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.

2. Sonny And Miles

"Welcome to South Island."

Sonic and Tails slowly walked out of the infirmary, onto the small porch that was attached to it. They felt the cold light hit them- that's right, it was cold, not hot. Though it wasn't a freezing cold, it felt more like a refreshing gust of wind, just… still.

Ahead of them was a large, spanning village square- it was made rectangular because of the buildings on either side, which seemed to be built into hills. All of the buildings' shapes were hill-like, with the top of the sloped buildings clearly covered in grass. It wasn't certain whether the hills or the buildings inside them came first, but the grass on these hilly buildings were the same striped type of grass from the islands Sonic and Tails were on just a few hours before.

"Uncle Chuck, you're gonna make them confused!" Manny said, as he, Sonia and Chuck came up around the pair. "This isn't South Island, it's Green Hill!"

"I meant welcome to the island as a whole, Manny, I was getting to that." Chuck replied. "This village is named Green Hill. It's where your siblings and I live. I landed here… Golly, about two decades ago. I've been a trusted and loyal member of the community ever since!"

"That means he's a member of the local government. Don't trust him with outings unless you want people snitching on you." Manny murmured to Tails. The fox nodded sagely.

"Uncle Chuck's one of the appointed leaders of Green Hill, on the council." Sonia said to Sonic in turn. "It's between him, a few industrialists, and… Longclaw!"

As they looked down, they could see the owl was standing by the porch steps. She turned her head around fully to look at the Hedgehogs (by name only) and perked up hearing Sonia speak to her.

Sonia and Manny rushed down the stairs. Manny jumped into a hug, which Longclaw accepted. Sonia stood by, folding her hands in front of her.

"I'm so happy to see you two in good spirits! I'm sorry I couldn't talk earlier." She said to Manny and Sonia. Her face turned to watch Sonic and Tails walk down the steps, her face changing again. "And this… Is the third sibling."

"Longclaw, this is my nephew Sonny. Sonny, this is Longclaw Sophocles."

"We've met." Sonic reached his hand out to shake Longclaw's wing. "Thank you, for saving my life."

Longclaw ignored the hand. She went in for a hug, smiling as she pressed Sonic into her robes.

"It's so nice to meet you! Chuck's told me all about you! Or at least that a third sibling existed. I'm sorry I was so bewildered when we first met." She said as she pulled away. She looked at Tails. "And who's this?"

"Longclaw, this is Miles." Chuck put his hand on Tails' shoulder. "He's my other nephew. A surprise nephew, I suppose."

"Nice to meet you. You can call me Tails."

"Well, I didn't expect there to be a fourth!" Longclaw's expression didn't change. "That's alright though! Another kid of Chuck's is always a bonus! It's so nice to meet you too, Tails."

"Longclaw's helped raised us since we were little, since Chuck had to work a lot." Sonia said, popping up beside Sonic.

"That doesn't mean her and Chuck haven't had the chance to get close though. Really close." Manny said, sliding in on the other side of Sonic with a grin. Chuck scoffed and rolled his eyes.

Something buzzed. Sonic instinctively went to his pockets, but found that Longclaw pulled out a device from her robes- it was a pager. What a blast from the past.

"Oh! I have to go. The motion triggers sensed something out east." She said. Longclaw turned to Sonic and Tails again. "So nice to meet you again. I'll see you around!"

With a powerful flap of her wings, Longclaw was far up into the air. She flew off again, ripping through the air like a jet. Sonic watched in amazement, grinning a bit.

"Now that's way past cool."

"Longclaw's family has a long history with South Island." Chuck explained, gesturing for the siblings to follow him. "In particular, they founded Green Hill. Which is why Longclaw's on the council."

"That, and she loves this village more than anyone." Sonia added.

"Sis, no interrupting the tour guide."

"I can't help it if he doesn't know as much as I do, Manny, you know this."

"Anyway," Chuck continued. "Green Hill is a very important community on South Island. It's the source of all the supplies used around. From wooden planks, to metal, whatever you can think of we make it here. This is just the commercial district, the industrial district is a few miles north."

"Past that?"

Tails pointed at the massive landmass that was towering at the edge of this commercial district. It was a massive mountain, one that looked like it was made up of smaller plateaus, the same checkered stone seen on the sides of the striped green tops. There were a few noticeable paths winding around this massive hill, and it seemed a few of them led to the most interesting part of it- what could only be assumed was a naturally occurring loop-de-loop at the very top. Sonic and Tails could see a few homes constructed within the slope of the massive hill, similar to the buildings in the square.

"Yes!" Uncle Chuck nodded. "That's our titular 'Green Hill' if you couldn't tell. A lot of houses, including ours, are positioned around there. All the roads in the village lead up to that loop, so if you ever get lost in town, just follow the streets!"

"These houses are so amazing. Are they totally covered in grass?"

"At least the tops of them, yes! They're built sturdy so you can walk on top of them, too. They keep the buildings insulated during colder weather and cool during hot weather! Besides, it matches with the whole "hill" thing we got going on here."

"Circling back to houses," Sonic twirled his index fingers over one another in a full circle. "We kinda had luggage in that plane we crash-landed here in…"

"And that plane is a very articulate piece of beautiful machinery!" Tails spoke up.

"Is there any way we could get that taken off the beach? To a hill house of your own?"

"Oh, of course! Hold on- Muttski?"

The group went quiet. Uncle Chuck looked around, using a hand to block the sky's light coming down.

"Muttski? Has anyone seen Ben Muttski around here?"

"Coming, Mister Charles!"

From the other end of the square, a dog started running towards them. He looked young- maybe a bit older than Tails, but certainly younger than Sonic. He was dressed business casual, and had a brown spot around his right eye on already toasty brown fur. He was carrying some folders in his arms, juggling them in his grasp to make sure none of them fell to the ground from his arms.

As he rushed towards the Hedgehogs (again, in name only) his attempts to keep everything in his arms distracted him from someone with a cart full of round, brown coconuts. Moving at full speeds, the poor Muttski immediately collided with the side of the cart, and it was at a short enough height to make the hound trip over it, throwing the folders in front of him as he reached his arms out to catch himself.

The papers came to a stop in midair, as did Muttski. Many coconuts were stuck mid-fall around the falling hound as the cart was tilting towards the same direction he was falling.

Sonic dusted off his sleeve, and cracked his knuckles, palms facing out in front of him. Being stuck in that plane for hours, getting very little running time and keeping himself walking meant he had a lot of pent up speeding to do. His family members were barely changing expression as he zipped past.

He started by putting the coconut cart upright again. Sonic plucked the coconuts suspended in the air and put them back with their fellow fuzzy brethren. After that, he collected the papers that had spilled out from the folders, before taking the folders and slipping them back in.

There was a furniture place across the square. Sonic entered, taking the pillows and blanket from a display and returning just as Muttski was a few feet from the ground. Sonic slid the pillows under his head, and then folded the blanket as a makeshift landing pad, putting it where his body would land.

He kept the folders in his arm, and closed his eyes. Sonic's body stopped moving at supersonic speeds.

Muttski landed on the pillows and blanket with a grunt, one that quickly turned to a very confused noise. He looked down, then up at Sonic, who handed him his folders with a smile. Once the dog was up on his feet, Sonic looked at the others- everyone but Tails was surprised.

"Alright, Sonic!" The fox said, giving him a thumbs up.

"How… did you do that?" Chuck asked.

"Oh, uh… That's just… A thing I do." Sonic shrugged. He's never really had to explain that before. "I can move at supersonic speeds. Actually, back home, I'm known more as 'Sonic' than I am as Sonny."

"That's incredible, dude!" Manny's face turned to amusement, a wide smile on his face.

There was a creak that turned Sonic around, and he watched as the wheel to the coconut cart that was closest to him shattered. The cart turned over, spilling out all the coconuts from it and onto the sidewalk. Looks like what happened with Muttski affected the cart more than they knew.

"My coconuts!"

A short chimp with a fez hat on looked devastated. He glared at Sonic.

"Sorry Mr. Coconuts…" Muttski said sheepishly.

The chimp, apparently named Coconuts, let out a growl that turned into an angry yell. He started picking up the coconuts one by one, angrily grumbling to himself. Sonic was shuffled away by Manny, followed by the others closely. Not Uncle Chuck, however, who hung back to speak with Muttski.

"Man, that sucks."

"Don't worry about it, Coconuts is a serious toolbag, even if his coconuts are fine." Manny rolled his eyes, eventually moving away from Sonic. "I'm still amazed that you can move that fast! That's incredible! Though it hasn't been the first time I've seen someone that fast."

"It's also not the first time that you've seen a family member with incredible talent."

"Oh right, Tails is cool too with those tails! Thanks for reminding me Sonia."

Sonia huffed, her way to get the others to probe her for information foiled. Nearby, she saw someone else- a crab-woman that was struggling to pick up a carrier full of suitcases in it. She looked to Manny, going "hmph," before walking towards the struggling crab lady.

She walked over- Sonia leaned down and grabbed the edge of the carrier, picking it clear off the ground with one hand. She brought it over to the door this crab lady was clearly trying to get it over, a door that led to an apartment over one of the shops on the square.

"You're welcome."

"I didn't need your help! Ugh, now it probably has hick sweat on it! Gross!"

Not surprised by this outcome, Sonia was already walking away when the crab lady made her retort. Sonia returned with a beaming face, both hands on her hips.

"Well?"

"You helped out Crabmeat. I don't think you get a plus for that." Manny replied to her.

"IT'S CHELSEA!" The crab lady, apparently Crabmeat— sorry, Chelsea— yelled out.

"It's cool that you have superstrength!" Tails complimented Sonia.

"Explains why that slap at my hand was so hard." Sonic added in. "Speaking of, you can't let your brother touch you but you'll touch a random suitcase thing no problem?"

"You came from the outside, her and her things are from here. They're familiar germs."

"You know, I made this polymer spray for the gloves that I wear. Sonic and a few of our other friends use it too." Tails said to her. "Keeps stains off and germs away from the fabric. You want me to give you some?"

"If you did, you'd be the best little brother ever. Full offense Manny."

"Hey! Eh, I understand." The green hedgehog shrugged and nodded.

"It'll have to wait until I get my luggage back, it's in there. That thing works wonders. It survived an entire Friendsgiving meal without even having to use a napkin!"

"Yeah I don't know what that is," Sonia replied. "But it sounds good! Oh, I'm so excited! No more germs and no more stains! Now I can touch anything!"

"More suitcase carriers, I'm assuming?" Sonic teased. "That was pretty cool though. I always love having a powerhouse close to me… Manny, what about you? Do you have any cool powers?"

Manny smiled and rubbed his hands together. He put his hands in front of him like he was going to cast lightning from his fingertips or something. He held that for a second or two before saying: "Nope!"

"Wait, really?"

"C'mon, I don't need superstrength or superspeed or twin tails to be cool. I'm cool all on my own, dude. I have my own talents anyway." Manny started walking away. "So don't ask again because the answer will be the same. I do not have powers. Period. None. Zip. None. Don't ever ask—"

Manny ran into someone while he was looking back at his siblings. A gobble was heard- it was a female turkey, who was interrupted during her shopping at a sidewalk stand by Manny. A noticeable thing about her was a big, shiny brooch on her dress breast.

The turkey gobbled again. "Watch it! Oh, it's you, Manny."

"Henrietta Peck!" Manny shot a finger gun at her. "As I live and breathe! How long's it been, a few years?"

"Since we graduated together from secondary school."

"Right. Good times."

"Not really. I remember you took everyone's pencils then acted like you didn't know what they were talking about when you were found out every time."

Manny laughed lightly, leaning in and patting Henrietta's shoulder in a friendly fashion.

"Man, things are so different now. I'm glad we could catch up though!"

"Yeah… Whatever…"

Henrietta eyed Manny before walking past him, and past his siblings next. The others came up beside Manny to join where he was standing.

"Henrietta Peck was always abrasive. Nice to know she never changed."

"Yeah, but that brooch on her was pretty, right?" Manny said to his sister.

"Yeah?" Sonia eyed him suspiciously.

"You think it'll look better on me?"

Manny reached into his fanny pack, pulling out Henrietta's brooch and holding it between two fingers, letting it glimmer in the light from above. Sonic and Tails' eyebrows went up.

"Did you steal that?" The fox asked.

"Manny, we talked about this." Sonia sighed.

"What? I can't help it if she doesn't keep track of her jewelry. Don't they say that turkeys can't look down anyway or something?"

"That's pigs with looking up, and it doesn't matter! You need to return that, now."

"C'mooon…"

"Manny, it's wrong. Return the brooch." Sonic said seriously.

After a moment of thought, Manny scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Great. Two more siblings who are killjoys."

He flipped the brooch like he would a coin. The brooch flew up and back, landing a foot or two ahead of the still walking Henrietta. When it was right in front of her, the turkey noticed the brooch on the ground, and said "I keep dropping this thing…" before picking it up to put it back on her dress.

Manny kept moving, his siblings having to take some quick steps to catch up with him.

"Does he do that a lot?" Sonic asked Sonia.

"When we were little. He's gotten better, but every now and then he slips back into it." She replied to her brother. "He got scary good at it from doing it a lot as a kid. He only stopped when it put Chuck in trouble of being kicked from the council."

"Ugh, I can literally feel you all whispering about me." Manny said. "Look, I don't really steal anymore. If I wanted to, I would. But it's just boring around here nowadays. There's rarely any rush. I'm in my music era nowadays."

The quartet came across a small open section. Sitting on an inverted bucket was a crimson-colored quokka, with a guitar in their hands, trying to play a specific set of notes in order.

"Heya, Barry." Manny greeted them. "These are my brothers, the blue one and gold one. Anyway, whatcha trying to strum there?"

"Well, since the different parts of South Island have anthems, I thought I'd try to play it." The quokka replied to him. "It's a bit hard though. I don't… really know the notes."

"I do. C-A-C-B-C-B-G… A-E-D-C-B-C-B-G. Here, let me just show you."

Sonic, Tails and Sonia stayed a few feet away and watched Manny take the guitar away from Barry. Manny closed his eyes, his fingers sliding down the strings to start playing the notes he just spoke.

"This is what I'd rather Manny be doing." Sonia said to her brothers. "He's so good with music. Has been since he was a kid. He likes the drums, but he's a jack of all trades, really. He's better than I am on piano."

"He sure knows his way around an instrument." Sonic commented. "You know, I've always wanted to start a band. Tails isn't that good at instruments, but what if me, you and Manny started one and—"

"There you are!"

The million dollar idea was put on hold as Uncle Chuck was there behind them. He adjusted his cardigan to look presentable again, joining the three.

"You'll be happy to know I'm getting some strongmen to move the plane to my home. I have a lot of garage space anyway, so it should fit in perfectly." He said. "What trouble were you four getting into?"

"Nothing big. But Manny's shredding it on the guitar." Tails replied. "Or I guess… the open mic night equivalent of shredding it. But he's doing great, don't forget that part!"

Chuck watched his nephew on the guitar. Once Manny was done, he had a few people clap for him watching the small performance. He handed the guitar back to Barry, the quokka trying to match their fingers up with how they just watched the hedgehog do it.

"Uncle Chuck! Welcome back." Manny said as he walked back to the group. "Where should we head off to next on your tour? We got a bit distracted."

"Well, I was thinking I would help Sonny and Miles get to know everyone in town!" The old hedgehog replied. "I can bring them to the businesses and let them meet the owners!"

"Uncle Chuck, that's so awkward." Sonia said to him. "They'll get to know the person better if they meet them on their own, not if they're introduced by someone else. Plus, you'll be doing all the talking."

"Hogwash! I want to make sure my nephews are a major part of the community! The best way to do that is to introduce them to people! We did it with you and Manny when you turned eighteen, didn't we?"

"Yeah, and it's still awkward between us and the business owners today."

"I only just turned fourteen a few months ago, for the record." Tails spoke up.

"Dude, don't bail out on me." Sonic hissed.

"Come now, it won't be that awkward! You'll get to see how things are done around here first hand! Sure, we might be interrupting their shifts… taking attention away from customers, and daily tasks, and…"

As Chuck kept talking, Sonic was nudged by Manny. Both he and Sonia nodded their heads away, knowing that Chuck didn't keep a track of his surroundings when he was rambling on. Sonic and Tails glanced at each other, but took the chance to escape the possibility of having to make awkward small talk. They crept away with their siblings, right out of the commercial district.

Only a minute or so later was Chuck finally done with his speech.

"…but with that we can get a greater understanding of this community, and everything it provides! I'm glad we can do this together, boys! Sonny, Miles, let's do it… to it…" Chuck looked around. "Where did they go?"

---

"Okay, you being able to fly both in a plane and with tails makes you the cooler brother."

Manny was grinning, watching Tails hovering around the three hedgehogs as they walked together on the outskirts of Green Hill's commercial district. They had stepped down a small hill, hidden from the other Mobians in the village after getting away from Uncle Chuck.

Sonic and Sonia hung back a bit, watching Manny be amazed by the talents of the teenage fox. The blue hedgehog looked over his shoulder, checking around to see if anyone was around them.

"I feel kinda bad for bailing on Uncle Chuck like that."

"Eh, don't be." Sonia replied. "I'm telling you, you'll get to know people better when you're not uprooting their daily schedules. It's how I got to know everybody in town! Even Chelsea."

"Her name is Crabmeat." Manny yelled back.

"No it's not."

"You seem really keen on the people in town, Sonia." Tails interjected.

"That's because she's going to be taking Chuck's role as the city manager in a few years."

"Whoa, really? We'd barely be thirty by then." Sonic said to his sister, lifting an eyebrow.

"I'll be there in maybe four or five years." She shrugged. "It's a big job, and big responsibility, but it's really all I know nowadays. I've been shadowing Chuck for so long that I can do what he does for a few hours if he's really busy."

"But is it what you want to do?"

"Well… I am a little tired of being here, but it's not like I can go anywhere else. The Yellow Desert Baronies, Gigalopolis, even Knothole Village all have leaders with very strict familial requirements."

"This is the only spot nepotism can work in your favor, right." Sonic nodded.

"Plus we can't really go to the outside world, so… I don't have any other options. I don't mind being in charge of a community, I love helping people. And though Green Hill isn't really my style, it's all I really have if I want to fit that leadership position."

"Alright, I'll give you that." The blue hedgehog nodded. "Manny? What about you?"

"What about me, dude?"

"What are you up to? What do you want to be up to? Anything with music?"

"I play music every now and then. Maybe sometimes for people. But as for the long-term… I don't really have any set plans right now." Manny kicked a rock as he walked. "I'm kind of taking a break from… everything. I was working on a project for Chuck for a bit, but I… Had to stop."

"Manny's had…" Sonia eyed her brother, who gave her a small nod to continue. "…a few personal issues going on. We're trying to help him out with finding out what he wants to do, but it takes time."

"Oh man, I'm sorry." Tails said, dropping to his feet to walk next to Manny.

"I know what that's like, being stuck in your head and all. I've been doing that a lot recently." Sonic replied, though a bit withdrawn. "I can't say I know how to get yourself out, since I just throw myself at stuff more often than people would like, but… It does help to talk. And to feel, not to repress."

"Right." Manny replied, also withdrawn. He felt, whether it was correct or not, the conversation was getting somewhere awkward. "What about you two, Sonny and Miles?"

"Sonic and Tails."

"That's what I said." The green hedgehog nudged Tails with a grin. "What're you two up to out there?"

"Nothing too important." Sonic shrugged. He watched as Manny and Tails hung back for them to walk together. "Just trying to exist. Trying to be a bad boy in a bad world."

"Sonic's being facetious. We're superheroes."

"You're… what?"

"Well, not like we wear tight spandex and fly or whatever. Well, Sonic doesn't fly." Tails continued, looking at Sonia. "We've saved the world on… two separate occasions? At least two that are important enough to document. But we've saved a lot of lives with our powers and stuff."

"Of course! That sounds awesome, little bro."

Manny pat Tails' head. He looked at Sonia, and not so subtly circled his finger next to his head with wide eyes, obviously signaling that Sonic and Tails were nuts. Tails rolled his eyes, reaching into his backpack to retrieve his Miles Thunderbolt.

He got between Sonia and Manny, pulling up video he's saved.

Many different past adventures flashed across the screen from different civilian phones. Sonic saving people from a bus split in half from Hyper Metal (later Metal Sonic, RIP); Team Sonic fighting Bark the Polar Bear for the Chaos Emerald they collected in front of the demolished Fortune Shop; Team Sonic (& Knuckles) struggling against Fang the Sniper in Meh Burger when he was on the run; the first round of Sonic vs. Shadow in Golden Bay; then clips of Super Sonic fighting Perfect Chaos and a ground shot of Super Sonic & Super Shadow fighting Devil Doom, the latter only really a video of golden streaks repeatedly hitting a meteor.

"Whoa," Manny was enthralled, speaking softly. "Who's that red guy?"

"That's Knuckles! He's from an island of people like us. Well, another island. His floats." Tails explained.

"Who's the pink girl with the hammer?"

"Amy Rose." Sonic spoke up to reply to Sonia. "She's a childhood friend. Her mom knew my… our mom."

"Friend, right." Tails said. He nudged Sonia, winking at her as he spoke again. "Friend."

"…Oh, I get it. Frieeend." She nodded slowly, eyeing Sonic.

"Yeah. Friend." Sonic's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

A clip of Team Sonic and Team Rose fighting against Chaos-4 at Carnival Island came on next. Manny, still enamored, watched Knuckles and Tails fight against the watery beast together.

"This is awesome." He said. "You two do this all the time? As like a job?"

"Well, we don't get paid," Sonic replied. "Amy actually works two jobs to pay for our apartment, but that's besides the point. We do this stuff all the time! That's why we're known as Sonic and Tails over there."

"That's such a cool name too, Sonic." The green hedgehog replied. "…what if… you all called me… Manic!"

It was quiet among them for a second.

"Like… Mania? Like derangement?" Tails asked.

"Did you… Did you think I got 'Sonic' by replacing the 'ny' in my name with 'ic'?"

Manny blinked, suddenly feeling a wave of embarrassment come over him.

"…well it does fit him." Sonic added, still looking amused. "You sure act deranged."

"I agree." Tails nodded. "Plus, don't let Sonic dictate your nickname. He only got 'Sonic' because of me."

"Not true! I probably would've made it myself!"

"You didn't even know what 'supersonic' meant before I said it, Sonic."

"Well… I guess it's a family trait to choose a nickname from the vibe." The blue hedgehog looked at his twin brother, winking at him with reassurance.

Manic smiled a bit, feeling better about choosing that nickname. He liked it. Sure sounded better than just "Manny" to him. He was sure it was going to stick.

"I like it too!" Sonia chimed in. "Definitely sounds like something a real punk rocker like you would have as a name. Stage name or not."

"Thanks, sis."

"But, moving back to Sonic and his world-saving adventures," She turned to Sonic. "You're a real speedster superhero, then? Just going off of that little stunt you pulled with Muttski like, thirty minutes ago."

"Oh yeah."

Sonic disappeared in a flash of blue. His siblings couldn't see, but the blue hedgehog circled the entirety of Green Hill, showing up on the other side of the group within seconds of leaving.

"I'm the fastest thing alive!" He grinned. "A lap around Green Hill is nothing to me."

"Wait, do that again." Manic pulled a watch from his fanny pack. "I wanna time it. Do it again. Go!"

Once more, Sonic disappeared to run around the outskirts of the village again, just as Manic hit the button to start the timer. When the blue hedgehog returned, Manic stopped the timer, showing the incredibly short time Sonic got.

"Wow! That's impressive!" Sonia said. "I mean, it's just below the record on the island, but impressive nonetheless!"

Sonic's smile was wiped from his face at the second sentence. He stared directly at Sonia with a look that could be mistaken for almost murderous intent. Tails took a step away from the group.

"What do you mean below the record?"

"You aren't the fastest."

"I'm not? Then who is?"

"Him."

Sonia pointed at a teal streak, one that Sonic barely caught before it was right in front of them. Uncle Chuck skidded to a stop, breathing heavily but still looking dapper even after his superspeed blitz. No wonder he wore sneakers on an otherwise formal-ish outfit.

"There you are!" He said, dusting his cardigan off. "I should've known you'd be close to Green Hill. Had me juicing clear across the island so worried. I was about to enter warp speed!"

"Hey, Uncle Chuck." Sonia waved a little.

"Hey, my tuchus! I nearly got a fine for speeding through the other districts like that."

"Hey Uncle Chuck, I wanna be called Manic now!"

"…like derangement?"

"Yeah!"

"…well, that's a very 'hip' name for you as a punk rocker." Chuck knuckled his quilly mustache. "I do like it. Pretty good name choice, Manny. Excuse me- good name choice Manic. It'll take a minute, but I'll get there."

Manic smiled and fist pumped at his victory with the name change.

"Well then! Since you rascals want to scurry off from all your impatience, I guess I'll just skip to the good stuff as your punishment!" Chuck continued. "Looks like you kids are being taken to Mission Freedom!"

Though he was just happy about his new nickname, Manic's face dropped, his arms going slack. He soon brought his hands up to scratch his wrist.

"Uh… I don't feel too good all of a sudden." He said, his face flushing and eyes averted. "I think I'm gonna… go and lay down or something. Maybe take a walk for fresh air."

Uncle Chuck put his hand on Manic's shoulder. He looked serious.

"Of course, Manny." He said. "You can help the movers with Miles' plane. Make sure it fits in the garage and whatnot. We'll be back soon, alright?"

"…alright. Thanks, Uncle Chuck."

Manic quickly took his leave. He rushed away without another goodbye. Though Sonic and Tails were a bit confused, Sonia and Chuck continued to look sympathetic. After a deep breath, Chuck clapped his hands.

"Alright then! You three are coming with me. Hope you like walking, we're heading up the Green Hill! C'mon kiddos, let's do it to it!"

They set off. Sonic looked back at his retreating brother one more time as they did, seeing Manic practically sink into his orange vest as he headed the opposite direction.

The road they were on led to the Green Hill itself- all roads most likely did, like Chuck mentioned before. The massive hill that the village was named after wasn't quite mountain level, maybe the height of a 40-45 story building not including the loop at the very top.

Heading uphill on the trail circling the massive rise, Sonic and Tails watched Chuck and Sonia wave happily to the people whose homes were built on the sides of the hill. Some of these homes were suspended over the edge of the path itself.

Soon, they exited the suburb that took up the bottom half of the hill.

"Now you're gonna see some weird stuff on this trip to the top." Chuck commented. "Around here, we don't have a lot of those fancy vehicles you do. The Yellow Desert provides enough pollution here. Most of us walk around to get places- but we have a few quality-of-life things we use to get people to their destination fairly quick, in a way that's entertaining for them too."

"We've seen some pretty weird stuff, Uncle Chuck." Tails replied. "How weird could this be?"

It was a spring. Or a bounce pad, as it was called professionally by Chuck.

It almost looked like a mushroom. It had a round red padding, with a blue circle in the middle and a golden star inside said circle. It was placed at the end of the thin path, right at the bottom of a cliff that was the next step on their journey.

Sonic and Tails were bewildered.

"Huh! That's interesting." The blue hedgehog said.

"A nice little spring, courtesy of Mission Freedom!" Chuck clapped Sonic's back. "There's more of them out in the wild. You better be careful, it's locked in the bottom position until it senses weight on it. You gotta really jump on it!"

They watched as Sonia was their brave volunteer, hopping up onto the spring. As soon as she landed, there was a small click when the spring was all the way down. It launched her up and over the cliff as expected.

Still bewildered, yet mildly interested, Sonic and Tails were quiet.

"Screw it, I wanna fly high." The fox said.

Tails jumped, using his tails to jet onto the spring. He mimicked Sonia, launched up into the air enough to clear the cliff. He looked over the edge down at Sonic, giving him a thumbs up.

"That's really cool!"

Always one to do something cool, Sonic rushed in next. He hopped on the spring and made it over the cliff. Uncle Chuck was next, still smiling.

"Does Mission Freedom make more awesome stuff like the spring?"

"I have a feeling you're gonna like the dash panels."

"The what?!" Sonic's eyes widened.

"You'll see, you'll see. C'mon, we gotta keep moving."

They continued to watch. On the higher levels, there were a few more houses at the edges of the path- Sonic had seen some kind of downreel pulley thing beside spring area in the cliff before, so that was probably how they got down.

Sonic kept looking over at Chuck. He was still utterly bamboozled at the reveal that Chuck out of everyone was… he couldn't even think it. Chuck was pretty fast, though. Sonic didn't have a problem with him being this fast at his age, but that he didn't even flaunt it. Sonic loved being the fastest thing alive- did Chuck?

Eventually, after waving at a bunch of patrons outside their houses, Chuck saw Sonic looking at him.

"…something wrong, sonny boy?"

"No, nothing's wrong!" Sonic replied. "It's just… I didn't know you were a speedster like me. Why didn't you say anything earlier?"

"You didn't bring it up."

"I literally went supersonic to prevent your assistant from embarrassing himself!"

"Yes, and that was very kind of you."

"Chuck…" Sonic groaned. "You're the only guy I know who can really keep up with me! And trust me, before you there was a long list of empty slots before we got to the only other person- Shadow, who sat at like, number fifty. Actually, no, probably deeper. I'm giving him way too much credit."

"Who?"

"It doesn't matter. How long have you been this fast?"

"Well…" Chuck looked a bit uncomfortable. "I was a late bloomer in that regard. My powers only really kicked on when, uh… your mother escaped that facility with you. When I was left behind."

Sonic grimaced a bit at the memory of Aleena retelling it.

"Oof. Sorry."

"Well, it's not too bad, I suppose. It saved your siblings, but I passed out immediately after. Doctor Robotnik found me again, and ran a few more tests on me in private. I guess he saw me use that power, but he didn't have any concrete proof, so I kept myself from using it to buy time as I found a way out."

"Then what happened?"

"Well, I used those powers to scape with your twins. Also used them on a boat that I stole, which I'm not proud of, to row as far away as I could. I knew a general direction from someone I once knew in that facility… I didn't expect to run into that storm that brought me… here, though."

"Do you not like using your super cool speed?"

"It's kind of meticulous to use, but I don't mind it. Though that does bring me to a point I wanted to speak to you about, after seeing your display in the town square," Chuck looked a bit more serious. "The people here, they don't have powers like you and I do."

"We called them Mobians up on the uh, above world."

"Mobians. I see why, right." The old hedgehog nodded. "But still. The Mobians here don't have superspeed, or superstrength, or two tails to fly with. Maybe their ancestors did, but the communities on this island have been around for many, many generations. Even if any of the people here had powers, they might be dulled down. The Mobians here are powerless, which makes our family stand out a bit."

"But that's good though! It means they can count on you if they need help that's out of their range of expertise, or ability."

"…maybe. But I don't want you using your powers all the time. It might garner unwanted attention."

"Chuck, I've handled worse threats before. Tails can show you the proof! I'll be fine!"

"I have no doubt. But I'm telling you, I don't want you using them. I just got you back, I don't… Want anything to happen to my nephews. Both you and Miles. Please, Sonny."

"…alright Uncle Chuck, I understand. I'll do my best to… slow it down."

Famous last words from Sonic the Hedgehog, truly. Tails in the front knew that Sonic saying that was a futile endeavor, as he'd most likely use his powers at any given chance- if someone needed help, Sonic would rush in to give his assistance. And Tails would be there to assist to, at any given moment.

Unknown to the fox, however, Sonia was thinking of a similar sentiment to assist her brother in her head.

They reached the top of Green Hill, on the platform with the loop-de-loop on it. Around the edge of the plateau, not blocking any path, was a massive building. From the look of it, it was two stories, but extended down the side of the hilltop for more floors below the lobby level. From the looks of it, it extended partially into the hill itself as well.

From the top, there was a lovely view of the village below- as well as the industrial district on the other side, where the factories and a few more neighborhoods were. Sonic could also see past that, over to the woods that made up that part of the island, and some other areas too. There was a deserty area somewhere far off and to the left, some icy tundra to the top right, and some red rocky areas with… wait, was that a volcano? Did South Island have an actual volcano?

…Maybe it was best not to think about it. He could also see a sprawling metropolis towards the center of the island, which was bright in Sonic's vision. That distracted him from the possibility of this island housing a volcano.

There wasn't a sign explaining what the building was, but there was a path leading right to the front doors. They stepped inside, greeted by the front lobby. However, it was empty up there.

In the center of the building's lobby, there was some large decor. A glass wall with a red symbol on it- a red star, though the left point of the star was replaced with a smaller star. The right point of the big star had some lines striping it. Underneath the star symbol was "MISSION FREEDOM" underneath, and an establishing date marked for ten years prior.

"My magnum opus!" Chuck said, beaming. "I made this ten years ago to do something that our modern community couldn't. I know you boys have normal, fairly advanced medical provisions where you're from, but here we can only work with what we get. That means that people are sometimes left with issues that keep them from living their lives like they want it!"

"So what does Mission Freedom do then?"

"Well, our starting projects were the springs and the dash pads, as well as some pulleys. There's also a barrier project we've had in beta for a while, which miraculously creates a shield made from concentrated elements to help people survive in the rougher climates on South Island. But, the biggest project we've been working on for a while is our Organic Matter Transmutator."

"Organic… Matter… Transmutator?" Tails' head tilted curiously. "What's that?"

"You'll see! It's downstairs. That's where all the labs are. Up here is just the lobby and the offices upstairs. Come with me!"

It was obvious Chuck was very excited about what he had to show his nephews. Passing by a door that needed a key to open, they walked down stairs to the level below, marked with a B1 on the staircase walls.

The room right below was massive. This was definitely the reason that this building had to extend into the hill. It felt nearly endless, but was made up for with the entire room being nearly filled with a massive machine.

It was neat, no external wires or anything of the like in sight. Though there were some cables stapled to the ceiling, reaching out to connect to the side of the room that was heading inside of the hill. They led into a gap atop another door, leading to a room that said "CAUTION: DANGEROUS MATERIAL AHEAD"

Chuck and Sonia walked ahead, with the boys still behind.

"Behold," Sonia said, gesturing the massive machine. "The Roboticizer!"

It was clear Chuck did not find that amusing. He put his hands on his hips, a deep frown on his face, his foot tapping with impatience for the obvious running gag and the impertinence shown.

"I'm beginning to think you and Manny are the reason the people in the village call it that." He said. "It's not a Roboticizer! Its a transmutator! Calling it a Roboticizer vastly oversimplifies the process made by the machine!"

"Does it not make robot parts?"

"…yes, but it's still an oversimplification."

There was an end of the machine that had a glass container, one that led into a massive gap in the machine. A person could stand in that end, and be brought inside with the conveyor belt making up the floor of that small cell. Instead, Chuck reached into a cabinet placed at the wall beside the glass cell, retrieving the arm of a wooden mannequin. He placed it inside.

Leaving the space, Chuck approached a podium with a control panel on it right outside that glass cube. He pressed a few buttons, causing the massive machine, the Roboti— sorry, the Organic Matter Transmutator, to start up. It whirred loudly, and slowly the conveyor belt brought the wooden arm into the confines of the machine.

As it passed through, something else whirred and started up behind them. The room that the wires were leading into was now making noise, as something clearly was getting to work to provide the Transmutator with… something.

Chuck led the group to the other end of the massive machine. There was another glass container meant for the machine's exit.

It took a few minutes, but the machine soon opened up. On the other end of the conveyor, the arm came out- however, it was made of metal instead of wood now. True to what Sonia had said, the arm was now a robotic prosthesis. Chuck picked it up once the door to the glass cell opened, showing it to Sonic and Tails.

"Ta-da!" He said. "Primo supremo, as my brother would say."

"This is… incredible!" Tails said. "How is this even possible?!"

"The island is imbued with an energy that nobody can seem to clarify. Most of the historians know where it came from, but they're unsure of how that accident created it. But that energy, when concentrated, can turn things into other things. For example, it can turn organic matter- like this wooden arm- into metal! So amputees with detached limbs beyond cosmetic repair could use the transmutator to mend their limb! The only trouble is that we can't exactly find out how to turn the cybernetic material back to organic matter. But, that's why this is still closed to the public."

"That's amazing. This could revolutionize medicine on the outside!" Tails was excited. "Do you have any proof of concepts for it? Has anyone had their limbs fixed with it?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. Please step into the next room."

On the wall next to the exit of the Roboticizer (it's shorter than the other name, okay?) there was a window and a door right beside it. The door said "PHYSICAL THERAPY & SUBJECT DORMITORIES," and walking in they were greeted with a fairly large room clearly meant for the aforesaid therapy.

There were three Mobians in this room. A cougar, in a jumpsuit marked with the red star symbol on the front, who was helping a figure in baggy clothes and a raised hood get across the parallel bars set up towards the left edge of the room, leading towards some benches that were near the door. Nearby, watching with a clipboard, was a periwinkle walrus with a yellow backwards cap and a gold right eyebrow percing.

The cougar and the walrus turned, looking at the entering people. The feline got the shrouded subject to the bench near the group, before turning his attention to them. They could see the gray fur lining the edge of his jowls- this guy was pretty old. Maybe an old friend of Chuck's.

"Sonny, Miles, this is Cat. He's one of our many helpers and nurses here. Been here since day one."

Sonic and Tails said a "nice to meet you" to the man, waving a little. Cat nodded, mumbling the same thing back to them. He turned to Chuck and Sonia next.

"I think this is all we're gonna do today, boss. She's gotten better but I can tell she doesn't wanna do much more than this." Cat said.

"Ah, alright. If that's the case, you can take the rest of the day off, then."

Cat nodded. He gave one more parting nod to the nephews before leaving swiftly out of the door.

The hooded woman, the subject that Chuck and Cat was talking about, sat down on the bench with a sigh. She took off her hood, revealing herself to them- she was a rabbit. As she brought the hood down, her ears came out, one of them sticking up but the other folding down to cover her left eye. The hoodie she had on was a Mission Freedom branded one, which showed that she had on something purple underneath. It matched the purple of her pants, so maybe she was wearing a romper.

She didn't look at the group that came in, eyes on the ground, her face neutral but clearly downtrodden.

"Boys, this is our one and only volunteer." Chuck said, standing with Sonic and Tails in front of her. "Meet Bunnie. Bunnie, these are my nephews, Sonny and Miles. They're new."

"Hey there!"

"Hi."

"Howdy." Bunnie replied to Sonic and Tails' respective greetings. The country accent she had was very, very evident, even if her response was monotone.

"After an accident that happened about a year ago, Bunnie unfortunately lost her left arm and legs. We were able to transmute them into inorganic parts, allowing her to use them again."

Sonic and Tails watched Bunnie look down at her left hand- a robotic hand. She opened and closed it slowly, watching how her robot hand reacted to her internal commands.

"Can y'stop doin' that?"

"Hm? What was that, Bunnie?"

"Stop talkin' like I'm not here." Bunnie's eyes looked up at Chuck. "Makes me feel like an animal in captivity. Stop doing it."

"Oh. I'm sorry, Bunnie. I didn't mean to."

"It's alright. I don't blame ya. With all these robot parts… I'm nothin' but a freak anyways."

"A freak?" Sonic asked, a bit amused. "You must be joking. Robot parts are awesome! Being a cyborg is one of the coolest things someone could be! Besides, I'm happy to see that someone with looks like yours hasn't lost any beauty from the Roboticizer."

"Transmutator."

"Right."

Sonic's words surprised Bunnie, especially at his flippant nature towards what she said. Her head was lifted, looking at Sonic with raised eyebrows. At the end of the statement, she smiled a bit, tilting her head.

"Well I do declare, Mr. Sonny, you're just as sweet as sugar." She said.

"Please, call me Sonic. That's what my friends call me."

"Good to know."

There was a beat of silence.

"My friends call me Tails."

"Really? Can't imagine why." Bunnie was still amused, eyeing Tails' twin tails. "Nice to meet you boys. If you don't mind, I'd like some time to myself to recalibrate all my machinery. Though I appreciate you all coming down here to see the cyborg."

"If you're sure, Bunnie." Chuck nodded. "You know to call me you need anything. Even to talk."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks, Charlie." Bunnie got up on her robotic feet. She wasn't wearing shoes, but her long romper legs hid the robotic legs underneath. She walked away, but paused as she passed Sonia.

She put her hand on Sonia's shoulder, leaning in to murmur to her. "Don't be too hard on him. He's had a rough day, strong girl."

Sonia didn't seem to react, but took a deep breath as Bunnie walked off. The rabbit went to a door clearly marked "DORMITORIES," walking in to take her leave in her assigned room.

The group turned around to see the walrus next. As they approached, the walrus looked confused, scratching his head by slipping his hand under his backwards hat. He perked up when the group was approaching him however.

"Boomer! How's it going?"

"Uh… well, it's going… decent." The walrus replied.

"Sonny, Miles, this is Rotor Boomhauer. He's our chief engineer for the Transmutator!" Chuck cleared his throat. "Sorry, I call him Boomer sometimes. Force of habit from his childhood nickname. His mother gave it to him, but I know how it can be having a nickname from someone whose… passed on."

"Your mom is dead? Oh dude, same." Sonic raised his hand for a high five.

There was a very poignant awkward pause. Sonic slowly put his hand down.

"Oookay, nevermind." He said.

"It's nice to meet you though, Sonny and Miles."

"Sonic and Tails, please." The fox said, trying to say something else before Sonic tried being "friendly" again. "Heavy on Tails for me."

"No problem, no problem." Rotor nodded. He turned to Sonia. "Hi, Sonia."

Sonia was… less than pleased. She had her arms crossed tightly, glowering at the walrus. It was clear she was repeating what Bunnie said to her internally. She turned her head and raised her chin sharply, letting out a "Hmph!" before walking past him to go somewhere else in the room.

Rotor sighed, but didn't comment, deflating a bit. He turned to Chuck next.

"Hey, Mr. Charles? Is… Manny around, too?"

"I'm sorry, Rotor, but he said he wasn't feeling too well. He had to go back home."

"Oh, yeah. That…" Rotor sighed. "That makes a lot of sense." He murmured.

He looked crestfallen, deflating deeper, his hand on top of his head and cap to readjust it on his head better. Chuck looked sympathetic, but didn't have much else to say.

"So you're the person working on the transmutator?"

Tails' question perked Rotor up. He looked down at the fox in front of him.

"Oh, yeah. All by my lonesome. I had someone else helping me out a while back, a wolf named Gadget, but he moved over to Knothole to help with their technology troubles. Been just me ever since."

"I'm amazed to see how that technology is able to transmute matter to robot parts."

"Yeah? You seem really intrigued about robot parts. You gunning to be an engineering intern, little fella?"

"Intern?"

Sonic grabbed Chuck's shoulder, pulling him back to stay a few feet from Tails.

"I have created numerous machines, including engines, clean energy converters, multiple planes! I have my own workshop! I've created freakin' NANOMACHINES!"

"Okay, okay!" Sonic sped around, putting his hands on Tails' shoulders to control him. "Uh, Rotor, Tails is a really brainy guy. That's what he's getting at. Tails, show him the schematics on your tablet."

Though still peeved by what Rotor said, he brought out the trifold Thunderbolt and opened it. Already intrigued by the foldable tablet, Rotor leaned in to look at what Tails had logged on it. His eyebrows raised in astonishment, which nearly knocked his hat off the back of his head.

"Wowza!" He said. "This is crazy! You really know your stuff. If I get you some schematics on the Roboticizer, would you be able to workshop some ideas to streamline the process?"

"Yeah, of course." Tails nodded, now calmer. "…sorry I shouted at you. I'm used to people who don't know me thinking I'm just a kid playing with metal."

"Oh trust me, I get it. You don't have to explain yourself to me, little buddy." Rotor patted his back. "Now tell me what you think about the Roboticizer. I heard it running in the other room, I wanna know your personal feelings on…"

As Rotor and Tails talked shop, Chuck stood nearby, his head shaking. This was because he was exasperated at Rotor, his chief engineer, calling the transmutator the improper name of Roboticizer. Sonic could feel himself understand the conversation less and less, which made his legs start walking away by muscle memory.

He paused when he got to Sonia, who was still standing with an angry face and crossed arms, back to Tails and Rotor at the other end of the room.

"I'm just gonna… look at what's downstairs and stuff."

"Sure, fine. Whatever."

It was clear Sonia was more upset about… Rotor, apparently, than she was worried about what Sonic was doing. Sonic couldn't blame her, he got like this sometimes too. Maybe it was another hereditary thing.

There was another door marked stairwell nearby. Sonic slipped inside, heading down the steps to reach whatever floor was below, which was marked with a "B2" as he got to that floor.

This room started out in a vast hall, with multiple wide windows to his right. There were doors, two beside each window, leading into the rooms that the window most likely looked into. Sonic walked past one window, the room way too dark for him to look into.

The next window, however, had light coming from it. Sonic could look inside, seeing a mainly white room with white tiles and walls. There was a ladder with a toolbox on top of it at the far wall. At the right edge, Sonic's right, was what appeared to be a person in a hooded Mission Freedom jumpsuit.

Just in time for his arrival, Sonic was able to watch the ceiling tiles open up. Something unfolded downwards- what appeared to be something Sonic would see from a sci-fi movie that would fire a laser from its bulbous end. It hung from the ceiling in front of a dark one-way glass window, and once it was all the way down, it moved around slightly as if waking up.

The laser thing turned left and right, before it turned and focused on the hooded person. The device began to whir as it powered up, with the round end starting to sparkle with white energy.

Sonic didn't sneeze, but he felt something perilous afoot. He banged on the window.

"Hey man, get out of the way!" He yelled. "Move! That thing's gonna get you!"

The person didn't respond. In fact, they didn't even look at Sonic.

The blue hedgehog quickly zipped over to the door that led into the white room. It was locked, so Sonic slammed his shoulder into it, tearing it open and getting inside. Sonic boosted towards the person, picking them up and throwing them over his shoulder. As he slid with the person in his arms, the laser device fired a round into the floor.

It was obvious this laser turret device was automatically tuned to aim at lifeforms. It turned and tried to follow Sonic, continuing to launch laser after laser towards him. Sonic was faster than every one, the beam hitting the floor behind him.

Sonic quickly laid the person on the ground. He climbed the laster at sonic speeds, boosting off it again and hitting the turret with a homing attack. He destroyed it in one hit, causing metal bits to rain to the floor from the destruction of the device.

Landing on the floor with a three-point landing slide, the entire debacle took barely thirty seconds overall. He rushed back over to the person he laid on the floor.

"Don't worry, my friend. You're safe… Now…"

As he grabbed the person's shoulder to pick them up, their arm fell out. Well, a robot arm fell out of the sleeve. Sonic quickly turned the person over and discovered something harrowing- this person had a robot head. In fact, the person's entire body was a bunch of robot parts that weren't attached together.

Sonic dropped the person out of surprise. Well, he just saved a roboticized mannequin.

There was a loud SLAM from the hall, making Sonic look over his shoulder. Stomping was heard, only taking a few steps to get to the door right next to it, the door that led into the all-white room.

This stomping person was a Mobian alright, Sonic could tell from the fuzzy hands. They had on a blue vest, a white long-sleeve shirt, pants the same blue color and bright blue boots. They also wore a welding mask, which totally blocked their face.

They came up and shoved Sonic, hard, causing him to slam back into the ladder behind him.

"Ow!"

"What's your problem?" This person yelled, muffled by the mask. "Do you know how long it was to make that? WEEKS, weeks of work destroyed in an instant!"

"I thought someone was in danger, sue me!"

"What, you can't read?! It says 'testing area' on the door!"

They pointed to the door. Sure enough, it said that right across the front. Sonic should've taken the time to read the label. Live and learn.

"…okay, fair point." Sonic grumbled. "But can you blame me? Even then, it tried hitting me with that laser!"

"It's based on an old prototype defense turret, it has its kinks! Kinks I could've worked out if someone didn't destroy it! You MORON!"

They shoved Sonic into the ladder again, Sonic groaned and glowered at the person.

There was some footsteps outside. Soon enough, someone hustled inside. This person didn't have a mask on- he had on some kind of regal outfit though. He was a coyote, with a dress uniform of blue and red lining. He had a sword in a hilt at his side. He was out of breath, standing straight when he was next to the welding person. From the fur on his head, he may have been sleeping.

"Voltre Altesse! I am here!" He said. He had a French accent- where on South Island did that come from?

"As punctual as ever, royal guard."

More footsteps were heard. Uncle Chuck, Sonia, Rotor and Tails were in the room before Sonic knew it.

"What's going on?!" Chuck asked.

"This idiot destroyed the project I've been working on for the last three months."

"Oh! Oh dear, I'm… so sorry." The old hedgehog looked sheepish. He turned serious when he looked at Sonic. "Sonny! You can't just rush into rooms like that!"

"I guess that's what happens when you have speed instead of common sense."

Sonic felt only worse by the barbs this masked figure gave him. Chuck, Tails and Sonia gathered around Sonic, with Chuck putting his hand on Sonic's shoulder.

"Well, first impressions are… Over with, so…" He cleared his throat. "This is my nephew, Sonny. Or Sonic, I suppose. The fox is my other nephew, Miles. Or Tails. He likes being called Tails. Boys, this…"

The person took off their mask. It was a woman. The Mobian chipmunk shook her head to make sure the fur on her head wasn't flattened or anything from the mask. She still had the expected look of malcontent on her face when she looked at Sonic and Tails.

"…is Princess Sally Acorn."

She took a deep breath.

"Nice to meet you." She was angry, but still cordial. She gave a single nod to them.

"And this is her royal guard, Antoine D'Coolette."

"Bonsoir." Antoine said, clearly disdained by Sonic just as much as Sally was.

"A princess?" Sonic sounded incredulous.

"The Acorn royal family run the entirety of South Island. The villages have councils, but they all answer to the king. Sally is here from Gigalopolis, and she's one of our brightest workers for Mission Freedom. She contacted me herself to work here!" Chuck seemed proud. "She's trying- er, I guess was trying- to create a device to reverse the transmutation process."

"Huh. Nifty." The blue hedgehog eyed Sally at the sound of Chuck's acclamation.

"Yeah." Sally replied, eyeing him right back. "Nice to know he won't get any punishment for this by being the city manager's nephew."

"I'm sorry." Sonic said. "I didn't know what was going on, honest."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." The princess sighed, kicking a piece of metal as she turned to walk away.

She walked over to where the wreckage was, where Rotor was looking over the destroyed machine. Sally crossed her arms and stood next to him, looking over the turret as well.

"What's your take, Rotor?" She asked.

"Well… It's really bent outta shape. If you do try and do repairs, it'll probably take a long time."

Sally huffed through her nose. She reached into her vest, pulling out a device. It looked almost like a flip phone, and with the press of a button on the side, the top of it flipped open, revealing a screen.

"Nicole."

"Ready, Sally." A calm female voice, NICOLE, spoke as the device's screen lit up.

"Scan the damage and give me an assessment on how long it'll take to fix the de-roboticizer."

"Scanning…"

Light came out from the back of the flipped top, shining over the wreckage. After a second, and a few beeps, the screen lit up brighter. It created a hologram above the device, a simulation of the parts reforming into the turret. Sally reached in, actually picking the hologram up and looking it over like it was there.

"Total estimated time of reconstruction in current state: one-hundred-and-eighty-seven days, Sally."

Sally sighed. "…thanks Nicole." She flipped the device closed.

Sonic watched, intrigued by both what was happening, the device, and the princess herself. His gaze soon wandered, and unexpectedly made eye contact with Antoine. The guard was staring at him, it seems.

The coyote glowered at him. He made a hand gesture to him: he's watching the hedgehog. He slowly started to back out, but as he got to the door, he bumped into someone coming in: Bunnie.

"Whoa! Watch your rear there, sugar-twan."

Antoine jumped. He turned to meet the cyborg rabbit, his face turning surprised and a bit flustered instead of the intense glare he had just a moment prior.

"A-Ah! Mademoiselle, I…" He cleared his throat. "I am sorry, I am a fuel for not looking where I was going!"

"It's fine, there's nothing foolish done here. Just keep your eye on your feet next time, sugah."

"Yes! Yes I will be doing that, tank cue!" He thanked her. Sonic barely kept up with how his accent made his words change.

Bunnie seemed nonchalant. She looked past Antoine towards Sally.

"You all good, Sally-girl? I heard a crash and yelling."

"I'm fine, Bunnie, thank you. Our new guest destroyed my de-roboticizer."

"Oh… Well… I'm sure he didn't mean it, really."

The rabbit looked a bit distressed at this development, but was willing to vouch for the hedgehog who had been sweet to her not too long before. Sally sighed again, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Don't feel too bad about it, Bunnie." The princess said. "That was one of many tests that were going nowhere. I wasn't even close to a breakthrough. I'm sorry, Bun."

"Aww, it's alright, girl. I've waited a while, I can wait longer." Though still a bit upset, Bunnie nodded. "…I'm gonna go back to my quarters. Just uh… try to keep it down, y'hear?"

"Trust me, there won't be any more commotion from this floor!" Chuck spoke up.

Bunnie patted Antoine's chest. "See ya around, sugar-twan."

"Yes! Be seeing you around too!"

The cyborg bunny left right after. Antoine sighed, like he was letting out a breath, before snapping his head to glare at Sonic again. He did the same "I'm watching you" hand motion before backing out again. He nearly tripped on his way out, but caught himself and kept moving, heading into the observation room nearby. He'd still be able to watch Sally there, so he wasn't abandoning his post or anything.

"We'll be taking our leave now. One more floor to go!" Chuck said, ushering his nephews out.

"It was nice meeting you, Sally." Tails said as he passed.

"Nice meeting you too, Tails." She said. Sally side eyed Sonic as they passed, which was met with Sonic's gaze as well.

Sonia stayed behind though, reaching down and picking up the bigger part of the device with ease. Rotor began to help, starting to pick up more salvageable pieces of the destroyed de-roboticizer.

The last Sonic saw, Sally had her arms crossed, watching what was going on with a disappointed expression. It didn't make him feel better- then again, he did just destroy all her hard work. Not a good first impression, but he did have a feeling of respect for how forward she was with someone destroying her things.

With Chuck now clearly planning to stay with them the entire time, the old hedgehog escorted Sonic and Tails to the stairwell at the end of the hall, one that connected to the stairs they first entered in the lobby.

They walked down again, this time to the absolute bottom floor, marked "B3" on the wall. Chuck opened the door for them, letting his nephews step inside first.

This bottom floor was massive. They stepped out on a platform that lined the room, looking down on a vast metal-floored open area. From the wide open rooms with massive open doors that were both on the level of the balcony and the bottom floor, this was meant to be a storage room, though the units had very little inside.

What was interesting was what, and who was down at the bottom floor. There were a few tables set up, and a big whiteboard that was full of figures and writing on it. Someone was standing there, staring up at the writing up on the surface.

Chuck escorted Sonic and Tails down the balcony steps to the depository floor. They walked up to the figure, who was rubbing his chin with his back to them.

"Hello there, doctor!"

At the sound of Chuck's voice, the figure dropped his arm. He sighed deeply and long, clearly very, very annoyed at the appearance of these people.

"Sonny, Miles, I'd like you to meet Mission Freedom's lead scientist: Dr. Starline."

The figure turned. He was a platypus, with cream fur and a dark beak. The fur on his head made tufts, the front of them with a brown streak on it. He had on a violet shirt made of satin, it looked like, and a red vest that matched the red pants he had on. It looked like he had on cowboy boots, for some reason, only supported by the spurs that were on the back.

He adjusted his orange-tinted glasses, his face unchanging from displeasure and mild disgust.

"You can call me Sonic!"

"And me Tails!"

"Yeah, right." Starline's voice dragged out a bit, his face clearly saying "why are these people even talking to me right now?" He continued. "Thank you, Mister Charles, for interrupting my very intricate experimentation and research to introduce me to… Sonic and Tails."

He said the names with such contempt it was palpable. His statement, however, brought the attention to the whiteboard. The scribbles and figures were in different marker colors. The equations were hard to understand, but there were three words in big letters they all could see: "SPEED," "POWER," and "FLY," in blue, red and yellow respectively.

"What, exactly, are you working on?"

"Well, if you must know," Starline sneered back. "I'm studying the effects the different energies that mutated our kind have on each of us. Putting it in simple terms, so you can understand…" He spoke slower. "The energies are split up to contribute to a person's speed, their physical attributes, and their agility. Hence speed, power and fly."

"Oh, I was studying this too!" Tails said. "It seemed too that chaos energies are shared like a circuit with others! So those who fly are able to complete a circuit with others to lift them up easier, and—"

"Yes, yes, that's very interesting." Starline deadpanned quickly. "I'm sorry, but if I wanted a junior assistant, I would look… far from whatever hovel or mud hut you grew up in. Allow the adults to continue our work in peace. Thanks."

Starline turned away and looked at the whiteboard again. Sonic and Tails both bristled at what Starline said, but Chuck put his hands on their shoulders, taking a breath.

"Thank you for your time, Starline."

"No thank you, Charles. Thank you so much for giving me time away from the work you pay me to do. It's so very appreciated."

Chuck escorted the aggravated Sonic and Tails away. He headed up the stairs to the balcony, and brought them into the stairwell to the higher floors.

As soon as they left, a rooster and a mole came out from one of the storage units, both holding boxes.

"Hey, who were those guys, doc? You couldn't have introduced us?"

"Yeah, what if they were looking forwards to us, boss?"

"Nobody ever looks forward to seeing you two." Starline replied to his assistants, not looking away from the board. "Now both of you nincombolts shut up and get what I asked!"

Scratch and Grounder saluted, dropping their items. "Yes sir!"

The doctor tensed at the crashing, before facepalming, sighing deeply with utter annoyance.

In the stairwell, Chuck let go of Sonic and Tails when they got back to floor B2.

"That guy sucked." Sonic said. "You just let him talk to you like that, Uncle Chuck?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Chuck replied. "He's very… short-tempered, but he has the highest recorded IQ of everyone on this island. We need him here at Mission Freedom, to help us, whether he's kind or not."

"But he looked like he wasn't working on anything to do with the Roboticizer."

"He helps with that. When he can."

"Well, don't worry Uncle Chuck," Tails said. "Now that I'm here, a real genius can help you get that machine working. Then you can kick Starline to the curb where he belongs."

After a second, Chuck smiled a bit.

"Thank you, Miles. Now come on boys, let's go home. I'll show you to your room, and we can have dinner."

---

"…so then I said 'what you see is what you get, just a guy who loves adventure!' and then I mopped the floor with him."

The dinner table turned into a riot from that. Over a nice dinner of a vegan shepherds pie, Sonic was retelling the story of what happened mere months prior. He was embellishing, of course, but he had to look good for his family.

The only ones not laughing was Tails, who was more amused than anything, and Chuck- who had a reluctant smile on his face from the story itself.

When the gang got home, they were met with Manic and Longclaw. Manic and Sonia were quick to tell the adults about Sonic's tales back home, something that clearly impressed Longclaw. They told stories over dinner together, though left out some… undesirable things, like Chaos beating the snot out of Sonic.

Dinner was just about wrapping up, though Sonic and Tails had a bit to go with their meals since they spent most of dinner talking. Chuck got up, collecting empty plates.

"What happened to that Shadow fellow, Sonic?" Longclaw asked from the end of the table.

"Well, he wasn't all that evil, just really, really edgy." Sonic replied, chuckling. "He was a little mixed up because his dad was manipulating him into being evil. We helped him get away from his dad, and fight back against him. Nowadays, well… I don't actually know what Shadow's up to. No good, I'm sure."

"These are some of the most entertaining tales I've ever heard! And my family has many of them!" The owl continued. "I've never heard of anything like that down here. The outside world sounds very hectic!"

"You know, that reminds me." Tails said. "We've been really… busy, with the emotions of seeing our family all day. I never got to really ask- what exactly is this place? Where is South Island? Where did we fall into?"

"Oh, I can answer that." Longclaw replied. "The exact circumstances are iffy, but an accident that occurred thousands of years ago caused all of South Island to be transported into a pocket dimension."

"A pocket dimension?!" The fox was incredulous. "You seem very nonchalant about this."

"This is our daily life, Miles. Anyway, this pocket dimension is what currently houses South Island. It has an atmosphere and light/darkness cycle akin to the days and nights on Earth. In fact, time moves the same here that it does there."

"Have you ever tried finding a way out of here?"

"That's one of many Mission Freedom plans that we have on the registry." Chuck commented. "Though it's an insane feat. One of the many reasons we keep Dr. Starline around."

"Oh, that Starline. Ugh, what a nasty man." Longclaw grimaced. "But anyway, yes. We've become accustomed to this pocket dimension though- we've even given it a name! We've come to call this realm… the Underground."

There was a pause after that.

"…just so you know, we're trying to start a new thing." Sonic said low to Longclaw. "We're not calling them 'dimensions' but instead 'zones'. Just so you know."

"Oh, alright! This pocket zone is known as the Underground. Or just Underground, if you'd like."

"Enough of the introductory talk. It's time to relax for the night." Chuck interjected, still collecting dishes. "Miles, you'll be happy to know your plane is in our garage."

The home that Chuck lived in with his family was a big, two-story house at the outskirts of Green Hill, set between the commercial and industrial district. Because it was part ways into the woods, there was a big open garage that stood behind the home.

"It better not have scratched my motorbike!" Sonia said.

"You have a motorbike? I thought you all said vehicles were a rarity."

"Oh, it was a sweet sixteen gift from my best friend, Mindy LaTour." She waved her hand at Sonic's question. "I haven't heard from her in a while, actually. I should give her a call…"

As Chuck picked up Sonia's plate, he accidentally caused the fork she had hanging over the edge to flip over, flinging the lentil sauce onto her front.

"Oh goodness! Sonia, I'm so sorry!"

They watched as the sauce, instead, slid right off of her shirt. She looked around with a big smile.

"Look! Tails' polymer spray worked! Yes!" Her smile was only getting bigger. "Now I can touch stuff without the fear of stains or germs!"

"Only when you wear that outfit, though." Manic commented.

"Hm, you're right… Tails, I'm gonna need your spray for the night. Sonia's got some spraying to do…"

Tails chuckled a bit, but knew deep down she wasn't kidding.

"Manic, are you feeling better from earlier?" Longclaw asked him.

"Yeah, I'm good." He nodded. "But, I do think I'm gonna hit the hay early tonight. I'm sure tomorrow I'm gonna be spending a lot of time with my new brothers. I wanna make sure I don't sleep in until noon this time."

"Oh! Alright, then, Manic. I hope you sleep well."

"Thanks, LC. Night guys." Manic waved at his family, who all gave varying return statements.

Sonia slid up from her chair, letting the meat sauce fall to the floor.

"I better get a head start on those clothes!" She said excitedly. "I'll see you all tomorrow!"

Soon, she was gone too. Longclaw got up just as Sonic and Tails was finished with their food. They stood, with Sonic taking the plate from Tails.

"I do have to get back home as well." The owl said. "My father gets confused if left alone too long, and his mail shift should be over around this time."

"Please, Longclaw, take some food for him. I have too much, even for double the mouths I have now."

"I will, Charlie, thank you." She turned to Sonic and Tails, coming in and hugging them both. "It's so nice to finally meet you. Even if I didn't expect one. I hope to see more of you two tomorrow! Please, do stay out of trouble."

"We'll do our best." Sonic replied, holding the plates he had at arm's length to keep the food away from Longclaw.

"It was nice meeting you, Longclaw!"

With one more wave, Longclaw took her leave. Chuck stood at the end of the table, huffing as he looked it over with the plates still in his hand.

"These kids, I tell you something…" He remarked. "I'm going to have to clean this table… some of the floor, probably."

"Oh, I got it!" Sonic handed the plates to Tails. "Hold these, little bro."

"Oh, Sonic, you don't—"

In a swirling streak of blue, Sonic cleaned up the table, pushed in the chairs, and even swept up the floor. The table looked better than it did a moment ago, cleaned up to pristine neatness. Sonic stopped next to Tails, taking the plates back.

"Thank you."

"Sonic…"

"Oh c'mon, unc. I'm in the safety of our own home! I at least can do it then, right?"

"…I suppose you're right." Chuck sighed. Though, after a second, he smiled. "Home… You're home."

Chuck left the room, followed by Sonic with more plates. Tails grabbed his arm to stop his brother for a second.

"Hey, I'm gonna go try and wrestle that polymer spray from Sonia." The fox said. "Try not to take too long. If you do, I'll just be in bed."

"Gotcha. Be there in a flash."

Sonic followed his uncle into the kitchen, putting the dishes in the sink for Chuck to clean. As Uncle Chuck washed, Sonic took the dishes to dry them.

"I guess it's good you know how to do some chores." Chuck chuckled. "You're certainly going to do some here."

"Hey, I take care of the apartment while my friend Amy's at work." Sonic said defensively, but amused. "I know my way around a broom and stuff."

"That's good. I'm glad you can rest up on the adventuring. This is your vacation, as you said yourself."

"Well, there's nothing wrong with a little working on vacation if needed."

"There certainly is. If there's trouble, the local watch can take care of it."

"But if there's something big…"

"Sonny." Chuck was firm. "I'm serious. I know you think I'm some kind of buzzkill, saying you can't use your speed or get involved with the happenings of the island, but… I'm only looking out for you. I want what's best for you."

"I get it Chuck, I really do."

"I hope you do. Because I want you to do something for me." The old hedgehog turned to his nephew. "I want you to promise me. Promise me you'll do everything to not adventure and relax. To look before you leap. To just act like a normal nineteen-year-old, for as long as you're here. Please."

The age drop made Sonic blink. He honestly forget he was still nineteen. He felt like he's been nineteen for like, over two years or something.

"Okay, I promise."

"I want you to say it like you mean it." Chuck stared at him with a locked jaw. "Swear on your mother. And on your father, my brother. Swear on them that you'll try. Please, Sonny."

"…okay, Uncle Chuck. I promise I'll try."

Though Chuck's jaw was still locked, he soon relaxed with a sigh. He turned back to the sink, washing off the last dish and handing it to Sonic.

"Don't stay up too late, sonny boy." He said. "I'm sure Manic and Sonia will want to do a lot of stuff with you tomorrow. You'll want to be up bright and early if you want to join them. That, and to eat some of my island-famous wheatcakes."

"I gotcha. I'll see you tomorrow morning, Uncle Chuck."

"Good night, Sonny."

"Good night, unc."

Sonic was left to dry, as Uncle Chuck left to head upstairs to his room. Once he was done, and put the dishes in the appropriate drying rack, Sonic headed upstairs himself.

The room he was to stay in with Tails was all the way down the hall. The light was still on in Sonia's room, but all the other rooms were dark with closed doors.

Entering the guest room, Sonic saw Tails already in bed. The guest room only had one bed, so Sonic had Tails stay in the bed while the hedgehog would sleep on the floor. It helped Tails that it was only for one night, as Uncle Chuck said he would go out the next day and get a bed for Sonic. In fact, it was probably on the repertoire for the next day that they'd get stuff to decorate the room and make it truly Sonic and Tails' room.

With his sleeping bag on the floor, collected from the luggage they finally got from the Cyclone, Sonic slid in quietly and got down to rest for the night. The light from the window above him shined in the dim light from the pocket zone's sky down on him, much like it would for moonlight.

He put his hands behind his head.

"Sonic?"

"Yeah, little buddy?"

"You think we'd be able to find a way to get out of here?"

Sonic was quiet. He thought back to what Amy said before they left- she didn't have any visions of Sonic and Tails' future. He wondered in that moment if it was because they were in a pocket dimension, and whether that meant she wasn't looking too far ahead, or if they never got out.

But if there was a will, there's a way. Sonic and friends had traveled zones before. Clearly there was something on this island that brought them here, there was a way for them to get out.

Even if that meant going back on his promise to Uncle Chuck.

Sorry, mom and dad. But I know you'd want me to break my promise.

"I know we will." He replied to Tails. "Don't you worry about that. But for right now… let's at least try and get some R&R in and enjoy a bit of our vacation."

"Alright… Good night, Sonic."

"Night, Tails. Sweet dreams."

Sonic stared up at the ceiling, hands still behind his head. It was a sticky situation, truly, but he had to do this. He had to find a way to get them all out of here. Not just him and Tails- everyone. Even Starline, though Sonic felt like he'd just complain the entire time.

Though he definitely looked forward to actually relaxing. He was on vacation, after all. Now that he was on South Island, there wasn't anything out there that could uproot his downtime now.

---

Bokkun was working overtime that night.

He was an eastern big-eared bat, a small one at that, still fairly young for a messenger in Knothole. Because of his size, he didn't really get things delivered in a speedy fashion, but he definitely put in the work to get them there.

He was panting, working his little wings as he soared down the shore.

Since it was in the evening, he figured that the beaches would be clear. Nobody would see him being late, and possibly get it back to the head messenger back in Knothole.

The packages were on his back, strapped in with shoulder straps and the belt he had- one with a big "M" on the front. That stood for messenger, as he was keen to tell people.

However, something strange was on the beach that night. He passed by what looked to be a few metal pieces that were peppered along the sand. Some were bigger than others, and a lot of them were shiny, which would've made him stop if he wasn't a bat on a mission.

He was also interested in the machinery he saw that was around there too. It looked like smashed inventions, suffering from damage you would get on entry to the Underground itself. These always intrigued Bokkun, because he hoped to find a cool invention he could use to impress the other kids. Or, if they weren't impressed, to wack them on the heads to make them fear him. Well, he might do that if they were impressed anyway. Bokkun found their scared faces so dang funny!

The metal pieces were getting more frequent now. He was reaching a corner on the shore, leading down to the coast of Knothole village. They were miles away from Green Hill, practically on the other side of the island at this point.

Bokkun flew around the bend. He gasped at what was around the other side, stopping to flap in one place.

The source of the metal came from a massive… thing. It could've been a vehicle, maybe, but Bokkun wasn't exactly sure. His head tilted as he looked at the wreckage, until he noticed a gloved hand laying outwards, the body hidden by the massive debris.

Bokkun soared in to the other side of the… thing. He saw the body of whoever this was hidden under some big, round thing. Bokkun flew in, gripping the sleeve of this guy's coat with his teeth. He was a little bat, sure, but he seriously packed a wallop- his strength was certainly enough to pull this guy out from all this rubble.

He slid the person out, all the way to the grassy edge of the shore. He blitzed into the guy's side, flipping him over. He looked over at the man with the cracked glasses.

Ew, what was with this guy? He didn't really have any fur on his body, just on top of his head and on his face. His nose was turned downwards, and his body was kind of frumpy. It reminded Bokkun of the monkey people he'd see running around sometimes.

Well… he did look kind of funny. And this guy needed help, and had all this shiny stuff, so… maybe he could forgo the delivery tonight and bring this guy over to the village. Nothing bad could come from it, right? It'll be fun.

Biting into the protruding fur on this freak's face, he started to pull him away from the sand and further inland, intent on bringing this man to Knothole Village.

This man, as he was soon going to learn, was Dr. Ivo J. Robotnik.

UP NEXT: Ivo!