-Chapter 272-

Warm Reunions, Cold Premonitions

Spiral Hill

It was nighttime in Spiral Hill Village, everything peaceful and quiet. Unbeknownst to everyone, a lone figure loomed over the village from atop the bell tower.

"So, this is Spiral Hill Village?" he mused. "What a quaint little town. A gentle breeze. An abundance of lush greenery. A nice, warm climate..." He took a deep breath, his tone becoming annoyed. "I hate it already. At least I won't have to stay here long."

The figure flapped his wings, flying off.

"Let's see now...where is it?" He scanned the area. "Not there...not there...not there… Ah!" He swooped toward the Mineral Museum. "There it is."

He approached the door, giving a lookover before his eyes fell on the lock.

"That's it?" He scoffed, his eyes glowing. "Amateur."

-X-

Meanwhile, Jewel was asleep in her office in the back of the building.

"Tangle..." she mumbled sleepily. "Get down from there… You're gonna break it..."

A loud crash woke her up with a yelp, the beetle frantically looking around.

"Please, Colonel! I tried to stop her, I-! Huh?" She blinked, looking around to see she was in her office.

"It was a dream?" She jumped at the sound of breaking glass. "That wasn't!"

Jewel grabbed her coat and rushed for the door. "Oh dear...oh dear...oh dear..."

Jewel opened the door a crack and nearly gasped before covering her mouth to silence herself. Standing in the center of the museum was a massive Mobian owl. He was clad in a dark blue cloak with a white furred hood that draped over his whole body, leaving only his head and hands exposed. His cloak billowed around his frame, suggesting he was very gaunt in build, a feature only accentuated by his impressive height His feathers were a dull, icy blue and were wild and unkempt, like he hadn't bathed in weeks. His gray beak was hooked and crooked with a tip as sharp as his long, black talons. Talons which were reaching into the now shattered central display case.

"At long last…I've found it. And to think, it would be here of all places," he grinned. "The Norns smile upon me this day."

The owl slowly turned to Jewel. The beetle looked on in terror as the owl stared right at her with cold, dead eyes.

"Oh, well this is unfortunate," he mused. "You should have been home. Now I'm going to have to kill you."

The owl's eyes began to give off a ghostly, blue-white glow. Jewel yelped and took off for the nearest window as the owl let out a loud, ghastly shriek. She managed to make it out just as the shriek shattered the glass. Jewel screamed, covering her ears and plummeting into the bushes.

"Oww..." she managed, only to yelp and dive into the bushes at the sound of wingbeats. She watched as the owl flew off, holding still for several minutes until she was sure he was gone and peeking out.

"Hello?" she called, getting no response. Jewel exited the bushes and started rushing back to the museum.

"What in the world was that? That was no ordinary bird. Was he even-?"

Jewel stopped cold at the sight of the museum. The front door had been utterly destroyed.

"Oh no..." Jewel ran into the museum. "Oh no...oh no...oh no..."

When she got inside, she gasped.

"By Aurora..." She fell to her knees. "This...This can't be… He... This is horrible… This is… This is beyond horrible! This is...'

She shook her head, snapping out of it. "I need to call Tangle and the Freedom Fighters." She ran off.

Southern Baronies

Meanwhile, at Cream's house, Cream was in the middle of tidying up her room. She was just finishing making her bed, lifting the blanket.

"There we go!" She started straightening it out. "Now to make sure it's nice and even."

She smoothed it out with a nod. "There! Cheese! Are you almost finished dusting?"

Cheese chirped before waving a feather duster he had been using to dust the bookcase, accidentally making a small cloud and sneezing.

"Bless you," Cream giggled.

"Cream, honey!" came Vanilla's voice. "Your friends are here!"

"Coming, Mama!" Cream called back. "Let's go, Cheese!"

The two rushed downstairs. On the front steps were Bunnie and Antoine, along with Team Chronic.

"Miss Bunnie, Mister Antoine!" Cream cried.

"Well, howdy there, sugah!" Bunnie greeted.

"Good to see you again, ma petit princesse ." (1)

Team Chronic all chirped and cheered as they hugged Cheese.

"Well, look who's here," Coco greeted as he and Vanilla walked in. "Good to see ya 'gain, Bunnie."

"Same to you, Sir," Bunnie replied.

"How was your visit with your Aunt?" Vanilla questioned. "Besides..."

"She's all settled now," Bunnie answered.

"We weren't able to get everything out of the house, but we managed to get what was important," Antoine added.

Vanilla nodded. "That's good."

"Still can't believe all this actually happened," Coco remarked.

"Trust me, we were there and it still feels like a nightmare," Bunnie sighed.

"Especially with what happened with Monsieur Beauregard," Antoine shook his head. "I don't know what's worse...that he's been forced to serve Eggman, or the events that led to it."

"That Jack... abusing a rabbit's Aurora-given gift," Coco shook his head in discontent. "Hopefully someone puts him in his place in the Gulag."

"Coco!" Vanilla admonished. "Not in front of Cream."

"Sorry…" Coco sighed. "It just really irks me…"

"Don't worry, Daddy," Cream assured. "I won't be like all the other rabbits. I won't abuse my Gift. I promise.

Coco smiled, hugging her. "I know you won't, Creampuff. Anyway, you'd best be goin'. Your friends are all waitin' for you, and I'm pretty sure they got some new ones after that big meetin'."

"Oh yeah," Antoine confirmed.

"Not to mention, there's a surprise waitin' for you," Bunnie added.

Cream perked. "What kinda surprise?"

"Now that would be tellin', wouldn't it?" Bunnie gave her a wink.

"Well, we'd best be off. Monsieur et Madame Rabbit , we bid you adieu." Antoine bowed with a flourish.

"Take care!" Vanilla called.

"Have fun, Creampuff!" Coco told them.

"I will! Bye, Mama! Bye, Daddy!"

"And remember," Coco added. "No sneakin' no Warp Rings, got it?"

"I won't!"

As they headed off, Coco sighed. "Vanilla, are you really sure this was a good idea?"

"Cream has been a great help to Sonic and his friends, Coco," Vanilla replied. "She helped give them hope and a reason to keep going when they needed it most. And if she hadn't been at Sand Blast City, that boy Jesse would likely be dead. She's more than earned her place among them."

"Still…"

"Have faith in our daughter. She's stronger than she looks."

"Yeah...I'm just worried 'bout her, is all."

"I know." Vanilla reached out and took his hand, the two smiling at each other before Coco perked.

"That's weird…" he noted. "Startin' to get a little nippy out here."

"Odd," Vanilla mused. "The weather forecast said it would be 79 today."

"Strange," Coco shrugged. "I'm sure it'll pass."

"I hope so..." Despite her words, Vanilla looked up at the sky, feeling uneasy.

Elsewhere, Cream, Antoine, and Bunnie were heading outside the village.

"So, how are we going to get to Knothole?" Cream questioned. "Are we taking the Special? The Sky Patrol?"

"Actually, hun..." Bunnie pulled out a Warp Ring.

"A Warp Ring?" Cream raised an eyebrow. "But I thought they weren't working right."

"They weren't. But, one of our new friends introduced us to one of her friends, and he helped us fix them."

"It took a while though..." Antoine mused.

"So, we can warp without getting sick again?" Cream smiled. "That's wonderful!"

"Yeah. Now, let's get going."

Bunnie threw the Warp Ring, causing it to open a portal. They stepped through, arriving in Knothole.

"Cream!" Amy rushed forward, hugging the young rabbit.

"Amy!" Cream happily hugged her back.

"It's so good to see you again!"

"I'm glad to be here too."

"One sec." Amy turned back to the main square. "Sonic! Cream's here!"

Sonic immediately zipped on over.

"Hey Cream!" he greeted as he ruffled her ears. "Good to see you."

"You too." Cream's face fell slightly. "How've you been since...?"

"The less said on that, the better," Sonic replied with a straight face.

Cream looked worried, but decided not to press it.

"Well, okay." She then perked, remembering something. "Oh! Bunnie and Mr. Antoine said you had a surprise for me."

"Surpr- Oh!" He grinned. "Yeah, it's in the rec room. C'mon! You're gonna love this."

He motioned for her to follow him, and she did. As they walked, she noticed that Knothole wasn't as lively as it usually was.

"Where is everyone?" she asked.

"They all had stuff to do," Amy explained, following along with them. "Knuckles is training with his dad on Angel Island. Shard's in the middle of a GUN mission. Rotor is with Cobar. And Johnny, Shorty, and the Brain Trust are off working on some projects at Chris' place with Piper and the Pronghorns."

"Piper?"

"Oh yeah, she's a new friend from Efrika. We'll introduce you later, when everyone's not busy."

"Sounds like everybody's working real hard."

"With everything going on, we don't exactly have a choice," Antoine noted. "We must remain vigilant!"

"Easy there, hun," Bunnie gently admonished.

Eventually, they reached the rec room. Sonic peeked in, smiled, then pushed the door open. There, hunched over the table with several textbooks and worksheets, was Kat. She seemed to be in the middle of some homework, groaning.

"Okay, X equals negative B, plus or minus square root. B squared minus 4 A C, all over 2 A." She groaned, rubbing her head. "Seriously, when am I ever going to be using the quadratic formula in real life? I'm not getting into contracting."

"Hey, I don't make the lessons," Keith quipped, also working on his homework. "Besides, you need to pass the Gifted exam again to make sure you still qualify for the program, and that means studying."

Kat just groaned and faceplanted on the table.

"How bout you take a break?" Sonic suggested, getting their attention. "You got a visitor."

Kat perked up at that, looking over as her gaze brightened. "Cream!"

"Miss Kat!"

Kat went and scooped her up, hugging her close to her chest.

"Man, look at how big you've gotten since I've been gone! You're almost as big as Tails now!"

"And you look so much brighter!"

"I feel brighter." Kat gently squeezed Cream before putting a gentle kiss on the crown of her head. "Especially with you here."

Cream smiled, only to have both of them jump from a large crash outside. The scream that followed was equally jump-worthy.

"Uh-oh..." Keith let out.

"Yeah, that didn't sound good." Kat slipped Cream onto her shoulders. "Should we go check it out?"

"Nononononononononono!" Tangle's voice came, only to be cut off by a loud splash and a chorus of burbling sounds as if she was underwater.

"Yes, yes we should," Sonic decided.

"Definitely," Keith agreed.

The group headed off into the room to find Tangle with her head stuck in a bucket, trying to pull it off.

"Razzum-frazzum no good dirty..." she cursed. "Come… on!"

She stumbled around for a bit before bumping into a wall.

"…I have questions," Sonic said simply.

Keith walked over, plucking the bucket off her head to reveal a sopping wet Tangle, who spat out a mouthful of water. "You alright?

Tangle shook her head, getting water everywhere. "Yeah… I'm good. Thanks."

"Hi!" Cream waved from Kat's shoulder.

"Oh! H-Hey guys!" Tangle chuckled awkwardly. "I was just cleaning up the kitchen like Sally told me to!" She stepped forward… and accidentally got her foot in the bucket. "Oh come on !"

"Need a hand?" Sonic asked cautiously.

"It's okay! I got this." Tangle tried to pull the bucket off her foot. "Come on...get off, you stupid-!"

She accidentally stepped on a wet spot and slipped rather dramatically. With a yelp, she faceplanted on the ground. Everyone ended up giggling slightly, hiding their snickers behind their hands.

"This feels like a comedy skit," Amy chuckled.

"Ugh...speak for yourself," Tangle muttered. She got up, almost losing her balance immediately. Thankfully, she was able to keep her footing. Seeing her struggling, Kat held out a hand, warming the air around her. It began evaporating the water, allowing Tangle to get a more solid footing.

"Thanks," Tangle sighed before perking, noticing Cream. "Well, hi there, cutie!"

"Hello," Cream smiled. "I'm Cream. What's your name?"

"Hey there, Cream. Name's Tangle. I'm the newest member of the Freedom Fighters!" she proclaimed before wincing and twiddling her fingers. "W-Well...kinda. I'm sorta–"

"Grounded," The group turned to see Sally walk in.

"Sally!" Tangle exclaimed. "Uhhh… Wh-What are...you doing here!?"

Sally crossed her arms. "I thought you told me you cleaned up the training arena."

"What? I did!"

"Oh... uh…" Kat chuckled awkwardly. "Funny story…"

Flashback

Team Thorndyke was gathered with Sam, Frances, Danny, and Helen in the training room, the trio quite eager to see Kat's fire powers.

"C'mon, show us!" Danny pleaded.

"Yeah!" Frances insisted. You have to show us your cool fire powers!"

"I'm curious to see them myself," Sam said.

"Alright, alright," Kat grinned. "Check this out!"

She removed her vambraces, and summoned a massive pillar of fire…

Flashback Over

"Yeah..."

Tangle slowly turned to Kat...with audible creaking. Her eye twitched. "Why...?"

"Because the area is shielded with Chaos Shards, meaning I can't accidentally cause a forest fire."

"Is the stuff in there shielded with Chaos Shards?" Tangle asked, looking halfway from strangling the human.

"Nope." Sally held out a bucket and a rag, causing Tangle to scream in frustration. Seeing this, Cream gently gave Kat a pat, signaling her to put her down.

"I'm never gonna get ungrounded at this rate!"

"It's okay, Miss Tangle." Cream walks over and gives Tangle a reassuring pat. "I'll help you."

Tangle perked. "What?"

"I can help. Two hands are better than one. Plus, I got grounded before too. It's not fun."

Kat froze, blinking. "Wait...what? WHAT!? YOU got grounded?! HOW?!"

"It's a long story." Keith replied.

"That's right," Sally said. "We got so caught up in the Summit, we never told you."

Bunnie put a hand on Kat's shoulder. "Take a seat, sugah. Yer in fer a real doozy."

"Why do I feel a shiver of dread down my spine?" Kat said as they went to sit down.

"Cream, why don't you and I help Tangle clean up the training room?" Sally said as she ushered the two of them out.

Once they'd left, Sonic grinned smugly. "Alright Antoine, pay up."

"Haaa... zut ." Antoine reached into his pocket and handed Sonic a few Mobiums. "Well, looks I'll be having lunch at Madame Lulumae's for a while."

"Looks like."

Keith raised an eyebrow. "What were you betting?"

"That Kat would flip out and scream upon learning Cream was grounded," the coyote explained. "I bet against her."

"And he lost." Sonic shook his head. "Seriously, dude, we all flipped when Coco and Vanilla put her under house arrest. What made you think she'd be any different?"

Antoine rubbed his arm sheepishly. "I mean... she's been pretty mellow…"

"She's still Kat."

Antoine sagged in defeat. " Oui ..."

-X-

Meanwhile, Cream, Tangle, and Sally were in the training room. Tangle looked around, dumbfounded at the layers of soot caking everything.

"Holy… Okay, seriously. I know she can turn into a freaking phoenix, but how can one human make such a mess!?"

"Actually, this is pretty tame for her," Sally revealed.

Cream nodded. "One time, she accidentally drank some of Hope's coffee."

Sally shuddered at that. "There's a reason she's only allowed one can of Chao cola a day, and not a drop of coffee."

Tangle looked uneasy, but quickly slapped some sense back into herself. "Okay! Might as well get started."

Tangle grabbed a broom and immediately got to sweeping as Cream flew around with a rag, wiping the scorch marks on the walls, and Sally began moving some of the burnt debris.

"Honestly, it's nice, having to clean up the training room after her again," she said with a smile. "Especially since this time, she was having fun, not dealing with trauma."

"Miss Kat really does seem a lot happier," Cream added. "I could feel it."

"Yeah…" Sally frowned. "I just hope it lasts after she hears about what happened in Sand Blast City."

Cream frowned as well. "Yeah..."

Cream coughed as a cloud of soot and dust came up. "What the...?"

Sally turned around to see Tangle sweeping and cleaning like crazy, kicking up a large cloud of dust and soot, muttering frantically all the while.

"Clean the room. Gotta clean gotta clean gotta clean!"

"Tangle!" Sally coughed. "Would you please slow down?!"

"No time, Sally! Gotta sweep gotta dust gotta clean clean clean!"

"Miss Tangle, please!" Cream coughed. "You're just making a bigger mess!"

Unfortunately, Tangle wasn't listening… "Just gotta keep cleaning! Nice and neat, spic and span! Germ-free, dirt-free, and totally sterilaaaaaaAGGH!"

And, in her haste, tripped over her own tail; getting all the dust and soot she swept up all over the place. "Ow.."

"Oh..." Sally facepalmed.

"Uuuuugh…" Tangle shook her head. "Okay, that was dumb."

Sally sighed. "Tangle, why don't you go and get yourself cleaned up?"

"I-It's okay, Sally! I can fix this! I can-!"

"Tangle!" the princess snapped before calming down. "Relax. Seriously, go take a break."

Tangle tried to protest, only to stop before she could even let out a word. "Yeah, 'kay." With that, she left, her head hung in shame.

"Why was she upset?" Cream asked.

Sally sighed. "She's just… Tangle made a big mistake, Cream. She ran off on her own during a big mission, putting herself and Knuckles in serious danger. If Kat hadn't shown up when she did, there's a good chance both of them would have been killed.

Cream gasped. "Oh my..."

"Like you, she did something dangerous and was grounded for it. It was even worse for her because this was her first mission. Since then, she's been working like crazy."

"Like how Mr. Sonic pushed himself super hard after what happened with Chaos?" Cream asked, getting a nod. "Maybe she's been punished enough. I think she's learned her lesson."

Sally shook her head. "It's not quite like that, Cream."

"Why not?"

"Tangle's problem isn't that she disobeyed orders, though that is a part of it. It's that she does things without thinking."

-X-

Meanwhile, Tangle was outside emptying the soot from her shoes. She sighed, setting one down.

"Good job, Tangle." She removed her shirt, shaking the soot off. "You had one job. One job. Clean up Knothole. Make it look nice. And you screwed that up too."

"Miss Tangle?"

"Gah!" Tangle turned around to see Cream peeking out the door.

"Are you okay?" the rabbit asked.

"Who, me?" Tangle cleared her throat, then smiled trying to play it cool as she scratched the back of her head. "Yeah, totally! Everything's great!" she cringed in disgust as she felt her fur. "Kinda scuzzy, though. Probably gonna need a shower after this." She sneezed, and ash flew out of her fur. "Or three."

"That's not what I meant," Cream sat down next to Tangle. "Are you okay "

Tangle's smile faltered a bit. "Yeah...I mean, why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you don't look okay. Please, tell me what's wrong."

Tangle just looked away.

"Does this have to do with what happened during your mission?"

Realizing she'd been found out, Tangle sighed. "That obvious, huh?"

"Sally told me what happened."

Tangle leaned forward. "It was my first mission, Cream. My first mission and I completely blew it. I spent hours swearing and promising my dad that I wouldn't do a stupid stunt like what I did, and I still did it! And for what?" She sighed. "That stupid skunk was right..."

Cream tilted her head in confusion. "Skunk?"

"Some jerkwad from the Secret Service. Jeffrey something...I barely remember his name."

"What did he say?"

"He just kept telling me and everyone else that I wasn't good enough. That I don't take things seriously and that I'm an idiot. Told me I wasn't capable of being a Freedom Fighter." she grinned. "So, I decided to go off and show him that I was by saving Knuckles after he stayed behind to fight a really powerful Egg Soldier."

Only to hang her head in defeat and shame.

"Instead, I just got in the way and almost got us both killed." She massaged her temples. "When Sally found out, she was furious Stuck me on chore duty ever since...and I keep messing that up too. Guess old Stinkweed was right about me."

Cream shook her head. "No, because you recognize that you were wrong."

"Lotta good that does me," Tangle folded her arms, looking away. "Between almost getting one of my friends killed and wrecking up Knothole all the time… Sally's probably filling out my pink slip as we speak."

"No, she's not. She's not like that."

Tangle turned to face Cream, looking a little bit annoyed. "How do you know?"

"Because she didn't when I messed up, and I got lost in the desert and traveled with murderous Egg Soldiers."

Tangle blinked. " You? You don't seem like the rule breaking type."

"I did. I could've got myself killed or died out there, but I was welcomed back."

"Yeah, well, I don't think it's gonna work like that for me, kiddo. You're just a kid, you're allowed to make mistakes like that."

"You're a kid too. We're all kids. We all make mistakes and mess up and do stupid stuff all the time. But we're all still here, because we learn from our mistakes."

"Still..." Tangle said, unconvinced.

Cheese chirped and bopped her on the forehead, causing the lemur to let out a yelp.

"Stop it," Cream gently chided. "Sally isn't gonna make you go away. Nobody is. That's not how we work. So, don't worry about it, okay?"

Tangle paused, processing that a small child had given her this advice. Once she was done, she took a deep breath, letting it out.

"Okay… Maybe I was overthinking things a teeny bit." She giggled. "Wow...me overthinking. Never thought I'd see the day."

Cream giggled as well.

"SAY WHAT!?"

Suddenly, the two girls nearly fell over at the sound of Kat screaming.

Cream frowned nervously. "Guess they told her."

Tangle nodded with a wince. "We'd better go check it out."

The two headed back inside, where they found the others sitting at the table. Kat just sat there, mouth hanging open in disbelief and her face looking white as a sheet.

"I-..." Kat put her face in her hands. "A kid… And- I-... I don't know what to say."

"Yeah…" Sonic winced. "The whole thing was really, REALLY messed up."

"Killing your own flesh and blood… treating people like that for being victims… And…" she clutched her stomach. "I feel sick…"

"I told ya it was a doozie..." Bunnie said, putting a hand on Kat's shoulder.

"That was no doozie, Bunnie. That was…" Kat shook her head, trying to get her thoughts uncluttered. "Seriously, did the people of Mobius' IQ get sliced in half overnight!? And they call Chun-nan backwards! And Eggman actually tried to make his own me!? I was a fugging mental case! I was literally seconds from exploding half the time!"

"If it is any consolation, even he realized it was a terrible idea," Antoine said, smiling awkwardly.

"Still…" Kat looked away, her thoughts drifting to Jesse. "That poor kid. All that trauma without help… No wonder he became a killer."

She looked down at her hands, which were trembling in dread.

"Makes me wonder… what would have happened had Knuckles not found me…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Okay, stopping this train right now!"

Everyone turned to see Tangle and Cream step in, the former looking uncharacteristically serious as she walked up to Kat.

"Tangle?"

"Okay, I might not have been on the team very long, and I'll admit, I probably don't know the whole story, but I know that look. That's the 'what if this happened instead of that' look. The same look my dad had for a good long while after one of his tours in Midesta, and that was not a happy time."

She took a breath. "Listen, Kat. I know we haven't even known each other for a month, but take it from me. You do not want to dwell on those thoughts. You'll go loopy. Or...loopy all over again, in your case, I guess."

Kat blinked, then sighed. "Right… Right, I just purified my Yin. I don't need anymore so soon."

"Just look at it this way…" Tangle continued. "That stuff? Yeah, it could've happened to you, and it could've been bad. But, it didn't. Because you had something keeping it from happening. Some one. Lemme tell you what my dad's counselor told him. If you're going to have those kinds of thoughts… think about why things went the way they did, instead of what could happen if they didn't. Focus on them and how much better things are that they did. And maybe…" she gave her a big smile and flashed a peace sign. "You can use that to help be the someone that keeps someone else's life from going 'that way'."

Kat looked up at Tangle in surprise, then she smiled.

"That's good advice. Thanks, Tangle."

"It's what I do." Tangle slapped Kat on the back, only to notice she'd left a big, black handprint.

"Darnit!" she cursed. "I forgot I was still sooty."

"Tangle!"

Tangle stiffened, then slowly turned around to find Sally standing in the doorway with Cream, hands on her hips and looking very cross. Her eyes then turned to the floor and the trail of soot leading up to where she was standing.

"Ooooooh..." Tangle winced, taking in a sharp breath. "Yeeeeah…I'm just gonna clean that up."

"Yes...you do that..." Sally said.

Kat watched as Tangle ran off before looking back at the pawprint on her back. She chuckled before slipping off her shirt and dusting it off.

"Sweet, but scatterbrained," she said. "I think she'll fit in just fine."

Sally shook her head in fond exasperation. "Hopefully, she'll be more sweet than scatterbrained though."

"I think she will be," Sonic assured.

-X-

Meanwhile, Tangle was running around the hall, looking around frantically.

"Crap crap crap! Where did I put that broom?"

As she searched, she heard her phone ring and immediately stopped to answer it.

"Hello, Knothole Freedom Fighters. Tangle the Lemur speaking, may I take your order?" she greeted, then perked. "Jewel! Hey girl, what's up?"

She heard a panicked ramble before holding up a hand. "Whoa! Slow down there. What's this about?"

-X-

Suddenly, Tangle ran back into the kitchen.

"Guys!" she shouted. "We got a problem!"

"What is it?" Sally asked.

"I just got a call from Jewel! The Mineral Museum's been robbed!"

Somewhere in the Frozen North Sea...

A lone ship drifted in the frigid waters of the Frozen North Sea. The name Skidbladnir emblazoned on the side of its metal hull. It was crewed by a group of Egg Soldiers wearing blue parkas with white furred hoods. One of them, a Mobian caribou with Cyberized antlers keeps a watch with a pair of binoculars. Beside him, a Mobian penguin who was busy stuffing his face with fish.

"Hmmm… Where is he?" the caribou groused worriedly. "He should've been here by now."

"Mebbe heh gawt losht?" the penguin said through a beak full of fish. "Yuh kno haw ol' he is." he swallowed. "Probably forgot which way north is."

"I'd advise you to keep your tongue focused on your food, Frazil." The caribou glared at the penguin out of the corner of his eye. "Unless you want someone to rip it out."

Frazil swallowed nervously. "Y-Yes, of course! My apologies, Berg."

Berg nodded, then resumed his vigil. As he looked around, he saw something flying toward them in the distance.

"Hm? What's this?" He increased the magnification on his binoculars, allowing him to get a better look at the figure: a grim-looking owl in a blue cloak.

"He's here!" Berg cried out. "Frazil, go get Boss Tundra! Boreas has returned!"

"Why do I have to get him?" Frazil griped.

"Now, you fat bastard!"

"Waak! Alright, alright!"

He ran for a door leading below deck, only for it to suddenly open up, hitting him right in the face and knocking him on his back.

"Waaaaaaaaak…"

Out the door stepped a large, hulking, Mobian walrus. Like the other soldiers, he wore a black jumpsuit and a blue and white parka with a fur-trimmed hood, white gloves, and black and white winter boots with fluffy cuffs and gray toes and soles. His face and head were completely concealed, covered by his hood and a pair of angular, orange sunglasses. All that could be seen was a muzzle covered in a thick, scruffy, white beard, and his tusks, which had been replaced with cybernetic implants.

What really stood out though, was his height. The walrus towered over the other soldiers, most of whom only went up to his waist, at the biggest. Something only possible due to the giant's pronounced slouch. He was also twice as wide as them, his shoulders big and broad and his arms thick and muscular, with hands capable of completely enveloping their heads. His legs were like tree trunks, and with every step of his massive feet, the ground seemed to shake. All in all, he was the very definition of a goliath, and everyone gave him a wide berth.

He adjusted his glasses as he looked up, watching as the owl descended from the skies, landing right in front of him.

"Master Tundra," the owl greeted as he stood up to his full height, revealing that he was almost as tall as the walrus in front of him.

"Boreas," Tundra replied. "I trust your mission was successful?"

"Of course, sir." Boreas reached into the pocket of his cloak and pulled out a satchel. "Would I have returned if it wasn't?"

He handed the satchel to Tundra, which the walrus emptied out into his massive hand. From beneath his thick whiskers, Tundra smiled as he beheld its contents…

"The Ice Diamond," he whispered reverently. "Perfect."

With that, Tundra slipped the Power Gem into his pocket before turning his attention to his men..

"Berg!" he called out. "Set a course for Robotropolis!"

"Yes, sir!" Berg saluted before giving orders to the rest of the crew, who immediately got to work manning their various stations.

As they did, Tundra looked over the railing, Boreas beside him.

"Tell me, Boreas," he began. "How difficult was it to obtain the diamond?"

"Not at all, sir," the owl replied. "The village was completely defenseless. No fortifications or patrols to speak of." he chuckled mirthlessly. "The owner even kept the gem out in a glass case, where everyone could see it."

Tundra scowled in contempt. "Typical southerners..." he shook his head in disdain. "Were you seen?"

"Unfortunately," Boreas confirmed. "But that should not be a problem with everything going on. That being said, the incident has likely been reported by now, meaning the authorities will get involved. And, once they discover we were behind this..."

"The Freedom Fighters will as well," Tundra finished, his fists clenched in barely contained fury. "Which means he will likely get involved as well."

"How do you want to handle this?" Boreas asked.

"First thing is first. That fat fool Eggman has been pestering me with his summons. Apparently, there is to be a meeting among him and the other Bosses. Which means before we can deal with this issue, we need to deal with a lot of pointless talking…" Tundra glowered, his eyes narrowing behind his glasses. "And the whale… "

Boreas sighed. "You can't afford to keep ignoring him. Not unless you want to get cracked."

"We finally have what he needs, that should keep him happy." Tundra patted his pocket. "In the meantime, I need to put this away. Inform me if something happens."

"Of course, sir," Boreas said with a bow.

Tundra then made his way to the door, hitting Frazil with the door right as he's about to get up.

Boreas sighed. "This is going to be a long winter. I can feel it in my bones."

-X-

Back below deck, Tundra made his way down to the deepest part of the ship. He walked down the hall, reaching a door marked as his personal quarters. He opened the door, revealing a rather spartan bedroom/office with a king-sized bed with thick, fur blankets, a writing desk with a massive chair, and a wall safe. Tundra made his way to the safe and removed his glove, revealing a thick, purple-furred hand. He pressed his massive thumb against a fingerprint scanner.

"Recognized, EB-02: Tundra the Walrus." the computer recited.

He opened the safe, revealing its contents: six Ice Diamonds. All perfectly cut and glowing with icy blue light.

"And then..." he mused, pulling out the one he received from Boreas from his pocket so he could put it with the others. "...there were seven," He glowered, closing the safe slowly. "Winter is coming, Sonic the Hedgehog. And with it, your demise."

Author's Note:

(1): French for "My little princess".

Put on your parkas, readers. Tundra is here.

Boreas, Berg, and Frazil are OCs belonging to WindstarOsprey.

Voice cast for this chapter:

* Boreas: Brook Chalmers (Hyacinth from Fire Emblem Engage, Sakonji Urokodaki from Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Polpo from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)

* Berg: Casey Mongillo (Limstella from Fire Emblem Heroes, Emporio Alniño from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean, The Nahobino from Shin Megami Tensei V)

* Frazil: Frank Todaro (Charlotte Daifuku from One Piece, Nelucce from Fire Emblem Engage, Mugman from The Cuphead Show!)

* Tundra: Josh Petersdorf (Morion from Fire Emblem Engage, Roadhog from Overwatch 2, Mike Haggar from Street Fighter V)

Please R&R. Until next time!