Sonic Chaos Underground (Season Four)

by sleepfiction

A thrilling revelation has been revealed to Sonic, forcing him to re-evaluate his life and journey outside of Station Square with Tails by his side. Thrust into the unknown to discover the secrets of their family's past, Sonic and Tails discover the location of not only their missing loved ones, but an entire community of Mobians hidden from the world.

6. Chaotix And The Master of Ninjustu

It was TV day at the Hedgehog household.

Over the last few weeks, Sonic and Tails had been introducing their family to the magic of television through piecemeal. While at first apprehensive, the brothers managed to win them all over with the power of entertainment.

Tails luckily had a lot of "legally obtained" television content he "bought" and stored on his tablet systems over the last few years. Because of the different television tastes of Sonic, Tails, Amy and even their friends like Cream and Knuckles, Tails had a catalog of content to choose from.

Uncle Chuck liked house flipping shows. Longclaw liked crime dramas. Sonia liked reality television. Manic liked sitcoms.

But all of them, all of them, absolutely loved cartoons. Sonic was the one who suggested that episodes of the cartoons they had be shown to the fam, appropriately, on Saturday mornings.

Still in pajamas, Sonic and Tails troubleshooted an issue the fox was having with his mobile projector. The trip down to the Underground was the most it's been used, so Tails didn't know it had a lot of problems. That's the last time he bought something off a social media shop…

"Oooh, yum."

The rest of the Hedgehog clan were also in pajamas (including Sonia, though her pajamas were clearly cleaned and sprayed down before she joined the others) currently being served breakfast by Chuck. This included Longclaw, who joined them that morning thanks to her father having an early shift for mail.

"Chocolate muffins for breakfast! Another Miles original." Chuck commented. "Shouldn't be too much of a mess for you either, Sonia."

She sighed in relief. "Thanks, Uncle Chuck."

The projector flickered to life, projecting onto the blank wall ahead of the couch. It usually had a few pictures hanging on it, but they took it down so they could watch television without little obscurity.

"Alright, showtime!" Manic said, before chomping into the top of the muffin.

Sonic and Tails hopped over the couch, sitting between Chuck and Longclaw. In front of the couch was Manic and Sonia, both sitting on a blanket.

"Okay, time for another thrilling adventure in western animation." Tails said, tapping through his tablet, readying the episode.

"Is it a story episode, or a filler?"

"Ugh, Longclaw, I should've never told you that term." Sonic said, taking a muffin from Chuck. "No episodes are filler episodes! I'm a very firm believer that every episode is worth something."

"I know that, Sonic, but don't you think it's strange how some episodes of the season don't take place anywhere near where the plot is happening? Or feature none of the main characters?"

"Eh, you don't really miss that much." Sonic took a bite of his muffin. He spoke with his mouth slightly full. "Hit it, Tails."

Chewing on his muffin as well, Tails pressed play on his tablet, starting the episode for the family to watch.

---

MEANWHILE, BACK ON EARTH…

Espio hadn't gotten a wink of sleep during their flight to Nippon.

This journey had been planned months back, last year even, but Espio still felt as if he wasn't ready to return back to Tokei. It was hard for him to return back home… Even if it really wasn't his home anymore.

Growing up in Tokei was a memory that the chameleon didn't think about too often. Not that it was bad, but because it was mostly uneventful. His biological family, currently only consisting of him and his father, have apparently been around for centuries.

Him and his father, among other Mobians, have lived hidden on countries like Nippon for a long time. Befriending Vector, whose mother was mutated in a lab, was surreal for Espio at first. Neither of them knew if Charmy was made from Project: Mobius as well, but Espio always assumed that the bee was another "classical" Mobian like his ancestors were.

Perhaps that's why Espio connected with the teen so easily: similarities between them.

As Inco's private jet landed in the Naka International Airport, Espio could see Mt. Stormtop in the distance, just beyond the metropolis of Tokei. The plane was parked in at a gate connecting to the public airport, so the three could get the authentic experience of going through international customs.

Espio didn't have any bags he brought on board, so he was the first out.

"Arigatou gozaimasu!" The Nipponese woman in the boarding bridge said as the three exited. "Welcome to Nippon!"

"Thank you!" Charmy said, smiling and waving at the lady. He didn't have any carry-ons either, though did stuff his puffer vest's multiple pockets with his phone, its charger, and an old handheld game console that Alliana gave to him before leaving, one once owned by Vector.

Inco came out at the back, carrying a satchel with some personal writing supplies of his in there, which he had brought on the plane to work a bit on the ride. It was a nonstop twelve hour flight, so naturally, Inco stared at a blank laptop screen the entire time instead of actually writing.

They walked out of the bridge, into the gate, stepping on the escalator to reach the terminal.

"This is so cool… I've never flown this far before! And Tokei looks so cool…"

"This is just the airport, Charmy. Wait until you get to see the city!"

"I can't wait!"

Espio kept his hands in his pockets as Charmy and Inco talked, thinking to himself. After a second, he felt a hand slapping his arm; the bee was closer to the chameleon, standing behind him as if wanting to slide in and stand next to him.

"Isn't this cool, Espio?"

"It's… Alright."

"Only alright? What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing, nothing, I'm simply… Used to it?" Espio tried giving Charmy a reassuring smile. "Nothing I haven't seen before. Though it's nice to see some things in this place haven't changed from when I left."

"You left from this airport too? Was it in a private jet? Why did you leave Nippon anyway?"

"Charmy, Charmy, focus on the mission at hand. We're here to have fun in one of the biggest cities in the world. We're not here to solve a case, and you don't have to investigate my origins."

"But that's only half the fun!"

"Charmy, Espio is right." Inco came up to put a hand on the bee's shoulder. "Let's have a fun time here. You've watched too many videos of those 'influencing people' online for you not to have a nice time. Leave the detective glass at home."

"Okay, okay…" Charmy shrugged a bit. "…Vector should know we landed. Do you think I can call him now, or will it still mess with the planes outside?"

"Maybe we should wait until we get further in the airport to be safe." Espio replied.

"Alright! I'll see how far the immigration section is from here!"

The teenage bee went up ahead, wings fluttering as he flew up the moving steps. Together, Espio and Inco stepped off the escalator, the father and son walking side by side to follow the excited bee.

"Espio," Inco spoke softly. "Are you alright? I know this must be a lot for you."

"I'm fine."

"…You're doing that thing where you speak to me like I've upset you."

The ninja sighed. "I'll be fine, father. I'm trying to keep myself from looking over my shoulder with every step. I want to have a nice and relaxing trip back to my home country, and not think… About…"

"Arashi?"

Hearing that name made Espio close his eyes. He took a deep breath, feeling the despair and guilt swelling in his body slowly growing smaller. It wouldn't go away, surely, but he could make it feel better for now.

"I just hope he's left Nippon like I did," sighed Espio. "I really hope he got away."

The older chameleon put his hand on the younger's back to comfort his son.

"This is the most populated city in Nippon. He could move to a different district, start a new life and get away from what happened entirely." Inco consoled him. "And the chances of us seeing him are one in over fifteen million. Relax, Espio. We're going to have a good time."

"…I hope so."

They caught up with Charmy at immigration, as the bee had promised. They passed in together, presenting their passports (Charmy was proud of his as it was brand new) before heading over to baggage claim.

Once they collected their bags, passing by stairways and corridors with many anime characters painted on the walls, it was time to find a way for them to leave the airport.

While at the front, Charmy finally decided to give Vector a call from his cell- they arrived at the airport midday, at noon, so it was most likely eight at night over in Station Square. The crocodile was most likely awake, but it would probably take a minute for him to answer.

Standing in the lobby, both chameleons looked at their options of travel.

"Would you rather take the train, or the bus?"

"…We can take the train later." Espio replied. "I want Charmy to see the city. Let's take the bus first."

"Good thinking."

"We're taking the bus—?" Charmy stopped at there was chattering on the other line. "Hi Heavy! Is Vector around, can I talk to him?"

Inco paid for all of them to take the bus through the city, towards the hotel he set them up in for the afternoon. Espio and Charmy stayed closeby, and eventually the bee held his phone out and put it on speaker.

"Say hi to Vector, Espio."

"…hi, Vector."

"Hey, Espio!" Vector's voice came through. "How was the flight?"

"Tiring. I think I'm going to sleep as soon as we get to this hotel."

"You probably should use the afternoon to just sleep. You're there for like, a week anyway. Tomorrow can be your big day to do stuff!"

"Yeah, that was my plan. I knew jet lag was going to need a day to recuperate from… I just thought it would hit Charmy, and not me."

"Espio, you know as well as I do that Charmy could get hit with a train and still be ready for action."

"What are you up to while we're gone, Vector?" Charmy asked. "How's Miss Mom?"

"Ma's alright, her and Bomb have been working on renovating a few of the lower apartments. Apparently she's been thinking of just making this building into just an office building."

"What about the other people who live there?" Espio asked.

"Nobody else lives there anymore, Espio. After we had two nearly world ending events within the span of a year, people aren't really keen on staying close to downtown for some reason…"

"…Huh. Well, I hope Alliana can get some new clientèle."

"She'll be fine."

"Where's Mighty, Vector?"

"He's here in the office! Just reading." Vector paused. "He says hi."

"Tell him I say hi back!"

"Charmy says hi," The croc paused again. "No, you don't have to say anything else back."

Inco came up, showing them the tickets he got for the bus.

"Oh! We gotta go Vector. We're gonna head to the hotel!"

"Well alright, Charmy. Be careful over there, you two. Crime is a disease that has no vaccine."

"Save that for your tape recorder, Vector. It was good."

"Really? Huh! Thanks, Espio!"

"I'll call again later, Vector! Bye!"

"Bye Vector."

"Bye guys!" Another pause. "No, Mighty, you don't have to say bye too—"

The call ended. Espio and Charmy took one ticket from Inco, each.

"I trust Vector is doing well?"

"He's good. I'm sure he's enjoying a little break."

"Oooh, bus tickets…" The bee was enamored by the piece of paper. "Pretty…"

"It's just a bus ticket, Charmy."

"Yeah, but it's a Nipponese bus ticket! It's different because it's in a language I don't understand!"

Espio chuckled, shaking his head. The three walked out of the airport, carrying their luggage along with them, with Charmy continuing to walk in front.

As they walked out, the ninja still felt as if he had to look over his shoulder… He took a deep breath, shaking off the paranoid feeling. He was fine, they were going to have a good time. Espio and Inco were going to have a fun time in Nippon with Charmy.

Walking over to the bus that was parked down the departures area- a bus with cute drawings of dogs on the side of it- they didn't notice a figure standing next to the airport's entrance, leaning against one of the pillars in front. He was obscured by a bucket hat, sunglasses and a disposable face mask, but it was easy to tell if you stared long enough that this was a Mobian frog from his green skin.

Looking up from the ground, the mystery Mobian watched the three walk away from him.

"Flying Frog to Lightning Lynx," The frog said into a small walkie talkie on a lanyard around his neck. "Your intel was correct. He's here, with his father, and… Some kind of hyperactive bee child."

"Understood," A deep voice replied. "I will follow and report their place of stay. We will pursue tomorrow."

The inside of the bus only had two seats on either side, so Inco let both Charmy and Espio sit down while he stood beside them, hanging onto the pole in the center of the carriage. The bee sat at the window, wanting to watch as they drove away from the international airport and into Tokei.

It was an hour's drive to get to the city. The trees and hills they drove through were all pretty, though nothing Espio hadn't seen before. He was mostly on his phone, and Charmy was mainly on that game console given to him.

It was when they started slowing down, both from speed change and traffic, that Espio knew they were finally in the metropolis. He looked up, glancing out of the window to take it all in again.

The city was pretty. It was still bright out, but lights were still flashing from some windows of businesses they passed by. Espio looked over the buildings they passed, recalling Station Square.

Even if some people believed the country to be a utopia, at its core it was just the same as any other. Besides some choices of architecture design, the buildings were just as tall and drab as they were back in the UF. Espio had chosen Station Square because it reminded him of Tokei, actually.

He soon found that Charmy was staring out of the window as well, game forgotten. After a moment, Espio returned to his phone, letting the bee experience it for the first time. He heard a rumbling as the city's bullet train ripped above them on a suspended part of the track over the street.

Charmy gasped. "Espio, look!"

Broken from his phone again, Espio leaned forwards, looking over Charmy's shoulder at what the teenager was excitedly staring at outside of the bus window.

On a large LED screen making up a show window on a store building, the video of an anthropomorphic cat was playing. She had toasty brown fur, but also black hair in two long ponytails, wearing a red dress and sporting white wings. She was twirling a leek around and singing, her voice slightly robotic.

"I'm thinking Neko, Neko, hoo-hee-hoo, I'm thinking—"

"Hanīboisu Neko!" Charmy said happily.

"Honey-voiced cat?"

"Yeah! Or just Honey Cat." Charmy said, looking back at Espio. "She's a vocaloid, a virtual idol! People use her voicebank to make music where she sings! I've listened to a lot of her songs! And the memes where they make her say funny stuff too."

"I can tell with how excited you are."

"Yeah! She also made StackWorld!"

"That game you play on Vector's computer?"

"Yeah!"

As if on cue, the music video that Honey Cat was performing switched over to her singing while playing on said StackWorld game, fighting with a diamond sword against the game's boss known as the "Render Dragon".

Slowly, the bus lurched forwards. Charmy's head turned to watch the video as long as he could before they drove away from it.

The teenager turned to speak to Espio directly. "Are we gonna go see some shops tomorrow?"

"We're going to a mall."

"Cool! Can I buy stuff there?"

"You can buy whatever you'd like there, Charmy," said Inco, still standing over them. "You can use my credit card since I won't be there with you."

"You won't? Why?"

"Admittedly, I set up this trip to coincide with a business meeting I have with my publisher tomorrow. It's only for today, and after we're done I'll be with you on all the other days of this fun trip!"

Charmy nodded. He looked at Espio again, who was still looking through his phone.

The bee couldn't help but snoop, and saw that the ninja was looking up news reports about the city's local mountain, Mount Stormtop. From the looks of it, there wasn't anything big that happened around the mountain for the last several years. At most, the mountain was declared a protected piece of land, so tourists were discouraged from visiting.

Mount Stormtop was a mountain whose name Charmy had heard spoken by Inco before. On nights in Alliana's home, when she and Inco believed the bee was sleeping, he could hear them chat within Alliana's bedroom.

It was quiet, but some words could be made out: the most interesting one was the name of that mountain. Why was it so special? Charmy had the vibe he shouldn't ask about it, but he wanted to know. If it was in Tokei, and Inco knew about it, it certainly had something to do with Espio's mysterious past… And most likely part of the reason why the ninja didn't want to return.

The bee soon turned back around to look at the sights as they traveled further into the city.

It had nearly been ninety minutes until they reached their stop. The bus slowed down, and Inco patted his son's shoulder to silently tell him that they needed to get off. Espio patted Charmy, in turn, and they all got up as soon as the vehicle stopped.

"Doumo arigatou gozaimasu!" A female voice said through the speakers.

Collecting their bags again, the three got off with a bunch of other people. They managed to get off right in front of their hotel- there was a bus stop there for tourists specifically.

With people shuffling past, the trio stopped right next to the bus. Inco started to scroll through his phone.

"Let me get the registration up for when we walk in. One moment…"

The bus pulled off. With Charmy helping Inco get to the registration in his email, Espio was left to himself. He looked around again, seeing the sidewalks were full of people.

Espio looked across the street… and saw him there.

It was a lynx, most likely a few inches taller than Espio now. His fur was deep brown, with pitch black fur that covered his ears entirely. There was also a puft of black fur between his ears, and black fur that made up thick "eyebrows" on his face. Electric blue eyes crossed the road and pierced Espio's soul as the two of them made eye contact.

The lynx wasn't doing anything, just standing there and watching the ninja, hands in the pockets of his navy blue jacket. Espio's face slowly dropped, shoulders slowly lowering.

"Arashi…?"

"I got the email! Let's go in!"

Espio looked back at his father for a second, before looking back across the street. The lynx was gone.

After a second, Espio picked up his bags, deciding to ignore it for now and focus on relaxing. He could do some investigating when he wasn't tired- right now it was time to catch up on sleep from all that jet lag.

---

They were lucky to go to the mall on a weekday, because the mall would've been crowded on a weekend.

Charmy was honestly amazed at how many stores had signs with English wording on them. A few were purely Nipponese, but the majority were all things he could understand. He got to see such interesting places like "Cool Store," or "Mega Rico" in the mall.

Maybe some of the names didn't make sense in English, but strange translations didn't stop people in the UF from using jumbled up words in Nipponese for things like tattoos.

They entered into the mall from the second floor. This mall specifically had three floors- they would most likely visit the other levels of the building later on. They had all day to hang around, after all; though Espio was interested in bringing Charmy to the local cuisine he used to have.

"They're supposed to have a big concert for her in the UF sometime soon, it's called Honey Expo. I really wanna go, but since I'm still like, fourteen, I'm pretty sure you or Vector should go with me. I'd ask Miss Mom or Inco but I feel embarrassed letting parental figures know about something silly that I'm interested in."

The bee had been chattering about his favorite vocaloid periodically since they woke up that morning. Now that the cat was out of the bag (pun intended) Charmy was full of all kinds of information that he told Espio while they were out and about that day.

It was clear that Espio didn't mind. In fact, he seemed more interested in the subject than Vector was; though admittedly Vector was more frazzled by the influx of information rather than feeling a sense of annoyance or second-hand embarrassment that the bee liked something unorthodox like a Nipponese virtual idol.

"I'm sure it'll be fun, but they don't use holograms for her anymore. We'll just be staring at Honey on a giant TV screen, which is kinda lame but whatever," continued Charmy, as he and Espio walked further into the mall. "There are other idols but nobody is bigger than Honey Cat. Maybe it makes me a normie to like her the most but I am a normie, and I am free."

"You want to look at souvenir mugs to bring back home?"

Charmy paused at the change of subject, and slowly put his hands in his pockets. "Oh… Uh, that would be cool. Maybe Vector would like a mug better."

"He would, he would." Espio nodded. "But I mean a mug with Honiboisu Neko on it. For you, specifically."

"Oh!" marveled the bee. "I'd rather get a collector's glass with her on it."

"Understood. I'll keep an eye out."

"…Thank you, Espio."

"Mmh."

Espio was distant from being back home, Charmy knew that. But the bee couldn't help but feel abashed from how much he had been clambering on about Honey Cat since they left the hotel. The chameleon was probably listening, but that didn't mean that Espio was interested in the subject. The teen kept his hands in his puffy vest's pockets, walking along and looking at the stores.

"I thought you were telling me about the other virtual idols."

Charmy shrugged. "I… Don't think you'd be interested. It's a lot. I've talked a lot already."

"You think I don't like hearing you talk about something you like?" Espio raised an eyebrow to question him. "You don't have to be embarrassed."

"I know. It's just… A weird thing I'm into."

"It's not weird."

"Not a lotta fourteen year olds are into virtual idols, Espio."

"You work with a crocodile obsessed with noir films to the point of narrating every one of his cases into a tape recorder. Most people off the bat believe I'm a Mobian from the UF, whose ninjutsu skills is because I'm one of those… What are they called? A weeb?"

"Please never say that word again."

"My point stands," replied Espio. "Your interests are your own. Don't… Let emotion control you, Charmy. You'll live in regret that you let your feelings constrict you, I promise. Besides, you never know when what you're interested in might come in handy."

"Handy how?"

"You're a detective. Detectives relate and connect to people. What's an easier way to connect to someone than sharing an interest as 'weird'," the chameleon used finger quotes. "As liking vocaloids?"

"…that's fair."

"Plus, you never know when it'll come in handy in other ways. Just like what you like, Charmy."

The teenager nodded, slowly pulling his hands out of his pockets again to walk alongside the ninja.

Charmy and Espio walked past a bunch of stores, a few sales kiosks and most surreal of them all, a Meh Burger. The bee knew it was a worldwide chain restaurant, but it was so otherworldly (yet cool) seeing it in another language. It also made Charmy a little jealous- they get a teriyaki burger but not the UF?

It became apparent, as they walked through the mall, that they weren't going to buy anything yet. It was more that they were scoping out the mall for a time to visit later in the week, probably when Inco wasn't busy and could join them.

They discussed things they would buy. Only halfway through the mall's second floor so far, there didn't seem to be any specific shop in what they've seen so far that sells any kind of Honey Cat products. Maybe somewhere across the other levels of the mall had a shop with something Charmy could bring home.

It was decided what they would purchase for people when they came back to the mall. For Vector, they did decide on a mug: most likely a classic "I 3 Tokei" one or a mug with the Tokei Metro map on it. For Mighty, they found a nice book on Nippon history that they knew the armadillo would love to read in his free time. For Heavy and Bomb, they got a gift for them to share: a card game they could play together. It was made for couples, but those robots were pretty close to a couple… right?

Inco could find something extravagant for Alliana, though Charmy wanted to buy his adopted mother a bracelet regardless. Charmy also requested to buy something for his similarly aged friends, Tails and Cream- in particular, more game controllers. Apparently that raccoon-pirate-girl Marine was invited to group hangouts between the three (though without Charmy's approval, but… whatever) so they needed to get more controllers for all four of them. Cream requested an orange colored one anyways, so he would get an extra.

During their strolling and scouting, Charmy could notice Espio continue to feel… distant. He was still friendly, still fairly stoic as usual, but the bee could detect that the vibes were off. Something was different about the chameleon, he seemed tense. Charmy would know, too- Espio had taught the bee some of the ninjutsu art of communicating subconsciously.

In the back of his mind, Charmy heard Vector's voice telling him to interrogate and investigate. Then again, there was Espio's voice in the back of his head also telling him to let the person of interest reveal his feelings in time.

There was also a fairly louder voice, Alliana's voice, telling Charmy that Espio should relax.

They reached another kiosk in the mall, this time a small area closed off by little railings that had a bunch of black leather chairs in it.

"The sign says…" Espio leaned down to read the hanging sign on the barrier.

"It's a massage chair."

"…you read that from the sign?"

"I've been in enough malls to know a massage chair when I see one, Espio. You wanna get on?"

"Me?"

"Yeah! You've been kinda out of it ever since you came back. Back to Tokei, I mean," said Charmy, walking around towards the entrance of the chair corral. "You could use some relaxing massages. It'll help you keep calm when you're doing ninja stuff."

"Ninjas are supposed to stay rigid, not relaxed. But…" The chameleon hummed. "I don't know. It does sound nice… Maybe not in a massage chair though."

"Massaged by a person, then."

"Absolutely not."

"Alright," sighed Charmy. "I guess you'll have to relax yourself the only way you can: by sharing the extensive details of your interpersonal torment and obscured past with me, Vector and everyone else in Chaotix. Probably over brunch."

"…I'll take the chair."

The bee grinned. Bingo. He knew that would work.

Trepidatiously, the chameleon got into the large massage chair. It had spaces specifically for his legs and arms to slide into. Espio looked fairly uncomfortable in the machine, most likely because he wasn't used to being in something like this.

There was a screen right in front of where Espio's right arm slid into where he could control the massage functions. Charmy buzzed over and stood to Espio's right, looking at the screen as well.

"Hm… You can choose which areas can be massaged…"

"Full body!"

"I don't know if my father…"

"Your dad's loaded, it's fine. Full body!"

Charmy, with Inco's card, swiped it on the screen and pressed the button for full body massage; luckily his love for vocaloids included a song that featured the word for "full body" in the title, so he could hit it before the chameleon could do anything.

The spaces around Espio's arms and legs tightened, as if trapping him there, making the ninja's eyes uncharacteristically widen from the feeling. His body visibly shook as he was massaged all over by the chair- his legs, his arms, his back, his neck, his shoulders.

"Uhh-h-h-h…" He vocalized as the chair shook him.

Charmy stepped back and watched the chair recline backwards, laying Espio back and raising his legs. He could see on the screen that the massage would be finished in ten minutes. That was probably just as long as the chameleon would be willing to take. He saw Espio's eyes close as he was reclined and massaged, going silent.

With the chameleon so relaxed he was practically sleeping, Charmy was left to his own devices. However, he found himself hearing something familiar… A song he recognized. He turned his head, catching a feline Mobian with black ears walk over to a small corridor between shops that had some vending machines in it. Led by the sound, the teenager left his guardian to investigate.

Walking further and further away from Espio, the bee was lured in with the music of Ievan Polkka sung by his favorite vocaloid, playing softly from a little vending machine where someone would play a game to win a prize. Charmy stood before the machine, face illuminated by the brightness of the inside, looking over what he could win.

One of the prizes that could be won on the little game was a keychain. It wasn't just any keychain, however… It was one that had a chibi-fied version of Honey Cat on it. Charmy didn't have any keys (yet… that would change when he finds a way to trick Vector into buying him a car) but he didn't care. His eyes widened when he saw the cute charm.

The teen gasped lightly, pressing against the glass. "Hanīboisu Neko keychain, you will be mine…"

Before he used Inco's card on it, though, Charmy made sure to check he wasn't interrupting anyone else- particularly if the other Mobian right beside the machine was intending on using it.

The Mobian was a lynx, one that the bee recalled seeing in a few of the same stores they went into before. Charmy didn't want to make any assumptions, but this lynx seemed to present as female. She had on a skirt and chunky heel boots, as well as a striped shirt under a very fluffy and light blue fur shrug. Beside her, also leaning against the wall, was a guitar case.

Leaning back against the nearby column, she was playing on a handheld game console like the one Charmy had on the plane. He wasn't sure if she was looking at that, though, as she had on heart-shaped sunglasses that were very deeply tinted red.

"Are you using this?" Charmy pointed at the vending machine.

The brown-and-black lynx blew a bubble of gum and popped it before answering, still chewing. "Nope."

"Okay cool!"

Swiping Inco's card again, Charmy got to work on the game machine. His hand-eye coordination had gotten much better than it was years ago… He was certain that this keychain would be in his clutches in no time.

Beside him, a mall worker rolled up a wide trash container, on the opposite side of Charmy from the lynx. The approaching item in his peripherals caused Charmy to press incorrectly, making him select the empty spot right before his beloved keychain.

"Dang it."

Having selected three tries, now down one, Charmy rubbed his hands together before he tapped the button to start his second time, now completely focused.

With the bee distracted, he was unable to notice that he was being watched. From afar, across the opening of the floor peering down to the level below, was a hawk that stared at Charmy while leaning on the railings. His feathers were a deep teal, wearing a dark red headband to keep the feathers on his head away from his face.

Watching his prey like his species would, this Predator Hawk slowly stepped away to stalk towards the teenage bee, keeping his eyes on Charmy.

Another slap to the machine's button resulted in another failure on Charmy's part, selecting the empty spot just as he did before. The bee frowned deeply as he made the same mistake he just made, huffing sharply.

Passing Espio in the relaxation chair, the ninja neglected to spot the Predator Hawk as his eyes were closed from the massaging. It didn't matter anyway, the bird was only directed towards one thing: this teenage bee that he was instructed to get information out of.

Charmy was focused closely on the machine game. He didn't even sense that someone was coming after him. As he watched the light go around the edges of the machine, he slowly put his fingers on the button to press it in time.

Before he could time his button press properly, there was the sound of a "whoa!" behind him. Charmy turned in time to see some teal hawk get flung into the trash bin right beside the bee, falling head-first as if he dove into it. Instinctively, the teen pressed the button.

"WINNER!"

He won! Charmy won the keychain! The chibi Honey Cat dropped down into the prize slot.

After checking to make sure he got the right prize, he looked the opposite way from the disoriented hawk in the trash. The lynx beside the machine was standing now, her foot stepping back like it was stuck out in front of her. If Charmy didn't know any better, he'd say that the hawk was sprinting in his direction but was purposefully tripped by this lady lynx.

The lynx popped another bubble, looking at Charmy as she put her game console away.

"You know…" She said, picking up her guitar case. "People should really pay attention to their surroundings."

With that, she turned and walked away, free hand in one of her shrug's pockets. Charmy slowly took the Honey Cat keychain out of the machine, his eyebrows furrowed, watching the lynx disappear into a crowd of people.

After a moment of thought, Charmy walked away to return to Espio. As he did, the Predator Hawk slowly tried pulling himself out of the trash, which muffled the walkie talkie around his neck as someone began to talk through it.

"Sergeant Simian to Predator Hawk, come in. Did you get the info from the bee?" There was a pause. "Hello? Hello?! Predator Hawk, come in!"

The hawk groaned as he tried to pick himself up, dazed.

Charmy stuffed the keychain in his pocket as he returned to Espio. There were only a few minutes left, which he waited out, not knowing about the still struggling hawk in the trash bin. Once the time was up, the chair sat back up, and Espio opened his eyes again.

Slowly, the chameleon stood, a chime playing from the little control screen.

"So…" chirped Charmy. "How was it?"

"That was… Something. I certainly feel a little more relaxed. I think."

"You might not be used to the feeling so you don't know."

"That could very much be true." Espio rubbed his lower back. "…I think we should return to the hotel for a while so I could sleep this off."

"Awww, alright. We can look through the rest of the shops later, I guess."

They started to walk together to leave the mall, just as the Predator Hawk started to climb out of the trash bin, still disoriented.

"We can go through the rest of the mall tomorrow, when my father is back. I think I just need to rest for a minute or two."

"I'm gonna need to rest too after walking all the way back. The walk here was long enough."

"Actually," disclosed Espio. "I was thinking we could take the metro."

"The metro... Like a bullet train?" The bee lit up again. "Those look so cool!"

"There's a train stop right outside the mall, underground. We'll head right to it."

"Awesome!"

Though they had to head down to the ground level, they eventually left the mall; Charmy also saw that lynx from earlier leaving too, hailing a cab on the sidewalk to downtown Tokei. Almost like she sensed Charmy watching, she glanced over her shoulder at the bee before getting into the ride she called for, shoving in her guitar case first.

That was weird. Anyway, bullet train!

Espio led to Charmy to the entrance to the metro station, below the mall. Apparently in some other countries it was called the Underground; Charmy thought monetarily about how dumb of a name that was for a location.

Using Inco's card again, Espio bought them two tickets to Gran Class. The chameleon explained to his younger companion, while they walked through the ticket scanning area, that this was the top tier class of the entire train. That only made the bee more excited.

With a standard class ticket, the pursuing Predator Hawk passed in. He saw Espio and Charmy walking further into the train station, but walked the opposite direction to the high-class lounge that was in the front area of the station.

Though nobody was paying attention to them, Predator Hawk sat down at a table to join a pair made up of a large brown ape and a frog- the same frog from the airport, though now without the disposable mask and sunglasses anymore.

Getting further away from them, Espio and Charmy passed by small stores that were in the station. The pair would most likely eat a full meal once they get back to the hotel, since the teen didn't want to pass up using room service.

On the platform, Charmy watched with amazement as the bullet train came up, holding the goggles and beanie on his head in place to keep from blowing away. Espio was smiling when he saw Charmy amazed, feeling a bit better about being back.

They got in just as the terrible trio from the lounge walked into the platform, spotting them climbing into the Gran Class car.

With rows of three chairs- two on one side, one on the other- Charmy and Espio sat beside each other, with the bee sitting right next to the window. These chairs were really, really comfy, and they gave the person sitting so much room. It reminded Charmy of the private jet ride to Nippon they had just the day before.

On a side facing away from the platform, Charmy peered out the window and looked at the platform at the other side. Nothing of interest was there, but it was good to look somewhere.

They were greeted and thanked for their ride by an attendant at the front, who came down the rows to hand out special bags to each rider. Pulling out the table from the side, Charmy set his goodie bag on the surface and pulled the stuff out from inside: it was a menu for the food, a small water bottle, and a smaller bag of a snack food.

"Oooh, salami." Charmy looked over the bag. "This goes with drinks, right? Can I have sake?"

"In seven years."

"Technically it should be only six…"

"We don't live in Nippon, Charmy." Espio groaned a bit as he reclined his seat, sighing. "Alliana would snap my spine over her knee if I let you drink before you were twenty-one."

"Aww, man…"

Ripping open the bag, Charmy settled on eating the small logs of salami by itself, knowing Espio wasn't intending on getting a drink for himself either.

There was a small shove off as the bullet train started moving, but besides that, Charmy didn't feel anything else but smooth riding. Still chewing on the salami, he watched as the train sped through the underground tunnels.

The train eventually hit an incline, moving upwards until it broke from below the surface. The bee winced a little as light from the outside finally flooded into the train car, but his gaze returned to the view as they were shown the suburbs of Tokei, and Mount Stormtop in the distance.

That mountain. Charmy recalled how Espio was looking at it earlier… He could sense despair off of the chameleon when he did. What was the deal with it? Why was it so important?

Thoughts and wonder traveled through the bee's mind, before he felt a more alerting feeling in his body.

"…Espio?"

"Hm?"

"Where's the bathroom?"

"…Head towards the back. There's a section for luggage where you'll see the bathroom."

As he spoke, Espio put his chair back to its previous position, knowing that he had to do so in order to let the bee get into the aisle. Charmy nodded, getting up and leaving his chair to travel to the back of the train car. As he did, he thought he saw something flashing green in the corner of one of the windows that looked out of place- though a bit confused, Charmy continued.

He slid open the door to the back compartment, finding something very spacious. The oversized baggage area was right beside the door to the bathroom, which was closed.

Charmy thought he saw another green thing in the corner of the window to the door leading to the outside, pausing for a second before reassuring himself that it was just a tree. Nothing could be outside the bullet train, it was going nearly two hundred miles an hour.

Having to fiddle with the bathroom door due to a faulty lock that apparently could be worked from the outside, Charmy eventually got the bathroom door open. The bathroom was small, almost crammed, but it worked for the small bee.

Wiping his hands off, Charmy fiddled with the door and slid it back open, only to see someone standing there in front of the door.

It was a very large ape. A gorilla, most likely, with brown fur. Strangely, this guy was wearing boots, green cargo pants, and a green tactical chest rig. There was a worn out green military helmet on his head.

He was staring directly at Charmy, who paused at the primate in his way.

"…excuse me."

The teenager slipped past the ape, but before he could move past, Charmy's arm was grabbed. The primate had a tight grip on the bee's elbow, keeping him firmly in place.

Charmy's antennae lifted in fear and danger. He looked back at the ape, who stared back at him.

"You're gonna stay here, pipsqueak." The ape boomed. "Don't worry… You're just bait."

Back in his seat, Espio's eyes opened after he rested them for a moment. Something was off. Slowly, he got up to his feet and looked to the back, where his teenage companion went to. Abandoning his seat as well, the chameleon quickly walked down the aisle to get into the back compartment next.

He opened the door only a few moments after the ape's words to the bee.

"Charmy!"

"Espio!"

On instinct, Espio reached into his jacket and pulled out a kunai, holding it inverted as if he was going to stab someone, fist close to his own chest. Though it was a nightmare to get through TSA, Espio couldn't resist from bringing some weaponry just in case. Good thing he did.

To his surprise though, the ape shoved Charmy towards him. Espio put the kunai down momentarily to grab the stumbling bee with his free hand in order to keep him upright. When Charmy was steady again, Espio shuffled the bee partially behind him.

"I see you're not a man to harm children."

"I'm a teen!"

"Though that may be the case," continued Espio, ignoring Charmy. "You did this for a reason. What do you want, foe?"

"That's sergeant to you." The ape sneered, pointing to the pair, his finger in their face. "Sergeant Simian."

"What do you want then, sergeant?"

"You'll see." The ape took out a walkie talkie from his chest rig, speaking into it. "Flying Frog and Predator Hawk… Come on in."

Beside them, the window on the door to the outside was slapped with a slimy green hand. The hand pulled open the door, and a frog flipped down and into the compartment, sticking his hand back into the door and slamming it closed. The most notable thing about him, besides the burlap pants, was the long white scarf around his neck.

The door to the other cars behind the primate opened up, and the teal hawk from the mall came in, walking to stand beside the large ape. The frog stood on the other side to flank the massive militaristic monkey.

"One more time… Who are you people and what do you want?" Espio asked, kunai still in his hand.

"We kinda already know their names, Espio."

"And we know yours." Flying Frog retorted.

"Espio… Protege of Uma Arachnis." Predator Hawk added with a scowl.

Uma Arachnis… Charmy had heard that name before, somewhere. But apparently Espio trained under her. This trip was just getting better and better by the moment, with all the info on the chameleon that Charmy was finally getting.

It was the exact opposite for Espio, though. The name of his ex-teacher made the chameleon have to take a breath to center himself from anger and shame. He readjusted his grip on his kunai, keeping steady and steeled.

"What is this about?" He asked.

"You know where she is. You know how to get into Mount Stormtop. You know where the Web of Fate is."

"The Web of Fate… You can't be serious," exasperated Espio. "It's just an urban legend."

"That's what she trained you to say, isn't it?" Sergeant Simian pointed a finger out, right in the faces of the pair again, making Charmy lean back a little. "And to keep the secret guarded with your life. But I'm sure someone else knows… Your little friend, perhaps?"

"Don't even think about touching him."

"Why? It wouldn't be the first friend you let down." Flying Frog hissed.

Charmy took note of the three that were in front of him, as did Espio. The Sergeant, whether that was a real title of his or just a name he chose, was aptly presenting himself as the leader of the bunch. He was in charge, and from the sounds of it, he was trying to get what he wanted by any means necessary- even if that meant flaunting the strength he clearly had.

The Predator Hawk had been following them for a while, if the appearance at the mall was any indication. He was being quiet… But not an Espio quiet. It was like he was constantly pondering to himself, studying each situation like it were new and interesting to him. His defensive demeanor gave Charmy the idea that Predator Hawk was more like a snake, ready to strike at any moment, regardless of the moment calling for it.

Then, the frog. The way he was chiming in matter-of-factly and glowering gave the bee the vibe that this guy was a prime instigator. It's only been a few minutes since Charmy met the frog, but the teen already hated this guy. Unknown to the teenager, Espio found himself reminded of the many times Charmy would interject in interrogation.

Simian, Hawk and Frog… Like Vector, Mighty and Charmy. These guys were reflections of the Chaotix in the weirdest possible way. But where was their Espio?

"Tell us where the Web of Fate is!" Predator Hawk hissed. Only a second or two had passed since the frog's biting statement. "We know where you're staying. We know where your father is at right now. We know where you all live back in the UF. Tell us or we'll make your life a living hell."

"Stop."

"I am tired of waiting, Simian. We're finding this artifact no matter what we must do to these people."

"We can run these two through with the old guy's samurai sword." Chimed the frog in a suggestion.

Ever ignoring the frog, Simian continued. "No. I mean stop, because Lightning Lynx is on his way."

It was clear that the Predator Hawk was going off script for something that was planned. Sneering again, Predator Hawk slithered back to stand behind the sergeant partially.

The door that the hawk came through opened again. The tiresome threesome stepped to the side in order to reveal their boss, who walked in slowly with his hands in his pockets.

It was a lynx. Brown and black, with a deep blue jacket. Charmy could see right off the bat that this guy dressed similarly to Espio- though the lynx appeared to have an affinity for the color navy. Like the others, the lynx had a small walkie hanging around his neck.

The teen noticed a shift in demeanor from Espio. The ninja's hand loosened from the kunai, and his arm even dropped. He shifted to stand up straight, his face dropping. Charmy put his hand on Espio's sleeve.

"Arashi…"

Now identified by Espio, the lynx took his hands out from his pockets, though had nothing in his hands. Arashi stared at the chameleon with a calm, emotionless face. Charmy tried to get a reading on this guy's vibe, but he couldn't. The only person Charmy had trouble getting vibes of at times was Espio.

If this guy was their Espio… Was he another ninja?

"Hello, old friend," bellowed Arashi, staring directly at the chameleon. "It's been a while."

"Espio," Charmy tugged his guardian's arm. "Who is this guy?"

"You didn't tell your new friends about me? I'm disappointed."

"You're going to tell us where the Web of Fate is," Sergeant Simian said, putting his finger in their face again. "Right now."

"Ugh, get your finger out of my face!"

Charmy slapped the hand from his face- however, when he did, the ape grabbed his arm. Sergeant Simian shoved the bee by his shoulder into the nearby wall. Charmy crashed into it, letting out a yell of pain as he crumpled to the floor. Why did he ever stop wearing that helmet?

The slam and the yell was enough to snap Espio out of it. The chameleon turned quickly to see his companion on the floor, then snapped his head to stare at the ape, eyes still wide but in a more crazed state.

"Wh—"

Before the sergeant could taunt Espio, a roped kunai was tossed from Espio's sleeve towards his head. Simian leaned away to dodge it, looking back at the blade sunken into the ceiling. When he turned back around to Espio, all he saw was the chameleon's knee.

Using the new anchor point, the ninja pulled himself off the ground and launched his knee into the ape's face, hard enough to knock the sergeant backwards. He fell to his back, his helmet bouncing off his head and across the ground to Arashi's feet. The lynx kicked it back to the groaning primate.

Lightning Lynx clicked his tongue disapprovingly, slowly shaking his head. "I told you not to harm them unless absolutely necessary, Simian. What's next is on you."

"Arashi—!"

The chameleon was decked in the face by Predator Hawk, as he was clearly ready to fight at any moment. Espio grabbed the hawk by his wrist and the bicep, throwing him against the wall. He still looked fairly crazed, but almost… Desperate. At least that was the vibe Charmy got from him.

While he was getting up, when Charmy noticed Flying Frog about to pounce, the teenager quickly swept the legs out from under the amphibian, sending him down to the floor.

"Ugh!" Frog grunted as he hit the ground. "Buzz off you crumb grinder! You know what? I'll throw you out of the side of this high-speed train myself!"

Charmy's wings fluttered as Flying Frog flipped to his hands and feet, hopping upwards to try and grab the teenager from the air. When Charmy dove out of the way, Frog hopped from one surface to the ceiling, and shot out his tongue towards the bee while inverted.

Flying away, Charmy was stopped in midair by the tongue. When he looked back, the frog leapt from the ceiling, following his tongue to the teenager and colliding with him. The pair flipped through the air, hitting one of the luggage compartments and both falling to the floor again, a few suitcases falling out and on top of them.

Though Espio was able to get weaponry past the TSA, Charmy didn't think he could do that- he left his nunchucks at home. Because of that, he didn't really have any weaponry on him that could hurt this guy…

Or did he?

From the ground, Flying Frog suddenly yelled in pain and jumped up as he felt something stab him in the side. He bounced across the walls to try and get away.

Charmy, stinger ready to pierce the frog again, burst through the suitcases. "Get back here!"

Espio followed Charmy as the bee flew through the air, but this path allowed his gaze to settle on Arashi, who was standing by the door to the next car. The pair stared at one another in silence for a moment- Espio unsure what to say and Arashi not wanting to say anything.

From the ground, Simian used his opposable feet to grab Espio's leg and yank it from under him, sending the chameleon crashing to the floor. The chameleon looked back up in time to see Arashi open the car door and leave the compartment, headed back into the train.

"Arashi!" Espio said his name, yet again, three times in a row now- maybe he'll win something for his persistence.

He won a kick to the side by Predator Hawk.

On his back, Espio could only cover his face with his arms as Simian got up and started kicking at him as well. The chameleon looked up past his fingers to see Arashi glance inside for a moment before walking away from the car door.

Sticking his arm upwards, Espio shot a roped kunai into the ceiling. Pulling himself into the air, the chameleon spun around before simultaneously punching and kicking the hawk and ape at once, forcing both of them to stumble back.

Landing in a kneel, the chameleon suddenly disappeared, turning invisible.

Flying Frog cried out in pain as Charmy stung him in the side, one of nearly half a dozen jabs done by the bee. He never used his stinger this much before… Desperate times and whatnot.

Wildly slapping at the bee, the frog quickly retreated and stuck to the back of Sergeant Simian. The large ape turned around, his attention now focused on the teen.

"The ninja's gone. Grab the kid and force him out of hiding!"

"Uh oh."

Predator Hawk lunged for the bee, but Charmy was fast enough to fly out of the way. Flying Frog, crawling over the shoulder of Simian, fired off his tongue towards the bee again.

Though it stuck to Charmy's chest, this time he was a bit more familiar with the frog's tongue. He grabbed it with both hands, yanking the Flying Frog clear off of the ape and swinging the amphibian into Predator Hawk nearby, forcing both of them to tumble to the floor.

Charmy turned in time to duck under a swipe from Sergeant Simian, clearly intending on grabbing the teenager and doing who-knows-what kind of harmful things to him. Twisting around, the bee stung Simian in the midsection, making the ape roar out in pain.

Raising upwards, Charmy grabbed Simian's helmet and stuffed it onto his face, forcing him back and away from the flying bee. He had a few moments while the three were dazed.

He had to find a way to subdue these guys all at once. Charmy had a general idea of where Espio was right now, mostly by the small puffs of dust that would kick up on the floor. The chameleon hadn't abandoned Charmy, but was waiting for a moment to strike- the bee wanted to set something up for him to execute.

There were very little spaces here where these three could be trapped.

Wait… Little space!

Charmy flew towards the train car's door just as the three regained themselves. Flying around, he goaded each of the attackers into gathering up in a small group, being sure to avoid the spots where he figured Espio was.

The teenage bee slid to a stop in front of the bathroom door, opening it up again. When he turned around, he saw the three standing before him, all ready to strike at a moment's notice.

"Wrong door, pipsqueak."

"Was it really?"

Before any of the terrible trio could question the question, a pair of feet kicked into Simian's back. As the frog and hawk were in front of him, the shove caused the sergeant to shove the others forwards in a stumble.

Charmy flew upwards, spreading his legs out so the three stumbled into the bathroom under him. He dropped to the ground, slamming the bathroom door on the now trapped trio stuffed within the small washroom. The bee locked it from the outside quickly, before it started getting slammed on by those stuck inside of it.

"Alright! Let's— Espio?"

The train car door was opened, and Charmy saw Espio sprint out of it and get into the next car. The bee flew around to get close to the ninja before stopping his flight to get into a run, chasing after the ninja.

Arashi was only a train car or so ahead, moving at a nonchalant speed. He immediately noticed that he was being pursued- the lynx hustled forwards, even vaulting over a few seats to pass around a passenger who was taking up the aisle in one of the cars.

Looking out of the windows, they could see that the train was slowing down. A male voice over the intercom told the passengers of the train that they were reaching a stop.

Still far up ahead, Arashi ducked out of the bullet train as soon as it stopped. Espio and Charmy were held up by a few oblivious passengers getting up in their path. Charmy could see that the lynx was disappearing into the platform.

"MOVE!"

The shouting was uncharacteristic from Espio, and it rattled Charmy.

Getting out of the train, the bee's wings buzzed as he flew to keep up with his guardian.

With this metro station above ground, they didn't have to climb any stairs. Both Arashi and the detectives did stop to put their tickets through the gates, though minutes apart. Better to do that than be chased down by police, especially for Arashi, who was already being chased.

Getting out of the station, the detectives couldn't keep up with this Lightning Lynx. He was sprinting with the efficiency of an Olympic-level track star, threading the needle between many people to get to a crosswalk at the corner of a street.

The crosswalk had a lot of traffic stopped on it, as it was just about rush hour in the afternoon.

Without hesitation, the lynx jumped up onto the pole with the crosswalk light on it, grabbing onto the mast arm above and swinging from it. With a backflip for flair, Arashi landed onto the cabin of a box truck right next to the sidewalk.

Diving off, the lynx twisted and dove through the gap between a semi-truck's cargo and the truck itself, landing on his hands on top of a car right next to it. Pushing off of the roof of the car in a handspring, Arashi flipped around, coming down with one foot on the handlebars of a motorbike and hopping off of it to the sidewalk on the other side.

Everyone was amazed, and as a result weren't aware of the pursuing detectives. Having to shove and push through the crowd to get to the front of the crosswalk, Espio and Charmy stopped to watch Arashi land at the other side of the walk just as the traffic in front of them started moving, hindering them from following without possible penalty.

"Holy crap, the dude knows freakin' parkour." Charmy sputtered.

Arashi turned around, looking back at Espio and Charmy. He gave them- specifically Espio- a small salute, smiling lightly. He spoke, but the traffic was too immense to let them hear. The ninja detective could tell what was said though by reading his lips.

"This was fun, old friend. Let's do it again sometime."

After that, Arashi turned back around and disappeared into the crowd before any kind of law enforcement could show up to investigate his disruptive parkour-ing across the street.

Espio was left behind. He closed his eyes, leaning forwards on his knees and collecting himself, breathing heavily. He gripped his legs. Damn it… His intuition was right. He never should have came back.

A hand rested gently on his shoulder. "Espio?"

The chameleon opened his eyes again, staring at the ground.

"I'm alright, Charmy." He said wearily. "I'm just… Catching my breath."

"Okay… Well, the crosswalk's on green, so…"

Blinking a few times and paying attention to his peripherals again, Espio could see people were walking around both him and Charmy. Slowly, the ninja stood up again, the teenager's hand leaving his shoulder due to the difference in height… Though not too much anymore. The bee had been getting taller with age.

He turned to look down at Charmy again, the bee's face worried.

"Are you okay?"

"…I'm fine," sighed Espio. "I'm okay, Charmy."

"If you're sure. But, uh… Where are we?"

Putting his hand over one eye, Espio closed both eyes and tried to recall what that bullet train announcer said in terms of their location, but… No dice. The overwhelming emotions he felt being reunited with Arashi caused him to totally blank out at that time.

He looked around. Nearby, on one of the bus stops, he saw a poster put on the side. He recognized the name of the area: Yagyu, the northwestern district of Tokei. He also recognized what the poster was advertising, and sighed with partial relief.

"We're still in Tokei." Espio answered the teen. "C'mon."

"Where are we going?"

"To get some rest."

This district of Tokei was host to many farms, with the buildings getting smaller and smaller as they walked further away from the centermost district of the metropolis. The detectives, Espio leading, walked clear out of the urban world and clear to the spread out farmlands.

Mount Stormtop stood tall in the east, the mountain at the northernmost point of Tokei. Espio looked at it as they passed out of the blocking shroud of buildings, seeing the sun start to slowly set next to it.

Charmy watched the chameleon stare at the peak. Something told the teenager that he was going to get much, much more than he bargained for; Espio was bound to reveal what his mysterious origins were, but it all seemed to be at the cost of his own comfort. When it was like that, it wasn't nearly as fun.

Following the address on that poster, Espio led his teenage companion to a farmhouse in the northern part of the district. They had to walk down a dirt road in order to reach the home, which was set between fields of crops that were starting to grow again now that they were about to enter summer.

It was a Minshuku Guesthouse, at least that's what Espio told Charmy. Something similar to a bed and breakfast, they were renting out a home for the night on the spot to rest up at before they inevitably returned to the hotel. Espio paid extra, using Inco's card, for the same-day stay.

Calling Inco's phone went straight to voicemail. After three tries, Espio told his father to call him when he could. He sat down on the couch in the den of the guesthouse, sighing, rubbing his eyes.

Nearby, Charmy was on the phone with Vector, on speaker.

"…and then we escaped, but Lightning Lynx got away," explained Charmy, recapping the day's events. "Now we're here at this guesthouse staying for the night. We don't know where Inco is, but we hope he's alright."

"Aw man, that sucks," replied Vector. "I hope he gets back soon. He's a fighter though, he should be alright… Are you guys alright?"

"I'm okay. Espio's alright… Physically. He's just kinda… Tired."

"Tired? Espio!" The croc yelled. "You alright?"

"I'm fine, Vector." The chameleon rubbed his eyes. "I want to know where my father is."

"…Well, if my ma was unresponsive, I'd be scared too. I'm sorry this stuff is happening to you."

Seeing how fatigued the ninja was, Charmy decided to change the subject. "What are you doing, Vector?"

"I mean, I don't wanna seem like I'm bragging, but… I'm back on Angel Island."

"You are?"

"Why?" asked Espio, intrigued.

"Knuckles texted me on his new phone device… Thing, and mentioned that something was going wrong with the chao, so Mighty and I came aboard to help. Amy and her friends are here too, we're trying to figure out what's going on together."

"What do you think is wrong with them?"

"I dunno, but it seems to have something to do with Amy… Oh, her canary friend is telling me to stop talking, I think something is going down. Hey, call me later and tell me if Inco is okay, yeah? I'll recap what's going on too."

"Okay, Vector. Good luck with the case!"

"Bye, Vector."

"See ya, guys… Oh, Mighty says hi. And bye."

Click. The phone call ended. Espio sighed again, rubbing his eyes with one hand.

Charmy put his phone back in his jacket pocket, looking at his guardian. The shift in mood, and even moments of intense emotion unlike the ninja, all worried the bee. This Arashi was clearly someone that meant a lot to Espio, and the desperation shown definitely demonstrated how deep this connection was.

Arashi, Mount Stormtop… It was all connected, clearly. Was this Uma Arachnis the key?

The bee didn't get the chance to ask Espio any questions before there was a knock at the door. The two of them shared a glance- they definitely weren't expecting any guests.

Putting a hand up to signal the teen to stay back, the chameleon got to his feet, slipping a hand into his jacket to pull out a kunai. With dead silent footsteps, Espio crept to the door with the kunai still hidden under one flap of his jacket.

He opened the door, and was greeted with an older chameleon.

"Father," said Espio, putting the kunai away, sighing with relief.

"Espio."

The father and son shared a hug, Inco tightly gripping Espio. Charmy walked up as he knew it was safe now, hands in his pockets. Because of this, he was unprepared for Inco coming up and hugging the bee next, gripping him tight.

"I heard what happened." The older chameleon said, letting go of the teen and looking at his son.

"You did? How?"

"And how did you find us?"

A fourth voice came from the outside: "Both those questions have the same answer."

Another Mobian walked from the side of the entrance, coming into view in the doorway, stepping inside. In one hand was a guitar case, the other a grocery bag. Her heart-shaped sunglasses glimmered in the light of the guesthouse.

"Hey," said Charmy, pointing at her. "You're that lady from the mall!"

Espio's demeanor changed again, Charmy saw. The ninja was a little tired, but back to being on guard.

"Nariko."

The lady lynx, Nariko, took off her glasses and revealed the same shade of electric blue eyes that Arashi had. She blew a gum bubble, popping it between her teeth before talking.

"Hi, Espio. Long time no see."

After a beat of silence, she raised the grocery bag to show it to the group and spoke again.

"Takoyaki, anyone?"

---

The Kataoka Love Hotel has been abandoned for the last few years. Located on the countryside, just outside the primary metropolis of Tokei, it was closed due to lack of patrons. It appeared that a lot of couples didn't want to see the countryside for some privacy- that or they didn't want to take the drive out of the city.

Arashi scaled a light post, jumping onto the mast and flipping over to reach one of the building's balconies. Hopping off of the balcony's railing, he jumped up to the balcony of the third floor (top floor), kicking off the side and diving over the rail to roll in.

The double doors that led to the penthouse suite were busted, so as Arashi vaulted over the balcony, he rolled to his feet within the room. He stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets, keeping ready… Just in case.

In this suite, the roof had been left unattended for so long it caved in right on top of the heart-shaped bed. Half of this bed was now completely covered in debris and dust, the other half empty… Except for the frog sitting on the end of it, peeling open band-aids with cute characters on it and sticking them to the stinger marks he sustained from Charmy.

"I'm gonna make bee tartare, label it as delicacy, mail it to that croc friend of his, and put a photo of that little brat at the bottom of the tin so his friend only discovers what he chowed down on when the can is empty." Flying Frog growled. "He wants to sting me? I'll sting him again. And again. And again. With his own stinger, pulled off of his body."

Sitting on a worn down red leather chair was Sergeant Simian, who had his arms cross tightly, leaning back in his chair, his helmet in his lap. Across the room was Predator Hawk, leaning against the wall with a finger tapping his temple in thought, far back enough to watch everyone in the room like… well, a hawk.

"There you are." Simian growled. "Some fearless leader."

Arashi grunted unemotionally in reply, strolling over to the table of the suite, where he had his laptop and other appliances set up for their task at hand. He leaned on the table, clicking through the feeds he had.

He parted with his old friend and the teenage bee in the Yagyu district. It took him an hour or so to reach this hotel, and in that time, the cameras he had set up in downtown Tokei caught some very interesting stuff. Inco had returned to the hotel a while ago, back when his son(s?) had climbed aboard the bullet train, but he was visited soon after by a lady lynx with a guitar case and fuzzy shrug.

The lynx huffed. His sister visited Inco- of course she did. She never approved of this plan he had.

"Hey. HEY! I'm talking to you!"

Arashi sighed, rolling his eyes, before turning to look at the sergeant. "What?"

"What?! What is right! What happened to your plan, Lynx?"

"My plan was to discombobulate, incapacitate and interrogate; all in that order. Your collective inability to do the second part of that very simple checklist is not my problem, Simian."

"We could've done it if you stayed behind!" The frog on the bed sneered. "Instead you ditched us! I oughta gut you with one of these shards of glass, you know I would!"

The lynx was still deadpan, not even looking at him. "I don't believe you."

Flying Frog growled angrily at being dismissed and ignored, eyes wide.

"Are you gonna ditch us again when we're close to the Web of Fate?" Simian continued to pester his leader, getting up from his chair. "What is it? Scared you'll lose to Espio again? Are you a lynx, or a chicken?"

"Fighting him is auxiliary to finding the Web of Fate. You know this."

"I won't hesitate to crush him like a soda can if I have to."

"Last time you tried that, you got a knee to the face."

Sergeant Simian, face in a snarl from the reply, started marching towards Arashi to size him up.

"We could've handled them if you gave us any information on them. Your lack of cooperation when it comes to the chameleon makes it look like you're trying to protect him."

With the ape towering over him, as he was approached, Arashi pulled a kunai from his jacket pocket and held the point to Simian's neck when the large primate was close enough. Sergent Simian stopped what he was saying, glaring down at his leader.

"I'll do what is necessary."

"You didn't on the train. What's wrong, Arashi? Sad your best friend still hates you?"

"You're nothing but a overgrown man-child cosplaying as military. Why should I care what you think?"

At the reference to his added-on title of sergeant, Simian's face got angrier, and he huffed sharply.

"You forget who was with you when Frog sent the call that Nagito Espio was in Tokei," rumbled Hawk, eyes peering deep into Arashi from across the room. "The face you made when you heard that chameleon was back in the metropolis was the same face he made when he saw you on the train. You abandoned us because you didn't want to face him. You were afraid."

"Am I supposed to be embarrassed by the revelation that I'm still bewildered at the appearance of a man I once considered my closest friend?" The lynx countered. "If you're watching me so much, you should've picked something up that could've helped you best Espio and Charmy Hernandez in combat. Why is it that someone who boasts about learning all the martial arts of the world can't handle a semi-retired ninja and a teenager?"

Predator Hawk's eyes narrowed at Arashi in a glower, clearly displeased at the retort.

"The fact of the matter is, gentlemen," continued Arashi. "You all can't function without me and my plans."

"Please."

"Oh? So you did best Espio and Charmy Hernandez on the train, Simian?"

The large ape huffed in annoyance, still upset.

"Simian underestimates his opponents, Hawk is too obsessed with studying his opponents, and Frog is so short-tempered that he'll overwork himself to the point of forgoing his training entirely. I'm the only one here who's gotten the training from the very person you all have a grudge from, longer than any of you. I was considered to advance to further training."

"Which you didn't make," spat Flying Frog. "Because you lost. To Espio."

"Thanks for the recap; good to know you're paying attention. Regardless of my failure to secure the title that is rightfully mine, I still have the skill to defeat Espio in combat if the time comes."

"But are you willing to?"

"Espio will not stop until our plan is disrupted."

"Can you fight your little friend if he stands in our way?"

Arashi decided not to give an answer to Frog, Hawk and Simian's prodding at his morality. He looked at each of his teammates, the same look of scorn on his face as was always there when he had to talk to the three he aligned himself with.

"We leave within the hour. Conquering Storm is underway."

He pulled the kunai from Simian's neck, stuffing it back in his jacket. Shoving past the ape, Arashi moved to walk out and gather his thoughts on the balcony, showing the other members of the Fearsome Foursome the lightning bolt on the back of his jacket.

---

"So what is takoyaki?"

"It's balls of fried batter, filled with bits of tempura, green onions, ginger and octopus." Nariko replied to Charmy, saying the last word low to emphasize it.

"That sounds so sick! Can I have some?"

"Sure thing. Hope you know how to use chopsticks."

Resting on their knees at the low dining table in the guesthouse, sitting across from each other, Nariko and Charmy both split their chopsticks to get ready to enjoy some of the fried food. Nearby, Inco was slowly pacing, hand on his chin.

Espio was absent from the room. With his father confirmed safe, the chameleon went to one of the rooms to rest for who knows how long.

Seeing the older chameleon walking around, Nariko called out to him. "Mister Inco, please, eat something. Have some tempura! I hear it's good for you."

"That thing is fried in oil." Charmy replied, picking up one of the takoyaki balls with his chopsticks.

"Grease builds character. I thought a Federationist like you would agree, given your country's track record."

"…that's fair."

Stopping his pacing, Inco sighed. He rubbed his eyes, almost exactly as his son had earlier.

"I…" He murmured. "I must go check on my son. I'll be back."

"Stay safe out there."

Nariko's warning in jest went without a response as Inco walked back to the room that his son would be sleeping in. The lady lynx started eating the takoyaki without further comment.

The teenager ate as well, humming at the taste. It was weird, but good. Really good.

"…so," said the teen after swallowing. "You've been following us?"

"Since you got here, yeah." She nodded, mouth full. Nariko took a bite of sweet potato tempura she also had, before continuing. "I figured my brother would get right back to playing around with his old friend once Espio was back in town. I was right."

"Brother? Wait… You're that Arashi guy's sister?"

"Well done, junior detective," jested Nariko, smiling a bit. "But, yes. I'm his younger sister. Younger by a year, but whatever. We're practically twins."

"You knew about his plans and you didn't want to warn us?"

"I don't have Espio's number. Besides that, I only knew that him and his little posse was going to go after you guys. I don't know what they were going to do specifically, which is why I followed you guys in the mall. Even alerting Inco meant I had to ask him to track Espio's phone, I didn't know you guys would end up here. Nice pick though."

Charmy sighed. "Espio's been acting weird since we got here, and I'm only figuring things out bit by bit. I know it has to do with your brother, and that mountain. I can't figure out what it all means, and I can't ask for answers because everyone's so sulky. I don't even know what happened that made Espio so wary of Nippon."

"I do."

Nariko was now poking one of the takoyaki with her chopsticks. Her eyes trailed back up to look at the bee, her face dropping from coy to emotionless. She sighed.

"A long time ago, a ninja and a samurai were locked in battle. It's not known what the primary motive behind the fight was, or who threw the first punch, but they were in a violent fight to the death. However… It didn't end with anyone dying. The fight was interrupted by the ninja's young student throwing themselves into the path of the samurai's sword, critically injured.

"Horrified at what he had done to the young man, having just become a father himself, the samurai ended the battle and spared the life of the ninja so she could save her wounded protege. That samurai was Inco, and the ninja he fought was a woman known as Uma Arachnis.

"As you know, Inco gave up his way of life, pursuing other paths. As his son grew up, however, Inco realized that those who still want to harm him from his past could easily target Espio to punish him. Cashing in his life debt from Arachnis, Inco enlisted his son at the age of eight to become one of her newest students, wanting him to be trained under the woman known to many under the title of the Master of Ninjutsu.

"Espio trained alongside my brother, Arashi, as our father was a previous student of Arachnis who left training on his own accord. With nobody but each other under the tutelage of Uma Arachnis, Espio and Arashi developed a powerful bond, only strengthened with the revelation that they shared a birthday with one another. They both trained hard, matching each other in skill- though each had their own unique skills that made them a perfect match for one another, and an even better duo when working together.

"On the dawn of their sixteenth birthday, the two of them had a morning sparring match; A playful one, just as they did many times before. Though my brother was faster, Espio's invisibility allowed him to triumph. While the pair were still elated from their match, Uma Arachnis revealed herself to banish Arashi from the training grounds of Mount Stormtop.

"She revealed that the match was, unbeknownst to the students, a fight that would decide who would move forward to take Arachnis' place as the Master of Ninjutsu… And who would be exiled from the mountain, never to return. She had tricked the pair, stating that if they knew the fight was to proceed in their studies, they could've fought dirty regardless of their mutual respect. Both students tried to protest, but Arashi was forcibly removed from Mount Stormtop by Arachnis herself.

"Dishonored by Uma Arachnis and denied his destiny, my brother left Tokei in anger, training himself for years since then in pursuit of claiming what he believes is rightfully his… Unable to find my brother after leaving Mount Stormtop himself, Espio left the way of the ninja and Nippon entirely out of shame of losing his closest friend."

Having poked and prodded the takoyaki ball during the story, Nariko sunk her chopsticks into it, causing batter to ooze out of the side from the force. She sighed again.

Charmy chewed on a piece of takoyaki himself, thinking over the story. The pieces were all fitting together… Arashi and the mountain, Espio's lingering sadness.

But if Arachnis was what Arashi wanted… why was he chasing after Espio?

"That's… A lot," spoke Charmy.

"It's true."

Standing in the hallway leading to the bedroom, with his father behind him, Espio stood there just as tired as he was before. His eyes were full of dread and sadness, his typically stoic demeanor now wiped away for something regretful.

"Espio…"

"It's all true." The chameleon continued. "I didn't want to return to Nippon because I didn't want the chance to see him again. I have all these skills, but they're filled with such sadness remembering how I got here. I just wanted to have a good vacation."

"Them's the brakes, Espio." Nariko replied, not looking at him. She ate another piece of tempura. "Let the chips fall where they may. You know my brother better than anyone else, so how about you join us here and we discuss what he's really up to before he does something stupid?"

After pausing to think it over, Espio left the hallway, getting down on his knees next to Nariko. Inco joined them as well, sitting down next to Charmy at the table.

"Takoyaki?"

"No thanks."

"Alright then. More for me."

Inco took some tempura, though, as his son abstained from eating. "Nariko mentioned that Arashi is being helped by a trio of new allies?"

"Ugh, yeah. They're the Fearsome Foursome, as Arashi calls them." The lady lynx rolled her eyes. "I came up with that name, by the way. Arashi's just acting like he came up with it. "

"Who are they?" asked Espio.

"I don't know if they have actual real names, but they go by Flying Frog, Predator Hawk and Sergent Simian. They're each ex-students of Arachnis, who were each exiled from Mount Stormtop for separate reasons, now looking for revenge- which is why they took up my brother's offer of allegience."

"They were all students?"

"Mmhm. Which one do you want to know about first?"

"I want to know about this ape." Inco spoke first.

"Sergeant Simian… If he's actual military is unknown, but he sought out Arachnis and became a student of hers after hearing of her skill. However, he was only a student of her for a few months. He overestimated himself after a small amount of training, thinking he was better than Uma Arachnis even though he sought her out. He sneak attacked her, he got his backside handed to him, and thrown off of Mount Stormtop. He's been bitter ever since."

"What about the hawk?" Espio asked.

"Predator Hawk? Ugh, hate that guy." Nariko grumbled. "Very quick to violence, likes watching people. He's been traveling the world to try and learn every martial arts out there, and he's succeeded… mostly. The only one left is ninjutsu, which he wanted to be taught by the supposed master. However, he only wants to learn these arts to be better than others, and this selfish reason got him exiled from Mount Stormtop when Arachnis discovered the motive."

"All that's left is Flying Frog. That guy is annoying!" Charmy commented.

"He's the one that was Arachnis' student for the longest time amongst the three. Multiple years, actually. Flying Frog was an unorthodox student of hers that seemed to use ninjutsu as a supplement to his own unique fighting style more than anything. However, Arachnis sensed something dark within him: anger, fury. It was proven true when she expressed desire in not training him further, as he lashed out and tried to kill her, and was thrown off of the side of the mountain. Literally. I'm surprised he's still alive."

"…wow. And your brother chose these guys willingly?"

"Yeah. He's the Lightning Lynx, their leader." She huffed again. "That's another name of mine that he took! He didn't even come up with it! That's the last time I have a brainstorming session with him…"

"Those guys mentioned something called the Web of Fate," continued the bee. "What is it?"

"An urban legend." Espio said to Charmy, just the same as he said on the train. "It's this artifact that the Master of Ninjutsu is supposed to take care of when the title is passed to them. Apparently, it's a web that can gaze through and control time."

"Really?"

"Just a myth."

"…So a hedgehog turning gold and flying is in the realm of reality, but a time-controlling spider web is a little too far-fetched for you?"

"I said what I said, Charmy."

The bee sighed. "Okay, then. Then what's Arashi's plan? If they want the web, he wants Arachnis… How are they planning to get there? Why are they after us?"

"I know as much as you guys do. All I know is that my brother's plan involves Arachnis, the Web of Fate, and Nagito Espio."

It was quiet for a moment. Charmy slowly turned to Espio.

"…Do you have a different first name than Espio?"

"No?"

"Then… Wait, what did you call Espio?"

"Nagito Espio." Nariko repeated. "…Oh, I see what you mean. Nipponese names have the family name come first, little bee. It would be Espio Nagito over in the UF."

"But I thought Kaziwaka was your last name, Espio."

"Kaziwaka? Ha!" The lady lynx continued to be amused. "You serious? 'Kaziwaka' isn't even a Nipponese word, much less an actual surname!"

"That is true," affirmed Inco. "My publisher… encouraged me to take a more 'exotic' sounding surname for my books when I first started, to make people more interested. I'm disappointed I had to do it that way, but hey, it worked. I can confirm, I am truly named Nagito Inco."

"…Huh." Charmy slowly nodded.

Espio thought to himself in silence. He rested his hands on the table, staring down into the wooden surface, quiet and watching the grain. It was clear from the conversation he was planning his next move, but he had to figure out what that next move was… What was worth sacrificing for a final gambit of his? Did he really know what Arashi was up to after all this time?

Charmy couldn't get a read on him anymore- it was like he was blocking everyone off again. Something was up with him but the bee probably wouldn't know anytime soon.

"They're going to go after the Web of Fate."

"That much is true. What's your point, Espio?"

"My point," replied the ninja to Nariko. "Is that we should get there first."

"We… We should?"

"Espio, are you sure?" Inco asked his son.

"It's what needs to be done. The location of the Web of Fate is within the caverns of Mount Stormtop… Called the Endless Reach. If we go there first, we can wait them out there."

"Arashi's been searching for that cavern ever since he was banished by Arachnis. She only tells her more advanced students the location of the Endless Reach. We might be waiting there for a while, and that's assuming if he even finds it."

"If he doesn't, that's a plus. But I know where it is." Espio stood up from the table. "We should go."

"Aw man, my tempura…" Charmy frowned.

"Are you coming?"

When asked by Espio, Nariko smirked, pulling a piece of gum out and starting to chew it. She picked up her guitar case as well as she stood.

"And miss the rematch of the century? I don't think so."

After Charmy stuffed the rest of the tempura in his mouth, the group left the guesthouse- since they would probably leave for good, Espio made sure to return the key to the rightful owner, and pay them a little more since they wouldn't be staying through the night.

Inco had driven up in a rental car, a sedan. Nariko stuffed her guitar case in the back, laying them on top of the swords the old chameleon kept back there just in case. She sat in the back, next to Charmy. Inco drove and Espio sat passenger.

After the car revved to life, and Inco turned on the headlights to light up the dusk-covered area, they shoved off. Espio gave his father directions, though he spoke in Nipponese. It was most likely to keep the directions secret, but since Charmy was the only one who wasn't fluent in the language in the car, it unintentionally made it out like Espio was only hiding it from the teen.

They turned to head west on the main road, headed further away from downtown Tokei. Charmy turned in his seat to watch the city skyline get further away from them, before his eyes trailed to the aforementioned guitar case that was in the open space trunk.

"…why are you bringing a guitar with you?" Charmy asked Nariko.

"Who says it's a guitar in the case?" She replied, blowing a gum bubble and popping it.

Charmy didn't have an response to that. They continued to ride in the car in silence for a while.

"Mount Stormtop." Nariko read a passing road sign in Nipponese. "Forty miles."

"Have you ever been there before, Nariko?"

"Well, Charmy, I've been there after it became a protected park. Besides that, sometimes I would travel there to watch Arashi and Espio train under Arachnis. I wanted to be just like my brother when I was younger… Now I just want him to stay alive."

"You said your dad was a former student of Uma Arachnis?"

"Yeah, and he left the training to be with my mom, the freakin' cornball." Nariko grumbled, though didn't seem too disappointed. "She's a curator for feudal artifacts over in Meaco. She actually migrated here from the UF, so if you ever wondered why my brother and I aren't speaking purely Nipponese despite being raised here, that's the reason."

"Why didn't you train with Arachnis if you wanted to be like Arashi?"

"Lack of interest?" The lynx shrugged. "I like the idea of ninjutsu, and using super-cool martial arts, but I'm just me y'know? I don't want to be tied down to the life of the ninja, if I wanna help people, I want to do it my way. Without discipline."

"You act like discipline is acid being sprayed on you when you've done wrong." Espio spoke up from the front. "I've used my skills when working with Chaotix. Discipline doesn't get in the way of helping people. If anything, criminals commit crimes due to lack of discipline."

"Right, right. So what is Arashi's reason, then?"

The jab from Nariko was meant to be playful, but the vibe in the car was back to being awkward and silent afterwards. Espio sighed after a moment, as if he was calming himself from remembering everything that happened with the Lightning Lynx.

It was still hard to get a read on what Espio was feeling, exactly. Charmy could tell he felt conflicted and remorseful, but there was also something there too… dread, maybe? Just as soon as the bee felt the chameleon was showing something more, it was gone.

The voices of the other people from Chaotix spoke in his head, but Charmy ignored that, only seeing that his friend was in turmoil. The bee had to speak up, or it would kill him.

"Espio," said Charmy, leaning up to look at him between the front seats. "I know this has to be hard for you. Going back to Mount Stormtop, facing Arashi. But if what Nariko said was accurate, it isn't your fault for what happened. Arachnis tricked you."

"…maybe. It's just easy to regret."

"If we could all turn back the clock, we'd live completely different lives," Inco added, looking over at his son for a moment before paying attention to the road again. "You cannot live in the past forever, Espio. You've changed over the last few years."

"I had to change. I had to be different. If I wasn't… I'd still be that teenager on the mountain watching his best friend get taken away from him forever."

"Don't you like your fancy new life over in the UF?" Nariko chimed in. "You got that croc who seems to be your BFF. The armadillo, too, and your dad's about to get married and everything."

"Married? Who told you that?" Inco was flustered.

"I've always felt that if I moved on and remained a detective in place of a ninja, I'd be disrespecting how I got these skills. I'd be disrespecting Arashi."

"…but you wouldn't be." Charmy replied. "You left Nippon because you didn't want to continue training without him."

"I never wanted to be the Master of Ninjutsu."

"Exactly! You didn't want to move on without him by your side. You left in solidarity. That's respectful."

"Yeah, well… I'm sure he blames me just as much as I blame myself."

"That's just not true," rebutted Nariko. "Look, my brother might have this weird plan going on, and that involves pressuring you into leading them to the Web of Fate, but all of his plans never included harming you, or Charmy, or your dad. Unless absolutely necessary, but still. In his own, weird way, Espio… Arashi still cares about you. I know he does."

The chameleon didn't reply to that. He continued to look out the window, specifically at the side mirror, seeing them get further and further away from Tokei.

Mount Stormtop was at the westernmost point of the border of Tokei. As they got closer, they needed to go off road- though reluctant because the car was a rental, Inco drove off the road eventually and started driving along the freight tracks to head closer to the mountain, passing by smaller peaks towards the tallest mountain in Nippon.

They passed through an abandoned tunnel the tracks led to, headed further off road, not even driving on a dirt path anymore. Sticks and leaves crackled under the tires of the car as it drove through trees closer to the peak.

"Why does Arashi want to fight Arachnis?" Charmy finally asked, thinking.

"The title of 'Master of Ninjustu' is passed through defeating the previous master in combat. At least… That's what Uma Arachnis told me."

Espio's reply made the bee go silent again. He thought to himself, stuffing his hand in his pocket.

He felt something in there- he pulled it out, seeing the Honey Cat keychain he got from earlier. He forgot it was still in there… It's been so long since they were at that mall.

"I saw you getting that Hanīboisu Neko keychain earlier."

The bee found Nariko looking over his shoulder at the keychain. He almost hid it in his pocket again, but instead kept it in his hand as the lynx had seen it anyway.

"You know about Honey Cat?"

"Oh yeah, I love her music."

"Really?"

"Totally. I don't listen to her as much as I'd like… Every now and then I'm reminded I put her music on my playlist. I like World Is Mine."

"My favorite is Melt! I listen to that one all the time!"

"Oh yeah, that's a really good one. I don't listen to it a lot because it sounds more upbeat than the others, but the song is still kinda sad."

"I can get that."

Satisfied with the short conversation, Charmy put the keychain back in his pocket for later, smiling to himself.

They rode around for a few more minutes, getting to the base of the mountain. After driving around the edge of the peak, they soon reached an area with a red maple tree right at the start of the incline, hanging over the start of the hill.

"Stop."

Inco did. Espio undid his seatbelt.

"We're here."

Though the ninja got out, Inco had to maneuver the car in a spot that wouldn't make it easy to spot by anyone nearby, hiding it between a set of trees. Once that was done, the older chameleon and lady lynx collected their samurai swords and guitar case, respectively.

Espio was standing in front of an area of the mountain's climb that, like other parts of the base, was covered with the vibrant red leaves from the maple tree above it. Nearby, Charmy had his hands in his vest pockets, looking at his fellow detective with an expression of mild worry. He was soon joined by Nariko, who had her eyebrows furrowed- she blew an anxious gum bubbled and popped it.

Strolling up last was Inco, tying the sarashi belt he had tightly around his waist, securing his katana and wakizashi to his side. He had one hand on the handle of his katana, in anticipation.

"So… What're we looking at?"

"What do you see?" murmured Espio in response to Charmy.

Now provoked, the bee looked closely at the spot that Espio was interested in. Red maple leaves had cascaded off of the tree above, creating a coat of the leaves on the ground in the area.

He looked closer, his eyes squinting.

The leaves looked strange in one area. They were shifting in other spots except an area that was just tall enough for someone like Vector to fit into. In fact… the leaves were positioned in strange ways, some of them poking out as if submerged within the mountainside.

"What the…?"

Knowing the bee saw what he wanted, Espio pointed to the spot.

"Father. Cut right there."

"Hm… Alright, son. If you wish."

Espio shuffled Charmy and Nariko back. With the ringing of sliding sharp metal, Inco pulled out his katana, holding it firmly with both hands. With lunge forwards, the chameleon sliced through the leaves with diagonal swing, tearing apart the curtain of foliage like it was nothing.

Technically it was nothing- the leaves were being held in place with webbing. Now parted, the webbed leaves revealed a tunnel behind it.

"It was hidden by a simple spider web?" Nariko asked, tilting her sunglasses down to look.

"Many spider webs, created by the lost members of the Arachnis clan." Espio clarified. "Nearly half a mile of webbing. So you're going to have to keep cutting, father."

"If it'll let us reach the inside, I can withstand the arm workout."

Letting the older chameleon take the front, the other three followed at a distance as the samurai mowed down the webbing within the cavern's tunnel, forming a path.

Charmy was at the very back of the single-file line, looking over Nariko and Espio as they followed Inco. The bee peeked over his own shoulder next, seeing that the webbing was automatically reforming itself behind him, starting with the curtain of leaves at the end of the tunnel.

The teenager turned around, just in time to miss a large simian hand sticking into the cut to keep the leafy webbing at the entrance from fully reforming.

Honestly, it wasn't exactly certain what anyone there thought the cavern that was the "Endless Reach" would look like. There were clearly two sections to the cavern, and the webbing stopped in the front area. The area they walked into was big, with a ceiling that went up very, very high- higher than they could see in the dimness of the cavern.

There was an opening leading to what they could tell was a larger tavern. They could see webbing in that other cavern; the Web of Fate was in that larger area.

Charmy opened his mouth to say something, but someone else spoke instead.

"Nagito Espio."

A booming female voice came from above. When they looked up, all they saw were eight eyes reflecting back at them from the shadow.

Landing yards ahead of them, the large spider that was Uma Arachnis dropped to the cavern floor. As a redknee tarantula, she was black and a deep, wine red. The shozoku she had on was white, flowing with the wind kicked up as she landed, covering both her torso and the large bulbous abdomen she had behind her. The robes extended to her head, covering her face except her eyes, which stared at them.

Two set of legs were holding up her abdomen, the other two set of legs made into arms, clasping four hands in front of her in sets of two. She stared down at the group, the covers on her face blocking her expression. She was twice the size of someone like Vector or Simian, towering over them all.

"Hello, Master Arachnis." The ninja replied calmly.

"You've brought others into the Endless Reach. I recognize your father, but…"

"Charmy and Nariko pose no threat to your family's artifact, Arachnis."

"Nariko… You are the former student Arashi's sister." Her eyes passed to the lady lynx.

"That's me… ma'am." Nariko spoke, a bit awkwardly.

"Uma Arachnis," Charmy said. "We think there are people who are coming after your Web of Fate."

"I know."

"You… You do?"

"Yes. Because you have led them here."

Four hands pointed behind the group, making them turn.

With a slice from a survival knife, Sergeant Simian cut open the last layer of webbing to walk into the cavern. As the Fearsome Foursome passed into the area, Espio's group turned and stepped back, standing closer to Arachnis, acting as a barrier to the other room.

"What?!" perplexed the bee. "How did none of us notice?"

"Guess you've gotten rusty in your downtime, old friend." Arashi said, directed to Espio. He was out last, walking to the front of his group. "Koko, I told you to stay out of this."

"And I told you, Shiu, that going after the Web of Fate was a stupid idea that would get you killed," replied Nariko. "You know how much trouble I would be with mom and dad if I let you get hurt during this? A lot! I would get hurt a lot!"

"Little girls shouldn't be playing with swords."

"Bite me, you damn dirty ape."

Simian frowned deeply at Nariko's words.

"Arachnis has scorned us. She owes us this," said Predator Hawk. "I have traveled the globe, studying all martial arts, training extensively to become the deadliest combatant, one whose at peak physical human condition. She has denied me the ability to become the ultimate weapon."

After a pause, Charmy leaned to Espio, murmuring. "Bro thinks he's Batman."

The chameleon let out a sharp guffaw, almost like a cough, before pretend coughing a little and clearing his throat with his fist to his mouth, trying to play it off like he wasn't laughing, going serious again.

Predator Hawk clearly didn't find anything funny, his beak curling in an angry snarl at being laughed at.

"Enough of this! We're here for the Web of Fate, so you'd be wise to move!" Hawk barked.

"I'm not here for the Web of Fate."

The other three in Arashi's four looked at him, each bewildered.

"What?"

"That was our plan!"

"If you back out of this, I swear to god…"

"Quiet, you idiots," hissed the Lightning Lynx. "I only came here to get what was rightfully mine."

"What?"

"He wishes to fight me." Uma Arachnis replied to Simian. "As for the Web of Fate… You may find what you were searching for, is not what you seek."

"Whatever, save it for a fortune cookie. I'm getting that web one way or another!"

"So am I! Have fun getting killed, Lightning Lynx!"

Flying Frog shoved past Arashi, joined by the hawk and ape. Arashi was left there, alone, standing by himself. His eyes slowly passed from Arachnis to Espio.

"Protect the Web of Fate!"

Charmy's command was nearly interrupted by the frog leaping forwards and kicking him in the stomach.

"That's for stinging me, you little brat!"

Nearby, Predator Hawk studied the others, including Arachnis- the large spider did nothing, standing there and watching the entire situation unfold. As he headed to try and move past her, he was greeted with Nariko, who walked out from behind Arachnis.

She popped a gum bubble. "Going somewhere?"

"Out of my way, Nariko."

"Why? Afraid I'll trip you again?"

The Predator Hawk's feathers bristled at that.

"Oh, I'm going to enjoy this. I just need to pick which martial arts I'll use to skin this cat…"

At that, Nariko dropped her guitar case. She unclipped the case and flipped it open, before pulling out what was inside, and it certainly wasn't a guitar. It was a kanabo, a spiked club, which looked almost like a wooden baseball bat with black spikes on it. She had lifted it from her mother's museum- Nariko was sure she wouldn't damage it too much before she could return it.

"Let's get it started, then." Nariko said, pulling the kanabo to rest on her shoulder.

She bolted forwards at lightning speeds, gripping the club and swinging it downwards, narrowly missing the evading hawk and hitting the stone ground hard enough to crack it.

As they fought, the large ape of the Foursome made a break for the cavern. Before Sergeant Simian could make it to the opening to the Web of Fate, Inco dropped from above, slicing around as a warning to the large ape. The sergeant stumbled backwards, staring at the samurai in bewilderment before smirking a bit.

"Running from the retirement home, grandpa?"

"You will not reach the Web of Fate."

"Please- It's gonna take more than what your old bones got to harm me."

Inco's eyes narrowed through his glasses. He charged towards Simian, who quickly charged forwards to try and meet him, arms back and ready to swing at the chameleon.

As the sergeant swiped at Inco, the samurai ducked down and sliced, spinning around the ape's body to slide past him to a stop, his sword still held outwards after swinging. Sergeant Simian came to a stop too, looking himself over and turning around, chuckling.

"Ha! You missed, grandpa!"

With his blade still ringing, Inco brought his katana's sheath up, sliding the blade across the edge of the scabbard's opening to reach the tip. He put the tip of the katana into the sheath and dropped it, letting it fall the rest of the way in to become fully sheathed.

Ting!

At the sound, suddenly, Simian's cargo pants and chest rig were sliced in half from the front. The ape quickly scrambled to keep his pants on and his rig on his body, looking confused and shocked.

After staring at the samurai for a second, the ape started to run, and Inco pursued.

As chaos rang out, Arashi slowly started walking towards the calm Arachnis, his target clear. His eyes narrowed, slipping a hand into his jacket to reach for a weapon.

A set of shuriken blocked his path, hitting the ground in front of the lynx. Arashi paused, watching Espio stepping in front of his old friend to block his way to the arachnid, expression unreadable.

Though slowed down, the Lightning Lynx continued towards the spider.

"I do not wish to fight you, my friend," he said. "I do not blame you for what happened between us… it is her who must pay."

He stepped to the side to walk past Espio. Instead, the chameleon grabbed him by his elbow as he passed, pulling and pushing Arashi back in front of him.

Arashi slid to a stop, kicking up dust and the shuriken from earlier, which got lost in the dirt of the cavern.

"No."

Espio's simple word surprised the lynx. His eyebrows furrowed, head cocking slightly in confusion.

"What?" He replied. "Espio, she did this. She pitted us against one another."

"It's not her who you're looking for."

"Yes, it is. She made my life fall apart when I was so close… so close to victory." Arashi stared at his hand, gripping it into a fist.

"Your parents are rich, Arashi. I hardly believe your life was torn apart by that."

"Mocking me? Really? Espio, you should be helping me. Why are you so insistent on keeping me from what's rightfully mine?"

"Because you need to learn that your actions have consequences," asserted Espio. "When you left the mountain, so did I. I searched for you but found nothing… you were gone."

"I knew you had left, but… You left… to look for me? But your training…"

"I don't care about being the Master of Ninjutsu, Arashi, I never wanted that," the chameleon replied. "All I wanted was you. It could've been us, together, ninja or not."

"So you would rather have had me than your new friends in the United Federation?"

Espio paused. "In a perfect world… I could have all my friends by my side. And I still can. But you must stop. Please, Arashi."

The words weighed heavy on the lynx. He took a breath, eyes closing, before continuing after he centered himself.

"You could have it all," replied the Lightning Lynx. "But only when she pays for her transgressions. I won't fight you… Let me do this, Espio. Let me claim what I've been training for."

Arashi continued walking. He passed Espio, but this time he didn't reach for his old friend.

Quickly, the chameleon threw a roped kunai from his sleeve, which hit a nearby rock. Espio turned as he whipped the rope around, stopping the kunai in time for the rock to fly off and hit Arashi in the back of the head, shattering it to bits.

It was clear Arashi wouldn't stop until he got what he wanted- to fight Arachnis, maybe even kill her. Espio wasn't going to stop his old friend unless he provoked him into a fight. And if there's one thing Espio learned from his time with Vector and Charmy… it was how to provoke someone.

Stopping in his tracks after the rock hit the back of his head, Arashi paused before his head tilted sharply to the side, cracking his neck.

Arachnis, still silent, watched the lynx for his reaction. Arashi sighed.

"So be it."

As the lynx turned around, he watched Espio spin the roped kunai around for flair, wrapping the rope around one arm and using the other arm to hold the point towards him.

Seeing the display, Arashi chuckled a bit. He reached into his jacket once more.

"Do you forget who trained you in how to use your kunai like that, old friend?"

Pulling out a roped weapon from his jacket, Arashi held the ring that was at one end, letting the double bladed edge on the other side drop down near his ankles. He swung around his kyoketsu-shoge, before grabbing the bladed end and pointing it at Espio, almost mirroring his stance.

A rematch years in the making; With Arachnis watching the two of them as she once did, the pair rushed forwards to spar once more. Both of them swung their arms around at the same time, flinging the bladed edges of their roped weapons at one another.

They collided, the ropes tying against one another. Both of them pulled sharply, sending themselves head on into the other at high speeds. Though Espio was a more paced ninja, Arashi was faster.

The lynx used the speed to kick a foot onto the chameleon's chest, pushing off of it and flipping back, shoving off hard enough to fling Espio backwards onto his back. He didn't have time to process the wind knocked out of him before the rope of his kunai went taut.

Arashi pulled in towards Espio, making the chameleon scurry away to evade the feet rocketing towards him. Sliding across the ground, the detective flipped and swung his body around with a hand on the stone below him, and then used both hands to lunge off of the ground.

He sent a shoulder into his old friend's chest, kunai forgotten but the rope still tied around his arm- Arashi's kyoketsu-shoge fell to the ground, but the ringed end was still around his bicep, keeping it there as well.

Before the lynx could wind up a punch, Espio sent a palmheel strike into his shoulder, hitting him hard enough to make Arashi take a step back and completely halt the attack before it could even start. The chameleon swiftly sent his thumb into Arashi's ribs in a strike, making the lynx yelp and groan in pain.

Espio sent an elbow strike into Arashi's shoulder and then leaned back for a heel kick- unfortunately the beatdown he was giving to his old friend was interrupted, as the Lightning Lynx caught the heel kick before it could really hurt him.

Anticipating this by reading Arashi's body, Espio used the grip Arashi had on his foot to pull his other leg up and kick off of the lynx's neck, flipping backwards and landing on his feet to mimic what the lynx just did to him. Arashi was flung backwards, but rolled back on the stone ground and got back to his feet easily, rubbing the spot on his ribs where the thumb strike hit him.

"Nnngh…" huffed Arashi. "Guess you aren't as rusty as I thought, dear friend."

With a swift tug, Espio brought his kunai back to his hand. "You'd be surprised how much detective work can keep you on your toes."

Mirroring him, Arashi brought the bladed end of his weapon to his hand as well, smirking now. "Show me."

With the challenge presented, Espio gripped his kunai tightly before turning invisible to continue the fight.

A much less graceful fight was nearby. Now no longer with a set plan, Flying Frog was able to continue his personal mission of killing that teenage bee that scorned him back on the bullet train. He hopped off the wall to try and tackle the bee but missed, as Charmy flew upwards to evade.

This guy was crazy, and it seemed that he held a serious grudge against a teenager. That teenager stung him a bunch of times, granted, but Charmy always figured that serious offenses against people were forgiven if the person wasn't at least sixteen!

Flying Frog grabbed onto Charmy's ankle as the bee tried flying away, making him yelp in fear and turn.

"Gotcha!"

Charmy started quickly stomping his free foot into the frog's face to escape, making him let go.

Buzzing away quickly, Charmy was pursued by Flying Frog, who hopped along the walls to follow quickly, giving truth to his name as he soared through the air more than he spent attached to walls. The bee quickly spun to dodge a swipe to his leg.

Stopping in the air, the bee sent his stinger back and into the hand of the frog, making him cry out in pain.

Charmy grabbed Flying Frog by his scarf, pulling him along as he flew close to the wall. He let the frog bounce against the surface as he circled the entire cavern, before tossing him away by the scarf to the ground.

Hitting the ground on his front, the frog grunted as he bounced a bit before going still, on his stomach. Flying Frog gripped his hands into fists tightly, feeling rage and fury course through his body. His breathing was shaking as he slowly picked himself up, shaking from anger.

He needed a moment, Charmy could tell, but he noticed that Flying Frog didn't do anything in that moment. The frog was calming himself down, closing his eyes before he did something out of control. His eyes flicked up to Charmy, who was hovering and staring down at him curiously.

Shooting his tongue out, the frog's tongue attached to Charmy's chest. Flying Frog pulled himself into Charmy, colliding with the teenager. They both fell to the ground, though the frog got up to his feet, grabbing the bee by his legs and swinging him around to throw him a few yards away.

Charmy tumbled across the ground, landing on his hands and knees with help from his wings. He was being slaughtered out there- at this rate, Flying Frog would actually get the better of him, if Espio or Inco (or even Nariko) didn't interrupt the guy first.

Opening his eyes and blinking from the dust, the bee saw on the ground near his hand that something flew out of his jacket pocket. It was a keychain, one with the chibi character of a black-haired cat with wings and a red dress… Honey Cat.

He thought about what Espio said earlier about his interest in the vocaloid. It could come in handy sometime and Charmy wouldn't even know it… but he was probably in one of the most intense situations of his life, and there wasn't anything the virtual idol could do to help.

Flying Frog probably didn't like Honey Cat anyway, they probably wouldn't be able to bond over it. In fact, to be honest, a lot of people found the voice of the vocaloid very annoying and grating. It would probably just make Flying Frog angrier.

Blinking a few times, an idea came to Charmy's head. The fatal flaw of this frog was his anger… his rage was blinding, even the frog needed a moment of calm to focus on beating up this teenager. If Charmy could get this guy angry enough, then maybe he wouldn't be able to properly fight back.

If there was one thing Charmy knew how to do, it was how to be annoying!

Grabbing the keychain, he slipped it back in his pocket before replacing it with his phone. Knowing that Flying Frog was closing in, the bee brought up his music and pressed on the top song in his playlist, his favorite Honey Cat song.

"Hello everyone~! My name is Hanīboisu Neko, a virtual idol! Well, that's what everyone seems to think, but secretly I'm…!"

Techno music blasted through Charmy's phone, making Flying Frog skid to a stop, surprised.

"What the…?" He mumbled. "Ugh, what is that?"

Charmy's wings came to life, picking him up to turn and smile at the frog. He slipped his phone in his vest pocket, the music still blaring. He flew towards Flying Frog, starting to circle him quickly.

"I wake up to a call, put my frilly outfit now; It's time I open up my eyes and start the day!"

As Honey Cat sung, Flying Frog winced, putting his hands over his ears. "Turn that off you little—!"

He was interrupted as Charmy sent a sharp kick to his back, making the frog only angrier. He turned to follow the flying bee as he started to flee from Flying Frog. The frog gave chase, covering an ear to try and block the music.

Hearing the music playing, Nariko looked over her shoulder at Charmy, grinning a bit at both him annoying the frog and hearing the song play out. Reinvigorated, she pulled her kanabo around and swung it at Predator Hawk once more, narrowly missing him.

The hawk was, according to himself, the master of all martial arts on the planet. He knew all of them at some capacity, some better than others, but he knew how to execute moves from each one and how to properly counter each one whenever he faced against them in combat.

But that was the issue here; Nariko wasn't a master of any martial arts, she didn't even know any martial arts enough to qualify as a student- she was a young woman with weaponry and a lot of spunk. She was just winging it, and that wasn't a martial arts style that Predator Hawk could copy.

So now he was here, watching Nariko and trying to get any semblance of her fighting style. That was something the lady lynx was counting on… That was something she could use to her advantage.

She had to make sure that the hawk didn't get any hits in. Nariko was just as fast as Arashi (well maybe not as fast, but she was fast) so she would be able to dodge most of the attacks that Predator Hawk would attempt to execute onto her.

Predator Hawk sent a knifehand swing into Nariko's side as she completed her swing of the spiked club, making the lady lynx grunt in pain. Nariko quickly twisted her body to dodge another attack, turning her kanabo around and jabbing the handle end into the hawk's gut.

On another swing of the spiked club, Predator Hawk grabbed it and held it still, staring at Nariko.

He was still trying to get a read on her to decide which martial arts would work best against her. There were so many to choose from; Nariko could tell he was still trying to study her with how intensely he was staring at the lynx. Her sunglasses down her face a little, Nariko winked at him with a grin.

She raised her boot and stomped down on his foot hard, making him yell out in pain- when he didn't let go of the club, Nariko sent a straight punch into his beak, making him stumble back and away from the kanabo. Nariko stepped forwards, sending Predator Hawk the other direction with a swing into his back.

While Predator Hawk was dazed, Nariko shifted back so they were back to back, swinging the spiked club backwards and over the hawk's neck, grabbing both ends to press down onto it.

As the kanabo pressed against his throat, Predator Hawk let out a strained noise. Gripping both ends tightly, Nariko pulled hard enough to fling the bird over her body, flipping the hawk in a throw that ended with him landing on his back, very hard.

Nariko stepped on his chest next, holding the spiked club's end down to his face.

She smiled, pushing her sunglasses back up her nose. "Thank you, Hanīboisu Neko."

"If my pain's a type of cure for peace, I don't mind; I can play as a nurse healing you everyday!"

Charmy knew he was getting on Flying Frog's last nerves.

He continued to fly around, pursued closely by the bitter amphibian, who was hopping along different spots on the cavern wall to continue gliding after him. The teenager was softly singing along to the song, smiling wickedly as he looked back at the frog.

"Get back here and fight me like a man!"

"I'm a teenager, and a bee. I think you need glasses!"

"RAH!" raged the frog.

"Imagine being a grown man with beef against a kid who can't even drive! What are you, a streamer?"

"Shut your stupid mouth!"

"What's wrong, froggie, you getting upset? Need me to call your nurse?"

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"

"You're gonna have to catch me first! But be warned, I've had a full night's rest, delicious Nipponese cuisine and about five energy drinks this morning I'm still feeding off of! I'm guessing you don't have the same?"

It was true. The search for the Web of Fate and the frog's obsession had caused him to severely neglect his needs. From only a few hours' sleep, to only eating once that day, all of Flying Frog's energy was being sapped during this chase, and he was starting to feel it. He was breathing heavier, needing an extra moment to grip onto each spot of the wall.

"I'm gonna strangle you with those goggles… you little freak!"

Charmy snickered, seeing how much he was wearing down the amphibian. His favorite part of the song was coming up, making him turn around to zip towards Flying Frog, flying at high speeds.

"And now, it's time, for the moment you've been waiting for! 1… 2…. 3…"

"Ready?" Charmy spoke along with the song. He grabbed onto Flying Frog's shoulders, getting in his face to shout directly at him. "NEKO NEKO BEEEEEEEAAAAM!"

"GET OFF ME!"

With the momentum of flying to the frog, Charmy shoved him harshly, sending him crashing back onto the ground. The Flying Frog started breathing shakily, becoming angrier by the moment. He turned over to get to his hands and knees, slowly trying to pick himself up.

Anger was a heck of an emotion. It certainly took much more energy for the frog to stay mad than it did for him to stay focused. He felt rage coursing through his veins and bones, almost like fire, making him nearly shake with the feeling.

And yet his muscles felt tired. His body felt exhausted from how much anger and energy he was putting into this. A normal person would use this as a moment of self reflection, to consider that maybe this is the reason he was kicked from Arachnis' tutelage in the first place; that his anger would cause him to not only act irrationally, but to become easily worn out in the most crucial moments of battle.

But Flying Frog wasn't a normal person. Nobody in the Fearsome Foursome were normal, really. Except maybe Arashi.

Trying to get up, Flying Frog stumbled back down to a kneel, breathing heavily as he felt very tired, the adrenaline from the fight starting to wear off and leave him fatigued. Charmy noticed this, grinning wide again and flying towards the frog.

"Honey Cat, give me strength!"

By the time Flying Frog turned his head to see where Charmy was, he would see that the bee was right there beside him. The momentum of the flight gave Charmy enough umph to punch the frog directly in the side of the face. Even if the teenager wasn't super strong, the speed was enough to fling the frog around, making him land on his side.

He groaned from both the hit and his exhaustion. The frog didn't move to get up.

Charmy, having crash landed on the ground for the punch, did get up though. He grunted a bit, shaking the hand he punched the frog with. It certainly wasn't broken, but it felt very sore. The bee wasn't used to punching people.

Taking out his phone, he pushed pause on the song to end it. He'll listen to it in full later.

Seeing Sergeant Simian still hustling away from Inco, Charmy's wings fluttered again, and the teen joined the samurai in his pursuit of the ape.

Metal rang out in midair as Arashi launched the bladed end of his kyoketsu-shoge towards Espio, who turned to let it zip past him- the blade was on a collision course to his shoulder previously. The lynx clearly knew this would happen, however, sharply yanking his blade back to slice a tear into the arm of the chameleon's jacket.

Espio grunted at the close call, but didn't relent. He knew as well as Arashi that this wasn't a spar to the death- the pair wouldn't do anything beyond what either ninja was capable of taking physically. However, their fighting required one of them to have to best the other, and in the five years it's been since they last saw one another, both have been busy with expanding their horizons beyond ninjustu.

While Arashi studied combat and honed his reflexes, Espio dealt with robots, Hooligans and other assorted perils while being a trusty ally of Sonic the Hedgehog. That seemed like an equivalent exchange.

Wrapping his roped kunai around his arm, the chameleon swung it down to send the sharp blade into a nearby rock and whip it around to send it flying towards Arashi. The lynx slipped off the ring side of his roped weapon, using it as blunt edge to smash into the stone and shatter it before it could hit him again.

This was merely a distraction, however. Espio rose up from the shattered rock as he leapt through it in order to get the drop on Arashi. The detective sent a kick into the lynx, before turning his body around and sending a back kick into the other ninja, hitting Arashi twice.

Now face to face, Espio snapped the kunai back to his hand, swinging it upwards as soon as he landed. Arashi put his arm up a bit to defend himself- the kunai sliced through the sleeve of his jacket, along the side of his forearm, creating a long open gash in the fabric.

Arashi tried to send a knee into Espio, but the chameleon slammed both of his fists into the knee to force it back downwards. When the chameleon tried another palmheel strike with his free hand, however, the lynx swung both his arms down into it to intercept the hit before it could land.

Whipping his kyoketsu-shoge around, Arashi sent the bladed side down, wrapping the rope around Espio's ankle. Grabbing the rope with both hands, the lynx pulled his old friend clear off of the ground, swinging the chameleon around and throwing him into the wall of the nearby cavern.

"Espio!" Charmy cried out, seeing his guardian fall to the ground.

Close by, Uma Arachnis stroked her chin with one of her four hands. "Hmm…"

Shaking his head to clear it of the haziness, Espio glanced back up at Arashi before vanishing, turning invisible. The bladed edge of Arashi's weapon dropped to the ground after a second, clearly no longer constricting the chameleon's leg.

Arashi yanked it back to his hand, slipping the ring end of the weapon over his arm again. Though Sergeant Simian was still being chased nearby, the lynx took a deep breath, closing his eyes to reduce the world around him. He tuned out the sound of the nearby chase, though couldn't deflect the feeling of Arachis' eyes still on him.

Invisibility was a trait of Espio's that Arashi had trouble with during previous sparring matches. The lynx had nearly skipped training for invisible adversaries when he honed his skills post-banishment, mainly as he didn't want to face the fact that he might have to fight his old friend during this mission of his.

Luckily, Arashi trained himself in that area regardless.

His ears tilted slightly as he focused on everything around him- except Simian being chased, that is. Espio would most likely get high up, on the cavern walls, to keep Arashi from sensing footsteps near him.

Chameleons typically weren't able to stick to surfaces- then again, they weren't able to turn completely invisible either, but Mobians were meant to be evolved versions of these animals. As such, Espio's hands had fibers across the palm that were adhesive, akin to a spider; ironic considering who their master was.

While Espio's soles were spiked to assist with scaling walls, his gloves were thin enough to let him stick to walls. He wore gloves to leave no trace, but this was exactly his weakest point in the realm of espionage- at least when up against another ninja.

The soft sound of fabric scraping stone behind him clued Arashi where his old ally was. His eyes opened, staring at the ground but focusing in on that sound. He heard something else too: a sharp intake of breath, which Arashi was familiar with.

Leaning to the side, Arashi let Espio's invisible tongue zip past him. The lynx grabbed the tongue (gross but necessary) and yanked the chameleon clear off of the wall, sending him into the ground again.

Reappearing, Espio's tongue snapped back into his mouth, his eyes on Arashi as he stood. He used his tongue in lieu of the roped kunai as it didn't take too much noise- unfortunately for him, the lynx had incredible hearing. Espio needed something that would get his opponent somewhere that the chameleon had the upper hand.

Holding two fingers in front of his muzzle, his fingertips gently touching his horn, Espio closed his eyes and focused his energy to himself.

A technique that Espio had heard of while training was focusing your energy to allow the air to bend to your will. Arachnis had claimed that the only people that could use this technique were those that were able to completely clear their mind. Though the chameleon had made only slight developments while learning this on the mountain, the disappearance of Arashi had cluttered his mind for years.

Though that was, however, until he met Mighty the Armadillo. The steady and meditative strongman was an unexpected source of wisdom- not because he seemed unintelligent, but because he learned all of his techniques by himself with no assistance. While Mighty lived in Espio's house with him and Vector, the armadillo assisted the chameleon with achieving a zen state of mind on a dime. They still did morning meditations together, currently on pause since Espio was on vacation.

His mind clear, Espio focused his energy around him. Nearby, the entrance to the cavern rustled as air started pushing against it, plucking off a few of the red leaves and bringing them in close, circling the chameleon.

Pausing out of confusion of what Espio was doing, Arashi quickly began to rush towards the chameleon and fight him again. Sensing this, Espio got low, sticking a foot out and spinning to create a circle around him. When returning to his starting position, the detective flipped back into the air and vanished.

The leaves that were picked up from the wind burst upwards in a massive leaf swirl, creating a cyclone of air that immediately launched Arashi up into the expansive area of the cavern above. Flipping in the air from the burst of wind, Arashi only managed to regain himself by swinging the bladed end of his kyoketsu-shoge to anchor himself into the wall, gripping onto the blade tightly.

Getting higher in the cavern, the walls pressed in closer together- it was almost shaped like a cone. Being stuck up above was putting Arashi out of his element, which was Espio's plan.

Still invisible, Espio crawled across the wall, reappearing in time to kick Arashi in the side with both feet, using his hands to stick to the wall. Gripping onto the stone cavern tightly, the lynx's feet kicked against the stones in order to catch his footing again.

As he tried to catch himself, the lynx put his foot on a stone that was looser than he thought, accidentally pulling it out. The wide stone fell to the ground, right in the path of Simian. The large ape tripped on the stone, falling to his stomach, and was subsequently jumped by Nariko and Charmy- Inco merely watched, not wanting to partake in such a thing.

After finally getting himself steady, Arashi used a foot to kick Espio back. He pulled the blade of his weapon from the wall and threw it up into the ceiling, swinging across the small space to reach the other end of the chasm. He kicked off with both feet, swinging back to slam and pin the chameleon against the wall with his knee.

Instead of immediately attacking back, the chameleon simply reached up and pulled the rope of Arashi's kyoketsu-shoge, yanking the blade from the cavern ceiling. The lynx fell backwards, but was saved by Espio latching his tongue to Arashi's jacket chest.

Pressing both his hands back to the wall behind him, Espio pulled both his legs back, bringing Arashi upwards with his tongue. He kicked the Lightning Lynx as hard as he could, tearing his tongue from the jacket and sending the lynx flying into the opposite wall.

Arashi just barely managed to catch himself, sinking the curved blade of his kyoketsu-shoge into the wall. He looked back at Espio, who was watching him intently. They were a few yards apart, meaning that he would have to use his roped kunai to reach the lynx again.

This wasn't good. Arashi was out of his element, Espio was perfectly fine. He had to finish this fight and pull Espio out of his area of expertise… Maybe that could use the roped kunai his fellow ninja was bound to use to attack first.

It was a risky move, but the one thing Espio wasn't expecting was risk from Arashi. Seeing the chameleon jab his arm out to launch his roped kunai from his sleeve, the lynx pulled the bladed edge of his kyoketsu-shoge from the wall and kicked off of it, getting into the open air.

Swinging his roped weapon underhanded, Arashi intercepted the kunai with the bladed edge, but wrapped his weapon's cable around the rope of Espio's kunai, tying them together. With a new anchor- that being Espio himself- Arashi swung around to the chameleon's side of the tight chasm. He kicked up and off of the wall to go around the detective, forcing his rope around his body.

Though he didn't have any adhesive capabilities like his old friend, it ultimately didn't matter. Arashi's specialty was speed, and he was fast enough to run across the cavern walls all around him. Showing just what his alias was based on, the Lightning Lynx zipped across the surfaces around them, tying Espio with his own kunai rope and the cable of Arashi's kyoketsu-shoge.

Rushing to the very top of the chasm's ceiling, fully inverted, Arashi jumped off to torpedo straight down to the cavern's floor. Totally constricted, Espio was torn from the cavern wall and brought down with the lynx.

Holding the ringed end of his weapon with both hands, the lynx let out a roar as he crashed downwards to the ground. He swung his arms forwards in time to nearly hit the ground- as Arashi landed on his feet, Espio was slammed onto his back into the ground, creating a massive blast of dust and air and bringing everything in the cavern to a halt.

"No!"

Charmy, joined by Inco and Nariko, tried to rush forwards to assist the downed detective- however, all three of them were grabbed with three arms of Uma Arachnis, who grabbed them by their collars like they were cats; which was accurate for at least one of them.

Still tied up, the wind knocked out of him, Espio couldn't react as Arashi put his foot on the chameleon's chest. The lynx tore the blade of his weapon out from the ropes constricting his fellow ninja, pointing it down at Espio with a silent but obvious threat.

After catching his breath, Espio spoke. "I yield."

Arashi stared at Espio with those same electrifying blue eyes. He recalled what the others in the Fearsome Foursome had teased him about earlier- not being able to kill Espio when the moment called for it.

They were right.

The Lightning Lynx left Espio behind, pulling the bladed end of his weapon, which unraveled the chameleon and spun him as if he were a spool. As Arashi approached Uma Arachnis, she tossed the heroes she had in her hands away as if they were nothing.

"Now," the lynx said, pointing his blade at her. "You shall give me the title that is rightfully mine."

"No."

"That was not a request. You will fight me."

"What you search for is not what you seek," she replied. "You always were focused on the end and not the journey, Arashi. The title you seek is not here."

"You lie," the Lightning Lynx growled. "Why would Espio defend you otherwise?"

"Because she's not the Master of Ninjutsu anymore." Charmy called out.

Everyone turned to the bee in surprise- even Espio, who raised his eyebrows as he stood up.

"What?" puzzled Arashi.

Ignoring Arashi, Charmy hovered over to stand in front of his fellow detective. "Espio. When we first met all that time ago, when you and Vector came over and had dinner with me, you said you were the best practitioner of ninjustu in the world. I thought you were just bragging, but I've known you for a while now. I know you tend not to gloat about your skills."

"Yes?"

"And the story about what happened between you and Arashi… That confused me. Not because of Arachnis' actions, but because of yours. You aren't somebody to let an injustice such as your closest friend, at least at that time, being tricked into getting booted from his lifelong dream go lightly."

"So what do you think happened, Charmy?" asked Espio, calmly.

"I think… You were angry. I think you were pissed that Arachnis kicked Arashi out of training. You said it yourself, you didn't care about the label, but he did. So you confronted her after he was forced out. You've spoken before about not letting emotion control you… Because you did in that moment. You struck out against Arachnis. You two fought, and… You won, didn't you?"

"…Yes. I did. Only through pure luck."

"I don't understand." Arashi interjected. "What is it you're telling me?"

"I'm saying… Arachnis isn't the master of ninjustu anymore. She hasn't been for years. The true Master of Ninjustu, starting after you turned sixteen, was Espio."

"He… Was?"

"Yes. And since the title is passed through combat, Espio has just lost the title… to you."

Arashi was speechless. He looked at Espio, his oldest friend, who matched his gaze.

"I've gotten rusty, just as you said. I might still be a ninja, but I've been currently focusing on being a detective… I'm happy that skill has rubbed off on Charmy," said the chameleon. "You won against me in combat, fair and square. You, Raijin Arashi… Are the new Master of Ninjustu."

Espio bowed to him. Charmy matched the chameleon after a moment, trying to show his respect. The lynx was still speechless, only coming back to reality when his sister hugged him in a tackle, Nariko laughing lightly now that her brother had the position he's always wanted.

"That's why you were leading him here. So he could win against you in combat." Charmy said to Espio once they both stood again. "You're not usually sloppy enough to let someone tail us to somewhere secret."

"I knew Arashi wouldn't properly fight me until I was standing between him and getting what he wanted."

Espio smiled at Charmy, who smiled back. Inco joined them, patting his son's back.

"WHAT IS THIS?!"

The loud yelling caught everyone's attention. The group- except Arachnis, who merely turned around- all ran to the other end of the cavern.

Known as the "Endless Reach," this cavern was aptly named, as this area of the cave system could be mistaken for taking up the entire inside of Mount Stormtop. The cavern stretched upwards, into pure darkness, but was full of something: a massive spiderweb.

The other three of the Fearsome Foursome had taken the moment prior to rush into the Endless Reach and reach the Web of Fate. Unfortunately, much like Arachnis said, what they were searching for was not what they sought out.

Simian, now using Flying Frog's scarf as a makeshift belt, grabbed a handful of the web in the cave. "This is just a spider's web!"

"What is this?!" Frog asked angrily.

"Where's the Web of Fate?!" Hawk concurred.

"That is the Web of Fate."

Uma Arachnis' words made the terrible trio turn to look at her.

"The Web of Fate is supposed to control time!"

"You believed that nonsense?" deadpanned Arachnis to Simian. "The Web of Fate is the largest spiderweb formed from the Arachnis clan over the last several decades. The webbing is added onto by every generation of the Arachnis bloodline. From my parents, to myself, even my children."

"Why's it called the Web of Fate if it's not magical?" Predator Hawk asked.

"It's relative to my bloodline. It's our most valuable artifact, enough that the locals caught wind and became convinced it was magical- a mere urban legend. We keep it under lock and key so nobody can damage it."

Though Arashi was clearly surprised at this revelation, he wasn't nearly as shocked as his previous allies were. Sargeant Simian, Predator Hawk and Flying Frog were practically despondent with shock that their efforts were all for nothing- they suffered beatings for nothing. Their eyes passed from Arachnis to everyone else in the group.

When the three's eyes reached Espio, he shrugged. "Told you."

The first one to react was Flying Frog, who started breathing heavily. His short fuse got the best of him- he screamed at the top of his lungs from pure fury.

"THIS IS NOTHING BUT A JOKE!"

He thrashed, tearing at the Web of Fate angrily. The ape and the hawk beside him quickly snapped out of their trance, equally as angry that their efforts were in vain. They joined the frog, tearing the webbing angrily, hard enough to yank stone from the walls.

Arachnis called to them. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Can it, you decrepit old bit—"

Suddenly, the entire cavern started to shake, stunning Simian into silence. The group stayed close- Inco gripped Espio and Charmy's arms, while Arashi and Nariko huddled close together in confusion.

A large rock fell from the ceiling. Then another. Then another, and another.

Predator Hawk yelled in fear. "What's happening?!"

"The Web of Fate is the only thing keeping the Endless Reach from caving in all this time." Uma Arachnis stated calmly. "Why do you think we kept it here intact for so long? You three wonder why you failed me and do such a thing as this."

"We gotta get out of here!"

The group turned to escape at Charmy's words, but the entranceway to the Endless Reach was blocked as a large rock came down. Rocks continued to come down behind them.

Espio sensed one fall behind him- it looked sturdy. Maybe if he threw this one into the larger one, it could break and they could escape… there was no time to come up with a comprehensive escape plan, so the chameleon had to go with that one.

He launched his roped kunai into the rock, but found that it wasn't light enough for him to pull on his own, possibly because of any metal within it. Espio growled as he tried to pick it up, but it was no use. He looked around for anyone to help, but found the only muscle around was busy; Simian was looking for any other route out to save himself.

The chameleon felt the rock vibrate, and saw another bladed edge was sunken into it. He followed the cable of the kyoketsu-shoge to Arashi, who had clearly been watching Espio and knew what his plan was.

After a small nod from Arashi, that Espio returned, the pair pulled the heavy rock together, the both of them strong enough to send it off the ground and into the massive rock blocking their way. The quickly made plan worked, and they were able to reach the other end of the cavern.

As they passed through the entrance chamber, more rocks came down around them. Espio and Arashi took the lead, sharing a quick glance. The lynx smirked at his old friend, making the chameleon mirror it as he felt good memories come back to him.

The pair worked as one, with a system- one would grab a rock falling in their path with their roped weapon, and swing it into the other ninja, who would slice it in half. It alternated back and forth, allowing them to carve a path for the entire group towards the webby entrance of the cave.

A massive rock came down ahead of them. Both Espio and Arashi sent their roped blades into the rock and pulled themselves into it. Both ninjas kicked the large stone at the same time, directly at the webbed entrance of the cave. The rock cleared the path for them, all the way to open air.

"Let's go!" Arashi yelled.

With the ninjas still at the front, the entire group shuffled out of the collapsing cave, just in time for it to crumble completely. Arachnis was out last, just in time for the tunnel leading into the cavern to collapse with a puff of dust into the darkness of night.

After a moment to recollect themselves, the three that caused the cave in all booked it. The terrible trio rushed away, wanting to both escape responsibility and get as far away from Arachnis as possible. As they ran, Simian's makeshift belt unraveled, making him stumble and forcing him to hold his pants up.

"Yeah, you better run!" Nariko yelled after them, shaking her kanabo after them.

Standing closest to the tunnel, Uma Arachnis looked at the collapsed entrance with a hand on her chin, thinking to herself.

"Sorry about your family heirloom thing," said Charmy, standing beside her. "But also, you're kinda… a lot. And you made Espio upset five years ago, so… I'm not too sorry."

"…my children were equally as apprehensive as me," she said. "They did not want to take the role of Master of Ninjistu and defend our clan's artifact… I believe it's because of me. That web had kept me in place for so long, and now it's gone… Maybe it's time I move on from my predetermined destiny."

"Maybe you should find your kids." Espio added, making her turn to look at him. "You never know if they've been thinking of you or not. Plus how hard would it be to find a bunch of Mobian spiders?"

"Do you truly believe I could make amends?"

"Master Arachnis," Arashi interjected, walking to stand beside Espio. "If there's something I have found as of late… It's truly never too late to make amends with those you care about."

Seeing her former students in front of her, both of them now her equals, Arachnis slowly nodded.

"Very well," she said. "…I thank you, Nagito Espio and Raijin Arashi. As much as your actions have changed my life… you both were my greatest students. I will take your advice and try to navigate this world outside of the Endless Reach."

She turned to leave, but Charmy called out to her. "Wait!"

The bee dug in his jacket, before presenting her with something special: his Hanīboisu Neko keychain. She slowly took it, holding it by the metal ring at the end of its chain.

"What… Is this?"

"A keychain of Honey Cat! It goes on a ring of keys," the teen said. "She sung the music I blasted earlier. Someone once told me that having that could help me relate with people due to how strange it seems. You might be stuck out there, and you are a little much, but… I hope that can help you make new friends out there, including your kids."

Arachnis paused, still looking over the keychain. "…I did enjoy that music. Thank you, Charlemagne Bee Hernandez."

With that, she left. Crawling up the side of the mountain, she soon disappeared within the foliage of the trees around. Inco came up and patted the bee's shoulder in silent praise for his actions. After a moment, Charmy's eyebrows furrowed.

"…how did she know my full name?"

After their former master left, Espio and Arashi looked at one another, still standing next to each other. The chaos was ended, the lynx's mission completed in a way he never expected- a way that was almost a gift from the chameleon to his old friend.

The pair moved in and hugged one another, finally properly reuniting after being apart for half a decade.

"I missed you."

"I missed you too."

"Though I see not enough to keep yourself for making new friends." Arashi mused, pulling away to watch Charmy and Inco walk up to them. "It is nice to see you again, Mister Inco."

"It's nice to not be attacked by you, Arashi." The samurai replied.

"And I'm Charmy!" The bee added.

"Yes, I know," the lynx nodded. "Though I'm surprised not to see Vector Hernandez and that armadillo you two work with here alongside you."

"You know about Vector and Mighty? Have you been watching us?"

"Oh, your lives are Shiu's personal soap opera." Nariko replied to the bee, coming up behind Arashi and putting an arm around her brother. "I've seen some, you guys live crazy lives over there in the UF."

"That's the life of being a detective," replied Espio. "Perhaps one day you two could come and see how crazy it can really get."

"…I would like that." Arashi smiled a bit, nodding. "…though if I get yelled at by that crocodile, I'm punching him in that snout of his."

"Two of Espio's best friends fighting? Don't be a jealous Josh." Charmy waved his hand.

The lynx was confused. "…my name's Arashi."

"Pardon me for interrupting this moment," Inco spoke. "But what about the other members of this Fearsome Foursome you've gathered? I hardly think this will be the last time we see them, whether it be a grudge against the Chaotix or Arashi himself."

"Don't worry, Mister Inco! We'll take care of those losers!" Nariko said cheerfully, squeezing her arm around Arashi's shoulders.

"We?" Her brother asked.

"Yeah! We're the Lightning Lynx, after all. You didn't think I would let you keep that name to yourself, did you?"

"I suppose not."

"If those chumps show their faces again, I'll bash them in with this kanabo! If I can sneak it out of mom's museum again."

"You're gonna need another guitar case."

"What do you mean, Charmy? I got one! It's right… Oh." Nariko looked at the collapsed tunnel nearby, realizing she left her guitar case inside. "…crap. That's how I got the kanabo out in the first place."

"That'll be fun to explain to mom."

"I'm gonna need some classy cuisine to ease the blow. You guys wanna come? My treat."

"I appreciate the offer, Nariko," Espio replied, holding up a hand. "But we're going to have to pass for tonight. After all that happened, I would prefer to simply rest for the remainder of the night. But we are here for a week, so… If you'd like to do dinner another day, I would be open."

"Sounds like a plan!" Nariko paused. "…wait, Arashi, am I riding back with you to Tokei?"

"I ran here." Arashi replied like it was obvious.

"…can we get a ride with you guys?" She immediately asked the others.

"Since we have a lack of a guitar case now, I think we have room in the trunk for an extra person." Inco said, nodding slowly. "Though I don't think anyone wants to ride there…"

Charmy nearly interrupted him with a yell. "I call the trunk!"

---

Finally, Espio was able to relax and enjoy a soft hotel bed.

The suite they got was high end, naturally, virtually untouched due to them getting service while they were out. The room had two bedrooms, one with a queen bed for Inco to use, and another bedroom with two full beds for Espio and Charmy.

Laying on his back on the soft bed, Espio felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw he had a new text from Nariko- she had ambushed the chameleon for his number before she and her brother were dropped off earlier.

late night mealtime gone wrong! c( O.O )ɔ let us know when you guys wanna go do dinner sometime! (・ω) Shiu hasn't been able to stop brainstorming what would be the best for you guys and he's getting very annoying wwwwww

Included was a photo of Arashi, taken by Nariko. The pair were clearly out to a fancy restaurant, a plate of food in front of him- but Espio could identify that Arashi had been using spicy mustard. The lynx was clutching onto his glass of water, visibly sweating from the spice.

The chameleon smiled softly at the picture. It was surreal, but nice to have Arashi back; he hoped that his old friend would take up his offer to visit them in the UF, with Nariko or not. He wondered how Arashi and Vector would mesh… if they could at all.

"That's crazy, Vector!"

Speaking of, Charmy got on the phone with Vector when they got back to the hotel. It was currently four in the morning, the sun barely peeking out of the Tokei skyline, which meant it was only noon in Station Square. With how late it was, they were bound to be sleeping all day.

Walking into the room from brushing his teeth, wearing pajamas, Charmy had his phone on speaker.

"…so I think she's gone, but I dunno, weird things like coming back to bite you in the tail when ya least expect it," Vector said on the other line. "I think Amy's still kinda upset about it, cause she's out on the balcony chatting with her canary friend and Vanilla's kid."

"I would be too!" Charmy replied, sitting on his bed. "Say hi to Vector, Espio."

"Hi to Vector, Espio."

"Hardy har har," the crocodile replied as Charmy snickered. "I heard you and your ex-BFF got back together! After a fight where he absolutely wiped the floor with ya. Is it true you used to have the title of Master of Ninjustu?"

"Held it for five years."

"And you just… gave it up. Just like that?"

"It's just a title, Vector. If it makes Arashi happy… I'm more than happy to part with it."

"Alright, alright, you big sap. You at least could've told me so we could've advertised it! Imagine the dough we could've raked in if we let people know we had the Master of Ninjustu on our side!"

Espio rolled his eyes, amused. "Enough, Vector. I'm guessing you guys solved that case for Knuckles over on Angel Island?"

"Wasn't much of a case to solve! Though I did get a couple of new interns that I might be interested in hiring sometime if my other guys don't decide to pull their weight…"

"You could never replace us, Vector!" Charmy replied.

"If I had to choose between the two of you and Mighty, or the interns I got? Eh, I'd probably still choose you guys," Vector shrugged- Espio knew as he could hear his gold chain rattle. "I don't think Blaze, Silver and Marine would make the move over here anyways."

"They were your interns?!"

"Sure were!" Vector replied to Charmy cheerfully. "They're still around here. Because the case was solved, we're having a little shindig in Amy's apartment while those fellas are here from that other zone. Even the Angel Island guardians are here, and currently keeping Mighty's attention away from me, his best buddy!"

"Aww man, we always miss the cool stuff."

"Fighting ninjas isn't cool enough for you?"

"Arashi was a ninja, Espio. The others were just dumb."

"Fair enough."

"Yeah, tell me more about this Arashi guy. I wanna know if I'm gonna have to…" Vector paused. "What was that? Did you hear that?"

"No?"

Espio's eyebrows furrowed. "Vector, are you alright?"

"There was some kinda rumbling… Wh-What the heck is that?!"

"Vector?"

Espio stood, standing next to Charmy as the bee was sitting on his bed, the both of them looking down at the phone in the bee's hand.

"Is that an explosion?!"

"Vector, what's happening?!" Charmy yelled.

"Vector?" Espio called out.

"Guys, I— "

Static interrupted him, filling the call. After a second, the call ended. Charmy quickly went back through his phone and called Vector again- the call didn't even go through, a three-tone sound coming out.

"We're sorry, the number you dialed cannot be reached. Please check your service and try again."

The call hung up again. Left in shock, the pair were silently staring at the phone, before they slowly turned to look at each other with faces of horror, unsure of what just happened to their friend.

UP NEXT: Manic Underground!