"Powerful items that turn one's thoughts into reality. So they could do the trick with a little… creative use."

"Oh. My. Chaos." Buster accidentally shouted out loud as his face became flushed with embarrassment. "You two. Half this damn castle. You're not right. Buster shook his head side to side in shock. "You're all not right in the head. This isn't normal. It's-" Then it hit him… The Chaos Emeralds. Something about those three words echoed through his mind and wouldn't leave his consciousness in peace. He couldn't place why. He found his body tensing and his heartbeat increasing rapidly. He'd heard of them before, of that he was sure. He wouldn't have this heightened reaction otherwise, Buster reminded himself. But how did someone like him know of the Chaos Emeralds? Surely such a powerful item would be kept secret?

"No need to get so flustered, Buster. I suppose auntie Marine is just more emotionally mature than you. You'll get there." Marine said.

Before Buster could ponder further Gardon interrupted his train of thought.

"Bruce, please understand. Marine and I are kindred spirits and feed off each other's energy. Most of what we discussed was extreme hyperbole.

"Oh, I see. I was a little weirded out there for a moment." Buster said.

"I was dead seriou-" Gardon, like a flash of lightning, covered Marine's mouth and prevented her from finishing her sentence then once certain she would not speak of the matter further, only then did he remove his hand from covering her mouth.

"We genuinely want to help and support Silver and Blaze. If they ever had a falling out, we would respect their desires and wishes. It must be said however that this is a matter Marine, myself, and much of the Kingdom takes with the utmost respect and responsibility. Blaze has a duty to produce an heir, lest the Kingdom become leaderless and fall to a succession crisis. These are her words, not mine. She admires Silver and sees in him not a boy, but a King worthy of leading the Sol Empire. Suffice to say our actions and goals are in service to the happiness and prosperity of Silver, Blaze, and the Kingdom as a whole."

"Well when you put it like that. I'll stay out of your way. Worry not about me spoiling your plot."

"We thank you Bruce." Gardon said.

As Gardon finished his reply he stepped up and away from the closed door so as not to block it. The door opened once more and Silver poked his head inside.

"Here you all are. The pancakes are done. We can eat whenever you all are ready."

"That works for me." Buster said.

"I'm starving." Marine shouted.

"I already ate so I shall go and return to my post." Gardon said.

"Great. Well, let's go before the pancakes get cold." Silver said.

"Pikelets are bloody brilliant!" Marine the Raccoon said as she let out a cheer.

…

Is something the matter Bruce? You seem nervous. You haven't even taken a bite of your breakfast yet." Blaze said as she took a bite of a pancake, then placed her fork back on the table as she finished chewing.

"I am worried about getting my memories back." Buster said.

"Worry not Bruce, I am confident you will have your memories returned in time. In the worst case scenario, you never get them back, in which case I can attempt to use the sol emeralds to return your memories." Blaze said, misinterpreting Buster's words.

"I'm sorry. What did you say?" Buster said.

The Sol Emeralds could be used to restore your memories.

"What do you mean? How would that even work? Why did you just now mention that?"

"The sol emeralds can enable their wielder's thoughts to become reality. Now that I mention it, would you rather we attempt to return your memories today? Granted, I can't guarantee it will work but it may be worth a try if you are comfortable with using all powerful artifacts to alter your mind and consciousness. With all that said, the Sol Emeralds, Chaos Emeralds, and the Master Emerald have all one time or another demonstrated some level of sentience and self-awareness. If true, it may be the case that the Emeralds have other plans for you."

"They sound more like a god than gems when you talk about them like that."

"Oh, please do not be distressed by my description dear Bruce, I have been… contacted by the Sol Emeralds before, but it was up to me if I headed their call and fought to preserve the world and all those in it. Whether the emeralds are sentient and some manner of omniscient or not, we always have a choice in how we act and what we do. I truly believe that we alone control our fate. So, what say you, Bruce? Do you wish for me to transform with the power of the Sol Emeralds into Burning Blaze and wield the power of the emeralds to restore your memories?"

"B-burning blaze? What is that? What are you talking about?"

"Forgive me. I forget you are not familiar with my many adventures. With all seven of the Sol Emeralds I can transform into Burning Blaze and utilize the power of the emeralds to protect the world and its people. I have stopped evil doers on many occasions with the help of the emeralds power."

"Well, when you put it like that, maybe I should take you up on your offer if they're that powerful… on second thought, I'm not sure that sounds safe. Even if it was, what if I don't like who I am? Who I was? What if I get my memories back and I despise the person I find myself to be? You all are so wonderful and have been so kind towards me. What if I don't deserve your kindness? What if I hate who I am? Maybe… just maybe I'm better off forgetting the past and living here in the future? Is that crazy? Does that sound crazy to you?"

Blaze giggled, smiled, and set down a cup of tea she had been holding. "Bruce, the fact you have such concerns proves to me you are the very sort who is most deserving of our friendship. I shall not tolerate another word of this self-deprecation. If you will for me to attempt to use the Sol Emeralds to return your memories, you need only ask. As a friend it would be a great joy to aid you however I can."

Buster thought deeply.

"I… I think I will ponder this some more. I'm afraid. It's as if I was born less than a week ago. I'm not sure I'm ready to face who I am just yet. I hope you can forgive my trepidation."

"By all means. Take all the time you need. Friends are always happy to listen and wait. Whatever you decide, we all will support you." Blaze said.

"Uh-huh" Marine said as she stuffed her face with pikelets covered in whip cream and jam while Silver used his telekinesis to refill Marine's glass of orange juice.

Comforted and relieved, Buster turned to his stack of hotcakes. They smelled heavenly. His mouth salivated. He looked around the table as light from the early morning sun illuminated the room. He saw Marine munching happily on her pancakes. Silver and Blaze chatted with one another about some little topic of unimportance, while Blaze wiped whip cream off the side of his mouth. Silver said something that caused everyone to laugh. All the while, Gardon stood at attention with a subtle smile on his face, ready to defend those he loved and cared for, totally content with his place in the world.

It struck Buster as a magical moment. The kinds of moments that make a life worth living. It was the kind of wholesome moment that seemed to only exist in fiction or fairy tales. It wasn't reality. Yet here Buster sat as a wave of emotion flowed over his mind and body.

This moment, Buster thought to himself, it was happiness, no, to be more accurate…

It was a paradise most only could dream of.

Buster looked at his plain pancakes. Steam was coming off of them as Blaze had recently heated them to a perfect temperature. Buster used a fork to cut a piece of the hotcake off from the whole. He was about to take a bite when Blaze spoke.

"Bruce. Would you not prefer some toppings? I could make you a smiley face pancake with whip cream and chocolate chips like I did for Silver?" As Blaze spoke Silver stuffed a giant fork full of pancake covered in whip cream and chocolate chips into his mouth and smiled in recommendation.

Buster did not know why but he found it hard to speak. His throat was getting dry, his voice hoarse, and he struggled to speak.

"No thank you Blaze. This… this is perfect."

Buster took his first bite of his pancake. He chewed it slowly. Savoring the taste. It was warm, thanks to Blaze's careful efforts. They were fluffy, practically absorbing his saliva which only furthered to cause the pancake to seemingly melt in his mouth and ignite his taste buds. Most of all, they reminded him of a memory. He remembered nothing but the taste, and the feeling of unbridled joy and happiness. Soon realization had struck Buster.

He had eaten pancakes before. But it was not the pancakes that caused him to struggle to hold back tears. There was something else that the pancakes reminded him of. The memory was lost to him. Exiled to the furthest reaches of his consciousness. A sense of deja vu swept over him. Buster tried with all his mental might to recall what the feeling was. Then it hit him.

A dormant memory surfaced from deep in the far recesses of his mind, hazy and lacking discernible detail yet the feelings they generated could not be so easily forgotten. A memory of time spent with loved ones around a breakfast table. A feeling of love and contentment. A feeling that flooded his entire being and threatened to break down his composure.

Not memories exactly, but feelings of when he was a child.

"..."

"Bruce? Are you alright?"

Buster could do nothing to stop the tears that silently flowed.

"I-I'm fine. I'm sorry. I just had a feeling sweep over me." Buster took one more bite of his pancakes. As much as he wished he could, he couldn't finish them.

They were too sweet.

"Excuse me." Buster said as he got up and left the room as he held back tears.

…

"Wake up… Wake up… Bruce, wake up!"

Buster awoke to Marine pushing his body back and forth as he lay on the bed in a guest room.

"What? What happened Marine?"

"You were shouting and screaming in your sleep. It terrified me."

"Oh. I'm sorry. I… I don't know why I would do that."

"This is the third day in a row."

"What?"

"I… didn't wake you then. But it's gotten worse. A lot worse Bruce. I'm worried about you. Your night terrors. They're not going away."

Buster was taken aback by Marine. She held her hands close to her chest and breathed deep and slowly, her eyes fixated on him.

"She is so demure. It's so unlike her." Buster thought.

"Do… do you remember anything about your past? Anything at all?"

"No, I'm sorry, but I don't. But I know one thing…"

"What's that?" Marine said eagerly, her voice still filled with worry for her friend.

"I really need a bath. My fur is sweaty!"

Marine glared at him. "Bruce. I was worried sick about you. It's not normal. What happened to you to make you…" Marine's words trailed off.

After Buster's light hearted attempt to change the subject failed, he decided he'd have to reassure her.

"I don't know what happened in my past. To be honest, I'm a little afraid to find out. Yet… part of me feels that I have to regain my memories. That I've forgotten something incredibly important to me. Something that I might dearly miss."

"Actually," Buster said after a pause, "That's a lie. I'm actually terrified to get my memories back."

Marine slowly and gently grabbed Buster's hand. Her dainty fingers gently grasped and held onto his wrist and palm.

"I'll always be your friend Bruce. No matter what. You don't need to fear your past. You have friends here and you can always heal and move on from whatever happened. No matter how terrible it is. You can stay on the island with Blaze and I, and I'll help you heal and move on, if you'll let me. You've been with Blaze and I for months now. You wouldn't leave just because you got your memories back, would you?"

"I don't know Marine. I don't know. What if I have a family? What if someone is waiting for me. Misses me?"

"Of course you'd go and visit them. But you'd come back right? You wouldn't break a girl's heart, would you?"

"Ha! You're hardly what I'd call a lady." Buster jested. He then looked Marine in the eyes and his demeanor changed. "That was a joke. You're a good friend of mine, Marine. You know that."

Marine was nearly on the verge of tears. "I'm tired of all my friends moving away from me. The Coconut crew. Last month Colonel's Parents moved to the other side of Sol for work. Now just Tabby is left. Just like that. It's like they died Bruce. They vanished from my life. I miss them. I miss all of them. Meanwhile, my other dear friends live in a separate dimension and can't even get letters from me. I Never know how they are or when I'll next see them. Maybe I'm just some selfish Sheila but I'm tired of my friends disappearing from my life. Please Bruce, just this once, if it's not too much to ask, just this once let me be selfish with a friend." Marine's delicate grip tightened around Buster's hand. "Please, promise me, after you get your memories back you'll come home.

"Thanks Marine. I promise. Your words mean a lot to me and I'm not just saying that. I mean it. In fact, you've convinced me. I'll finally take Blaze up on her offer. If you promise to stay by my side and support me. So what do you say? How about we try to get my memories b-"

Marine hugged Buster tightly as she held back tears. "Sounds ripper. Let's go. Blaze should be able to restore your memories right away."

…

"I apologize Bruce but I cannot restore your memories right away."

"Chaos damn it." Buster thought.

"We need to speak with a friend of ours first. I am certain you will get along splendidly." Blaze said.

"Why is that Blaze? Is it because he's a fox like Bruce here? That's kind of speciesist don't you think?" Marine teased.

"Ha, everyone gets along with Prower. Your words mean nothing Marine."

"Prower." Buster began, "That name sounds familiar."

"Hmmm, maybe you're related? Though I know not of him having any living relatives. That would be splendid news if true, unlikely it may be."

"Or maybe you're his son!" Marine shouted in jest.

"Oh please Marine. Tails is around your age. That's not… ahem… biologically possible."

Marine looked Bruce over up and down. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"So who is this Tails bloke?" Buster said.

Blaze smiled as she recalled another one of her dear friends, "He is most knowledgeable in science and mechanical engineering among other disciplines. In addition, he is an expert in the fields of Chaos Emerald and Sol Emerald research. I dare say no one has more knowledge than him."

"Sounds like a smart guy."

"He is, though he is modest too. He is a dear friend of Marine and I both. We'll be consulting him before I attempt to restore your memories."

Buster furrowed his brow. "Is there a concern you have that I should know about?"

"I do not want to alter your mind or memory unless I am certain no harm will come to you. To obtain that certainty, we'll be traveling to another dimension. I apologize for the inconvenience this brings, but we should be back at the castle in time for dinner."

Buster was flabbergasted and silent as he processed what Blaze had said to him.

"Oh. That's all." Buster said sarcastically. "I don't suppose Silver will be joining us, will he?"

Blaze frowned toward Buster. "My apologies Bruce. I'm afraid Silver is busy. While we're going to Silver's home dimension, we do not know if he is in the past, present or future. He is unique in that no matter the course of history he remains unaffected by the causality of time so there is no telling where he is or what he is doing."

Buster thought for a moment. "Well, you can't really say that. The part about him being unaffected by causality."

"What do you mean?" Blaze asked.

"If Silver was affected by the causality of time like everyone else he wouldn't really know it, and neither would we."

"He's been in alternate timelines before." Blaze countered. "He has seen worlds destroyed and saved them from that fate. He has several times existed outside the flow of time and thus been able to alter the future to save it from crises.

"Yes, but did the root causality change?

"Root causality?" Blaze said with a raised eyebrow.

"Allow me to explain it In layman's terms. The common perception of time is known as the counterfactual view. X causes Y if and only if, without X, Y would not exist. But that's not actually the case based on what you said. We know other dimensions exist. So, let me ask you this. To what point does causality extend toward and end? Your city? The World? The Planet? The Galaxy? The dimensional plane of existence you live on? This dimension and world we are going to… are we not altering that world's causality by going there? Or is the causality intertwined between even dimensions given we're going to visit your friend in a separate dimension? You seem to believe Silver is immune to causal changes of the past. That may be true to a point. But with respect to time everything has a beginning and end. Even Silver. I'm not saying he isn't special, I'm just saying, at the end of the day, no one can outrun the causality of time. We are all mere mortals after all."

Marine whistled. "Wow. Way to manslaine Bruce."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." Buster said in a panic.

Blaze stared at Bruce and squinted her eyes. "How did you know all that?"

Buster blushed. Surprised at his own words. "I… don't know. It just came to me."

"Have you been reading physics books in the royal library?"

"No. I haven't."

"Well, that was an interesting conversation. What do we say we return to the task at hand?"

"Sure." Buster said.

"Sounds good to me!" Marine chimed in.

"Are you both ready to depart?" Blaze said as she glanced toward Buster and Marine.

"I'm ready." Buster said.

"Me too!" Marine said as she slid across the floor before coming to a stop beside Blaze and Buster.

"Wonderful. Please stand still and grab my hand. I recommend you close your eyes for this. This may be frightening as it will be your first time Bruce, but I assure you, you are completely safe."

Buster and Marine the Racoon did as instructed.

Blaze closed her eyes as the Sol Emeralds spun around her. Moments later flame swirled around the trio radiating heat yet leaving them unharmed. Then the fire dissipated.

…

"You can open your eyes now." Blaze said.

As Blaze spoke Buster heard the sound of flicky's chirping in the distance. He opened his eyes to see Blaze, then the sight that lay behind her which took his breath away.

Sapphire skies stretched far off into the distance meeting both jungle trees and mountain tops.

To Buster's left was a derelict train station that seemed to be barely operational based on what he could see. Directly to his right at the tip of a large incline was a small staircase leading to a building.

Buster found himself having trouble breathing. They must be at a high elevation for him to struggle so much to breath. That was when Buster noticed that behind him were dozens of caution barricades along the perimeter of what he assumed was a cliff. Buster peeked down the cliff and regretted his decision as h e could not see the bottom. He stepped away, his legs shaking.

"We're at the Mystic ruins. It's a floating island. I… am not a fan of this be carful not to fall. It's a long way down."

Buster blinked twice as he processed what the feline princess had said. "Floating Island? How is it floating?"

"Something something Master Emerald. Eh, I don't really understand it, you can ask Knuckles if we see him. Now lets go see Tails!" Marine said as she grabbed Buster's hand and led him up the stairs.

Upon reaching the top of the staircase, Buster noticed there was what looked to be an airstrip for planes to take off from. It was a cute albeit silly design though, as the palm trees flanking the strip would prevent their takeoff.

"Hurry up Blaze." Marine shouted.

Blaze for her part clutched the earthen wall that ran along the ascending staircase towards the house as the princess moved slowly and carefully, taking deep breaths while mumbling to herself. Eventually she reached the top and rejoined Buster and Marine.

Buster was impressed, there is some sort of hydro-electric generator attached to the building that uses water from a miniature waterfall to generate electricity.

"This is a really cool setup. Assuming you get used to the lack of oxygen in the air."

"Yeah!" Marine shouted.

Blaze ignored them and hurried to the door and knocked thrice.

Then the trio waited…

Then they waited some more.

"He probably can't hear us." Blaze said.

"You'd think he'd have some sort of motion or heat detection device to alert him when he has visitors." Buster said.

"He does, he just gets very focused on his work. We'll just step inside."

Blaze reached down to open the door and as soon as she had turned the door knob -the door was unlocked- Marine charged through sending the door flying inward, smacking into the wall and nearly knocking a picture of Sonic and Tails hugging off the wall before Blaze stabilized the picture frame.

Marine was like a bullet flying through the door frame, stopping only to twist open a large glass container filled with mints before she grabbed two handfuls then ran off deeper inside the building.

"Marine!" Blaze shouted. "No running, and please be courteous, you need only take one or two mints." Blaze let out a sigh.

"Sorry!" The raccoon shouted from further inside the house.

"Please forgive Marine, she can get very excited and forget her manners."

"No worries. It seems like she knows the guy and is excited to see him so it's all good."

"Actually, she's excited for you to meet him."

"What? Why me?"

"Marine struggled to make friends growing up, as hard as that is to believe. I believe she is hoping her old friend and her new friend will become friends themselves."

"Oh, no pressure then." Buster said chuckling nervously.

"Worry not Bruce. Miles, like Marine are is a person with a good heart and of good character. It is my experience that noble beings such as thee are like that of stars, casting light and joy upon the world."

"Wow. Thank you Blaze, that means a lot. Your very poetic, has anyone told you that?"

"Yes, well, there is one person who has complimented me in such a manner." Blaze said with a blush.

"It's Silver, isn't it?"

"As I was saying, I do hope Miles' guidance is helpful. It would be wonderful if we could quickly return your memories. We don't have a lot of time here."

"Yeah, that would be good. I had my worries and my doubts but I think I'm ready n- wait… we're on a time limit?"

"Yes. The Sol Emeralds I brought to this Dimension do not play nice with the Chaos Emeralds. It is our understanding that too much time spent here will have grave consequences for both our dimensions."

"Oh. I can't say that anything surprises me anymore. Time travel. Multiple dimensions. Apocalyptic causing gemstones. Anything else?"

"Miles has two tails." Blaze said flatly.

"Huh, that's cool. I'm excited to meet him. How much time do we have before reality breaks?" Buster said.

"I am most glad to hear that Bruce. Let me worry about the time spent here. For our purpose we should have plenty enough. Now, let's head to the lab. I am certain we shall find our friend Marine there, and a new friend as well."

"Lead the way."

…

Buster stepped through the open door behind Blaze the Cat and into a laboratory.

An amber furred fox smiled at Marine as he handed her a drink then turned to smile at and face the new arrivals. "Welcome you two, Marine said-" The twin tailed fox froze and stared in silence at Buster as he entered the room then awkwardly coughed, "Sorry, I meant to say, welcome, Marine said you were a fox as well. It's nice to meet you. I hope we can be friends!"

"Thanks." Buster said awkwardly. "Me too."

"So where are you from? I'm Miles Prower by the way but friends call me Tails. I'm sure you can guess why." Tails said as he twirled his two tails behind him proudly.

"Sure. Is… is that a 3d printer?"

"It is! Do you study the material sciences?"

"I think so. I don't really remember-"

"Bruce here was found washed up on a beach like another fox I know." Marine said with a cheeky grin.

"You too huh?" Tails said with a chuckle before turning towards Marine. "It's weird that it happened to you twice."

"That's what I keep saying!" Marine said.

"My apologies Tails but we were hoping, should you deem it safe, that I could use the Sol Emeralds to restore Bruce's Memories."

"Hmmm." Tails put his hand to his chin in thought as he pondered.

After a few seconds he began to pace and half mumbled half spoke to the group. "If I had to guess, it should be fine. The Emeralds have unfathomable power and turn thoughts into reality. Based on observations and from what you have described in the past Blaze, the Emeralds have all demonstrated some level of sentience though none of my research has been able to scientifically prove or disprove the Emerald Sentience Theory. For you to use the Sol Emeralds to restore Bruce's memories there could be one of five distinct outcomes. One, Bruce's memories are all restored as they were, in addition, Bruce keeps the new memories he has gathered since his memories were lost. This is in my opinion the most likely outcome, but it is not the only possibility. So we must be cautious. Two, you restore his old memories at the cost of the new memories. This would be like overwriting an older save file with a newer one. Three, nothing happens. No memories are gained or lost, for whatever reason. This third possibility is in my opinion the least likely outcome given the artifacts we are working with. Outcome number four could result in Bruce's memory being swapped with his past consciousness, assuming the Sol Emeralds have the same time powers as the Chaos Emeralds -which I am certain they do- however I have no idea how that would affect causality. It could be the case that every sentient creature could have their memories altered to accommodate the new causal reality to where we would exist in a new reality while being none the wiser. Lastly, option 5, Bruce's memories are reconstructed similar to outcome one but it is reformed piecemeal and not an exact replica of his past memories. This is a possible outcome as I assume Blaze does not consciously know what memories to restore nor do we know if the Emeralds are sentient to where they themselves would take action to successfully restore said memories or, again assuming the Emerald Sentience Theory hypothesis is true, that they would even wish for all of Bruce's memories to be restored, assuming they had some omniscient higher plan for him or us. With those points stated, at the very least, it would be foolish to assume anything without conducting the appropriate scientific studies.

Everyone was silent as they stared at the eight year old twin tailed scientist.

"So… in simple terms, what do you think will happen if I use the Sol Emeralds to restore Bruce's memories?" Blaze said.

Tails smiled bashfully, "I'm sorry, but I haven't the slightest idea. But there is one way to find out."

…

"Are you certain you want to do this?" Marine said with concern.

"I am, though, I'd be lying if I said I was not nervous." Buster said.

"I would be really sad if you forgot about me." Marine said.

Buster was moved by her genuinely spoken words. "Don't worry. If I forget what happened you just get to make friends with me all over again." Buster said with elbow nudge and a wink.

Marine began to have tears silently stream down her cheek as she gave Buster a giant hug that Buster returned. He had gotten used to getting hugs in the past several months.

"I need to ask once more." Blaze glanced at Tails who had put on special goggles and held a notebook and a pen. He met Blaze's gaze, smiled, and gave both her and Buster a thumbs up. Turning back to Buster, Blaze asked, "Are you certain you want to go through with this. It is still possible your memories will return naturally."

"I'm certain. I've thought about it for months now. I want to know what my life was like. What past I had forgotten. Should the worst happen and I forget our time together, I hope you will take me under your wing again and rejuvenate our friendship."

Marine could not help herself and began sobbing loudly as she tried to quiet herself but failed to do so.

"Very well Bruce. No matter what happens, I, Marine, Silver, and -if I could be so presumptuous- Tails, we are all your friends. You will be cared for and treated like family."

"Thank you Blaze. Thank you, Everyone. I'd say I won't forget it but that might be presumptuous on my part." Buster chuckled nervously.

Blaze stepped forward and struck a pose. Upon doing so the lab was flooded with multicolor light as seven miracle gems, the Sol Emeralds rotated around Blaze at increasing speed. They seemed to be absorbed in an instant engulfing Blaze in a ball of blinding light–

The fire alarms went off as sprinklers activated as Burning Blaze, Blaze's super form, literally was burning like a miniature sun.

"Oh no! We should have done this outside." Tails said as the water showered down upon him and his many instruments of science.

Water rained down and pooled along the floor and upon touching Burning Blaze the water immediately evaporated.

Blaze grinned. "Last chance to back out. Are you ready my friend?"

"I am."

Blaze took a deep breath then slowly exhaled it to calm her worries. "Here I go."

As Blaze spoke, her voice boomed across the room, a voice of command and authority that came not as a Ruler or Monarch, nor as the controller and wielder of the Sol Emeralds, but as one who had an adamant determination to control her fate and to help those in need.

As if speaking to not just the Sol Emeralds but destiny itself, Blaze commanded, "May the power of the Sol Emeralds help you to remember, gaze into the sacred fire and have it fuel the knowledge of your past and return to you not just lost memories but the wisdom to see a future of your choosing made reality. Recall our past months of friendship, recall the earliest memories of your childhood and all the days that lay in between. Let all of your memories be retained, and of those memories lost let them be fully restored. Return as the fox I know you to be and fox I have yet to meet. Dear friend of mine… return to us!

Buster's heart beat skyrocketed as he watched the enchanting sight, for Buster time seemed to freeze as he and Blaze stared into one another's eyes. He was captivated by Blaze's kindness, as well as her inner and outer Beauty. He wondered if his memories would be restored? If so, he wondered what he would recall?

"Who… who was I?" Buster said, his words unheard over the roaring fire and the blaring of fire alarms.

"Who am I?" he whispered quietly to himself.

Buster felt an energy flow through him then he found his consciousness remembering countless memories in mere nanoseconds. Memories of days long ago and long forgotten… as well as other days he wished he never had remembered.

…

"Colette, what I am about to say is going to sound impossible and be very difficult to process, but Buster and I want you to know that we're here, we're not going anywhere, and we both love you very much.

"W-what do you need to tell me? Why are we outside?"

Buster stared at the ground, not having the strength to look his sister in the eyes. The look on her face would haunt him.

"Mom and Dad… Mom and Dad are…" Anabella couldn't get the words out as she fought back tears. As she fought, her voice grew shakier until she couldn't speak as the tears flowed from her eyes.

Buster knelt down beside Colette and spoke softly, "Colette, promise me that know matter what we say, understand that we are a family and we are never going to let anything happen to you. We're inseparable and we're not going anywhere. Do you understand?"

"I… I do, but where is Mom and Dad?"

Buster furrowed his brow, he cast his gaze down onto the dirt and grass and gently grabbed Colette's small hand. He moved it over and onto a patch of dirt.

"Colette, Mom and Dad are dead."

"What?"

"They're dead Colette. Dr. Eggman killed them. I'm so sorry."

Colette tore her palm free of Buster's hand as she fell to the ground. She clutched fistfuls of dirt in her tiny hands.

"Mama! Papa!"

Those two words cut through Buster straight to his heart as his sister sobbed uncontrollably. Her words would forever haunt him. Her only reprieve from her tears was when she managed to form words and cried out for her parents once more.

All the words of comfort Buster and Annabella offered fell of deaf ears as Colette buried her face in the dirt and wept.

…

Buster's entire body felt numb. His legs felt like lead and his body shook. He half stumbled half fell backward onto the counter as he tried to hold onto something, anything that would keep him from collapsing onto the ground. He grabbed an empty beaker as his hand continued to shake uncontrollably.

Buster's feet began to lose their purchase and he started to slide down the counter, his arm dragging other beakers and vials that fell onto the ground in a crescendo of broken glass.

A voice cried out. "He's going into parasympathetic shock. Blaze grab a hold of him!"

Buster's grip tightened. He remembered everything. His family. His parents. Eggman. Everything. It was all too much too fast.

The glass beaker Buster held in his hand shattered as he stared off into space. He barely even felt it despite the lacerations that caused blood to dribble and flow onto the ground. It sounded like people were trying to talk to him, but Buster could not understand anything they were saying. Their words sounded distant and hollow. His brain was too busy processing everything. He just shook and shivered as his body went stiff and limp as he recollected old memories.

Sad distant memories…

…

"Do… do I have to do this?" Colette asked, her voice heavy with dread.

"I'm sorry Colette but Buster and I got locked out. We tried but we couldn't break in. We need access to Dad's network and the data there if we are to survive. Dad taught you everything he knew about computers, right?"

"Yeah…"

"So do you think you can access Dad's network?"

"I don't want to."

"Colette." Annabella said as she put her hand gently on the top of Colette's head. "We need the data on that server. It has coordinates for industrial supplies. Safehouses. Food stores. Emergency supplies we need to live. Why don't you want us to access that?"

Colette's lips trembled as she held back tears and spoke. "Daddy's network is the last place of his not pilfered or destroyed. It's not just all that stuff you guys mentioned that is encrypted there. It's everything else. His journals. Pictures. Thoughts. Dreams. Everything he wanted to record in his life is hidden behind that digital lock and key. If we kick the digital door down and go rummaging around it's little different from digging up Daddy's grave."

Buster whispered to Annabella, "Daddy's not in his grave because Eggman wouldn't give us the damn body- ow!"

Annabella hit her brother to shut him up lest Colette hear. Annabella then looked at her Brother Buster then motioned silently toward Colette with her hands, as if to ask him to switch with her and see if Buster could convince their little sister of their desperation and need for their Fathers hidden data and supplies.

"Colette, I'm sorry to ask this of you but Anna and I need you to break into Dad's computer network."

"I already said I don't want to." Colette whispered defiantly as she held back tears.

"You have to or we will likely all die." Buster said bluntly.

"Buster!" Annabella shouted.

"She needs to know how serious and fucked our situation is." Buster shouted back, his words filled with anger.

Colette furrowed her brows in disappointment. "Mom and Dad wouldn't like you-"

"-They're dead Colette. We will be too if we don't get into that Server before Eggman does. Without dad to update the network security it's only a matter of time before Eggman knocks down the walls. We need to grab what we can while we still can."

The reality and desperation of their situation finally caught up to Colette as she began to cry.

"I'm sorry Colette. I'm really and truly sorry." Buster said as he gently wrapped his arms around his dear sister. "I'm so sorry. Please don't cry or we'll all start crying."

"I…" Colette wailed as tears streamed down her cheeks. She didn't bother wiping tears from her eyes as it wasn't like she could see any better if she did so.

"I'll do it. I'll hack into Dad's system."

Both Buster and Annabella quietly thanked her as Colette began typing on the computer…

…

"Tails, help me carry him to your guest room."

"Right."

Buster mumbled incoherently as he was carried to the spare room and placed on the bed.

Everyone's faces were tense and taxed by the sudden change in atmosphere.

"What was he saying?" Marine the Raccoon asked as she stood beside Blaze the Cat.

"I don't know, but he needs time to rest and clear his mind. We can speak with him in the morning." Blaze turned to Tails. "Please forgive us for imposing on you."

"It's no problem, really." Tails said "I have a spare guest room sonic often uses, he's welcome to stay as long as he needs. I can't imagine what regaining all your memories is like. I'm sure there is a lot to unpack."

"Indeed." Blaze said in agreement. "Well, I'll keep an eye on him until he settles. Tails and Marine, why don't you two go and catch up. It is rare you get to see one another. I am certain Bruce will be fine given time. So please try to relax somewhat with the time you have together."

"R-right." Marine turned and looked back towards Bruce who was resting on the bed and unresponsive. "You ready to go mate?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. Do me a favor though…"

"Hmmm?" Blaze murmured as she raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Let me know when he is awake. I wanted to talk to him in private. Nothing suspicious, you just mentioned he had knowledge of mechanical engineering so I figured we'd have a friendly chat over some mints. I don't have too many people I can talk to about that subject so…" Tails put a hand behind his head and smiled awkwardly, his age showing more than his intellect at that moment in time.

"Of course. I'll let you know." Blaze said with an understanding smile of her own.

"Well then," Tails began as he turned to Marine. "Want to go for a ride on the Tornado?"

Marine the Raccoon's eyes shot wide open as a smile spread across her face.

"Can I take a turn at the controls?"

"Absolutely not." Tails said with a laugh. "Sorry Marine, friends don't let friends fly planes without the proper knowledge and training." Marine pouted as she closed the door behind them as they went into Tail's garage where the Tornado was kept.

The room Buster and Blaze stood in was silent except for the clock. Blaze walked silently over to a chair and took a seat as she watched over her friend as he slept. His brows furrowed as he mumbled, tossed, and turned.

She hoped her friend would be alright.

…

Buster was covered in sweat. He felt like he was drowning. He felt as if the world had tried to drag him under a great abyss and he had scarcely survived.

That's when he felt small hands on him, roughly shaking him awake.

Buster opened his eyes and saw Marine on the verge of tears staring at him as her hands clutched his fur firmly.

"Bruce?" Marine said.

Her voice filled with… terror? No… that was just a part of it, Buster thought. Her voice was also filled with sympathy and a hint of… trepidation? Consternation?

Marine spoke again, interrupting buster's thoughts.

"You were screaming." Marine looked as if she had watched a ghost come back from the dead.

"I… did? What did I say?" Buster said.

"You…" Marine swallowed nervously. "You were pleading. Begging. Shouting, forgive me and I'm sorry. Bruce, you sounded like a dying animal.

"Oh." Buster said matter of fact. "Well, I'm perfectly fine now that I am awake."

Buster's brilliant smile hid a bold faced lie. He knew he was anything but all right after regaining his memories. In fact. Things for him were downright hellish.

"Don't be so nonchalant about it Bruce. I'm worried about you. Do you… do you remember anything? About your parents?"

"I… I can't tell you. I can't tell anyone. It's too painful for me."

That was not a lie, Buster said to himself.

Marine stepped forward and grabbed Buster's sweaty hands in hers.

"We're the same Bruce. We don't have family and that's okay. Family are the people who you choose to be a part of your life, and to be there for one another. I don't know what happened in your past. Or what happened to your parents or to you but…" Marine looked down as she furrowed her brows before raising them again. "Even if it turns out you're all alone in the world. Now that Blaze, Silver, and I will be here for you. You don't have to…" Marine started sniffling as she held back tears that threatened to, like a compromised dam, spillover across her face. "You don't have to let your past haunt you. If your parents and childhood was so volatile that it causes you nightmares, you can just leave the past behind you and focus on the future. I have done that ever since I was found adrift at sea. Story goes that the crew made me an honorary sailor. They were tough cunts, dealing with a little gremlin like me at that age!" Marine laughed as she finished her rant.

"I… I don't deserve your kindness."

Marine smiled as tears fell from her eyes. "Oi Bruce I knew you were a big softy when I laid eyes on you." Marine said as she punched him in the shoulder. "Now get some sleep, captain's orders."

"Aey aey captain."

Marine left the room, slowly closing the door behind her.

"Buster looked at his watch, he knew now what this device was. It would take him home. He could leave at any time he wished, and he soon would. He had one more task to complete before doing so.

"I've spent enough time here… now… staying will only make my path forward more difficult." Buster said to himself as he got out of bed and went to see Tails. Or rather, the Miles "Tails" Prower of this world. He had questions for him. Then he could…"

A light turned on right as Buster closed the door behind him.

"I was wondering how long it would take before we talked."

"You knew I was coming?"

"I had an 80% certainty you would sneak in here to talk."

"Do you…"

"Know who you are? Not exactly, but I have my theories."

"Really?"

"My radar picked up your Chaos Emerald right as you arrived with Blaze. Sonic had all seven a few weeks ago before they scattered again so seeing as you had one and didn't mention it, it meant you were either ignorant of being in possession of one of the miracle gems, or you were hiding it. Secondly, you had no memories and were found in the Sol Empire by Marine. In case you don't know, Chaos Emeralds are not found in the Sol Empire and vice versa. In fact, it's actually a danger to keep the emeralds in a different dimension for too long. So, putting the facts and evidence together, if I had to guess, I'd say you're a time traveler or from another dimension. Well, is my hypothesis correct?" Tails smiled as he asked the last question. His smile vanished as he saw tears swell up in the eyes of the fox known as Bruce.

"It's… a long painful story. I'm not sure you'd believe it. In the world or dimension I come from. You're my father. Well, not you specifically, but, you know what I mean, right?"

"Oh. I understand, and I am sorry. What is your real name?"

"Benjamin. Benjamin 'Buster' Prower."

"That's a good name. Say Benjamin, do you need a hug?" Tails opened his arms and smiled with childlike joy, but his eyes shined portraying a wisdom that was far beyond his age.

Buster wobbled forward and hugged Miles Prower and sobbed. He let out all the tears he had held back for years. Miles Prower hugged Buster for mere minutes, but to Buster it felt like the minutes lasted mere seconds.

"I know you're not my Father and it's unfair to use you like this, I, I just-"

"-Everything will be okay."

"I've killed people."

"Everything will be okay." Tails rubbed Buster's head gently.

"Eggman has my sister. I'm going to have to do horrible things to get her back."

Tails stopped rubbing Buster's head.

"Do you want Sonic and I to-"

"No!" Buster shouted. "No. I… we can't lose you two again. You're not even from my dimension. It would make things complicated. I'm not as smart as you or my father. I'm in over my head. I'm scared. I'm scared of losing someone else. We've already lost so many family and friends."

Buster continued to sob, held in Tail's arms. A minute passed as Tails continued to comfort the child that needed him, if only for a few minutes, to be like a father to him.

"Are you sure you don't want Sonic and I to help out? This kind of thing is really just another Monday for Sonic and I."

"We can't. We can't. We've already lost so much family. We're all alone. We're all alone!"

"There, there, everything will be okay."

"H-how can you say that?"

"I have faith that it will."

"Hmph, that's not very scientific of you."

"True, but action without intention is little better. I'm certain if you keep hope and fight for the future you desire you'll arrive there someday. I have faith because I believe in you, Benjamin. I'm certain your parents do too."

"Even if I have to do terrible things to get there?"

"I'm not your father, but if I was, I would trust that you would be able to make things right in the end, or at the very least learn from your lesson and dedicate yourself to making a better world… are you sure you don't want Sonic and I to help? We promise we won't die."

"That's what they all promised." Buster said as he broke away from the hug. Every single time. Chaos, you even smell like my father. This is too weird."

"Yeah, it's up there next to the Emissary of Light loving ice cream."

"Who?"

"Uh, nevermind. Anyway, my offer still stands if you ever change your mind."

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. To be honest though, I don't think I'll be here much longer."

"They'll miss you." Tails said.

"I know. I'll miss them too." Buster said solemnly.

"I know you said no but Sonic and I could-"

Buster shouted once more, startling the younger fox.

"-I… I'm sorry. My heart can't take it. Being in your presence like this. I feel like my heart will shatter, and that's before you put your life on the line. I'm sorry. We can't have you get involved. The Prower family is strong. We'll handle this ourselves."

"I understand." Miles Prower said.

Buster swallows painfully, his throat is dry finding it difficult to speak. "I… I should go home now. I have work to do. My sisters are waiting. Well, it will be over a year for me, but seconds for her. Still. I should head home. My objective was accomplished. There's nothing left for me here but pain and regret at what could have been. Please don't tell them of anything that we spoke of today."

"I promise."

"Thank you. Let them know I had to go home and that I am sorry… and that I'll miss them dearly."

"I'll tell them." Tails said.

"Thanks." Buster said as he rubbed tears from his eyes.

"Do you want another hug before you go? One for the road?" Tails said, with that same childlike joy and kindness Buster had long forgotten and lost in himself.

"I… I shouldn't."

"It boosts your immune system." Tails said with a childlike smile.

…

"Welcome back. Uh, what the hell happened to you? Did you get taller?" Annabella said as she examined her brother. "Is that a suntan? No fair, you went to the beach!"

"It's a long story."

"Tell me all about it." Annabella said.

Buster looked toward his sister with a blank and tired expression. "I lost my memory and was in the Sol Empire for over a year. I became close friends with the very people we are about to stab in the back. So no. I don't think I will tell you all about it. Now let's get to work. Colette is waiting for us and every day we delay is another day of her life robbed by that fat piece of shit."

"Oh. I'm sorry. But there is a silver lining in your story."

"Poor choice of words." Buster sighs, "Tell me what it is."

"If betraying them toils on your conscience then there is surely still some good in you."

Buster stared at his sister quizzically. "Anna, I've killed people."

"I… I know."

"I've shot people."

"That was in my defense."

"I am going to use a virus to steal and reprogram autonomous military weapons and unleash them upon a civilian population in order to draw in our targets."

"I'm just saying, you're not all gone. There's still a bit of my baby brother still in you. Deep down. Somewhere."

"Chaos your cringe… but… thank you."

"Don't mention it Benjamin. So, how do we defeat them? Weren't you the one who said that defeating them was impossible not long ago?"

"That was before I discovered their weaknesses."

"Oh?" Annabella said as she sat at their table and rested her hand on her cheek. "Do tell brother."

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We need a way to capture them. That's actually the hard part."

"It's a shame we can't simply bonk them on the head and carry them to Eggman."

"In a way, maybe we can. I've got a plan but we're going to need more pieces on the board to do this."

Annabella laughed mockingly. "More pieces on the board? There is no one who can help us but us, even if there were I don't think I'd want to rely on others to help save our sister. We simply can't trust anyone. Not with our sister on the line."

"Actually there is someone we can use to help us make preparations. We've made a couple connections recently. I think it's time we put those relationships to the test and call in a favor or two. As for the plan, we're going to need to lure Silver and Blaze to the other world."

"Why not this one? We have a base here. Eggman is also in this world? Why not capture them here?"

"I don't want to."

"What? That's not a reason. Come on. Tell me!"

"Don't shit where you eat." Buster said flatly.

Annabella raised an eyebrow. "You're a terrible liar."

"No I'm not, you're just good at reading me." Buster complained.

"So then tell me. What's the real reason?"

Buster sighed. "Because I've lost too many people in this world. And if the other world gets brought to ruin or destroyed… or I lose people there… at night we can for a little while longer still lay our heads down here in some measure of peace and safety."

"For a little longer."

"Not for much longer now… assuming Eggman keeps his word." Buster said sadly.

"I'll grant you, those were some fair points. I'm happy to say, it's good to see that you still have a heart." Annabella said.

"..."

Annabella tapped her fingers along the table to break the silence.

"Something tells me I'm going to regret my choice of words. Aren't I? Well, let's get on with it. What do we need? Who do we need to harm this time, dearest brother?"

Buster blinked away tears as he struggled to speak for a moment.

He struggled to swallow and hide his shame.

A sliver of Benjamin "Buster" Prower wished that his sister would vanish. Disappear for a while so he could dirty his hands without having to live with the guilt of her moral judgment. Like some familial deity weighing his heart on a scale of justice. Her existence caused him endless rumination. As soon as the sliver of thought and feeling emerged in his mind Buster squashed it. He loved his sister. He needed her as his light that he could crawl to when he was buried in naught but blood, bodies, and tears.

He truly loved his family, his sisters, with all his heart.

Buster wiped some snot from his runny nose using his furry arm.

"Anna, you know I love you, right?"

"What are you getting at? Yes? I love you as well? You're not planning on sacrificing-"

"Never!" Buster shouted. "I'd never betray or harm either of you."

"I know Buster, I know."

"We're family. I'd… I'd never. How could you even…"

"I was joking, Buster. I was joking. I'm stressed. I wasn't thinking straight. I'm sorry. Please forgive me." Annabella stepped closer and hugged her brother."

They held their hug as Buster composed himself.

"Okay." Buster whispered.

The pair broke the hug.

"It feels like it's been ages since I got a hug from you." Buster said.

"I'm sorry Buster. This… war. It's taking a toll on all of us. So, let's end it. One step at a time. Starting with what your plan is and what you need."

Buster looked down to the ground.

He buried both his fear and his conscience as deep as it would go.

"I don't need that much actually. Just a few necessities. Most of the equipment we already have. I will need to get my hands on a sledgehammer though."

Annbella furrowed her brow and looked away as her eyes watered. "Maybe… maybe you shouldn't tell me."

"I need your help Anna. I can't do this alone. I mean that literally. I need a second person for this plan."

"Will you ever stop breaking my heart?"

Buster's temper flared. "It's a little late for us to be getting emotional on the path we've found ourselves. We need to see this to the end. We know what's at stake."

"Buster…"

"Sacrifices have to be made." Buster said, spittle flying from his mouth.

"I mean, Chaos, Buster, a fucking sledgehammer?"

"You don't even know what I need it for."

"I know Buster!"

"No. No you don't." Buster replied with vitriol.

Buster clenched his fists and ground his teeth. "It is essential for our plan to work."

"When I said bop on the head I didn't mean for you to kill them." Annabella glared at her brother in disgust. "I thought we had agreed."

"Not that. It's… Silver's telekinetic powers are based on his mental focus. That focus can be interrupted with pain, I'm sure of it. I'm confident that with enough pain his power will be severely weakened or mitigated."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"We… we played on the beach and had pancakes together. I'd rather not talk about it."

"Chaos." Annabella shook her head in disgust. "Fine. As long as you don't kill them. So what else do you have to do?

"Something I really don't want to do."

"And that is?" Annabella asked nervously.

"I'll need to kidnap a friend to lure the targets into our ambush."

Annabella scoffed as she looked away in disgust.

Buster turned to face her in a great rage and yelled at his sister. "You were the one who said you would do anything -anything- as long as it did not involve killing. You absolute liar and hypocrite. At the Jail you told me you understood we were in a zero sum game. That it was us against the world. Don't get soft on me now. I don't see you coming up with any plans? I don't see you losing your memory and making friends just so you'd be left with no choice but to stab them in the back."

"I am a hypocrite. I say one thing but want another. I'm nothing like how Mom and Dad were. The thing is Buster, despite what we say, you always have a choice in life."

"No. You. Don't. Did Mom and Dad have a choice when Eggman killed them? Huh? Did Sonic have a choice? What about Collete, sis? Did Collete have a choice to grow up with or without a mother and father? No. They didn't! They were killed and our childhood was robbed from us. Here's a dose of reality. In life, sometimes choices are stolen from you. Sometimes you're just a victim of circumstance. So don't you dare… don't you fucking dare complain to me. I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear it for another fucking second."

"..."

Annabella stared at her brother. Her body shook and shivered.

"I'm scared of you Benjamin."

Those five words felt like a knife stabbing into his heart.

"I'm… I'm sorry. This isn't me."

"No. It is you Buster. It is you. It's the same you, just dealing and living with the result of your choices. What I said at the prison. I was wrong. We don't have to lose our souls to save mom and dad. You don't have to blaze a trail ahead of and behind us marked with blood. You can count on me and Colette to help you. Together we can do anything. No matter how lost you become, you're still my brother and I love you. Now, how can I help you?"

"..."

"Buster? Please speak to me."

"I'm sorry Anna. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I'm just under a lot of stress. You know, Colette can barely remember their voice. Their gentle touch. She's forgetting them, Anna. We're forgetting them. Every day. Little by little. Until all we have left are shadows of memories."

"I know. That's why we're here. That's why we're fighting. Now what do we need to do?"

"..."

"Buster. Just tell me. Please. Just tell me."

"You're going to hate me."

"Maybe, but I'll still love you."

"I'm going to need to cause a distraction in their world for me to… abduct-"

"You don't even want to say it." Annabella whispered dryly. Coldly and with disappointment.

"..."

"As I was saying, I'll make a distraction-"

"-How?"

"With robots."

"Okay? Where do we get the robots from? I refuse to ask Eggman for help, and we no longer have the resources to make any ourselves."

"We'll steal them."

"We can't steal from Eggman. He could kill Colette." Annabella said.

"Dear sister, there is a whole other world to steal technology from. It's there, and ready for the taking. Starline mentioned someone some time ago had hacked the Guardian Units of Nations systems and stole several of their autonomous weapons. I think we're those people. Once we get the robots we'll have them attack the Sol Empire capital and lure the targets to the extraction point.""

"Are… are you talking about G.U.N.? You can't just waltz through the front door."

Buster flatly said, "You know what? We can. More or less. I already have it figured out. I just need a little helping hand from an acquaintance." Buster typed in coordinates and a portal appeared.

"You can't. That's not possible."

"Anything is possible. We can and we will. Besides, we have an in. He's infiltrated the location before. Before we do that we'll need a virus to deploy and take over control of the robots."

Colette looked like she was about to cry. "Not programming."

"I'm not excited about it either."

"The last time we made a virus, Mom and Dad praised Colette endlessly while we toiled away."

"I remember. She finished in minutes while we took hours to fix all the errors our virus had."

"It took us all day."

"I know, but it's not like we have a shortage of time."

"Twelve hours straight of coding."

"Do you want to save Colette or not?"

"Fine. Let's do it. I'll work day and night if I have to."

"Thanks Anna. It's the only way this plan will work and the only way I see us being able to accomplish Eggman's 'errands'. If you use Colette's translated notes you might just be able to do this in under ten hours."

"What do you mean, 'I'? You're going to help me, right?"

"We each have different jobs. I need to negotiate with Dr. Starline and Mimic and get them both on board with my plan. Once you get the virus ready, We'll meet up and you'll hand it off to me. After that, you'll take the remainder of the gems we have and go to the other world, and get a new base constructed using black market connections while I in that world's past infiltrate G.U.N. Once that all is done, we'll have our trap created, prepped, and our targets lured."

"Got it. Though I must ask regarding the Pyrokinetic? How can we hope to capture her?"

"It's all planned out dear sister but I'll need you to secure the infrastructure we'll need for the plan to work."

"So I need to oversee the building of a new base of operations and the trap area. You've been dancing around the particulars, so what exactly is your plan?"

"First, I will go to the Sol Empire…"

Buster finished explaining his plan to Annabella.

"Wow. I'm impressed. It sounds like you have it all figured out."

"Do you think it is feasible?"

"With stolen or reverse engineered Egg Tech. Yes. I hate to say it but this plan seems so simple it's foolproof, which is lucky for you."

"Heh, screw you sis!"

"Seriously, the plan is solid. Horrible and disgusting. But solid." Annabella said.

"So the plan will work, right? We'll be able to capture Silver and Blaze and save our sister?"

Annabella turned to face her brother and grinned. "We're Prower's. Of course it's going to work."

Buster let out a sigh of relief but then frowned. "Oh, there is one more issue."

"What is that?" Annabella asked.

"Dr. Starline. I don't trust him. He may try to steal our technology or even betray us. Hell, I know he is plotting to literally or figuratively stab us in the back. I would too if I was in his shoes."

"Leave that to me." Annabella said flatly.

"What? But-"

"-Dear brother. You forget that you are not the only one with conviction… and massive balls."

"I'm leaving." Buster said.

"What? Where are you going?" Annabella said in a panic.

"I'm going to attack Eggman's fortified base and rescue Colette. Then we're looking for a new sister to adopt and replace you with."

"Oh please, you of all people have no right to be a prude. You are crude all the time. Besides, My plan warrants the term."

"What is this plan of yours?" Buster asked as he walked back to where he had been standing and faced his sister.

"You just have to trust me."

"Anna… he could kill you."

"I understand. That is a possible outcome."

Buster looked at Annabella in shock, confusion, and anger.

"What do you expect me to do if you die?" Buster said.

"If I die I expect you to either undo time or go back in time and save me, like we are going to do for mom and dad."

Buster exhaled a breath he had been holding. "You're sure you can handle him?"

"Benjamin, who am I?"

"My dear sister."

"Then do you doubt me?"

"No. Just be careful, okay?"

"Noted. I just need to borrow your single shot revolver."

"Do you really need it? Dad gave that to me as a birthday present. It's the last gun we possess."

"I know and I am sorry but I need it for my plan to work."

"What good will it do you? You swore to not kill?"

Annabella sighed. "Buster. I need you to trust me if we are to save Colette."

Buster and Colette stood in momentary silence as they stared at one another. Buster conceded, turned, and walked into his room whereupon arriving he pried open a loose aluminum tile from the wall, reached inside and pulled out a single shot revolver. He then walked back to Annabella, handed it to her, then gave her a giant hug.

"Kick his ass sis." Buster said.

"I will, and I love you too." Annabella said with a blush and a smile.

"Please be careful."

"I will."

"Don't get shot."

"Not today!"

"Anna!"

"I'm joking, Buster."

Buster groaned and rubbed his temples. "Well, I guess we have it all figured out then."

"Yeah."

"I'll go get started on my tasks. I'll see you soon for the virus then. Once the base is made, when and where will I pick you up?"

"The coordinates I use will be left in the time machine. It's a small jump into the future from when we last traveled to that world. When you jump, just add a week. When you arrive to pick me up, I'll be camping along that same grassy plain where we first arrived in the other world."

"Okay. Sounds good."

Annabella went to the computer to begin her work just as Buster was about to step through the portal. Buster stopped and called his sister's name.

"Annabella."

"Yes?"

"Thank you. I couldn't do this without you."

"I know." Annabella said with a blush and a smile as she got to work creating the computer virus.

Buster smiled briefly before he turned away from his sister and stepped through the portal.

…

Shadow the Hedgehog stepped forward.

"I'm very sorry Mr. Shadow but I have to do it. It will only take a second. I'm just doing my job sir, we screen everyone who comes through here."

Shadow scoffed.

Please hold your arms out horizontally from your body. Like you are making the letter T with your body.

A handheld metal detector was waved around Shadow. It beeped as it passed over a clunky, ugly, large watch.

"He he, that's not a bomb, is it sir?"

Shadow glared at the service member. "I don't need a bomb to kill."

The service member swallowed nervously. "Yes, well you are cleared to proceed. I hope you have a great d-"

"Waste of time." Shadow mumbled as he walked into the military base.

"Yo Sha-dow!" A soldier shouted, aggressively waving as he walked past Shadow. "That's the man. Keep it real brother!"

Shadow walked past the man and his cohorts while not even sparing so much as a glance in their direction.

"You're such an idiot dude." One of the Man's friends said as he playfully punched him in the ribs. "Shadow's doing real shit, not babysitting privates like you."

"Yeah," The third man began, "You're lucky he didn't kill you. I bet he could snap your neck before any of us could blink."

"I heard-"

Shadow turned the corner. He looked around the base and found his target. He turned the doorknob and stepped into a family restroom locking the door behind him.

"Chaos damn it." Shadow said as he fiddled with his watch. "Which button was it again?"

After a minute of fiddling with the watch, Shadow was rudely interrupted by a knock on the door.

Shadow exploded in anger shouting, "Knock again and I will open this door and shove your fist down your throat."

He had no further interruptions after that. Two more frustrating minutes passed…

"Fucking finally." Shadow said as a portal materialized in front of him.

A single tailed fox stepped through the portal and smiled cheekily. "Thanks for not disabling the child lock I set and fucking with the timeline. I know that took a lot of restraint-

The fox was grabbed by the neck as a serrated blade was put to his eye.

"Listen up Bucko, you fucking owe me. You promised me a Chaos Emerald and I'm thinking I got a raw end of the deal here because when you can time travel promises mean shit. You are going to pay me back. Fuck. This isn't natural. I've been to this base before but the future past me, or the past future me, fuck! This is some bullshit fox boy. You're going to give me a reason not to scoop your eye out with this knife here."

"L-lets just calm down. We're all a little tense. Time travel is weird, like you said, and I am going to make it worth your while."

"How?" Shadow put the knife to the fox's face, tucking the tip of the blade in between the lower eyelid crease.

"I… w-would you like to travel back in time? Wherever you want to go?"

"Heh, prissy boy was right. You don't give a damn about this timeline. You just want the emeralds."

"Yeah, we all want something. That doesn't mean we can't wash each other's hands now and then. What is it you want? Do you want to go the past-"

"No! I mean… I have no interest in the past. What I want is to make the world suffer."

"I… I can help with that. My sisters and I are really smart. We're a great ace up your sleeve. You can hurt a lot more people with the power of knowledge, and, and! You'll still get your chaos emerald as promised. My sis and I just have some things to take care of first. You have my word. I mean, come on, who do you want to trust, me or Starline?"

"Neither. I hate both of you." Shadow removed the blade from the foxes face. "So, where are we going Buster?"

"Don't use my real name, you idiot."

"Idiot, idiot? No one even knows who you are? Your from a completely diffent world or dimension, whatever-the-fuck."

"Okay, Mimic. No problem buddy."

"Oh, screw you. Mimic stepped forward, still disguised as Shadow. "Maybe I ought to give you a scare to make you more memorable?"

"No-no-no-no-no, I'm sorry Shadow. I apologize Shadow. Now, let's get this over with, what do you say?"

"Heh," Shadow said as he twirled a serrated blade in his hand then seemingly made it disappear. "Lead the way."

…

"If you leave me here…" Shadow whispered, "I will get Starline to make a time machine and I will come to the past to kill you, then go to the future and kill you again."

"Now you're getting it!"

"Chaos, I hate you. You're almost as bad as those two lesbians."

"Who?"

"Don't worry about it. I'm going to deal with them soon enough."

"I mean, are you really surprised though? Of course I'm taking my watch back."

"If you leave me…" Shadow whispered threateningly.

"I'm not going to leave- oh fuck!" Buster dove behind a vending machine.

"What? What is it-" Shadow glared as he was pulled by Buster beside him.

"It's my dad."

"What?" Shadow said as he too peered from behind the soda dispensing machine.

"I mean! He's my father in the world I come from. This specific Prower is not my father. Obviously."

"Wait? That little fox boy gets it on? At least three separate times? Damn. That fox fucks. Who'd he knock up?

"Shut up! One, you're annoying and two, that's my beloved late mother and father you're talking about."

"How do you think they did it? Girl on top or missionary? You know what, don't answer, that. If your father was anything like you he's a massive pussy so it definitely was Amazon position, the freak." Shadow said with a jeer.

"Shut up."

"Do you think he has two dicks?"

"Just… shut up. Please."

"Look on the bright side, at least he didn't die a virgin."

Shadow was expecting to be hit or punched. He was not expecting silence. He turned around with a grin on his face.

Buster had his back to the wall and was slumped to the floor as he softly sobbed.

Shadow's features softened for a moment before returning to a glare.

"Hey."

"..."

"Hey!"

"What?"

"You called me an idiot earlier. Now we're even." Shadow held out his hand and helped Buster up. "Are you done crying now?"

"Y-yeah, sorry."

"Good. I bet your father cried like a little bitch when you were born. Oh look? Daddy's on the move. Let's sneak along behind them and listen in."

"I can't, I don't know how to sneak without looking suspicious."

"Fucking amateurs. Just do as I do and keep your eyes and ears peeled."

The pair caught up to Miles Prower and his entourage.

The young fox was with a tall elderly man and the two had half a dozen guards escorting them. They wore heavy body armor and had submachine guns and tactically moved and monitored their surroundings.

Leaning behind a hallway corner, the pair Buster and Mimic listened to their conversation.

"I'm very excited about the developments in quantum mechanics. We've made a lot of progress with quantum computers thanks to your scientists. Quantum computing has the possibility to revolutionize digital safety and security so long as it can be deployed equitably to all people. It's a new digital frontier!" The twin tailed fox said.

The old man chuckled. "Yes. It's a very exciting development. Truth be told I understand none of it. When I was a boy the new big thing was floppy discs. Though, you ought to give yourself more credit Mr. Prower. My G.U.N. scientists tell me that you're the one doing all the heavy lifting for us. They say the word genius does not do you justice."

Miles Prower blushed and put his hand around the back of his head and smiled awkwardly. "Oh no, Commander, this project took the effort of the whole team. I couldn't have done it without their assistance."

"And G.U.N. resources I presume." The old man smiled cheekily at the young fox boy.

"Well, yes. That is true. It never ceases to amaze me how many resources The Federation and the allied nations have brought to bear to ensure this project's success."

"Funny you should say that. For all our talk of individuality and freedom, the state is like an all powerful god, capable of greater good or evil than any individual could ever dream of committing. Say what you will about the foolishness of mankind and the dangers of a government state. When a nation and its people decide to do something, the government can make the impossible become a reality. It's not unlike the power of the Chaos Emeralds I'd argue, though, I suppose you would know more about that than I would. Wouldn't you Mr. Prower?"

"Oh, yes sir. I… I suppose you are right."

"What was it like?"

"Excuse me?"

"What did it feel like when you used them?"

"Oh, it was only a couple times when Sonic was tied up elsewhere but… it felt… warm."

"Warm?"

"Yeah. Warm. Like… like anything you ever hoped and dreamed was within the palm of your hand."

Tails held out his hand in front of him and pondered his past and future. His goals and dreams.

"Amazing." The Commander said.

"You say that but then you run out of juice and find yourself falling 20,000 feet. Fortunately I can fly but boy oh boy would I be lying if I said I didn't worry about Sonic."

"Nonsense. I'm certain with a friend like you Sonic has nothing to fear."

"Mr. Commander-"

"Just Commander is fine."

"Commander, I know you're trying to butter me up during my visit so I work with you again, but I felt I should be honest and tell you straight away that I don't see myself working with G.U.N. ever again."

The Commander let out a sigh as they turned a corner and walked down a different hall.

Mimic and Buster followed as they strained to hear their conversation, while avoiding their security teams notice.

"May I inquire why? We are the good guys after all." The commander let out a nervous albeit light hearted chuckle.

Miles "Tails" Prower, for his part, was silent and introspective.

"Sonic and I are of the same mind on this. We trust people, not systems."

"Come now, that's being rather dogmatic wouldn't you say? The sole purpose of G.U.N. is to prot-"

"Protect the world. I know. We both know our history. If I make weapons for G.U.N. I'll have blood on my hands. Regardless of if it's for a righteous cause or not. Eventually the weapons will be sold on the black market, used for genocide, or simply missued in a unwanted tragedy. My mind will not be changed on this matter, Commander. I am sorry, but I will not stain my hands with blood. That is not the world I wish to live in."

The pair came to a stop

"You are wise beyond your years Mr. Prower. But the world is not so black and white. We like to think we live in a world of clearly defined roles and villains, but the reality of the world is far more messy, far more complicated than that. You're right Mr. Prower. I don't trust G.U.N. nor do I trust the Federation. That is why I clawed up the ranks over decades to be the Commander of the Guardian Units of Nations. I share your concern. I truly do, that is why I can promise you, if you work with us to help protect humanity, you will have nothing to fear so long as I am in charge. I can promise you that."

Miles "Tails" Prower furrowed his brow and stared at the ground then looked up towards the Commander. "The life and power of Institutions go far beyond mere mortals like us. You and I are on the side of good and humanity today. Who is to say some tragedy does not make us alter our course and become an enemy of humanity tomorrow?"

"Mr. Prower, I swear upon my family's life, while I live I will never turn to evil."

"You're that certain?"

"I am."

The Commander began walking again, Miles Prower, the security team, Mimic and Buster all followed in their own manner and pace.

"You know. I've never told Sonic this. He might suspect as much but he's never brought it up." Tails put his arms behind him and stretched as they turned another corner then put his arms down."

"Hmm? What is that?"

"I could end Eggman if I wanted to. But I don't."

Everyone in the room stopped dead in their tracks and looked at what to them at that moment was nothing more than a naive child.

"I'm sorry? What was that?" The Commander said.

"I said I could kill Eggman if I wanted to. Do you know why I don't?"

The Commander was taken aback. "Heh, Is… is it because you see the good in everyone and hope he redeems himself someday?"

"Ha! That's a good answer. But no. While I do sincerely hope he redeems himself, I don't think there's a high probability of that happening. I also am no fool, I know there is evil in this world. Eggman is himself, proof of that."

The commander was clenching his teeth so hard he nearly chipped a tooth.

Miles Prower ignored him and continued his walk. The others followed along, beside, and behind him.

"Then why? Why not kill Eggman. You could save so many lives. You could end this constant state of fear The Federation and the World finds itself trapped in by the Eggman Empire. You could end it all with your own two hands!"

"I'm just an eight year old commander. I shouldn't be able to wield the power of life and death alone."

"A lazy excuse for a child that plays god." The Commander said harshly.

"I don't think anyone should play god. If I accept the principle that I alone get to choose who is good and evil, who deserves to live and die, then I'm no different than a Tyrant or a devil."

The commander furrowed his brow. He said nothing as the group turned right yet again. They had been walking in a square for some time to savor their conversation.

"I… I think we should agree that we see things differently and end our talk amicably. I pray your humanism does not have to pay too steep a price in blood."

"And I hope your institutions do not betray the values of their people."

"..."

Neither said another word to the other.

…

"Oh my god they finally went into the server room. Finally! I thought they would never shut up." Shadow said.

"I never pegged you as the religious sort." Buster said sarcastically.

"After that, I feel like my soul has been freed. So, now what?"

"Well, now we wait for them to leave. They've entered the Server room. It's a closed system. That is our objective."

"Oh yeah, I totally know what you're talking about. No need to explain."

"I already did!"

"... I forgot."

Buster sighed. "It means it can't be hacked unless you access said server from the inside.

"Got it. Once playboy foxy and the old man leave we go in."

"Stop it."

"If you meet yourself from the future do you think the world would explode?"

"I don't think so. As long as you don't disrupt the worldline's causality it shouldn't be a problem."

"So I could team up with myself?"

"No."

"No?"

"I'm saying, no, you're not teaming up with your double. One of you is bad enough."

"Heh, that's fine. I'd just get in my own way. Besides, it means more killing for me."

"..."

"So… what would happen if I killed my younger self so I could, solely, hypothetically, look at my still beating heart as a look of horror flashed across my face as I slowly died with a smile as all the pain of the world flowed out of me along with my blood? Hypothetically speaking." Mimic said with a terrifying smile.

Buster blinked twice in shock. "That… was disturbingly specific. I've now forgotten your question."

"What would happen if I were to kill my younger self?

"That would probably lead to the grandfather paradox. You would be stuck in an infinite loop of birth, life, and death by your own hand."

"Got it. So don't kill yourself."

"Yeah, it's not recommended-"

A buzzing sound from a nearby vending machine caught the pair's attention.

Buster and Mimic, the latter who was still disguised as Shadow, were crouched, hiding from their vantage point as they watched the reinforced security door and the two soldiers that stood guard over it.

"I'm going to take a piss." Shadow said.

"What? You can't do that?"

"What, are you afraid I'm going to disrupt the world line by taking a leak? I'm not worried. Or to be more accurate, I don't really give a damn."

"No, what if someone sees you?"

"Then I'll make a mental note to slit their throat before we leave."

"You can't do that!"

"Heh, maybe you're not as smart as we think you are."

Buster glared at Mimic. "What are you saying?"

"This has already happened in the future right?"

"Yeah."

"So… newsflash. Anyone I kill now is already dead where I come from."

"When-"

"- Shut the hell up. And lest we forget, you owe me. So I am getting my pound of flesh one way or another."

"Tsk. Whatever." Buster said from his hiding spot as Mimic walked toward the restroom.

"Fucking psychopath."

…

"They left." You sure took your time." Buster said as Mimic returned. "Did you remember to powder your nose?"

"No, but your dad sure did in your Mom's pu-"

Buster punched Mimic in his face causing him to stop talking mid syllable.

"Finally. It's about time you stopped acting like a little bitch." Mimic said as he pointed his blade toward Buster, his draw was fast as lightning. "Do that again and you're dead."

"Noted."

"You got a plan to get us in there?"

"As a matter of fact I do." Buster said with a grin.

"..."

"Hello. I'm sorry to bother you two. I forgot my flash drive while I was showing the Commander the progress we've made. Could I go back in and get it?"

The guard looked Tails Prower up and down. "Flash Drive? Those are not allowed past this point? How'd you get it through?" The guard clicks his tongue in frustration. "We'll it's you we're talking about so I'm sure everything is fine. I will, however, have to report this."

"I-I'm so sorry. I completely forgot." Tails said.

"Don't sweat it kid. Happens to the best of us. Let me go ahead and radio the news and we'll have another guard grab it for you."

"I can't get it myself? I was just in here?"

"Sorry. Standard procedure. You had clearance for one visit today. Your clearance is expired. Say, who's the older fox next to you?"

"Oh this? This is one of my coding monkeys. He's an assistant who helped us work on this project.

"Huh. First I've heard or seen of him. I'll go ahead and radio for a guard to come and get your flashdrive." The door's left guard moved to pick up his radio. "What color was the thumb-"

The guard's words died in his throat the instant his skin was torn asunder with a single elegant stroke of a blade.

It happened so fast the guard was perplexed how the cute furball in front of him could slash his neck with a blade he had hidden. The guard fell to the ground and before he landed Tails Prower had turned to the second guard, tentacles emerging frmo his body like a otherworldly horror, the tentacles latched onto the Guards hand and gun in a instant just as he used his blade to slice off the guards trigger finger as his sub machine gun was brought to bear. A seconded swift slice across the man's neck ended his life and rendered him silent.

In just five seconds both guards were on the ground dead. Their blood, pooling together to make a large puddle of crimson red.

"We have about a little over one minute until the bodies are discovered based on the average traffic through-"

"What? Oh chaos. Someone!" a woman screamed.

Before she could turn and run, Mimic had thrown a perfectly aimed dagger into the woman's right carotid artery. She fell to the ground clutching her neck, her fingernails digging into her skin as she struggled to breath. The walls and ground were painted red as she leaned against a nearby wall as she rapidly began to bleed out and fell to the floor. The woman began to choke on her own blood as her body went limp, fear, terror, and confusion in her eyes.

"Make that two minutes starting now. Help me get these guards up. We have a biolock to get open.

Buster looked at the three dead bodies on the ground and the all too familiar sight of blood staining his shoes.

"S-second time." Buster whispered, horrified.

"Hurry up! We need to move quickly here. We're in enemy territory." Mimic, still disguised as a blood covered Miles Prower, shouted.

Buster collected enough mental fortitude to cooperate and lined up one of the guards face with the eye scanner while Mimic used the other guard's palm. The door beeped and a red light turned green notifying them that they had been granted access.

"What… what did you do?" Buster said in a confused horror as he slowly put the deceased man back onto the ground to rest in his own blood.

Memories came rushing back to him. He felt as if he was going to be sick.

"What do you mean? This was your plan wasn't it? It worked perfectly." Mimic said facetiously.

Buster held his head then looked to the dying women a little ways down the hall from them.

"This… this wasn't my plan."

"Heh, don't get soft on me now. You can cry your eyes out later."

"She… she's not dead. We can… we can help her."

Mimic, still disguised as Miles Prower glared at Buster. "No point. She'll be dead any second now. I'd also remind you we have a job to do upon your request. So let's get a move on."

Buster stood silently looking at first to the now dead woman, then to each of the guards, as his head slowly looked down to the pile of blood that had spread out across the floor.

"Oh come on. Amatures." Mimic grumbled as he grabbed Buster by the arm and dragged him inside.

…

"How much longer?"

"..."

"I asked, how much longer? Come on. Hurry it up. You're my ticket out of this twilight zone. If my other self found me here I'm pretty sure I would cut myself up and take a peek inside." Mimic physically shivered at the thought.

"It's done." Buster said.

"That was it? All this trouble and you're done that fast?"

"Yeah."

"You… care to elaborate?"

"I just… inserted the thumbdrive. Opened the notepad that held the virus. The entire server is contaminated now."

That's great and all but what about the footage of us? Did you even think of deleting it?"

"It's already taken care of. Their cloud server and data storage is being corrupted as we speak. They'll never know we were here."

Mimic pointed his knife, as he used it to gesture at Buster as if it was an extension of his hand. "That's great, but what about the cameras in this joint? One of them had to have caught us. I know I was good at sticking to the shadows and avoiding cameras, but you? Stealth is not your forte."

I took care of it before we arrived. I sent an email and got into their external network and ensured the cameras were playing old footage. By the time they realize it we'll be long gone. All our bases are covered now. Even our DNA can't be traced back to us. Neither of us exist here. My… Miles Prower in this world is just a child. To say he had an offspring that broke into a military base would be not only unfathomable but biologically impossible. You don't need to worry, Mimic. My sister and I planned everything. Well, almost everything. You… you did your part. The people that did see us… no one who saw us is alive. Those who did would just see a casual everyday encounter like when you entered through the front door. The plan went almost perfectly… almost perfectly."

"When you're all monotone, emo, and depressed like this you're kind of creepy." Mimic said as he folded his arms, a knife still gripped in his hand.

Buster began to slowly sob.

"And, now I regret mentioning it. Sheesh. Oh look, a giant computer. Wow." Mimic said, obviously feigning interest. Though, the quantum computer did catch Buster's attention.

Buster turned and looked at the quantum computer this world's Miles Prower had helped to create. He wished he had time to analyze it. To see the digital strands of the father he had known through the code this world's Prower had written.

"This wasn't his father", Buster silently reminded himself.

"And it never will be." Buster whispered to himself. He suddenly felt tired and alone. He wanted nothing more than to cuddle into a ball and sleep. To sleep and never awaken. But he couldn't rest. Not even for a moment. He had so much work left to do. So many plans to carry out.

So much blood left to spill.

"So, what did you actually do?" Mimic asked not bothering to hide his suspicious glare and tone.

Buster wiped off his fingerprints from the keyboard and checked again that he would not leave any fur behind. Or at least, as little fur as he could manage.

"It's nothing you need to worry about." Buster said casually.

A knife was put to Buster's throat. Mimic, now in his true form -a mimic octopus- glared at the fox.

"I have a right to know. If you don't talk, you'll find that I'm not an agreeable person."

Buster stared blankly at the murderer who held him by a knife's edge.

"Is this who I'll be forced to become?" Buster thought to himself.

Buster sighed then answered reluctantly. "I need a small army to rescue my younger sister. This virus will give me control of several of the autonomous robots used by this facility. As I speak they are leaving this facility, by way of a triggered alert to presumably fight a force of Eggman's robots. Later today, in my world's time, I will jump back to this timeline and retrieve them for my family's use. Satisfied?"

Mimic retracted his blade from the surface of Buster's unharmed neck. "Not really. Now, let's get out of here. I did my part, and paid that quack of a doctor back, now you owe me a favor. That's how this works."

"I know." Buster had no intention of ever honoring his deal let alone seeing Mimic ever again. He could drop dead, alone and forgotten by a dumpster for all he cared.

Buster entered some passcodes into his watch and a portal opened before them. Buster gestured to the portal. "By all means, you go f-"

Mimic jumped through the portal.

"Figures."

Buster wondered how his sister's side of the plan had progressed. He'd find out in seconds. He had to steel himself. He didn't know what the Commander had been through but he found himself agreeing with him.

Sometimes, one man's death can make the world a better place.

"Whatever it takes." Buster said with gritted teeth. "Whatever the cost to protect my family. Whatever it takes." Buster clenched his fists and jumped into the portal after Mimic.

…

Meanwhile, across space and time Annabella had begun carrying out her portion of the plan as Dr. Starline emerged from a portal to see her seated at a table, her hands in her lap and obscured by the table's hefty frame.

"Anna, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance once-"

Annabella raised one of her hands into view as the portal behind Dr. Starline closed, revealing a single shot revolver.

"-again." Dr. Starline swallowed nervously.

"Take a seat Starline. I insist."

"V-very well." Starline took a seat across Annabella as his initial fear turned to anger. "My understanding was I was to sponsor you so you'd be able to access the black market, yet you have the audacity to aim a gun at me after your brother and I reached a mutual agreement?"

"Shut up. You have no idea how much I want to blow your brains out right now."

Dr. Starline swallowed once more and sat silently with his hands held up beside his head.

"You can put your hands down. Whether or not I kill you has no correlation with how high you put your hands. Now… let's get a few facts straight Starline. Fact number one. In another worldline my brother came from, you killed me."

"What? That's preposterous?"

Annabella aimed the revolver at Starlines head. "But you did. You were calculating and greedy. You wanted the secrets of our time machine so you killed me at your first opportunity. In cold blood. You know what that got you Starline? It got you nothing but death at the hands of my brother."

Annabella got up out of her chair and began pacing.

"Starline, Starline, Starline. You killed me in cold blood. What are we Prowers to do with you? Perhaps I should return the favor?"

"This is absurd. I have been nothing but a generous ally towards you both. Besides that fact, Prowers don't kill." Dr. Starline said as he regained some of his confidence.

"You're bluffing." Dr. Starline said sing-speaking.

"Correction, our parents didn't kill. The Prower in your world does not kill. We do. A man kills a Prower and you think we'll simply standby while he draws breath? Do you take us for some naive pacifists? Oh no. You gravely misjudge us Starline. My brother and I have our hands drenched in blood. In your blood to be exact, back when you betrayed us. So again I ask, what are we Prowers to do with you? How are we to treat your betrayal?"

"It hardly seems fair for me to be punished for what happened in another worldline. I am my own being with my own mind and choices to be made."

Annabella stood behind Dr. Starline and put the barrel of the gun to the back of his head. "Does it feel like I care?"

"..."

Annabella removed the gun from Dr. Starlines head and continued pacing around the Doctor.

"Fact number 2. My brother is far too agreeable. He smiles and nods and bends the knee. He likes to play the long game. Me? I'm a little more direct. Differences aside, there is one very important thing to keep in mind. Do you know what that is Starline?"

"What is that?" Dr. Starline said calmly, as a droplet of sweat ran down the side of his face betraying his performance.

Annabella stepped next to Dr. Starline, she rotated her body ninety degrees, then sat on his lap as she casually forced the barrel of the gun into Starline's mouth.

"We Prowers are very protective of one another. Kill one of us and the rest will not rest until their killer joins their fate. When you killed me, do you know what my Brother did? He plotted and schemed until you lay as silent as a grave, yet still alive. Then, he killed you slowly with his own two hands while he watched the life drain from your body. He told me he enjoyed it and that he would do it again if he must. You think yourself a genius. You think yourself the next Master of the world, greater than even Dr. Eggman. Yet you're such a fool. Each of us Prowers are at the least your equal, and there are three of us and only one of you. You can't beat us. There is no timeline in which you beat us. Is this making sense to you? Do you understand me? Nod your head if you understand..."

Dr. Starline slowly nodded his head, the steel gun felt very uncomfortable jammed in his mouth.

"I'm going to do you a favor, Dr. Starline." Annabella removed the gun from Dr. Starlines mouth then rotated it, putting it toward her own forehead as she grabbed Dr. Starlines hand and put it on the handle of the gun. "I'm going to give you another chance to betray us. If you succeed then, well, you win. But if you fail again, next time we have this conversation, after my brother kills you for the second time, I will simply blow your brains out. So what choice are you going to make? Will you work with the Prower family as equals? Or will you die pathetically like you did before. Your ambitions left unfulfilled, with not even a footnote in history left to immortalize you?"

"I… I will work beside the Prower family as equals. If it helps me achieve my goals, then this is the true start of a most fruitful partnership."

"Good answer." Annabella took the gun back, stood up from Dr. Starlines lap, walked over and placed the revolver on the kitchen counter then picked up a bag filled with rare gems. She turned back to face Dr. Starline.

"I do believe we have a mob boss to meet and a base to order built. Shall we get going Dr. Starline?"

Dr. Starline loosened his collar as he collected himself. "Yes, I'll lead the way. Though, as a proffesional courtesy I should warn you, Clutch the Opossum has a infamous repution?"

"What? Is he a womanizer?"

"He trades and deals in all manner of goods, including but not limited to that of trafficking people and sexual slaves."

"Oh."

"I would be cautious around him. Though, for someone with control of time as you and your brother have, I would not worry too much about it." With his advice given, Starline grinned and jumped through the portal.

Annabela took a deep breath, thought of her sister, then with great effort, lept through the portal behind Dr. Starline.

…

Annabella wanted to vomit.

She physically looked up toward the Opossum and could tell by the company he forcibly kept that he was a sick and vile monster.

"He had to have planned this." Annabella whispered as she and Dr. Starline walked up to Clutch's throne, which sat upon an elevated stage.

"Smile Annabella."

"Excuse you?"

"You need to play nice or you won't get the blackmarket connections you need. So try not to shove a gun in his mouth, and remember to smile."

Annabella glared at Dr. Starline then put on a pleasant smile as she got closer to their black hearted benefactor. Annabella felt the eyes of each guard that stood throughout the room following their every move.

Clutch the Opossum stared at the two figures who now stood beneath his throne.

The small harem Clutch had surrounded himself with looked at their master's guests for not but a second then urgently looked away, whether out of shame or fear Annabella did not know.

There were five girls in all. All females. All foxes. One stood behind Clutch and massaged his shoulders. Her frail fingers struggled to dig into the muscles that resided under the extravagant fur coat Clutch wore. For her part, the young fox wore a yellow string bikini that contrasted with her coal black fur leaving nothing to the imagination. The second fox stood behind and to the left of Clutch, holding a tray with fruit, wine, and cheese that to Annabella looked more for show than something Clutch was actually consuming. The third and forth foxes, both as young or younger than Annabella, kneeled as if waiting for their master to issue a command. They stared off into nothing. Their eyes were dead and lifeless.

The last fox had amber fur much like Annabella's and was as young as Colette. A mere child. She possessed a thin and slender build and to Annabella's horror, was entirely naked except for a collar that was locked around the child's neck. Attached to the collar was a chain that ran along the ground then ended in the hands of Clutch the Opossum.

Annabella noted the chain was weak and frail, but realized to those that were bound by it, it might as well have been made from titanium or diamonds.

As she looked at the despicable and abhorrent scene before her, it was then that Annabella noticed something particularly disturbing.

They all had bite marks on their neck, which had formed a scar and prevented the growth of a fine layer of fur typically found around the neck of a fox.

After processing what she had seen in the mere seconds that she had stood in front of Clutch, Annabella had grown to despise the Opossum almost as much as she despised Dr. Eggman.

In what Annabella believed to be a premeditated move, Clutch snapped his fingers. Upon this action the fully nude fox girl stood from her kneeling position and came forward, her chains dragging upon the ground. The child put a cigar she had been holding into Clutch's mouth, her hands shaking all the while, then lit the cigar with a lighter she had also held. It took several attempts before the lighter properly ignited the fuel inside it to light the cigar. The young girl's composure became ever more desperate until the cigar had been lit, after which, the child then stood at attention, her arms folded in front of her as she stared at the ground and waited.

Fear, terror, and abject suffering was written upon her face, though she dared not look anyone in the eyes.

Annabella wanted to weep for her, for she thought, perhaps, the innocent child had not the strength to look anyone in the eyes.

Clutch took a long whiff of his Cigar then exhaled the smoke towards his two guests, then spoke.

"My apologies for the sour welcoming. We had an uninvited guest recently and are doing some house cleaning and restocking of inventory, among other things. I'm sure you've noticed our increased security. As scientists, I'm sure you both understand how important it is to have a safe and clean work environment that is free from distractions… and uncontrolled variables."

"Oh of course, we know the feeling all too well." Dr. Starline said with an awkward smile and slightest of bows.

Clutch smiled, amused.

"Starline, we meet again, though this time you've brought a most delicious looking treat. What is your name, little girl?"

"Annabella."

"Annabella. Anna… Bella. You have very beautiful sky blue eyes Annabella. Did you know that?" Clutch licked his lips.

Annabella felt a shiver run down her spine. "Yes, though I thank you for the compliment." Annabella said as she curtsied as best as she could despite her wounded leg.

To Annabella, Clutch's grin was petrifying. His twisted smile revealed razor sharp teeth and a gold tooth that protruded from the side of his mouth when he grinned lecherously towards her.

"Spin around for me." The mob boss said.

"W-what?" Annabella replied.

"You heard me. I'll only tell you once. Ask any of my girls here. I don't repeat myself. Since you aim to do business with me, I'll make an exception for you just this once…"

Clutch held out a hand and one of the five foxes handed him his cane. Clutch slammed the bottom of the cane onto the ground for emphasis.

"Spin around for me. Let me get a good look at you." Clutch said as he stood up from his seat. He whistled once and with well trained execution, two of his girls removed Clutch's fur coat to reveal an extravagant white suit with a gold necktie, gold buttons, gold pockets, and gold-colored diamond cufflinks. While another one of the foxes carefully placed his signature hat, a white bucket hat with a yellow stripe running across the center, onto Clutch's head as he stepped down from his throne onto the ground level, using his long tail as a spring to dampen his descent.

Clutch smiled and hummed as he walked up to and stopped in front of Annabella as she finished spinning.

"Very nice. Very nice indeed. I think we can do business together. Take me at my word. Get on my good side and anything you desire can be yours. You'll need only ask. So tell me Annabella, what can I and Clean Sweep Inc. do for you?"

"I need Eggtech and some other supplies and gear. I also need a base similar in size and purpose to Dr. Starlines with a large open room as well as a separate path to the underground facility where a particular trap can be laid. I have all the blueprints made already."

"Hmmm, that is a tall order. Egg tech is exceptionally rare and extremely difficult to come by. Then there is the cost of materials and labor to build your secret base as well as your add ons. We certainly cannot forget about the mandatory hush money for all parties involved. This is quite the tall order indeed. Not many people in the Federation have the inside knowledge and connections that I do. I'd go so far as to say that without my help and blessing you're out of luck. Though, I think we can come to a mutually beneficial arrangement."

Clutch the Opossum stared at Annabella and smiled at her. His facial expression did nothing to hide any of his lewd intentions and made Annabella even more terrified of the Monster that now stood right in front of her.

Annabella felt her pulse quicken as she found herself suddenly holding her breath in fear.

"I… I brought gems to barter with. They're quite valuable."

"You brought gems, you say?"

"Y-yes."

"Oh. That's cute."

"..."

Dr. Starline cleared his throat.

"Ah, Starline. I had forgotten you were there. Why don't you go to the guest room and make yourself at home. I do believe Annabella and I will be together for a while as we have… terms and conditions… to discuss."

Dr. Starline swallowed nervously, then, without saying a word, nor even sparing Annabella a single glance, turned and entered a doorway leading to a guest room and disappeared from view.

"You'll find the gems I have brought today are in a league of their own. They should be more than fair compensation."

Annabella had spoken. Her words filled with hope, only to have those ambitions dashed as quickly as they were roused from the depths of her being when Clutch next spoke.

"You misunderstand me. I'm not interested in money. I'm only interested in the exceptionally rare and now that the eyesore is gone, you can join me for drinks in my private office so we may discuss this transaction further."

Annabella was frozen in fear. Every instinct was telling her to hobble away as fast as he could. To leave this inhumane place and wait to reunite with Buster. To find another way to get the base, equipment and supplies they desperately needed.

"Except, there wasn't another way. Was there?" Annabella thought as her mind raced. "Our resources are nearly exhausted, and for our plan to work, we would need a stage prepared to capture Eggman's targets. Though, never mind having a place, without the Eggtech we have no hope of capturing the targets. There are only two ways for Buster and I to get our hands on Eggtech. Steal it. Or buy it. Maybe Buster was right." Annabella thought silently to herself.

Her old words rang hollow in her ears, "You always have a choice."

…

Annabella forced herself to drink a fourth glass of wine.

She wanted to be drunk.

"You drive a hard bargain but I can tell it will be well worth it." Clutch the Opossum said.

"That's enough wine for you." Clutch grabbed the near empty wine bottle Annabella had reached for.

"So… do we have a deal?" Annabella said nervously.

Timidly.

Her lab coat having long been tossed aside at Clutch's command, Annabella wore little except a plain and humble shirt and pants.

"Hmmm. Let me see what you're offering." Clutch raised a razor sharp claw and with it, pierced Annabella's shirt. He dragged his claw down her entire length as he slowly tore through her T-shirt revealing her naked form. "Finish undressing yourself."

Annabella. Dazed, confused, desperate, and terrified, but knowing of no other way to get a new base or the necessary eggtech unbuttoned her pants and let them, along with her undergarments, fall onto the floor.

Annabella gently kicked them to the side.

Clutch the Opossum licked his lips. "Good. Very Good."

"D-do we have a deal?"

"We do. But understand this…"

Clutch grabbed Annabella firmly by her jaw and pulled her face closer until it was mere inches from his own.

"I am not going to be gentle with you. I am going to take my time with you and savor every moment. Every twitch. Every tear that falls down your check."

Annabella began sobbing. She tried to look away but Clutch forced her gaze back towards him.

"I am going to break you in and mold your body like clay unto mine. I will bite your neck and you will bleed. I will leave my mark on you in so many ways."

"I-I change my mind. I don't want to do this." Annabella said.

"Oh. That's too bad…"

Clutch waited until his words had left Annabella with a glimmer of hope.

"That's too bad… for you. Per our agreement I have you all night long, and trust me, I am going to get my money's worth out of you." Clutch grabbed Annabella's hands and pushed her body back onto the bed.

"I… I never agreed to all night-"

Annabella's voice died in her throat as Clutch roughly kissed her.

"..."

Clutch broke the kiss, panting.

Annabella was petrified, her heart racing in fear.

Even if she tried to resist he would simply overpower her. She had no idea what he would do to her if she angered him.

A subconscious calculation was made in her mind.

Survive.

Her mind shut down.

Her body went limp.

Clutch laid atop Annabella, further pinning her body to the bed, her head propped up by a pillow.

Clutch moved his head towards her hair and inhaled her scent.

He smelled her fur.

Slowly, sensually, he ran his hands across Annabella's chest.

Satisfied, Clutch bit down into the back of Annabella's neck long past when blood had started to flow.

The pain was immense.

All Annabella could utter was "please" as tears streamed down her cheeks and face.

Angered, clutch moved his face till his nose was nearly touching Annabella's face and said, "Be silent, or I will make you be silent."

Clutch ignored her whimpering and in response, he went back to her neck and bit down harder.

It was at that moment that Annabella, using the last vestiges of her mental faculties, realized what Clutch was doing…

He was branding her.

Scarring her.

Clutch, having finally become fully aroused, lined himself up.

Annabella, for her part, was like a dead fish.

Lifeless and without sentience.

She simply existed, in the loosest term of the word.

She lay on the bed, motionless and silent, pinned down by the weight of Clutch the Opossum.

All Annabella did… all she could do… was breath.

"..."

Clutch the Opossum grinned. "That's a good girl."

Then he used her.

…

Annabella was motionless upon the bed, laying on her back she stared at nothing in particular. The bedsheets went up only to her waist so she held her hands up to cover her chest. Clutch the Opossum lay next to her, one hand behind his body supporting his head as he relaxed while inhaling smoke from a lit cigar.

Clutch exhaled the fumes, "You may leave now. Rest assured, our deal will be honored to the smallest of details. After all, a man is only as good as his word."

Anabelle slowly sat up from the bed and turned her body, her legs were too short to touch the ground outright so she slowly slid off the bed and landed on her feet. She blinked, glancing around the room for her clothes. Once found she began dressing herself. All the while Clutch the Opossum was savoring the view of her naked form.

"Hmmmm? Have you no thanks for the generosity I have provided? Would you rather I leave you with nothing? It is customary to offer thanks at the conclusion of business dealings.

"T-Thank you."

"That's a good girl. Now, before you go, let me take one more look at you."

Annabella's hair stood up as she broke out in a cold sweat. She slowly turned to face Clutch, unable to look him in the eye. She had been just about to put on her shirt.

"Move your hands."

Annabella's body shook, but her hands remained covering her chest.

"I won't ask again."

Annabella lowered her hands.

Clutch grinned.

"Here, this is for you."

Clutch the Opossum exited his bed naked, grabbed something from a nearby table then stood in front of Annabella. He reached out his hand and gave her a card. "Should you ever require any of my services again, do not hesitate to contact me."

Annabella took the card after some hesitation.

"..."

"Now, what do we say?"

"Thank you." Annabella whispered.

Clutch the Opossum scoffed, "Heh, the pleasure was all mine. Now, get the hell off my property you worthless slut."

…

Annabella blinked and found herself in a park, not remembering how she had gotten there. She walked over to the public restrooms and entered the women's room, closing the door behind her. Upon locking the door she collapsed to the ground and drew in a ragged breath as she wailed in misery as she hugged herself and curled into a ball.

She sobbed uncontrollably. "Mom. Mommy." She cried out as she wept. "Daddy!" She shouted. "Buster." She whispered. "Please. Help me. Please."

No one answered her.

She began hyperventilating and found the tears would not stop. Just as soon as the hyperventilating had stopped she found she could not breath, it was as if she was choking and unable to inhale oxygen.

Her heart rate spiked. Anabelle put her hand to her chest as she felt like she was dying.

Her legs were like jelly, her hands trembled as she laid on the ground gasping for air as she clutched her chest ever tighter. Horrid memories flooded her mind causing her body to be overwhelmed with pain, suffering and panic as she felt nauseous. Her vision blurred as she saw black dots as she tried and failed to calm herself as she began to dry heave-

-Annabella vomited.

She coughed, dry heaved, then vomited again. Her cheeks covered in both vomit and tears as she wheezed.

Annabella crawled on the vomit-covered floor, paying no mind to anything, not her clothes nor even her body as she crawled along the ground. She reached out a shaking hand to grab onto the sink as she struggled to pull her body up and turn the knob for water.

She gargled the tap water then spat it out into the sink as she looked in the mirror.

She saw someone.

A female fox with but a single tail and amber and white fur.

She stared at a fox whose face was matted with tears and covered in vomit. Her clothes wrinkled and covered in dirt, vomit, and filth.

She saw this girl and felt she deserved better.

She then decided it wasn't her responsibility to worry.

It wasn't her after all.

It was some other girl.

She was Annabella Prower. She had a mission to complete in order to save her family. She would tell this disgusting child to clean herself up. To make herself look presentable like any lady should. As a teenager and scientist she would never be caught in such a disgraceful state.

Annabella watched as the heartbroken and whimpering child splashed her face with water.

Annabella watched as the girl cleaned the vomit and tears from her face, then took off her clothes and began to wash and scrub them in the sink. Annabella watched the girl scrub and scrub to get the filth and vomit out, then she watched her scrub some more in a vain attempt to cleanse her body, knowing she could never remove the feeling the poor girl in the mirror felt.

Her clothes sopping wet, the fox girl in the mirror put her clothes onto a clothes line then stared into the mirror back at Annabella.

Annabella pitied the girl as she looked at her naked form.

She could only imagine what she felt like. To be deflowered and broken. Her body, her flower, her breasts having been used against her.

To be broken and beaten down physically as well as emotionally...

But that sad girl was not Annabella, Annabella cheerfully reminded herself as she watched the crying fox in the mirror use a hand to flatten her fur to better examine the half dozen bite marks that ran along her shoulders and neck. Annabella watched as the poor girl used soap to tend to one bite in particular that had broken her dermis, the middle layer of skin, which undoubtedly caused collagen fibers to form creating a permanent scar.

Annabella glared at the girl who looked through the mirror with heartbroken eyes.

"You, you stay here. I'm leaving."

"But… what will I do?"

"I don't care. I have a family to save and a brother to meet up with. A couple mad scientists to outsmart. You'll just get in my way."

"Please don't leave me-"

"Shut up you worthless slut. I'm not you. You're dead to me. I'm going to meet up with my brother and do great things. I'm going to save my family. You? You're just a sad girl who will get in my way."

"No. I'm not. I'm not-"

"You are!"

"I'm not!"

"Shut up!"

Annabella punched the mirror causing it to shatter and splinter into dozens of broken slivers. Her hand bled but Annabella ignored the pain as she breathed heavily.

She blinked, looked around the room and felt very claustrophobic as she quickly grabbed her wet clothes and put them on backwards by mistake.

Annabella went to open the door but found it would not open.

She pulled and pushed and tried to force the door open as her breathing quickened and her heart rate increased.

She then noticed it had been locked and unlocked the door then rushed out of the restroom only to slam the restroom door closed behind her.

She put her whole body into the act of keeping the door closed then after a minute she slumped down, taking a seat with her back to the restroom door.

"Um, excuse me." An older woman with a small child said as she pointed to her daughter. "She needs to use the little girls room, could you let us through?"

Annabella glared at the Mother. "No, I can't let the girl in there out. She's a worthless whore."

"W-who? Is someone in there?"

"Yes, but you cannot let them out."

"Is everything okay dear?"

"Everything is going according to plan. Why wouldn't it be?" Annabella said.

The Mother looked at the young teenager with an expression upon her face as one who is thoroughly unconvinced.

"Why don't we knock on the door and see if she's okay. Could we do that?"

After a moment of silent thought, Annabella agreed.

When no answer came back the Mother grew gravely concerned.

"Why don't you let me check on her. I promise I won't let her out. Would that be okay?"

"... You promise?"

"I promise."

Annabella stepped away from the door as the mother moved to open it. Once the door opened the mother turned to the fox girl in confusion and concern.

Annabella began to hold herself as her body shivered and trembled as she stared at the ground. She never wanted to see that worthless slut ever again.

"Sweety… there is no one here?"

Annabella looked up and took a few timid steps backward as she shook her head, not able to believe what she had heard or seen.

"Sweety, are you okay? Is everything alright?" The mother asked.

Annabella turned around and ran away, as fast as her lame leg would allow her.

…

Buster stepped out of a portal and onto a grassy field.

"I was beginning to think you'd abandoned me here."

Buster turned to his right and saw Dr. Starline lounging in a foldable chair.

"Where the fuck is my sister?" Buster said.

"I take it she's not with you then? Hm, I have not seen her in over a week."

Buster gritted his teeth, "What do you mean you don't know where she is?"

"I'm sorry, are we speaking different languages? I said, I don't know, and why should I? This all was your plan was it not? I don't recall ever being nominated to be the girl's babysitter. I trust she can care for herself. Besides, I had half a mind to assume you'd met up with her and left me here for whatever petty reason."

"When did you last see her?" Buster said.

"After her introduction to Clutch I was asked to leave the room so they could conduct business whereupon I went and enjoyed some fine drinks and caviar. I assume she had concluded her business as I had not seen her since. I was beginning to worry that I had been abandoned here. It was dreadful, I had to hack an atm and live like a petty plebeian in some run down motel, lest my past duplicate in this timeline catch wind of me."

Buster looked around the field that lay far outside the bounds of the city then back to Dr. Starline whereon his eyes went wide with shock and joy followed by a subtle nod as he spoke to Dr. Starline once more. "You are going to help me find her or neither one of us is going home."

"Calm yourself. I'm certain she is fine. There is no need for you to threaten me. I'll gladly help if it means I can go back to my own base and get some proper food and drink. I'll use my Warp Topaz to open small portals to look for her though it might take a while as she could be anywhere by now."

"Or I could be standing right behind you." Annabella whispered gruffly in Dr. Starlines ear.

Dr. Starline jumped to his feet in surprise as Annabella and Buster roared with laughter.

Anabella wiped a tear from her eye with the tip of her finger as she smiled, "You're quite lucky to be on our side Starline."

"On the contrary, I'm starting to wonder. Now if these childish games are finished let us return to our own spacetime."

"Thanks Buster." Annabella said cheerfully.

Buster finished laughing at Dr. Starline's expense then opened a portal back to the platypus's base, after which the trio quickly entered the portal.

Once Dr. Starline was dropped off in his proper timeline Buster and Annabella returned to their own base and worldline.

"How did the deal go?" Buster said.

"Great! We still have all our gems." Annabella said.

"What? That's… unexpected. How did you manage that?" Buster said with rising concern. "What's the catch?"

"No catch, I had a friend help with the… uh, the payment. She gave me a great deal. I was pretty busy for a week there. I oversaw the beginning of our base's construction and it should be finished in another week or two. Did you know the black market construction group uses repurposed Eggtech to build projects quickly and cheaply? I'm surprised the rest of that world doesn't do more of that. The savings in labor costs would be immense."

Buster furrowed his brow. "I don't know. Something seems odd. You seem… different. More… aggressive and peppy."

Annabella gave an exaggerated wave of her hand then dug into a bowl of mushrooms. "Please. I'm perfectly fine. I just have a new appreciation for life, because everything is going according to our plan, and soon we'll be reunited with Colette, we'll get the chaos emeralds, our parents will be saved, and everything will be perfect. Speaking of which, we need to capture those two targets Eggman sent us before we can do any of that."

"Right." Buster let out a deep sigh as feelings of sadness washed over him. He pushed the feelings deep down as far into the depths of his being they could go. "Let's check the new base first then we can enact our plan."

"Wait, I'm going to take a shower first. Trust me I need one. I'll be back in ten to fifteen minutes tops."

"Please hurry, Colette is literally waiting on us in this worldline." Buster said.

"I will!"

Annabella entered the bathroom, closed the door, undressed, turned on a bathroom exhaust fan and the shower, then stared at herself in the mirror.

"…"

Buster was running the plan through his mind once again as he heard the sound of the restroom vent and running water.

Then he heard something that sounded out of place. It was a high pitched sound that was unnatural to the environment he had become all too familiar with.

He stopped moving and thinking and listened intently…

It sounded like wailing.

Concerned Buster moved closer to the bathroom door.

The sound got louder.

"Anna?"

The wailing continued.

"Anna!?"

Buster knocked on the door, then began pounding on it.

As his sister's crying continued he began throwing his body into the metal door but was unable to break through.

An idea struck Buster and he ran off to grab some tools. He quickly returned then began disassembling parts of the doorknob until he found a small round hole in the center of the knob. He took a pen he had stuck in his hair and with the ballpoint tip pushed into the privacy lock until he heard a click. Then he stormed through the door once opened towards his sister.

"Anna? Anna! I'm here."

The sight broke Buster's heart.

Annabella was on the ground curled up into a ball crying harder than he had ever seen any of them cry since their parents died.

"Anna." Buster said as he kneeled down to be with her.

The fox girl sputtered and blubbered as she struggled to form words between her constant crying. Eventually she managed to speak a few frail words.

"B-buster." Annabella said sobbing as she moved her clutched hand from her chest to lay flat upon the bite marks on her neck. "D-don't look at me."

Buster felt his heart fall into the pit of his stomach. He felt nauseous and horrified as adrenaline flooded his body readying him to fight and even kill, yet he felt utterly powerless to help and protect his sister.

"Anna, I'm here. You're sister and I love you and we will always love you. I'm here if you want me to be here."

"I thought-" Annabella's body and mouth trembled as she struggled to speak. "I thought I was strong enough. Smart enough. I wasn't. I was stupid and scared. I didn't want to fail Colette so I… I…" Annabella continued wailing as countless tears streamed down her face.

"Is… is there anything I can do to help? Do you want a hug or-"

Annabella moved a hand that covered her neck towards her brother, the latter of which gently held it.

"I'm here." Buster said.

"I was so scared. I was so scared of him. But I was more scared of failing the family. Just one tumble and the plan would be back on track. We'd be one step closer to making our family whole. I thought I was strong enough-"

Buster couldn't help but cry as well. He wanted to reach out and hold his sister tightly, to tell her everything would be okay, but he felt if he did that she might shatter into a thousand pieces, so his hand shook as it inched forward and back indecisively.

Buster hated himself. He hated that he could do nothing more to help her. To protect her. He cursed himself to have left Annabella all alone in the world without him to watch and protect her. He was the naive fool.

"I'm not strong enough, Buster."

Buster swallowed painfully, his mouth dry. He found it difficult to speak. What words could he possibly say that would be of any comfort? "Colette and I can help you. We'll always be there for you." Buster said as a tear slid down his cheek.

"I can't Buster. I can't live with this. I want to die."

"I'm sorry, but I love you too much to let you die." Buster said.

Annabella used her free hand to grab her scarred flesh in an attempt to tear it off, only pulling out small strands of nearby fur in the process with each attempt. "I hate this body. This ugly disgusting body. I hate it!"

"Anna!" Buster shouted, his voice distorted from his own silent heartbreak and panicking. "Think of Mom and Dad. Think of them hugging you again and kissing you on the forehead. Stay strong for them, okay? We'll save them together. We'll rescue Colette and all three of us will save them. So don't give up on life. We're a family. We need to stay together."

Annabella stared off into the distance. As if she was seeing the world for the first time, or more likely, seeing the true horrors that filled the world and finding herself powerless and hopeless against them. "I can't. I'm… I'm dead inside. My body and mind are broken. I'm broken. I can't… I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't do this Buster. I'm not strong enough. I just want to die. Please let me die." Annabella shook her head violently as she spoke and hugged herself.

Buster took and squeezed his sister's hand. "I'm here Anna." Buster said as his sister's tear filled eyes turned to look at him.

"Can… can you help me?"

"What do you want me to do?"

"I want to die. She keeps telling me to kill myself. She scares me, Buster. She's so angry. So apathetic. She's evil. She's everything I despise and tried to bury away in the depth of my heart. I hate her so much but I feel like she's right. All the pain would go away if I just… if I just…"

Fresh tears streamed down Annabella's face.

"Who said this to you Anna?" Buster said.

"..."

"Anna?"

Buster held his Sister's hand tightly as her body went limp.

It was as if a switch had been flipped that caused Annabella's posture, demeanor, and tone to shift instantly.

She blinked, noticing she was naked, then looked at her brother in shock followed quickly by rage. "What the fuck are you doing?" Annabella punctuated her question with a kick to Buster's stomach as she tore her hand away from his grasp as she shouted, each sentence getting progressively louder. "Get out. Get the hell out of here you sick pervert. Get out!"

Buster was flabbergasted and retreated out of the restroom. Tripping over his feet and stumbling out of the bathroom. "Sorry." Was all Buster could manage to say.

"Mom and Dad would be absolutely disgusted with you Benjamin. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I'm sorry. I thought you were in trouble so I went to check on you."

"Hmph. Well, it is good that you are watching out for me. I suppose some small quantity of thanks is in order. I'll forgive you this one time as you are my younger brother… but don't push your luck. The next time you intrude upon me I won't hesitate to kick you in the balls."

"Understood, sis."

Annabelle threw open the bathroom door, fully clothed once more, and to Buster, she seemed to have an assertive spring in her step.

As Annabella walked she oozed confidence and charisma, bordering on the arrogant and delusional. To Buster, she felt like a different person, or at the least, that some of her personality and quicks had been taken to an extreme and also lost anything else that might have counterbalanced her new attitude.

"Onto our business then. Is the plan still ready to be set in motion?" Annabella said.

"It is." Buster began, as he hid his shock from the complete one eighty her personality did. It made him worry for his sister even more. "We just need to make sure everything in the base is set up-"

"-It is set up." Annabella said, interrupting her brother.

"A-are you sure?"

"Of course I am sure. Who do you think I am? Trust me. It's going to work. I checked everything myself. I got the weapons, tools, and supplies we need and everything is ready up to and including the most minor of details… except for computers. We'll need Colette for that anyway. That's future Annabella's problem. For now, we just need you to go and lure the targets into our trap. Then it's game over, for them that is."

What about the robots?"

"All ready to be deployed once the portal is activated. Eggman was kind enough to provide detailed images of the targets for us so the robots now know who they are looking for."

"Are they programmed to kill?" Buster said, his body becoming tense. "This isn't my sister." Buster thought to himself.

"We already discussed this. If what you say is true then the robots will be no match for them." Annabella tapped her good foot. "They're programmed to make it look convincing. Which is to say they will in fact be trying to kill them. We'll just need to trust the targets are as strong as you say… and as vulnerable to this plan of yours as you predict."

"They will be. There is no doubt." Buster said knowing the robots would pose no threat to them, especially if they worked together. At that moment, Buster understood partly why Dr. Robotnic wanted them killed or captured. Without leverage, back to back Silver and Blaze are, in theory, unbeatable.

"Are you ready?"

"Huh?" Buster said.

"Annabella rolled her eyes. "You knew them well, right? Are you up for this or do you need me to take charge of luring them to our trap?"

Microscopic beads of sweat began to accumulate on Buster's forehead but he wiped the miniscule particles away before it could congeal into a single sweatdrop.

"I… I can do this." Buster said, not fully believing his own words.

Annabella furrowed her brow and stared quizzically at her little brother. "We have to do this. Colette's life is at risk. We cannot have this be a gamble. We need to rig the deck in our favor, so to speak. It's as you have said, we need to use anyone we can as stepping stones and tools to be disposed of on our way to our goals. That means those two need to be neutralized. Either through crafty negotiation, or through extreme force."

Buster swallowed nervously. "Y-yeah."

Annabella frowned, grabbed her cane then limped over to Buster getting right in his face.

Buster was taken aback by her forwardness.

Annabella stared at Buster intently. "Can you do this, Buster? You said you can, but frankly, I don't believe you."

Buster scoffed defensively, "When did you get so forward and bold?"

"I've always been like this." Annabella said matter of fact.

Buster thought silently to himself, "No, you haven't."

Hearing her brother's silence, Annabella continued. "Naturally, some dumbassess think you can change the world and achieve your dreams by playing by the rules. We both know how foolish that is. It's like you've said Buster, we're at war. If you ask me, casualties are inevitable. It's better we strike first, fast, and hard and leave no possibility for a counter attack. There are too many variables with time travel. We need to act dispassionately as much as we act ruthless, both in our actions and in our decisions. If we can't manage that much, mark my words, we will lose, and we will be killed, and not a single Prower will remain to save us. So what are a mere few lives spent to secure our family legacy?"

Buster swallowed nervously. He could scarcely believe his ears. His sister had lost her marbles. Regardless, a part of Buster despised himself for agreeing with her while the other part of him was disgusted by said agreement and reminded himself who his sister and parents were deep down.

"How ironic." Buster thought, knowing what he had to strive to do out of respect for his wounded sister, and late parents...

"I made a promise to someone I wouldn't kill anymore." Buster said "I intend to keep that promise if at all possible. I know to you it may seem out of the blue and abrupt, but one of us has to keep our nose above the dirt."

Annabella scoffed.

What Annabelle said next made Buster's stomach churn.

"Heh, maybe you did but I didn't make any such promise."

"What?" Was all Buster could say. He had no idea who he was speaking to, and it terrified him.

Annabella continued. "Though, I guess the plan is made with their capture in mind so we'd best not alter the plan if it can be helped. I'm sure Robotnic would appreciate it. We might be able to get some goodies from him when we finally reunite with Colette."

"Right." Buster said, becoming ever more fearful of what his sister might be capable of. Whatever happened to her was pure evil, and Buster had a good idea of what had happened. What Annabella needed was time to heal and a therapist. Unfortunately, neither of those were available to them given their current plight and circumstances.

"I'll collect the bait then meet the targets at the rendezvous point to direct them to the base." Buster said.

"No. You collect the bait, and I'll escort the targets to the base. It would be better if they are led by someone they don't know. If they discover you betrayed them they could become enraged and throw logic aside. That could prove fatal for you. I'll meet them at the foot of the plains on the outskirts of the city and I'll bring them to our new base. We'll then split them up, according to our plan and deal with them one at a time. This will be a cake walk. We'll have Colette back by dinnertime."

"..."

Annabella glared at her brother and bared a fang. "Don't get cold feet now, not after you shot one of mine-"

"-I said I was sorry." Buster shouted, feeling wounded, but also feeling as if he deserved the pain.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Anyway, back to the mission, I need to hear you say it and mean it… can you do this?"

Buster looked up at his sister, and thought of his friends from the Sol Dimension, then of his family.

It was a painful decision… but sadly, an easy one.

"I am." Buster said furrowing his brow.

"Good. What does the bait look like?"

"She is a racoon. A little older than me and a year or two your junior."

"What is her name?"

Buster inhaled deeply then exhaled just as abruptly.

Annabella scoffed.

"What is her name? I need to know her name if we're to capture her. I can't manipulate people if I don't know who the hostage is. Come on. Tell me. We don't have all day."

After what felt to Buster like an eternity he worked up the courage to say the name of his dear friend.

The name of the person who he was going to break the heart of.

The name of the girl he really really liked, but had no choice but to betray…

Buster let out a heartbroken sigh.

It felt like part of him died alongside his words as he spoke.

"Her name is Marine… Marine the Raccoon."

…

Buster smiled and waved awkwardly towards Marine the Racoon.

Upon seeing Buster, she dropped the snag she had been eating.

"You… you're back. Bloody hell mate, you left me high and dry without so much as a drum or hooroo. You're a real cunt showing up like this out of the ol' blue." Marine the Raccoon wiped her eyes as she began to let loose a few tears.

"I'm sorry. I had a lot of stuff to work out. Family stuff. I hope you can forgive me." Buster said.

"Well, I might be able to do that. If you make her right." Marine walked over and grabbed Buster's arm tightly. "I'm not letting you go. You're coming with me right now and we're going to veg out at my place and catch up."

"I'm actually in a bit of a hurry." Buster began to say, but when he saw her expression he changed his mind. "Well, I can veg for a little while but then I have to go. Would you want to travel with me? It will only be for a day or two… unless you'd like to spend time together for longer?"

"That sounds grouse! But where are you from mate?"

"It's a pretty interesting place. It's very different from here…" Buster said, letting his speech trail off as they entered Marine's shack.

"Come on, tell me!"

"Sure, oh, I never noticed but your scrunchies are really cute. Could I see one?"

The pair took a seat on a couch.

Marine blushed. "Why, do you want it as a memento of our time together?"

"Something like that." Buster said with a suave smile.

Marine took off one of her two yellow scrunchies that kept her hair braided into two separate pony tails and handed it to Buster. Upon doing so one side of her hair fell flat along her shoulders. She then nervously twirled her hair in her finger.

"You know, I really do care about you." Buster said as he forcibly held back tears as he spun the scrunchie between his fingers."

"I care about you too."

"..."

Marine twiddled her thumbs and scooched closer to him.

Buster's heart beat faster.

He hated his life.

He hated Eggman.

Most of all he hated what he had to do.

Marine the Raccoon leaned towards Buster to where her body was resting against his side.

Marine turned to look at Buster.

Those eyes…

Buster had to look away lest his heart break.

"I'm sorry." Buster whispered.

"Oh, that's okay. There's no rush."

"Say, how about I show you where I am from?"

"Sure." Marine said.

Buster stood up and motioned for Marine to stand in front of him. Once Marine was in front of Buster, the fox put his arms on his shoulder.

"Okay, look straight ahead."

Marine looked to the side then did a double take then grinned cheekily behind her, as if grinning at someone or something before she quickly turned her gaze forward with Buster none-the wiser.

Buster interred a button combo on his watch and a portal opened in front of them.

Before Marine could react she heard a whisper from behind her.

"I'm sorry."

Buster shoved Marine with all the strength he possessed, sending her body flying through the portal.

"M-Marine? Marine!"

Buster looked behind him in shock and saw Tabby run through the portal right after her but not before Buster managed to grab the Koala by the hand and get himself pulled through the portal.

Upon Buster opening his eyes he saw Marine, unconscious, and being carried away by Eggbots.

"Marine!" Tabby screamed.

Buster used his strength to keep the koala under his control then he hurled her back through the portal then immediately closed it.

He had done it.

Buster fell to the all too familiar ground of his homeworld. Smelling the air of his own worldline where the Eggman Empire rules all.

"Step one has been completed yet I feel like I lost." Buster thought.

His body felt weak.

His heart felt broken.

"It's all according to plan." He told himself.

"It's all according to plan."

Buster could do nothing to stop his tears from falling. As his friend, the friend and girl he had come to love had been taken by Eggman as a hostage.

Buster sat there and cried letting the tears from his heart flood the ground.

"Colette just needed to wait a little longer." Buster told himself.

Buster spun the hair scrunchy in his fingers.

Once he ran out of tears… he would get back to work. He had a job to do.

…

A silver hedgehog and lavender-furred cat exited a portal.

As Annabella and Buster had predicted their targets had taken the bait.

"Welcome, my name is Annabella." The fox girl said as she slowly rose to her feet with aid from her cane. She took a moment to brush grass off of her clothes.

"Tell us at once where Marine is." The purple cat said.

"I will. In time. But first I need you to follow my directions, that is, if you ever want to see your friend again."

Annabella's words were said without hate or malice. They were simply stated as a matter of fact.

"You take a hostage and threaten us into obedience and expect your dastardly plans to somehow manifest victory for you? Clearly, you do not know who we are." The cat said.

The Silver furred hedgehog nodded as his ally spoke all while he glared at the fox as he stood by ready and waiting to act.

"Hmph, we abducted your friend and arranged your arrival here, and you think we did this in ignorance of who you two are and your abilities? Clearly, it is you who do not know who you are dealing with."

"It matters not what you know." The feline bellowed. "Return our friend Marine the Raccoon at once and mercy will be granted. Refuse and I cannot guarantee your survival."

Annabella simply stood in front of them. "Okay?"

The feline took a deep breath then exhaled, calming herself. "I am Blaze the Cat, Princess of the Sol Empire, and protector of the Sol Emeralds. With a flick of my wrist I could burn you alive until you are naught but ash and dust. My ally Silver here could with but a thought tear you limb from limb. Yet you still defy our request and stand against us?"

"I do."

"Then you are a fool."

"Am I? I have yet to be burned alive or torn to pieces. I can assure you, I am no fool. I know well what you are capable of. I also know you are good people and not the types to snuff out life in rage, no matter how justified. I also know that you know this, Princess of the Sol Empire, that if you were to kill me you would be left in a strange land without any means of returning home and without any clues as to your friends safety or whereabouts."

Silver and Blaze glared at the foxgirl.

"What do you want? Money? Power? Marine is an innocent child. She doesn't deserve to be roped into your pursuit of greed and power. Please, just let her go." The Silver hedgehog said, his voice filled with sadness and anger.

"I want you both to follow me. Or, if you'd rather, you can kill me and hope you can find your friend, which I can promise you, you never will. Aside from this cane I am completely unarmed. With my foot injury I have no hope of outrunning either of you. It would be like killing a wounded animal." Annabella said matter of fact.

"What is this to you? Is this just for some sick thrills? Abducting a child and wagering your own life that we're too good natured to kill you?" Silver said.

"No. Quite the opposite. I get no pleasure out of this. I'm just informing you of the reality of the situation we find ourselves in."

"You underestimate our resolve to rescue our friend as well as Marine's own strength and abilities. We've never lost yet, you are just another rotten egg to toss out. You won't win. No matter how much you think you have staked the odds in your favor." Silver said.

"We'll just have to agree to disagree then. Besides, we'll find out soon enough which of us is right." Annabella said.

"I just have one more question." Blaze the cat said.

"Go ahead."

As Blaze exhaled preparing to speak, she produced steam. Her body glowed then began to radiate heat as flames formed all around her as her rage and sorrow grew.

The Princess of Sol clenched her fists and thought of Marine and how she could find her and save her in this strange new world. A world where her innate connection to the Sol Emeralds was severed.

She exhaled. As she did so her body cooled and returned to normal.

"Why?" Blaze said.

"Why did we abduct your friend?" Annabella said as she raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"No. Why us? Why Marine? Why did you annihilate our Capital? Rendered it naught but ash and brimstone. So many died. Yet you talk to us as if we're going on a mere stroll together. You mock us and all who lost their lives by your actions with your apathy. It's sickening. It's inexcusable. It's unforgivable. The only thing keeping me from getting retribution this very second is that you undoubtedly have Marine as a hostage."

"Hmph, you are correct regarding us abducting Marine. However, we did not bomb you nor your city. We only used robots to attack you."

"Do you really expect us to trust your words?" Silver said with disgust. "Do you have any possible idea how many lives you took? Innocent people, every one of them. Dear friends of ours. Gone." Silver was shaking with rage as he forced his eyes closed lest he do something he would regret. "Do you really expect us to be so naive as to believe your lies?"

"Trust me or not I speak the truth. We only programmed the robots to attack you. If you're talking about bombs and a destroyed capital then it would seem that someone else tried to kill you. You do have my sympathy for the innocent lives lost."

"Don't you dare patronize us with your blatant lies. You're not the least bit sympathetic." Blaze spat back. "Give us Marine. Give us our friend back!"

"If you want your friend back, then you must do as I say."

Blaze the Cat's hands shook with rage as her heart was in agony. Her voice was wavering, her normally stoic voice sounded weak and vulnerable. "You didn't answer my question. Why have you done this? What are you planning to do with us?"

Annabella turned and took three steps, walking through the valley towards the base of a mountain then answered. "Relax, we're going to a base my family owns. Once there we will reunite you with your friend."

"You are lying." Blaze the Cat said.

"Am I?"

"If you have harmed her…" Silver began to say through gritted teeth.

Annabella furrowed her brows and frowned. "We have done no such thing. She is but a child, she is of no use to us. If you cooperate then no harm will befall her and she will be returned to her world safe and sound. You have my word."

Blaze ignored Annabella's words. "If you harm Marine there will be nowhere you can hide that will prevent us from finding you. I swear to you."

Silver nodded sternly in agreement.

"As I said. We have no intention to harm any of you."

"We shall see if your words are true. Now lead the way." Blaze said.

Annabella smiled and turned back to the mountain, and began the long trek through the valley towards their secret mountain base with Silver and Blaze following her.

…

"We are here." Annabella said as she scanned her hand on a terminal causing a secret entrance in the mountain to open in front of them. "After you." Annabella said, motioning for Silver and Blaze to enter the base.

"Is Marine here?" Silver said, his words tinged with hopefulness.

"Patience. We are nearly there." Annabella said.

The trio walked until they reached the end of the corridor which split off in a 'T' shape to the left and right.

The fox girl, Annabella, cleared her throat then spoke. "This is where you split ways. Blaze, please walk down the left path ahead of me. Silver, you will go down the right path and meet with my Brother. Afterwards you will both be reunited with your friend Marine."

Blaze looked down the ominously dark hallway then towards Silver. "This is clearly a trap."

Silver nodded his head then smiled. "But we know it's a trap."

"Yes. We cannot take decisive action against them lest they kill or harm Marine."

"So we'll play by their rules for a little while then when we figure out where Marine is we go and rescue her."

Blaze smiled. "Exactly. Whoever they are. They are no match for our might. We need not fear defeat so long as we persevere and remember those we are fighting to protect."

"You always know what to say and do Blaze." Silver said.

Blaze smiled. "On the contrary, I would be lost without your guidance and reassurance."

Annabella tapped her good foot impatiently. "Sometime today would be preferred. You two can get a room later."

"Before we go. Mark this Annabella. Silver and I will defeat you and whoever you are working for. Our cooperation with you and our organization is simply a means to an end. The time when justice is rendered upon you is inevitable."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Get moving already." Annabella said impatiently.

"I'll see you soon Blaze. Please, be careful. I have a sixth sense for danger and something is telling me to fly far away from here." Silver said.

"I will be careful and we will see each other again soon."

Silver held out his hand towards Blaze the Cat. She gently took his hand in hers, then slowly moved Silver's hand towards her cheek and smiled.

"Are you cold Blaze?"

"No Silver, I'll be fine once we have both reunited with Marine. Until then…"

Blaze let go of Silver's hand after giving it a gentle squeeze. "Take care of yourself."

With those parting words, Blaze the Cat turned and started walking down the left path.

"Finally." Annabella whispered under her breath. She turned to Silver. "My brother is waiting for you in the room down the right hallway. If you fail to appear before him your friend's life will become compromised. While we do not wish to kill her if you force our hand… uh, you'll have forced our hands."

"I understand. What do I do once I have entered the room?"

"Nothing. My brother will give you further instructions once there."

Anabella turned and began walking down the left path to catch up to Blaze the Cat. Without even glancing behind her towards Silver the Hedgehog, she shouted, "Don't try to be a hero."

…

Blaze heard footsteps approaching. "I was wondering when you would catch up. Though, I heard you approaching from some time. You are not exactly a master of stealth."

Annebella hobbled closer then stopped a short distance away from Blaze.

"I don't need to be."

Blaze looked away and towards the path in front of her. It was a narrow hallway. The ground was made of pure granite and the only sound that was heard was that of industrial vents humming and fans spinning to circulate air. The ceiling was as dark as night and seemed to extend far off into the distance. What meager light there was, failed to penetrate the darkness above her and down the path ahead.

Blaze frowned. "The air ahead is much colder than anything we have come across so far."

Annabella's ear twitched. "I'm sure that is just a coincidence due to stress or exhaustion. Now keep walking."

"Be honest with me. No more lies or half truths. No more plots. Speak to me, sister to sister. Is Marine the Raccoon alive?" Blaze the Cat turned her gaze towards the fox that stood behind her.

"She is."

"Will her life be spared if we cooperate?"

"It will."

Blaze the Cat exhaled. "Thank Sol. Last question. Will Silver and I get to see her again?"

"Of course."

Blaze furrowed her brows and chuckled, knowing well that was a lie. "I don't know what you have been through in your life but I am certain you were a good person once."

"What are you talking about? We just met. How could you possibly know that?" Annabella said.

"It's simple really… you are Bruce's sister are you not? Your resemblance is uncanny. I don't need to be a genius to put two and two together. I knew your brother for a time. Perhaps, a more innocent version of him. He was a good person. I am sure you were too. You both still can be…" Blaze frowned as she took another step forward–

A chamber shaped like a cylinder fell from the ceiling trapping Blaze as the sounds of engines and machines roared to life.

The Chamber began to fill rapidly with liquid nitrogen as an all too familiar Egg tech chemical was sprayed inside that began to flash freeze Blaze the Cat's body.

"Do you really think this is enough to immobilize me? To defeat me?" Blaze said.

Annabella puffed out her chest and shouted. "I am Annabella Prower daughter of Miles and Zooey Prower. This trap is the unholy union of Eggtech and Prower technological genius and innovation. The liquid nitrogen will smother your flames while you are frozen for transport. If you refuse to cooperate then I will have nitrogen gas pumped into your cell. Eggman wants you dead or alive. The choice is yours."

"That is surprising. What a strange new dimension this is. I must say I am disappointed. I would have expected the daughter of Miles Prower to better rear his children so as not be manipulated and used as tools and puppets of Eggman. You are working for Eggman I presume? What in chaos would your parents think?"

Annabella glared at the cat in front of her and clenched her fists.

"My parents are dead."

Blaze half expected to hear a, 'and you will be too' but as she gazed in Annabella's eyes she saw not a murderer but a sad, lonely, lost child. For a moment Blaze forgot her dire situation and her heart melted at the sight.

"I am sorry to hear that. I truly am. I know what it is like to lose a family. Both now and in the past."

"We were… we were just trying to protect our family. To save our parents. We'll make everything right in the end. I-I promise."

Blaze closed her eyes and exhaled. She then opened her eyes and smiled gently as she walked forward while her body, kissed by flickering flames, shivered. Patches of her fur began to form a small coat of ice as her flames grew ever weaker. She put a hand on the transparent material that separated her newfound transparent prison from the freedom that lay beyond it.

"Forgive me. But this changes everything. I shall break down this barrier between us. We all shall escape here and Silver and I shall aid you and your brother in rescuing your sister. We are not your foes." Blaze's hand began to radiate flames as the chamber began to be warped from the intense heat she concentrated on creating and maintaining."

Annabella shouted, spittle flying onto the outside of the chamber. "No. You won't. You… you are just saying that so you can escape. You are trying to trick us! We don't need your help. We don't need anyone!"

"My words are truthful and earnest. While it seems clear I cannot convince you to trust me-" Blaze shivered violently as the fire and flames across her body began to fully dissipate as patches of fur and skin began to freeze intermittently. "Believe me when I say that I know better than most… that sometimes-"

Blaze's voice caught in her throat as the intense cold ravaged her body.

"I know better than most, that sometimes-" It started in her legs as they froze solid. Ice quickly traveled up her thighs, her stomach, chest, and arms until only her head remained unfrozen.

"-what you really need, is a fr–"

Annabella cried as she entered a code into a previously hidden control panel.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I can't trust you. I can't trust anyone. I'm sorry."

With the code entered, a purpose built transit system activated which both collected and transported a cryofreezed Blaze the Cat to a holding cell in a nearby laboratory. Annabella activated a second hidden control panel which promptly beeped a confirmation tone which caused a wall panel to slide open to reveal a military grade rifle with a underbarrel shotgun attachment, a 2X scope, and thermal goggles. She grabbed the rifle and checked the magazine. Finding its contents exactly as she had requested from… him, she put the thermal goggles on her head and hobbled as fast as she could to aid her brother.

…

The door Silver had walked through automatically closed and locked behind him as he stared ahead utterly dumbfounded.

Silver clenched his eyes shut in pain and regret as he lowered his head in disbelief. "I just want to know. Why? Why did you betray us? After everything we've been through together…"

Buster stared at the ground for a few heartbeats before looking up and meeting Silver's gaze."I'd say this was nothing personal. But it was. I don't enjoy any of this. Not for a second."

"Oh boo-hoo poor Bruce. We were your friends."

"I know."

Silver's rage grew in him by the second. Buster or 'Bruce' as he had known him, his nonchalant attitude did nothing but tick Silver off even more.

"We trusted you." Silver shouted.

Buster lowered his head as he stared at the ground before he meekly looked back up to Silver's judging gaze.

"I know."

Silver clenched his fists and ground his teeth as he glared at Buster.

"Marine loved you."

"..."

"She loved you Bruce!" Buster shouted. "She trusted you. She… she would have followed you anywhere."

Buster's voice became weak and frail as he spoke. "I... I know."

Silver's nostrils flared and his mouth curled in disgust. "You're sick. You're disgusting. To use us, to hurt us… to hurt Blaze and Marine. I- Never-"

Silver inhaled and exhaled. Physically collecting himself then continued. "I have never wanted to hurt someone so bad as I do right now, but that petty grudge is not what is important right now. I swear upon my life, you won't get away with this."

"We already have. You just haven't realized you've lost yet." Buster said solemnly.

"Oh yeah? Want to bet?" Silver spoke with venom as spittle flew from his mouth in anger.

"Be my guest."

"Fine then. It's your funeral. Now get over here!" Silver activated his powers and attempted to pull Buster toward him with his telekinesis… only for Buster to be completely unaffected.

"I spent over a year with you all. Don't think my sister and I did not plan for every possibility."

"I don't. I don't understand." Silver said.

"It's simple really…" The lights cut out and Silver found himself in pitch black darkness as an intercom blared to life. "That Silver the Hedgehog, is what we scientists call a hologram."

"Of course it was." Silver said with a sigh.

"I'm sorry Silver. I truly did care about everyone. If you surrender we won't have to hurt you."

"Shut the hell up. You betrayed us all. Now tell me where Blaze is before I destroy your base room by room until I find her."

"Oh, what about Marine the Raccoon? Aren't you forgetting about her? Or maybe, just maybe, between Marine and Blaze the latter is the more effective hostage."

"Don't you dare threaten her. If you harm one hair on her body I will break yours."

"Silver, please step down. We know your weaknesses. Blaze has already been captured, there is no need for you to resist and get hurt. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Which way do you prefer?"

Silver ground his teeth as he growled. He used his telekinetic powers to have himself levitate in the air. "No. YOU can do this the easy way or the hard way. This is your last warning. Let Blaze and Marine go or I'll have to break your body until you surrender."

"The hard way it is then. Anna… do it."

A secret door slid open and Annabella stepped out into the pitch black darkness wearing thermal goggles. She aimed a rifle at the hedgehog shaped heat signature floating in the air then pulled the trigger.

A dart flew through the air and hit Silver in his chest.

"Ow. What? What did you just inject me with?"

Buster exited the secret room and walked up from behind Annabella holding a sledgehammer and said, "A tranquilizer dart. Don't bother flying around. We can see you just fine."

"I suppose I can't get you to turn the lights on, can I?" Silver said.

"No. You cannot." Annabella said as she loaded another round.

Silver's ears twitched. "I'd hate to accidentally kill one of you."

"We could say the same to you." Buster said.

"Fuck it. It's no use." Silver said as he hunched over and began taking deep breaths and slapped his face.

Buster smiled. "So you surrender?"

"IT'S. NO. USE." Silver shouted as he floated higher into the air. He flew around in a circle slowly at first then moved into a wider flightpath until he slammed his whole body into the wall. Silver struggled to keep up his velocity as he forced his body to keep constant contact with the wall as he dragged his body around the perimeter of the room. Silver screamed as his actions tore off fur and flesh as he continued to fly while he forced his unresponsive and numb hand to telekinetically trail along the wall in constant contact.

"Shoot him again." Buster shouted in a nervous tone that rose as he spoke. "Shoot him again!"

"If I shoot him any more he could die. He's using his powers to move, not his body!" Annabella said.

Buster and Annabella's hearts skipped a beat as they heard the sound of metal and stone being torn apart behind the hedgehog's high pitched screams.

A second later their thermal sight of Silver disappeared–

"Get down!" Buster shouted.

Annabella and Buster dove onto the ground as granite and metal frames crashed around them.

Annabella screamed in pain and horror as part of a warped and stretched steel beam made a glancing blow upon her body.

"Plan B." Buster shouted.

"Right!" Annabella said as she scrambled on the ground to find her gun as she fought the pain. With her rifle in her hand she changed the fire mode to the underbarrel shotgun attachment.

Buster grabbed a tool from his belt then activated the lights with the click of a button.

The lights turned on and Buster felt an immensely powerful force pull him in front of Silver's cut up and bloody face.

"I ought to kill you." Silver said.

"You won't." Buster said matter of fact.

"It would be so easy." Silver said.

"I bet it would. But you can't bring yourself to do it. Can you? You're a good person, unlike me."

"Shut up!"

"I bet if you got blood on your hands you'd never be able to look Blaze or Marine in the eyes–"

Silver screamed. "-Take this!"

Silver telekinetically slammed Buster into the wall then hurled him backwards. Buster and his sledgehammer landed hard onto the ground.

Buster began to slowly rise to his feet, his world still spinning, when he was telekinetically pulled back closer towards Silver whereupon Buster's left hand began to be ripped out of the socket.

Buster screamed in pain as his shoulder was dislocated.

Silver looked like a demon possessed.

"It hurts huh? This is nothing to me. You are nothing to me. Now give me back my friends or I'll start breaking your ribs one by one!"

The sound of a gun going off filled the empty albeit debris filled room.

Silver recoiled in pain as a bean bag round slammed into his chest knocking the air out of him and breaking his concentration.

Buster fell to the ground, grabbed his sledge hammer with his right hand then slammed it into Silver's ribcage breaking a rib. The dark irony was not lost on Buster.

Silver howled in pain.

Silver grabbed Buster telekinetically and threw him into the ceiling as Annabella switched fire modes then shot Silver with another tranquilizer dart. Silver let go of his telekinetic grasp on Buster and then grabbed onto and crushed Annabella's gun. As Buster was about to hit the ground in a lethal impact Silver telekinetically grabbed Buster and threw him horizontally along the ground causing him to tumble across the floor as he simultaneously pulled Annabella to float beside him, her entire body telekinetically restrained.

"Fuck you." Silver whispered in between ragged breaths. "I… I just wanted Blaze and Marine to be happy." Silver said as he telekinetically drifted over the sledgehammer. He began to crush it using his mind. The wood handle and the stone slab quickly gave way and seemingly collapsed inward towards one another as in a matter of seconds the sledgehammer was utterly destroyed and turned to wood and dust particles before Buster and Annabella's eyes.

"We were all so happy. We were like a family." Silver wheezed between each word as he struggled to breath. His vision shifted back and forth between temporary darkness and seeing stars. "You were a part of it Bruce. I… I wish we could go back to those days… those days… when we were friends. Now… our life… our life is-"

Silver fell to the ground unconscious. While Annabella fell to the floor.

"Anna," Buster screamed. "Anna, are you okay? Anna?"

Annabella clutched her body and stared off into space. Her body shook.

"Anna?" Buster said with growing concern as he inched closer and tentatively, gently, touched her hand with his fingers.

Annbella howled and cried in terror as she shouted and recoiled away from Buster. Her body squirmed and violently shook.

"Stay away. Don't touch me. Don't touch me. Let go." Annabella said as she sobbed, utterly terrified.

Buster stepped closer and grabbed Annabella, ignoring the intense pain in his left arm.

"Let go of me! Let go of me! Please!" Annabella cried, begged, and pleaded.

"Anna is me Buster." It's your brother. You are safe. Anna it's me!"

Annabella blinked as fresh tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Buster?"

"I'm here Anna."

"I… I'm not okay."

It will be okay. I'll take care of you. Right after we drop off Silver and Blaze and get Colette. I'll take care of you." Buster was crying now. "Who… who did this to you?"

"I- I can't remember." Annabella said.

"I need a name."

"Buster I can't. Please don't make me!"

"Okay! Okay. Don't. I'm sorry. Focus on the here and now. Focus on me holding you. You are safe."

Buster looked over to the silver furred hedgehog that had labored breathing. He worried he would wake up…

"Anna, we need to get moving. We'll get Colette back!"

"C-colette?"

"Yeah. Our sister Colette. We'll get to see her again."

"I've missed her." Annabella said.

"Me too. Can you stand?"

"I, I think so. I'm in so much pain, Buster."

"I know. We're going to take care of you. We just need to tie these loose ends. Okay? Can you stay strong for a little bit longer until we get Colette?"

Annabella nodded.

"Okay. I'll get Silver fit for transport. Then we can depart when you are ready. Does that sound okay to you?"

Annabella nodded as she held his hand.

"Okay, I need to let go. I only really have one good hand at the moment but it just needs to be popped back in the socket. No biggie!"

Buster knew it would hurt like hell but that would be nothing compared to what Annabella and Colette likely had been through.

Buster let go of Annabella's hand.

"Buster."

"Yes?"

"When we get Colette back. Can we act… normal? Even if we have to pretend?"

"Normal? What do you mean?"

"I just want us three to be a normal family. Please don't talk about anything we had to do or… anything else. I want… I want Colette to have a happy reunion. I want us to go into the city in this world and… buy some pancake batter."

Buster began to cry along with Annabella.

"That sounds great." Buster smiled as tears ran down his cheek. "That sounds perfect."

…

Buster and Annabella stepped through the portal. Buster raised a flare gun towards the sky and fired it. He looked upon the rotting and destitute city, one of many, in the Eggman Empire. Moments later an Egg Bot floated over towards them.

"We have a meeting with Eggman. The jobs are done."

"Affirmative. Standby."

After the robot spoke an automated shuttle arrived to take the brother and sister to their meeting place. As they rode on the shuttle they could not help but notice the stark contrast in this city, plagued by Eggman's tyranny and the city in the other world that flourished under the Federation.

Every person they saw seemed to have given up. They were dirty. Chasing a synthetic, physical, or digital high, whatever kept them complacent and innocuous. Given free slop to live off of and a dilapidated home to live in.

It was funny to Buster and Annabella. Despite all the basic needs provided for it was and still is a deplorable existence. Though, those who had fought against it had long been purged, except for a few brave but foolish souls.

The shuttle rose dozens of feet and slowed as it entered a docking bay inside one of Dr. Robotniks bases of operation.

Annabella and Buster walked down a long hallway with Swatbots positioned along to their right and left. They walked by dozens of them. Perhaps hundreds, until they arrived at Eggman's throne room.

Eggman's likeness was portrayed upon nearly every surface. He always loved seeing his face.

"Welcome." Dr. Robotnik said.

"Eggman."

"I trust you completed your end of the deal."

"That depends on you. Do you have Colette?"

"Of course. I am a man of my word." Robotnik snapped his fingers and a bot escorted Colette. Buster's heart rose in his chest as he saw his little sister. Then he noticed she looked thinner and paler than she had before.

Buster pressed a button and a portal behind him opened to reveal an unconscious Silver and Blaze, drugged, bound, and secured so as to be unable to use their powers during the exchange.

Eggman grinned as light reflected upon his glasses obscuring his gaze.

"Very good. I believe that concludes our business. As promised, he is your sister back and one chaos emerald. Do take good care of it." Eggman said with yet another mischievous grin.

Eggman snapped his fingers and Colette was given a chaos emerald and genly pushed forward as Buster and Annabella reached out to embrace her.

"Colette!" They both shouted.

"B-Buster? Annabella? I really missed you guys."

"We missed you too!"

"Eek, gross. Please take your tearful ruining somewhere else. Specifically to a different planet. Our business is concluded. Now leave this world forever."

Buster glared at Dr. Eggman. "No, our business is not concluded."

"Whatever do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb. Where is she?"

"Whoever do you-"

"Marine. Where is Marine?" Buster shouted.

"Oh, that girl. Sorry, bugs and rodents. You all look the same to me." Eggman snapped his fingers. A minute later Marine was brought to Eggman. "Here you go. To be honest I forgot she was here. I couldn't get her to say a single word. You can take her. Now leave!"

Marine walked forward and stopped upon making eye contact with Buster.

"Leave now or I swear, I will turn all of you into fur coats!" Eggman said in a rage.

"Come on!" Annabella grabbed Marine the Raccoon's hand and pulled her into the portal along with Colette. Buster turned to leave when Eggman spoke.

"She really does look like her Mother."

Buster almost could not contain his rage as he turned and glared at Eggman.

Eggman simply grinned.

"Bye bye!" Eggman said with a wave.

…

"Colette!" Annabella and Buster shouted as they hugged, cried, and embraced their little sister.

Marine the Raccoon stared at the trio, seething in rage."

Annabella noticed this and grabbed Colette's hand. "Here Colette. Let me show you the new base. You'll love this world. They have libraries and cafes."

Buster stared at Marine the Raccoon and opened his mouth to speak-

"I hate you." Marine said.

"I am sorry."

'I hate you!"

"I know."

"You ruined my life."

"I know. I am-"

"-Don't you apologize you showbag! You want to bloody apologize then give me back my friends."

Marine's anger died as she was filled with despair as she began to cry.

"Give them back. They're the only family I have. How could you-"

Marine's tears began to pepper the ground.

"I'm sorry, Eggman has them now. Your friends are gone."

"I hate you so much."

"..."

Marine the Raccoon began to wipe her eyes and face clean of tears.

"Send me back."

Buster walked over to the time travel machine and cycled to her Dimensions coordinate.

"Here, this will take you back to the Sol Empire."

"No. Send me back to where Silver and Blaze are."

"What? You are insane. You have literally no chance of beating him. You'll just be captured or killed."

"You're a bloody cunt. A coward. I hope you die!"

"Fine, you want to join them. Be my guest. There." A portal appeared and showed a deplorable city of the Eggman Empire that Blaze and Silver had been brought to.

Marine was about to step through the portal when she stopped and to Buster to speak.

Marine opened her mouth. "..." Then closed and turned backed towards the portal then stepped through to the other side.

Buster was left in the room all alone. After a few moments the portal automatically closed behind Marine.

Buster hobbled around like a lifeless husk.

He heard giggling and laughing from Colette coming from the bedroom.

The base they were in was very nice.

Buster walked into the Master bedroom.

"Get out. I need to take a shit."

Annabella looked at her brother then grabbed Colette by the hand. "Oh, uh, let's give him a minute."

After they left Buster opened the door and went into the bathroom and turned on the vent and the shower. He stood in front of the mirror and looked at himself as he processed everything that had happened in what to him had been the last couple years.

Buster gripped marble sink countertop, his nails struggling as they dragged across the counter seeking purchase.

It started as a guttural whine and rose from the depth of his being until he found himself screaming and cursing.

"Chaos damn it. Damn it all. Fuck. Shit. Chaos damn it. I hate my life. I hate it!"

The cursing continued as Buster became violent and began punching his reflection until the shattered glass was broken into hundreds of fractured pieces all smeared with his blood.

Buster took a step back as his head swelled with pain. He started hyperventilating as his vision blurred from sadness and rage as he looked for something to break. He found a towel bar along the wall and with a few strong tugs pulled it out of the wall. He screamed as he used it to beat the wall mercilessly until a small hole formed. He turned and slammed the bar into the broken mirror causing more glass to shatter and fall onto the counter. He opened a cabinet door that stood above the toilet and slammed it repeatedly until he ripped it out and hurled it on the ground-

"Buster?"

Buster had not noticed Colette open the door.

Buster felt weak. He slumped down and fell to the ground and stabilized his breath when he felt small hands hug and embrace him.

"Please don't feel bad. I'm here." Colette said as she hugged him.

"Sorry, I… stubbed my toe. Right Anna?" Buster looked up to Annabella who had a worried expression on her face as she looked at the utterly destroyed restroom.

"Right."

"Say, Colette. Why don't we Prowers go into the city and get some computer parts to build you a new quantum computer. I'll need to run an errand but I can leave early and meet you and Anna at the computer store. We might even be able to get our hands on a free metal cart!"

"We're not keeping the cart." Annabella said sternly.

"Are you sure you are okay?" Colette said.

"Yes. Everything is fine. But, now that I think of it. Mental health is important. I think we should all go to a therapist after we eat pancakes together and get your computer parts. I'll make the arrangements."

"I… I think that would be good. For all of us." Annabella said.

"Great. I'll find the best therapist money can buy. Oh and Colette?" Buster said.

"Yes?"

"Annabella and I really really missed you."

"It's true. We worried about you every day." Annabella said.

"I missed you all too." Colette said as she hugged her brother and sister.

The three foxes, finally reunited, held one other tightly and cried together. Sharing tears of joy.

They wouldn't let anything tear them apart ever again…

Or so they thought.