"Akira's Log Entry Eleven. The exact whereabouts of Slimy and them still remain unknown to us. We had very little idea on where they could have gone off to and finding any leads on them proved difficult to say the least. It was as though they had vanished off the face of Mobius.

The question of Tarek Mengele faking his death has been entertained despite not having any proof to support his survival. Sonic believes wholeheartedly that he's still alive since they never found his body at the site of the explosion even though the official casualty list has him as among the sixty-six lives lost. A stance I'm fifty-fifty on as his survival would raise some questions as to how exactly he got out unnoticed by everyone present.

There's also the matter of the Christmas shopping that a handful of us had decided to leave for the month of December and the bad PR from the Reactive Factory fiasco following us around like a plague.

Just the other night, I had eggs thrown at my house by either some disgruntled kids or local hooligans who saw the negative press as a good excuse to vandalize my house and I had to hose it down for two hours… What exactly I needed on top of my recent job application getting turned down because "I wasn't the type of employee they're looking for" and wishing me the best of luck.

But I think it's more because my association with Sonic has made me a name to avoid like I'm a kegare. Fearful I'd contaminate them with it if they were to hire me and I can't really blame them for it because I, too personally feel contaminated by what had happened. Only through harae will I be purified of it…"

December 8th

Casino Park, Empire City

Night

When Nicole forwarded Sally a coded message she had received that seemed to point towards a possible lead somewhere at Casino Park, the chipmunk had dispatched a team to go investigate it. The origin of the information and who sent the message is currently being looked at in the meantime.

Antoine took the lead with the investigation team. Due to the nature of their mission and the negative press they currently have, they went in wearing their disguises.

"...Ze sooner we can find zhem, ze better."

"Too bad we're slow as molasses in making any headway with the case. Having people in public look at us like we're not declared guilty of homicide and we just barely started the month..." Sonia sighed with an air of weariness. Wearing a gray hoodie, blue jeans and red sneakers with a pair of sunglasses. Looking very urban in appearance.

"Zhat's zrue but never fret. Ze month is still young." The Mercian-born coyote assured her. Himself wearing cardigans, tracksuit pants and white sneakers to go along with Sonia's style.

Sticks and Isabelle are donned in formal dresses that both happen to be Honey Clothing designs. The brown badger isn't a fan of her more posh attire but she knew better than to complain about it. They have work to do.

Rounding out the party's set of disguises with both Gadget and Big dressed in dapper suits. The wolf in a fitting white tuxedo suit for the casino and his cufflinks being fitted with a little tranquiliser dart each in case of an emergency. The purple cat decked out in a blue pinstripe suit with a cream fedora hat and missing only a cigar to look like a real fixer.

The group reaches the entrance to the Casino Park. Graced with the neon glow of the signs, the spotlights and the lights around the establishment that makes its presence in Empire City loud and clear.

Gadget is in awe of the place while he and his party are being checked over by the security present. His amazement ended when he saw the robotic security guards being that of Badniks or reformed Badniks as Antoine explained to him on the way over to Empire City. Apparently, they're made up of models that the Eggman Empire don't use anymore or were salvaged from the junkyards and restored to prime condition to work as part of the Casino Park's work force.

Once they get the all clear to go on ahead, they make their way inside. The bright, colorful and glamorous interior of the casino greets the group's retinas with the sounds of games being played reaching their ears.

"Alright, let's split up into zwo zeams. We'll cover zhis side. You and Sticks are with me."

Antoine beckons Gadget and Sticks to follow him as his team splits off one way while Sonia's goes off the other way. Both looking for a heist crew they're informed are going to be robbing the casino's vault this evening according to their tip.

Central Freedom HQ, New Mobotropolis

Night

Sir Charles Hedgehog or Uncle Chuck as Sonic affectionately calls him had headed down to Freedom HQ and went to the briefing room where he's given a run through of the cold fusion theft up to the day of the Reactive Factory incident. Having recently arrived back today from a short vacation.

"The kicker is that Boris has nothing to do with any of it. Guy has some dirty laundry like claims of mob ties and embezzlement but he didn't sign off on any of R.I.D.I's illicit projects. We suspect Tarek was feeding Paine the info on Boris to keep suspicion off himself and had kept him around as long as he did until he saw no further use for him. The man behind the man so to say."

"And make everyone think the man with the questionable history is the shady one."

"More or less."

Charles took in the info as explained by Sally. He heard the news about what happened with Resort Island and knowing full well her whole group isn't the kind to cause collateral damage on that scale despite what the schmucks at I.G.N have to say. Hearing from them directly confirms their innocence in his eyes.

Like what Kodos and Naugus had done to his late mentor Nate, this Tarek Mengele character along with Slimy orchestrated the whole explosion in a way where his nephew and friends would come out looking bad while they make their escape. The circumstances may be different yet the willingness to cause so many deaths is equally as remorseless.

"And what of this Doctor Mengele?" The elderly hedgehog asked as he hasn't been shown a picture or recording of the jackal yet and thinks there's more to him than meets the eye. "What have you dug up on him?"

Sally crosses her arms when answering his question. "Supposedly, he's a scientist who was around for the Great War and assuming it's actually true; that means he'd be around in his thirties or forties then. Would Tarek Mengele be a familiar name to you by any chance?"

"I may be showing signs of my age but I do not recall a single scientist going around by that name and I'd know I would have if I heard someone's sharing a surname with an infamous doctor from the history books." Charles shook his head. "Do you have any pictures of him? Maybe I've seen his face but not his name."

With a nod from Sally, Rotor sets down a tablet in front of the older hedgehog to see the pictures. The screen displays a photo of Tarek at the Radical City Mayor Hall and taken by Miraju.

Antoine, Sticks and Gadget acted incognito while investigating their side of Casino Park. Sounds of slot machines and other electronic gaming machines being played by the casino patrons making up the background ambiance.

"...And we were rooting for Knuckles to win ze finals against Sonic but unfortunately it ended inconclusively due to Eggman's interference."

Gadget was listening to Antoine telling him about a past event that took place within Casino Park when he asked about the famous Chaos Emerald Championship that took place. "I think Knuckles would have won it. He had the strength and endurance to win out against Sonic if it went on uninterrupted."

Sticks scoffs at that claim. "He could just as well botch his chances of winning and give Sonic the victory. Make him grow a big head over it for a while until karma catches up to him... Or maybe the system's been rigged to keep down the free man!"

"Right…" Was all Gadget could say to the conspiracy theorist as someone who remembers the Sonic vs Knuckles matchup being a huge draw that ended in a no-contest. "Uh, do you see anyone out of place around here?"

"Hmm…" The badger glances around. Letting the eyes scan the casino lobby.

Around her, she either sees scenes of gambling in play like a table of poker having seventeen people in attendance with an Egg Pawn done up in a black and white casino attire acting as the table's card dealer, a pair of security guards escorting someone out of the lobby for card counting or folks chilling out at the lounge while smooth jazz is being played over the indoor speakers that are concealed within the walls and ceilings. What one expects to see in a bustling casino.

Several of Robotnik's old Badniks from yesteryear such as Humpty, a lime-green egg-shaped robot with antennas are working as a part of the casino owner's staff and doing jobs that play to their strengths. There's also the casino waiters and waitresses roaming around. Both of the organic and robotic types.

She didn't think too much about the waiters until she noticed one of the human casino employees eyeing the joint before wandering off from the other way. "That man over there looks a little suspicious."

Gadget taps on Antoine's shoulder towards the human employee walking away from them. The coyote nodded and the three followed the peculiar man around to see where he'll lead them to.

Charles scrolled through the photos. At first, he didn't seem to recognise the jackal in the images. Then his brow furrowed.

"Looks familiar now?"

Looking up to see his nephew Sonic gazing at him, having noticed the shift on his face. The older hedgehog nodded very slowly.

"I've seen a face like his' a long time ago. It's slowly coming back to me..." The mustached blue hedgehog said in a voice reflecting his age, having been reminded of a face he thought he had forgotten long ago. "Do any of you have a voice sample? I want to be extra sure he's exactly who I think he is."

"We do have a recording of his voice. Sal had caught it on the day of his supposed "death". Rotor, hit it."

With that order, the walrus taps on his device and an audio file of Tarek's call to Sally plays. It took a minute before Tarek's voice started becoming more audible on the recording.

"...It did cost a considerable amount to build the new factory over the site of the previous factory and assemble all of the machinery needed for it. The water collector took the longest to put together given it's the key component to powering the new Reactive Factory and one we kept from the old building."Tarek was explaining about the Reactive Factory when Sally had asked him how long it took to build."Sonic would not be able to recognise that it used to be the same track he raced on years ago. It's quite the facelift."

"That's him." Charles was surprised when he listened to the audio and recognised the voice, memories coming back to him. "I know that voice. I remember now…"

Big, Sonia and Isabelle were looking around for any suspicious characters on their end. The three over at the part of Casino Park where performance shows are held.

Since Monica's hospitalization, Isabelle has been quiet and subdued. It worried Sonia since she's usually a lively girl who seeks out trouble like the freelance reporter she is. The same girl who would be headstrong when danger's in the discussion and acting before she thinks.

While going through the crowds, Isabelle overheard some of the casino patrons happening to be talking about them and they weren't flattering. They knew about how the swayed public thought of them but hearing their negative opinions firsthand from their months is actually worse. Not exactly helping with her current state of mind given the near-suffocating negativity that seems to surround them like a smog.

"...I don't know what's up with their management lately but those Freedom Fighters are really blowing it royally and I can only imagine how those poor people on Resort Island must have felt knowing they caused that disaster… They had a good run and it's probably time for them to retire before they embarrass themselves any further..."

"...Ugh. The war's over but apparently these ones aren't content with the peace. To think I had actually used to like Sonic the Hedgehog and thought Adam Frosk was just simply spewing nothing burgers about him…"

"...I.G.N were definitely onto something. They're not the good guys, they're the instigators!"

"...They think they're a law unto themselves. Consequences be damned!"

"Isabelle?" The fuschia hedgehog suddenly calls her name. Snapping the magenta hedgehog out of her trance and barely sparing Sonia a glance as they continued wandering through the crowds.

"Yes Sonia?"

"I know it's pedantic of me to ask but are you feeling okay? You've been rather quiet lately."

"Is it that obvious?" A nod from Sonia answered Isabelle's question and she let off a weary sigh. "I… I've been thinking about what would happen if my sister didn't survive being shot that night. What with Lindsey's history of violence and all… What would I tell my parents? That one of their daughters is coming home in a coffin because of some heartless psychopath?"

"I know how personal this is. However, you need to keep your head clear on this or—"

"What if that was your own brother Manic being put in a hospital by her? Would you have a clear head about it?" Isabelle responded back. "You are right that it is personal. She has made it personal for me and what kind of sister am I to let her get away unpunished?"

"Your sister wants you to come home alive as well." Big interjects, reminding the downtrodden hedgehog with sagely words. "Don't let your anger for Lindsey consume you. Nothing good ever comes out of being angry."

"Big's right. Monica would just be as devastated if anything happened to you. As they say; an eye for an eye leaves the world blind." Sonia added onto the cat's statement.

As much as she doesn't want to admit it, they're right. Lindsey is someone who seizes any openings however underhanded they are to gain the upper hand. She unwittingly gave her one at the expense of Monica and now she lies in a hospital bed because of it.

Isabelle clears her throat. "I hear ya. Anyways, let's keep looking for these slicks."

"You mean that lady in purple over there?"

Big pointed to a blonde-haired human woman in a purple dress with a red handbag seemingly hitting it up with one of the security guards over at an entrance leading to a restricted hallway and away from the security cameras. Laughing and flirting around with the man. She also has her back turned to them from where they can see her.

From a casual passing glance, nothing suspicious is going on. Sonia noticed the sleight of hand the woman is doing pulling on the guard, spotting her sneakily swiping a keycard off her target while leaving behind a seemingly identical one in its place and sliding the original keycard into the red handbag out of his sight. They just caught one member of the heist crew right in the act.

As quickly as she had seized the keycard, the woman in purple pats the security guard on the cheek and starts walking the other away with swaying hips. The three of them proceed to shadow her. Curious as to where she's heading off to with the stolen keycard.

"It was over fourteen years ago if memory serves me right." Charles took off the glasses to rub his eyes. "You said those photos and that recording were only taken days ago, correct?"

Sally nodded to him. "Yep. We were curious about him because of how little there was on him when we went to Resort Island and the fact he's a scientist from the Great War or so we heard."

"And what happened to the person who reported that fact to the press?"

"He "apparently" left his job to go off on his "future endeavors" is what we could dig up."

"That's basically a codeword for him being unpersoned. Likely executed and buried somewhere. He would not have let that fact slip to the public himself."

"Why not?"

"Because it would lead to his past being unearthed and expose the fact his death in 3225 was faked."

"Faked?" Sonic sat up straighter in his seat attentively. "Uncle Chuck. Who is this guy we're dealing with here?"

"A very dangerous one. You mention he does bioscience, correct?" Charles got a nod from his nephew in response. "That's his M.O alright. In a previous life, he had gone by the name of Doctor X. Globočnik. I didn't know him personally and only worked with him a few times but I know we've both met the same guy. Right down to having the same cynical views on the world…"

With the two teams following their respective targets, they're led up to a higher floor in Casino Park. More of the casino's games are available on the higher floors with pool and baccarat among them.

The current floor overlooks the ground floor game lobby from above. The paths their targets were taking would proceed to converge at an area where security is not as tight and the two suspicious characters met up together.

Both teams that were tracking the humans hid behind a nearby wall to spy on the two heist crew members from their spots and acting natural when other people walked past them. Keeping themselves just far enough from the heisters to not spook them.

Antoine sighted Sonia from across the hall and their teams covering both sides of the meeting area.

The human pair were unaware they're being spied on. The blonde woman in the purple dress handed over the stolen keycard from her handbag to the false casino staff member. The two part ways to carry on with their roles in the heist. The mobians quickly moved away to avoid being sighted by the heisters and the two teams swapped targets with Antoine's team taking on the blonde this time.

They waited for the woman to pass by them and get some distance before they'd follow her. While passing by, Gadget caught sight of her face. Quickly recognising the blonde as a disguised Lindsey with her freckles covered over through makeup.

Seemingly not sensing her pursuers' presence or just assumed they're random patrons, she walked on and Antoine beckons his team to follow his lead. Shadowing Lindsey through the casino to keep an eye on her and see what exactly she's up to.

Sonia's team follow the shady staff member around the casino, occasionally having to retreat to the crowds when he looks around to check if security's onto him before continuing on his way. Unknowingly leading them over to the staff door and going through it.

Although he has gone somewhere they can't follow him to, they have a good idea on what he's going to be doing in the restricted area over where the casino vault is located.

"So, the part about him being from the Great War checks out… What can you tell us about him?"

Sir Charles took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts for a moment. It's been so long since he has given the jackal any consideration. Like a ghost from the past back to haunt the present.

He begins telling the young heroes present about his connection with Tarek. "Doctor Xavier Globočnik or Tarek Mengele as you kids know him as is something of an enigmatic figure even back then. According to the late Nate Morgan who had introduced him to us, he supposedly originated from a little known colony somewhere in Efrika. Supposedly because that's what he had told him when asked about it once and there's the fact the surname isn't of Efrikan origins which makes me suspect it's an alias."

"It wouldn't be surprising if it is." Sally remarks on the new info. "Was he ever part of your group of peers?"

"He never saw himself as being one of us despite working with us and kept to himself outside of work. None of us ever really got to know him on a personal level."

A younger Charles and Ellidy were sharing champagne with their friend Ovi Kintobor in his lab after the completion of a project he had been working on. The three in the middle of celebrating their success and singing together while Tarek quietly drank his' in a corner of the lab, watching his peers like he does not belong in their company.

"You could mistake that for arrogance but I think it's the fact he doesn't share the same outlook on the world as we do. Detached from it and looking at it like a spectator. Ironic given his field of study has him interacting with it and studying life on it."

Tarek showed Charles his result papers from a synthesized food project he had successfully completed as part of an agriculture initiative to combat potential food shortages within the Kingdom of Acorn due to the Great War currently going on. The jackal humorously told him that their field rations will help them win against the Overlanders because their soldiers are going to enjoy the synthesized foods.

"Don't get me wrong, he's quite brilliant in the different fields of bioscience and has such incredible knowledge within that realm that very few can match. It's how off-putting his lack of mobianity is when it comes to his approach to science that made me weary of him and probably why I never got on with him beyond professionalism."

"If we spend all day worrying about the morality of everything we do, nothing would ever get done and very little progress would be made. Science does not care what you think. In times of war, the law falls silent." Tarek was calmly arguing with the younger Charles about the morality of creating weapons against the aggressive Overlanders and the hedgehog pushing against what he was proposing to him. "Remove your own emotions from the equation and look at the bigger picture for one moment. In his time of great desperation, King Max will choose the option that ensures victory for all of his subjects and live with the choice. Morality and ethics be damned."

"Brilliant as he may be, I just couldn't trust someone who holds no life sacred and I think your father must have held the same sentiments because neither you nor Sonic were ever introduced to him when he was still with us."

The present day Charles admitted to the youngsters present, all now aware of Tarek's past ties with the aged scientist. "As polite, respectful and helpful he was to his peers, I just could not shake off the bad vibe I got off from him. I don't know what happened in his past to make him that way but he left behind any semblance of heart in an unmarked grave…"

Sally would ask the older hedgehog an important question. "You mentioned that he faked his death in 3225. What happened?"

"It's better you ask Ellidy that question because he'd know a lot more about the circumstances surrounding his arrest since he was the one who originally reported him to your father. What I can tell you is that after Xavier was apprehended, a decision was made by the Royal Secret Service to censor and classify all records of him ever being in service to the kingdom following the end of the Great War." Charles disclosed his own knowledge to the princess. "It's why none of you kids ever heard of him until now."

Scratching his chin. "He would be given a lifetime sentence at Devil's Gulag. On the way over, the ship transporting suffered a crash and was presumed killed along with the rest of the crew that perished aboard it. By the time they had located the wreckage, the fire burned away any hopes of identifying the burned corpses and taking stock of what's missing. As far as we were concerned at the time, that was the end of Xavier."

"Apparently not." Rotor surmised from the information presented. "He must have somehow survived the crash and with Julian seizing power later in that year, he was more or less free to start a new life. Forge a new identity."

"So…" Sonic drawled with crossed arms and taking in what's been revealed. "The whole time the Robotnik Wars, the Black Arms Invasions, the Xorda Attack, the Shattered World Crises, the Metarex and everything else that were going on in the last fourteen years up to the present; this guy was chilling out in total anonymity. If that's not a lucky break, I don't know what else is."

Lindsey felt very confident with the way her heist plan is proceeding along.

As good as her client's word, they have provided her with new mooks to replenish her gang's numbers and more. Having access to state of the art equipment that can be smuggled through security without setting off the detectors. Everything she needs to be able to pull off this job in the seemingly impenetrable Casino Park; the heart of Breeze Media.

A dream of many inspiring criminals in the underworld and she'll get to be the one to stake that claim. The one to humiliate Breezie the Hedgehog who thinks she holds all the cards. Put that teal rodent in her place and stealing some of her fortunes just happens to be a sweet bonus.

Just as she was musing about how much she'll earn from this job, someone suddenly comes up to her handbag side and loops an arm around her. "Keep walking and no funny business."

The wig-wearing woman felt a twitch in her eyes when she saw that Gadget had managed to get the drop on her again and the wolf would soon be joined by the rest of his team. "You little—"

"Monsieur Yardley. Fancy meeting you here of all places, non?" Antoine greets the redhead in disguise and walks alongside her while Sticks covers the back. "You're looking well zhis evening and rocking ze blonde locks for ze occasion."

"What? Your hillbilly for a wife not liking the taste of your "baguette" anymore or something? Sorry, I don't ride with cheese-eating cowards." Lindsey greeted him in a snide fashion while hiding her own seething rage at being caught like this. The coyote simply ignored the jab.

"I'm all for sticking it to the system that likes to prey on people with addiction for monetary gains but you're no Robyne Hode yourself." Sticks said to the human, speaking her mind. "More like Rotten Crook."

Lindsey haughtily retorted back with no filter. "Ah, you must be that mental defective they call Sticks the Badger. Guess the funny farm decided to let you out early this year."

Antoine put a hand out to stop Sticks from having a go at the woman. "She's just zrying zo rile you up. I wouldn't zake it from someone who murders people in cold blood."

"Oh, yeah. Judge me from your little treehouse ivory tower on howIearn my living."

"Your rep sheet includes ze murder of a child who was a witness zo one of your burglaries and I highly doubt you got paid forzhatone. You're here zo rob Casino Park. Zhat is what you and your crew are here for. No doubt zhat you're off zo attend zo ze next step of ze heist."

"And what if I was Gabacho Depardieu? You ain't a police officer and public opinion says you guys suck right now all thanks to Scrappy Oliver over here." Lindsey matter-of-factly answered with a smug grin and rubbing it in their faces, even getting in a pointed jab at Gadget. "I haven't been committing any crimes around here moronsieur."

"We can tell security to go check the vault and get half of Empire City's finest all over your crew..." Sticks retorted sharply. "Or you could cooperate with us and tell us where your paymasters are hiding out at. Your choice."

"...Scrappy Oliver.

A term named after a much hated sitcom character to describe a new member added to a team/group who either got in not by their own merits or proven to be a poor addition and a detriment.

To be called a Scrappy Oliver is a mark of shame and I.G.N had seen fit to brand me with it. Even after making it big, I still can't escape being the runt to be looked down on. Hearing what was being said about me by strangers during that mission was very sobering for someone like me…"

Rotor had a question for the senior hedgehog. "Seeing as you've worked with him in the past, could you give us any insight on him? What is the motivation for doing what he does?"

Charles rummaged through his memories. "Speaking from my own experiences with him, he's a closed book for the most part. He once said to me that if you were acting on the "wrong" side of a conflict, you would be branded a criminal but be deemed a hero for the same crimes as long as you're acting for the "correct" side. How we'll excuse any amoral acts just as long as they're done for the "right" reasons before condemning the author once they cease to be beneficial to the victor."

Taking a drink of his water before continuing. "Besides his misanthropy, he's dedicated towards scientific purposes and achieving the desired results from those pursuits. He does not want the world nor money but the scientific answer to the great mysteries of life at any cost is what I can understand from him."

"And paired with his stance on free will, you have a spinozist with the heart of a schopenhauerian." Sally commented out loud. "If he's not one for power, then what does he hope to seek through Kirk's work? A scientist of his caliber would not be going around stealing someone else's project unless they have something he wants that he can't get anywhere else."

Sonic scoffed derisively, thinking Sally and the others are giving Tarek way too much credit in his opinion. "Who cares what some heartless psychopath wants or why he does what he does? We know he's up to no good and probably experimenting on people right now wherever he is. He's just a mad man pretending to act like he isn't some bloodthirsty maniac."

"We underestimated him last time and got burned for it. You could be right that he is actually mad in the head but we don't know that for sure. We don't know what he was doing in the last fourteen years and why he suddenly decided to make moves now after all this time." Sally stressed with her looking at the situation from an objective perspective rather than an emotional one. "We only just now found out he used to be a member of the Court of Acorn."

"Yeah. Another secret Uncle had withheld from us..." Sonic's bitterness came out a lot stronger than he had intended and realized it himself as he quickly apologized to his uncle for the remark. "Sorry. It's just that it would have been helpful to know that much sooner."

"If I had known who exactly you kids were dealing with, I would have broken my silence a lot sooner." The older hedgehog understood how his nephew felt in light of recent events. "To be honest with you Sonny... I had hoped for him to have perished in that crash and spare you all from ever having to meet him. Live your whole life without ever knowing a thing about him."

"...Is your silence part of that coverup?"

Charles nodded reluctantly. "We swore to secrecy on him ever existing. Thought that by burying all traces of him, no one would be inspired to carry on his deranged "legacy" after death and be forgotten to time. How foolish of us to assume that."

Wanting to relieve some weight off his shoulders, the knighted hedgehog made the decision to preemptively confess something to everyone present. "...You all know I invented the Roboticizer, you all know it was meant to be a medical tool to help save lives and you all know that the Robotniks perverted the intent behind the device to enslave others with it…."

They deserve to know the truth.

He owes them that much for all the trouble his own invention has brought upon in the years since he created it. "What you don't know is how I actually made a breakthrough with it."

"I was able to figure out most of the Roboticizer's functions on my own except for one crucial part. How to safely turn flesh to metal and back."

Inside his lab, the younger Doctor Charles Hedgehog was looking at a whiteboard featuring a little drawing of a machine yet to be built, the mathematics behind said machine and a big question mark regarding its key function.

The Roboticizer is the latest science project he has been working tirelessly on and the issue of how to get it to convert flesh to metal consistently has brought the development to a crawl. He's been trying to brainstorm a solution to the problem and resolve it to get the project going again.

"I had trouble trying to figure out how to get that function to work consistently. Before I could use it on a person, I performed a series of tests with various organic samples and all were coming out as failures."

Charles placed a ripe green apple under a miniature prototype of the Roboticizer and activated the device to initiate the robotization of the fruit from behind the safety of his shielding window.

He held a hopeful look on his face when he saw the apple seemingly crossing the threshold in transforming from organic to metal but then it suddenly pops midway through the conversation process. Leaving only a half-mushed apple with the metal parts crumbling to a pile of metal flakes. The sky blue hedgehog voiced his frustrated disappointment at another failed test result.

"Then he would offer me help with my conversation problem. At first, I was wary of accepting his assistance but when I reached my limits and desperate in trying to resolve my roadblock to make my dream come true; I ended up taking his offer."

While in the middle of overseeing his lab reports at a desk, Charles saw a large shadow cast over him and the hedgehog hesitantly turned around to face the owner of the shadow as if expecting a demonic entity to greet him.

Instead, he was greeted by a towering Tarek dressed in a black-red lab coat and the jackal held out his set of papers to him like a forbidden fruit. "Doctor Charles Hedgehog. I have resolved your molecular conversion problem and your dream is only one step closer to reality..."

"Through his own knowledge of biotechnology and biochemistry, he found a way to solve the issue by devising a formula to safely alter the molecular structure of the host's organic matter into metal and circuitry with consistency. I would then incorporate his formula into my design..." Charles in the present day let off a wary sigh, feelings of hindsight guilt weighing on him. "Like a wish from a monkey's paw, me building the Roboticizer ended up bringing suffering onto the world."

Sally and others stared at the elderly hedgehog in shock. Sonic included.

The device that allowed his father Jules to live to the present, gave Bunnie D'Coolette her original enhancements, claimed the families of many of his friends, the source of many emotional anguish and birthing the monstrosity that is Mecha Sonic was all made possible by Tarek.

Charles would have figured it out eventually but Tarek's contribution helped fast track the development process to completion to have it ready in time when Sonic's father Jules suffered a life-threatening head wound from a field mission and Julian would sabotage it to enslave its first patient before taking over the invention for his own use. Half of the hardships in Sonic's life and others' caused by the device can be traced back to him.

Tarek had left behind a modern day Pandora's Pithos for Doctor Julian Robotnik to use and ruin so many lives with it.

"No Chuck, he caused those sufferings." Sonic spoke up sternly. "He gave you a curse disguised as a miracle the moment he handed you that formula because he knew of your desperation. Left you to suffer the consequences while he walks away scot-free. It's not your fault but his'."

"Whether or not we can blame the last fourteen years all on him, that's besides the point. He is out there with the project and he's a danger to everyone if his survival skills are anything to go by." Sally nodded to Charles, thanking him for the new insight on their mysterious Tarek Mengele. "Thank you Sir Charles. Even if it wasn't much, we can at least make an educated guess as to what his motives could be."

"It's the least I could do for you with everything that's been going on. Just never thought I would ever see him alive again after all these years." The elderly hedgehog looks at Tarek's photo again, looking exactly as he had remembered him over fourteen years ago. "The first time I met him when Nate had introduced him to us, I was just a young hedgehog then and thought Xavier was old because of the grays of his coat. Yet it looks like he has hardly aged a day in those fourteen years while I'm the old man now. The irony."

Manic glanced at Rotor and shrugged his shoulders, seeing as they had stumbled upon another weird mystery that just so happens to have ties to the past. "Either he's born with some really good genes, some clone that's running about or he's an immortal like a certain someone we know. Wouldn't surprise me either way."

"Whatever he's about, we still have to stop him and his associates." Sally reminded everyone present before addressing the senior hedgehog. "Sir Charles. Shall we inform the Council of this in the morning?"

"Depends. Do they know about this?"

"They know of what went on at Resort Island, have two of our members hospitalized by the same culprits and that we've been manning our own investigation into this whole case. Everything else we've presented here, you're the first from the Acorn Council to know about the full details."

"Given the nature of what we're dealing with here, I recommend showing them your findings." Charles advised the chipmunk's course of action. "With the addition of my testimony, you'll have a strong case here and my colleagues will have to reevaluate their initial assessments once they're made aware of what's going on. Plus it would help shut down Hamlin with how vocal he's been lately if what I'm hearing is true. I'll back you up when you show them what you showed to me."

Sally nodded, thankful to have her father's friend in their corner. "In that case, that concludes our briefing for tonight. You're all dismissed and I'll see you all tomorrow morning."

Sonia's team would eventually rejoin with Antoine's when they see their teammates escorting Lindsey over towards the exits like an entourage and keeping her very close to avoid a repeat of an earlier incident. Making sure she can't pull a fast one on them and hopefully throwing a big wrench to her grand heist scheme.

That also has the result of Isabelle meeting face to face with the woman that hospitalized her twin. Trying to keep a cool head around her presence.

Gadget's ears picked up on a nearby conversation between two salarymen who recently arrived at Casino Park after the end of their office shifts. Both talking about him.

"Say Paul, you heard about their newest who was involved in that whole Resort Island mess? Supposedly he's that Avatar guy from the war but whoever they got on the team is better suited to flipping patties at a Meh Burger than helping to protect the world from Eggman."

"The guy has managed to tank their reputation overnight and given his recent performance, he's a total bust. I think he only got in because he just happens to be friends with Sonic."

'He only got in because he just happens to be friends with Sonic.'

Those damning words cut through him like broken glass. Even that guy gets it and he is probably some random nine to five worker who lives an unremarkable life. He used to be that type of guy once.

His colleagues had assured him it wasn't his fault that their villains got away last time but the cynical voice says they are only saying that to make him feel better. Make him not feel like a screwup to hide their hidden resentment at him fumbling the ball so royally and ruining their reputation. All leaving for the young wolf to feel disheartened inside.

"Haven't I already capped you once?" Lindsey spoke to Isabelle. The magenta hedgehog didn't look back at her.

"That was my sister you shot up."

"Oh? Well, you pink hedgehogs all look alike to me." The human shrugged her shoulders while Sonia glared at her for the racial remark. "She was dumb enough to go at us alone without bringing backup."

"You cheapshotted her!"

"So? That moron got in my way and dealt with her like a pest."

Big quickly held back Isabelle from going at Lindsey for her words and the human seeing she's struck a nerve with her. "If I had known it'd upset you that much, I would have scalped her hair off and made a wig out of it."

She tried to push Isabelle's buttons further but Sonia intervened. "She is only trying to get under your skin because she knows she's in a bind. Ignore her."

"Fine…" Isabelle begrudgingly relented. Walking along with her teammates in silence.

"How much is your employer paying you?" Antoine pressed for an answer out of Lindsey.

"Enough to keep me and my outfit working for him. He pays me rather handsomely. Enough to perhaps retire on a beach earning twenty percent."

"Same employer from Resort Island by any chance?"

"Maybe."

Before Antoine could enquire any further, someone suddenly comes up to Gadget and suckerpunches him in the face. The wolf letting go of Lindsey as he stumbles to the floor.

"Hey, it's those Freedumb Fighters and that red jackass is with them too!" The attacker loudly outed the group to the whole lobby.

Those who were swayed by I.G.N's rhetoric proceeded to quickly surround them. All letting the group know what they thought of them in less than pleasant languages and security quickly rushing over to break up the angry mob. This commotion led to Lindsey quickly using her handbag to smack Antoine in the face followed by a swift roundhouse kick to Sticks' head before running off the other way with Gadget and Isabelle giving chase. Neither were going to let her get away from them this time.

Lindsey barks an order into her communicator disguised as a gold ring bracelet while running. "Initiate Plan B!"

The scene immediately descends into chaos as Lindsey's people hidden among the crowds pull out their concealed weapons and start attacking to the sounds of terrified screams as gunfire rang out. The casino's security found themselves quickly getting cut down with a few unlucky civilians caught in the crossfire including the man who assaulted Gadget. Other casino patrons were all scrambling to get away from the bloodshed.

Antoine and his party hurriedly went to cover to avoid joining the body count. Seeing that their mission of bringing Lindsey in quietly going to hell in a handbasket because of unexpected bad luck cropping up, they switched their priorities towards dealing with the terrorists and protecting the civilians from them.

The public might be against them now but they're still going to carry out their duties regardless.

Charles meets Sonic outside as the younger hedgehog is on his way out to head home for the night. "I'm so sorry about what happened. I know things have been tough for you and not ideal but you'll bounce back from this."

"I would have just ignored the bad press like all the other times the public had turned on me but this time, all my friends are being affected by what I've done and it isn't fair on them." Sonic shook his head with a tired sigh, letting out a yawn. "How can I bounce back from this? I literally punched a public official in the face on camera and no way will they let me live it down. It's been a streak of rotten luck and it ain't getting any better for everyone else."

"I doubt things are as bad as you perceive them to be—"

"Bunnie told me the other day that Cream had come home from school in tears when most of the other kids were giving her the cold shoulder treatment. Someone who had part in that mess and yet she gets treated like a pariah just because she happens to be associated withus." Sonic told him, shocking the older hedgehog with that. "Yeah, it's worse than you think. All of that from me punching him in the face."

Running a hand over his quills. "What am I supposed to do? What canIdo for them to make things right again?"

"Do as you always have done in the past. Helping others, bringing the criminals to justice and taking your own path. You feel responsible for what's happening to your friends and that is what's really bothering you."

"Chuck… Am I a part of the problem?"

Startled by his nephew's words, Charles shot down the thought of it. "No. What's gotten you into thinking that?"

"It's a bunch of things. The war, the recent strings of mishaps, the loss of lives and everything Tarek had said to me." Sonic admitted only because his uncle would not stand for his fibbing. "Enough to get me thinking a lot lately."

"You just need to take a break and refresh. It's what you usually do when things get tough."

"This one's different. The world's coming back from a year of large scale conflict and believing me to be dead for most of it. I feel like I have to prove that I still got it."

"Burdening yourself with that crown is only going to wear you down until eventually you suffer a severe burnout. Don't push yourself to a breaking point. Please." Charles put a comforting hand on Sonic's shoulder. "Making mistakes and having regrets is a part of living. What isn't living is drowning ourselves in them. I would know because I've been there myself."

Sonic dips his head down, gazing at the ground. "...Does the world still need someone like me or am I denying the fact it's been radically changed to where it no longer feels like I belong in it anymore?"

"It will always need you no matter how far its' marching on ahead. You are its' reliable rock." Charles responded to the question the way he knows best. "It may hate you now but it'll later realize its mistake, stop giving grifters the time of day and come around to forgiving you again. Just give it some time."

His nephew lifted his head, feeling cheered up. "Perhaps you're right. It has been a rough week and a half for all of us. Plus there's that whole thing with Mecha Sonic…"

"It happens to the best of us. You'll persevere. Stubbornness does run in the family." The older hedgehog assured him. "Say, when are you going to introduce me to your new friend that you were on about last month?"

"Right now, he's off on a mission. We intercepted some coded message and Sal sent a team to go check it out. He'll be back." Sonic said as the pair walked together.

"Looking forward to meeting him and so would your parents. Sounds like a good kid if on the meek side." Charles gave Sonic a gentle, knowing smile. "Reminds me a lot of a certain little meek hedgehog I once knew."

Sonic smiled at that. "Mom is gonna adore him, Dad will tell him some dad jokes and Muttski will lick the face off of him. If you're bringing Rosie and Ben over, she'll probably say he's got better table manners than me and Ben will say he's cool for someone who can cook a delicious chicken parmesan pasta on top of being a Third Kup."

Charles hummed approvingly. "Anyone who can cook a good parmesan is a keeper and a future husband in the making."

Gadget and Isabelle ran after the fleeing Lindsey through the casino. Attempting to stay on her tail while occasionally avoiding the spray of Lindsey's blaster pistol resembling a weird-looking Colt SCAMP when she fires behind herself to shake them off.

A few of Lindsey's goons would show up to slow them down but fortunately, the casino's security force were working overtime to deal with most of the armed threats and the pair only had to worry about the more immediate ones. Gadget's grappling hook being a godsend in taking care of the gunmen from a distance.

Their chase brought them over to a semi-open lobby area with the casino arcade machines that Gadget had gone through earlier and a few terrified patrons hurrying out to safety. Lindsey would quickly reach out and grab hold of a scared little child that was hiding near a video poker cabinet, pressing the barrel of the pistol against his skull.

"Back off or else you'll be having another I.G.N report about you lot getting another child killed this month!" Lindsey snarls at the pair with her young hostage held in front of her.

Gadget and Isabelle looked at each other. This is a bad situation and they know she's not fooling around.

"Yeah, you keep your distance right there. I am going to go through this door behind me here and any sudden move will cost his life." She coldly warns the two, moving backwards towards the staff door. "Don't try to be a hero."

"Screw you!" Isabelle yelled at her. Beyond livid with her willingness to use a child as a human shield.

"The feeling is mutual!"

"It's going to be alright little one…" Gadget spoke out to the boy in Lindsey's hold and assured the distressed child. "Don't fret. Stay calm and be stro—"

"Hey, save the prep talk for another time where it's needed!" Lindsey interrupts him, holding the child closer to herself while nearing the staff door. Looking at the wolf with contempt.

When she reached the door, an unaware member of staff emerged and she smacked the hapless employee in the face with the butt of her pistol for no reason other than that he had the misfortune to startle her. Catching the opened door with one foot and shuffling through the doorway, slamming the door shut afterwards.

Gadget quickly checked on the unlucky employee that had his forehead busted open and searched for a keycard before handing it to Isabelle to open the door, sheepishly apologizing to the man over taking his card.

He followed Isabelle through the door to race after Lindsey down the halls and seeing the downed security guards that Jason's team had taken out before Plan B was initiated. Chasing her down to the vault beneath the casino's ground level.

"Step any closer and this little bastard gets it!"

Lindsey has one arm wrapped tightly over the child's throat, ready to crush it and holding her pistol to his head. Staring down the outnumbered pair who kept their distance near the vault entrance.

Jason and the rest of the heist crew were stashing their duffel bags full of mobiums into a big drill tank vaguely resembling a heavily-armored up Egg Drillster. No doubt one of Slimy's designs given the similarities.

"Let the child go Lindsey!" Isabelle narrowed her gaze at the scumbag calling itself a human being. The same one that had wounded her twin and killed several others with no remorse.

"Or what? I know what you're gonna do and I ain't interested in walking out in handcuffs. No thanks." Lindsey loudly scoffs, her gaze narrowing into a sharp one at the two mobians. "I don't know how you stupid brats knew to come here but I'm getting really fed up with these meet-ups."

While she was saying that, Butch "accidentally" drops something on the floor when he went to grab the last of the duffel bags and none of his colleagues noticed it as they're getting into their escape ride with Lindsey buying them some time. He felt internally disgusted with her choice of using a child for a hostage and prayed that either the hedgehog or the wolf do something about it.

"Perhaps if you're more skillful in Westopolis, this wouldn't be happening." Gadget stated plainly to the woman and worked out a plan in his head. Remembering what the cufflinks can do.

The fact he's the one saying those words in that manner, Lindsey's eyes darken when looking at Gadget with intense hatred. "I will not let some little red four-eyed rice-eating bastard lecture me on how to do my job. Frankly kiddo, I would love nothing more than to make an ashtray out of your skull if I could."

"Come on!" Jason popped his head out from the drill tank to see what his girlfriend was doing. "We gotta go before the fuzz shows up!"

Lindsey glanced over her shoulder at him. "Oka—ACK!"

Taking advantage of her momentary distraction, Gadget raises one of his arms and quickly fires a dart from one of his cufflinks at Lindsey before tagging her with it. The projectile speed of the dart being as fast as a bullet.

In seconds, she found herself losing grip on her pistol with the weapon falling to the floor and being sent off to slumberland as her form collapsed to the floor. Her hostage immediately fled from her the moment her hold weakened and ran over to his saviors who then usher him out of the vault chamber.

Before either Isabelle or Gadget could make moves on apprehending the unconscious Lindsey, the burst of heavy blaster fire from her crew prevented the two from even thinking of going inside without getting wasted.

Allowing Jason to hurriedly retrieve his unconscious girlfriend and carry her into the drill tank. The gunmen reboarded their heavily-armored ride while one of them tossed out a few smoke bombs to produce a heavy smokescreen right as the ramp retracts and the door closes up.

The tank proceeded to retreat into the tunnel it had carved out to reach the casino vault. Just as the two were ready to give chase to the heist gang, the explosives that had been placed around the makeshift entrance were detonated remotely; collapsing the concrete to seal it off before anyone could follow after the drill tank.

Employing the same trick as last time. Isabelle let out a loud cry of frustration at the fact that even after taking out Lindsey, she still ends up pulling a houdini somehow and the third instance of luck being on that woman's side.

"Lindsey and her gang have gotten away in a drill tank. We couldn't stop them from escaping and we're down in the vault." Gadget called up Antoine to inform him of the situation. The smoke is in the middle of dissolving by now.

"Did you at least slip in ze zracker in her handbag?"

"I did."

"Ze other zeam shall zake it from here." Antoine told him on the line. "Meet us up in ze lobby."

Having learned from the last encounter, Antoine had only brought along half of the investigation team to Casino Park with the other half of their crew staying on the F.F.S Mk. III and keeping the engines warm in the event Antoine's group failed to bring in Lindsey's crew for questioning. Enacting their own Plan B.

"Understood. Over and out."

Gadget looked down to find a folded up piece of paper on the floor left by Butch and pockets it before going over to carefully pick up Lindsey's dropped blaster. Getting out a clear baggie to put the weapon into and recalling Vector the Crocodile's useful advice from a while back about treating a foe's dropped item like a piece of evidence.

Stashing away Lindsey's weapon inside his tuxedo jacket, he looked over to a distraught looking Isabelle. "Antoine wants us back at the lobby."

"Alright…" The magenta hedgehog sighed in response, glancing back at the caved-in tunnel. Thinking of her sister in a hospital bed.

The wolf picked up on her demeanor. "Something the matter?"

"It's… It's nothing for you to worry about." Isabelle shook her head, not in the form to discuss what's on her mind right now. "Let's just go."

Knowing better than to press for details, Gadget quietly followed Isabelle out of the vault and headed back the way they had come from. The hero of the Phantom Ruby War silently lamenting how Lindsey and her crew had managed to escape from them twice in a row due to him.

Dark Drillster, ?

Night

When the wigless Lindsey comes back around, she finds herself inside the moving drill tank and groaning as she feels lethargic from the effects of the dart. "Ugh… Wha… What happened?"

Jason came over to her side upon hearing his girlfriend waking up and held up a dart in front of her. "Well Honey Bunny, you apparently got hit with this bad boy and off you went like a post-dopamine rush."

"Are we being pursued?"

"By the time our distraction was dealt with, we're long gone from Empire City. Doubt those brats back there would be able to follow where we're going in this bad boy. We should be on our way to the pickup point soon." Jason smirked to himself. "So, had a nice nap dear?~"

"It'll be nicer when I knock your lights out if you keep pressing your luck…" Lindsey warned in a dangerous tone. Surly, sour and icy at the same time.

When she recalled what happened and who had shot her with the dart, her face darkens. "That red four-eyed mutt…"

Jason nodded in agreement. "Sneaky little ch—"

"I am going to actually skin the pelt off that little red bitch alive the next time I see him and I'm gonna make an ashtray out of his skull when I'm finished with him!" The red-headed woman roared with such livid, raw volcanic rage that startled even Jason from the intensity behind her words. She didn't like him before but after tonight, her dislike for the wolf has mutated into pure hatred.

Butch spoke up. "Woah. Boss, take a—"

"If you value your own life, you shut your trap right now with the "take a chill pill" bull or I will nail you to that wall over there and skullfuck you until that brain of yours is turned to mush..." Lindsey's seething words to him were sharp and to the point with a viper-like glare to match. Defensively putting his hands up while taking joy in seeing her actually get rattled to that degree.

She snapped her gaze at the rest of her crew. "I fucking swear that if any one of you dipshits here makes another comment about telling me to calm down, I will personally fill up your body with lead until they have to stuff it into a closed casket. I am not in the mood for it. Understood?"

"Crystal!" The rest of the gang said in unison. Jason included.

They all knew better than to aggravate the same woman who once violently bludgeoned her young autistic brother to death because the stimming sounds he was making got on her nerves and then pinned his murder on an innocent neighbor who owned the crowbar she had "borrowed" as a murder weapon. Being aged eleven when she committed her first act of murder and feeling no remorse over it.

With no one to provide an alibi, her being the convincing actress she is and the incompetence of the police department handling the case at the time, the poor neighbor ended up being condemned for her heinous crime despite pleading his innocence while she gets to walk free with nobody none the wiser and would grow up to be the ruthless mercenary she is now.

She's the brains of this outfit. Loathes having someone make a chump out of her and having her ego wounded that way. That four-eyed mutt has gotten the better of her twice in a row now and she is imagining all kinds of horrific things she will do to him when she gets back at him.

Lindsey doesn't care what her current client thinks; she ain't going to let go of this insult against her person. She hates him. She will do whatever it takes to correct said insult with his blood. Nobody she views as lesser beings than herself is allowed to get one over on Lindsey 'Honey Bunny' Yardley and live to tell it.

Unbeknownst to Lindsey and her gang, a little bug Gadget left inside the handbag is currently sending out an active tracking signal...

"...I always wanted to be someone that could make a real difference and make my own parents proud but… *sniffs* W-What's there to be proud of in b-being the ones who helped raise a s-screwup that r-ruined the Knothole Freedom Fighters overnight?

Akira, don't start crying now. No one wants an emotional cripple... That's the last thing they need right now!

I wonder if it was a mistake for me to join the team in the first place. All I've been for them so far is that of a magnet for bad luck with their recent strings of mishaps happening ever since I came aboard and maybe things wouldn't turn out that way had I declined the offer...

They've been kind to me and I have been making connections with most of them but in my eyes, I feel like a burden to them despite them telling me otherwise. There is no worse feeling than realizing that maybe you are the piece out of place and the one who doesn't truly belong. I hope that I'll be wrong about this looking back some time later but that seems ever more unlikely... End Log. Akira signing out."

Author's Notes: With Tarek's hidden past revealed, a new insight is gained, another instance of something from the past affecting the present day and an appearance from Uncle Chuck. Adding some new lore regarding the creation of the Roboticizer and a little glimpse into Uncle Chuck's earlier life Pre-Great War.

A good way to kick off the second act of the piece. It's the trickiest to write so far on how to go from where we were last time to now. How to show the lingering effects of the Reactive Factory Disaster, how the "journalists" from I.G.N help fan the flames with their coverage and other details while still moving the story along.

Leave your thoughts in the reviews and I'll see you all another time.