-Chapter 275-
Cold Snap
"Rotor Sigurd Walrus, where in the world have you been!?" 'Auntie' demanded.
"Well… Umm…"
"Disappearing off the face of the planet! You don't call, you don't write! Just gone! Do you have any idea what you've put me through, young man!? Well!?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Sonic pushed her away, stepping between the two walruses. "Take it easy there, lady! Rotor just helped save your kid! How about thanking him?"
"I will discipline my nephew as I see fit! I–!"
"Lady Chiffon!"
Everyone turned to see a red Mobian wolf in a blue tracksuit like Flip running over.
"Is everything alright!? I heard screaming and-!" The wolf stopped as he saw Rotor. "Well, blow me down..."
"Guntiver..." Rotor managed.
"Hey, Gunt!" Flip exclaimed. "Look who I found."
"I see..." Guntiver turned to Lady Chiffon.
"Ah Guntiver, you're just in time," Chiffon greeted. "I was in the middle of giving my nephew a good-"
"Lady Chiffon, let him go," Guntiver ordered.
Chiffon blinked. "I beg your pardon?"
"You're causing a scene, and attacking a member of the Freedom Fighters. We came here to ally ourselves with Knothole, not start a war with them."
Chiffon blinked, realizing what she was doing and clearing her throat.
"Yes...Yes of course." Chiffon let Rotor down, giving him a dirty look. "We will continue this later."
With that, she walked over to the others. "Princess Sally, terribly sorry you had to witness that unsightly breach of decorum."
"Uh… okay?" Sally let out, confused.
"What the fugg is going on here?" Knuckles demanded.
"Oh!" Chiffon raised a hand to her mouth, letting out a haughty laugh (1). "Of course, my apologies. Where are my manners?" She bowed to them. "Lady Chiffon la Tusque. Head of the La Tusque family, chairman of the Archipelago Homeowners Association of Bygone Island (2), card-carrying member of the One-Percenters, third runner-up of the Fuzzy Puppies World Cup, and sponsor of the Artikan Freedom Fighters, at your service."
"She's... my maternal aunt," Rotor confessed.
Everyone stared in shock.
"Sonic," Chris began, "Could you speed over and get us something to drink, please?"
"Sure thing, bud." Sonic darted around, grabbing several bottles of water. "Take one, pass it down."
"Thanks."
The Freedom Fighters passed drinks around each other. Once everyone had one, they opened the bottles and took a swig… before giving a fully synchronized spit take. Sonic coughed, wiping his mouth.
"I'm sorry...your what!?" he demanded.
"His aunt. His mother was my late baby sister," Chiffon suddenly burst into tears. "Ohhh, Georgette!"
Guntiver awkwardly patted Chiffon on the shoulder. "Just let it out, Milady…"
"Thank you, Guntiver..." Chiffon hugged Guntiver, causing him to wince in pain as she sobbed.
"Ribs...Milady...Ribs!"
"Uhhhh...Boss Lady?" Flip cut in. "Don't you have to get ready for the big speech later on?"
"Ah! The speech!" Chiffon dropped Guntiver. "In all the commotion I completely forgot! I must prepare! Guntiver, can I count on you and Flip to handle things here?"
He let out a weak gasp as he gave a thumbs up from the ground.
"Wonderful! Come along, Chumley," she said as she collected her baby. "Mummy has to make her big speech."
As Chiffon walked off, she took one last look at Rotor. The younger walrus smiled awkwardly, but Chiffon just turned her head and "harumphed" in contempt before storming off, leaving Rotor dejected.
"She hasn't changed a bit," Rotor sighed. "Least that's the worst of it."
"Oh Rotor…"
Rotor flinched and looked up to see Sonic looking at him, his arms crossed.
"You have some explaining to do."
Rotor swallowed nervously. "Ohhhhhh..."
"Seriously, what the heck was that about!?" Sonic demanded.
"Sonic..." Sally began.
"Don't pretend like you don't want answers too, Sal. Rotor's aunt, who is apparently super-rich and is sponsoring a Freedom Fighter group, is super-pissed off at him and reams into him after he saved her infant son!"
"I have to admit, I'm surprised you come from money, Rotor," Chris remarked.
"I don't," Rotor clarified. "My mom got disowned when she married my dad."
"Yeah, Boss Lady's always griping about Boomer's pop." Flip cleared his throat, putting on a mimicry of Chiffon's voice. "That man is, was, and always will be a boorish, uncultured, uncivilized brute!' Seriously, it's super annoying."
Guntiver elbowed him. Flip winced. "Oh, sorry..."
"I apologize for Flip," Guntiver said to the Kothole group. "He's...very outgoing and sociable."
"And lacking a social filter," Kat deadpanned.
"Takes one to know one, Wild Kat Winters," the penguin fired back. "Love the nickname by the way."
Stewart cleared his throat, getting their attention.
"Right, we're getting off topic." Guntiver approached Sally. "Princess Sally, it's good to finally meet you and yours in person."
"Same to you," Sally replied.
"I take it these are the young humans my team and I will be facing today?"
"Yes. The colloquially named Team Thorndyke."
"I'm Chris Thorndyke," Chris introduced.
"Keith Kent."
"Hope Kintobor."
"Should I even bother?" Kat asked flatly.
Guntiver chuckled. "A pleasure to meet you all. I'm Guntiver, the Artik Wolf."
"And I'm Flip the Penguin! And we're one-third of the 'coolest' hero team on Mobius: the Artikan Freedom Fighters, also known as…BLIZZARD!"
Flip struck a cool superhero pose, only to be met with blank stares.
"Uhhh...hello?" Flip glared in annoyance. "This is the part where you're supposed to go 'Oooh! Ah! So cool!' and stuff."
Guntiver sighed. "That'll do, Flip. That'll do."
"Hey, so long as you guys are on the up and up, more power to ya," Kat quipped.
"So, where's the rest of the team?" Hope asked as she looked around.
"Oh yeah, that's right!" Flip snapped his fingers (flippers?) in inspiration. "We should introduce you to the others!"
"Others?" Rotor asked nervously.
"That's not a bad idea," Tails said.
"I'm all for it if you guys are," Chris added.
"Might give us a chance to scope out our competition," Keith chuckled.
"You kids go on ahead," Sam said. "I'm gonna head to the field and get us a good spot before they're all nabbed. Miss Lara?"
"Lead the way, Samuel," Lara said before following after the human.
"See ya later, Dad!" Keith called out.
"You too!" He gave a thumb's up. "Go get'em, tiger!"
"Best of luck, Kathryn!" Lara called out.
"Thanks, Mom!"
"I have some business I need to attend to as well," Stewart added.
"Teacher business or spy business?" Kat teased.
"A little of A, a little of B." He adjusted his glasses. "Enjoy the festival, everyone." And with that, they all left.
"Alright, then!" Flip said. "If that's all we got, let's get goin'!" He spun around a bit before pointing dramatically and running toward where he came from. "Onward!"
"Sweet, new teammates! WOOOOT!" Tangle cheered, prompting Guntiver to cover his ears and wince in agony.
"Loooud…"
And with that, everyone ran off after him…everyone except Rotor.
"Oh Aurora…" he whispered fearfully. "Why now?" The walrus bit his lower lip as he took slow, shuddering breaths; sweat trickling down his face.
"Boomer!"
Rotor yelped and looked up to see Sonic and Flip calling out to him.
"You okay back there, Rote?" Sonic asked.
"Come on, you're gonna fall behind!" the penguin called out.
"C-Coming!" Rotor took a deep breath. "What I wouldn't give for an Eggman attack right now."
Citadel Robotnik
Meanwhile, Decoe and Bocoe were watching an old pro-wrestling video.
"C'mon Tank, let him have it!" Decoe cheered. "Give him the Glacial Bomber!"
"Don't give up, Andes!" Bocoe insisted. "You're the Ginormous! You can beat him!"
Suddenly, the TV exploded, sending the two falling backward.
"Hey!" Decoe objected. "We were watching that!"
"Yeah, what gives!?" Bocoe demanded.
"I give."
They turned to see Metal Sonic standing there with his arms crossed. If he had a mouth, he would be frowning in disapproval.
"Metal!" Decoe let out. "Heeeeey…"
"You know, we were just about to come find you," Bocoe said.
"Really?" Metal asked. "Because it looks to me like you two were watching TV and goofing off."
"W-Well..." Decoe began. "I wouldn't say we were goofing off..."
"Then make yourselves useful and head over to the data archives," Metal ordered. "Staff Officer Agatha is in the middle of a big project and she needs all hands on deck."
Metal stormed off, leaving the two dumbbots dumbstruck.
"Miss Eggatha is in the archives?" Bocoe wondered.
"What could she need in there?" Decoe asked.
"Today, nincombots!" Metal shouted from the hallway. "TODAY!"
"Yessir!"
They both rushed to the archives, where Eggatha was typing away on the computer.
"Come on, there's gotta be something here..." As she typed, Orbot and Cubot dropped off some boxes.
"We've brought the data cards you requested, Staff Officer," Orbot reported.
"Excellent," Eggatha replied, not looking up from her computer. "Thank you, Orbot."
"I helped too!" Cubot chimed in.
"And you too, Cubot," Eggatha said, still not looking up.
Orbot and Cubot blinked.
"Uhhh...okay?" Cubot asked.
"Do you require anything else, ma'am?" Orbot questioned.
"More Chao Cola." Eggatha held out a metal canteen with a sticker for the Robotnik empire. It was upside down and almost looked like her face. "Cherry Vanilla."
"Err...right away." Orbot took the canteen, floating away with Cubot. They passed by Scratch, Grounder, and Coconuts, who were going over files.
"Wow, I've never seen Miss Eggatha like this."
"Yeah, she's really...really…" Grounder tapped his chin. "What's the word?"
"Serious," Coconuts said. "She's freakin' serious."
"I'm more than a little worried," Scratch said. "Whenever she gets like this, something really bad always happens."
"Yeah, like when she found out about Wild Kat's village," Grounder remarked.
"Or when she told GUN about Shadow." Coconuts chimed in.
"Scratch, Grounder, Coconuts!" Startled, they turned to see Eggatha glaring at them. "Stop standing around talking to yourselves and get back to work!"
"Yes ma'am! Sorry ma'am!" Grounder declared.
"We're getting, we're getting!" Coconuts cried.
Eggatha nodded in approval, before returning her attention to her computer. "Now, let's see..."
At that, Decoe and Bocoe arrived.
Decoe saluted. "Reporting for duty, Miss Eggatha!"
"What sort of diabolical scheme are we plotting this time?"
"No schemes today, Bocoe," she said. "This time, we're stopping one."
The gold and silver bots blinked. "Stopping one?"
"Wait, is this one of your "playing both sides" schemes?" Scratch asked.
"Yeah..." Eggatha's eyes narrowed. "Uncle Ivo's about to make a huge mistake. One that's gonna do some serious damage."
"How bad?" Grounder asked.
"Kage bad..."
All of the bots shuddered at that.
Coconuts swallowed nervously. "Yeah, that's bad."
"So, why are we looking here and not your uncle's plans?"
"She ain't worried 'bout the plan, Decoe. It's the one behind the plans."
Everyone turned to the entrance in time to see Beauregard enter the room, looking characteristically grim.
"Oh! Boss Beauregard!" Scratch said as he and the rest of the S-6 saluted.
"At ease, boys," the rabbit said.
"Beau, perfect timing," Eggatha said, smiling for the first time since she'd arrived. "I could really use a hand with this."
"Sure thing, hun." he tipped his hat. "I'm just as worried about our 'new friend' as you are."
Bocoe scratched his head in confusion. "New friend…" then snapped his fingers in realization. "Oh! Boss Tundra!"
"Oh yeah…" Decoe nodded. "I ran into him in the hallway before he left. He gives me the shivers." he shuddered for emphasis.
"Yeah." Beau nodded sadly. "We need to fix him, soon."
The dumbbots perked.
"Fix?" Decoe asked. "What are you-?"
"I got it!" Grounder held up a data card, dancing around. "Miss Eggatha! I found the card with the files you were lookin' for!"
"I found it, Needlenose!" Scratch snapped.
"You!? I was the one who found the box!" Grounder shouted.
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Nuh-uh!"
"Ya-huh!"
"I don't care who found it!" Eggatha exploded. "Just give it to me!"
"Yes ma'am!" the dumbbots groveled before bringing the card over.
Eggatha sighed in annoyance. "Now I know how Uncle Ivo feels." She took the card from Grounder's hands and uploaded it into the computer. "Alright, now let's see what we got..."
As she got to work, the S-6 looked at her with fear and trepidation.
"I miss the nice Lady Agatha," Decoe whined.
"Yeah, this one is scary," Bocoe added.
"Pardon us!"
"Comin' through!"
Decoe and Bocoe nearly fell over as Orbot and Cubot rushed in with Eggatha's canteen.
"Your Chao Cola, ma'am," Orbot said as he set it on the table. "Sorry for the delay, we had trouble finding the flavor you request…ed?"
He stopped as he caught a glimpse of what was on the computer screen. Curious, he and Cubot decided to get a closer look.
"Whatcha lookin' at?" the yellow square bot asked.
"It appears to be Dr. Robotnik's…" Orbot wiped his optics to make sure he wasn't seeing things. "Sales receipts?"
"Sales...receipts?" the other S-6 asked in unison.
"Uhhh… Aggie," Beau began. "Not to tell ya how to do yer job or nothin', but unless the plan involves catchin' Tundra doin' tax evasion, I don't see how this is gonna help us."
"Beau, I greatly respect you," Eggatha began. "But right now, I need you to shut your fugging mouth and let me concentrate!"
"Yessum," Beau replied, doing his best not to sweat.
"Good. Now, where was I? Let's see…"
Eggatha began scrolling down through purchase records as she tried to find what she was looking for; no small task, due to the sheer number that was there. Fortunately, after five minutes of searching, she got a hit.
"Computer chips...machine components...mustache gel...eggs… There!"
Beau and the S-6 gathered around the computer, where Eggatha had stopped at the receipt for an old transaction; the cursor hovering over the merchant's name.
"Snatch?" Beau asked.
Orbot gasped. "Oh, dear..."
"No wonder you're so serious," Decoe added.
"Uhhh...who's Snatch?" Cubot asked obliviously, earning him weird looks from everyone.
"Seriously!? Coconuts demanded. "How do you not know…" he paused. "Actually, who is Snatch?"
"A bad guy," Eggatha began. "He's a low-down, dirty scumbag who runs an international smuggling ring. Uncle Ivo made a...business deal with him to get access to his wares."
"What kinda stuff does he sell?"
Eggatha scowled. "People."
Everyone gasped as Beau's eyes darkened.
"Ahhh...he's a slave trader." the Rabbot growled, his hands strangling his cane.
"Yeah." Eggatha nodded. "He's the lowest of the low. He and his goons kidnap people from all over the world and sell them for thousands of Mobiums. Men, women, even children! He's the guy who provides us with most of our captives."
"Y'know, I was wonderin' about that," Coconuts mused.
"And you're just…okay with that!?" Scratch shrieked. "I mean, sure, we kidnap folks too, but this guy–!"
"I'm not okay with it!" Eggatha snapped. "Uncle and I forced him into an exclusivity deal. He does business with us and only us in return for the Empire protecting him. It was either that or let him run amok and sell people as he pleased. At least this way, we can keep an eye on him."
"But what's he got to do with Boss Tundra?" Grounder questioned.
"Duh! It's obvious, Grounder!" Coconuts barked. "He works for him!"
"Not quite."
"Eh?"
Eggatha began going over the file. "After the meeting, I went through the EB-12 files for info on Tundra. He was one of the Egg Bosses Uncle Ivo recruited before the Dozen began, so I don't know much about him."
"And?"
"His file was almost completely empty! All we had was a basic profile, some photographs, and the specs for his implants. There wasn't a thing about his past or background. There aren't even any photos of him! It's like he just...appeared out of nowhere. And every time I tried to ask or look into him, I kept hitting dead ends. So I dug a bit deeper and found something...interesting."
"What was it?" Beau asked.
"A date. June 18, 3237."
Cubot perked. "Hold on, that was when the Doc did that thing...with that guy...and..."
"It was shortly after the Chaos Incident!" Orbot realized. "While you were still knocked out!"
"Yeah, it stuck out because a few days after I woke up, Uncle Ivo received a delivery."
Eggatha scrolled down revealing a photograph of several SWATbots transporting a large, metal container.
"Whoa!" Scratch declared. "That's one of the Doc's capture capsules! Only...y'know, bigger."
"And about a month after it arrived, Uncle told me had a new general. I wasn't there for his introductory meeting. So I never saw him until recently." She grimaced. But I heard about him through reports and whenever he skipped meetings. Akhlut always gets angry whenever he's brought up."
"But...what does it all mean?" Cubot asked.
"It means that there's something weird about Tundra," Eggatha replied. "Something Uncle doesn't want people finding out about."
Beauregard cleared his throat. "Well, I think I may have an idea of what that thing is."
Everyone turned to the Baron.
"You do?" Eggatha asked.
"Yeah." Beau took a deep breath. "But I'm really, really hopin' I'm wrong."
Station Square
Back at the sports festival, Flip and Guntiver were leading the Freedom Fighters around.
"So you and Mr. Guntiver used to be friends with Rotor, Mr. Flip?" Cream asked.
"Yup!" Flip nodded. "And easy on the Mister stuff, kiddo. It makes me sound like an old geezer"
"You're preaching to the choir Flip," Sonic chuckled. "She calls everyone Mr. and Miss."
"Yeah, I noticed. But yeah… Boomer and I go way back! Like, pre-school back." Flip sighed in reminiscence. "Ahhh, the shenanigans we got up to. Right, Boomer?"
Rotor blinked, looking uncomfortable. "Uhhh...yeah..."
"'Scuse me!" Tangle interjected, waving a hand in the air. "Rotor, why does he keep calling you Boomer?"
"It's an old nickname from my hometown. As for how I got it… Well..."
Flashback...
Artika. About 8 years ago...
A ten-year-old Rotor, Flip, and Guntiver were at a makeshift workshop outside the city. Rotor was bent over his latest project, laser-focused on his work.
"Alright, almost done. Wrench."
"Wrench!" Flip dropped the wrench into Rotor's hand.
"Screwdriver."
"Screwdriver!" Flip handed him a screwdriver.
"3/4 pinckney flange."
That caught Flip off guard. "3/4 what?"
"3/4 pinckney flange." Flip was still confused, and Rotor just sighed. "Top compartment, left side, next to the locking washers. It looks like a lemon with a hole in it."
"Gotcha!" Flip rummaged through the toolbox before grinning. "Lemon!"
"Perfect! We're almost done."
Flip cheered as Guntiver eyed the entire setup with trepidation.
"Rotor, this sounds like a horrible idea," he muttered.
"Don't worry, Guntiver, I double-quadruple-checked all the systems. This won't be like the last time."
Guntiver wasn't convinced. "You said that last time, and the time before that. And the last thirty times before that. Need I remind you that you've been working on this Aurora Penetration Device..."
Flip snickered and Guntiver sighed.
"As I was saying, you've been working on this thing for… I don't know how long. Don't you think it's time to give up on it?"
"Not a chance, Guntiver!" Rotor declared. "Science is 75% perseverance. We just need to keep trying until we get it right."
"But, you haven't made any progress."
"What are you talking about? We found over thirty ways it won't work."
"No more talking!" Flip exclaimed, jumping up and down. "Let's turn it on!
"Alright, alright." Rotor made his way over to the control panel. "Beginning activation sequence. Flip, turn on the television!"
"Roger-dodger, Boomer!" Flip turned on a TV, which began displaying static. "It's on, and we got snow!"
"Not for long." Rotor began pressing some buttons and turning some knobs. "And…activate!"
He flipped the main switch and the TV hummed to life. "Quick, to the TV!"
Everyone gathered in front of the TV as the static began to clear up slowly.
"Come on, come on…" Flip whispered, bouncing on his heels.
As the static cleared, a cartoon began to play, Rotor breaking out into a massive grin.
"It's working! Guys, it's working!"
"Blow me down..." Guntiver let out.
"Boomer, you did it!" Flip cheered. "We can finally cartoons like the rest of Mobi-!
Their cheers were interrupted by a whining noise filling the air, a noise all three of them had become well acquainted with. They turned to the device, which was shaking, sparking, and smoking.
"Oh no..." Rotor whimpered.
"I was afraid of this…" Guntiver let out.
-X-
The workshop exploded spectacularly, launching the boys into the air. They screamed as they arched through the air before landing in the icy water of a nearby glacial river. They slowly surfaced, pulling themselves onto the snowy shore before lying down, panting. Surprisingly, Flip threw his hands into the air, cheering.
"Man! That was some serious air this time! Let's go again!"
Rotor was already picking himself up, brushing snow off of his clothes. "Next time, it won't blow up. I just need to make some more tweaks."
Guntiver just groaned, rolling over and flopping face-first into the snow. "Why am I friends with you?"
Flashback End
Station Square
"And that's why everyone called me Boomer."
"Whoa," Sonic let out.
"Yeah, Rotor always loved to tinker," Guntiver remarked. "Even though most of his attempts at inventing tended to literally blow up in his face…and ours."
"Oh come on, Gunt!" Flip exclaimed. "That was the best part! We went flying!"
"And I think that explains a good portion of your personality."
"What are you talking about?"
Tails quickly interjected before things could get ugly. "Uhhh… hey Guntiver! What's the rest of your team like?"
"Well…"
All of a sudden, someone came charging up behind Chris, whacking him over the head. He yelped, rubbing his head as he turned to his assailant. This was revealed to be another Mobian walrus, this one much younger than Rotor. He was wielding a foam bat, which he was holding triumphantly over his head.
"I gotcha!" he cheered before repeatedly bashing Chris on the head. "Take this and that and that and this and that!"
"Hey!" Chris tried to cover his head, moving out of range but being followed. "Cut it out!"
"Ha! Not so tough now, are you, Dr. Eggman!?"
Suddenly, something pulled the club out of the walrus' hand. That something was Kat, who held the club over her head as she glared at the small walrus.
"I believe he told you to cut it out," she admonished before turning to her friend. "You okay, Chris?"
Chris nodded, rubbing his head as the walrus charged at Kat.
"Hey! Give that back!" He was jumping up and down, trying to grab the bat. However, she kept it over her head and out of reach.
"Not until you apologize for hitting my friend," she insisted.
"Friend!?" The walrus jumped again. "Are you an idiot!? That's Dr. Eggman!"
Everyone was absolutely shocked by that particular declaration.
"Yeah, no," Kat shot down. "That's Chris Thorndyke, not Eggman."
The young walrus just let out a disbelieving laugh. "Skeeter Walrus wasn't born yesterday! I know Eggman when I see him!"
Rotor's eyes widened in shock, though it went unnoticed by just about everyone.
"Kid, take a good look at him," Kat insisted, gesturing to Chris with her free hand. "Do you see a mustache?"
"Or a big nose?" Hope added.
"Or a big, fat egg body?" Keith concluded.
Skeeter squinted a bit, eyeing Chris carefully. He then poked Chris in the stomach, chest, and cheek. Then, he suddenly grabbed Chris' face and started tugging on it.
"Hey!" Chris shoved Skeeter off of him. "That hurts!"
"Wow, that is one stubborn disguise…" Skeeter muttered.
With an annoyed scoff, Kat bonked him lightly on the head with the foam bat. Luckily, her choice of weapon and self-restraint kept him from receiving even a bruise. "Quit being a dummy."
"Quit hitting me with my own bat!" Skeeter snapped.
"Then quit attacking my friend."
"Your friend is Dr. Eggman in disguise! I'll-!"
Before this could continue, Skeeter was picked up by the scruff of his neck. The perpetrator was a tall, muscular Mobian polar bear in a blue tracksuit.
"Alright, what the hell in a hamster ball is goin' on here?"
Everyone gaped at the large Mobian before them. He was easily six and a half feet, putting him on par with most human adults.
"My word," Cobar said. "That is a big bear."
"I didn't know Mobians could reach human heights." Keith let out.
"Uhh…Keith?" Knuckles cut in. "Kodos."
"Ah, right."
"Hello sir," Kat greeted, bowing formally. "Skeeter here was using this to beat up my friend and accusing him of being Eggman."
"Is that right?" The bear turned to Skeeter. "Skeeter...?"
"But Gust, I-!"
"No buts, lil' Tusker." The bear, apparently Gust, shook his head. "We didn't get you that bat so you could bash peoples' heads in."
"Wild Kat Winters does!"
Kat winced, rubbing her arm and turning away. "I'm not that bad. I only hit people who deserve it."
"Hey there, big guy!" Flip cut in. "Glad you could finally join us."
"What took you so long?" Guntiver asked.
"Sorry, the stand got crowded." Gust scratched the back of his head sheepishly before turning his attention to Sonic and Co. "These guys and gals must be our southern brothers and sisters?"
Guntiver nodded. "Indeed."
"And these little squishies are our competition," Flip said, pointing to Team Thorndyke.
Keith raised an eyebrow. "Squishies?"
Gust turned his attention to Team Thorndyke. "These lil' hairless mooks are who we're up against?" he asked. He narrowed his eyes as he appraised them with an unimpressed look on his face.
"Uhhh…Mr. Gust?" Hope asked.
At that, the polar bear grinned. "They're adorable!" he shouted before scooping all four of them up in his massive arms, hugging them tightly. "I just wanna hug them and squeeze them and…"
"Mr. Gust…" Hope pleaded through strained breaths. "Please…stop…"
"You're hurting us…" Chris gasped.
"Put me down before you find out why I'm called Wild Kat."
"Heh, sorry." Gust set the kids down, the quartet stumbling about as they regained their bearings.
"My ribs…" Chris whimpered.
"My spine…" Keith added.
"Good grief." Guntiver shook his head. "What am I going to do with you two?" He then cleared his throat. "Sonic and friends, allow me to introduce two of our more…gung-ho teammates." He turned to the shorter of the two. "This little troublemaker is Skeeter Walrus, our junior member. Skeeter, say hi to the Freedom Fighters."
"Hiya, guys!" he greeted and waved excitedly. "It's so cool to finally meet you!"
"Wish I could say the same," Chris groused.
Skeeter winced. "Oh uh…sorry I hit you like that. I thought you were Dr. Eggman, Mr. Thornydyke."
Flip fell over, laughing his head off.
"Flip…" Guntiver uttered testily.
"It's…alright," Chris said, a mortified look on his face. "Hey, Skeeter?"
"That's me!"
"What made you think I was Dr. Eggman?"
"Well…" he pointed to Chris. "You have brown hair, a red jacket, you're tall, and you look really smart."
Everyone nearly fell over at that.
"Seriously!?" Keith exclaimed.
"I'm beginning to fear for the state of Iceborough's education," Shadow said worriedly.
"As do I…" Guntiver took a deep breath before continuing. "And over here, we have our resident powerhouse: Augustus the Polar Bear."
Gust's eyes widened as he made a noise that sounded halfway between a gasp and a confused grunt. "Gunt, what the hell, man!?"
"What? I'm just telling them your name."
"You know I hate being called Augustus! It's Gust! Gust!"
"Augustus!"
Gust flinched. "Aww man..."
The group looked ahead to see a Mobian ermine and seal - both in blue tracksuits like the others - walk over. Well, the ermine was walking, and the seal was being carried by her.
The ermine had orange-pink-brown fur and red hair that had been styled into a poofy-looking mohawk, while the seal had purple fur with pronounced, upward-curving "hair" spikes and a green beret.
"Augustus, what ze devil are you shouting about now?" the seal snapped in a thick, Mercian accent.
"S-Sealia, Erma!" Gust stammered. "I-I was just–!"
"You were being loud and annoying, that's what," Erma interrupted. "Seriously, we could hear you inside the freaking building."
The seal her head. "Honestly, I can't take you anywhere, petit frère."
Gust winced. "Sorry..."
"Hang on…" Sonic held up his hands. "Little brother?"
"Ahhh, M. Hérisson!" The seal gently tapped the ermine on the shoulder. "Erma, mettez-moi vers le bas, s'il vous plaît."
Erma nodded and set the now-identified Sealia down, stepping aside, and allowing everyone to see her.
"Bonjour à tous," she greeted. Je m'appelle Sealia L'Harpe. C'est tellement agréable de vous rencontrer."
"Uhhh...likewise," Sonic said.
"Yeah! Uhhh...voulez-vous au gratin, merci beaucoup," Julie-Su attempted.
"Right," Keith said. "Still getting used to Sonic having that Babble Node."
"Uhhhh…" Amy let out.
Sealia tilted her head in confusion, worriedly. "Is something the matter?"
"Oh!" Amy snapped to attention. "Well…uhhh…"
"Sealia," Erma cut in. "Not everyone down here speaks Mercian."
"Oh! My apologies." Sealia bowed slightly as she twiddled her thumbs sheepishly. "Almost everybody up north speaks it and Common, so I assumed that was the case down here too."
"It's alright," Chris said. "We know a few things in Mercian thanks to a friend of ours, so we got the jist."
"But, everybody is giving me a strange look," Sealia replied, looking worried.
"Well…" Tails began. "Uhhh… We just uh..."
"Holy...What happened to your legs!?" Tangle screamed as she pointed at Sealia's legs…or rather, the seal-like lower body where her legs were supposed to be.
"Miss Tangle!"
"Cream!" Tangle shouted, her gaze rapidly shifting between the rabbit and Sealia as she pointed at the latter frantically. "She...doesn't have legs! They're not there! A-And not like 'lost in a horrible accident' not there! I mean, 'they were never there in the first place' not there!"
"That's still not nice," Cream reprimanded.
"Yeah, quit treating my sister like a freak!" Gust shouted, startling the lemur.
"Augustus, stand down!" Sealia ordered.
"But Sealia…" he tried to argue, only for the seal to hold up her hand.
"It's alright." She hobbled over toward her brother. "She's just surprised. There's no need for this to get violent. You're better than that."
Sealia took Gust by the hand and gave him a warm caring smile. Immediately, Gust's expression began to soften into one of guilt.
"Hrrm… alright, sorry sis."
She nodded before turning to the others. "Again, I apologize." she bowed slightly. "My brother means well, but he can be a bit overprotective at times."
"Hey, that's how family is," Keith said.
"Tell me about it," Chris chimed in.
"Ah, but where are my manners? Let me introduce myself properly." She cleared her throat. "Sealia L'Harpe of the Artik Freedom Fighters, a pleasure." She put her hand over her heart and bowed.
"Erma Ermine, sup?" She gave them a two-fingered salute. "I see you've already met the Idiots On Ice."
"Hey!" said idiots shouted.
"What? You're the one who came up with the name, Flip."
"Still!" the penguin shouted.
"Alright everybody, settle down," Guntiver said. "You're making a scene." He motioned to the various festival-goers, some of whom had stopped to stare at said scene.
"Heh, quite the characters, aren't they?" Cobar asked.
"Yeah, your friends are real wild, Rotor," Sonic said, causing BLIZZARD (sans Flip and Guntiver) to perk.
"Rotor?" Skeeter asked.
"As in… Rotor Walrus?" Erma double-checked.
"Oh right, I totally blanked!" Flip facepalmed. "Guys, you're not gonna believe who's here! It's...Boomer?"
Flip gestured to where Rotor was, only to find that he had up and vanished.
"Boomer? Boomer! Where'd you go!?"
"Rotor, where are ya!?" Sonic called out.
"He was just here…" Kat let out.
Soon, all the Freedom Fighters were searching for Rotor, not realizing he was right under their noses: right under a stand.
"Oh Aurora..." the walrus panicked quietly. "Oh, Aurora...oh man...oh geez...This can't be happening. I'm having another nightmare! I'm–!"
"Rotor?"
Rotor clamped his hands over his mouth to muffle his scream as Flip stuck his head under the stand, his usual carefree grin replaced with a look of concern.
"Boomer, you okay, bud?" he asked, oblivious to Rotor's internal panic. What was he doing!? He was going to get him caught!
"Flip! Get outta here!' the walrus whispered as harshly as he could.
"What? Why?"
"Just go!" Rotor ordered. "Hurry, before they–!"
"One side, Tuxie," Gust said as Flip was pulled out of the way, letting out a wark as he was. Suddenly, a large, white paw hand reached under the cart, causing Rotor to scream.
"No! NonononoNO!" he shouted as he tried to crawl away, only for the hand to grab him by the ankle and drag him out. Next thing Rotor knew, he was hanging upside-down by his ankles in front of everyone, including BLIZZARD, who were gaping at him with unreadable expressions.
"Uhhh…hey guys!" Rotor attempted to greet them, prompting Gust to drop him.
"Well, well, well, look what the orca upchucked," Erma said as she walked over to the other walrus, her tone sharp and biting.
Rotor grimaced. "Hey, Erma… Long time no see."
"Yeah, kinda wish it stayed that way," the ermine snapped.
"You got some kinda nerve showin' your face here, Tusker," Gust growled.
Rotor withered under their stares.
"Erma, Augustus, that's enough!" Guntiver shouted.
"Yeah guys, knock it off! This is supposed to be a good thing!"
"Good!?" Erma asked incredulously.
Flip winced, but kept on going. "Y-Yeah, Boomer's back! The gang's all back together! We…"
"Flip…" Sealia interrupted, pinching the bridge of her snout. "You did not think this through."
"Rote? What's going on here?" Sonic asked.
"Yeah, what's with the cold shoulder?" Knuckles asked.
"Uhhh…well…I…"
"Big bro?"
Rotor froze, then slowly turned to face the speaker.
"Skeet..."
At that, everybody's jaws dropped.
"Hold up...big bro!?" Tangle shouted.
"Cobar, did you know Rotor had a brother?" Knuckles asked.
"No." the other echidna shook his head. "Until today, I believed Rotor had no living family."
Time seemed to slow as the two walruses stared at each other; too afraid or angry to speak to one another. Finally, Rotor decided to break the ice.
"Skeeter…" He smiled nervously as he raised his hand in a sheepish wave. "H-Hey there, lil' buddy."
Skeeter said nothing. Rotor tugged nervously at his shirt, chuckling nervously. "Wow, you've uhh...you've really got big. You–?"
Before Rotor could finish, Skeeter ran ahead and began repeatedly whacking him on the head with his bat.
"What the!?" Kat looked at her hand and, to her surprise, Skeeter had somehow managed to swipe it from her. "When did…how did he…!?"
"Skeeter, please! Ow!" Rotor pleaded between strikes, his hands raised defensively. "It's me! Agh! Your brother! Oof!"
"Shut up!" the younger walrus shouted. "You're not my brother anymore! You stopped being that after you ran away from home and left me behind!"
"Skeet, please! You don't understand! I–!"
But Skeeter refused to listen. Instead, he let out a war cry and raised his bat high above his head with both hands. But before he could bring it down on Rotor's head, Knuckles ran in and caught it mid-swing.
"Whoa! Settle down, kiddo!" the echidna shouted.
"Let go!" Skeeter tried to pull his bat free from Knuckles' grip, making a surprising amount of progress for someone his size. Thankfully, Guntiver stepped in and pulled him away before things could get uglier.
"Skeeter, settle down!" the wolf shouted.
"Let me go, Guntiver!" Skeeter shouted, flailing his arms and legs. "This is all his fault! I–!"
"Just let it go, Skeet." Erma cut in, grabbing everyone's attention.
"Erma?"
"Save your energy for the festival." The ermine scowled at Rotor. "A coward like him isn't worth your time."
Erma's words seemed to have calmed Skeeter down; but from the return of his cold glare, it was not a good thing.
"Yeah…he's not."
Rotor gaped for a moment, then hung his head in shame. The others watched in shock as Skeeter wriggled free from Guntiver's grip (the wolf was too shocked to maintain it) and walked off.
"We should get going too," Gust said. "The festival's gonna start any minute now."
"Yes, that is a good idea," Sealia concurred.
"What!? Guys, wait!" Flip called out. "What about–?"
"Flip…" Guntiver said sadly, giving him a pleading look. "Just…just stop. Please."
Flip watched as the rest of his team walked off. He opened his beak to say something, but the words died in his throat. He let out a sigh before walking off to join the others. Before he did, he looked over his shoulder at his old friend, his eyes filled with guilt.
"I'm sorry, Boomer."
The Freedom Fighters watched as BLIZZARD walked off into the distance; shocked at what they had just witnessed.
"Well…" Sonic began. "That…happened."
"Whoa…" Chris said. "I think it just got a couple degrees colder."
Cobar walked over to his boyfriend, who was still sitting there, too crushed and move or speak.
"Rote?" the echidna put a hand on Rotor's shoulder. "Rotor, are you alright?"
Rotor took a long, deep sigh and slowly shook his head. "No Cobar…I'm anything but alright."
At that, the school's PA system went off.
"Attention all students!" the speaker announced. "The Festival will begin in ten minutes! Please gather at your designated areas as soon as possible!"
"We…better go," Keith said as he walked off.
"Yeah…" Hope added.
"See you guys after the race!" Chris called out as he and the girls followed after.
"We…should probably get going as well," Sally said apprehensively.
Tangle sighed. "So much for Game Day."
As the Freedom Fighters set off as well, Sonic walked over to Rotor, who had finally managed to muster the strength to get up.
"Rote?" the hedgehog asked in concern. "Are….umm…do you…?"
"Not now, Sonic." Rotor held up his hand, not stopping or looking at the hedgehog. "Just...not now. Please…"
Sonic watched as Rotor shambled on ahead. He thought back to when he'd first met the walrus; of how eager and passionate he was when he learned his application to the Freedom Fighters had been accepted. Rotor wasn't as gung-ho as Knuckles and Kat or as energetic and excitable as Tangle and Sticks, but the walrus always had a sort of passion and determination beneath his usually calm, mellow exterior; the kind that only engineers and mechanics had. The kind who could face failure over and over again and keep coming back for more, because they knew that it was just another part of the process.
But now, for the first time since he'd known him, Rotor looked absolutely crushed.
-X-
Elsewhere, in another part of the festival, one of the food trucks had just finished serving a customer…or rather, re-serving.
"Here you are your nachos, sir," the cashier said, handing out a bowl full of tortilla chips slathered with cheese and jalapenos. "Sorry about what happened earlier, that crazy penguin came out of nowhere."
"It's quite alright dear," the customer said as he took the bowl. "If anything, the extra wait helped improve my appetite."
"Well, alright then," she punched some numbers on the register. "That'll be 7.50 Mobiums, please."
"Very well." He reached into the pocket.
"Not to pry, sir, but aren't you hot under all that?" the cashier asked, eyeing the customer's outfit: a heavy-looking, navy blue, double-breasted coat, a pair of black slacks, and a wool scarf and beanie.
"Oh no, I'm quite alright, I've been through far worse than this," the man replied. "Besides, I can feel a cold snap on the horizon." He pulled out several Mobium bills and laid them on the table. "Here, this should cover it."
As he walked off, the cashier took one look at the bills and nearly passed out.
"Sir!" she called out. "Sir, your change!"
"Keep it!" the man called out. "I've no need for money."
The cashier blinked, her brain blanking out as she processed what she'd just heard, before smiling eagerly.
"Thank you!" she called out. "Enjoy the festival!"
"I will!" the man replied before sampling one of his cheesy chips. "Mmm…not bad. These southerners make decent food if anything else."
Just then, a tone went off; prompting the man to again reach into his pocket, this time pulling out a smartphone-like device. He looked at the screen and discovered he had a message:
Bifrost Gate opened. Are you in position?
"Ah, right on schedule…for once." He typed up a message on his phone.
Not yet. Heading there now.
Not long after, he received a reply.
Well, be quick about it. We came here to conquer this city, Akhlut, not stuff our faces.
Akhlut the Orca looked over his shoulder, where he saw the ominous visage of Boreas watching over him from the rooftops, waving at him. Akhlut scowled but was pulled back to his phone by another ping.
Could I have some of those?
Akhlut's scowled redoubled before he grabbed all the nachos and shoved them into his mouth, loudly crunching as he did.
Well, you don't have to be rude. Boreas replied.
"Just get to the damn field, you damned buzzard," Akhlut snapped. Then he pocketed his phone and headed out.
-X-
Everyone gathered on the track field, exchanging uncomfortable looks.
"Woof…" Keith let out. "That was…"
"Dramatic?" Chris offered.
"That's one way to put it," Hope muttered.
Kat was lost in thought, chewing on her thumb as she paced. "What could have happened? Why is there so much hatred..."
"Kat" Keith let out, waving a hand in front of her face. "Hey, Kat?"
"Huh?" She looked over, blinking slightly. "Oh, what is it?"
"You were mumbling in Chunese. Everything alright?"
"Just... worried." She sighed, rubbing her face. "I can't help but feel like we're missing something, and everything in me is just tingling. Like I'm on edge."
"We just saw Rotor get reamed by his aunt and our new allies, including his younger brother," Chris pointed out.
"I still can't believe he has one!" Keith declared.
"This makes me wonder…" Hope murmured, rubbing her chin. "I mean, all we've ever learned about Rotor was secondhand from others. He's never said anything about his past. And whenever it comes up, he always plays it off or changes the subject. Bunnie and Antoine even said he got testy when his dad was brought up during the Summit."
"Well, you're the same way when it comes to your past," Keith reminded her.
"Yeah, everyone has secrets they'd prefer to keep," Chris insisted.
"Maybe, but this doesn't feel the same as with me and my family," Hope said. "This feels...bigger. More personal."
"I have to agree," Kat chimed in. "Whatever happened, it was enough to make him completely abandon his home. No one does that lightly."
"Well whatever it was will have to wait, it looks like things are about to get started." Chris pointed up to the principal approaching the mic, preparing to address the crowd.
"Testing, testing, your attention please!" The crowd quieted down and everyone gave the principal their attention.
"Ladies and gentlemen, students and parents, thank you all for coming, and welcome to Station Square Middle School's Annual Sports & Athletics Festival! Now, I know it's been a crazy few years. What with all the robots, cyborgs, and ancient water gods." There was some scattered laughter at that. "But even in the face of all this insanity and fear, it's important that we keep our spirits up and strive to keep on living as best we can. If not for our sakes, then for the sakes of our children; for they are sparks that will grow into the fires that light the future."
Cheers returned as everyone smiled at that.
"Speaking of, I'm sure you've noticed that this year, we have some unexpected guests from up north. Let's meet one of them. Please, give a warm, United Federation welcome to…" he pulled out a note card.
"Her Most Beautiful and Ludicrously Wealthy, Lady Chiffon la Tusque." he read, his voice stilted and confused. But regardless, he stepped aside, allowing Chiffon to take the stand amidst polite applause.
"Seriously? What's with that title?" Hope asked.
"Thank you, good sir." Chiffon turned to the crowd. "People of Station Square, thank you ever so much for allowing my people and me the pleasure of visiting your beautiful - if a smidge pedestrian - city!"
In the stands, the Freedom fighters were watching the speech with mixed expressions as Chiffon continued to speak.
"Man, Rote, your aunt sure loves to hear herself talk," Sonic commented.
"Yeah, she does."
Nelson shook his head. "She reminds me of some of my classmates from university…and not in a good way."
Laura turned to him. "So, on a scale of Socrates to Marian...?"
"About three steps below Marian."
Sam nodded. "Full of herself, but not 100% a bitch, got it."
"Samuel!" Lindsey chastised.
"Sorry Lindsey," the speed king said. "I call it as I see it."
"Still…"
"These young men and women got to where they are through nothing but their own wits, guts, and sheer determination, and I'm proud of each and every one of them!" Chiffon declared. "Though personally, I feel they could've saved themselves a lot of trouble if they'd simply descended from a long line of wealthy aristocrats. I'm surprised more of you peasants don't try it."
The Freedom Fighters and the Thorndyke-Kent family gaped at that.
"Wow..." Knuckles uttered in disbelief.
"Alright, you may have a point," Lindsey conceded.
Discontented murmurs echoed through the crowd as Guntiver ran over to the podium.
"Th-Thank you, Milady!" he said, trying his best to stay calm and polite." But, I'll take it from here..."
"What?" Chiffon asked, confused. "But I haven't even-"
"Thank you!" Guntiver smiled widely as he gently pushed Chiffon away from the microphone.
"Well, I never!" Chiffon turned her head in contempt as she walked off in a huff, allowing Guntiver to take the stand.
"Sorry about that folks," the wolf said. "Her Ladyship is rich in Mobiums, but poor in sense."
There was some scattered laughter at that.
Guntiver cleared his throat. "Anyway...Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Guntiver the Artik Wolf. Captain of the Iceborough Academy Athletics Team, as well as founder and leader of the Artikan Freedom Fighters, also known as...BLIZZARD!"
The Artik Mobians in the stands began to cheer and shout; holding up banners and chanting the team's name repeatedly.
"Whoa, someone's popular," Knuckles said.
"Yeah..." Tails added.
"WOOOOOO! BLIZZARD!"
"Seriously Tangle?" Sonic shouted as he gave the lemur a flat look.
"What?" the lemur asked. They're our allies. I'm just trying to be supportive."
"She's got a point there, Sonic," Chuck Thorndyke declared. "It's just a silly school contest."
"Still, dontcha think this is kinda overboard?"
"Artikans - especially Artikan Mobians - are very passionate people, Master Sonic," Tanaka explained. "They tend to gravitate toward emotional extremes and possess a tribalistic sense of loyalty. It is said that they possess Blood of Fire and Hearts of Ice."
"it would explain how passionate Rotor can be when he gets a new project," Tails mused. "And the attack on the Mineral Museum."
"That reminds me." Sally turned to Chuck. "Chuck, can we talk to you and Laura after the festival?"
The two humans blinked at that.
"Of course," Chuck replied.
"What do you need help with?" Laura asked.
"A few days ago, the Egg Army robbed a friend of ours," Sally explained. "They stole a lot of rare Power Gems. Including an Ice Diamond!"
"An Ice Diamond!?" Laura clutched her mouth before looking around. When she spoke again, her voice was a whisper. "You kids found a real Ice Diamond!?"
"Well, my friend Jewel did!" Tangle explained.
"By Aurora..."
"We were hoping you could tell us more about them," Sally continued. "You and Chuck work with them extensively in your research, so..."
"We do." Chuck nodded. "But an Ice Diamond…ack!"
Chuck winced in pain as he clutched his knee, to the concern of everyone present.
"Dad?" Nelson asked worriedly.
"Chuck, you okay?" Sonic added.
"I'm fine, boys." the older man said. "My old bum knee's just acting up again." Chuck's face scrunches up in thought. "Not sure why though..."
"I didn't know you have a bad knee," Tails said.
"Well, it's not terribly bad," Chuck continued. "It doesn't really bother me unless the weather's changing. Must be a storm brewing."
"That's strange," Lindsey pondered. "The forecast didn't say anything about a storm."
"Still…" Shadow rubbed the back of his neck, feeling his quills rising up. "I have to admit that I feel... something. Something..."
Shadow perked, his eyes widening. "Something's coming!"
"But what?" Tangle asked.
"No, I mean something's heading this way, right now!"
An ear-piercing screech echoed through the stadium.
"What the heck was that!?" Julie shouted.
"Up there!" Lara pointed upward, allowing everyone to see what made the noise: a very large Mobian owl flying through the air. The owl dived straight at Guntiver, who narrowly managed to avoid being snatched up by the bird's talons.
Upon landing, the owl stood up to his full height, allowing everyone to get a good look at his appearance.
"Boreas..." Guntiver growled.
"Boreas?" Rotor repeated fearfully.
"Rote?" Sonic asked.
"You're awfully far from home, you old snow buzzard," Guntiver asked.
"I could say the same for you, Narfi," the owl said.
"It's Guntiver," the wolf corrected with more than a little heat.
"Ahh yes…still getting used to that." Boreas grinned. "Still, this is a most fortuitous turn of events. Truly, the Norns smile on me this–"
"HYA!"
Boreas turned around just in time to block a dropkick from Erma; effortlessly grabbing the ermine by the leg and throwing her aside like a ragdoll.
"Ahhh, Miss Ermine," he said. "As ill-tempered and spirited as ever, I see."
Erma simply snarled in response.
"Whoa, this guy's scary," Amy said.
They could hardly blame Amy for being scared. Everything about the owl screamed creepy at the top of its lungs.
He was tall, dwarfing even the massive Gust by a full foot and a half, and, from the way his long, blue coat hung around his body, very lanky. 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. But the most striking feature was his eyes, which could be seen even from a good distance, they were so striking. Golden, but cold and lifeless; like a full moon in the middle of the night. The kind of eyes that would give you…
"Chills," Sonic whispered out loud.
Boreas reached into his pocket and pulled out a rainbow-colored crystal. He held it over his head.
"Bifrost, open!"
Suddenly, the skies above the field began to crackle with rainbow lightning. A moment later, a pillar of multicolored light shot down from the sky and struck the ground. When the light settled, a battalion of Egg Soldiers was standing where the light had been. Among them, were five that stood out: A short, fat penguin with big, bushy, yellow 'eyebrows'. A large, muscular, female polar bear with hair in braids and a giant hammer. A cool, stoic wolf with a hood. A caribou with mechanical horns. And finally, a large, hulking walrus with cybernetic tusks and a pair of red, pointed sunglasses. All of them wore blue, parka-like jackets similar to Boreas' coat and Viking-inspired furs.
"The Egg Army!" Cream cried out.
"Seriously?!" Sonic exclaimed. "Here!?"
"Sonic, look!" Tails shouted, pointing at the soldiers. "On their coats!"
Sonic followed Tails' finger and saw that each of them had a symbol on the back or sleeve: a skull-like snowflake being cleaved in half by an axe. The same symbol that had been carved into the wall of the Mineral Museum.
"That symbol…" Sonic's eyes went wide. "It's them! The Einherjar!"
"The guys who robbed Jewel!" Tangle threw off all her swag, getting serious. "Bastards!"
She ran off, much to everyone's horror.
"Tangle! No!" Sally screamed.
Shadow quickly grabbed her tail, not realizing it stretched. He barely had time to curse as Tangle launched herself at the invaders.
"You damn, icy bastards! You're gonna pay for what you did, you hear-mmph!?"
The walrus grabbed Tangle mid-flight, holding her by her face. She slapped and kicked at his arm, but he didn't even seem phased. If anything, he looked annoyed.
"Pathetic…"
He then grabbed her tail and pulled, yanking Shadow off his feet and toward him. Before Shadow could react, the walrus grabbed him too. He then proceeded to bash their heads together before throwing them into the air.
"All soldiers, open fire!"
The soldiers pulled out several high-tech blasters and began shooting at Tangle and Shadow with blue-white energy rays.
"NO!" Sonic exclaimed.
But it was too late. The two were immediately encased in thick layers of ice and sent plummeting to the ground. They landed with a loud thud, thankfully remaining intact.
"Good work. Now..." The walrus stepped forward, each footstep like a thunderclap. His soldiers followed him, the crowds parting like water. Everyone could do nothing but stare.
"He just took out Shadow…" Sonic let out. "Like… like it was nothing!
"Who the hell is this guy!?" Amy shrieked.
The walrus made his way to the stage and advanced toward the podium, where Boreas waited.
"Sir..." the owl greeted and stepped aside.
"Thank you, Boreas." Tundra turned to the microphone and began to speak. "People of Station Square. Freedom Fighters of Knothole. And all you traitorous scum who support them! I am the Egg Boss of the Artikan Egg Army, better known as the Einherjar, Mightiest of the Eggperial Forces. The Unifier of the Great North and Allfather of the True Children of Artika. I am..." His glasses glinted menacingly. "Tundra the Walrus!"
Author's Note:
(1): The classic haughty "ohohoho" laugh.
(2): Our name for the island from Sonic Boom; Seaside Island could be any island, so we changed it.
Well, Tundra has made his big debut. Can Sonic handle it?
Voice cast for this chapter:
* Sealia: Marieve Herington (Sabrina Raincomprix from Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, Tilly Green from Big City Greens, Yuhata Midorikawa from Knights of Sidonia, Leroute from Hunter × Hunter 2011, Celestia Ludenberg from Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Y'jhimei from Final Fantasy XV)
* Erma: Kira Buckland (Jolyene Kujo from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean, Bunnyx from Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, Violet Willow from Rainbow High, Izumo Kamiki from Blue Exorcist, Edna from Tales of Zestiria, 2B from Nier: Automata, Honoka from Dead or Alive, Trucy Wright from Ace Attorney)
* Guntiver: Stephen Fu (Diamant from Fire Emblem Engage, Noé Archiviste from The Case Study of Vanitas, Henry Legolant from Black Clover, Lance Crown from Mashle: Magic and Muscles, Shinpei Ajiro from Summer Time Rendering, Kyoya Onodera from Talentless Nana, Kaname Sudo from Darwin's Game, Weather Report from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean)
* Gust: Patrick Seitz (Franky from One Piece, Luke Valentine from Hellsing, Charles Beams from Eureka Seven, Laxus Dreyar from Fairy Tail, Agil from Sword Art Online, Ragna the Bloodedge from BlazBlue, Dio Brando from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Jiren from Dragon Ball Super, Dante Zogratis from Black Clover, Scorpion from Mortal Kombat)
* Skeeter: Debi Derryberry (Jimmy Neutron from the titular show, Luca from The Wonderful 101, Coco Bandicoot from Crash Bandicoot, Nergal Jr. from The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Zatch from Zatch Bell, Ryo-Ohki from Tenchi Muyo!, Wednesday Addams from The Addams Family 1992, Diana from the Viz dub of Sailor Moon)
* Young Rotor: Laura Bailey (Tohru Honda from Fruits Basket, Kid Trunks from Dragon Ball Z, Keiko Yukimura from Yu Yu Hakusho, Lust from Fullmetal Alchemist, Abby from The Last of Us Part II, Rayne from BloodRayne, Maka Albarn from Soul Eater, Serah Farron from Final Fantasy XIII, Kira Carsen from Star Wars: The Old Republic, Kainé from Nier, Jaina Proudmoore from World of Warcraft, Rise Kujikawa from Persona 4, the Female Protagonist from Persona 3 Portable, Chun-Li from Street Fighter, the title role in Catherine, Serana from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Dawnguard, Oriana Lawson from Mass Effect 3, Lucina from Fire Emblem Awakening, Abigail "Fetch" Walker from Infamous Second Son, Fiona from Tales from the Borderlands, Nadine Ross from Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Kait Diaz from Gears of War)
* Young Flip: Colleen Clinkenbeard (Monkey D. Luffy from One Piece, Erza Scarlet from Fairy Tail, Momo Yaoyorozu from My Hero Academia, Éclair from Kiddy Grade, Akito Sohma in Fruits Basket 2019, Riza Hawkeye from Fullmetal Alchemist, Inner Moka from Rosario + Vampire, Yuko Ichihara from xxx-Holic, Elsie Crimson and Mother from Edens Zero)
* Young Guntiver: Brina Palencia (Tony Tony Chopper from One Piece, Touka Kirishima from Tokyo Ghoul, Vi Graythorn from Case Closed, Eve from Black Cat, Honoka Sakurai from Suzuka, Ai Enma from Hell Girl, Kazumi Yoshida from Shakugan no Shana, Kurumu Kurono from Rosario + Vampire, Ciel Phantomhive from Black Butler, Juvia Lockser from Fairy Tail, Holo from Spice and Wolf, Kazuhiro Mitogawa from Ga-Rei: Zero, Sakura Minamoto from Zombie Land Saga, Yuno Gasai from Future Diary, Miharu Rokujo from Nabari no Ou, Ruiko Saten from A Certain Scientific Railgun, Maho Minami from Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad, Ryoko Okami from Okami-san and Her Seven Companions, Minoru Mineta from My Hero Academia, Isuzu Sohma from Fruits Basket)
Please R&R. Until next time!