guest (07.10): I have no idea where you heard that, but I can assure you that Rouge's relationship with Shadow and Knuckles is definitely NOT that of a love triangle. Rouge is more of a rival to Knuckles (due to her desire to steal the Master Emerald), as well as an ally, while her relationship with Shadow is that of co-workers/allies who work for a common goal.

Guest (08.10): Well, I guess we'll find out how Mephiles will return once the game comes out. Unlike you, I'm EXCITED to see him again. X3

guest (10.10): That episode broke my heart, and all I wanted was to give Shadow a big hug. He needs it.

Anyways, time for the next chapter!

Enjoy!

Entry 66

Burn It All Down

''She's a spark in the night, a tempest untamed, Surge the Tenrec, in a glitch reborn as flame. Forged by Starline, no past to reclaim, every hero's downfall, she proclaims her name! (Hey! Hey! Hey!) A memory wiped clean, a cybernetic dream, thunder in her veins, a revenge supreme. No future for the foes in her furious beam, Eggman and Sonic, caught in her scheme. (Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!)''

– Burn It All Down [What if AI made a Surge the Tenrec song? (Electric Version)] by Retro Bird AI (Theme of Surge)

xXxXxXx

''I'm still amazed that Eggman actually confirmed that he's in charge of the Tamago Corporation,'' Warren said, him and Tails observing Lucas after the latter had returned from his investigation to the Taylor Workship. Several holographic screens were surrounding him, with the rest of Team Neos, the Chaotix and even Rouge (thanks to them still being with Lily and Knuckles) being informed about what had happened.

''I suppose that he figured that it would be easier to just confirm everything than keeping it a secret,'' Lucas replied.

''So, what do we do now?'' Minami asked the question that was on everyone's mind. ''Should we go after him?''

Lucas sighed, his answer surprising everyone. ''No, we won't. We'll keep up with the status quo.''

''What?!''

''This would be the prime opportunity to get rid off Eggman,'' Rouge pointed out.

''I know, but none of us has ever gone for the offensive, at least not in this sense. Instead, we always waited for Dr. Eggman to attack, dealt with whatever threat he threw at us, saved the day, and continued with our lives. I don't think it would be necessary to go after him now,'' Lucas explained, his eyes narrowing as he lowered his gaze. ''I know that this is probably not the most logical decision, and I'll probably regret it in the future, but I feel that this is the best move in this case.''

There was a moment of silence, with Lucas feeling a little anxious as he waited for a response. He glanced at the screen where Sonic was, the cobalt hedgehog giving him an assuring smile.

''We did agree with Eggman that we would treat this whole battle as a game, didn't we?'' he said, not noticing the 'Are you serious?' gaze Shadow was giving him, due to the dark hedgehog standing behind Sonic.

''If you want my honest opinion, I think it would be a stupid idea to attack Tamago Corporation,'' Lily said, drawing everyone's attention. ''First of all, it's considered a respectable company by everyone in Starpoint Area and messing with it would just draw the ire of the public. Even if we did reveal that Eggman is behind it, no one would believe us without some proper evidence, and even then, they would continue refusing to acknowledge the truth because Tamago Corporation is an important company.''

''I guess that you got that from your parents,'' Makoto said, with Lily shrugging.

''Well, what can I say? Reputations make or break a company, especially in the gaming industry, and my parents know that's something you should never mess with unless you want to lose both customers and investors rapidly. I don't doubt that the same goes for Tamago Corporation,'' Lily added.

''In other words, we won't do anything until Eggman decides to attack again,'' Minami said, summarizing the whole conversation. ''Yeah, I can live with that.''

''I'm surprised that Eggman is not taking advantage of Tamago Corporation to cause more damage,'' Amy suddenly said. ''That is, if we don't count the incident with the Buddy Bots.''

''That's probably because he wants to keep Tamago Corporation as a front, so drawing attention to it wouldn't be beneficial in the long run,'' Tails said.

''If that's the direction you guys want to take, we're also fine with it,'' Vector said. ''We could gather evidence about the connection between Eggman and the Tamago Corporation; for a little fee, of course.''

''I don't think it'll be necessary,'' Lucas said. ''Speaking of which, have you managed to learn more about the owner of the warehouse?''

''We know that they have expanded their business to Mikado City,'' Espio replied.

''Hey, Shads and I are on the highway to Mikado City! Maybe we would go there and see what's up?'' Sonic suggested.

''That's not necessary. We have already called the police there, and they're currently investigating the address we gave them,'' Espio replied. Sonic just shrugged, figuring it was worth a try.

''You could help us figure out who destroyed the warehouse,'' Charmy suggested, with everyone giving him confused looks. ''There was someone else with us and they almost blew up the whole place, and KA-BOOM! The wall and roof caved in!''

''Maybe it was someone who had a grudge against the owner?'' Silver suggested. The group on Lily's end could only shrug idly.

xXx

''This… was a disaster,'' Dr. Starline said as he rubbed his temple, only for Surge to groan in annoyance.

''Com'n, Doc! We did everything you told us to do! We trashed the Badniks and we didn't get caught by anyone! What more do you want from us?'' Surge responded in protest, with Kit just giving the platypus a blank look. Starline sighed.

''I told you two that this was a stealth mission. You two destroyed a good chunk of the warehouse – that is not how you do a stealth mission,'' Starline replied in a firm tone, only to get startled when Surge grabbed the armrest of the chair he was sitting on, getting in his face as electricity crackled around her.

''We completed the mission! We should be moving on to the next point, which is destroying Sonic! It's that simple!'' Surge shouted at Starline furiously. ''That's what I'm here, even if I don't know why should…'' Surge blinked, slowly stepping back as puzzled look formed on her expression, ''…should I destroy that…'' She lowered her head, rubbing her temple as she tried to recall what her motivation was. ''Why do I even want to destroy him? I don't think we've ever met.''

''Whatever you want to do, I will support you,'' Kit said, taking note of Surge's confusion. The tenrec huffed, shooting a glare at him, leaving the fennec startled.

''I know you want to support me! That's all you do! But, why?! Why do you support me?!'' Surge felt frustrated, feeling as if her mind was hitting a mental barrier that she simply couldn't pass through.

''I-I don't know…'' Kit replied, cowering due to Surge directing her frustration towards him. ''I just do…''

''Well, that answers nothing!'' Surge shouted, slamming her electricity-charged fist onto the table, to the point of causing the table to shake and the drawers to pop out. Kit was taken aback, and when both of them turned to the platypus, they were met with a displeased gaze and an outstretched hand. ''What are you-?!''

''Aaaand, reboot,'' Starline muttered, sounding almost bored, pointing the Hypno Glove towards the two and putting them to sleep. He sighed, his eyes narrowing as he thought, I had created Surge and Kit exactly the same way as my counterpart did, deciding once again against giving them a proper history behind their motivation to keep things simple, since it would be a hassle to make up a backstory for both of them. It was certainly an oversight, and with the way their acting now, I am personally heading towards the same fate of getting betrayed by the two. Starline gazed at his Hypno Glove, only for his eyes to flick towards the now open drawer, taking note of the manga he haphazardly shoved into it. He had told himself that he would be keeping Surge and Kit's true origins a secret as long as possible, making sure that they wouldn't turn against him, but now he had to wonder if it was time to suddenly change his plans. As much as he hated to admit it, improvisation wasn't something he excelled in, preferring to carefully manufacture plans he could follow to the letter and even improving on them. If Surge does attempt to rebel, I had installed a fail-safe patch that should keep her in check, with Kit following her suit. There is no doubt that they would be furious if they found out the truth. But, perhaps that truth is what I need to stop them from rebelling. Of course, I would have to keep certain information a secret. Starline smirked as he heard the two groaning, both feeling a strong headache as they slowly woke up. Showtime!

''What happened…'' Kit groaned, holding his head and turned to Surge, who looked quite out of it. Both were startled when Starline suddenly placed his arms over their shoulders.

''Thank goodness you are all right!'' Starline said in an overly concerned, if not even fatherly, tone, surprising both Surge and Kit. ''I hope you haven't broken anything!''

''Uh… no?'' Surge rose an eyebrow, feeling no pain in her body besides the sense of dizziness and headache.

''You have Kit to thank for that! He caught you just as you glitched out,'' Starline said, with Kit being surprised and a little flustered by the sudden praise.

''Thanks for the help, kiddo,'' Surge said, flashing a grin at Kit and giving him a thumbs up. ''You always have my back, don't cha?''

''Y-Yeah,'' Kit replied, feeling happy that Surge was thankful to him for saving her. Surge then turned to Starline, a questioning look forming on her expression.

''You said that we glitched out…'' she muttered.

''Indeed,'' Starline said, giving her a look of guilt. ''We've gotten into a heated argument over the history of your origins. You insisted that you needed to know who you truly are and where you come from, and I simply wanted to protect you from the harsh reality. Tempers flared, and your upgrades overloaded. I'm so sorry, I should've monitored your condition better.''

Surge rubbed her head, not too sure whether that was true or not, as she could remember absolutely nothing. She did assume that Starline was telling the truth, though, but something about the whole situation felt weird. She turned to Kit for an opinion, but the fennec just gave her a look of concern, clearly upset that Surge got hurt during the argument. However, before she could get another word in, Starline got ahead of her.

''I understand that you might want to know more about your past, but there isn't anything I can tell you besides what I know. As you are already aware, all three of us are Irregulars, meaning that we came into this reality without any memories that explain who we are. It is, in many ways, a new start,'' Starline said, reaching for the manga in the drawer. ''I had done some research on my own past, and I must say, I have been appalled by the person I used to be.'' He gave the manga to Surge and Kit to read, who were shocked when they saw the cover of Surge fighting Sonic, and quickly started to flip through the pages while Starline continued his soliloquy, ''I had believed that I could do better than my counterpart, and when I found you two, I realized that I needed to properly train you to survive in this reality.''

''You kidnapped us, erased our memories and brainwashed us?!'' Surge suddenly shouted, shoving the manga page showing Starline experimenting on them. ''And then you let us die multiple times?! I should kill you for this!''

Starline gulped nervously, well aware that he put himself into a very dangerous situation with just how volatile Surge got. ''I-I understand that this is all very upsetting. In fact, this was the very reason why I haven't told you anything…''

Kit shot him a dark and cold gaze, his eyes glowing malevolently. Starline knew he had to quickly regain control of the situation, but this time, without using his Hypno Glove. If he played his cards correct, Surge and Kit would remain loyal to him.

''You have to understand that first and foremost, you are not the same as you are depicted in this manga,'' Starline responded to a furious Surge and Kit. ''That was a revelation I had struggled as well, so I understand precisely what you're going through.''

''It's easy for you to say!'' Surge snapped back, dropping the manga. ''We don't even have a backstory in this manga besides you creating us!''

''That would be the fault of the writer, not mine…'' Starline said, only for his eyes to widen when sparks of electrictiy to fly around the room as Surge charged up, clearly not satisfied with the answer and more than happy to fry Starline. ''I just followed the story!''

''That… That makes sense…''

Both Surge and Starline were surprised to hear Kit talk, the fennec having picked up the manga and flipping through the pages, reading them. Surge rose an eyebrow, giving Kit a curious look. ''What are you talking about, kiddo?''

''I feel that it makes sense for Starline to recreate our backstory based on our manga counterparts after he found us, since that is all what we have,'' Kit explained, turning to an unnerved Starline. ''That is why you had joined the Eggman Empire initially.''

Starline felt a sense of relief washing over him as he realized that Kit's logical side prevailed, with Surge also calming down a bit as she listened to her partner. ''Indeed, that was the reason. But, seeing how bad the situation had gotten, I believe that all of us should simply cut off whatever previous history we had and continue building our own path. After all, you both know your purpose.''

''The purpose you forced upon us,'' Surge growled.

''But, I still gave you a purpose,'' Starline interrupted, his sense of arrogance breaking through his composed appearance. ''Imagine if you hadn't been found by me. You wouldn't know anything about yourselves and wander aimlessly until you get caught by the Hunters. Your life would've ended before it even began.''

''I-I guess that's true…'' Surge muttered, feeling defeated by Starline's argument. She hated that he was right in that sense, but she had no response for it.

''Furthermore, I am convinced that both of you would deeply desire revenge on Sonic and Tails, if not all of their friends,'' Starline said, grabbing the manga from Kit. ''You saw it with your own eyes that you were created in this story solely for the purpose of being Sonic's next enemy until you get discarded by the writers for someone better. But now, you're here and you can change you fate. You can become something more- All of us can become something more!''

''I do like the sound of that…'' Surge muttered, thinking about it.

''M-Me too,'' Kit added. Starline just nodded in response.

''As expected, you never settle for just being the second best,'' he said, tapping with his fingers on the manga. ''What is written here will never reflect the current situation, no matter how many similarities there are.'' Starline then tossed the manga to Surge, with her and Kit staring at it. ''If you wish to study it in details, you are free to do so, but always keep in mind that the Surge and Kit in the story are different from the Surge and Kit standing before me.''

Starline observed the two, a smug grin on his expression as he knew that he achieved what he wanted. Not only did Surge and Kit learn about their past – well, at least the one written in the manga – without getting too volatile, but he also ensured that they wouldn't betray his trust. Not only that, but this meant that he could explore even more possibilities of what he could do with them. He was quite excited, looking forward to it.

xXx

''Hey, Kit… do you see any cameras or listening devices?''

Kit was surprised by Surge's question, even more when she dragged both of them into a nearby broom closet. ''I don't think there would be any in a broom closet.''

''Good, because I don't want Starline to hear this,'' Surge said, glancing at the manga. ''I believe that there is more than what he had told us.''

''You mean, he's lying to us?'' Kit asked. Surge nodded in response.

''Do you even remember how Starline found us?'' she asked, with Kit giving her a confused look. He tried to recall their meeting with Starline, but his mind was blank. All he remembered was that he and Surge were already here at Egg Base Sigma when they first met him.

''No, I don't…'' he muttered, lowering his gaze.

''Exactly!'' Surge hissed, glad to get her point across. ''We don't remember anything before the meeting, and considering how Starline in this manga seems to be quite trigger-happy with his hypnosis glove, I'm sure he erased our memories of that meeting for whatever reason.''

''If that's so, maybe we could check the database?'' Kit suggested, his eyes narrowing. ''Starline keeps logs of everything and anything that happens here.''

''Now that's a plan!'' Surge said, grinning as she ruffled Kit's tuft of head fur, with Kit smiling back. ''Starline has no idea what we're up to, and once we get our answers, he's going to regret ever meeting us.''

xXx

It was dead in the night when Surge and Kit returned to the computer that Starline used for his video logs. They were scanning through all of the files, which seemed to amount in the hundreds.

''Chaos, this guy really loves to talk about himself, doesn't he?'' Surge said, both her and Kit stunned after watching a video of Starline having a mental breakdown over getting fired by Dr. Eggman and ranting about his own genius. ''He could make his own podcast, but who would listen to him?''

''I don't know, but I guess that there would be people interested in it,'' Kit replied, shrugging. ''There are podcasts about all kinds of topics, so one where people listen to Starline's rambles is possible.''

''I guess there would be people crazy enough to listen to this lunatic,'' Surge said, folding her arms across her chest. ''Try to find the video logs about us. Anything from before we arrived here.''

''I think I found something,'' Kit said, typing on the keyboard. ''Here.''

The two both watched the video of Starline as leaned back in his chair, narrating about a discovery he had made. ''…Egg Base Sigma used to be Prof. Hiroshi Sakamoto's research site. The now deceased Prof. Sakamoto was the lead scientist at the Codex Research Facility, being the head of Project Shadow and Project Shadow: Resurrection, both of which focused on the research and creation of artificial Irregulars; the result being Shadow the Hedgehog and Mephiles the Dark.'' Two images of Shadow and Mephiles popped up on Starline's right and left side respectively. ''Prof. Sakamoto had left a quite detailed document in regards to how to create artifical Irregulars, filled with many reports of his failures and eventual success. If one were to read it, it would seem as if creating an artifical Irregular would be difficult, but one has to take into account that the Professor was trying to create one from scratch.'' Starline then smirked, placing his gloved hand on his chest. ''I, on the other hand, am free to use all of his research to create my own artificial Irregulars, meaning that I won't have to waste time on trial and error.''

''What?'' Surge and Kit were stunned to hear that, both exchanging glances. Both felt a sense of dread as the video log continued.

''I have already picked which artificial Irregulars I want to create,'' Starline said, with two images popping up on his right and left side. ''Surge the Tenrec and Kitsunami 'Kit' the Fennec, both of whom my counterpart had used to achieve his goals of breaking the irritating 'Sonic Cycle', which I had explained in a previous video log.'' Starline's eyes shifted to the side as a nervous look formed on his expression. ''Admittedly, I am well aware that that experiment wasn't exactly a success due to… certain oversights on my counterpart's part.'' He then smirked, his signature arrogance returning once again. ''However, I see this as my second chance to make things right. I will prove to Dr. Eggman that he was wrong to fire me by eliminating his greatest nemesis with my own creation...''

''That is enough.''

Both Surge and Kit were startled by a sharp, resolute tone from behind them and quickly turned around, stunned to see Starline standing behind them, tugging at the edge of his glove. Surge shot him a glare, her hands clenching into fists, electricity crackling around them as they shook in rage.

''You! You created us!'' Surge shouted at Starline, giving him a death glare. What angered her even more was the calm and confident look the platypus gave her. She wished that he was cowering in fear instead of having the appearance of someone who had everything under control. She despised the way he was looking down on her. ''You brought us here just to use us for whatever stupid vendetta you had!''

''I had hoped that you wouldn't go searching through my personal files if I told you about your initial backstory,'' Starline said, pointing his open palm with the Hypno Glove towards them. ''That was another unfortunate oversight on my part.''

Surge, realizing that Starline was about to use his Hypno Glove on them, charged forwards to stop him. She had no idea whether he wanted to erase their memories or something worse, but she wasn't going to let him do anything. Unfortunately for her, Starline used the Speed Core on the Tricore, dodging her punch and then kicked her into her gut with his poisonous heel spurs, causing Surge to fall over, completely paralyzed.

Starline then immediately turned towards Kit, but before he could do anything, the furious fennec grabbed him with his water vines by his leg, lifting him up and slamming him into a wall. This knocked the air out of Starline as he was left dangling upside-down, staring into Kit's glowing eyes. Surge, who had managed to recover from the neurotoxin thanks to her in-built super-healing, grabbed Starline's Hypno Glove, putting it on her own hand and shoving it straight into Starline's face.

''I've had enough of you!'' she screamed, with Starline being frozen in horror. Then, his eyes closed as he fell into a trance, with Kit dropping him on the ground. Surge was breathing heavily, her body still fighting the effects of the neurotoxin.

''Surge, are you okay?'' Kit asked her in a worried tone, with Surge waving him off.

''I'm fine, but I'd feel better if Starline just goes to Hell,'' Surge said, gritting her sharp teeth as she glared at the unconscious platypus.

''I could drown him, if that makes you feel better,'' Kit suggested, his tone chillingly calm. Despite the tempting offer, Surge took a few more moments to calm herself down, trying to process everything they have just learned.

''I like the way you're thinking, kiddo, but that won't be enough. I want Starline to slowly suffer for what he had done to us,'' Surge replied, growling as she stared at the platypus. Kit was silent for a moment, only to look up at Surge with a curious expression.

''Then, what do you want to do? I will follow any order you give me,'' he said. Surge was silent for a moment, her attention drawn to the manga they left on the table. She opened it once again, finding the page of herself screaming about destroying everything and everyone in her path, because if she had no past, then the rest of the world would have no future. Their situation was no different, even if they had some form of context to their existence, that being Starline's pawns in both the story and real life.

''If we were just created to act as punching bags for Sonic and his friends, only to get discarded when we're no longer of any use, why shouldn't we go all out then? If we're here to suffer, then we'll drag the whole world down with us to Hell,'' Surge said in a firm tone, grinning maliciously as she stared at Starline. ''The Doc did have a good point – we don't know what happens to us later on in this story, since it cuts off before the big battle, but we don't need to know that. This is the real world, and we can do whatever we want. We will burn this world, its heroes and villains, until there's nothing left.''

''What should we do about Starline?'' Kit asked, gazing at the platypus. Surge didn't answer, but the grin she gave Kit made it clear that she also had plans for him.

xXx

Starline felt a pounding headache, his vision blurry as he slowly woke up. It was as if someone was driving a drill into his skull, and he rubbed his head, trying to understand what had happened to him. To his surprise, he saw Surge and Kit standing before him, while he was sitting on the swivel chair, the monitor behind him playing the video log of him explaining how Surge and Kit came into existence.

This feels familiar… Don't tell me… Starline froze when he saw Surge giving him a rather amused grin, while Kit just gave him a firm glare. ''Wh-What had happened?''

''We'll cut to the chase, Doc,'' Surge started, with Starline gulping nervously. ''We know everything about our origins, including the bit where we're actually artificial Irregulars that you created.''

''Y-You know…'' Starline reached for his glove, only to feel a chill flowing down his spine when he realized that it was gone. He stared back at Surge, who was holding the glove in her hand, still grinning.

''Those naps you put us through don't feel so nice, do they?'' Surge said, with Starline being unable to respond as he realized that he was in mortal danger without his glove. If Surge and Kit decided to kill him now, there was nothing he could do to fight them off. Even his poisonous heel spurs were useless since the two could easily heal from the neurotoxin.

''Wh-What do you want?'' Starline asked, trying to keep his tone calm. He was stunned when Surge suddenly tossed the glove back to him, and he gave her a confused look.

''What I want is to finally move on to our true mission,'' Surge said, surprising Starline. ''You made us to fight Sonic and Tails, so we'll do that.''

''W-Wait-'' Starline was completely flabbergasted, his grip around the glove tightening. ''You have just learned about your true origins… and your response is to move on with the mission?''

''Well, it's not like we can do anything else, since we have no other reason to exist,'' Surge said. ''I was made a powerhouse to match Sonic in combat and to defeat him, and Kit here is going to do whatever I want. Right, kiddo?''

''Yes, Ma'am,'' Kit replied in an almost robotic tone.

''See?'' Surge gave Starline a pointed look, but the platypus remained doubtful, taking note of the manga that stood open on the very same page that illustrated their current situation.

''This doesn't make any sense. Don't you want to betray me and get revenge on me for what I had done?'' Starline asked directly, only to get startled when Surge suddenly walked over to him, flicking his beak and sending a spark of electricity down his body.

''Of course I'd want to get my revenge on your for dragging us here, but I have my own priorities set,'' Surge said, with Starline rubbing his beak as he gave Surge an alarmed look. ''We won't participate in any of your nonsense of proving your worth to Eggman. Instead, you will help us come up with a solid plan on how to lure Sonic and his friends out so we can destroy them.'' She then tapped with her finger on the manga. ''Since me and Kit having no past is completely unimportant, we'll make sure that no one else has any future, yourself included.''

Starline gulped, but given the close proximity of Surge, as well as Kit observing him carefully, he knew that he couldn't do anything. All of his careful planning was gone in just one night, and he was alive only thanks to sheer luck.

''I-I guess I have no choice but to comply…'' Starline said, only to get noogie from Surge, leaving his hair messed up and his eyes wide in confusion.

''That's the spirit, Doc!'' Surge said happily as she let go off him, with Starline trying to fix his hair. She then placed her hands on her hips. ''So, what's the plan?''

Starline took a deep breath, trying to calm down his nerves. He knew that he was now in survival mode, and to ensure that he remains alive unlike his counterpart, he needed to keep Surge and Kit appeased by giving them what they wanted. Perhaps, he could still salvage the situation, but there was no clear answer to this issue. Starline cleared his throat, then started typing on the keyboard.

''I have a plan, but I suppose we will have to make several changes to it…''

Surge and Kit exchanged glances, both smirking in triumph.

xXx

''So, how much further to this meeting spot?'' Sonic asked. He was running down a street in Westoru, with Lucas, Tails and Warren following closely behind him, the teenagers using their hoverboards to keep up.

''It shouldn't take much longer to reach it,'' Lucas replied, his eyes narrowing as he thought about what had happened that morning. He was woken up by Sonic who showed him a message on his AR Visor, which came from an unknown sender, challenging him to a battle and instructing him to come to a specific location in Westoru. Lucas didn't have much time to think about it when a call from Warren and Tails came, telling the two the same thing. Not only that, but after doing some research, both noted that the messages were sent via the EggNet, leaving them wondering if Dr. Eggman was challenging them. Lucas had to admit that it made sense, especially after his recent discovery in regards to the Tamago Corporation, and the four set off. However, there was something that was bothering him about this whole ordeal.

''I believe that this is it,'' Warren said as they reached a quiet, residential area in Westoru. They were looking around, feeling a bit confused when they didn't see anyone, save for a passing pedestrian.

''There's no one here,'' Tails said, scratching his head and opening the holographic screen. ''This makes no sense. We're at the correct spot.''

''I wonder if-''

Before Sonic could even finish his sentence, a streak of green light suddenly appeared from out of the corner, slamming into him and dragging him into another street, leaving Lucas, Warren and Tails shocked.

''Sonic!'' Lucas went after his partner. Warren and Tails were about to follow them, when suddenly, water vines shot out from a different street, grabbing Tails and dragging him into it. Warren could only watch in surprise as the twin-tailed fox struggled to break free, and he followed his partner into the street.

Unknown to either of them, Starline then walked out of another side-street, arms crossed on his back, a slight look of concern on his expression. This was not how he expected his grand plan to unfold.