Disclaimer: See first chapter.

Hope-bringer

Whisper was still reeling from the emotions of the wisps around her as they took...their oaths? Promises? When the door opened.

It was hard to describe anything when her entire mind was aflame with emotions that weren't hers.

Shadow stood there, with another human behind him. One that Whisper hadn't met yet. He was an older man, his short bear was neatly kept but mottled with a few greys, and his eyes were a light blue that kept reflecting the harsh light of the bulbs above. "Whisper, this is..." Shadow started, before he looked back at him.

"Agent Nelson would be a good start, I find," Nelson answered with a soft smile. Whisper glanced at Shadow; the black hedgehog was nervous for the first time that she'd seen since coming to this time. Which meant that this 'Agent Nelson' was quite likely no real agent at all. Probably someone extremely high up.

"And you must be Whisper, with all the wisps," he smiled at the small menagerie of colors she had around her. "You are all clever and strong wisps, aren't you?" he asked.

"Smarter than you think!" Cyan declared. Orange went and smacked her on the back of her head.

"I wouldn't call us clever though. Smart, sure. Clever though?" Blue asked. Whisper shook her head. The wisps were clever, whether they saw it or not. "But we aren't as strong now. Thanks to the geas."

That was another thing she'd have to ask. She'd never heard the word 'geas' before.

"May I sit down? It's been a long travel for me and my legs aren't quite working well yet. Comes with old age," he asked smiling gently. Whisper raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Many thanks," he commented.

He wasn't sitting straight, but yet he was demanding her attention. Shadow had yet to move, as if waiting for permission. For someone to have that kind of that control over Shadow, of all people...Agent Nelson was no normal agent.

"You may be wondering why you're still here, now that the main issue is resolved. The finance teams are still working on the exact amounts, but they will be for quite some time. Shadow was insistent that the Restoration hold onto the funds for now, which, albeit an odd choice, was one that I readily agreed with. I know Belle quite well, and if told that it was hands off until a certain timeframe, I wouldn't need to worry about it," Nelson said quietly.

He continued, "Which does bring up my next point. Green Hill is...destabilized, at the moment. The current mayor now has around three warrants for his arrest, all pertaining to various crimes, a good majority of his administration were found knowingly complicit. Many of those will only get a minor fine, depending on which crimes they knew of."

"For mother's sake, please get to the point," Cyan murmured. Orange and Pink nodded with her.

Agent Nelson continued as if he couldn't understand them. "But that does leave a bit of a vacuum in Green Hill. The next election won't take place for another few years. As such, GUN is staging an effective intervention. Placing our own men here to act as a deterrent, until an emergency election can be made."

Whisper nodded. That did make sense, as much as she didn't want it to. But that also meant that GUN could lift the travel blackout, and they'd be able to travel on to Spiral Hill.

"We also believe that there are certain...citizens...that require us to not have that intervention. We've received intelligence that many of them plan to attack the moment that they can, not understanding how security works."

"Anyone else getting the bad feeling from before?" Orange asked. Whisper flicked her ear, a sign to her that Whisper had got it too. The others murmured their agreement.

"As such, with your skill as a sniper, we believe that we will need your assistance in order to make the intervention work. Shadow can give you the details if you so choose, but afterwards we will lift the travel ban and allow you and any compatriots you have free reign to leave."

"While you clean up the mess," Whisper stated flatly.

"Essentially. It's not my favorite job, but it's one I've gotten good at," Nelson smiled easily.

Blue hovered next to her ear, "I think he has us on the ropes. Not much we can do."

Cyan leaned down, "We can always just say no. You heard him best, Whisper, he just wants as insurance. Personally, I say we go for it. What's the worst that could happen?"

"A lot, truthfully. I agree with Cyan though. Let's do it!" Pink said, his one eye opening wide. "It'll be fun! Just think of how you can stop 'em!"

"I'd say that we don't...? They have plenty of security already, they don't need us. And this just sounds like an excuse for Cyan and Pink to do things they really ought not to do," Green muttered.

Two for, and two against. Not that Whisper didn't see that coming. She turned to Orange, the last one to have her opinion heard, and saw that all three eyes were shut, probably hard in thought. "I'm going to say...we do it. But ask them that we don't actually need to shoot anyone, just...get in their way."

Whisper nodded. "As long as we don't actually need to shoot anyone. Just make sure they can't make it to harm anyone," Whisper clarified. Orange's eyes lit up, nodding happily along.

Agent Nelson nodded. "We can certainly do that. Your mask has a radio, correct? Just change it to this line on the day of, and you'll be able to hear all of our radio chatter. If you see anything, just let the security team now which direction," he smiled again, pushing himself up with a grunt. "Shadow can probably walk you through any further details. Thank you again, Whisper," he said, walking quietly but quickly out the door.

The wisps watched him walk away. "Anybody else get the feeling they're not going to like that?" Cyan asked. Whisper nodded.

"I wish we didn't have to, but if it's just blocking people...I can do that. And Green, you don't even need to hover far. Just a few feet, get their feet off the ground," Blue responded. Green nodded, a small happy chitter coming from him.

"You just answered to one of the highest ranking commanders in GUN," Shadow responded quietly. "He calls himself lower than he is. That was Admiral Nelson Towers."

"Oh. How high is that?"

"Think Jewel if the Restoration was global and with millions."

Oh. That was high. That was quite high. "What was he doing here?"

"Honestly? Probably checking on the wisps. We've heard of wisps being powerful before, but the ones that you use are on a different level. I can't imagine GUN wouldn't want to use it."

"So it's a mistake."

"No. If you hadn't clarified that you were observer only, I'd agree," Shadow said. He rubbed the back of his neck gently. "Of course, that means that now my official job is keeping track of you. So no more wandering a warehouse."

"You were just arguing with Sonic and Amy."

"I was arguing with them on how best to get out of here," Shadow argued. "And if you had just waited, we would likely not be in this mess and be on the way out!"

"No, I think we would," Orange answered. "The previous mayor didn't seem to give a crap about anyone except himself, and that got proven when Helen did her thing. And by ensuring that people couldn't travel out-"

"He was ensuring that there was a constant demand for the drugs, making sure that he was richer! He probably already had a back way to ensure that things could be dropped off to him but no one else!" Cyan answered. "That's both brilliant and really stupid!"

"No, that's just stupid..." Whisper answered. Shadow nodded.

"It does explain much though, if that was the case. Grocery stores wouldn't be able to get food to people, so they'd rely on other ways to get it. It would basically start and stop with him," Shadow said. "I still think it was a stupid idea to go after them on your own."

"Now that, I agree with," Green said. Whisper halfheartedly glare at him. "Oh come on, you know the rest of us would've right there with you if you had asked us 'Hey, I'm going to do something stupid! Who wants to come with!?'"

"The worst part is, Green's right," Cyan said. "That is almost exactly what you should've said to get us to come with. If you'd had all of us there, I have no doubt that we wouldn't have been needed for...the...what was it they were calling it?"

"Massive existential rampage?" Whisper supplied.

"Yeah, that!"

Shadow gave a quiet sigh. "The inauguration will take place tomorrow, as they're still waiting on a few things. They haven't yet lifted the martial order, but that's mostly because they're waiting on a few more people to get here."

"So...we can go do stuff?" Blue asked. Shadow sighed again, but he nodded. "Sweet. Hey, who's up for some ice cream? I saw a place!" he said. Whisper blinked in surprise. Ice cream? It wasn't exactly warm out...but could wisps even have ice cream? Who was she kidding, she wanted to find out too. The other four were in agreement anyways. They flashed back into their canisters, leaving Whisper and Shadow alone for a few moments.

"Thank you," Whisper whispered as she left the room. Her boots were silent on the carpet, and none of the agents that were around in the room over seemed intent on hurting her. Most of them wore the seemingly usual black suits, but some were wearing normal day clothes as well.

The doors opened easily outward, and soon enough Whisper found herself in the blinding light of the midday sun in Green Hill. The area she was in still looked old, worn, and weathered. There was even still a small stream from the last storm hovering down the storm drain.

She wasn't sure which way to go, and Blue hadn't told her anything more, so she followed her ears, hearing the sound of begging children. They weren't loud, but it also wasn't that far away. How Blue saw it but Orange didn't, Whisper didn't know.

It was an old style ice cream truck. It had been parked close to the school, Whisper noticed, almost just in time for lunch. The aardvark was still setting up when she walked up, giving a glance over the prices. They seemed far more expensive than they were in her time, but most of the flavors were still there, although some had never seen before.

"Oh hey! You're a bit early, but give me five minutes," The aardvark said, giving a wave out the window. "Normal rush won't happen for an hour or so."

Which meant she had time. She knocked on each of the wisp's canisters, letting them all out. They each looked at the various flavors, pushing in their energy faces to see what looked the best. She'd already decided on her own. Vanilla. Something unadventurous, normal of a time for her own.

"Ooh, ooh, chocolate raisin for me!" Cyan asked. Chocolate raisin? Whisper raised an eyebrow.

"That's not raisin! That's double chocolate! Eek. Math wiz, learn to read," Pink answered. "As for me...hmm...triple chocolate sundae supreme!"

Wasn't those the specialty things from Apotos that Sonic had mentioned once, or was she imagining that conversation?

"Hmm...I'll just have rocky road," Green answered. Whisper nodded; that sounded about right.

Orange and Blue weren't sure, conversing amongst themselves. "I wanted the rocky road, but if Green's getting it then maybe I'll get a lick," Blue muttered. "Strawberry for me then."

Right, she had a vanilla cone, double chocolate for Cyan, the Apotos special for Pink, rocky road for Green, and strawberry for Blue. Which left only Orange left. She glanced at the wisp, seeing if she had made up her mind yet.

"I think...I'll get that one," Orange said, pointing to the highest part. It was just a normal chocolate covered vanilla cone. She could remember that easily enough.

"Alright are you...oh hi wisps. Wasn't expecting them too. What can I get for ya?" the aardvark said, finally done setting up.

Whisper held up her hand and slowly recited the order that she'd compiled in her head. The aardvark stared at her for a moment. "Was that...all for you or was some of that for them? Because if so, I gotta warn you canines and chocolate-"

"I'm aware," Whisper said. "And it's for them. The vanilla alone is for me," she answered. The aardvark nodded, and soon enough Whisper's hands were covered in the various ice creams. There was a small bench not far from the truck, probably another reason that he'd set up where he had.

It was strange, even with the massive destruction all around them, life went on. Despite the new hills that had popped up overnight, none of the citizens on the street really seemed to care. The school, too, was mostly untouched except for a large block of dirt making a hill right in the center.

And when the kids came out for lunch, most of them darted through it and up it rather than around it. It was just another plaything that Green had made for them. They hadn't cared about the small cracks in the pavement, or the large cracks in the school buildings.

Even the cars and vehicles hadn't really seemed to care, continuing on despite the small bumps that came from the new displaced pavement. "Strange, isn't it?" a voice said from behind her.

Whisper turned, her cone long since finished, to find that Agent Nelson had somehow snuck up on her. Even Orange seemed to be taken aback by how quickly he'd shown up. "Agent Nelson. Or Admiral Nelson?" Whisper asked.

"Agent is fine for now. As much as the Admiral title makes me seem more powerful than I am, I do like the Agent line a lot better. It reminds me of the older times, when hearing 'Agent' simply meant that you were one of the best," he smiled. "Would you mind if I sat down?" he asked.

Whisper nodded, motioning him to do so. She scooted over a bit. Any person that could sneak up on her was on her watchlist. "It's been only a day or so since the rampage, and yet...Green Hill is moving on, as if it was always the same," he said, looking around.

The fences were moved and mottled, some of them torn from their foundations. "The gates are gone, and yet everyone knows that they're still there. The stores are still running, and the vendors still selling, and others still buying. It makes me wonder, just how...resilient are all of you?" he asked. Whisper tilted her head.

"I mean, it's all life in the end," he said. He wasn't looking at her, instead staring out at the sea of kids lining up for the ice cream. The aardvark was doing his best to keep up with everything, a large smile on his face. "But I know that if a human city were to be attacked like this, everything would be shut down for days. And yet...here we are."

"I want to blame Eggman."

"Eggman's as good a target as anyone to blame. He was always a madman, going on about taking over the world. He managed it at least once. I don't doubt that there were closer calls. And he always did attack the islanders first, regardless of where he started. As brilliant as he was, he made mistakes. Many of them, thankfully."

"And there was Sonic."

"And Sonic, of course. I'm thinking more the Restoration as a whole. You know, after Eggman took over, and almost won...GUN was on its last legs. I didn't want to join GUN at first, you know? A government entity with the name of a weapon? That just screams abuse of power to me. But when I found my way to the Resistance, you know what I found?"

"Islanders?"

"Many. I try to hold nothing against them, as I was just human, but it hurt, being told that they didn't have capacity for me."

"I think they had to turn away a lot more than just you."

"I know. The Diamond Cutters, too, had to turn away their fair amount. But it wasn't until I got in with GUN, my last choice, that I realized I was wrong. They didn't abuse their power, because they didn't really have any. The Resistance did all the work during those wars. And the Restoration afterwards..."

"And GUN is still here."

"It's odd. I always thought that GUN would have been dismantled, and the Restoration would continue on after Eggman died. Instead, the Restoration stopped, and GUN continued."

Whisper tilted her head. Where was he going with this?

"I miss the Restoration sometimes," he kept going. "I was a low agent back then, when they were around. Shadow, Rouge, Omega...those three names kept popping up as names to be on the lookout for. And then Eggman died...and Rouge, and Omega."

"And Shadow..."

"Shadow collapsed. Withdrew entirely. He hadn't been seen in any official capacity in nearly twenty years, Whisper. You managed to bring him back out. It may have been to fulfill a debt, or to make right an obvious wrong, but the fact remains, Whisper, that you brought him back."

"Sonic said that's what the Restoration does. It brings hope to those that have none."

"And what does GUN bring? Demands, ego, power trips...money. No, the Restoration has always done better than GUN has. I've tried to make it run similar to them. To try to impress upon people that we aren't just a shady organization, but rather the second coming of a namesake we aren't allowed to use yet."

"And how has that been working out for you?" Pink asked from behind Whisper. The wolfess turned, gently chiding him for speaking.

"Not as well as I'd like. People care about money, right now. Hope died with the Restoration, and the rest of us...we can only hope to hold on until it comes back."

"Sonic's still around."

"But he's not truly Sonic anymore, is he? He has bigger responsibilities. Taking care of his own children. He doesn't have the ability to lead us anymore, if he ever did. Shadow...Shadow doesn't have the heart for it."

Was he going to be stepping down?

"But I look around here, knowing what I'd see in the human city, and you know what I see? Happiness. Bringers of hope, I've heard the Restoration call. And the first act of the remade Restoration, to restore Green Hill Zone to what it once was."

"They didn't do this on purpose."

"But that doesn't matter, does it? The only thing that matters is that they did. Green Hill Zone was dead. Or dying, rather. It was losing itself to drugs and corruption, allowing itself to be spoiled by the name that it had once earned. But the citizens themselves...I think they hated it. I checked up on this man's business license a few hours ago," Agent Nelson said, pointing to the ice cream stand. "He'd literally started just today. He picked out his spot a while ago, but day after day, couldn't place it. And then...the apocalypse. And now he's here."

"Sounds like he planned it for a while."

"He most likely did. But each day was similar to the last, until yesterday. So why now? Of all times, why now, when the world was still rebuilding? I credit you for that one, Whisper."

"I did nothing."

"On the other hand, you galvanized them," he said. Each of the wisps floating around nodded happily. "It was because of you that they did what they did. Whether that was because of a decision you made, or because of something that happened. I don't know, and I doubt they'd tell me."

"On the contrary, we'd be quite likely to," Orange said quietly. "When a friend is in danger, no matter who it is...that's when we let loose."

"Yep. Just like Yacker and the others. When Sonic was in danger, almost all of us used everything in our power to get him out of the black hole," Cyan responded. "It was quite unsurprisingly, very heroic."

Pink came around and smacked Cyan gently on the back of her head. "Unsurprisingly heroic!? Do you not remember that terror you felt as the violet wisps imploded on themselves!? That's not unsurprisingly heroic!"

Wait. What had happened? Whisper and Nelson exchanged glances for a short moment before their attention went back to the arguing wisps. A small glare on Nelson's ear alerted to how he could understand them to; a small translator, similar to what the Restoration used.

"Terror!? Pink, there was no terror or horror there. It was just...what was it called again?"

"Final Color Blaster?" Blue answered. "Something like that. Sonic even said later that if it wasn't for the White he probably wouldn't have made it. Yes, even with your power Cyan."

"Well he didn't use me directly, I was just stuck in the...Tropical Resort? Yeah, that one."

"Ooh, lucky. I was stuck back on Planet Wisp. You think everywhere else was boring, try being stuck in a capsule while you could feel the Asteroid Coaster nearby, while back in your own home planet. At least you got to see something different!"

"Oh, don't mention the Asteroid Coaster. Please," Blue murmured. He gave a minor shudder, and Whisper rubbed her hand behind the block of his head. He gave a minor chitter.

"Right, no more talk of that, then," Green said. "Probably for the best, honestly. That's not a time I want to think about either."

They had felt their compatriots being turned into the Violet wisps? She'd never asked Sonic much about that, and where the wisps truly came from. She knew they each came from Planet Wisp, but anything more than that? It was a complete mystery to her.

Now that she had a bit of time though, maybe it was time to fix that?

Agent Nelson let out a minor groan as he got up, his knees giving a worrying popping sound. "Well, I best get back. Thank you for the chat, Whisper," he said, heading back down the street. He was moving silently, despite his short and energetic stride.

"He's still weird," Cyan said instantly. Whisper nodded, as did the other wisps. "Also, can I get another ice cream? We have time, and I know for a fact we have the money! I'm the treasurer now! The Treasurer of Whisper, that's me!"

"Oh no, now the power's gone to her head," Pink murmured as he looked back worryingly at the aardvark...who was breathing a sigh of relief as the bell hit for the kids to come back to class. Whisper knew he probably wouldn't have had much left after a rush like that. Especially after what the wisps did to it...

On a side note, she learned that wisps liked ice cream.

As with all chapters after a sequence of actions, the action has to slow down. And that's what this is. It'll speed back up soon.

Until Next Time!