Rediscovered Frontiers

by The Infamous Man

Tangle the Lemur and Whisper the Wolf are no strangers to adventure. They've teamed up with Sonic the Hedgehog and beat Eggman's cronies by themselves. But this latest adventure is turning out to be a strange one. An old PDA found in the forest spat out a holo-lynx that called herself Nicole, and she's begging for help to find her friends…

10. Danger On The Dance Floor Part 1

Sally's knowledge of clubs was fairly limited, if she were being completely honest.

The Juice Joint back in Old Mobotropolis had been the first real club she had gone to. It had been modeled after ancient structures known as Discos and a lot of the music itself was either inspired by or directly came from the tomes of the Overlanders' human ancestors. She had known about the place, but had never gone. There was simply too much to do. Dealing with Ixis Naugus, her father, Elias' return…

…She probably never would have gone if Sonic hadn't practically dragged her away.

This… was not like the Juice Joint.

"This sucks!" Tangle groaned as she rocked back and forth on her heels. "I knew this club was hot, but to stand in line for an hour? Come on!"

"We did come here last minute." Whisper reminded her friend, a frown on her face while her left hand stroked the mask on her hip as if it were a talisman to calm her. "And there's a big star playing."

"You mean cracked3GG? Yeah…" The lemur sighed. "I love his stuff too! I was just hoping that we could squeeze in…"

"Well, if nothing else the atmosphere here is lively." Blaze commented, glancing at bouncer who opened the door and allowed another pair to enter. The sound of the electronic beats filled the air while beams of colored light reflected off of the fog that leaked out. "And this performer must be a good one if the club is this packed."

"Man, we could be doing something else right about now…" SIlver groaned, massaging the back of his neck. "Like checking out the Egg Theater! Or just walking around!"

Tangle glared at him. "Where's your sense of fun, dude? This is THE hottest club in the islands!"

The hedgehog let out a sigh. "It's not fun when you're sitting around for an hour! And besides, they haven't even created localized zero gravity clubs yet!"

IS THIS REALLY GOING TO BE WORTH THE WAIT? Nicole asked, appearing in the corner of Sally's vision. To the robian's shock, she was dressed in the outfit she had gone to Mina's concert in. The big purple hat, the purple top, and the jean shorts! Honestly, she looked so cute in that outfit when Sally had first seen it. IT ISN'T LIKE NEW MOBOTROPOLIS, WHERE IT WAS ALRIGHT TO WAIT FOR THE PERFORMANCE TO BEGIN IN THE OPEN AIR.

"I guess." Sally had to shrug. "If Tangle says it's good then it probably is. Though, to be honest, I think Silver has the right idea…"

Waiting in line was something Sally never had to get used to. Usually, being a princess meant that when she wanted a table, a table was found. No wait time for her unless it was for meeting a diplomat or some other government official of another kingdom.

She couldn't really say that she liked the experience.

"Why haven't you come out?" She asked her friend, frowning. "You look great, Nicole! I'm sure the others would think so too!"

A warm smile spread across the holo-lynx's face. THANK YOU. BUT… I DON'T WANT TO CAUSE A SCENE.

"Won't cause more of a scene than I would." To Sally's shock, the people in the line that saw her face laughed and asked if she was a Crackedhead. Tangle explained that they were super fans of the music artist inside who dressed themselves in costumes reminiscent of badniks. Honestly, it was a bit odd to her. But at least she wasn't causing a panic.

Though if she revealed the rest of her body…

Still, she wasn't exactly comfortable with taking off her hood. She really didn't want others to see her head, even if there wouldn't be that much light.

DON'T SAY THAT, SALLY. BESIDES! I AM HAVING FUN! OR AT LEAST I THINK I WILL… Nicole frowned. HOW LONG WILL THIS LINE GO ON? THE WAIT TIME IS INCONSISTENT.

Before Sally could answer a gruff voice asked, "You Sally Acorn?"

She looked to her left and saw, behind the felt railing and standing on the other left of the sidewalk, was a basset hound mobian wearing a white suit. He was glaring at her, his hands in his pockets and very much giving the impression that he would rather be anywhere but here.

Instantly, Sally's own eyes narrowed and she asked, "How do you know my name?"

The suited dog shrugged. "I don't, but my boss does. Told me to keep an eye out for a chipmunk that might look a bit off, hangin' out with a purple cat and a white-haired hedgehog."

Instantly, both Blaze and Silver were alert. They turned on their heels and tensed up. Whisper did as well, her stance shifting ever so slightly to get ready to fight. Even Tangle stopped rocking back and forth with her tail becoming rigid.

Still, she had to keep things calm. She needed to assess what was going on. "And what business does your boss have with me?"

"Man, I don't know." He reached forward and unhooked the railing, motioning her out. "All I know is that it's your lucky day. You and your friends are gettin' VIP treatment into Club Spin."

"WHAT?!" Everyone in line shouted all at once. Sally now found herself in the center of a near sea of glares from both mobians and humans. For once, it wasn't because of her body.

"This is such… GAH!"

"Why the hell do they get to go?! I've been waiting her for three hours!"

"H-Hey! I'm with them too! Let me go!"

But Sally didn't move. Instead she crossed her arms and asked, "What's the catch? What does your boss want in exchange?"

"Look lady, I've got a date tonight. Just get into the stupid club so I can go out with her for dinner." When she didn't move the dog growled. Then, when intimidation obviously wasn't working, he sighed and said, "All he said to me was that when you had your fun or whatever, you are to come and see him."

"And why would I do that?"

"Dunno. He said that you would understand why after the show."

She really didn't like it. Every alarm bell in Sally's head was going off. Was this a trap? A trap made specifically for her? No, Tangle had only picked this club because it was popular. Then it was just a coincidence.

"But who is this guy's boss? How does he know me… know my name?"

"I guess we'll have to figure it out later." Tangle interrupted Sally's train of thought, stepping forward with her hands on her hips. "I say we shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth! Let's have some fun and then deal with all this mystery crap after."

"Really?" Blaze asked, incredulous. "That's your response to this development?"

"Yup! Besides…" The lemur grinned and smashed her fist into an open palm. "If this is some sort of evil ambush or whatever, we can smack the jerk around!"

The dog snorted. "Yeah, good luck with that! The boss'll eat you for breakfast!"

Whisper glared at the suited thug, who blinked and took a step back. Not saying a word, the wolf walked to Tangle.

Sally, Silver, and Blaze exchanged glances. They were all on edge from this… but what were they going to do? They had no real information to act on, at least not yet. Their mysterious host was nowhere to be seen, and it didn't look like his lackey was going to offer them more information than necessary.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE FOR ME TO DO?

The princess shook her head. "Nothing we can do… except go in like they want."

With that she along with the hedgehog and cat stepped out of the line and walked with the dog to the front, where the gorilla bouncer stood with his arms crossed.

"Jake." The dog nodded to the bouncer. "Boss' giving them VIP treatment."

"Whatever." With one arm, the gorilla opened the door.

She could already hear it. The booming speakers, the flashing lights, the near sea of bodies jumping up and down to the beat…

"This SUCKS!" The human male in the front of the line shouted. "First that mongoose chick, and now these brats? What the hell's going on in this club?"

"I heard the mongoose is cracked3GG's fling." A fox mobian huffed out, turning up her nose. "Guess you can go anywhere if you know the right people!"

"Wait, really?" A human girl asked, blinking in wonder. "Never knew cracked3GG went for Islanders!"

Sally frowned as she looked at them. "A mongoose was invited in like us? What…?"

"Sally, come on!" She turned her head to see Tangle motioning her to follow while Whisper, Blaze, and Silver carefully maneuvered past her. Already she could hear the wild screaming and cheers. "He just got on stage! He's playing ABC!"

…WELL. WE MIGHT AS WELL SEE WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT! Nicole declared, grinning nervously.

Despite the situation, Sally couldn't help but smile slightly as she walked inside and the door slammed shut behind her.

"Yeah. Might as well have some fun before all the drama starts."

---

Hershey grimaced as she watched the princess and her companions enter the club. "Damn it…"

She was sitting at a table in a chain coffee shop that was a block away from Club Spin. It wasn't exactly a private place. People heading off to parties or rushing to their night jobs were shuffling in and out of the store, grabbing coffees to wake themselves up or sober up so that they can operate for a little while longer. Getting a table was, under normal circumstances, near impossible.

But Hershey was observant. She took one look at a table where a young cat man was fidgeting in a suit and glancing at his watch. She slid into the seat across and before he could ask her to leave she asked what was wrong.

It wasn't much. Just an interview for a job that seemed to have gone up in smoke since the interviewer was now thirty minutes late. With the guy's frayed nerves she was able to make him convince himself that the company he was trying to work for was obviously shady since they emailed him the offer without him ever applying. She had winked at him and said that he should just go out and have some fun rather than stay cooped up in a crowded cafe all night.

Hershey would be a liar if she said she hadn't felt kind of bad when the guy awkwardly asked for her number and she showed him her ring.

But it did have the intended effect. The guy left and the secret agent had the window table all to herself while she tentatively sipped her extra large coffee. She had put on her sunglasses and used its advanced technology to focus on Sally as she waited in line to enter the club.

His club.

"I hope you have a plan, Sally. It's obviously a trap…"

"Hershey!"

The cat lowered her sunglasses and looked up to see a grinning wolf with mostly pink fur save for a lighter shade around her face, ear insides, and tail tip. Her brown dreadlocks swayed with each step she took on her sandaled feet, blue eyes glittering with happiness. She wore a green top that showed off her midriff, matching the green shorts she wore and the green hairband.

Next to her was an identical wolf wearing the same outfit, albeit colored a dark blue instead of green.

Her teammates, Leeta and Lyco Wolf, pushed themselves through the crowd while Hersey waved at them.

"Man, this place is crazy!" Leeta slid into her seat while her sister mirrored her act. "All these people are here for coffee? We sure Eggman didn't put some kind of drug in this stuff?"

"Please." Lyco rolled her eyes. "If Eggman were messing with our food, he would've let us know by now."

Leeta pointed at the menu. "I know, but still! It's just coffee!"

Hershey sighed. "You know, you didn't have to shout my name like that. We're supposed to have codenames."

The green-clad wolf waved her hand. "Yeah, but in a place like this? Nobody's listening."

"Besides, I gave the place a quick scan when we entered." Lyco's lip quirked slightly. "None of the elephant's men are here. And he's got the fox hanging around his office, so there's not a chance he even suspects we're here."

Right. Shiro the Corsac Fox, one of Mammoth Mogul's more skilled flunkies in this new world. She had read the field report from Elias and Larry when they had come to this city to gather intel on Mammoth Studios, especially when they had learned that the CEO was Mammoth Mogul.

A feared and dangerous immortal being in their world, one hell bent on becoming a god through his magic and cunning. A mammoth that had committed countless atrocities during his long life and had hurt Sally and her friends.

Here he was merely a so-called humble philanthropist, the last member of his race who simply wanted to unlock the imaginations of the people through the movies and music he funded. Movies that had small budgets but amazing scripts and set design, so they made more than a profit in the box office. Music deals that elevated underground artists and transformed them into superstars.

Mammoth Studios was slowly but surely becoming a powerhouse in the entertainment industry, and the director was certain that Mogul was using it as a stepping stone for something else. But to be certain they needed information, and so Elias was sent with Larry to infiltrate the studio office.

That was where they had encountered Mogul's pet albino fox, and it turned out that the thug knew how to fight. If Larry hadn't been there with his bad luck powers…

Well, all that mattered was that the two were able to retreat with the twins' help and had not revealed everything about their existence. But security around Mogul's places had become especially tight, and they were keeping a lookout for anyone that seemed to be scoping out their property.

The cat hesitated. "Still…"

"Hey, it's fine. You don't have to feel like you're walking around eggshells now." Leeta frowned. "You feeling okay?"

"No, no I'm not." She pinched the bridge of her nose and put her sunglasses on the table. "Why didn't you pick up Mina before his men got her?"

Lyco's lips pursed. "Orders from Harvey. She was hanging around in front of Club Spin when we managed to track her down. If we had gotten her there, Mogul's men would've noticed us and we would've had to deal with them too. I wanted to get her, but…"

Leeta put her hand on her twins' own. "…Look, if you want to blame anyone, blame me. I'm the one who said we should follow Harvey's order."

"And now this is even more complicated." She understood the director's caution, especially dealing with any version of Mammoth Mogul, but now the mammoth had his hands on the singer. She could tell him everything, especially if he possibly still had some control over her mind. "…And now the princess is going in and is likely to see her. Mogul had her driven into the club earlier, likely to perform for tonight's show."

"Man, he works fast." Lyco shook her head. "But why? Why would she…"

"She was alone, scared, without any money, and likely learned that what the false king said about this world is true." Hershey sighed. "It wouldn't have taken much effort on his part."

The three were silent for a few seconds after that, the grim reality of the situation settling on them like a weight.

Mina Mongoose had caused the Secret Freedom Fighters no small amount of trouble these past few months trying to find her. The islands were big, and the number of cities along with the population greatly increased from their world. The Metal Virus hadn't helped their slowly building information network, so tracking her down became nearly impossible.

Honestly it was a miracle that the twins had found her while exploring Studiopolis.

"…The Wolf Clan… Lupe's family… is still trying to find her." Leeta muttered, her fingers intertwining with the shift in topic. "T-They don't think that she died during the war, y'know? They still think she's out there, and have been begging the Restoration to search for her. But the Restoration's still stretched thin trying to rebuild everything after the Metal Virus… the only one that's even able to help them out is some crazy badger girl…"

"I still can't believe how young she is here." Lyco shook her head. "She's our age, a-and the kids aren't around. Not even as her siblings! But the old chief and chieftess are alive and…"

"Stop." Hershey couldn't help but feel terrible when the twins winced at her tone. "Don't think about that. We'll get her out soon."

"But when?!" Leeta shouted, glaring at her. "We've been waiting around with our thumbs up our butts forever, not doing anything besides getting information and helping out the Restoration! When can we…?!"

"When the director says it's time. Now keep your voice down. You're causing a scene." The cat hissed. "Do you want to ruin everything? Do you want all our work to be for nothing?"

She hated doing this. Hated having to remind others that they couldn't do anything. That they just had to sit back and wait while injustices occurred around them.

…But what else could they do? One wrong move would destroy everything they had built.

Everything that they would accomplish.

Hershey's hand moved over to her wedding ring and dragged her finger over it, feeling the cool metal and remembering happier times.

"Geoffrey…"

"…So what now?" The green-clad twin asked, glancing out the window. "More waiting around?"

"For now." Harvey nodded. "If Mogul makes a move, we'll act. Until then…"

"Right." Lyco grumbled. "Not like we're good for anything else."

Hershey didn't have anything to say to that.

---

"Yup. This isn't anything like the Juice Joint."

Sally looked around, her artificial eyes blinking in astonishment as she took in the near instantly around her.

Strobe lights and even lasers cut through the darkness, illuminating the faces of humans and mobians for a few scant seconds before engulfing them in darkness. Smoke bellowed out from underneath the stage, hiding people's feet and coming up in little spurts as people jumped.

On the stage wasn't a band, but a human wearing a modified Egg Pawn head with illuminated teeth, crosses over the eyes, and a gold decoration that made it look like the head was leaking. He was behind a table of some sort and a portable computer to his right, bobbing his head as he tapped at the computer or messed with various knobs. Behind him were giant televisions that showed a cartoon version of Eggman running as a supersized version of the mask opened and closed its mouth while chasing him down a neon-drenched city street.

The music itself… it was completely artificial. There were no real instruments being played, at least none she could recognize.

Was this what music would eventually become, had Robotnik and Eggman never taken over her world?

"Well at least it's catchy…"

INTERESTING. Nicole commented, and Sally couldn't help but notice a small tab labeled 'volume' scroll down. The music itself was lowered to merely be a whisper. THIS MUSIC CONTAINS ELECTRONIC RECREATIONS OF INSTRUMENTS LIKE DRUMS AND PIPES. HOWEVER, THE PROGRAMS BEING USED DISTORT THE SOUND OR STRETCH OUT NOTES IN ORDER TO CREATE SOMETHING NEW…

The princess raised an eyebrow. "Does that mean you could make something like this?"

The image of Nicole blushed. I-I SUPPOSE I COULD, BUT IT PROBABLY WOULDN'T SOUND ANY GOOD…

Sally then saw Tangle slide in front of her, laughing while putting her hands on the robian's shoulders. She was shouting something, but she couldn't hear. The volume tab slid up and she was able to hear, "…COME ON, SALLY! WE'RE HERE TO HAVE SOME FUN! LETS HAVE FUN!"

The robian chipmunk nervously grinned. "I'LL TRY!" She shouted back. Man, this reminded her too much of Mina's concert. She had to shout to be heard by someone right next to her. "IT'S JUST NEW TO ME IS ALL!"

The lemur merely laughed and gave her a thumbs up before making her way over to Whisper, who seemed mildly uncomfortable with the crowd. However, the wolf became less tense when Tangle went next to her and put her arm around the sniper's shoulder. The wisps, meanwhile, were flying through the air and dancing while leaving colored streaks in their wake.

Sally smirked and shook her head. "That girl knows how to live in the moment, that's for sure."

The robian chipmunk looked behind her to see Silver and Blaze hanging around the bar, the hedgehog leaning against the counter and holding up two fingers. She couldn't help but frown at that. Were they seriously trying to get booze?

I DON'T BELIEVE THAT WILL BE AN ISSUE. Nicole pointed out. THE LEGAL DRINKING AGE ON THE ISLANDS IS…

"That's not the point, Nicole!" Sure, Sally had a glass or two of wine during both her near-wedding with Antoine's Moebius counterpart, Patch, and during Bunnie's wedding but that was it! She never drank alcohol, and neither did the Freedom Fighters! They weren't old enough! "I need to make sure they don't do anything they'll regret later!"

She stood in front of the two and crossed her arms. When Silver noticed her he nervously smiled and held up a tall glass of liquid filled with cubes that seemed to flash colored light. "OOLONG TEA!"

The robian narrowed her eyes at him and studied his face. He didn't seem particularly guilty, and his anxiousness seemed to stem from the fact that she was even there.

Still, she looked over to Blaze who held up her own glass of liquid that matched Silver's. The cat raised an eyebrow at her, took a sip, and nodded.

And that just made the robian feel a bit awkward.

YOU WERE JUST WORRIED ABOUT THEM. Nicole said with a nervous chuckle. IT'S PERFECTLY UNDERSTANDABLE!

Sally sighed. "Maybe I'm too wound up…" She was at a club, wasn't she? She should be having fun, right?

Was it because of what happened outside? Was she just waiting for the other shoe to drop? For something to interrupt this and return them to the struggles they went through almost every day?

The music was beginning to die down, possibly the song ending. The human on the stage was tapping away at his computer, likely preparing for the next one.

"Okay… Alright. Next one I'll get into the groove." Sally closed her eyes. She needed to focus on the music now. Maybe she couldn't feel things physically, but her emotions were still a thing. She could feel things on the inside. Music was something she could lose herself in, to become one with it and be somewhere else for a bit.

The sound of an electronic alarm filled the air before they were overpowered by a sound that was eerily reminiscent of an electric guitar. It faded in with the beats of an artificial drum, one after the other, and Sally tapped her foot to it. She could almost feel the anger in them, as if they were being strum by someone who was transferring their bitterness into electric notes.

A female voice, only slightly filtered, then began to sing.

A familiar one.

"I SAID THAT SHE WAS THE CULPRIT!

I LIKED THE SCREAMS AND THE CRIES BUT SHE SAID!

WE CALLED HER A MACHINE BUT WE'RE THE PUPPET!

I STOOD IN PLACE AND MY EYES ALMOST BLED!"

Sally's eyes snapped open as she looked up to the stage to see…

Nicole whispered, …MINA?

It was Mina Mongoose, but she was wearing an outfit that made Sally almost doubt her eyes. A jacket with ridiculous shoulder pauldrons, a shirt with the human artist's logo on it, the shorts, the boots… It was like a bad parody of her old outfit.

And her hair… that long purple hair that always seemed to sparkle in the light was now cut short and spiked in a bizarre way.

Sally's eyes widened in shock. What was she doing here?

"Could she… could she have been rebooted? Like Silver?"

Mina, or at least the new Mina, leaned to the side and began banging her head as she belted out her next few lyrics.

"WE REJEC-TED YOU!

WE DES-PISED YOU!

I WATCHED THEM ALL BETRAY YOU!

RESTLESS NIGHTS, SCARED TO LEAVE!

MUSIC BECAME MY A-GO-NY!"

IT'S HER! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! Nicole cried out, her eyes seeming to water as she clasped her hands. SALLY, THIS IS FANTASTIC! WE FOUND HER!

Sally said nothing. The shock was fading away. Instead, her eyes narrowed at the mongoose.

"I guess we did."

Mina strutted across the stage, reaching her hand out to the spotlight while the cheering filled the air. The crowd was going crazy over her while the screens behind the singer and the human performer lit up with scrolling computer code that typed out the lyrics in purple.

"I HAD ANOTHER NIGHT TO SEE!

I CREATED A CITY THAT'S FULL OF!

ALL THE BROKEN THINGS THAT I MADE!

WHEN I WENT OUTSIDE TO PLEA!

ALL I FOUND WAS A WORLD FULL OF!

ALL THE VICTORIES YOU HAD UNMADE!"

SALLY? WHAT'S WRONG? AREN'T YOU HAPPY?

The robian shook her head. "I'm fine, Nicole. We found her and that's… that's great. But she obviously doesn't remember us, so it's not that big of a deal."

BUT…!

"It's a concert, isn't it? So let's just enjoy it."

Unlike last time.

No thanks to Mina herself.

SALLY!

She closed her eyes again. It was better not to look at the girl while the song played. Looking at her just brought back too many memories.

Bad ones.

She bobbed her head to the beat of the music instead. She needed to lose herself in it. Focus on the beat.

Nothing else.

"WE LIKE TO DANCE BUT SHE HAS A REAL FIRE!

WE ARE MADE OF FLESH BUT SHE IS A LIVE-WIRE!

WE CALL HER A MONSTER BUT WE ARE UGLIER!

WE JUST RUN OFF TO THE NEWEST SATIS-FIER!"

She needed to stop thinking about it. Thinking about what had come before. About the person the old Mina used to be.

This was a new Mina. A new Mina who was just another singer in this world. Another entertainer. One of many, who the people wouldn't listen to when she said things she barely understood.

SALLY, THAT'S NOT…

"COURSE-COR-REC-TION!

REVERSE IN-SUR-REC-TION!

FREEDOM GOT AN IN-FEC-TION!

TYRANTS GET OUR PRAIS-ING!

IN RETURN WE'RE BEHAV-ING!"

"Nicole, just let me enjoy the music!"

She was feeling it. The white hot anger in the beat. It was almost exhilarating. She didn't feel adrenaline like she used to, but a part of Sally was feeling energized. She was stomping her foot while moving forward, bumping into some people but it didn't matter. Heck, she was sure they barely noticed. They were as lost as her.

"ABOUT-FAC-ING!

HEADS LOW-ER-ING!

YELLOW BELLIES ARE SPREAD-ING!

GOOD PEOPLE ARE SCREAM-ING!

GIRLS AND BOYS ARE CHEAR-ING!"

BUT THE LYRICS! Nicole screamed. AREN'T YOU LISTENING TO THE LYRICS?!

"No!" She pumped her fist into the air, rocking her head back and forth with every fist-pump. "She's got nothing I want to hear! They're just words, Nicole!"

SALLY, HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?! SHE'S OUR FRIEND!

"KINGLY DECREES!

ON OUR HANDS AND KNEES!

MEMORIES ARE TOR-TUR-ING!

BAT-FACED KING!

NO RESCUE TEAM!

DON'T DE-SERVE YOUR DREAM!"

"Friend… yeah, some friend!"

SALLY, WHAT'S GOTTEN INTO YOU?

Nicole… she sounded so horrified. Why? Why was she offended for Mina?

Was it because this Mina wasn't really the old one?

That had to be it.

"Whatever. It doesn't matter! She's just like Silver! She doesn't know who we are! It's good that she still exists but it's not a big deal!"

BUT…!

She couldn't listen anymore. She blocked out Nicole's voice. She had to. The anger she was feeling wasn't the good kind. It was ugly and black, dredging up the bad memories.

Of the home that wasn't a home any longer.

The one that threw out her friend the moment she became an inconvenience. The city full of the ungrateful and terrified, who would trade their freedom just to feel secure!

"GIVE ME A SIGN YOU'RE HERE!

INSIDE A NEW WORLD THAT WAS MADE FROM!

ALL THE SINS THAT I MADE!

I CAN ONLY PRAY THAT YOU HEAL!

YOU DESERVE A NEW LIFE IN A WORLD MADE FROM!

ALL THE MISTAKES I MADE!"

She was jumping up and down while banging her head to the beat. losing herself completely. She lived in this moment. What came before and came after didn't matter.

All that mattered was Sally Acorn and the music.

"YOU ARE A LIGHT, I FINALLY SEE!

A NEW LIFE THAT WANTED TO BE A PART OF!

A CITY OF HATE THAT I HELPED MAKE!

THE SONG HAD A HEFTY FEE!

IT WAS JUST ANOTHER REMINDER OF!

ALL THE PARTS OF ME THAT ARE FAKE!"

The robian could tell that the song was winding down when Mina's singing stopped. So she landed on her feet and pumped her fist into the air, enjoying the noise now free from words. A deep part of her was rising up, the emotions going through her head allowing her to feel without any true sensation.

This was bliss.

But all good things had to come to an end. And the song did too. So Sally opened her eyes and looked around her. Everyone was cheering at the now dark stage, the only light coming from the human's computer screen as he prepared his next song.

But he did stop and pointed out in the crowd, a filtered voice screaming out, "GIVE IT UP FOR MINA MONGOOSE!"

Somehow, the cheering grew even louder. The robian rolled her eyes at that.

How cliche could these people get?

"Wow!" Tangle shouted, making Sally glance at her. She was blushing and even a bit sweaty, if the wet marks on her tracksuit were anything to go by. Whisper meanwhile was blushing up a storm as the two came over to her. "You were going really wild there, Sally! Did you like the song?"

For her part, Sally just shrugged. "Yeah. I guess I did."

She glanced over at Nicole, whose gaze had lowered and wasn't saying anything. Why? Why was she so sad?

Was it because of the things she said?

Damn it, she didn't want to make her friend feel terrible. She'd have to apologize when they were out of…

"Sally!" Silver was now running towards her with Blaze in tow. "On that stage! That's…!"

"Yeah, It's Mina." She nodded and looked down. "But… the boss that brought us in here. How'd he know that we would recognize her?"

It had to be someone from the world that came before. That much was certain. But if so, how did they keep their memories? Were they in New Mobotropolis? That had to be the case if they knew how seeing Mina would affect her…

"WE LOVED YOUR SONG!"

The screaming was now… closer.

"YOU WERE AWESOME!"

"WHAT'S YOUR HANDLE?!"

"WHAT'S THE NAME OF THIS SINGLE!? IT WAS FIRE!"

"CAN I HAVE YOUR NUMBER?!

It interrupted Sally's train of thought and she looked up to see the crowd now converging on a single location, hands reaching out as a flash of yellow, purple, and green sped through them.

Within seconds, Mina Mongoose was in front of her.

Crying.

"I-It's you!" Mina put her hands on Sally's shoulders as her black eyeliner began to run down her cheeks. "I-I can't believe it! It's really you! Sally… Oh Sally, it's so good to see you…! B-But why are you still a robian?!" She shook her head and shouted, "It doesn't matter!" The singer pulled Sally into a hug as she sobbed out, "I thought we were the only ones…! Sally… Sally, it's really bad! I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"

SHE REMEMBERS. Nicole looked up, and she was… crying?

Why?! Why was she crying?!

Before she could ask that question, Nicole was out of her body and appearing next to Sally.

"Mina…" Nicole whispered, a smile on her face in spite of everything. "It's so good to see you…"

The mongoose laid eyes on the holo-lynx… and then fell on her knees, continuing to cry.

"Nicole… Nicole, you're here too! Oh thank you…! Thank you…!"

A whistle cut through the air, and Sally glanced to Tangle to see the Lemur running her hand through the tuft of fur on her head. "Hoo boy… There's gotta be a story to this."

That was the understatement of the century.

---

If there was one thing Bunnie absolutely loved about cities, it was the ability to get whatever she wanted whenever she wanted it.

The rabbit walked into the ice cream store that had almost shining white walls and a blue neon sign that flashed behind the counter declaring the place to be The Iceberg Lounge. A penguin in a crisp white sailor uniform stood behind the counter, handing an iguana girl a chocolate ice cream cone with pistachios on the top.

"What can I get you?" The penguin asked before he tensed up when he saw her. She knew why. She practically screamed trouble to most law-abiding citizens.

Still, she flashed the penguin a smile. "Gimme a large root beer float, Sugah." She pointed her right hand at the tub of ice cream behind the glass display. "With carrot cake ice cream."

"C-Coming right up." The penguin shuffled away, and Bunnie turned around to lean against the counter. She watched as the other customers continued to eat their idea cream, only a few glancing her way before hurriedly looking back at their treat.

Going into respectable shops like this was always weird. She stood out like a sore thumb, and not just because of her artificial limbs… okay, it was mostly because of the limbs. But she just felt like she didn't belong. Like she was some intruder that was stomping through the lives of normal people, reminding them about something they'd rather keep out of their heads.

"But ah got money, so ah can go wherever ah want."

"H-Here you go!" Bunnie glanced to her right and saw the penguin slide the giant glass beer mug full of the carbonated sugar water and the floating scoop of ice cream on top. "That'll be…"

"Ah know, ah know." The hooligan rummaged through her pants pockets before dropping the amount on the counter, taking the drink with her organic hand, and walking to a free table. Sitting down, she brought the drink to her lips and gulped its contents down. The rush of sugary sweetness practically burned her throat on the way down, only cooled by the carrot cake ice cream. "Now that's good…"

She'd searched through the streets of Studiopolis for what seemed like forever, trying to find that mongoose girl. She's convinced some lonely boys and even a few girls to keep an eye out for her, but so far there was nothing. She'd heard from a few that they had seen a girl matching that description on the streets playing a guitar for money. But hours of searching by her and the boys had turned up nothing.

"Could she have skipped town?" Bunnie wiped the foam and cream from her lips with the back of her left hand. "That's gonna be a problem. Fang's good but we can't find a girl who doesn't leave a trace…"

Still, until they knew for certain they couldn't just leave the city. So Bunnie decided to take a little break. After some quick mental calculation, she'd realized she had enough spending money to get one of her favorite deserts and just went in for a breather.

"If this job pays as well as Fang thinks it will, ah don't have to worry about that for a while."

Money. Money was king in the real world. Everyone needed it to even operate. To get food, to get clothes, to live…

Bunnie giggled as she was riding on her father's shoulders during their trip to their neighbor's farm. He was pulling the cart containing part of the season's haul of tomatoes and carrots in exchange for some grain and sugar.

It was how they were supposed to live.

The natural way to live. Off of the land and free of greed or sloth. It was a hard life, but one that they could be proud of.

"Faster, Daddy! Faster!"

Her father grinned while looking up. "Settle down, baby girl! Ah'm going as fast as ah can!"

She just continued to squeal and laugh. "But it's mah birthday!"

"Ah know, ah know. But remember what Gaia says about children who demand too much!"

"Ah kno-" Bunnie winced as she felt something sharp stab her on her left shoulder and her hips. "Ow!"

"Is it happening again?"

"Yes…" Bunnie grumbled, rubbing her shoulder as the arm and even her legs began to shake. "Ah don't understand, Daddy. Did ah do somethin' wrong?"

The shocks and shakes happened as far back as she could remember, but it had started getting real bad ever since she fell off the tree in front of their house while climbing. Mommy disapproved and raised all heck when Bunnie began crying while clutching her head, but Daddy just laughed and said she was just exploring. That she would grow out of it, and that this was just a lesson about why Gaia made things the way they were supposed to be.

She didn't say anything about the times when she couldn't move her fingers or toes.

It was just too scary to admit.

"No, baby girl. Of course not." Daddy pat her legs. "Gaia provides, Bunnie. It's just a trial you'll have to go through before you get better."

"Really?"

"Of course."

Bunnie glared at the now melting ice cream. "Liar." She spat out before taking another swig.

All the trading and prayer in the world couldn't help her. It was just the talk of fools who didn't understand the reality of things.

"But it's not like ah managed any better when ah finally got away from that place…"

Bunnie's reminiscing ended when she felt her phone vibrate. Taking it out of her jacket pocket she saw it was the number of someone she had met during her search. A snake if she remembered right. They had just sent a text to her.

Unknown Number- Hey! I found the girl you were looking for!

A smile formed on Bunnie's face when the next text was a blurry photo in some dark club from the looks of the dancing True Folk and humans. The glare was bad on the stage, but she could kind of see the image of a yellow mongoose with purple fur on the top of her head…

"That head fur is terrible! What in tarnation did she do with it?!"

Shaking her head and quelling her outrage over the state of the mongoose's 'hairdo' she decided to type back.

Bunnie- Ooh! Good golly, that looks like a scene! Mind sharing the location, Sugah?

After a few seconds she got a pin to the location and the grin on her face grew wider.

Unknown Number - Club Spin! She just performed with cracked3GG and ran off with some guys. Mind coming over? I've got this table an-

She copied the pin, blocked the number, and deleted the conversation.

Opening the group text she had with the other members of the Hooligans, Bunnie posted the pin and sent it.

Bunnie- I got her! She's at Club Spin!

Bean- Aw! I wuz hopin 2 tke in te culture some mre!

Bark just sent an emoji of an unamused face.

Bean- U will not silenze me!

Fang- Both of you knock it off! I'm the closest there so I'll go and get inside. The rest of you meet up with me in the front!

Bunnie downed the last of her root beer in three gulps, slammed the glass on the table which made the other customers jumped, and ran out while typing her response.

Bunnie- On my way!

Time to get paid!

---

"Are you stupid or something?!"

Nicole didn't turn her head as she sat beside Mina in the backstage break room, but she did glance to the side and glare towards the direction of the door.

The rat mobian, Dibbler if she remembered right, was screaming his head off as he tried to get in through the door. However, Whisper had her hand on the door and was pushing against him with minimum effort which stopped the horrible man from entering.

"You just ran off stage and went up to a bunch of nobodies crying your eyes out!" He shouted, sticking his arm out and waving it at Mina. "I had to come up with some crap about how they were your childhood friends! You nearly screwed everything up you dumb bi-!"

Blaze got up from the small wooden chair she was sitting in, walked up to the door, and raised her right hand. A fireball appeared in her palm, lighting the rat's eyes which widened in shock and horror.

"Leave." The princess from another dimension hissed out. "Now."

The rat gulped as sweat seemed to erupt through his fur. "T-This isn't over!" With that, Dibbler scurried away and the sniper slammed the door shut.

"Finally!" Tangle groaned out, stretching her legs while sinking further into the small couch opposite of Nicole and Mina. "I thought that jerk would never leave! Couldn't he have taken the hint?!"

"Some guys think they're hot stuff just because of their jobs." Silver rolled his eyes as he leaned against the wall. "People like that haven't changed even in the future."

"You didn't have to do that." Mina muttered, looking down as Blaze returned to her seat and Whisper went to sit by Tangle. "I could take it. He's just a bunch of hot air in a suit…"

The holo-lynx glanced at Sally, who was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed glaring at Mina. Under normal circumstances, she'd be the one interrupting the mongoose's protests. Heck, she would've been the first to kick the rat out!

And yet… she did nothing.

Nothing at all.

Why?

Nicole shook her head. Right now she needed to focus on Mina. "You shouldn't have to take it, though!" Her friend looked up and Nicole's heart nearly broke at the look in her eyes. This… this wasn't the strong-willed woman she had left in New Mobotropolis. "Mina… what happened?"

"I…" A crooked grin formed on the mongoose's face. "That's kind of a loaded question, Nicole."

"I know. I know Mina. But…" She put her hand on the singer's thigh. "Please, just try."

"Start from the beginning." The princess of the Sol Dimension spoke up, crossing her legs and putting her hands on her lap. "When was the first time you noticed something had changed in this Zone?"

Mina bit her lip. "When I noticed something was wrong? I… I think I was back home." She looked up, her eyes practically fogging over in the recollection. "I was writing some new song lyrics for my next concert. Y'know. The one to make up for the one where the stage got wrecked…"

Yes, yes she did recall that! She had gotten the update from Shard when it happened. Apparently something had gone wrong and the stage around Mina and her band had collapsed. If Rotor, Big, Cream, Cheese, Heavy, and Bomb hadn't been there then the Forget Me Knots would've gotten seriously hurt!

"Which wouldn't have happened if Nicole had been there." Sally said sharply. Nicole looked up and gaped at her friend.

Mina, for her part, didn't notice. Instead she let out a laugh and said, "Yeah! Yeah, that's what I said! A-And everyone attending the concert agreed! It was big, y'know? Seemed like everyone was coming to their senses! I thought that it would convince them to reverse Nicole's exile."

"Wait." Tangle held up her hand. "Nicole getting kicked out of her home, I get. Sally mentioned that once. And that… well…" She hesitated and glanced at Mina. "That you were… kinda-sorta part of the crowd that did it."

The artificial intelligence winced at that. Right. During Sally's breakdown she did mention Mina and the others had exiled her. She had never been around when Mina and Nicole made amends, so she had never learned that Mina had been slowly working to remedy the situation.

"So… what changed you mi-?"

"She wasn't just part of the crowd." Sally shook her head. "She was part of the reason why New Mobotropolis got worked up in a frenzy. Got everyone to think that we were doing nothing when the Iron Legion took over and Nicole was some sort of…!"

"Hey! Come on." Silver held up his hands, grinning nervously at Sally. "Look, I know I wasn't there and it kinda got bad, but it wasn't really Mina's fault! Remember, Naugus was around. He had a hand in…"

Nicole's eyes widened. Was Silver seriously going to tell Sally and everyone about what the Secret Freedom Fighters had pieced together?

"…Then again, does it even really matter? It's not like the kingdom exists anymore."

"It doesn't matter!" Mina shouted, shaking her head. "I… I did it! I helped kick her out! B-But I was trying to fix things. To make up for everything and…!"

"I know you did!" Nicole tried to smile, tried to be reassuring in the face of her distressed friend. "I know you did, Mina! I told you before, didn't I? I forgive you!"

For some reason, reminding the mongoose about that simple fact didn't calm her. Instead it looked like Mina was about to burst into tears again!

"What happened to you, Mina? I forgave you! Do you… Do you think I didn't mean it?"

"Please." Blaze's calm voice cut through the room. "I understand that there's history here, but we need you to focus. What happened when this Zone changed?"

The holo-lynx glared at the cat. She wasn't wrong, but couldn't she read the room?

"…Dude, that's kind of harsh." Tangle muttered, scratching the back of her head.

Whisper nodded. "But necessary."

Blaze didn't look the least bit sorry and instead focused on Mina.

The mongoose shook her head. "Right. Right… I was busy working. Making up new songs for the concert we would have when you returned." She smiled. "I had some stuff planned… Endless Possibilities… Reach for the Stars… Fist Bump… Unbreakable… Find Your Flame… It was going to be one heck of a concert. The biggest one the Forget Me Knots would perform. But then…" She put her hand on her forehead. "I saw… a white light. And then it flashed magenta and…"

"Magenta…?" SIlver leaned forward. "Do you remember anything else? Did everything start becoming distorted? Did you hear…?"

"I heard screaming." Mina's eye and the corner of her mouth twitched. "There was so much screaming. Like… like a million voices crying out. Men, women… even kids. It only happened for a few seconds but… it was the most horrible thing I'd ever heard in my life." Tears began to roll down her cheeks. "Then it all stopped. There was no… no reason. It just started and stopped, and everything went black! I still don't know what happened!"

"The Genesis Wave…" Blaze muttered. "You heard all the worlds… all the versions of this world in the multiverse that ceased to be. How? How could it have…?"

"I don't know!" The singer screamed. "I don't know what happened! It just started and stopped! The light… the screaming…! It just came out of nowhere and then ended! I…" She swallowed. "I was blind and deaf for a while. Mom collapsed and I had to practically crawl to the kitchen to find her. And when we got our eyes and ears back we noticed stuff. Like how the air was hotter and the sun was brighter. We ran outside, even though Mom busted her leg, and we went to the center of town to meet with everyone."

"Mina…" It sounded absolutely horrible. Hearing those billions… no, it probably went beyond even trillions… of people screaming as they ceased to be? To become blind and deaf from that?

"Wait, the center of the town?" Silver sat up, his jaw gaping. Even Sally had uncrossed her arms and was standing up, utterly shocked from the statement. "You mean New Mobotropolis?!"

Then it hit Nicole as well.

What Mina said… if she wasn't confused then that meant… !

"Does that mean Sally's home is still around?!" Tangle looked at Blaze. "Hey! You're the multiverse expert! How could that happen?!"

"I don't know…" The cat narrowed her eyes. "Something's not right."

"That's an understatement." Whisper muttered half to herself.

Mina was now hugging herself. "T-The king said that he saved us. That Eggman broke the entire multiverse and perverted Mobius. That it was only because of his mercy and love for the kingdom that we lived…"

"Naugus? Naugus saved you?" Silver was on his feet, his hands opening and closing as if he were trying to grasp the concept. "How?! He never had that kind of power before!"

Even Nicole couldn't figure that out. None of this made sense! Nothing in Naugus' history suggested he could warp reality!

"Naugus actually became king?! What the hell happened while I was gone?! Did everyone lose their minds?!" Sally asked, walking forward and standing over Mina. Her face twisted in a strange combination of hope and anger. "What did he do, Mina?! How did h-?!"

"No! Naugus didn't do it!" The singer shook her head. "H-He didn't! Not really. He's not… not around anymore."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Sally screamed. Before Nicole could protest the robian held up her hand. "Just tell us, Mina!"

Mina gulped.

"It's Geoffrey, Sally. Geoffrey's the king now."

---

"…So if all goes well, me and Albert will have completely rewritten reality!" The doctor… no, not the doctor. The thing on the screen laughed. "No more Sonic! No more Mega Man! Just an entire universe to shape however we want it! Maybe I'll create Knothole over and over again just to blow it up! Though that'll get boring after a while… Oh! Maybe I'll transform entire planets into Eggmanland spinoffs! Now there's an idea!"

He then deflated.

"Oh, right. If you're watching this then it means things didn't pan out. Darn." He grunted and massaged his bald hand. "There goes my good mood. Well, anyways, you are now up to speed. Just make sure that you put down that hedgehog once and for all this time! He's likely not to remember, so…"

Metal Sonic stopped the rest of the Egg Memo.

He had learned enough.

The current reality he lived in, was created in, was merely an echo of what once was.

Earth was once a planet named Mobius. Humanity was nearly wiped from existence by an alien species and parts of it had mutated into the species known as the Overlanders. His loathsome copy's kind, the Mobians, became the dominant species on the planet.

Doctor Eggman… Doctor Ivo Robotnik… Julian Kintobor… had conquered the world once. Not for a scant six months, but for years after carefully moving his way up the Kingdom of Acorn's ranks and then stealing a device known as the Roboticizer.

The only thing that their worlds shared was that the doctor's ambitions were regularly delayed by the hedgehog.

The thing that declared itself to be the doctor… Metal Sonic knew what it truly was.

An alternate version of the doctor that had moved into the previous version of this reality to take the original doctor's place. The original version had died at the hands of his nephew Snively.

The original was obsolete. He could not compete against Metal Sonic's copy. He could not survive a betrayal he saw coming.

Metal Sonic did not find that insulting. After all, he was a firm believer that once a superior model existed the obsolete version served no purpose.

No… what he found insulting was what the so-called Robo-Robotnik and even the original iteration of the doctor proceeded to do.

Metal Sonic pulled one of the earlier Egg Memos and began to play it.

"…The first Metal Sonic was a bust! Honestly, the version of me native to this zone had no idea what he was doing!" Robo-Robotnik raged on the screen. "He inserted too much of what he thought Sonic was like into it! It had too much independence! Too much free will! The smartest thing he did was scrapping it whenever it failed to build it anew! However, it was still shoddily made! Even that fool Charles was able to make a literal army of them!"

He fast-forwarded the memo until…

"…And don't even get me started on Pseudo Sonic…!"

Metal Sonic paused on that image of the bulky, childlike mockery of him before fast-forwarding again.

Robo-Robotnik looked pleased as punch. "…Every time Metal Sonic 3.0 doesn't succeed, I just go back to the drawing board! The model is a work of art, not even Sonic's pathetic uncle could match it, but there's always some flaw! So they need to be rebuilt from the ground up so that the next time they face off against the rodent or one of his pathetic friends…"

He rewinded the video.

"…rebuilt from the ground up…"

Again.

"…rebuilt from the ground up…"

Metal Sonic's anger bubbled within him. The doctor, his doctor, knew that Metal Sonic was his greatest creation. He was perfect, a far superior version of the obsolete model! All he needed was some repairs for the next round and he would prove it!

But these things… these obsolete doctors… they would've treated him like another badnik! Something to scrap. Something to throw away!

As if he were mere trash!

He changed to a different Egg Memo.

"…Mecha Sally is a work of art! Why, what I did to that princess makes her the perfect partner for Metal Sonic! Nearly as fast as him and that appearance will surely break the rodent's poor little heart…!"

Robo-Robotnik… he turned the roboticized version of one of his copy's mates into something that was supposed to match him?

As if they were equals?!

Metal Sonic's hands clenched into fists.

"…The first Metal Sonic…"

"…Pseudo Sonic…"

"…Metal Sonic 3.0…"

"…Rebuilt from the ground up…"

"…Perfect partner for Metal Sonic! Nearly as fast as him…"

No.

NO!

Metal Sonic ejected the wires attached to his head and pulled, ripping the guts out from the machine above. As they landed on the ground he marched to the servers of the Death Egg. He shot his hand forward and tore into the metal, ripping out chips and wires as sparks danced in the air.

WARNING! WARNING! BADNIK UNIT METAL SONIC HAS GONE ROGUE! WARNI-SQWAAAK!

He used his admin privileges to wirelessly order the majority of the power to be routed to the security lasers, which came to life and began cutting through the walls, floor, and ceiling.

Metal Sonic, meanwhile, contented himself with smashing through the room.

He tore server towers out of the floor and threw them into the walls. The electric fires began to start, bathing the darkened server room in flames.

But he was not done. Not by a long shot.

Activating his Black Shield, Metal Sonic utilized his turbine to fly through the floor. Crashing downwards, level my level, he reached what remained of the Death Egg's engine before smashing through it.

The metal monstrosity creaked before what remained of the fuel cells began to combust.

Quickly utilizing the map of the Death Egg in his system, Metal Sonic raced towards the door he had entered through with the flames just behind him. However, he was fast. Faster than his loathsome copy and far faster than those mockeries the previous versions of the doctor created. He exited the Death Egg and shot up, leaving the cavern just as the giant replica of Robo-Robotnik's head exploded.

Metal Sonic reached the clouds before he looked down. The cavern that once housed the Death Egg was now fire and smoke, the ground around it collapsing as flickies from the trees nearby flew away in a panic.

He watched all this and felt a savage glee.

It was not betraying the doctor. Robo-Robotnik and the one before him were inferior versions. They had made mistakes and it would harm the Eggman Empire if even a memory of them was allowed to exist.

Besides, he had downloaded more than enough data from the Death Egg. The doctor could recreate so much from the schematics he now had in his system. New Death Eggs… new badniks… Legionization… the Egg Grapes…

But he just had to handle something first.

Metal Sonic shot towards the direction to the base. The place where he could upload the Egg Memos and schematics for later study.

The place where he could find her.

NEW OBJECTIVE: DECOMMISSION ROGUE ROBIAN UNIT MECHA SALLY

---

"Come on… Come on!" Fang the Sniper hissed as he tried to squeeze through the tiny horizontal window near the ceiling of the club's supply room. "Don't tell me I actually put on weight! This used to be easy!"

He felt his right foot only barely keeping balance on the tower of boxes and garbage cans he set up against the wal in the club's back alley. Not exactly how he wanted to enter the club, but the bouncer just wouldn't do him a solid!

So he had to get creative with how he entered Club Spin.

Unfortunately, his creative solution was also this.

With a final push, Fang popped inside the supply room. But he soon let out a yelp when he fell ten feet in the air and into a stack of boxes. The boxes, filled with audio equipment and props, fell over and onto the weasel which only increased his pain.

"This sucks…" He groaned out, getting ready to push aside the boxes that trapped him.

The door to the supply room then swung open, and he stayed perfectly still while holding his breath. He could see part of the bottom of the open doorway which leaked light inside while the shadow of a pair of legs stood there.

"Damn it… I can't lose a job like this!" If he got caught then the mark would get wise and leave Studiopolis!

Then the reputation of the Hooligans, already pretty bruised by their past jobs for Eggman during the early days, would sink further!

"Hey, Mark!" A male voice cried out. "You okay there?"

The legs seemed to turn as the person at the door shouted, "Yeah! I just thought I heard something…"

And with that, the door closed and left Fang alone.

After a few more seconds of not moving the sniper carefully maneuvered his way out of his box prison and readjusted his hat.

"Looks like luck is on my side." He grinned while patting the gun on his belt, a variable energy blaster that he had boosted from Eggman back in the day and modified. He had long since upgraded from his cork gun, though he still called his blaster that in its memory. "If I play my cards right the mark won't know what hit her!"

She would most likely be on the dance floor or at the bar. It wasn't his kind of scene but the weasel could put up with it for a bit. He'd just wait around until he spotted her and then swoop in to grab her. She might put up a fight and some wannabe heroes may try to pull something, but he was the guy with a gun and a bounty hunter license.

Carefully, he tip-toed to the door and peeked his head out. The music was booming and the staff were running about doing their jobs. Nobody was paying attention to him, so he just slipped out and walked to the direction of the music. Acting as if he belonged here, which always did wonders when blending in.

Go in, have a drink or two, get the girl, and get paid handsomely. With no Sonic or his friends around, it was going to be a piece of cake!

"Everything's coming up great for good ol' Fang!"

---

"Geoffrey… Geoffrey's the king?"

Sally could barely believe her ears. What Mina said… It was just too unbelievable. It was like something out of a bad story.

Geoffrey St. John, once a member of her father's Secret Service and head of the Royal Underground, had become the king of New Mobotropolis?

A New Mobotropolis that somehow still existed?

"How?! Why?!"

"That doesn't make any sense!" Silver said it for her, putting his hand over his forehead. "How could Geoffrey become king? The council would've…!"

"He announced Naugus' sacrifice to everyone. Showed us visions of… of what happened." Mina's hands were now clutching at her shorts. "How Sonic was fighting Eggman in his Super form in space with two other… Overlanders? Humans? One of them was Super and fighting with Sonic. Then there was a white light and Eggman stopped Sonic from holding it back before…"

"But how could he have known that happened?" Blaze asked, now on her feet and pacing the room. "These Naugus and Geoffrey characters weren't there during our battle. If they were in space with Sonic and Mega Man then their presence would've been noted. So how…?"

"Are you keeping up with any of this?" Tangle whispered to her friend, only for the wolf to shake her head and shush her.

Mina shook her head. "He… said that Naugus saw the Genesis Wave coming to wipe our reality clean and used his remaining strength to cast his greatest spell. He shielded New Mobotropolis from it and moved us into the corrupted world, at the cost of his own life. Then… then he passed his staff and Chaos Emerald to Geoffrey, declaring him to be his heir."

"The people…" Nicole whispered. "They believed it… didn't they."

Of course they did. Those people… they'll believe anything so long as they are kept safe. So long as they were given a target for their fears and hatred rather than think for themselves!

"…Not at first." Mina muttered. "But… some went outside and saw that outside New Mobotropolis was a desert. And… and when it was night people noticed that the constellations were different."

"So the council just rolled over and let Geoffrey become king?" She spat out, narrowing her eyes. "They didn't try to stop him?!"

"What could they do?" The mongoose let out a bitter laugh. "Practically everyone was convinced! They thought that Naugus was their savior, a good king who died to protect them from Eggman! Who let them live because he loved…"

"That's stupid and you know it!" The robian shot back. "Naugus never loved anything besides power! He was a cruel and disgusting man who just wanted the crown because he liked the idea of ruling a kingdom! After all the times we fought against him…!"

"Sally, calm down!" Nicole shook her head. "I know you are distressed, but…!"

"But nothing, Nicole! They should know that Naugus would never sacrifice himself for someone else!" Sally grit her artificial teeth in frustration. "The council should've fought against him! They should've…!"

"If they tried to stop him, everyone in the city would've turned against them!" Mina burst out, for once showing some sort of emotion other than self-pity. She was actually angry at her, as if she had the right! "You weren't there, Sally! You didn't see what it was like! If they refused to accept Geoffrey as king then the entire city would've rioted!"

The worst part was that Sally could practically see that. All those people, scared and confused, latching onto the story of the good wizard king and his noble chosen heir. Of the idea that the council was refusing to accept their savior, denying the will of the people because they were so high and mighty or whatever. That it would be perfectly reasonable to raise up arms against them to instill the rightful king.

But…

"Okay, guys?" Tangle was on her feet, putting her hand on Silver's shoulder and making him sit down in her spot. "This is getting a bit heavy. Why don't we take a minute and…"

The lyrics of Mina's concert were returning to her head.

"She's everywhere~!

Everything~!

But heroes aren't listening~!

We're all left prone~!

Unproteeeected~!"

"What about you?" The words that left Sally's mouth were practically a punch to the gut with how the anger disappeared from the mongoose's face. "Why didn't you say anything, Mina? They seemed pretty willing to listen to you before, when you convinced them that Nicole was just waiting to strike again!"

"Sally!" Nicole was on her feet, staring at her with horror on her face. "That's uncalled for!"

"No, no I think it's perfectly called for." The robian crossed her arms. "Answer that, Mina. What were you doing when all this happened?"

"It's painfully ob-vi-ous~!

They won't act~!

It's up to us~!

We won't live in fear of the ciiity~!"

"I… I…" Mina's lip quivered. "I was… I needed time to think. I was going to do a concert. To remind everyone that…"

"Sally, I think it's time to…"

Sally shrugged off Tangle's hand and hissed out, "Why are you even here instead of helping to stop Geoffrey?!"

Silver was now getting on his own feet and approaching her with caution. "Okay, Sally. Why she's here is her…"

"I was going to get help!" Mina was now hugging herself. "To find Sonic… Knuckles… anyone! To let them know that their home was in trouble! I… We thought that maybe they couldn't find us because New Mobotropolis was somewhere new! But when I found Sonic he… he didn't recognize me! He and Tails didn't know who I was! A-And when I did some research I found out that we didn't exist!"

"We can't always be jumping at shaaaadows~!

We can't always be running awaaaay~!"

"So you came here to restart your career just because nobody recognized you?" Sally didn't even bother to hide the disgust in her voice. "Unbelievable. All that talk about how it was up to you and how you couldn't rely on us…"

"WE WON'T BE AFRAID!

WE'LL SAVE OURSELVES!

WE WON'T BE AFRAID!

WE'LL SAVE OURSELVES!"

This girl… the girl who had the nerve to say that Sally shouldn't dare to talk to her about responsibility. Who acted like that show was all about instilling hope and self-reliance into the people of New Mobotropolis when all she did was spread fear and hate, then acting like the consequences were not her responsibility!

The girl who had just allowed for the people to kick out Nicole, who had sacrificed so much for all of them and did everything she could for Sally in this new world…!

"Princess Acorn." Blaze spoke up, her voice firm. "That's enough."

The robian glared at the cat. "No, no it's not enough." She turned her attention back to the singer, who now had tears welling up in her eyes. "Who is your boss, Mina? Who is it that owns this club?"

"You don't have to answer that, Mina." Nicole hurridley said. "We can talk about it later. Sally's just upset is all. You don't need to…"

"Yes she does!" The robian shouted, pointing at the purple-haired girl. "Who is it, Mongoose?!"

For a second, the singer didn't respond.

Then, in a choked sob, she uttered, "Mogul…!"

It was almost like a slap to Sally's face.

The monster that had hurt committed countless atrocities… hurt Knuckles… hurt Tails… killed the noble Sir Connery… was here?

He was here and he remembered everything?

"No, no that's not all."

The monster that had taken over Mina's mind and had kickstarted her paranoia… that was who Mina ran to? Who she allowed herself to work under?!

"…"

Sally's hands clenched into fists.

"Sally." Tangle said cautiously. "I think you need to sit down."

They could tell, couldn't they?

"You don't understand her circumstances." Whisper was now on her feet. "She hurt you and Nicole, but…"

No, she wasn't going to let them stop her from saying what needed to be said.

"…I guess Fiona wasn't the only fake Freedom Fighter." Sally glared at the singer. "I'm glad you're alive, Mongoose. But that's it. As far as I'm concerned, you're no better than that traitor."

It was as if all the sound in the room was sucked out of the air.

Nobody moved. Nobody said anything.

But the tears grew in volume, rolling down Mina's cheeks as she stared up at Sally. Then, the mongoose shakily got to her feet and began to walk to the door.

"Mina!" Nicole was instantly on her feet, running to Mina as she reached the door. "Mina, please! She didn't mean that! She…"

"Stay away from me, Nicole!" The singer refused to look at the holo-lynx. "Just stay away…"

The mongoose slammed the door shut behind her.

"…What the heck was that?!" Tangle shouted, marching up to Sally and pointing at her. "How could you say that stuff to her, Sally?! Couldn't you see she was…?"

"Why are you taking her side?!" She shot back at the lemur. Didn't Tangle get it?! Didn't she hear what Sally had said before and what Mina admitted? "She got Nicole kicked out of our home! She ran away when the going got tough and allied herself with a monster!"

"I'm not taking anyone's side! All I could see was a scared girl that you just tore into!" The lemur glared at her. "She didn't need you spouting all that crap! She needed a friend who would listen! Who would understand!"

"Understand what?!" Sally pointed at Nicole. "We fought and sacrificed for people like her, and how did she repay us?! As soon as she gets scared she pretends that the people don't need us and that we were just on vacation while they suffered! She had the absolute gall to say that people treating Nicole like some kind of monster wasn't what her music was supposed to create, after practically screaming just that in song!"

And that was what angered her the most.

Mina Mongoose was a hypocrite. Once, she had been willing to give the girl the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she had been too harsh on Mina after the concert, and they should at least make amends and try to understand each other.

But no. When the patrons of the restaurant she, Sonic, Ash, and Mina had gone on a date in started arguing about Nicole the girl got up and left. Saying that she couldn't be there with the arguments she helped to create being made, rather than taking responsibility and defending Nicole!

Nicole, her dearest and most precious friend. Who had always been by her side and helped Sally through her new state of being. Who had been there to pick her up when Sally had been on the edge of despair. Who was willing to suffer silently just so that Sally could recover just a bit!

It made the bitterness she felt for Mina and those in New Mobotropolis build up until she finally let it out today.

"…So?"

Nicole's cold voice cut through the room like a knife. Slowly, Sally turned to see the holo-lynx glaring at her.

Did she hear that wrong? "…What?"

"So what if she said those things? She made a mistake." Nicole's hands clenched into fists. "A horrible, horrible mistake… but I forgave her, Sally. I forgave her because Mina is a good person who was just scared and misguided. Because she's my friend…"

Sally started at the hologram of her friend in pure disbelief. Nicole… forgave Mina? "Nicole… she helped kick you out of our home! That's more than just a mistake! A friend would never do that to another friend!"

The holo-lynx closed her eyes, as if gathering courage, before she opened them and nodded. "Yes. Yes she did. And it still hurts me. I never said it didn't."

"Then why are you forgiving her?!"

"Because I wanted my friend back!" Nicole shouted back. "And she apologized to me, personally, because she realized her mistake and admitted it to me! She reached out to me when I was shutting myself off from the world and helped me to pull myself out of the pit I was in when you were gone!"

Sally winced at that. Right. Nicole… she only had Sonic and the others when Sally was gone. It didn't take a genius to guess that the situation in New Mobotropolis spiraled out of control after that.

"She was there to help me, just like I am helping you and you are helping me in turn." Nicole walked in front of robian and maintained her gaze into the artificial eyes. "And I want to be there for her now, because I can already see that she has been through so much…"

"So what? That's it?" Sally pointed at the door. "You're going to forgive her? Just like that?!"

"Yes." Nicole didn't so much as flinch at her shouts. "You don't have to if you do not want to, but it is my decision, Sally. And I want you to respect that."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Nicole… really did forgive Mina?

In spite of everything she had done… helped to do… was currently doing.

The holo-lynx was just going to treat the mongoose as if she were still her friend?

"Haven't you ever made a mistake like her, Sally?" Nicole asked next, shocking the robian. "A horrible mistake you only came to regret after the fact? Has that never happened to you before?"

"Yes." A part of Sally's mind whispered. "Far too many…"

But she didn't say anything. Instead, she looked around the room.

Tangle was still glaring at her, along with Whisper and Blaze. Silver was looking away, as if torn between being angry at her and trying to understand.

"They all think that…"

Mina's face flashed into her head. The look of drained and defeated self-loathing when she admitted that her boss was Mammoth Mogul. The pure sadness and regret at the memory of the concert…

Another memory flashed into the princess' head. When she was talking with Nicole about how her father wanted to dismantle the robians…

"From his point of view, my father saw a potentially fatal problem and offered up an arguably pragmatic solution!"

She had actually said that.

She… she had condoned her father's attempted genocide just because she wanted to desperately believe he had been trying to do the right thing…!

"Do I really have any right to judge Mina?" No answer came when she asked herself that question.

Sally looked away in shame before walking to the door. She stopped before it and muttered, "I… I screwed up." She glanced back at her friends and said, "I'll try and find her."

The glares directed at her softened slightly. Nicole stared at her for a few seconds before walking forward and putting her hand on the robian's shoulder.

"Thank you." The holo-lynx whispered before she transferred herself into the princess' robot body.

Sally opened the door and pulled her hood over her head while walking back to the club.

"Let's see if I can at least fix this mistake."

---

The warthog bartender looked at Mina and asked, "What'll it be?"

Cracked3GG had moved onto one of his calmer songs. They didn't have to scream to be heard, which Mina was grateful for. Because she was sure that if she screamed she'd break down.

The mongoose stared at the soft neon light of the glass counter. "I don't care. Just give me something."

She could see the warthog look at her with a raised eyebrow from his reflection. Then, with a shrug, he went, "One Super Special, coming up."

It hadn't taken her long to make her way to the bar. Sure, some people ran up to her asking how she got to perform with their music idol, but they took one look at her face and then just quickly went the other way.

No need to ask what was wrong. They wanted no part of it.

"They want me to be a hero's problem, probably."

Mina couldn't blame them for it. They knew that if they tried to be heroes they'd likely screw up in some way. Make things worse if they were especially unlucky. Best to leave things to the professionals or whatever.

"Just like me." The singer closed her eyes. "Mina the Fake Freedom Fighter."

She wasn't any help during her time as one. She had almost got herself killed trying to get into Robotnik's headquarters instead of actually helping the first time she met Sonic, couldn't keep up with Sonic or the others when she tried to be like them, and froze up when trying to help people.

Every time she got herself involved she made things worse, forcing Sonic and his friends to save her and fix things. Then she would go cry about it before going off to do it all over again.

"And that's not all." Mina thought as the drink was placed in front of her. She stared at the clear blue liquid with neon white ice cubes. "I just keep on getting used."

Her speed, the one thing she was good at besides singing, was given to her by Mammoth Mogul just in case he needed a convenient pawn. And she'd been super convenient when he wanted to get out of prison. Heck, she was convenient even now as his newest money maker.

And her concert…

She heard from Harvey Who, and had now been assured by Silver, that it was ultimately Naugus' fault that New Mobotropolis got screwed up. That he'd heightened the people's fear and paranoia so that they would turn against Nicole.

"But those were my lyrics. I didn't make them up on the fly. I doubt Naugus even knew what my song would be about when I began writing them." Her lip quivered. "I made it… I made it about Nicole. I wanted to say all those things, with her watching and listening…"

Ever since she heard those words in the restaurant, the guilt had been eating her up inside. She had sung that song to get the bad thoughts out of her head. Nicole was only a small part of a larger part, she had told herself. She would just help to sell the message for the people to not rely on the Freedom Fighters all the time.

She'd actually told herself that.

Hell, she'd even believed it back before that light.

Mina apologized to Nicole for screwing up the message. That it had never been about her. And the holo-lynx had forgiven her for that.

She'd forgiven the lie that Mina had been telling herself because the truth was far more horrible.

"Sally's right to hate me." The singer took the glass in her right hand and brought it up. "I'm a coward. So what if Sonic didn't recognize me? I could've told him about what was happening anyways. He would've helped. But… but because he didn't recognize me… because I was scared of not existing here…"

This was what she deserved.

Working for Mogul, hated by Sally, an exile from her home…

"Sorry, girl. But I don't think you'll be able to enjoy that."

Mina felt something cold press against her right side.

Slowly, she lowered the glass from her lips and looked to the right to see a grinning fang-toothed weasel wearing a brown hat.

One she'd recognized.

After all, how could one forget the face of the man who put a bullet into them?

"Nack?" She whispered, her eyes widening in shock and horror.

Nack quirked up an eyebrow. "Hm. I must have one heck of a handsome twin. The name's Fang. Fang the Sniper." He pressed the object in his right hand into her side again, a gun if she had to guess. "Now you're going to get up nice and easy…"

No.

NO!

With a quick swing she threw the drink into the weasel's eyes. He stumbled back, cursing while wiping liquid away from his eyes as the plastic cup bounced on the ground. People shouted in shock, screaming about someone having a gun while she turned around and began to run towards the exit.

She may not be as fast as Sonic, but she was quick in her own right. It only took three seconds for her to cross from one end of the club to the other, only a few feet from opening the door.

But she felt something sharp hit her on the right leg. "No!" She screamed, falling down and looking down. She didn't feel the burning pain of being shot, but her leg refused to move an inch.

"I set it to stun." Nack growled while stomping forward, aiming her pistol at her. "The client said he wanted you alive. Did you really think you could run away from me? I used to take on Sonic the Hedgehog!"

The client… did he mean…?!

Her eyes caught sight of a familiar hooded figure and glowing LED lights for eyes.

"Good for you." Sally Acorn was behind the weasel, using her right hand to bring up his leg. While the sniper was blinking, the robian brought up her left knee and hit him square in the groin. "Hi, Nack."

She let go as the weasel let out a silent scream of utter anguish. His eyes were watering as he crumpled to the floor, practically curled up into a ball while whimpering.

Mina looked up, her eyes widening at the princess. The princess who had just finished calling her out for all her sins. The princess who saw the mongoose for what she really was.

The feeling in her leg was returning.

Sally reached out to her. "Mina, I…"

Mina turned around and ran, opening the door and blinking as the night lights temporarily blinded her. But she could see…

"I think the boss messed up!" Bean the Dynamite giggled as he spun one of his bombs. "Lucky me! I get to blow stuff up!"

Bark the Polar Bear growled as he crossed the street with the mad duck.

"The Hooligans… the Hooligans are here…!" She looked left and right. She needed to run. To find someplace to hide! Had Mogul put them up to this? No, that didn't make any sense! "No time! I need to…!"

Mina spotted her across the street.

The hat was different and the hair was shorter, but she recognized that face and those eyes.

"Bunnie!" She shouted, running at full speed across the street. Bark attempted to grab at her, but she turned her body just in time to avoid his reach. She skid to a stop just before she could crash into the rabbit and shouted, "You're here! You're here too and… how'd you get that scar? Why are your ears dyed?" Right! Right, she needed to focus! "The Hooligans! The Hooligans are after me! Nack is inside, and so's Sally and the others!"

Bunnie blinked in surprise. "How'd you know mah name?"

What?"

"Ah heck, doesn't matter." Mina felt something cold and metal grip her right arm. She looked down and saw Bunnie's roboticized left hand revealed from underneath the poncho, gripping it. "All that matters is that ah got ya!"

"W-What…?" She looked at the rabbit's grinning face. "Bunnie, what are you…?"

"Ah suggest you don't do anythin'." Mina let out a cry of pain when she felt the pressure on her arm increase. "Otherwise… well, ah'm sure you get the picture."

"Aw, you got her already?!" Bean whined, and the mongoose watched as the two Hooligans approached almost casually. "But I was hoping to make things go boom…"

"Well you're gonna get your chance, Bean." She nodded to Bark. "We need to go get Fang. He's still in that place with the girl's friends and…"

"What's going on?!" Mina looked wildly, from Bunnie to the two Hooligans. "Why's Bunnie doing this?! Why is she working with the Hooligans?! What is…"

She didn't remember who Mina was.

The girl's eyes widened.

"No…!"

"Bunnie?"

Mina craned her head and saw Sally standing on the opposite end of the street, her friends save for the wolf right behind her and looking ready to fight.

But the Robian just stared at the rabbit, her eyes widened while bringing down her hood. She asked, "Is that really you…?"

"Hey! It's a big old reunion!" Bean waved at the group. "Hi!"

"What the heck?! A badnik?" The rabbit glanced down at Mina. "What makes you special enough that Eggman wants you?"

Before Mina could answer, the partially roboticized mobian shook her head.

"Aw, it doesn't matter." Bunnie Rabbot, known in the previous world as Bunnie D'Coolette, stood tall and lifted Mina up with her artificial limb.

"Tell Eggman to back off! This girl is now the prize of the Hooligans!"

---

To Be Continued…

---

Notes: HOLY SHIT, that turned out longer than I thought it would.

Lots of heavy stuff here, lots of revelations. I wouldn't be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about how you guys and ESPECIALLY Mina Mongoose fans feel with how I treat her. I wanted to make sure that it's clear all parties are in a bad place. Sally's extra defensive for Nicole and EXTRA bitter about what happened to her during and after Mina's concert. Mina, meanwhile, has been blaming herself for a lot of things. For Nicole's exile, for being part of the reason why Naugus gained so much support, for not doing more much earlier… plus I also wanted to address some of the stuff people had been complaining about when it came to her apology with Nicole back in the comics. And really delve into how they didn't exactly address all the stuff that had happened, like how Mina kinda-sorta called out Nicole in particular in her song.

But as the other characters point out, while Sally has a right to be angry and to not forgive Mina, it was no excuse for how the girl treated her. Because Sally got REALLY personal and nasty because of her own screwed up thoughts and feelings.

I want both Mina and Sally to come off as sympathetic, while both have and acknowledge their own flaws.

Also yes, Sally did try to justify her dad's attempted genocide. Thanks Ken Penders.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed that!

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