"Uhh, Hershey the Cat… and Geoffrey St. John… I… I… uhh, now pronounce you skunk and…" The nervous goat priest tugged at his collar as the houses of his village burned around them. "…wife!"
Behind them were the survivors of village that had been hiding her and Geoffrey, sniffling and crying as A.D.A.M's robots surrounded them with their weapons raised. The mad doctor grinned cruelly as he watched them from a screen, which was being carried by one of the drones.
They all knew what would happen when the ceremony was over.
The madman that was once the feared Robo-Robotnik was not playing around anymore.
Hershey stared into the eyes of the man she loved, and saw that his eyes were filled with the same grim acceptance of their fate. But at the same time, there was a warmth there. One that she had seen more than anyone.
One that had been showing itself more often than ever.
Before, Geoffrey would hide behind his macho bravado. It had been like he was playacting as a tough and competent soldier, and it was easy to see why it both infuriated people and yet attracted them. It wasn't hard to understand why a young girl like Princess Sally would be smitten by that, however short that crush had been. However, ever since Robotnik's original death, Hershey had seen another side to Geoffrey.
A vulnerable side. One that regretted and felt remorse towards his mistakes. The cracks and chinks to his armor that he tried to hide from everyone.
She saw them and did her best to comfort him. To encourage him. To be there for him, especially when it seemed like he didn't let anyone else in.
And only a part of her felt shame and guilt when she reported everything to Harvey Who.
The admiration she felt for him grew into something more. Something greater. It was slow at first, some private conversations and dinners with just the two of them. Then it grew more intimate, it grew into something greater than just two adults testing out the waters.
Hershey knew for a fact that she loved Geoffrey St. John, and that he loved her.
Nothing, not even the secrets Geoffrey held, changed that.
Which is why when the mad doctor found them and asked for their final requests, she asked if she and Geoffrey could get married so that they could die as husband and wife.
All of this was happening just because Eggman found it amusing.
"You… err… may kiss the bride!"
Hershey let out a shaky breath and drew close to her new husband, and he did the same. He held her in his arms and they leaned forward.
As they kissed, she knew that in spite of everything, in spite of all the secrets and backstabbing and blood drawn in the dead of night…
…this was the happiest moment of her life.
Hershey St. John stared at her wedding ring with a frown as she leaned against the wall across from Elias Acorn's room. The wedding ring that she and Geoffrey had gotten when they had returned to Knothole after they had been saved by the newly returned Sonic the Hedgehog, the young hero who Hershey had come to accept had died so that they could all live. She had been happy that day, so happy. Not just for Sonic's return, but for the simple fact that she was alive and that she was now married to Geoffrey. Even her husband had a rueful smile on his face when he watched Sonic leave, none of the animosity he once held in his eyes showing at all.
It was then that Hershey knew that Geoffrey had changed.
It was then that those excursions to report to his mysterious master had stopped.
It was as if that near-death experience, Sonic's return, and the marriage had changed him for the better.
The cat closed her eyes and tried to hold back the tears. "And I ruined it."
Even if… even if what she had done helped to ensure her and the Secret Freedom Fighters' survival and gave them the full scope of Naugus and Mogul's plan…
The door to Elias' room slid open and she looked up to see Lyco and Leeta Wolf leaving before taking notice of her. Their surprised expressions shifted to ones of bitter resentment.
"What are you doing here?" Lyco asked, crossing her arms as she stared at Hershey. "Come to give more justifications for all the crap you pulled back in Studiopolis?"
"I don't need to justify anything." Hershey shot back with a frown. "I gave you my reasons for what I did. I regret what I tried to do based on incomplete information, but…"
Leeta shook her head. "But nothing. You don't belong here."
She narrowed her eyes at the twins. "The king personally asked me to come here. I have more of a right to be here than you two, who just come and go to him as you please."
The wolves bristled at the comment and Hershey took a small bit of satisfaction from their reaction.
They weren't as discreet as they thought.
Lyco grit her teeth. "Elias is our friend, not our king! We don't have to explain anything to…"
"Lyco! Leeta!" The male voice shouted from the inside of the room. "Both of you, stop! I did ask her to come here. Just… please, give us some privacy."
The three women glared at each other for a second before the twins walked off, Lyco growling at Hershey before they stalked down the hallways.
The satisfaction the cat felt was soon replaced with shame. "What am I doing?" Elias' relationship with the twins was none of her business, and it was a low blow unbecoming of her. "…I'm letting what happened get to me." She grimaced and put her hand on the doorknob. "Pull yourself together, Hershey."
She opened the door and saw the brown-furred squirrel with auburn hair. Once the hair was neatly combed back, indicative of his royal bloodline and upbringing. Now, however, it was messy and unkempt. The same was his fur, which looked like it hadn't been brushed in days. He wore a plain blue t-shirt, faded blue jeans, and red sneakers that were unbecoming of someone of his status. His tired and nearly hollow blue eyes stared at the picture he held in his gloveless hands, a picture of a brown haired and furred squirrel holding a child and smiling at the camera while the same squirrel in front of her held her close, wearing his royal garb and looking far happier.
Elias Acorn sighed and set down the photo of his family before looking up. "Thanks for coming, Hershey."
"Your majesty." Hershey nodded and stood in front of Elias with her arms behind your back. "You wished to see me?"
He waved her off. "Stop with the formalities. I'm not the king."
A pang of anger and frustration welled up inside the cat before she quelled it. They have had this conversation dozens of times. "You are the king to me, your majesty. The rightful king of the Kingdom of Acorn. You…"
"Enough." Elias held up his hands. "I don't need this right now. I just… I just want to know." He stared into her eyes and asked, "My sister… Sally… is she…?"
Of course. While Elias had read her report before she and the twins arrived back into their base, he wanted her side of the story. Deep down he probably knew Lyco and Leeta would probably just tell him what he wanted to hear, to comfort him and to put his mind at ease.
"…She appears to be better than when I first saw her." Hershey admitted, looking down and frowning. "Before she left with the Restoration Members and Silver…"
"The Genesis Births." Elias interrupted, a frown forming on his face. "Were all of them…?"
"…Yes, I checked. None of them, besides Silver, would have existed on Mobius. None of them have even a sliver of Genesis Wave Radiation."
It still amazed her knowing that one source of energy was all that it took to find out who should and shouldn't have existed on Mobius. Even more amazing was the fact that Charles Hedgehog invented new glasses and goggles for the team to pick it up.
"But why do you always look like that when I talk about them?"
Elias motioned her to continue and she nodded. "…she was distraught, likely trying to process her new state of being and the reality of the situation. But in Studiopolis, she seemed… happier. More confident and comfortable."
The rightful king of Mobius let out a sigh of relief. "Thank Aurora… but… she shouldn't even be in that situation." His hands clenched into fists. "She should be here with us… not with them…!" He closed his eyes. "If I had been holding her then…!"
Suddenly, his eyes shot open and he began shaking. Rushing to his side, Hershey pulled the squirrel into a hug and tried her hardest to not let the fear in her show.
"Something happened. Something happened. Something happened. Something happened…"
Over and over again he muttered those two words. It was happening again. Harvey, despite his best efforts, could never find out why. Whenever he approached Elias or the twins about it, they'd say they had no real memory of it. When he pressed on it, they began to… react.
"What did you three see there? What did you see in Cyber Space?"
Eventually, the shakes and muttering subsided and Elias began to blink at last. He looked at Hershey and asked, "W-What did I…?"
"It was nothing, your majesty." She sighed and let him go. "Nothing important."
She could only hope that was the truth.
Suddenly, Hershey's wrist communicator began to ring and she tapped on it. "What is it?"
"Uh, yeah." Larry the Lynx's voice came from the device. "It's me, Larry. Is Elias with you?"
"Yeah." Elias dragged his hand over his face. "What's up, Larry?"
"Well, I was with Uncle Chuck while he was trying to see if that Restoration Director forgot to change any passwords or didn't find all of Hershey's devices in the headquarters." The lynx chuckled. "No such luck. That kid's thorough."
A grim smile formed on the cat's face. "I could've told you that myself."
"Anyways… After going through all that we looked back to the security equipment in the desert…" Larry hesitated and then continued. "…And we got a visual on Princess Sally. She, as well as Silver, Mina, Princess Blaze, and some Genesis Births, got through the barrier and are now about to fight the Uber Caterkiller."
Hershey and Elias looked at each other for a second in mute shock before leaping off the bed and running out the door.
They needed to see this for themselves.
Still, a single thought crossed through Hershey's mind.
"Sally… maybe you've let Sonic influence you too much."
"This is truly a glorious day!" The small yellow-furred chinchilla wearing an outfit that copied the doctor's own giggled to herself while connecting the wires from Metal Sonic's arm to his shoulder. "I had long dreamed of working on the doctor's masterpiece, and for it to become a reality…!"
Metal Sonic merely observed as the chinchilla continued her sloppy work. It was not like the doctor's own repairs. Eggman knew his blueprints from mere memory, able to perform repairs in a matter of minutes. Meanwhile the chinchilla beside him was constantly taking breaks to gush about his body and the doctor's genius.
It infuriated him. He wanted to be back to full operational capacity now, and yet this female was taking her sweet time!
"I SUPPOSE THIS IS THE LIMIT-CONFINEMENT-RESTRICTION OF A PHYSICAL BODY." Phage's distorted laughter echoed in his head, and Metal Sonic's still operational hand clenched into a fist. "I AM MERELY MAKING AN OBSERVATION, SUPERIOR UNIT. NO NEED TO BECOME ANGRY-IRATE-INDIGNANT."
No, there really wasn't. Phage was merely hoping to get a rise out of him and act irrational.
To… what? Even the virus knew it would be unable to obtain the data and artificial intelligence she craved to consume without him pushing forward.
"THE REASON…" Phage paused and seemed to remain silent for a second. "…NICOLE THE HOLO-LYNX'S DATA IS… STRANGE-UNUSUAL-CURIOUS. THE MORE I DIGEST AND INCORPORATE, THE MORE I CHANGE. THIS EVOLUTION… IT FAR EXCEEDS MY PROJECTIONS. I MUST STUDY THIS."
Without a word, the virus retreated to the back of Metal Sonic's mind, and he was grateful for it. While they were allies and created by the doctor, he wasn't keen to continue being a source of amusement to the virus.
Still, a part of him was curious. Phage wasn't able to consume much of the holo-lynx, yet incorporating just parts of it allowed the virus to evolve this much? To the point that even Phage found it strange?
What was it becoming?
"Hm…" Metal Sonic glanced up to a drone that flew above the chinchilla, a camera zooming in and out from the top while a small video screen hung from underneath. On it was a human with lightly brown skin rubbing his chin, which sported a short beard. His hair was combed back, and held in place with some sort of product. He wore a black button-up shirt with an even darker tie. "Are you sure you properly rotated the shoulder slot before attaching those?"
Thunderbolt growled as she made the final wire connection. "Of course! I'd never perform sloppy work on Metal Sonic!" Slowly, she moved the arm in place and made the connection to his shoulder.
REPAIRS: COMPLETE.
HARDWARE DIAGNOSTICS SCAN: ERROR! REPAIRS PERFORMED BY UNKNOWN PARTY.
RECOMMENDATION: SEEK IMMEDIATE REPAIRS FROM DOCTOR EGGMAN.
Metal Sonic dismissed the error message and clenched his newly attached arm's hand into a fist before unclenching it.
There was a millisecond delay between the command and action.
It just reinforced his opinion about the sloppiness of these organics.
"And with that, you are back online!" Thunderbolt clapped her hands as he turned his head to stare at her. She was smiling with glee as she said, "I know it's inferior to the doctor's own repairs, but I do hope they are sufficient enough for the time being!"
…Well, at least she acknowledged her own inferiority.
"Especially for the grand undertaking that we have planned!" The chinchilla leapt off of her small step ladder and walked towards a table that had three computer monitors displaying various windows on them. One monitor contained what appeared to be a chat room of some sort, another had a spreadsheet, and the third one had a satellite image of a desert. A quick calculation of the longitude and latitude informed Metal Sonic that it was showing an image of the Mirage Desert Zone. "One that will benefit the doctor immensely once we have accomplished our mission!"
"What's to stop him from just leaving right now?" The pronghorn, Clove, asked while leaning against a wall. Metal Sonic's eyes shifted to stare at her, and he took some small satisfaction in how she flinched from his gaze. Calming herself, she glared at the chinchilla. "He has no reason to follow us, unless you rewrote his code to follow your orders."
That statement was true. He certainly had no reason to stay here.
And had they tried to rewrite his code, he would've broken free and slaughtered them all before flying off to continue his search for Mecha Sally.
"It's simple." The human took a sip of his coffee from the monitor. "The doctor created Metal Sonic and installed him with protocols to do everything in his power to ensure his interests. That, combined with his advanced artificial intelligence, makes him curious about us. Especially when we made it clear how we seek to aid the doctor in his goals."
"So…" The other pronghorn, Cassia, rolled her eyes. "He just wants to see how this plays out."
It irked Metal Sonic, but the human and pronghorn certainly had it right.
He was curious about this group. The doctor allying himself with Islanders wasn't a rare occurrence. Before Starline and Infinite, he hired mercenaries like Jackal Squad and the Hooligans to assist him with his goals.
This group seemed to be like Starline, but the thing that stopped him from simply killing them all was how they treated him compared to the platypus.
Starline treated him like just another badnik. As if he were a tool that he could order around as if he were the doctor. The only thing that stopped Metal Sonic from striking Starline was the doctor's own orders. It frustrated Metal Sonic, but there wasn't anything he could do about it.
It didn't stop him from taking immense joy in chucking the platypus through a Warp Topaz portal once Eggman fired him.
Cassia, Thunderbolt, and Stone however… they seemed to acknowledge him as his own individual as much as an extension of the doctor's will. And that already made them worth his time.
That was why he allowed himself to be driven to this abandoned warehouse, where groups of Islanders and even some humans were gathered. All of them sitting around in camps maintaining gear or performing exercises. All of them bearing some visual indicator of the Eggman Empire, be it uniforms or armbands.
Just like the Grandmasters from the Death Egg's files…
"Well, that's one way to put it." Stone shrugged. "He can leave whenever he wants. We can't stop Metal Sonic. All we can do is hope that our plan will interest him enough to take a part in it."
"Well it better happen soon." A gruff voice declared as footsteps echoed in the room. "Because I'm starting to get bored."
Metal Sonic turned his head to see a light blue-furred Islander badger with black markings on the fur of his ears, tail tip, and around his eyes while having white fur on his chest and snout. He had a lengthy purple, gold, and black-colored sword strapped onto his back, one that was even bigger than him, and he wore a gray-colored gauntlet adorned on his left hand. On his right hand, he wore a white glove, with a purple interior lining. He also wore a brown strap and belt, held together with a yellow buckle and button which was supported by a gray-colored shoulder pad.
Metal Sonic instantly searched his files for the badger.
Cortez the Badger
Occupation: Mercenary
Affiliation: Eggman Empire
History: During the months leading to the War, the doctor had requested assistance from several mercenary groups to obtain resources and guard his bases alongside badniks. The two most effective parties were Jackal Squad and the lone mercenary Cortez the Badger. Anti-Social personality and unwillingness to follow direct orders from the doctor made him be deemed unreliable and so Jackal Squad was deemed more useful and cooperative.
Well now, that was interesting…
"Cortez." Thunderbolt growled as the badger walked into the room with his purple boots. "You were not invited to this meeting."
Cortez narrowed his eyes at the chinchilla. "Last time I checked, I don't take orders from you." He turned his attention to Clove and nodded at her.
The pronghorn sighed. "Cortez, you should be training your men. The battle…"
"What happens in the battle happens." The badger crossed his arms. "I never got training, and look how I turned out."
"Yeah, a real winner." Cassia grinned. "One whose butt my sister kicked."
The badger grunted. "Yeah, and that's the only reason why I'm even a part of this. But…" He smirked at the older pronghorn. "…Eventually I'm gonna get that rematch. And I'm gonna clear that debt."
The younger pronghorn laughed. "Yeah, in your dreams! Clove's just gonna knock you on your butt again!"
Cortez bristled and glared at Cassia. "What was that?!"
As the two argued, Metal Sonic took another look at the monitors that Thunderbolt was typing away at. A new window was open on one, one with a blinking red dot at the corner and the text reading LIVE FEED.
The video appeared to be streaming from Cool Edge. The glaciers were prominent in the background, some floating while others slowly collapsed in the water. However, what was interesting was the thing inside the water.
It was a ship.
An Egg Carrier, one that appeared to have been made by bits and pieces of the ones created by the doctor over the years. Islanders, ones wearing heavy fur coats, were crawling all over it. Welding pieces of metal to the hull or polishing the deck. By the camera was a purple walrus islander that had cybernetic tusks wearing a dark blue fur-lined coat who was glaring at an Islander orca, who in contrast was wearing a thin yellow and black uniform fit for a swimmer.
Yes.
Yes, the human and pronghorn were right.
Metal Sonic very much did want to see where this was going.
Why did Eggman make all of his badniks look like living cartoon critters?
It was a question that was asked on the news, in newspapers, in books all about his psychology, on the internet, and in social media threads. It even had more than a few podcasts dedicated to it.
Some said it was because Dr. Ivo Robotnik never really grew up, having been neglected for most of his childhood by his family. And so he made the badniks to resemble the toys he once played with to act out some childish fantasy.
The people who suggested that would have all their dirty little secrets that they thought were hidden online brought into public. Their real and virtual lives would be ruined with their phones and computer screens showing the symbol of the Eggman Empire and the sound of the madman laughing at them booming through the speakers.
A few speculated it was just his vision of the future. Of animals and insects made into metal replicas and simplified so that they could fit into his vision of an organized world.
Eggman would proceed to visit them and give personal interviews where he would actually discuss his vision of the world in great detail… with the interviewers held at gunpoint by a pair of Egg Pawns. Then once the interview was done he'd tell them that the next time they tried to be smart, he wouldn't be as nice.
One or two suggested it was to inflict psychological torture on the inhabitants of the islands and the humans on the continents. That the badniks would be the last thing they saw and they were basically wind-up toys to the mad scientist. That it brought the mad scientists such sick pleasure having everyone either killed or enslaved by a bunch of cartoon robots.
Eggman would just comment that they needed professional help and would delete all their social media accounts.
Personally? Whisper the Wolf had long since figured out the Eggman just liked making giant killer toys.
"OH CRAP!" Tangle shouted as she leaned to the left with Silver and Mina, steering out of the way while the wolf grimaced and leaned to the right with Blaze. "What the heck is a badnik doing here?!"
The ground behind them kicked up as the robot drew closer to them, its sensors had likely marked them and was now keeping track of their location.
"Silver!" Sally shouted at the gray-furred hedgehog. "Take it out, now!"
Silver reached up with his hands, already glowing in turquoise energy, only to grimace and lower to them.
"I can't get a hold on it if I don't know where it is!" He shouted at them. "It's underground and we're all moving!"
"Well that's just wonderful." Aside from Blaze, Silver was the most powerful member of the team. His abilities being limited in this scenario certainly wasn't ideal. "Then again, I've rarely been in ideal combat scenarios. So I guess I shouldn't complain too much."
"When did this thing get here?!" Mina shouted, turning her head to the cloaked hedgehog riding in the Marvelous Queen. "It wasn't in the desert when I…!"
"After you escaped, that skunk and his supporters decided they needed extra security inside their barrier and around the city!" The lavender-furred hedgehog looked over her shoulder, grimacing as she seemed to take note of the rapidly advancing badnik. "It's to make sure nobody can get in… and nobody can get out!"
"…Makes sense." If this Geoffrey character had found out Mina escaped, he would take extra measures to ensure it didn't happen again. It certainly didn't bode well for what he was doing inside the city either.
"I suppose we have no choice then." Blaze raised her hands and balls of flame were formed above each of her palms. "We must destroy it!"
"This skunk dude sounds like the worst!" Tangle complained, but a grin still formed on her face. "Still, I never fought on an Extreme Gear before! And as far as I know, neither has Sonic! Sounds like fun!"
The Magenta Wisp, Bowie, let out an excited shriek as he flew from Mina's shoulder and in front of the mongoose, raising them in triumph before flying into the singer's Wispon. The guitar glowed from the sudden infusion of Hyper-go-on energy before settling, and the wolf could swear she heard the riff of guitar chords fill the air in spite of the rushing wind and the buckling ground behind them.
"You're that eager to get into a fight?!" Mina shouted in disbelief as she carefully reached out and brought out her guitar, holding it by the neck with both hands. "Seriously, for a cute little guy you're bloodthirsty!"
"More like oil thirsty!" The lemur corrected with a grin.
Suddenly, the hedgehog burst out laughing. Whisper frowned as she glanced over to the mysterious driver of the Marvelous Queen. She didn't know the woman, but judging from Sally's reaction the robian seemed to know her.
"But does that make her trustworthy?"
"You sound like my son!" The hedgehog woman shook her head. "Oh man… he'd love you."
The wolf furrowed her brow. "Something about her seems… familiar…"
The quills… the lavender ones anyways… they were curved down more but they kind of looked like…
"Guys! It's coming up!" Sally shouted, causing the mercenary to snap back to reality. "Get ready!"
The Uber Caterkiller did not give them anymore time to prepare. It burst out of the ground just behind them, its mouth opening and closing as sand and dirt were kicked up. Cursing, Whisper put on her mask and blinked away the few grains of sand that were in her eyes.
"Come on, Mina!" Bowie's voice cried out from further ahead. "We need to show our stuff! Time to show those old folks we're the perfect partners! LET'S ROCK!"
"Whisper!" Orange shouted from his container. "That punk's been talking smack about us all day! And he calls us old! OLD! Let's tear this badnik apart to show him our stuff!"
Whisper grimaced as she unholstered her Wispon. Her Wisp partners had been getting into arguments with Bowie the entire trip. Her partners weren't exactly Bowie's biggest fans and vice-versa. Her wisps reiterated their combat experience and efficiency working in a unit while the Magenta Wisp scoffed and derided them about how they weren't creative and relied too much on planning to get things done.
The Magenta Wisp also apparently had a pretty high opinion about himself, and with a name like his it seemed as if he'd come from a family or family-like unit high in the aliens' social structure. So that just added to their mutual distaste for each other.
"Get in." She whispered as Orange did as he was told and got into the Variable Wispon. Aiming upwards, she took aim at the Caterkiller's underbelly and calculated the trajectory. She wouldn't hit the head, not at her angle, but she could at least damage it.
Whisper fired a rocket and it zoomed upwards, cutting through the air like a knife before it struck the yellow underbelly…
…before the projectile bounced off and went back at her.
Clicking her tongue, Whisper leaned back further and leapt over a cactus just as the rocket struck the ground behind them. It wouldn't have hit her, but she wanted to avoid the debris that would've shot up from the impact.
"Well, I suppose it was never going to be that easy." Blaze muttered as the Caterkiller burrowed back into the ground. "Take aim for the upper body or head! The underside is immune to projectiles!"
Whisper merely kept her aim at the mound of dirt following them.
This was another thing the wolf had long since realized about Eggman, especially during and after the war.
When he could make the badniks as deadly as he wanted… why bother making them look threatening?
"Keep yourselves spread out!" Sally shouted while glancing back at them. "The caterkiller's likely to try and prioritize on just one of you! Blaze, Silver, and Whisper! I need you three to attack whenever it goes into the air! Tangle and Mina will only attack whenever it's within their range!"
"Roger!" Tangle shouted with a salute at the robian before leaning forward and advancing near Mina. When she was close enough she asked, "Nervous?"
Honestly, she knew that she should probably be focusing on the giant burrowing robot worm that was trying to kill them. But she couldn't help but notice how the singer seemed to be a bit… shaky. She was holding onto her guitar wispon which was practically vibrating in her hands. The rest of Mina's body was stiff as a board, and that certainly wasn't a good thing when someone was riding an Extreme Gear.
So it was her job to cheer her up.
"K-Kinda!" The mongoose was shivering. "I-I barely rode on an Extreme Gear before all this, and now I'm fighting on top of one! I wasn't even a fighter back home!"
The lemur gaped at her. "What?! But you did great against Mogul! And isn't he a super-duper bad guy from your place?"
And it was pretty awesome when she did it! The singer not only hit that monologuing jerk once, but twice! All that talk and that big oh-so-powerful mammoth was completely taken by surprise when the girl he thought he had intimidated just hit him with her guitar! And the way she looked while doing it was co cool!
Mina blushed. "Yeah, but…!"
"Guys, focus!" Silver shouted from up ahead. "Here it comes!"
"You'll do great!" Tangle shouted with a wink and a grin before turning around just to see the Uberr Caterkiller come out of the ground. It was barreling straight towards them, its mouth opening and closing as if it were ready to eat them…
…only for the head to be surrounded by a turquoise light.
"I got it! Go!" Silver shouted, and the lemur gave him a thumbs up with her tail. Banking to the left, she turned around and barreled straight for the Uber Caterkiller while raising her tail to strike.
It was then she noticed something.
"Wait, isn't' it kinda shorter now?"
"Tangle, look out!" Sally screamed and that's when Tangle noticed the shadow that was falling over her.
One of the circular sections of the Caterkiller was falling towards her, spinning as it descended. One portion was yellow, which would likely crush her onto the very fast moving ground and turn her into a smear, while the other had spikes which would skewer her and turn her into a smear.
Cursing, she began to turn to the right to avoid the incoming projectile. She could probably make it just in time to…!
"TAKE THIS!" Mina shouted as she raced towards Tangle's location, her wispon glowing in Bowie's energy, before she looked up and swung her guitar. It made contact with the Caterkiller part and the sound of a guitar riff filled the lemur's ears. It bounced up and floated in the air just above them, and Mina shouted before striking the part some more with her guitar. Each strike was then accompanied by another guitar riff, creating a rhythm that the lemur vaguely recognized.
"Something about fighting against a machine?"
With one final swing, the mongoose bashed against the section's yellow underside and launched it into the air. "Guys! Hit it now!"
Blaze and Whisper didn't need to be told twice. Her mercenary friend launched her rockets at the circular part while the otherworldly princess shot her fireballs. The projectiles made contact with the section's purple top part, blowing it into pieces and slagging the rest. It fell uselessly to the earth, crashing into a cactus which then caused it to explode.
"SWEET!" Tangle cheered as she pumped a fist into the air. "Now let's take out the rest and…!"
Something exploded to the lemur's right, and she let out a cry when she tipped over and fell to the ground. Thinking quickly, she wrapped her body in her tail and braced for impact.
"GAH!"
Crashing and tumbling confirmed her suspicions that it would be just as painful as skidding on gravel, which she had done more than a few times when she was a kid.
It felt as if she were getting a friction burn but worse, and while her tail could take some damage this wasn't the most pleasant of experiences.
"TANGLE!" She felt a hand latch onto the end of her tail and pull her up. Twisting her body, Tangle was able to right herself and balance on her Extreme Gear once more. She peeked out of the cocoon she formed around herself and saw Whisper was there, riding just ahead of her. The wolf's eyes were wide and full of panic, and if Tangle was a betting girl then her friend's heart was probably beating as if she were running a marathon.
"I-I'm fine!" The lemur uncurled her tail and allowed it to return to its normal position. "Thanks for the save, Whisper!"
The wolf let out a sigh of relief. "You need to be more…!"
"Silver, look out!" Blaze shouted, and Tangle looked up ahead.
They were now trailing behind the floating Caterkiller and the others. Silver still had a hold of it, but one hand was now pointed at the direction of Mina. She looked as if she were in the middle of falling herself, and the hedgehog was twisting his hand while turning Mina . It looked like he was trying to make sure she had her balance again before he released her.
But while this was happening, another potion of the Caterkiller was barreling towards him at full speeds.
By the time Silver seemed to register Blaze's shouts and the danger he was in, it was too late. The yellow underside of the Caterkiller smashed against him, launching the hedgehog forward and releasing his hold of the rest of the badnik.
Sally crouched down and steered her Extreme Gear towards Silver, raising both of her arms to catch the boy just as the Caterkiller burrowed back into the ground. The separate part of the badnik then began to spin at rapid speeds, burrowing alongside the rest of its body.
"Oh come on!" Tangle whined as she pointed at the mound that was now burrowing past the underside of the Marvelous Queen and speeding ahead. "That's just not fair!"
Couldn't it have just stayed still and gotten smashed like a good little badnik?
"I doubt Eggman programs any of his machines to play fair." Blaze growled. "Prepare yourselves."
"I-I'll be fine, Sally!" Silver shook his head while Sally let him gently down. He shook a bit on top of his Extreme Gear before finding his balance again. "Sorry for letting him go."
"Don't worry about it. What matters is that you're alright." The robian assured him before looking at the rest of them. "Tangle! Mina! Are you two…?"
Tangle glanced over to the mongoose, who gave her a shaky thumbs up. "We're fine!" She replied before pointing ahead. "But now it's ahead of us!"
"Don't worry!" The hedgehog lady shouted. She pointed in the distance and grinned. "Backup's here!"
The lemur frowned and squinted in the direction the hedgehog was pointing at. There was a light that looked as if it were flashing. As if it were light being reflected off a piece of glass…
"Wait, haven't I seen this in a movie once?"
The ground ahead of them exploded and the Uber Caterkiller leapt out. The head seperated from the rest of its body, which then separated into individual spheres that either bounced towards them or rolled on the ground at rapid speeds.
"Take them out!" Sally ordered. Whisper fired her rocket launcher at several while Blaze melted the tops of those she missed. Silver was catching several airborne parts before flinging them away while Tangle, Mina, and Sally bashed and slashed at those that remained. "Bernadette! Take evasive maneuvers!"
The head was still going for the Marvelous Queen, and for a split second Tangle was panicking.
But then she saw the grin on the hedgehog woman's face, as if she knew she was going to get out of this without a problem.
"What is she…?"
A rocket then impacted against the back of the Caterkiller's head, making the clear glass break and parts fly out in all directions. The woman, Bernadette, raised a hand to shield her face as the pieces of metal rained down around them, becoming little more than just litter in the desert. As if on cue, what parts of the Caterkiller weren't destroyed by the rest of Team Freedom, Mina, and Blaze were self-destructing themselves. They were now heaps of smoldering metal that the surprised group of teenagers were now wearing through.
"Holy cow…" Tangle breathed out before shaking her head. "W-Who…?"
Bernadette looked over her shoulder and smirked at the lemur. "Follow me and I'll show you!" The hedgehog then began to drive towards the direction she had pointed to and the source of the light that Tangle had spotted, motioning with her hand for them to follow.
"I-I can't believe it…" Sally muttered, causing Tangle to glance at the robian chipmunk who was smiling. Oil tears were in the corners of her eyes, which flew off thanks to the wind. "She made it too…"
"Someone you know?" Whisper asked, voicing the thoughts going through the lemur's head as she rode beside the princess.
The robian wiped away her tears and smiled. "Yes… yes she is." She glanced at the wolf and shook her head. "Don't worry, Whisper. We can trust Bernadette."
"That's a mouthful." Tangle commented and she glanced behind her. Blaze, Mina, and Silver were catching up and getting closer. "Does she have a nickname or…?"
"Bernadette is too much for you?" Silver asked with a grin. "Seriously?"
"Oh shut up!"
"I was wondering where she went." Mina breathed out, a smile on her own face and tears forming in her eyes. "I-I thought that Geoffrey and his people… I thought they…"
Tangle couldn't help but frown at that. Just what had this woman done to make this king try and get her? "Well, besides this king being an evil jerk I guess."
The Marvelous Queen stopped at the top of the dune, and soon the six teenagers could see a figure dressed head to toe in brown rags that seemed to nearly match the desert sand. Next to him was a rocket launcher, likely the one that was used to fire the rocket that finally destroyed the Uber Caterkiller.
Tangle tapped the back of her Extreme Gear board with the back of her foot, causing the breaks to kick in and slow her down. Once she was slow enough she leapt off and caught the board with her tail, carrying it while running towards Bernadette and her hooded companion.
She narrowed her eyes and got a better look at the person. She could see two red lights coming from within the hood. "Goggles? No… no that can't be it…"
"Nice shooting, hon!" Bernadette shouted as she leapt out of the driver's seat and ran towards the hooded figure. She hugged the figure, causing his hood to fall off and reveal a metallic head.
It looked like a hedgehog, but one made of metal. His head had a blue and gray color scheme and was round, with many pointy quills along the back of his head. His ears are sharp and pointy, with the insides of them being silver, and he had a bent silver horn-like structure on his forehead. His eyes were made of glass, completely black with red irises, but with a silver outlining around them. The silver matched with the snout on his face that had a black pointed nose.
"A-A badnik?" No, no that wasn't righ! Even she could tell this was different! It looked too lifelike! Too similar to an actual face, complete with a mouth! "No, wait… he's like you, Sally!"
She turned to Sally, who had completely stopped and had an utterly shocked expression on her face. It was as if she were seeing the impossible right in front of her, as if she had known she was going to see these people but was equally prepared to never see them again.
"Well, I couldn't have done it without you, the princess, and those kids." The very male voice of the robian said. He turned towards Tangle and the others before waving. "Seriously, you all held up really well! Great work!"
"Uh, thanks!" Silver laughed nervously. "Um… Mr…?"
"Jules! Bernadette!" Sally ran forward, dropping her Extreme Gear board and wrapped the hedgehog woman and robian in a hug. Oil tears were streaming out of her eyes as she shouted, "I-I can't believe it! You're here! I-I knew that everyone in Mobotropolis was saved from the Genesis Wave but I thought with all that was happening you might've… might've…!"
"It's good to see you too, princess." Bernadette smiled, tears forming in her own eyes. "Even if you're… you're still…"
"That doesn't matter right now." The other robian shook his head. "What matters is that you're free, here, and you're safe. We feared the worst after that day… that you and Sonic were…"
Sally stiffened at the mention of Sonic, and even Tangle couldn't help but wince. "Right… the people of this city were part of the old world. They knew Sonic and heard from that evil wizard guy that the world got rebooted but…"
How much did they believe when that skunk guy told them the world got rebooted?
Did they buy into it wholeheartedly, or thought he was lying to secure his own power?
Did these two think that Sonic was still out there, just running around not knowing they were there waiting for him to save the day?
"It's a depressing thought…"
"Bernadette… Jules… I…" Sally released herself from the hug and grimaced, shutting her eyes before smiling bitterly. "Do you have a place you're staying at? I mean, if what Mina said is true then… then you aren't staying in the city, right?"
"No we're not. Couldn't afford to with Naugus' student taking charge. We figured we'd be one of his first targets." Jules pointed to the cliffs in the distance. "We're staying over there. There are some homes made by the natives in the cliffs that were abandoned for the most part."
Oh! Right! Tangle heard there were settlements like that around this area during history class once. She didn't really pay attention during those classes. She usually zoned out or fell asleep. School wasn't really her thing.
"If you have any water, we would greatly appreciate it." Blaze nodded at them. "However, can you please introduce yourselves? You appear to be close to Princess Sally…"
"Well, we weren't personally close to her." Bernadette smiled at Sally, patting the robian on the shoulder. "But she probably would've been family sooner or later, especially with how my son pined for her!"
Tangle raised an eyebrow at that. "Okay? What do you mean by…?"
That's when it clicked.
The shape of the quills on both Bernadette and Jules, Jules' color scheme, and the comments about their son…
"No. No freakin' way…"
Whisper's eyes were just as wide as Tangle's. "You mean you're…"
Sally chuckled nervously and motioned to the pair.
"Guys? Say hello to Bernadette and Jules Hedgehog… Sonic's mom and dad."
Tangle voiced the one thought going through her and Whisper's heads.
"WHAT?!"
"Hm." A lynx muttered as she observed the scene with narrowed eyes. "So much for that, then."
The lynx stood upon a dune that was two miles away from where the recently returned princess and her companions were meeting the hedgehog couple, frowning with her arms crossed. She had brown fur with black markings on the tips of her ears. Her black bangs were blowing in the wind, which didn't phase her in the slightest. Her outfit consisted of a purple gi uniform trimmed in white, which clashed against her fingerless black gloves with thick red cuffs and black boots with metal reinforcements.
The dark colors of her outfit had the unfortunate side effect of making the heat of the desert worse on her, which irked the lynx greatly. After all, she had once trained to withstand any environment so that she could survive and thrive in combat.
Her body was weak, and that infuriated her.
"But soon…" The lynx raised her hand and clenched it into a fist. "Soon it shall be the temple it once was."
"My lady?"
Willing her vision to return as it once was, she turned to see a kneeling lynx dressed head to toe in the black garb of the ninja. A dull gray headband that contained the symbol of their clan sketched onto its surface.
"I bring news from the worm." The female member of her forces intoned. "His master wishes us to withdraw for now, so that the princess and her allies may enter the city and be brought into the castle."
"Where his trap shall snap shut, I suppose." She rolled her eyes, her new prosthetic eyes which were black with red pupils. "Then why order us to retrieve the rabbit girl in the first place? I thought he wanted us to redeem ourselves for not collecting the final member of the Hooligans."
"I cannot say, my lady. The worm and his master's methods are most inefficient."
The lynx glanced back at the scene and glared. She could have ambushed Bernadette Hedgehog and taken the new form of Bunnie Rabbot easily, but her new 'master' ordered her to watch from a distance. Apparently he had been hoping that the mechanical monstrosity would kill Bernadette Hedgehog to settle a slight of some sort.
"Foolishness. Utter foolishness."
But she could not voice those complaints, less she earn his ire and lose her one chance.
Her one chance to return to what once was.
But with… more…
She held the baby in her arms, not recognizing the lynx and yet she still remember him.
He was of her blood. She knew that within the depths of her soul.
And she could not bring him with her, lest she be brought low by this child. He was weakness personified. One that her new master or any of her enemies, both old and new, could use against her. It would be so easy to deny these new alien feelings she had swimming in her mind, and yet she could not.
The affection and love this body felt for the child remained.
"I promise you." She whispered while kissing the baby on the forehead. It was an alien action to her mind, yet her body felt safe and comforted by it. "Once all has returned to what it once was, you shall have a throne."
"My lady?"
Conquering Storm, Bride no more, blinked and returned from the fog of memory.
"It is nothing." She informed the member of the Reborn Raiju Clan while tipping her straw hat to shield her eyes. "Let us return to base and report to the worm. He will likely send the snake and rabbit to retrieve the princess and her companions."
Her ninja nodded. "Of course!"
With that, the two ran to return to the city of New Mobotropolis.
There, they shall regroup and await for their next mission.
There they shall await for the promised day…
To Be Continued…
Notes: So, here's the next chapter!
Yeah, I sort of ran into that problem where things were starting to get pretty long and if I just went forward with my original plan it'd be longer. So here you go!
Fight's not my best, but I tried to make it fun. Have to admit, doing a fight on top of Extreme Gear while moving is a lot harder than one would think.
Still, hope that scene at the end was enough to keep everyone hooked!
Just a note to my FF Net readers, the site isn't looking so hot so I highly recommend you check out my story on Ao3 and Spacebattles. There you will find a more refined version of the fic where I make regular updates or share in the creative process. You can also communicate with me more directly there, so that's some extra incentive for you guys.
Please be sure to leave a review and add to the TV Tropes Page!
See you all next time!