-Chapter 291-
Revelations, Part 2
Knothole
About an hour later, the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix gathered in Knothole Village, waiting and wondering what it was that Uncle Chuck had to tell them.
"The true purpose of the ROCC?" Sally asked.
Sonic nodded. "That's what Uncle Chuck said."
"Ain't that the thing that turned Eggman into...well, Eggman?" Sticks asked.
Hope drooped at that. "Yes…"
At that moment, the team that worked on the ROCC entered, all of them exhausted and burnt out.
"Thank you all for coming," Nate sighed. "I was hoping to keep anyone from knowing... but now I see that that was impossible. While searching the files of the Kintobor Computer, I found out the true purpose of the ROCC. What I'm about to show you cannot leave this room. Just... stay strong."
At his nod, the Kintobor Computer projected a holo-vid, showing Julian Kintobor sitting before a camera, looking utterly depressed and spent.
"Julian Kintobor ROCC Project Log - November 11, 3235. To all of my friends and colleagues. If you're watching this, I am either dead or something terrible has happened to me. More importantly, you have likely already seen the blueprints and research notes in the file this video was found in and have…questions. Why I did this and what I'm even doing. Well, this video is your answer…and my confessions."
He sighed miserably.
"First and foremost, I want to apologize for deceiving you for so long. I didn't want it to come to this. Honestly, I still don't want to do this." he breathed. "But after everything that's happened these past few years, after everything I've seen, I cannot ignore the writing on the wall. The peaceful world we fought and sacrificed for is in danger of being destroyed once again, and I cannot allow that to happen."
Everyone tensed as he went on.
"When I first pitched the idea of the ROCC, I presented it as a device intended to cleanse and purify dark, corruptive forces, like negative Chaos Energy, Ixian Magic, or Warp Material." he sagged. "That was a half-truth."
Everyone felt their hearts drop as he went on.
"The ROCC is capable of containing and purifying these forces, but its reach is far greater than that. It also has the power to purify and cleanse the hearts and minds of people. Not just of corruption...but of dark, impure thoughts and feelings in general."
Everyone stiffened at that.
"There are those among you who have no doubt questioned what could be defined as evil, what is dark and impure, and I have done my best to narrow that field. But...even with all my calculations and fine-tuning… The ROCC's definition of 'evil' is...broad. I'm sure you all know what that means. But, I feel it needs to be said anyway... The ROCC eliminates peoples' capacity for evil. Selfishness, greed, sin, everything. And... their free will, in the process."
A collective gasp sounded. Something broke behind them. Kat had crushed the arm of the chair she was sitting in.
"I'm sure you're all horrified to learn this. Enraged, even. Betrayed. I understand. You have every right to be. I didn't want it to come to this... but the world has forced my hand. Tensions between Yurashia and the West are rising. More and more criminal groups are gaining access to advanced technology and weapons. Global warming, poverty, corruption in the government...!" His fists clenched. "There's even talk of a second Great War happening within the next decade."
He sighed, rubbing his forehead. "It's the only way... but even now, I find myself wondering if I can really go through with this. The ROCC will bring about peace, but is the price worth it? Should I turn back? A part of me wants to... but I've already come this far. Everything I've done, the blood, sweat, and tears I've poured into this project, into keeping peace on Mobius as a whole... it'd be nothing but a waste for me to get cold feet at the last second. I'm sorry, but... I've come too far and worked too hard to stop now. Right or wrong, the ROCC will be finished. May Aurora forgive me for what I'm about to do... To my longtime friends in Squad Saturn. Beauregard. Sherman. Amadeus. Jules. Chuck. I'm sorry... I know you encouraged me to believe in people, and I'm sorry that I failed to do so. And Nephthys...if you are still alive and reading this message, I am counting on you to keep your promise to me, should it become necessary." He leaned forward. "You know the one."
With that, the recording ended. Everyone was silent, utterly shocked and horrified by the reveal, until finally, Sonic spoke up.
"I can't believe it…" he stood up, storming to the scientists. "The entire time I was assisting you guys with the ROCC, looking for that last Chaos Emerald... I was helping you perfect a gadget that was gonna brainwash the entire fugging world?!"
"I swear to you, we didn't know!" Nate exclaimed. "This is just as much news to us as it is to you! Julian was the only one who knew! If we had known... "
"Cào nǐ zǔzōng shíbā dài..." Kat whispered before abruptly standing up from her chair. Her face was a mixture of horror and rage, heat rolling off of her as she took her leave of the room.
"Is...she going to be alright?" Prof. Pickle asked nervously.
"Her family was enslaved and then slaughtered by Eggman," Knuckles replied. "It took her some time to see the goodness of Julian Kintobor behind all that. But now..."
"Goodness?" Sticks let out a humorless laugh. "What goodness!? That's the true face of Julian Kintobor! And to think you guys almost had me believe there was actually any good in that rotten Eggman!"
Hope got to her feet. "Don't you dare. You never knew the man he was before, Sticks."
"You obviously didn't know him either!" Sticks shot back. "He just freely admitted that he was gonna brainwash the planet! Rob us all of free will!"
"He was good before! It was the accident that made him into Eggman!"
Sticks scoffed. "Does it make it easier for you to think the ROCC explosion turned your uncle rabid, Hope? Do you just not wanna consider the possibility that all it did was rip his mask off so we could see the monster he really was all along?"
"Sticks, calm down..." Sally cut in. "I know this is...a lot to take in, but..."
"But nothin', Princess!" Sticks snapped. "I ain't doin' nothin' but spittin' the facts! And the facts are that Julian Kintobor was, is, and has always been a megalomaniacal piece of shit! All these scientists are! They say they're here to help us, but they really want to take over the world because they think they know better! That we're nothin' but a bunch of stupid, evil, braindead yokel idiots only good for being lab rats for their sicko experiments!"
"Stop it!" Hope exclaimed, covering her ears.
"He's definitely the Red Devil's boy! I could tell the minute your crazy uncle showed up during that news fiasco!"
"STOP IT!" Hope begged, tears in her eyes.
Sticks glared at her. "Make me!"
Hope threw a chair aside in rage, whirling on her. "You're wrong, Sticks! The ROCC was sketchy, I know! But he was scared! People do crazy things when they're scared!"
"Not 'brainwash the world' crazy! Not stealing everyone's free will! Not manipulating people who were supposed to be his friends!"
"That wasn't him! That was Eggman! It was the negative Chaos that made him do that! Uncle Julian isn't him!"
"Wake up and smell the coffee, Hope! Your uncle was never a good guy!"
"Shut up!"
"He's nothing but a sleazy, selfish, malicious, two-timing, manipulative-!"
Finally, Hope's temper snapped. "I told you to SHUT UP!"
She charged at Sticks, spear-tackling the badger, lifting her off her feet, and charging her through the door, knocking it clean off its hinges. Everyone ran out as the two rolled around on the ground, tearing at each other.
"You're deluding yourself!" Sticks yelled. "The Kintobors have always been nothing but trouble across history! Everyone knows that! They're psychos! Your uncle's just the latest rotten egg!"
"I'm a Kintobor, you stupid bitch!" Hope snapped.
"The exception that proves the rule!"
"How would you like it if I insulted your family right to your face?!"
"I wouldn't care! You wouldn't be saying anything about my old man that ain't 100% true! He's SHIT! Just like your shitty uncles and their shitty dad! And his shitty dad! And his shitty dad! And the rest of your whole, damn shitty family that's making all of Mobius shit!"
Hope grabbed Sticks by the neck, violently shaking her and slamming her head against the ground as the badger tried to pry her hands off.
"SHUT UP!" she screeched. "SHUT UP! SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP!"
"Hope, stop it!" Shadow cried.
"You're killing her!" Rotor shouted.
Both of them rushed over, Shadow yanking Hope off of Sticks while Rotor pulled the badger to safety.
"Hope!" Shadow yelled, trying to hold her back. "It's alright! Breathe!"
Hope takes a few breaths as Shadow hugs her tightly. In Rotor's arms, Sticks coughed and wheezed.
"I stand corrected," she rasped. "You're not the exception. You're just like the rest."
"You…!" Hope immediately lunged at Sticks, looking like a pissed hellcat as Shadow held her back.
Sticks just laughed dryly before coughing.
"Sticks!" Rotor shouted. "For Aurora's sake, shut the fugg up!"
"Look at her!" Sticks gestured. "She's crazier than I am!"
Sticks looked around, seeing everyone glaring at her reproachfully, not Hope. She blinked.
"Guys, c'mon! You know I'm right about Eggman! Is nobody gonna take my side here?!"
"Shut up," Sticks recoiled, in shock as Hope's demeanor had shifted from white-hot rage to eerily, icily calm. "Uncle Julian made a mistake. That doesn't make him a monster. Do you understand me? You better get that through your thick head." She pointed threateningly at Sticks. "I don't care what you think or what you've been through, Sophia. My Uncle is not evil, and if you say it again, I swear to Aurora I will grab whatever blunt instrument is handy and use it to SMASH YOUR FUGGING TEETH IN."
With that, she pulled herself free of Shadow's grasp, turned on her heel, and stormed off.
"Hope!" Shadow called after her.
"Let her go," Sonic told him. "She needs to calm down."
Sticks just sat there, utterly speechless at what she just heard. Everyone glared at her before turning and dispersing. Sally stopped, looking at Sticks one last time.
"Sticks... before Hope gets back, I suggest you go to your burrow and think long and hard about what you did," she suggested.
"B-But Sally-!" before Sticks could continue, she flinched at Sally's glare. "R-right, going."
She scurried off.
Once she was gone, Sally pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Well, this is just lovely," she said.
"Dang, I've never seen Hope get that angry," Bunnie commented.
"I'd be surprised if she wasn't," Antoine added. "Sticks' words were…mon dieu…"
Sonic thought for a moment.
"Something on your mind, Sonic?" Tails asked.
"During the holo-vid, toward the end, Julian mentioned making a promise with someone named Nephthys."
"Nephthys…" Tails thought. "That name sounds…familiar."
Jules, Amadeus, and Sherman grimaced, something that didn't go unnoticed by Rotor.
"Dad?" the younger walrus asked. "What's up? Do you know this person?"
"Well…" Sherman sighed. "Yeah…I do."
"Sherman…" Amadeus hissed.
"Ammy," Jules cut in. "We gotta tell them. Keeping secrets is what started this mess."
Amadeus looked over the Freedom Fighters. They were despondent, hurt, and most of all, worried about what was going to happen.
"Yes," the elder fox said. "You're right."
As Hope's anger faded, she found herself at the Lake of Rings. Kat was there, skipping stones across the lake. It bounced about seven times across the water before sinking. As she reached for another, her eyes fell on Hope. She didn't say a word as they stared for a moment, then she held out the stone she picked up. Hope slowly took it before skipping it herself, the two girls taking turns for a while in silence before Kat spoke up.
"...Did you know?" she asked quietly.
Hope shook her head.
"Thought not. You were just as shocked as everyone else," She grabbed a new stone, flipping it in her hand for a bit. "Sorry, I walked out like that."
"No, don't be," Hope said. "Honestly... I'm surprised you didn't…"
"Go off like Sticks did? I saw and heard the whole thing. Pretty sure they could hear it back in Mobotropolis."
Hope sighed, nodding.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted." Kat threw the stone a bit harder than intended. It bounced once, then hit a tree on the other side of the lake.
Hope rubbed her eyes, tearing up. "Kat, I didn't want to consider it, but... what if Sticks is right? All the good Uncle Julian did, how kind he always was to me, to everyone... was it all a lie?"
Kat was silent for a moment. Then she sighed and sat down on a small bench on the edge of the lake. She patted the seat next to her, ushering Hope to join her.
"Good people make mistakes, especially when they're scared. As easy as it would be to condemn Julian... the world isn't that black and white. Like that whole thing during the party about the definition of evil. What Julian did was evil, but why he did it wasn't completely. And if his good persona was an act, he wouldn't have gone out of his way to help me during Neo Metal's revolt. He wouldn't care about Aggie, or you."
"Sonic mentioned it was the Neo Metal incident that convinced him Uncle Julian was still in there." Hope managed a smile. "And those Christmas presents he gave Sonic to give us after Soleanna…"
"I mean, those bracers weren't the best. Blew up in my face." They laughed before Kat went on. "But I got a glimpse of the man you're all fighting to save. He's a good man. Flawed, but good. Hell, you could say that about a lot of our little bunch of misfits. Knuckles tried to kill Sonic several times. Shadow tried to destroy the world. Tekno worked for Eggman. I'm a walking atom bomb. About the only person in this group who's 100% pure is Cream, and probably because she's just a little girl."
"You forget, we're little girls too," Hope pointed out.
"Teenagers. Besides, I haven't been a little girl since I was seven, and I stopped being a child two years ago."
Hope perked. "What are you-?"
Sonic came running in at that. "Hope, are you there?"
"Sonic?" Hope perked, waving at him.
"Perfect timing," Kat remarked.
"Sonic, what's wrong?" Hope asked.
"We need you two to come back. Sticks too. Dad and the others… have something to say."
As they stood up, Hope spoke up.
"Wait. I need to get this off my chest," Sonic and Kat turned to her. "Sticks was right in a way... Kintobors throughout history have wound up evil more often than not. I won't deny that. Before the car accident, my dad mentioned it to my mom. He called it the Kintobor Curse. It's why, as soon as he was old enough, he followed Uncle Julian's lead and ran away from home. It's also why his will said I was to live with my Granny and not Colin. My grandpa on Dad's side was the Red Devil during the Great War, feared and hated by Mobiankind and humanity alike. It's because of him Uncle Colin turned out the way he did, and Snively by proximity. All my life, I've been afraid that it might happen to me somehow. So many Kintobors have turned out bad... and I've fought so hard to prove it wrong, to not wind up that way. But what Sticks said, what I did... I never knew I could get that angry." She clutched her arm. "I'm scared, you guys. What if Kintobors going bad is fate? Am I gonna be evil someday, like the rest of them?"
Sonic put a hand on her shoulder. "Of course not. Don't put any stake in that fate B.S. Nobody controls your destiny but you, Hope. Your parents were good right to the end, and so was your grandmother, and so was Maria. They chose to be good, just like you. You are who you choose to be, Hope. Don't let anyone tell you differently, and while you're at it, never tell yourself anything different either."
Hope sighed, smiling. "You always know how to say just what I need to hear, Sonic."
"Hey, I've had a lot of practice." He wrapped his arms around both girls. "Now come on, before the old men get cranky."
Later on, everybody gathered back in the Knothole common room, where the ROCC team was preparing to make another speech.
"Before we begin, I want to apologize for keeping this a secret from you all," Nate said. "With everything going on in the world, we thought it best to keep it hidden; to shoulder this knowledge ourselves. But, in the end, we ourselves failed to do so."
"Secrets eat away at you," Sally remarked. "Especially ones of this magnitude."
"Truer words were never spoken." Professor Pickle remarked.
"We also wanted to protect Julian's reputation and good name. Especially for your sake," Uncle Chuck looked at Hope. "We know you loved Julian and thought the world of him. And that if you found about this..."
"It's alright, Uncle Chuck," Hope assured. "I know you meant well."
Uncle Chuck smiled at that.
"This was shocking, to say the least. But I've made peace with it. Uncle Julian was flawed, but he's still a good man."
"Indeed," Nate remarked. "That being said, I imagine a lot of you are wondering what could've driven him to do something so...drastic. Well, I fear we don't have all the answers, but we might be able to shed some light on that." He adjusted his glasses. "To make a long story short, Julian's childhood was...less than ideal. His mother suffered from untreated bipolar disorder, leaving her prone to frequent, often violent mood swings. And his father… tell me, how many of you have heard of General Ivo Kintobor?"
Sonic nodded. "The Red Devil. The Terror of the Overlands."
"I'm guessing he's a big deal?" Rotor asked.
"The biggest and the worst," Sally replied. "He was...basically the human equivalent of Kodos. Nasty, short-tempered..."
"And rotten as they come." Everyone turned to Sticks. "He treated Mobians like dirt. Hell, I hear he even treated other humans like dirt."
"He did..." Hope confirmed. "Even his own family. He's the reason Colin turned out as bad as he did and Snively by extension. He's why my dad and Uncle Julian ran away. He was everything wrong with GUN and humanity as a whole, in one person."
"Indeed." Nate nodded. "I'll spare you the...unpleasant details. Just know that he made Julian's life a living hell for seventeen years."
"Until Chuck and I found him in the forests near the north border of Acorn." Jules clutched his arm at the memory. "Bloody, beaten... I still remember the first thing he said to me… 'Help me...I don't wanna die.' All because Ivo had his men hunting him down."
Everyone gasped.
"Holy..." Sticks let out in shock.
"His own dad tried to..." Chris trailed off.
Uncle Chuck nodded. "So we brought him to Windmill Village. Everyone was suspicious of him there, keeping him under house arrest and thinking he was a spy."
"Until I listened to him and his story," Jules continued. "While everyone else was getting swept up in Overlander horror stories and paranoia, I got the facts."
"After that, the rest was history." Amadeus included. "He was taken to Mobotropolis and, after meeting with Sally's grandfather, King Frederick, became Acorn's first human citizen. After that, he'd go on to become Minister of Science, Warlord, and founder of the Acorn Special Forces, even heading his own squad."
"Squad Saturn," Sonic remarked.
Sherman sighed nostalgically. "Those were the days. Fighting bad guys and saving the world… Just the six of us."
That made Bunnie perk. "Six?"
"Hold on…" Sonic counted on his fingers. "You, Dad, Tails' dad, Beau, Julian..."
"That's only five," Sally said. "Who's the sixth?"
"The person Julian mentioned in his confession vlog," Uncle Chuck replied. "Nephthys the Vulture."
Jules pulled a photo out of his wallet. "Here."
"Whoa..." Sonic let out.
What was in Jules' wallet was a photo of Squad Saturn, depicting a younger him, Julian, Amadeus, Sherman, and Beauregard, as well a sixth member, a Mobian bird with white feathers, a yellow face and beak, and purple eyes. The group was smiling, laughing, and striking goofy poses as they took the photo. But what really stood out was…
"Julian's skinny and he has hair!" Sonic exclaimed, earning him several unamused stares.
Indeed, far from the rotund, bald, mustachioed man he would become, the teenage Julian was a slender, clean-shaven, average-sized human with a head full of shaggy brown hair similar to Agatha's. He was donned in a red leather duster with black and brown accents, a black undershirt, gray pants, white gloves, black boots similar to the ones he would wear as Robotnik, pince-nez glasses, and black goggles with red photochromic lenses on his forehead (1).
"Seriously, Sonic!?" Sally admonished.
"Sally, he has hair and no fat! Eggman with no...egg! Just...man!"
"Ahem!"
Jules cleared his throat as the others gave Sonic a flat look. He smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.
"Heh...sorry."
"Hold on," Kat cut in. "You said Nephthys was a vulture. Aren't vultures supposed to be bald?"
"Nephthys was a Bigyptian (2) vulture," Jules explained. "Her species had feather hair."
"Hold on, that's a chick!?" Sticks exclaimed.
"Course," Sherman pointed to Nephthys' eyelashes. "She's got big eyelashes. See?"
Sticks looked closer. "Oh… there they are."
"A common mistake," Amadeus remarked. "She was rather androgynous and tomboyish."
"Also, she smoked, like, three packs a day," Sherman recalled. "Used to stink up the whole base."
"Thank you, Sherman." Amadeus let out, his voice strained.
"She's really pretty." Cream remarked.
Yeah..." Sonic looked at the photo, noticing that Julian and Nephthys are close together, arms around each others' shoulders. "And really close to Julian. It almost looks like…" His eyes widened. "No way…"
"Yes," Jules confirmed. "Julian and Neph were in love."
Everyone in the room paused, eyes and mouths wide open.
"What the...?" Sonic let out.
"No way..." Tails managed.
"Are you...?" Sally stammered. "They...wha...!?"
"Eggman..." Rotor said. "Bird… With...?"
"Yeah…" Jules nodded. "Threw us all for a loop too."
"Understatement of the century..." Chris deadpanned.
"Eggman...has a girlfriend...and she's a Mobian!?" Knuckles exclaimed.
"I think it's really sweet!" Cream smiled. "They look so happy together!"
"Hold on," Hope cut in. "If that's true, then why did he never mention her? He would talk about Squad Saturn all the time, but he never once mentioned her."
The remnants of Squad Saturn let out a sigh.
"Because it didn't last," Jules replied. "Toward the end of the War, they...they broke up."
Everyone was shocked at that.
"Oh no..." Cream gasped.
"I wonder why?" Sticks questioned knowingly.
"Sticks..." Sally sighed.
"Why did they break up?" Sonic questioned. "If Julian never once mentioned her, something big must have happened between them."
"Maybe they were just unhappy together," Knuckles mused. "Not all relationships end happily ever after."
Jules shook his head. "It was big...but, not in the way you're thinking. Julian and Nephthys' break up wasn't because they were unhappy together. The world forced them to."
"Mobian/Human discrimination," Kat realized. "It's why Shadow adopting Hope and the Knuckles Clan adopting me were such a big deal."
Jules nodded. "Bingo."
"Was it really that bad?" Cream questioned.
"Yes," Sally confirmed. "Before the Great War, humans and Mobians hated and feared each other. We feared and hated humans because they were bigger, and had access to technology and weapons we hadn't even come close to inventing yet. And humans hated and feared us because we were stronger, tougher, faster, and had all kinds of superhuman powers. That and people are naturally inclined to be suspicious and hostile toward anything they're unfamiliar with."
"Yeah, that sounds right," Sonic remarked.
"Julian and Nephthys realized this," Amadeus confirmed. "They were happy together, but if their relationship went public… the scandal that resulted could've undone all the progress we'd made toward peaceful coexistence."
"All because two people of different species were in love!?" Amy demanded. "That's...That's just stupid!"
"That's just how the world was back then," Sherman pointed out. "And it still is. I'm sure your friends there had some issues with being raised by Mobians."
Hope rubbed the back of her neck. "That's not...untrue."
"Okay, things between our species aren't all sunshine and rainbows as we thought," Sonic cut in, getting the conversation back on track. "But what about Nephthys? What happened to her?"
Jules shrugged. "That's just it, we don't know. After the War, we disbanded the Squad and went our separate ways. Ammy, Julian, Beau, and I went back to Acorn, Sherm went back to Artika, and Nephthys went back to Shamar. We still kept in touch, though. The six of us were like family."
He looked down sadly. "Then, one day, we saw something on the news. A civil war broke out in Midesta, and Shamar was at the heart of it."
"Nephthys?" Tails began, his question unspoken.
"We don't know..." Amadeus sighed. "When the war started, all communications with Shamar were shut down. Nobody could contact them, and they couldn't contact us. We tried to reach her after the war ended, but she just...disappeared. We don't even know if she's alive."
"Julian was beside himself," Jules recalled. "He tried everything, did everything he could to try and reach her, but nothing worked. Then...Sherman and Georgette died. After that, he holed himself up in his lab. And a few months later..."
"He came to us with the plans for the ROCC." Uncle Chuck finished
"That was the catalyst," Tails deduced. "Losing Nephthys."
"He...He did all this...planned all this… because of a woman," Sticks let out.
"It was much more than a lost love." Uncle Chuck clarified. "It was the threat of watching everything he loved and cherished going up in flames."
"The Shamar attack," Sonic mused. "Then the Iceborough Incident. It all piled up and he just... snapped."
Jules and Uncle Chuck nodded.
"But...why? He had you guys. Why didn't he go to you? Why didn't you say anything!?"
"We tried, Sonny," Uncle Chuck replied. "We tried talking to him, to convince him not to lose hope."
"We thought we got through to him," Jules remarked. "But...it looks like we were wrong."
"He reached his breaking point…" Hope said.
"All because of a woman he loved..." Sticks looked sad. "A woman he loved...and lost."
"That kind of grief… it can break even the purest of souls," Kat remarked.
Sticks perked in realization. "Turning them into distrusting, paranoid wrecks… He...He's me. Nephthys was his Maryanne Badger..."
"Whoa…" Keith managed.
"And now you know," said Nate. "That's how this whole thing started."
"By Aurora..." Sally managed.
Sonic perked. "Hold on, Julian mentioned him and Nephthys making a promise. What was that about?"
"We don't know…" Jules replied. "This is the first we've heard of that. Whatever they swore was between them."
"And since Julian's evil and Nephthys is gone..." Sonic mused, "We'll likely never know."
"Poor Miss Nephthys..." Cream sniffled, wiping back a tear. "I hope she's alright."
"If she's even still kicking," Rouge pointed out. "It's been over three years since the Midestan Civil War and nobody's heard from her. For all we know..."
"Let's... leave it at that for now," Sonic decided, everyone nodding in agreement.
"So…" Knuckles mused. "What happens now?"
"Nothing," Sally replied. "This information doesn't leave Knothole. If there's one thing Uncle Chuck and his colleagues were right about, it's that this needs to be kept hidden. If this were to get out, the consequences would be catastrophic. So, we keep this under wraps. No one knows. Not family, not GUN, no one. Dr. Morgan… delete that footage."
"Of course, Princess." Nate turned to the Kintobor Computer. "Julian..."
"Right away." the computer's eyes went out of focus again. "Files deleted."
"Nothing has changed, guys," Sally told them. "Our end goal is still to find a way to bring Julian Kintobor back, and that's exactly what we're going to do. That being said, when we do, we're gonna give him quite the earful." She let out a long sigh, practically sagging into her chair. "It's late. Let's all go home. It's been... a very long day."
As everyone cleared out, Sticks cautiously approached Hope. "Hope?"
Hope turned to her. "Sticks?"
"I...uhhh… I just… I wanna… Ooooh...!" Sticks threw her hands up into the air. "I'm sorry!"
Hope blinked. "Wait, what?
"I said I'm sorry! For the screaming, the yelling, and insults...! All of it! When I found out about that thing with the ROCC, it made me think of my old man…" Sticks stopped, taking a breath. "And it just… I lost it. Well...more of it. What...little I had left. But that don't make it right. It was stupid, it was selfish, and I was dead wrong… like I always am..." She sighed, rubbing her eyes. "So much for me getting better."
Hope sighed. "I'm sorry too. For going off on you like I did, for the threats, and for…"
"Almost beating me to death in a totally justified blind fury?" Hope grimaced, but nodded. "Hey, it's alright. Like I said, you were totally justified. I crossed...geez, pretty much all the lines. And I was wrong… Your uncle was planning to do some pretty shitty stuff with the ROCC, but he's not a shitty person. He just got dealt a really shitty hand by some really shitty people… just like me."
"Yeah," Hope held out a hand. "Friends?"
"Yeah..." They shook on it.
-X-
"Man, today was a real rollercoaster, huh?" Chris said as everyone filed out of Knothole.
"You're telling me," Keith replied. "But, at least things ended well, right?"
"Maybe." Chris sagged a little. "But, maybe it would have been better if we hadn't pressed."
"Secrets like that," Kat remarked, shaking her head. "They eat away at you, like a parasite feasting on your conscience. They would have snapped eventually."
"She's right, you know."
They turned to see Chuck approaching them, looking like a weight had been lifted off his back.
"Sorry for all the trouble, kids. We really dropped the ball on this one."
"It's alright, Grandpa," Chris said. "This was pretty big."
Kat said nothing. She just looked away worriedly.
"Kathryn..." Chuck said. "I want to thank you. You were right, this secret was too much for any of us to handle on our own. We...I should've come clean to you all in the first place at the very least."
Kat sighed. "You had your reasons." She turned to face them. "But if you kept that in for too long, you were gonna regret it."
Chuck nodded. "That we would. You're a smart cookie. We're grateful to have you."
Kat cracked a small smile, then shrugged. "Well, I'd better get home. Locke says he has something big to talk about and it sounds serious. Night guys."
"Seeya!" Chris and Keith said.
As they prepared to warp their separate ways, Chris noticed Sonic standing off, lost in thought.
"Something on your mind, Sonic?" he said as he approached.
"Hm? Oh, I was just thinking...If by some chance Nephthys is alive, if her and Dr. Kintobor reunited...Do you think, maybe...She'd be able to... break through to him?"
Chris paused as he thought for a moment.
"You mean, like stirring up his old personality through their old relationship? I suppose it's possible...he did save Kat during the Metal Overlord Incident. Plus, Aggie's had a huge positive impact and he showed serious regret over what he did to Sherman."
"So, there's a chance?" he asked in cautious optimism.
"Maybe," Chris sighed. "Course, we'd still have to find her. Midesta is turbulent on its best days and, like Rouge said, it's been years since anyone heard from her."
Sonic sagged in defeat. "Right…"
"Still, there's hope," Chris said with a smile. "Maybe we could ask Hope and her contacts in GUN to keep an eye out for her?"
At that, Sonic perked right up again. "Sounds like a plan!" he said with a thumbs up. "But, tomorrow. For now, let's call it a night."
"Yeah…"
Midesta
While everyone in Acorn was getting ready for bed, it was just before dawn in the city of Shamar. Soon, people would be waking up to begin their day in the beautiful desert city.
"Stop her!"
Assuming they hadn't roused the ire of the local authorities.
A group of soldiers in tan uniforms ran down the street, all armed with sabers and rifles. Their target: a lone figure in a white cloak.
"She's getting away! Don't let that filthy harlot escape!"
The figure let out an annoyed grunt as she grimaced at her pursuers, seeming to take offense to their comment.
"Freeze!"
The figure was snapped out of her thoughts by the sounds of footsteps and the clicking of rifles. Turning ahead, she found another squad of soldiers barring her path, rifles aimed right at her.
The leader of the soldiers behind her smirked evilly.
"About time, you got here!" he raised and lowered his hand, signaling his men to hit the ground, which signaled the second squad to attack.
"Ready…FIRE!"
The soldiers opened fire on the figure, but as the bullets flew toward her, they swerved to the side before harmlessly veering off into the sand.
"What the…!?" the leader of the firing squad exclaimed. "How did she…!?"
Before he could finish, the figure dashed forward, materializing right in front of him. The world seemed to slow to a crawl as he watched her raise her arm, causing a smoke bomb to slip from her sleeve. The bomb went off with a low boom, cloaking the area in white smoke as the figure darted off, leaving the soldiers coughing.
"Dammit!" the leader cursed as he hacked up a lung. "Crafty bitch…!"
Meanwhile, the figure ran down another few blocks before ducking into an alley. Where she stopped to catch her breath.
"Shit…" the figure whispered, her voice a low contralto with a slight accent. "The Rashid's especially ornery today. No doubt from all the extra overtime he's been getting."
She let out a sigh as she leaned against the wall. "Good grief…I would kill for a cigarette right now."
Suddenly, a soft, vibrating noise went off, startling her. She reached into the folds of her cloak, pulling out a smartphone. Looking at the screen, she found she'd received an email.
"An email?"
She opened up her mail app and sure enough, there was a new message in her inbox. The subject line read: Important! Code Chicken. The sender: MrDrProfEgghead.
"Julian…" the figure whispered in shock.
She was about to open the email when the sound of footsteps greeted her ear.
"Over here, footprints!" a soldier cried out.
"Shit…"
-X-
The soldiers followed the footprints, eventually stumbling upon the alley she fled down.
"Heh heh…perfect," their leader, Captain Rashid said with a chuckle. "That alley leads right to a dead end. We've got her now."
The soldiers prepared their guns, making sure they were loaded and ready to fire again. The leader then held up his hands, counting down to three before they rushed in to seize their target…
"Ha! Nowhere to run!" he declared. "Alright woman, on your knees and put your hands behind your…head?"
But when they did, she was nowhere to be found.
"What the…?" Rashid uttered in disbelief. "Where is she!?"
"I don't know, sir," one of the soldiers replied.
"Maybe she's hiding?" another suggested.
"Of course, she's hiding, you idiots!" Rashid snapped. "Find her!"
"Yes, sir!"
The soldiers began a sweep of the alley. Turning over boxes, looking in dumpsters. But they couldn't find eye or wink of their target.
"Dammit!" Rashid cursed. "Where is she!?"
"Maybe she flew off?" a soldier proposed.
"Idiot, if she did that, the whole city would've been her!" Rashid barked. "She's here."
"But Captain, we've searched the entire alley! Unless she buried herself underground, there's nowhere she could…"
Suddenly, the ground opened up beneath the soldier's feet, sending him screaming down a hole. As soon as his head was below the surface, the hole closed up, swallowing him.
"What the…!?" Rashid screamed.
"Captain, what just…!?"
Another hole opened up, swallowing another soldier. Then, another…and another…and another. Until finally, only Rashid was left; frozen in fear and breathing heavily as he looked around, trying to find who or what was behind this.
"Dammit…what kind of witchcraft is…?" His eyes opened wide. He knew who was behind this. "Dammit!"
Rashid reached for his belt, pulling out a communicator from one of the holsters.
"Captain Rashid to High Command!" he cried out frantically. "Come in, High Command!"
"This is High Command. What's your–?"
"It's the buzzard!" Rashid shouted. "That damned buzzard's still alive! She's already taken out my men! We need back–!"
Rashid's call for help was cut off as the earth beneath his feet vanished, sending him plummeting into darkness. The last thing he saw was the early morning sky rapidly shrinking into the distance before it closed up, leaving him trapped in darkness.
-X-
"Captain Rashid?" the officer on the comm asked. "Captain Rashid, come in! What's going…"
"Rashid's not here anymore."
The comms officer froze at the sound of the voice.
"Y-You…"
A loud crunching noise echoed through the officer's headset, followed by the scratch of static.
"Chehaya, almighty…" he whispered nervously. "She's back…"
-X-
Meanwhile, the figure looked down on the crushed remains of the comm beneath her boot.
"More children of the desert lost to the darkness." She shook her head mournfully. "It never ends…never stops…"
She reached into her pocket, pulled out her smartphone, and looked over the email she'd received. While it had been many years since she had even opened any of the correspondences from her old comrades, this was one that could not be ignored. With a heavy heart, she opened the email, seeing a single video attached, and the words "PLAY ME" typed above it.
"Please be another prank…" she prayed. "Please, please, please…"
She opened up the video and was greeted by the sight of Julian Kintobor sitting before a camera, looking utterly depressed and spent.
"Julian Kintobor ROCC Project Log - November 11, 3235."
"Shit…"
She sat down on one of the few unturned crates as she listened to the video, hearing all of Julian's terrible plans. His confessions. His fears. And his many, many apologies.
"Right or wrong, the ROCC will be finished. May Aurora forgive me for what I'm about to do... To my longtime friends in Squad Saturn. Beauregard. Sherman. Amadeus. Jules. Chuck. I'm sorry... I know you encouraged me to believe in people, and I'm sorry that I failed to do so."
"Oh Julian…" the figure whispered.
"And Nephthys...if you are still alive and reading this message, I am counting on you to keep your promise to me, should it become necessary." He leaned forward. "You know the one."
The video stopped, leaving the figure staring down at the screen in silence.
"So, it's finally happened…" She adjusted her cloak, revealing a long, yellow beak and a black tip. "The worst has come to pass."
She reached into her cloak, pulling out a pack of cigarettes. She took one out and stuck it in her beak, the cancer stick suddenly lighting on its own.
"Julian...it seems the darkness of the world was too much for you after all."
She took a drag, then exhaled a cloud of smoke into the sky, which was slowly beginning to brighten from the newly dawning sun.
"It would seem that our bitter reunion will be much sooner than either of us imagined."
She removed her hood, allowing her white, wild, feathery mane to blow freely in the desert wind.
"Don't worry, my…friend, I haven't forgotten my promise to you, and I swear, I will see it through…"
She looked up at the sky, her purple eyes filled with stoic resolve.
"Or my name isn't Nephthys the Vulture."
Author's Note:
(1): Based on Robotnik's design from the first and second live action movies.
(2): Mobian Egypt. A shortened version of Mobigypt from Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.
Well... that's the truth of the ROCC. Inspired by WindstarOsprey providing the idea that "evil" is a word and what it means.
A WORD FROM WINDSTAR:
I just want to take a moment to say that I've been waiting for this moment for a while. Of all the characters from the Archie comics, Nephthys the Vulture is easily one of my favorites. She has an imposing, yet elegant design. A fierce, yet caring personality. And her motives for joining the Eggman Empire are sympathetic and tragic (maybe not to the same level as Clove, but it's there).
Part of what made the Egg Bosses such memorable, entertaining characters, despite their limited screen time, was their diversity. Each of the original twelve had widely different designs, species, body types, personalities, and motivations. Sure, they were simple and tended to stick to a lot of villain group archetypes, but they were nonetheless charming enough to leave me and many Sonic fans hungry for more. So, when I began making the plans for the Talesverse incarnations of the Egg Bosses with the others, I knew I was going to have a lot of fun fleshing her out. Little did I realize just how much fun I'd end up having. I'll save the details for later when she's more relevant to the story. For now, I'd just like to address the largest divergence between her Tales and canon self: her relationship with Eggman/Julian.
First off, no, I do not ship Eggman and Nephthys. At least, not in any universe besides this. Canon Eggman is an unrepentantly evil dictator and, unless your name is Sage, he will never see anyone as anything more than a tool. I also don't ship her with Battle Kukku XV for similar reasons (especially not his Tales incarnation, more on that later).
Second, I originally suggested making Tales Eggman and Nephthys former lovers as a joke. I was struggling to come up with an interesting backstory for the latter beyond "shellshocked, Middle Eastern soldier". However, the joke ended up growing on us, and after some convincing and experimentation, we managed to find a way to make it work in the plot.
And third, Nephthys is anthropomorphic, sentient, and capable of consent. She's even around the same general height as Eggman and has proportions closer to that of a Sonic human than a normal Mobian. This is no different than all the human and non-human romantic relationships seen in a lot of fantasy and sci-fi stories, and if it's acceptable there, it's acceptable here.
That's all I have to say for the moment. I look forward to showing you all what we've come up with for Nephthys and the rest of her fellow Egg Bosses in future storylines. In fact, next time, we'll be doing just that.
Thank you for your time and have a nice day!
-WindstarOsprey.
Voice cast for this chapter:
* Nephthys - Corinne Sudberg/Megami33 (Integra Hellsing in Hellsing Ultimate Abridged, Peach in Smash King, Kozuki Momonosuke & Charlotte Poire in One Piece, Nataku Son/Tak-kun in Fire Force, Alicia in Restaurant to Another World 2)
Please R&R. Until next time!