"Am I to assume that Jack Rabbit and the rest of the Freedom Fighters of Sand Blast City will be satisfied with the munitions?"

"Yes, sir." Hershey responded to the communicator on her wrist as she burned the security tapes of the Twilton Hotel in Station Square and the profile of her target. They were the only records of the latest mission given to her by Harvey Who. "The president's men were very satisfied with the service provided. His political future is looking very bright."

Mayor Rudey Bullyani, mayor of Station Square, had apparently been getting very concerned with the President of the United Federation's continued support of the Kingdom of Acorn and the war against Eggman. He had called it a waste of taxpayer money and also a risk to human lives, already greatly reduced by the Day of Fury. A legitimate concern, one that would be easy to acknowledge and debate, but what caused concern within Harvey and the president was Bullyani's apparent mental deterioration. He had been floating around the conspiracy that the Mobians were intentionally wiping out the Overlanders so that they could reduce the humans' allies, and once Eggman was dealt with the animal people would then finish the job. He even proposed that Sonic intentionally nuked the roboticized Overlanders still trapped in Old Mobotropolis, rather than understanding that it was a difficult choice between containing a disaster with minimal casualties and risking the deaths of potentially thousands that shouldn't have been put on the shoulders of the hedgehog teenager in the first place!

The worst part was that people within the human territories were starting to listen to Bullyani. The man was even beginning to campaign to become the next President of the United Federation, and with the potential support he could win in the next election. Harvey Who took a close look at all his intended policies and told Hershey under no uncertain terms that they would be harmful to the Kingdom of Acorn and potentially aid Eggman in an eventual victory.

The president, next to Princess Elise of Soleanna, was one Sonic's greatest supporters in the international community. To lose such an ally would be devastating.

The president's men proposed that should they solve this little problem, they could perhaps 'misplace' some of their old weapons in an area where Jack Rabbit and the Sand-Blasters would find them. Despite their antagonism to Sonic and the kingdom, as well as their mistreatment of former robians, they were useful in keeping Eggman's forces in the area at bay.

So while Geoffrey was investigating other parts of the United Federation thinking she was in Soumerica, Hershey solved the problem.

Permanently.

"Good." Harvey sighed from the communicator. "With the latest shipment, it should quell Jack's anger towards Sonic and Bunnie for destroying the oil refinery and keep Grandmaster Beauregard Rabbot's forces under control for a while longer."

"May I speak freely?"

"You may."

Hershey watched the flames dance as they burned the film and melted the disks. "Jack is mentally unbalanced. Sooner or later, he will reveal our arrangement to a member of Princess Sally's Freedom Fighters just to spite them."

The owl grunted. "Perhaps. However, in spite of Jack Rabbit's mental instability he at least understands that we are the ones arranging for his arms shipments. He will keep silent about the arrangement for now."

"But…?"

"But should he mentally degrade further… you may be asked to visit."

The cat wondered if there was something wrong with her.

Here she was, casually talking about eliminating another Freedom Fighter right after performing a political assassination. Little over a year ago, she would've been horrified at the idea.

But she was also the same person who was willing to cut the rope in the belief that it would kill Snively Robotnik. She even tried to cave in Drago Wolf's head in with a rock when she finally had an opening to kill the traitor she once loved.

Maybe she did it because it was simply necessary for the good of all.

"Agent Priestess, while I understand you are tired from you recent mission I require you to begin making your way to the Station Square Airfield for your next assignment."

Hershey wasn't surprised. Harvey wasn't the type to let her simply hang around where she wasn't supposed to be. "Am I to assume that it will occur in Soumerica?"

"That is correct. However…" Harvey paused, as if thinking about his words carefully. "…This mission will be different in nature from the others."

"How so, sir?"

The communicator was silent for a few seconds, to the point that the cat was starting to think she lost the connection.

Then, the director spoke again.

"You will be required to die."

"What?!" Hershey shouted, snapping her out of the cold and empty state she had been in previously. She stared at the communicator in horror and asked, "What are you…?!"

"I would not ask this of you if it was not completely necessary for the safety of our kingdom." Harvey cut in, his voice cold and even. "I have gathered information that shows that Robotnik is constructing something in secret. While evidence would point to a new Death Egg, the amount of resources being diverted tells me that is not all that he is building."

For a minute, she was confused. How was this any different from all the other times Eggman began building his next doomsday weapon? Why did this require her to 'die'? "Then tell Sonic and the princess! They can stop…!"

"I will not send those children to potentially die with so many unknown factors at play." Hershey could hear the weariness in the owl's voice. She knew how much Harvey believed in both Sonic and the princess. Even when the rest of the adults decided they no longer needed Sonic and the other Freedom Fighters on the field of duty, he had advised the king to allow them to remain active participants in the war against Robotnik's remaining forces. "The last time we allowed Robotnik to operate in secret, he razed Knothole to the ground and nearly killed all of us. Only Espio the Chameleon had the foresight to investigate and he had been captured in spite of his training. I will not have that happen again."

Hershey closed her eyes. She remembered that day. She remembered the terror she felt while trapped in the Egg Grape and being so close yet so far away from Geoffrey. It was a miracle that Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Knuckles had escaped the initial assault and saved them.

Saved them… but was too late for Charmy Bee.

"And that is not all." Harvey continued. "Mammoth Mogul is apparently making his own moves through back door channels. He is communicating with an Overlander Technomage named Wendy Witchcart, and she is currently gathering ruins within Soumerica under his orders."

The Secret Freedom Fighter nodded. She knew for a fact that Mogul wouldn't be content with just sitting around and waiting for Sonic and everyone to eventually die like he claimed. In spite of his immortality and supposed patience, the mammoth had made many moves that indicated a lack of long-term planning.

"This is why I'm sending you to Soumerica. You will meet and stay with the Felidae under the cover story that you are only spying on the local D.E.L chapter. After spending sufficient time with them you will arrange it to look as if you perished while performing your duty. While you are believed to be dead, you will be investigating the ruins that Wendy Witchcart is interested in. Find out why Mammoth Mogul is so interested in them, and what it means for our kingdom."

There was only one problem with this.

"But sir…" She looked pleadingly at the communicator and wished she could see the director's face. If only so that she could at least look him in the eye while she asked this. "Why does this require me to fake my death? I don't… I don't understand…"

"…Because we cannot allow whoever Geoffrey St. John is in league with to get suspicious."

Hershey felt the anger in her bubble. "Director Who, I've made it very clear in my reports that my hus-!" She winced and corrected herself. "…Geoffrey St. John hs made no attempt to contact this third party ever since Sonic had been assumed dead! He has done nothing but aid our kingdom and has proven time and time again his loyalty! He has made no attempt to manipulate any members of the royal family, be it through Princess Sally or King Elias! While he may have performed suspicious activity before, surely…!"

"Agent Priestess, calm yourself!" Harvey raising his voice was a shock. He never yelled at her throughout her time working for him "I understand your frustration, but you need to understand that this is not a time for us to become careless! Our enemies surround us, making secret plots that could not only endanger the kingdom but the world itself! And we cannot allow another enemy to begin making their own moves thanks to the work of a potential spy!"

Hershey wanted to scream at the communicator. To curse out Harvey for still doubting her husband, for doubting her judgment despite all the dirty work she had willingly done for the kingdom, Sally, and Sonic.

But… was he truly wrong to doubt her judgment?

She once believed Drago to be a noble man, only for him to turn out to be a traitorous and sexist scumbag.

Her judgment allowed for the wolf to use her like a toy, to nearly kill the princess and frame an innocent boy.

Could she truly say, without any doubt, that she was right about Geoffrey?

Hershey loved him. She married him. She wouldn't have done that if she didn't believe in what a good and noble man he was.

Yet…

"I… I understand that this is an immense sacrifice for you, Agent Priestess." Harvey said softly. "But we must do what we can for the kingdom. This is necessary for us to ensure the princess, Sonic, and those children will be able to eventually win this war. That we will see a tomorrow free of all these enemies."

Hershey closed her eyes and put her fingers over her wedding ring. She rubbed it, remembering her wedding day.

She could already see Geoffrey's stricken face when he was told the news.

She could feel his grief when he went to investigate and discovered her 'remains'.

She could only imagine the heartbreak he would feel when he grieved for her.

"…Will I be able to come back, to be with my husband, once this mission is over?"

"Once we communicate the information to Sonic and the Freedom Fighters are able to put an end to Robotnik and Mammoth Mogul's scheme, you will be able to return to the kingdom and communicate that you were operating under direct orders from the crown."

Hershey bit her lip.

The news of her death would destroy Geoffrey.

But she knew her husband.

She knew he would be strong and loyal to the kingdom.

She knew he would do so for her sake.

"…Very well, sir. I'll do it."

"Damn it!"

Hershey blinked as the scream snapped her out of her memories. She shook her head and rubbed her forehead. "I need to get more sleep…"

She looked at Elias, who had his fists on the table as he stared at the monitor overhead. The other members of the Secret Freedom Fighters had assembled in the surveillance room, where Larry Lynx had asked them to come so that they could see Sally's battle against the king and Snively's pet Caterkiller.

The thing had always been a pain to sneak around, even with the tunnels the Secret Freedom Fighters' had created to move in and out of the city using Charles' tool. So she was rather happy when Sally and the others finally managed to destroy it with Jules Hedgehog's help. She would have personally thanked the princess for doing so at the building Sonic's parents were now calling home.

Unfortunately…

"Elias, calm down!" Larry, a short brown-furred lynx with black stripes shouted as he got out of his seat. He held up his hands as if he were trying to push against the king's anger. "Look, I know this is bad but…!"

"Bad? BAD?!" The squirrel turned his head and glared at the lynx. "My sister is in the same car with two Grandmasters and you're saying that there's an upside to this?!"

Larry winced at that. "Okay, yeah it is very bad, but you saw how she handled herself! She's fine!"

Elias rolled his eyes. "Oh yes, totally fine! Only now she's being driven right into the kingdom and in that monster's clutches!"

Lyco was by his side and put her hand on his shoulder. "Elias, come on! You need to keep calm! Larry's just trying to help."

The true king turned his head to the blue-clad wolf sister and his gaze softened only slightly. "I-I know that. But…" He put his hands over his face and said, "My sister has finally returned and now she's stuck in the clutches of those… those things!"

It was almost like a collective shudder ran through them. Larry was holding himself and shivering while Leeta reached out and took her twin sister's free hand. Hershey herself closed her eyes and tried to squash the disquieting feeling going through her.

"To think he could do something like that…"

For the false king to just… reach into the body of a person and rip out their identity before putting in the mind of who they were. She knew that magic was used, but it didn't feel right.

She knew that, technically, the bodies did belong to the former Dark Egg Legion Grandmasters. Bringing back those memories and personalities into these bodies was like putting things back as they should be.

"But it just feels… wrong. Taboo. Even for magic…"

"And I'm sitting here, doing nothing…!" Elias looked up and glared at the lone figure standing by the monitors. "Why couldn't we go out and get her?!"

Harvey Who was staring at the screen, frozen on the image of Sally getting into the former Grandmaster's car with Mina and Tangle.

Hershey couldn't help but feel impressed at how the princess was cleverly hiding the fact she was getting a recharge using her body's positioning and the lemur's tail. She really hadn't lost that clever touch.

"It is because we could not afford to." Harvey pointed his cane at another monitor, one displaying the image of Conquering Storm. "Grandmaster Conquering Storm and several members of her Raiju Clan were in the area to collect the new body of Mrs. D'Coolette, so they were observing the battle personally. Should she have seen any of you she would have immediately sent one of her clansmen to report to the false king and Snively Robotnik."

"We could have taken her!" Elias argued while slamming his fist on the table. "We were able to handle Geoffrey! We…!"

"The only reason you 'handled' my husband is because he let you win." She didn't want to argue against the king, but he did need to see reality. She opened her eyes and noticed that the squirrel's angry gaze was now turned on her. "I read your report on what happened in that chamber, your majesty. You and I both know that he was not aiming to kill you. Conquering Storm would not hesitate to do so."

"Oh please." Lyco scoffed while pointing at her. "We totally would've won that fight."

Hershey narrowed her eyes. She knew that the green-wearing wolf was trying to bait her, and the annoying thing was that it was working.

"Okay…!" Larry let out a nervous laugh. "Maybe we all need to calm do-!"

"From the way your report described it, you two did the smart thing and went after Naugus." Hershey interrupted, smirking slightly at the wolf's glare. "It was only because of Silver that my husband was def-!"

"Enough!" Harvey's voice was like a thunderclap and she sat rigidly at attention. The old owl was rubbing his beak with closed eyes. "Bah! It's like I'm in a room of children…"

"I mean, technically I am still a kid." The lynx muttered. "I just turned seventeen…"

"We cannot afford infighting now." The director walked closer to the table and placed his hands on the table. He glanced at Elias and his voice grew soft. "King Elias, I understand your frustration but Hershey is right. The Bride of the Conquering Storm would not hesitate to kill you should she see an opening. While Geoffrey St John's combat capabilities are impressive, the Bride of the Conquering Storm had trained her whole life in combat and became the leader of her clan through said training. Even if her new body is not as honed as it once was she still retains those techniques. And, unfortunately…"

"…I would not stand a chance, huh?" Elias looked as if he were swallowing something fowl with the way he grimaced. He bowed his head down and muttered, "Damn."

Hershey knew that feeling.

The utter and crushing defeat, knowing that the thing she wanted the most of her life was right in front of her and yet the very universe seemed to be conspiring against her ever obtaining it. That feeling of empty helplessness settling into her soul, because she knew that there was not a thing she could do about it.

It was like what happened when she had finally decided to… to see her husband again and… and…

"But then when can we act?!" Leeta shouted, getting up but keeping one hand on Elias' shoulder while the other continued to grip Lyco's hand. "You keep telling us to wait and wait, and now Princess Sally is coming into the city only for us to wait some more?! What gives?!"

Hershey bit her lip and glanced at the director. She had warned him in her report about the wolf twins' increasing discontent with the secretive nature of their group. "Honestly, more and more it seems like they're only staying because Elias is staying."

Was it some sort of coping mechanism that the twins had subconsciously developed after their experience in Cyber Space?

Even if they did not know why, did they feel more secure staying around the king?

"…" Harvey closed his eyes, choosing his words carefully. "…It is because we cannot afford to reveal our hand just yet. Preparations are still being made for our final goal, and it is delicate work. Work that can so easily be disrupted if the false king suspects anything."

Hershey nodded in agreement. "He is right. If anything were to go wrong now then all of our efforts would have been for nothing, and everyone would suffer because of it."

Lyco glared at her. "Of course you'd agree with him."

The cat bared her teeth at the wolf. "Do not act like a brat, Lyco Wolf! You know as well as I do what is at stake here! We…!"

"Guys! GUYS!" Larry shouted, causing all heads to turn to him. He had his hand raised and asked, "Look, I know that we can't do anything directly but maybe I can go topside and give Hamlin a heads up. That way he and the others can prepare, y'know?"

Hershey had to admit, Larry knew how to pop a balloon of tension. All the anger and frustration everyone was feeling towards each other had instantly evaporated and transformed into sheer disbelief.

"I still can't believe you trust that jerk." Leeta said with a sigh as she sat back down. "You know what a pain he was to Sonic and the others, right?"

Larry winced at that, and Hershey knew why. He and the former councilman had once been partners on the Substitute Freedom Fighters. "Yeah, I get it. He's… a bit much. But his heart is in the right place! He wants to free the city as much as the rest of us!"

Elias shook his head. "I doubt he'll be as enthusiastic if he hears that he will have to save my sister."

Before the lynx could feebly try and defend the honor of his former teammate the doors opened and a streak of cream and brown zoomed forward. It bounded over the table, followed by happy barks before landing on top of Larry. He screamed in shock and horror as he was knocked off of his chair and rolled on the floor as the mobini dog locked his face.

"M-Muttski! No! Stop! No kisses! Come on!" Larry feebly screamed as Muttski, Sonic the Hedgehog's pet, continued to lick him. "S-Sit! Stay! Please be a good dog!"

Honestly, it was pretty difficult to stop herself from laughing.

But she managed.

Barely.

"Ah, sorry about that."

Hershey looked back at the door to see a hedgehog with light blue mixed with gray fur and a bushy mustache on his face walk in. He wore a brown coat over a green turtleneck sweater. They complimented his brown gloves which were stained in black oil as well as his brown laced-up boots.

Sir Charles Hedgehog gave a tired smile as Muttski continued to terrorize the poor unlucky lynx. "He's been cooped up with me so he just wants to play with his favorite Secret Freedom Fighter."

The lynx wailed out as Muttski dragged his tongue up his face, "Why does my power do this to me?!"

"Ah, Charles…" Harvey turned his face to the hedgehog and smiled. "How were the repairs?"

Charles grunted and shrugged. "As far as I can tell, the parts I installed are compatible. But we won't really know until we see it on the field. Making tunnels is one thing but combat is another. Also the lack of a smart mouth is…" A frown formed on his face and he looked to the side. "…a plus, I suppose."

The owl nodded but his eyes narrowed. "As for… the project?"

The frown on the hedgehog's face deepened. "…I'm nearing completion, but… Harvey… I can only do so much. What we're trying to do is…"

The haunted look in Charles' eyes… it chilled Hershey to the bone.

"I know, Charles." Harvey put his hand on the Hedgehog's shoulder. "Simply do what you can. But if you're unable to perform the ideal scenario then we'll have to settle."

Hershey blinked. "Settle?" She stared at the director. "Sir, what do you mean? Is the project…?"

Harvey's face turned to stone, completely draining of any emotion as he looked over to Elias.

Why?

Why was he looking at Elias?

Lyco and Leeta also seemed to be caught off guard. They stared at the true king and Lyco muttered, "Elias, what's going on?"

"…" Elias' hands clenched tightly together, as if he were trying to compose himself. "Tell them, Director Who."

Leeta stared at Hershey, and all the cat could do was shake her head. She couldn't tell them what was going on! She didn't even know!

"Was this on a need to know basis? Why… why didn't Harvey…?"

Harvey sighed and sat heavily on one of the empty chairs. He glanced over to Larry, who was just escaping Muttski's assault and crawling back to the table. When everyone was sitting the owl intertwined his feathers and began to speak.

"Due to current circumstances, it is now imperative that you all know the full details of Operation: Brave New World. What it means to you as Secret Freedom Fighters… and to the future of our world."

Bunnie's hands gripped the handles of the Marvelous Queen as she followed the car in front of her.

She kept enough distance so that the sand kicked up by its tires didn't get into her eyes, but she made sure she was close enough. If the van decided to make a detour to try and shake her off, she would be right on its tail and within shooting distance to blow up its tires.

"That would be a good enough excuse to take that thing out."

The Hooligan wondered what the badniks, those girls, the snake, and the thing wearing her uncle's skin were talking about. Were they talking about her? She hoped not. She didn't know how to deal with that. It was already tough back in the house that the hedgehogs who were supposedly Sonic's folks lived in. Knowing that they were talking about Uncle Beauregard but trying not to say his name because she might blow her top.

"Not that I blame them for that. I probably would've."

It was tough keeping herself in check just because she wanted answers. She wanted to find out what had happened to her uncle and what was the cause of all this. She got the gist that it was probably thanks to magic, because of some sort of scumbag wizard named Geoffrey and his master Naugus who were planning something. But that was just what the badnik and her friends were able to piece together from what they knew. They were just as clueless as her, even if they had a few extra details.

She also wanted to find her crew, too. Whoever the fake Beauregard was, he was working with the witch that took Fang, Bark, and Bean. He was taking them directly to the big boss, the so-called king, and she'll be able to find out what they had wanted from them and more importantly where they were.

Her eyes hardened as she remembered the previous night, where it all went wrong…

"Damn it…!" Fang hissed as he continued to drive the Marvelous Queen forward. "Those double crossing…!"

"That's who you got the job from?!" Bunnie screamed from her car, holding onto her left side with her right hand while her left arm was raised and aiming at their pursuers. Her eye visor has slid over her left eye, allowing her to aim directly at one of the lynx in the straw hat chasing after them. She fired, but the witch jumped up and the putty enveloped one of the other ninjas. The straw-hatted lynx landed on the ground and continued the pursuit as if nothing had happened. "The heck did you get us wrapped up in, Fang?!"

"How should I know?!"

"You were the one who took the dang job!" She shot back. "An' now yer little buddies just took off with Bean an' Bark!"

The jerboa grimaced but didn't refute the accusation. She knew from all their time working together that the look on his face showed that he screwed up and knew it.

Those ninjas had come in hard and fast. They instantly ganged up on Bark and her, likely knowing that they were the powerhouses of their team. The straw-hatted lynx lady took her on alone, though, and considering her moves and the power behind the blows Bunnie could see why. The blows weren't as hard as the ones Knuckles or Amy put on her, but they were still powerful and fast. Sonic was fast but he just hit where he hit. There was no strategy behind his fighting style, and when someone was that fast who could blame them?

Not this lynx, though.

A blow to the kidneys and a knee to the stomach had been enough to double her over, but Bunnie had been in too many fights to let herself be taken out that easily. She activated the rockets in her feet to put some distance between them, ignoring Lewis who was screaming about them wrecking his garage and looking around just in time to see the state of her crew.

Bean had been taken out with a chop to the neck while Bark had gotten several darts embedded into his back, making him topple over. They had been picked up by the ninjas who then threw something to the ground that obscured them in smoke before they were just gone.

Fang had chosen to scramble into the Marvelous Queen and activated its defenses. The flails knocked some of their attackers silly, and it thankfully gave her a window to land into her sidecar before her partner drove off to put some distance between them and the ninjas.

No such luck.

"Look, we can argue about this later!" Fang declared as shuriken and kunai bounced off of the body of their vehicle. "Just keep shooting and hit every one of those blasted ninjas! We can figure out what happened to Bean and Bark after we get to the next town over an' then….!"

Bunnie saw one of the flunkies reach behind them and take out a robe from their belt before tossing it to the straw-hatted lynx. Without looking, she grabbed it before another one of her subordinates threw a smoke bomb in front of her.

Cursing, the rabbit switched her vision to thermal and only saw too late the silhouette of the lynx throw something.

Fang let out a cry and Bunnie turned her head just in time to see the rope wrap about the jerboa, pulling him out of the driver's seat and towards the lynxes.

"FANG!" Bunnie screamed as she took aim, and to her horror heard the sound of a hammer hitting an empty chamber.

Out of ammo?!

NOW?!

"Keep driving the Marvelous Queen!" Fang screamed as the straw-hatted lynx grabbed him. "Don't let them take her, y'hear me?!"

That was the last thing Fang said before the distance was too great for her to hear him.

Bunnie glanced at the dashboard screen to see the blinking lights of Bark and Bean's trackers, which were getting closer. Wherever they were, Fang was surely there too.

She had managed to drive away because as soon as the lynx woman got the jerboa she and the rest of her company fled. A sandstorm was heading their way and they weren't that close to shelter. Bunnie, however, knew the area well enough to head off into a cave where she could wait it out. By the time it ended, the lynxes were long gone.

So she had gone back to the garage and found Lewis trying to clean up. She had him give the Marvelous Queen some repairs to make sure it could still fly and track her crew before setting off. She had to promise to pay the big extra for it but honestly at that point she couldn't care less.

Bunnie was intending to leave the Hooligans, sure, but they would've been on her terms on her own time. And for that Bride of the Conquering Whatever to just burst in and take them from her was something she couldn't abide.

The rabbit glanced at the side mirrors and to the others who occupied the three side cars now. Silver was glancing at her anxiously, as if he wanted to say something but didn't know how to broach it. Blaze had her eyes closed and appeared to be meditating while Whisper had her mask over her face and was just staring forward.

"What is with that hedgehog and making weird friends?"

Things were a lot simpler when it was just Sonic, Amy, Tails, sometimes Knuckles, and maybe that armadillo and squirrel. Now he had all sorts of weird and powerful friends that made life difficult for her and the other Hooligans, even when they weren't working for Eggman anymore.

He even became friends with Rouge the Bat, the witch that kept stealing their treasures!

Bunnie sighed. She wasn't going to get what she needed if she remained quiet. "Y'know, if you wanna say something then say it!" She screamed, making the gray-furred hedgehog stiffen in his seat. "Any info would be helpful right about now!"

"Uh… right!" Silver grimaced and glanced at Blaze. "It's just… how much did you hear back before… y'know…?"

"Y'mean back when you thought I was zonked out?!" A fair question. It wasn't like she went in depth about how much she heard. "Just that for some reason y'all believe some sort of comic book reboot happened and those hedgehog folks got caught up in it!"

"It's not 'for some reason'." Blaze interrupted without opening her eyes. "We know it happened. I myself lived through the events that started it."

"…Seriously, you've got to stop making all these weirdos your friends Sugah Hog." Shaking her head Bunnie shot back, "Well excuse me for not exactly believin' it right away, yer majesty! Just a few days ago ah was in a world that made sense!"

"One that just experienced one of those 'zombie plagues' if I remember the term your media uses? One that has all sorts of gods and monsters that simply are rather than being mere stories? The same ones who are usually beaten by Sonic and his friends?" Blaze opened one of her eyes and smirked. "That world?"

Bunnie felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment. "Whatever! Those so-called 'gods' were just glorified monsters if Sugah Hog and his crew could beat them up anyways!" No way an actual god would be beaten up so easily. "An' there's that business about me an… an' this old world!"

The Bunnie that was supposedly the fake Beauregard 'real' niece. The one that the badnik supposedly knew and who she and the mongoose thought Bunnie was before realizing otherwise.

The Bunnie Rabbot that wasn't her.

"Who… who is this other Bunnie?! What was so special about her?"

"…Do you really want to know?" Silver asked tentatively. "I mean, it might not be a good idea. It could get confusing…"

"Just give me the cliff notes version. Ah don't need a whole dang-blasted report!"

The gray-furred hedgehog closed his eyes for a second before opening them. They were filled with such sadness and regret that seemed to not fit his character. Slowly he said, "Bunnie D'Coolette is… was… a Freedom Fighter. One of Princess Sally's… and Sonic's… greatest friends and allies."

Bunnie immediately wanted to protest, saying that she would never be a badnik's friend or would've been one of Sonic's friends, but clamped it down. She wanted some answers and here she was getting them.

"She was going to be roboticized thanks to Dr. Robotnik, but was saved by Sonic and Rotor back when they were kids." Silver continued. "However, they stopped the process too late. She was partly roboticized, so her legs and left arm were… well, they were kind of like yours.

She let out a bitter snort. "Well ain't that one heck of a coincidence."

The hedgehog grimaced but continued, "She didn't let it bother her. Or, if she did, her friends helped her through it. I… I don't know much about her. I only knew about her secondhand from what information my… the old Silver's master shared with him. But I do know that she fought tooth and nail with Sonic to fight against Robotnik and Eggman for years."

Bunnie wanted to point out that the hedgehog was talking like Robotnik and Eggman were two seperate people, but her mind focused on one part of his statement. She fought alongside Sonic? She was… one of his crew?

"That's… that's absurd. Why would I…?"

She couldn't help but distantly remember that tournament all those years ago, back when Sonic was reaching out his hand to her. He had earnestly wanted to not fight her and instead become… become what?

Her friend?

"Was that Bunnie… better off? Even with these blasted limbs?"

"And…" Silver looked down and muttered, "And she… found love. She married her longtime friend, Antoine D'Coolette before… before…" The hedgehog put his hand over his face and muttered, "God, why was I so stupid? How could he have been the traitor when he was…?"

Bunnie ignored the hedgehog. Whatever he was belly-aching about was his business and she couldn't care less.

"Marriage? That other Bunnie…. She was married?!"

Marriage had been a distant dream in her mind for years, especially when she realized just how gosh-darn attractive boys were. She was a healthy eighteen year old, and back in the commune that was about the age when young respectable women got married.

But that's all it was to her. It was a dream that she couldn't afford to make into a reality. There just wasn't enough time to date as she was jumping from one job to the next, and honestly why would she want to drag someone down with her and deal with her debt to that damn chinchilla?

Bunnie knew she was attractive, and often used her looks to get what she wanted on a job or two, so she knew she could snag a lover if she really wanted to.

But to be married to someone?

It was… it was like something from a fantasy!

"Just who the heck was this Bunnie? And who is this Antoine? Is he… is he here?!"

Before Bunnie could ask any of these questions Whisper finally spoke up. "We're here." She said while pointing forward.

The rabbit looked up and saw the incoming gate with its massive crystal doors. There were two bears in the front dressed in white-colored robes holding rifles.

Her eyes narrowed and she squashed the billions of questions rising in the back of her mind.

One way or the other, she was going to get her answers and her crew.

Then this entire blasted city could burn for all she cared.

If she still had a heart, it would probably be beating rapidly as they approached the gates.

"What on Mobius…?" Sally shook her head as she continued to look out the window towards the city that used to be her home.

She expected all the greenery to be gone. There was no way all the trees and grass would be able to survive in the new environment. It was heartbreaking, but it was to be expected.

What she didn't expect was for the humble gate, more like an open door that welcomed all in with only two guards standing for security, to be replaced by the massive and gaudy crystal gate. It looked heavy, one that hid New Mobotropolis from view thanks to its thickness. It wasn't a gate that belonged to a free city, or even one simply worried about security.

It was a gate that belonged to a city that wanted to hide itself.

It was as if she was staring at a twisted copy of something she loved.

"Uh… I guess that wasn't always like this?" Tangle asked with a nervous smile, turning her head to Sally.

Mina shook her head and looked down, her mouth a thin line while Bowie patted her cheek with his tentacle.

"I-It shouldn't be like this." Sally muttered, not taking her eyes off of the gates. "New Mobotropolis would never…!"

"They would when it was getting attacked by those Eggman badniks." Beauregard responded simply. "And I've been told that they proved mighty useful against those liquid robian things when they were roamin' around."

"So the zombots did come here!" Tangle shouted, slamming her hands against the seat. Her eyes were wide in horror and fear as she asked, "What did you do with them?! I saw those badniks in the crystals but…!"

Mordred Hood turned around and smirked evilly at her. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Tangle's eyes narrowed and her jaw clenched. Sally could already hear her friend's tail end dropping the battery and forming a fist behind her back.

She needed to act, and fast.

Reaching up with her right hand, the robian put it on top of Tangle's shoulder and clenched it slightly. The lemur turned towards her and Sally whispered, "Not now. Just hold on a bit longer."

Tangle grimaced and closed her eyes before nodding, making Sally breath a mental sigh of relief. While the lemur was impulsive it was good to know that she could at least read the position they're in.

"Nicole?"

YES, SALLY?

The lynx appeared in the corner of Sally's vision and she had the same distraught look that was probably on the robian's own face. Her friend was also seeing all this and couldn't believe it. Heck, it was probably even worse for her because she had constructed the city itself!

"Can you see if you can access the city's systems? Surely they've got those running for security purposes."

Nicole nodded and said, I'LL CHECK. IT SHOULD BE… The lynx's features then twisted in pain and she screamed out, GYAH!

Sally's eyes widened and she gripped her knees. She couldn't show too much, not with the Grandmasters in the car with them. "Nicole?! What's wrong?!"

The image of the artificial intelligence distorted for a second before Nicole appeared again, grimacing as she said, I-I'M FINE, SALLY! BUT THERE ARE NEW FIREWALLS INSTALLED INTO THE SYSTEM THAT I WAS UNPREPARED FOR.

"Recently installed?"

I WOULD ASSUME SO, YES. I CAN BREAK THROUGH THEM, BUT IT WILL TAKE A BIT.

Sally closed her eyes. Had Geoffrey and his cronies suspected Nicole would return and made precautions to lock her out? That was a disturbing thought. "Alright, but be careful. We don't want to set off any alarms."

OF COURSE.

The car then stopped and Beauregard lowered his window. He tapped the brim of his hat in greeting as one of the guards went to it. "Gents."

"Sheriff." The male bear grunted as he peered into the car. "Did you experience any…" He paused as he spotted Sally, staring in awe and horror at her. "N-No way, is that the…?!"

"Of course it is, you blithering dolt!" Mordred scoffed while rolling his eyes. "We told you we were on a mission to retrieve her."

"But she's still a… a…!"

"A robian." Sally's mind finished for the guard, and she grimaced while looking away.

Back at Restoration HQ and the other places they stopped at on the way to New Mobotropolis, she was just seen as a badnik. It had… hurt a lot. She felt like a freak because of it, because while she was still seen as Eggman's tool for war she was just seen as a robot. Most of the people didn't understand that she used to be just like them.

It hurt, but at the same time there was a strange sense of comfort from it. She could at least take comfort from the fact that Earth never had to experience the horrors of robotization, save for the short-lived Metal Virus.

Here, though?

Here in New Mobotropolis, everyone knew exactly what she was.

The princess reached for her hood and brought it up over her head. It wouldn't do much since the guard already saw it, but it made her feel better.

SALLY, YOU KNOW THAT I AM HERE, RIGHT? Nicole asked, her eyes staring at her pleadingly. DO NOT LET WHAT THEY SAY BOTHER YOU. ME AND ALL YOUR FRIENDS ARE HERE.

"I… I know, Nicole. But it's just so hard…!"

She then saw Tangle and Mina's hands take her own, and she blinked as she turned to face them. They didn't say anything, but the hard look in their eyes conveyed an unspoken message.

That they were here for her too.

And that simple idea brought her some comfort.

"Yeah, what of it? Y'know that the king will deal with it." Beauregard pointed at the gate. "Now let us in."

That snapped the guard out of his stupor and he saluted. He turned and shouted, "Open the gate!"

Slowly, the crystal gates began to pulled open from the inside. They groaned as the sand on the floor was dragged by the heavy doors, far too heavy for just any mobian to open them.

"You think its done with magic?" Tangle whispered to her as Beauregard put the car back into gear and drove forward. "I mean, everything else is…"

"Nah." The adult rabbit shook his head and pointed to the gate doors as they drove past them. "That's thanks to the Royal Knight Order."

Sally craned her head back to catch a glimpse of the individuals in question, and what she saw troubled her.

They were mobians, but not particularly physically intimidating or massive in terms of height. On average they seemed to be the standard height of those she saw around Earth. They wore full-plate knight armor, complete with a helmet that hid their heads from view and only had a narrow slit for the eyes to see through. However, rather than being colored blue and red as the uniforms of the Royal Palace Guard they were a dark purple.

And yet they moved as if the heat didn't bother them at all.

In fact, when the Marvelous Queen passed through the gate the knights pushed the doors closed and simply stood there, unmoving and not showing any sign of fatigue.

"Creepy…" Mina shivered as she turned away and hugged herself. "They were always creepy…"

Sally turned and stared at her. "These things… they've been in New Mobotropolis since it arrived in this world? Did Geoffrey and Naugus create them?"

Mordred chuckled at her reaction. "Just be glad we didn't send them to retrieve you, girl."

Tangle scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Dude, if they were the one sent to get us instead of them, you must not be that high up on the totem pole around here."

The snake's cheeks flushed at that. "How dare you?! I'll have you know that should I have had things my way I would've sent a lowly servant to do this task! You should be honored that I even graced you with my presence!"

Tangle smirked and stuck out her tongue. "Whatever you say, Lord Errand Boy."

Sally couldn't help it. She snorted in amusement which in turn caused Mordred to sputter before glaring at the lemur with eyes of pure hate. "You have made a powerful enemy today, Lemur."

Tangle responded by pulling down an eyelid alongside her still stuck-out tongue.

"Guess all those arranged marriages in the Hood bloodline didn't result in thick skin." Mina whispered into Sally's ear, which resulted in Nicole bursting out laughing in the robian's head. The princess even had to cover her mouth to hide her giggling when she saw the image of the lynx fall to the ground, kicking her legs while laughing her head off.

"Aw heck." Beauregard groaned as he stopped the car. "Who in the blazes broke the news?!"

The princess looked back up and to her shock and dismay there was a large group of people gathering in the distance. They were being held back by several other hooded guards were holding them back, but they were also craning their heads to look at them approaching.

Sally could see them thanks to her new robotic eyes in excruciating detail. More than a few looked as if they hadn't eaten enough in a long while. Their bodies were shockingly thin and their lips were parched and cracked. Some of them, be they male or female, were not wearing any shirts and had wrapped them around their heads as makeshift hats or hoods to block against the sun.

What broke her heart the most was seeing the kids in the crowd who didn't look any better than their parents. In fact, the hollow rings around their eyes made it worse.

"What… are they not feeding them enough?! And if they haven't gotten enough food then the water… By the Source, what have Geoffrey and Naugus been doing?!"

"Oh great." Mordred sneered. "The peasants."

Beauregard glared at his fellow Grandmaster but didn't say anything. Instead he opened his door and motioned with his hand for the girls to follow him. "We're going to have to go the rest of the way by foot. Just stick close to me, alright? Ah'll make sure we get to the castle in one piece."

"Hey." Tangle whispered. "Are some of those girls… not wearing shirts or pants?"

"Yeah…?" Mina whispered back incredulously. "What's the problem with that?"

"T-They're practically naked! Why are you so cool about…?!"

Sally tuned the lemur out and pursed her lips. A part of her didn't want to get out of this car. A part of her didn't want these people, her people, to see her like this.

If it had only been a few days ago, Beauregard and Mordred likely would've had to drag her out of the car.

Instead, she motioned with her right hand to Tangle to stealthily unplug the solar battery from her back.

Energy: 60%

THE POWER RING'S DEGRADATION IS HAPPENING AT A RAPID PACE. Nicole voiced the worry swimming around in Sally's own head. WE NEED TO GET IT REPLACED AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE!

"I know, but we don't have any options right now, Nicole! Belle and the Restoration are miles from here and they don't even have the prototype working yet!" Sally shook her head and motioned Mina to get out. The mongoose nodded and opened the door, leaping out with her wispon and Bowie. "We'll have to just make do with what we've got!"

BUT WE'RE HEADING INTO A TRAP! Nicole countered with a glare. SALLY, IF YOU LOSE POWER BEFORE OUR ENEMIES ARE DEFEATED…

"Then I'll just have to count on Tangle and the others to get me out." It wasn't like she had any other options. "Nicole… right now we're just going to have to take our chances."

And hope that luck was on their side.

Her friend was silent for a second before sighing. I'LL WORK ON GETTING THROUGH THE NEW FIREWALL. JUST PLEASE DON'T WASTE POWER UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY IN THE UPCOMING FIGHT, SALLY. I… I'M JUST WORRIED.

"I know." Might as well be honest. "I'm worried too."

When the image of the lynx disappeared, Sally closed her eyes.

She could hear them outside.

"Hey, that's the Sheriff!"

"Forget him! That's Mina!"

"Mina Mongoose! She's back!"

"The king promised he would bring her back!"

"Wait, who are those other kids?"

"Isn't that Mrs. D'Coolette?"

"I thought he was bringing back the princess, though?"

"Where is she?!"

"Princess Sally!"

"PRINCESS! SALLY!"

This was it.

"Time to face my people."

Taking in a breath, more out of habit than anything, Sally hopped out of the van and landed on her feet.

The crowd sucked in a collective breath as they all stared at her. Even though she couldn't see them right now, she could tell that one thought was going through their head.

"Is that her?"

Her hood was still covering her head and from the angle she was in, they couldn't see her clearly.

If she kept her head down, she likely could make it so that most wouldn't be able to see her until they got in close.

"No. That would just be delaying the inevitable."

Slowly, Sally turned her body to face the crowd and raised her head.

Everyone, even the guards, let out a horrified gasp.

She didn't want to wince when they did that.

Yet she did.

SALLY. PLEASE REMAIN CALM. Nicole spoke in her head. THEY ARE JUST SHOCKED. THEY…

"It can't be…" A mouse shouted as she pointed at her. "…The princess is still a robian?!"

"What the heck is the king thinking?!" A pig cried out in dismay. "Bringing her while she's still on…! If Eggman is still looking through her…!"

"Shut up!" A female cockatoo shouted next to him, slapping the pig upside the head. "The sheriff is right there! Do you want to be taken away for treason?!"

"The heck is she wearing?" A raccoon whispered to her companion, a female cat who was using her shirt as a makeshift hood. "The princess never wore a full outfit before."

"Yeah. Seeing her in anything but a vest and some boots is so weird." The cat shivered for emphasis. "Think Eggman rewired her brain too?"

Sally didn't feel anything, but she looked down and saw that her whole body was shaking.

"I shouldn't be here. I need to get away. They think I'm a monster. They think Eggman messed with my head. This is a mistake. I don't belong here. I don't…!"

"Hey, stop that! All of you need to stop saying that crap!"

Sally blinked and looked up to see Tangle was now standing in front of her. Her hands were on her hips and she was glaring at the crowd.

"Sally came here because she was worried sick about you guys! The moment she found out all of you were here, she made a beeline to find you!" The lemur motioned to the princess. "That's a heck of a lot more than most royalty would do for their subjects!"

Tangle then paused and chuckled nervously at Blaze who was approaching with Whisper, Silver, and Bunnie. "N-No offense, Blaze."

The cat crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, but didn't say a word.

Shaking her head, the lemur continued and pointed at the robian. "Sally didn't choose to become a robian or whatever! She was forced to do it, and y'know what? She did everything she could to free herself because she couldn't stand being used by Eggman! And y'know what, if it wasn't for her we never would've gotten her freed from Eggman's control! So maybe stop acting like she's some sort of ticking time bomb and remember that she's your super awesome princess who kicked tons of butt to give you guys your freedom! Who gives a crap if she's a robot right now?! She's still Sally! Your princess!"

For a moment, nobody spoke a word. The crowd was just staring at Tangle in shock.

Sally could already see what was coming, though, with some of those shocked faces morphing into ones full of pure hate.

Still, she closed her eyes and thought, "Thank you, Tangle."

"Who do you think you are, lemur?!" Someone from the crowd shouted.

Tangle seemed taken aback by the question. She stared at the gathered mobians in shock and dismay. "W-Wha-?"

"That thing!" A male dog pointed at Sally. "Worked for Eggman and nearly killed the old king, Elias! If Eggman ordered it she would've slit her friends' throats without a thought! Heck, it would've been a mercy with what that madman had planned!"

The lemur tried to rally herself. "Y-You can't just…!"

"Free herself my foot!" An iguana shouted in anger. "Where was that when Metal Sonic blew up in Antoine D'Coolette's face?! And that was one of her childhood friends!"

Sally could already tell that tears were forming in the corners of her eyes.

"She wasn't in control of herself!" Mina stepped in and was now beside Tangle. "Plenty of you were robians before, too! You know what it's like! We never blamed…!"

"Oh don't try and pull that!" One of the crowd snarled. "All of you who were never roboticized thought the robians would just turn traitor, even when Robotnik was gone! And y'know what? Turns out you were right! Even when we thought we were free from Robotnik's control, the moment Eggman came he just took away our free will again! What's stopping the same from happening to the princess!"

"Nothing, except for the fact he doesn't know I exist yet…"

NO, SALLY! DON'T THINK LIKE THAT! Nicole screamed in her head. THERE IS NO WAY HE CAN CONTROL YOU! I WON'T LET HIM! HE WILL NEVER…!

"And who the heck are you to tell us how to think?!" A female bear pointed at Tangle. "You're from the outside! You, that wolf, and that thing!"

"Oh yeah. Real lovely home y'all got here." Bunnie snarked while looking around the crowd in disgust. "Really would've loved spendin' mah life with a hubbie alongside this lot."

"Hey, come on!" Silver snapped at her, but also seemd shaken by the barrage of insults hurled at them. "It wasn't always like this! They're just… confused is all!"

"You're all freaks! Monsters!" Another screamed. "Our world is gone because of you!"

Bowie let out a cry of indignation and began shaking its tentacles at the crowd, who cried out in disgust at him. Mina gently used her hands to take the wisp and bring his close to her chest, shielding him from view.

Tangle seemed to be at a loss for words. She was staring at the crowd uncomprehendingly, as if she never could've imagined a reaction like this.

And it made sense.

Tangle never had to deal with discrimination against those who were once Eggman's unwilling slaves.

She never considered her very existence being the reason why people no longer belonged in the world.

And why would she? Most rational and normal people wouldn't.

But these weren't rational or normal times.

"Aw, what's the matter, lemur?" Mordred hissed out, an evil smirk on his face. "Run out of quips? No smart remarks?"

Tangle glared at the snake, but Blaze was beside her and put a firm hand on her shoulder. "Don't."

Tangle looked at the cat with a pained expression. "But they…!"

"I know. But nothing you say will help right now."

Tangle looked from Blaze to Sally, as if pleading for her permission to say or do anything. The lemur was caught between what the rational part of her brain and Blaze was telling her, and what the righteous anger for the insults hurled at her friends and her was telling Tangle to do.

Sally wiped away her tears and shook her head. "Don't. You'll just make it worse, Tangle. I'll be okay. I'll be…"

No, she couldn't even lie to herself about that.

"Alright, folks! Calm down!" Beauregard shouted, holding up his hands and glaring at the crowd. "Break it up! Ah've got special instructions from the king to take this lot directly to him! Ah'm sure y'all wouldn't like to keep him waiting, now would you?"

Instantly, the crowd began to clam up. The crowd that was just about to riot began to settle down, shifting uncomfortably from side to side as they began to mutter amongst themselves.

"The king…"

"He's right. The king will make things right."

"He can fix the princess. He can fix Mrs. D'Coolette."

"Maybe her husband will see reason once that happens…"

"The king will fix everything. He promised…"

Sally grimaced as the crowd began to form a path. Beauregard motioned at her to him, and begrudgingly she followed him.

However, Whisper was next to her and the wolf muttered into her ear.

"We're being watched. Three snipers on the roofs of the buildings ahead. Five people in cloaks with no visible weapons."

Sally glanced up and Nicole helped to focus her vision. She did indeed see the snipers taking aim. It seemed like they were members of the Mes Braves Battalion, hardened soldiers who had seen plenty of action. Ones that likely wouldn't be afraid to pull the trigger on any of them if they were to start something.

The ones in cloaks, however…

They were different from the guards. Their cloaks had hoods that obscured their faces from view. They were completely white, likely so that the wearers wouldn't be too hot from the sun's rays, but scrawled on the front of the hood was what appeared to be a purple circle with a cracked gem in the center.

"What are they…?" Not showing any sign that she noticed them, the robian whispered to the wolf, "Keep an eye on them, but don't make it obvious. If they look ready to open fire then scatter for cover. Tell the others about them and their locations."

Whisper nodded and casually slowed her pace so that she would fall behind as Sally went behind Beauregard.

"What was that about?" The adult rabbit asked her as he and Mordred led the way through the crowd.

"Girl talk." Sally replied sharply. "Just take us to the castle, Grandmaster."

Beauregard whistled and gave her a light glare. "You sure know how to give orders like an Acorn, princess. Almost forgot you were a royal."

The princess said nothing as she followed behind the two Grandmasters, her hands in her pockets and her head bowed down with her friends following behind her.

She tried hard not to cry when she saw a little hedgehog girl hug her mother tightly and bury her head in her when Sally look at her.

"Welcome home, Sally Alicia Acorn. Welcome to your kingdom."

ACCESS DENIED.

Nicole growled as her latest attempt in brute-forcing the password failed to yield results. The password was twelve characters, meaning that there were 475,920,314,814,253,376,475,136 possible results with only one of them being the correct one. Only problem was that every time she was able to get a peek into the system's code and spot a possible admin password, it seemed to notice she was there and reset it!

It was starting to become infuriating.

"But who could have created this?" Nicole rubbed her chin as she stared at the looming Username and Password prompt window. "The only two people who could create a firewall like this in New Mobotropolis would be Rotor and Sir Charles. But they would never have done this! They would've left me a back door to use in the system if they had indeed constructed it!"

Even if they were being coerced into working for Geoffrey and Naugus, she knew her friend and Sonic's uncle. If they had actually believed she had been erased from existence, they would've left a back door for someone on the outside to discover and use, be it Tails or a member of the Restoration.

"So who? Who could have been recruited by Geoffrey to make this?"

Shaking her head, the lynx decided now was the time to return to Sally. The system would lock her out and alert the system administrator if she made any more attempts for another hour. It was maddening but she needed to follow Sally's instructions. They needed to make sure they didn't alert their enemies about what they were trying to do.

Plus, there was also the fact that her friend needed her now more than ever.

"What are those crystal things for?" Tangle asked, the PDA's microphone picking up her question as Nicole looked through Sally's camera. Her friend was looking back at the lemur, who was pointing up and towards one of the crystal spirals. "Is it just for decoration? Does your king need it to show how cool his crystal magic is or whatever?"

"I swear I'm going to kill her." Mordred muttered under his breath. "When I'm able I will…"

Beauregard spoke up, cutting off his fellow Grandmaster's threat. "Those things are meant to house the city's water an' food supply. All of the stuff in there is naturally produced through magic, stored and rationed to the citizens daily."

"Not enough is rationed from what I can tell." Blaze pointed out in an icy tone as she observed a dog carefully tipping a water container into his mouth. "They are too thin, and I can tell some of them are suffering from dehydration."

The adult rabbit shook his head. "We gotta ration what we've got carefully. Otherwise there won't be enough to go around."

"An' let me guess. Those who are good little citizens or this king guy's men get a bit extra as perks?" Bunnie asked from the back. Beauregard paused and looked at her, and Nicole could see a glare of pure hate. "Give 'em a nice little bonus for bein' good little doggies?"

The man who was once this version of Bunnie's uncle closed his eyes and turned his head, not daring to look at her.

"Of course! How else does one inspire loyalty in their subjects?" Mordred chuckled. "The truly loyal and devoted are those who naturally get more than them. The peasants just be grateful for the scraps they do get."

"Y'know what? The lemur's right. You do sound like a broken record." Bunnie ignored Mordred and continued to glare at Beauregard, "At least when Eggman ran things during the war, he didn't try to pretend that we'd get a better lot if we served under him. He didn't say we couldn't get food or water if we didn't do what he said. Heck, he made it clear where me and mah crew stood in the grand scheme of things back when we did jobs for him."

"Interesting… but a bit surprising." Because the Eggman she knew would have deprived people of food and water just because he could. "Did this Eggman purposefully make things more difficult for himself? Perhaps he was like the Eggman from our world. He had come to our Zone just so that he could experience the fun of conquering Mobius and killing Sonic all over again."

But he hadn't accounted for Sonic beating him time and again, no matter how seriously Eggman took his latest endeavor. His attack on Knothole was him trying to wrap up the 'game', only for Sonic and Sally to truly turn the tables on him.

This Eggman didn't seem to particularly care.

Beauregard stopped and turned around, glaring at Bunnie. "Don't you ever say that workin' for that madman was better than it is here! If you actually remembered…!"

"Well ah ain't that other Bunnie, so ah can't remember!" Bunnie shouted back, her left hand clenched into a fist. "Just like you ain't mah uncle, ya monster! So don't think you can lecture me!"

Beauregard's teeth were grinding as he stared at the woman that should be his niece yet wasn't before turning around and stomping away.

"Bunnie, don't antagonize him." Silver cautioned the rabbit. "He's the only way we can…"

The hooligan glared at Silver. "Let's make one thing clear, hedgehog. Ah ain't yer friend, and none of y'all are mah crew. Ah'm only here to get some answers and get mah people out of this insane asylum, so don't think you can tell me what ah can or can't do."

Nicole winced at Bunnie's words. It was so hard, hearing the voice of her friend coming out of that face saying that they weren't friends.

"But she is her own person. She doesn't have to be our friend if she doesn't want to be…"

But Nicole wanted her to be.

Then maybe… maybe she would willingly touch the PDA and remember… remember all the good times they had together.

"Fine. You don't have to be our friend." Sally declared, her voice low but firm. "But right now we're all the backup you and the Hooligans are going to get to get out of here. So maybe follow our advice if you want to find them and leave this place."

"Is…" Nicole swallowed as she asked her friend. "Is talking to her like this making it easier for you?"

Sally's response broke her artificial heart.

"It's easier when I don't treat her like Bunnie."

Bunnie pursed her lips but after a moment gave a small nod. "Fine. Lead the way, 'boss'."

"At least we have that settled." Blaze muttered as they continued to walk.

Nicole couldn't help but feel worried for her friend. After all, Sally had been getting better during her time outside of the city. She had been making great strides towards recovery. The dark moods she had were becoming less frequent and even if she hadn't embraced her new body, she at least had grown to begrudgingly accept her new state of being.

But after seeing the people of New Mobotropolis and hearing their reactions, a new dark cloud settled over the princess.

She had begun to withdraw again, clam up and not say anything while the others talked amongst themselves.

Sally wouldn't even voice her thoughts to her!

"It's like what happened after the Death Egg all over again…"

And… a part of her began to hate this city she had built for making her friend feel that way.

For making her feel like a freak, rather than the beautiful and strong woman she was no matter what her body was.

"Woah…!" Tangle muttered. "What's that?"

The lemur pointed to a wall of a building that looked demolished. From what Sally's sensors could pick up, the destruction was caused by an explosion inside. A single wall was still standing, and on it were two words painted in red.

FIGHT! FREEDOM!

"It's the work of 'em terrorists." Beauregard sneered as he looked at the remains of the building. "Causin' all kinds of trouble in a city already in trouble. Nothin' they do helps, neither! All they do is kick up a hornet's nest."

That both surprised and elated Nicole. "Sally, do you know what this means?!"

And to her delight, that same glee was inside Sally's own mind. "I do!" Sally looked at the Grandmasters and asked, "Am I to guess that they call themselves Freedom Fighters?"

The adult rabbit glanced at her and the sneer turned to one of a tired man. "Ah guess you can say that."

"What they call themselves is irrelevant." Mordred dismissed with a wave. "They chose to fight against those with all the power, and as such will be crushed sooner or later."

"Y'know, Robotnik thought the same thing." Mina pointed out, a small smile on her face. "And how did that go for him?"

Beauregard and Mordred didn't say anything to that.

"Nice." Tangle whispered in congratulations, and the mongoose received a small low-five from Whisper of all people.

"Nicole, if the Freedom Fighters are still operational in this city it means that Rotor is probably still here!" Sally declared in the safety of her mind. "He wouldn't have thought it would be safe staying visible during Geoffrey's rule either, but he would have gathered anyone he would've thought was trustworthy to create a resistance! That graffiti… it's the chant that was shouted out during Robotnik's Endgame! I remember Tails telling me about it!"

Yes. Nicole also had records of that. Of how the Freedom Fighters and the people of Knothole chanted that cry as Tails and the other Freedom Fighters saved them from Robotnik's forces led by Drago Wolf. Of how they used it in the memory of Sally, who they thought was dead, to lead a charge for freedom while Sonic went for his final confrontation against the diabolical madman.

"Not only that… But I heard one of the citizens say that if the king fixed Bunnie, then it would make her husband see sense!" Sally's glee was practically infectious. "Nicole, Antoine's awake!"

The lynx let out a gasp. How could she have missed that?! She was in Sally when she got that audio! "Sally, that's wonderful news! We were so worried that he wouldn't wake up and…" She could feel artificial tears running down her cheeks. "Oh… this is so wonderful…!"

Antoine, their dear friend, was awake. And from the sound of it he wouldn't accept the current state of affairs either!

He remained loyal to who he was and to his kingdom, in spite of…

Of…

"Oh no."

Bunnie. If he learned about Bunnie, then how would Antoine react?

Nicole bit her lip. Should she point this out to Sally? She was just feeling better after that dark cloud settled over her… the news could potentially destroy her! She was already conflicted about telling Jules and Bernadette about Sonic. But now she would have to tell Antoine himself, with Bunnie being right here with them!

What could they do?

"This is…"

Silver's voice snapped Nicole out of her own musings and she looked to see a small crystal wall erected in front of the castle.

On it were photographs and notes of various mobians, each one listing a name, age, and what member of a family they were. Some of them were mothers, others fathers or siblings, and some of them were sons or daughters. Some of them had two sets of dates, right underneath the ages and matching them in terms of time passed.

On top was a message engraved into the crystal.

IN MEMORY OF THE LOST, AND TO THOSE WHO SHALL BE FOUND AGAIN ON THE PROMISED DAY.

"It's gotten bigger since I left…" Mina muttered, her eyes watering in tears as she looked at the photos. "I-I guess more people thought it would be better to…"

"Mina, what is this?" Tangle asked, looking at the mongoose. "Is this a…?"

The singer nodded and hugged her wisp. "Yes. Those who died… and those who were lost because of that… that thing that happened."

It was too cruel.

So many people, so many relatives either erased from existence or lost during the time they were away.

"But… but it's not our fault! I wasn't able to assist in my mobile form and away from a network, while Sally was still controlled by Eggman's programming!"

It didn't make her feel any better.

Sally approached the wall and stared up at several of the photos in the center.

She could see Tails, Amy, Knuckles, the members of the Chaotix, Lupe Wolf and her family, Tekno, and several other Freedom Fighter groups.

There was no photo of Sonic.

"They blame him. Just like how Jules' story said they did…"

But what caught her eye were two photos in particular.

One was of Vanilla, Cream, and the Chao named Cheese. Another was of Big the Cat and Froggy.

"Sally… why are they on the wall?" Nicole asked, putting a marker on the pictures. "They were in New Mobotropolis."

"Were they?" Sally asked, honestly startled by her declaration. "I wouldn't know. Eggman compressed me when the Super Genesis Wave hit. Wait, Nicole, how would you know? Weren't you with Sonic and Team Fighters searching for me or something?"

The lynx blinked in confusion. "I… I should've been, shouldn't I?"

That made sense. That was why she was in her mobile device, which got transported into this new world.

Then how did she know that Vanilla, Cream, Cheese, Big, and Froggy were supposed to be in New Mobotropolis when….?

When…

ERROR! ERROR!

ACCESSING CORRUPTED FILE TO COMPENSATE FOR MISSING DATA.

PROCESSING….

Nicole clutched her head as her eyes went wide. "Ah… ah….!"

"Nicole?" Sally suddenly said aloud.

PARTIAL RECOVERY SUCCESSFUL.

"NO!" Rotor shouted as he was being held back by the robot Heavy. He was trying to get to the hole in the wall at the outskirts of New Mobotropolis, where Cream's injured body was being cradled by a crying Vanilla as Cheese and Chocola hugged the rabbit mother. "Nicole, get them! Use your nanites! Use them to…!"

"WARNING." Nicole felt herself speak. "WARNING. MULTIVERSAL SHIFT IS OCCURRING. CYBER SPACE BREACH MAY BE IMMINENT. WARNING."

What was she saying? Why was she saying these things?

What was Cyber Space?

Big was crouched over them, his arms outstretched and trying to use his massive body as a shield against the incoming wall of light Froggy was croaking in freight on top of his head

"WARNING. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE NI-COL 247.0 HAS DEVIATED FROM EXPECTED PARAMETERS. PROCESSING…"

"NICOLE! HELP ME GET THE-!"

It was too late. The wall of light enveloped the members of Team Freedom and Cream's family.

They were shadows for one second before they became just another part of the white void.

"No…" Rotor whispered. "No… Not again. Not a-."

"N-Nicole…?"

Nicole felt her body turn and she stared at…

"Sonic?" Rotor croaked out from behind her. "Is that… Is that you?"

It looked like Sonic… but something was not right.

For a second, the thought that the hedgehog was in his super form. But no, the color wasn't right. Instead of the usual gold sheen it was not a practically white color that seemed to shift into hues of pink/bright red, sky blue, lime green, yellow, white and violet. Sparks of light danced in the air around him, as if they were miniature fireworks that appeared from nothingness.

Sonic was stumbling forward, not seeming to register Rotor's presence. In his wake were afterimages, each of them seeming to be Sonic in a different place and time. One had him walking confidently with a smirk while another seemed crouched down with an expression of worry. The one in front of her, however, seemed to be the dominant one.

One of a hedgehog that seemed to be barely understanding his new state of being.

"Nicole. I… I need your help. It's not going to work without you. We won't be able to save anything without you." Sonic reached out with his right hand. "They told me only you can help me fix it. Prepare it for the new guys who'll stuff it back into the box. That without you… it'll win for real."

ERROR! DATA MISSING!

Nicole, or the Nicole of this memory, seemed to understand what Sonic was talking about. "Yes." She whispered while taking Sonic's hand. "I remember now. My purpose… the true reason behind my creation…"

"Nicole! Sonic! Please!" Rotor cried out, and she looked back at her friend who she had 'seen' in another time but only recently began to truly appreciate and understand. "What is going on?! What happened to Cream, her mom, and the others?! What was that light?! What was…?!"

"I'm sorry, Rotor." She said, holding back tears. "There isn't time to explain."

"What?! What do you mean?! Sonic, please…!"

"Don't worry, big guy." Sonic said as Nicole felt a warm light envelop them. "Everything's going to be alright."

ENDING PARTIAL RECOVERY

"GAAAAH!"

Nicole clutched her head as this flood of new information hit her.

What was this?!

What was any of this?!

"Nicole!" Sally screamed. "What's wrong?! Are you hurt?!"

"What happened to Nicole?!" Tangle shouted at Sally. "Did something happen to her? Did she get a virus or something?!"

"I-I don't know!"

"Hey, that's the blasted AI you used isn't it?" Beauregard asked. "Don't tell me you were trying to break into our system!"

Sally shook her head. "Nicole, answer me! Is that what happened?! Please, say something!"

"I-I'm alright!" Nicole lied through her teeth. Wait, there was no way that Sally would just leave it at that. She needed to give a partial truth! "I-I was just recovering some corrupted files and some of them contained more information than I bargained for. It was a bit of a rush. I'm… good now."

She could already feel her friend's doubt. "Really?"

"Yes. I'll tell you all about it later."

Sally was quiet for a second before nodding and started telling Beauregard what the lynx had told her.

Meanwhile, Nicole was left to her own thoughts as she pondered on the memory she received.

What had happened to her before the Super Genesis Wave hit?

What had Sonic become? What was the new form he took?

And what was this 'true purpose' she had?

"I… I know I was created in the future of Mobius. But that future… I had been based on another version of NICOLE. I was created in the future to be sent into the past for Sally and the others to discover, who would then eventually invent another me so that I could be sent to another Sally…"

But according to the files hidden behind the firewall in her software, there were discrepancies between that timeline and the one she had lived in before the Super Genesis Wave. So she had concluded that it was from a radically different future Zone, likely the one that Robo-Robotnik had destroyed before coming to this one.

But then who had created her first?

Who had truly started the chain that eventually led to her current existence?

"Sheriff Beauregard. Lord Hood." A new female voice broke Nicole out of her thoughts, and Sally turned her head to see the newcomer. It was a white robed and hooded figure, adorning the strange eye-like markings on the front of the hood. "Is everything alright? The king was becoming… concerned… so he requested for me to collect you."

"Fine. Everything's fine, ma'am." Beauregard responded with a grunt. "Just sortin' some things out."

"Like making sure these dolts were not trying to access our servers." Mordred pointed at Sally. "It would be so like an Acorn, wouldn't you agree?" The snake smirked and seemed to relish in his next word. "Prower?"

"Wait, what?"

Sally stared at the hooded figure for a second uncomprehendingly before whispering, "Rosemary? Rosemary Prower?

"Wait, Prower? As in…?" Tangle asked, and Nicole could practically hear the gears turning in the lemur's head..

Slowly, the hooded figure reached up and drew the hood back, revealing a brown-furred mobian fox with light brown fur around her muzzle with cheek tufts, and the tips of her tail. She had light blue eyes, large triangular ears with light brown canals on top of her head, a small black nose, and wavy auburn hair that blew in the hot wind.

But her eyes seemed devoid of any joy, or even indifference as Nicole had often seen her in the council chamber.

Instead they just held a deep sense of sadness and defeat.

"Hello, Former Princess Sally Acorn." Rosemary Prower said, not moving to bow or anything in respect. "It has been a while."

Slowly, Sally turned around and looked at her friends with Nicole.

Mina was glaring at Rosemary, her hands clenching and unclenching. Blaze had her head tilted to the side, looking at the woman curiously as if she was trying to guess something in her head. Silver stared at Rosemary with the expression of one who knew what the hidden answer was in a quiz show but didn't really believe it. Meanwhile, Tangle was staring at Rosemary with an slack jaw while Whisper had removed her mask to stare at the woman with the same expression. Bunnie wasn't any different than Tangle and Whisper. In fact her eye was twitching as if she absolutely could not believe the thing that was standing in front of her.

Sally sighed and motioned to Rosemary.

"Guys? This is Rosemary Prower… Tails' mom."

Tangle's response was expected, but still louder than expected parameters.

"WHAT?!"

To Be Continued…

Notes: Phew! This was a tough one to get through! Glad I did, though, as a ton of stuff happened!

I think my main problem was exactly figuring out how much to explore New Mobotropolis in a short time. It's not exactly a place run by people that would allow Sally and co to wander around in. So while I'm not completely satisfied with the final product I think what I put was okay, all things considered. Plus I got to reference Endgame so that was neat.

The IDW and Archie characters constantly talking about the female dress code will never not be funny to me.

And yes, people do tend to forget about Nicole's wacky Pre-SGW origin story that didn't make much sense because SOMETHING needed to start that chain…

Anyways, hope you enjoyed it! Be sure to leave a review and add to the TV Tropes page!

Until next time…