-Chapter 297-

Dinner With The Walruses


Knothole

It was a peaceful afternoon at Knothole Village. The sun was shining, Flickies were singing. You could practically hear the William Tell Overture playing in the breeze. All was peaceful...all was well.

"CRAAAAAAAAAP!"

Unless you were Rotor Walrus. In which case, everything was...

"Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap!"

Rotor frantically paced about the lab, clutching his head as he panicked.

"Of all the rotten, lousy, no-good luck! Ohhhhh…this is bad, this is really, really bad!"

"What's really, really bad?"

Rotor jumped and turned toward the entrance.

"Hey Rote," Sonic greeted, most of the Brain Trust, and Cassia the Pronghorn following him inside. "Everything alright?"

"Signs point to no," Cass replied with a sympathetic wince.

"No, Cass, everything is not alright," Rotor began. "I am in the middle of a crisis!"

He threw his hands in the air and began pacing again.

"Hey, hey, easy!" Kat soothed as she grabbed him and led him toward the nearest chair. "Calm down, take a deep breath, and relax."

Rotor did as he was told, inhaling deeply through his nose before letting out a loud sigh, causing most of the nervous tension in his body to disappear.

"There, feel better?"

Rotor nodded, smiling gratefully. "Very."

"Good. Now, why don't you tell us what's got you running around like a Cucky with its head cut off."

"Seriously Rotor, you looked like you were about to have an aneurysm," Porker added.

"I'd honestly prefer that, Porker. Hell, I'd prefer anything to this!"

"This being…?" Chris motioned for him to continue.

Rotor looked at the others pitifully, realizing there was no way out of this.

"I'm having dinner with my parents tonight."

Silence filled the room as the other Freedom Fighters stared at Rotor in flat confusion…

"And they want me to bring Cobar."

…before filling with understanding "Ahhh…"s, "Okay"s, "I get it now"s, and "That makes sense"ses.

"So, what's the big deal?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, I don't see the problem," Keith added.

"Don't see the…?!" Rotor sputtered indignantly before calming down. "Right, you two are still kids. You don't get what it feels like to introduce your significant other to your parents."

"Eh!?" Chris let out, mildly offended. "What's that supposed to mean!?"

"Yeah," Keith piped up. "I invite Kat over for dinner all the time and everything's fine!"

"I'm with the boys on this one," Johnny continued. "I took Porker home to my folks a while back and they loved him."

Porker blushed at that, causing Rotor to perk.

"Wait, you did?"

The hare nodded. "Yeah, and not just me. Shorty took Tekno home too."

"Meeting Shorty's folks was…interesting," the canary picked up. "They had a lot of questions, but in the end, they approved!"

"Seriously!?" Rotor asked incredulously. "When did all this happen!?"

"Dude, where have you been?" Cass asked a little worriedly. "This all happened, like, months ago."

Rotor paused awkwardly, realizing he probably needed to get out more. "R-Right…"

"But, seriously," Sonic cut in. "You're making a big deal over nothing, Rote."

"This isn't nothing, Sonic!" the walrus cut in, getting in the hedgehog's face. "This is me introducing my boyfriend - the lead scientist of a once technologically advanced civilization - to my parents! Who, need I remind you, are largely techno-illiterate - especially my former Egg Boss dad - and whom I've barely spoken to because they've been dead for three years! Seriously, I never thought I'd ever have to worry about this! I mean, I'm glad they're back but I'm just scared something's gonna go wrong or they won't like Cobar or Cobar won't like them, or…"

"Rotor!"

Using his ears, Johnny slapped the walrus upside the head, stopping his panicked ranting.

"Rotor," he began sternly, looking him straight in the eyes. "You are overthinking things. We met your parents and they don't seem like the kind of people who hate anybody unless they deserve it."

"Johnny's right," Porker chimed in. "This dinner is gonna go great. They're going to love Cobar, especially your dad. Heck, they'll probably be bugging you to know when the wedding is the moment they see him."

Rotor blushed profusely.

"Y-You really think so?"

"Sure! The guy wears his heart on his sleeve so much, you could give him CPR by arm wrestling," Shorty pointed out.

"So stop fussing and go get ready," Tekno urged.

"R-Right…" Rotor got up from his chair. "I'll do that. Thanks, guys."

"It's what we do." Sonic nodded. "Anyway, hate to drop and ditch, but we gotta go. Cassia's streaming her big celebrity game night tonight and we promised we'd be there."

"It's gonna be awesome!" the pronghorn cheered. "The greatest heroes of Mobius battling for supremacy with the greatest classic games in my collection in a massive, no-holds-barred, virtual slugfest!"

She took a moment to clear her throat and collect herself.

"A-All for charity, of course."

She smiled awkwardly, eliciting chuckles from the others.

"Well, you guys have fun," Rotor said as he got up and headed for the door. "Sorry that I can't join you. Lemme know how it goes."

"Will do." Sonic gave a thumbs up.

"Say hi to your folks for us!" Shorty called out.

"Break a leg!" Tekno added.

Waving goodbye, Rotor stepped out of the lab, letting the doors close behind him.

He sighed nervously. "Right…here we go."

He pulled out his smartphone, going through his contacts until he reached Cobar's number and called.

"Hello?"

"Cobar, you got a sec?"

"Rotor! Hey there, luv, haven't heard from you in a while! How's your family doing? They settling into their new home?"

"Yeah." Rotor nodded. "In fact, I was just about to head on over there for dinner later tonight and I was wondering…" He took a deep breath, steeling himself. "If you wanted to come along."

Rotor flinched as soon as he finished the sentence, as though the words had kicked off his tongue as they left his mouth. He stopped to listen for his lover's reply but was only greeted with silence.

"Cobar?" he asked worriedly. "You there?"

Please be busy with a project Please be busy with a project Pleasepleaseplease Please be busy with a project!

"Y-Yes!" the echidna suddenly replied. "Yes, of course! I would love to!"

"Damn…" Rotor whispered.

"Rotor?"

"Errr…good! Damn good to hear! I'll let them know you're coming."

"Wonderful! I can't wait to meet them. What time are we leaving?"

"About four-thirty to five. Oh! And try to wear something nice. It's not black tie or anything, but…"

"Of course. I'll leave my lab coat at home. I'll see you then. Bye for now!"

"Seeya."

And with that, they hung up.

"Well, that takes care of step one." Rotor scrolled through his contacts again, eventually arriving at "Mom and Dad". "Now, for step two."


Mobotropolis - Walrus House - A few hours later

It was a peaceful evening at the Walrus residence. The sun was setting, the Flickies were settling into their nests. All was peaceful...all was well.

"CRAP!"

Unless you were Sherman Walrus. In which case, everything was...

"Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! CRAP!"

Concerned by the sound of her husband's frantic screams, Georgette Walrus rolled her wheelchair into the living room. The tremors in her arms had vanished completely, and while she was still unable to stand, she no longer needed help to move about.

"Sherman, what's wrong?" she asked, only to gape at the sight of her husband wearing one of her spare aprons as he frantically darted about the living room with a vacuum cleaner.

"Sherman?" she asked again.

"No time to talk, babe! I gotta finish getting everything ready!" He was vacuuming up the floor like a madman, though not without difficulty. "Come on, you confounded thing!"

As her husband attempted to wrestle the cleaning appliance into cooperation, Georgette wheeled over and noticed it was in the blow position. She flipped it to suck, not realizing Sherman had it close to his face. He spluttered and yelled, trying to yank the hose off his nose.

"Whoops!" Georgette turned it off, the vacuum popping off of Sherman's face. "Sorry, hun."

Sherman gave a weak thumbs up.

"Thanks, Georgie…" He took a breath. "Still getting used to all these new-fangled technobobs."

"I know, I know. Now, would you mind explaining what's got you flippier than a Pecky (1) being chased by an orca?"

Sherman sighed.

"I was sprucing up the place a bit before Boomer and his boyfriend got here," he explained. "Still can't believe he actually found someone."

"I know!" Georgette replied eagerly. "Isn't it exciting!?"

"No, it's not!" Sherman shook his head as he realized what he'd just said. "I-I mean… I'm glad Boomer found somebody. Overjoyed! And I'm glad he's finally bringing him over."

His expression went from nervous to terrified. "But then I realized... Boomer's bringing his boyfriend over."

"I hardly see the problem."

"Georgie…" He put his hands on her shoulders and looked her right in the eyes. "I was the Artikan Egg Boss. I wiped out half of Artika. Also, we've kinda sorta been dead. We haven't been a part of his life for years."

Georgette's mood sagged for a moment, but only just.

"That's true…"

"So, we gotta make sure this dinner is absolutely perfect!" Sherman replied. "The house has gotta be clean, the food's gotta be to die for, and the man who may or not become our new son-in-law doesn't think we're weird or lame or evil or…"

Georgette clamped her hand over Sherman's mouth, shutting him up.

"Sherman…" she said, her voice loving, but firm. "You're overthinking things."

Sherman raised an eyebrow as Georgette let go of his lips. "But, you always said I hardly ever think."

Georgette smiled, shaking her head in fond exasperation. "Not what I meant. I mean, you're making a big deal out of a little thing."

"But…"

"No buts!" she cut in. "I highly doubt Boomer's thinking of marriage at his age and you're as docile as a fed Rocky (2). Just relax, calm down, and breathe. Everything will be alright."

Sherman did as his wife instructed, taking a deep, cleansing breath. As soon as he finished exhaling, he felt significantly lighter.

"Yeah, you're right."

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"Oh! That must be them!" Georgette exclaimed happily.

"Crap!" Sherman exclaimed fearfully, his anxiety returning full force.

Grabbing the vacuum, he ran over to the nearest closet, opened the door, and threw it inside.

"MMMRRRREEEEEEEEEOW!"

"Whoops! Sorry, Loki," Sherman apologized as a tortoiseshell Mobini cat ran out, stopping only to angrily hiss and scratch at him before running off.

"Gah!" Sherman winced. "Dammit, that cat is mean!"

The doorbell rang again, snapping Sherman back to reality. "Crap! Georgie, get the door! I gotta get ready!"

"Wait, Sherman!" Georgette attempted to call out, but the walrus patriarch had already sprinted up the stairs.

Georgette sighed, once again shaking her head in fond exasperation.

"What am I going to do with that man?"

The doorbell rang once more.

"Coming!"

-X-

Rotor and Cobar were waiting outside the front door. They were both wearing nice, but fairly casual clothing. Rotor rang the doorbell again.

"That's weird," Rotor pondered. "One of them usually answers after the second ring."

"Perhaps they're having some trouble?" Cobar suggested. "You did say your mother is wheelchair-bound. Also, do you really need to ring the bell? Isn't this technically your house?"

"It's common courtesy, Cobar. Plus, I haven't lived with my parents in three years. Now..." Rotor started adjusting his outfit. "Nice and straight, buttons right… No wrinkles..."

"I feel under-dressed," the echidna commented, looking over the traditional tribal garb he had on. Garb Rotor immediately began grabbing at.

"R-Rotor! What do you think you're doing!?"

"Just making sure everything looks nice," he said as he straightened out his lover's kilt-like loincloth.

"You could've warned me first!" Cobar snapped, tugging it out of the walrus' grip. "Seriously, what if somebody walked by?"

Rotor winced. "Yeah…sorry, hun. I just wanna make a good first impression. This is my first meal with my folks since I left home and your first meeting with them period. I want it to be perfect."

Cobar sighed. "It doesn't need to be perfect. We're just having dinner with your parents, not trying to secure an alliance between tribes."

"I know, but..."

"Rotor!"

"Ack!"

Rotor spun around, finding his mother had finally answered the door.

"Mom!" he sputtered, regaining his composure.

"Hi, baby!" Georgette greeted, wheeling herself out onto the porch to Rotor's surprise.

"You…You got your mobility back?"

"Most of it," Georgette clarified.

"I can see that." Rotor looked over his mom, seeing that, in addition to her hands no longer trembling, she'd regained a decent amount of weight. "The doctors expected you'd still need to be pushed for at least another few weeks."

"Little Agatha has been quite helpful. All the better to do this!"

Georgette leaned forward and grabbed Rotor by his arms, pulling him into a surprisingly tight hug. One he returned shortly after.

"Ooooh…my baby boy," Georgette cooed. "Look at you! All grown up and with your own special somebody!"

"Mom…" Rotor sighed.

"Oh humor me, sweetie, we haven't seen you in years."

Georgette looked over Rotor's shoulder, seeing her son's 'special somebody'.

"And here he is!" she cried out as she released him.

"Good evening, Mrs. Walrus," Cobar greeted with a bow. "I–"

Only to be cut off by Georgette wheeling over and hugging him.

"You must be Cobar! Rotor's told us all about you. Thank you so much for looking after him.'

Cobar blinked, his brain seeming to lag for a bit.

"The pleasure is all mine, Ma'am," he replied, hugging her back.

"Oh, don't with the ma'am stuff!" Georgette waved dismissively. "Just call me Georgette. Or Georgie. Or Mom!"

Both Rotor and Cobar stiffened, the lovers stunned at what they'd just heard.

"Mom!" Rotor shouted, his face blushing redder than Cobar's fur (including the substantial blush the echidna had taken on himself).

"Oh!" Georgette winced, realizing her faux-pas. "I'm sorry, was that too forward?"

Cobar paused, unsure of what to say. Georgette's comment was…sudden and startling, but she meant well and he didn't want to hurt her feelings.

"W-Well…"

"H-Hey Mom," Rotor cut in, saving him the need. "Where's Dad?"

"Your father? Oh, he's upstairs 'getting ready'. I swear, that man can be so…"

She shook her head in fond exasperation.

"Oh, but where are my manners? Please, come inside!"

Georgette pulled back a little bit, allowing her son and his guest to enter.

"Sorry, if the place looks a little empty," Georgette began, motioning to the sparsely furnished living room. "We only just moved in not too long ago and we… don't have much in the way of possessions."

"It's alright, Miss Georgette," Cobar assured. "I…"

"Skeeter Bash!"

BONK!

"Ow!" Cobar yelped, rubbing his head as his assailant chuckled and spun his weapon…a foam bat.

"If this were a real bat, you'd be dead."

"Skeeter!" Rotor shouted.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Georgette demanded. "What did I tell you about hitting people!?"

"But Mom, I saw this weirdo in a dress follow Boomer inside!" the younger walrus protested, pointing to his victim. "So, I leaped into action!"

Skeeter swung his bat around, making loud, fighting noises with each gesture and pose.

"Give me that!" Rotor said as he snatched the bat from his hands. "First, you promised Guntiver and I that you'd stop bonking everyone the moment you saw them. And second, that 'weirdo in a dress' you just bonked is my boyfriend!"

"Cobar the Echidna, Lead Scientist of the Echidnapolis Science Department." Cobar smiled as he held out his hand. "A pleasure."

Skeeter blinked as he stared at Cobar's hand, the echidna waiting for him to shake it. Instead, Skeeter walked around Cobar, sizing him up like a predator.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

Skeeter stopped, pointing right at him.

"Why's your hair look funny?"

Rotor and Georgette practically fell over.

"You mean my spines?" Cobar asked.

"Skeet…those are dreadlocks," Rotor pointed out, pinching the bridge of his nose. "All the echidna on Angel Island have them. Remember Knuckles?"

Skeeter shook his head. "Nope."

"The...The other echidna? Kat's brother? The one who got captured?"

"Nope, sorry."

"Well, regardless, you can't just go around hitting people like that!" Georgette snapped. "Now, say you're sorry."

"But Moooom! I...!"

"Now, Stratford."

Skeeter winced at Georgette's tone, as well as the glare she was now sporting.

"Stratford?" Cobar asked Rotor. "I thought his name was Skeeter?"

"Yeah, and Sonic's is Olgilvie," Rotor replied.

"Ah."

"Sorry, Cobar…" Skeeter apologized. "I thought you were a bad guy, so…"

Cobar smiled. "It's alright, Skeeter, I forgive you. You were just looking out for your brother. I would've done the same in your position."

"Heh, you talk funny," Skeeter chuckled. "But yeah…" His demeanor turned serious as he pointed his bat at him. "If you find out you've been messing with Boomer, I'll bash you on the head for reals!"

"Ohhh boy..." Rotor massaged his temples, dreading the dinner even more.

"He's as bad as Sherman was." Georgette perked. "Oh! Skeeter, could you go get your father and tell him to get his butt down here before he spends all night up there?"

Skeeter saluted. "You got it, Mom!"

With that, he ran off, leaving Georgette with the older boys.

"Now, I'm gonna finish up dinner. You two make yourselves comfortable. If you need anything, just holler."

"Of course."

"Thanks, Mom."

Georgette smiled before wheeling off to the kitchen.

"Your family's quite the colorful bunch," Cobar remarked as the two took a seat.

"Yeah…" Rotor couldn't help but chuckle. "Honestly, I'd forgotten all about that."

"I'm rather envious."

Rotor perked. "Really?"

Cobar nodded. "I don't remember much about my own family. My parents were killed during the Dingo Regime's attack on the Day of Exodus. And the guardians I ended up with were...distant, at best. My love of technology and science wasn't exactly widely accepted, especially after the attack."

Rotor winced, recalling his own struggles back home. "Ooh...right..."

Cobar smiled. "But, things have changed, and I'm much more respected now."

"Good to hear. Hopefully, I can do the same with Artika."

Cobar puts a hand on Rotor's shoulder.

"You'll get there, love. One step at a time."

Rotor smiled.

"So, we've met your mother and brother, what's your father like?"

"Well..."

"Did someone call my name!?"

Rotor and Cobar perked as they heard footsteps heading downstairs. Loud, heavy footsteps.

"There you are!" Rotor declared. "Dad, where have you… Odin's beard!"

Rotor gaped at the sight of Sherman descending the staircase… wearing a very nice, but very loud three-piece suit.

"My word..." Cobar let out as Rotor sputtered incoherently.

"Dad!?"

"Salutations, offspring!" Sherman greeted bombastically. "Welcome back to our humble abode!"

Rotor turned red in the face, burying his face in his hands. He could practically hear everyone he ever knew laughing… only to realize it was just Skeeter at the top of the stairs and Georgette peeking from the kitchen doorframe.

"Dad, what are you WEARING?!" Rotor demanded.

"What? It's a nice dinner. You're supposed to dress nice for a nice dinner. Especially when you're meeting your son's romantic pair-o-morse. Speaking of which..." Sherman walked over to Cobar. "This must be the aforementioned pair-o-morse himself."

Said 'pair-o-morse' smiled and waved awkwardly.

"Uhhhh...y-yes, it's nice to meet you, Mr. Walrus, sir. I'm..."

"Cobar the Echidna!" Sherman yelled, getting right in Cobar's space and shaking his hand repeatedly.

"Yipe!"

"Boomer's told us all about you! Good to finally meet you in person!"

Georgette giggled behind her hand. "Sherman, sweetie, you're taking this far too seriously."

"A serious occasion must be taken seriously! And Sherman Walrus takes all serious matters with utmost seriousness!"

Sherman pointed into the air dramatically…causing his sleeve to rip at the seams.

"Dammit!" he muttered under his breath.

"Go put on your normal clothes, dear," Georgette suggested.

"Good idea. Skeet, help him get this damn monkey suit off," he said as he walked off. "Knew I should've got this thing refitted…"

Everyone watched as Sherman went back upstairs, Skeeter following.

"Do forgive him, Cobar," Georgette told him. "He means well, but he's got some frostbite in his mind he still needs to shake off."

"Some?" Rotor said flatly.

"Okay, a lot," Georgette replied. "Anyway, dinner will be ready in a few minutes. I hope you like salmon stew with scallops."

"It sounds delicious."

"It is delicious!" Sherman shouted from upstairs.

"Dad, wait!" Skeeter shouted. "Don't move so fast, you'll…!"

SHRIIIIIP!

"Dagnabbit!"

"Oh boy..." Rotor sighed.

-X-

Later…

Around the table, Skeeter and Georgette were eating, while Rotor, Sherman, and Cobar stared awkwardly. Cobar lifted a spoonful of stew into his mouth, looking at Sherman out of the corner of his eye.

"Rotor…" Cobar whispered. "What's wrong with your father?"

"I don't know," Rotor whispered back. "I've never seen him like this before."

The older walrus just sat there, with an unreadable expression, his eyes darting around the room, occasionally going back to Cobar.

"Sherman!"

Sherman sharply turned to Georgette, who was giving him a serious look.

"You're making our guest uncomfortable," she softly snapped. "Relax."

"Relax, how!?" Sherman whispered.

"Stop sitting like a statue, for starters," Rotor said, earning him a light scowl from his mom. "Sorry…"

Georgette thought for a moment, then perked. "I know, strike up some nice dinner conversation. Get to know him better."

Sherman nodded, that was a good idea Georgette had (as always). He just needed to think of something to talk about.

Any second now…

Any second…

"C'mon, Tank, say something!" Sherman thought, taking a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow. "Get to know your guest better! Start a conversation!

"So, Cobar!" he swallowed. "You're an echidna?"

What the hell was that!?

"Oh lord…" Georgette whispered.

"Yes, I am," Cobar nodded, looking a little confused.

"You're from Angel Island? The island up in the sky? The one that floats?"

"Yes, sir. Born and raised."

"Dad…" Rotor began.

C'mon, Tank, think of a better conversation!

"H-How's it do that? Err…float? It got rockets built into the stones or something? Balloons? Buncha little gnomes lift it into the air?"

Rotor cringed at that.

"You're close," Cobar replied. "The island is kept afloat by Ancient technology powered by the Master Emerald. Legend says that the First Guardians retrofitted the island, making it so it would float, becoming a safe haven. It's why the landmass doesn't crumble, even if the Master Emerald is removed."

Surprisingly, that got everyone interested.

"The whole island!?" Skeeter asked. "Wouldn't that have taken...forever?"

Cobar shrugged. "Ancient Technology is beyond all comprehension. We've only begun to scratch the surface, even after thousands of years."

"Yeah, that makes sense," Sherman nodded with a chuckle. "I don't why I thought it'd be gnomes. I mean, can you imagine if it was? Billions of tiny, little men with wings hauling a huge hunk of rock high into the air all day long?"

Sherman gestured like he was holding something.

"Haa…haa…I can't feel my arms!" he let out in a high-pitched voice. "I think my neck just popped! We're getting paid overtime for this right?"

Sherman laughed at his joke for a moment. Unfortunately, it seemed to have fallen flat, as nobody else was. Rotor in particular wasn't amused.

"Sherman, your stew is getting cold," Georgette said flatly.

"Sorry…" Sherman shrunk in his chair as he went back to eating.

"Hey, Cobar!" Skeeter cut in. "Boomer says you're a super-smart science guy like him, right?"

"I'm passionate about science, yes," Cobar confirmed. "Rotor and I actually met during a meeting on the genetic cleansing of the Mobian Tasmanian Devil population."

"Uhhh…" Skeeter blinked, his expression blank.

"We're fixing the Devil Dogs," Rotor clarified. "So more Tasmanian Devils can be born, and keep the species from going extinct."

"Ooh, neat!" the younger walrus replied. "How's that been coming along?"

"Incredibly slow," Cobar replied. "We've been working on it for almost three years now, but we're hopeful."

Skeeter nodded. "Yeah, Boomer's projects always take forever too. But he makes a lot of cool stuff! He's got this neato battlesuit that he uses to fight Eggman's Badniks! It can fly and shoot lasers and do all sorts of things!

He started shooting finger guns as he made laser and flying noises, culminating in him yelling BOOM!

"Hey, do you have a cool battlesuit too?" Skeeter asked.

"Oh, no, I'm not a warrior." Cobar grimaced. "Much to the chagrin of my guardians…"

"Awww…" Skeeter sighed in disappointment. "You should make one. Then, you and Boomer can go on dates and fight bad guys! Just like in that one movie with the guy in the battlesuit and his girlfriend. Except it'd be you two and you'd be all BAM POW BZZAP! And Eggman and his goons would be all...AHHHH they're too strong! And then you'd scrap them all BWOOOOOSH! We did it! And then you'd go flying and make kissy faces and other mushy stuff, but it'd be so cool!"

Cobar chuckled. "As fun as that sounds, I'm happy with my role as a mechanist."

"But bwoooosh!"

"He's got a point, Boomer," Sherman chimed in. "That does sound pretty epic."

"Sherman…"

Sherman turned to Georgette, who leveled a glare on her husband so cold that his stew frosted over.

He swallowed nervously. "I-I'm just sayin'..."

The glare remained. She didn't even blink. Realizing where this conversation was going, Sherman cleared his throat.

"B-But hey, it's your call," he said, earning a nod of approval from his wife.

"Impressive…" Cobar said, clearly in awe of the sight.

Rotor nodded. "Yeah, my mom's no pushover. Her father was a blacksmith and her mother was a Valkyrie. So, she can handle herself."

"Liar," Skeeter piped up. "Her parents were some hoity-toity rich people. You're thinking of Grandma Floe and Grandpa Fjord, who took her in after they kicked her out."

"Skeet!"

"I'm sorry, kicked out?" Cobar asked.

"Well, I wasn't very ladylike," Georgette began, taking a moment to wipe her mouth off with her napkin. "Unlike the rest of my family, I enjoyed hunting and fishing instead of attending fancy parties and mingling with others in my class. Oh, and I was dating Sherman Walrus. He's the son of a blacksmith and Valkyrie. After my parents disowned me, they accepted me as family."

"And we regret absolutely nothing!" Sherman declared loudly, only to shrink down in his chair again at Georgette's pained wince. "Sorry…"

"I see," Cobar began. "And what exactly is a Valkyrie?"

"It's what they call women warriors in Artika," Rotor explained.

Cobar perked at that. "You allow women to fight?"

"Course!" Sherman replied. "Why, don't they do that up where you're from?"

"No, we don't." Cobar shook his head. "Up until recently, women were relegated to domestic duties. To my knowledge, Kathryn is the only member of the Guardians who isn't a man."

Sherman scoffed. "Wow, and people say Artika's backward."

Georgette merely shook her head in pity before taking another spoonful of stew.

"Things have improved though," Rotor chimed in. "Since the echidnas have started reconnecting with the rest of Mobius, they've been slowly opening up to new ideas and addressing some of their more questionable traditions and beliefs."

Cobar nodded. "It's been slow, but progress is progress. Within a few years, Angel Island may very well have some 'Valkyries' of its own."

"Well, that's good," Georgette replied with a smile.

"Now, if we could just get some of that progress with your bitch sister," Sherman whispered.

"Sherman!" Georgette chastised.

"Oh come on, Georgie! After what she pulled at Station Square?"

"Still, she kept in touch and took in Skeeter after our deaths."

"Still doesn't make up for her trying to take him away and all the grief she gave Boomer."

"I'm not saying she didn't mess up," Georgette explained. "And we still need to hash that mess out. But she's family."

Sherman shrugged. "Eh, fair enough, and aside from that one time, she hasn't given me grief over my time as an Egg Boss."

Sherman clamped his hand over his mouth.

"Dad!" Rotor said.

"Whoops! Forgot we weren't s'posed to tell your boyfriend about that."

"Oh, I know about that," Cobar said, surprising everyone.

"You…You do!?" Rotor said.

Cobar blinked. "Rotor, I was there when the Einherjar attacked the sports festival and helped out during most of the blizzard. I saw and heard everything."

Rotor blinked, his memories of the event returning.

"O-Oh…" he said, blushing profusely. "Yeah…you were…"

At that, Sherman cleared his throat.

"And uhhh…you're just okay with that? Knowing your boyfriend's dad is a former supervillain?"

Cobar shook his head. "You're not Tundra anymore, and I know you're not affiliated with the Egg Army anymore."

Sherman looked away, unconvinced. "Even still...I..."

"Mr. Walrus…" Cobar cut in. "The echidna aren't without blood on their hands. We've all made mistakes. The important thing is to learn from them and from what I've observed and what Rotor's told me about you, you've clearly done that."

"Cobar…" Rotor whispered.

Sherman smiled. "Heh, you picked a real winner here, Boomer."

"Yeah," Rotor replied. "Yeah, I did."

"So, which one of you's gonna wear the dress when you get married?" Skeeter cut in, causing the whole room to freeze.

"SKEETER!" Sherman shouted.

"Stratford Walrus!" Georgette scolded.

"What? I was just asking!"

"Oh boy…" Rotor said, shaking his head and facepalming.

"Would you excuse us for a moment?" Cobar asked. "I think Rotor needs some air."

"You two go on ahead," Georgette said.

At that, Rotor and Cobar left for the backyard.

"Well...that just happened," Cobar said.

"Yeeeeah..." Rotor sat down, massaging his temples.

"Cobar, I am so sorry."

"What for?"

"All of this. I wanted this dinner to be nice. Instead, all you got was a front-row seat to my family's…crazy."

Cobar chuckled. "Are you kidding? This was amazing!"

"Eh? Really? You don't think my family's weird or embarrassing or..."

Cobar put a hand on Rotor's shoulder. "Rotor, your family loves you. and they support you. That's good enough for me. Honestly… the only thing embarrassing is that you had such little faith in them."

Rotor winced. "Yeah…I guess I was used to the idea of never seeing my folks again, I kinda forgot about what kind of people they really were. Especially after I left home."

"Hey now, things are different. Better, even." Cobar smirked. "Though, I'm still a tad miffed that you'd forgotten I was there during the blizzard."

Rotor choked. "I-I'm sorry! Like I said, it's crazy and hectic and…" he paused. "You're just messing with me, aren't you?"

Cobar just smirked. "Now you're getting it."

"Still, that was pretty stupid of me," Rotor said.

Cobar sighed. "Tell you what. Why don't we just pretend that whole thing never happened."

"Sounds good."

"And in return…you can wear the dress on our wedding day."

Rotor's face turned beet red and he nearly fell over.

"Wait, what!?"

At that, Cobar burst out laughing.

"Rotor Walrus, you are too easy." He thought for a moment, then smirked. "Though, I will admit that I think you'd wear it better."

Rotor paused for a moment, still blushing. "We'll see…"

"Boomer!" Sherman called out. "You boys okay out there?"

"Yeah! Everything's good!" he replied before turning to Cobar. "Come on, let's not keep them waiting."

Cobar nodded and the two went back inside.


Knothole - The following day

Rotor arrived back in the common room, looking much happier.

"Hey guys, I'm back! How was the...?" He trailed off as he saw everyone sitting about the room, looking a mix of exhausted and a little annoyed.

"Hey Rote…" Sonic replied. "How's it goin'?"

"Whoa, what's up with you guys?"

"Cassia's stream," Chris answered.

"Oooh…" Rotor winced. "I'm guessing it didn't go too well?"

"It did at first," Tekno answered. "But... then she implemented a penalty system. To make things 'interesting'."

"She tried to make me kiss Shorty," Johnny informed.

"I had to put on a chicken suit and do the funky chicken," Tekno added.

"She tried to make me drink this... gross concoction," Porker recalled, gagging a little in recollection.

"She doodled on Keith's face. He's still trying to get the marker stains out."

He pointed off to the side, where Kat was helping him scrub his face.

"Seriously," Keith groused. "What was she using? Shorpies (3)!?"

"At least she didn't use you as a footstool and force you to address her as guniang (4)."

"And you don't even wanna know what she did to Tails," Hope uttered with a wince, a look shared by the young Fox and Rotor.

"Sounds like you guys had a rough time," the walrus said.

Sonic shrugged. "Eh, it wasn't all bad. The games were a blast and we raised over 200,000 Mobiums." He then smirked. "Oh, and Cass' little stunt bit her in the butt...hard."

"How so?"

"She challenged me to a racing game. She lost."

"And her penalty?"

"Well..."

Just then, the door slammed open, revealing a very miffed and very hairless Cassia. The young pronghorn's signature swirly pompadour had been shaved off. She stomped through the common room, everyone doing their best to hold back their laughter.

"Hey Cass," Sonic greeted.

"Hey Sonic," Cassia replied tersely, not even looking at the hedgehog as she passed by Rotor.

"Hey Cass," Rotor greeted awkwardly.

"Hi Rotor," she replied as she stomped by him.

"Wow…" the walrus said.

"Like I said...hard." Sonic stretched his arms a bit. "So, heard you finally introduced Cobar to your folks. How'd it go?"

"Honestly..." Rotor smiled. "Great. Really great.

"See, toldja you were worried for nothing."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it..." Rotor chuckled. "Anyway, I gotta get going. Cobar's got a project he's working on and I promised I'd help him with it."

"Need a hand?" Porker asked.

"Sorry guys, it's personal."

"Oooh, I gotcha." Sonic winked and clicked his tongue as he playfully nudged Rotor's arm with his elbow.

"Sonic..."

"Just kidding, Rote. Have a good one."

He smiled, walking out of the lab.


Angel Island

Back on Angel Island, Cobar had holed himself up in his laboratory to work on his current project. He picked up a test tube of liquid he had off to the side and placed it into a slot in his computer console.

"Alright, genetic sample installed. Beginning analysis…"

He typed in a few commands, then pressed Enter. Immediately, the machine hummed to life; a completion bar appearing on the screen. Above it were the words "SCANNING… ESTIMATED TIME: 4 MONTHS 3 WEEKS 10 DAYS".

Cobar winced at the time. "I was afraid of that…" He sighed. "Slow going…"

Just then, a loud ringing greeted Cobar's ears. He reached into the pocket of his lab coat, pulling out a smartphone. The caller ID read "Zachary".

"Ugh…again?" Cobar cursed before hanging it up. "I thought I blocked his number."

"Blocked whose number?"

Cobar turned to see Rotor peeking into the lab.

"Hey Cobar!" the walrus greeted.

"Rotor!" Cobar cleared his throat. "You're here early. I didn't expect you for another hour."

Rotor smirked. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

Cobar chuckled at that. "Never said it wasn't."

Cobar got up and kissed Rotor on the cheek, which he returned shortly after.

"So, what's on the agenda today?" Rotor asked.

"The Devil Dog project. I just received the latest DNA sample from Thrash. Unfortunately…"

He motioned to the screen and the insanely long scanning time.

"Ooof…" Rotor winced.

"Oof indeed…" Cobar sat down. "Regular DNA tests take long already, but modified DNA tests?"

He massaged his temples.

"Looks like the project's going to be on hold until the end of summer."

"So it seems…" Cobar sighed. "So much for our research. Now what?"

Rotor thought for a moment. "Well…"


Walrus House

Back in Mobotropolis, Sherman Walrus was looking through the newspaper. Specifically, he was looking at the job section.

"Any luck, dear?"

Sherman looked from his paper to see Georgette wheeling herself into the room. A tray on her wheelchair holding a pair of drinks in front of her.

"Not yet." he sighed. "Seriously, you think a kingdom on an island would have all kinds of sailing jobs open."

"This isn't like in Artika, Sherman," Georgette said as she set one of the drinks down. "The waters down here are calmer and South Island is almost entirely self-sufficient. They don't really need a large fleet of sailors to transport and gather goods."

"Yeah…"

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Georgette said.

"No, I got it," Sherman said, stopping her.

He made his way to the door and opened it.

"Hey Dad!" Rotor greeted, Cobar right behind him.

"Boomer!?" Sherman cried out. "What are you two doing here? Didn't you have some fancy research project to do?"

"There's been a little…delay," Cobar said.

"Mind if we come in?" Rotor asked.

Sherman blinked for a moment before grinning.

"Are you kidding? Of course!" he turned back inside. "Georgie, put the kettle on! The boys are here!"

Rotor and Cobar smiled as they followed Sherman inside, happy to spend time with his…their family.


Author's Note:

(1): Mobini penguin

(2): Mobini walrus

(3): Mobian Sharpies

(4): Chinese for "young mistress"

Another chapter is completed. Nothing too dramatic or crazy, just something nice and wholesome.

In the meantime, don't forget to R&R. See you next time!