-Chapter 241-

Trouble on the Homefront

Green Hill Zone

A week following Kat's departure found Sonic running through Green Hill, wearing his training weights and pushing himself hard all while wearing a distracted and distraught expression on his face. Normally, a good run would be just the thing to relieve this feeling, but Sonic was being weighed down by more than just the heavy weights on his limbs. In his head, he kept recalling what Team Thorndyke had revealed about the public's waning faith in the Freedom Fighters.

"Losing faith in me…" he muttered to himself. "As if things couldn't get any worse. I save their butts from Eggman, like every week, and this is what I get for it?"

He let out a frustrated growl before plowing through multiple rocks. He then continued forward, powering through a massive loop de loop. He kept rolling, launching himself into the air via a ramp. As he flew through the air, he started spinning faster and faster. The air around him began to lash out violently.

"Come on…" The air around Sonic started to gather, surrounding him. "Come on..."

He suddenly stopped spinning, only to lose control, the air just launching him off in another direction and into a lake. He skipped across it four times before splashing down. Before he could sink, talons snatch him from the water, depositing him on the shore. Sonic landed heavily, coughing up water as Longclaw landed before him.

"Aw geez...what happened?" he asked.

"You lost control again," Longclaw informed him. "Lost focus."

He looked up, seeing the owl looking concerned.

"Are you alright, Sonic? You've been distracted all day."

"I'm fine," Sonic insisted.

Longclaw narrowed her eyes. "Sonic…"

"I just…" Sonic sighed, leaning against a tree. "It's people, Longclaw. People are what's distracting me."

"How so?"

"Ever since the battle with Akhlut, folks have been talking about me and the others. They think we're 'losing our edge'."

"I see…"

"It ticks me off. After all the times I've risked my neck for this planet, one loss, and everyone's turning against me?"

"People are scared," Longclaw pointed out. "And when they're scared, they don't respond rationally."

"And what about all the times I defeated Eggman in the past? I've been fighting him for over two years and now they're acting like it's all over! They didn't get like that the other times he beat me!"

"He's never beaten you like this, Sonic. When Robotnik defeated you in the past, it was a minor victory that was quickly undone. This one was a full-scale attack, which he broadcast to the entire world. It's only natural for the defeat to have a greater impact. But you can't allow yourself to wallow in despair. Remember what your father and uncle always said?"

Sonic looked down at his hand. "Keep moving forward, no matter how tough things get."

Longclaw nodded. "Times have grown tougher, but you're still standing. Still running. Still fighting. You've truly lost when you stop."

Sonic took a breath, smiling. "Yeah...you're right, Longclaw." His smile faded a bit. "I just wish I could get everyone else to see that."

"They will, in time. You just need to be patient."

Knothole

Meanwhile, in Knothole, some of the Freedom Fighters were flipping through TV channels, trying to find something to watch. Unfortunately, most of what was on were news reports on their current problems.

"Ugh…" Tails sighed, "Same thing on every channel."

"It's downright depressing," said Rotor.

The door opened, the others turning to see Sonic enter.

"Hey guys," he greeted. Upon hearing his voice, Rotor immediately changed the channel.

"H-Hey Sonic!" Tails stammered.

"Welcome back!" Rotor added. "How was training?"

"Eh, it was training." Sonic headed to the kitchen, rummaging through the fridge. "Made a little progress on my new Air Slicer technique. Still having trouble keeping all the air I gather under control. It just ends up blowing around all over the place or launching me into stuff." He grabbed a Chao Cola, heading back into the room. "So, what are you guys up to?"

"Well…" they turned to the TV to see the Sunshine City cartoon playing.

"Oh Aurora..." Sonic gasped. "Breezie actually aired that thing?!"

"Looks like," Tails remarked.

Sonic flopped into the couch, rubbing his eyes. "Shoot me. Stuff me. Mount me. Anything's better than that."

"Agh!"

The group turned to see an angry Sally storming in, Nicole trailing behind her.

"Easy there, Sally," the holo-lynx insisted. "Calm down."

"Nicole, you're my friend, but I'm going to have to ask you to shut up," Sally hissed before seeing Sonic and the others. "O-Oh! Sonic! Wh-When did you get back?"

"Just now." He looked over Sally. She was wearing her formal attire, a silken, blue dress with matching heels and a golden tiara with a gemstone in the center; she even had her hair done in a high ponytail. All in all, she looked the part of the princess and heir apparent of a powerful kingdom. Something that, unless it was for a birthday, wedding, or similar celebration, was a sign that she had a bad day.

"Everything alright there, Sal?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah, you look royally peeved," Rotor added nervously, "N-No pun intended!"

"It's alright, Rotor," Sally said as she set her tiara down on the coffee table and took a seat on one of the bean bag chairs, "That's an appropriate description for my mood right now."

"Well, since you're wearing your princess gown, I'm guessing you had some important royal duties to take care of," Tails assumed, "Did they go badly?"

"You could say that," Sally said with a grimace, "I was summoned for a meeting with the Royal Council."

Sonic and some of the others winced in sympathy and worry.

"Ooooh…" Sonic said. "That's… not good."

"The Council?" Rotor asked.

"They're the legislative branch of the kingdom," Sally explained. "Like the House of Representatives in the Federation or Parliament in certain parts of Eurish."

"In other words, a bunch of obnoxious, pencil pushing bureaucrats," Sonic said bluntly.

"Crudely worded, but yes," Sally agreed. "They wanted to address some... important issues."

Flashback

Sally walked through the Council Hall, sighing. Despite being the Freedom Fighters' diplomat and negotiator, she always hated going there. Meetings with the Council tended to drag on for hours and hardly anything ever got accomplished. Part of this was due to the Councilmens'...colorful and varied personalities; a problem prevalent in Mobian society as a whole, but especially in the realm of politics. The other part was that she had to dress formally, and while no tomboy like Kat, Sally hated the attire of the upper classes; finding them stuffy, uncomfortable, and almost impossible to move around in without ruining.

"Honestly, I'd rather go naked than wear this thing for–"

"Hi, Sally!"

Sally looked up to see a purple Mobian platypus with blue eyes and a yellow bill, dressed in red-and-blue robes.

"Hey, Penelope..." Sally sighed, relieved to see a friendly face. Penelope was a good friend of her's from her school days. Loyal, warm, caring, loved small animals; but was more than willing to put her foot down when pushed around. Sally had considered recruiting her for the Freedom Fighters, but she ultimately declined, as she felt there were better, more powerful candidates for membership.

"Boy, do you look happy," Penelope said in concern, "What's wrong?"

"Just... got a lot on my plate to deal with back in Knothole."

"Yeah, that sounds about right."

"What about you?" Sally asked.

"Oh same old, same old. File filing, bean counting, pencil pushing, spending government funds on Y-Pop boy band posters…"

"Wait, what?"

"Ha! You paused!"

The two girls shared a laugh.

"Thanks, Penny," Sally said. "I needed that."

"Glad I could help…" Penelope grimaced. "'Cause look who's here."

Sally looked ahead, grimacing. "Oh, no…"

What she saw was a Mobian pig with blue eyes, dressed in identical robes to Penelope. He was waiting outside the doors to the Council's Chamber, tapping his finger impatiently. He checked his watch, breathed on it, then polished it, gave it a once over, and polished it again before putting it away. He then started tapping his finger again.

"Hamlin…" Sally rubbed her temples. "Great. As if my day wasn't lousy enough already." She turned to Penelope. "Got any aspirin in your robe pockets?"

"I'll slip you some after the meeting."

Hamlin turned to see them approaching.

"There you are!" he exclaimed. "Where in Aurora's name have you been, Penelope!? The meeting starts in three minutes and forty-seven seconds!"

"Sorry, Ham. I…"

"That's Councilman Ham when we're in here, Councilwoman. This is a serious place, where serious decisions are made." Hamlin shook his head. "Please, try to take this seriously."

"Of course, Councilman Ham."

Hamlin turned to Sally. "Your Majesty."

"Councilman."

"You appear to be doing well, all things considered."

"Same."

"How's Porker?"

"He's doing fine, thanks for asking. You would know if you called once in a while."

"I would know if he answered any of them," Hamlin said with a scowl, "Speaking of, regarding my request..."

"No," Sally said automatically, and with a little more heat than usual.

Hamlin sighed. "I'll give you more time to think about it."

"Give me all the time you want. The answer will still be the same," Sally opened the door. "Now, let's get this meeting over with."

"Yes, enough dallying," Hamlin agreed.

The three entered the room, a classy, lightly furnished office with a long table and nine chairs. Hamlin and Penelope taking their seats next to Uncle Chuck, a Mobian porcupine with brown fur, a Mobian eagle with seafoam green feathers and glasses, a Mobian bear with blue fur and a black snout, a Mobian cat with pink fur, and a Mobian rabbit with dark brown fur and matching eyes.

"Thank you for answering our summons on such short notice, Princess," Hamlin said.

"With all due respect, Councilman Hamlin, I have a lot of work that I need to take care of," Sally replied. "So could we please skip the formalities and get straight to the point?"

"Oh, very well…" Hamlin sighed. "Councilman Archibald, please lead us off."

The eagle adjusted his glasses and started shuffling a set of papers.

"Princess Sally, our primary reason for calling this meeting is to address some... troubling concerns from the citizenry," he began.

"I'm assuming you're referring to the Freedom Fighters' previous defeats at the hands of the Egg Army and the subsequent loss of faith?" Sally asked.

"Ahh, so you're already aware?"

"Team Thorndyke informed us of the news a week ago."

"Good, that saves us some trouble."

"What I don't understand is how public opinion on us could drop so quickly."

"This is much more than one battle, Princess," said the cat. "This problem has been in the making long before your battle with Akhlut the Orca and Kage Von Stryker. Your loss against them was just the straw that broke the Pasha's back."

"According to the records we received from GUN and the League of Nations, the sudden surge in missing persons and Empire activity can be traced back as early as the Dark Legion's attack on Dr. Ellidy's lab at the Isolated Island," the bear chimed in.

"What?!" Sally exclaimed. "Councilman Barnaby, you can't be serious!"

"Believe me, I wish I was joking," Barnaby stated grimly.

"The point is, the issue has been slowly bubbling beneath the surface and now it's finally breached," the rabbit cut in. "You were nearly slaughtered twice by Robotnik's forces, only surviving because of what little standards the man has."

Sally rubbed her eyes. "Okay, I'll admit we've had a bad go as of late. But we can pull this around."

"I should hope so," Archibald remarked testily. "It's getting to the point that some people are beginning to lose hope entirely. Can't say I'm surprised, what with your boyfriend losing to the 'GlacialGod' and a Bookeymon."

Sally glared at Archibald as the eagle softly chuckled to himself.

"Councilman Archibald!" Uncle Chuck cut in, glaring at him. "This is neither the time nor place for such behavior. We called this meeting to discuss a solution for the Freedom Fighters' problem, not rub it in their faces."

"Sir Charles is correct," said the rabbit. "Please refrain from making such comments again."

Archibald furrowed his brow, but kept quiet.

"Alright then, this brings us to our next subject…" Hamlin piped up. "Coming up with said solution."

"Isn't it obvious?" Archibald demanded. "This whole problem started because the Freedom Fighters are getting defeated by Robotnik. All they have to do is defeat him...permanently."

Sally gaped. "You mean kill him?"

Uncle Chuck scowled, already angry.

"Is there a problem?" Archibald asked. "Robotnik is a megalomaniacal lunatic with delusions of grandeur and multiple counts of terrorism and genocide under his belt."

"He wasn't always," Uncle Chuck pointed out. "Then again, even when he was Julian, you never tried to hide your contempt for the man."

"Because I knew nothing good would come from keeping him around," Archibald shot back. "I'm sorry, Charles, but let's not forget that I foresaw Julian Kintobor becoming a threat the minute your brother brought him to Windmill Village all those years ago. So I think I deserve a little credit for not saying 'I told you so' long before now."

"And you appear to have forgotten that Julian's current actions are the result of him being driven mad by the energy from the ROCC," Uncle Chuck retorted.

"An insanity defense only justifies so much. As long as Dr. Robotnik lives, Mobius will never be at peace. Therefore-"

"No," Sally cut in, deadly calm. "That isn't how we handle things, Councilman. The Freedom Fighters are a force for justice, not a group of killers."

"So what, we're supposed to just sit around and wait until he beats us down a third time?" Archibald demanded. "What is this, a baseball game?!"

Sally stood firm. "We're not anyone's judges or juries, Councilman. And definitely not executioners. Being Freedom Fighters doesn't put us above the law."

Archibald scoffed. "Forgive me if I say those words ring somewhat hollow. Didn't Sonic himself say that doing what's right always took precedence over what the law says?"

"That doesn't mean killing is the best solution, Councilman. Nor should it be the first."

"But it is necessary if the situation demands it. Plus, you and yours have tried non-lethal methods in the past, to no avail."

"Councilman Archibald raises a good point," Barnaby said. "With everything going on, it may be necessary to start going on the offensive against the Empire."

"What are you suggesting?" the cat asked.

"In times of crisis, Councilman Catrina, the Federation has been known to grant special powers to the military to prevent tragedies like this from happening. Perhaps we should consider doing the same."

"Perhaps it is," Archibald agreed.

"You're planning to go to war?" Sally demanded incredulously.

Barnaby sighed. "With all due respect, Princess, Dr. Robotnik brought the war to us the minute he attacked South Island two years ago."

"In fact...a substantial amount of the population support doing so," Penelope reluctantly admitted. "Councilman Dylan?"

"39% local, 47% global," the porcupine confirmed.

"And it's only growing every day," Penelope mused. "There are even calls for the Freedom Fighters to start being more...proactive when it comes to dealing with the Empire."

"Proactive?" Sally questioned, not liking where this was going.

The rabbit nodded. "Well, in all fairness, it may help your... publicity problem if you would launch a preemptive strike against the Empire rather than simply waiting until the doctor has already launched an attack or scheme."

"Maybe crack a few rotten eggs before they hatch, so to speak," Archibald added.

That comment got an uneasy reaction from Sally, Chuck, and a few other Councilmen.

"And what do you suggest we tell his nieces?" Uncle Chuck asked. "Including one he is currently caring for. Would you like to be the one to send that child back to Colin?"

Archibald tugged at his collar at that, a few beads of sweat trickling down his face. "I was actually referring to the ever-growing number of Empire loyalists. They're basically committing treason, so..."

"Absolutely not!" Sally roared. "Councilman Archibald, do you have any idea what you just suggested?!"

"I suggested a solution to our worsening situation, Your Majesty."

"You suggested that we start a damned witch hunt!" Uncle Chuck snapped.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures, Charles. I'm simply stating the facts."

"Do you even hear yourself right now?!" the rabbit practically shrieked.

Archibald shrugged. "Obviously I do, Councilwoman Mocha. Or do you want the Egg Army to expand its ranks?"

"And how exactly would you go about investigating and dealing with these 'traitors'?" Uncle Chuck asked. "A tipline? Secret police? Hidden cameras? Bombs in peoples' heads? Because that's the sort of thing the Empire does! That GUN used to do!"

"Don't you go putting words in my mouth, you rusty, old rodent!" Archibald screeched, "We wouldn't be having this problem if you'd done your job and gutted that Aurora-damned Overlander the second you saw him!" Archibald shouted.

"That's enough!" Hamlin screamed, getting their attention. "I will not allow this meeting to become a free for all! This is the Hall of the Council of Acorn, not a Flickee thread! Personal biases and petty grudges have no place here! So stop acting like children!"

He took a deep breath, composing himself. "Now then, Your Majesty...is there anything you would like to say on the matter?"

Sally was actually smiling by then. "Thank you, Councilman." She turned to the council. "Members of the Council… I understand your concerns and will admit that the Freedom Fighters have been struggling these past few weeks. We've been beaten, battered, and defeated, surviving only at the mercy of our foes. It pains me to say it, but our normal methods will no longer work. However, that does not justify stooping to the level of our enemies just to have a chance at defeating them. Things need to change, but we need to keep sight of what's important and remember what it is we're fighting for: Truth. Justice. Hope. Freedom. To quote something from one of my friends' favorite stories, 'Eliminating evil is not the same as creating good'. We need to inspire people, give them hope to stand on their own. Make the kind of world they want to live in."

Her speech gave the Council pause. After a minute, Uncle Chuck began clapping, which the others soon joined in. Archibald did so as well, but he was scowling, his clapping considerably slower.

"A lovely speech, Princess, but how exactly do you plan to inspire this hope?" Hamlin asked, bluntly, but not unkindly.

"I'm afraid I will need to discuss that with my team, Councilman," Sally replied, "You did spring this up on me."

Hamlin nodded, satisfied with her answer. "Very well, we shall have to continue discussing the matter at a later date. For now, meeting adjourned."

Flashback Over

Knothole

"I swear, every time I deal with the Council, I get migraines," Sally said as she reached into her purse and pulled out a white aspirin tablet, "You'd think it'd get better with Uncle Chuck joining."

"Yeah, that's why I don't do politics," Rotor said. "Too much talking and arguing about problems, not enough doing anything about them."

Sonic clapped him on the back. "Amen, brother."

"I'm honestly surprised to hear Chuck joined," Tails remarked. "I didn't even know he was running."

"It happened sometime during the thing with Jet's crew," Sonic explained. "Unc wanted to take a more active role in making up for everything with the Roboticizer."

"Speaking of which, do you know where everyone is?" Sally asked. "There are some things I'd like to discuss."

"Well, Knuckles is back on Angel Island," Tails answered. "With Kat gone, he's pulling double duty on watching the Master Emerald."

"Doesn't he have the Guardian Robots?" Sally asked.

"He's also been training with Locke."

"Chris and Keith are helping Team Fleetway upgrade their gear," Rotor added. "And Cosmo is spending the day with Cream."

"Sticks is off doing Aurora knows what, and Bunnie and Antoine are off visiting her aunt," Sonic concluded.

Sally blinked. "Still?"

"Hey, it's been two years and a life altering surgery since she's seen them," Sonic pointed out. "I think she's entitled to take her time."

"Fair enough," Sally conceded. "What about Hope?"

"Last I heard, she was doing some work in Area 99," Tails replied, grimacing uncomfortably. "She's been there for a few days."

Sally tugged at her collar. "Has she…?"

"No, no!" Tails clarified. "Nothing like what happened last time! She's actually helping Dr. Bennett with some things."

Sally sighed in relief. "Okay, that's good."

"Still, with everything that's going on, I'm worried about her," Rotor admitted.

"We'll be sure to check on her," Sonic assured. "Make sure she's doing alright. In the meantime, who wants chili dogs? I'm starvin'!"

Area 99

In the lab, Hope typed away on her computer.

"Alright, the BlueSphere Protocol has received the new data," she said, a serious look in her eyes, "Hopefully this time it can actually find something."

She grabbed the bottle of Chao Cola she'd brought with her and took a swig, before she resumed her work. Now that her Gifted Program status was secured and she had time to cool down, she was finally ready to resume her work on cracking the Crack Protocol, and this time, nothing was going to get in her way!

"Lunch break, kiddo!" Rouge called from the door.

"Coming!" Hope put her computer in sleep mode before heading out. As they walked together to the mess hall, Hope couldn't help but mutter indignantly to herself.

"Stupid morons... 'Look out! Here comes Robotnik's niece!' Why do I gotta take the heat for my family?"

"You doing alright?" Rouge asked.

"Fine, Rouge," Hope sighed. "I'm doing fine."

"I may be a bat, but I'm not blind, Hope. C'mon, spill."

"Some of the GUN newbies were being jackasses," Hope confessed. "Nothing I haven't heard before."

"Eh, let 'em talk. They're nothing but hot air."

"I just…" Hope sighed. "It gets so annoying dealing with it all the time."

"Tell me about it," Rouge remarked. "If I had a Mobium for every crack I heard about my old man, I'd make his famed hoard look like a child's piggy bank."

Hope perked. "Your father?"

"Ever heard of Leblanc the Bat?" Rouge asked. "Master thief? Le Renard Fantôme?"

"The Phantom Fox…" Hope gaped. "He's your dad?!"

"Where do you think I got my thieving skills from?" Rouge asked. "Larceny is in the blood."

"Wow…"

"Gave me a lot of grief when I was a little girl, though," Rouge confessed. "Every time something went missing, everyone assumed I was responsible. Someone stole the cookie from the cookie jar? My fault. Teacher misplaced her wedding band? My fault. Get an angry call from Jewel about some missing aquamarines? Ohohoho, my fault!"

"Is that why you got into the thieving business?" Hope asked. "People only saw you as a sticky-fingered crook, so you figured there's no point in trying to be anything else?"

"Of course not! I like stealing gems," Rouge said with a chuckle, before switching back to serious again, "Still didn't like the teasing, though. But that's not the point." She placed a hand on Hope's shoulder. "The point is, you shouldn't let what a bunch of idiots say get to you, especially if it's not true. And look at it this way: It just means the people who like you for you are worth keeping around. It's like your 'bad reputation' curates their bad...everything else."

Hope thought for a moment before smiling. "Yeah… you're right."

"Besides, you're hardly the biggest freak and weirdo in GUN," Rouge added.

They entered the mess hall to find Shears, Vellum, Stone, Sam, and the rest of Team Dark eating. Shears was playing five-finger fillet with his butter knife while singing a cheerful, if twisted, little ditty:

"I have all my fingers, the knife goes chop, chop, chop / If I miss the spaces in between, my fingers will come off / And if I hit my fingers, the blood will soon come out / But all the same, I play this game 'cause that's what it's all about!"

"Yeah…" Hope turned to Rouge. "Remind me why Commander Tower keeps that wack-a-doo around again?"

"He's that good at what he does," Rouge replied. "And if nothing else, he's loyal to the boss."

They went to join them.

"Hey Rory, could you knock it off already?" Stone snapped.

"Yes, some of us are trying to eat," Shadow added.

"In a sec guys, I've almost broke my high score!" Shears went back to singing. "Oh, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, I'm picking up the speed / And if I hit my fingers, then my hand will start to-"

Omega shot at him with a stun blast, forcing him to drop the knife with a yelp.

"Your leisurely activity was proving tedious," he said.

"Thank you, Omega," Vellum said gratefully.

"Killjoy…" Shears muttered.

"Seriously Shears, why do you even play that game?" Sam asked.

"'Cuz it's fun!" the redhead replied as he cut into his hamburger steak, "'Specially when Shay and Bob let me use my daggers."

"If we did that, you'd be six digits short by Friday," Vellum remarked as he reached for an orange slice.

"Eh, I'm sure Hope could reattach them. She's a maaaad scientist! Wooooo~!"

"I'm about to be if you don't shut up," Hope said bluntly, giving Shears a glare as he turned to her.

"What? It's a compliment," he said, completely unphased.

Rouge sighed. "Rory... has anyone ever told you that you're bat-shit, snake-fuggingly crazy?"

"And what's wrong with that? It's done wonders for me."

Rouge just rolled her eyes, taking a seat next to Shadow as Hope joined Sam.

"So, the gang's all here. Teams Dark and Roshambo." Stone passed Hope a coffee cup. "The usual. Cappuccino with two sugars."

"You know me so well." Hope took the cup, taking a sip. "So Shears, how's your rib?"

"Better. Saraben says I should be good for field work again in four days."

"Saraben?" Rouge asked. She then perked in realization, "Oh, Dr. Bennett!"

"Shears, you know she hates the nickname, right?" Vellum pointed out.

"Shay, you know she ain't here, right?" Shears rebutted, eliciting a groan from his bald partner.

"So Hope, what have you been up to?" Sam asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Helping Dr. Bennett get the bugs out of Shard's latest combat chip. Especially after his White Shield went on the fritz at the worst possible time last week."

"That reminds me," Stone said. "Sarah asked me to pass this on to you." He wiped a bit of spaghetti sauce from his beard. "When you get a chance, she wants to talk to you personally. Something about Professor Gerald's research."

That got Hope and Shadow's attention.

"What does she want with the professor's research?" Shadow asked.

Stone shrugged. "She just said it has something to do with a big project she's been working on since the Akhlut attack; thinks it might be able to help with the Egg Bosses."

"Sounds big…" Hope mused.

"Yeah, she won't even tell us what it is,"

"Speaking of Egg Bosses..." Rouge's expression turned serious. "Any updates for us?"

Vellum also got serious. "Yes, we do."

He wiped his hands before pulling out a mini holo-projector. He pressed a button on it and set it down on the table, causing a map of Northamer to appear.

"Several of our Wyldwest bases have reported unusual electrical interference all throughout the desert. Power outages, dead zones, that sort of thing." Several areas in the western half of the continent blinked red to illustrate that.

"I'd argue that that's just the desert heat, but I'm starting to get the feeling that this isn't just the heat futzing up the lines," Hope added.

"You'd be correct," Vellum replied, "And that's not all they found." Vellum pressed a button on the projector, causing several photos to appear. They depicted various groups of people dressed up in cowboy and Western attire; ponchos, dusters, cowboy hats, spurs, badges, guns, everything. They were running through the desert, holding up trains, stealing cattle, robbing banks, and dragging people along the ground by their necks or ankles on horseback. At first, everyone thought they were stills from a Flint Westwood movie, until they saw that the outlaws' guns were high tech, military-grade blasters, their horses were mechanical, and instead of a sheriff's star, their badges were the symbol of the Robotnik Empire.

"Are those Egg Soldiers?" Rouge asked, already not liking where this was going,

Vellum nodded. "Yeah...the Wyldwest Egg Militia, or as they call themselves, the Dust Riders."

"Egg Militia…" Shadow said, "Then that means…"

"Yeah, there's a new Egg Boss in town, and they're right at our doorstep."

"Wyldwest…" Hope perked. "Wait a sec. Bunnie's aunt lives there!" She turned to Shadow. "You think the Egg Soldiers might be why she and Antoine have been gone so long?"

Shadow nodded. "It's possible."

"Wait a sec," Sam cut in. "What's this about Bunnie being gone?"

"After the attack on Twinkle Park, she went to visit her aunt and uncle in the Southern Baronies," Hope explained. "She's been gone ever since."

"Seriously?!" Sam demanded incredulously. "That was almost a month ago! That didn't set off any red flags?"

"We just thought she was taking her time," Hope defended. "It has been over two years since she saw them."

"Forget red. That flag's carmine, magenta, and crimson all over!" Shears exclaimed.

"I'm afraid that's not all," Stone said.

That grabbed everyone's attention.

"Elaborate," Omega ordered.

"In addition to everything going on in Wyldwest as a whole, we've also received a string of several disappearances," Stone explained, pulling out a list from his pocket and handing it over to Hope, who started reading it.

"Typhoon the Wren, Butch Peaccari, Jesse MacNeil, Milly Lagarto, Meryl Coyote…" her eyes went wide as dinner plates, "These are some of the ex-Robians we rescued during Operation: Flesh and Blood last year!"

Stone nodded. "We don't have anything concrete I'm afraid, only speculation. But from what we could gather, not all of them made it home safe..or at all." His expression turned grim, "They've been going missing."

"And now it's vermillion!" Shears declared.

"Yeah, that's not suspicious at all," Sam remarked.

"Something's definitely rotten in Wyldwest," Hope said. "As soon as I get back to Knothole, I'll let Sonic and Sally know."

"Good call," said Sam. "If someone's going after former Robians, I think there might be a more nefarious reason as to why Bunnie and Antoine haven't come back."

-X-

Meanwhile, Dr. Bennett was examining Shard's data in her lab. The Needlemouse's chest compartment had been opened up, a series of cables hooking him up to a large supercomputer.

"Alright, let's see now…" Sarah said as she looked over the Shard's files, shuffling back and forth in her wheely chair as she worked, "Power output appears to be stable… Shock absorbers are functional. What could it be?"

As she typed, Shard looked up at the ceiling in thought, sighing.

"Something wrong, Shard?" Sarah asked.

"It's nothing, Doctor," Shard assured. "I'm just thinking."

"About what?"

"About…" Shard vented as if sighing. "Well...some observations I made during a few of my missions with the Freedom Fighters and reading some after-action reports."

"Such as?"

"Well…" He fidgeted awkwardly. "I noticed that some of the Freedom Fighters and even some of their friends tend to make some...questionable decisions. For example, a little while ago, Hope had a reunion with some of her old friends. Clove and Cassia the Pronghorns. They and their foster father helped Team Dark retrieve the Warp Topaz during their mission to Crystal Cave. And…" He looked around, making sure nobody was listening in. "Don't tell anyone about this, Doctor, but Omega told me that Clove actually tried to steal the Topaz so she could sell it on the black market. She even attacked Hope and let a pair of dangerous criminals run loose, just so she could frame them for her crime and turn them in later."

Sarah put her hand to her mouth in shock. "My goodness!"

"Don't get the wrong idea!" Shard quickly amended. "She wasn't doing it because she wanted to. Cassia is sick. Really sick. And she needed the money to pay for her medicine."

"I see." Sarah tapped her chin in thought, "And that bothers you?"

Shard looked away nervously. "A little…" he said, "She was willing to let a pair of murderous crooks run wild. She attempted to steal and sell a dangerous artifact, and even hurt her friend, all for someone she loved."

"Well, of course," Sarah said. "She didn't want her sister to suffer."

"But it was all a disaster!" Shard exclaimed. "Those thugs nearly killed her and everyone there! She would've broken over a dozen laws and been sent to prison! She would've destroyed her friendship with Hope!" The Robohog slouched as he shook his head. "She would've destroyed her life. I just… I don't get it. There were better, more efficient, safer ways to get what she needed. There was no logical reason to do what she did."

"Well, living creatures are not exactly the most logical beings," Sarah said. "Humans and Mobians are, by nature, emotional beings. Oftentimes, we act without thinking, taking the quickest possible route to reach our goal, often to the detriment of ourselves and those around us." She walked over to Shard. "We don't mean to cause harm, at least, most of us don't, and I highly doubt Clove actually meant to hurt anyone. She was just very worried about her sister, and it led her to do something foolish."

"But she could've asked for help!" Shard said, "She could've found another way. Something, anything!"

Sarah wheeled her chair over to Shard, giving the Needlemouse a sympathetic look. "People can be stubborn in their thinking sometimes. We latch onto things that we're familiar with, simply because it's how we've always done them. Or maybe things have simply been the way they are for so long, we can't even imagine how things could be different. So even when we find a better way of doing something, we find ourselves unable to try or even consider it because it's different from what we're used to. Our fear overrides our better judgment, and we find ourselves trapped. I can't say for certain, but maybe that's how Clove felt at the time."

"Okay…" Shard nodded. "I think I'm starting to see your point. Thank you, Doctor."

Sarah smiled. "Happy to help, Shard."

With that taken care of, she wheeled back to her computer and gave the data one last look. "Alright… I've recorded the data and ran through your systems. Everything appears to be running at optimal efficiency. You're free to go."

Shard nodded before unplugging the cables, closing his chest and heading out, meeting Hope outside and seeing her serious expression.

"Hope, is something wrong?" he asked.

Hope nodded. "Eggman activity's spiking in the Baronies. We gotta tell Sonic and Sal."

"Aw geez…" Shard sighed. "I'm sending them a message now, I..."

At that moment, a tone went off. "What the?"

Hope pulled out her phone. "Hello?"

"Hope, it's me," came Bunnie's voice.

"Bunnie, what's wrong?"

"I need yer help. It's bad."

"Whoa, slow down. What's going on?"

"I can't say. Not right now." She paused, her breathing fast and frantic, "Look, just send a message to the others and tell them to head on over to my Aunt Lulumae's house, pronto! Have Cream open up the portal. She's the only one of y'all who's been there, but fer the love of Aurora, do NOT let her come with you!"

Hope nodded. "Okay. We're on our way. Just sit tight."

She hung up. "Bunnie's in trouble. We need to call the others."

Shard saluted. "Roger."

"Everything okay?"

They turned to see Sam walk over.

"Something bad is happening at Bunnie's aunt's house," Hope explained, "And I'll bet ten Mobiums it's got something to do with these Dust Riders." She rubbed her temples in frustration. "Damn it, why didn't she contact us sooner…"

"Sorry to leave so soon, Sam," Shard said. "But we gotta go."

"Hold it!" Sam held up a hand. "I'm coming with you."

"What?!" Hope demanded. "Are you nuts?!"

"What's the big deal? I've been on missions before. You've seen me fight."

"This isn't going to be like Crystal Cave, Sam. For all we know, we could be facing off with another Egg Boss! One we know absolutely nothing about!"

Sam nodded. "All the more reason you're gonna need backup."

"Sam-!"

"Hope, my family has been in GUN for over six generations. I'm a black belt in karate, and I've known how to shoot a gun since I was old enough to actually hold one. I have the skills. I have the tools. And ever since I first met you and your friends back at the baseball field at school, I've been wanting a chance to use them; especially after what happened with the Warp Topaz." He clenched his fists. "Besides, I had to watch you and the others almost die twice now. I'm not going to let there be a strike three. Please…"

Sam looked at Hope pleadingly, his eyes burning with determination. After a few moments, Hope sighed. "Alright. Just... promise me you'll be careful. I've lost enough people I love as it is."

Sam nodded.

Meanwhile…

Within a partially demolished parking garage, a Mobian fennec was fleeing for his life from an unseen foe.

"There he is!"

A bullet whizzed by, barely missing his head. He ducked with a yelp.

"He's over here!"

"Don't let him get away!"

The fennec hurried to the door to the security room, slamming it shut and barricading it.

"Phone...where's the phone!? Gotta find a phone!" He looked around before seeing it. "There!"

He snatched it up, frantically dialing a number. "Come on, come on...!"

"911, what is your emergency?"

"Operator, call the police! I'm being chased by a couple of freaks! They're trying to kill me!"

"Sir, calm down. Where are you?"

"I'm in the security room at the old parking garage at 62 and Bollers. The one by Clampett Mall. I've barricaded the door, but I don't know how long it's going to hold! Please, help me!"

"It's alright, sir. Just stay calm and–"

Suddenly, the connection died.

"Hello?" the fennec said frantically. "Operator?! Operator!"

A loud crash sounded at that, causing him to jump. He turned to see the barricade had been broken down. A figure with a gun walked into the room.

"Knock knock."

The fennec looked in fear as the figure approached him.

"There you are."

The fennec backed away slowly. He started feeling around the security desk and discovered a pistol underneath it. He grabbed it, aiming it at the figure.

"S-stay back!"

The figure shot the gun out of his hands, then in the shoulder and leg for good measure.

"Idiot," he scoffed. "If you're gonna shoot someone, do it."

"P-Please, don't hurt me..." the fennec pleaded.

"Oh don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt ya." The figure pointed the gun at his head. "Provided you don't squirm too much, Egghead."

The fennec looked on in fear, tears welling up in his eyes. "No! No! Please, don't!"

The figure just grinned. "Die."

The fennec could only scream in horror as a gunshot sounded…

Author's Note:

(1): Dual reference. Issue 62, the debut of the Sand Blasters, and Karl Bollers, one of Archie's previous writers. Clampett Mall is a reference to Bob Clampett, one of Looney Tunes' late creators.

Things are heating up, aren't they? And yes, I'm using the Council of Acorn. Here, they're the legislative branch of the kingdom, and far more reasonable than their comic counterparts.

Voice cast for this chapter:

* Hamlin - Bradford Jackson (Oolong from Dragon Ball, Doug Vreiss from Blue Gender, Sabrac from Shakugan no Shana)

* Dylan - Sam Vincent (Edd/Double D from Ed, Edd n Eddy, Lloyd from Ninjago, Krypto in Krypto the Superdog)

* Penelope - Corinne Sudberg (Bulma in Dragon Ball Z Abridged, Kozuki Momonosuke from One Piece)

* Archibald - Dale Wilson (Robert Kelly in X-Men: Evolution and Iron Man: Armored Adventures, Paw Pooch from Krypto the Superdog, Java the Caveman from Martin Mystery)

* Barnaby - Paul St. Peter (Xemnas in Kingdom Hearts, Wormmon and Leomon in Digimon, Fura in Rave Master)

* Catrina - Megan Boone (Elizabeth Keen in The Blacklist)

Please R&R. Until next time!