Espio's Story - The Revenge of Shinobi Chapter 8: Charmy and the Prison Break, a sonic the hedgehog fanfic

Author's Notes: Hi, sorry for the wait. This is basically one long stealth mission with Espio & Charmy bonding while trying to get to Vector. Uhhhhh... enjoy? X'D I'm just kiddin' there's some good stuff in this chapter, you'll see. It was fun to write and research for, it just took forever, that's all. Hopefully while reading, you'll see why ^^U

A lot of songs this time, I'm gonna signpost them throughout the story:

Ocean Base Map - Sonic Advance 3

Manuals - Sonic Gems Collection

G.U.N Fortress - Shadow the Hedgehog

Techno Base Act 1 - Sonic Advance 2

Techno Base Act 2 - Sonic Advance 2

The Doom - Shadow the Hedgehog

Theme of Sonic Event - Sonic Rush

Mazuri Savannah Citadel Night - Sonic Unleashed

Black Cat Chase Part 2 - Spider-Man 2 the Game

Theme of Blaze Event - Sonic Rush

Wave 131 (Iceferno Remix) - Streets of Rage 2

Silent Forest Zone Owl Lights - Sonic Lost World

Level 0 - Tetris CDi

Apotos Windmill Isle Night - Sonic Unleashed

Knuckles Boss Theme - Sonic Advance 2

X-Zone - Sonic Advance

All Torn Down - Shadow the Hedgehog

Labyrinth 2.0 (GetAtLilSteve Hip Hop/Rap Remix) - Knuckles' Chaotix

Tropical Coast Zone Juice Archipelago - Sonic Lost World

I Know Professor - Shadow the Hedgehog

Credits - Sonic Mega Collection

Ending B (Techno Cinema Remix) - Sonic Advance 3

Okay, that's it for now, please enjoy the extra long chapter!

Ocean Base Map - Sonic Advance 3

Espio, finally visible again, carefully cracked the door to Charmy's room open, checking to see if the coast was clear and the bee couldn't help the influx of emotion welling up inside him. Espio was really there, in the flesh, right where he could reach out and touch him. Espio came back to break him out of this crappy place. Charmy believed in him 100% and he was rewarded for it.

Not that he could ever entertain the thought that Espio would abandon them, anyway. Still, it was nice to be with him again. It had been one of the longest days of his life and it still wasn't over, they still had to actually get outta here. But with Espio by his side, there was no need to worry anymore. He'd take care of it, like he always did. And despite being in enemy territory, with the odds stacked against them, just one look at Espio calmly assessing the situation finally made Charmy feel safe again.

Before he knew it, his arms were wrapped around the chameleon's neck, embracing him with as much of his considerable strength as he could, the thought of squeezing too hard hadn't even occurred to him. Espio let out a surprised grunt and tensed up at the sudden contact, but quickly relaxed in Charmy's firm hold. The boy just nuzzled his cheek against his friend's chest, only pausing when he noticed the strong chemical smell coming from him. He pulled his face back slightly, to ask why he smelled so... like that, only to struggle against a strange stickiness.

"Hold on tight, Charmy. We are heading out now" Espio instructed, his low voice rumbling in his chest, vibrating against Charmy's face. The boy wordlessly nodded as his grip around Espio returned in full force.

Espio shifted into transparency as he climbed the wall and Charmy noticed his own arms fading from sight as well. That was why Espio wanted him to hold on, so he could become invisible too. It was a trick he rarely used, considering he worked stealthier alone, but with the situation as it was, they didn't have much of a choice.

As soon as they reached the ceiling, Espio slowly opened the door, just enough to slip himself and the clinging Charmy through the gap, before quietly closing it back. He presumably used his tail to turn the handle to prevent it from making a sound. The hallway was fairly empty, with only a few GUN agents about, in their own little worlds, not giving so much as a passing glance to the ceiling where Espio isolated them.

Charmy scrunched his nose. It was weird to be in plain view of people, but for them to not know he was there. He wasn't used to being ignored, he actively did his best to not be ignored usually. But he sucked up the weirdness and obeyed Espio's unspoken command. Stay absolutely silent, don't move, and be patient. There was really nothing else he could do. One false move and Espio's concentration would be broken and Charmy could say bye bye to his camouflage and his freedom.

So he just accepted the excuse to hug Espio and enjoyed the ride, while Espio took control and snuck them through the halls of GUN Headquarters. In no time at all, they arrived at another room down the same hall as Charmy's interrogation room. He assumed that's where they were holding Vector. But before he could wonder how they were going to get in, since they didn't know if anybody was in there with him, Espio took action.

A few light raps on the door caused the bee to snap his head up at Espio's face. Or at least where Espio's face would be, if he could see him. Espio placed a hand against his back, warm and gentle. He knew what he was doing. Charmy believed him. He had no reason not to.

Within seconds, the handle clicked and the door opened, a gap large enough to allow them in, and Espio took advantage of the opening. The agent that opened the door peered his head out curiously and swiveled from one end of the hall to the other, of course he saw no one waiting to get inside the room. So he shrugged and closed it, just as Espio managed to slip inside and settle above him on the ceiling.

Charmy surveyed his surroundings, immediately noticing that this was completely different from his interrogation room. It was darker, with one spotlight, which Espio was currently positioned in front of, it was smaller, only able to fit in a few chairs and a small desk. But most importantly, it had a massive window on the wall, one that allowed the occupants to see into the neighboring room. That room looked identical to Charmy's, meaning that this room had to be an observation room.

... Which meant that Charmy was being observed in another observation room all that time. He couldn't help but shudder just a little at that realization. Though his disgust was quickly replaced with disappointment. Vector was nowhere to be found. They must've moved him at some point before Espio got to Charmy. Now they had to look for him, but where would they even start?

His curiosity grew and caused him to jump to a different question before he had properly thought out the first, as he often did. How did Espio take care of the guys that were watching him?

As if on cue, Espio started to move, providing Charmy's unasked question with an answer. He planted his feet on the ceiling and slowly rose (or fell?) to his full height, positioning himself directly in front of one of the two agents in the room. The agent, a monkey, was enjoying his cup of coffee, blissfully unaware of what was about to happen to him. With the lightest of ease, Espio flicked his hand and produced a barely visible needle, and poked the styrofoam cup so deftly, the monkey drinking from it hadn't noticed.

Espio swung back up to the ceiling and waited patiently. Charmy recalled his own stealth training with the ninja and he often repeated a certain phrase. Well, he often repeated several phrases when training the unruly Charmy, mostly in an attempt to keep his focus, but this one had particular relevance to this moment. "Stealth is equal parts skill, planning, and patience".

Patience was never one of Charmy's strong suits, which may be the most obvious thought the boy had ever had in his young life, but it was true. It's why he sucked at stealth, in real life and in video games. It was so boring sitting around waiting for something to happen and not making noise was an absolute impossibility for him normally. Too boring for words.

But now, he couldn't help but admonish himself for thinking that way for so long. Because watching a true master of shadows work his magic and waiting for his prey to react was surprisingly entertaining. If this were a movie, Charmy would be on the edge of his seat. It was probably because this was all real life and the stakes were so high that it captured Charmy's ever elusive attention for this long.

In truth, it only took a minute for the monkey to notice that he'd been drinking from a leaking cup, considering how thin the needle was. Espio probably needed it to be a small hole that would slowly leak out and eventually wet the monkey's otherwise impeccable suit. Because the obvious question for the monkey would be, when did the hole form? The longer the time between Espio poking the hole and him realizing it was there, the better for them.

As soon as the monkey did realize, he let out a frustrated groan, alerting his fellow agent sitting beside him. He was busy with his paperwork during the fiasco.

"Man, these cheap as butt cups! I can't believe this!" the monkey exclaimed as he awkwardly stretched his suit jacket out, in a futile attempt to keep the beverage from seeping into the fabric. Charmy stifled a few giggles while the monkey continued huffing and puffing, an incredulous look on his face.

The other agent, a marmot, hid a smile and inhaled sharply. "Ooooh, bad luck there".

"Oh, is it?" The monkey squinted and tilted his head at the marmot. "Is it, really?!" he challenged louder, baring his teeth and raising his eyebrows. The liquid dripping down his pants legs at a steady rate.

"Sorry" was the marmot's sheepish reply as he shrunk back to his paperwork.

The monkey growled out his frustration and clenched his fists as he wrenched the door open to storm out, Espio trailing behind him from above. And just like that, they were ready to proceed with their search. Charmy's grin widened as he squeezed Espio just a tad tighter. Espio didn't seem to notice, but it didn't matter to the boy. He was just glad to be back with the ninja master. They'd find Vector and they'd all get out of there, together.

Manuals - Sonic Gems Collection

Espio brought them to a fork in the hallway, where a janitor's closet was inconspicuously placed. In record time, he picked the lock and slipped inside the isolated room, before closing it silently. Immediately, Charmy started laughing as he let go of Espio.

"You got that monkey good, Espio! Hahaha! He was so mad!" he giggled as he grabbed his sides and shook his head.

Espio kept his ear to the door as he moved packages of toilet paper and paper towels against it. Charmy couldn't help but start laughing again as Espio seemed to have his head glued to the door and awkwardly reached for each item and flung it to the door like a madman. Tears prickled Charmy's eyes and he finally died down his laughter while wiping his eyes.

"There, now it's safe to talk" Espio assured before quickly placing his finger on Charmy's lips. "But only talk. Not cackle, not yell, talk" he warned, his dark eyes barely shining in the dinky spotlight above them.

Wait. Dark eyes?

Charmy nodded his head and took Espio's hand off his mouth as he stared confused at the ninja's appearance. It hadn't occurred to him until now, probably because he was too distracted with how happy he was that Espio had come for him and due to him being mostly invisible this whole time, but Espio looked... different. Like, way different.

Normally, his scales sported a vibrant fuchsia color, that made him shine a little when his scales caught the light just so. Glossy, as Vector put it. His eyes were a sharp golden yellow, able to pierce through the shadows of any room, matching his face horn (He never liked it when Charmy called it a face horn, but it was a horn on his face, ipso facto: "face horn"). And his gloves and shoes were a combination of black, white and purple.

But now, as Espio opened up several bottles of cleaning supplies and poured them into the mop bucket to mix them together, he was noticeably lacking his glossy finish. His fuchsia scales shifted to a darker eggplant purple, his golden eyes faded to a stark black, and his white gloves were blackened too, as if dipped in ink.

He wasn't wearing his normal shoes, he'd switched them out with his old shoes, from years ago. The dark green ones with the black toe and buckles, the yellow on the cuffs faded to a dirty bronze. And upon closer inspection, the whites of his eyes were smaller, replaced with dark shadows encroaching on his black irises.

"What's with the look?" Charmy asked, furrowing his brow and scrunching up his nose. Espio stopped what he was doing for a second, then continued working on his pungent concoction.

"Vector has been moved, probably while I was freeing you. Most likely on Rouge's orders, seeing as she helmed his interrogation after Shadow".

"How'd you find that o—?" Charmy stopped himself as Espio shot him a flat look. "Right, ninja detective, got it—So how do we find him?" he quickly adjusted.

Espio dipped his hands into the mop bucket and began to lather the mixture onto his scales as he explained. "There is a central surveillance room in this facility somewhere. There, every camera in the compound can be accessed. We will use that access to locate Vector's precise location, then make our way to him, then free him and make our way out of this place".

"Cool!" Charmy nodded, before frowning a little. "But, uh, how do we get to the survey room?"

"Surveillance" Espio corrected as he dipped his hands in the bucket and applied the strong smelling substance to his head. "And that will be the more tedious aspect of all this" he warned, a slight scowl on his face.

"We will have to follow each individual agent we find until they can lead us to the central surveillance room. It will take time, patience, and tireless awareness, but come nightfall, we should eventually arrive at our destination" he finished explaining and finally looked back at Charmy who was currently gaping at him with a nonplussed expression. "Prepare yourself for a long ordeal, chibi-dono" was his only reply, as he continued coating himself in the fluid.

"That sounds boring. Why don't we just find a phone and look at the numbers until we find the security people's number?" Charmy suggested as he tilted his head.

Espio shook his head, ruefully. "We cannot call them for directions, Charmy" he said, a bit too condescending for Charmy's taste.

"That's not what I meant!" he puffed out his cheeks and scrunched up his face before sighing. "The extension numbers on the phones should match the room numbers. If we can get to a phone, we can use those numbers to find out the security room number, then we just follow the numbers to the room", Charmy snapped his fingers, grinning at Espio who could only stare at him blankly.

With how smart Espio was, sometimes it was hard to remember that he was completely tech illiterate. It took him forever to learn how to work the tv remote, and he didn't even own a phone. He much preferred walkie talkies and analog junk like that. Anything digitized and he's at a complete loss. A fact that endlessly amused Charmy, that is, when it wasn't a matter of life and death. Like right now.

After a quick clearing of his throat and turn of his head, Espio replied. "That... is a better idea" he dipped his hands back into the bucket, the hint of a blush on his downturned face. "Nice work".

"Hee hee" Charmy rubbed his nose and closed his eyes, his chest puffed out. That is, until Espio lathered it with the junk he just coated himself with. "Ugh, why are we covering ourselves in this stuff? It smells like the bottom of the sink" he squeaked out, his voice coming out nasally on account of him squeezing his nostrils shut.

He tucked his antennae inside his helmet too, as that's where most of his smelling comes from. Espio smirked as he ran his hands along Charmy's stomach.

"Precisely. Turn around" he commanded, sending a shock through the bee's body.

"Don't do my wings!" he begged, hugging his arms tightly. Espio's smirk only grew as he took Charmy's shoulders and spun him around.

"Worry not, I am only covering your back" Espio finished applying the mixture to Charmy's back all the way to his stinger. "Where do you suppose these phones would be located?"

The bee hummed in thought as Espio turned him back around and dabbed the fluid on his face and arms. "The only landline phones that'd have the numbers would be in an office or somethin'. So folks like us can't get to 'em if we leave the interrogation rooms", he reasoned, sneezing at the chemical smell wafting directly into his nose. Darn it, should've kept my nose plugged. This stuff really reeks!

"Meaning, this area, where they bring persons of interest, would not feature them. We will need to search for an office space then. Which will only be located in the more secure areas of the facility. If we locate a passageway leading further inside the building that has more security systems in place, that will be our target", Espio concluded as he began moving the makeshift barricade out of the way.

"Got it!" Charmy saluted energetically. Espio whipped his head back around and knelt to Charmy's level, a painfully serious look on his face.

"Now, before we take a single step back outside, you must remember to remain—"

"Totally silent, I know" Charmy finished, rolling his eyes. "I'm on mute outside this closet, promise" he assured while pretending to zip his mouth closed, smiling at Espio. The ninja's face remained stony as he turned back around.

"Yosh" he whispered, slowly cracking the door open again.

Good

Charmy got right behind him, ready to hold on tight.

"Can you smell anyone in the vicinity?" Espio asked over his shoulder, causing Charmy to crouch to the floor between Espio's legs and stick his antennae out the door's gap.

He sniffed all around, trying to pick up a scent emanating off of someone instead of the trails of scents from people long past. But there was no strong scents in the vicinity, not for at least a couple yards in all directions. He retracted his antennae and peered up at Espio who awaited his assessment.

"Nope, coast's clear" he whispered up to the ninja. Espio nodded and opened his arms up, allowing Charmy to hug his torso as they both began to fade from sight.

"Ikuzo" was the last Espio spoke before stepping out of the janitor's closet and crawling to the ceiling.

Let's go

G.U.N Fortress - Shadow the Hedgehog

They must have went down every hallway in that maze of a building before they finally ran into that super secure door they were looking for. It looked like a vault door from a bank or something, its slate gray metallic surface served as the backdrop to a single row of 3 enormous circle patterns. Each lined with dormant cyan lights, which made it look like black checkerboard between the lighter lines.

In the center circle proudly sat GUN's logo, white designs on desaturated cyan. Each circle was reinforced and protruded out from the flat surface of the door, which was comprised of hexagonal plates of some expensive and heavy looking steel. It stretched to either end of the wall it was bolted firmly into, only saving room for the yellow and black striped hazard paint to border it. There was definitely something important hiding behind all that.

Now all they had to do was... wait for somebody to come through the door...

Which was gonna happen... any minute now.

...

Aaaaany minute now.

...

ANY. MINUTE. NOW.

...

Oh my Gaia, how long is this gonna take!? Charmy fumed mentally as he squirmed on his perch. This whole quiet patience thing was torture, gah! There's so much they could be doing right now to help Vector and they're just sitting here looking stupid! Well, okay, no one can see them—but that's not the point!

They should be busting in these rooms looking for answers, or clues, or something to mess with while they wait for the stupid non-opening door to finally open! Go back to the janitor's closet and make a new plan cuz this one stinks! Literally! Vector needed them and they were just sitting on their hands!

Charmy's mind raced as he fidgeted against Espio just from sheer bottled up energy, until he felt a steadying hand on his back, snatching his attention. Warm hands petted his back as Espio spoke, below whisper level, in Charmy's ear.

"Patience. We will get to him. You cannot rush this, ko. Be patient, for Vector".

And just like that, Charmy calmed back down. He felt silly, getting so worked up so quickly. This was the only way to get to Vector without running around in circles, he knew that. It was just so frustrating, waiting for someone else to give them a chance to go save him, when all he wanted to do was fly through this place, Thunder Shoot blazing, and break him out as soon as possible. But Espio was right, which was not a surprise, he needed to be patient. Somebody had to come through this door at some point, it couldn't be much longer now. It just couldn't.

So Charmy stopped squirming as much, occupied his mind with what they'd do once they got outta here, and remained quiet. Espio's soft petting helped him stay calmed as he resigned himself to wait. Really wait. No matter how long it would wind up taking. Vector needed him to be patient, so he'd be patient. Despite how he slowly felt his mind numbing from the sheer boredom, he endured. Focused on what they'd eat to celebrate their awesome jail break.

In time, he forgot what exactly he was waiting for and got lost in his imagination, but still he waited. But even though Espio never stopped petting his back in that perfectly soothing rhythm, Charmy felt himself running out of things to think about and his energy was rising again. He tried to stay patient, he really did, but this was just too long to wait for something to happen. Like, come on, this was ridiculous. Can somebody just walk through the freakin' DOOR ALREADY?!

And just when Charmy's resolve threatened to fail again, he heard the blessed clunking of metal in the direction of the door and shot his eyes up to see the cyan lights dance across the 3 circles. The groan of heavy metal and the suction of air tight seals hid the massive sigh of relief that reflexively left Charmy's mouth. Finally! Bless that beautiful sheep lady that opened the door!

Espio quickly shushed him before stalking forward to slip past the vault door, and inside the pure white sterile room it guarded. To satiate his curiosity, Charmy scanned the room as Espio crawled up the wall to reach the far away ceiling.

Unlike the many other rooms they traversed, this room was huge, sporting a completely different material and layout than the plain old regular building they'd been looking at this whole time. It was bright, like they were trying to get rid of every shadow that could ever exist in the space. The entire room was divided into squares, illuminated by lights hiding underneath each one.

Techno Base Act 2 - Sonic Advance 2

Charmy wondered why they decided to make it like that before he got distracted by Espio abruptly changing direction and swiftly heading back down the wall. He barely managed to notice two guys standing on the opposite side of the room, guards for the next vault door, before Espio slipped through the frighteningly slim gap. Through the door they just got done waiting forever to open!

"What're you d—mmph?!" A hand clamped down on his mouth just before the vault door closed.

Espio made tracks towards the janitor's closet, as Charmy heard the vault door open again. He managed to peek through Espio and see who it was. Out came stalking a stout brown rat into view, dressed differently from the others. Everyone else around there wore black suits, some even wore sunglasses, indoors, like douchebags.

But this guy, he wore army clothes. Green camouflage, brown combat boots, a short sleeve shirt to show off his big biceps, and a beret sitting perfectly atop his head. Across his barrel chest, he wore gun holsters which actually emphasized his pectorals and made him look even buffer than he probably was. His ears were raised high as he turned his head from side to side, finally stopping when someone behind caught up to him.

The other agent with the burly Rat was taller, but chubbier than him. A canine, by the looks of his muzzle, a bulldog. He was dressed different from the suits too. He was in a military uniform, but instead of Army he was suited for the Navy. The trademark dark blue of his jacket gave that away, along with his white forearm length gloves, white belts straining against his belly, and white boots. Topped off with a white peaked cap drooped lopsided across his head, covering one of his sagging ears.

White straps stretched across his chest, up past his shoulder, and wrapped around his thigh, each adorned with pouches that could be holding ammo for his handgun holstered beneath his chest or snacks. Charmy was willing to bet 80% snacks, 20% ammo. He could also spot the handle of a knife in his boot and the sleeves on his jacket were rolled up to his biceps, so he at least looked prepared for a fight should one jump off in his vicinity.

The two agents were talking about something and heading towards them, before Espio opened the janitor's closet again and slipped inside quick as lightning. He immediately got them behind the shelves housing the paper products from before, as well as some weird ventilation stuff that kinda looked like mattress filling. The air conditioning from the vent blew directly in front of them, Espio positioned them in the top corner of the room, so the air blowing drowned out most of the sound their movements made.

As soon as Espio got them situated, he made his fingertips visible, summoned his paintbrush, and started scribbling on a roll of paper towel close to Charmy's face. It took a moment for Charmy's eyes to adjust, but when they did, his jaw dropped.

"The Rat could hear us, we need to stay hidden". A hundred thoughts ran through Charmy's head as he felt himself panicking.

How did The Rat hear them? How could they have possibly been found out this soon? How long did they have to wait in here before they could try again? Could they even try again today or would they have to come back tomorrow or something? Would Vector even be here then? What were they gonna do? His stream of questions jerked to a halt as the door to the janitor's closet was darkened by a shadow. Charmy held his breath and he could feel Espio's heart rate flutter just a bit. This was gonna be close.

The doorknob jiggled before it was flung open, The Rat stuck his head inside and scanned the room, a very stern look on his face. He looked tough, like he could snap somebody's neck just by looking at them hard enough. Charmy was suddenly very thankful that they were invisible in that moment, for The Rat's eyes flicked up to them and moved to another corner.

"You catch anythin'?" a gruff voice asked from the hallway, belonging to The Bulldog, no doubt. The shadow he casted covered most of The Rat's body, who was still looking at every nook and cranny in the room to find something amiss.

"I swore I heard somebody leaving the secure room and moving towards here..." The Rat said with furrowed brow, placing a hand on his chin as he looked at his feet. His voice was even more gravelly than The Bulldog's, and upon closer inspection, a few of his teeth jutted out from his lips like daggers.

Yup, definitely a rough customer. Doubly glad we're invisible.

"Well, I'd be smellin' 'em if there was somebody here. It was prolly your imagination", The Bulldog answered, a sigh hanging on his words as his shadow shifted along the floor.

"Yeah, probably..." The Rat slowly agreed, giving the room one last glance before walking out of the closet and closing the door behind him.

Neither Espio nor Charmy dared to move a single inch as they watched the shadows gradually recede and heavy footfalls fade into the distance. And even then, Espio gave it a couple seconds more before he moved to the door and held his ear up against the frame to be 100% sure there was no one around. Charmy still felt his breath hitched in his throat, until finally Espio turned them visible again.

Immediately, Charmy shot out his breath and heaved in another one as his thoughts tumbled out of his mouth without a filter. Espio moved the paper products in front of the door again, this time the whole shelf was emptied as he swiftly secured them a safe spot to regroup.

"That was too close. Way way way too close" Charmy finally finished muttering out.

Espio took out the bucket again and started to lather himself. "Yes. But we remain undiscovered and thus our mission remains the same".

"But how do we make it past those guys?!" Charmy whisper-shouted. "They could hear us and we barely made a peep!"

"Then we will have to make no sound at all" he calmly replied.

"But how do we open the door they're guarding?!"

"The same way we entered the secure room. By being patient"

Charmy clutched his head as his eyes went wide. "This is a nightmare. This is an actual nightmare I've had before, I'm sure of it".

"We will do what we must to rescue Vector" Espio pushed the bucket towards Charmy. "Do you agree?"

"Yeah, of course! But, I..." Charmy leaned down and gazed into the bucket. His reflection staring back at him. "I just really don't wanna mess this up" he croaked out, squeezing his eyes shut before he sniffled a little. "One mistake and we're done" he continued, his grip tightening on the bucket's rim.

Espio waited a moment before answering. "Then do not make a mistake"

Charmy shot his head up, his eyes wet. "But what if—?!"

"You will not fail" Espio placed his hand on Charmy's shoulder, steadying him. "You cannot fail. Vector is depending on both of us to do our best and find him" he clarified as he shifted his hand to the boy's cheek. "And you have never failed him when he needed you, so you will not start failing now. Because at this very moment, Vector truly needs you".

Charmy looked into Espio's eyes, which returned back to their shining golden hue, lighting up the room and brightening the path forward. Charmy clenched his jaw and rubbed his eyes quickly before slapping his cheeks a few times. He looked down into the bucket, his reflection looking back at him, waiting for the word. So with a sharp exhale, he dipped his hands in the mixture and turned around.

"Okay. Stink me up, let's do this" Charmy said, slathering on the cleaning chemicals without a fuss. The smell stung his nose still, but he bit the inside of his cheek and kept applying it to his body.

Espio let out an amused breath and went to spread it on his back. "Satsuga ne, ware no ko"

That's my boy

After they reapplied a fresh coat of scent camouflage, the two repeated their earlier actions, this time both of them completely focused and determined to get past this latest obstacle thrust in their way. Nothing was going to keep them from getting to Vector, not disgusting ammonia stinging their nostrils, not stupid vault doors that take forever to open, and not some super sense-having GUN agent.

Charmy just put Espio's words in the closet on repeat in his head. He wouldn't fail, because he couldn't fail. Vector was counting on him and he wasn't gonna let him down. He'd never let either of them down, he'd die before doing that. And maybe it was just pure luck or the fact that Charmy was truly determined this time and didn't notice how long they were waiting, but someone came along and opened the vault doors once again. Signaling the rematch between the two Chaotix with everything on the line and the two government stooges unfortunate enough to be on duty today. Ready, set, go.

Techno Base Act 1 - Sonic Advance 2

Espio went slower this time, carefully chose each movement of his hands and feet as he crawled to the ceiling of the illuminated sterile room. He stopped, waiting to see if he needed to retreat once more, but they remained undetected for now. So he continued the arduous trek to the other side of the suddenly cavernous room. It was pure agony for Charmy, who kept his eyes glued on the one soldier that could at any time discover their presence through his uniquely acute sense of hearing.

He stared down, looking for any twitch, any slight change in his posture, his expression, anything. He had to be sure that if they were discovered, he'd be able to warn Espio immediately by squeezing him tighter. Though his grip was like a vice already from the sheer stress of their current predicament. He felt his heart thumping in his throat he was so tense, he didn't even feel himself blink the entire time they inched their way closer to the duo. Closer to the door they protected, which would bring the two Chaotix closer to their leader.

Sure enough, as soon as they made it a little more than halfway across, The Rat's ear twitched, causing Charmy's heart to arrest for a full 3 seconds. He squeezed Espio with all his might, and the chameleon got the message, they stopped immediately and held their breath again. Charmy kept his sights trained on The Rat, who was now looking around the room, his head on a swivel.

He turned to his partner and casually asked, "You smell anythin'?" Causing both Charmy and Espio to tense up more than they thought possible.

The Bulldog sniffed the air and hummed intrigued, that alone threw Charmy into an internal panic of mammoth proportions.

Did they just cover themselves in this disgusting smelling crap for literally NOTHING?! Charmy had to endure this pungent stench of absolute ick for NO REASON?! Why couldn't he have smelled them in the janitor's closet, where it was more convenient?! Not just for Espio and Charmy, but for the dang agents too?! They could've just settled this with a quick brawl in the closet, easy peasy! Why make them go through all of this insanity just to discover them now, when they're so close?! What was this, "Give A Detective A Heart Attack Day"!?

Charmy was snapped out of his mental tirade when The Bulldog spoke up. "Yeah, I do smell somethin'. Somethin' that ain't right..."

Oh Gaia, we are screwed. That's it. It's over. Done in by a funky mop bucket. Sorry Vector, we tried. We really did. But apparently these two are just determined to be pains in our—

"The ammonia is a bit stronger than normal" Charmy blinked. "I told those damn janitors to ease up on that crap. Got my sinuses all messed up". He blinked again.

... what?

He looked over to The Rat who shrugged in response and resumed his rigid posture from before.

... That's it?

Espio took a careful step forward and waited. No response from either of them.

They can't smell or hear us?

The chameleon took another step, pulling them a few inches closer to their destination, and stopped. Again, no response from the dynamic duo down there.

We're... we're good?

Yet another step taken, yet another pause, and yet another non-reaction from the two agents.

Relief washed over Charmy as he quietly sighed in relief, letting out the breath he'd been holding in the entire time. And he immediately regretted it with every fiber in his being.

The Rat's ears shot up and he looked around the room swiftly. "Now I know I heard someone breathing out!" HOLY CRAP, HOW FREAKIN' STUPID AM I?! Charmy screeched inwardly as Espio put a comforting hand on his back. He almost masked how his fingers were shaking. Almost.

The Rat pulled on the collar of his shirt and talked into his coms. "You seein' anything on the thermals in Sector 4, Secure Room F?"

THERMALS?! AS IN, "THERMAL VISION CAMERAS" THAT DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE INVISIBLE?! OH GAIA, THIS IS IT NOW. THEY'RE DEAD. OFFICIALLY DEAD, POSSIBLY LITERALLY DEAD. THEY ARE DEAD.

Charmy could feel Espio looking around the room, probably to find the cameras, an idea that seemed futile to him because HOLY CANNOLI THEY'RE SO FREAKIN' DEAD.

Thank Gaia beneath, there was only one camera, probably because they had 2 live guards on duty all the time, so why waste the money on a second one?

"One sec" they heard from the other person on the line. They both took that minuscule time window deadly serious as Espio booked it.

With all the speed and grace he could muster, Espio maneuvered them towards the downward facing camera, lodged in the top right corner of the room. He took advantage of every millisecond within that moment of grace they had and managed to situate them directly above the camera's line of sight. Undoubtedly a tight squeeze, Espio had to sandwich Charmy against the ceiling. The boy's back was flat against the surface, his arms and legs completely stretched out, mimicking Espio's motion without a second thought. Because they quite literally didn't have a second to spare.

"Thermal's up" was heard just as they finally stretched out all the way.

Charmy could feel the tension in Espio's whole body as he struggled to remain flat yet refrained from crushing the boy beneath (or was it above?) him. All they could do is hold their breath once more, this time, Charmy swore he'd hold it in until they were on the other side of that blasted door. For an eternity of sweaty, claustrophobic horror, he prayed they managed to hide themselves good enough. Either that or that the thermal vision on the camera kinda sucked so they'd be in the clear.

Finally, blessedly, the voice came back. "Floor is clear, walls are clear, ceiling's clear" was their report. And whoever they were, Charmy wanted to find them and kiss them right on the mouth. Because sweet cantina on the marina, he was sure he'd die of a heart attack if the voice said anything else.

Eternity ended and Espio eased up, allowing Charmy to relish the sensation of not being smushed once more. They had lost some ground to avoid the thermal vision, but that was okay. They'd very gradually gain it back, get in the optimum position, and wait for the door to open behind the dynamic duo. The worst was officially—

"Give us a jolt, just in case" The Rat ordered, causing Charmy to blink. Give us a what?

"Okay, get clear", the voice replied, which instantly caused Charmy's stomach to lurch as panic surged inside him once more. He shot his eyes back down to The Rat to confirm his suspicion.

Sure enough, both the agents stepped onto the only non-divided portion of the expansive room, careful to make sure their tails didn't linger on the lit squares. That was the only warning they had before the voice returned.

"T-minus 2 seconds. 1"

With frightened speed, Charmy reached up to Espio's arms and yanked them off the ceiling, Espio no doubt would have shot a mortified look his way if they were visible. But there was no time for that. To his credit, the chameleon didn't fight Charmy's frantic actions and even if he wanted to protest, Charmy put his hand over Espio's mouth (or where he thought his mouth was) and quickly told him to drop down, now.

"Ignition"

With that, the lights flashed all across the room, each panel violently shook as thousands of volts of electricity coursed through the circuits just beneath them (or above them? Being upside down is weird), the buzz and crackles drowning out the thumping of his heart. Charmy could actually see the sparks flying off of the panels in a spectacularly deadly display of instantaneous death, offset by the shower of a million dazzling lights.

How fortunate then that Espio listened to Charmy immediately, and began falling from the ceiling just before the voice called out, leaving them protected from the hazardous voltage. While flapping his translucent wings as quickly as possible to halt their descent, Charmy sighed in relief again, only because the display they witnessed easily masked the noise. They caught another lucky break.

That or Espio realized what was happening and trusted Charmy to keep them airborne while they waited for the security measure to end. Either way, Charmy was immensely grateful for his observation skills, Espio's trust, or their collective luck factor kicking in and saving the day.

Frankly, he couldn't take anymore near misses, the boy was sure he'd end up with a head full of grey fuzz when this was all over. He'd have to ask Vector how to deal with that when they found him.

Charmy was broken out of his reverie by a light grip on his arm, as he felt Espio lean up to his ear. "Fly towards the door, we can take advantage of all this noise". Charmy grinned widely and complied. Finally! Now he could take control and speed this along.

It took no time at all for them to reach the wall where their destination lied, as soon as they got just shy of arms length from the wall, the electricity shut down. Charmy's eyes shot wide open as he did one last flap of his wings and hoped it would be enough for Espio to reach.

However, it appeared as if it wasn't enough, and they were either going to start flying again, which would alert The Rat for sure. Or, they'd fall on top of the agents, which would alert the entire compound for sure. Invisible or not, you can't out stealth dropping on top of two guards in plain view of a camera, after said guards were already suspicious that someone was in the room with them.

So again, Charmy hoped and prayed on everything he could think of that somehow they'd make it out of this new fresh hell. That somehow, some way, Espio would be able to stick to the wall and they'd remain undetected. But that terrifying second doubled and he felt his life flashing before his eyes. This was it, again. They survived the worst of it only to literally fall short at the finish line. Maybe he'd have a heart attack and die before Rouge could get her hands on him again—

Suddenly, they stopped falling. Everything was still and quiet again. Charmy dared to peek his eye open and looked down at The Rat to make absolutely sure that they weren't discovered. And sure enough, he was still standing there, facing the opposite wall, none the wiser.

The bee shifted his gaze up and realized Espio had done it. He had no idea how he could move so quickly so quietly in such incredibly stressful situations like this, but man was he thankful. Ninjas were freakin' miracle workers, apparently. And he'd managed to latch onto the greatest ninja ever.

"Satisfied?" The Bulldog spoke, bringing Charmy's attention back towards the pair beneath them.

The Rat in response looked around the room and took a few careful steps forward. While his back was turned towards him, something in his posture and his mannerisms told Charmy he wasn't satisfied. Of course he wasn't, it's not like this could get even more frustrating, now could it?!

"I'm hearing a heartbeat" The Rat revealed, turning back around to look in Charmy's direction. As if on cue, Charmy's heart jumped back up to his throat and hammered away at his Adam's apple.

"It's probably mine", The Bulldog spoke up. "I hate when the walls start sparkin'. Freaks me out" he admitted, with a huff. Gaia bless you, you Santa Claus-bodied angel, you.

"It's not yours, it's someone else's" The Rat dismissed, squinting his eyes at the spot where Espio and Charmy were perched. "Younger". And may Gaia smite you, you wannabe Rouge the Bat, doo-doo head.

Before The Rat could continue, Charmy felt Espio's tail make a swift move before a humming sound emanated from a few squares below them and to the right.

The Rat's gaze thankfully shifted away from their spot and settled in the new spot. "No wait, it's... it's the wall tiles" he sighed, pinching the bridge of his muzzle. "The wiring's loose again".

The Bulldog smacked his lips and crossed his arms. "See, if you didn't electrify the room at every sound you think you hear, it wouldn't break down all the time".

The Rat closed his eyes and raised his brows as he exhaled. "I really thought I heard someone this time, gimme a break, man!" he bit off, leaning forwards and clenching his fists, muscles bulging beneath his shirt as he did.

"You could try easin' up just a lil' bit every once in a while, ya know?" The Bulldog shot back, stretching his arms out for emphasis.

As the two argued over what appeared to be a well worn subject in their relationship, Espio started climbing towards the massive door, seizing opportunities as they came. He positioned himself at the very edge of where the door frame began and the door ended, and froze right there, waiting to be let through the door. Charmy would've been struggling to stay quiet, but turns out, if he's got something entertaining to watch, it's easy as pie to be silent.

And as much as he hated the two agents for making this mission infinitely more difficult than it already was, their bickering was a welcomed distraction from all that. Not gonna lie.

Finally, the voice on the other line spoke up again. "Would you two stop arguing? I'll come take a look".

Charmy's smile grew. Someone from the secure part of the facility was coming there soon. Which meant, they would only have to wait a tiny bit longer before this door they've been waiting eons to get through would open. And they'd finally get away from these 2, admittedly entertaining, idiots. Well, one idiot jerkface and one sweet grandpa who deserved all the snacks in the world for reigning in Sergeant Idiot Jerkface.

The moments seemed to fly by as the door's locks clicked open and the hiss of a vacuum being released reverberated in the room. Those familiar lights danced around the circular designs and the door split open. It was time to say goodbye to this horrible room and that horrible Rat guy.

As Espio slipped through the crack between the reinforced doors' teeth, Charmy looked to see just who he had to thank for this wonderful gift of relief. An Eagle walked through the doorway, taller than the other two agents and far more chiseled. There was no denying it, beneath the red jumpsuit that, frankly, looked like it was 3 sizes too small for him, his muscles were clearly defined. One stiff cough and they'd tear apart that jumpsuit like tissue paper.

Charmy supposed he shouldn't be surprised, The Eagle's fellow agents were strong lads too, but he looked like he was a superhero or something equally impressive. His shoulder's squared, his chest jutted out, and his stride confident. Reminded him of Super Duper Scooper, in fact. Right down to the helmet; though The Eagle's helmet was a pilot's helmet where as Super Duper Scooper's helmet was motorcycle based. Charmy should know, he was a helmet expert.

Espio hurriedly got them into the next room as The Eagle asked what the problem with his two friends were now. The doors hissed shut behind them, cutting off whatever developments the conversation took from there. Charmy went to heave out a heavy breath again, but Espio clamped a hand over his mouth and drew the boy's attention to the new room they'd finally entered.

The Doom - Shadow the Hedgehog

This room, while similar in overall design to the previous room, did not feature the divided squares. In fact, it didn't feature bright lights that lit up every nook and cranny either. Quite the opposite, actually. Though it could be lit to that degree, upon the door shutting behind The Eagle, the lights shut off and the floor began opening up. Before Charmy could guess what was happening, a positively fowl smell smacked him right in the face, causing him to audibly gag.

The sudden sensation nearly caused him to lose his grip around Espio, that's just how incredibly wretched the odor was. With no exaggeration, Charmy could easily describe it as literally toxic and he wouldn't have been wrong. For as he peeled his misting eyes back open, he was greeted with the only source of light in the darkened room. An illuminated pool of a mysterious electric blue substance slowly revealed by the receding floor.

Whatever it was, it definitely wasn't water, or anything remotely digestible, the very visible fumes emanating from it was evidence of that. The way the waves reflected the light and bathed every surface in fluid patterns reminded him of a lava lamp, but it wasn't hot enough to be lava. Beyond that, Charmy couldn't guess what it specifically was.

So he stuck his antennae inside his helmet again, pinched his nose shut, and whispered in Espio's ear, "What the crap is that nasty stuff?".

"Toxic waste" Espio responded calmly, betraying the absolute magnitude of what he just said. "They produce it here while experimenting and decided to put it to good use" Charmy could hear the scowl in his tone before Espio repositioned himself to crawl along the ceiling. "We can't afford to wait for someone to happen by. The longer we are in this room, the more we will be contaminated by it".

Charmy stammered wordlessly, trying to channel his terror at the sudden revelation into something productive. He failed miserably. "So are we gonna grow 4 extra arms and legs and die?!" he whisper-screamed.

"Worry not. We shall not be in here long enough for that to matter" Espio assured, more than halfway across the room at that point.

Charmy was too busy being shocked and appalled that he was currently being exposed to chemical radiation. Chemical radiation that was toxic enough to be used as a security measure in a federal government building. They were making good progress, but he couldn't find it in himself to care about that right then. He just wanted to be out of the place that was slowly killing him, now.

"How do we open the door?! Last time I checked, neither of us are tech geniuses that can hack whatever we want, like Tails!" Charmy pointed out, squeezing Espio tighter.

"I have a plan" Espio replied calmly, just before he reached the wall that housed the door in question. Espio dropped down to a safe spot on the wall beside a keypad embedded in it, completely flush with the surface. He leaned them over it so Charmy could reach it easily before he addressed the boy again.

"Create an electrical current and send it through the screen. That should short circuit it and open the door", but Charmy shook his head vigorously as that was a patiently dumb idea.

"No, that'll just break the lock and keep the door closed or it'll raise an alarm or somethin'," he explained, as Espio stiffened upon his "plan" being dismantled so easily.

"We gotta get to the wires connected to the keypad. That way, I can feel which one is the input wire, shock that one and maybe it'll glitch the lock for a second and force the door to open" Charmy paused for a beat. "Maybe. I dunno—I mean, I've never done this before. But it's worth tryin' so we don't die, right?"

Espio put a hand on Charmy's head as he replied. "Very well. Where would the wires be?"

Charmy took Espio's hand off his head and placed it on the wall directly beneath the keypad, and Espio searched for a seam in the metal plating. It took him a second, on account of just how polished and smooth each surface of the room was, but he found it. Because he quickly summoned a thin kunai and pried the metal up, careful not to be too loud and alert any sounds the security camera's microphones would pick up.

Charmy could feel himself getting a little woozy as he waited with bated breath for Espio to peel back the several layers of construction to reach the wiring beneath. He was doing his best to not make noise, but the longer Charmy had to suffer under the hazardous effects of the toxic waste beneath them, the less he cared about being heard. He was quickly getting nauseous and actively fought back another gag as Espio cut into the layer of cement beneath the last layer of metal. Man, that blade was really sharp and... oddly bright.

"Worry not, I will make an illusion to cover this up when we are through", he added as he worked. Which was a relief, but Charmy's main concern was definitely not whether someone would discover their activity later. It was the very present concern of dropping dead in the next minute or so.

Finally, when Charmy felt his stomach groaning for release, Espio lifted up the small slab of thick cement that was hiding the wires that connected to the keypad. And man, were there too many options for him to go through, so he just thought the color of the wire corresponded with the color of the keypad's screen. If his head wasn't swimming and his vision wasn't slowly getting blurry, he would've been far more worried.

But there was a clarity to the hyper awareness of his declining health, none of the nerves that would normally be present were active and all that mattered was quickly getting that freaking door open to make the pain stop.

He put his finger on each wire that shared the same green as the keypad's screen, and checked the flow of electricity using his Electric Aura affinity. It was almost like checking someone's pulse, except he could feel the direction the blood was flowing through their veins if he concentrated. A herculean task at the moment, but he managed to power through.

He quickly narrowed it down to two wires and opted to just shock them both and hope for the best. So he grabbed Espio's kunai and sliced through the insolation of the wires and poured his Electric Aura into one, hoping for success. Unfortunately it didn't trigger anything, and Charmy could feel himself starting to retch. His eyes continued to water and his head was even more loopy, but he found the strength to try the other wire, forcing his Electric Aura through the cord and into the keypad.

The two detectives stared at the dull screen as it flickered a bit, Charmy's frustration mounting at the resistance he was getting. He grabbed both wires simultaneously and summoned the remainder of his strength to push the stupid electricity through the dumb screen to open the blasted door. Vector needed him, Espio was counting on him, and this dumb keypad was not about to get in his way after all the crap he had to go through today!

The boy gritted his teeth and squeezed his puffy eyes, grunting and straining against whatever force was keeping them locked in the toxic waste's hold and gave it one last push. OPEN SESAME!

The screen flickered some more and much to their amazement, it stayed on and made a satisfying beep. The towering door they were currently stuck to lit up in the proper pattern before clicking its inner mechanisms free and splitting open.

That blissful moment of hope was fleeting, as the keypad flickered off in the opening process and reset the door to close back. Espio had half a second to slip them both through, Charmy could feel the heavy teeth of the door graze his wings and stinger before they managed to just skirt pass without being crushed.

The door shut with a terrifying clank that reverberated off the walls which drowned out the frantic gasps for air Charmy let out instantly, replacing the toxic air he'd been huffing with sweet sweet clean air. His constitution immediately improved the longer he spent in this clean atmosphere.

He was plopped down on the ground, the remainder of his strength leaving him entirely. He wasn't thinking about the cameras spotting him, nor if there was anyone else in the room, nor if he had triggered an alarm or defense system. He was simply too tired to even register any of that, too busy being immensely grateful to breathe easy and have his stomach settle again.

But as he wheezed on the floor, he noticed that Espio's tail was wrapped around his mid-section. Meaning, their contact hadn't been broken and he was still invisible. He tried to express his thanks to his savior, but the words just wouldn't come. His brain had to finish clearing up before he could string together syllables into a coherent message.

As much as he wanted to stay right there on the floor in this infinitely safer room he was pretty sure he loved more than his own bedroom, Charmy knew it couldn't last. They had a mission to finish and a crocodile to break out. So he moved to sit up, but Espio's tail kept him pinned to the ground.

"Do. Not. Move" he whispered deadly serious, causing Charmy to dart his eyes around the room to see why Espio instructed him so strongly. And he suddenly felt the need to retract his earlier thought of this room being infinitely safer than the toxic waste room.

"Room" was a bit of a stretch, actually. From where Charmy was sitting, it was more of a long corridor, made in the same style of the previous secure rooms. But instead of electrified panels covering every inch or a retractable floor exposing a pool of toxic waste, this room's feature was much less subtle.

All along the walls and ceiling of the expansive corridor were mounted gun turrets, currently angled upwards to signify they were deactivated. But judging by the impressive hydraulics and rotary mechanisms attaching them to the walls and ceiling, they would have no trouble covering every inch of the room in gunfire. There were no blind spots, no cover to hide behind, and no way to outrun them all. Not unless they were able to go from zero to Sonic speed in a millisecond, which nobody could do that.

Well, except Sonic. And Shadow... And possibly Silver? Charmy focused back on the situation, he definitely didn't want to get distracted now of all times.

As he scanned his surroundings to double check that there was no way to sneak past the multitude of gun barrels, Charmy couldn't see any cameras in this room. Which was odd since they were so eager to put cameras everywhere else, including the place where live guards were stationed all the time. The only assumption he could make was the guns had to be the substitute for the cameras, so more than likely they would be motion sensor activated. Which meant invisibility wasn't going to cut it here. Awesome...

Theme of Sonic Event - Sonic Rush

The sudden click of a tongue caught Charmy by surprise, causing him to jolt a little. Thankfully not enough to trigger the array of guns all around them, but his heart hammered against his chest for a solid minute regardless. Before he could fuss at Espio for scaring him like that, he realized that nothing happened in response to the loud noise.

"It seems as though there are no microphones in this passageway" Espio explained at normal volume, which was jarring after going so long with barely audible whispers. "We can speak freely, but that is all. No sudden movements or you'll activate the motion sensors" he warned, confirming Charmy's suspicions.

"Wait, so I can talk again?"

"That is correct, just so long as you remain still".

"Hooookay good cuz I cannot believe all the times we almost got caught or died already! It's crazy, like how did they even find out we were there the first time and what was with that Rat jerk's tough guy act—!"

All the built up thoughts and comments he desperately wanted to express since they last left the janitor's closet was coming out in full force. He had no clue when he'd be able to speak next and he didn't want to waste a single second, so everything came out with zero filter. Not like he had much of a filter before, but still. And Espio, who slowly inched closer to Charmy in order to pick him back up in a way that wouldn't get them shot, just let him go full speed. He even chuckled at a few of Charmy's jokes, which was definitely comforting to hear!

Possibly the only thoughts he didn't voice were his concerns about Espio's change in appearance. Mostly because there was so many other things going on and no doubt a billion things they'd need to deal with before they get outta there for good. But what really convinced him to hold his peace on the matter was Espio's blatant deflection when he brought it up in the janitor's closet.

Since this whole mess started, the chameleon had slowly started changing his color, almost to the point that Charmy hadn't noticed it in the moment. But upon reflection, it started the day after he got sent that letter. Gradually, his scales started getting less glossy, less vibrant, his eyes had gotten sharper and the bags under them darker. So hearing him laugh a little, even in this predicament they found themselves in, was enough to lift Charmy's spirits, even as Espio finally started to lift him off the floor agonizingly slow.

The ninja was delicate as he inched Charmy closer and closer to his chest, while Charmy just kept saying whatever came to mind. It was more like he was thinking out loud than actually talking to Espio. But it was still soothing, he almost felt at ease. Everything was gonna be okay, they could do this.

The rest of this mission would be a piece of—

Mazuri Savannah Citadel Night - Sonic Unleashed

Black Cat Chase Part 3 - Spider-Man 2 the Game

"Shh!" Espio hissed, freezing on the spot and shocking Charmy to clamp his mouth closed. "Someone is approaching" he dropped, his voice tense and low.

Charmy squeezed his eyes shut and let out a pained whine. Spoke too soon.

A second after Espio sensed danger approaching, the danger arrived, the door they just managed to slip through by the skin of their teeth lit up and began clicking the heavy lock loose. If this room was anything like the previous one, then as soon as the door started to open, the security system would deactivate. Which meant Espio would be able to move without getting noticed by the motion sensors.

But as soon as the sliver of hope appeared, it disappeared. For as desperate as Charmy was for Espio to jump to the ceiling just before whoever entered the corridor, he realized with a start, that they were far too close to the door to move that quickly undetected. Doubly so, if the person that was about to walk through that door happened to be any of the 3 agents with the super acute senses.

The Rat could hear a heartbeat from a couple yards away, jumping in front of him would be like blaring an airhorn and wearing neon. The Bulldog could smell the cleaning chemicals they doused themselves in from a dozen yards away, but right up close he'd probably be able to pick up their scent beneath the chemical smell. Charmy definitely could in his position.

And though he hadn't seen what he could do yet, Charmy was sure that eagles were capable of seeing incredibly well. He may be able to tell if the freaking dust particles in the air were disturbed by swift movement and tell the other two to search the corridor top to bottom for them. Any way you slice it, the two Chaotix had no choice but to move slowly and carefully, like they had been since they entered the long corridor.

So as soon as the door split open to let in the new occupant, Espio displayed his dexterity and grace by maneuvering away from the opening door without making a single sound. Charmy securing himself to his torso the instant Espio made his move. With only a brief reprieve, their next trial had already begun.

And who else could've walked through the door but that consistent pain in their neck? The one, the only, the insufferably-good-at-his-job, Sergeant Idiot Jerkface, but of course! With his two friends in tow, as if they were trying a "3rd times the charm" approach. Fantastic!

Why were they even here?! What possible reason could they have for entering this corridor so quickly?! Charmy wracked his brain for a logical explanation and realized with an embarrassed start that he himself was to blame. Forcing the door open to progress through the toxic waste room was probably notified by the surveillance room people, who called the dream team over here to check it out.

Which just filled Charmy with warm fuzzy feelings, man. Everybody was so on their jobs today. Couldn't have broken in on the day the lazy people were on duty, nope. This was much better. He could honestly say he'd seen enough of that obnoxious stout rodent to last him a lifetime.

The agents entered the corridor and started fanning out, The Eagle coming dangerously close to Espio's current position. He did his level best to match his footfalls with the agents', and maneuvered as silently as possible, but he couldn't escape The Eagle as he encroached on their personal space.

Fortunately, since the agent trio appeared to be a bunch of chatterboxes, The Rat's hearing was a bit obscured and The Eagle was focused more on his bickering teammates than actually searching the area. And The Bulldog, AKA Charmy's new best friend, kept himself occupied by fussing at The Rat for being a paranoid doo-doo head. The boy made a mental note to send him some snacks when this whole thing was over. Ya know, if he didn't wind up sniffing them out, as that would be a major buzzkill.

"There, ya see? Nobody got in!" Charmy's new best friend barked, staring down The Rat who ignored his observation and walked forward, turning his head to and fro. Espio inched away from The Eagle and approached the wall, attempting to climb up. Charmy nearly sighed in relief again, but he caught himself with a start. He didn't want to repeat that mistake yet again.

The Rat glared over his shoulder at The Bulldog. "If you'd quit yappin' for a second, I'd be able to tell!" he bit back. The Bulldog was about to keep the argument flowing, but The Eagle cleared his throat, silencing him and startling Charmy.

"Just-just let him take a listen, okay?" he said, a sigh hanging on his words. "We'll settle this whole thing right now and then he'll calm down", he finished before abruptly leaning against the wall, right where Espio was about to climb up!

The ninja narrowly leaned back and dropped to the ground to avoid touching the bird. But now he was bent completely over backwards, with Charmy sticking up in the air awkwardly. It would've been funny if their lives weren't on the line and he'd happily laugh at it later. If there was a "later" for them, the likelihood of that rapidly decreased the longer the two stayed in the presence of the trio of hyper sensory agents.

The Bulldog, closest to the door, looked like he wanted to protest The Eagle's order, but he shook his head instead, grumbling. "Fine..." he grunted, crossing his arms stiffly as he stalked towards his teammates and began closing in on the invisible detectives.

Espio, in the awkward position he was apparently stuck in for the moment, tried to sneak out of the encroaching trio's perimeter. But that ever infuriating Rat abruptly turned around, causing for the 100th time that day, Charmy's breath to get caught in his throat and his heart to hammer away in his chest. Not good, he was getting closer to finding them. Literally. Was this it?

"You two picking up on anything?" The Rat asked loudly, causing Charmy's stomach to drop as he shot his widened eyes up at the other agents dangerously close to uncovering their presence. Oh no. This might be it.

Both the agents closed in on Espio & Charmy as they took in their surroundings once again. Charmy's eyes refused to blink as he fully absorbed what was about to happen. Oh no no no. This is it. This is where they were gonna get caught. His grip around Espio tightened as his hands began to shake. He could feel himself sweating and he knew Espio was sweating because of the strenuous pose he was being forced to live out this stressful situation in.

"Nothin' strange that I can see" The Eagle answered, giving the room another once over.

From sheer desperation, Charmy tried to telepathically project his desire for The Eagle to not angle his head any lower. Because if by some freak chance he can see invisible stuff, he definitely would see Charmy staring up at him wide eyed, sweaty & shaking. Whether it was due to the considerable height difference or because The Eagle just really couldn't be bothered, and the buff bird kept his eyes above Charmy's body, allowing them to skirt pass his line of sight.

But that was the least of their problems, as Charmy turned his attention to The Bulldog currently sniffing the air. If his nose was anything like Charmy's, at this distance, he would be able to detect their sweat, their fabric softener, what they ate for breakfast. Everything. And they would be instantly taken down. He'd never see Vector again, never get to go home. Game over for everybody.

The second coat of cleaning supplies mixture they applied certainly helped mask their scent, but the longer they sat there, the worse their anxiety would cause them to sweat. Which would eventually bleed through their scent masking and alert The Bulldog. And at the rate the two were sweating; one from stress on his body, the other from unyielding terror, Charmy surmised they were already done for.

"All I smell is that damn ammonia". Charmy finally blinked.

You what?

"We done here?" The Bulldog quirked his eyebrow up as he gave The Rat a flat look. Charmy blinked again.

I love you and your dull nose, Bulldog Santa, he professed internally, tears prickling his eyes.

But once again, this microscopic sliver of hope was quickly snuffed out, as The Rat finally closed the already tight circle the agents made around Espio & Charmy. The pressure was intense, Charmy could feel the sweat permeating his skin and dampening his fuzz. He dared not breathe, which only increased the insufferable heat stinging his face. He wasn't sure if he'd suffocate to death or suffer a heart attack first, but he wasn't eager to find out.

Espio began shaking then, his body was more tense than Charmy had ever felt before. He was rapidly approaching his limit, either mental or physical, and they both knew it. Through his tight petrified hold, Charmy could almost sense his own panic bleeding into Espio, causing him to shake more and more as their seconds of freedom dwindled. If Charmy could stop the horrible effect he was having on Espio, he absolutely would, but there was no chance of that happening. Not with The Rat looming ever closer.

They were officially dead now. To be perfectly honest, they were beyond lucky to get this far. But now? Oh, it was over. There were no more moves left to make, no options at their disposal. There was nothing they could do to stave off the inevitable.

With each step The Rat took, the closer they got to overwhelming defeat. The closer Vector got to never seeing them again, all the while believing that both Espio & Charmy abandoned him when he needed them most. And that... that caused a sharp pain to stake right through the boy's manically beating heart.

It was like the room had suddenly filled up with that toxic waste, as those nauseating sensations came back in full force. He couldn't blink, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't swallow, he just had to stew in the horrifying knowledge that there was no escape. Countdown the distance between their executioner and the chopping block their heads were locked on. Their collective luck had completely run out. They were royally and thoroughly screwed.

"Well, there ya go", The Bulldog spoke up again, clearly frustrated. "You don't hear nothin', I don't smell nothin', and he don't see nothin'," he said motioning to each member of their team as he listed. "Congratulations, ya wasted everybody's time and energy on nothin'. Can we go on break already?" he turned to The Eagle who sighed with furrowed brows.

"Yeah, whaddya say to callin' it, man?" he beseeched the Rat, who was now up close and personal. He bared his sharp teeth and put his finger in front of his lips.

"Would you both just shh!" he commanded, louder than he needed to. "I can definitely hear somethin' now...". Both the Chaotix's hearts stopped for an alarming moment. Charmy almost wished they could do it on command and indefinitely as to not get caught in this moment.

But alas, though ninjas were miracle workers, Espio was fresh out of 'em. The Rat shifted his gaze down at them and unknowingly made eye contact with Charmy's unblinking stare. His pupils shrank to the side of a pinpoint.

The Rat's face immediately scrunched up in the worst look of confusion that Charmy had ever seen on anyone. "Wait a minute now..." he spoke aloud as he began REACHING DOWN TOWARDS HIM.

CHRISTMAS MORNING IN KRAKOA, THAT'S ALL FOLKS! IT IS LEGITIMATELY OVER NOW! GOODBYE ESPIO, SORRY WE LET YOU DOWN VECTOR, THERE'S NO WAY OUT OF THIS ONE! WE ARE IMPOSSIBLY SCREWED!

And it was in this final jolt of pure panic that Charmy clenched every muscle in his body harder than he ever had before. A reflex of a doomed soul completely at wits end, dreading to face the inevitability of abject defeat. Through this powerful instinctual action, one that potentially was choking the life out of poor Espio beneath him, Charmy... unleashed it.

A force that he unconsciously kept hidden deep inside all this time, trying to stay as quiet and unnoticed as possible. But with their fragile cover mere inches away from being blown, the boy had reached inside himself and pulled out a reaction to his impossibly strenuous predicament. Straining and struggling to brace for impact created an impact all his own, one that no one, not even Charmy himself, could've seen coming. In the haunting silence of the confined space he found himself trapped in, the bee did the unthinkable. The unpredictable. The unconscionable.

His radical and unprecedented instinctual response to imminent discovery and certain defeat was...!

Well...

Theme of Blaze Event - Sonic Rush

An incredibly high pitched squeak let loose, causing everyone, especially The Rat, to freeze on the spot and all eyes to shoot wide open. The Rat's hand mere centimeters from Charmy's, now sucked in, lips. The following silence didn't even last 5 seconds before The Bulldog shattered it, his nose scrunched up and a scowl contorting his features.

"HUUAGH!" he roared, flinging his head back as if he'd been uppercutted. "Aw, Munch! That is dis-gusting! AAAUGH!" his hands completely covered his nose as he squeezed his eyes closed. The canine had backed away from the circle several steps.

The Rat, named Munch, shifted his confused gaze to his partner. "What?" his furrowed brows crinkling further. Unconsciously, it seemed, he backed off a half-step.

Charmy's eyes darted between the two agents before the third reacted to Charmy's instinctual response as well, clearly sharing The Bulldog's disgust as he let out a strong exhale while waving his hand in front of his beak.

"Ugh, even I can smell it, c'mon man!" he admonished in a tone much less patient and amicable than he had been using. He too, had recoiled back a few steps.

"What?!" The Rat repeated with an impatient shout.

Espio wasted no time in using the extra space awarded to him, and the commotion the 3 men were causing, to flip himself right side up and crawl between the gaps in the team's formation. It was a tight squeeze, but compared to the crushing experience they'd just escaped from to enter this very corridor, Charmy didn't mind it at all. Anything to get them clear of their unwanted chaperones before they regained their composure.

As the chameleon reached the wall and began to scale it, still careful to make no sound while doing so, the trio of sensory juggernauts continued their increasingly more animated argument. The Rat finally inhaled through his nose and reacted to the smell that had caused all the fuss, a smell he also couldn't abide.

"OOUAH! What is that?!" he screeched, pinching his nose and backing away.

"Whaddya mean, 'wHaT iS tHaT'?!" Charmy's new best friend shouted, poorly imitating the shorter man to the point that the boy had to bite his cheeks to hold back his impending laughter.

"That's you, nasty!" The Bulldog thrust his finger at Munch, eliciting an offended gawk at the accusation.

"ME?!" he motioned to his beefy chest with both hands in a swift, exaggerated motion.

"I can't believe you just cut one, right in front of us!" The Eagle complained, flapping his arms to stave off the unbearable stench.

Munch's mouth went agape as his cheeks began to flush. "THAT WASN'T ME, I SWEAR!" he protested quite dramatically.

The Bulldog raised his arms high as he roared back, "I CAN SMELL IT ON YOU, MUNCH! Are you seriously tryin' to lie to ME, of all people?!" he reeled his head back again, like he was jabbed directly in his nose, and turned to leave. "No, I-I can't. It's killin' me, I just-I just can't".

"But it wasn't ME, Bones!" The Rat tried, but Charmy's new best friend, called Bones evidently, was already at the door, scanning his ID on the keypad screen.

Which was admittedly hard for him to see, considering Espio had quickly gotten them halfway down the long corridor, taking full advantage of the deactivated gun turrets while the trio of agents awarded them immunity from the motion sensors. It was only thanks to the echo that Charmy could still hear them clearly.

The Eagle started following Bones' lead, squeezing his nostrils, "Nah, that's it for me too", Munch started to follow, but The Eagle quickly raised his feathered hand. "You hang back, let that... air out, or something, Gaia beneath", he groaned as the door lit up and began opening.

"Ed, c'mon! This is ridiculous!" Munch complained, his blush only deepening as he clenched his arms at his sides, stomping his foot in frustration.

"No, I'm serious" The Eagle, Ed, pointed at Munch as he and Bones walked out the door. "And think about changing your diet, because whatever you ate to make that come out of you... wow".

"I can taste it, Munch! I can literally taste that crap! Nyuaaagh!" Bones called out from a distance, Charmy could actually picture how he was shuddering when he groaned. The task of holding back his laughter increased in difficulty at the mental image. He was definitely getting Santa Bones a buttload of snacks after this.

The large door began to close, causing Munch to quickly rush through the encroaching metal as he called after his teammates. "Guys, I'm tellin' ya, it wasn't me! If it was me, I would've said 'excuse me'!" he argued as he ran out of the room just before door clanked shut once more.

Thankfully, Espio had managed to get to the wires of the next door's keypad before the motion sensors reactivated. Now, all Charmy had to do was shock the same wires as before and they could slip through to the next room. It was surprisingly easy to do when his body wasn't being actively degraded by intense levels of radiation. Who could've guessed that? But the boy couldn't be mad about that, he was far too giddy and amused by recent events to get hung up on that minor detail. In fact, he was finding it quite hard to stifle his giggles as he worked.

A quick jolt of the two wires and the same glitch allowed the door to split open for a second, just long enough for Espio to cartwheel them through before it smashed close again. Against all the odds, they made it out of the corridor of infinite constipation, as Charmy christened it in light of the... broken wind they owed their continued freedom to. Speaking of, Charmy let loose the storm of laughter he'd been holding in as he reeled his head back and exploded.

He didn't even wait for Espio to confirm or deny that this room didn't have microphones for their cameras too, he couldn't! It was just too hilarious to not laugh out loud! From the depths of despair, a fart rescued them! A freakin' FART! What the heck even was his life anymore!? Gaia's sake, it was so unbelievably absurd he couldn't help but fall out cackling. And if his ears weren't deceiving him, Espio was joining him! That's how he knew for a fact it was really funny, because Espio was trying to be all broody today and even he couldn't resist!

The two Chaotix let themselves enjoy the moment of levity for as long as they could, Charmy far more so than Espio, who tried to quickly regain his composure after letting it slip initially. But as Charmy's laughter died down, Espio hummed a thoughtful sound that rumbled his chest and caught the giggling child's attention.

"I suppose I should commend you and your bowels for that impeccable timing—" and Charmy couldn't even hear the rest of his witty quip because he'd gone into a second round of unrestrained howls.

Espio patiently waited as Charmy wore himself out and his laughter died down, the boy wiping his eyes of mirthful tears before he took steadying breaths to calm down. Finally, he sighed in satisfaction and leaned back into Espio's chest.

"Hoookay, whew! I'm-I'm good" he announced slightly exhausted, but quite happy. "What's next?"

"Well, certainly not a sound activated trap, otherwise we would have been discovered instantly" Charmy cackled a few more times as Espio merely let out an amused exhale. "No, we just have to deal with this laser grid to proceed" he finished, inviting Charmy to look at their surroundings.

Wave 131 (Iceferno Remix) - Streets of Rage 2

Sure enough, there was a wide array of lasers spanning across the entire room, save a small blind spot right at the entrance of each vault door. Probably to make way for the door's many physical mechanisms hidden beneath the walls and floor. The light show seemed like an erratic display of randomness, no way could Charmy predict a clear path, let alone devise a way to travel through said path. This was going to be tricky, not like that was a new development or anything, but still. How would they begin to—?

"When I signal you, keep us airborne, understood?" Espio confidently instructed, causing Charmy's train of thought to abruptly crash.

"Huh?" the bee gaped.

"There are a few tight spots, but if you keep us airborne for a second or two, we should be able to get past these lasers with no issue" Espio explained while stretching a little, cracking his tightening joints.

Charmy stared wide eyed at where he knew Espio's face was and simply had to smile. "Heh"

"Hmm?" Espio hummed curiously.

Charmy shook his head as he chuckled to himself. "You're amazing, ya know that?"

Espio tensed up at that, but quickly shifted his center of gravity way down. Charmy only had that split second to register his reaction before Espio spoke up again.

"Hold on tight and wait for my signal, okay?"

Charmy strengthened his grip and nodded against Espio's chest. "Got it!"

"De wa, hajimaru zou". And off they went.

{Then, let us begin now}

With stunning fluidity and speed, Espio flung them into the air and twisted his body around the limited space with perfect agility. Though he was invisible, Charmy could feel the taut muscles of Espio's body flowing from one position to the next with very little recoil.

It was like he was swimming or figure skating, or something like that, gravity was his tool, not a factor he had to account for. He used it to his advantage, bounding and leaping across the various surfaces of the room while he twirled and flipped in impressive but effective arcs that kept him from even grazing any unwanted space.

"Now!" Espio suddenly said, drawing Charmy's attention back. He fluttered his wings and slowed their descent.

Charmy watched as the lasers passed by beneath them before Espio put his hand on his head, signaling Charmy to stop. As soon as he did, Espio had readjusted their angle and performed a flawless handspring into a nearby wall, quickly using it to rebound off into a seemingly laser riddled area. But just as Espio got within reach, the lasers all spread out, allowing him to smoothly roll on the floor before leaping to the ceiling.

Once his fingertips touched the ceiling, he laid them flat, as he did once before. Just not as desperately nor for that long, in fact it only lasted for half a second before he was flipping away to another spot, gradually closing in on the door leading out of there. And as the impossibly adroit ninja continued vaulting them to and fro, occasionally calling on Charmy to float them for a second or two before he resumed without skipping a beat, the bee could only marvel at him.

Espio was operating at a level of physical prowess he couldn't appreciate until he was literally in his exact position. Being able to fly really mitigated the need for all of the precision and effort that non-fliers had to employ to just get from Point A to Point B. He just flapped his wings and off he went where he wanted to go, however he felt like getting there. Done, easy peasy, lemon squeezie.

The bee couldn't have known just how intense it was to rely on the mastery of one's entire body to traverse difficult terrain like this. Let alone the confidence it took to make split second decisions during free-fall that Espio just consistently did like it was nothing.

The tension and worry Charmy could literally feel from him when they were about to be discovered was completely gone in this objectively more strenuous situation. In fact, while they were airborne, Espio muscles were... relaxed. His heart rate calm. His breath even. He felt... at ease. And that both shocked and impressed Charmy to no end.

Espio really was the greatest ninja ever. And Charmy couldn't help the immense pride swelling in his chest knowing that he was friends with such an amazing person as Espio. That confidence he had in the janitor's closet returned in full force. They could really do this, they were gonna find Vector, free him, and escape from here, and get to the bottom of whatever was going on, together.

They were The Chaotix, nothing was impossible when they were together.

With one final backflip that brought them from the floor to ghosting past the ceiling before landing perfectly on the floor once more, Espio had gotten in the perfect position to access the final keypad. He pulled out his kunai and pried the layers of protection away from the familiar wires and adjusted himself to allow Charmy to reach down and complete the task. Since they'd done this same procedure twice before, he didn't have to think about it at all.

A quick shock to the two green wires and alakazam, the door lit up and let them through just as all the others before it. There wasn't even a real rush to get past the rapidly closing doors, they just found their rhythm with the whole ordeal and it was a casual thing to pass through in time. After making it through all those near-death experiences, Charmy was certain that nothing could stop them on their quest now. Hang on Vector, we're on our way.

Silent Forest Zone Owl Lights - Sonic Lost World

As Espio crawled onto the ceiling in preparation of navigating through the new area undetected, Charmy surveyed their surroundings. True enough, it was identical to the interrogation room area they were in before their trials in the secure rooms. Fluorescent lights, cheap carpet, plain old drywall, the basic expected package. The only difference was the amount of people running around, whereas the interrogation area was sparse and quiet, their current location was... anything but.

Mobians of all shapes, sizes, and colors roamed back and forth through the cluttered hallways. And unlike the suits and sunglasses crew that strove to look identical in their dress, these GUN staff members were a lot more distinctive. Some wore dress shirts with ties, others wore blazers with khakis, the ladies ranged from pants suits and flats to pencil skirts and high heels.

There was quite a variety of individuals which Charmy appreciated because it felt more natural to see people this way, as opposed to rigid uniformity to make them seem tougher than they really were.

Another vast improvement over the interrogation area was the handy signs posted on the walls! Though it didn't spell out where the security office was and the surveillance room hidden within it, it did give them a clear direction to go. The office space they'd been looking for where the landlines housing the security office's location was to their left. So Espio booked it that way, without having to worry about being too silent because the ambient noise of all those people moving about their day masked the two detectives' presence just fine.

Charmy leaned up to Espio's ear and asked, "Whaddya say to grabbin' somethin' to eat from the cafeteria? Almost dying 4 times in a row makes me hungry".

Espio exhaled lightly, "No time for a snack break. We still have much work to do". Charmy whined playfully in response as they obeyed the next sign directing them to take a right, into a bullpen area filled with cubicles. They had arrived.

What was great about the office space was that basically every door was wide open, including the one to get inside the office from the hallway. Which made sense, if they had to go through all that security to get here, why would they feel the need to keep their doors locked? The only people who would come here are government workers or very dedicated sneaks. Either way, if you made it this far, you definitely deserved a break from locked doors.

Espio positioned them in the center of the office space to get a lay of the land and to pinpoint his target. He had his back to the ceiling while Charmy hung from his abdomen, looking upside down at the workers fluttering about or typing away at their desks. It was kinda cute, watching them all interact with each other or avoid interacting with each other, doing their little tasks and getting distracted by someone or something else.

Charmy zeroed in on a few people switching from their boring charts and reports to first person shooter games, apparently a few of the guys were on the same team. He kinda wanted to jump on a empty computer and troll them in the game, but obviously he refrained. Didn't stop him from fantasizing about it, though.

Espio broke him out of his daydream with a quick whisper. "Blue shirt, yellow tie, 10 o'clock" he directed Charmy to find the target in question. Charmy spotted him easy, once again, thanks to Espio teaching him how to tell time way back.

"I see him" he whispered back. "What're we gonna do to him?" he sneered, a mischievous grin spreading on his face.

"Nothing. But he has inadvertently left us a valuable gift" Espio picked up Charmy's hand and pointed it further back in the room, where the blue shirt guy was sitting at his desk. On said desk, Charmy could see a little card on the edge.

"Ohhh..." he nodded in understanding as Espio made his way over, Charmy retracted his hand and reestablished his grip on the chameleon.

With adept speed and careful positioning, Espio got them directly above the empty cubicle and began to lower himself towards the desk. He released his feet from the ceiling and motioned for Charmy to slip down to his now dangling feet, to which he quickly obeyed. As soon as he did, he felt Espio's tail wrap around one of his hands and instantly Charmy knew what he needed him to do. The boy grabbed hold of the scaly tail and let himself be lowered further, carefully looking around to ensure no one would surprise them by walking in the cubicle. Until Espio ran out of slack.

Charmy was just a few inches shy of reaching the guy's ID card, futilely swiping the air just above it. But he didn't let that deter him, he instead took a page out of Espio's book and flipped himself around, all without letting go of his lifeline, and used the tip of his shoe to slide the ID off the desk's edge. Using his other shoe tip to catch it, he carefully balanced the little plastic rectangle on his foot and slowly lifted it to his free hand. It was awkward, for sure, but it was working!

Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching the cubicle, and he felt Espio's tail begin to move back up. Carefully, the boy finally managed to reach down and grab the ID card as Espio curled his tail back into place, lifting Charmy out of the blue shirt guy's path with seconds to spare. Charmy had to hold back on celebrating his sick stealth skills, as he stored the card between his jaws and started climbing up Espio's feet back to his chest.

As he journeyed back to his perch, he could hear the blue shirt guy shuffle around his cubicle, making confused noises. He couldn't help himself, so he peeked down at the man, who was lifting each individual object on his desk clearly looking for his disappeared ID card. He couldn't help snickering to himself at how perplexed the guy was as he looked under his keyboard for the 3rd time in a 10 second period.

He finished his climb back up and Espio swung his feet back up to the ceiling, preparing to move to their next target. "That was quick thinking, ko. Your skills in the art of stealth are improving" Charmy could hear the smile forming in his tone.

"Just tryin' to keep up with you, ninja master" he joked back. Espio faltered slightly at that, drawing Charmy's attention to his odd reaction. "What's up?" he asked, concerned.

Espio remained silent for a beat too long before he replied, "It is nothing. Stay focused on the task at hand". The mirth completely gone from his voice. Charmy could only nod in response as they resumed their mission.

The offices were all embedded in the actual walls like proper rooms, so they couldn't just do a quick scan from the ceiling like before. They had to peek into each one and see if there was an empty one they could take advantage of. Fortunately, after checking seven, Number 8's occupant was getting her stuff up and heading out the door. The bad news made itself apparent when the woman reached for the door handle. But as if it was a walk in the park, Espio managed to slide in before the door closed on them.

"Whew, that was close! I thought everybody kept their doors open here!" Charmy remarked with a huff as they dropped from the ceiling to the ground. The head rush from suddenly switching to right side up was not lost on him.

"She was gathering her belongings, most likely to leave the premises. It is normal for someone to close their personal area off when they do not plan to return for a while" Espio explained calmly as he walked over to her desk, a much more inviting and impressive one than the blue shirt guy's cubicle. She had tons of pretty decorations, pictures of her family, and several stacks of colorful paper arbitrarily littered about it.

Charmy snapped out of his appreciation for the brightly designed desk upon realizing the situation. "Then how do we get out of here without anybody noticing?"

"The good thing about untrained people such as these, is when small breaches in security happen, they do not register it as such. They simply believe it to be a mistake or an odd coincidence and move on with their lives, forgetting such a thing even happened"

"Unlike that jerky rat Munch" Charmy spat out, his brows furrowed in anger at the memory of the man.

"Quite" Espio replied flatly before drawing Charmy's attention back on task. "Can you find the proper extension?"

Charmy scanned the little notches on the woman's desk phone, the corresponding abbreviations frighteningly easy to decipher. "Yep, 2130 - Security".

"And the room number for this office?" Espio asked, throwing Charmy for a loop. Was he supposed to pay attention to that?

"Uhhhh—"

"2003" the chameleon supplied, preventing Charmy from racking his brain further. "Which means we have to find the room numbers that start with '21' and go from there"

"Right" Charmy nodded against him, until he noticed something on the desk. "Oh wait wait wait!" he quickly said, stopping Espio in his tracks.

"What is it?" he asked, as Charmy reached out and grabbed ahold of one of the coolest things in this boring place.

"Digital voice recorder! Score!" he cheered, a giddy laugh following his words.

He felt Espio put a hand on his hip. "Put it back" he said in his annoyed parent voice.

"No no no, we might need it later!" Charmy argued, as Espio placed the other hand on his hip. "Trust me, I play a lot of video games, this'll definitely come in handy at some point".

"And the fact that you are so excited to wield such a device and have a penchant for treating everything you get ahold of as a toy has nothing to do with you wanting it?" Espio challenged, which shocked Charmy into silence.

"Uh... No comment?" he finally squeaked back, unsure.

"Of course" Espio sighed as he tilted his head.

"C'mon, please Espio?" Charmy pleaded, putting on some extra sweetness in his voice since his face was invisible and he couldn't flash his adorable wide eyes to sway the chameleon.

Espio remained quiet for a moment before taking his hands off his hips. "Well, since you have been vital to us reaching this point in our mission..." he lingered for a moment before sighing. "I suppose you may take that as a reward for your hardwork"

Charmy's face lit up with a smile. "Yes, thank you!" he tucked it into his 'pocket' and resumed his hold on Espio. "Now we can go" he leaned back to motion looking up at Espio's face. Even though they were invisible, he couldn't help his habitual mannerisms.

Espio leapt back to the ceiling and crawled to the door. "Just refrain from playing with it until we have left the premises" he said lowering his voice back to whisper level.

"Yeah yeah, I know" Charmy rolled his eyes and followed suit with his volume. Why would he play with it in the middle of a serious mission like this? He knew he wasn't the perfect ninja boy, but he wasn't that scatterbrained. Give him some credit, jeez.

With their next objective set, Espio stretched his tail down and silently turned the handle of the office door, allowing it to slide open incredibly slowly, then delicately released his grip on the handle. The door drifted open more and more, finally getting wide enough for them to leave, while a few employees walked past them. Most of them not even noticing the slowly opening door, whereas the minority that did end up noticing just glanced inside, saw no one was there, and kept going.

Man, Espio was right, these people are untrained. Good for them, bad for GUN. Not like Charmy particularly cared, he was just surprised at how unaware the so-called Guardian Units of Nations was when it came to their own security. Munch Rat was apparently a different breed of person from these clearly normal office people. Regardless, they bid a fond farewell to those clueless workers and let them resume their nondescript work, while the two Chaotix traveled further into the facility.

Level 0 - Tetris CDi

Espio spied another janitor's closet and popped inside to reapply their scent camouflage, much to Charmy's dismay. But, after seeing the value in it, he kept his complaints to himself and just lathered it on. There was no telling when they'd encounter another super smeller, so better to be safe than sorry. This closet had a sink installed in it, so they also took a second to rehydrate before heading back into the fray. Charmy would've preferred fruit punch or apple juice, but it was better than nothing.

While Charmy took a drink from the leaky faucet, Espio looked over the various signs and took one shaped like a pyramid. As he folded it up, Charmy wiped his mouth with his forearm and spoke up.

"What's that for?" he asked as Espio held up the sign for Charmy to read. It said: DO NOT ENTER. Restroom closed for cleaning.

"You are not the only one who knows when something will be useful for later" he remarked with a smug grin.

"Ohhhh, I gotcha" he winked and shot finger guns at Espio. That sign could only mean they'd eventually kidnap somebody or fight them in a bathroom which was an automatic improvement on all the sneaking and crawling and waiting they've been doing. So Charmy was all for it.

With their preparations all finished, they resumed their trek to the security office. Using the room numbers and the randomly placed helpful signs, the two eventually arrived at their destination, where the black suit and shades brigade were congregating. Goodie, these guys again, Charmy remarked inwardly as Espio crawled through the open door. Upon entering the room, they noticed how clear the space was, apart from the security personnel coming in and out or stopping to have quick conversations.

Most of the agents populating the security office were canines, felines, birds, reptiles, all of which would've been able to sense them the moment they entered the room. But because they were surrounded by a myriad of familiar scents, sounds, and sights, it was obvious to conclude that their guards were down. So the momentary spike of anxiety that surfaced within Charmy's belly gradually quelled the more they moved around the office.

Which was a pretty standard area, built halfway between an employee lounge and an office. It amounted to a corner desk by the door littered with computer monitors with a view of key locations around the facility. Most of which were the exterior of the building, none of which showed where Vector was, much to Charmy's chagrin. A back wall covered in employee lockers, across from a few tables where discarded soda cans, magazines and playing cards rested.

And last but not least, a very high-tech unwelcoming entrance to a more secure section deeper inside, where presumably the central surveillance room hid. From experiencing the facility's countermeasures firsthand coupled with years of playing video games, Charmy made some educated guesses on the security measures leading to the central surveillance room. It had to be locked behind several state of the art systems, some of which he could recognize just by looking at the entrance.

A speaker for voiceprint identification, a screen the size of the average hand for fingerprint scans, a circular hold right where the average height of a chin would be in front of a rectangular screen at eye level, so retinal scan. A keypad for inputting a passcode, probably 5 to 8 digits long, and finally an ID card slot which would only permit personnel with the appropriate security clearance level. That seemed like a lot, but based on all the context clues and prior knowledge he had, Charmy could conclude nothing else.

It was clear that just like all the other security measures in place, invisibility in and of itself was not gonna cut it. In order to get inside that room, they had to essentially get an agent to do it for them without alerting any of the many other agents in the room. And who knew what else was waiting for them inside the actual surveillance room? No two ways about it, this was going to be impossibly tricky to pull off. Charmy couldn't help the rueful sigh that escaped his lips.

What else was new?

Espio remained as still as a statue, his breath even and low, Charmy did his level best to mimic him, as they both knew what their next play was. The same move Espio planned since they found the vault door. Watch and wait for an agent to leave the secure room to shadow, then take what they need from them. The only difference being what they need from the agent... is the agent themselves. Whoever their lucky contestant was going to be, they'd know them when they saw them. So until then, the two detectives waited.

Charmy kept himself occupied by eavesdropping on the various conversations and card games between the security guards. Not nearly as entertaining as the arguments of his new best friend, Santa Bones and Sergeant Jerkface Munch, but he'd take what he could get. They stayed frozen to the ceiling for what felt like half a day, but according to the clock was only 3 hours or so.

Espio impressed upon Charmy the importance of patience when it came to stealth and once again he was proven right. Their dedication had been worth it, as low and behold, the secure door swung open, revealing a face that neither of them ever believed they'd be elated to see again. There, coming out of the surveillance room like a stubby ornery angel stood none other than The Rat of the hour, Agent Munch. As if his ears were burning from Charmy's thoughts of him.

Espio placed a hand on Charmy's head as they watched their lucky contestant. Munch lumbered across the office, ignoring his fellow agents as they tried to greet him and exited the room. The two of them soon followed, due to all the other security personnel in the room, the reprehensible rodent couldn't detect the two Chaotix. Even as they trailed him to the cafeteria, Charmy's mind racing with how they would exact their sweet revenge on the bane of their shared existence. And get that much closer to finally freeing Vector and leaving this place, together.

Time for a rematch...

Apotos Windmill Isle Night - Sonic Unleashed

Entering the cafeteria, Charmy was awash with a wave of scents, all of which were incredibly appetizing. Barbecue dinners, deep fried cuisine, sweet confectionaries, juicy fruits, gooey cheese and salty snacks. All of it caressed Charmy's face, enticing him to take full advantage of the invisibility he was granted and partake in the feast.

He couldn't help the rumbling of his stomach, he hadn't eaten since breakfast which was—Charmy scanned the walls for a clock... wow, over 12 hours ago?! He was so focused on not getting caught or straight up dying he forgot about lunch, no wonder his stomach was roaring like a dragon. A warm hand rested on his back as Espio chuckled lowly.

"I suppose we should feed you to keep our stealth intact" he joked in that sardonic tone of voice he so often employed. It warmed Charmy's heart to hear, even as he gave a sheepish reply.

"Sorry. I know we gotta get to Vector as fast as possible and we already kept him waitin' for—"

"It is alright" Espio interjected. "We have been working for several hours with no real breaks, after you had been injured in a difficult battle. You are entitled to eat something and rest before we finish our mission" he turned around, giving Charmy a better look of the cafeteria. "Same as these people. They are adults, professionals in their field, and even they have to take a break to replenish themselves. Do not feel bad for needing to do the same".

Charmy watched all the GUN staff eating, drinking, making merry, and had to agree. "Hey yeah, that's true! Okay, I want one of everything! Oh, and 3 brownies, and 6 bags of chips, and an orange soda—"

Espio let him talk his head off, knowing that he wouldn't be heard and that he needed it. Of course he knew that, he knew Charmy better than anybody. Him and Vector.

... Man, did Charmy miss Vector. All this time apart subjected to near death experience after near death experience just made Charmy want to get him out of there as quickly as possible. But he'd settle for calming the raging fire in his belly and saving some snacks for Vector once they finally got to him.

As Espio maneuvered around the massive crowd of agents, snatching and slipping food and drink to Charmy's waiting hands, the bee was able to take stock of his new surroundings in full. The entire expansive space was filled with diner tables and stools topped with computer chair cushions. Each table had small plastic containers filled with condiments of all kinds, including cream and sugar packets for coffee, giving a splash of color to the otherwise drab jade green the tables and stools. The walls were glass, windows reaching from floor to ceiling, letting in the natural light and ambiance of the courtyard just outside.

Pillars planted at regular intervals housed emergency lights and floor maps in the case of an evacuation or lockdown, along with random flyers of varying degrees of importance. Ranging from company picnics to rescheduled meetings to reminders to keep the cafeteria clean. Charmy was a little bummed they couldn't attend the company picnic as it looked like a ton of fun; baseball, dunk tanks, fireworks, a dance competition, and more, apparently! But he wouldn't want to spend a weekend with a bunch of government agents who'd arrest his friends at the drop of a hat anyway.

Said government agents were shuffling along doing their everyday routines, sitting with their friends, sharing glances with rivals and crushes, getting the details of events that happened earlier in the week at the agency. Just... people, living their lives, completely unaware of the damage they've done. Charmy knew that wasn't fair, most of these people had no idea what his situation even was, let alone that Espio was innocent, Vector was being held prisoner for defending him, and the real bad guys are hiding in the shadows manipulating their entire organization into doing their dirty work.

These people weren't exactly guilty of that... but they weren't helping matters either. Charmy felt an odd queasiness in his stomach that had nothing to do with the 3rd brownie he'd just finished. He took one last swig of his orange pop and handed it to Espio, who slipped it in a nearby trash can undetected. Charmy burped in satisfaction causing Espio to exhale a ghost of a laugh.

"Shall I take that as a sign that your stomach is back on mission?" he whispered, considering they were closer to the ground than earlier.

Charmy nodded. "Yessir!"

Espio began climbing up the pillar they were perched on. "Good. Now, we wait to get our target alone and—"

"Actually, I kinda got a plan" Charmy revealed, a mischievous air in his voice.

Espio stopped his ascent and looked down at him. "You do?" he asked, like he genuinely wanted to hear more.

"Yeah, we gotta grab a few more brownies", Charmy pointed at a tray with a lonely brownie sitting there for the taking.

Espio immediately nodded and lifted a brownie from a hapless cow agent who had apparently been saving it. Because immediately after they acquired it, she reached down to grab it while engrossed in a conversation with her friends. Confusion laced her features as her hand searched for the treat as she kept her attention on her friends, until she couldn't understand the lack of brownie touching her fingertips.

Shock replaced confusion when she finally looked down at her tray, "What in the—?" quickly replaced with a scowl as she whipped around and glared at the other agents around her. "Who took my brownie?" she asked sharply.

She grabbed one by the shoulder and swung them around to pin them with an accusatory stare. "Where's my brownie, Frank?"

The kangaroo, called Frank just looked around confused. "I dunno, why you askin' me?"

"You're the only one who could've taken it, now fess up!" The Cow jabbed her finger into his chest.

Frank just brushed her off and turned back around. "I didn't take your brownie, Irene. I already got one"

"No, I'm pretty sure that's mine" The Cow, named Irene, reached for Frank's plate only to be blocked by his hand.

"It's really not" he corrected, eyes squinting dangerously.

"Yeah it is, now give it back" Irene demanded.

"Or you could go get your own and keep your eyes on it this time" Frank motioned to the kitchen, but Irene gasped before standing to her full height.

"So you admit it!" she screeched, jabbing her finger back into Frank's chest.

"Where did you hear me admit to anything?!" Frank shouted, rising to his feet. And as amusing as it was to watch, Espio had already moved them to the next tray to relieve someone else of their brownie.

They weaved under the rows of tables to gather the necessary amount of brownies for Charmy's plan, receiving funny reactions from each robbed agent. For adults, they sure acted just like kids when their treats were taken from them, which was both a comfort and an amusing show for Charmy to enjoy.

Finally, Charmy told Espio they'd gotten enough to proceed with his plan, one he was particularly proud of. He instructed Espio to get beneath Munch's table, where he thankfully sat alone, and Charmy took the initiative. He held onto Espio's tail and snuck up to the seat across from Munch and carefully reached for the napkin dispenser. Munch was too engrossed in his sandwich to notice the napkin dispenser on the far end of the table, so he felt safe to proceed.

With the softest touch he could achieve, Charmy plucked a napkin out of the device, rendering it invisible to his touch, and returned to Espio's side. He motioned for Espio to climb up the pillar nearest Munch's table for the next step of his plan and the chameleon wordlessly complied. Once above Munch, Charmy stuck his finger in his mouth and took it out, holding it up to judge the air flow in this particular spot of the room. He caught a draft and was satisfied before reaching his hand out, positioning the napkin in Munch's general area, then released it.

He quickly instructed Espio to get back under the table as the napkin danced haphazardly in the air. Espio moved fast and returned them beneath the table, as Charmy held their store of brownies, waiting with bated breath. It took mere moments for Munch to notice the feathery descent of the napkin and reflexively attempt to catch it before it dropped to the floor. Due to his size, he couldn't reach it when it was directly within reach while he sat comfortably in his seat. Naturally, he leaned over to the edge of his seat and reached out to grab it. Exactly as Charmy planned.

With careful speed evocative of Espio himself, Charmy placed the brownies on the seat just before the entirety of Munch's butt returned to the center of the cushion. He slipped in and out undetected, just like he'd seen Espio do a hundred times before and with crossed fingers, he waited for his plan to bear fruit. When Munch's posture went rigid upon returning from catching the napkin, he was holding back a giggle. The rat shuffled out of his seat and looked down, seeing the mess of brownies littered on his seat and groaned loudly.

"How did—when did—why is—where—!?" he struggled, shifting his confused gaze between the seat and the rest of the cafeteria before throwing his head back. "AUUUGGGHH!" he roared, causing several nearby agents to jump in their seats from the sudden anguish expressed.

Munch, realizing he has drawn attention to himself, clambered for his tray and clamped it over his butt, before quickly scuttling across the cafeteria like a constipated crab towards the restrooms. Charmy finally allowed himself to giggle as Espio returned to the ceiling and followed after Munch, slipping through the door before it closed. They crawled along the bathroom's ceiling, turning from the short winding corridor to the restroom proper as Charmy chuckled evilly to himself.

Finally, they were gonna see some action! And it would be against Munch the Rat, a more fitting opponent in this place he couldn't think of! Well, okay, maybe Rouge because she had crossed a few lines during his interrogation and needed to be taught a lesson in loyalty. And she refused to listen to him when he tried to diffuse the situation at the house.

Aaaand before that she tried to keep Charmy out of the conversation that led to the fight at the house. Aaaaand before that, she didn't defend Espio's honor to her bosses and took the job to arrest Espio in the first place instead of just... calling them and warning them of the situation, maybe? Be a pal, give Espio the benefit of the doubt and help them out in clearing his name? Ya know, like friends tend to do for each other?

... Yeah okay, Rouge would've been a better target to fight instead, that chick has been crusin' for a brusin' for a while now.

Charmy shook his head as some voices echoed below him, admonishing himself for getting distracted yet again.

There were only a few agents in the bathroom, chatting away about innocuous details of each others lives while leaning against the sinks and walls or otherwise occupying themselves. All while Munch hurriedly slid into a stall and locked the door behind him. Before they could get to the rat, they would need to deal with their unwanted guests first. So Charmy mused on their options before a lightbulb went off in his head.

"The stall next to Munch" he quietly directed in Espio's ear, to which the ninja immediately complied.

Charmy climbed down as he did in the cubicles, wrapping Espio's tail under his arms to free his hands. He brought them up to his mouth and positioned his palms against his lips, smushing them before he took a deep inhale and blew. An eruption of disgusting flatulent sounds came out as a result, shocking Espio as his tail jolted in response, but most importantly it shocked the other GUN employees loitering in the bathroom. Their amicable conversations immediately came to a halt as they silently absorbed the disturbingly accurate sound effects Charmy supplied.

Eventually Charmy saw shadows moving away from the toilets and towards the door, he even managed to hear some disgusted groans from a few of them as they shuffled past the stalls. One even mentioned how Munch should go home if his diarrhea is that loose and wet. At this, Munch desperately bellowed back "THAT'S NOT ME, FOR GAIA'S SAKE!". Charmy stifled his laughter as best he could while Espio brought him back up.

The chameleon quickly double checked that there was no one else in the spacious restroom and headed to the door while slipping his hand outside to place the Do Not Enter sign he took earlier. He was right about them needing it later, just as Charmy was sure the voice recorder was about to come in handy.

Espio did a hand sign and summoned his chain sickle weapon to wrap around the lever arm of the bathroom door, effectively locking it without using a key. Munch, the ever listening, always on his toes soldier, spoke up when the chain scratched up against the metal.

"Anybody still out there?" he called out warily, causing Charmy to jump in surprise. Though he supposed he shouldn't have been, this was Munch they were talking about.

He had on multiple occasions heard the tiniest of noises and become paranoid about it to the point of unreasonable. Now that they'd emptied out the whole bathroom and were still making any noise at all, he'd pick up on it and get suspicious. So it was a good thing that they wouldn't need to hide from him anymore.

Espio brought them back to the stall neighboring Munch's, first dropping off Charmy atop the toilet then positioning himself above Munch. Charmy noticed that Munch's gun holsters were hanging on the door's hook, while he fiddled with his pants. Espio cleared his throat, signaling Charmy to flush the toilet, both of which startled Munch and masked Espio dropping down right on top of him.

Knuckles Boss Theme - Sonic Advance 2

X-Zone - Sonic Advance

A painful thud echoed out from the stall, followed by Munch grunting in pain and struggling to get his bearings. Espio flung the gun holsters to Charmy, which he easily caught and dumped in his toilet. The boy immediately settled in to watch the fight he'd been dying to see from the moment he saw Munch.

"WHAT THE HE—AUGH!" Munch couldn't complete a thought as his invisible attacker connected another blow to his side, sending him careening into the tiled wall behind his toilet.

To his credit, Munch didn't go down without a fight, immediately after Espio hit his side, the rat swung around and grazed Espio's head, demanding to know who he was. It wasn't enough to hurt him, but it was enough to bring him back to visibility for a split second. All the time that Munch needed to fight back.

His fist launched towards Espio at an alarming speed, but Espio easily slipped out of the way, forcing Munch to punch clean through the stall's wall. Charmy whistled at the impressive display of strength, distracting Munch's acute hearing and awarding Espio another free hit.

The ninja knocked Munch into the opposite barrier, where Charmy was perched, and knocked it off its hinges, sending both it and the rat tumbling to the floor in a heap. Charmy flew to safety just in time to miss the fumbling slab of plastic and the musclebound rodent falling towards him. Espio didn't let up, landing atop the collapsed rat's stomach with a strong impact. He coughed out a shout filled with pain.

But he quickly recovered and curled his body up to grab hold of Espio, which would render his invisibility useless. Of course it would've if Espio remained in place. Instead, the slippery chameleon leapt to the ceiling before Munch could crush him in his wide frame, then bounced back down to smash into the stout rat again. The floor gave way upon impact, cracking the porcelain beneath the howling Munch.

Charmy bounced back and forth on his perch, flushing his toilet repeatedly. He saw Munch struggling—admirably so—against the invisible whirlwind that was Espio, who was continuously batting him around the room like it was nothing. To the uninformed, it honestly looked like Munch was fighting an imaginary friend and was somehow losing.

Realizing as much, the battered rodent stopped attacking the air and adopted a psuedo-boxing stance, his eyes darting across the room rapidly for a beat before he sprinted towards the sinks. Not one to let easy opportunities slip him by, Espio no doubt caused Munch to trip on the way. But to Charmy's surprise, the burly man exhibited the reflexes of someone a hundred pounds lighter and safely rolled across the floor, reaching the sinks.

Munch swiftly dipped his muzzle to the faucet, triggering the motion sensor just beneath, and took a deep drink from it. Before Charmy could figure out what the heck he was planning, Munch dived for the nearest corner of the room and planted his back against the intersection, all while pulling a concealed knife from his boot. It was quite long for a knife, more reminiscent of a dagger. Munch reached into his shirt and yanked the dog tags from his neck swinging them above him as he turned his head to and fro.

The display was bizarre and questionable, especially as choices made in the midst of battle. What did Munch hope to accomplish with such a ridiculous and seemingly random string of decisions? He soon got his answer when Espio revved up a Spin Dash and launched himself right into Munch's abdomen, instantly causing him to spit out the water he held in his mouth. It sprayed all over Espio as he uncurled himself and began to retreat. Something Charmy knew only because he could now see Espio due to the wat... oh.

Munch slashed his knife, nearly slicing Espio, but the chameleon was too fast. Unfortunately, he no longer had the advantages invisibility granted him but he still had the speed advantage. Munch threw his dog tags at him, to which Espio dodged easily, but it was only a feint for his real attack. The rat lunged at Espio, blade extended and hungry for blood, as the ninja leaned back from its deadly bite.

Munch got in a few more slashes before Espio caught his wrist, twisted around and elbowed the rat's muzzle. Munch grunted in pain, but landed a gut punch throwing Espio back. A foot shot out and connected with a thick throat, sending Munch to his knees coughing. While Espio reconfigured himself in midair and landed on his feet safely.

Quick to recover Munch bared down on Espio, steel singing as it cut dangerously close to Espio, the rat desperate to land a strike on the ninja, presumably to leave a lasting mark for when the water he sprayed him with dried out. Which would be happening quite soon, so Espio most likely was just biding his time.

"Want me to jump in?" Charmy offered as the two maneuvered past him, the boy steadily flushing the toilet in his stall.

"Thank you, Charmy, but I have the situation well under control" Espio replied back calmly, even as he dodged the vicious slashes and jabs launched his way.

"Kay" Charmy shrugged. "Holler if ya need me to tag in". Espio batted Munch's blade away as he huffed out an amused breath.

"Tozen daro" he replied just as Munch roared angrily. "We could use some more cover for all this noise"

{^Naturally^}

"On it!" Charmy saluted energetically, before flying across the room to the different hand dryers and flicking them on, bouncing on them one by one. Munch evidently had tunnel vision as he hadn't noticed Charmy flying all around him as they fought.

Their exchange of strikes culminated in Munch headbutting Espio when he tried forcing the knife out of his hands. He used that blow to finally catch Espio's arm, pulling him up off the ground and aiming his dagger knife to stab clean through him. But it never reached him, as Espio kicked the oncoming blade away, flinging Munch's arm wildly off course. He then used that momentum to reach up and nail the rat with a devastating chop to the jaw. The grip around Espio's arm faltered, allowing him to slip free as Munch went staggering away.

Espio landed on his hands and sprung up to pursue his opponent. Suddenly, a tail whipped around and snagged Espio in the leg, causing him to falter, an opportunity Munch took advantage of. He raised his blade above his head and brought it down, Espio was surely powerless to stop him. Except for the fact that he was still faster than Munch could ever be.

He stomped the ground and accelerated, ramming into Munch's exposed stomach and halting his opponent in place with a pained cough. Instantly his fist shot up, connecting with the rat's chin and rocking his head back. Followed by a low sweep of his feet, like a chopped tree, Munch tilted over heading for the floor. Yet Espio didn't stop there, spinning and climbing onto the rat's massive body, turning his arm into a fulcrum and wrapped his ankles around Munch's face, before flinging him across the room.

The stout rodent crashed into the stalls where the battle began, as Espio crouched to a landing. The clatter of the dagger knife against the floor rang out after Espio tossed it over his shoulder. Charmy felt at ease when he heard that, even over the hand dryers he was steadily keeping on.

Munch scrambled into a kneeling position, waiting for Espio to get closer, then swiped his hand in front of him. Out sprayed a mass of shattered porcelain, plastic, and dirt debris, pelting Espio who managed to bring his hands up just in time to shield his eyes. Charmy would've warned Espio, but he didn't even see Munch pick up the debris! What a crafty guy!

Immediately, Munch shot forward with his knee, knocking Espio off his feet and finally causing him to grunt in pain. The rat followed up with several haymakers to Espio's body, hammering away at him with powerful swings of his thick arms. His massive fists rocked the chameleon's ribs, each blow threw him completely off balance. With every hit, Munch managed to shout out a syllable to his one constant question.

"WHO!" Bam! "IN!" Bam! "SAM!" Bam! "HILL!" Bam! "ARE!" Bam! "YOU!", culminating in him thrusting both fists into Espio's face, launching him into the mirrors above the sinks. Broken glass sprayed everywhere, erupting in a cacophony of destruction, as Espio's hold on his invisibility finally released, revealing his identity as he faded into view.

Munch's eyes bulged out and his jaw dropped as he recognized his foe. "YOU?!" he shrieked, both appalled and bewildered. His eyes darted around as his brows furrowed in understanding. "Everything today was... WAS YOU!" he roared, veins bulging across his body. A sharp glint in his eyes as he bared razor teeth.

Charmy instinctively went to help, but Espio shot him a look that made it clear. Masking the noise of the fight was more important for him than participating in said fight. Espio raised his hand subtly, letting him know he still had the fight under control. Charmy just needed to keep doing what he was doing. With a reluctant pause, Charmy went back to turn on the hand dryers. He trusted Espio, he just... didn't like seeing him get hurt.

Munch interrupted their silent exchange by yanking Espio from the now shattered mirrors and slammed him down into the floor. Tiles and glass shattered beneath them, sprinkling out across the room. Charmy's breath got hitched in his throat as he watched the man loom over Espio, a malicious grimace across his face. His knee pressed down on Espio's legs, while his other hand clasped his wrists together, which awarded him ample opportunity to return Espio's blows with interest.

"I'm gonna tear you limb from limb!" he hit Espio with a hook, Espio's face whirled to the side. "And then!" a backhand strike, his head flung to the other side. "I'm gonna drag your limp body!" Hook, recoil. "Directly to The Commander's office!" he backhanded Espio once more, before wrapping his large hand around the beaten chameleon's neck. Espio went limp, his face unreadable.

"You thought you could just come in here and play me like I'm some chump!? You're screwing with an elite GUN operative, you terrorist scu—"

Pop! Espio's tongue sprang out of his mouth and knocked Munch's head back, eliciting a shocked cry. Charmy couldn't help but belt out a quick shout in response.

With that instant of leverage, Espio brought his arms down on Munch's, fully breaking his hold on his neck and freeing him to maneuver. The chameleon snaked his thin arms and legs around Munch's thick arm & neck and squeezed. A perfectly executed triangle hold cut the rat's air supply off as he futilely attempted to free himself by thrashing around wildly. But Espio refused to allow him mobility, so he could only flounder in place. He was still quite loud, so Charmy flushed a few toilets as well as starting up the hand dryers again, for safety.

Of course Espio was just pretending to be dazed, he just fought and beat Shadow the Hedgehog earlier that day, for Gaia's sake! No way this guy could come close to actually hurting him! But Espio needed to get Munch tired enough to stop fighting against him when he proceeded to squeeze the codes outta him. Giving Munch a tough fight and allowing him to think he'd gotten the upper hand was the best way to end the struggle and get what they needed from the rat. Espio was right, he had the whole situation under control, from start to finish.

It only took a few seconds for the loud strangled screams and protests to die down from the stout man. Just before he fell out, Espio released his vice-like hold on Munch's airway. The rat immediately took vantage of it by gasping deeply, sounding more like wheezes than actual breaths. Pain and panic blended together as he clambered against the floor, trying to get away from Espio. He didn't get far.

The ninja walked after him, yanked his thick arm up at an awkward angle and twisted, planting his foot on the back of his neck. To Munch's credit, he managed to force his other hand beneath him and started to push himself back up. Despite the pressure being applied and all the sharp debris beneath his bare hand, he still pushed with all his might. But Espio simply applied more pressure and sent him tumbling back down with a heavy thud and an awkward cough. Yep, fight's over, Charmy noted with a smirk.

"Ko, the recording device" Espio called out, as if he hadn't just been in a vicious brawl and punched repeatedly by someone above his weight class. Espio was so cool sometimes.

"Already recording!" Charmy replied happily as he flew to Espio's side.

He had actually started recording when the fighting started. He wanted to make sure he could relay the fight to Vector when they were free and chilling back home. Sure, the background noise was a bit much, but he could fill in the blanks as he retold the story. Plus a lot of Munch's banter was when the hand dryers and toilets died down, so that was helpful.

Espio snatched the recorder from Charmy's hands. "Avert your eyes and close your ears".

Charmy scrunched up his face. "What, why?"

"Now is not the time to argue with me, Charmy" he warned, his voice still retaining a sharp edge. Charmy put his hands up and twirled around, closing his eyes and covering his ears. Only, he didn't actually press them to his ears, he just pretended to. No way was he gonna miss out on this part, it was the whole crux of the fight they just caused.

All Torn Down - Shadow the Hedgehog

"The access codes for 2 extra occupants in the control room and passcode for the keypad, speak them", Espio demanded glaring down at the rat struggling in his hold and confusing Charmy. What's this about a code for 2 extra occupants?

"How do you—?"

"Your colleagues are not as careful as you are" Espio increased pressure causing Munch to cry out. "Do not make me ask a second time" he threatened, voice cold as ice.

The rat huffed and grunted for a moment before replying. "I don't have the security clearance to—" Crack! "Aaaaaah...! Damn it!" Munch whined in a high pitch tone, voice hoarse from the strangulation and current position on the cracked, debris-riddled floor.

"Lying is incredibly unwise at this juncture" Espio warned, dropping his voice even lower. Charmy dared to peer from the very corner of his eye, floating higher so Espio wouldn't notice him sneaking a peek.

Munch exhaled through clenched teeth as he craned his neck to eye his captor. "You made a big mistake comin' here, ya know that, terrorist? You're in the middle of GUN HQ, there are thousands of agents right outside, you're outnumbered and outmatched! You're never gonna get outta here! Understand?!"

"You are the one who misunderstands", Espio grabbed one of Munch's fingers, and yanked hard. The wet popping sound was so loud, it echoed across the room, shortly followed by Munch's bloodcurdling scream.

Charmy shuddered at the horrific sound, but couldn't tear his eyes away from the scene. Espio slapped his tail over the rat's muzzle quickly, clamping it shut as the rat continued his muffled screams of pain. Espio leaned down, bending his captive's arm as he did so, to press his face against Munch's ear.

"This is not a negotiation. You will obey or you will wish you had..." he threatened in the scariest voice Charmy had ever heard. "The codes" he repeated forcefully, no room for any discussion.

The Rat panted against the coiling tail, breathing exclusively through his nose until he finally closed his eyes and nodded his head, albeit reluctantly. Espio unfurled his tail from around his maw and Munch gasped at the sudden release, as Espio forced him upright. Munch opened his eyes and at last, took notice of Charmy who could only stare back in shock. He stared up at the boy confused before he spoke again.

"You're an accessory to all this, you realize that?" Munch challenged suddenly, causing Charmy to jump at the sudden attention. "Ya would'a gotten a slap on the wrist before. But now?"

Espio darted his eyes up before pressing Munch's arm even harder into his back. "DO NOT ADDRESS HIM" he commanded, louder than he'd been all day. "DO NOT EVEN LOOK AT HIM".

"Aaaah, Gaia!" the rat barked out, pain etched across his face.

Charmy's eyes widened at the ferocity Espio exhibited. "Espio...?"

Sharp, dark eyes shifted up to him. "I told you not to look or listen! Do as I say, kozo!" the chameleon shot back quickly, causing Charmy to clamp his mouth shut and fly into an undamaged stall.

"Resisting arrest, breaking and entering into a federal facility, kidnapping, extortion, torture of a government operative on Federation soil" Munch listed, loud enough for Charmy to still hear. "He just went from the frying pan to the fire" he warned, as Charmy peeked from the crack in the stall's door.

Espio stomped him back down to the floor, causing him to whine in pain. A vicious scowl on the chameleon's face.

"You were warned" he said darkly, bending the man's arm even further causing him to cry out.

"You won't be able to get in with just the codes. You need me alive!" he stammered out at a rapid pace.

"If I cannot kill you..." Espio spoke up again, taking hold of the next finger on Munch's hand. "Shall I relieve you of another of these, instead?" he questioned in a calm voice, which only made the threat scarier.

"Alright, alright! I get it!" Munch barked, squeezing his eyes tight as Espio pulled him back up and held the recorder to his mouth. Munch stared down at it like it was covered in noxious poison, but ultimately sighed, resigned to his fate.

"Identification: Munch Rat. Passcode 061901. Voiceprint Access: Sierra-Hotel-Tango-Hotel, 1-5-2-0-0-5" he flitted his eyes between the two Chaotix and curled his lip up in disgust. "Two escorts", he spat out.

Espio waited for a moment before he took his foot off of the rat's back, causing Munch to look at him over his shoulder. Evidently he could tell Munch was telling the truth, somehow. Charmy could only smell fear, blood, and sweat coming from him, there was nothing he could indicate that would spell out if he were lying or not. But Espio... knew what he was doing. He always did.

Espio closed his eyes and bowed respectfully to his captive. "Thank your for your assistance, Mr. Munch". Then immediately thwacked the back of his neck, instantly jostling his brain and rendering him unconscious. And that was it.

Mission accomplished? Now that Charmy could get a good look at him, Munch looked... really bad. After all that tossing around, he just... did not look good.

Labyrinth 2.0 (GetAtLilSteve Hip Hop/Rap Remix) - Knuckles' Chaotix

Espio started walking towards Charmy's stall, but Charmy opened the door before he got there. The chameleon looked at him with a stern expression, there wasn't a scratch on him after that entire messy ordeal. Just the remnants of the debris Munch threw at him, some spit and blood, and a little sweat. No bruises, no cuts, no torn skin or gloves. Not even a stiff joint or sore muscle.

He wasn't damaged at all and he didn't move like he was hiding it either, Espio was just unfazed with the punishment Munch was giving him. Not surprising considering the aforementioned battle with Shadow the Hedgehog left him practically unscathed. But it still... unsettled Charmy a bit. Especially after he saw the... resolution of the fight. A resolution that the furious ninja standing before him definitely wanted to discuss.

"Why did you disobey a direct order?" he asked, in a tone that was very much pointed.

"I dunno" Charmy immediately said, shrinking away.

"No. A real answer. Now" Espio pressed harder, gravel in his voice.

Charmy swallowed loudly and stammered. "I just... I just wanted to keep on... being part of the mission".

"Elaborate" Espio demanded, biting off the last syllable.

"What... what I mean is... well..." he darted his eyes around the room to avoid looking at Espio directly. "You said Vector was countin' on both of us to do our best and that we needed to stay focused. A-and I thought—"

"You thought?" Espio questioned, shocking Charmy silent. "My clear instructions were somehow confusing to you, so you needed to think something other than what I told you?" he stressed in a harsh tone, clenching his teeth.

Charmy's eyes widened as he tried to find his voice again. "N-no—"

"You are a child, you have no business witnessing things such as this. My actions..." Espio closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. "You cannot possibly understand the gravity of the choices I have to make. My instructions are never arbitrary, when I tell you to do something, it is because the task is important. Your thinking got in the way of doing what you were told. And for what?" he stepped to the side, revealing the unconscious body of Munch laying before them.

"Are you glad to have seen an honest man forsake his honor through the threat and implementation of torture?"

Charmy just stared at his body, stunned.

Espio stepped forward. "Are you?" he stressed.

Charmy stepped back, closing his eyes. "No... of course not" he said quietly.

Espio raised his finger in front of Charmy, his other fingers clenched tightly. "When we are in the field and I give you a direct order, you do not think. You do as you are told. Do I make myself clear?" he said more than asked, while raising his brow in challenge.

Charmy looked up to Espio, with pleading eyes. "I... I'm sorry, Espio"

The chameleon didn't even blink. "Do not apologize. Mistakes must be carried forward. Lest you repeat them and double the burden" Espio's brows lowered a bit, as did his voice. "And we cannot afford to be weighed down in this place. Failure means indefinite imprisonment or an even worse fate. Understand?"

Charmy dropped his head quietly before answering. "Yes, sir..."

Espio nodded stiffly to him before turning around to tend to the mess. But Charmy, eyes drifting to the defeated rat, couldn't help voicing his concerns.

"If that guy didn't give up the codes," he began, Espio stopped in place, his back turned. "You wouldn't've kept hurting him. You wouldn't do that" he finished, his final words echoing in the deafening silence of the room.

Espio kept his back turned and remained quiet for a beat too long before kneeling and lifting Munch's arm.

"This place must be cleaned before we leave"

Charmy's brows furrowed, "Espio—"

"Quickly," the ninja interrupted, pulling up Munch. "We have little time..." he added, dragging Munch to the sinks to rinse him off.

Charmy closed his mouth slowly, his lips pouting as his brows lowered, staring at Espio al the while. "Fine..." he bit out under his breath as he headed for the dismantled stalls.

Those were the last words either of them spoke as they spent the next few minutes doing, ironically, what the sign outside claimed they were doing all along. Sweeping up glass shards and porcelain chips, putting stall barriers back into place, wiping up blood, the whole deal. Anything they could do without spackle, replacements of stall doors and tiles, or a cement mixer, they did.

Because as much as Espio could do with illusions, there was no way a visual would cover up the very real debris scattered around the floor and the lack of barriers on the stalls. Plus, the less Espio needs to alter with his illusions, the less taxing it will be on his aura reserves, the longer the illusions will last. He was already maintaining quite a few illusions already, in various locations around the facility, the less complicated he had to make this one, the better. For the sake of the mission, they had to manually clean up the crime scene before letting Espio's mirages fix the rest.

And it was refreshing to be able to work with Espio without needing to be literally attached to him. Especially after all... that.

As much as Charmy hated cleaning, it was just kinda nice to be doing something normal to ground him. He could almost forget where they were, what they had done, and all of what they still needed to do before the day was done. Or the very real fact that the person they were doing all this for was still locked away somewhere counting on them to free him as soon as possible. But more importantly, the tension that suddenly sprung up between Charmy and Espio.

It was bizarre; up until the recent incident, Espio had been fine, mostly. Sure, there was the darker scales, the blast from the past shoes, and blackish eyes. And maybe he was a bit weird when Charmy tried complimenting him. And the way he treated Munch was a little... rougher than normal, maybe. But that wasn't proof of anything seriously wrong, it was just... weirdness. Probably because Espio was worried about Vector, which made sense. Charmy was worried too. They just expressed it differently.

Charmy kinda panicked inside, got more focused than normal, and apparently got nervous toots. While Espio... fundamentally changed his look, stopped being able to take positive feedback, and switched between warm & friendly to cold & scary. That was a perfectly fine way to deal with stress too... yeah. Still, for a second there, and Charmy hated to even think this, but a piece of him, a teeny tiny stupid piece of him... thought something was seriously wrong with this picture.

Espio hadn't been acting right since Charmy brought him that stupid letter all those days ago. Dower, antisocial, constantly on edge, it was just difficult to be around him while he was stuck in this funk. And even when he yelled at Charmy after he tried sneaking up on him, they still made up quickly. Espio didn't mean to go off like he did and he made sure Charmy knew that. But today, he just didn't bother. And Charmy just couldn't understand why.

Did he really mess up that bad? It was true, he shouldn't have looked or listened to Espio dislocating Munch's fingers and forcing him to give up the codes. It was definitely Rated M for Mature and he wanted to forget the nasty wet pop sound his finger made. His screams of pain would definitely haunt his dreams for a while too. So that part he understood.

Charmy's real problem with Espio was in his intense over the top reaction to the mistake. There was no two ways about it, Espio practically bit his head off over it, which was so not fair. Charmy has been working his stinger off this whole time trying not to screw up the mission and get them caught. Or killed, which almost happened several times and he is still shocked that isn't an exaggeration. He's pretty sure Espio still would've been stuck in the toxic waste room if not for him, so he's welcome on that one. No need to thank Charmy for getting him out or anything.

And sure he may have sighed one time too many and nearly blew their cover. But he also managed to save their bacon just as many times, so it evened out. In fact, he's pretty sure that he only really screwed up like 3 times. But he's bailed them out or come up with a plan that worked like 10 times. So it didn't even out, it was overwhelmingly positive. Charmy was doing good on this super serious mission, and he was taking it super serious, he really was. Ya know, most of the time.

Espio even told him, more than once, that he was doing good! So this mean little tirade just didn't make any sense at all. Suddenly Charmy's not capable of thinking for himself? Suddenly he can't be part of the team when things get ugly? Suddenly Espio's the boss and Charmy's the dumb, useless sidekick? What's that about?

Didn't he say they both had to work together to get Vector free because he needed both of them? Didn't both him and Vector always say The Chaotix stick together no matter what? "No matter what" means the bad stuff too, doesn't it? This whole shutting Charmy down and pushing him to arm's length thing, was the opposite of that.

"You are a child, you do not understand the gravity of choices and thinking is too difficult for you to do, so just do what I say all the time. And blah blah blah, I'm right you're wrong, stop pissing me off, dumb little boy".

Gee, thanks Espio, you're a real standup guy. Please do all the thinking for me, it's not like my brain is the one that got us this far or anything. Psssh, naaaah. Hey, next time we're in a jam, don't expect me to bail you out. Cuz I'm not allowed to think anymore, hurr durr.

This was so unfair, Charmy was just trying to be part of the mission from beginning to end, even the not so good parts. He was just trying to watch Espio work, even if he was doing things that were kinda gruesome. It was still something they had to do to get Vector. And Espio wouldn't have gone too far anyway, he never did.

Charmy was just trying to... just trying to make him proud. Make him feel like he can rely on him, that they were still a team, even in this awful situation. He thought he was doing that up to now, but apparently he was just one screw up away from ruining everything. Espio was not happy with his performance it seemed. Which was dumb, because Charmy has been nailing it this entire time.

Whatever crawled up Espio's butt, he should get it out quick because Charmy wasn't gonna stop thinking. He literally couldn't afford to rely on Espio's line of thinking, they wouldn't get out of this high tech security system covered place if they did. He was wrong and Charmy would prove it before they got out of there. He wasn't exactly looking forward to more arguments with Espio but he wasn't about to back down either. Not with Vector sitting somewhere locked up. He needed them, both of them. Espio didn't get to sideline him over something so minor when the stakes were so high.

With a conflicted heart, Charmy flushed the last of the evidence down the toilet and watched it go, sighing deeply as it went. This was not gonna be a fun couple of hours, was it? Charmy heard Espio dragging Munch along the floor and flew over to pick up the rat's legs to try to get him standing.

As they worked with their new party member, Espio explained the next step of their plan: use Munch as a meat puppet to get inside the super secure surveillance room, as there was no other way to get through the corridor linking it to the security office. Apparently, Espio picked up on the detail of thermal sensors within the corridor that leads to the surveillance room. If the number of occupants explicitly stated did not match the number of heat signatures inside of the corridor, it would sound the alarm and trigger an automatic lockdown.

Funnily enough, had they triggered any of the security systems within the secure rooms earlier, those would have also triggered an automatic lockdown. So it was really great that they didn't get caught back there. Which was due to Charmy's quick thinking and skills and yeah, a little bit of luck. But it was thanks to him that they weren't locked down and chained up in separate cells right now. The fact that Espio didn't see that was mind boggling, but whatever.

Espio took Munch's arms and head, while Charmy worked the legs and feet. In order for this to work, Espio had to hold onto Munch with his legs around his torso, while Charmy had to put Munch on his shoulders and walk them all the way through the cafeteria, back to the security office, and finally into the surveillance room. The irony of Espio telling him he wasn't allowed to think anymore, but then literally put their only hope of making it to Vector on his tiny shoulders was not lost on him. But he swallowed that comment too. Mission first, argument later.

Charmy got into position and practiced walking him around the bathroom, Espio giving pointers on how to make it look more natural. Charmy gritted his teeth and listened which was all he was good for now, apparently. But he allowed it because the best way to do this part was to let Espio take the lead. It still kinda ticked him off that he hadn't bothered to say sorry for all that he said, but whatever.

It took a few laps, but soon Espio nodded in approval and took his position as arms. Finally, he wrapped his tail around Charmy's waist and turned them invisible, while keeping Munch visible. They were ready to take their new ride for a spin, a weird statement to make in this situation but there it was.

Tropical Coast Zone Juice Archipelago - Sonic Lost World

They trotted out the restroom with a surprising amount of grace, considering how incredibly awkward it was. Munch was a heavyset guy, but compared to carrying Vector & Espio in midair, he was a walk in the park. The problem was just how unruly a completely limp body was to carry. It was like trying to carry a king sized mattress on his back up a spiral staircase, "awkward" didn't begin to cover it. But he sucked it up and kept putting one boot in front of the other, which looked convincing enough for people passing them by to treat Munch normally.

That didn't stop Charmy's stomach from dropping every time they passed by someone and they glanced in their direction. But glance is all they did, nobody went out of their way to wave at him, much less say hello to him. It was like Munch didn't have any friends or acquaintances at his job, just people who worked in the same building. Charmy kinda felt bad for him, he was a bit of a stick in the mud, but he displayed quite a few admirable qualities in the little time he'd known him.

He was paranoid, for sure, but also diligent and careful. He had a short fuse, but he didn't really tease or make fun of people even when he was mad. He called Espio a terrorist but that's genuinely what he thought Espio was, so Charmy didn't count that. But when his teammates called him gross for Charmy's fortuitous fart, he didn't lash out at them, he just pleaded his innocence. And when he was fighting against Espio, he was pretty clever and tough. Ya know until Espio started playing "How many fingers does it take to get you to talk" with him.

All in all, he wasn't the friendliest or the coolest guy in the place, that award would go to Santa Bones. But he was a good guy all the same. Just crazy annoying for stealthy people on a mission. He didn't deserve to be friendless or largely ignored when he walked by his colleagues. It just didn't sit right with Charmy, so he decided to do something about it. The next person they walked past, Charmy turned Munch to face them and leaned forward causing Munch to bow slightly to them.

Espio looked down at him, based on how his weight shifted against their meat puppet, but Charmy tapped the voice recorder before he could yell at him again. "How do you—do?" the recording played, one Charmy had prepared while he was supposed to be cleaning. He was planning for what they'd do if they had to talk to somebody at some point, which was him using his brain again, what a travesty that is.

The employee looked a little confused, then gave him a smile before asking the same. Charmy played the next prerecorded message. "Everything today was... Alright!—But now?—fire"

The employee chuckled a little and patted him on the shoulder "Well, that's great, Munch. Hope you keep having a good day, man". With that he left and a few other people started to take notice of them.

Charmy gulped loudly. Maybe he went too far.

"Hey, Munch" one of the other coworkers ventured warily. But, Espio raised his arm up and made him wave, then spread his lips apart to force an awkward smile on his face. Charmy played another spliced clip.

"You're an—elite GUN operative, you—" the recording said.

Espio took a second, but made his arm go up to his forehead and struggled to do a proper salute. Apparently it was enough, the guy found it funny and/or charming and chuckled to himself.

"Thanks, you too, bud!" he happily replied, looking between his friends who quickly agreed before waving while walking away. A pep in their collective steps.

From there, they slowly made their way back to the security office, greeting everybody on their way there. A few of the recordings were strange and didn't make much sense, but nobody seemed to mind, they were all just glad to hear Munch being nice and interested in talking to them. The two Chaotix received several pats on the back, reciprocated compliments, thumbs up, and someone even invited them to play poker with them after work. Charmy made Munch jump and spin around at the offer, which went over quite well with the guy.

It was the most fun he'd had since the bathroom incident, because it felt like he was undoing some of the pain and suffering they'd inflicted on this poor guy. He might've been a pain in the butt several times during their mission, but he was a decent guy underneath. Hopefully when the whole breakout thing was over, he'd be able to keep some of the friends Charmy was making for him. The boy found himself really hoping he would.

Finally, they reached the security office, which was still as busy as before. But this time, they were the center of attention. Apparently word around GUN HQ traveled as fast as Sonic himself, because everybody was excited to see Munch. A couple of them asked if they could have whatever he was smoking. Charmy didn't get that joke, but made the rat react appropriately, with an amused "Aaaaaah...!" and Espio made him shoot finger guns at them. That was the right move because it cracked everybody up, for some reason. Grown ups were so weird sometimes.

After squeezing through the happy crowd of friendly buff dudes, they stood before the last barrier between them and the illusive central surveillance room. Espio worked his hands while Charmy prepared the most important voice recording in his collection. Luckily, there was a handy number next to each security measure so they could get the order right.

First the keypad to input the passcode, then speaker for the voiceprint access, next the fingerprint scanner, followed by the retinal scan which was a little awkward to pull off, but Espio managed. Finally, they inserted Munch's ID card into the slot to actually open the heavy door.

It hissed as it groaned open, allowing Charmy to step them inside the heat sensing chamber. He held his breath instinctually, not sure if he should expect the worst or keep his cool, but the thermal sensors didn't shut anything down as they walked through. The last thing left was to open the door on the other end of the chamber, the door that would permit them inside the super secretive central surveillance room.

Charmy let his breath out as the door sensor registered them and slid the door open, a wave of air conditioning blew past them as he took a step inside. They made it. They actually made it! After all the near death experiences, close calls, horrifically boring waiting, and heart attack inducing tension, they had arrived. They beat the odds, they fooled everybody in the place, they were gonna make it outta there. The Chaotix would win the day.

I Know Professor - Shadow the Hedgehog

"There you are!" a voice jolted him out of his head and back to Mobius. "Took your sweet time, didn'tcha?" the voice challenged, clearly irritated. Charmy recognized that gruff voice.

Oh no.

There, at one of the many consoles in the room, sat Charmy's new best friend, the holly jolly Santa-bodied Bulldog Bones himself. He looked unhappy, tired, and especially annoyed at them in particular. He was accompanied by the designated team leader, Ed the Eagle, who was also not happy and eyeing them suspiciously. Oh no no no.

Aside from those two hauntingly familiar faces, there were at least a dozen other agents in the room, all of them monitoring the many security feeds that encompassed the entire facility. The main areas of concern were up on big screens embedded into the walls. The images on those screens made Charmy's panic increase 10 fold, as he saw the 3 secure rooms they had just traveled through a few hours ago being studied by a dedicated team of government agents.

The vault doors opening were on their screens, next to reams of code, the agents whispering very discouraging things about the "glitch". Mostly that it didn't look like any glitch they'd ever seen before. PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS GOOD IN THIS WORLD, NO.

Never mind, they're dead again. But actually this time. How in the world were they gonna be able to get these two to leave them alone long enough to find Vector and go? Screw that, how were they gonna get them to believe Munch wasn't being puppet-ed right now, when they had Eagle Eyed Eddie right there? He already looked like he was about to blow their cover!

Nope, they were dead. They would be locked in this room until the whole compound came through the doors and beat them up. As tough as Espio was, he couldn't beat a whole army of guys, especially when they got Team Dark in here. Nah, they're freakin' dead. For real this time. Crap on a stick, they were so close...!

Charmy looked back to Bones and felt his heart skip a beat as the dog stared at them intently. Oh double crap, even he can tell they were there?! They are supremely, legitimately DEAD!

"Why're you wearin' your shades indoors? I thought 'only douchebags and tools do that' " Bones asked, using air quotes.

"Yeah, what'd you suddenly turn into one of the suits?" The Eagle spoke up, flicking his finger up and down at Munch's form.

Espio's tail squeezed Charmy, forcing him to unfreeze and do something. He fumbled with the tape recorder, that was thankfully invisible too, and played a section.

"—get outta here!" That caught the other agents' attention, so literally all eyes were on them now. Ohhhhh noooo...

Charmy looked down at the digital voice recorder that he could no longer see, and cursed it for saying that. If he couldn't see the names of the spliced clips, he didn't have any way to plan the responses. And if they made it visible, the Eagle, or any of the other agents with similar vision, would see it and wonder what was going on! Man, did he wish he wrote a will before all this because THEY'RE DEAD!

Both he and Espio held their breaths as Bones looked Munch up and down, slowly walking closer to them. His heart was pumping out of his chest when he opened his mouth to speak.

"What's with you today? Ya had a bug up your butt about nothin' and when we come in here to check the cameras to humor ya, you get all pissy". he said, all the while inching closer and closer to them.

Charmy panicked and pressed play on the recorder again. "You made a big mistake—!" All the other agents in the room shot their eyebrows up in response, their mouths forming a shocked oh as Bones's brows furrowed tighter.

If he could slap his forehead, he totally would have.

Bones stopped approaching and put his hands on his wide hips. "What're you talkin' about?" he snorted out, squinting his eyes menacingly.

Welp, since we're already dead, Charmy thought as he played the next clip. "You're an accessory to all of this, you realize that?" The other agents turned away, trying not to be too obvious with their eavesdropping now.

Bones jerked his head back in offense. "Wait, you're blamin' me for your stank attitude?!" the Bulldog gaped incredulous. "Whaddid I do?!" he asked, his palm against his chest, jostling his belly a bit.

Charmy made The Rat speak, "You're in the middle of GUN HQ!"

"So you got a problem with the way I do my job now?" Bones barked back, looking between Munch and Ed, who was just as shocked and appalled as his friend. "Well guess what? Everybody ain't as tight assed as you, a'ight? So how 'bout you learn to take a chill pill instead'a gettin' on me for not bein as 'perfect' as you!"

The incensed bulldog then jabbed a finger into Munch's chest, hard, causing them to falter backwards a bit. Espio struggled to get him back upright while Charmy played the next available recording, which he knew by memory now because it was just before Munch said the access codes.

"Alright, alright! I get it!" the recording shouted, which actually matched the movements Espio and Charmy were making. Purely by accident, but still.

"No no, you came after me first! So what's up, huh?" Bones held his hands out, beckoning the rat to come at him, Charmy fiddled with the recorder as he started up again. "Just get it all off your chest, Munch! Cuz I'm gettin' so sick'a yo—"

"Hotel—", Charmy held his breath again. He was starting to get an idea of how to handle this but it was gonna be tight. Really tight.

Bones' fury died down as his brows knit in confusion, his lip curling up. "Hotel, what hotel?"

"Sierra-Tango-Hotel," the recording listed, as if it were a string of related subjects and not part of a code.

The plan was desperate, but the idea was if he played random words together, then the other two would piece together a direction this conversation could go in and Charmy would follow their lead from there. Again, desperate, but at this point he was willing to bet it all on the fractured relationship of Munch and his team. If he was as standoffish and difficult to work with as all those other employees made it seem, then of course his teammates would have a bunch of past issues they could bring up after some vague hints.

Credits - Sonic Mega Collection

Charmy's new best friend took a second, but his eyes widened with recognition. "You're still mad about that?! Man, how many times do I have to apologize, I didn't even know you were going out with her back then!" And there we go. "I didn't even know her name was Sierra!" The old Bulldog admitted, the ire from before stamped out.

"Come on, man, it's been like 3 years" Ed finally spoke up, shaking his head. "Ya gotta let it go" he advised, a sigh hanging on his words.

"—won't be able to—" the recording replied, causing Bones to throw his head back and groan. Charmy took the opportunity to toss up the recorder behind Munch's body, to undo the invisibility on it, and start splicing new clips. This just might work if he could get the right combinations in time!

"Can you just be reasonable, Munch?" Bones requested, massaging his forehead. "Think about it: if she really loved you, why did she lead me on? I didn't know you were together, but if I did I wouldn'a done nothin' with her. I mean, I didn't hit on any of them other girls you were likin' on, right?" he asked, opening his arms.

"He's right, Munch, you gotta admit" Ed chimed in, nodding at his friend's defense. Charmy had no idea how he didn't notice Munch was unconscious, but he was incredibly grateful that he didn't. Perhaps the shades really were helping mask that or Espio working his mouth and head was just that good.

"Cuz I'm not a scumbag, okay? I don't go tryin' to sniff another man's daisies, that's just wrong" Bones shook his head, causing his sagging cheeks to whip around. It was adorable and Charmy nearly giggled. Instead, he bit his cheek and went to play his latest clips. This was starting to get funny.

"I get it! I—made a big mistake—with—Sierra-Tango" the recorder admitted in an almost natural way. The other two agents were far too stunned with the information to pick up on the awkward delivery.

"Did... did he just admit to it?" Ed asked, keeping his eyes on Munch but turning his head to Bones.

"He did! Munch, you finally get it now?" Bones asked, a smile lighting up his droopy face. "She was just some two-timin' hoe, but we're your bros! We're a team! We build each other up, we don't tear each other down".

"Hear, hear!" Ed cheered as Bones continued.

"Look, I..." he faltered for a moment before puttin a hand on Munch's shoulder. "I'm sorry I didn't notice you were still hurtin' about this, but hopefully we can put it all behind us, once and for all?" he tilted his head, a sheepish smile on his face as he looked into Munch's shades, a hopeful inflection in his voice.

Espio waited for a second, then nodded Munch's head in an eerily natural manner. Nice assist, Espio! Charmy shouted inwardly.

With that affirmative reply, Bones quickly shifted his hands and opened his arms to hug the rat. It would've been a sweet tender moment that mended a beautiful friendship, Charmy would've greatly appreciated seeing it... If Munch weren't propped up by him and Espio.

They panicked and nearly broke their invisibility from the sudden, unexpected contact. Espio immediately pushed off of Munch's back, as Charmy scrambled under his legs to get away. Fortunately Bones wrapped him up in a hug and lifted Munch up off the ground just in time to look fairly natural.

"That's right, bring it in, buddy. You'll be alright, you'll find a good girl someday, I promise". he assured warmly, patting Munch on the back and nuzzling into his shoulder a little.

It would've been so cute if it weren't so funny. Charmy snickered a bit as he noticed Munch drooling a little on Bones's shoulder. Their luck evidently hadn't run out because Munch's face was hidden behind Bones's head, which meant Eagle Eye wouldn't notice he was unconscious.

Charmy wiped his brow and sighed quietly in relief, which he felt safe doing because the only one who could pick up on the sound was currently napping in his new best friend's arms like a little baby. Don't laugh... he strained inwardly.

"Well, it's about time, I'm proud of you, Munch" Ed said as he stood up from his seat and began to stretch. "Now, can we get outta here? I haven't seen anything noteworthy, just a few glitches with the doors, that could just be a circuit breaker thing" he casually mentioned, to which Charmy felt himself sighing yet again.

The illusions around the keypads were holding up, the doors opening were just shrugged off by the most important agent in the room, neither Espio nor Charmy showed up on any of the many cameras or sensors, and nobody suspected a thing. The boy just felt awash in relief, before Espio pulled him back to his feet and got him beneath Munch's legs, just in time to catch their comatose puppet before Bones set him down. Nice save, he remarked inwardly.

"Ready to head back, Munch?" Bones asked grinning and fist bumping Munch's shoulder, which nearly threw Espio off balance again, but he managed to recover swiftly. Espio's tail squeezed Charmy's abdomen, signaling him to play something that would hopefully keep them from needing to leave the room they so desperately fought to get inside of.

Charmy had it covered. "—Ca-an—t. I don't have the security—of—Sierra-Tango-play me like I'm some chump!?" the recording expressed, causing the other agents to look at each other.

"We should... give him a minute," Bones offered, snapping his fingers so the other agents in the room would pay attention to him. "He's still a little emotional so we're gonna—" he pointed to the door and all the agents began moving towards it. "We'll give ya a minute alone" he finished turning back to give Munch a small smile.

"We're gonna..." Ed jabbed his thumb to the door as he walked away, following behind the shuffling crowd. "Just-just hang in there, okay Munch?" he added, a weak grin on his face. Espio had Munch nod in response.

All the agents walked out whispering to themselves about the scene they'd just witnessed, but Charmy only tuned in to what his new best friend was saying to Ed.

"He was so sad he went completely limp in my arms, poor lil' guy" he said, looking at Munch with a great degree of sympathy. Charmy's heart warmed at the sight.

It's official, you're gettin' a ton of snacks for your lil' pouches, Bones, he determined in himself. But it was still so funny, he inflated his cheeks as he fought to keep it back just a few seconds longer.

Ed, the last one out of the room, just shook his head. "I just hope he doesn't take too long, gettin' sick'a all this dramatic shi—" the door sealed shut, cutting him off at the perfect comedic time.

Ending B (Techno Cinema Remix) - Sonic Advance 3

Charmy immediately bursted with laughter as he and Espio dropped Munch unceremoniously to the floor. Which added to the hilarity because the sound the rat made when he slammed down was just too good, so quickly Charmy followed his lead and went rolling on the carpeted floor. He hadn't noticed Espio doing anything except sighing in relief, but right then, he didn't care. This whole ridiculous situation was straight out of a comedy movie and he was incredibly amused by it all.

"OH MAN!" he shouted between laughing fits. "I wanted to laugh SOOOO BAD, I almost EXPLODED! Hahahaha!" he chortled, clutching his splitting sides as he writhed on the floor. He was starting to get a cramp from it... which just made everything funnier, so onward he laughed and groaned in pain.

"You did well" Espio finally spoke up. "That was very quick thinking, ko" he remarked smiling. Oh, so he was back to being in a good mood now? That was interesting.

"Yeaaaaah..." Charmy sighed happily, his giggles dying down. "It's almost like thinkin' for myself is a good thing and I should be trusted to do that during serious missions or somethin'..." he wheezed out, halfway to make it seem like he wasn't mad, halfway because he was still recovering from busting a gut.

Either way, it appeared as though his point landed, based on Espio's smile faltering as he averted his gaze. Charmy felt a little bad, part of him knew how stressed Espio felt, because Charmy felt that stress more than once during this entire ordeal. He understood the immense pressure Espio was under, not just today, but since he'd received that stupid letter. And he really wasn't all that mad about what he said in the bathroom anymore, that massive release of tension was to thank for that.

But he still wanted to make the point that The Chaotix were a team, each one needed to pull their weight to help the others out. Charmy could do that, has done that, would always do that for his two best buddies in the whole world. He just wanted his best buddies to know that. Vector was about to hear all about it once they found him, but Espio... Charmy thought he knew that already and that today was all the proof he'd ever need. But he figured a little reminder would do him some good.

Charmy flew over to the computers and started scrolling through the feeds, while Espio struggled to do the same. It made the boy chuckle again, even though it hurt his cheeks and ribs. Espio was just hopeless with this stuff, it was the goofiest thing. How could he stay mad at him? Conversely, it only took Charmy a couple seconds of scrolling and clicking to find the prize he was lookin' for.

"Charm—"

"There!" he shouted over whatever Espio was about to say, then brought the camera feed up to the big screens. "Hel-lo~ bossman!" he called out pointing to the screens, drawing Espio's attention.

"Where?" he asked loudly, with unnatural force.

"Iiiiiit's..." Charmy held the syllable as he searched the info tab on the camera. "Sector 5, Holding Cell 24! We saw directions for that sector on the signs in the hallway!" he announced, giddy to have finally gotten the information after fighting for so long to get it. Felt like they'd caught a break, one Charmy couldn't help but feel they'd earned.

"Then, that is our next destination" Espio nodded, regaining his cool. "Come" he started for the door, but Charmy's gaze drifted back to Munch, still flopped over on the floor.

"Hang on," he shot over his shoulder before flying to Munch's side.

He lifted him up by his armpits (which were pretty sweaty, so that was fun), and carried him over to a chair in the corner of the room. Charmy knew they couldn't leave him on the floor like that, as that would be just mean. Instead, he posed him to look like he was asleep at the desk. But something was still missing...

Espio spoke up. "Good, now let's—"

"Just'a sec!" Charmy called back as he scanned the room.

After giving the area a cursory view, Charmy zeroed in on some stuff he could use, and swooped over to grab them. The agents left in a hurry and left their stuff at their desks, pretty nice stuff, too. Soon he had made Munch a pillow from a fluffy scarf he folded up, draped a coat over him as covers, a couple napkins for the drool. A water bottle in case he wakes up thirsty, some of the brownies Charmy kept from the cafeteria in case he wanted a snack, and (with Espio's begrudging help in the grammar and spelling department) a typed up note that he taped to his hand.

The note read:

Dear Mr. Munch Rat,

Thanks for all your help! You'll forget when you wake up, but you made up with your team about the whole cheating girlfriend thing, so don't bring it up again. She was the problem, not Bones. You reaffirmed your friendship, the two of you hugged it out, it was beautiful. So there, the drama is over, leave it alone, move on now.

Also, another thing you'll forget, today you reached out of your comfort zone and greeted people, and they responded positively! So hopefully you can keep growing friendships with your other coworkers too. The key to making friends is to cut loose once in a while, show them that you care about them as people, and don't act like an antisocial stuck-up jerk. When you walk past people, say hi, ask them how they're doing, be charming, you know? Just be nice. A little bit of kindness goes a long way, trust me.

Thanks again!

Sincerely, Your Secret Pal (Kind of. More like acquaintances. But I'm still rooting for you!)

PS: You've got poker at Todd's after work today, don't be late. Todd is the zebra with the mohawk, but don't make fun of it, he's sensitive about it. Compliment him on it.

PPS: You absolutely have to tell Bones that he is just the best. Every. Day. Tell him. Also, when he gets a bunch of snacks sent to him with no return address, tell him that they're safe to eat. K thx bye!

Charmy put his hands on his hips as he surveyed the staged scene, a satisfied smile on his round face as he nodded in approval.

"Okay, now we can go!" he announced, turning to Espio who merely tapped his foot impatiently.

"I still do not see why the note is necessary" Espio stated, his tone even.

"C'mon, he needs to know what happened while he was out and how to keep the ball rollin'!" Charmy cupped his hand over his cheek and moved closer to Espio. "And don'tcha think we kinda owe him at least that? For everything we put him through today?" he whispered loudly.

Espio stared at Charmy, his expression softening a little before he spoke. "You possess a kind heart, chibi-dono".

Charmy rubbed his finger under his nose as he looked away. "Yeah, I'm a big ol' softie" he scoffed, a wide smile on his face.

"Be sure that it does not cloud your judgement in future" Espio warned as he turned away from him, making Charmy deflate in confusion.

"Uhhhh, sure..." he answered, before shaking off his discomfort. "Anyway, let's go!" Charmy shouted, simply because he could, as he hugged Espio for the hundredth time. The chameleon stiffened at the action, not for the first time that day. "Vector's waitin', heh heh!" he tried to keep the mood light considering they finally found out where he was.

But it was getting more and more apparent that there was something going on with Espio, something beyond stress in the moment, or a bad guy framing him for a bunch of crap. Or anything else that Charmy could think of that was causing this. Espio was not himself, even more so than his depressed mood after these past few days.

Going silent when Charmy tried to be nice to him, lashing out like he did over the torture thing, telling Charmy he needed to stop thinking and just obey orders, and now it's kind hearts cloud judgement. That was very weird for him to say, he was the one that fussed at Charmy when he wasn't nice enough about stuff. So what in the heck was this "don't let a kind heart cloud your judgement" crap? Nope, definitely something off with that one.

But, it was fine. Charmy could over look Espio's odd reactions and take his harsh comments in stride. Just until they completed their mission. Once they got Vector free and the three of them escaped GUN HQ, they could address it and whatever was going on with him, they'd work it out. And everything would go back to normal between them before they go after the real bad guys.

It was gonna be okay, it had to be.

I mean, they're The Chaotix. Nothing's impossible when they're together.

Author's Notes: Thus ends the longest stealth mission in Sonic history. Now we just have to figure out what the heck Espio's thinking! Well, not we, you guys do. I already know and I'm not tellin'~

As far as end notes go, I have far too much to say about this chapter, so I'm gonna put them in the Charmy Nonsense Important Info doc. Look for that update soon C:

After much time, effort, and stealth, Charmy & Espio finally know where Vector is! But how will they get him out and will Munch wake up in time to reveal their plans? What has Vector been dealing with this whole time? What's Espio's deal all of a sudden? And what other surprises are in store for our heroes? Stay tuned for the next chapter, Part 2 of the GUN breakout! See you then ^v^