"Move your hands faster, you sorry excuse of a mechanic!" Is it possible for your face to turn into an eternal frown? At this exact moment, me and Wave the Swallow are currently working at our full capacity on Eggman's computers. Not too long ago, the mad Scientist had started recollecting data on not only the Heroes, but also the Babylon Rogues. I don't know if he did this before or after Babylon Garden descended. He was planning on using the recollected information to build specialized robots, designed not only to read and counter old moves from them, but to predict changes on our styles.

Either Eggman was too eager to test them or the robot, within their limited free will, chose to do things before they were fully equipped, but the machines came and attacked us six, both my friends and the Babylon Rogues. And they were winning, some sort of Metal Jet, Wave and Storm came and almost overpowered all of us. They could have easily beat us, had they not short-circuited mid fight.

Once that happened, it took a quick hacking to find the laboratory where Eggman created them, raid it and now, the bird woman in crime and me are working on a terminal each, deleting as much information. The mad man would probably just try this again, so might as well just try to delay him as much as possible.

Now, all we have to do, is delete everything we can find. Except, I find something very interesting. A journal, from them... From the Rogues. I can't help but check it out a bit. It's Jet's, but along side it, I find Wave's. And my interest is going through the roof all of the sudden. What could I find there?

"MOVE IT" Shhhhhoot. My ears. Did she scream right at my ears? Oh no! Can she see what I am seeing?! I look at her and... she is still very far away. God, sensible ears can be a pain, specially when that girl screams like a banshee. Still, that does make me start working again, while subtly download the information from the bird woman. It wasn't long until I got both of these. So, when I am done I let go a loud "Yes!" and offer Wave a thumbs up. Wave just rolled her eyes, but returned the gesture.

"I would recommend getting out of here ASAP." And with that, she turned on her extreme gear from suitcase mode and left. I have not finished processing what she said, when I start hearing explosions behind me. I also activate my Extreme Gear, throw myself on top of it and hit the gas at max speed. It wasn't long when the light from the explosions is starting to catch up with me. God, I was already going at my max speed and the smell of ashes and the heat from the fire was already reaching me!

I didn't have time to even think if I could make it out alive when I finally made it out of the facility, and the explosion gave me a final push, safe from it, but this made me lose control, and fall head first into the mud. He was ready to stay there for a minute, to let the pain from the crash subside, but a certain birdwoman laughing her heart out made him get back up and glare at her.

"Thanks for the good time Shorty!" and with that, she finally left.

This is probably a terrible idea. I am going to be invading her personal space. My curiosity is actually overshadowed by this feeling of unease. Like, if I do this, I will get dirty and it is not going to be easy to clean. It is almost stopping me from doing so. But I think it from another angle. This will help me understand Wave the Swallow. She didn't strike me as quite that bad of a person. If maybe I could understand her better, maybe the hostility between us could be toned down. So maybe I could have a relationship closer to Sonic and Knuckles, instead of Sonic and Shadow, or Knuckles and Storm. I don't mind us being rivals, but I would like to also be able to be civilized with one another and just hang out. That actually eases up my nerves a notch and I can open the file.

And the first page is all Babylonian writings. I have no idea what it says. And that is the only page written like this, the rest I can read no problem. Oh, I have heard about this. A family member would write in the first page of the diary. Like a message to their beloved... She had family, probably. That's good, but I admittedly feel a smidge of jealousy now. I love Sonic and the others, but I would really like to know anything about my parents.

Anyway, I go and run the writing through a traductor program I am developing. It's ready, but it is slow, it's gonna take a minute for it to finish. So, I go and see what else I can find.

Day 1

Grampa added this program to my holo-pendant. He says it's a Journal or Diary and I should use it to write my thoughts on it. Except, what am I supposed to write about? Well, the stew that grampa made was really tasty today, but everything he cooks is so good.

I really don't know what to do with this.

That bad feeling is back. How young is she here? I check other pages but she doesn't add full dates here, only day numbers. With this I can deduce that this file has at least a couple of years here, but I can't figure out her age. It seems she was rather young, just not how much. God, I could be spying on a girl that is significantly younger than me. Sure, legally I am supposed to 8, but with all of the dimension and time travel, I am 11 or 12-ish. The thought makes me feel rather dirty. Still, curiosity actually beats this as I continue reading.

Day 48

It seems I finally have the basics of Extreme Gear racing down, because I am finally allowed to ride modified extreme gears, according to types. I really hate that, of my age, I was the last one to get here. Heck, kids younger than me are already doing this. Seriously, it took me this long to fully learn this, despite starting riding training since I can walk. But I know exactly what type of rider I am, so I won't waste time trying the others. I am not a circus attraction to grind on rails and doing tricks like that, nor I am going to just punch my problems away. I am a detail oriented planner, so, I going to take to the skies, get as much information that I can take, and get my advantage.

A thought suddenly forms. The first competition, the one that was organized by Eggman, the one that every other corporation now imitates. Is it some sort of Babylonian Tradition? Are we honoring their traditions by doing this? It was probably the Rogues, Wave mostly, that made sure that it had this specific form.

I am not sure how to take this. On one hand, we are continuing an ancient tradition, which is cool, we are reliving their past, not unlike Tikal taking us to the past so many years ago. On the other hand, they allowed Eggman to pervert their past. To mess with it for their gain. It is not my past, but I am upset. Do they not care? They all seemed to really care with the magic carpet. But are they in it for the loot, the treasure? Or the history? They went out of their way to summon Babylon Garden through the races. I don't think it would have appeared by only collecting the 7 Emeralds. Were the races part of the ritual or something? I have homework to do.

I keep thinking about it for a moment as I check more of the file, for possibly more clues, but a name catches my eye. One that I have not heard in a while.

Day 103

Not too long ago, this girl called Tekno the Canary just appeared. It is not normal for people to just appear on the village. Supposedly, being a bird type helps to find it, but traditionally, you can only enter if someone allows you in. Grampa says there are ways, but doesn't say much else about it. He took her in, to live with us.

That didn't stop most of the kids from bullying her and calling her an Outsider, due to the fact that she doesn't have Babylonian blood. That is why the tribe is so hard to find. It's exclusive. I actually made fun of her during dinner and Grandpa snapped at me. He never gets angry at me, not when I break something, not when I don't obey him. Seeing him snap like that it's so unusual. I take mental note not to do it again.

Wave knows Tekno? She was a really bright girl we have crossed paths a couple times. I am more familiarized with Short-fuse, her partner in crime. If anything, it is Amy who is the closest of us to her.

Also, an entire Babylonian Village? An entire village of Jets, Storms and Waves?! And adults just like them? How would that look like? Sounds absolutely chaotic in my mind. And terrifying. Were they taught to be thieves from here? Or was it later? The way they treat Tekno, it is not unlike the Bird Battle Armada. Do all birds come with a superiority complex? I relate. The BBA started attacking me for no other reason than I am a flyer, that my tails allow me to fly. That was enough for them to call me a *freak* and that I had to die, making me mortal enemy to Speedy.

Wait, something doesn't quite add up. Now that I think about it, they never acted arrogantly about being better for being Babylonians. Just of being better racers. Jet did told Sonic that only creatures with wings could truly master the Extreme Gears, but it still feel very different than what the BBA did. Heck, Sonic beat him in the race and he took it rather well. He was angry, but he didn't deny it, made excuses or something. Jet was rather mature in his defeat, all things considered.

I think about making a mental note, to ask her for help with Wave, but that feels mean, like I am only doing this because I am getting an advantage. Otherwise, I might have never even thought about looking for her.

Day 174

I hate this Tekno girl. Who does she think she is?! She comes here and she just happens to also be good with technology. The tribe prides itself on the strength of the bird, their speed and their technical know how. I am well aware that I can't break rocks without tools, and I know that I am not the fastest, at all. But dammit, I am an excellent mechanic. I understand technology really well. Now this nobody comes and thinks she can just take my spot. My thing! And gramps is also praising her work. What's wrong with her?! WELL, it doesn't matter. She is never going to be fully accepted by the village! And I am already accepted.

... Guess her nice attitude always came in the blood. That feeling of class superiority is in full display here. But when did it change? She has never targeted me due to my physical and unchangeable attributes. It's always my racers and mechanic skills.

Day 245

Every time we want to leave home with our extreme gears, Grandpa takes a good amount of time to check our extreme gears now. The other day, a bomb went off on Tekno's board. I know this because it was my bomb that went off. And another day, my own board exploded. I couldn't believe that this was because I made a mistake, so I immediately accused Tekno, telling her that she had to had mess with my EG, else this would have not happened. She obviously denied it. Well, I fell on pork manure when my board exploded!

I have to put a hand on my mouth to stop me from bursting into laughter! I need a minute to compose myself. I should not be laughing over such a serious matter. I can't tell when the bombs exploded, but if it happened while a racer during a competition, I have no idea how many bones one could break, and that is the best scenario.

Unless someone had a super body like Sonic.

That thought invades my mind all of the sudden and all possible humor just disappears from my mind. This just shows me that Wave has no problem messing with another racer's equipment. Heck, if Tekno actually replied back with a bomb of her own, that means that she was provoked, but Wave doesn't seem to self reflect about it at all. As in she should have just taken the bomb and do nothing about it except cry. And I think back to that final race. Sure, I had neglected that Board, but I had also neglected Knuckles and mine to work on the newest version of the Blue Star. Wave only touched the original Blue Star, only Sonic's board malfunctioned. And that explosion was too well timed, to take Sonic's victory away and let Jet take it. Suddenly, I feel like I can read the entirety of this and not worry about remaining clean, being fair. She doesn't deserve it. The day was not done before I had these thoughts.

Grandpa then came and actually found bombs in both of our boards. He then said that he thinks someone might be targeting us and that he is going to check every time we get in and get out. Except, I think he was lying. He seemed to know it was each other who put the sabotage on the other, but this is his way to try to keep the peace in here.

Seems like Wave is used to cheating and lying. Don't know what I was expecting. This should be obvious.

Day 326

I have been trying for months! Months! Every time I want to take the test, Grandpa does something and I miss the chance. But I am going to take it. I don't quite understand myself why it matters so much. All the kids, specially the ones that have already taken it, talk about how it makes you more mature in the eyes of the adults. Not just another kid with childish ideas. Good. I am tired of feeling this restricted, this limited.

A rite of maturity. I wonder what exactly happened. The magic carpet was an Extreme Gear, science, no matter how mystical it might look. Could it be a sort of blood detector to determine a percentage? What kind of margin of error could it have? Do you need 100% Babylonian DNA? 50%? Just 1%? And... I have a bad feeling about this. Why is her Grandpa so against taking it? Does he already know the answer? Is he worried about what could happen to her mentality, about how superiority could go to her head even more? Then I read the answer.

Day 347

I am not Babylonian.

... Can't say I am exactly surprised.

I took the test. I took it at secret. No adult saw me. A little drop of blood from my finger and the statue would light up blue if I was Babylonian, yellow if I wasn't. Guess what was the damn color that appeared on it!

Grandpa knew. Of course he did. He knew that I wasn't Babylonian. Why else would he be so adamant to stop me from taking it? I escaped home. This was such a dumb idea. Where would I go? What would I do? But at the time, I really felt I couldn't go back. I couldn't look at either of them, for different reasons. I was convinced that Grandpa was starting to care more for Tekno, partially because she was better with technology than me. I am a better racer, but still so behind so many other kids. Being Babylonian by blood was my edge. I didn't even have that. If he was forced to choose, of course he would choose her. Specially about how horrible I have been with everyone these last couple of months.

Grandpa wasn't having it. He looked for me. I was so angry. Angry for not telling me sooner. Angry because I was so cruel to Tekno because of a thing I never had. Angry because I really thought he didn't love me. Yet he patiently talked me through it. Convinced me of the truth. He loves me. I look back and being Babylonian, he never pushed me because of that. He said that I should be a mechanic, or a racer or an archeologist not because that's what a Babylonian did, because it's what I love. What makes me happy. He always tried to show me that being Babylonian didn't make me any better. Guess he was trying to prepare me. I am back home. He promised this would be our secret. But now, what do I do with Tekno? Tomorrow, not today.

I... I thought I would be happier about this. Enjoy her pain. I don't. Not one bit. She had illusions of greatness, because of what she was, that actually turned out to be nothing but a lie. Her world must have been rocked. How would this feel if I was in her place?

I am Sonic's Best friend and right hand adventurer. What if I only dragged him down and he only tolerated me because he finds me amusing?

I am a mechanic and a good one at that. What if everything I made, is just a fluke and at a key moment it fails?

These are thoughts that I still have from time to time. If there was unremovable evidence that what I believe in was a lie, it might destroy me. If nothing else, I at least respect that your strength Wave. And maybe she actually doesn't care about their legacy, other than maybe it's money value? As a FU to these people who fill her with these hopes and dreams? Maybe.

Day 357

I was avoiding Tekno. I still had no idea how to tackle this. To my surprise, Tekno just asked for my help with something. And I did. And we just worked in silence. Yeah, this is still awkward. Neither of us can act like nothing happened but neither of us know what to do. I couldn't take it anymore and I blurted out an apology and I promised that I would be better to her. And the awkwardness just remained. Great.

This gets a good chuckle out of me. The image of the two girls just being awkward was kinda cute. I don't have too many comments over a lot of these pages.

Day 578

I... Gosh. What's wrong with me?! I went and broke another kid's beak. The kid wasn't even messing with me. He was talking about Tekno. Trash Talking her. I am not in good terms with her yet. We are not hostile toward one another, but we are not close. So why did I saw so much red when he did? Maybe it was because I could easily be the one made fun of if they knew. I got in trouble. How could I not? The parents figured it out. How could they not? Grandpa talked with them, some kind of agreement was accorded. He talked to me about it, said that I should not have done that, that there were better ways to handle that. The words say one thing, but his tone and attitude say another. I think he knew that I did this because of Tekno. I think he is proud in a sense, which I find funny.

Yep, she definitely had some of that Rogue charm since then. Charm? Brain, what are you thinking? Anyway, I guess it makes sense why her moral compass is so gray. But breaking the rules to help a friend... I have done that a lot, actually. Against GUN in specific. Guess I can understand her here. Maybe not to that level of extreme though.

Day 751

Gosh... Where do I even begin? It felt like a week but it was just a couple of days. Grandpa is... Grandpa is...I can't even write it. I can't even believe it. The BBA attacked, we all knew that was a possibility. The entire village has an evacuation plan made for the eventuality, even to the point that our homes can be removed and redeployed with ease, though at the sacrifice of size. But there are always things we don't expect on these attacks. They... Grandpa...

A man came to me and Tekno, once we were far enough to be deemed safe. We were, of course, taught not to speak with strangers, but he came with a bracelet that shone with my holo-pendant. He said that both were programmed to shine when we were close, that my Grandpa and him were friends. He said his name was Cyan, the same name that was at the beginning of my journal.

Oh, right. I had kinda forgotten about that. I still have the translator going. Maybe once I am finished here.

He kept talking. He said that he had a deal with Grandpa. He said he was going to take one of us with him. At that exact moment, both of us start making arguments and fight over each other, talking louder to cloud the voice of the other, not for him to pick us up respectively, but to pick the other. I was vouching for Tekno and she was vouching for me. The topic of me being Babylonian came up and he just interrupted us and out right said neither of us are Babylonian. After that, he seemed that he had run out of patience and just out right said that he was going to take me. That is what he agreed with Gramps.

He then told me in private that there were some Babylonian Treasures, rare, hard to find and replace treasures, that could actually change my DNA. Something about how this was used to avoid diluting the bloodline. He promised me that if I was competent enough, he will use it on me. This, this sounds just like he is trying to take advantage of me, promise me something that I want so badly, to get me on my best behavior. But I know my face just brighten up like crazy when he said this. I thought I would just reject it and tell him that I don't care, that it means nothing. But it means everything to me, even now. And I hate that he got me.

Still Tekno convinced him to take us both. She didn't want to with anyone else than Grandpa. He said he would take her far and that would be on her own then. We both feared to object. Before we were split up for good, we had a chance to have a heart to heart. Because when he exposed me as not being Babylonian, Tekno didn't look surprised about it. I challenged her about it. She knew, of course she knew. I talked about it a lot with Grandpa. We tried to be quite about it, but our home wasn't big enough for that. She knew, but she never brought it up. She encouraged me to take the chance. She didn't care, she never had illusions to be Babylonian, not like me. She told me she didn't held a grudge to me anymore. It was here that I just burst into tears, crying like a baby and funnily enough, Tekno did so too. We just hugged and cried loudly for who knows how long. Gosh, a year ago, I might have thought it was better if she never came to my life. Now I hate that she has to leave.

The next thing I remember, I am at a bed, in a much bigger bedroom than I am used to. A yellow hawk woman came for me. I got dressed and she gave me a quick tour of the Blimp. I thought I had misheard, but no, I was now in a Blimp. We are birds, we are supposed to love the air, but this is a bit much to me. I take a moment to ask about Tekno. She says that they took her to a safe place, but nothing else. I hope she is alright.

She then take me to the top of the Blimp. As in, outside of it... Yep, any doubt that we were in a blimp was gone. We were so high up too and the winds were crazy. But not as crazy as the winds that two racers were producing. One was Cyan once again, he always had the lead in the race they had, by a good margin. But that was because Cyan is a monster: I have never seen this level of skill on a rider. The second one was a lot closer to what I come to expect of an adult.

And then, they stop. The second rider was small, I thought that meant he was just a small species or something, but it was a kid. Younger than me and he was already this skilled?! Jet the Hawk. I later learned the little shit was only 8!

... Phew. That was a lot to take in.

Guess now I have an age to put on her. Wave is 5 years older than Jet. That means she was 13 here. This diary was of her life for about two years. I was checking the diary of a 11 to 13 year old...

Maybe that explains why they are not really all that "Superior Species" mentality. They see the BBA as their enemy.

Tekno, she was working under Eggman when we found her. Well, working against him was more accurate, undermining him from the inside. She then joined with Short-fuse and kept each other safe while helping people, as far as I know.

And she is always going for that colorful description of Jet. Seems like she really doesn't like him. How would I see Sonic if he was actually younger than me? Would I think less of him? Then again, Jet seemed way more rough around the edges. I don't want to imagine him being younger and less mature.

She lost her Grandfather...

I actually go and check the translator. It is finally done.

Wave, my dearest. I am so sorry, I cannot give you a better life. After all, neither you nor I are Babylonians. They are filling your head with dreams that might never be possible for you. I have thought about taking you with me alone, but I have no place to go and any kid needs a village to truly grow. I know my days are counted, but know this. I loved you. From the day you were born, I loved you and I will never stop loving you, my granddaughter. And, I have one last gift for you. After my passing, a man named Cyan will come for you. He is a Babylon Rogue, a name both famous and infamous to us. He is going to take you and make you one of them, if only an honorary member. Don't think that means you are set for life: He is going to demand near perfection from you. You will fight, you will suffer, but I believe you will also be happy with them. I truly hope the best for you.

Guess that answers that. I think I need to stop reading, at least for a while. Too much information. Do you hate being with Jet an Storm? Do you not? Do you actually care about the Babylonian history or not? I read so much, but I am more confused now.

Should I even continue?

A question for anyone that might still be interested on this story. Should I change the name? On AO3, I have it as "The Mechanics Duality". If I am being honest, I don't see myself writing both here and in fanfiction. So I was wondering if this was a good idea or not?