In the dining hall, Sonic, Tails and Amy are amazed by a large elegant hall with a large table that is usually for royal and wealthy people, making Sonic rub his hands as he's prepared for a proper meal.
"So pretty." Amy said with amazement.
"Yeah. It's beautiful." Tails is the same as Amy after looking around the dining hall.
"Welcome to our kingdom's dining hall. I hope you all enjoy your meal. Anything to drink? Tea, coffee, water or juice?" Nigel asks while holding his notebook and a pencil.
"Juice!" Tails and Amy decided their drinking choice.
"Tea. I like some milk and sugar with that." Sonic answers his drinking choice.
"Alright. Make them their drinks, Mr. Stone." Nigel orders while handing over his note paper, that is torn from his book, to Agent Stone.
"Coming right up." Agent Stone bows and then leaves the hall and enters the kitchen with other G.U.N. agents working on cooking some meals along with Queen Alicia Acorn.
As for Nigel, he lets Sonic, Tails and Amy sit together as they're in front of Sally and the Commander.
"It looks like we're not the only ones that's eating for today." Said the Commander.
"Yeah. But what happened to the guards from this kingdom?" Tails asks, confused that there's none of them.
"Your town isn't the only thing that Dr. Eggman has attacked. Our kingdom has been ravaged after we ignored his warnings. He really is desperate to take our lands as his own. After I was separated from my family, the only one I had left was my son. None of the guards are back and I'm all alone in this kingdom." Nigel squeezes his cup of coffee as he grunts.
"If your son is fine, then where is he?" Sonic asked.
"He's been out recently. Although, it's not the first time I see a hedgehog here." Nigel points out.
"Not the first?" Amy leans forward, even Sonic and Tails are curious about another hedgehog.
"Another hedgehog? Father, what does that even mean?" Sally asked as she's just as confused as Sonic, Tails and Amy after what happened to the kingdom a month ago.
Before Nigel explains the aftermath before his reunion with his family, plates are being dropped as Sonic, Tails and Amy encounter the woman that got them in jail, Queen Alicia Acorn.
"Wha… Nigel, can we talk in private?" Alicia quickly turns her head around, knowing that Sonic and his friends are out of jail.
"We can continue in a minute. Don't worry, Mr. Stone is sending drinks to you guys until your breakfast comes." Nigel said while standing up and leaving the dining hall with his wife.
Amy pouts as she growls.
"Why is she here!?"
"It's a normal family tradition. I'm sure you had that at home." Tails said, making Amy lean on the table as she groans.
"You're right. I saw you, your mom and Nicole together. Even Sonic, Tania, their mom and dad I was with." Amy said.
"I know it's hard to accept my mother, but bear with her. I don't think it'll last with you guys around." Sally fears that this morning is about to go horribly.
"I get how you're feeling. I don't like her too, but we must stay professional. The queen is just a normal chipmunk at heart. And besides, King Acorn's got it under control." The Commander added.
Sonic moves his eyes while watching a couple bickering, making him suspicious as he squints his eyes.
As for the king and queen, Alicia is enraged at the sight that Sonic, Tails and Amy are free after what happened yesterday.
"Why are they in the dining hall!? Don't you know what they have done, Nigel!?" Alicia pulls Nigel's collar, making Nigel himself sigh while keeping a straight face.
"Alicia, I get how you're feeling, but don't you think it's slanderous towards the children. Just because Miles Prower is the son of Rosemary, doesn't mean you arrest him for nothing. He's just a child, he had nothing to do with his mother." Nigel responds to Alicia's attitude towards Tails, knowing how his wife felt towards a certain person.
"But he also has a couple of hedgehogs that's been rude to the queen!" Alicia added.
"Understand that they're like our daughter; they're just kids that's trying to save us. I wish I could stop them, but with Dr. Eggman on the loose, we need to focus on the bigger problem. Bear with it." Nigel turns away while marching back towards the dining hall.
Alicia is speechless as she clenches her teeth, realising that Nigel is defending the children, especially Rosemary's spawn.
"Rosemary… Why?" Alicia storms towards the dining hall after being told by her husband to bear with it.
Later at the dining hall, the G.U.N. soldiers are finally feasting together as well as Sonic, Tails, Amy and Sally.
No matter how Tails feels, he's still being watched by the queen, making him nervous as he's being targeted for whatever he did.
As Nigel clears his throat, he catches the kids' attention, even the G.U.N. soldiers as he's about to continue the discussion.
"The hedgehog I talked about is yellow fur and she did mention she had a brother called Nicky." Nigel reveals the hedgehog's identity.
This had Sonic, Tails and Amy gasping in shock after hearing what Nigel said.
"T- Tania?" Amy is shocked that she and her friends are in the right direction to Tania's whereabouts.
"I remember she left my house to go after Eggman, but I didn't know she went there after I met her!" Tails is also shocked that Tania entered the Kingdom of Acorn without his knowledge.
Nigel closes his eyes as he places the tablet on the table and slides it towards the kids while raising his hand to record the memories of his own and Tania's.
"Chaos Control."
A Month Ago
20XX July 4th
Slumping in the middle of nowhere, a yellow furred hedgehog girl in a shirt with a T on it is searching for Eggman and is now lost while trying to find a place to rest.
Her fur is roughed up and her clothes are ragged, making her lose balance.
As she collapses, Tania is unable to continue her journey, making her cry as she can't do anything.
"Big brother… I'm sorry…" Tania apologises while covering her eyes with her arm.
Unfortunately for her, no one is around to save her and the place she's in is empty.
Fortunately, footsteps are approaching her as Tania herself sees a silhouette of an anthropomorphic squirrel boy in a scarf who is looking at her.
As the squirrel boy picks Tania up, he feels pity towards the hedgehog, but is glad that there's a survivor of Eggman's attack, leading him to carry her towards the castle.
"Who… Are…"
"It's okay, kid. Just get some rest." The sauirrel boy finally enters the castle while looking around for Eggman's robots.
They enter.
20XX July 5th
The castle is quiet as it's deserted.
The birds are standing on the windowsill, the sun is shining during the summer breeze and a certain yellow hedgehog is sleeping in her messed up clothes.
Groaning, Tania finds herself waking up in a royal bedroom, making her look around, thinking this is her afterlife.
Opening the door, arriving is a brown furred anthropomorphic squirrel boy in a blue scarf with golden design on, the very same boy that saved Tania after finding her lost in the middle of nowhere.
"Morning, kid. Boy, am I glad there's a fellow survivor. I saw you lying on the ground looking messed up. Here. A nice warm toast and eggs with juice. I hope you enjoy it." Said the squirrel boy, smiling that he finally found someone that isn't dead.
Shockingly, Tania wolfs down her breakfast like a savage beast, making the squirrel boy chuckle out of amusement.
"Hey now, don't rush. You need to be in good shape if you want to stay here." Said the squirrel boy.
"Hm? Who are you? Where am I?" Tania asks with toast in her mouth and grabs a cup of juice.
"Haha. Sorry about that. I'm Prince Elias Acorn. You're in the Kingdom of Acorn… Or it used to be until Dr. Eggman wiped out our home." Elias frowns while lowering his head, remembering losing his mother and his little sister.
Tania can tell he's just like her in terms of losing a home and family by being lonely.
Patting Elias' head, Tania is soothing the pain while smiling towards him.
"It's okay, Eli, I'll be your little sister. We can start over by making more friends and fighting Eggman together!" Tania cheerfully raises her arm while helping Elias stand with a confident smile.
"Eli… Heh, kid, I like how high spirited you are. Never giving up. I wish I was like you. You're like Sonic the Hedgehog." Said Elias.
"Sonic the what?" Tania stops herself after hearing that name.
"You haven't heard of a story written by Mary Garnet?"
"Who's Mary Garnet? What's Sonic?" Tania is lost after hearing these words, making Elias sigh out of disappointment and then sits in front of Tania herself.
"I guess there's a lot to unpack and start over." Elias opens the drawers, bringing out papers and a bunch of colouring pencils while telling Tania a story of Sonic the Hedgehog.
As the story's been told, Tania is surprised as her eyes sparkles with excitement.
"He is so cool! I wish I was like him!" Tania cheers while leaning close to Elias' face.
"Heh. You're in luck. But first we need to know more about you, kid."
"Oh me? I'm Tania! Tania the Hedgehog!" Tania stands on the bed while proudly pointing at herself.
"Tania. That's a nice name." Elias finally pats Tania's head as he can see his little sister in Tania.
After doing that, appearing is a brown furred anthropomorphic squirrel woman in a purple dress which had Tania and Elias turn around.
"Elias? How's the girl you found?" The squirrel woman asks, only for her to stop after seeing Elias patting Tania's head.
"Eli, who's that lady?" Tania is curious about that squirrel woman which had Elias laughing nervously.
"Oh my gosh! She's so cute!" The squirrel woman yanks Tania as she hugs the hedgehog with excitement, only for her to realise that smell is pungent. "Ugh! And you stink!"
"Um… What?" Tania is confused while looking to her left and right after being squeezed by a squirrel.
"Sorry about that, Tania. This is Megan the Squirrel, my… Girlfriend." Elias introduces Megan to Tania as he holds Megan's hand.
"Ooh… When are you getting married?" Tania asked.
"Oh, Tania, we'll tell you when that happens." Megan giggles while placing her hand on Tania's head.
Now Tania is seeing a happy couple despite having to go through Eggman's destruction, making her confident as she smiles towards them.
"That's amazing! Eli and Megan are my new friends!" Tania cheered.
"Elias, does your father know about this?" Megan asked.
Elias let's Megan sit on a bed next to Tania as he picks up a tray of an empty plate and cup and places them on an untouched shelf and stands like a proud king.
"Elias! Is that…" Elias tries to sound like a haughty king and then turns around to his natural standard as if he's playing a charade.
"Yes, father. I found a hedgehog that's lost in the middle of nowhere. I could tell that she's a survivor." Elias said as he's feeling sorry for Tania.
He then went back to his haughty king's position.
"Really!? Huzzah! Finally! A survivor! Oh thank goodness there's hope!" Elias role-playing as his father while praying with joy.
"Indeed. Is okay for her to st-" Elias stops himself as he immediately goes to his father's position.
"Yes! We must keep her safe before Dr. Eggman shows up again! Whatever you do, keep her safe!" Elias as the king.
"Yes, father. I must be off." Elias as himself.
"Very well. A survivor… HALLELUJAH! Finally! We have a survivor with us! Take that, Dr. Eggman! Wahoo! Yeah! Yeahah!" Elias is still doing a charade of his father by dancing while cheering.
This had Megan and Tania laughing as well as Elias after being entertained with amusement, leading to Elias placing his knee on the floor as he looked at Tania with a calm smile.
"Tania. You've been out for a while, haven't you?" Elias asks while nodding.
"Mm. I wanna fight Eggman! He took away my friends, my family, my brother and my home!" Tania is determined to face Eggman while going all feisty.
"Hm. That's why I'm here. If you want to avenge your brother, let's begin our training. Megan, could you give this kid a bath? I got clothes that could fit her." Elias stands up while turning towards the exit as he carries the dishes.
"Sure. Let's go, Tania. The bath is warm, so let's wash together." Megan said while standing up.
"Sure!" Tania nods while jumping off the bed and turns towards Megan.
Finally, Tania is able to stay in a deserted kingdom, making her believe that Elias and Megan are about to treat her like a family member.
This is the start of her road to avenge her brother.