Emerald the Lynx, thanks so much for the review! It really keeps me motivated to continue writing! This chapter starts a new Arc, with Starline being included!

Enjoy!


Entry 32

The Tricore

''Let's go! With a positive attitude, brain engine at full operation. Let's try out various things (and challenge them with all our might). Those things will become property and a neighbor will stop by. Even if you take a break, you'll fly forever. Improve yourself (don't mind the others). Let's go to our non-experienced future!''

T.O.P. by Sonic X

xXxXxXx

Sonic dodged a punch from Knuckles, gasping as he avoided another one just barely. He felt the wall behind him, startling him, only to duck when Knuckles punched him again, hitting the wall that was covered with gymnastics mats. Sonic attempted to punch Knuckles, but his hand was caught in Knuckles' fist, with Knuckles punching him in the gut, causing him to stagger back.

''That punch was pathetic,'' Knuckles chided him. ''I saw you do better.''

Sonic frowned, charging at Knuckles, but the echidna warrior caught him by his arm and threw the hedgehog over his shoulder and onto the floor. Sonic felt a sharp pain in his back, his eye-lids lowered as he stared at Knuckles, who was upside down from his perspective as he stood behind him.

''You're unfocused, undisciplined and you lack the usual sharpness. I agreed to train you in close combat because I though you'd pick it up easily, but somehow, you're doing worse,'' Knuckles told him.

''Thanks for the pep talk, Knux,'' Sonic replied in a deadpan tone, stretching out his hand so Knuckles could help him up.

''What is going on?'' Knuckles asked. ''Your fighting spirit has diminished.''

''I'm… fine…'' Sonic replied, sound a bit hesitant, with Knuckles giving him a questioning look. Sonic just flashed a sheepish smile. ''Don't worry, Knux, I was just getting warmed up.''

''We've been training for two hours,'' Knuckles said in a deadpan tone. Sonic opened his mouth, but then closed it, realizing he couldn't respond to that one.

''How about you two take a break?'' Lily suggested. Sonic and Knuckles glanced at each other, both nodding in agreement. The three were at the gym at the Crystle Mansion, with Knuckles having agreed to train Sonic in close combat at the latter's request. Lily was overseeing their training, mainly because Knuckles asked her for another opinion in forming an assessment in regards to Sonic's skills. He was taking this whole training ordeal very seriously.

''Here you go!'' Lily brought over a tray with glass cups and grape juice as refreshments. Knuckles grinned, drinking the grape juice happily, while Sonic was just staring at his glass. ''Honestly, this was a weak fight.''

''What's up with all the criticism?'' Sonic responded, giving Lily an annoyed look.

''I'm just giving you feedback as promised,'' Lily said. ''If you're not going to fight properly, why would you even train?''

''I'm just trying to figure out how to deal with a situation where I can't move much around,'' Sonic replied. ''If the answer is going to be 'pathetic' and 'weak', then I need to work harder on improving myself.''

''You're still sour because Metal Sonic beat you up,'' Knuckles commented, a small smirk forming on his lips.

''I'm not sour,'' Sonic pouted, his cheek puffed up. ''I won't let Metal beat me again.''

''You can describe it however you want, but we're reading you like a book,'' Lily said, with Knuckles nodding in agreement. Sonic placed the glass back on the tray and then confronted Knuckles with a rather serious look.

''Okay, let's go for another round,'' he said. Knuckles grinned, punching his knuckles together. Lily just sighed.

''Wait a second, you two, I wasn't done yet,'' she said. ''I've noticed that you've been using your fists a lot more during this fight, Sonic.''

''Hm, you're right,'' Knuckles said, turning to Sonic. ''That's not how you usually fight. No wonder you were so bad.''

''I had figured that, if I'm going to practice close combat moves, I might imitate you, Knucklehead,'' Sonic responded, arms folded across his chest, with Knuckles glaring at him.

''That was a bad imitation,'' Knuckles grumbled. ''Besides, isn't speed your thing?''

''Not when I'm at a place where I can't move at all,'' Sonic replied. Lily hummed.

''What about your legs?'' she asked.

''My legs?'' Sonic looked down at his feet.

''Don't you usually also lean into a fighting style that uses a lot of leg movement? I think you'll benefit way more from learning about martial arts that focus on that rather than outright punching,'' Lily said. ''I could send you a few links so you can look it up online. I bet it's going to help you.''

''Thank you. That sounds right up my alley,'' Sonic replied.

''Right, leave the punching to me and you take care of the the speed stuff,'' Knuckles added, with Sonic nodding. ''You might not be good with confined spaces, but we got you covered.''

''Something to add, since you're usually fighting Metal Sonic, maybe you should seek a training partner who fights similar to him. Someone who is powerful and fast,'' Lily said.

''I'll keep that in mind,'' Sonic replied, grinning back at them. He already had someone on mind.

xXx

Sonic rung the bell, rocking back and forth on the balls of his toes, hoping that the person he was searching for was at home. He could hear steps on the other side, and then saw Shadow opening the door. The dark hedgehog's gaze was that of disinterest when he opened it first, only for him to frown when he saw that it was Sonic.

''What are you doing here, Sonic?'' Shadow asked, wavering between whether he wanted to know the answer or just close the door into Sonic's face.

''Hey, Shads! I was wondering, well…'' Sonic rubbed the back of his head, while Shadow just closed the door behind him and leaned against it, arms folded as he rose an eyebrow at Sonic. ''Uh, remember how we talked about how next time you feel like venting your frustrations through a battle to just ask me for a sparring match?''

''Yes, I do,'' Shadow replied, already having an idea where this was going.

''That's great, because I wanted to ask you whether you'd like to have a sparring match with me. You know, the two of hanging out together, beating each other up, but instead of you doing it because you have been traumatized again, we're just having fun. What do you say?'' Sonic asked, smiling widely. Shadow lowered his eye-lids.

''What if I don't want to fight you?'' he asked. Sonic gasped dramatically.

''Okay, who are you and what have you done to Shadow?'' he demanded, glaring at Shadow, who remained unperturbed. Sonic then snorted, unable to stay serious for too long. ''So, what do you say?''

Shadow was silent as he stared at Sonic, mulling over the proposal, but then nodded. ''Fine, but I want to know why you suddenly want to have a sparring match with me.''

''Hey, can't I just have a sparring match with you because I feel like it?'' Sonic asked, with Shadow giving him a doubtful look. Sonic groaned, rolling his eyes and wondering how was it possible that people saw through him so easily. But then, a sneaky thought crawled into his mind. ''Okay, I'll explain it to you if you manage to catch up to me.''

The moment he said that, Sonic ran off, startling Shadow, if only for a moment. The dark hedgehog immediately followed Sonic, both of them speeding through Eas. Sonic was grinning the whole time, only to get startled when Shadow appeared right next to him.

''Don't underestimate me!'' Shadow told him as he skated beside Sonic. Sonic flashed him a grin.

''Yeah, I had figured you'd catch up anyway,'' he replied.

''Where we you going to?'' Shadow asked him.

''Eh… I'm not really sure, I haven't thought about it,'' Sonic replied, trying to figure out a what would be a good place for a sparring match. ''How about Heizeru Park?''

Shadow nodded. ''Try keeping up, Faker!''

Much to Sonic's surprise, Shadow then sped up. Sonic chuckled, figuring that Shadow was getting a bit competitive and rest assured, he wasn't going to let his rival win. They ended up in Sentoraru, weaving through the crowds of humans and ARNavs, both being neck-to-neck. However, Sonic still had an ace up his glove and the moment the street cleared up and they got closer to Heizeru Park, he sped up again, using his Boost to gain an edge. Shadow was stunned to suddenly see Sonic turn into a blue blur, zooming past him and towards the park. Once Shadow arrived there, Sonic was already leaning with his hand against a tree, his other hand on his hip.

''What took you so long, Faker?'' Sonic asked in a teasing tone, a smirk on his expression and his eye-lids lowered.

''What was that?'' Shadow asked as he approached Sonic.

''I'm calling it 'Boost'. Impressive, huh?'' Sonic replied.

''I suppose it is a good asset to your current skillset,'' Shadow said, with Sonic grinning at him proudly. Shadow tilted his head. ''Is this why you asked me for a sparring match? To show off?''

''Well, to some extent,'' Sonic admitted.

''What is the other reason?'' Shadow asked.

''Do I really need one?'' Sonic asked, acting as if he didn't know what Shadow was asking about.

Shadow, in turn, just rolled his eyes, figuring that Sonic wasn't going to talk. He sighed and took a battle stance. ''Fine. Make your move.''

Sonic blinked in surprise, but then smirked. He charged at Shadow, attempting to punch him, but Shadow quickly side-stepped. Sonic turned back, now attempting to kick him, but Shadow side-stepped again, easily dodging the attack, a smug smirk on his lips.

''I thought you'd be more of a challenge,'' Shadow taunted Sonic, who gave him an annoyed look. Sonic charged once again at him, but Shadow managed to dodge it and kick him in the back. Sonic rolled back, but caught himself, curling up into a ball and launching at Shadow. Shadow did the same, with both clashing several times and flying back, grinding to a halt as they faced each other.

''How's that for a challenge?'' Sonic replied.

''Not bad,'' Shadow responded, adding in a taunting tone. ''Are you trying to prove something?''

''What are you talking about?'' Sonic asked.

''You wouldn't just challenge me to a sparring match for no reason,'' Shadow responded, then rose an eyebrow. ''Is this because you lost to Metal Sonic?''

Sonic groaned. ''Why is everyone assuming that?''

''Everyone?'' Shadow gave him a pointed look, with Sonic realizing that there's no way for him to come up with more excuses or avoid the topic. He sighed.

''Okay, I had realized that I'm not that good at close combat, especially in a confined space, and I asked Knux for some help. He and Lily gave me some pointers and I had figured that I could ask you about a sparring match,'' Sonic explained.

''You could've told me that earlier,'' Shadow told him, arms folded across his chest. Sonic rubbed the back of his head.

''I don't want people to worry about me,'' he said. ''Lucas is still blaming himself for not helping me when Metal Sonic attacked, even though I could handle the situation and there was a crisis that needed to be dealt with. I had told him I'm fine, but he he still feels guilty for not doing more.''

''Why don't you just talk to Lucas about it instead of acting like everything is fine?'' Shadow asked.

''I'm not acting like everything's…'' Sonic saw Shadow's doubtful look, then sighed, his ears drooping. ''Okay, I know I'm not good at expressing emotions, just like you,'' Sonic said, with Shadow glaring at him, torn between telling Sonic that he was quite open with Touka and the urge to smack him upside the head. The latter option was more appealing. ''But, I'm not going to let this hold me back. I want to be ready next time I fight Metal.''

Shadow observed him for a moment, then nodded. ''I can respect that.''

Sonic smiled back in response, then elbowed Shadow as he kept giving him a smug look. ''Aww, it's nice to see that you care.''

''Don't push it, Sonic,'' Shadow told him, frowning. However, Sonic kept smiling, leaving Shadow wondering what was going through his head. ''What?''

''Nothing, I'm just happy that we've managed to grow this close, especially with how things were in the beginning,'' Sonic said. Shadow hummed, having to admit that things really have changed over time, and while he wasn't to keen on being part of a team or just being around other people in general, he was content with his new life here. Shadow then suddenly felt an arm around his shoulder, noting Sonic smiling at him. ''I'm sure you feel the same.''

''How about we focus on the sparring match?'' Shadow responded, glaring at him. Sonic quickly stepped back, well aware what that glare meant and to respect Shadow's space. However, Shadow appeared just to be mildly annoyed, which Sonic took as a good sign.

''Alright, let's continue with the sparring match!'' Sonic said enthusiastically.

xXx

Lucas sighed, observing Warren and Tails working on the data they got from The Starfall. While the rest of Team Neos moved on quite easily from what had happened the previous night, he was still worried. As for what happened the day before, they had quickly left after the fight, but not before informing the authorities anonymously. There was still a broken window and a whole broken wall, and all of them agreed that neither wanted to explain the collateral damage aside from the obvious ''Dr. Eggman is responsible for this''. Luckily, it seems that everyone bought that. Midorikawa and Kero did a news report covering it, but they all blamed Dr. Eggman for it.

''I just hope this will blow over sooner than later,'' Lucas muttered.

''I'm sure people will talk about it for a day and forget what happened,'' Sonic said, with Lucas craning his neck to glance at him. Due to Sonic still being fried from his battle with Metal Sonic, Lucas insisted on carrying him piggyback back to their home. Sonic at first refused, telling him that he was fine, but after almost falling over after the group split apart, he conceded. However, he still continued telling Lucas that he was completely fine aside from being tired.

''You're the one to talk. You've already moved to the next thing,'' Lucas said, narrowing his eyes. Sonic just flashed him a cheeky smile. ''Although, if I was with you, I don't think you'd even get injured.''

''Lucas, I already told you that I'm fine. You worry too much,'' Sonic responded.

''Maybe I do, but someone has to. One wrong move, and you would've been a goner,'' Lucas said, with Sonic falling silent as he mulled over it. As for Lucas, he felt a sting of guilt for not being able to do more, to do better. He was the leader of Team Neos; he should be the one to make sure all of his teammates are safe.

What should I do?

''Hey, Lucas, are you okay?'' Lucas looked up when he saw Warren looking at him. He was lying on the couch in the Taylor Workshop, lost deep in his thought.

''No, not really,'' Lucas responded as he sat up, crossing his legs. ''I feel like I let Sonic down by leaving him alone with Metal.''

''Knowing Sonic, he doesn't care,'' Tails said in a blunt tone, a smile appearing on his muzzle. Lucas snorted in response, well aware that Tails was right.

''I know, and he told me not to worry and that he was fine, but I can't help it but worry,'' Lucas told them.

''Speaking of which, where is Sonic?'' Warren asked.

''He said he went to meet up with Knuckles, but he didn't tell me why,'' Lucas replied. ''I suppose he wanted to just hang out with him.''

''Do you feel jealous?'' Warren asked, giving Lucas a smug look. Lucas chuckled at the absurdity of the question.

''What are you talking about?'' he asked.

''You guys don't seem to really be spending much time together,'' Warren pointed out. Tails' ears perked up and he gave Lucas a curious look.

''We both like to do our own thing,'' Lucas responded. ''Sonic is someone who likes to go on adventures, I prefer to stay at home. That's how our dynamic works.''

''Maybe you both could go on an adventure on your own,'' Tails suggested, getting up from the computer and grabbing the portable AR Field generator. ''Warren and I had one a few days ago and it was a nice experience.''

''I suppose we could do that,'' Lucas muttered, following Warren and Tails outside the workshop. He knew that what they wanted was to create The Starfall through the AR Field via the data they had gathered. However, they forgot to add another data file and Tails went back inside the workshop to get it.

However, the moment he stepped inside, he suddenly found himself hovering in the air above water, forcing himself to use his twin-tails to fly. His eyes widened in shock as he observed the rings surrounding him.

''Wh-What happened?'' Tails tried to make sense of his situation, only to see a huge wave crashing down at him, and the only way for him to escape it was to fly through the floating rings as fast as possible.

xXx

''Do you think Sonic will figure things out?'' Lily asked Knuckles as they cleaned things up at the gym. Knuckles, who was carrying a bunch of sports mats over his head, hummed.

''He lacks discipline, but he is smart. I do have faith in him,'' Knuckles said, with Lily giving him a knowing look, smirking. Knuckles frowned. ''Don't tell Sonic I said that.''

''I promise I won't,'' Lily responded, picking up the tray with the grape juice and walking out of the gym. Knuckles placed the sports mats in the corner and was about to follow her, only for his surroundings to suddenly change. Now alert, Knuckles looked around, realizing that he wasn't anymore inside the gym, but what appeared to be an obstacle course, with rocks rolling down a mountain and Knuckles smashing through one that almost flattened him.

''What is this?'' he grumbled, continuing to fight back.

xXx

''My plan is absolutely impeccable,'' Dr. Starline said, observing the holographic screen before him that informed him about the portable AR Field generators being activated. He had planted them at the Taylor Workshop and Crystle Mansion, rigging them to activate only when Tails and Knuckles were close to them and alone. It was quite difficult to find a proper place for them, especially at the Crystle Mansion, but he managed it thanks to his own wit and intelligence. However, Starline did run into one issue. ''Unfortunately, Sonic is not at the Kinomoto residence. I'd have to search the whole city for that hedgehog and make sure he actually enters my trap.'' Starline sighed, removing his spectacles and pinching the bridge of his beak. ''I did plan for this setback, but it appears that the execution is going to be more difficult than I thought.'' He placed his spectacles back on his beak, trying to figure out what to do. ''If I only had his exact location, it would make things way easier.''

Starline closed the holographic screen and grabbed what looked like a rectangle metal plate, pressing the button in the middle and allowing it to turn into a personalized hovercraft. Having not much resources, he had to personally scout the whole city. It took a while, but eventually he spotted a blue blur dashing around and fighting an orange and black blur at Heizeru Park. He smirked, reaching for the portable AR Field generator and dropping it in the middle of their battle, with it landing in a nearby bush. The moment Sonic stepped close to it, he vanished, much to Shadow's shock and Starline's glee.

xXx

Sonic had no clue what had happened. One moment, he was exchanging blows with Shadow, and the next, he was racing across a green track with an invisible wall closing in on him. ''As if that thing could ever get me… huh?''

Sonic's eyes widened as he realized that the invisible wall was indeed getting closer, being able to sense it just behind him, almost touching his quills. He sped up, trying to escape it, but it seemed that, the faster he got, the faster the invisible wall was. ''That's not good!''

xXx

''Sonic?''

Shadow stepped back, having been caught off guard by Sonic's disappearance. He looked around, wondering if it was some kind of trick, waiting for Sonic to attack him, but nothing had happened. Suspicious, he walked over to where he saw Sonic vanishing, his eyes narrowing as he saw something translucent glimmering next to a bush. An AR Field? He walked over to it, placing his hand over it and realizing that he couldn't enter it, as it seemed as if there was a barrier. He looked down, noticing a device on the ground resembling the portable AR Field generator he had seen Warren and Tails carrying around. However, this one also had a strange marking on it, a wave in a white and black colour with five stars across it. He had no clue what it was doing here, but he had a bad feeling about this.

He tapped on his AR Visor, with a holographic screen appearing before him and calling Lucas. The teenager was quite surprised to see who had called him. ''Shadow?''

''Sonic has gone missing. I believe that this has something to do with his disappearance,'' Shadow showed Lucas the device. Lucas, in turn, was stunned, trying to process the sudden information dump.

''That looks like the device I had found when Tails had vanished,'' Warren said, suddenly appearing on the screen and holding up the same device. ''It seems to be a portable AR Field generator, but one that doesn't allow for anyone else to enter it.''

''I had figured that one out by myself,'' Shadow responded in a deadpan tone. ''I don't believe it was placed here or at the workshop by chance.''

''That's what we also assumed,'' Lucas said, glancing at the device Warren was holding, frowning at the familiarity of the markings on it. ''Someone placed it here deliberately, and I have a bad feeling in regards to who it is. Shadow, where are you now?''

''I'm at Heizeru Park,'' Shadow responded.

''Okay, stay there, I'll be there soon,'' Lucas said, grabbing his hoverboard and running off, the holographic screen closing. Shadow stepped back, glancing at the device in his hands, wondering where exactly Sonic was and what happened to him.

xXx

''Splendid! I will reach my goal in no time,'' Dr. Starline gloated, sitting in his hideout. He stared at the holographic screen, which showed him video footage of Sonic, Tails and Knuckles struggling in their respective AR Fields. Below the video footage were a blue, yellow and red gauge, slowly filling up.

The way he had designed the AR Fields was for them to constantly use their specific power – speed, flight, power – and then the data that manifested within that AR Field would be directly transferred to his private server. He could then transform the data into pure energy for his personal use. Dr. Starline also made sure that no one would interfere with the AR Fields until the data transfer was done. Afterwards, the portable AR Field generators would self-destruct, releasing Sonic, Tails and Knuckles. Dr. Starline smirked.

''The more they use their power, the faster the process of creating the Power Cores will be,'' he said, noting how the speed gauge was filling up much faster than he expected. It took a bit longer, but eventually, all three gauges filled up, with Dr. Starline then turning towards another AR Field generator that was currently active, showing him three glowing orbs: one blue, one yellow and one red. A cloud of data appeared, turning into a pedestal, where Dr. Starline placed his glove. The Power Cores then floated towards his glove, merging with it in a flash of light.

''Success!'' Dr. Starline lifted his glove, observing the black polished orb with a swirl on top of it, which was made up of the three Power Cores. ''Not only am I able to contend with Team Neos, but I'm certain that Dr. Eggman will recognize my genius and my ability to deal with his nemesis. The power of the Tricore will lead me to the top!''

xXx

''Hey, Shadow!'' Shadow turned to Lucas as he arrived, looking quite in distress. He gave Lucas the portable AR Field generator, with Lucas immediately examining it. ''Where did you find it?''

''In the nearby bushes. Unfortunately, I don't know who had placed it there,'' Shadow explained, giving Lucas a questioning look. ''You seem to know.''

''If the marking on the device is what I suspect to be, then yeah, I do know,'' Lucas responded, narrowing his eyes. ''Warren is currently trying to find a way to contact Tails, but using the usual way doesn't work.''

Before they could do anything, the portable AR Field generator suddenly short-circuited, resulting in a small explosion and causing Lucas to drop it, waving his hand as it had gotten burned. The AR Field then disappeared, with Sonic appearing on the ground before the two, breathing heavily and lying on his knees.

''Sonic, are you okay?'' Lucas asked, kneeling down next to the blue hedgehog.

''Y-Yeah… I'm f-fine…'' Sonic tried to get up, only to feel a sudden wave of dizziness and nausea, almost falling over. Luckily, Lucas caught him, with Shadow shooting him a glare. Sonic noticed it, rolling his eyes. ''Okay, maybe I'm not fine.''

''Good to see that you're finally being honest,'' Shadow snarked at him. Lucas gave the two a confused look, before turning to Sonic.

''Sonic, what happened? Shadow told me that you just vanished into an AR Field?'' he asked.

''So, that's what it was…'' Sonic muttered as he tried to sit up, placing his hand against his forehead. ''I just found myself on this field where I was forced to run as fast as possible. I had no idea what it was… what happened to your hand?''

Lucas looked down at the burn on his palm. It did hurt him, but it wasn't that bad. ''Don't worry, I'm fine.''

Shadow rose an eyebrow as he looked at Lucas, folding his arms across his chest. ''I suppose Sonic isn't the only one with a habit of downplaying his injuries.''

''Not now, Shadow,'' Sonic growled, now feeling annoyed on top of feeling nauseous, while Lucas was just confused. Sonic tried to get up, but his knees buckled and he almost fell over if it weren't for Lucas supporting him. However, he was determined to power through it, managing to eventually stand on his own. Lucas, who was still worried about Sonic's condition, took out a handkerchief of his pocket and wrapped it around his injured hand, trying to figure out what their next move should be. A moment later, he got a call not only from Warren, but also Lily.

''Lucas, how is Sonic doing?'' Warren asked the moment Lucas answered. Sonic was about to answer, but one glare from Shadow made him shut up.

''Not too peachy,'' Lucas replied. ''How's Tails?''

''He's not doing good either,'' Warren said, glancing at Tails who was lying on the couch, breathing heavily. Sonic stared at it, worried about his little buddy.

''Same goes for Knuckles!'' Lily added, cradling her exhausted partner in her lap. ''What the hell is going on?''

''We've found portable AR Field generators and it seems that Sonic and Tails ended up trapped in an AR Field which drained their energy,'' Warren explained. ''Tails was forced to flying through a bunch of rings.''

''I had boulders being thrown at me,'' Knuckles said, taking a deep breath. ''I was forced to punch through them.''

''Sonic had to run through some kind of track,'' Lucas said, looking worriedly at his partner as he tried to steady himself. ''You guys look as if you had your own BioEnergy drained.''

''Except, that shouldn't be possible,'' Sonic said, despite the exhaustion he felt. Still, he narrowed his eyes, deciding to test his energy reserves out, but the moment he attempted to run, he realized that not only was his super speed gone, he also tripped and fell over right on his face in a moment of weakness. He lifted his head with a look of horror on his expression. ''Wh-What happened to my speed?!''

''Sonic!'' Lucas helped him up, now seriously alarmed. ''Sonic, what- what was that?''

''I don't know! My speed suddenly vanished!'' Sonic responded in complete shock, freaking out. He was breathing heavily, as if on the verge of a panic attack, his reaction being something Shadow took note of. His speed was what defined him and losing it felt like he lost a vital part of himself. He couldn't be Sonic the Hedgehog without his super speed.

''You're not the only one, Sonic…'' Sonic turned to the holographic screen, now seeing Tails on it, flicking his twin-tails. ''I can't fly anymore.''

''I feel like I had been drained of all my strength,'' Knuckles said, gritting his teeth and balling his hands into fists.

''Speed, flight, power…'' Lucas muttered, having a very bad feeling about this. He shook his head, deciding to first deal with the matter at hand. ''Okay, so the AR Field caused all of three of you to be de-powered. Maybe we could fix this with a Chaos Surge.''

''Are you sure we should go with that? I could do some tests first to see what exactly happened,'' Warren said. Lucas and Sonic exchanged glances.

''I think we should take the risk,'' Lucas responded, extending his hand towards his partner, with Sonic nodding and grabbing his hand.

''Chaos Surge!''

Both were surrounded with an electric blue aura, both opening their eyes a moment later. Lucas looked a little drained, both of his and Sonic's eyes glowing neon blue, with the glow then vanishing. Sonic looked down at his hands and took a deep breath, then ran off, zipping around Heizeru Park at super speed before grinding to a halt next to Lucas and Shadow, kicking up dirt and dust.

''It's not permanent,'' Sonic said, turning to the holographic screen.

''That's good to know,'' Tails said. ''I'd still like to know what those AR Fields were. It appears they were designed to drain all of our core powers and energy.''

''Is it possible that Dr. Eggman is behind this?'' Knuckles asked.

''No, I don't think so,'' Lucas replied. ''We'll gather up everyone to discuss this.''

xXx

''Hello, sir! How may I help you?'' the receptionist at the Tamago Corporation entrance greeted the visitor as he sauntered into the building. Dr. Starline was looking around the lobby, before turning his attention to the receptionist.

''I'm here to see Dr. Ivo Robotnik. Or, Dr. Eggman, if he prefers that name,'' Starline replied. The receptionist's eyes turned red and she typed something into her computer, either calling someone or sending a message.

''Please, go down the hallway,'' she responded, with Starline smirking smugly.

''Thank you,'' he said as he confidently walked down the hallway leading to a hidden corridor towards where he Dr. Eggman's office was. Orbot and Cubot were in the hallway, both surprised to see Starline walking up to them. They were about to address the platypus Irregular, when Dr. Eggman suddenly walked up to them, followed by Ferra and Metal Sonic.

''Who are you and what are you doing here?!'' Eggman demanded, not looking too happy about seeing an intruder in this area. Starline, on the other hand, was awetruck to see his idol and bowed deeply.

''Please, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Dr. Starline, a kindred spirit and deep admirer of your work,'' Starline said.

''Hmph, I suppose this explains why you're here.'' Eggman didn't look impressed. ''At least you know your place.''

Starline then looked past Eggman at Ferra and Metal Sonic, who both gave him a suspicious look, and just scoffed at him. He then turned back to Eggman, looking at him with that same awestruck and adoring expression. ''I had been hoping to apply to work as your assistant, sir.''

''I'm currently not looking for any assistants…'' Eggman muttered, mulling over this offer. He preferred to scout out people and make them work for him rather than have someone ask him to work for him, but he was curious.

''Consider this my apprenticeship application.'' Starline showed him his glove, with Eggman taking a look at his Tricore.

''What is this?'' he asked.

''This is my own creation – the Tricore. I created it by draining the core data of Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles Prower and Knuckles the Echidna and turning it into the Speed, Flight and Power Power Cores,'' Starline replied, snapping his fingers and presenting three holographic screens that had footage of Sonic, Tails and Knuckles struggling inside the AR Fields to Eggman.

''Oh-ho-ho!'' Eggman was quite amused to see his enemies going through the seemingly neverending obstacles, realizing that Starline might actually be useful. ''Welcome aboard, Starline! I suppose I could give you a position in my Eggman Empire.''

''I will make sure I don't disappoint you, sir,'' Starline replied, looking quite excited. Eggman narrowed his eyes.

''You better don't,'' he said, turning towards Ferra and Metal Sonic. ''These are Ferra Ahearn and Metal Sonic, my Enforcers. You'll be working with them from now on.''

''I'm looking forward to it,'' Starline said, but it was clear to Ferra and Metal Sonic that he was looking down on them from the snarky tone he addressed them with. ''I suppose brute force will be necessary for certain tasks. You can leave the tasks that require a more delicate approach to me.''

''We've been doing well without you,'' Ferra replied in a deadpan tone, feeling that Starline thought of her and Metal Sonic as the dumb muscle. Eggman, on the other hand, was a bit amused by their bickering.

''You have joined us just in time Starline. I was about to walk through Ferra and Metal Sonic through my latest scheme,'' Eggman said, leading Starline towards the main control room.

''I'm honored that you will be including me in your plans, sir,'' Starline said, clasping his hands together as they walked, both being followed by Orbot and Cubot. Ferra and Metal Sonic stayed behind.

'I do not approve of Dr. Starline,' Metal Sonic said.

''Neither do I, but we'll have to deal with him now,'' Ferra said, with both following Eggman and Starline.