Rediscovered Frontiers

by The Infamous Man

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

35. Dive Into The Mellow Part 5

"Tekno, what on Mobius are you even listening to?"

Ebony the Cat frowned as she pulled on the canary's headphones. The metal headband strained upon the stress she put on the thing while music blared through the felt speakers, making it clear her friend had turned the volume to its maximum setting. The cable from the right speaker ran down and to the Walkman that was strapped to the waistband of Tekno's skirt, the cassette tape spinning with a hastily scrawled Cool Classic Tracks written on its surface.

"Ah, Ebony!" Tekno let out a cry and swatted the cat's hand away. "Don't mess with that! It was bloody tough getting these in the first place, and I don't want to try my luck combing through Mobotropolis for a new pair again!"

The mention of their old home caused the cat to wince. It still hurt, remembering how it wasn't that long ago they had their own rooms again. Their own homes, albeit ones they had to reclaim from Robotnik's 'remodeling'. It had become their home again…

…and now because of this so-called 'Eggman', they were forced to relocate to Knothole. To try and rebuild from scratch once again…

Shaking her head, Ebony gave her friend a small glare."Perhaps it would save your ears from future calamity."

Tekno rolled her eyes. "Something your cards said?"

The cat's eye twitched. There it was again, her friend dismissing the power of the tarot cards…

"No, it's simply common sense."

Letting out a dramatic sigh, the canary hit a button on her Walkman and hung her headphones on her neck. "Whatever you say, mum. But if you must know, it was some music that those Over…" She paused and shook her head. "No, wait, they call themselves humans, right? Well, anyways apparently they've got a ton of music their ancestors made. Was just gettin' really into this one band called Elastic or somethin'…"

"You're actually listening to human music?" Ebony asked, her eyes wide in astonishment. "Are you trying to get yourself in trouble?"

The alliance between the Kingdom of Acorn and the humans of Station Square was still new, and while it was certainly a sign of Princess Sally's amazing diplomatic skills… not many adults were fans of this. After all, the humans were distant genetic cousins to the Overlanders. She occasionally heard adults mutter about how they needed to prepare of the humans' eventual betrayal, or how the Overlander Nate Morgan was likely feeding them information. Some outright refused to touch anything made by human hands, going to call those that did 'traitors'.

"Oh those old birds can stuff it." Tekno dismissed with a wave of her hand. "Besides, I'm obligated to rebel a bit for what they're now making us do."

"It's school, Tekno. It's not prison."

"Says you. You actually want to become part of the system again."

The two teenagers stood in place and watched as various teenagers their age as well as some kids went past them and ran to the grey building that had three words written on the front.

Knothole High School

"It's something that allows us to return to our lives." Ebony chided to her friend. "The ones we had before that Overlander ruined everything."

Tekno frowned, but didn't say anything. It was hard to argue against that statement.

Because Robotnik had ruined everything with his takeover. He destroyed their homes, their lives, and the world in that exact order. The canary herself had lost her family during the Overlanders coup. They had been captured while hiding her, roboticized, and then destroyed sometime during those long years.

Tekno never went into specifics of what happened, and the cat never pushed her. It would have been wrong and a breach of their mutual trust.

It was the only time the normally easygoing and rebellious canary ever clammed up.

Ebony herself had avoided robotization, and only because she had faith in only one thing.

Her grandmother's Tarot Cards.

Her grandmother had taught her about the cards. How they offered secrets of both the future and a person's inner self. Ebony would often spend hours listening to her grandmother, of how to parse through their meanings and to avoid calamity if needed.

She missed her grandmother, who died the day of Robotnik's takeover.

The Chariot was reversed on that day. As was The Emperor. But The Empress had been upright.

It meant that in the past, there was a lack of control. And in the present, tyranny would reign and would plunge Ebony's world into darkness. But her future was in nature, so naturally she must go to the Great Forest.

And that was where she had gone.

She… she had to leave her grandmother behind…

No, she must not focus on that.

Instead she looked at Tekno, who clicked her tongue and said, "Well this is a part of normalcy I could've done without. You'd think with that new war against Eggman they'd postpone schooling."

Tekno was never a fan of authority, even though they needed the Kingdom of Acorn's strength during the time of Robotnik's demise. The canary had been called a punk by most people and she wore that title like a badge of honor.

She'd often go crawling through Mobotropolis, avoiding patrols from the Royal Army to steal things for her old Robian friends that made their new lives slightly more bearable. Comics, game systems, books, and especially records. In fact, the two of them first met when Tekno tried to steal one of Ebony's old books of the occult.

The two had remained friends since.

"Well, look at it this way." Ebony looked around and smiled. It was so nice. Once, going to a normal high school was like a distant dream. And now it was a reality. "You can meet some new friends now. Perhaps they will share your subversive taste in music."

"Here's hoping…" The canary's eyes widened and she whistled. "Well, look at that cutie!"

Tekno pointed and the cat followed her gaze. She spotted the hedgehog then, one with pink quills that wore a backless red dress and boots. She stood in place, clutching her book bag and seeming to be worried. It was as if she were looking for someone in the crowd, but was having no luck.

And Ebony had to admit, the hedgehog was indeed a cute one… especially with how her quills blew in the wind…

"Oh? Love at first sight?"

The cat blushed at the sight of her friend's sly grin and shook her head. "Of course not!" She coughed. "Anyways, she looks lost. We best see if maybe we can help."

"No need to hide it from me, luv." Tekno drawled out as she followed just behind Ebony as they walked to the hedgehog. "Besides, I can't blame you."

"Hello." She said, waving her hand at the hedgehog when they were within her line of sight and smiling while completely ignoring the canary. "Are you lost?"

"Oh!" The worried expression on the girl's face completely disappeared. A confident grin replaced it as she said, "Nope! Not at all! Thanks, though!"

Well, that was certainly an interesting transformation.

"You sure about that?" Tekno asked, poking her head from behind Ebony. "Because you were lookin'…"

"Looks can be deceiving, you know!" The pink hedgehog chuckled confidently and waved her finger. "I should have you know that I was keeping an eye out for my friends!"

Ebony frowned and looked around. It didn't look like anyone was approaching them, and most of the kids were already inside the building. "Did they know you were meeting them here?"

The confident grin on the girl's face faltered slightly. "W-Well, no. But I'm sure Sonic is on his way right now an-!"

"Wait, you know Sonic?" Tekno asked, her eyes wide in amazement. "Seriously?"

It was certainly impressive. For this pink hedgehog to know one of the Knothole Freedom Fighters, Princess Sally's own squad, was incredible!

"Yup!" The confident grin returned and the hedgehog looked extremely proud of herself. She put her hands on her hips and said, "I'll have you know that we were pen pals before I moved here!" She winked and stuck out her tongue. "Jealous?"

The canary blinked and said, "Kinda, yeah? Why?"

The pink hedgehog frowned, looked at Ebony who was also curious of her declaration, before muttering, "That's not how those shows said this would go…"

"Shows?"

The pink hedgehog coughed before she curtsied. "A-Anyways! The name's Amy! Amy Rose! Future girlfriend of Sonic the Hedgehog!"

The disappointment on Tekno's face made Ebony wish she brought a camera.

Still, the canary recovered and waved her hand. "The name's Tekno! Tekno the Canary!"

Ebony herself smiled and nodded at Amy. "And I am Ebony. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Before the three could continue their conversation they heard a voice shout, "Mrs. Rose!" They turned and saw an old bulldog teacher waving his hand at them, a small class of eight or nine year olds gathered behind him. "It's time for class!"

Ebony noticed it then. The sudden flash of fear in Amy's eyes. The sheer panic as the hedgehog glanced at her and Tekno, as if her mind was racing through a dozen terrifying possibilities from them hearing those words.

"C-Coming!" Amy grinned, but it was a desperate one. "I-I'm just… helping those little kids out! That's all!"

"It's alright." The cat assured her. "How about we meet up after school?"

"Y-Yeah! Sounds good!" Laughing, she waved at them and ran to the class. "See you guys!"

They waved farewell to the pink hedgehog before beginning their own walk into the Highschool building.

"Well, so much for that." Tekno sighed before glaring at Ebony. "Did your cards tell you about that?"

"In fact they did." Ebony declared primly. "I drew The Lovers and The Fool upright for our present. It declared that we would find partnerships and union in our journey today."

And indeed they did. Just like her cards said, they had gone on a journey to new beginnings, one that would bring them new friends as well. One of which they had just met!

The canary huffed, her head lowered in defeat. "Those cards have an answer for everything, don't they?" She ran off. "Anyways, better make it to class before I get an earful from the teacher. Let's go watch a movie with that Amy girl after this, alright?"

"Of course."

Ebony waved her friend goodbye, and when the canary was out of sight she frowned.

It was a good thing that Tekno didn't ask about what she drew for the future.

Death. And reversed at that.

The meaning of which was never good.

Shaking her head, Ebony walked to her class and muttered to herself, "Wasn't there a pink hedgehog kid that always hung around Sonic and the others…?

That was where her and Tekno's friendship with Amy Rose began.

During simpler times…

---

Ebony the Cat grit her teeth as she ducked her head to avoid a flying wheel that would've knocked it off her shoulders.

What should have been a routine mission from her king had just turned into a war zone.

The vehicles they had arrived in had been blown apart by the parents of Sonic the Hedgehog. They were now burning husks with smoke rising from the flames of their engines. Acolytes that had never seen true combat before were running around like chickens with their heads cut off, firing fireballs wildly at the stone buildings ahead.

"Where are they?!"

"I can't… I can't see them!"

"The sun! The sun's getting in my eyes!"

The hedgehogs had picked an ideal place to hide out. The sun was shining brightly from over the mountain, making it harder for her and the other acolytes to see the buildings even with their hoods over their heads. And the light was reflecting off of the sand itself, causing a glare that made Ebony squint her eyes on reflex.

The sandy floor ahead of her exploded, causing the cat to yelp and leap to the left, almost knocking over one of the acolytes she had brought along.

"Damn!" She cursed and shook her subordinate. "Why haven't the Royal Knights made any progress?!"

"You mean besides the rockets they keep firing at them?!" Ebony growled and the terrier mobian gulped in fear before pointing. "L-Look! Those two… they…!"

The cat heard something crack before the sound of splintering wood followed. Ebony turn and watched as one after the other, Royal Knights fell into holes in the sand.

"Those two…" Ebony's eyes widened. "They booby trapped the area?!"

They must have done it after the sheriff left with the Princess… the ex-Princess, the traitor, and the Shades!

Jules and Bernadette Hedgehog… the father and mother of Sonic the Hedgehog. Like most of the adults of the Republic of Acorn, they had been soldiers during the Great War. However, once Robotnik had been killed during his final battle with Sonic they had simply remained civilians. Ones that supported their son and sung his praises to anyone who asked, but never sought to join in their child or kingdom's fight against Eggman.

Ebony couldn't blame them for that. She too had once thought she could afford to remain an ordinary girl while the true heroes and soldiers continued to fight.

By all accounts, they should have been easy to manage. They should have remained ordinary civilians who had remained in the kingdom, keeping their heads down and swearing fealty to their new king who sought to bring back everything they had lost.

King Geoffrey was easy enough to read. With enough begging anyone could get on his good side, and it would have been no different for the Hedgehog parents. At most they would have remained under house arrest.

The King… simply allowed the mobs to converge on the Hedgehog house to scare them.

That was it.

Instead… they had fled. Disappeared off of the face of Mobius. She had not been a part of the search parties, having already been chosen by the King to become one of his acolytes after he heard of her amateur skills in the occult, but she had heard muttering of how they were nowhere in New Mobotropolis. That they likely had fled just before the mobs marched to their home.

To think they had been so close…

…and now Ebony could see why that was the case.

They believed they had nothing to fear if King Geoffrey's men did come for them.

"What are we going to do…?!" The terrier moaned while clutching his head. "Those two… they're going to kill us at this rate! They're firing guns! What are we going t-?!"

"Get a hold of yourself!" Ebony put her hand on the acolyte's shoulder and shook it. "You're an acolyte of King Geoffrey, remember?! He taught us the Ixis Magicks!"

"I was a baker before all this!" He shot back, his voice tinged with desperation. "I was never a soldier!"

That caused the cat to wince. It was true that most of the acolytes, like her, weren't really fighters. Most of them had been civilians. All of them just happened to have the potential for the Ixis Magicks that King Geoffrey could teach them. Their main roles in the kingdom was learning from the king and being his voice. Helping to direct the Royal Knights in his place or communicating to the sheriff and his men.

She couldn't blame any of them for being scared.

She was too. She was shaking right now.

"But I can't afford to lose here."

"Fine. Then leave it to me." Ebony shook her head and took a look around. None of her fellow acolytes were dead. Mostly they were taking cover or firing back wildly. The Royal Knights were trapped in their holes, unable to get out and advance.

But none of them were dead.

"Which means I have a chance."

The cat took in a deep breath and interlocked her fingers. However, she stretched out her thumb and pinky on each hand so the tips could touch their sibling digit.

She then uttered two words.

"Shadow Meld."

Ixis Magicks were… tricky, to put it in the simplest of terms. They allowed the user to manipulate the very elements or become one with them by tapping into the very forces of chaos. Be they from the Chaos Emeralds… or the chaos that was inherent within the fabric of reality.

Manipulating cosmic forces was a push and pull dynamic. It allowed for the user to bend reality to their whim… but there was always something fighting back. Always something waiting for a simple slip in concentration before tearing the user apart.

One such technique was the Shadow Meld.

Taking one glance at her shadow, Ebony noted the darker color of it before allowing herself to fall at the angle. But when she should have hit the hard and hot sand, she instead found herself submerging in a matter that was not unlike water.

But all around her was darkness, with only small windows of light shining ahead.

Ebony did not look into the darkness. She did not turn her head when she heard something swimming behind her. She had been taught by the king to ignore such things. To ignore the dread and whatever she could hear from the bottom of her soul. Instead, she kicked her legs while retaining her hand sign and swam to one of the windows.

Most Ixis Wizards had a staff or a wand to focus their magic. But they were, in the end, just concentration points. Ebony had tested and proved that a hand sign could suffice, so long as she mentally attributed it to a spell.

King Geoffrey had been impressed by her discovery, calling her his most promising student and taking it upon himself to teach her his most difficult spells. Saying that, as he was King Naugus' student once, she would be his. A key playing in the coming Promised Day…

Within seconds, Ebony poked her head out of one of the windows and saw she was inside one of the houses. To her annoyance it was empty, so she took a deep breath and dived back into the shadows.

The next window had her poke her head from the shadow a small crate made. This building wasn't nearly as empty. From the piles of books and food supplies she could spot, plus the tiny Chao that was fearfully cowering underneath some blankets, it was where the hedgehog couple had been staying.

It spotted her and pointed, shouting, "CHAO!"

Ebony heard a curse from above her, and ducked her head back into the shadow. Swimming further up, she could see the back of the robian hedgehog.

"There!"

He was turning and shouting, "Bernie, I think we have comp-!"

Ebony didn't waste time. She burst out of the shadows and tackled Jules Hedgehog. It wasn't enough to knock him down, but it did allow for him to stumble back slightly. The cat turned her head and interlocked her fingers once more, only allowing the tips of her thumbs to touch one another.

"Earth Prison!"

Bernadette Hedgehog could only cry out as the clay roof began to rise and envelop her along with the gun she was only just beginning to aim at her. It twisted and molded, creating a dome that only allowed her head to be free which she twisted and turned to no avail.

"BERNIE!"

Ebony turned and did the same to the robian hedgehog, trapping him as well save for the head.

"Do not move." She said firmly. "I know you can possibly free yourself with that robian body, but…" The cat internally winced, but lifted her right hand and pointed her index and middle finger to Bernadette. A small plume of fire appeared on her tips. "…If you do that, I will do what I must."

The robian's red LED lights narrowed into slits, but he reluctantly nodded. "Fine. Just do not hurt her."

"She won't." Bernadette spat out, causing Ebony to whip her head to the female hedgehog. "St. John probably told her to bring us in alive so he could do it himself."

"Only because you betrayed the kingdom and deserted us." Ebony shot back, but shook her head. With her left hand she curled her thumb, index, and middle finger while keeping her ring and pinky fingers straight and pointed to the sky. In the distance, the Royal Knights were lifted from their prisons. "Punishment for that is more than fair."

"Please. He's just upset that he didn't get the opportunity to see what his mobs would've done to us if we had stayed there." Jules growled out. "Probably would've made his day."

Ebony's left hand clenched into a fist. "King Geoffrey is not that cruel!"

"Dear, I have not lived in the kingdom for months." The mother of Sonic the Hedgehog said slowly. "But from the news that my husband's brother brings to us, he's hardly a kind one."

"Only because of our situation!" The cat spat out. "In case you haven't noticed, we're in the middle of a desert in a world that should not exist!"

In a world where they weren't supposed to have existed had it not been for Naugus' spells, but one where Eggman still did!

"The only reason why you're in this desert is because your king won't let you leave." Jules replied firmly. "And he's convinced you that it makes sense."

"Of course it does!" Ebony snarled. Why? Why was she even talking to these two?! They were her prisoners! "The world… it's tainted! It's all wrong! Filled with Shades and those who do not remember how twisted it all truly is!"

Filled with people who should not exist! With continents and a history that should never have been! All because Sonic failed!

"Water is water and food is food." Bernadette's blunt reply felt like a blow. The cat winced as she tried to avoid the woman's gaze. "If he cared about you… about any of you… he would have gotten it."

"But he didn't. Because dangling the promise of food and water over your heads does wonders to ensure loyalty." The robian muttered bitterly. "As I'm sure you know."

The acolyte fought the urge to punch the robian.

Who the hell was he to judge her?!

"You don't know me." She hissed, glaring at Jules. "I'm not doing this because I get food or water. I'm…"

The image of Tekno's back as she rode her bike down the road flashed in her mind. She could still hear the human music and her friend's voice as she promised to come back after her supply run…

"…we're going to do what your son could not. What Amy and the Freedom Fighters could never do." Ebony pointed to the quickly approaching acolytes. "We're going to save Mobiu-!"

Her ears twitched as she heard something in the distance.

"Is that… music?"

Ebony blinked as she squinted into the distance while the music grew louder and louder.

Yes… she could see it now.

A green car of some kind and a bike.

And all of them containing…

"It…" The cat muttered, her eyes widening in shock. "It can't be… it's…!"

"THE CHAOTIX!" One of the acolytes cried out in shock and horror.

Bernadette Hedgehog smirked.

"Well how about that? Looks like our son's friends are finally here."

---

"…And we think that's everyone, Sheriff."

Conquering Storm's brow furrowed as she slowly lowered herself to the ground with her right arm. Her left arm was behind her back, her hand clenched into a fist and her claws digging into her palm as she felt her right arm muscle's quiver.

"Do not quit." Her mind ordered sharply. "This is nothing. It's simply a warm up exercise. Only the weak collapse from five hundred hand-stand push-ups."

The lynx kept her body straight in spite of the burning feeling in her arm and the sweat falling from her brow onto the floor.

"You are the Conquering Storm. You are not weak!"

She needed to focus on something else. Focusing on her body's current failings would pollute her mind and ruin her exercises.

Conquering Storm's eyes scanned the surveillance room. Once upon a time, it had been Princess Sally Acorn's bedchambers. But King Naugus saw no use in keeping anything here. Instead it had been retrofitted with the surveillance equipment needed to spy on various parts of the city.

Telecrates were stacked one upon another, each switching to a different camera on another road or a part of the desert. In one she could see soldiers pinning captured Freedom Fighters to the hot ground. One of the king's loyal men even grinned as they ground the bottom of their boot into one of the resistance fighters' faces.

"Once upon a time, they considered us the oppressors."

How quickly one learns when they get a taste of true power.

"An' how many did we get this time, Cliff?" Beauregard Rabbot asked as he sat in his chair in front of the monitors. The rabbit didn't bother looking at the screens. He had his hat tipped down to shield his eyes from the view. A fruitless gesture in her opinion. What use was there to averting one's eyes from the truth they were a part of?

"About twenty captured. Five dead as a doornail." Came the staticky reply from the radio in the sheriff's left hand. "Those traitors have gotten a lot more clever. Left behind just enough to get most of us pinned down while the rest hightailed it to their escape hatches."

The older rabbit sighed while Conquering Storm pushed up and, while in mid-air, dropped her left arm while her right went behind her back. The appendage practically sighed in relief before her left palm made contact with the ground and she pushed up against the floor. "Don't suppose any of them told you where those holes are."

"Not a word."

"Bah." Mordred Hood scoffed, pouring himself another glass of wine at the table. "I don't know why you even bother asking them. Either execute them or send them to the Egg Grapes. Stop wasting everyone's time."

Beauregard shot the snake a glare, to which the former noble returned with a smirk and a sip of his glass. Conquering Storm merely rolled her eyes and continued her exercise.

It was, indeed, foolish for the old rabbit to try and fool himself into thinking there was a choice here. The King was more than clear on where he stood in regards to traitors. Either they died or were brought to the Egg Grapes for his Promised Day. He needed them for what they contained within their bodies, and if Beauregard didn't want to join them and get back his niece then he would continue to follow his orders.

"And yet he still thinks he can be 'reasonable' with these rebels. Eggman truly was too lax with him back on Mobius."

Beauregard let out a sigh and shook his head. "Alright, Cliff. You know the drill. Bring 'em to the Egg Dungeons an' put 'em into the…"

The door then swung open, and Conquering Storm tilted her head to see the worm striding inside.

Letting out a small grunt of frustration, the lynx pushed against the floor before leaping up and landing on her feet.

But then her eyes widened when she felt something begin to slip.

The photo!

In a blur of motion, her right hand went into her gi and placed the photograph of her and the child at an angle that made it secure inside the inner pocket. Once that was done, she placed her arms behind her back once more and let out a small breath of relief.

Snively Robotnik sneered as he looked upon the three of them. "And what are you three doing here? I thought you were supposed to be searching for the princess and her friends!"

"We have our men searchin' all around." Beauregard replied evenly, his eyes narrowing at Snively. "But it's like all the other times. They managed to give us the slip."

"You've been saying that for months!" The diminutive human shouted as he pointed at the screens. "They couldn't have disappeared into thin air! I want them found! Now! Why did we bother even bringing you lot back if you can't produce results?! And you…!" Snively whirled at Conquering Storm, wagging his finger at her. "I thought your cats were experts at espionage! How are they slipping through your fingers?!"

The lynx's eyes narrowed at that, and behind her back her hands clenched into fists.

"No. Calm yourself. You will pay him back for this insult… but not yet."

"The Raiju Clan know of the tactics of Shinobi, but we are warriors." Conquering Storm replied evenly. "And as per the King's orders, my clan was to focus on obtaining Shades from outside the city walls for recruitment or Egg Grape placement."

Snively glowered at her, but she was not phased by the pathetic man's posturing. He could hardly berate her for what his own master wanted, and they both knew it.

But Snively so desperately wanted to order her around. After the battle in the Throne Room, even she noticed that Eggman's nephew was a bit more on edge. As if something had spooked him.

Perhaps she should investigate what it was…

Suddenly, a red light flickered on the console in front of the screens. Beauregard leaned forward and pressed a button underneath and asked, "This is Sheriff Beauregard. What's going on?"

"S-SHERIFF!" Came a panicked cry from the other end. "I-It's Acolyte Elric from the Hedgehog Family Search Party! This is bad! We need back up! They're here! THEY'RE HERE!"

"Hold on, now." Beauregard lifted his hat and his face shifted from annoyance and resignation to alert interest. "What are you talkin' about, son? Who's here?"

"THE CHAOTIX!"

Now even Conquering Storm stared at the red light in interest. The Chaotix were here? How?

"I-Impossible!" Mordred shouted, fear now in his eyes. "How could they have found us?! I thought you said this location was hidden!"

"It looks like our little Princess spilled the beans before she came here." Snively growled as he stepped forward. "I warned the King this would happen, but did he listen to me? No!"

"I will gather my clan and intercept them." Conquering Storm declared, turning on her heel and walking to the door.

"No."

The lynx's head whipped back and saw the human was stroking his beard.

"This…" A grin formed on his face. "This is the perfect opportunity! I wanted to test my SWATbots on these furries for a while now!"

Conquering Storm bristled at the term as did Beauregard, but Eggman's nephew didn't even notice as he took out a small tablet from his lab coat and began tapping on it.

"The king won't like that." Beauregard cautioned, but a tinge of desperation was in his voice. "You know he wants to keep yer gadgets away from public…"

"And he's not here!" Snively snarled, jabbing his finger directly into the older rabbit's snout who reared back and rubbed it. "Which means I am the sole authority of New Mobotropolis! Me!" He chuckled and muttered, "As it should be…"

Conquering Storm knew that the King would have something to say about that when he got back, but didn't say anything.

Let the worm dig his own grave.

"You two!" Snively pointed at her and Mordred. "Gather your forces and search every nook and cranny of this blasted city for the Freedom Fighters! Break down every door! Slap around some of the locals if need be! I want them found and in the Egg Grapes by tomorrow! Do I make myself clear?!"

"As you command." Mordred replied smoothly, bowing dramatically before finishing his wine and putting on his hat. "Let us be off, my lady."

Conquering Storm glared at the snake but said nothing. Instead she bowed before leaving the room with him.

Once the door was closed they began walking down the hallway silently. But internally, the lynx was fuming.

Because what Snively said was right. The continued presence of the Freedom Fighters in territory that the Reborn Raiju Clan called their own was disgraceful.

"Finding them and dragging them from their holes would be the only way we can regain our honor."

"The situation is certainly taking a turn." Mordred said smoothly. "Honestly… we should have ended things back in the Throne Room while we had the chance."

"I seem to recall you having your head shoved into the lavatory during that fight." Conquering Storm replied curtly. She had to fight a smirk when she heard a hiss of anger coming from him.

"You wen-!" The snake stopped himself and coughed. "The point is… we didn't. And now the situation is becoming… wild. One could say the wheels are beginning to come off."

She glared at him. "Such talk is treason."

Normally such a statement should have silenced the snake.

But, to her surprise, Mordred Hood simply smirked.

"I'm simply voicing some of the whispers in your own head. Especially because you have so much to gain… or lose… depending on how the winds blow."

Conquering Storm stopped in place as she stared at the snake.

"I have sharp eyes." The snake shrugged his shoulders. "Such a little thing…"

Slowly, in a low and icy tone, the lynx said, "Give me a single reason why I should not end your miserable life here and now."

She couldn't help but be shocked and impressed by the snake's brazenness when he leaned down and smirked in her face.

"Because I am the one who has the means to escape this ship once it begins to sink. Kill me, and you lose it."

For a few minutes, Conquering Storm said nothing.

Then, she closed her eyes and nodded.

"That reason… is adequate." Before the snake could react she reached up and gripped his neck before squeezing. "But if you ever use him against me again…" She brought her mouth closer to his ear while he choked and whispered, "…I shall personally guide you through all the hells of the Dragon Kingdom myself with techniques passed down the Raiju Clan for generations."

She let go of his throat and allowed him to fall to his knees coughing. The lynx then turned on her heel and continued down the hallway.

"Now come. We have Freedom Fighters to hunt."

---

"You sure you don't recognize any of these guys, Julie?!"

"Nope!" Julie-Su shouted to Vector as they rode towards the hooded figures and the black-armored Mobians. "Which means we can go nuts on them!"

She reached down grabbed her blaster, holding it up with her finger hovering over the trigger. Behind her she felt Saffron let go and shift, preparing for what was about to happen next.

"Just makin' sure!" Vector grinned as he gripped the steering wheel. "Last thing I want is to run over some pals of yours!"

"NO MERCY FOR THE WIZARDS!" Charmy and Sticks cheered simultaneously while Espio kept his gaze forward, his eyes narrowed in determination.

All of them were ready to fight, to do everything they could to rescue Bernadette and Jules from their attackers.

Sure, there was some… confusion over how Sonic had parents. Julie-Su herself was a bit surprised to hear Sonic was an orphan in this universe, but they had decided it didn't matter. What DID matter was that a bunch of wizards and scary looking knights were trying to catch them for their master.

Which meant they had to settle things fast the old fashioned way.

"I'll take the lead and cover you!" The pink echidna sped up, passing ahead of the Beat Monster with the Land Breaker. "Get ready! I think they spotted us!"

The various robed figures turned their attention to them, all of them seeming to realize who they were and pointing. Within seconds, balls of fire shot out of the hands of several and raced towards the bike.

"Saffron! Take the wheel!"

"Got it!"

Julie-Su hopped up, her feet planting firmly on the seat before she crouched and leapt. As she did so, the bee scooted up and grabbed the handles before steering the bike away. The ex-Dark Legionnaire, however, soared through the air while her eye quickly began marking the closest targets.

"Alright. One!"

With confidence and ease, the pink echidna pulled the trigger and fired her blaster. A robed figure to her left was thrown back by the shot, landing painfully onto the sandy ground while his white robes were scorched around his chest.

She reached the peak of her leap, she aimed to her right. The magician's buddy seemed to realize what was happening and was turning to aim his fire-encrusted hand at her. But rather than wait for him to fire, she did it first and hit him right on the palm. He screamed and clutched his hand, falling to his knees in pain.

"That's two!"

Julie-Su twirled her body as she passed over the final robed figure, firing at his back and causing him to fall forward.

"And that's three!"

She bent her legs slightly before she landed on the ground, skidding back while her feet dug into the sandy floor. However, the echidna didn't allow that to stop her. She rolled to the right just in time to avoid a blast of ice, quickly reloaded her blaster, turned, and began firing wildly at the shooter.

The purpose was simple. She was laying down suppressing fire at the oncoming reinforcements. Keeping them distracted just long enough for…

She heard the screeching of tires before Vector shouted, "Alright, boys!"

"WE'RE GIRLS!" She, Saffron, and Sticks shouted all at once.

But the crocodile apparently ignored all of them and continued, "Time to show these folks what happens when ya mess with the Chaotix!"

Julie-Su felt the rush of wind overhead and saw Espio racing past her, swinging his arm to throw shurriken at the various rombed enemies. Screaming, four put their hands to the ground as brown dirt walls rose up, blocking the bladed weapons from hitting them.

"That's new…." Julie-Su didn't remember when magic users could do that.

But the event didn't seem to surprise Espio as Charmy flew towards him. "Need a lift?" The tiny bee asked before reaching out with his hand. The chameleon leapt up, grasping it, and the young boy twirled as he soared up before throwing the chameleon at the enemies behind the walls.

"Gotta move." Julie-Su muttered to herself before tapping her cybernetic dreadlock, which curled around her ear while the tip opened to reveal a microphone. "What's the situation, Saffron?!"

She glanced up, watching as her friend flew overhead, ducking and weaving to avoid the various elemental attacks that were being thrown her way.

This was Saffron's usual duty back during their time under Lien-Da's 'leadership'. Reconnaissance to determine the placement of all their enemies.

"There are fifteen of those robed magicians, and both you and Espio have taken out about six of them." Saffron let out a shriek while ducking her head to avoid a fireball. "T-Three are coming to your left an-JULIE LOOK OUT!"

The ground shifted and a figure burst from the sand. It was one of the black-armored knights that had been with the magicians from the start.

The pink echidna let out a curse and fired at its left shoulder. The black armor was blown off, only revealing green crystal underneath.

"What the-?!"

No time to question it. Julie-Su rolled to the left to avoid being sliced in two by the very heavy and sharp sword the knight carried. Cursing, she holstered her blaster and took off her left glove. The rip cord popped out and she pulled it just as the knight turned and swung at her horizontally.

The chainsaw popped out and roared to life, clashing against the steel blade in a shower of sparks.

Julie-Su's shoulder screamed in pain and her eyes widened. This thing was strong! Way stronger than its size gave them the right to be! "Does it have super strength like Mighty or Knuckles?!"

The knight seemed to be unfazed by her parry and stepped back, jerkily bringing back its weapon before bringing it overhead.

"But it's slow!"

Julie-Su reached down, grabbed her blaster with her right hand, and brought it up and fired directly at the knight's head. It shattered, revealing…

…a green crystal-encrusted head of a regular Mobian wolf. Its eyes were wide with terror and confusion, its mouth open as if mid-scream.

The pink echidna felt sick. She heard about this from Sonic one time! It was Naugus' special little 'upgrade' to his followers to make them invincible! "Is he here?!"

The knight… to, the trapped mobian was not even blinking as it swung its sword down, forcing Julie-Su to raise her chainsaw arm overhead to block the blow. She screamed as the weight and bower behind the sword bore down on her, fireworks practically erupting in her head.

"JULIE!" Saffron screamed overhead, and the ex-Dark Legionnaire looked up to see her friend grasp the knight by his head and lift him up into the arm before letting go. The knight flailed his sword wildly as he fell, slamming into the sand.

"T-Thanks!" Julie-Su gasped out, lowering her chainsaw arm down while saluting with the barrel of her blaster. The poor bee was gasping and wheezing, shaking her hands from the pain they experienced lifting the thing. "Owe you one, Saffron!"

But what worried her was the fact that the knight… seemed to be unfazed by the run-in with gravity.

In fact, it was beginning to slowly roll over…

"QUICK! ACOLYTES OF IXIS!"

Julie-Su cursed as she turned her head to see the three robed enemies that Saffron had warned her about behind her, their arms raised and fiery palms raised.

Two of them were aimed at her while one was aimed right at Saffron.

"OPEN FI-!"

The roar of an engine was heard just before the front of the Beat Monster slammed into something hard and metal. Julie-Su watched as the knight she had just been fighting sail past her right and slam into one of the so-called acolytes.

"MY LEG!" The robed individual screamed before he fell.

"MY BABY!" Came Vector's distant scream, but the pink echidna decided to ignore it.

"Prepare for a world of hurt, Elder Ding worshipers!" Sticks planted both of her hands on Julie-Su's head, causing the echidna girl to cry out in surprise and pain as the young badger leapt over her and ran practically on all fours towards the remaining two acolytes. "Cdulu's day ain't here yet!"

"They aren't…!" Saffron sighed. "Why do I even bother…"

Julie-Su watched as the conspiracy theorist threw her boomerang, hitting one of the robed enemies square in the face and knocking him back while the strange weapon continued to fly in a curve. The remaining one stepped back, horrified by the quickly approaching crazed badger.

"S-Stay back! Stay back or I-OOF!"

The returning boomerang hit the back of the guy's head, causing him to stumble forward with his arms outstretched.

Big mistake.

Sticks leapt forward and with a snarl, opened her mouth and began to bite the guy's arm!

"GAAH!" The acolyte screamed, trying in vain to wrestle Sticks off as she continued to beat him with her free arms and legs. "GETHEROFFGETHEROFFGETHEROFF!"

"He's probably going to need to get checked." Shaking her head, Julie-Su turned and shouted, "VECTOR! GUYS! THOSE KNIGHT GUYS ARE MOBIANS!"

"Yeah! We noticed!" Vector shouted back as he punched one of the acolytes he was facing. Four of them were already on the ground, groaning in pain, while five of the knights advanced on them. Espio leapt at crocodile, who raised his arm while the chameleon curled into a ball. And just like a ball, the leader of the Chaotix threw the ninja at one of the knights. The impact itself was enough to break the helmet while knocking it to the ground. Espio himself was thrown up only to be caught by Charmy who proceeded to throw his friend at another knight. "Got any bright ideas on how to stop them?!"

The ex-Dark Legionnaire cursed. The facts were that no, she did not have a plan. While Sonic and the Freedom Fighters had told her about the time they faced Ixis Naugus and his magic-infused lackies, she couldn't remember how they beat them. It just had been way too long.

"Did they break an amulet or a staff or something? How…?

She heard the shifting of fabric from just behind her, and instinctively swung behind her with her left arm.

"AH!"

The unfamiliar, feminine cry of surprise caught Julie-Su off guard, causing her to turn. Her eyes widened to see rising from her shadow was a black mobian car wearing the same robes as the other acolytes.

The cat had good reflexes, she ducked her head to prevent it from leaving her shoulders.

But it wasn't enough.

Turning with her swing, the pink echidna lifted her right leg and kicked out. The cat was flung back, rolling onto the dirt before leaping on her feet. She rubbed her left shoulder and glared at her.

Julie-Su's eyes narrowed. Whoever this lady was, she wasn't like the others.

"You the leader of these guys?" Julie-Su asked, pointing her blaster at the cat. "If you are, do the smart thing and tell your freaky knights to stand down."

"Julie-Su… the Chaotix…" The cat spat out. "Why of all times do you now show up?"

The pink echidna's eyes narrowed.

She really didn't like how the cat was glaring at her.

"We're here now. That's all that matters." Julie-Su lowered her blaster and shot at the ground between the cat's feet. The echidna had to give the acolyte some props. She didn't flinch. "Last warning."

"Please." The cat crossed her arms and curled her pinky and ring fingers on each hand, the middle and index fingers standing ramrod straight as flames formed on the tips of them. "I've been waiting for a chance to face off against Amy's so-called 'teacher' for a while."

Julie-Su's brow raised in confusion.

"How do you know about tha-?"

The ground between them shifted, and Julie-Su's eyes widened at the spiral of sand that was forming. Leaping back, the echidna watched as the sand erupted like a fountain, and she heard the shifting of gears and the whirling of metal.

Her mechanical eye instantly identified the source while the sand began to flow away from the source.

WARNING!

Badnik Unit: SWAT-BOT

The sand cleared, and the familiar red glow of the Swat-Bot's visor stared at Julie-Su.

But its armor was completely back and it stood at six feet tall. Rather than being bulky, it was almost lithe. Slim and compact, without unnecessary details to its metal hull.

It threw away the handheld drill it carried before pressing on its right wrist.

A familiar voice echoed from the badnik's speakers.

"Stand down, acolyte."

"It can't be…" Saffron whispered, while Julie-Su narrowed her eyes.

She didn't meet the guy that much, but it was hard to forget that little toady voice.

"Snively."

The Swat-Bot raised its right arm as the barrels of a blaster opened just behind its wrist.

"We'll handle things from here."

---

"Amy!"

The hedgehog blinked in surprise before she looked up, her eyes widening before an awkward grin formed on her face. "E-Ebony! Tekno! How's it going?"

The cat raised an eyebrow as she approached Amy with Tekno to her right. The hedgehog girl looked a bit ragged. Her clothes were damp and her shoulders were slumped, as if she were exhausted.

Something that was a bit unusual for the normally energetic pink Freedom Fighter.

"Not bad. Just stretchin' our legs a bit to get the new Mina Mongoose album." Tekno looked Amy up and down. "How about you? It looks like you took a bit of a spill."

The pink hedgehog's face scrunched up. "Ugh. Don't remind me. I was so tired that I actually walked into a river." A blush formed on her face. "Please don't tell me I smell like feet."

A small grin formed on Ebony's face. "Okay. We won't,"

The blush on Amy's cheeks turned crimson, and the two girls laughed at their thechnically younger companion's distress.

Learning that Amy and the little pink hedgehog that always followed around the Freedom Fighters were one in the same was a bit of a shock. Apparently, she had made a wish on the Ring of Acorns without knowing what it was and wished herself to become old enough to go on adventures. Their friend seemed embarassed and a bit ashamed of this when she recounted the story to them, but she assured them that she was now mentally and physically a teenager.

Considering everything that has happened in their lives, they decided to accept it.

"So how've you been, Amy?" Tekno asked, rubbing the back of her head. "We haven't been seein' you in a while. Too good to hang out with your mates now?"

"N-No!" Amy vehemently shook her head and crossed her arms. "It's not like that at all! It's just… well…" She looked down. "I've… wanted to become a better Freedom Fighter. I mean, before all I was good for was waving around my hammer, knocking around badniks with my crazy strength, and making some predictions with my tarot deck…"

"You're welcome for those lessons, by the way." Ebony replied casually. "You were my best student."

Amy had been transfixed when the cat showed her how to use the tarot cards as well as the meanings behind them. Enough so that the pink hedgehog had begged Ebony to teach her how to use them until she agreed. However, what frustrated the cat was that Amy seemed to only view them as 'cool'. She didn't have real respect for the cosmic forces behind each prediction.

And yet… Amy had so much potential. Even Ebony could feel it! If only she devoted herself more to it…

Tekno wagged her finger. "Your only student, ya mean."

"Y-Yeah! I can't thank you enough!" Amy sighed. "And… and I wanted to become a better fighter! That's why I asked Julie-Su to help teach me! So that I can become who knows what they're doing in a fight! " She growled and punched her right hand into her left palm. "Enough so that next time I see that fox, I can knock the teeth out of that smug grin!"

The cat and canary glanced at one another. They, like many in the gossip mill, had heard about the messy break up between Sonic the Hedgehog and Fiona Fox. How she had actually cheated on the Hero of Mobius for an alternate counterpart literally named Evil Sonic.

"I still don't get that." Ebony shook her head. "Why willingly cheat on Sonic for his counterpart who will surely treat her badly?"

"Don't know. Don't care." Amy cracked her knuckles and they could swear they could see fire in her eyes. "She hurt Tails and betrayed Sonic. That's good enough for me to…!"

"Maybe the fox is just kinda into that." Tekno commented on casually. "I mean, there are types like that out there."

That cut Amy's entire tirade off at the knees.

The pink hedgehog's rightious fury instantly evaporated, causing her entire face to turn red. The embarassment and mortification was clearly there, but there was something else.

Fear?

"Tekno!" Ebony quickly admonished. "How can you say something like that! Amy, just ignore what she just sa-!"

"A-Anyways, it's just… I need to take training seriously." The pink hedgehog turned on her heel. "I-I've got to go and take a bath!"

"What? But we just met up!" Tekno moaned. "Can't we get a bite to eat an' catch…!"

"M-Maybe another time! I've still got training sessions with Julie-Su planned! Sorry!"

With that, Amy Rose ran off and left the two teenagers alone.

Ebony sighed, earning her a glare from the canary.

"What?" Tekno asked. "What did I do?"

"Tekno… she's only eleven." Ebony raised an eyebrow at her friend. "You shouldn't talk like that in front of her."

She had always kept that in mind after Amy willingly revealed what had happened in her past. She had to limit her topics of conversation, know where they could could and where they couldn't when hanging out, and how to speak to the young hedgehog. After all, she was just a kid that now found herself in the body of a teenager. It was only right for her to adjust.

Takno scoffed and rolled her eyes. "You're treatin' her like a little kid."

"She is a kid, Tekno."

The canary just gave her a blank stare. "That girl had to grow up fast to become a Freedom Fighter, and it wasn't just her body."

"Her reaction says otherwise."

"She only ran off when you tried to mother her." Tekno shrugged her shoulders. "She's a lot more grown up than you give her credit for."

Ebony simply stared at the space that Amy Rose once was. Was she really taking a bath? Or did she just use that as an excuse to retreat from their conversation.

Would they have another conversation?

"…I doubt it."

---

Ebony couldn't believe this was happening.

It wasn't possible, and yet here it was.

An honest-to-Source Swat-Bot.

"I-I don't understand…" Ebony muttered, still trying to process the mechanical monstrosity that was in front of her.

"Oh, it's quite simple." Came the voice of the only other Overlander she knew, Snively, from the badnik. "While the king is away, I am taking command of this situation. After all, from the looks of things it appears the task was too much for his little pet magicians to handle."

The king… King Geoffrey knew about this? He was working with Snively?

Wait… Snively wasn't even in New Mobotropolis when the Super Genesis Wave hit! He shouldn't even be here!

"The king… brought him back?"

"But that was always the trouble with magic. Too unreliable!" Snively scoffed from the speaker. "Too unstructured! It's why he brought me onboard this project in the first place. T-!"

Before the Overlander could continue his tirade, a whirling sound was heard from behind Ebony. Her sixth sense flared and she ducked, narrowly avoiding a boomerang that passed her by. The Swat-Bot's head turned completely around to face Ebony and the oncoming projectile while its right arm swung to the right and just kept going. It turned a complete one hundred and eighty degrees, its thumb shifting up while the pinky moved down, and then fired at the boomerang.

"GAH!" The voice of the badger cried out. "My boomerang! STEVE!"

"She named it?!"

"You primitive little…!"

That was the chance that the other two newcomers of the Chaotix needed. Saffron Bee flew forward, turning her body and sticking out her leg to kick at the badnik's head.

But it was no use. The badnik simple kneeled down and then grabbed the bee's leg. The girl only had enough time to scream before she was thrown to the ground.

"Predictable!" Snively cried out. "My Swat-Bot's motion snesors are more than enough to detect any physical attacks you furries try!"

"Saffron!" Julie-Su the Ecidna rushed rushed forward, firing at the badnik with her blaster. However, the Swat-Bot rerturned fire and hit the blasts in mid air.

"Their targeting system is more advanced than anything you could fathom! You Dark Legionnaires… always so self-confident in your technology! All the while ignoring a world that had been catching up with you! And now here… you are OUTDATED!"

Julie-Su growled and threw away her blaster. Instead, she reached down and grabbed a handful of sand with her right while the chainsaw roared with her left.

Ebony could already hear the ground rumbling and saw more explosions of sand erupting from the surrounding desert.

How many Swat-Bots were there? Ten? Twenty?!

"And all of these… King Geoffrey knew about them and let them be built?!"

These things that had tormented Mobius for years?!

That had killed so many of their loved ones under Robotnik and Eggman's orders?!

Who… who killed her…!

"It's over! Now surrender and…!"

"Saffron! Give me some wing cover!"

The bee's wings blurred, and sand scattered around both her and the Swat-Bot. Not enough to block it from view, but it did seem to hesitate.

"It's trying to process…"

Julie-Su ran forward, a mad grin forming from ear to ear. She brought back both of her arms, as if preparing to strike.

"Do you have a death wi-?!"

"FOR STEVE!" The crazed Shade ran forward as well, scooping up handfuls of sand and throwing them forward. Rather than blasting the badger with its right arm's blaster, the badnik instead shot at the sand.

"It's registering the sand as a projectile!"

"Y-You…!"

Julie-Su threw her handfull of sand, nailing the badnik in the face. It shook slightly, trying to process which of its opponents was the greatest threat.

"New coat of paint…"

Julie-Su leapt forward and thrust her chainsaw into the midsection of the badnik. Its insides hissed and screeched as metal tore through metal. Wires sparked and oil bust out from the back like blood.

"…same old junk!"

The pink echidna's grin was that of a madwoman. She was laughing as the badnik jerked and sputtered while she brought her arm up. Cutting it until it looked like a torn celery stick. Oil stained her arm and chainsaw before she used her right foot to kick the badnik down.

"You okay, Saffron?" The pink echidna asked while reaching down and picking the bee up.

"Y-Yeah. I'll be fine!" The bee nodded enthusiastically.

"A Swat-Bot…" Ebony muttered incredulously as she stared at the remains. "I don't believe it. Why…?"

Why would King Geoffrey have this… this thing here?

Why would he reawaken Snively, Robotnik's own nephew?!

The Promised Day… it shouldn't need him!

They were strong enough!

They…

"Didja know about this?"

Ebony turned her head to see the badger glaring at her. The Shade was looking at her up and down, as if trying to study her every move.

"G-Get away!" She pushed the Shade away with her hand, causing the thing to growl. "Of course not! The king… this has to be some trick! He would never…!"

"That's some really nice delusion right there." Julie-Su muttered. "He's playing you like a chump, girl. Whatever your previous king is up to, it needed Snively's help and he didn't tell you because it wasn't something you needed to know."

Ebony glared at Julie-Su.

At this woman who was Amy's teacher.

Who the girl apparently never bothered to tell her name to.

"Of course Amy never told you." Ebony spat out. "Why would she? It wasn't like we were ever important to her."

"Huh?" The pink echidna raised her brow at the cat. "What are you even talking about?"

The black cat's glare grew darker.

She growled. "Tekno the Canary and I… we thought we were Amy's friends. And now… now it's just me."

That seemed to slap the look of dismissive contempt off of Julie-Su's face. She just stared at Ebony in shock, seeming to be trying to think about what to say. The bee was staring up at the echidna in obvious confusion, as if expecting an answer.

Even the badger grew quiet.

"S-SWAT-KRSCH!" Came the garbled cry from the Swat-Bot's communicator. "ELIMINATE TH-KRSCH! NOW!"

"We hear and obey, oh Glorious Nosed One!" Swat-Bots shouted in unison, and both the echidna and bee leapt to the side to avoid being riddled with laser blasts.

"VECTOR! GUYS!" Julie-Su shouted. "Throw up sand to confuse them and gang up on each one! Sticks! I need you to get into the Beat Monster and kick up some sand! Saffron, you do the same with the Land Breaker!"

"On it!" Saffron shouted, flying quickly towards the bike.

The Shade herself got up, and when Ebony looked up she saw the badger glaring at her with none of the madness in her eyes.

"No Amy I know would've thought of you as anything but a friend." The Shade spat out. "She woulda moved heaven an' Earth for you if ya asked. And if she saw you doin' dis… it would've broken her heart."

With that, the Shade ran off to the fairly busted up car, narrowly avoiding laser blasts as she did so.

Ebony looked down and glared at the sand, the words of the Shade ringing in her head.

"What does she know?"

All she knew was an echo of the real Amy. An Amy who actually bothered to stay in touch with her friends! Who didn't just ditch them to spend more and more time with another kid!

Who told them nothing, and when they needed her and the Freedom Fighters the most they failed!

"And now… now we actually have a chance to…!"

"E-Ebony?"

Ebony turned her head to see the acolyte that the Shade had been biting flanked by the royal knight that had been hit with the car.

"T-Those are Swat-Bots." The acolyte stared as Julie-Su laughed like a lunatic while tearing apart the badniks with her chainsaw arm, being swung too wildly for the Swat-bots to predict. "And… and the king knew about them? What… what should we…?"

The cat bit her lip and closed her eyes.

"No turning back."

This was their last shot.

"Assist them."

"What?"

Ebony glared at the acolyte. "Assist the Swat-Bots in capturing the Chaotix. I will go and collect the hedgehogs to bring them to King Geoffrey, as we were ordered to do."

"B-But…!"

"All of this is necessary for the Promised Day!" She shouted and pointed at the Chaotix as they fought. "Now go!"

Ebony didn't even wait for a reply. Instead, she interlocked her fingers.

"Shadow Meld."

She leaned back and fell into her shadow, and witin seconds she was crawling out of the shadow of the trapped Jules Hedgehog.

"Fight not going as planned?" The robian sarcastically asked, and Ebony growled.

She didn't have time for this.

Curling her right hand's left and middle finger while crossing her ring and pinky finger, the domes disappated and the hedgehog couple were free from their prison. However, clay shackles bound their hands together.

"We are returning to the kingdom." Ebony said firmly. "Let's go."

"On foot?" Bernadette asked incredulously. "You do realize that's impossible, right?"

"It'll be fine!" She snapped. "King Geoffrey's allies will likely know where I am and arrange for transportation once they have dealt with the Chaotix!"

"Those same allies who are commanding the Swat-Bots." Jules asked, causing Ebony to freeze. "Come on. Even I could hear what that little worm was monologuing about. You now know the truth."

"…So what."

"What?"

Ebony glared at them. "So what?! If its what need to be done to bring back Mobius… to bring back everyone we lost… then I will abide by it!"

She hated it.

She hated the looks they were giving her.

Judging but… pity?!

Why would they pity her?!

"Just another necessary evil to do so much good! To bring things back to how they were! We will even bring back your son!" Ebony screamed, tears of frustration in her eyes. They stung so much and she fought the urge to wipe them away. "It'll all be worth it… when we go home!"

"Yeah."

Ebony turned her head and saw Julie-Su climbing up the edge of the roof, a sad look in her one organic eye as she stared at her. The chainsaw was now gone, but her left arm was still stained in oil that ripped onto the ground.

"I thought the same way too." Julie-Su let out a small, hollow laugh. "But life just doesn't work out that way. And it's time you come to accept it… Ebony."

---

"You really don't have to do this."

"Nah, it's cool." Tekno grinned as she fiddled with her bike. It was fairly unique, even in New Mobotropolis. One that had an electric motor on the back wheel that seemd to hum as the canary flipped a switch. "I needed to get out of the city anyways. My neighbors just won't shut up about how great Naugus is an' all that. They're still talkin' about how he kicked out Nicole."

Ebony frowned at her friend. She knew how much Tekno argued with her neighbors regarding the politics of the kingdom. She had been a vocal supporter of Amadeus Prower's calls for democracy, but that soured when the council was put into practice and the king was still an active member of the proceedings.

The canary bemoaned that a good portion of them had an axe to grind against Sonic, and seemed to have a particular distaste for Councilman Hamlin in particular.

"Last I remember you weren't exactly a fan of Nicole being everywhere." The cat pointed out, but that didn't phase the canary.

Tekno merely scoffed. "Yeah, I wasn't a fan of how she could have listenin' devices everywhere. But she did help to build the city and was great in defending us. Then just one concert by Mina was enough to turn the whole bloody city against her! None of those morons even thought about how that would turn out!" She sighed. "What the hell was goin' through that Mongoose's head…"

"At least she seems to be turning over a new leaf."

"Yeah, after she realized just how royally she screwed it all up." Tekno shot back before setting aside her wrench and putting on a helmet. "It's gonna be a ride before I can get to the that village your little pen pal is at. You sure you don't want to see if Amy can get you that spellbook herself?"

It was Ebony's turn to scoff. "Please, as if Amy has time for us."

It did not escape the cat's notice that Amy now never spoke to them. Instead she was usually with the other Freedom Fighters or that little rabbit girl they spotted her with one time. She never seemed to answer calls and was always off on the next big adventure.

It was… depressing, but Ebony had come to terms with it.

They were no longer friends with Amy.

"You're expectin' her to come to us, and that's your biggest issue." Tekno chided before getting on her bike. "How's about this? When I come back, we can go to Amy together and see what's the deal."

"How will that help?"

The canary grinned at her. "Sure beats sittin' around moping about it."

With that, she revved up her electric motor and drove to leave New Mobotropolis.

Ebony would return home, noting that the clouds were getting dark and wondering if it was going to rain.

It would be the last time she would ever see Tekno the Canary, her best friend.

---

Julie-Su was never stupid enough to just leave an enemy combatant out of her sight, even in the midst of battle.

Especially when they seemed to have it out for her.

Lien-Da gave her more than enough reason to watch her back, even before the Exodus.

So while she had been having the time of her life wrecking up Snively's new Swat-Bots that had the glaring program flaw of sand messing with its sensors and shooting at everything it saw as a projectile, the pink echidna kept an eye on the cat.

Enough to notice said cat had disappeared into her own shadow.

Putting her chainsaw underneath the other magician's chin was enough for him to spill the beans on where she went, and with the Chaotix wrapping up the Swat-bots while keeping the knights busy she took out her grappling hook and made her way to the ancient buildings.

A quick scan with her artificial eye was enough for her to find the two mobian-sized heat signatures and robian signal, which lead to her… coming here.

Face to face with one of Amy's friends.

Her Amy's old friend.

"So… You do know my name." Ebony the Cat glared at her. "She actually bothered to mention us to you? I'm flattered."

She was slowly walking away from the Hedgehog couple, all the while keeping the pink echidna in her line of sight. Smart. It would prevent the two from trying to hurt her while she was keeping most of her attention on Julie-Su.

"Of course she talked about you two." Julie-Su walked forward, mostly to prevent herself from being shot at by any of the magicians or Swat-Bots that managed to escape a beatdown from the Chaotix. But she made sure she was always facing the cat. "She'd talk about all kinds of stuff during our training sessions. The foods she ate during adventures, her dream date with Sonic, and her friends… both in the Freedom Fighters…" She stopped and her mouth formed a thin line. "…and out."

For a brief second, her mind wandered. Back to Mobius. Back to the days where things seemed right. Where she was in Knothole with Knuckles and the Chaotix, amongst their friends and the days counting down to Bunnie and Antoine's wedding. Where she and Amy were teacher and student, with her trying to help the hedgehog hone her reflexes and acrobatics by running through an obstacle course with tennis balls being shot at her.

Amy was sitting on the ground, rubbing her right eye from a ball that managed to nail her while Julie-Su handed her a water bottle.

"Ugh… If only the girls could see me now. Tekno would probably be laughing her butt off."

"Tekno?"

"Yeah! She's one of my friends from school! Y'know… back when we had one. She's a canary! She loved music and a ton of stuff that could get her into trouble. Though, usually Ebony was there to make sure she didn't do anything too crazy. Ebony's the one who taught me how to use Tarot Cards, believe it or not!" Amy's smile faltered. "I… I haven't talked to them in a while."

"Any reason why?"

The pink hedgehog could only sigh.

"I just… I dunno. I guess I'm always so busy and… and I guess the time just slipped past me." She shifted uncomfortably. "And… and I guess I… I get scared sometimes, y'know? They're older than me, and they both know it. Tekno's cool about it, but Ebony sometimes… she treats me like I'm still a little kid."

"Then you should say something about it!" Julie-Su was never a social expert, but she could see the problem here a mile away. "Amy, avoiding them's not going to do you any good."

"I know! I know. It's just… I don't want to be a bad friend. And I already kinda feel like that."

Julie-Su blinked and put her right hand on her hip. "Guess she never got around to sorting things out with you, huh?"

The cat didn't respond to that. Instead, she simply continued to glower at the ex-Dark Legionnaire.

"She felt bad about it, y'know. About not talking with you and Tekno for a while." The pink echidna sighed. "Amy was just the kind of girl who got caught up in the moment, you know. With the feelings of the friends in front of her. Sometimes that meant she'd be hyperfocused on one thing and then lose focus on…"

"Don't talk to me like I need to know what she was like." Ebony snapped at her. "I knew her for three years. Longer than you ever had."

Julie-Su's brow furrowed. "Considering where we're standing right now, I don't think you do."

She briefly glanced at the hedgehog couple, who remained silent. Smart. It was likely to avoid startling the obviously agitated magician.

"This is necessary." Ebony declared coldly. "I must follow my orders so that King Geoffrey may please and the Promised Day may arrive. So either you step aside and allow me to perform my duty… or I will make you."

The echidna knew she meant it just from the eyes alone.

She sighed. "Just follow your orders so that everything turns out right in the end, huh?"

Julie-Su didn't move an inch.

A chill ran down her spine.

It was like looking into a mirror.

"Not going to happen."

"Fine." Ebony raised her right hand with her index and middle finger pointing towards the ex-Dark Legionnaire. "Fireball."

Julie-Su dove forward and curled into a ball, avoiding the projectile of fire as it passed overhead before rolling on the ground and uncurling. She took out her blaster, aimed at the cat, and fired just as Ebony was firing her second fireball. The blasts collided, causing a wall of flame to form in between them.

"RUN!" The pink echidna cried out to Bernadette and Jules, her left eye's motion sensors already 'seeing' the cat diving to the ground while bringing her hands together. "You're not getting away!"

Julie-Su aimed her blaster, but was shocked when she saw that the acolyte thrust her hands forward, her index fingers tucked underneath her thumbs before placing them on the ground.

"FROZEN PRISON!"

The air around the pink echidna chilled and she saw to her astonishment that the roof floor was being rapidly covered in ice. Cursing, she leapt up just before the ice could envelop her boots and aimed her blaster….

….only to see Ebony grinning as her body sunk into the shadows.

Realizing where the sun was overhead, Julie-Su turned her head and shouted, "Crap!"

Just behind her, Ebony was leaping out of the echidna's shadow and her right arm was aimed directly at the ex-Dark Legionnaire with her ring finger still tucked underneath the thumb and the remaining three pointing directly at her. Behind the cat, a pillar of ice was shooting at Julie-Su like it was a spear.

"COLD CLUB!"

Grunting, Julie-Su turned the rest of her body and aimed her blaster at the pillar. She fired and the tip exploded into a shower of ice, with the rebound causing her to fly further back and fall to the ground hard.

She groaned in pain and rubbed her back before letting out a cry as she began to slip on the ice. Ebony merely grinned. "So this is Amy's teacher? Have to say, I'm not impressed."

Julie-Su growled as she flicked the switch on her blaster and quickly loaded the grappling hook into the barrel. "Okay, that's it. Time to take you to school, kid."

The echidna aimed at the edge of the roof and fired. Ebony leapt aside to avoid the hooks, but they did the job they were supposed to and gripped hard into the icy stone. Activating the motors, Julie-Su pulled herself forward and leapt up, kicking at the cat. Her leg made impact on Ebony's left shoulder, making the acolyte cry out in pain while the echidna continued forward.

When she was close enough to the edge, Julie-Su curled into a ball and thrust her feet forward while pulling on the grappling hook. The hook was torn off, taking off a decent portion of the ice with it. Her feet made contact with the icy edge, and she used it as a springboard to launch herself back at Ebony. Kicking out with her left leg, Julie-Su turned her body to hit the cat in the back with a bycicle kick.

The cat fell forward, her face making contact on the surface of her own ice while Julie-Su fell beside her. Her momentum carried her forward, and she tried to ignore the pain. "Had enough?"

"Hardly!" Ebony cried out, glaring at her. "This changes nothing! Those two are trapped up here with u-!"

"Look around, genius."

Ebony blinked and looked around the roof. To Julie-Su's satisfaction, her eyes were widened in bewilderment.

"H-How did they…?! We're three stories up!"

"Sonic's dad is a Robian, remember?" The pink echidna asked smugly. "He can make that jump in that body of his. And really all he has to do is carry his wife down."

That was probably their escape plan if their stairs to the roof were filled with too many enemy combatants anyways.

Ebony's face contorted into one of pure rage. But there was something else in those eyes.

Desperation.

Fear.

The utter crumbling of hope.

"I will get them back!" She shouted, Sweeping her left arm with her middle finger and thumb curled down. The ice disappeared and a wave of water was flung at Julie-Su. "I have to! And I won't let you or the Chaotix stop me!"

The pink echidna fired her grappling hook at the roof, held onto it tight, and held her breath. The wave hit her and it felt like a full body blow. Water rushed in through her nose and she fought the urge to choke.

But despite her grip on her blaster, the hook was torn out of the floor and she was flung off of the roof before crashing into the side of the adjacent building and falling to the ground. Groaning, the ex-Dark Legionnaire looked up to see an angry Ebony melting out of the shadows and storming towards her.

"Y-yeah." Julie-Su coughed out. "You 'have' to, huh? That's what you're telling yourself, right? You know this is wrong, but it'll turn out all right in the end? So right that Amy will apologize to you?!"

"What right do you have to judge me?!" The cat shouted as she lifted her right hand and closed her left eye. The tip of her middle and ring finger touched the tip of her thumb while her index and pinky remained upright. Ebony stared at Julie-Su through the small hole the gap created.

WARNING!: Localized atmosphere change detected!

"Damnit!" Julie-Su looked back, saw the window, and leapt through it back first. She only made it just in time to avoid the bolt of lighting that crashed down on where she stood previously.

"And you… you think I'm only doing this to hurt Amy?!"

"No, of course not!" The pink echidna turned and ran to the door, narrowly avoiding another fireball. While she reloaded her blaster she continued to talk. "But it's something that keeps you going, isn't it?! You keep doing horrible things to set it all right! To prove you were a REAL friend compared to her!"

The ex-Dark Legionnaire dove through the open door, aimed to her right, and fired. The cat narrowly avoided the suppressing fire as Julie-Su sli on the dandy road and lifted herself to her feet.

"And you keep telling yourself that sure, you're tainted… sure you've done what anyone else would see as unforgivable... but they won't see you like that at the end of all this! They'll just be glad that you're back! They'll understand and thank you for all the sacrifices you have made! Amy will thank you and apologize and it'll all go back to what it was!"

It felt like a dagger was stabbing her through the heart as she shouted those words.

But she noticed that Ebony wasn't shooting at her.

"Besides, it doesn't count when most of the people you hurt aren't even real people, right?!"

Her mind flashed to all those versions of her friends… of Knuckles…

…of what she had done to them.

Her right eye was stinging, and she could feel the tear running down her cheek.

"Shut up." Ebony whispered, but the echidna could still hear it. "I don't… I don't need to hear this…"

"At least, that's what you tell yourself!" Julie-Su shouted, trying to keep her voice from cracking. "But deep in your heart, you know that's not true! You know somewhere in you that… that it's a bunch of crap! That it can't be put right!"

"Shut up!"

The echidna ignored her, and now even more tears were streaming down her cheek. "You know deep down that there is no going back! But you just keep ignoring that voice because returning to what you once had is something you have to believe in! It's what you keep telling yourself to keep going!"

"I SAID…!" The temperature in the air changed, the sweltering heat somehow becoming as hot as a furnace, to the point that warning signs flashed in her left eye. "…SHUT UP!"

The stone of the building's corner began to blanket as a bright light began to approach from behind it. Julie-Su had to squint to see the reason why as it rounded said corner, before her eyes widened in horror.

It was Ebony, but now transformed into something that could be best described as a massive figure of solid fire. The ex-Dark Legionnaire could see every feature of her, the texture of the fur and the design of her robes, but now with a reddish orange tint. Licks of flame trailed her as she flew through the air, both of her eyes set on Julie-Su with righteous anger within her pupils.

"Damn!" The echidna didn't even attempt to try and fire at the fire giant. It had no mass or body to shoot at. Instead, she turned on her heel and ran back into the building.

"YOU SELF-RIGHTEOUS WITCH!" Ebony screamed, a voice garbled with the crackling of fire and seemingly on the verge of tears. "You think you can lecture me?! You?! Who GAVE UP?!"

Julie-Su didn't bother to loop back. Instead the leapt up the stairs and felt the rush of hot air from underneath as a massive hand slammed down on the empty steps. Sweat was beginning to pour out of Julie-Su as she slammed her shoulder against the wall and kept moving.

"Amy… she stopped being friends with us because stopping Eggman took priority! I know that! But she FAILED! And now… now she's GONE! She and Tekno are gone while I'm still here!"

Julie-Su hissed as she looked left and right before running down the hallway and looking up. Her left eye instantly scanned the portion of the roof that was the most unstable and she made a beeline to the room to the left.

She could hear the rushing flames just behind her.

"And me… I have a chance! A chance to make everything right! A chance to be the hero like Amy and bring them back!" Ebony continued to rant and rave as she followed close behind. "You know that those Chaotix outside aren't the ones you know, don't you?! Don't you want the ones you loved back?!"

Yeah… yeah, she did.

More than Ebony could understand.

"You… you should have joined us! Didn't you lose your lover?! Weren't Amy and the Freedom Fighters your friend too?! Don't you care?! DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?!"

The deep well of sorrow and pain burst from her heart. Her tears returned as Ebony's words rang through her head.

The tears wouldn't stop flowing.

"Yeah." Julie-Su skid to a stop as the rip cord came out of her shoulder. She pulled on it while turning, causing the chainsaw to burst out once more. "I do understand."

Ebony… even in her fiery form, she was crying.

And for a brief second, Julie-Su saw herself in the place.

"That's why I have to stop you." The echidna said, her voice low and sad. "Because you are me."

And that was the simple truth of it all.

Ebony was her. The her before returning to Mobius to find everything had changed. The one unwilling to see the reality around her. The one willing to drown herself in a river of blood and sins because it'll lead to something better on the other side.

Julie-Su wanted her Knuckles back.

Her Amy.

Her Chaotix.

Her Sonic.

Her friends.

Her family.

But… It was too late for that. Far, far too late.

And she was tired of having to be in that river.

Ebony's fiery form sneered. "Do you really think a chainsaw can stop me?! You think it can kill me, like it did with those badniks?!"

Julie-Su grinned slightly and taunted, "If it's not a big deal, how about you come here and melt it off of me?"

The cat screamed as she barreled forward, enveloping the room and spreading her flames everywhere.

The echidna, however, jumped back and raised her left arm up.

The chainsaw's blades tore through the stone like it was butter, spreading sparks everywhere before it began to crack and buckle.

Ebony's eyes widened as she realized what was going to happen, but it was too late.

An avalanche of stone, debris, and sand rained down on her. Smothering the flaming giant in an instant and causing the hot desert sun to pour inside.

Julie-Su landed on the edge of the pile and watched as licks of flames rose through the cracks before converging at the peak. They created the form of a regular sized mobian before, in a flash of light, Ebony was there. No longer a being of flame but of flesh and blood.

She was no longer standing. Instead, she was on her hands and knees, choking and gasping for air. Tears were falling out of her eyes and onto the debris. The strong woman Julie-Su had seen only a few minutes ago was gone.

"I… I have to do this…!" Ebony croaked. "I have to… if I don't then… then… I'll be alone… Tekno… Amy… Grandma… why…?!"

Julie-Su retracted the chainsaw and stomped up the gravel mount. Ebony looked up fearfully as the echidna, who looked down at her with pity.

"We can't go back." The ex-Dark Legionnaire said sadly. "I'm sorry, Ebony. But… they're gone. Mobius is gone and… and so are they. And bringing them back like this… it will never be worth it."

She lifted her left hand and the cat flinched, as if expecting a punch.

Instead, Julie-Su opened it and offered it to Ebony.

"You aren't alone. I… I can be here for you. But only if you let me."

The thought of head butting or punching the cat unconscious had crossed her mind, but hearing Ebony's last words made the echidna realize something.

That she wanted to be there for this woman in pain, like Cream and Saffron were there for her.

Ebony the Cat just stared at the offered hand uncomprehendingly.

The moment then seemed to drag on for an eternity, but the pink echidna did not budge.

Then, slowly, the cat took the mechanical hand and slowly got up.

Julie-Su smiled.

"Come on. Let's get out of here."

---

"There you are."

Sally turned her head to see Elias walking through the door. What energy her older brother once had seemed to have been drained from him. His shoulders were slumped and the bags under his eyes seemed to have grown.

"I… was hoping you you were still outside. Just waiting for things to calm down." The former king grimaced. "Father… is sleeping again. Dr. Quack came and gave him his medicine. Mother's with him too, and Harvey is talking with the doctor about his condition."

"That's good." The robian replied softly, avoiding his gaze. Instead, she looked around at the room she had found herself in.

Elias's room.

It was… not as neat or tidy as she would've expected. Like her, Elias had been brought up in maintaining a certain image of royalty even in the privacy of their own rooms. Everything had to be neat and tidy, with no room for imperfection.

It was how Daddy raised both of them. And Elias tried to keep that up even when he was with the Brotherhood of Guardians.

But… his room was a mess. His bed was unmade, clothes were just carelessly thrown in the hamper or around it, and the desk he had had various pieces of paper and colored pencils strewn about.

But around the desk were pictures.

Pictures of Megan and Alexis, her sister-in-law and niece. Sometimes with Elias, sometimes without. Either private moments like Megan laughing while playing with the young girl in her crib or a copy of the royal painting. One picture had Megan while she was still pregnant with her daughter, cradling her stomach as she sat on a chair with her wedding ring shining from the light of the camera's flash.

"I… I wish I spent more time with them." She lamented in her head. "I… I barely even really knew Megan. We only talked a couple of times. So much stuff kept happening and…

I KNOW, SALLY. Nicole whispered mournfully in her own head. I KNOW. I'M SO SORRY…

"I saved what I could." Her brother muttered softly. "But Naugus… he destroyed most of what we had left behind in the castle."

"So you know." Sally wasn't asking a question. It was a statement. "You knew and you didn't say anything to the people."

"We only knew thanks to Hershey." Elias sighed while walking over and picking up the picture of the pregnant Megan. "She went to investigate on her own why her husband changed so much while she was gone, and found out that Naugus possessed his body. She barely escaped."

Figures.

"Then why?" The princess asked, turning her full attention back on her brother. "Why didn't you tell anyone? You had Hershey! You could have…!"

"It's not that simple!" Elias snapped, but his face was a pained grimace. "You think people would have believed Hershey? Naugus had the citizens eating out of the palm of his hand by the time we figured out what the heck was going on! And it wasn't like Hershey was a public figure! Naugus could've just said she was lying or an impostor or something and we wouldn't be able to fight against that!"

Sally hesitated. She knew her brother was right about that. She had seen what the citizens of New Mobotropolis had become. How willingly most of them just accepted what Naugus told them. How they considered his story as the truth.

Because it was 'simple'.

Because it made sense to them.

"But for this long? Couldn't you have…?"

"We already have a plan for how to deal with Naugus." Elias motioned her to the closet to his right, and she followed him towards it. "We still…"

He opened the doors, and Sally's eyes widened at what she saw.

The gold handle and the oak scabbard… the golden acorn that was the pommel of the sword… the polished steel that seemed to shine even in the limited light…

THE SWORD OF LIGHT…! Nicole let out in a hushed whisper. THEY STILL HAVE IT!

"…Have this." Elias finished, a small smirk settling on his face. "This sword… it should be able to take care of Naugus when the time comes."

Elias shut the closet doors, cutting the sword off from the rest of the room. "And when it comes… I will be the one to do it."

"It's just like how I remember it…" Sally whispered. "It's beautiful."

"Yeah." Elias agreed. "It is. I… I remember how Sir Connery wielded it… when he was fighting against Mogul…" He looked down. "I… I leave it there unsheathed. It makes nights easier for me…"

The chipmunk stared at her brother, who did not meet her gaze. A quiet dread settled between them, one that she could not seem to put her finger on.

Ever since she had come here, something had been off about Elias. It was an feeling that seemed to remain in the air, one that would've sent shivers down her spine if she had her old body. It was like he was there, but something was…. Missing.

It wan't just from the loss of Megan and Alexis.

It was something else.

Even in his most unsure moments, there was always a strength in her brother. A quiet, noble dignity.

And yet that was now… broken.

"Elias." She whispered. "What happened that day? The day that… that everything…"

The king looked down. That fear… it was back in his eyes. As if he were searching himself, and yet it was eluding him. He knew it was there, and yet he couldn't find it.

"Sally, I…"

Before her brother could continue, they heard Silver's voice echo through the halls.

"I ASKED DID YOU KNOW?!"

Sally and Elias looked at one another before racing out of the room. In seconds, they skid to a stop in front of the open workshop where Silver was being held back by Larry, Tangle, and Whisper. Mach and Muttski were in front of Uncle Chuck, who looked a strange mix of frightened and yet resigned while the wolf twins were by his side, ready to fight at a moment's notice. The dog was alternating between angry growls and frightened whines, while the badnik seemed to have no reaction aside from being ready to fight Silver if need be.

"Silver, calm down!" Tangle shouted, her eyes wide and fearful. "What's this about?!"

"Please, man! Don't do this!" Larry pleaded with the hedgehog. "It… it was just something they did just in case! I know it sucks but…!"

"What on Mobius…?" Sally breathed out, gaping in disbelief. She had never seen Silver so angry before. He looked like he was ready to punch something, and seemed to be trying to make his way to the older hedgehog in spite of the people holding him back.

And all of it without using his powers.

"But nothing!" The gray-furred hedgehog pointed an accusing finger at Uncle Chuck. "I… no, the Silver of Mobius trusted you! He trusted you and Harvey because he thought you both wanted to help him! And he wanted to help the people while getting help to figure out who the traitor was!"

"Agent Ace!" Elias shouted, stepping forward with a firm expression on his face. "That's enough! Stand down!"

"Agent Ace?! How about you just call me by my name, Elias?!" Silver shouted, his eyes narrowing in anger. "Or are you scared that if you did, you'd really see me as the Silver you knew?!"

A look of fury passed by Elias' face, but before he could respond Sally was in front of Silver and she asked, "Silver, what's going on? Why are you trying to attack Uncle Chuck?!"

Silver grit his teeth before he pointed at the old man again. "Because he and Harvey planned on making the Silver of Mobius and Shard fall guys from the start! Every member of the Secret Freedom Fighters got teleportation devices on them besides the two of us in case we got captured, and that's the reason why I got rebooted in the first place!"

It was like getting slapped in the face.

Sally looked at Larry, who didn't meet her gaze in shame. She looked at Elias, the Twins, and even Uncle Chuck for confirmation.

None of them looked at her back.

I-IT CAN'T BE… Nicole whispered in horror. I-I HAD NO RECORDS OF THIS! WHY WOULD THEY…?!

"U-Uncle Chuck?" The robian whispered. "Is… Is this true?"

The older hedgehog was silent for a minute.

Then he said simply, "Yes."

Sally gaped at him, opening and closing her mouth, before shaking her head and asking, "Why?! Why would you…?!"

She couldn't believe it. She didn't want to believe it. Uncle Chuck, the man who raised Sonic and had been like an uncle to all of them too, was wrapped up in… all of this?

Willingly making sure that Silver someone to take the fall?

"But it's not like this is the first time he kept secrets…"

BUT… THAT WAS IN SERVICE OF THE KINGDOM! Nicole objected, but even she didn't look convinced. NOT… NOT THIS…

"Then why?!" Silver shouted, but he was not longer fighting against the three holding him. They were easing up on their grips, but cautiously. "Tell me why, Charles!"

"We couldn't afford getting King Elias exposed as a Secret Freedom Fighter." Uncle Chuck muttered, his hand gripping his knees tightly. "It would ruin any legitimacy he would have to reclaim the throne. But you and Shard… the both of you had histories. Ones that would call into question any information you may unintentionally reveal should you have been captured."

"And so what?! You guys could keep going while I was getting tortured or something?!" Silver shot back. "But I guess it's alright so long as Elias is safe, right? And so what if you just lost Shard? One less badnik in the world, I guess!"

"Silver, please!" Lyco spoke up, her hands clenched into fists. "We wouldn't have let you stay captured! We would've…!"

"That's not the point, Lyco!" Silver grimaced and turned around. "That Silver…. Shard… they trusted Charles and Harvey. They wanted to believe they could redeem themselves and become heroes, even if it was in secret. They thought you all believed in them." He shook his head. "But I guess that was all a lie in the end, huh?"

Nobody knew what to say to that.

What could be said? It was all true. Good intentions or not, the fact was that Uncle Chuck and Harvey Who did intend to leave behind Silver and Shard if things got too dicey.

And in their own way, they were responsible for the Silver of Mobius being rebooted.

"I… I'm sorry, my boy."

Uncle Chuck looked so old as he said that.

He had closed his eyes in shame and turned his head.

"I did what I thought was right at the time." The mustachioed hedgehog bemoaned. "But… I suppose in the end, it turned out to be wrong. Just another wrong decision that resulted in even more pain…"

That statement carried more weight than either Tangle, Whisper, or even Silver would know.

Uncle Chuck was the one who created the Roboticizer, the terrible machine that turned the population of Mobius into Robotnik's unwilling slaves for years. His trust in the mad doctor merely gave him all the resources he needed to cause unspeakable acts, and the hedgehog had to live with that guilt for years.

He even kept Sonic's parents a secret from their son, because he believed that the knowledge would compromise his nephew's effectiveness as a hero.

Sally knew how often Uncle Chuck would torture himself over Robotnik and Eggman's actions, and how he couldn't even forgive himself when others had long since been able to.

Silver looked down, but didn't say anything. His mouth had formed into a thin line as he contemplated the scientist's words.

"Silver…" Tangle muttered, reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder…

Then, something happened.

Nicole's eyes widened and her face distorted in Sally's vision. Her pupils had turned to pixels and hands were clutching her head in pain. GYAAAHHHH!

"Nicole?!" Sally cried out before the image of her friend was formed by nanites in front of them, curled into a ball of pain.

"Woah!" Tangle shouted, instantly getting on her knees next to the lynx with Sally as they tried to comfort the avatar. "Nicole, what's going o-?"

The monitors let out a screech as the images on them distorted. Sally looked up and her eyes widened at what she saw.

The static was dissipating, and a new image was forming. One of a familiar hedgehog, but with golden yellow fur, riding on a giant disk with blades as it slammed into the body of an unfamiliar… thing.

Was it a badnik? No, it didn't look like anything Eggman made. It was mechanical, and yet… it was not reacting to the blow like a machine would.

It was reacting as if Sonic had wounded it.

"Is that… Sonic?!" Larry asked in wonder as he stared at the monitor.

"Sonny Boy?" Uncle Chuck whispered while Muttski barked happily. "What is he… what's he fighting?"

"I-It hurtszzzz!" Nicole cried out. "F-File opening….! C-Can't…"

---

"You sure that'll hold 'em?" Vector the Crocodile asked as Bernadette finished tying the ropes around the wrists and ankles of the acolytes. "I mean, these guys are magic, right?"

"Well, that's what the duct tape on the hands and over the mouths are for." The female hedgehog replied with a grin. "Thanks for that, young man!"

"Any time!" The crocodile laughed. "And lemme tell ya, it's a real honor to meet you two! When Julie-Su told us, I could barely believe it!"

"But now up close I can see the resemblance." Espio nodded, a small smirk forming on his face.

"It's so cool!" Charmy cried out as he and Sticks circled around Jules, looking him up from head to toe. "I can't believe that Sonic has a robot for a dad!"

"C-Charmy! Sticks! Please don't bother Mr. Jules like that!" Saffron cried in fear as she flew next to Julie-Su.

The pink echidna frowned as she looked at the bound and gagged acolytes, who were either unconscious, glaring at them, or in Ebony's case didn't even bother to look at her. Instead the cat was staring at the ground, her brows furrowed in thought.

"It'll take a while." She thought to herself sadly. "But she'll come around. It just takes time…"

Heck, it would take her time to come to grips with everything once things settled down.

"It's alright, Mrs. Saffron." Jules chuckled. "They're just kids who've never seen a Robian before."

"Can you do a rocket punch?!" Charmy asked, grinning from ear to ear while stars sparkled in his eyes. "Please tell me you can!"

"Y'know, you're the second of my son's friends to say that…"

"You think the knights will be okay?" Julie-Su asked, looking at Bernadette with a frown. "Those guys are pretty persistent…"

"They're in the underground food storage that the natives here had set up, and we have knocked out the stairs." The female hedgehog shook her head. "Even if they did get out, we'd be long gone by then…"

Before they could contemplate on the knights' fate and how to proceed, a loud screech was heard. Vector reached down and took his phone out and lifted it. He squinted at the screen before his eyes widened.

"What the heck?"

"What's going on?" Julie-Su asked, and the crocodile looked at the rest of them with a flash of unease passing through his eyes.

"You guys might wanna see this."

Vector turned his phone, and the pink echidna watched in amazement.

It was Sonic in his Super form, lifting a giant gray and red-glowing sword through some kind of invisible force. He was facing off against a creature… one she didn't recognize.

But it was similar to the two that she along with Saffron and the other echidnas watched him defeat.

Whose defeat led them to Mobius… to Earth…!

"S-Sonic?"

Jules was by Bernadette's side, holding her as she covered her mouth and tears ran down her cheeks.

Julie-Su watched as Sonic brought down the blade, slicing the monster vertically through the middle with its own sword…

---

"NO!"

Sally turned and watched as Elias, Lyco, and Leeta fell to the ground. The twins were on their knees, grasping their heads and crying while Elias was curling into a ball.

"Nononono!" Leeta cried out. "Don't… don't bring me back there! P-P-Please….!"

"It's coming." Lyco muttered. "It's coming. It's here. It's coming! It's here!"

"W-What's happening to them?!" Sally moved to her brother, but he began to shake.

And all she could hear was his muttering.

"Somethinghappenedsomethinghappenedsomethinghappened….!"

"What on Mobius is going on here?!" Dr. Quack entered the room with Harvey right behind him. "Is everyone in this blasted place losing their minds?!"

Harvey's eyes widened when he saw Elias and the twins' states. "No… not again!"

"Again?!" Sally looked up at the owl and glared. "Who, you need to tell me what the heck is…!"

An explosion cut her off. She turned to see that the mechanical creature that Sonic had been fighting had just exploded, and when the explosion finished Nicole let out a scream.

---

"What's happening to her?!" Mina asked, holding Nicole's PDA as lines of purple code raced through the screen. "Rotor, is something wrong with Nicole?!"

"I-I don't know!" Rotor was typing at his keyboard and glancing at the monitors as green text scrolled through them. "She's broadcasting both a live feed and… and she's uploading an audio and visual file?!"

"Do you mind translatin' that in a language ah can understand, Sugah?" Bunnie glanced at Antoine, who was shaking his head in wonder.

"I… zis is not normal for Nicole. But…" Antoine grimaced. "It is like ze story you told us, isn't it Rotor?"

WARNING. Nicole's voice, completely hollow and robotic, reverberated through the speakers. WARNING. CYBER SPACE SECURITY WALLS HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY DEGRADED. PRIME DIMENSION IS AT RISK OF A LOCALIZED BREACH.

"That… is rather similar to her behavior prior to the Super Genesis Wave." Heavy conceded. "But the breach… is it the one that contained…?"

Before the badnik could finish, Nicole's voice cut him off.

DEGRADATION LEVELS at 75%. Percentage acceptable. Playing video file titled: See You On The Other Side, Sal

---

Sally felt a pit form in her stomach as she looked at Nicole.

Did she hear that right?

"N-Nicole?" She asked shakily. "That file… that name…"

Nicole raised her head.

She was crying and pointing at the screens.

There was static at first, making the entire picture look like a snowstorm.

Then… a voice came out.

"Hey… Sal…"

Sally's eyes widened.

She recognized that voice.

"Sonic…?"

---

Julie-Su stared at the screen with Sonic's parents and the rest of the Chaotix as they listened to the words of their friend and son.

"…everyone… if you're listening to this… that means something bad's really going to go down. Something that… really messed everything up."

---

Restoration HQ, normally a hub of activity, was completely silent as they stared up at the televisions that were once playing the news as the voice of their hero echoed out of them.

Jewel the Beetle was clutching the coffee that Lanolin had just handed to her, the sheep's arm still outstretched while Belle clutched her blueprints to the prototype Ring Forge in her hands.

"Me… Nicole… Jani-Ca… we did what we could to set everything right. I was hoping that we beat that thing badly enough that it wouldn't hurt anyone else, but if you're hearing this… that means that it's close to breaking out."

---

"The Quickster…!" King Geoffrey hissed as he smashed his staff into the telecrate, causing it to spark and the image to distort. "Why now of all times?!"

Rosemary did not answer. Instead, she kept an eye on the two books that were floating in the center of a pair of magenta energy spheres. Each of them were shaking, as if trying to burst out of their containment.

"It… It's hard to remember. It's slipping from me. We beat it, Sal. But… it really was a sore loser. My memory is… I can barely remember your name now. I can barely remember your face…"

---

Metal Sonic's hand clenched into fists as it stared at the screen, listening to the audio of the obsolete version of his hated copy. He listened as that faker begged and whined, and it caused the badnik to clench his hands into fists.

Phage was saying something. As was Thunderbolt, Cassia, and Stone. But he didn't listen. It was irrelevant.

He was receiving another reminder why he was the true Sonic.

And why the obsolete universe couldn't have stayed dead.

"I… could still remember what Nicole's gadget looked like… and I made this. Knowing you, you've already found her. Or maybe you found our friends again and they brought her to you."

---

Sally was crying as she listened to Sonic's voice.

This was him.

This was the hedgehog she loved.

She could feel it in her very soul.

And… he was talking to her one last time.

"…Nicole had enough juice and memory to make this. A message in a bottle. And I put in some of my own so that our friends can remember in case I wasn't able to set everything right. This message… it's based on our memories. Mine and Nicole. On what we saw… what we fought… and what you need to prepare for."

Sonic the Hedgehog paused, as if collecting himself.

Then, he spoke.

"THE END."

---

To Be Continued…

---

Notes: Jesus, this really is my longest chapter yet. Probably because I just REALLY wanted to stop wasting time and get into the next arc. One that many fans will probably be happy with.

You sick of exposition regarding what happened and why? Hate all the cryptic BS?

Well… guess what? Next arc is going to get all that shit out of the way! It's time for the New Gods vs the Old God! The battle of the century!

Hyper Sonic, Nicole, and Jani-Jak vs THE END!

Who's ready for some more anime BS? I know I am!

The fight with Ebony and Julie-Su… it didn't flow as well as I had it flow in my head. I had to throw some stuff out because I realized things were taking way too long. But still I hope people enjoyed it.

Please be sure to leave a review and add to the TV Tropes page!

Until next time…