"Wait, so you actually became a superstar in the middle of a war?" Tangle shouted from the back and Whisper could practically see the stars in her friend's eyes. "That's so cool!"
"W-Well, I wouldn't call it cool." Mina chuckled nervously. "It was actually kind of scary. Sometimes Eggman would attack the concerts since a bunch of people would gather to them to watch. Sometimes we couldn't even get past the first verse before a bunch of badniks swooped in and started wrecking the place."
"Oh yeah, now that you mention it…" The wolf glanced at the rear view mirror to see Silver turning his upper body around to look at the mongoose. "…didn't a lot of your concerts have something happen that shut them down?"
The singer's cheeks flushed before she buried her face into her hands. "Don't remind me. Sometimes I felt like I might've ticked off a witch or something."
Bowie, the small Magenta Wisp, gave Mina a consolatory pat while nodding its body.
Blaze, meanwhile, simply rolled her eyes. "If that was the case, I doubt you would have become a success in the first place."
"They seem to be cheerful." Though, Whisper wasn't all that surprised. She'd long since learned that Tangle, along with the rest of Sonic's friends, didn't like to dwell on sad topics. They preferred to just talk about fun stuff and take their mind off of the bad times. It was nice, especially since Mina seemed to be a lot more cheerful than she was back in Studiopolis.
However, the sniper herself wasn't one to take part in conversations like that.
It was… difficult to talk to people. She felt uncomfortable having attention brought on her and having to talk about things she didn't know or had interest in. When the conversation was around something she knew about or had an interest in, her replies were short and to the point. She didn't like to have to elaborate, especially when some things were simple enough to get across in a few words.
Being in a group just made those feelings worse. It was hard enough to talk to one person when she actually wanted to, but a group of them? It was near torturous.
It was easy with Tangle. When it was just the two of them, Whisper could open herself up and just talk. She didn't feel pressured or anything. She didn't feel stifled by the amount of people around her and could just open herself up more. The lemur just had the type of personality that made it easy to stick around her. Tangle always was patient with her and seemed to have a knack for deducing what Whisper was actually trying to say. While sometimes she did act in ways or say something that made the wolf uncomfortable, Tangle was quick to correct herself and apologize once she realized her mistake.
The lemur even found her jokes funny, which was a bonus.
It felt like she was back with her old team.
Her old family.
"Before he ruined it."
Whisper's hands gripped the steering wheel.
Her old teammate and the traitor of the Diamond Cutters, Mimic the Octopus, had escaped from his cell and nobody could seem to find him. She had tried to search for him before she found the Death Egg that contained Sally, but she hadn't gotten any leads. The octopus had dropped off the face of the earth, and knowing the infiltrator's skill he was unlikely to show up unless he wanted to be found. There really was nothing she could do, and that infuriated her.
A part of her wished that she had just shot him.
Slowly, she released her grip on the steering wheel and let out a sigh. Now was not the time to think about that. She needed to focus on the new mission and her new teammates.
"Speaking of which…" She glanced at Sally, who was frowning in her seat while staring out the window.
The robian hadn't said much since the start of their trip to the Mirage Desert Zone. While she wasn't one to pry into the lives of her teammates, Whisper could make a few guesses as to why, and half of them pointed to the lynx that was inside Sally's head.
Nicole hadn't appeared since their confrontation with Mogul. Ever since the mammoth revealed that in the previous world, he had assisted in throwing some of their friends and the echidnas that somehow were still alive into a Warp Ring. It was still a bit mind-boggling that more echidnas were alive when Knuckles was around, but that likely made it worse for Knuckles who had actually been there when his people were lost.
The lynx had seemed so distraught when she put the pieces together, crying when the mammoth cruelly boasted about the event to her…
"I hope she's okay…"
She knew what it was like to lose friends. She knew more than anyone that feeling of guilt and anguish, as well as the hate knowing the person responsible for all that misery was still alive.
Whisper just hoped that Sally was being the friend Nicole needed right now.
"Nicole?"
All the robian received from within her own mind was silence. She shut her eyes and clenched her fists, trying to suppress her own worry.
Ever since the meeting with Mogul, Nicole hadn't talked to her or appeared to communicate with the others. Everyone knew that Nicole probably needed a minute because of just how distressed the lynx was, but Sally was starting to get worried.
"Nicole, please talk to me."
…NOT RIGHT NOW, SALLY.
She let out a small sigh of relief at the sound of her friend's voice. At least she was talking.
"Nicole, please. I want to know what is going on, but I also want to be there with you. Can I… can I just see you?"
The lynx didn't answer, but the princess did see a message appear in her vision.
POWER SAVE MODE: ACTIVATED
The shift was slightly disorienting. One minute she was staring at the red text of the notification before she was staring at the green checkerboard recreation of the Knothole base. It had all happened within an instant, and Sally found herself having to blink several times before looking down to see her robian body was now replaced with her organic one and attire.
For a second, she was elated once more. Even though she had seen this recreation not that long ago, it still filled the princess with joy seeing her old body even if it wasn't real and lacked her senses.
"No, come on. Focus."
Shaking her head, Sally looked around before spotting Nicole sitting on the floor with her back against one of the recreated walls. She was hugging her knees to her chest and her eyes were closed, seemingly not registering the chipmunk was there.
"Nicole…" She walked over to the lynx and stood in front of her. "Nicole, are you…?"
"I'm fine, Sally." The artificial intelligence muttered. "I'm just… processing."
It broke her heart seeing her friend like this. She was keeping it all in because she didn't want to let others know what pain she was going through.
Just like how Nicole kept in how much she blamed herself for Sally's own situation.
Without asking for permission, the chipmunk moved to the lynx's right and sat down. She didn't say a word. She didn't want to force Nicole into talking. Her friend didn't need that right now, she just needed to know that the princess was there and it was just the two of them.
"Damn him…"
Mammoth Mogul had revealed a lot back in Studiopolis, from his role in protecting Studiopolis to the existence of the Ancients who brought the Chaos Emeralds. Her mind was still reeling from it all. It wasn't as drastic as learning that Mobius had once been Earth before the Day of Fury or the reveal of the Super-Genesis Wave rebooting the world, but it was still shocking to know such beings even existed and set so many events in motion with their arrival.
But that wasn't what had hurt Nicole.
What hurt her friend was the fact that Mogul had somehow helped to kickstart the events that led to the loss of the Echidnas as a species.
He bragged about it to Nicole, as if he were taking some sick joy from the artificial intelligence's distress. And knowing what a monster the mammoth is, that was likely the case.
He was the reason for Nicole's distress, and it just added to her hatred towards the madman.
Slowly, Nicole let go of her knees and stretched her legs out. "I'm sorry for making you and the others worry."
"Don't be. You were upset." Sally's eyes narrowed. "It's his fault for making you feel that way."
"…I suppose." The lynx sighed. "But I should have controlled myself. What happened to the echidnas… it happened on Mobius. It… it shouldn't matter anymore…"
She decided to ask the only question she could. "…Do you want to talk about it?"
"…I should have noticed something was wrong." Nicole muttered. "Julie-Su was always prompt with answering my calls. I was trying to see if she could possibly get the Chaotix to assist Sonic, Tails, and Amy on their mission in Albion. They were fighting members of the Dark Egg Legion and could use the assistance. But… But Julie-Su didn't answer, and neither did Saffron. I didn't think much of it. I thought that maybe they were busy…" Her lip quivered as she said, "That… that was probably when Thrash…"
Nicole told Sally everything.
About how Knuckles arrived to an empty Albion, only finding the unconscious Team Fighters there and all members of the echidna race including the Dark Egg Legion missing.
About Thrash the Tasmanian Devil, the last member of a race that had been the victims of the echidna's cruel experiments, and whose actions were the result of all the pain and hatred that festered within his people towards the echidnas for their plight.
She told Sally about how Thrash arrived and chucked all the unconscious members of the Dark Egg Legion along with Remington and his people into the supercharged Warp Ring, banishing them into an unknown Zone.
She told her about how Thrash tricked the remaining conscious and fleeing echidnas into going into the Warp Ring willingly.
And each revelation made Sally's heart break just a bit more.
"He bragged about it to Knuckles." Nicole continued in a shaky voice. "About how he banished his people, Julie-Su, and Saffron thanks to Finitevus' notes, saying that they were now even because Knuckles gave him the Warp Ring. Knuckles fought him, but Thrash escaped and the Warp Ring didn't work…" Tears were rolling down her cheeks. "K-Knuckles… he was all alone. He was the last echidna and had to tell Charmy that Saffron wasn't coming back…!"
The princess' face twisted in anguish. She and Knuckles had been friends back when they were children, back when Knuckles thought he and his father were the last of their species. He had been so happy to meet her, another child his own age. But she could tell that the echidna had a sadness to him, because he thought that he truly was all alone in the world.
But then it turned out the other echidnas were alive, and in spite of Sally's own anger and frustration towards Locke for hiding such a thing from Knuckles she was overjoyed for him. Knuckles had finally found his people. While at that point he had other friends, like Sonic and the Chaotix, having a people and culture to call his own brought the echidna a sense of relief and belonging. He even managed to find love through Julie-Su, and she couldn't be happier for him.
And now?
Now she knew that before the world was changed, Knuckles found himself alone once more. His people and love cruelly ripped away from him because of another person's vendetta.
And Charmy… the member of the Chaotix who had suffered so much already… for him to lose Saffron? For him to lose the woman who loved him more than anything, who he loved back in spite of his own fractured mind?
It was just too cruel.
No, no she needed to stay strong. Nicole was the one who needed her right now!
"You can't blame yourself, Nicole." Sally shook her head and looked at the lynx. "You couldn't have known. It's just…"
"But I should've!" Nicole shouted, her right fist smashing against the ground. "I-I should've understood something was wrong when Julie-Su didn't respond! I-If I did more, then Knuckles wouldn't have been alone! He wouldn't have been alone like I was!"
What?
Sally's eyes widened while the lynx's snapped open, as if realizing what she had just said. "Nicole…?"
Alone. What did she mean by alone? The artificial intelligence was with Tangle and Whisper before they had found her… right?
Nicole bit her lip for a second, then placed her hands on her lap and intertwined them.
She was hesitating, trying to weigh whether to say something or not.
It was just like how she was at the hotel.
The princess put her hand on her friend's shoulder and said, "I told you before, Nicole. I'm here for you if you want to talk. You can just say what's bothering you."
For a few seconds, Nicole didn't say anything.
Then she muttered in a voice that was near inaudible, "My device landed in this new world for, at minimum, eight months before Tangle found me."
Sally recoiled in horror and stared at the lynx. "W-What?"
"I was alone. All alone in a forest somewhere." Nicole hugged herself. "I… I tried calling out for help. I reached out to every channel I had in my memory. Trying to reach out to Sonic, Tails, Rotor, the Secret Freedom Fighters, and even… even you." Her lip quivered. "But… but then I began crying because I was all alone! I just kept watching the time pass, from minutes to hours and hours to days hoping… praying someone would find me! But… but then I had to turn my internal clock off because… because I thought nobody was coming! I kept telling myself Sonic was coming but… but…!"
She couldn't believe it.
When Sally had been trapped in her own body, she also prayed that Sonic and her friends would save her. But at least she had the comfort that they were nearby, and that sooner or later they would find some way to save her.
But Nicole?
Nicole was trapped in her PDA, all alone in the wilderness with none of her friends around. Sonic and the others didn't even know that the artificial intelligence even existed, so they weren't looking for her. Her friend had been alone that entire time? Just waiting there in complete isolation?
And Nicole wanted to keep that all to herself?
The lynx let out a sob. "A-And I know it's selfish! I know that I shouldn't be thinking about that, not when Knuckles lost everything! It's not the same! I was just alone for a little bit! Knuckles had everything and then lost it because I didn't…!"
She pulled her friend into a hug.
"Don't say that." Sally whispered. "Don't ever think you're selfish, Nicole. You're one of the most selfless people I know, so don't ever say something like that again."
"B-But I…" Nicole shook her head. "But Knuckles…!"
"I know. I… I wish I was there for him." She wondered if she was crying right now. It would feel appropriate. She even wanted to cry. "That should have never happened to him. He should have been happy. He deserved to be happy. But his pain isn't greater than yours, Nicole. It's not a competition. You don't have to feel like your pain doesn't deserve to be heard."
The princess looked into the lynx's eyes and relaxed her hold a bit. "I can't imagine what you went through. The fact that you're even here… the fact that you helped me in spite of what you went through… all it tells me is that you're one of the bravest and kindest people I've ever known. That's not selfish. But…" She tightened her hug. '…But please, remember that you can just talk to me. I will listen and help, like you're helping me."
Nicole returned the hug and the two of them stayed in that embrace for what seemed like an eternity. Sally didn't feel anything, but she didn't need to. She knew that her friend just appreciated the hug, knowing that she was loved and deserved it.
"I wish I could've done more." Nicole whispered. "I wish I could've helped him and the Chaotix find Thrash. I wish we could've fixed things before…"
"I know. But…" It pained her to say this. It truly did. A part of her felt as if it was cold and unfeeling, as if she were shutting off a part of herself and focusing on an objective. "…But what's done is done. What matters right now is focusing on what's in front of us." She released her hug and smiled at the lynx's tear-stained face. "Like those we can help."
Her heart still pained for Knuckles. She couldn't even begin to imagine his feelings of failure, despair, and loneliness. She couldn't imagine the confused heartbreak in Charmy, the prince with a mind of a child unable to understand why the world was cruel enough to rip away the person he loved from him. A part of her didn't even want to think about what Julie-Su, Saffron, and the echidnas were thinking, trapped in some unknown part of the multiverse before… before they were just erased.
But they were gone.
There was no getting them back.
Right now, all she could focus on was her best friend's pain and trying in her own way to make it feel better.
Slowly, hesitatingly, Nicole nodded and smiled back at Sally.
"Thank you." She whispered. "I'm sorry I… I tell you to stop hiding things and yet I…"
"It's part of being a living person, Nicole." Sally let out a small chuckle. "We're complicated, messy, and sometimes even hypocritical."
The smile on the lynx's face grew slightly in size. "I've noticed."
They both giggled at that.
It felt… nice.
"I'll turn back online." The chipmunk grinned. "Tangle is probably knocking on my head or something."
"That seems likely." Nicole nodded. "I'll be your alibi for your absence."
"Good to know."
And with that, Sally closed her eyes.
It was time to return to the real world.
"Hey."
Tangle's tail poked Sally's metal cheek.
"Hey! Sally!"
She poked her twice in the cheek.
"Wake up!"
"You know she can't feel that, right?" Silver asked with a raised eyebrow.
The lemur huffed and crossed her arms. "Well, what else can we do? She just checked out without saying anything!"
The trip had been a lot more fun now that Blaze and Mina were a part of the group. Honestly, they had a lot of cool stories about their homes! Mina talked all about how she had actually helped save Sally back in the day by taking a bullet, which was honestly pretty cool despite how it sounded like it hurt, and how she actually got trained by Sonic to control her speed! Seriously, only Tails could brag about something like that here!
Meanwhile, she didn't exactly get most of what Blaze said when talking about her royal duties and the like. Sounded super boring and she admittedly zoned out a couple of times, but fighting robot pirates? Heck yeah, that was cool!
"Though seriously… Eggman Nega? The guy couldn't think up a better name?"
Like, Eggman took his name from an insult that Sonic gave him back in the day and decided to own it! What was Eggman Nega's excuse?
Plus there was that whole business of him actually being from the future… maybe? It honestly made the lemur's brain hurt.
But she had noticed that Sally had been awfully quiet throughout most of the trip. Like sure she said stuff in the beginning but then she grew quiet. Then she finally saw that the robian's eyes were completely black. When she decided to ask Nicole what was up on her PDA, the lynx just said that Sally was in her Power-Save Mode and didn't say anything else.
Tangle wasn't too worried. Nicole didn't seem that alarmed which probably meant that there wasn't a reason to freak out. But still, she didn't like her friend being this still. Even though Sally was technically a robot now, she had so much life to her that this complete stiffness just seemed off.
"Maybe she's talking to Nicole?" Mina asked from behind. "She's in Sally's body or something, right?"
Blaze hummed in interest. "That is a possibility… however, why would she enter the mode that turns off most of her functions? I thought that it was easy for her to talk to Nicole while still being able to function."
Tangle rubbed her chin before grinning as an idea popped into her head. "Oh! Maybe there's some sort of mindscape that Sally and Nicole go to whenever she's in that mode! Y'know, a world inside your head?"
"Where'd you get that idea?" Whisper asked from the driver's seat as she turned to the right and went onto the road that had an arch by the entrance, a wooden sign reading 'WELCOME TO MIRAGE DUNES TOWN'.
"My dad's a huge sci-fi nerd. He's got a ton of comics, books, and old movies he tried to get me into." Tangle waved her hand dismissively. "Liked the comics, books bored me to tears, and the movies were just old."
Silver grumbled, "You gotta learn to appreciate the classics…"
I HAVE TO AGREE. The PDA chirped from Tangle's hip. AND I TAKE OFFENSE TO THE IDEA THAT JUST BECAUSE OF SOMETHING'S APPARENT AGE IT MEANS IT'S INFERIOR.
The lemur's eyes widened before she took off the PDA and held it in front of her. "Nicole! You're awake… online… whatever!" She grinned sheepishly. "S-Sorry about that."
The lynx giggled. IT'S FINE! I WAS JUST JOKING! ALSO, I APOLOGIZE IF YOU WERE WORRIED. IT'S JUST THAT SALLY AND I HAD TO TALK A FEW THINGS OUT.
As if on cue, the pupils in Sally's eyes flashed to life and she turned her head around, as if taking in her new surroundings. "Sorry about that." The princess turned her head and smirked at Tangle. "Was she poking me?"
"Yes." Whisper, Blaze, Mina, and Silver responded in unison which caused the lemur's cheeks to heat up.
The robian looked at the sign just before they passed under it and asked, "So, this is where the Restoration members made their reports?"
"It's the closest town to the desert." Whisper responded as she slowed down, the van slightly bumping on the gravel and dirt road. "It would make the most sense."
"Yeah, I doubt they would want to get too far away from a place that could give them water." Tangle looked outside and studied the town. It looked like something out of an old western with buildings made mostly of wood, with painted signs or walls either faded or peeling. The people were dressed in ponchos or jeans and t-shirts stained in sweat. Pretty much everyone was wearing some sort of hat, and they all seemed to stare at the van with weary caution. "Though they probably didn't stay for long. Everyone looks super unfriendly."
"Probably because they don't like tourists." The wolf responded and tapped the dashboard. The lemur turned her head to her friend pointing out into the distance. Squinting her eyes she watched as a group of friends dressed in racing gear carrying Extreme Gear boards and a bike or two. While she couldn't hear them, she could tell from them throwing their heads back to laugh and high-fiving eachother that they were being loud.
She couldn't help but wince. "Yeah, guess I can see why people living here would think tourists are annoying."
"They're heading to the train station." Mina leaned over the seat to take a closer look. "Why is that? Couldn't they just ride their Extreme Gear anywhere?"
I CAN ANSWER THAT. Nicole chimed in. THE MIRAGE DESERT EXPRESS OFFERS A COMPLIMENTARY LAUNCH STATION FOR EXTREME GEAR RIDERS IN A CAR DEDICATED TO THEM. WHILE MOST OF THE CARS ARE DEDICATED TO PASSENGERS GOING TO OTHER PARTS OF THE ISLAND, THE TRAIN COMPANY AND TOWN DOES OBTAIN EXTRA INCOME FROM THIS SERVICE.
Tangle stared at the train station as they passed by, looking at the old steam locomotive and its cars, one of which contained what looked like a holstered gun complete with a hand on the handle. It really didn't take a genius to guess what its purpose was.
"So cool…" The lemur squealed and was practically jumping in her seat. "See Whisper? I told you it was a good idea to bring the Extreme Gear! I wanna try that out!"
Blaze coughed. "I believe you should save that for after we find this New Mobotropolis?"
The giddiness in Tangle instantly died out, replaced with embarrassment and shame. "Right…"
They were here to find Sally's city, which had mysteriously survived the reboot of the world thanks to that jerk Mogul and that Naugus guy.
Now wasn't the time to have fun. Especially if they were trying to investigate.
As they parked the van nearby a general store and began to climb out, Tangle glanced over to Sally and watched the robian bring up her hood to hide her head.
"Doesn't she know she doesn't need to do that? She's a hero now!"
Then again, news might not have traveled that fast. Maybe she was being cautious? Still, that frustrated the lemur a bit. She knew that Sally was a good person! Other people should as well!
She heard a squeal of joy and turned to see Bowie stretching his arms and flying over to Whisper's now free Wisps to talk with them. She grinned and approached her friend, however that grin lessened when she saw the wolf looking at her phone with a troubled expression on her face.
"What's up?" She asked when she got in close. "Out of power?"
The mercenary shook her head and tapped on the top left of her screen. "No signal."
The lemur hummed and took out her own phone. Sure enough, she didn't see any bars on it. "Guess we really are in the middle of nowhere."
"Are you and Nicole doing okay?" Mina asked Sally while strapping her Wispon on her back.
"I'm fine." The chipmunk nodded but frowned as she looked towards the hologram that was now appearing in front of them. "As for Nicole…
"I-I'll be fine." The lemur couldn't help but notice that while the lynx looked fine, she seemed to be grimacing as if she had a headache. Nicole smiled weakly while holding her head. "It's just going to take some getting used to again. It wasn't like there was a constant wireless network on Mobius, after all."
"Really? They didn't have internet?"
How did these guys live?!
Blaze hummed and pointed at the general store. "It might be for the best if we go inside and ask for help."
Everyone nodded in agreement and walked over to the store. When Sally opened the door, a bell rang and a blast of stale air hit the lemur's nostrils. She grimaced before looking around to see the state of the place. Vegetables and fruits were held in small milk crates on top of tables while others were lined with non-perishables, some of which were from brands she hadn't even heard of before. The lights of the few refrigerator units on the walls were flickering, revealing soda, milk, and water in glass bottles. A single solitary fan on the ceiling was the only thing keeping the place remotely cooler than the outside, spinning lazily and squeaking all the while.
"Yup. I'm really in the middle of nowhere."
"How can I help y'all?" Tangle turned her head to see a rattlesnake wearing getup that looked as if it came out of some cowboy movie behind a counter, the cash register looking as if it came from the fifties with how faded and old it looked.
"Yeah." Silver smiled and walked over to the counter. "We're with the Restoration. We're doing another sweep of the area and were just wondering if you could point us in the direction the previous members went…"
As Silver and the cashier talked, Tangle noticed that Sally and Nicole were looking at one of the walls that had a cork board where a bunch of different papers were being hung. Advertisements for local restaurants, the times for when the Mirage Desert Express would arrive, and a reminder for a town meeting.
But there were also four old-looking wanted posters hanging on the wall.
Each for the members of the Hooligans.
Sally and Nicole were frowning as they stared directly at the one showing Bunnie Rabbot that seemed to be grimacing in embarrassment at the camera.
WANTED:
BUNNIE RABBOT
Wanted For: Aggravated Assault & Resisting Arrest
If spotted within city limits, contact Sheriff McGruff at…
"Are you guys doing okay?" She asked the two. She hated seeing her friends bummed out like this, especially after all the stuff they went through in Studiopolis.
"…Not really." Nicole admitted with a shake of her head. "It's difficult seeing her like this."
"Bunnie?" Tangle pointed at the poster. "So you guys did know her back when, y'know…"
"…She was one of my best friends." Sally muttered before turning around, causing the lemur to blink. "But not here."
"Oh man…" She rubbed the back of her head and grimaced. So the rabbit really was one of their friends, and she was probably not a Hooligan back in the old world with the way Sally had acted when she was fighting Bunnie back in Studiopolis. "I can't even imagine how she feels…"
Like, how does one react when one of their friends just… turned into someone else when they were away for a while?
"You gonna be okay?" She asked the only thing she could to the robian as she walked to the counter.
"We'll be fine." Nicole smiled sadly at the lemur as she passed by. "Sally… she has come to accept things. It's just difficult, that's all."
Yeah, she could imagine.
"Thanks a ton!" Silver cried out before turning around and holding a map. There was a big red arrow pointing in the direction of a patch of beige that was marked MIRAGE DESERT in black. "I got directions to the desert. We're not that far from it."
"That's a relief." Mina sighed as she carried several water bottles. "Still, it's better to be safe than sorry. Even at my speed and with the water I had on me, I wished I packed more when I escaped."
Tangle grimaced and shivered. Right. They were going to be trekking through a desert…
…in the daytime…
…underneath a very hot sun without a cloud in the sky.
"This is gonna suck…"
She hoped that it wouldn't take long to reach Sally's city. Otherwise, Whisper was probably going to have to carry her when she inevitably passed out from the heat.
Maybe she should get a water bottle and some ice cream to go.
"It's so hot…"
Whisper looked up in the rear view mirror to see Tangle slumped in her seat, fanning herself with her own tail. Her fur was already beginning to become slick with sweat as she leaned against the door, her right hand reaching up and slightly stretching out her body suit and amber top's collar to get more ventilation. Her eyes were half-lidded and…
"Don't look." The wolf chided to herself, her cheeks heating up in embarrassment. "Now's not the time for that kind of thing."
They were driving through the desert inside the van. Thankfully, the vehicle seemed to be built for most types of terrain and the sandy floor of a desert was no exception. They simply needed to try and stay on the mostly level floor while avoiding climbing up any dunes or falling into pits.
It was stressful, but necessary. They would be unlikely to survive a whole trek through the desert especially in the middle of the afternoon.
The air conditioning wasn't helping much either. It was so hot that it seemed to cancel out the cool breeze that was being brought in, turning the entire van into a muggy mess. She even had to take off her cloak just to prevent herself from overheating.
Trying to keep her mind and eyes off of Tangle, she glanced over to Silver and the others in the back. They weren't doing well either. Silver was like a mirror image of Tangle, practically melting in his seat. Mina meanwhile was looking as if she was trying to sleep while Blaze appeared to be meditating.
However all of them were obviously hot and obviously sweating, just like her.
"Can I have some more water…" Silver muttered out, glancing to the back.
"No." Blaze said firmly. "We will need to ration it out if we get stranded. Please bear with it for just a bit longer."
"This sucks!" Tangle whined out. "Why couldn't New Mobotropolis be in, like, a tropical island or something?!"
"I ask myself that every day." Mina grumbled. "It would've made my trip out of there a lot easier."
She heard the chime of a Wisp and saw Bowie was now by the front of the van pointing at the air conditioning knob. She didn't have her mask on, so she couldn't understand what the Magenta Wisp was saying. However, she could understand the intent and shook her head. The Wisp crossed its tentacles and began to babble with a narrowed eye before her Cyan Wisp came out and got in front of Magenta Wisp. Then they began to babble at each other in their alien language.
"Do they get hot?" Sally asked as she observed the scene while tilting her head curiously. "I mean, they're aliens but…"
"They do." Whisper sighed and she tapped Cyan on the head gently. She said, "Stop arguing. Please."
In a huff, the Cyan Wisp drifted back into his container while Bowie giggled in victory.
"Bowie!" Mina shouted. "Whisper can't turn up the air conditioning anymore! Stop bothering her and the other Wisps and come back here, please?"
The good mood the Wisp was in vanished as he drifted back to his partner, and Whisper tried to ignore the stifled giggles of the other Wisps.
They would need to have a talk about that later.
The only one that wasn't being affected by the heat was Sally. Because of her body, she couldn't feel the heat of the sun or the warm and stale air of the van. While she knew that it was horrible to think about, the wolf couldn't help but feel slightly jealous of the robian because of that.
"Though I wouldn't want everything else that comes with that body." She sighed and focused back on her surroundings.
The Mirage Desert wasn't only sand. There were cacti of various shapes and sizes, with flowers that spun in the wind at the ends of their arms. Totem poles left by the native eagle tribes of the desert stood tall, their blue paint now faded by the sun and sand. Tumbleweeds were blowing across the landscape, tumbling over brown and purple rocks while in the distance there were large rock formations and loops that stood tall.
Honestly it was fascinating to look at.
They had been driving for what felt like hours, the land stretching ahead with no end in sight. The distant dunes just seemed to remain in place no matter how far they have gone, as if the desert itself was endless. Heat came off the sand ahead in waves, as if mocking them with the distant mirage of an oasis of some sort.
"There's nothing here." A part of her mind whispered. "We're wasting our time…"
It certainly felt like it.
They continued to drive for another few hours, but it yielded no results. Sally sighed and said they should turn back. That they were probably mistaken that New Mobotropolis was in this desert and that they should go back to Studiopolis to report to Jewel that the search was a bust. Everyone groaned in agreement and Whisper began to turn the car around…
"WHISPER! STOP!"
Whisper blinked and jerked in surprise when she saw Sally's hand on the wheel. She slammed her foot on the break and everyone cried out when they were flung forward as the vehicle came to a sudden stop.
"What the hell?!" Tangle shouted, peeling her face off of the back of Sally's seat. "What's going on?! Why did we stop?"
The chipmunk blinked incredulously as she motioned to the outside of the van. "Because Whisper was turning this van around, that's why!"
"What?" Now the sniper couldn't help but be confused. What was Sally talking about? "We were returning to the Restoration base in Studiopolis. We were going to report to Jewel."
"Why?" A miniature version of Nicole appeared on the dashboard, looking at everyone in concern. "We haven't even made it halfway through the Mirage Desert."
They weren't halfway through it?
No, no that couldn't be right! Not after all the time they spent driving!
The desert wasn't that big! She checked the map herself!
"Because we've been driving around for eight hours, that's why!" Silver pointed at Sally. "You said that we obviously weren't finding anything, so we should head back and…"
"Silver." The robian was speaking slowly, her eyes going from Whisper to the rest of the van occupants. "We've only been driving through the desert for three."
No.
No, that couldn't be right!
"We began our drive out into the desert at noon, so that would've meant that right now it is…"
Whisper looked at the van's clock and stared at the electronic three PM on the digital screen.
Shakily, she put her hand on her forehead.
"How? I… I know that we've been traveling for more than three hours. We were reaching the end of the desert when Sally…"
"That's…!" Tangle shook her head. "But you said…!"
"I didn't say anything." Sally glanced over to Blaze. "Did you… feel anything?"
The cat narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. "I recall you saying how we should head back, but at the same time my head began to hurt…" Her eyes snapped open. "A mental attack?"
At first, Whisper wanted to deny such a thing. But the more she thought about it the more it made sense.
Jewel mentioned how the reports on the Mirage Desert seemed to not make sense and said the same thing.
What if something was mentally influencing the members of the Restoration to turn around? Messing with their perception of time and memories to prevent them from looking any further?
"It makes sense…" Mina crossed her arms, frowning. "I mean, there's gotta be a reason why you guys never found us. And Geoffrey kept saying how we were all safe and would be hidden from the tainted reality outside…"
"Then how come I wasn't affected?" Sally looked over to Nicole. "Is it because…?"
"Yes." The hologram of the lynx nodded. "It would probably be because of your now completely inorganic mind. Whatever is influencing the others, it cannot affect articulate beings. Our perception of reality remains unchanged."
The robian grimaced. "This is going to be a problem…"
Indeed. If Sally and Nicole were the only ones who would be unaffected, then it would mean that only they could go into New Mobotropolis. And considering Sally's problems with power, not having any backup to a potentially hostile territory could be deadly.
Everyone needed backup.
It was her job as a member of the Diamond Cutters to be backup.
"But I failed then…"
She didn't want to fail again.
It was why Whisper had been alone ever since the death of her old team. It was why she was so protective of Tangle and the others when she was partnered with them.
She didn't want to let anyone else she saw as a friend down again.
The robian crossed her arms and looked down for a second. Then, she grinned and turned to Tangle. "Hey, think you can test out a theory with me?"
The lemur's eyes instantly brightened as she sat up. "Heck yeah!" She paused. "…What is it?"
"Leave Nicole's PDA with Whisper. Meanwhile…" Sally pointed at the wolf. "You take out the map and mark every coordinate that Nicole lists off."
With that, the princess opened the door and the sniper winced at the blast of hot air. Tangle carefully placed the PDA on the passenger seat before she flung open her door and leapt out. Mina reached out and slammed the door shut, cutting off the lemur as she shouted, "Man it's freakin' ho-!"
Whisper watched as Sally scooped up the lemur and carried her bridal style before activating her rockets, flying into the air with Tangle as her friend whooped in joy.
ARE YOU READY? Nicole asked through the portable device as the wolf unfolded the physical map they had been using to navigate and took out a red pen from the glove compartment.
"Ready." She responded as her pen-wielding hand hovered over the map.
The lynx began to list off longitudes and latitudes, each of which Whisper carefully marked on the map. The sniper couldn't help but be impressed with Sally's quick thinking. If something was preventing people from approaching the area near the city, then there had to be a radius of its effect. So with Tangle acting as a living detector, they could find out the area of effect.
"I guess that's what happens when you're a veteran leader of another war."
The process continued for nearly an hour before she heard the sound of hers overhead. Clicking the pen closed the wolf opened the door and grimaced at the head as she climbed out to see Sally landing with the grinning Tangle stumbling on the floor with shaky legs. Her fur seemed to have been blown back from the wind, with her head fur now looking as if she gelled it to spike backwards.
"That… was…" The lemur thrust her fists into the air. "AWESOME! We need to do that again!"
Sally chuckled. "Eh… maybe. Glad you enjoyed it, at least."
"Any complications?" Whisper asked as she heard the doors of the van open as the other three members of their team came out.
Nicole appeared next to Sally and gave her a nervous smile. "Well… Tangle might have tried to free herself from Sally's hold a couple of times."
The wolf glanced at Tangle, who was rubbing the back of her head while sticking out her tongue sheepishly. Sally, meanwhile, simply wouldn't meet her gaze and was looking at anything but her.
"Seriously?" Mina asked incredulously as she ran towards the lemur. "How high were you?!"
"Oh, it's nothing!" Tangle waved her hand dismissively. "It isn't the first time I almost fell hundreds of feet in the air!"
"I can vouch for that." Blaze muttered while pinching the bridge of her nose. "Honestly, that whole fiasco with Metal Overlord on Angel Island…"
"Me too." Honestly, it was hard to forget an event like that. Fighting against the transformed Metal Sonic who rampaged in its dragon-like form while the floating island fell… something like that tended to stick in one's memories. "It was also where we first met."
It made what would have been just another mission to Whisper seem like something more.
"Yeah, that did get pretty crazy." Silver shook his head before turning to her. "Anyways, what do all the coordinates tell us?"
Whisper walked over to the hood of the van and spread the map out. The various dots around the map that Nicole reported helped to create a circle about ten thousand square miles in the center of the desert. Feeling the presence of the others behind her and stifling her own discomfort, she traced her finger around the circle to highlight this.
Sally hummed and crossed her arms. "So… what are our options to break through it?"
"Right to the point." The sniper could certainly appreciate that.
"Well, unless we all get cyborg brains…" Tangle shrugged. "I dunno. It kinda makes us all want to just turn around and go away whenever we hit it."
Yes, that did pose a problem. While Sally might be able to drive the van through the barrier, its effects would most likely make Whisper and the rest of their group do something drastic to turn around.
Would they try to hijack the van from her? Or would they just get out of their seats and fling themselves out of the moving vehicle?
"Maybe…" Blaze narrowed her eyes. "Perhaps… if we were to move at sufficient speed we could power through this barrier and enter the area before its spell can affect us."
"That's certainly a plan. But…" Mina winced. "I think only me and Sally are fast enough to do that, and I can only maybe carry one of you guys."
"I can carry two." Sally glanced at Silver. "Can you move as fast as Sonic?"
"Yeah, with my powers." The hedgehog winced. "But… It requires concentration. If this thing messes with my head it could make me break my hold over myself and I'll just end up crashing."
Yes, that certainly wouldn't be pretty.
Whisper frowned and stared at the map. There had to be some solution to this…
Then she noted the small winding black railroad that was noted on the map. Her eyes followed it, and she saw that during a bend it drew in close to the edge of the barrier. Doing some quick mental calculation, the distance would be less than half a mile.
Glancing over to the top left corner, she saw the map key which summarized the various items and found her answer.
"We take the train." She said, causing everyone to stop their conversation and look back at her. She pointed at the railway before slowly moving her finger up to the map key.
She tapped on the same right next to a small track symbol.
MIRAGE DESERT EXPRESS
Everyone was silent for a second.
The silence was then broken by an excited scream from Tangle, who was grinning ear to ear as she shouted, "YesyesyesYES! We're going to do it! We're finally using the Extreme Gear!"
In spite of the fact that they were about to perform an action that could lead to their deaths and, if they survived, enter unknown and possibly hostile territory, Whisper couldn't help but smile at her friend's reaction.
"That's exactly why I like you, Tangle."
Hopefully, this will actually be as fun as the lemur seemed to think it would.
"I must admit, it's a surprise to see you here." Blaze commented with a small warm smile on her face. "I would've expected you to find a different line of work after what had happened during the party."
The red-furred quokka chuckled nervously while scratching the back of their head. They had dark red ears and a dark red patch between their green eyes. They also had two small strips of hair on their head and a small tail that was barely visible. They wore a green buttoned coat with a red bow tie. They also wore white gloves as well as dark brown shoes with yellow cuffs. Clipped on their right breast was a name tag that said 'HI! MY NAME IS BARRY' with a small flag on the top right corner that had yellow, white, purple, and black stripes composing it. "I-It's good to see you again too, your highness!"
"You know you don't have to be so formal with me."
"Right! Right…" Barry the Quokka sighed. "After Amy's birthday party I got another job offer! I guess helping you guys out and showing up on the news made other train companies want to have me for bragging rights. Can't complain since the pay's way better than what I had on the Mirage Express. Still… I never expected to see you guys again!" They grinned nervously. "Nobody's going to be murdered… or almost murdered… this time, right?"
"I wish!" Tangle kicked the floor. "It would've made the trip more exciting!"
"Seriously?!" Silver asked with a raised eyebrow. "We're about to launch ourselves with Extreme Gear and somehow that isn't exciting enough?!"
"She's jealous." Whisper explained from behind her mask. "She thinks she missed out."
"Darn skippy!" The lemur huffed and crossed her arm. "I missed out on going to Amy's birthday because Jewel needed help at Restoration HQ! That whole thing on the train sounded totally cool!"
Mina shook her head. "I wouldn't call someone almost getting killed totally cool…"
"Someone almost got murdered during Amy's birthday?" Sally thought to herself as she watched Blaze interact with the train attendant, who she apparently met before. "Was it Eggman?"
Honestly, the fact that everyone was treating the whole thing as if it was nothing was mildly disturbing.
Nicole appeared in the corner of her vision grinning brightly. NO, NO ONE GOT MURDERED, SALLY! I ACTUALLY DID SEE THE REPORT OF THIS EVENT WHILE GOING THROUGH THE RESTORATION'S FILES. IT WAS LABELED 'THE MURDER OF SONIC THE HEDGEHOG'…
Wait, the person who almost got murdered was Sonic?
"How?!"
IT WAS A MURDER MYSTERY PARTY. IT IS ONE WHERE THE PEOPLE ATTENDING ALL PLAY ROLES IN A SCRIPTED SCENARIO, WHERE THE BIRTHDAY GIRL OR BOY AS WELL AS THE DETECTIVE MUST INVESTIGATE THE 'MURDER' OF ONE OF THE PARTYGOERS AND EVERYONE ELSE IS A SUSPECT. BUT ONLY ONE IS THE TRUE CULPRIT, WHOSE MOTIVES ARE WRITTEN IN THEIR LORE CARD WHICH EACH OF THE PLAYERS MUST KEEP SECRET INCLUDING THE VICTIM WHO IS CHOSEN AT RANDOM.
Honestly, it sounded a tad morbid to the robian.
But then again… if nobody really died and it was just a game then it sounded pretty harmless.
Still, to think Amy of all people was into this kind of thing.
She shook her head. "Then I guess Sonic was the victim for the party?"
YES, BUT THEN IT TURNED OUT THAT THE ENTIRE TRAIN WAS A BADNIK AND IT TRIED TO MURDER SONIC FOR REAL. EVERYONE THOUGHT HE WAS MERELY PLAYING THE PART SERIOUSLY UNTIL THE END BECAUSE HE HAD NO VISIBLE INJURIES. HE WAS ALSO TEMPORARILY PARALYZED FROM NON-LETHAL POISON BECAUSE ESPIO WAS TAKING HIS ROLE TOO SERIOUSLY.
Sally chuckled. "Of course something like that would happen to him." She blinked and looked around. Nothing from her sensors indicated that this train was a badnik but… "Nicole?"
DON'T WORRY, I SCANNED IT AS WELL. THERE ARE NO BADNIKS OPERATING THIS TRAIN. The lynx grinned. IT SOUNDS LIKE SO MUCH FUN, SALLY! I WISH WE COULD DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT! WELL, WITHOUT THE BADNIK TRYING TO MURDER OUR FRIENDS OBVIOUSLY!
Seeing Nicole being so giddy over the idea squashed any doubts the chipmunk had about the concept. Grinning to herself she thought, "Alright. Let's look into it once this is all done."
OF COURSE!
Sally looked out the window and watched as the land rolled by. The sun was beginning to set and the land was now beginning to turn a slightly purplish tint. It was honestly quite beautiful.
They had made great time getting into town and buying tickets to the Mirage Desert Express. Thankfully, the train was just about to leave so they didn't waste any time grabbing Tangle and Whisper's Extreme Gear boards before getting on. She thought the fact that she, Silver, Mina, and Blaze didn't have Extreme Gear would be a problem but the train offered rentals to paying customers.
"They were so expensive, and yet Whisper paid for them without hesitation…"
Just how rich was the wolf?
Was it from her time as a mercenary?
"Anyways, I talked to the conductor." Barry motioned to the door to the right. "They said it'll be fine to launch you at the location you're requesting, since you're acting under the capacity of Restoration agents. We'll also notify Restoration HQ about everything you told us once we're at our next stop."
"Good." Blaze nodded. "At least then our friends won't be ignorant about what's happening and will send reinforcements if the need arises."
Like if they didn't give any updates after a few days.
Sally frowned at the thought. While she wanted to remain optimistic about their trip to New Mobotropolis, what little Mina had told them about the current situation didn't inspire much confidence. In all likelihood, they wouldn't be welcomed with open arms.
"I just hope Jewel is able to get Shadow and the others to assist." Her eyes drooped. "Sonic…"
She'd feel more confident if he was here.
Even if he wasn't the Sonic she knew.
At least then, there wouldn't be a shadow of a doubt that everything would turn out alright in the end.
"So…" Barry chuckled. "Do you want me to serve you guys anything? I can microwave a mean chili dog, y'know."
Tangle opened her mouth only for Whisper to put her hand over it and shake her head.
"Probably not a good idea to have anything in our stomach before we go." Silver reminded the lemur before shrugging sheepishly at the quokka. "Besides, aren't we going to be launching soon?"
Realization dawned on the quokka's face. "Right! Right, sorry!" Scrambling to the small screen mounted on the wall, they picked up a remote and fiddled with it before it came to life. "B-Before you go, though, you'll need to watch this short educational video!"
The screen came to life and to Sally's surprise, Sonic the Hedgehog was on the screen.
He looked just as she remembered him, with the addition of some green-tinted white frame sunglasses resting on his head. The cocky but easygoing grin that conveyed his confidence and warmth in equal measure, his sparkling green eyes that were once a warm brown, his sleek dark blue quills that always seemed to remain perfectly curved no matter what…
SALLY?
"I'm fine, Nicole." Sally's hands clenched into fists as she closed her eyes. "It's just… difficult."
"Alright!" Sonic wagged his finger and held up his Extreme Gear board. "Name's Sonic! Sonic the Hedgehog! Maybe you've heard of me! While I know you're all ready to go on your Extreme Gear, it never hurts to remember the basics so you don't wipe out and seriously hurt yourself and anyone else. So here are some basic tips and tricks for your safety!"
As the recording of Sonic went on, Sally glanced over to Mina who was watching the recording with Bowie resting on her shoulder. The mongoose had a small, sad smile on her face as she watched the video.
"Right. She actually met Sonic… this Sonic… before." The robian's mouth formed a thin line as she looked away. "She had to come to grips with how Sonic didn't know her in person."
She knew how much Sonic meant to Mina, even if the singer didn't love him like she used to. He had been her friend and mentor, the boy who had confidence in her singing ability back when Mina didn't have confidence in herself. Even if that concert had soured the relationship, she doubted that Sonic or Mina stopped considering each other as friends.
"Nicole, do you think that Sonic and Mina will be friends again?"
The lynx smiled gently at Sally in the corner of her vision.
HE WOULDN'T BE SONIC IF HE DIDN'T ACCEPT HER… OR US… AS FRIENDS.
Yeah. Yeah, that was true.
"Alright! That's all the tips and tricks that'll keep you safe!" Sonic then tossed his board forward, where it began floating a foot in the air. Sonic leapt up and grinned at the camera. "Now get out there and ride on the waves at supersonic speed… and do me a favor, make sure you make it look cool while doing it too!"
Barry then leaned up as Sonic began speeding off on his board before shutting the video off. They got up and grinned at everyone. "Okay, that's that! Follow me to the launch card, everyone!"
Everyone got up and followed the quokka to the door to the left, which they opened and ushered everyone inside. The sound of the train rolling on top of the tracks filled the air as they entered the open roof card that contained the Extreme Gear boards mounted on the walls. She saw Tangle and Whisper's Turbo Star boards, one with black edge accents and orange markings while the other had blue edges with black markings.
The others were also Turbo Star boards, since that was all they could get rented from the train in short notice. Blaze grumbled about not being able to show off her Flame Lance, but seemed to accept the reality of the situation. The cat's board as a light purple with pink accents, Silver's board only had dark gray accents, and Mina's had grey edge accents and dark purple markings.
Sally's board, meanwhile, bard dark blue edge accents, a black surface, and light blue markings.
It reminded her about Sonic…
Shaking her head, Sally took her board and walked over to the launching device. It was a fairly massive hand that had a small staircase that led to the thumb. It was holding onto a holstered gun, the chamber open to reveal two handrails and a track.
Sally glanced at her energy and fuel levels.
Fuel: 60%
Energy: 73%
"This is going to be a problem…" Sally grimaced. "Electricity is degrading the battery too much. Now it won't charge beyond eighty percent!"
I KNOW… Nicole looked worried as she glanced at the energy levels. WITH LUCK, BELLE AND THE RESTORATION ARE MAKING PROGRESS ON THE RING FORGE. BUT EVEN THEN, WE MIGHT NEED TO WORK ON THE INSULATION WITHIN YOUR BODY.
That wasn't something Sally was looking forward to. It was one thing having hands taken off and fixed. It was another having people essentially operate on her… her guts.
What constituted her guts now, anyways.
She looked at her hand and saw it was shaking. Clenching it into a fist, she instead looked towards Barry who was explaining the mechanics of the launch device to Mina, who paid rapt attention.
"…And once the air pushes your body out, the Extreme Gear will activate and you'll be able to land safely before riding out ." The quokka shook their head. "I don't know how you guys are able to do it. I'd be scared stiff being shot into the air like that, but I guess it makes sense friends of Sonic the Hedgehog love the thrill!"
"Let's drop the subject of having to fly in the air and then drop, thank you." Blaze was now tapping her foot, looking uneasy as she pointed at the device. "Can we just get this over with?"
"Okay!" Barry saluted and ran over to the controls. "We're just about to enter the launch area! Whoever is going first, please get into position!"
"On it!" Sally ran up the stairs and climbed to the chamber where she placed the Extreme Gear on the floor before stepping on top of it. As if guided by its own personal gravity, the board instantly latched onto her feet while she tried to keep her balance. She put her hands on the handrails and waited.
While it might have been more efficient to just use her jets to travel through the barrier, it also would've cost her more fuel. Fuel that she might need later. So she had been the one to propose using an Extreme Gear like the rest so that she could save on it.
Still, a part of her couldn't help but feel nervous.
What if something went wrong? What if her plan didn't work? What if…?
Sonic flashed in her mind, his usual carefree grin plastered on his face as he ran while holding her like… well… a princess.
"You worry too much, Sal! Sometimes, you just gotta go with the flow and realize that whatever happens, happens!"
Sally eased her tension and closed her eyes.
Okay, sure.
She'll try and do it Sonic's way.
She felt the gun move up and tried hard not to scream when she saw her vision spin, and if she could still feel sensation then she would feel her body spin as well. Then, when it stopped, she watched as her body was shot forward into the opening which was obscured by a blinding light…
… and she flew.
Sally wished she could feel the wind rushing past her body as she soared through the air at dusk, the purple horizon stretching out before her.
She wished she could taste the air, which had its own flavor when one was at a higher altitude.
She wished she could feel the grin spreading across her face.
She could only feel the rush of excitement from the depths of her soul.
But maybe, just maybe, that was enough.
In spite of the situation as well as their mission, Sally only cried out one thing:
"WOOHOOO!"
The princess of the Kingdom of Acorn pumped her right fist. She then crouched down, putting her left hand on the head of the board before leaning back, performing a backflip which caused her to gain more air. Once she was upright again, she performed a 180 turn to take a look behind her.
Tangle, Whisper, Mina, Silver, and Blaze were following behind her while the train sped off down its tracks. The lemur was grinning as she used her tail to do a handstand on her board while her body was suspended in the air, making finger guns at Sally. Whisper's eyes were narrowed, but she was glancing back at Tangle while a small grin was on her face. Blaze, meanwhile, was rigid but her eyes were wide with fear. Mina seemed to be about a minute away from freaking out as she balanced herself on her board, while Silver kept his eyes on the cat and mongoose. Most likely to save them in case something went wrong.
"How far are we from the barrier?" Sally asked Nicole. "We're beginning to descend!"
BEGIN DRIFTING NOW TO CREATE TURBULENCE FOR THE OTHERS TO RIDE ON!
Turning her body, Sally began to drift in the air to turn slightly to the right. Behind her, a small curved wall of air would begin to form which the others would spot. The Extreme Gear would take advantage of that, the motors turning faster thanks to the air and allowing the others to gain more speed than the boards would normally allow.
She could hear the boards cut through the rushing wind and knew the others were just behind her and gaining quickly.
JUST ABOUT… NOW!
Within only a second, they began to pass her and head out in front of her. Sally could see each of her friends wince as they passed through the air in front of them, and it looked as if reality itself was rippling as each body passed through.
"What on Mobius…?"
Shaking her head, she watched as each member of her team finally landed on the ground but continued to ride their Extreme Gear forward rather than turn back. Sighing in relief, Sally landed as well and crouched down to gain more speed before she caught up with Silver.
"You guys alright?!" Sally asked in a raised voice. She couldn't help but notice that Silver was clutching his head with one eye closed.
"Y-Yeah… Just suffering one of the worst headaches of my life!" He shook his head and pointed forward. "But… what's that?"
The princess turned her head to look at where Silver was pointing. Her eyes widened when she saw, in the distance, a cloud of sand was being kicked up by a bright yellow dot.
"Nicole?"
ON IT.
As if it were a camera, Sally's vision flickered until the dot in the distance grew bigger and clearer. While the image was slightly blurry, she could make out the vague outline of the Marvelous Queen.
"What are Hooligans doing here?" Why would they be anywhere near New Mobotropolis? Then, realization dawned on her. "Was… was Geoffrey the one that hired them?"
It would make sense. Who else but the ruler of the city that the singer escaped from would have wanted Mina?
"Is Bunnie still with them?" She hoped not. She hoped that the new version of her friend took her second chance and ran with it. That she went off to find herself a better life outside of hanging out with scum like Nack the Weasel.
But… it was still her life.
Sally couldn't control it, no matter how badly she wanted her friend back.
WHAT SHOULD WE DO? Nicole asked. THE HOOLIGANS DON'T SEEM TO BE PURSUING US.
"No, but…" Sally's hands clenched into fists. "They are likely to know where New Mobotropolis is, if they're working for Geoffrey. They have to get paid somehow."
Making her decision, the princess pointed forward. "It's the Hooligans! They're up ahead and don't seem to have noticed us!"
"For real?!" Tangle shouted back. "We just dealt with those guys!"
"I know, but…" Sally shot forward to get to the head of the group. "If we're going to get any sort of direction, we're more likely to get it from them. Follow my lead!"
"Right!" Everyone shouted at the same time.
They raced through the desert, weaving through cacti and rocks with Silver only occasionally moving Mina out of the way. Sally couldn't help but feel impressed by how fast the mongoose was picking up riding an Extreme Gear.
"If she wasn't a singer, she likely would've made it big in the racing circuit!"
It didn't take long for them to get close to the Marvelous Queen, and instantly Sally knew something was wrong.
A brown hooded figure was at the driver's seat, crouching down with their hands on the controls. It wasn't Nack, the body type wasn't right.
The air bike was also scuffed and scratched, as if it had just come from a battle. That was something Nack never would've allowed. He always valued the state of his vehicle, even if it was in the middle of a battle.
Two of the three sidecars were empty, with only one occupied by a member of the Hooligans.
That member being Bunnie, slumped in her seat with her eyes closed.
"HEY!" Sally shouted, pointing at the driver. "Hey, you! Pull over! Right now!"
The driver seemed to notice her shouting, and turned their head to get a good look at them. At the same time, the wind finally got a hold of the brown hood and blew it back.
Sally's eyes widened as she stared at the female hedgehog looking at her. The had lavender fur with peach skin, blue eyes, and a tuft of blond hair in the front that blew in the wind. Her quills were curled downwards, but the shape and spikiness of them reminded Sally so much of Sonic.
So much of this woman's son.
"Bernadette?" Sally whispered as she stared at the mother of Sonic the Hedgehog. "I-Is that you?"
"P-Princess Sally?!" Bernadette Hedgehog spluttered out in equal disbelief, her eyes huge and wide as if she was staring at a ghost. Even Sally could tell the woman wanted to do a million things. She wanted to stop the air bike and run up to hug her, to cry and ask Sally a million questions about how she was here and how she regained control. Instead, she shook her head and the eyes of a soldier took over. "You need to scatter, now! It's coming!"
"What…?"
SALLY, BADNIK SIGNAL IS CLOSING IN!
Even before Nicole announced it, Sally could hear the rumbling of earth. She turned her head and saw the sandy ground begin to buckle and erupt as something tunneled just underneath the surface, making boulders and cacti fly everywhere as it followed their trail.
"What is…?!" Mina shouted before the ground exploded.
Out from the sand came a caterkiller. But unlike the small ones that once plagued Mobius, it was massive. It was as tall as a four story building, its head and back colored a faded pink while the belly was a bright yellow. The top part of its body was covered in rusted spikes, but they were all still as sharp as the day they were manufactured. The top part of its head was a clear glass window, showing the gears and circuitry still operating furiously as its mouth with cartoonishly sharp fangs opened and closed.
And its near plastic and slightly cracked eyes were solely focused on them as it burrowed into the ground again, following them at even greater speed than before.
"I guess this is the welcome wagon!"
Then again, it wasn't like she was expecting this trip back home to be an easy one.
To Be Continued…
Notes: Yo! Looks like I was able to get the new chapter out for my birthday! Good work, me!
Not going to lie, it was a bit difficult to get through this chapter since it took a lot of setup to explain why nobody discovered New Mobotropolis before and then how Sally and the gang were able to get around that. Then of course there's the Extreme Gear, and because I wasn't that big into skater culture I had a hard time conveying how great it is even though I did play Sonic Riders back when I was ten. Still, hope I was able to do a good job.
And hey, there's a new familiar face! That's neat! Lets see where it goes!
Anyways, hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Be sure to leave a review and add to the TV Tropes Page!
Until next time!