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Chapter Text

They had been found.

Jules burst into the house, his face drawn and pale.

“Aleena!” he shouted, in an attempt to find bags, supplies - anything! “Aleena!” he shouted again, “Children, all of you!”

Form the kitchen appeared a raspberry purple coloured hedgehog with long, elegant quills and a bewildered expression on her face.

“What’s the matter?” she asked her husband, “What in Chaos is the matter?”

The terror of her usually calm husband unnerved her to the core and his strong green eyes were ablaze with anger.

“They found us,” he practically choked, “They’re coming for him.”

Aleena had to seize the doorframe to prevent herself from falling. Her eyes darted to the stairs where one hoglet, the same colour as her mother, had frozen in mid-step, tears pooling in her eyes. She had, no doubt, come to answer her father’s call and had heard the devastating news. “Sonia, darling, grab your bag and your brothers. We’re leaving,” Jules said, calmly but firmly. Aleena dashed past him to help her children, trembling with rage and fear. The pale blue hedgehog simply continued throwing things in a bag, desperate to put as much distance between his family and this house which had been a happy family home for nearly five years. Ever since the birth of the triplets, Jules had been living a life on edge, hiding his precious family away from sinister forces. Now it was all starting to catch up with them and there was little time to waste. If any.

”You can’t keep him forever,” a voice echoed in the back of his head, a malevolent sound from the day that should have been one of merriment for he and his wife, “Try and hide him all you like. But we’ll come for your son one day. You can’t keep him.”

Hot tears of fury stung the hedgehog with the sky blue fur. 

“You’re leaving?” a deep voice spoke from the front door, “Oh. A shame. I was hoping to have a word before you left.”

Silhouetted in the doorway, an ominous black shape, stood a man. A skinny, grotesque sort of man, with sharp eyes, a sharp nose, sharp fingers and a sharp tongue. He had not a single hair upon his head and yet he sported a thick, orangey brown goatee. 

Jules took one look at him and felt his quills sharpen.

”Get out of my house!” he screeched, instinctively moving to block the staircase as his eyes flashed with green fire, “Crawl back to the hell-hole you were spewed from and stay there!”

The man, dressed in a long coat, smiled sickly.

”Such eloquent words,” he chuckled, “I say that sarcastically, of course; whoever heard of an eloquent animal?”

Jules glared.

The man’s smile dropped slightly but his gaze bored into the blue hedgehog with hated and evil. 

“How’s the family?” he asked slowly and deliberately. He could see it now - while Julius Hedgehog spoke and acted like someone with guts, someone with the blood of knights in his veins, when it came to the safety of his family, he was as yellow as a plump hen. 

“Get out,” Jules repeated, balling his fists and beginning to shake. 

The man raised his bushy eyebrows and narrowed his gaze. His soulless, black gaze. 

“Now I think we both know that’s not going to happen,” he said, holding his hands behind him and tilting his head to one size like some hungry reptile, “I haven’t spent these last few years tracking you down to merely pop my head round the door and ask how you were doing. Although, while I’m here I’ll ask again, how ARE you all doing? He must be getting quite big now, am I right? Let’s see... 5 years old? 6?”

”Julius?” Aleena appeared down the stairs, freezing in horror at the sight before her.

”Aleena, good afternoon,” their unwelcome guest greeted politely, “My word, still as lovely as ever, aren’t you? That’s coming from someone who is a very poor judge of hedgehog beauty.”

But Aleena knew this man was not here for pleasantries.

”Please,” she wept, her knees nearly failing her, “...Please don’t.”

Unfortunately, the man had very little compassion in his heart.

”Shall we make this brief?” he grinned at Jules, “The house is surrounded and after the merry chase you’ve lead us on, I am in no mood for games or compromises.” He turned his cruel gaze back to Aleena. “If his things are packed already, then just send him down and we’ll leave in peace. Nobody has to die today.”

That was when they all heard the growl emanating from Jules’ throat.

”You’ll be dead once I get my hands on your throat, Robotnik.”

Ira Robotnik, the younger brother to the greatly feared Ivo Robotnik, looked nerved for only a moment before masking it with amusement as he glanced up at the staircase. 

“Now, Julius,” he chastised, “not in front of children.”

Ice coursed through Jules and Aleena as they immediately looked up to the landing. Sonia was there, white with fear, a little toothbrush clasped in her paws.

”Sonia! Inside the nursery!” Aleena cried, her startled voice causing the young hoglet to bolt. The slam of a door was heard shortly after as Ira smiled on.

”Last time I saw your daughter, she was smaller than my hand,” he mused. 

“Don’t you dare talk about my daughter!” Jules warmed, baring his teeth and hunching his shoulders so that his spines bristled.

”Of course. We’re getting off topic. We were talking about your son,” Ira Robotnik nodded, “Aleena, your highness, would you call for him?”

”You’re not taking him!” Jules roared, stepping forward, torn between spiking the intruder to death or protecting his family.

”Am I not?” Ira closed his eyes and smiled to himself.

As though in reply, there came a series of screams from upstairs and three hoglets came scurrying down to cling to their mother who sheltered them with her body as two armed thugs drifted into view on the landing. Baring her full back of spines to the intruders, Aleena cuddled her array to her tummy, breathing heavily while Jules sprang up the first two steps to shield them on the other side. 

Ira’s sinister eyes gleamed hungrily as he came slowly forward, peering round Jules to study the three hoglets that were trying to hide from the frightening men.

Sonia was the first of the triplets to be born, the same colouring as her beautiful mother. 

Then it had been Manic, vibrant green like his paternal grandmother.

Then the last hoglet to be born of the litter...

”There he is!” Ira smiled, circling round like a vulture, “Now just stay still... Let Uncle Robotnik get a good look at you...”

Sonic was the one he was after, the hoglet with the electric blue fur. He was the special one.

He MAY have turned out the same colour as his father had a certain accident not happened in the womb...

”No, you stay away!” Jules shouted, a hand reaching round to grab his blue son, “You hear me?”

”Such a handsome boy,” Ira admired, ignoring Jules. His eyes lowered and an evil smile crossed his face, “And those legs...”

At that, Jules finally snapped. He leapt at the madman, teeth bared, scratching and kicking for all he was worth.

”Sonic, run! Kids, all of you! Run!” he cried over his shoulder, “Get out of here! Don’t look back!”

Aleena pushed the three of them as she turned and started pummelling the two thugs at the top of the stairs.

Ignited by fear, the triplets hurried down and made a break for the front door. As Sonia and Manic disappeared outside, Sonic paused, turning to see what was becoming of his parents.

”Just run, Sonic!” Jules shouted as he was thrown to the floor by the soldiers who had come to Ira’s aid, “Never stop running!”

And so Sonic ran. With an ear-throbbing bang, the little blue hedgehog was gone, vanishing into the forest, calling desperately for his siblings with tears streaming down his face.

But he wasn’t going to be seeing his siblings again. 

They were chased after by the team waiting for them outside and carted straight back home by the scruffs of their necks to their badly beaten parents where they would be ‘dealt with’.

Jules was broken and bleeding. He lay on his side panting and grasping the carpet with torn gloves as Aleena, equally as battered, made a point of cradling her remaining hoglets, praying that her third had gained enough distance.

”Well?” Ira, nursing a wound to the temple, demanded as a muscular bear in leather came in. 

“S’rry, boss,” it grunted to him, “Lil’ hog long gone.”

Ira Robotnik was seething. His were pools of fire when he glared down at Sonic’s father on the floor.

”You’ve only delayed things, Julius,” he growled, “We’ll get your son one day. I can promise you that.”

Jules was losing consciousness and was also losing the battle against the gunshot wound he’d received in the stomach. His head ached and he could feel his lungs rattling as he lay on the blood-stained carpet.

”And you’ll die in just the way you deserve,” he croaked, holding Ira’s glare. “You and that brother of yours. “I can promise you THAT!”

”You’re not in any condition to be promising anything.”

”Tell him...” Jules breathed, “...Tell Dr Ivo Robotnik... Tell him that my son will never be his. He’ll grow to be... a powerful being... But not a weapon...”

Ira crouched down closer to the hedgehog’s face.

”Do you really think you should be wasting your last breaths, hedgehog?” he asked quietly. He could see the light fading from Jules’ eyes.

”Only to tell you,” Jules now spoke in sighs, his eyelids closing, “that you won’t have Sonic. He’s a child born of Chaos. He’s the embodiment of the wind. And... and nothing... can catch... the wind...”

The hedgehog then gave a shuddered breath and went still, his life ebbed clean away. 

Aleena wept into her children’s fur, now foreseeing that they were all doomed.

Ira sneered down at the dead hedgehog. 

“We shall see,” he murmured and then stood up, casting one look around the house which was now teeming with his men, some searching the place and some standing over the hedgehog family with their guns pointed.

Straightening his coat, Ira gave the last three hedgehogs a remorseless scoff. 

“Shoot them.”

The sun was setting and still Sonic ran. 

He couldn’t see where he was going for the tears in his eyes blinded him.

He eventually came to a stop when he collided with a tree and sank to the ground, the only pain being the pain of loneliness. He had called and called for his brother and sister. Over and over he had shouted their names, hoping that his litter mates were out there, that they would hear him and come for him.

But they didn’t and, deep in his heart, Sonic knew they never would.

“Sir? You want us to send out a search party?” one thug asked, cautiously approaching Ira Robotnik. 

Ira was silent for a moment, staring out at the forest with an unreadable expression. 

“No,” he mumbled, “We’re returning to my brother. He needs to know about this.”

”But... but Sir,” the man continued, “What if we never find him?”

Ira let out a sinister laugh.

”As though one little hoglet can look after himself out there,” he chortled, “He can run as fast as he likes but he can’t run forever. He’ll find a village or something. He’ll let his guard down. Then we’ll get him.”

Something caught Ira’s eye down on the ground and he stooped to retrieve it, revealing a small, brilliant blue quill between his fingers. He smiled. 

“The world feared power once... It’s time they learnt to fear it again. We’ll show them what true fear is, won’t we?”

Writer’s Note -

Welcome to Chaos Born. This story was originally posted on Fanfiction.net in 2017 where it can still be found, completed and credited. Thanks to the support it received, I have begun to re-upload the story to both the AO3 and Wattpad sites for those who prefer.

Just so it is clear: although this story features implied pairings, ‘romance’ is NOT the genre of this story and is not the main focus. Chaos Born originated as a character study and will remain as such.

- Duma

Chapter Text

It was a wonder that Eggman didn't just give up building robots and venture into the industry of fireworks, considering so many of his metallic creations seemed to explode like the flaming things.

Then again, fireworks weren't tradtionally caused by the impact of a high speed hedgehog. Not usually.

Most of the robots were scrapped entirely, littering the valley in metal shards and cogs and wheels - an ugly sight, in Sonic's opinion, as he tore open a decapitated bee-bomber and releashed the terrified bird inside.

Nearby, Tails was nimbly dodging a few shots from a very optimistic robot, though considering it only consisted of a torso, half a head and only one arm, the term 'robot' could only be used half-heartedly and it hardly concerned the young two-tailed fox, brandishing his EMP gun.

Another robot went off with a bang on the other side of the gorge where Knuckles was pummelling holes into Eggman's drones, a somewhat disturbing grin on his face.

"What do you say, Knuckles?" Sonic called across the chasm, "Three badniks left. One for each of us?"

The echidna kicked the head of his last victim over the edge and watched it roll for a second before looking up and visibly running his tongue over his front teeth. 

"Can't promise anything," he called back, brandishing his lethal knuckled fist.

Tails aimed his EMP and fired, sending the remains of the robot in front of him into spasms. 

"Keep up, old men," he cheekily called over his shoulder, wagging his namesakes proudly.

"Any more of that lip," Sonic warned, having spinballed a distracted badnik, "And you can consider your backside grounded."

"Grounded?" Tails laughed, watching the Blue Blur, "Please! You haven't had the canines to ground me in seven years!"

"Nah, 'cause here I was thinking you were a good boy."

The levity was short-lived when the robot that Knuckles had been close to destroying suddenly tried to retreat, coined onto the fact that its allies were all in bits down in the valley. On it's way, however, it had chanced to gain one final victory.

The ground around the edge of the gorge where Tails was stood was weak and dry and unable to withstand the deluge of missiles and laser fire that then rained down upon it. As a result, the rocks gave way and Tails went with it, trapped underneath the debris with no room to use his tails to save himself.

"TAILS!" Sonic cried, leaping off the edge without a second thought, diving headlong into the mass of falling rock and using the boulders to spring from one obstacle to another.

Catching sight of his best friend in amongst the rubble, the hedgehog kicked out a foot and used the valley wall as leverage to propell himself forward, snatching the fox in mid-air and protectively curling around him to shield him from injury. Bracing himself for a lot of pain, Sonic's body tightened. But instead of experiencing the impact from the ground, both Sonic and Tails went careening off as Knuckles leapt through and caught them, pinning them to the wall of the canyon as he dug in a fist to stop them from sliding down too far. They huddled together tightly as the rocks cascaded down, a few smaller ones striking the hedgehog and the echidna, both of whom were shielding Tails beneath them.

After a few moments, the rockfall stopped. Coughing and shaking the dust from his dreadlocks, Knuckles was the first to lift a weary head, his right forearm trembling from the effort of keeping them against the wall. He slowly loosened his hold so that the three of them started to descend gently down into the graveyard of robot remains.

As soon as his feet hit solid ground, Sonic wearily blinked his eyes, worried that he could only see red. Then he worked out it was because his face was pressed into Knuckles' chest.

"Everyone okay?" the echidna asked, gingerly removing his raw fist from the deep groove he had now carved in the side of the cliff.

"Been better," Sonic admitted, rolling his bruised shoulders, "What about you Tails?"

The young fox had attached itself around Sonic and wasn't in any way inclined to let go. He looked up sheepishly at his two best friends.

"I'm fine. Thanks to you guys," he mumbled, big blue eyes looking downcast, "I'm really sorry. I should have..."

"None of that, buddy," Sonic interrupted, standing up straight and letting Tails find his footing, "Wasn't your fault and you would have done the same, let's face it."

"What?"

"You know, jump off a cliff to rescue me. I mean... Well, maybe you wouldn't. I don't know..."

He broke off as Tails laughed which was Sonic's full intention.

"If it was anyone's fault, it's mine," Knuckles suddenly said, rubbing his hand, "That was my robot, after all. But if it makes you feel better, it's gone now."

"Oh, so you took care of the robot before you thought about trying to help us out?" Sonic cried in mock offense.

"All happened in one fluid motion, actually. It was very elegently done, if I do say so myself. Anyway, you're a hard-headed hog, I'm sure you would have been able to look after Tails and only walk away with a fractured rib or so. I wasn't worried."

"Sometimes I forget just how good of a friend you really are, Knux. We really don't deserve you, do we?"

"Does anyone?"

The autumn afternoon sun was streaking through the window as Amy cuddled down on her sofa, swaddled in a blanket in front of the crackling fireplace, lost in a romantic novel whilst balancing a mug of tea in one hand and a bowl of popcorn on her stomach. Never had she felt so completely at ease and in total bliss.

Okay so maybe a hot bath and an evening with Sonic MAY have topped it but it was good enough.

Unfortunately, she had only just lifted the mug to her lips when she heard a series of knocks at her front door. Frowning a little, Amy let out an irritated sigh and set down her bowl, mug and book on the coffee table, throwing her blanket over the back of the sofa and getting to her feet. As she walked down the hallway, she hurriedly ruffled her quills back into place and then opened the door, leaping back in surprise as three of her friends almost fell in on top of her.

First was Tails, clinging to Sonic with one arm whilst the other supported his own back.

Sonic was hunched over and had to push against the doorframe.

Knuckles was just behind them, cradling his right hand and shuffling in.

All three looked as though they'd had a night on the town and were now incredibly plastered, just trying to find the nearest refuge where they could throw up and collapse on a familiar carpet. They each gave a bewildered Amy a guilty smile as they went, limping and staggering, down her hallway in the direction of her front room where she had been just a moment before.

"Do I want to know?" she asked, pushing the door shut and mentally preparing herself for some wild story.

"Knowing you," Knuckles grunted as he went by, "Probably."

Rolling her eyes, the pink hedgehog female went to the kitchen and stuck the kettle on, fishing out painkillers from her medicine cabinet and pouring three glasses of water.

In the front room, Knuckles had sunk into an armchair and Tails and Sonic were splayed out on her sofa, the former trying to press against one square cushion and the latter faceplanting the other.

"Sonic, you're bleeding!" Amy cried, dumping the water and painkiller down on the coffee table beside the popcorn and moving to look at the blue hedgehog's injured shoulder.

Sonic only gave a muffled moan and said 'mmmph'.

"What happened?" Amy demanded.

"Robots. Laser. Rockslide," answered Knuckles, "I got a sore paw and headache the size of Sonic's ego."

"Pulled a muscle in my back," answered Tails, "Twisted my ankle too."

"Mr Hero over there," Knuckles then added, "took a sharp rock to the shoulder and probably has bruised lungs from when I grabbed him in mid-air."

Amy merely sighed, far too used to the boys' adventuring mishaps to get riled up. She directed Tails and Knuckles to the water and painkiller whilst she returned to her cabinet and retrieved the first aid kit and made some coffee, returning to find two out of three friends nicely dosed. Sonic didn't seem to be especially motivated to move from his comatose position and he only flinched a couple of times as Amy cleaned and plastered his cut shoulder. The temptation of a hot drink finally stirred him to sit up and accept the painkiller, drinking it down with his decaf coffee (no-one was stupid enough to give hyperactive Sonic the strong stuff).

"Thanks Ames," Sonic murmured, leaning back on the sofa with a sigh.

Moments later, Knuckles' fist was cleaned and dressed, Tails had a heat pack on his back and all three were looking ready to doze off. Smiling to herself, Amy packed away the first-aid kit and briefly contemplated on whether she would be permitted to allow herself to have a teeny small alcaholic drink. Deciding against it, even though she felt overdue for one, the young lady next trudged along to the airing cupboard, pulling out three quilts and three pillows.

"Here," she said, throwing them at the boys, "Bunk at my place tonight and I'll let you go tomorrow if I think you're up for it."

"Yes Mother," the three of them chorused together.

Chapter Text

Eggman hadn't been heard from in quite a while; he had jumped off the radar six months ago without so much as a word or a threat. That was nothing new - the villain had done this sort of thing before.

In that time, Sonic and his friends had been dealing with renegade robots that had come online without a master to give them orders, only acting on their base programming which told them to destroy anything that was hedgehog blue and anything that was connected to hedgehog blue. 

The last of them had now been dealt with, prompting the Mobius Planet to heave a sigh of relief for the time being.

There were those, on the other hand, who knew better than to assume that they were free to live their lives without disturbance.

The Sonic Allies, the large group of freedom fighters that had each had a part in defending the world against enemies such as Eggman (and which consisted of individuals who were none too keen to be referred to as members of 'Team Sonic'), had experience of the mad scientist and knew him better than most. The likelihood that he would be defeated quietly was near to impossible so when Sonic awoke the next morning on Amy's sofa, curled up with a fox using him for a pillow, he knew it was the first day of waiting to see what Eggman would do next.

And when.

Always the last to fall asleep and always the first to wake, Sonic lay there in silence, not daring to disturb the fox that rested on him, pondering on where they were in life. A brief review, of sorts. He briefly thought back to past choices, musing on how different the present might be had he made other decisions regarding friends, enemies, lifestyles...

Tails gave a content sigh in his sleep, one of his tails re-wrapping itself around himself and nuzzling further into the downy fur of Sonic's stomach.

The hedgehog smiled, satisfied that, even if he had to regret everything else, he had made at least one good decision in taking in that tiny abandoned fox cub well over a decade ago.

The lump of red fur from the armchair gave a small snore as he twisted over and cuddled under the corner of his quilt.

Knuckles was another good decision, as far as Sonic was concerned. After their first encounter, the sensible thing may have been to leave the echidna to his own devices, guarding the Master Emerald as his ancestors had done in the days of old, drawing Eggman's attention elsewhere... 

While he had his rare moments, Sonic wasn't often described as 'sensible'.

He had turned a blind eye to Knuckles' position, his circumstances and his invisible chain that bound him to his duty. All he saw was a lonely rock that needed the opportunity to freely leave the island and explore the world every so once in a while. So, rather than forget about the echidna, Sonic had tried making him into an ally, a permenant friend. It had taken time but, finally, Knuckles had accepted the hand of friendship, welcoming Sonic and Tails as his own brothers. His duty was still to the Master Emerald, of course, but now there was more help, more oppurtunity to 'get out there' as Sonic had told him and as a result, Knuckles had developed a love for treasure hunting.

They made quite the team: Sonic, Tails and Knuckles. Each had a power that perfectly balanced one another out.

Sonic was the fastest, Knuckles, the strongest, and Tails, the smartest.

Sonic was the risk-taker, the optimist, the spear-head leader. Knuckles was the muscle, the wrecking ball, the loyal meat shield. Tails was the flyer, the gadget-guy, the hacker with a plan.

"Good morning," whispered a soft voice.

Amy had padded down the stairs in her slippers, silently made breakfast and had prepared drinks. She deposited a cup of tea down in front of Sonic and, with a smile, had taken the other free armchair.

Sonic thanked her and watched her cuddle into chair cushion.

Rounding everything off was Amy Rose, the fourth and final set member of Sonic's intimate group of friends. She had been the one that Sonic had been considering the most, trying to work out if the decision had been good or bad. After all, in her younger years, Amy had been... well... obsessive. She had set her heart on Sonic the Hedgehog and nothing, absolutely nothing, had ever been able to deter her away from him.

She was as stubborn as Knuckles, as devoted as Tails and, while not exactly on par with Sonic, was as quick and agile as every other hedgehog.

More than that, she had grown to fit every role that the three of them could ask for - she was the mother and the sister and..

Sonic was smiling.

They had met when he was fifteen and she was twelve - a whole ten years ago. Her love for him, incredibly, had not changed in that time.

Now her love was returned; she and Sonic had begun dating two years ago.

Of course, it could have been that, during her teenage years, Amy had come to realise that she may have been a tad smothering and so she had eased off, resigned to the fact that if Sonic liked her, he'd let her know when he was good and ready.

He had chosen to tell her whilst in the clutches of Metal Sonic, a metallic claw clamped around his throat and another metallic claw clamped around Amy's arm, in a free-fall descent towards an erupting volcano.

Sonic was always the romantic type.

"So now Eggman's loose robots are all taken care of," Amy had murmured quietly, sipping her own drink, wrapped in her fluffy soft pink night robe, "there's nothing else to do but wait?"

"Something like that," Sonic nodded, gently placing his gloved hand on Tails' chest and softly stroking the 18 year old's fur.

Although practically an adult, Tails was still young at heart and secretly enjoyed a little loving attention from his older brother/best friend although, had he been awake, he may have given the hedgehog a disapproving glance. He drew the line at giving Public Displays of Affection in front of the others - more specifically, those outside the ‘Classic’ Four, as the rest of the Sonic Allies sometimes nicknamed them behind their backs.

"How's your shoulder?" Amy then asked, still keeping her voice low.

"It's fine," Sonic replied, "Between you and Chaos energy, I'm fighting fit again."

"And the lungs?"

"Breathing."

Amy nodded, satisfied. It took a lot to take down Sonic. He, Shadow and Knuckles were the most resilient creatures she had ever known - they could take a beating, an explosion, a bullet storm and a natural disaster all in one hit and then shake it off afterwards, albeit after a moment to lie down and stop their heads from spinning first. Silver could probably take it all too but it was difficult to tell with him seeing as he was from the future and had special adaptations.

It was because of Chaos energy, that much she knew.

Chaos acted as a power source and a healing factor for those dubbed as 'Chaos Beings' - those with abnoramlly high levels of Chaos running through their systems.

Of course, Chaos Energy, the background radiation of Mobius, acted differently with different people. Tails, for example, was the definition of a child prodigy; a classified genius even when young enough to be sucking milk bottles and wearing padded overalls. Who knew if the powers of Chaos were involved with that! Blaze had always said that she wasn't a 'Chaos Being' per se, being from another dimension, and instead had gained her powers through the use of the Sol Emeralds, back home (which made her a Chaos Being in this dimension, whatever she said).

In all honesty, Amy didn't really care. She was only grateful that Sonic could harness the powers of Chaos for his heroic work.

It was strange, she mused, staring at him, how he seemed to be more at ease with Chaos Energy than even that of Shadow sometimes, who had been created to use it at will. When she had asked Sonic, he had merely shrugged and simply put it down to beginner's luck, or natural talent. That had been accompanied by a cocky smirk.

"What are you laughing at?" Sonic asked, breaking Amy from her thoughts.

"I'm not laughing, I'm smiling," she replied, clearing her head.

"Okay, what are you smiling at?"

"I'm smiling at you."

"Why?"

Amy took another gulp of tea. 

"Because," she answered, "you and Tails are looking very cute this morning."

With Team Sonic breakfasted and washed, it was time to face reality.

"I'd best be getting back home," Knuckles announced, glancing out the window, "Can't be away too long; I'll get into trouble."

"Take care, Knux," Sonic called after him as he strode through the door, "And, you know, thanks again." Knuckles just smiled and went on his way.

"We'd better be off too," Tails said, "I've got to get global surveilence tech up and running for GUN. The moment Eggman reappears, they all want to know."

"Can't blame them," Amy shivvered, "I never want to see another Eggman robot again." She heard a chuckle behind her.

"Aw, Ames," said Sonic, "Where's the excitement without a few badniks to kick around?"

"We're not all adrenaline junkies like you," Amy retorted, pushing him towards the door.

Sonic pretended to look hurt.

"You're not?" Tails had already walked through the door but that was where Sonic stopped and turned, blocking the way by leaning on both doorframes. "How about a Date Night junkie? Are you one of those?"

Amy twitched an ear.

"What time were you thinking of finding out?" she asked slowly.

Sonic tilted his head on one side like a puppy.

"Maybe six? Dinner and a show, how about that?"

"You'll wear a jacket?"

"...Fine."

"Then it's a date."

The Master Emerald was right where Knuckles had left it, glittering beautifully on its shrine.
It glowed brightly in greeting when Knuckles approached it and the echidna felt a wash of calm pass him over.

"Hope you've behaved," he murmured softly, in a fond way.

"Don't you worry, she's been good as gold," a voice answered him.

"I'm surprised to find it still here," Knuckles huffed, crossing his arms and raising his eyebrow as a shape appeared at his side.

"Now where would I go?" Rouge asked, planting her hands on her hips, "Where would I possibly hide it?"

"I can think of a few grungy caves," Knuckles replied, scrunching his nose and then turning his head towards the curvacious bat.

She was smirking straight back at him. Then she lifted one of his fists and kissed it.

"You could have called to say you weren't going to be home," she scolded playfully, wrapping her hand around Knuckles' thick arm, "Were you too busy in the company of some other woman?"

Though he was used to Rouge's teasing, Knuckles was annoyed that she still found ways of making him blush. 

"I was at Amy's..." he said and then wished he hadn't.

"An affair with Amy?" Rouge cackled, "My word, Sonic's going to have your hide, Knuckie dearest! I'll be widowed before the week is through!"

"No, Sonic was there too!"

"Oh I see. You're into THAT kind of relationship. Well, if you want I can call Shadow..."

"Rouge!" Knuckles cried in exasperation, "That's not what I meant and you know it!"

Giggling naughtily, Rouge gave the echidna another kiss on the muzzle.

"I know. I'm so mean to you, aren't I?" she sighed, wrapping her arms around him, "I missed you and your silly face, that's all. Angel Island is very lonely. Don't know how you managed to stand it for so long before you met me..."

"You?" Knuckles laughed, "You do know that my life doesn't revolve around you, don't you?"

Rouge pulled away and gave him a playful slap on the arm.

"Cheek," she grinned, sashaying down the steps with the intention of heading into their house underneath, "I let you put a ring on my finger, I let you call me your wife and that's the reward? Still second to the Master Emerald, am I? And after I looked after it while you were off smashing robots..."

Knuckles rubbed his arm with a smile. 

"I got hurt you know," he called after her, following his fiery wife.

"You poor darling," Rouge called back sarcastically, "Best come inside and let me treat you, eh?"

...But Knuckles didn't respond to her seduction. He had stopped halfway down the shrine steps, a sudden feeling coming over him.

Turning back towards the top of the shrine, the Guardian frowned, hurrying back up as fast as he could.

"Knuckles?" Rouge asked uncertainly at the bottom.

Their spacious underground house had been built beneath the shrine, with two 'floors' and a front door and easy access to the top if there was a hurry to get there. Knuckles could feel the Master Emerald from below and Rouge liked the cave-like feel as well as being surrounded by treasures that she and her husband had collected over the years, taking it in turns to go hunting and guard the Master Emerald above.

Something was off, however, when Knuckles stepped cautiously towards it, sensing an uneasiness about his charge.

"Knuckles? Sweetie, what's wrong" Rouge asked, her playfulness gone as she hurried back up to the top.

"Not sure yet," Knuckles replied, "It was glad to see me before but now it's... Something's frightened it."

"Like what?"

Knuckles gently touched the Emerald and closed his eyes, letting out a sigh of discomfort.

 "Something's going to happen. Sometime soon," he told Rouge, feeling for her hand and holding it to his chest while he still kept contact with the Master Emerald.

Rouge could remember the first time Knuckles had done that, allowing her to feel what he was feeling from the mighty jewel.

She could sense a trepidation, a feeling of unsafety, an approaching storm that had not yet hit...

"Is it Eggman?" she asked quietly but Knuckles shook his head.

"I don't know," he replied, "Not even the Master Emerald knows. Eggman's not dead so it could be him. But..." Knuckles furrowed his brow and then realised that he was sounding like a doom merchant, "...but it could easily be just a literal bad storm on the way. There could be a number of reasons as to why the Master Emerald gets uppity."

Rouge wrapped her wings around her front and shivvered. 

"Come inside," she murmured, "I'm working tomorrow and I want to spend some time with my husband."

Knuckles rubbed his namesakes and relented as the Master Emerald's worry seemed to ebb.

The echidna and bat took one another's hands and headed back towards the house, not dismissing the warning but shelving it away for the time being.

Even after all these years, Sonic still had no permanent place of residence. He had an empty shack on the beach but, besides that, he lived his life either outside under the stars or on the sofas of either Tails and Amy. If anyone wanted to contact him, they usually contacted Tails.

They took the Tornado, the bi-plane that used to be Sonic's but had been handed over to Tails long ago, and flew to the Mystic Ruins where Tails kept his home and workshop. Parking the plane in its hanger alongside other vehicles and craft, the two best friends went, laughing and joking, along the path to Tails' house.

The door opened and there stood another fox, a vixen, with ice blue eyes and fur that was slightly lighter than Tails'. Her long tail swished from side to side in greeting.

"Hi Tails! Hi Sonic!" she smiled, opening the door wide for them.

"Hi Zooey! How is everything?" Tails asked as Sonic passed him the hallway with a smirk and went about raiding the fridge.

"Everything is just fine," Zooey, Tails' girlfriend, replied and then turned towards the back door which lead out in the garden. She stood on the threshold and cupped her hands. "Rosemary!" she called, "Rosemary! Your daddy's home!"

From the orchard came the pitter patter of delicate feet and in through the door hurried a young 2 year old Seedrian girl with eyes as blue as Tails'. Her petal hair was pale green, curling beneath her face with one single rosebud over the right side of her head, but her leafy dress was pale yellow and white. She leapt into Tails' arms with a squeal, cuddling into her father's soft yellow fur in delight.

When Cosmo, her mother, had died, she had left behind a single seed for Tails, whom she had loved.

For many years, the seed had grown in its pot, like an ordinary plant but when its 'father' met Zooey and fell in love again, the seed had grown into a small baby, looking just like Cosmo apart from the yellow colouring which had (presumably) come from her mother's love for her father.

She had been named Rosemary Foxglove Prower.

It had been quite a shock for Tails to suddenly be thrust into fatherhood but Zooey had been on the scene to act as a stand-in mother. She and Rosemary were very close and had already practically adopted one another.

Then, of course, there was good old Uncle Sonic - Uncle Sonic who had retrieved her as a seed after her mother's demise.

Sonic doted on his adopted niece and vowed that he would do everything in his power to keep her safe. He was glomped by her moments later when he had finally found the leftover chili dogs that Tails always knew to keep in stock.

"Watch the spines, gumdrop," he warned, spinning her round to his front, "See? Uncle Sonic is softer on this side."

Rosemary giggled sweetly and rubbed the side of her face against Sonic's peach fur.

Tails on the other hand headed to his office which, on reflection, was more like a smaller lab with more bookshelves and fewer computers. He sent off a few emails to the GUN commander and went about uploading the Global Tracking File to their computer via his own.

Now, if Eggman was going to show up at any time, GUN would know about it.

Chapter Text

Far out to sea were a collection of small crops of land simply known as the Abandoned Isles. Cut off from the rest of the planet, the islands were nothing but wilderness where only a few remaining ruined houses still stood, empty and lifeless, nothing more than mere shells. Most of the islands had experienced flooding, what with slowly rising sea levels, and nearly all of Christmas Isle was underwater, claimed by the ocean.

Hidden in the rocky mountain of Christmas Isle, however, still remained one last relic; a decrepid, desolate robot factory, mostly submerged underground. It was the only place that the G.U.N. did not know about so Eggman felt secure that he would not be found. Many of his old robots were stored here too - old ideas, incomplete projects and scrapped, defective minions.

He had spent most of his months of hiding wallowing in his own madness, laughing at nothing, throwing things around and shouting to the ceiling. That was when he settled down and got on with tinkering in his laboratories, fixing his old machines and unearthing archived data and plans.

On one morning Eggman had awoken in a foul mood, no desire to tinker or build or plot any form of revenge.

He was getting old. He couldn't count how many years he had spent throwing time and resources into the capture of one hedgehog.

One infuriating, blue, supersonic hedgehog.

His makeshift bed creaked in protest as the rotunned scientist twisted this way and that, attempting to get comfortable and pass back into sleep. But sleep would not come due to his colourful imagination conjuring up all manners of torture to the one he hated so much. He wasn't even sure why it was Sonic in particular that pushed his buttons so much...

Actually, he had thought with a smile, that's a lie.

Year after year, Eggman had devised plot after vicious plot to conquer the planet and reform it to his heart's desire and, again, year after year, Sonic had always put himself in the way and pulled the rug out from under him.

That's why he hated him so much.

The rest of the Sonic Allies were also hated enemies but, strangely, he felt as though they were easily explained; there was a reason as to why they were involved in the battle to stop him - it was because of Sonic.

"Good morning Sir," chipped Orbot, hesitantly entering the room with a tray of breakfast. Ever the shrewd, intelligent type, Orbot had learnt that it was best just to bid his master a good morning, leave his breakfast and then leave. This time he was stopped.

"Orbot," Eggman growled. The red orb-shaped robot nervously looked roung, his panic levels rising.

"Yes, Sir?" Had robots been able to gulp, he would have done so.

"Where's Cubot?" Eggman asked. It wasn't a question that Orbot expected, that was for certain.

"Cubot?" he echoed, as though never having heard that name before, "I... Well, I don't know, Sir. He's probably still performing his morning duties. Dusting and hoovering and washing..."

"Get him and meet me at the Vault." Eggman started to smile. "I want to show you both something."

The Vault was the vast underground system where unneeded items and gizmos were kept - and it was also the final resting place of offline robots that were either waiting for the smelting pit or merely kept as momentoes. Orbot and Cubot, Eggman's current robot lackeys, following in their Master's wake like petrified chickens being taken to a slaughter house, had never set servoe in such a place as this and they floated around in dreaded awe, terrified of the old structure and equally respectful.

Previous robotic henchmen had been laid to rest right here; to Orbot and Cubot, this was no factory - it was a graveyard. A tomb. They now saw, with their own optics, the offlined remains of their predecessors such as Decoe, Bocoe and Bokuun.

"Served me as well as they could," Eggman had commented, giving them the 'guided tour' of the deep bowels of the building, "But every robot has their time. Systems don't continue forever, you know. It's a wonder yours are still going."

Orbot and Cubot didn't trust themselves to speak for they were too frightened. Each robot hung in glass capsules, strung up with wires and tubes, completely void of life.

"And look," Eggman's echoing voice came, further down the aisle, "Now these are going even further back. This is Scratch, Grounder and Coconuts. The most idiotic robots known to existence. Their creation was a mistake but rescources were scarce back then and I had to make do with what I had." Eggman's face darkened. "Even if they were completely incompetent and had no idea how to get a hold of that accursed hedgehog."

Orbot and Cubot merely shook in their metal shells, holding on to one another for comfort.

"Ohh!" Eggman suddenly crooned, making them jump, "See here? This was my little Cluck. Such a good companion!" He was stroking the glass of a capsule containing a small robot chicken with a serated metal beak and a wicked glare on its face. "I miss him," he sighed.

"That brat of mine hated him," a new voice echoed throughout the archives. Orbot and Cubot shrieked and flew behind Eggman, their metal clacking together loudly.

Eggman wasn't entirely nervous yet but he was alarmed to hear of an uninvited visitor to his private factory.

"Who's there?" he demanded, shouting into the dusty darkness, "Show yourself."

There was a moment of pause.

"After all this time," the voice chuckled, "and your moustache is still that luxuriant?"

Then, all at once, Eggman recognised the voice.

 "...That's impossible," he breathed, a smile forming on his face. Orbot and Cubot exchanged clueless faces.

"You were the one that said that nothing was impossible," the voice went on. Then, moving out of the gloom stepped a figure, a tall, slender figure with a gastly palour and a stick-like body, sporting an untidy orange-brown goatee. He grinned at Eggman. "Hello Ivo," he greeted.

Orbot and Cubot had no idea who this man was.

"Ira," Eggman smiled, his eyes glittering behind his spectacles, "You're alive."

"And kicking."

Eggman laughed and stepped forward.

"You crafty beanpole!" he chortled, hugging and thumping him on the shoulder, "Dingbots 1 and 2, this is Ira Robotnik, my little brother. Show respect and say hello!"

Ira Robotnik was, supposedly, the father of Snively - Eggman's disowned nephew, though that was never proven. Immediately, Orbot and Cubot dropped to the ground while Ira looked at them in amusement. Then deciding to ignore them, he turned his sole attention to Eggman.

"So how have you been, brother of mine?" he asked cordially, "It's been hard to keep a track of time and progress from the inside of an asylum. Oh, Uncle sends his regards, by the way. He's dead now but I promised to pass them on when I escaped."

"How did you escape?" asked Eggman, walking with his brother back towards his main living quarters as Orbot and Cubot slowly and cautiously followed.

Ira gave a grimace. 

"Not thanks to you, that's for sure," he muttered dryly.

Eggman halted and fixed his brother with a firm yet slightly uncomfortable stare. 

"There was no way I could break you out of the Asylum, Ira," he muttered back, "I tried when they took mother and I almost got locked up myself."

"Yes," Ira mused, continuing on, "they've been after you. The one Robotnik that slipped the net. Mind, you always were the clever one. Brains and a moustache? You can see why I was always jealous."

"Jealous of me?" Eggman scoffed, "You? Mother's pet?"

Ira lifted his head and cackled. It was incredible how much like Eggman he sounded.

"Hahaha! Not so much of Mother's Pet anymore. Don't think she even recognises me now. One foot in the grave, I swear - senile old cowbag." He wiped his eye and shook his head with a giggle.

Of course, this was the only facilty of Eggman's that he knew and he knew it well. He hardly needed an escort around a building he had once lived in himself. They reached the living quarters and settled down with drinks in the comfy chairs, staring at one another over their mugs with a look of both respect and distrust.

"Well," Eggman said, breaking the momentary silence, "I wish there were an Eggman Empire homecoming for you but, as you can see, that hasn't happened yet."

Ira didn't respond straight away. He simply gazed into his drink, watching it swill round and round and round, allowing a cruel, evil smirk to pull at his lips.

"...He's still evading you, is he?"

Eggman's grip around his mug tightened. 

"Just like I evade the Asylum. That hedgehog is more of an eel than any fish I know."

Orbot and Cubot observed the exchange in ever increasing levels of amazement.

"He knows Sonic?" Cubot beeped quietly, hurriedly being shooshed by his partner. Not that either of the Robotnik brothers took any notice.

"...How long has it been?" Ira asked, losing interest in his drink now.

"Since you last saw him? Twenty years," Eggman smiled and quite enjoyed Ira's sudden look of shock, "He's 25 now."

"No!" Ira gushed, like an old aunt, "He was only a scrap of a hoglet when I last saw him!"

"Strapping adult now. Looks just like his father. He still has the most powerful legs I've ever known, though."

"And still just as blue?"

"I'd say he's even more blue. Almost outshines the Chaos Emerald."

Ira drained his mug and set it on the table. "Well," he decided, "I dearly need to see him again."

"I agree. Unfortunately, he's grown rather erratic. And he has a little friendship group that's proved annoyingly disruptive."

"Friends?" Ira mused, his interest peaked once more.

"Royal pains, I call them," Eggman nodded, "He collects allies like they were postage stamps."

"How many?"

"Ooh, now that's a question. The last time I took a tally count... It was more than thirteen, anyway. One of them is a creation from Grandfather. You know, Gerald Robotnik?"

Ira wrinkled his nose, an appendage just as protrusive as his brother's. 

"Mother never spoke of him," he said, "Said he took cousin Maria and abandoned the family."

"Yes, he went off to create the Ultimate Lifeform," Eggman nodded, remembering the ARK and the events that lead up to it.

"Ah," Ira sighed knowingly, "Project Shadow, yes? Mother said he was always going on about trying to cure precious Maria, whoever she was."

Eggman stared into his empty mug. 

"They're both dead," he growled, recalling the video of his own grandfather's execution very vividly, "Not like they bothered to inform the rest of the family of that news. Shadow, on the other hand, the Ultimate Lifeform himself, is now allied with Sonic. Oh, and just hazard a guess as to what Shadow is?"

Ira drummed his fingers against the arm of his chair, taking a lungful of air at the same time. 

"...Don't tell me..." he purred, "...It's a hedgehog?"

Friendly chatter wasn't often a sound heard in the hallways and corridors of GUN's HQ; it tended to be the clicks and clacks of the agents' footfalls as they moved from room to room on some errand of some sort. They often walked with conviction, their minds set upon reaching a goal and lord pity the fool that attempted to hinder them in any way.

Yet they knew when to step aside when the forms of Team Dark materialised before them, coming along in their usual formation: Shadow and Rouge side by side with Omega standing behind, looming over both, his emotionless optics taking in everything.

Not that Team Dark often took the time to 'bond' with the other agents of GUN, human or otherwise. They kept themselves to themselves as a rule.

"My goodness, I feel awful." Rouge was always the first to initiate the conversation between the three of them, as per usual. "Stomach's been churning like a washing machine."

"Rough night?" Shadow was often the one to give a monotomous reply to Rouge's initial conversation starter, more out of politeness than any actual interest.

"Master Emerald was keeping Knuckles up," Rouge explained, arching her sore back, "By which I mean that he wriggles about in his sleep more. Had his giant fists in my face every other hour."

"And you love it," Shadow grunted.

"Are you unwell?" Omega then piped up, the one to only chip in every so often, "Do you require a health scan? Scanning... Blood pressure reads at..."

"Omega," Rouge interrupted with a patient smile, "You have to learn not to scan ladies like that without permission." She and Shadow were both extremely fond of their large, robotic friend with his dopey optics and his innocent concept of biological life sometimes (that facade changed when he was battling Eggman robots!). Omega also seemed to be the first robot they had encountered that could mimic facial expressions by tilting his optics.

He gave an apologetic whirr. 

"Apologies Rouge. I was only attempting to assist. Let me know if one requires an immediate connection call to a place of repair. I have pick-up trucks on 'speed dial'."

"We call them hospitals and ambulances, Omega."

Omega gave a click as he looked around him inconspicuously.

  "...Do I require permission to scan Ultimate Lifeforms without consent?"

"Knock yourself out, sweetheart," Rouge smiled.

"I feel no need to perform self cognitive..."

"It was an expression, honey."

Shadow, not one to enter into witty banter with his teammates, was the first one to reach the commander's door and give a knock.

"Enter," a gruff voice spoke from the other side. The three of them entered and stood along the wall, smartly facing the desk where a tall human officer was sat.

"Ah, Dark," he greeted, rising to his feet, "We have had reports from our private spies in the field that Eggman's area of operation could be near to being discovered. As you know, we've had all frequencies and satellites on monitor - we know that he is still somewhere on the planet. We believe we've narrowed down the search towards the South Coast."

"South Coast? You mean like South Island?" Rouge enquired, raising an eye, "Isn't that where Sonic and Eggman first butted heads?"

"It's our most probable location," the Commander nodded, "Humans are creatures of habit and sentimentality and, while we're reluctant to admit that Eggman is, indeed, of the human species, pyschologists have advised that we seek out areas where he and Sonic may have had... memories." He glanced at Shadow. "Have you been keeping an eye on Sonic?"

The black and red hedeghog turned his head away. "If you think I'm that hedgehog's keeper..."

"I'm not thinking that at all, Shadow," the Commander replied, "But I know that YOU know, just as well as the rest of your Ally group, that Eggman has a particular relationship with Sonic. If he's going to show up again..."

"Don't worry," Shadow sighed, "I'll be there to make sure 'Priority 1 Hedgehog' is in the know."

The Commander knotted his fingers and leant his elbows on the desk. 

"Yes," he murmured, "and to also ensure that the 'Priority 1 Hedgehog' isn't hog-snatched. Don't attempt to deny that you are not intrigued in your blue look-alike, Agent Shadow, for I am perfectly well aware that he is as perplexing to you as he is to me. GUN monitors both Eggman AND Sonic and, as agents of GUN..."

"We get it," Rouge interrupted, noticing Shadow's demeanor, "Just tell us where we're heading."

The Commander gave the bat a disapproving glance at her insubordinant tone but promptly pulled out a file from his desk drawer. 

"Get information on past battles between Sonic and Eggman during their early days," he ordered, "We're retracing the history between them to see if any further locations can be put on the search list. Also, we need you to head out to South Island. If Eggman hasn't a facility there then we clearly don't know a flying rat's backside about this guy."

"Expression unknown," Omega chipped, "Flying Rat - terminology, illogical. There is no data on flying rodents." The Commander facepalmed. "Searching files... Data suggests that you refer to the bat species. Permission to take offense on Agent Rouge's behalf."

"Just go!" the Commander groaned, "And no, permssion not granted. Now, please, get going."

Team Dark went on their way down the corridor.

"Do not tell," Omega told Rouge in as close to a whisper as a robot could manage, "but I ignored the Commander and took offense."

Rouge laughed.

"Thanks, Omega. You're a good friend."

Chapter Text

The steady stream of bleep noises seemed to drift into background noise as Amy stood and waited for the food to be priced and packed, lost in a faraway daydream of her 'wild' youth and how her life had suddenly fallen into orbit around 'Centre of the Solar System', Sonic.

She liked astronomy, she had decided, but this was the first time she had envisioned she and her friends as planets.

Sonic was, without doubt, the centre, the burning sun that drew in everyone else. Already the Sonic Allies Group was a vast Solar System with Tails holding proud position as the 'Planet Closest To The Sun'. Amy was a close second, she had decided quite forcefully, as the "beautiful" Venus.

She supposed that made Knuckles Mobius or 'Earth' as the Other-Worlders called it. Well, that was Knuckles all over - the earthy, immovable rock that seemed to be quite content where he was, none too keen to be shifted from his spot.

But Amy was pleased to be Venus.

It had been a rollercoaster, her relationship with Sonic, though her introduction to the blue hero could have been much more romantic, in her opinion.

She gave a violent shake as sudden red optics flashed into her mind, the grinding scrapes of metal joints and the menacing, talon-like fingers... all dressed in blue... Metal Sonic had haunted Amy's nightmares for years since being abducted by him on that first day she had met Sonic.

But that was in the past. Metal hadn't been heard from in an age and Sonic was a cemented part of her life now, whatever that life would come to.

Amy paid for her food and bade farewell to the cashier, taking a bag in each hand and making her way home.

"Hi, honey!" a recognisable voice hailed her. Rouge appeared at her side, taking a bag. "Need a hand? This is a lot of stuff for just yourself."

"Actually I'm having a dinner party tomorrow evening," Amy replied, smiling at that bat, "Oh and thanks for the help." She had once despised Rouge and had treated her as a rival.

During the early days, Rouge had an insatiable desire to flirt with each and every handsome fella she clapped eyes on and Sonic hadn't been able to slip under her radar at all. Now that Rouge had settled with rugged Knuckles, Amy was more keen to make a friend of Rouge rather than an enemy.

"Shame," the curvy bat had sighed, "I was hoping to hear you and Big Blue were planning a steamy date together. Candlelight meal, slow jazz in the background, bearskin rug in front of the fireplace... Oh well, so much for juicy gossip."

Amy rolled her eyes. Rouge really hadn't changed a bit in that respect and her flirty nickname for Sonic had stuck ever since she had first come up with it several years ago. 

"Sonic will be there," the pink hedgehog had assured her friend, "but so will Tails and Zooey. And little Rosemary too. She's such a darling."

Rouge blinked.

"Quite," she hummed and then stretched her wings as the two women turned down a lane towards Amy's cottage. "Seems a lifetime ago," she then murmured, seemingly to herself.

"What does?" Amy asked.

"Cosmo," Rouge replied, for she had been thinking about Rosemary, the Seedrian's daughter, "That whole adventure out in space with the Meterex and what have you. Seems a lifetime ago."

"Yeah," Amy just nodded sadly.

"I'll bet Tails isn't one to think about... what happened," Rouge pressed on, gnawing her lip for the right words to use, "It was hard on all of us but for him..."

"I know."

"I mean, to be the one to pull the trigger... "

"I know."

"And to use your best friend as the bullet..."

"I know!" Amy suddenly shouted and then looked uneasy, "Sorry," she apologised, "I guess I just... Sonic won't think about it either. I think he feels responsible for Cosmo's death just as much as Tails does because of the whole... Sonic Canon thing."

Rouge nodded in understanding. 

"Shadow was different," she murmured, recalling that the red and black hedgehog had also been a part of the 'bullet' that killed Cosmo, "Back then he kept his friends away from him and his enemies even further. Ironically, I think he felt closest to Sonic out of all us. Still do, if you want my opinion."

"How is Shadow?" Amy asked politely, hoping to turn the conversation around.

"Shadow? He's fine. Still a good-looking grump bag," Rouge answered, a gleam coming to her eye, "Really ought to thank Shade for that, I reckon. She and Shadow made pretty good friends. There are times when Shadow actually pretends to listen to me when I talk to him now." She and Amy both laughed jovially into the clear autumn day.

"I'm glad Shade has fitted in so well," Amy commented, "I know I was a bit off with her to begin with, what with her interest in Sonic and everything..."

"Same here, sweetheart," Rouge grunted, thinking of the pretty echidna girl and the way she seemed to follow Sonic and Knuckles about as though they were her bodyguards... She was feeling a little nauseus just thinking about it.

"...but I'm glad she's bonded with Shadow and made a friend out of him. They have a lot in common."

"Yeah, they can sit around not talking to each other," Rouge chuckled and then winced as a frown passed her.

"You okay?" Amy asked, raising an eye.

"Felt a little sick," Rouge admitted and then cocked her head back thoughtfully, "That was a weird time."

"What was?"

"Everything that lead up to meeting Shade and all those other echidnas. Funny that it all began with Eggman's hiatus - just like now."

Amy realised she was right. Eggman had done a disappearing act back then too, just like he was doing right now.

"We found him in one of his old facilities, didn't we?" Rouge pondered, "GUN's been trying to do something similar. Backtracking and all."

"I'll bet. Sonic got a call from them, you know, but he wasn't prepared to help them."

"Makes sense," Rouge nodded, "When you have a history like Sonic does with Eggman, you're not likely to want to relive any of it." It was then that Rouge looked lost in thought. "Still, it makes me wonder..."

"About?"

"About Eggman's facilites. How many do you think he's got? I'll bet hundreds. Wherever there's been a major fight between Sonic and Eggman, maybe."

"Maybe," Amy just responded casually.

Rouge glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. 

"What were they like back then?" she asked slowly, "Eggman and Big Blue, I mean."

They had arrived at Amy's front door and the young 22 year old hedgehog went about scrabbling in her handbag for her keys. Her snout had tightened and her eyes flashed.

"They were cat and mouse," she answered quietly, "But neither of them knew which was the cat and which was the mouse. I guess what worried me was that no-one could tell if Eggman was trying to build an empire and catch Sonic while he was at it..." Amy opened the front door and set down her bags, leaning against the wall, "Or..." she added, "if he was set on catching Sonic and was trying to build an empire while he was at that."

While Rouge was collecting intel, Shadow and Omega had recently arrived on South Island, a historical landmark as far as the rest of the planet was concerned. It was home to the descendents of some of the oldest families of Mobius and it was, generally, left alone, treated as some kind of preserve rather than a holiday destination. There were strict rules and regulations that had to be observed for anyone attempting to travel there for whatever reason.

Being agents of GUN, Shadow and Omega were above those rules.

Shadow knew that there was one place he had to check out first, an area that he always heard much about but had never actually, properly, enjoyed for himself:  Green Hill Zone.

It was far grander than one might envision: a humble, hilly meadow with checkered earth, streams, gorges and, of course, the sweeping round rocky structures that Sonic was known for sprinted up and over in one fluid momentum. In reality, it was that and so much more. There were also vast lakes and towering cliffs and deep ravines, all criss-crossing in a maze of pathways and tunnels. It wasn't hard to see why Sonic had loved it here or why he secretly went off by himself to come here so often (oh yes, Shadow was aware of that). Green Hill Zone was Sonic's Zone. It was where he felt the most like himself.

"You have anything on file, Omega?" Shadow asked his robotic friend. Omega's optics briefly flickered as a quiet whirring noise sounded in his head.

"Searching files..." he bleeped, "Information on File:SouthIslandFile:GreenHillZone. Report reads: 'Due to fertile soil from volcanic eruptions, Green Hill holds a flourishing eco-system...’"

"Omega," Shadow murmured patiently, pinching the bridge of his nose, "That wasn't actually what I meant. I was hoping you might be able to tell me anything about how this place relates to Eggman and Sonic."

Omega straightened and gave a few more clicks. 

"Searching files..." he repeated, "Accessing GUN database... information retrieval... Information on File:ArchivedReportsFile:SouthIslandFile:GreenHillZoneFile:June1991... Report reads: June 23rd - Reported suspect Dr Ivo Julian Robotnik seen fleeing area upon meeting conflict with Unknown Civilian. June 24th - Local information provides no evidence of Unknown Civilian. June 25th - Unknown Civilian identified as a blue hedgehog. Will investigate further. Report ends."

Shadow kicked at the ground. "Okay," he hummed, "Can that be narrowed down? Search for Sonic. Give me anything GUN has." Omega returned to the database and went about performing a more extensive search. After a few declarations of what it was his computer mind was accessing, Omega gave a stutter.

"Shadow," he groaned, "there is little data on Sonic. His files are encoded and stored in a deadlock file."

"What?" Shadow frowned, "But the Commander must know, surely!"

Omega gave a few more clicks. 

"Negative. Commander is not authorised to access Deadlock File."

"What about Eggman?"

"Searching... Dr Ivo Julian Robotnik, Alias: Eggman, Date of Birth: Unknown, Family: Unnamed Father (deceased), Unnamed Mother, Unnamed Brother, Brother, Nephew, Paternal Grandafther (deceased), Unnamed Cousin, Unnamed Cousin, Cousin (deceased)..."

Shadow let out a sigh again. Omega took the hint.

"...Searching... File:DrIvoJulianRobotnik... narrowing search... File:SouthIslandFile:DrIvoJulianRobotnikFile:Robotropolis."

"Anything?" Shadow prompted eagerly as Omega went quiet for a moment.

"...Deadlock File."

Shadow then swore very, very loudly.

As something hard hit the door, Sonic hesitated.

From the sounds of things, Vector was on the brink of getting his long jaw stuck into a new case. He could hear the burly crocodile from outside, shouting and jumping and banging things about in his excitement.

Rolling his eyes and mentally reminding himself that he could get Tails to pay him back later, Sonic opened the door to the Chaotix Detective Agency, stepping over a kettle that had been lobbed at the wall beside it. As soon as the little bell tinkled to signify a visitor, Vector and Charmy called a cease fire and Espio deemed it safe enough to crawl out from beneath the table, dusting himself off and looking as professional as he could.

As detectives, the Chaotix were... well... chaotic and wild but, at the end of the day, they were the best at their jobs and 9/10 times, a case was solved with impressive skill and speed.

"Hey, Sonic!" Charmy Bee buzzed with a grin, flitting over the head of Vector, "What're you doing here?"

The hyperactive bee was a sixteen year old teenager now but could still act very childishly when he wanted to be. His limbs had grown longer and his wings were larger but, other than that, he still possessed a round face and child-like eyes. Sonic couldn't deny the young thing was sharp, though. Far sharper than anyone was willing to let on.

"On an errand for Tails," the hedgehog replied, "Heard you were going to be taking the Harbour Case." He threw a memory stick over to Espio who handed it silently to Vector.

"Yeah, that's right," the crocodile, now in his early thirties, had grunted, "How'd you find that out?"

Sonic winked mischieviously. "Ah let's face it, Vector," he chuckled, "The Harbour Case was a big shake-up for Westopolis. Who else are they going to bring in to sort it out?"

The crocodile looked very thoughtful before his face broke into a wide, toothy grin. 

"Guess you've hit the nail on the head, Sonic. What's Tails given us then?"

"Some of the 'small details', I've been told. Lists of boats and dock workers and their recent schedual hours. Things like that to make your job easier."

"Don't suppose you know how Tails got all that?" Espio the Chameleon then spoke, able to watch the crocodile settle himself at the computer and get to work.

Sonic cleared his throat.

 "Well..." he began awkwardly, "Let's just say that Tails can be very pro-active when it comes to helping out friends. The dock workers keep all records and sign-ins on a computer systerm so..."

"So Tails hacked them," Charmy finished with a laugh, "See, Vec? You can always trust Team Sonic to break the law."

"Aw, you wouldn't turn in your own teammates, would you?" Sonic pouted, "I thought you liked being a part of the Ally Group."

Vector was still flashing his razor teeth. 

"We ain't coppers, Sonic," he said, shaking his head, "What Tails does in 'is own time is none of my business. Espio? See if you can find these harbours on the web."

The chameleon got to work, typing away at his own desk and then grunted. 

"Huh, seems like there was trouble over at that medical facility," he murmured quietly, scanning the news website.

Sonic raised an eyebrow.

"Medical facility?"

"Medical facility, hospital... call it what you will but everyone knows that's an asylum they got up there," Vector huffed, "Anythin' Espio?"

"Got it," Espio nodded, "2 hour drive from here. We'll have to get going."

Sonic quietly excused himself and let the detectives get on with their jobs. He couldn't even think why someone would need to steal a boat anyway and so he made another mental note to check in with the Chaotix later to find out the results.

In the meantime, the fastest creature in the universe went on his way, strolling from the Chaotix Detective Agency and down past the shopping malls. It was still bitterly cold and the human population of Mobius, residents from the Other World known as Earth, were wrapped up warm in thick coats, scarves, gloves and hats along with the cold-blooded Sapient Mobians such as the reptiles and amphibians, most of whom were probably wishing to migrate to the warmer countries for the winter with the rest of their cold-blooded kin. For his part, Sonic wasn't exactly warm but he wasn't unbearably cold either for his finer quills could trap warm air between them, a great source of insulation along with his downy front fur.

Childishly pretending to be a steam train, Sonic went along puffing out warm air like a dragon. He loved his friends but there were times he liked being by himself too. In fact, on a crisp day like today, there was nothing more he wanted to do but run.

And that's exactly what he did.

Chapter Text

Travelling East through the country of South Island, Shadow had calmed down from Omega's disappointing report and was now trying to get a hold of his remaining Team Dark teammate.

"Rouge?" he barked, "Come in, Rouge, are you there?"

"I'm here," Rouge's sultry voice replied over his communicator, "what's the issue?"

"Found anything from Amy?"

"Oh, have I?" the bat laughed gleefully, "Get your head round this: Sonic might not have been born on South Island."

Shadow's eyes widened. "What? But that's..."

"Where the world first discovered him and Eggman, yes," Rouge was nodding on her end of the comms having hidden herself away in Amy's bathroom, "But Amy's just dropped the bomb that Sonic's birth certificate, which is something considered as mythical as the realm of Atlantis, doesn't say he was born on South Island. In fact, archived GUN reports heavily suggest that he was born on one of the Abandoned Isles."

The Ultimate Lifeform hated it when everything he thought he knew was thrown into question which, thanks to fate's cruel sense of humour, only seemed to happen too often to him. So many people had made a big deal about Green Hill and about how Sonic and Eggman's duel had come to the attention of the rest of the world that it was widely assumed that, since Sonic had been so young, it had been the area he was most familiar with, i.e. his place of birth.

Sonic had never said he wasn't born there. Did he even know where he was born?

"It is certain that Sonic was born of natural circumstances and does not possess an approved license?" Omega drawled slowly.

Rouge let out a sigh.

 "For the last time, Omega," she answered, "they did the tests and found that Sonic was born naturally. He wasn't created in a laboratory like Shadow was."

"Remember what I taught you, Omega: question everything," Shadow muttered out of the side of his mouth, nudging his favourite robot.

"Shadow," Rouge warned, "your comms are still on. I can hear you."

Shadow was a bad influence on Omega sometimes and the bat worried that the dark hedgehog might fill the poor robot's mind up with extravagent stories and twisted ideals. Omega, on the other hand, seemed to be lost in deep thought about the idea of Sonic's birth.

"Processing...error!" he suddenly bleeped, "Knowledge of natural conception and birth contradicts the logic of Sonic's abilities. Does not compute...does not compute..."

"Now look what you've done," Shadow growled down his communicator, "Omega's having a breakdown."

"Just give him a few thumps, see if that sorts him out."

"Omega isn't an old computer, Rouge."

"Of course not! He's our sweetie!"

"Never say that again." He gave Omega a thwack on his back and, after a sickening grinding noise, the large E-Series Robot seemed to calm down. "Are you okay, Omega?" Shadow asked, genuinely concerned.

The robot's optics flickered. 

"Affirmative," he squeaked, "Apologies. My data systems overloaded."

Shadow shook his head, more pleased by the fact that his friend was okay. 

"Don't worry about it. There are many things about that Faker that don't add up and it makes MY head hurt too. He never did tell me how he could perform Chaos Control with a fake emerald."

"...He did what?" Rouge cried over the comms.

"Just keep me up to date with developments," Shadow replied, "The GUN databanks have some file called "Robotropolis" that could be here on South Island. Omega and I are going to investigate but I need you to look into any of the other islands."

"Whatever you say, BOSS."

Then there was silence.

"Come on, Omega. Let's go," Shadow growled, stalking forward more determined than ever to get some answers. Omega followed in his wake, the quiet companion.

For hours, the two doggedly explored the island, discovering all manner of wildlife and villages full of silent residents. Finally having enough, Shadow cornered an old cat, asking for any information regarding Robotropolis. The cat's face grew frightened.

"Naw, yer 'ush that mouth, son," he hissed, "That city ain't be named fer a lon' time. Folks say it be a-bringin' bad luck."

"Robotropolis is a city?" Shadow frowned, "What kind and where?"

The cat leant heavily upon its rake and it clutched worriedly at its jacket. "Why yer be wantin' t' know, boy?"

"We need to find it. We're on important business and we won't deal with time-wasters."

"Business, eh?" the cat murmured, shaking his head, "No livin' soul be 'avin' any business wi' that part o' hell. Nothin' fer yer there save fer th' stench o' grease an' th' cold bitin' metal. All 'round, it jus' be metal. No life. No sun. Only memories floatin' 'bout there be bad ones. Evil memories. Do yerself a favour, boy; stay away."

Shadow bared his teeth and took a step towards the cat. "We're going there," he snapped, "Nothing will stop that. Now tell me about Robotropolis!"

The cat began to shake, unnerved by Shadow's piercing red eyes. "Y...Yer real willin' t' go t' one o' Robotnik's cities?" he whimpered.

Shadow's ears pivoted.

"Robotnik?" he repeated slowly and the cat nodded.

"Back in th' day..." the cat began and then started to silently weep, "Ooh, th' poor lads n' lasses that were marched t' that city an' never came back... Th' toad o' a man, that Robotnik! Tooks th' 'ealthy an' r'boties 'em, leavin' th' rest t' pay 'is taxes an' suffer out in th' country. If i' weren't fer that Sonic boy..." Shadow's eyes narrowed at this point, "Oh, that poor liddle 'oglet. Robotnik were after 'im th' worst. Couldn't settle fer a moment, that boy, not wi' Robotnik after 'im. Th' poor, poor boy. 'E finally chased that madman off th' island after...after..."

"After what?" Shadow barked, gripping the old cat by the arm. The cat was still weeping.

"'E were so young!" he sniffed, "Not right. No, not right. Not when both were after 'im. Th' poor lad!" It was clear they weren't going to get any more information out of him.

"Where?" Shadow snarled.

The cat held up a shaking paw. "East."

Charmy kicked a stone into the water at the docks, slightly bored now that he had 'secured the area' as Vector had asked.

"So you the one who was on guard, am I right?" the imposing crocodile was saying to a slightly unnerved beaver in a security guard's uniform.

"Uh... aye, Sir... Aye, that was me," the beaver, who's nametag simply spelt 'Dwayne', nodded, trying not to look at Vector's mouth in fear of seeing any teeth jutting out. Vector was oblivious to Dwayne's discomfort and continued scribbling notes down.

"Your shift was from 21:00 to 2:30 whereby a colleague comes to relieve you from 2:30 to 6:00," he went on saying, recalling the information from Tails' report, "Which means, if I'm being told right, you’re the one who were on duty at the time of the crime. Ya followin'?"

Dwayne nodded, hard. "Oh aye, Sir. That were me, Sir. I heard it, Sir."

"Aye, Sir, me, Sir, anything you want, Sir," Charmy muttered mockingly under his breath.

Vector either didn't hear him or chose to simply ignore him.

 "You heard it?" he repeated, "You heard what, 'xactly?"

"I heard the boat, Sir," Dwayne answered, "Heard it... heard it start up and then when I comes running from the security shed I sees him driving off in it."

"Definitely a male?"

"Looked to be male, Sir."

"Uh-huh," Vector was nodding, deciding to fall back on an old trick he had learnt which was to open his jaw a little and run a tantalising tongue over one of his sharp teeth which did wonders for getting answers, "So, what kinda boat was it, eh?"

"Oh, er, I dunno 'bout that, Sir. Not too good with boats, see? But it was one with a motor, Sir, I know 'cause I heard it."

Charmy afforded himself an eyeroll at that point. 

"Spare me his genius," the teenage bee mouthed to himself. He was overjoyed when their silent colleague appeared out of nowhere, causing Dwayne the Beaver to jump a few inches into the air.

"Vector?" the chameleon said in a rich tone, indicating that he wished to speak with the crocodile.

Vector tapped his notebook and gave the beaver Security Guard a look. 

"'Scuse me a moment." He and Espio took a few paces to one side with Charmy in their wake. "What is it, Espio?" Vector asked quietly, "You had a look around?" 

The chameleon nodded and folded his arms, closing his eyes as he recounted his report.

 "All other means to get into the harbour are secured and haven't been tampered with. There's no disturbed fencing so he hasn't dug his way in and there are two problems with that anyway: the ground is concrete and the hounds would have picked up a scent. Therefore that leaves two possible options; our thief came in via the sky or he came via boat. Again, there's no trace of scent, I'm told, on either side of the fence that surrounds the harbour and there have been no reports of any aircraft in the area - only the sound of a motor boat at the time of the theft."

"So you're saying it's likely the thief came to the harbour in a boat?"

"But then the guy stole a boat," Charmy pointed out, entering the conversation, "Who comes in a boat to steal a boat?" He felt Vector's strong disciplining hand upon his shoulders.

"Come on, Charmy lad, use your brains that we've be workin' on," he growled with a twinkle in his reptilian eyes, "Why d'er think someone would 'xchange one thing for another?"

The bee, now reaching Vector's chest in his teenage years thanks to his growth spurt and long legs, bowed his head and rubbed his chin. Finally, he snapped his fingers. 

"...Ah! Because he wanted an upgrade!" he grinned triumphantly, "He came in a cheapo boat and got himself a better one!"

"There ya go," Vector nodded with some pride, "Now if we wanna prove that, we need to find us some evidence, don't we? Since it was your idea, how's about you go off with Espio and look for that 'cheapo boat' while I finish drillin' Mr 'Yes-Sir', over there?"

Charmy looked between Vector and Espio for confirmation before pumping his fist.

"Sweet!"

Minutes later, Charmy was shadowing Espio as they swept the docks, checking every boat and dingy.

Back when he was a little grub of a bee, Charmy hadn't felt much like a proper detective. He had been the kid that they toted around to be a protege, really. Now he was a fully certified apprentice amateur detective and his chest couldn't be more inflated.

"So why'd you think this guy comes to steal a better boat?" he asked Espio, privately wishing Cream were here to see him do all this important detective work.

"He certainly hasn't come to steal a car which indicates he wishes to be somewhere offshore," Espio replied, effortlessly springing up to perfectly perch on a floating buoy, looking around him.

Charmy continued on, peering between the masts and lifting tarpaulins. 

"Like he's going to an island?"

Espio nodded, returning to the jetty. 

"Indeed," he said, "Staff say that the boat taken was a powerful motor boat which tells you, what?"

Ah, more training! Charmy clicked his fingers, hoping to impress the 'smartest member of Team Chaotix' as some referred to Espio as.

 "...Well," he began, really giving it thought as they moved on to the next jetty near a stony beach, "if he was gonna sell it on later, he'd make a lot of money... but if he WAS going somewhere, it would be somewhere further out which is why he needed a better boat so he could get there faster, right?" The look he gave his ninja friend almost dared him to say he was wrong.

Fortunately, Espio wasn't going to do that, instead nodding with a smile. 

"Correct."

Another fist pump for Charmy, celebrating by picking up a pebble from the shore and hurling into the sea.

"I do not think this was a theft for money," Espio continued, checking the boats once more, "If that were the case, he would have taken the most expensive boat which is over there. The fact that he has not indicates he only wanted a means of transportation."

"I'm learning, aren't I?" Charmy grinned, plucking another stone from the ground and watching it sail into the water with a splish! and a peculiar thunk!.

"That you are, Charmy," Espio agreed.

The bee had stepped onto the jetty and was now stooping over the edge, peering into the sea where his stone had hit and made the unusual noise.

"Do you think Vector will give me a promotion?" he murmured questioningly.

Espio smiled and glanced over.

"For working out simple deductions after getting easy prompts?"

Charmy pointed into the water with his gloved hand. 

"More for the fact that I've found the cheapo boat."

Amy's meal had gone down a treat with everyone, especially Rosemary who had asked, extremely politely, for seconds. Laughing and chatting, it was easy to while away time in one another's company, forgetting about the cares of the world in favour of enjoying a few moments of bliss among close friends. Sonic and Tails often fell back into talking about the 'golden years' when they had been young and had rushed about without any adult supervision, getting themselves into trouble.

To Tails' mortification, Zooey seemed to lap up all the stories Sonic had on what Tails had been like as a tiny fox cub, embelishing tales that didn't seem exciting or embarassing enough. Tails was able to get his own back, however, and recouted many stories of when Sonic had found himself in the sticky situation or had resorted to cross-dressing to get what he wanted.

Halfway through one such story, Sonic had been trying to hide his discomfort by taking another mouthful of pudding but almost dropped his spoon as a warm wave washed over him.

"You okay, sweetie?" Amy had asked, beside him, noticing his frown. The frown immediately disappeared as Sonic beamed at her.

"How fine do you think I can be with Tails blabbing his mouth off?" Sonic joked with a laugh, secretly hiding the real answer behind his sparkling emerald eyes. The truth was that the feeling that had come over him was of a very specific kind.

It had been Chaos Energy.

Only those truly at one with the ways of Chaos could manipulate the energy to act as a way of communication between each other. It only meant one thing - someone was trying to get his attention. Having spent years perfecting the art of Chaos, Sonic knew, all too well, who it was that was contacting him.

"...Hang on guys, I'll be right back," he murmured, excusing himself discretely. Zooey, distracted by a babbling Rosemary, did not notice the exchange between Amy and Tails. They may not have been as tuned as Sonic was, but they knew when something was bothering him.

Outside, the cool night air was beginning to feel damp but Sonic hardly noticed. He was drawn to a dark figure leant against the cherry tree in Amy's front garden.

"You know I'm kinda busy," Sonic murmured, walking over to the shape, "Trying to spend time with the family and all that."

"Yes, I have eyes. I can see that," the figure replied, turning towards him and stepping out of the gloom.

Sonic gazed at Shadow with a solemn disposition.

 "...What's the issue?" he asked after a long pause.

Shadow rarely made social calls on people outside of his own working hours and certainly not to see him. The darker hedgehog waved a file in his left hand and handed it over.

"You tell me..." he growled.

For a moment, Sonic stared at Shadow, trying to determine what was going on - but Shadow had his very best poker face on at the present and so he sighed and opened up the file. The first thing he saw was the large glossy photo revealing Eggman's grim mugshot. The next thing he noticed were the many photos accompanying it showing Eggman out and about in his eggmobile, foraging in the forest and walking along the beach.

Slowly, Sonic felt his quills bristle, one by one, at the sight of his arch enemy.

He gnawed at his lower lip and peered up at Shadow from beneath half-lidded eyes. "...The G.U.N. sent you, I presume?"

"They weren't going to but I actually insisted on this."

Sonic glanced back at the photos for another few seconds. 

"...So what's the deal?" he asked, skim reading the reports, "We all knew he wasn't going to be hiding away forever."

"I suppose we weren't prepared for the lack of flair," Shadow responded, folding his arms over his chest, "There's no giant robot, no fleet, no dimensional disturbances, no reports from Silver, no sudden space work... He's just shown up. Not even trying to keep a low profile. No flahses, no bangs, no pops. GUN picked him up immediately."

Sonic was staring into the file, recognising that something was amiss. He looked up again and pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth. 

"...There's something that's meant to be in this file but isn't... Am I right?"

Shadow said nothing. He looked away, torn. Then he pulled out another envelope, tossing it over for Sonic to catch, which he did so. Inside were more photos.

Only this time, Eggman was posing aggressively, sometimes glaring at the camera, sometimes stabbing knives into trees where he had carved out Sonic's name. He had even held up a picture of Sonic and had torn it. On the beach, he had drawn out Sonic's face and driven a stake straight over it... Other photos were more graphic than that.

Neither hedgehog said a word.

Nearby, an owl hooted into the still night.

"He's really not intent on playing with you this time," Shadow's voice broke the silence.

Sonic was still staring at what he held in his hands, multiple feelings coursing through him all at the same time. 

"We've done this dance for years, Shadow," he finally muttered, "One day he'll grow too old, too senile, too cracked to do anything. Until then, we'll keep dancing." Shoving the photos back in the envelope and tucking said envelope into the file, he chucked it back for Shadow to take. "Thanks for the warning," he said softly, turning back towards the house.

"You think he'll really be lenient with you when what's left of his sanity completely shatters?" Shadow asked, stopping him. Sonic was now staring at the door and he shrugged.

"Can't imagine that IQ of his staying at the same number and that's all I'll say about that."

Shadow leant back against the tree again and bowed his head. 

"Hate to be that guy," he said gently, "but you haven't forgotten his grandfather, have you? You know, my creator? That fellow?" His gaze was firmly rooted on the back of Sonic's head. "When his sanity went he tried to take vengeance on the whole planet, intending to kill everyone. Seems to run in the family. Now what makes you think Eggman's going to let you waltz around pretty as you please?" He straightened up and walked towards his look-alike, standing just over his shoulder. "He hates you," he breathed, "He's only losing his sanity so quickly because of you and you know that very well. So if he's going, you can bet your spines he's intending to take you with him."

Sonic shifted slightly and then turned to face Shadow.

 "Usually I aim to please. But I guess, if that's the case, I'll have to disappoint him."

The two of them gazed into each other's eyes, an unspoken respect passing between them.

"...Watch your back, Faker," Shadow warned, "He's set on having your pelt whether you want him to or not."

Then came the smile that Shadow had grown to both loathe and admire.

"I am looking handsomely blue today, aren't I?" Sonic joked, letting out a chuckle. Despite himself, Shadow gave a half-smile back.

"And if you want to stay that way, you'll be careful." He pressed his hand on Sonic's shoulder and nodded. "I'll be seeing you around." Shadow normally prevented any kind of physical contact with the likes of Sonic - both hedgehogs found their quills tightening at the very thought of it - but while they considered each other the fiercest of rivals, they were also protective of one another.

"Oh and by the way..." Shadow then mentioned over his shoulder, before Sonic could reach the front door, "...Omega and I visited Robotropolis the other day."

The blue hedgehog froze.

His hand, in the process of reaching for the door handle, went stiff.

"Charming city. Really charming," Shadow continued, watching Sonic's reaction closely. His rival hadn't moved a fraction and he couldn't see his face. "I can see why you never mentioned it. The place hasn't seen the sun in over a decade. No plant life, no animal life, and the only working light happened to be a cracked traffic-"

"Why did you go there?" Sonic interuppted sharply, his voice sounding... different. It was a tight voice, one that was holding back something.

Shadow leant against Amy's garden fence, monitoring the situation keenly. 

"We're trying to keep tabs on Eggman," he murmured, "As you should be if you want to live another 25 years. We had to find out about Robotropolis for ourselves seeing as no-one cared to give us a head's up." Shadow had scarcely finished the sentence before Sonic was speaking again.

"But why?" he hissed, "Robotropolis was put behind us. We don't talk about it."

"Some of us weren't around when that was decided."

Sonic's head dropped as he now placed his hands either side of the door, feet spaced apart.

"It was Eggman's place, yes?" Shadow went on slowly, not too eager to push it, "What happened there that you don't want to remember?"

Sonic only gave him silence.

"Sonic, I need to know," Shadow pressed gently, "We need to find out what Eggman's doing. He's threatening you and we don't know why. Any information can-"

"It was the one city I couldn't save," Sonic suddenly cried, turning around suddenly, his eyes betraying a great deal of pain as his breaths came out in ragged gasps. Shadow's words faltered in his mouth and he kept quiet. Sonic seemed to be wrestling with a large amount of emotion and Shadow briefly feared that it would corrupt his Chaos energy - a situation that only resulted in something dark.

"Robo... Robotropolis was... was once an ordinary city. Mobotropolis, it was called. The Capital of the planet. I... I believe my heritage came from there. It was where my ancestors came from." Sonic swallowed and sank down to sit on the front step. "I mean, I guess. I don't really know. All I do know is that it hadn't been long since I'd met Tails and Robotnik came and..." He swallowed again. "I... tried to stop him. But I had Tails and..." He then gritted his teeth and leapt up to his feet. "Mobotropolis was destroyed and Robotropolis took its place, okay? Robotnik took a thriving, beautiful city and built a slavery settlement on top of its corpse." Though he said this with anger, Sonic went back to looking sad once more. "Please, Shadow," he begged, "don't ask me any more about it. Eggman used to live there and now he doesn't. End of story."

Without waiting for another word, Sonic turned and disappeared inside the house.

Shadow let out a long sigh and teleported away.

Chapter Text

"So, you've made your return public," Ira was saying, reclining on a lounge seat with a recently emptied wine glass in his hand, "What do you intend to do now?"

"Nothing." 

His brother's reply took Ira by surprise. Sensing his younger brother's bewildered gaze boring into his neck, Eggman swivelled round in his high back chair.

 "I'll let them stew," he explained, "GUN has no idea about our research. They weren't around during the times when you and I roamed freely, doing what we liked, supporting natural selection..."

"One of us did, Ivo," Ira breathed, his jaw clentching discretely, "One of us lapped up the life of luxury and knowledge whilst the other wasted 5 years trying to find a wretched baby hedgehog."

Eggman sensed the hostility and he smiled at it. 

"Well, you'll be satisfied to know that I paid my price in wasting a further 20 years going after the same hedgehog. It should be your turn now."

"Should?"

"I say that because it isn't." Eggman then laughed, wheeling back to finish scribbling down something on a crumpled sheet of paper. "You couldn't bag a little scrap of a hoglet. What chance do you think you have now that he's a grown adult with full control of his abilities? No, you take it easy, little brother; with you at my side again, I feel that I might finally put in some real effort to unearth the secret of Sonic the Hedgehog."

Ira carefully placed the wine glass on the table beside him.

"If I'm not going back out there to finish what I started," he murmured slowly and supiciously, "then who is?"

Eggman leant back, the chair beneath him groaning in protest. 

"Well, no-one yet," he murmured back, "But, I suppose the really obvious answer to that..." A cunning shine appeared in Eggman's hidden pupils, and he slowly turned back, cocking an overly bushy eyebrow, "I've never shown you my greatest creation, have I?"

It seemed a rather random question but, since he knew his brother's mind to be constantly in a state of insane flux, Ira had learnt to cope with it. In answer to Eggman's question, Ira shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know. You said that so often about your inventions."

"Ah, but that was before. Even I ackowledge that I have never built anything as great as this since its birth. You must see." The rotuned genius scientist climbed up to his feet and beckoned with a surprisingly elegant hand. "Orbot? Cubot? You come too. Come say hello to the Black Sheep of your robotic 'brotherhood'."

The last thing the two robot lackeys were hoping was to step a servo back in, what they had privately come to refer as, the Crypt.

At the very end of the enormouse chamber, two metal doors were set with no inscription of any kind save for one small keypad with a screen.

"You know, through all the years I've known this place, it remained a mystery to me as to what you kept behind here," Ira had said, hiding his great excitement.

Eggman still said nothing. He gazed into the screen and typed in a code that none of them saw. Then the great doors slid ominously open, years of dust and neglect rising up to water the eyes of the organics as a neon blue glow shone out from the wires in the walls, bathing them all in an unnatural light.

"Cast your eyes on that, Ira," Eggman grinned darkly, pride emanating from his spectacles.

Ira looked.

"...Ivo..." he sighed in legitamite awe, unable to find the right words.

Orbot and Cubot, who had no breath to spare, simply stared.

"M-M-Metal Sonic?" Orbot chattered, his poor processor beginning to burn from old memories.

In the room beyond the doors stood the grandest capsule of them all - a tall, threatening pod where wires and tubes ran in and out, all connected to the many computers that made up two sides of the walls and the single, sinister occupant inside the capsule itself.

Metal Sonic, in all his deadly glory, was still and showed no signs of life to look at, suspended in the pod amidst the web of wiring that were plugged to his body.

"Oh come now, Orbot," Eggman soothed, uncomfortingly, "You know Metal Sonic, don't you?"

Boy did every robot know about Metal Sonic.

"I know that we weren't allowed to communicate directly with him," the red little android replied, "We weren't even allowed to be alone in the same room together. You... You never told us why."

"Well, after what happened to one of the Beebots..." Eggman shrugged and then winked at his brother, "Let's just say that Metal... He doesn't always get along well with others. Some days, he's fine. Other days? Not so fine." Cubot shrank away from Eggman's gaze by moving behind Orbot, unable to look up at what he had just seen. "He would have minced the pair of you into spaghetti," he heard Eggman mumble.

"So," Ira then interrupted, not willing to step closer and yet unable to tear his eyes away, "you've kept him offline because...?"

"Metal is... faulty," Eggman explained, rubbing the back of his neck, "By which I mean that his programming is corrupted. I originally had him built to combat Sonic in every way, to appear superior to him... But something seemed to override this. Now, Metal is as obsessed with Sonic as we are - but for different purposes. Metal only wants to prove that he's the real Sonic, the better Sonic, if you will. Sometimes he's okay but sometimes..." Eggman let out a little grunt, "Sometimes, Metal gets a bit too worked up and has been known to attack Sonic without being ordered to. He's inherited the Robotnik Insanity, I'm afraid. For the sake of my other schemes, it was best that I keep him offline until the situation desperately calls for it. Chaos knows that the planet will be screaming on the day I let Metal out to play."

Ira gazed at the robot hedgehog longingly before, "...I want to see Sonic again."

Eggman turned his head to his brother and frowned.

 "And reveal yourself?" he asked.

Ira Robotnik slowly nodded. 

"Yes. I want him to know that I'm back and that I haven't forgotten him."

Eggman moved his hands behind his back and held them there, looking back to Metal Sonic, appearing as the man who knew great secrets - which, in retroflection, he most likely did.

"Do what you must, Ira..." he slowly drawled, "but don't forget: that hedgehog is my enemy and I'll be the one to deal with him. Understand?"

From the corner of his eye, he saw his younger, thinner, brother bow slightly, a cruel smile twisting its way onto his features. 

"...Of course, big brother. Of course."

Rouge looked up as Shadow strode in through the doors of the diner like the Grim Reaper, his face clouded and taught with concern, moving past the tables silently as he made his way towards their booth at the back.

"Well?" the bat asked in low voice, no trace of any merriment present.

"This is going to be harder than I thought," Shadow admitted, "Sonic is very closed up about Robotropolis. What I did learn is that it used to be a city called Mobotropolis. Apparently it was the planet capital."

"I remember," Rouge then nodded, "During my time as a thief on the streets, I remember people talking about Dr Eggman and what he was doing - The Robotnik Plague, they called it. They say the city was cleared out in one evening. Anyone who didn't escape in time were turned into robots. Some life."

Omega had brought food a while ago which Rouge had just finished, not really feeling up to it. 

"More food, Rouge?" the robot asked politely, fetching more nibbles for Shadow.

Rouge shook her head, contemplating a dash to the ladies. 

"No, I couldn't. I'm full," she replied.

Omega tried pushing a bowl towards her. "Have some iron-rich..."

"I said no, Omega," Rouge laughed, "Stop trying to fatten me up. Feed Shadow, if you must. I'll order drinks."

"No, I shall order drinks," Omega interrupted, his joints clanking as he hurriedly moved to get back to his feet, "I want to order the beverages this time."

"...Fine. Whatever," Rouge sighed, waving a dismissive hand. Omega stomped off in as dignified a manner as a robot could manage, ignoring the looks from other dining Mobians. "So you reckon Eggman could be in Robotropolis?" Rouge tried prompting, stirring the conversation back up.

Shadow rolled an olive between his thumb and finger. "I think not," he growled, "Omega and I searched the place and it hasn't been touched in years. Nothing but desolate castles and abandoned factories. No leftover robots either." The olive went in his mouth. "It's completely dead."

Rouge started playing with her communicator, lost in thought. 

"We're getting closer," she murmured, "Eggman can't hide forever. He's made his point clear. Even if we don't find him, he'll find us."

"You mean he'll find Sonic..."

That was when Omega returned, carefully balancing a tray of drinks in his hand. 

"Here are the drinks," he proudly announced, depositing the tray down in front of his two teammates. Shadow and Rouge blinked at the tray and glanced up at the robot.

"...Fruit juice?" Rouge smiled, "That's real kind of you sweetie but... well, with a mission like this, I think Shadow and I will need something a little more alcoholic."

Omega's optics flickered slightly. 

"...I apologise," he whirred, "I was merely being mindful of your... kidneys."

"Our kidneys?"

"Vast units of alcaholic drinks put great strain upon the kidneys."

"Rouge and I are not intending to get drunk," Shadow muttered, folding his arms and not looking at the orange and mango drink with the orange slice on top.

"Just one drink, honey. That's all," Rouge said sweetly, batting her eyelashes.

Omega looked down pathetically at the two drinks he had carefully chosen. 

"...I was given fruit juice."

"The bartender gave you fruit juice?"

Omega let out a little whine. "...Yes."

"Omega," Rouge chuckled, "if there is one thing you cannot do very well, it's lie."

Not knowing what else to do, Omega lifted the tray again. 

"...Fruit juice?" he offered.

An hour later, Rouge left for Angel Island and Shadow and Omega went back to their rented GUN apartment in the city of Station Square. It wasn't as good as their apartment in Westopolis but as a temporary overnight stop, it was decent accommodation. Before they reached the apartment block, however, Shadow stopped his friend outside the doors.

"What was all that before, Omega?" Shadow demanded to know, firmly rooting himself directly in the robot's way. There was a clear moment of panic in Omega's eye.

"Pardon, friend? I did not understand you."

"That whole kidney thing," Shadow sighed, "Where did that come from?"

"...I researched an article explaining..."

"Omega? Look me in the eye and tell me the truth."

Omega apparently couldn't look Shadow in the eye and he hung his head in shame. 

"...I was bad." His child-like tone surprised Shadow.

"Bad?" the dark hedgehog repeated with a frown, "In what way? What have you done?"

"I have committed an action that Rouge has since wished I not do."

"And what's that?"

"...I scanned her without consent."

"And you've worked out she has something wrong with her kidneys?"

"Rouge's kidneys function well." Omega then went very, VERY quiet. "However, I detected a foreign body... in her womb."

It only took Shadow a second for the penny to drop along with his jaw.

"...Oh Omega..." he groaned, leaning against the wall and pinching his nose.

"It was before she expressed her wish that I not scan her," Omega tried to justify himself, "When we met with the Commander. I have not the information on how to proceed with this development. Organic reproduction is beyond me."

"It's beyond me too," Shadow moaned into his hands.

"How best shall I inform Agent Rouge?"

Shadow wheeled round to him and grabbed him by the robot's enormous shoulders. 

"Inform? No, Omega, no, you don't tell her!" he snarled.

Omega looked confused. "I do not?"

"No, you don't breathe a word. You have to let her find out by herself."

"But impending mothers require rest and a healthy diet of rich nutrients. How best are we to supply these needs?"

"We don't. I'm sure it won't be long before she works it out for herself. Until then, we keep quiet."

"May we tell her after she discovers that she is pregnant?"

"Keep your voice down, idiot!" Shadow looked round nervously and was relieved to discover they were alone. "And no, no we don't EVER tell her, got it?"

Omega lifted his head. "Processing... Shadow, I am confused."

"Trust me on this and don't say anything." He then released the robot and, with an enormous sigh, turned away to better deal with this bombshell.

"...Should we tell Knuckles?"

Chapter Text

Sonic had suggested that they all went to an evening picnic, of sorts, in the park, far out into the country, to 'calm everyone down', as he put it.

Word had spread like wildfire that Eggman had been spotted and that his time off was coming to a swift, unwelcome close. Many of the native Mobians were downright panicking that their months of peace might be taken away from them and, as such, the Sonic Allies were kept busy with reassuring the masses and putting on brave faces. The fact that Eggman had, as of yet, not actually done anything did not sit well with any of them. It was tiring to have to keep looking over your shoulder for fear that Eggman would suddenly spring a trap when you dared to lower your guard.

Still, just to put everyone in the right spirits, Sonic had thought that an evening together would be best for the team, to strengthen bonds, reestablish alliances and eat food.

The evening could not have been more beautiful; the moon was large, tinged orange, and the stars were beginning to slowly appear amid the darkening navy and coral sky.

Knuckles had brought Angel Island inland a little so that he was still in close contact with the Master Emerald as he and Rouge partook of the assossiation among friends including the likes of Blaze and Silver. 

Blaze was sometimes on the scene and Silver was a special treat altogether. 

He had been a mischevious little 14 year old hedgehog once. Now he was a mishevious little 24 year old hedgehog and to say that he didn't enjoy popping through the fabrics of time and space on a monthly basis would have been a lie. In truth, Silver was often lonely in his own time, a world that existed into the far future though no-one knew, for certain, how far into the future that was. Silver often teased that he knew which of his allies and friends would have children and even claimed that he knew their names and birthdays. Whether he was telling the truth or not, no-one bothered to find out. The future was an area that they agreed would not be touched by any of them save for Silver seeing as he lived there and only made the trips so as to ensure the future remained peaceful. Even Blaze opted to limit her visits though she was from an entirely alternate dimension altogether. 

The fact of the matter was that Silver had very few friends in the future and the only close friends he had lived in his past. It was a complicated set-up. He hoped that his vists weren't always taken as a sign of impending doom but he really did like to spend time with his friends as much as possible, especially seeing as he still felt a need to make up to Sonic what he had tried to do to him once in an erased timeline.

The only ones who had yet to arrive were the Chaotix who were trying to finish up their work as quickly as possible before leaving. Charmy was working out what to wear as Vector filed away some notes and photos and Espio went about typing up some information for later use.

"You know there was that trouble at the medical facility?" the chameleon then murmured quietly, seemingly out of the blue. Vector was the only one in the room to hear him and he nodded his scaly head.

"You mean the asylum? What about it?"

"I've just been connecting the dots," Espio went on, "The asylum is situated on an island north of the harbour. Lost one of its inmates recently. From which direction did the reports say our boat theif entered?" Vector paused in his filing and looked round, his reptilian eyes narrowing.

"North," he growled thoughtfully, "You reckon the boat theif is the same as the escaped madman?"

To that, Espio shrugged his shoulders.

"Just connecting the dots."

"As you say," Vector grunted, closing a drawer and grabbing up his jacket, "Well, keep that in mind. We gotta go meet up with the others, anyway, or we'll be late."

Blaze had made a campfire and Cream and Charmy were trying to roast marshmallows with Omega and Big which made for a comical scene for those watching. Rouge was getting a little fed up with her Team Dark teammates who found some way to take her wine from her and steer her away from any eggy foods. Tails was rocking a very sleepy Rosemary in his arms as Zooey was chatting away to Vanilla whereas Amy, on the other hand, was looking around for her significant other and caught sight of him walking off through the trees.

She sighed.

Sonic had tried so hard to ignore the news on Eggman, tried so hard to turn his back on getting involved, but Amy knew that there was no way the supersonic hedgehog could afford to be too ignorant. Shadow had visited him recently, that she was aware of, and something had been discussed that Sonic didn't like.

Thinking on her feet, Amy snatched up a cooling chili dog and hurried after him, following his path until she reached the other side of a copse of trees which lead right to the shore.

Sonic was standing on the cliff, staring out to sea and up at the blue and pink sky.

"Nice colours, eh, Amy?" he smiled, sensing her presence. He had learnt to identify each of his friends by their footfall and their scent and it was always his closest friends that he could identify best of all. Amy held out the chili dog like a peace offering as she walked towards him.

"Figured you might like something edible to chew on along with your thoughts," she said, hanging over the food and watching her boyfriend devour the whole thing.

He sighed in satisfaction and nodded. "You're right, that was good."

Amy stood next to him for a moment, not saying anything, simply staring at his strong profile in the glow of the sunset. It was all so very romantic, the child inside her said.

 "Are you thinking about Eggman?" she chanced to ask.

To her surprise, Sonic's smile grew. 

"Now why would I want to think about that idiot on an evening like this?" he chuckled and shook his head, "Nah, I'm thinking about telling you something... but I don't know how."

"Tell me what?" Amy asked, her brow creasing slightly, "Something good?"

"I would like to think it's good."

The pink hedgehog curled her hands around Sonic's arm, holding it gently as he gazed up adoringly into his face.

 "Then tell me," she murmured, hanging on to his every word.

Sonic continued to gaze out to sea, a faraway glaze in his eyes.

"I was just thinking," he finally began to say in a soft voice, "I remember a time when it was just Tails and I living out in the wild. I actually believed that it was just going to be him and me forever."

"You wouldn't have minded that."

"Maybe not. But just seeing all the guys tonight, back there... I guess it's made me realise how far we've come. A younger me wouldn't have believed that I would be making friends with a robot or a cat princess from another dimension or... or a hedgehog from the future, for crying out loud." 

Amy closed her eyes and leant her head on his shoulder, inhaling a lungful of his scent, a smell that comforted her and Tails equally.

"That goes to show you're special," she sighed, "You attract special people."

"Or very desperate people."

"Calling me 'desperate'?"

"No," Sonic teased, looking down at her and flashing a cheeky grin, "I think I'd call you 'determined'."

"In which case, I'll call you 'patient"," Amy fondly giggled.

"Patient?" Sonic chortled, "Please... It was hardly patience. I only seemed to treat it like some kind of game in my teenage years. I'd run, you'd follow. It was annoyingly fun, if a little terrifying."

"I already said I was sorry. Pre-teen hormones mixed with wild dreams can result in interesting choices, you know. What was a desperate romantic like me to do when faced with a handsome hero?"

"You were persistent, I'll give you that. I sometimes wondered if you'd give up on me."

"There were times I considered it," Amy admitted, her words cutting Sonic deeply with guilt, "But I know I was a little selfish, trying to make you slow down."

"It's good to slow down every once in a while," Sonic mused with some reluctance, "I had to really slow down to think all this through."

"Think what through?" Amy asked, hugging him tighter, "This whole deal with Eggman?"

"Kinda," Sonic shrugged, making Amy's head bob, "Last time he was away this long, I went off on a holiday around the world."

"Yeah, I remember," Amy huffed in mock-annoyance, "I had to make up an imaginary boyfriend to make myself feel better."

"Yeah, well..." Sonic smiled awkwardly, "I've done that now. When we got rid of the last few rogue robots I had to really think about where I was going to go in life - for the first time."

"Like you had to give it that much thought!" Amy laughed, pulling herself away to study the blue hedgehog with a fond scruitiny. Sonic looked at her in surprise. "Sonic the Hedgehog doesn't think about where he's going - he just takes off into the unknown, not knowing his destination until he gets there," Amy informed him in a matter-of-fact way, crossing her arms proudly.

Looking at one another in the light of the sunset, they both simultanously began to giggle like misbehaving school children.

"In that case," Sonic then went on, "instead of thinking about where I’m going, I suppose it's time to really think about who is coming with me, into the unknown, as you put it."

"Besides Tails, of course," Amy nodded, "The fabrics of reality would crumble if the duo of Sonic and Tails were forbidden."

Sonic nodded thoughtfully, his green eyes sparkling as he thought of his best friend.

 "Tails is a fixed part of me," he admitted, "He and Knuckles seemed to just... I dunno... fill me out, I suppose. You know, like, Tails is smart, Knuckles is strong, I'm fast. Knuckles is a hothead, I'm a wind-up, Tails is the peace-keeper..."

"The perfect team," Amy sighed wistfully, if a little enviously. 

She had always been a trifle jealous of the loving bond Sonic had with Tails and the bond of companionable respect that he had with Knuckles. During the hero-ing teenage years, little Amy hadn't always thought that she had a firm role in Sonic's life other than being the crazy nut-job that followed him around.

"Yeah..." Sonic was saying quietly, "except there's always someone worriedly waiting for us with hot drinks and a sofa to crash on at the end of it all." His eyelids lowered and his pupils dilated as Sonic stared at her. "Always someone ready with back-up, some common sense and a hammer."

She blushed furiously. 

"All youngsters need a caring parent," she shrugged, pushing her pink quills from her face.

"How about a caring wife?"

Amy's head snapped up, her eyes as large as serving dishes, unable to comprehend what she had thought Sonic had just said.

"I said that I was thinking about who is coming with me into the futue, Amy Rose," Sonic continued, pulling a ring box out from behind him. "Do you think... maybe... you could put your running shoes back on and stay with me until the end of the line?" he asked, holding out the ring and asking the four words that Amy had dreamt of hearing.

It turned out that Sonic didn't even need to pull his trump card: the fact that he had ran several thousands of miles around the city to write out 'Will you marry me?" in squiggly writing when his progress was tracked which, he figured, he would just tell her about later.

When the newly engaged pair reemerged from the trees, Amy brandishing her recently bejewelled finger proudly before her, there were congratulations and celebrations all round. Of course, there was never any doubt in anyone's eyes that Amy was most likely to say 'yes' before Sonic had a chance of finishing his question.

With the night now coming in and the damp starting to come down with the dropping temperatures, everyone agreed to continue the party at Amy's house.

The engaged couple were walking hand in hand along the path at the back of the group, relishing the company of friends, when Sonic suddenly felt a cold chill run through him and he stopped, his ears catching the sound of movement in the forest beside the path and his nose detecting an unpleasent scent.

"Sonic?" Amy asked, tugging gently on his hand, "Are you okay? Sonic?"

Sonic didn't look at her.

He was gazing into the shadows of the trees where the shape of a man could be seen, leaning against a tree in a single shaft of bright moonlight. His eyes, shrouded by a pair of familiar looking spectacles, were fixed upon the blue hedgehog, unmoving.

For a reason that Sonic could not fathom, he felt as though he knew the slender man with the flame coloured goatee.

"...Who are you?" he asked, unintentionally tightening his hold on Amy's hand. Amy had followed Sonic's gaze and, catching sight of the creepy addition to the forest, clung to her fiancé fiercely.

"Yo, everything ok?" Knuckles suddenly asked, coming into view, "We moving or what?" Behind him, the others had stopped, one by one, and were turning to see what was going on.

"Sonic?" Amy gulped, "Who is that?"

Sonic tilted his head, confused. "That's..."

... ... ... 

Why did he feel as though he knew him? Something about the man told Sonic to be afraid but he couldn't imagine why. He certainly couldn't come up with any name to give the face.

... ... ... 

"Who are you?" he asked, unaware that his friends were slowly coming towards them, slightly worried at seeing Sonic's blank face and the mildly horrified faces of Amy and Knuckles.

The man, for a moment, did not speak until he opened his mouth and produced a raspy voice, deep in tone. 

"...You don't recognise me?" he asked slowly, his lips curling into a false smile.

Sonic's brain was telling him to run at the sound of his voice but he didn't know why. 

"Should I?" he asked back, unsure as to what to do.

"It was a while ago, I've been told," the man went on. Sonic glanced at Amy, staring fearfully back at him, then at an emotionless Knuckles and to the concerned faces of the rest of the group.

"...Look," Sonic sighed, turning back to the strange man that he didn't like, "don't mean to be rude but we're actually really busy. Did you need something?"

The reply was unexpected.

"...You're so grown up."

Sonic felt his left foot take a step back. 

"Pardon?" he swallowed, an abnormal fear rising up from his gut.

"Last time we met," the man said, "you were the size of my foot." As though to confirm this, he lifted his foot and wagged it back and forth.

"Well... you can't expect me to remember that," Sonic mumbled with a nervous chuckle.

One of the man's eyebrows, lifted a little higher. "I would have thought you would have remembered what I did."

Amy felt the hand tighten again.

 "Sonic?" she whispered, now feeling more worried for him than for the strange man.

Sonic's face was set in a cemented frown.

"...What did you do?" he asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

The man lifted a bony hand to his chest, pretending to look affronted. 

"Can't even remember THAT?" he gasped, "Now that is shocking."

"You have a name?"

"Robotnik," he crooned, "Ira Robotnik."

Now everyone felt the same chill go through them.

Sonic had turned rigid at the sound of those three syllabals, his tongue turning to lead in his mouth. 

"Well, Mr... Robotnik..." he murmured, finding the words difficult to say, "I'm sorry; I don't know you."

"Shame," the man, Ira, sighed dejectedly, "I know you very well." He then straightened and backed away into the darkness. "It's been nice seeing you again," he chuckled, "I'll be sure to get in touch."

Then he was gone, as though he had never been there at all, leaving Sonic to stare at where he was in a stupor.

A terrifying calm came over the group.

"I'll get a hold of GUN," Shadow murmured, moving away to privately make a phone call.

Chapter Text

It wasn't really a party, as such, back at Amy's but Rouge made sure to open up Amy's liquor cabinet (though Shadow seemed to take every drink off of her) and Vanilla was quick to root out something in the kitchen for them all to snack on.

Sonic was slumped at Amy's dining table, staring out the window as his friends settled down around him, whispering to one another as they tried easing the situation, though why it was tense not all of them were sure.

Tails had put Rosemary to bed on the sofa and when he arrived back in the dining room Shadow had placed a drink in front of Sonic and sat down to pick some brains.

"So who's Ira Robotnik?" Silver was the first to ask, hovering (literally) in the corner of the room.

Sonic had an elbow on the table, leaning his muzzle deeply into the palm of his paw as he gazed listlessly out the window at nothing. 

"...I have no idea," he said, his monotonous voice muffled by his glove.

"Everyone is saying you know him."

"I don't."

"According to the G.U.N. he's Eggman's brother," Rouge then said. She was sat at one end of the table with a small GUN laptop, organising the information that had come through after Shadow had made the call and given a precise description of the would-be creep. "There was a whole family of Robotniks," she continued, "Most of them have died in an asylum somewhere."

Vector immediately looked at Espio and Charmy, perched on a stool next to Cream, who had simultaneously twitched his antennae in their direction, remembering something about a loose inmate from an asylum.

"I wouldn't know," Sonic merely went on mumbling, lost in his own thoughts, oblivious to the fact that Tails was watching him closely, a intrigued look on his face.

"But this is someone from your past," Knuckles commented, stroking his own muzzle.

"From before Tails, even," Cream agreed, "Was Eggman the first Robotnik you met? When did you meet him?"

To everyone's surprise, Sonic didn't answer. He frowned as he lowered his hand, revealing that his lips had only slightly parted, as though he had begun to speak but had stopped.

"Sonic?" Amy, sitting beside him, prompted, also watching him closely.

Replacing the confusion was an almost vulnerable look as Sonic shook his head ever so slightly.

"...I...I can't remember," he whispered, not wanting to hear his own voice, it seemed. It certainly served to puzzle everyone else in the room further.

"What do you mean?" Zooey cautiously asked, sat beside Tails.

"I mean," Sonic replied, "I can't remember when I met Dr Ro- Eggman. No... No, he called himself Robotnik back then. It was ages before we started calling him Eggman."

"You knew Robotnik before you knew me," Tails said quietly. He became the first one to whom Sonic established eye contact with since reaching Amy's house.

"Yeah, I can remember fighting him alone once..." he spoke softly, "But I don't know when we first met. He's just... always been there."

"You remember meeting Tails?" Blaze asked and recieved a very firm nod from the blue hedgehog.

"Sure I can!" he almost smiled, "That's a set event."

"But Eggman's always been there...?" Blaze trailed off, her tail slowly swishing from side to side as she tried turning over the facts in her head.

"You would have thought that the first meeting of your arch nemesis would be a set event too," Shadow then murmured deeply, from his hiding place at the end of the table beside Rouge, "So the question is, where does this Ira Robotnik come in?"

"Well, no-one can ask me because I have no answers," Sonic huffed, pushing his chair away from the table and getting to his feet in aggitation, striding over to the window to resume staring at nothing but his own dim reflection.

"But you must have some," Vector gently pressed, accepting a cup of tea from Vanilla, "That guy said he knew ya and that you knew him."

"Maybe he was lying," Sonic growled.

"Or maybe he wasn't." All eyes turned to Tails, including Sonic's. Tails was looking at the hedgehog with something akin to sympathy, "Maybe you did know each other back then but, whatever happened, your brain has just... I dunno... repressed it. Shock can do that, you know."

Shadow gave a shudder.

"Why would his brain erase his own memory?" he asked, curling his nose in a sneer.

"Not erase - repress," Tails corrected, "You know, store it somewhere, dormant, without you ever knowing about it. Shock can do that with extremely traumatic or stressful situations."

"You're saying that this guy might have done something to traumatise Sonic so much that, to protect him, Sonic's brain has literally tried to forget him so as not to traumatise him again?" Silver summarised, his golden eyes growing a little glassy.

"That's pretty much it."

A very lengthy and uncomfortable silence followed this.

"Erm... Well, on the bright side, congratulations!" Charmy suddenly announced, clapping his hands.

"Oh yes!" Cream agreed, joining in, "Congratualtions! We're so happy for your engagement!"

One by one, each friend (some a little more reluctantly) congratulated the newly promised couple.

Sonic seemed happier with the glaringly obvious change of topic and he looked over to smile at Amy, cheering her up. Amy had been deeply saddened that her fiancé had been given a bit of a shock on the night of his proposal but a brief grin from him soothed her instantly.

Gradually, the party guests dissipated, each returning to their own homes at some point in the evening. Zooey and Tails, with a gently breathing Rosemary on his shoulder, went off into the night together in one direction while Blaze and Silver went hand-in-hand in another.

"It's a big leap to say that the Ira Robotnik fella is the missing nutjob from the asylum and our boat thief," Vector was muttering as he left the house.

"The dots join up though," Espio had replied beside him. They had almost forgotten Charmy who had been saying goodbye to Cream. Cream was going to be staying the night and she gave the bee a tight hug before he ran off to catch up with the other Chaotix team members.

"Looks like a gorgeous night for a flight," Rouge commented, standing outside on the path with her husband. Shadow and Omega appeared as if from nowhere.

"Probably not a good idea," Shadow murmured, "It gets cold quickly at night in the autumn and you know how cold your wings get, Rouge." 

The bat and the echidna frowned at one another.

"Are you two alright?" Knuckles asked, glancing from the hedgehog to the robot.

"Why would we not be?" Shadow huffed, crossing his arms, "You've forgotten Sonic's sudden situation?"

"This has got nothing to do with Sonic - why are you acting so weird with Rouge?"

"Our systems function perfectly well around Rouge." Omega smoothy answered but he almost crumpled under the stoic gaze of the bat in question.

"Remember that you're awful at lying?" Rouge drawled, unimpressed.

Shadow was growing nervous but he had mastered how to hide emotions particually well over the years. 

"We're not acting weird, as you put it. Just... worked up," he explained and Omega whirred in agreement.

"It is common for females to be more influenced, emotionally, by negative situations and we..." Shadow glared at him. "Correction, I was concerned for Rouge's wellbeing given the great worry on our minds."

Knuckles wrinkled his nose and shook his head.

 "Shouldn't it be Amy that you should be fussing, if that's the case? And how is taking wine, shoving food at Rouge and forbidding her from flying have anything to do with Sonic?"

For a moment, it seemed neither had an answer for Knuckles. Omega turned helplessly to Shadow and his red optics shone with guilt, on the verge of giving way.

"No..." Shadow warned. The robot, however, decided he couldn't continue with the secret any longer.

"Congratulations!" he chirruped.

"Omega!" Shadow gasped in genuine horror, "No!"

"What are you on about?" Rouge asked, slightly frightened by Shadow's reaction.

"I ask forgiveness from you, Rouge," Omega explained, doing his very best not to look at the Ultimate Lifeform, "Before you asked that I not, I scanned you."

Rouge looked puzzled, tilting her head slightly. "You mean way back when we got our mission from the Commander?"

"That is correct."

"Omega..." Shadow swalllowed, preparing for the wrath of a hormonal woman heading his way, "...for the love of Maria, don't do this."

"Do what?" asked Knuckles, also worried about Shadow's uncharacterist response.

Rouge just looked downright lost. 

"So you scanned me, so what?" she scoffed, "What did you find out that's made you...?"

Then she stopped.

The pieces fell into place and she placed a hand over her mouth.

"Oh Chaos."

Due to his effort to keep a low profile, Eggman had limited the power of his current place of hiding to a strict minimum, concentrating on keeping the electricity flowing to his living quarters and one small laboratory.

The sliding double doors, therefore, swished open as Ira came walking through, ignoring Eggman at his desk.

"Well?" Eggman asked politely, "How did it go?"

Ira stalked by and out through another door.

"Ira?" Eggman frowned, turning round to find that his brother had gone without a word of gloating.

Cubot was re-dusting an already dust-free photo on a shelf but he turned his head slightly, intrigued with possible new news to gossip about with Orbot. Eggman ignored the yellow bot and rose from his chair, hovering in the doorway that his brother had passed through, resting his gaze upon Ira's still form on a high-back chair in the corner. Ira was staring at the ceiling, a frown so heavy that it held his spectacles firmly in place.

"Do you need something strong to drink?" Eggman murmured, leaning against the doorframe.
Ira paused for a second and then nodded.

Eggman recognised the look - a look that had once graced his own face many times after confronting a certain hedgehog. Not always rage or hatred, but rather confusion and... hunger.

"...You saw him then?" Eggman growled, reentering the room with some dark liquid in a whiskey glass. Ira took it from him wordlessly. "Quite a hedgehog, isn't he?" Eggman went on, leaning against the doorframe again. Ira shook his head.

"Have I really been gone that long?" he said quietly.

His older brother hummed. 

"Time flies," he agreed, "I can still remember him as a helpless little hoglet on the run. Then he learnt how to fight. Proved a right nuisance."

"So much potential time wasted in that asylum," Ira moaned, rubbing his face and taking a sip from the glass.

"Don't worry," Eggman 'soothed', "I was able to keep an eye on him as he grew up. Got stronger and stronger as every year passed. You know, his top speed is still unknown? I doubt he even has one. It wouldn't surprise me if he possessed the ability to run right out of existance with his speed if he put enough thought into it. Of course, he's too considerate to do that sort of thing..."

"How strong is he?" Ira interrupted, getting to his face and draining the glass in a gulp.

"Well, I hardly think he's reached his full potential but he's taken down everything I've thrown at him, one way or another," Eggman replied in surprise as his moping younger brother thrust the glass back into his hands.

Ira was now in work mode. You could tell by the sharp tone of his voice.

 "By himself?" he asked.

"Sometimes," Eggman shrugged, "But, like I said, he's latched a few friends into his life and they've not helped in the slightest. In my opinion, I reckon Sonic's become too reliant on them and has grown lazy."

"I saw some of them. Project Shadow was there, as you said..."

"What were they doing?"

"Sonic... got engaged."

"What!?" Eggman cried, dropping the glass and not caring that it shattered at his feet. 

Cubot had been hovering round the bend, eavesdropping on the conversation with eagerness and he dropped his duster in synchronisation with his master. After the initial shock, Eggman's dark eyes glittered maliciously. 

"My word..." he smiled, a sickening mirth coming over him, "Never thought I'd see the day Sonic the Hedgehog slowed down for... Of course, it was Amy, wasn't it?"

Ira shrugged. "A pink hedgehog?"

"Amy Rose," Eggman nodded, "Which suggests that he hasn't slowed down at all. Amy wouldn't allow him to... Tell me, there was a young fox there and an echidna, yes?"

"...Yes."

"Mmm. I'll have to give you a run down on his allies. Each one possesses enough skill to hold their own against our weapons. Better that you're prepared should you cross paths with any of them."

Ira folded his lip back in a sneer. 

"I don't care about them," he snorted.

A dark gleam flitted over Eggman's face as he grew serious.

 "Don't fall into the trap of ignoring them," he warned, "Trust me, you can get so caught up with Sonic that you forget about them and you may as well kiss your hard earned work goodbye once that happens."

Ira waved his hand nonchalantly.

 "You can deal with them," he huffed, "The only reason I'm here at all is because of Sonic."

"Words I'm familiar with."

"Ivo," Ira mumbled, turning away, "let me make one thing clear: I escaped that prison because I realised that I'd left it too long. I happen to be dying."

There was a long silence.

Cubot was afraid of one of his circuits making too much noise.

"...What?" Eggman breathed, able to look both angry and worried at the same time.

"The Cursed Robotnik heart is giving out on me," Ira chuckled sadly, "I've hardly got a year before I'm gone. Just like Father and Uncle."

"Well," Eggman tried helplessly, "you've seen Sonic."

Ira shook his head slowly, gazing at his fingers. 

"I didn't just want to see him one last time," he told him, "I wanted to finish our work! If we can uncover the secret to how he survived in the womb, we might not die at all." Bright eyes stared through their specs. "We could live as immortals, Ivo! With all the time in the world to conquer the universe. And then... then on to other plans."

Eggman was getting confused.

"We never discussed other plans," he mumbled quietly.

Ira got up and walked over to him, moving him away from the door. 

"I thought about it," he admitted in a delighted whisper, "Once your research is complete, I move ahead with Project Eclipse."

"Project...what?"

Eggman never heard the answer as Ira delivered a hard punch into his brother's head, knocking Eggman flat on his back unconscious.

"Sorry, Ivo," Ira apologised sincerely, "This is for the best. I've spent the last 25 years thinking this through and I couldn't even begin explaining what's been going through my mind. Don't worry - you'll get your answers. And I'll get my life back."

Outside the room, Cubot silently slipped away, the sole witness to Ira's actions.

Chapter Text

Watching out for Orbot and Cubot, Ira dragged the cumbersome body of his knocked out brother (which was a feat in itself!) from the living quarters and to his own personal 'study'.

Eggman had always been the brainbox scientist so it was Eggman that got the fancy laboratories and the high-tech machines and equipment.

That wasn't to say, however, that Ira went without.

While working for his brother on Christmas Isle, Ira had been given a lavish laboratory of his own, with minimal computers and a single glass container which could be stocked with whatever he wished. His part to play in the grand scheme of things was the secret agent, the fetcher, the carrier, the hit-man, of sorts. He had collected a mountain of books on his varying subjects, all stored neatly in his study where he had spent only a little of his time before being caught by the authorities and sent to rot away in an asylum prison.

Basically, it was the only part of the Robotnik factory that Ira had the authority to change the security code for and that was what Ira was pitching his safety on.

There was an old cracked sofa in his study, partly hidden under a hideous hand-made throw (a patchwork quilt experiment performed by his mother), and a small refridgerator that could do with being re-stocked after over 25 years, so he was confident that his brother's living conditions weren't awful.

It would be enough for him to concentrate on what he needed to do, anyway.

Especially once he finally got round to stocking his container...

Speaking of which...

Some rooting around in his brother's data files uncovered the correct start-up procedure for his robots that were being stored in the vaults. He wasn't sure how this was going to go down but it was a risk he would have to take so long as he remembered to tred carefully.

Ignoring all the other old robots, Ira made his way to the very end of the room, glancing at the piece of paper where he had scribbled the code that would open up those ominous doors.

Metal Sonic's body was right where Ira last remembered seeing him.

Ira Robotnik had a fantastic memory - almost frighteningly fantastic. This photographic memory had allowed him to escape the asylum in the first place and he was to be damned if he let it fail him now.

Booting up the computer nearby, Ira typed in the next few codes and the lengthy password. Then came the biological password. Being Eggman's brother, Ira had a higher chance of working his way past this bit than anyone else.

Sure enough, perplexed that the results were very similar to Eggman's, the comptuer asked for further clarification. Ira was able to plug in the right codewords to convince the computer that he was Dr Eggman and not Dr Eggman's younger brother.

The screen remained black save for a single line of green wording:

  'Start-up sequence initiated... Metal Sonic... Online.'

The tubes and wires around the metal husk gave a sigh as compressed air escaped from vents and electricity began to hum once more.

Yet the robotic body still looked void of life.

That was until the computer gave another bleep and more green lettering, badly broken, came typing on the screen:

'MetalSonic: "wHo arE yOu?"'

Ira had been holding his breath up until that moment whereby he let it out with a nervous smile.
Metal Sonic, his brother's supposed 'best creation', was active and now talking to him!

Steeling his brief anxiety, Ira glanced warily at the lifeless robot shell before stooping over the keyboard. 

"My name is Ira Robotnik. The brother of Ivo Robotnik, your Master," Ira typed.

There was a pause as the cursor on screen pulsated a little before:

"i dO noT aNsweR to thE liKeS oF yOu, stRanGEr."

Ira took several breaths; this was his time to keep his cards to his chest and convince a murdering robot to work for him.

 "Your Master is unavailable," he typed, his hands feeling sweaty beneath his gloves, "I am acting in his behalf."

"LEaVe Me iN peAce," Metal Sonic said via the screen and then repeated, "i dO noT aNsweR to thE liKeS oF yOu, stRanGEr."

Ira looked to the shell again. Still no sign of life. He wasn't sure if Metal would simply remain there, dead, or suddenly activate and gut him where he stood.

"I have a task for you," he typed, "One you will enjoy." For a moment, Ira didn't think Metal was going to respond.

But he did.

"i aM METAL SONIC," the green lettering declared, "i aM noT a sLave to Be cOmmANdeD at wiLL. i aM METAL SONIC. sUperIOR to AlL eGgmAn rOBots."

"I know," Ira quickly typed, his frantic mind telling him that the last thing he wanted to do was insult a robot capable of killing him without moving a single circuit, "My brother has told me about you. That is why I have come to you. I cannot trust any other robot to do this except you. Only the most superior of all Eggman robots can handle this task."

 He smiled. That was quite a bit of praise, he had thought. 

Metal seemed to notice this too.

"FlaTterY iS bEttEr eNjoYED whEn iT comeS fRom thE MouTh oF a hUmaN," he had typed back. Then there was another pause before the rest of his statement came through: "i aM METAL SONIC. i dO noT beNd KNee to anY wHo trIEs to FlaTter Me."

Then Ira remembered what his brother had said about this particular robot.

It was time to play his trump card and drop the 'S' word.

"Would you be more inclined to listen if I told you that I want you to find Sonic the Hedgehog?"

Almost as though that had been a trigger word, the key code to unlocking Metal, the computers all around flared into a loud growling noise and the prone form of Metal Sonic gave a twitch and a shudder though there he still hung there limply.

"...yOu kNOw SONIC?" the lettering asked.

Though it was only letters on a screen, Ira couldn't help but sense the high level of eagerness behind those words. Strange for an emotionless robot.

"I certainly do," Ira typed smugly, "I've known him since he was a small hoglet. I understand you know him very well too?"

This time, the wording didn't come straight away.

The noises of the computers did rise, however and, all of a sudden, the crimson red optics of Metal Sonic switched on and the robot body convulsed as systems booted up and the precious circuitry flared into life. Wrenching himself from his bonds, Metal Sonic threw himself forward and tore the wires from his limbs, standing free from his encasing. He whirred and clicked and groaned as he stood up straight, growing silent as his onlined optics focused on Ira Robotnik in person, already scanning him to confirm his biological link with his creator.

Ira had jumped back in alarm upon Metal's awakening.

"Does this mean you'll do it?" he asked out loud, not finding the courage to move now that the killer robot was fully active. 

The blue robotic hedgehog continued to stare at him, head tilting and the last remaining circuits clanking into place with sickening crunches.

To Ira's surprise, the computer gave another bleep as more green words appeared on screen.

"i dO iT foR My OWn dEsirEs. NOt yoUrS," Metal told him via the computer, still typing his messages rather than speaking to him.

"Are you incapable of talking out loud, Metal Sonic?" Ira asked, reasoning that his brother seemed to have neglected to give the hedgehog a mouth.

"oN thE cOnTRarY, hUmaN," Metal typed on the screen while his body remained transfixed on the Robotnik in front of him, "oNLY SONIC hAs hearD My tRuE VOiCe. no oTheR hAs hAD thE pRIvilEge."

"Sonic means a lot to you then?" He winced as the sharp claws of the robot curled into a fist.

"to sUbjuGAte hiM aNd hAve hiM RElinQUisH thE TitLe oF ONE TRUE SONIC to Me - tHat 'MEaNs a loT to Me'."

"I can...assist in those ambitions," Ira told him, "But he must be here in order for me to do that." Metal's neck snapped and then straightened again, his optics having never left Ira's face.

"wHAt is it tHat yOu dEsirE oF hiM, hUmaN?" he asked.

"Ivo.. Doctor Eggman needs him for his research and I need him for my Project Eclipse. I... intend to turn him into my own Fountain of Immortality."

"dOCtoR EGGMAN wiShEs oNLy to comPleTE hiS reSEArcH aNd tHeN to eiTHer kiLL hiM or rObOTisizE hiM as My fUTuRE pArTnER."

"Would you be upset if Sonic didn't become your future partner?"

"so lOng as i am thE ONE TRUE SONIC, thE fATe oF My cOpy is oF no cONsEquEnce to Me."

"Excellent. Will you fetch him then?" 

Metal Sonic finally took his eyes off the man, glancing around quickly.

"...wHEre is EGGMAN?" he asked on screen. He didn't call him Master.

Ira now had to step very cautiously. 

"...He is busy." Trying not to shiver under the cold gaze of the robot, Ira held himself tall and proud. 

Metal, however, was not swayed.

"yOu hAVe hiM pRiSoNEr." Had the robot a mouth, Metal would have smirked at that point - not that Ira would know.

"Not prisoner. Not my own brother," he hurriedly replied, "He's just been isolated so that he can concentrate on his research project."

Metal tested his feet now, slowly walking from one end of the small compartment to the other, keeping his head still as he stared at Ira. 

"aNd wHat is thE inTEnDed reSEArch?"

"Well," Ira swallowed, "I don't suppose you know how an unborn Sonic the Hedgehog survived a catastrophic Chaos disaster, do you?" Metal stopped his pacing, cocking his head and remaining quiet, not a single word appearing on screen. "Didn't think so," Ira sighed, slightly disappointed that they couldn't save a ton of time with answering that straight away, "Would you bring him to us?"

Metal Sonic flexed his claws again, letting out a low gutteral growl before firing his thrusters and blasting off through the base and out of sight.

On the screen appeared the words:

"i dO iT foR My OWn dEsirEs. NOt yoUrS."

Ira leant over and typed back:

 "You said - and I acknowledge and agree to that request."

Chapter Text

Rouge and Knuckles sat awkwardly side by side in the hallway, waiting their turn to see the doctor on, quite possibly, THE most uncomfortable chairs.

Rouge was still livid with her two teammates for discovering her pregnancy before she did while Knuckles was still in self-denial, hoping that it was just Shadow and Omega playing a stupid prank.

Of course, Shadow didn't normally do pranks...

"Echidnas typically have one offspring at a time, right?"

Knuckles was startled out of his thoughts by his wife's anxious question. 

"Yes, usually," he quickly replied. "What about bats?"

"One. Usually. Twins are uncommon."

"Odds are in our favour then," Knuckles nodded, shuffling on his white plastic seat and watching nurses rush around heavily pregnant women who were being escorted to mid-wives.

"Wait..." Rouge suddenly gasped, "you said that your species hatch from eggs, don't you?"

Knuckles nodded again. 

"Tails called it mono... mono-something."

"Monotremes," Rouge murmured, as though quoting a text book. "Egg-laying mammal like a platypus."

"Except echidnas don't have duck beaks," Knuckles felt the need to add, not liking to be paired up with a platypus, of all animals. He then felt the vice like grip of Rouge's hand on his arm, squeezing the iron muscles underneath his pelt.

"Knuckles," she hissed, her teal eyes wide, "tell me straight, am I going to be laying an egg?"

"What?" The very thought almost made Knuckles splutter and laugh but he kept a serious disposition for Rouge's benefit. "No, you're not an echidna."

"But you are."

"Only women echidnas produce eggs, Rouge."

"But I'm just saying," Rouge pressed, "does the fact that you're the father," she paused, "- which I assure you, you are - does it have any bearing on if I lay an egg in however many months time?"

Knuckles creased his brow and slowly shook his head. 

"Don't think so," he muttered.

The wrong thing to say.

"You don't think so?" Rouge demanded, squeezing his arm again and allowing her talon claws to sink a little deeper.

"Well, do lady bats make the right materials to grow and lay an egg?" Knuckles asked hurriedly.

"Of course not," Rouge scoffed, perfectly aware that bats were mammals - the only species of flying mammal (not counting Tails), in fact, something she was immensely proud of.

"There you are," Knuckles assured her. "If Shade ever decided to have children, she'd lay them as eggs first, whatever their species."

Rouge cracked her first smile. 

"Even if her children were, just for example, hedgehogs?"

"Yeah. Hedgehogs hatching from eggs," Knuckles grunted with a smile of his own. "Now there's something."

"But let's face it, what are the chances that Shade and Shadow will start getting romantic with one another? Shadow doesn't do romance."

"I know Shade is taken with hedgehogs but I think she was more interested in Sonic..."

Rouge gave a knowing chuckle. 

"Oh, every girl has given Sonic a good look at some point, believe me," she sighed with a fond smile. "Why'd you think Amy's so protective and trigger-happy with her hammer? Lucky girl..."

Knuckles' own smile slowly dropped off his face.

"Every girl?" he repeated uncertainly.

"Mmm-hmmm," she sighed, a tad wistfully as she briefly stared into the middle-distance. "Anyway, so, no egg?"

"No egg," Knuckles murmured, hanging his head.

"Even if it IS an echidna baby?"

"Even if."

A long pause.

"...You know I prefer red to blue, Knuckie. Stop panicking."

With a click, Amy put down the phone reciever.

"Well?" Tails asked, hovering nearby with eager eyes. 

"It's official," Amy announced, beaming away, "Knuckles is going to be a dad."

Tails, Sonic and Zooey all cheered. Rosemary cheered too although she didn't know why.

"That's our boy!" Sonic said, hopping up beside Tails and throwing an arm around his 18 year old best friend's shoulders. "Saving his species like a pro."

"If Rouge has an echidna baby," Amy pointed out, coming into the front room with her drink and settling down on the sofa where her fiancé joined her.

"Do they not know?" Zooey asked, waiting for Tails to take a chair so she could perch on the arm, fully intending to end up in his lap by the end of the conversation. She carefully kicked foam balls across the carpet for Rosemary to chase after. 

Amy shook her head.

"The embryo is too small to tell just yet."

"We should celebrate," Tails decided. "We'll drop Rosemary off at daycare and go out somewhere."

"On a double date? You romantic, you," Zooey giggled, kissing the two tailed dog-fox on the side of his muzzle.

"Where did you have in mind?" asked Sonic.

Amy's eyes began to gleam. "How about...?"

"Ames," Sonic interrupted with a smile, "how many times have we been to Twinkle Park?"

"Uh, yeah, can I just say," Zooey piped up while Amy pouted like a child, "I've never been to Twinkle Park?" 

Amy looked at her in delight.

"Cute couples get in free," she said, sitting up excitedly.

"Hey, we're cute!" Zooey smiled with her, also sitting up and leaning over to her, ignoring Tails' discomfort. "Two hedgehogs and two foxes! We can mix and match with that."

"And get our pictures done at the photo booth!"

"A photo booth?"

"Oh they've got all sorts at Twinkle Park: a shopping outlet, funfair- Oh! You get a discount at the Sweethearts Diner if you've been in the Tunnel of Love and recieved a 'Be Mine ticket'."

"I love a discount!" Zooey clapped her paws, looking from Tails to Sonic. "Please let me go!"

Sonic rolled his eyes. 

"Don't suppose Tails and I have any choice, do we?" he sighed.

"We could easily go by ourselves, if you like. We make just as cute a couple..."

"Fine," Tails relented, "we'll go."

Cream was smiling as Charmy dodged around the trees as they walked along the lane towards the rabbits' hosue.

"...So guess who it is that finds the old boat?" the bee was saying, flashing a proud smirk in her direction.

Cream flicked her long ears over her shoulders. 

"You?" she guessed.

"Yep! Espio was going on about... something... but I found the boat."

"Looks like Vector and Espio will make a detective of you yet," Cream commented, moving her shopping basket further up her arm as she dug in her pockets to find a titbit to feed Cheese who was tugging at her fingers hungrily.

"You can start calling me Charmy Holmes," Charmy announced gradly, walking back on to the lane with his chest out and his head high, "Or Charmy Poirot. Or Charmy Marple!"

"Marple was a woman."

"Whatever. The point is I scored one for the Chaotix!"

"So," Cream continued as they reached the front door, "why aren't you out there being a detective right now?"

 Charmy blinked at her then looked around, seeming to realise where he was for the first time.

"...Shoot! You distracted me!"

"I distracted you?" Cream laughed. "For the entire day?"

Charmy's forlorn face was almost worthy of being fussed over.

 "...Vector's going to kill me," he squeaked pathetically.

"I'm sure he won't," Cream assured him, patting his arms gently. "You may as well stick around for lunch. Mother's cooked something up and you can just say you were questioning us for clues."

Charmy's eyes lit up. 

"You're a good friend, you know that?"

The teenage rabbit rolled her chocolate eyes and opened the door, letting Cheese go flitting in before her.

"Nonsense," she dismissed airily. "You know the only reason I keep you around is because you help my garden."

Charmy followed her in and plonked himself down in a beanbag, counting on his fingers, "Helping the oldies at the Agency... helping you with your hobbies..."

"Did you really just call Vector and Espio old?" Cream laughed, putting down her basket in the kitchen. She was just about to call up to her mother when she noticed her friend's face. "What's the matter?" she asked.

Charmy's spark of mischief had dwindled. His eyes, normally so round and full of energy, were half-lidded and downcast.

"Do you think we should be helping Sonic?" he asked quietly.

Cream looked at him closely. His striped antenae were drooping behind him and his strong lacey wings, which looked so beautifully fragile and delicate, were hugged to his back.

"...Well," the rabbit murmured, thinking of something to say, "aren't you already helping him? I thought Vector was suspecting that creepy brother of Eggman's as the boat thief."

"Doesn't help us," Charmy shrugged. "Not unless we catch him."

"You will catch him." Charmy looked up in surprise. Cream sounded full of conviction and determination. "You'll catch him, Charmy. I know you will."

"But we don't know anything about him!"

"That's not stopped the Chaotix Detective Agency before, has it?" Cream smiled warmly, "And besides, it's for Sonic."

"Yeah," Charmy nodded. "It's for Sonic."

"Where in the world is Sonic?" Amy huffed, tapping her foot and checking her watch for the umpteenth time in the past fifteen minutes.

"He said he would meet us here," Tails murmured, hiding his worry.

"Yeah, after running that lost Chao to the Chao Gardens," Amy nodded. "And how long does it take to do that?"

"Maybe he got distracted," Zooey suggested, wondering why she felt a sudden chill in the air. "Those Chao are adorable."

"Maybe," Amy sighed.

Right before heading out, the group had found a very frightened Chao wandering around aimlessly, squeaking and calling for help. It looked too young to be by itself and so far from a Colony so Sonic had suggested he run the little one to the nearest Chao Garden and then meet them at Twinkle Park.

That had been half an hour ago.

The run to the Chao Garden, for Sonic, wouldn't have lasted three minutes (he ran slower when he was carrying a Chao).

"...I've got a bad feeling," Tails swallowed. 

He was hoping that Sonic was distracted with all the Chao that seemed to naturally adore the blue speedster and hadn't been held up with rabid fans or discovering an old piece of Eggman tech that needed shutting down. What with the recent events, Tails wasn't sure if Sonic should be left alone for any given lengths of time. He brought up his communicator and pressed a few buttons.

"Sonic?" he spoke into the mouthpiece. "You there, Sonic? We're waiting. Chickened out, or something? You too frightened to come?"

Only static answered him.

"Sonic?" Tails tried again.

More static.

"Sonic, come in. Look, we've been waiting ages. Where are you?"

Static.

"Sonic!"

Static... then complete silence.

Another cold breeze blew through Station Square.

"We don't want to jump to conclusions..." Zooey gulped, aware that, in her heart, she could sense some form of disaster just as clearly as Amy and Tails could, though their personal bond with the blue hedgehog likely surpassed any kind of relationship she had ever known.

"I'll search for his communicator signal," Tails muttered, pressing buttons again. After an ominous bleep, the fox looked up. "...The Chao Garden."

Usually, the Chao Gardens were places of peace and calm, little drops of paradise, some called them. Yet upon arriving at the Chao Garden, peace and calm seemed to have disintegrated into fear and worry.

"The Chao are spooked," Zooey noticed, watching as groups of Chao huddled together in trees, behind rocks, under bushes... anywhere they could find space to hide. They watched the three visitors with wide, anxious eyes, none of them making a sound.

"Sonic!" Amy called, her voice echoing around and eliciting no reply. At the call, the Chao each squeaked nervously and some cried. "You're right," the pink hedgehog whimpered, "the Chao are really freaking out." 

She caught sight of the young one that they had found, crawling towards them with tears streaking down its face. He latched on to Amy's shoe and gave a heartbroken cry. 

"Hey, little guy..." Amy crooned, reaching down and scooping the little bundle up in her arms. "At least you managed to get here." She gazed down at the Chao and held it close to her chest protectively as the little creature squeaked and whimpered. "Where's Sonic?" she asked in a whisper. The Chao only gave another cry.

Zooey, meanwhile, had noticed that Tails had immediately gone off after arriving, following a signal, but had now begun to make his way back towards them, his face unreadble. He clutched something in his paws.

"Tails," Zooey began, "what...?" 

Tails held out his palm.

"...His communicator," he sniffed, tears welling up in his big blue eyes, "Sonic's missing."

Chapter Text

A brown withered leaf finally released its hold on the branch and floated gently earthbound, dancing on the little breezes it managed to catch and rolling over and over, brushing the nose of Shade the Echidna as she took pause beneath its tree. She watched the leaf, cracked and void of life, as it gave another somersault and came to rest alongside its fallen brethren on the forest floor.

In a depressing sort of way, Shade felt a kinship with that leaf, sympathising with its place in life.

She had fallen from her tree many years ago, tearing herself from the life she knew, alienating from her tribe to follow a hedgehog she had barely known to a world she didn't belong in. 

That was what she had thought at the time, anyway. Things had improved since then, she supposed.

From being a captain in a whole clan of echidnas to suddenly being one of only two on the entire planet was a shift that had struck her deeply and had evoked a new respect for Knuckles for having lived as the last of his kind for so long. That thought hadn't even occured to her when she and a group of her warriors had infiltrated Angel Island and had kidnapped him along with the Master Emerald ten years ago. She had changed since then and had made peace with Knuckles since he all but saved her life during that time. He and Sonic had impressed her and she had vowed to follow them into whatever battle they faced.

She could sense, however, the age-old tension between Knuckles and herself, the blood-feud of their clans still present in their own veins though Shade had done her level best to override those territorial instincts.

Shadow had helped her enormously on that front.

He had confessed, in confidentiality to her, that he still felt territorial around Sonic and that basic animal instinct was something that they all had to deal with in some form or another. She barely knew Shadow but he had quickly deduced that Shade was finding it hard as one who originated from another time and who had been raised to believe one thing.

In many ways, Shadow and Shade were a lot alike and thus, they had bonded as friends.

The added perk that their names were practically identicle in their meanings wasn't picked up on immediately - at least, not by them.

"Out here by yourself?" Shadow's recognisable voice asked as the darker hedgehog came walking down the forest path. He had come looking for her.

"I need to be by myself sometimes," Shade replied, shrugging her shoulders and planting her foot over the leaf she had been watching. "I can think better."

Shadow couldn't argue with that. As he walked on, Shade walked with him.

"What have you been up to?" she asked. “Heard Eggman might be making a comeback. Bet you, Rouge and Omega are busy."

"And how did you find that out?"

"What you don't know can't hurt you, Shadow."

"On the contrary," Shadow contradicted with a grim face, "What you don't know can hurt you very much."

Shade glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

 "...Now you're onto something completely different," she noted. "I know that look and I know what it means when your spikes do the thing; you're thinking about Sonic."

Shadow turned to her, puzzled.

"Do the thing?" he echoed, "What do you mean 'do the thing'?"

"Nothing," Shade laughed. "But you ARE talking about Sonic, aren't you? What's happened? Is it to do with that creep that turned up at Sonic and Amy's engagement get-together?" Shadow pressed his tongue against his lips.

"I'd be lying if I said I knew for sure," he admitted. "The truth is, I'm not sure what's going on."

Shade frowned, losing herself in thought. 

"Well," she said, "What do you know for certain?" 

She and Shadow were close to leaving the forest.

"Eggman is returning and he isn't alone," Shadow revealed. "There's some man with him who may or may not be his brother. Whatever it is they are planning, they're keeping it hush-hush. We've tried going to previous Eggman locations but haven't found out anything and Sonic seems to have shut his mouth about it. He claims he doesn't have a single piece of information about this second Robotnik and he seems pretty keen to let the whole thing drop." Shadow kicked a stone and watched it fly off into the foliage. "The thing that worries me is that this doesn't feel like something that can be dropped. Not easily, anyway. Whoever this Ira Robotnik is, he's something connected to Sonic's past."

"Well, that's opening Pandora's Box isn't it?"

Shadow glanced at her. "What?"

"Sonic's past," Shade repeated. "It's Pandora's box, right? I mean, have you ever asked Sonic about where he's come from?"

"Didn't need to know. It's none of my business."

"And he's never outrightly revealed it to you, right?"

"Should he have done?"

"I'm just saying," Shade shrugged, stopped just outside the copse of trees and taking in the view of the rolling hills in front of them. "Everyone seems to know everything about everyone. I know you were a laboratory creation and are made of alien DNA and goodness knows what else that, somehow,when combined, produced a hedgehog."

Shadow stared at her as she proudly rattled off all the information she had aquired over the years.

"And I know that Amy had a relatively 'ordinary' childhood except for her mother and the drama on one side of the family involving her cousin. Tails was orphaned and bullied until Sonic came and practically raised him. Rouge has bounced around on the other side of law during her 'street' days. Blaze is a princess from another dimension and is guardian of the Sol emeralds, whatever those are. Vector was raised in a swamp and was the first crocodile in his family to move into civilisation. Or so he claims. Big grew up with a frog he raised from a tadpole. Some life. Silver is from the future, supposedly started as an ordinary hedgehog but was genetically enhanced at some point. Charmy comes from a big family which has its own private monarchy according to some sources - not that Charmy knows anything. Omega was an Eggman robot, turned against his master. Gemerl too, modelled after our own Gizoids. Espio was found abandoned as an egg and raised in a dojo - I think. Or was there a clan of... well, whatever. Cream's dad died 16 years ago in a battle on some island before Cream was born. The Babylon Rogues are descended from aliens from another planet, supposedly. Knuckles has been sat in front of that rock for all his life and I can give you a full on history lesson about his kind..."

"Wait, what did you say?"

Shade paused and frowned at Shadow, puzzled.

"About what? Knuckles?"

"No," Shadow murmured. "About Cream..."

"What about her? She told me that she was raised only by her mother after her dad died. Thought you knew that." Shade then shrugged her shoulders. "Anyway, the point is, we seem to know plenty about each other but the only thing anyone seems to know about Sonic is that he's the fastest creature in the universe and has been going up against Eggman for years. Beyond that, no-one knows anything. Everyone has a theory of where he came from. Some say he's royalty! Some say he's a lab experiment. Some say he had two parents, one parent, no parent..."

Shadow, on the other hand, was only half listening.

He and Shade were walking along towards the village, taking the usual route they took when they walked and talked together in the evening to share their insecurities. Being a perceptive echidna, Shade was well aware that something had sparked Shadow's interest but she couldn't fathom what it was.

"A ring for your thoughts?" she asked quietly. The darker hedgehog gave a grunt.

"Just...doing some math," he replied in a low voice.

"Whatever makes you happy," Shade chuckled to herself, parking herself down on a bench and stretching her legs out in the moonlight.

Shadow's mind was awhirl with new information.

"Sixteen years ago..." he muttered, "Before Cream was born..." Shade cracked an eye open and watched her companion pace about in front of her. "Island...battle? Island battle?"

"That's what Vanilla told me," Shade nodded. "Poor woman. Can't be easy being a widowed mother. Speaking of mothers, I heard about Rouge and Knuckles' kid. Hope it's an echidna. No offense, but our species could do with a number boost..."

"Sixteen years ago..."

Shade gave in, sighing and sitting up. 

"Okay," she said. "Forget about the money, just tell me what you're thinking."

Shadow stopped pacing.

"I'm thinking," he began, "that I need to find out exactly how old Sonic was when he finally drove Eggman off South Island."

"Oh that's easy," Shade answered, taking Shadow by surprise, "He was 9."

 "How-"

"Tails told me. Said that Sonic must have been by himself from about the age of six they reckon and he had only recently adopted Tails when there was a big showdown somewhere on South Island that Sonic had to dash off to sort out. He ran Eggman off the island that day, apparently."

"The battle of Robotropolis," Shadow breathed, several pieces falling into place, recalling what the elderly cat on South Island had said. He did the math in his head and everyone's ages checked out correctly. 

At Shade's inquisitive look Shadow explained, 

"So Sonic meets Tails, decides to take him on as his sidekick brother, later hears of Eggman's new city that he's built on top of Mobotropolis to enslave the island's population, runs off to deal with it, big battle occurs in which Cream's father dies... Eggman abandons Robotropolis..."

"You should join the Chaotix," Shade smiled. "Cracking detective you'd make."

"Shadow!" a voice suddenly called. The area began to shine with a pale aquamarine light as an illuminated Silver the Hedgehog came floating down like an angelic messenger. "Shadow, you're wanted!"

"Oh yeah? By who?" Shadow growled. "The government again? Another alien species?"

Silver touched down and his worried face made Shadow hesitate to say anything else.

"No, it's worse," the young futuristic hedgehog fretted, wringing his paws together. "You and Shade need to come as soon as possible. Sonic's missing!"

It took Shadow and Shade under a second to react.

"Hell, Silver," Shadow cried, "you should have lead with that!"

Tails’ house was swarmed with bodies of varying colours, shapes and textures, everything from mammals and insects to reptiles and a very observent frog sat atop a very large cat.

"What's happened?" Shadow demanded, striding into the room with Shade and Silver on his heels.

"Sonic's gone," Zooey told him, explaining it yet again that evening to a new set of ears. "All that was left was his communicator."

She was acting as spokesperson because, over in the study chair, turned away from everyone, a small ball of yellow fur was cuddled into the tightest of balls while a red-eyed pink hedgehog stood dutifully at his side, stroking him with a shaking hand.

"So, what, is he just missing or... abducted?" Shade asked which, for some reason, seemed to hush everyone else into silence.

"A-Abducted... We think."

Rouge, only recently coming to terms with her unexpected pregnancy, perched on a table chair and leant back.

"Headquarters aren't going to like this much," she muttered, referring to GUN.

"To Dark Gaia's pit of hell about them!" Amy hissed from across the room.

"You can say that all you like but they've been getting paranoid about Eggman and if they hear that now Sonic's been snapped up, we're going to get it in the neck for not doing our job," Rouge answered calmly. "Whatever the heck our jobs were supposed to be! I sure adon't remember the Commander telling us to stalk Sonic."

"What I'd like to know," Shadow growled, darkening the mood of the room, "is who's brainbox idea it was to let Sonic wander off alone after the creepy event that happened during the barbecue." He hoped Amy didn’t think he was referring to the engagement.

"It wasn't anyone's idea - it was a simple there and back. Two seconds, tops!" Amy barked at him, feeling Tails' tense underneath her hand.

"Yeah?" Shadow rolled his eyes. "Amazing what can be done in two seconds." He stopped as he felt Shade's reprimanding touch on his arm, urging him to choose his words in a more tactful way.

"Who's going to know what to do in a two second window?" Silver, meanwhile, was jabbering on. "Eggman might be good but he ain't THAT good."

"Who says it IS Eggman?" Knuckles pointed out, hovering beside his wife. "We don't have any clue on what this other geezer can do."

"Fine. No human can achieve anything in a two second window."

"Neither can most Mobians," said Espio, silently lurking in the corner, not realising that his tail was curling itself around the leg of the nearest armchair in his tension.

"The only ones that CAN do things in two seconds are either in this room or, you know, missing," Cream was saying, hugging Cheese to her chest protectively.

"Or working for Eggman."

All eyes strayed to Tails who had just spoken.

Blaze ran a hand through her fur. 

"I know it's the obvious choice," she said gently, "but we really don't have any hard evidence..."

"Metal took him."

Omega didn't mean to give such a violent robotic hiccup but he did so nonetheless and let out a very deep-throated hum. Even the others shifted nervously, wincing as painful memories of the pyschotic robot resurfaced.

"Metal?" Vector spoke, smacking his tongue as though the very word brought a metallic taste to his mouth, "Metal Sonic?"

"No, he means my metal counterpart. Of course he means Metal Sonic," Knuckles huffed, folding his arms and moving closer to where Amy and Tails were still basking in one another's worry and misery. Charmy was sat on the window ledge, swinging his legs and he watched the echidna with interest.

"Reasoning for that, Tails?" asked Shadow, staring at the two-tailed fox.

Tails opened his mouth then shut it, trying to look at Shadow but only seeing a frowning version of his best friend's face. 

"...Trust me," he said, holding out his hand where Sonic's wrist communicator was still clutched, "it was Metal."

At that moment, Omega came forward, his heavy footfall making the walls shudder.

"...analysing evidence..." he announced, optics narrowing in on the device in Tails' possession. "Evidence analysed. Communicator strap has been severed cleanly. Traces of metal alloy present."

Espio tried walking forward but stumbled a little as he forgot to unfurl his tail from the chair. Having done so and hoping that no-one had seen him falter due to fousing on Tails, the chameleon cleared his throat. 

"You guys didn't happen to look around, did you?" he asked.

Tails had slunk away into a ball again.

"I think they were more keen to sound the alert," Zooey answered for him.

Vector stood up tall and clapped his hands. 

"Well, what better people to send on detective work than professional detectives. Espio? Charmy? Let's go boys."

"Are you serious?" Silver questioned uncertainly, an elbow resting on the front room window's ledge. "It's pitch black out there."

"That's why flashlights were invented," Vector retorted quite quickly. His stride from the room was plastered with new confidence, both proud of his status and eager to crack this case out of all other cases. He was already outside in a moment. "Oi, you two comin'?" he called to the remaining members of his team, "While we're young?" 

Espio and Charmy had little say when Vector was in the right frame of mind and so obediently paid their farewells, vanishing into the night.

"I wonder how they define the term, 'professional'?" Rouge wondered to herself.

Chapter Text

Rosemary was turning in her sleep, whinging and squeaking with every breath. Her 'father' watched over her. He wondered if, maybe, the little Seedian knew what was going on. Maybe she could sense the loss of her uncle. She had been bizarrely quiet when Tails and Zooey had gone to retrieve her after Sonic's disappearance was discovered.

Tails gently stroked the child's soft, petal-like skin. He was very much in love with Zooey but there were times he wished Cosmo were here to give extra advice on what to do.

"Yeah, he'll be okay," Tails whispered to Rosemary and to himself, "He'll be okay. He's Uncle Sonic, isn't he?"

Rosemary yawned and her face softened. She looked so much like her mother...

"Rouge?" A large mittened hand, so very strong and yet so very gentle, carefully rested on the bat's shoulder. "Rouge, we should probably get going."

One by one, the Allies had gone their seperate ways, some hanging around longer to hear of any news and others deeming it wise to leave Tails' house which had somehow become a social hub for them all. 

Rouge was of the former group, hesitant to leave should there be a new development, but even she could see that cluttering up the front room at this time of night wasn't going to be of any use.

"Guess there's nothing we can do here, huh?" she asked, somehow hopeful that there might be a chance of being able to do something.

Amy was on her feet and she shook her head which caused her quills, having grown longer in her adult years, to rustle slightly.

"Not unless you know a way of getting Sonic back," she answered and, for the first time that evening, attempted a smile. "You get back home and rest, Rouge. Stressing won't help the baby."

A ghost of a grimace appeared on Rouge's face and she hurriedly attempted to hide her expression.

"...Look at who the parents are," she shrugged, "I think the baby's gonna be tough enough to handle this. You worry about yourself."

"And... you know," Knuckles added, nodding toward the stairs, "keep an eye on him." He was referring, of course, to Tails.

Amy was pressing her teeth into her lower lip but she nodded, hard. "...Yeah, I will."

"Don't worry about making a call to GUN," Shadow then said, appearing from the kitchen and looking at Rouge. “I'll handle it once I've heard back from the Chaotix."

"Thanks," Rouge sighed, grateful for Shadow's concern but slightly annoyed that he seemed to have something to do and she didn't.

"Okay," she finally said, "let's get back to Angel Island."

Knuckles still had a hand on her shoulder. "If you wanted to stay..."

Despite her foul mood, Rouge smiled. 

"I'm missing my jewels," she lied. “Anyway, I've got to get some beauty sleep before seeing the doctor tomorrow." The truth was, she was getting more and more emotional the more tired she got and the last thing someone like Rouge wanted to do was break down in front of all those who knew her to be a brick wall when it came to sentimental feelings.

Whether Knuckles saw through this or not, no-one knew. He simply turned to the only other echidna in the room.

"What about you?" he asked Shade. "Where are you crashing tonight?"

Shade had a place to stay in the city but she'd had trouble settling ever since she bought it five years ago. Before then, she'd been sleeping in a cave in the Mystic Ruins and bunking on various sofas but even though she now had a fixed roof over her head, she was still adjusting.

"I'll head on back to my apartment," she decided, not fully happy with such a decision.

Cream had asked Zooey if she needed anyone to stay but Amy had assured her young friend that she would be staying for the night until tomorrow. 

After that, everyone had quietly left.

Then Tails had reemerged from upstairs, tactfully avoiding seeing the others off in favour of just wallowing in grief in his own personal way.

"Still asleep?" Zooey had asked, plumping a cushion on his chair for him to cuddle down into.

Tails nodded, almost jealous that Rosemary could close her eyes and escape what was going on for a few hours. He curled his tails around him into a golden yellow ball so that only his ears could be seen, a habit he had adopted as a result of being raised by a hedgehog.

"...Do... you want me to get you anything?" Zooey asked gently and was rewarded with a indistinguishable mumble. Her face forlorn, she quietly exited the room. "...I'll make us a hot drink."

In the kitchen, Amy was helping to wash up some mugs.

"I've never seen Tails like this," the young vixen admitted to her.

"...It's been a long time since I have," Amy replied honestly. "He's strong when he needs to be but, sometimes, it gets a little much."

To that, Zooey shook her head.

"...You don't have to pretend to be strong with me, either," she whispered.

She knew Amy had been doting on Sonic for over a decade, from way back when she was a naive little pre-teen with a serious crush. While it may not have started as love (few children knew what romantic love felt like), it was an undeniable love now, something that had developed from a imaginative childhood, an admiration for brave heroics, and time to really get to know the hedgehog behind the handsome face. Certainly, for as long as Zooey had known the group - which wasn't very long - Sonic had been the constant face on the scene. Amy had probably grown used to his presence and had finally settled without the fear of losing him; she could relax in letting him go and trust that he would return.

It was the first time in a long time that she was unsure of that fact. It was the first time in a long time that she wasn't certain if her mate would return to her side. 

It all hit her in that moment and the tears that Zooey had known were there started to trickle down her furred muzzle. Now with a motherly wave washing over her, Zooey steered Amy to the front room to sit with Tails while she went about making the drinks.

The atmosphere of the room was cold even with the logs spitting away in the fireplace.

It was just the two of them: the planets closest to the sun. How cold the Solar System was without it.

"He'll come back." Tails had been the first to initiate conversation. "He's Sonic. He'll be okay."

"...I know," Amy had agreed. “But it's not his physical welfare I'm worried about."

Sonic had an extremely high pain threshold and, while the idea of torture wasn't a settling one, it was the lesser of two evils when compared to the idea of mental abuse. Nearly all of them had experienced physical torture in some way and had proven their resilience against it but mentally... 

Pain inflicted on the body could heal faster than pain inflicted on the mind and should the person behind Sonic's abduction, be he Eggman or otherwise, use emotional trauma to break Sonic down...

"Yeah," Tails whimpered.

Private Rocky Pawlett, a youthful leopard with plenty of life in him, stood to attention by the door inside the Commader's office, paws held behind his back and curiously watching as his commander's hold on his desk gripped tighter.

"I'm sorry - what?" he was saying in a voice of complete disblief, the phone in his hand wobbling against his ear. "How?" he then asked. 

Private Pawlett wasn't entirely certain on who the agent on the other end of the phone line was but he had a narrowed guess. He said nothing and only listened to the one-sided conversation.

"And there was no warning at all? ... ... Where did this happen? ... ... Hmm, that makes a little more sense..." The Commander was now scribbling something down in his book on the desk, alternating between his pen and the computer mouse. "Well, from my experience and information," he was still saying, "I know that hedgehogs, as a rule, are tricky beasts to catch so I... Pardon? Oh, I apologise, Shadow... ... Yes, of course, I meant that hedgehogs are tricky creatures to catch. That was insensitive of me."

Private Pawlett nodded in satisfaction; he had guessed it was either Agent Shadow or Agent Rouge. Agent E-123 Omega detested using phones.

"Hmm? ... ... I was just saying that hedgehogs are hard to catch and Sonic is one of the hardest. I found it odd that he was caught with such swiftness but if this took place at a Chao Garden then it stands to reason that, maybe, Sonic was more concerned for lateral damage and the safety of the Chao." The Commander had settled a little and was nodding. "...Exactly. Of course, there may have been the additional issue of the kidnapper itself. Eggman rarely uses his own hands unless his victim is incapacitated so I'd wager a robot was involved in some kind. ... ... But I assume there were no robotic remains at the scene? ... ... Shadow, it is no secret that, of all my agents, Team Dark has probably had more interactions with Eggman's assortment of robots than I'd be comfortable admitting. Are there any among them that could...? ... ... I know that was the presumtion but we're going to have to conclude that Eggman hasn't been sitting on his laurels for the past year being unproductive. ... ... Who knows? That rotton egg has more sleeves to hide his secrets that that of an octopus. Now, getting back on track, do you know of any of his robots that could have done this? ... ... Well, it's only Omega that I know of that doesn't have nightmares of Sonic, so what other robot...? ... What? ... ... Yes, this is a secure line. ... ... Oh really? ... ... Don't worry, I won't tell Omega that you told me that. It's strictly confidential. ... ... Yes ... ... As I was saying, are there any robots that could take on Sonic in this way?"

A brief frown appeared on the human's face. 

"Agent Shadow?" he repeated, clearly not having recieved an answer. He waited a second longer before, apparently, Shadow was speaking again. "...Yes? ... ... I'm sorry, repeat that? ... ... What?"

The pen fell from the Commander's fingers and his deep voice rose several octaves.

"Shadow, if you're pulling some kind of..." He quietened. "I see... ... Yes, of course. ... ... Apologies. I understand."

Snatching up a sticky note, he hurriedly wrote an encoded message before thrusting it in Private Pawlett's direction, holding the mouth reciever away from him slightly.

"Get on to Jackson," he mouthed as Pawlett took the note. "We need everything we've got on the Eggman weapon, 'Metal Sonic'. Go."

Pawlett was gone.

"Have there been any other threats to any of the Allies? ... ... Very well, keep me updated."

With a push of a button, the conversation was cut off. 

The Commander sighed.

Though he placed great faith and confidence in Shadow's abilities, when it came to Eggman even he knew that the one person you wanted on your side was Sonic. It had nothing to do with skill or firepower - it all came down to personal issues.

Eggman's attacks had always been known to change depending on the opposition who stood in his way. When it came to anyone else, the scientist was almost casual in his attack, striking smoothly and calculatingly but never with any real urgency and only striking enough to keep his opponents on their toes or incapacitated.

Bring Sonic into the fight and Eggman upped his game.

Suddenly, the doctor of science wasn't so lenient. Not so laid back. Not so relaxed.

Fights between he and Sonic were always personal and you could tell simply by the look in both combatant's eyes. Eggman could either revert to being even more precise and careful, tactical in his shots, or he could let loose with a deluge, his rage and frustration overriding anything in order to land a hit and score a point on his hated enemy.

If nothing else, having Sonic in the fight was more likely to draw attention away from other players.

Plus, the supersonic hedgehog was, arguably, the greatest improvisation master that ever walked the planet; instinct drove his feet where they needed to go.

The Chaotix had claimed that evidence at the scene pointed to the idea that it had been a one-on-one confrontation between Sonic and his attacker, Metal Sonic, as Shadow had hesitantly suggested. 

The Commander still tried to wrap his head around that.

Metal Sonic had almost become a myth, a horror story, and nothing more. The robotic copy of Sonic the Hedgehog was a force that few were willing to acknowledge as ever existing, given that he hadn't been heard of in many a long year. The newer GUN recruits whittled the stories of Metal Sonic down to being fairytails or hugely embelished in some way; maybe Eggman had made a hedgehog robot before and maybe it was very powerful... but it was no Angel of Death, as overly dramatic Mobians were prone to saying - so the very foolish had laughed.

The Commander was not so sure.

He, himself, had never laid eyes on a robotic hedgehog of any colour or size or shape... but he had read the reports, the notes left behind by his predecessor, Abraham Tower, and he had heard the tiniest tremor in Shadow's voice and he had seen the ghost of fear that descended on any of the Sonic Allies when Metal Sonic was mentioned by name. There had to be something in that.

A heavy cloud darkened the Commander's face.

Eggman was a threat.

The G. U. N. was an organisation that terminated threats for the greater good of the planet. Perhaps they had left Eggman to wander too long. Perhaps it was time to consider really dealing with him. Perhaps... Well, perhaps it was time to consider if things had just gone too far.

And where did it stop?

The planet was already scarred and lives were already affected from Eggman's creations: his factories, his warships, his robots... How different life would be had one blue hedgehog not stood before the man and said 'no'.

The Commander leant back in his chair. How different would life be?

No Sonic.

Without Sonic to drive Eggman so far, would Shadow have turned out the way he did?
Would Shadow even be around? 

There would be no Knuckles - or not as they knew him.

None of Tails' inventions.

No Amy Rose on the scene.

Blaze would still be unaware of their existance, back in her own dimension.

What about Omega?

There were too many 'what-ifs' and not enough 'what-nows'. Questions without answers lead nowhere and the only question that the Commander really wanted to know was:

Where was Sonic?

Chapter Text

The cold hard ground underneath him felt as though it were churning back and forth, back and forth, back and forth...

Sonic briefly wondered if he were on a boat out on a rough sea. But he didn't remember being on a boat.

Then he realised that it wasn't the ground that was moving at all - it was only his spinning head, trying to get its bearings. The only thing he could hear, for the moment, was the sound of his own breathing and the pulsing of his blood in his ears, rhythmically beating along with the pounding of his head. He could feel the cold start to seep through his fur and he involuntarily shivvered, trying to establish a rough idea of where his hands and feet were in relation to the rest of his body as he fought back the nausea. 

Feeling as though he were composed entirely of stone, Sonic dragged one of his splayed arms towards him, limply manouvering it underneath his chest to gain some stability as he pushed up, grunting with exertion.

New sounds were able to be picked out though they sounded muffled and faraway; bleeps and whirrs and hums.

Laboratory noises.

Now with both hands, the blue hedgehog was able to lean on his forearms and hang his aching head down over his clasped gloved paws, evening his breaths and trying to coax his headache away as he felt each of his senses start to return.

When his sense of taste returned, it didn't take long for Sonic to register the bitter tang of blood in his mouth which, upon exploring with his tongue, was discovered to also coat the corners of his lips.

Half anticipating that he was going to meet with bright light, Sonic opened his eyes slowly, peering through the opening of his lids with anticipation.

To his surprise, and relief, the light was dim and wasn't too glaring on his eyes when he opened them fully to discover his whereabouts.

The floor was metal, that much Sonic had already suspected, but the cage he had found himself in was encased in, what appeared to be, glass.

Through the glass he could see flashing red and blue lights and growling computers but his attention, to begin with, was fixated entirely on the man stood at one of the desks, quietly watching him.

Sonic didn't even have to say anything.

"Morning," Eggman greeted, not looking as pleased or as gloating as the hedgehog had thought he would be.

"And there he is," Sonic murmured, shifting his knees up so that he could sit in a more dignified position. "Where have you been then?" he asked. "GUN's been getting their pants in a pinch wondering about you."

"And you weren't?"

"You know me, Egghead," Sonic chuckled, "I don't wear pants. I also consider you a big enough boy to take care of yourself." The laughter on Sonic's voice died away as Eggman stood, leant against the desk, staring at him with an unreadble expression. "So..." Sonic tried prompting, "How...have you been?"

Eggman shrugged his broad shoulders.

 "Well, I've been doing great," he replied. "I've delivered my perfected mad scientist cackle so many times I've lost count, I've moped and sulked and cursed your name long into the night and, uh... Oh! I'd even started hallucinating you around the lair, taunting me and laughing which, of course, has made me even more insane. So, to summarise, I'm long overdue a booking in at that asylum that seems to have reservations for my entire family."

There wasn't a lot you could say to that so Sonic crossed his legs, put his hands in his lap and said the first thing that came to his head.

"That's nice."

Eggman hid the little smile that tried twisting his mouth and hurriedly turned his back to scribble on his clipboard. He could practically feel Sonic's inquisitive gaze boring over his shoulder, arching his neck to earn a peek.

"What you writing?" the hedgehog asked from inside his container, his voice sounding a little muffled and quiet because of the glass.

"Hmm? Oh, just, the basic stuff I already know to make way for the stuff that I don't know which I am very excited for," Eggman told him, almost admitting to himself that he had missed the speedster in a disturbingly odd kind of way.

Sonic glanced up at the ceiling of his prison. He then glanced to the left and to the right.

"...Doesn't look like your roboticiser."

"No, sorry about that," Eggman answered. “It's just a highly reinforced cage of sorts. 'Exhibit A' and all that."

Sonic wrinkled his little black nose. 

"I prefer 'Priority 1 Hedgehog'," he admitted honestly.

Dr Eggman gave him a fond smile. "Me too."

Sonic was considering on whether he should smile back, to brighten the mood a little, when he suddenly felt a great sense of danger, a sixth sense telling him that something was in the room with them.

From a dark corner, a pair of red optics suddenly onlined and Metal Sonic revealed himself, coming to stand beside his creator and glare upon his organic counterpart with contempt.

"...Look what the cat dragged in," Sonic smirked, climbing up on his feet. "Still the best looking robot I've ever seen and don't you go telling Omega I said that."

Now that the one who had been sent to retrieve him had made his appearance, Sonic realised it was time to talk business.

"So why now, Eggman?" he asked, keeping both scientist and robot in his line of vision. "You've left me alone all this time and I know your canon fodder badniks are all history so, what? Why bring the cheap knockoff back into play?" He could faintly hear the growl eminating from the robot hedgehog but he paid it no mind.

Eggman finished writing and let the clipboard fall from his fingers and onto his desk. He was quiet for a while, not establishing eye contact with the prisoner.

"...You know I would love to take full credit, don't you?" he muttered sadly. "The sad truth is: this wasn't my plan. You're not the only prisoner, hedgehog."

Though Sonic opened his mouth to utter some form of question, he was forced to shut once the doors opened and another figure, eerily familiar, walked through.

"Don't go calling yourself a prisoner," he said, without smiling. "You know you're not that." The smile that had been vacant while addressing his brother was revealed upon addressing the captive hedgehog. "Hello Sonic."

Sonic stared back at him.

This was the man who claimed knew him and, deep down, Sonic was accutely aware that he might be right. He found it difficult to speak to him the day before but now he found it practically impossible.

"You've locked me in here and forced me to work," Eggman was saying, 'kindly' diverting attention away from the hedgehog and back to him. "How am I not a prisoner?"

"I'm not forcing you to do anything!" Ira sighed. "This was all your choice."

"On my terms, Ira. MY terms."

"These ARE your terms. This was what you wanted! I just got tired of all this secret tip-toeing around and neither of us are getting any younger. I couldn't afford to wait for you."

Eggman, impressively hiding his growing anger. 

"See, this was the problem," he bemoaned. "This was what got you caught - you were never patient!"

Ira folded his arms and grimaced. 

"I had to be fast because the prey was fast," he argued, "and now look where it's got us; we finally have our hands on the 'Miracle Child'." Ira clapped a hand on his brother's shoulder and spun him to stare at their captive. "After all these years..." he smiled. "...Do you know, he's quite forgotten me?"

Eggman's face had darkened as he and his brother studied Sonic as though he were nothing more than a zoo attraction.

"He was five years old," he pointed out.

"What about in Robotropolis?" Ira snapped. "The day I was caught and dragged away? He was to be thanked for that. Doesn't remember that, though, does he?"

"He hardly saw you. Anyway, I don't think he remembers anything about his life before he met Tails. Stop being sour about this."

"He remembers you."

"To an extent - but I'm different." Eggman turned away from Ira and seated himself at a computer, holding his nose in the air proudly. "He's had to deal with me his entire life whereas you were only there for a part of it. You forget that he only saw you once in his entire childhood and that had only been briefly."

Ira, sneering, glanced at Sonic before turned to stare at Eggman. 

"...Who's Tails?" he asked calmly.

He actually jumped when a furious BANG! was heard on the glass.

Both Eggman and his brother, startled, looked up to find that Sonic was crouched sinisterly against the glass, one fist pressed against the dome beside his thunderous face.

Metal hadn't shifted an inch, unfazed by his organic counterpart's aggression.

Dr Eggman closed his mouth and looked away. 

"...Seems Sonic would rather I not say," he murmured, typing away at his computer. Ira hadn't taken his eyes off the agitated hedgehog.

"You'll have it on file," he swallowed. He then straightened up and cleared his throat, composing himself. "Anyway," he announced, "there's the precious hedgehog - get to work. We've waited long enough." Turning on his heel, Ira Robotnik was gone, the doors closing behind him ominously.

The silence bore down on the occupants of the room, unbearably heavy.

Eggman knew Metal Sonic well enough that he wasn't going to be blabbing everything back to Ira as soon as their backs were turned, so he wasn't afraid of breaking the silence in order to achieve some form of conversation.

"...Ira Robotnik. My little brother," he said aloud, by way of explaining things. "Mama Robotnik loved him. He didn't have any expectations thrown on him so he was left alone to be spoiled. I always thought that what he really wanted was to be seen as a scientist too." He chuckled. "He didn't have the brains, though. He was... henchman status, really. Don't get me wrong, he was a truly evil boy. Wicked little brat, he was. But he never had the ingenuity, you know? He talked the talk but he never had the true Super Villain calling. Not Ira. Didn't stop him from trying. Hasn't stopped him from still trying."

"Why don't I know him?"

Eggman stopped in mid-type, his middle finger hovering above the 'S' key. Sonic's fist had dropped back down and the hedgehog had slowly sunk to his knees, glaring at the door, at Eggman, at Metal...

"Trauma, probably," Eggman answered hesitantly. "It was Ira's job to hunt you down way back in the day. Took him five years after you were born and then, would you believe it, he lost you again for a further four." He resumed his ominous typing. "That was the last time you and he saw each other - when you were a nine year old ball of prickles."

Sonic shook his head. "But why don't I know him?"

"Who's to say?"

"...What's this about, anyway?" the blue speedster suddenly asked with a frown. "What were you two going on about, 'miracle child' and hunting me down and all that? What happened to the Eggman Empire and its robotic armies? What happened to our old-fashioned game of 'good guy vs bad guy'?"

The scientist didn't answer him straight away. He sat, gazing impassively at his computer screen, typing and clicking and reading and typing and clicking and reading...

"You can't remember when we first met. Well, you wouldn't, would you?"

It wasn't just Sonic who turned his head in Eggman's direction - Metal turned too.

"Don't worry," Eggman 'assured' him, "there's a perfectly good reason for that. The popular story is that, one day, my endeavors caught your attention and you came to put a stop to my rampaging at the now famous site of Green Hill."

"That was a very long time ago," Sonic breathed, almost fondly. Eggman smirked a little.

"But you knew that we'd met before, didn't you?"

Sonic felt his words falter and all he could do was nod. "...But I don't know why."

"I told you - there's a perfectly good reason as to why," said Eggman, pushing himself away from the computer and sliding his chair over to the capsule. He leant forward, elbows resting on knees, chin planted in his hands, smile broadened on his face...

"The first time we met, face to face," he whispered, "you were only a few hours old."

The hedgehog shifted away slightly, unsure whether to believe his enemy or not. Eggman saw his uncertainty.

"It's true," he growled, "I heard your mother had gone into labour and, well, I wanted to be close by to..." He stopped himself, an evil shimmer lurking behind his glasses. 

Sonic bared his teeth a little, curling his hands into fists so tightly that his claws, hidden underneath his thick white gloves, punctured the fabric and dug into his soft paw pads.

"Do you understand what I mean when I ask 'why'?" he snarled. "I've asked it, like, three times now and I haven't had a straightforward answer for any of them!"

Eggman rolled his eyes.

"...Fine," he relented, "I'll start from the beginning..."

Chapter Text

A flash of orange... of pink... a touch of grey-blue... a smattering of white cloud... Every sunset was a painting.

On a calm evening, it evoked peace and serenity.

This was not a calm evening.

Julius Hedgehog hissed as a thorn bush scratched his face but he paid it no further mind as he thundered on, beating the ground as he ran, desperately wishing that he could be faster. He could feel the vibrations as, somewhere far behind him, a hoard of robots were invading towards his village.

Entering the village, he called out to his neighbors to hide their families, to keep hidden, to make a run for their bomb shelters. They weren't prepared for an onslaught such as this.

He wound his way around the cottages until he made a bee-line for the cottage underneath the maple tree - his home.

His wife, radiant in the early stages of pregnancy, was waiting at the door, a shawl wrapped around her shoulders.

"Julius!" she cried as her husband barrelled through the door and slammed it shut behind him, already hurrying to put up blackouts in their windows and yanking the curtains closed.

"Don't worry, love, keep calm," he soothed, lighting candles and taking Aleena into his arms, moving her away towards the easy chair, trying to keep her as comfortable as possible. "I'm here," he told her gently, stroking her quills, "I've got you."

Aleena was terrified. Word had reached them that a legion of metal monstrocities had beseiged them, surrounding the village territory, and yet that had still left them no time to flee.

"...The babies..." Aleena gulped, holding her stomach protectively where her three unborn hoglets were safely growing. The embryos were still very small, hardly the size of a sunflower seed, she had been told.

They were fragile. She couldn't bear it if anything happened for her to miscarry.

"Just breathe," her husband continued to comfort her, "I won't let anyone put a finger on you."

"Who is it?" she asked, dreading the answer.

Jules face clouded. "It's a Robotnik."

Aleena felt her quills prickle. 

"Why haven't they all been caught?" she moaned, burying her face in Jules' fur.

The light blue hedgehog shrugged.

"The brothers are tricky," he reasoned. "One of them's a doctor, remember? And he's the one attacking."

The Robotnik family were a plague and Dr Ivo Robotnik was the most ferocious cancer cell of the whole lot.

"What do we do, Jules?" Aleena said, her voice quivering from nerves. She was grateful for Jules' strong presence as he held her although even she could tell that he was frightened.

"It's going to be okay," he told her. "But we have to get out of here."

Aleena reached into the folds of her shawl. When she drew her hand back, the area glowed with a mesmerising deep blue shine.

"They're here for the Chaos Emerald, aren't they?" she swallowed, her pupils dilating at the presence of her family heirloom.

"Can't imagine Dr Robotnik would be here about some forgotten monarchy," Jules hummed, touching the emerald gently. "It has to be the Chaos Emerald. We have to get it someplace safe." He looked up and moved to hide the emerald back in his wife's shawl. "If they've found a way of tracking the energy signature, then the only place we can try is Angel Island."

Aleena looked up in surprise. 

"You mean the floating isle?" she breathed. "But the echidnas are long gone. Their species died out many years ago. They're extinct."

"There must be something guarding the Master Emerald up there," Jules argued quietly, trying to ignore the distant pounding of heavy feet upon the ground. "Even if there isn't, the Chaos Temple will shroud the energy from being detected and hardly anyone even knows Angel Island exists. The 7 Chaos Emeralds ought to be kept there anyway. It's the only safe place we've got."

Aleena gnawed her lip but nodded. They had to find a way to escape and get out with the emerald. If Robotnik got his hands on it...

Suddenly there was a clank of metal and the front door shattered, disintegrating into thousands of wood splinters.

"Jules!" Aleena screeched, jumping to her feet and sheperded away from the door by her husband.

Sat in a round, floating, metal contraption was a human with a wide moustache and twistedly repulsive black and red eyes: Dr Robotnik before he became the insane, delusional, Sonic-loathing Dr Eggman.

"Good evening," he greeted, his contraption - which would one day be called the Eggmobile - humming loudly. "It's late so I won't hassel you long. The emerald?"

Aleena played the part of the terrified housewife while Jules became the well-rehearsed country-bumpkin husband.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, his face awash with innocent terror.

"Don't play that game," Robotnik snarled. "I know it's here. Where is it?"

"We don't know what you mean! Please, sir, what is going on?"

"Ah," the scientist chuckled. "This old charade..." He had to admit, the acting was very good. "Very well," he shrugged, "I'll have my robots reduce your home to rubble, brick by brick, looking for that emerald."

Staying in character, Julius gave a bewildered, plea-ridden cry.

"No! Please!" he begged. "Please, sir, my wife...she's... She's..." Robotnik glanced over to the female hedgehog. She had one paw clutching at her shawl while the other was resting on her slightly swollen abdomen.

"Oh, I see," Robotnik smiled, almost affectionately. "I understand. Congratulations. First child?"

Jules trod carefully. 

"First litter," he nodded.

"Oh yes, of course. Litter," Robotnik grunted. "How many?"

"...Three," Aleena squeaked, before anyone else said anything. She could remember the doctor telling her that there were three inside her, growing together. She had been overjoyed.

"Triplets?" Robotnik beamed. "How marvellous! I'm sure you're both very proud." 

Jules moved closer to Aleena, positioning himself so that he was at the best angle to sweep his wife up and make a run for the back door if the danger grew too great.

"In which case," Robotnik went on, "it really doesn't have to go like this. Just hand over the emerald and I'll make sure you both can keep your brood."

Aleena gripped her husband by the arm.

"Get away!" Jules cried, still coming across as a frightened milksop. "We haven't got an emerald."

"No?" Robotnik grinned, bringing his craft to a gentle rest outside the door and stepping from it. "How ignorant do you think I am?" he asked, his sinister voice sighed. "I'm no fool. Your wife, Aleena, is the last descendent of the Royal Hedgehog line and you, Mr Julius, you come from a line equally as long of devoted Royal Knights, yes?"

Aleena could feel the Chaos Emerald stir.

"More interestingly is the fact that you are both pure-bred hedgehogs. No cross-species marriages in your history at all. That's rare."

Aleena could sense the energy building.

"The point I'm making is that it wasn't very difficult to pinpoint you both down and discover that the tradition of having a Chaos Emerald in the keeping of the Royal Family is still going strong."

It was reacting to Aleena's emotions.

"You have an emerald here. Now hand it over."

It could sense the danger!

"...Aleena..." Jules growled from the corner of his mouth, his own quills tingling at the Chaos energy, "get out the house."

It stung against her palms!

"I really wouldn't try that," Robotnik warned, folding his arms. "My forces have you surrounded and, being robots, they won't feel any remorse at shooting down an expectant mother."

Aleena's heartbeat was quickening and the Chaos Energy was rising...

 "You're a monster!" the young mother gasped, panic beginning to overwhelm her.

This wasn't good for her babies. Julies knew this. Aleena was working herself up into a state and it was now too risky, what with Robotnik, the children and the fact that she had a Chaos Emerald close to hand.

"...You won't touch my wife?" he asked, dropping the pretence now. "Nor will you harm my future children?" Robotnik sighed patiently, an estrained smile still on his face.

"I only want the Chaos Emerald. I have NO interest in you, your wife..." he gave a chuckle, "...or ANY of your unborn babies." He ran a hand through his moustache. "Hedgehogs are of NO interest to me."

The emerald's power was still growing. The negativity in the room was almost unbearable for the emerald to take. With the risk of three unborn lives in the balance, the fear of the mother and father were so strong that it was tainting the Chaos Emerald, feeding it unparallel amounts of strong panic-induced emotion.

"Julius..." Aleena whimpered, clutching at her husband. "No..."

Jules was torn. More than anything, he only wished to see that his wife was safe and that his future sons or daughters were going to be okay.

"...We would be betraying our ancestors and our legacy if we gave you the Emerald," he reasoned breathlessly, beginning to shake as he began to feel the Chaos Emerald's feedback. It was like a ticking time bomb - one that was ready to go off at the slightest rise of negative emotion. He had to stay calm.

"There won't be a legacy if you deny me one more time," Robotnik pointed out, dropping his smile, "Your line will die with you. I can personally make sure of that."

Aleena gave a quiet gasp as the emerald began to shine, pulsing against her skin and burning her.

"...You can search the house but you won't find the emerald," Jules shouted, masking his wife's discomfort and putting on the brave face.

Robotnik cocked an eyebrow and peered round him. 

"...Because she has it," he cackled, pulling a gun from his jacket and pointing it in Aleena's direction.

Time shuddered to a standstill.

There was a bang but no-one knew if it was the gun in Robotnik's hand... or the detonation of the Chaos Emerald.

Like lava spewing forth from the crater of a volcano, the brilliant blue Chaos Emerald poured out its energy, fizzing away into nothing while in the grip of a screaming, pain-wracked pregnant woman.

"ALEENA!" Julius' voice sounded.

The world had deafened the occupants of the room, however. Background noise was silenced as if underwater while the Chaos Emerald, the glow of which bathed them all in a blue radiance, continued to unleash its full power against the unprotected individuals closest to it.

Robotnik was blinded.

The force of the explosion threw him back against his flying contraption whereupon he sat, limply, watching the scene before him with his mouth agog and a ringing in his ears.

Jules was sent hurling across the room, snapping the wooden mantlepiece from the fireplace clean off.

The walls blasted outwards, burying the robots that were waiting around on standby. The ceiling would have caved in on them had the explosive force of the Chaos Emerald not repelled it away.

The only thing that could be seen of Aleena was the engulphing blue light, surrounding her, smothering her, drowning her in its core.

Neither Robotnik or Jules could look at her for her very body had become a blazing white light, too hot, too powerful to look at without burning your eyes into permenant blindness.

The Emerald simply wasn't there anymore. It had dissolved into its own light, bombarding Aleena over and over again, seeking protection.

Seeking a host.

Aleena felt nothing but the burning energy flowing through her veins and down into her abdomen, searching, not for her... but for something far more precious.

In a matter of seconds, it was all over.

The blue light dissipated, the white energy faded into Aleena's body and everyone was able to open their eyes, just as the last remnants of the Chaos energy drained away.

Robotnik stared, dumbfounded.

Jules, responding through adrenaline and aching all over, sprinted across the room and swept his shell-shocked wife into his arms, dashing for the forest as quickly as he possibly could, cradling the weeping woman to his chest while his own tears began to cascade down his face.

Robotnik, still feeling the residue Chaos energy sting his skin, cautiously got up, his legs wobbling as he put his full body weight upon his craft, his eyes hurting him so much that he had to root around in his pocket for a pair of tinted glasses. With the glasses in place, he was able to see a little better.

"That was raw Chaos power," he stammered to himself. "Raw Chaos power. How..." he looked around him at the devastation.

The maple tree had been disintegrated and any other trees were uprooted and split into pieces. The nearest buildings were crumbling into rubble while the occupants, having smartly fled the moment Robotnik had left them alone, were nowhere to be seen.

"How in the world am I still alive?" the scientist murmured. "We should be... I mean..."

He couldn't think straight.

His robots were fizzing and sparking, their circuits fried by the Chaos Energy output. He had never seen a Chaos Explosion on quite that large a magnitude. Any living thing ought to have been obliterated in a heartbeat. But they weren't.

"Unless..." Robotnik murmured and his eyes widenened. "...Unless the Chaos energy found an appropriate host vessel in time. But..."

He shook his head and checked his energy tracker. Apart from the residue Chaos Energy, it told him nothing about the Chaos Emerald itself. It was as though the emerald had been destroyed, its physical form just - gone!

Cursing, Robotnik scrambled back into his craft. It would take months, maybe years for the Chaos Emerald to reform itself.

But what of Aleena? What had happened to her?

"I don't know what the answer is going to be," Robotnik snarled to himself, "but whatever it is, it's resting with her. Dead or alive, it's inside Aleena."

"J...Ju-Julius...I..."

"Shh, shh, don't talk," Jules murmured. "Keep breathing."

"Th-The... the babies..." Aleena wept, curled up into a fetal position in her husband's arms, aware that her rigid spines were most likely hurting him.

"It's going to be okay, sweetheart," Jules gulped, not entirely believing it himself. "It's going to be okay. I'm going to find help."

Aleena gave another pained howl. 

"They... The babies..." she sobbed. "They'll be d...d-ead!"

"Aleena..." Jules said, giving way to his own tears. "No, I won't believe it. I'm finding you a doctor."

On and on he ran, calling for help, trying to find a settlement, a physician, anyone. All the while his wife continued to cry, mourning her loss.

"My babies are dead."

"They're alive!"

Jules and Aleena couldn't believe what had been said.

"What?" Jules breathed, daring to hope he had heard correctly.

"I'm detecting a heartbeat," the doctor confirmed, holding a stethoscope close to Aleena's stomach.

They had yet to invent very advanced scanners but the doctors of South Island and of Christmas Isle were very competent in their jobs and it was amazing what they could discover by just listening to a pregnant woman's tummy.

Aleena's face was still tear-stained and her eyes were still swollen.

"How many?" she asked, her voice hitching. Her heart was already broken, anticipating the news that the Chaos energy had completely destroyed her growing children.

The doctor, a handsome tan and white beagle dog, closed his eyes and concentrated hard. 

"...I'm picking up two," he revealed, still moving the stethoscope around.

While it was relieving news to hear that they still had two children, Aleena could not prevent fresh hot tears spilling from her eyes.

"...We lost one," she sobbed, gripping her distraught husband's hand.

"Aleena..." Jules breathed painfully, kissing his suffering wife, "...honey..."

"We lost one!" she went on to cry. “It's all my fault!"

"No... no, it's not," Jules adamantly denied, attempting to hold his own grief back. "It's Robotnik's fault. You are not to blame. Robotnik is the murderer, not you."

Aleena shook her head, resting her head back against the tear-soaked pillow. 

"...W-Which one?" she wondered out loud. "Which one... Which one died?"

Which one would she never get to know? Never get to hold in her arms? Never get to enjoy life?

The doctor had begun to frown, his stethoscope moving and changing positions and pressing against Aleena's fur with confidence.

"...I...I wouldn't mourn just yet, Mr and Mrs Hedgehog..." he said in a soft voice.

Hope flared up like a young flame on dry grass.

"What?" Jules whispered, wishing to dare once more.

The doctor stood back up, a smile on his face, giving a satisfied nod.

"...I've found the third heartbeat. All three are alive."

Chapter Text

In the town center of Soleanna, the hustling bustling highstreet was showing no sign of quietening. The mounted televisions in one shop window were colourful and provided welcome entertainment for those taking a short break during their morning shopping. Not that this morning's news was cheering anyone up:

"...that world-renowned hero and lifetime protector of the planet, Sonic the Hedgehog, was reported missing as of yesterday evening..."

"Yo, Jet!" Storm called from the teleshop window. "Got something for you."

Jet the Hawk was leisurely leaning against the wall in an alleyway, sipping a fruit smoothie as they waited for Wave to be done in the tech shop, flashing his beak at anyone that strolled past to admire his lavish plumage. Storm the Albatross was round the corner, watching all the televisons as they broadcasted the news.

Tossing the almost empty smoothie over his shoulder and scoring a hit as it landed in a dumpster, Jet came strutting over.

"What are you clucking about?" he began. "I don't care if some bird group has discovered a new nest site for some dumb..."

"-ation Square Chao Garden at approximately 7:29pm. The Chaotix Detective Agency, members of the Sonic Alliance, have told media that there was little damage to the Chao Garden but that the Colony itself were distressed. This morning, the G.U.N. released an official statement."

"The Chaotix?" Jet repeated, growing interested. "What's goin-..."

The screen changed to that of the G.U.N. Commander, solemnly stood at a podium as camera flashes were sounding off at every angle. At his side, hands clasped behind him and with a face of stone stood Shadow the Hedgehog, the leader of Team Dark.

"We can confirm," the human Commander said in a cool, deep voice, "that at approximately 1900 hours, on the evening of October 30th, Sonic the Hedgehog was last heard from at Station Square. In the time between departing from his company and reaching the Station Square Chao Garden, contact was lost."

Flash, flash, went the cameras.

Behind him, the G.U.N. logo waved and danced on its flag. Shadow remained ever motionless and, on the other side of the screen, Jet had also frozen, listening intently.

"Though specific details are, as of yet, unknown to us, evidence suggests that Sonic the Hedgehog was, in fact, abducted."

Around Jet and Storm, others that had stopped to watch and listen were gasping and murmuring to one another.

"We have no reliable sources to suggest who or what was behind such an attack..."

"Oh please," one human snorted. "Everyone's thinkin' it an' I'm sayin' it: this's got that lousy Eggman fella all over." Nods and grunts of agreement passed through the small gathering.

"...-ure that the G.U.N. are working diligently along with the rest of the Sonic Allies to track down Sonic and bring whomever is responsible to justice."

"Bah!" another voice, this one belonging to a different human, sounded. "Dunno why dey're bovverin'. GUN'll be more quicker t' 'bduct Sonic 'emselves. Fact, oi reck'ns dey're on'y bovverin' t' foind 'im so's dey's can lock 'im up in dem labs. Dat blacker 'n red 'edge'og burter be a-careful o' dem."

Those that could understand the rolling accent of the man were nodding and shaking their heads with mixed feelings.

"Not them," a well-dressed mouse contradicted. "The G.U.N. have always had our safety as their number 1 priority and Sonic the Hedgehog is a key to establishing such safety."

"Rot and mange, that!" snapped a sneering lizard. "I say let whoever took that rascal hedgehog keep him! He's a troublemaker, that one! GUN'll do us no harm in keeping him and every other hedgehog under wraps."

"Hey, now, yer can't say that!" shouted another voice. "Slander! Dirty talk! Won't have no scale-skin talking like that about our hedgehogs!"

"Dangerous animals, those spike heads. Lock 'em up!"

"How's about you remember that it were a couple o' 'edgepigs that saved your sorry tail from a fallin' Space Colony once."

"Oooh, an' that big ol' watery monster at Station Square. Remember that, Pete?"

"The Princess be mighty fond of Sonic, dontcha know? But I wouldn't trust that hoggie as far as I could throw him."

"Far as 'oo could throw 'im? Don't wager yer'll be a-throwin' a 'edgie wi'out one o' 'em sawin' yer 'ands off."

"See? Dangerous animals! That's what I said!"

"Well, if that's the mark of a dangerous animal, then go ahead and arrest every porcupine along with them, you crazy coot!"

"Naw, porc'pines're soft nex' t' a spike-dog like'r 'edge'og."

"How many blinking porcupines have YOU met?"

As the onlookers went about chatting and arguing among themselves, Jet and Storm made a subtle exit.

"Sonic missing, eh?" Jet muttered, devoid of any amusement.

"That's what the TV said," Storm nodded. "There one moment. Gone the next. Poof."

"Trust him," Jet snorted. "When something's going to happen, always bet Sonic'll be there. Come on, let's go get details for ourselves. There's nothing worth stealing and there's no worthy competition round here anyway."

"Heh heh, yeah, Team Sonic are the only three that are fun to race," Storm chuckled, privately wishing he could race Knuckles again - just so he could pelt him off his stupid board.

Wave the Swallow came hurrying over the street. "Hey, guys, sorry that took so long. What did I..."

"Grab your stuff - we're leaving," Jet ordered, throwing his long, silky green head feathers back over his shoulder.

"Leaving?" Wave frowned and clacked her beak. "What d'you mean, 'leaving'? We just got here! What about that Soleanna circuit you wanted..."

"I said we're leaving!" Jet thundered. "We're checking in with Team Sonic instead."

A look of pleasent surprise appeared on Wave's face.

"Ah, that makes more sense now," she nodded. "Can't say I'm disappointed. I wonder how the little squirt's been doing..."

"Not well," Jet growled as the three of them marched off down the street. "If the news story is anything to believe, Team Sonic are minus a Sonic."

"You what?"

"It's getting around that someone, not pointing fingers, not naming names, has gone and helped himself to a whole portion of blue hedgehog."

"They'll have call themselves just 'Team', won't they?" Storm laughed loudly. "Can't be Team Sonic without a Sonic, you know? Just 'Team'."

Jet did not share in the jovial jest.

"You can cheer and celebrate all you like, numbskull," he snarled, "after you answer me this; how am I supposed to prove I'm better than Sonic... IF HE'S NOT HERE?"

Jet had a particularly loud shriek, one that would chill even the most fearsome of his fellow birds of prey, wild or otherwise. Though Storm was bigger, he visibly flinched against Jet's cry.

"I, uh... well, I didn't think... No, I didn't think of that," he stammered.

Jet relaxed, his green feathers settling back down into their original position. 

"Of course you didn't; you're an idiot, you're not supposed to think. Why'd you think I'm the leader of the Babylon Rogues?"

With a swish, Jet turned and strutted back down the street in the direction of their ship.

"...'Cause you've got sharp talons hidden away in your shoes and I don't," Storm huffed quietly to himself, following in a sulk.

"You know," Ira happened to mention as he casually perched his fourty-something year old backside on the edge of one of the many desks in the room, "you can leave."

Eggman, busy staring at a blank computer screen and pretending to pay little attention to the abnormally long and lethal-looking syringe by his right hand, clicked on the mouse and started a game of solitaire.

"I'm comfortable where I am," he muttered, his cheek folding over his fist as he leant his left elbow beside the keyboard.

His brother crossed his arms. Despite being classed as adults, the men in the Robotnik family were prone to childish moments as Ira only proved too well.

"I only locked you in here while I arranged to have Sonic settled to make sure that you weren't going to turn against me the first chance you got," he said in defence. "This IS what you wanted, isn't it?"

"I wanted to do things my way," Eggman shrugged, not raising his voice in any way to suggest he was feeling sore.

"You ALWAYS got your way. What about ME?" Ira whined. Such a whine caused a traitorous smirk to form on Eggman's face.

"The typical little brother," he sighed, still oh-so-calm. "Wanted to tag along with what I was doing and never dreaming up something for yourself."

"Ah, but look now!" Ira stood back up and his invisible peacock feathers were fluffed to their maximum as he gripped the lapels of his coat. "Unlike you, my plans for Sonic went further than just boring research. I plan to keep myself alive forever!"

Not bothering to inform him that his interest in Sonic actually DID go beyond research (as his old roboticiser would agree), Eggman let a puff of air out through his nostrils.

"And how do you plan to do this?" he asked rhetorically, effortlessly winning his card game and still refusing to raise his voice. "By my research. What if my research shows that you CAN'T keep yourself alive forever? What then? Those plans you had mapped out in your head are now useless. Rookie mistake, Ira; when it comes to Sonic, carefully laid out plans are null and void." Another game was started and Eggman's voice kept it's frighteningly calm, dignified tone. "With Sonic," he smiled, "they NEVER go to plan and you can write that down for the history books because I've learnt from a twenty-plus year firsthand experience."

Nature seemed to have written another law by which a sibling, when wishing to pick an argument and confronted with a passive rival, would intentionally attempt in riling up their opponent in order to gain a reaction.

"You're getting old." That was Ira's attempt. "Predictable. At least I caught him, didn't I?"

Eggman's finger, his cruel, clever finger, hovered over the mouse's button, a click away from winning his third game in a row.

"...Did you?" he smiled again.

Behind his specs, the unnaturally coloured eyes drew away from the computer and peered over the top to where the glass container was still positioned in pride of place and still ferociously watched over by Metal Sonic's statue-esque presence. The sole occupant was a blue ball of spines, his back turned to the rest of the room, folded into a tight fetal position, asleep. He hadn't really appreciated the story that Eggman had told him regarding his parents, people that Sonic considered to be legendary characters from an age-old tale, long forgotten.

"Look where he is," Ira huffed, preening himself once more.

Eggman looked.

"...Yes..." he noted and gave a disturbingly deep chuckle, "And he might have you right where he wants you."

Metal Sonic's head turned a fraction, a movement so small that no-one else noticed it. Ira certainly didn't, though his thoughts and attention were already on his next plan of action.

"We shall see about that," he decided, marching from the room and leaving the doors unlocked for Eggman to leave when he wanted.

Surprisingly, Eggman had been truthful in that instance; he was quite happy where he was and everything he needed was in this very room.

Chapter Text

They hadn't long got back home.

Rouge sat in her chair, sipping tea and watching Knuckles as he ferreted about the place, fetching his wife an assortment of treats. Peace-offerings, she thought in her head. After all, it was always the guy's fault when these things happened, wasn't it?

Logic wouldn't explain why, but apparently it was.

They had gone for another test and the doctor seemed almost certain that Rouge was carrying a baby echidna. She had been expecting Knuckles to kick his heels and go skipping down the hallway and whistling like she saw people do on their way home from work on a Friday. 

Instead, he had kept up an extraordinary poker face and hadn't let slip the tiniest emotion.

Typical Knuckles. It was starting to make her nervous.

"You happy?" she asked quietly as Knuckles plumped her heart-shaped pillow and squashed it behind her back.

"Well," Knuckles admitted, "seeing as you live here as my married wife, I no longer have to worry about the Master Emerald being taken by you so... OW!"

Rouge had some sharp claws on her hands so when she slapped anything, there was always a 30% chance that you got scratched as well.

"Are you happy?" she repeated, cuddling herself back down. Knuckles rubbed his smarting bicep.

"What after being slapped?"

"Are you happy?" Rouge's tone of voice was serious so Knuckles bit his tongue and left his 'wound' alone.

"...Are you?"

The bat's teal eyes faltered and she stared into her tea. 

"...Truthfully?" she squeaked.

Knuckles said nothing in reply to that. He knew that when she was younger, Rouge had turned her nose up at the thought of having children and the thought of being a mother wasn't one that she even considered. Had this... 'accident'... not happened, Rouge would likely have remained child-less and Knuckles had accepted that, bottling down his whatever paternal feelings he may have had hidden deep inside. 

"...You know when you listen to a new song or eat something new for the first time and you kinda hate it? Then, after a while, you keep trying it and trying it until it... doesn't seem so bad?" Rouge sipped the tea again and then, to Knuckles' enormous relief, started to smile. "I guess I'm starting to think that the idea of a baby isn't so bad," she admitted. "Plus, I get to help out with preserving the echidna species so there's that. D'you think I'll get rewarded for that?"

Knuckles rolled his eyes with a smile and went into the hallway.

 "...I think you definitely will," his voice spoke from the archway.

"Yeah?"

"Mm-hmm."

The red guardian returned with a small box, dumping it unceremoniously into Rouge's lap. The bat's eyes glittered excitedly as she drained her cup and tore through the ribbon like a predator with a carcass.

For someone so graceful, Knuckles had thought, she's certainly a carnivore when it comes to shiny things. Inside the box, you see, rested a ruby necklace set on a polished silver chain.

Rouge's eyes softened. 

"Knuckie!" she crooned. "You little red, grouchy, mean-faced brute, you!"

Knuckles twitched his nose. "...You're... welcome?"

Rouge had immediately put the necklace on and was now jutting out her chest to admire her new adornment. Her brief pleasure was short-lived as she then realised her previous question had been left unanswered.

"...So... are you happy?"

Knuckles folded his mighty arms, arms that could snap a train in two with hands that could bend a steel pole into the shape of Perfect Chaos and yet were gentle enough to pluck a grape from a vine without crushing it.

"Yes," he answered. "Just so long as you are too."

The soon to be expanding family were interrupted, however, when the whole place gave a tremour. Knuckles' immediate thought was the Master Emerald but, then again, the vibrations were gone a moment later. It was as though a low-flying plane had just cruised over Angel Island and shaved the top of the shrine.

"What was that?" the echidna growled, dashing for the door with Rouge hot on his heels.

They made it outside just in time to see a fleet of large tank-like robots vanishing into the distance, heading straight for the mainland.

"...That doesn't bode well," Rouge muttered, flitting back into the house and sinking in front of her computer. Three clicks later, she had answers. "My radar identifies them as Eggman robots."

Go figure.

"So he's making his move, is he?" Knuckles snarled, punching his palm with his fist. "Wait until Sonic's out of the way and then - wham!"

"Deja vu, much? Makes you wonder what the intentions are..." Rouge swallowed.

Absent Sonic alone was bad enough but if the good doctor, not satsified with his current catch, had considered the hedgehog as simply an ingredient for something else and had sent his swot bots out on a hunt...

"Stay on the radar and keep an eye on them," Knuckles told her, "I'll bring Angel Island inland and go warn the others."

The menacing rumbles of the approaching robots had alerted Tails as well, poking his head from the top window and spying the dots in the sky.

"Zooey!" he had called. "Get down in the basement and stay safe! Look after Rosemary!"

Then he was gone.

Big the Cat's sensitive ears flattened as the first robot thundered overhead.

"That doesn't look like a plane to me," he pouted.

Shade, who had been watching him fish, narrowed her eyes. "Yeah and neither do the rest of them."

The sky literally darkened for a moment as the rest of the hoarde followed suit after the first.

Where Flickies were singing before, now they huddled on their branches, trembling.

Silver and Charmy were flying through the air, on their way to meet with Vector, when they were suddenly confronted with the notion that they weren't alone in the sky.

The silvery hedgehog glided gracefully to a stop in mid-air, turning elegently in his aura of aqua blue to glance behind.

"Uh-oh."

Charmy, grunting from the effort of slowing down which pulled painfully at his lace wings, managed to manouver his proportionately large body in a 180 turn to see what it was that had elicited such a negative response from his older companion.

"Woah."

The fleet of oncoming robots were threatening enough if you happened to be a lucky fella walking about on good old planet Mobius, but to those who oft found themselves cruising the Mobian atmosphere it was a downright sinister view.

It was testemont to Charmy's courage that he drew up alongside Silver, folded in his legs and cracked a smile that fell nicely into the 'panicking but I'm hiding it nicely' catagory.

"Busy skies today," he nervously chuckled.

Silver swept him under one arm and made a divebomb for the ground, just as the robots blasted over their heads. They were on the edge of an open plain, where the wild meadow met the first trees of the forest behind them. A stone's throw from the Mystic Ruins.

"Silver! Charmy!" Tails called, flitting through the trees, panting from his lengthy dash.

"What are they here for?" Silver asked, a little concerned when the robots took it in turns to pause in the sky, standing upright and floating on their thrusters.

"I've no idea," Tails admitted, sending out an emergency signal beacon on his wrist device.

Shadow, on the other hand, had already popped up out of nowhere.

"Take 'em out here!" he growled, clenching a fist and mentally preparing a Chaos Spear. "Before they reach the city!"

The robots, having seemed to come to a silent agreement, turned on the spot and descended into the plain, their landings causing the ground to shake.

"Huh, seems they're on the same wavelength as you, Mr Ultimate," Charmy grunted, crouching into a fighting stance as their potential opponents turned in their direction and slowly started to advance towards the small party of four.

In the time it took for them to make their way over the meadow, the rest of the Sonic Allies had assembled in record time.

Tails supposed that, with Sonic no longer around, the level of urgency was now well into the red zone.

"Charmy," Vector tutted, whipping out a stun gun, "what did I say about wanderin' off and findin' trouble as soon as Espio and me turn our backs?"

Amy skidded to a halt with her hammer already primed and practically humming.

"Give us the 'Sit-Rep', Tails," she ordered, counting the number of potential punching bags in her head. There were about twenty of the Goliaths.

"We don't know what their targets are," Tails hurriedly explained. "So long as we keep them from civilisation, we can minimise the damage."

Knuckles seemed to materialise from nowhere in much the same fashion as Shadow had and had caught the tail-end of the sentence.

"Rouge isn't coming, is she?" Shadow immediately asked, not exactly looking at Knuckles for favour of keeping his steely gaze on his first chosen scrap of metal.

As everyone ran to confront the threat, Knuckles dashed by him.

"Left her on Angel Island."

Perhaps it was because Sonic was missing or because they had spent too much time with him, but some of the Allies (certainly not all ) found that making conversation in battle was a good way of annoying your enemies and calming yourself down.

Of course, this wasn't exactly encouraged when the threat was too extreme. You had to be sensilbe, after all.

"Heard you went in for another scan today," Amy called as she ducked under a swinging fist and buried the head of her hammer into the ankle of the same robot. "What was the result?"

Her addressee was Knuckles, of course.

The echidna had ripped off the plating of one of the robot's arms and had used it as a frisbee to skewer the optic of another robot.

"Good news, Shade!" he called down to Shade, who was working on toppling the robot. "It's a puggle."

Shade looked mighty pleased. "Thank Albion."

"Thank what?" Vector asked.

"Never mind."

"What the heck is a puggle?" Silver's confused voice sounded from the sky, levitating a severed servo above his own victim quite sadistically. "Rouge cheat on you with a dog or something?"

The servo crashed down on to the head of the robot as E-123 Omega, the mecha with the strongest grudge against any Eggman robot, shot a plasma beam through the bot's chest compartment. His task done, he stood beside the smoking carcass and chose that moment to quickly Google(c) Silver's question.

"Accessing file... File:EchidnasPuggle. Echidna offspring, otherwise known as puggles, hatch from their egg several days after the egg has been lain."

Blaze was nimbly leaping from robot to robot, torching and scalding metal where she could, but she took a moment's breather, clinging on to Omega's shoulder to smile. 

"Baby echidnas are called Puggles?"

"Alongside hoglets," Cream laughed, drop-kicking a robot that thought it wasn't completely out of the running yet, "that has to be one of the..." She paused to hurl an enthustiastic Cheese at a drone that had emerged from another robot, "...cutest names given to any baby."

"Yo, watch it!"

Down came anotherr robot servo. Omega and Blaze only just leapt out of the way.

"Sorry," Silver apologised sheepishly, "should have given you a better heads up." 

Blaze gave her significant other a look that promised that he'd be paying for his mistakes later.

"Anyway," Amy went on, still talking to Knuckles and still dealing damage to robot ankles, "congratulations! Boy or girl?"

"We don't know, the baby's too small," Knuckles replied, anchoring his fist into the back of a robot to use as purchase for climbing up towards the head. "The only way they knew it wasn't a bat was the fact that it had no wings."

"I suppose that would be a bit of a giveaway."

Espio had to resort to using his tongue as a whip to zip out of the way in a hurry as another rain of laser fire came at him. To his annoyance, his slightly heightened emotions were causing him to turn pinkishly red - not helpful when he would rather be green to match the meadow.

"Always the way," he complained, dodging a robot foot that attempted to crush him. "When you actually need Sonic..."

"Who says we need him?" Shadow protested, practically demolishing a robot as he had seen construction workers demolish skycrapers, "I can take a fleet of robots with my eyes closed."

"No-one here is questioning your abilities, Shadow." That had been Blaze, flashing by with a wave of heat radiating in her wake.

"I was merely referring to the fact that Sonic provides a welcome diversion in some instances," Espio explained, holding onto the foot of a robot and lugging a convoy of shuriken stars up into the unprotected chest cavity underneath the metal plating with frightening precision. "These are donkeys and he's the carrot."

Cream, no longer the fragile creature she once had been considered as by some, executed an impressive backflip and landed with the skill of a gymnast into the general area.

"That's because these are Eggman robots," she told them. "They've all got built-in programming to automatically target Sonic unless otherwise ordered not to. It's called an Order Override, or something. And if their job is for something completely different, there's the, oh what's it called...? I think it's called the 'Priority 1 Override'. Yeah, if they bump into Sonic and he's in a position to be caught, the 'Priority 1 Override' kicks in and they'll go for him. Even if they're just, like, scout drones." Espio and Shadow stared at her, distracted from the battle for a fleeting moment. She shrugged and smiled awkwardly. "Tails told me."

There was a yell and a crash as a 24 year old hedgehog fell like a hailstone behind them, imprinting the ground in spectacular fashion.

"Newsflash, fellas," he moaned, unsure if he was looking at one robot or five as he poked his silvery head from the hole he had created. "If you really are looking for him, Sonic isn't here. Did your boss not give you the memo?"

"If they're not here for Sonic," Shadow snarled, taking off a robot's head with a jerk of his left arm, "then what ARE they here for?"

"Suicidal, maybe?" Knuckles suggested as he popped up from Shadow's dead robot, an exact imitation of a scene from Alien, "What better way to go out then with a fist through your rusting CPU..."

Amy, having recently freed herself from a vice-like hold and repaying the favour with an exceptionally hard blow to the robot's temple, dusted herself down and stretched her back painfully.

"...I can think of a few better ways, if I'm honest," she commented to herself, her aching joints protesting loudly and rejoicing gleefully when discovering that only one robot remained.

"Heads' up, boys!" With a final blow, Vector ensured that the one robot remaining was sent down in a shower of metal shards. Blaze had to jump out of the way yet again.

"Are people incapable of giving us just a few more seconds before sending a mammoth's weight of robot on top of us?" she hissed, wagging her tail in aggitation.

Peace finally returned to the countryside.

The field was littered with robot corpses, some fairly intact but most completely obliterated, so disfigured that even Eggman would have a hard time identifying them back at his robot morgue.

With a possible catastrophe averted and their work successfully completed, the Sonic Allies, minus Sonic himself, took a few moments to regain breath, sitting either on their fallen victims or beside them on the grass, giving one another thumbs up and performing instinctual head counts.

Knuckles cracked his namesakes and rolled his shoulders, looking over the scene with a serious disposition. Amy had returned her hammer to wherever it was she kept it (some argued hammer-space, some argued a TARDIS-like bag) and came to stand beside him.

After a moment, both felt the same misgiving unease; there was something wrong with the scene before them.

"Tails?" Knuckles murmured into his communicator, amethyst eyes combing the area for any sign of their twin-tailed friend, "Yo, Tails, where are you?"

No answer.

A river of ice seemed to cascade down Knuckles' spine.

"No, don't you dare," he heard Amy breathe.

Emotionally numbed, the Master Emerald guardian silently turned his head in the hedgehog's direction.

She wasn't even looking at him.

Her eyes, wide and betraying her premonition, were fixed solely on nothing, her irises pulsing with her fluctuating emotions.

"Don't you dare tell me what I think you're gonna tell me," she added to her previous breath.

Heightened negative emotions travelled far and wide on Mobius. Like sharks drawn to bloodied water, so the Sonic Allies were quick to trace the scent of trajedy.

"What's happening?" Blaze was the first to ask. Amy seemed to have solidified into rock where she stood so it was up to Knuckles to deliver the bad news.

"Tails," he announced in a lead-lined voice, "isn't answering his comms."

Somewhere, high up in a tree, a courageous young Flicky chanced a second to let out a sharp trill though that was not enough to break the noiseless horror that had taken over the - previously thought - 'victorious' group.

The first to kickstart his muscles was Shadow, whereupon he turned away and buried his face into his rigid hand.

"...You've got to be kidding me," he snarled.

"Wish I was," Knuckles muttered back, hiding his own face so that no-one could see his mounting distress. It took everyone's effort not to jump in alarm when Knuckles' wrist suddenly spoke.

"You fellas there?"

It was not Tails' voice.

"What is it, Rouge?" Knuckles asked, masking his sigh of disappointment and answering his comms.

"Been monitoring the robots," she replied, also masking the fact that she was sourly put-out when she had coined onto the fact that Knuckles had purposefully left her out of a fight. "One took off early and is making headway for the Abandoned Isles."

Charmy and Cream immediately went about counting the robot remains and finding that, true to Rouge's word, there were only 19 corpses, not 20.

Silver's ears perked.

"Abandoned Isles?" he repeated with a frown. "They're thirty feet under sea level in my time. You're telling me Eggman's hiding out there?"

"Sonic was born there." It was the first time that Amy had spoken since the latest piece of misfortune had struck them, "Guess Eggman comes from there too."

"The Commander did say humans were sentimental creatures of habit," Rouge was starting to say but was quick to shut up once Shadow reached his tipping point.

"How flaming hard is it to keep a hold of our own TEAMMATES!?" he bellowed into the air.

The courageous Flicky was now the very cowardly Flicky and took off in a flurry of pale blue feathers.

"First Sonic now Tails..." the Ultimate Lifeform went about growling, pacing up and down. He stopped and shot a warning glare toward Amy and Knuckles. "You better watch it," he slowly told them. "Doesn't take a wise old hermit to predict that the next one to go is one of you two."

There was no exchange of worried looks, much to the admiration of some of the Allies.

"That's a little dramatic, isn't it?" Amy hurriedly replied. "We don't know who's pulling these strings here. It could be that other Robotnik guy who, can I point out, won't know either Knuckles or myself."

"It struck me he didn't know Tails either but guess who's just been declared missing?"

"Not Froggy this time," Big commented from somewhere in the back. His participation in the fight had been minimnal but strangely effective, canonballing from one robot to another.

"I'm hearing a lot of loud voices arguing with each other but not a lot of action," Rouge's voice sounded. "If you're thinking that Amy and Knuckles are the next targets, Shadow, then you better put your tail in gear and get to the bottom of this. I refuse to be a single mother!"

"Love you too, dear," Knuckles sighed, not daring to roll his eyes for fear that Rouge had developed the ability to see through the communication signal and catch him out.

"Have yer got an idea on which island the bot was headin'?" Vector asked to which Rouge replied,

"The signal is hazy but I'll try working on it." She was then back to addressing her best friend. "Shadow, I'm serious," she threateningly purred. "Pad my husband up in bubblewrap if you must."

Unlike Knuckles, Shadow did roll his eyes, "Copy that."

Cream, with Cheese on her shoulder, hugged herself miserably.

"I'll head over to the Mystic Ruins," she said softly, hardly heard by those too far away from her. "Poor Zooey will need to be told."

With a comforting nod from Charmy, Cream was away, her youthful legs gaining her impressive speed from a decade of experience.

"And the rest of us?" Blaze prompted. "We need a plan of action."

"I suggest splitting up," Espio answered her. "We'll draw less attention to ourselves while also providing back up should anyone else get taken."

"In any case," Silver nodded, "our destination is the Abandoned Isles. We just need to figure out which one."

"We can get on that, right Vector?" Charmy decided, quite forcefully, spurred on by the fact that he wanted to be doing something like Cream. "Digging up the dirt is what we do best!" The proud smile from the older crocodile was something that the bee had begun to live for.

"Straight from the croc's mouth," Vector nodded. "Atta boy, Charmy."

Omega appraoched them.

"The GUN database will provide some information," he bleeped. "I shall offer my assistance." Of course, where Omega went, Shadow was likely to follow - but not without snapping a finger at the Master Emerald Guardian first.

"Knuckles," he barked, "you're with me."

Knuckles blinked, looking from Shadow to Shade in the brief contemplation that the Ultimate Lifeform had been rudely snapping his fingers at the wrong echidna.

"I am?"

"Chaos knows I'm not going to suffer Rouge if something DID happen to you and I wasn't around to stop it."

Knuckles could feel his hackles prickling, proud masculinity at risk and his own testosterone levels on the rise. 

"I don't need a babysitter," he informed Shadow and those around them.

"Neither did Sonic," Shadow huffed, "but there you go. You're with me." Deeming that it was wiser to put up with Shadow's grumbling than Rouge's deadly threats, Knuckles conceded defeat and trailed after Team 1.

"I guess we can start preparing," Blaze suggested. "Can't jump in blind with this one."

"Yeah, Sonic was the improv guy," Silver heartily agreed, all for a carefully laid out plan.

The lavender cat cleared her throat and wriggled her whiskers at the female hedgehog.

"If Knuckles is going with Shadow," she said, "you'd be best to stick with us, Amy."

Amy looked round at the remaining allies and soon discerned that they were in unanimous agreement with one another.

"This is so over the top," she sighed, resigning herself to the outcome.

Chapter Text

It wasn't just Knuckles and Amy facing the music.

For many miles, the lone robot flew over endless choppy ocean until reaching the Abandoned Isles, touching down on Christmas Isle and hurrying to deliver his proud catch before the one who had sent him on his master's bidding - or so the lump of titanium had been lead to believe.

Having been trapped inside the robot for the lenghty duration, Tails was conflicted on whether to be relieved of receiving fresh air or anxious over the fact that, whatever destination they had been heading for, they had now arrived.

The 18 year old fox was deposited like a sacrificual lamb a few meters from a dark wood desk.

It wasn't the dank and dingy dungeon that Tails had been anticipating but, judging from the look on the face of the man seated at the desk, he wasn't convinced this was any better.

"Welcome," the gaunt human greeted without sincerity.

"Hi," Tails immediately responded, picking himself up and fluffing his fur out to its full length, a natural response in the wild when faced with danger.

The deranged Robotnik seemed amused by this display.

"Not quite as timid as I was imagining," he confessed.

"Not quite as timid as I used to be," Tails retorted smoothly, holding onto his confidence with two figurative hands and no intention of letting go.

"Fair enough," the human shrugged and made a point of glancing at his laptop. "You are Miles Prower? Otherwise known as Tails?"

Two could play this game.

"And you are Ira Robotnik," Tails noted back at him, "the unknown brother of Ivo Robotnik, otherwise known as Eggman?"

As intended, the word 'unknown' seemed to flick a tightly strung nerve.

"You've got spark, haven't you?" Ira went on smiling falsely.

"You have to have spark to do what we do."

"Freedom Fighter, yes?"

"If there is freedom to fight for then, yes."

Ira took a long minute to examine the fluffy lump of meat in front of him with the greed of a seasoned poacher.

"So you're the little tag-a-long?" he mused. "Took pity on you, did he?"

Of course, 'he' referred to Sonic, of which they were both aware.

Tails had yet to smile back.

"I like to think we found each other," he continued on, sharp blue eyes boring holes through Robotnik's glasses.

"How very sweet," Ira crooned. "You were how old when you met?"

The snarl that Tails was witholding threatened to break out and the tip of a fang was briefly seen for a split second.

"...Why?"

Ira shrugged. "Just curious."

Every word from here on out, Tails thought grimly, is going to have to be chosen extra carefully.

Miles Prower was as cunning as the old tales made foxes out to be. He refused to let that reputation be tarnished now.

"...I was near to being four."

"No blood relatives?"

"Orphaned."

The satisfaction was evident in every aspect of Robotnik's face.

"Ah, like Sonic," he chuckled.

There was one thing that Tails had never asked Sonic, for Sonic had never brought it up himself; the subject of parentage. Hearing it from a stranger physically repulsed Tails.

"What?"

"I can see why he bonded with you so quickly," Ira nodded, examining his fingers and taking a twisted pleasure in seizing hold of the conversation. "You were in your clingy stages, were you?"

"All right, that's enough." Tails took a step forward. "What is it you want?"

Feigning surprise, Ira held his hands up in surrender.

"I'm just making polite conversation," he protested.

"If you want conversation," Tails told him in one fluid breath, "we can start talking about where Sonic is. I mean, given that you seem to like to talk about him so much..."

He was given another examination.

"You've got a lip on you as well," Ira muttered, both impressed and disgusted.

To that, Tails smiled, pride welling up from his chest.

"They say I get it from my brother."

The keen-eyed would tell you that Ira's jaw clentched tightly.

"You mean... Sonic," he stiffly swallowed, teeth grinding on teeth behind his lips.

"You work it out."

"You can't be his brother," Ira insisted. "His brother is dead."

"...I beg your pardon?"

"My brother told me you were quite special to Sonic," Ira continued on, relaxing once more. "I'm just trying to figure out how and why."

But Tails was putting his foot down.

"No, wait, stop," he demanded, losing his temper and the grip on his snarl, bearing his mature fangs which had long since replaced his 'baby' teeth some time ago. "You're not going to be changing the subject whenever you want, where it suits you, pal." His voice was rising dangerously. "You've brought me here, I don't know why, so I'm the one asking questions and you're the one answering them, okay?"

Ira had to admit that the brawn of the 'runt' was something to admire.

"By all means," he smiled, leaning back and gesturing for Tails to continue. "I quite forget that foxes have a sharp bite."

"So do humans, I've learnt."

"You don't like humans?"

"Love humans," Tails said truthfully, though his tone was tight and laced with passive aggression. "They fascinate me."

Gazing at the fox's sky-blue eyes and finidng no trace of a lie, Ira dipped his head in acknowledgement.

"...Well then," he sighed, "ask away...'Tails'."

Now faced with vocal freedom, Tails was almost hesitant to embrace it although the empty silence was enough to remind him of why he was there.

"Where's Sonic?" he asked.

Ira Robotnik, it seemed, though having allowed Tails to speak, was clearly adamant that the fox would have to work for his information.

"Safe," he merely replied, smirking at his own cleverness.

"Is he here?"

"Somewhere."

"Why am I here?"

"Because I ordered this robot to bring you."

"And why did you do that?"

"Because," Ira laughed, standing up, "the feeling is mutual - you fascinate me."

"Save your breath," Tails growled. "You hardly looked at me when we saw you at the park."

"I didn't know who you were then. I only knew Sonic."

The bait was hanging in front of him and Tails took it. "...How do you know him?"

Ira stretched his arms, relishing in the moment he had been waiting for.

"I was sent to retrieve him for my brother way back in the day," he answered. "I was also tasked with the job of -ahem- disposing his family. THAT is how I know him."

Sometimes, there were things you wished you had never asked.

"...Why do you and Eggman want him?"

"Ohhh," Ira sang, "now THAT would be telling."

Ears pinned back, Tails' pupils narrowed.

"...You're not fascinated by me at all, are you?" he huffed, in perfect Shadow fashion, "Eggman's told you to bring me here to torment Sonic!"

Ira closed his eyes and let out an overly dramatic sigh, as though he were being forced to deal with an imbecile.

"Eggman, as you call him," he said, aware that the nickname had been placed on the whole Robotnik family, thanks to Ivo, "has no idea you're here." Tails was genuinely taken aback. "He's far too busy with his new pet to worry about the likes of you. I was merely curious about Sonic's life in the years when I was locked up. Apparently, he remembers nothing of his life before you so... Here you are."

Looking away and choosing to send a quick glare up at the robot that had brough him, Tails took solace in a basic fact:

"I'm not his only friend, you know. There are others."

Ira gave a grunt. 

"I DO know," he nodded. "I've read all about the likes of Amy Rose and Knuckles. But you seemed to be the easiest to manage. Less of a threat."

When Tails glanced back round, there was a sinister smirk on his face, a look that did not look right on someone as 'sweet' as Tails.

"...That's what most people assume when they meet me," he explained softly. "I'm just the gadget guy. Couldn't swat a swot bot if it stood still in front of me, right?"

Ira wasn't sure if he should say anything to that.

"So what now?" Tails asked, proudly scoring a speechless point over his enemy. "I'm going to hazard a guess that you're not intending to let me go."

"I haven't got all I want from you yet."

"I haven't got a lot to give."

Ira stroked his goatee and flared his nostrils.

"...Come," he rumbled, "Let's reunite you with Sonic. I'm sure you've missed each other."

Chapter Text

June 22nd...23rd.

Jules' soft paw on her brow was a welcome relief in Aleena's hot state as she concentrated on breathing and witholding the urge to kick the covers off of her to cool off her damp furred body.

She had given birth over an hour ago and yet she still felt as though it had all happened in the past five minutes.

The residents of Christmas Isle, people who had never lain eyes on a baby hedgehog, had heard the news that Aleena Bernadette Hedgehog, wife of Julius the Hedgehog, had gone into labour in the late hours in the evening of June 22nd, nestled away in their private cottage with only the doctor and the nurse to attend to them.

The first hoglet had arrived smoothly and the second had come shortly after at a quarter to midnight.

But there had been a wait for the third which eventually arrived at 7 minutes after midnight which meant, techincally speaking, it had been born the following day after its siblings, on June 23rd.

All in all, it had taken a toll on the new mother and she was utterly exhausted, wondering why her adrenaline hadn't kicked in.

"How are you, sweetheart?" Jules asked in a low voice, moving his mouth close to his wife's ears.

"Tired," Aleena breathed, her tan chest rising and falling as a smile appeared on her face. "But happy. What of the children?" Her eyes opened, already fixated on her husband where she had sought his voice behind her closed lids.

"They said they would bring them along soon," Jules told her comfortingly, stroking her quills and gazing at her adoringly, still unable to comprehend that such a beauty had agreed to marry him and bear his children.

"They all made it?" she asked.

Her husband nodded. "All three."

"Have you seen them?"

"I briefly saw the first. Looked just like you."

The sound of the bedroom door opening commanded their attention.

"Mr and Mrs Hedgehog?" the squirrel nurse said softly. "Your hoglets are here."

Swaddled in cloth, one in the crook of each elbow, were two bundles. Closer inspection, once they were delivered into the waiting arms of their parents, revealed two newborn hoglets, soft-spined and squeaking, blind eyes pressed shut. The nurse had cleaned them up and checked them over thoroughly but showed no signs of having any worrying conditions or problems. 

As many other new parent before them, Jules and Aleena fell in love.

Jules had been right about their daughter, the first of the litter; she was a miniature Aleena and already promised her mother's gifted beauty.

The son, a small scrap of a character with blazing green fur, looked more like his father's side of the family though he, like his sister, was the latest in a long line of pedigree, Purebred Hedgehogs.

Other distant branches of the Hedgehog Family Tree had interbred with other species, as was common among most Mobians, resulting in descendents that may have carried the genes of other animal races.

The First Line of Hedgehogs, however, back in the past, only ever married within their own distant families to ensure that their geneology was 100% hedgehog.

Seeing as Aleena and Jules, and now their children, were the only ones left of that line, it was safe to say that the Purebred Hedgehog trait would come to a close. Even if one of their litter ended up marrying another hedgehog one day, their mate would not have been from the First Line and would therefore have other species in their genealogical history.

But that didn't matter anymore; the Hedgehog Dynasty was over and the Acorn Dynasty was the thriving monarchy now.

What did matter was the fact that they only had two offspring to admire.

"Where's the third?" Aleena asked anxiously, cradling her baby boy as Jules held their daughter.

"The doctor will bring him," the Nurse assured her, tidying the room up and hiding a yawn to disguise her own tiredness.

"Him?" Aleena echoed, eyes shining. "Another boy?"

"Yes. A very active boy," the Nurse chuckled. She then straightened and stared off in the mid-distance, lost in thought. "He's... unusual," she sighed.

The new parents had heard her.

"In what way?" Jules asked suspiciously.

As though in answer, the doctor arrived and, in his arms, was the final hoglet.

True to the Nurse's observation, their final child was very active, kicking and wriggling in his blanket, not wishing to be covered. But the thing they noticed the most...

"...He's beautiful." Aleena hadn't meant to sound so awe-struck, but she was.

It was worth noting that Jules was blue.

Jules’ brother was blue.

Their great-grandfather had been blue.

Jules' second son was... very blue.

Yet while Jules and those of his family that shared this colouration were a soft sky blue, this baby was vastly different. His fur was electric blue, strong and vivid, out of place in comparison to the powder blue of his father.

"I have to admit," the doctor had said, placing the dancing hoglet down in Aleena's lap beside his brother. "I have never seen a hedgehog this shade before. You have a very handsome son."

"I have two handsome sons," Jules immediately corrected, admiring the strong bright colours of both boys before nuzzling the nose of the one he still held. "And a beautiful daughter."

Aleena smiled at her blue son's antics, pawing mid-air and squeaking, nudging and gently pushing his green brother who had now grown quiet, listening and feeling the pushes.

"Why did you keep him back?" she asked, running her finger along their legs. The doctor and the nurse glanced at one another.

"...These two were checked out fine," the doctor began, nodding to the purple and green babies. "They are healthy happy hoglets. Everything normal. Your third, however, seemed to be very active upon his birth. We feared it was a seizure."

"A seizure?" Aleena repeated, staring at the blue hoglet in shock. He seemed to be perfectly fine! Yes he was jerking his legs a little but all babies kicked, didn't they?

"His heart-rate is abormally high," the doctor went on, rubbing his tired eyes. "Far too rapid for a newborn."

"Yet his leg muscles are extrememly strong," the nurse added positively. "Managed to kick us away. Don't think I've seen such strength in a newborn." Proving this, the blue hoglet pushed his feet forward and surprised his mother by putting enough force behind the kick to accidently hurt her fingers.

"But he seems fine..." Jules pressed before he froze, the facts sinking in. "...You think he's been affected by the Chaos energy?"

The doctor moistened his lips.

 "I am sorry," he sighed dejectedly, "I do not want to raise false hope but... I do not know what your son's chances of survival are."

Aleena's tears had all been spent so she resorted to a kind of... numbness.

Jules could feel a lump in his throat. 

"...Thank you, Doctor," he croaked.

Sensing his wishes, the doctor and nurse bowed and quietly left them alone for a while.

In silence, Jules and Aleena watched their litter and stroked them. The first two gurlged and yawned and fell asleep. The third went on wiggling and kicking, pushing himself along Aleena's lap, eager to be moving. Aleena had to put her hand in the way to stop him from falling off the bed.

"We never chose names," she then whispered, her eyes glassing over.

Jules shrugged. "We don't know their personalities."

Aleena's lower lip wobbled a little as she took a breath. 

"...If... If what the doctor..." she stuttered. "If what he said is true... We must name him quickly... just in case... in case..." She stopped as Jules touched her hand.

"Do you believe he's going to die?" he asked, face void of emotion.

Aleena stared at the child and, with a fierce glare, shook her head. "...No."

"Then neither do I," Jules smiled in relief.

"Turn your back on glaring day,
Relish instead the cooling night,
Where wicked fox and haunting owl,
The strong that stalk the weak tonight.

Tis darkness where we thrive and grow,
We, the hunters and they, the prey,
So every night, my boy, go wander,
For just one prize may come our way."

Once upon a time, there had been a man, a cold man, who had stood by the bedroom window of a young boy and had recited those words as the child lay in his bed at night.

Dr Robotnik had never had good memories of his father. He was a man that no-one could impress, no matter how hard or how long one might try. Robotnik's father was a troubled mind trapped in a failing body, bored with the world and only the power of a god might interest him.

Robotnik chose to forget most of his father but those words had always stayed with him.

Where was the written law that said humans could not be nocturnal?

Humans were predators too. And predators liked to hunt in the dark.

Patience was everything.

The art of a good hunter was to wait, watching, still and silent... waiting... and waiting... and waiting... until you pounced at the very... last... second...

Aleena was asleep.

Jules was nowhere to be seen.

Careless of him.

There were some who would have said that Dr Robotnik was an overweight pencil-pusher with as much experience in the field as a duck in the desert. This was false. Robotnik hadn't earnt his reputation for being 'evil' by desk-work alone.

He had set his hover craft to make as little noise as possible, the engine now humming at a low frequency as he cast his ominous shadow on the stonework of the cottage. Four tiny drones were released from the craft capsule, silently entering the house and making their way up to Aleena's bedroom whereby they carefully opened the window. The wind was good and carried Robotnik's scent away from the house.

Hedgehogs had remarkable senses of smell. In fact, biologists claimed that a hedgehog's smelling abilities were on par with a dog's.

Robotnik wasn't sure if that was true or not but he was reluctant to find out tonight.

The young mother gave a small moan in her sleep, troubled by something in the back of her mind but not fully conscious of what was going on a few meters from her.

Stealing into the room, Robotnik was quick to tiptoe to the crib, stretching his hearing capabilities to warn him of the approaching step of a, no doubt, protective hedgehog father...

"Shh... shh..." Robotnik whispered in an undertone, hearing the small squeaks and grunts of the hoglets. "It's okay... I won't hurt you."

The first order of business was to take photos for he and his brother to study. Well, Ivo was the one studying, not Ira. Ira was going to be there watching and learning.

The photos were carefully taken and sent off to his lab where Ira would be waiting to recieve them at the computer, leaving Robotnik the task of a swipe and run.

Yet this was the first time he had seen a baby hedgehog too and he was taken by just how small they were.

A human baby was, on average, a little under the length of the mother's forearm at birth but hedgehogs... All three of them were about the size of Aleena's palm.

In retrospect, Robotnik had theorised that the cause of this was because hedgehogs, by nature, typically had litters, meaning that the babies would be smaller so as to take up less room if there happened to be more than one in the womb. Of course, litters were becoming rarer but still...

"Where are you off to?" Robotnik murmured, catching sight of one hoglet that was pushing himself along on his tummy with his back legs, crossing the length of his spacious crib with swiftness. "Not even Mobian babies should be able to move as much as you can," Robotnik said in his head, curiosity peaking at the unusually bright blue baby who had just that second opened his eyes to peer around the room.

Were hoglets meant to be able to open their eyes at this early stage in life?

"Strong, aren't you?" Robotnik smiled as the hoglet began another lap of his crib, hardly using his front paws at all. Slowly, Robotnik moved his hand behind the crawling hedgehog baby to let him push off his palm so as to gauge the force.

Instead, as his hand drew near, the baby stopped, sneezed, and, as though sensing an oncoming attack, sent out a sharp kick. To Ivo's shock, the little foot was strong enough to repel the hand and make it sting, a deep purple bruise already forming on the tender skin. It took a lot to prevent a hiss of pain escaping the human's mouth.

"...That's quite a kick," he growled under his breath. Now that he was being left alone, off the hoglet went, kicking his way around his crib, getting faster and faster and faster... "Don't think I've ever seen a hedgehog quite as blue as you," Robotnik then noted, realising, for the first time, that the hoglet that had kicked him wasn't a colour he had been expecting. "I've only seen that colour on..."

It struck Robotnik there and then.

"...A Chaos Emerald."

The beautiful royal blue of the very Chaos Emerald that Aleena had been holding the day that...

There was no question.

His mother and father be damnned, the hoglet was his primary concern now, not the wrath his parents might bestow on him.

Gritting his teeth and preparing for his cover to be blown, Robotnik took a hold of the scruff of the hoglet's neck, pulling the baby up with his finger tips. Baby hedgehogs' quills were meant to be soft to begin with so... why were they starting to prick through his gloves now? The little blue hoglet wasn't answering that. It began to protest instead.

"Now, don't squeak. Don't squeak," Robotnik murmured, hearing Aleena stir behind him and the rapid thumps of feet running up the stairs. "Let me look at you."

The bedroom door flew open just as Aleena screamed.

"PUT HIM DOWN!" the hedgehog father howled, stopping himself from throwing his weight at Robotnik for fear of his children getting hurt.

"Now, now, Julius," the scientist reasoned, cradling the blue hoglet protectively, aware that it was his only shield against his parents. "No sudden moves. You're scaring the children." Aleena was about to get up but a stern hand from her husband cautioned her to remain where she was. "I only wanted to look," Robotnik protested sweetly, "I couldn't believe it when I heard you had all three."

He glanced over to where the first two, frightened by the noise their parents were making, were wailing miserably, seeking one another out for protection and comfort. Their blue brother, still in the clutches of the stranger, was calling for them desperately. 

"I've been keeping up to date with your progress, Aleena," Robotnik explained. "Wanted to be around to see what would become of your babies after... Well, you know."

"Put him down," Jules repeated in a calmer voice, realising that their hoglets were in distress. The 'good' doctor, however, wasn't helping the situation.

"I understand this was a very risky move on my part. I think I read somewhere that hedgehogs were very sensitive to having their nests disturbed. You aren't going to be dining on newborn hoglet as soon as I've gone are you?"

Disgust was written all over the adult hedgehogs' faces.

"Could I not spare this one?" Robotnik held up the ball of blue fur and spines and ran his fingers gently along the side of the hoglet's snout, stroking him. "Wouldn't think he'd been born only a few hours ago, would you?" he chuckled. "Seems... too advanced. Already opening his eyes, already moving about like a toddler... Not newborn behaviour at all, is it? And these kickers..." Holding the baby's peachy tummy in his hand and letting the back legs hang down, Robotnik could feel the tiny foot claws scratching at his wrist. "I dread to think how painful it must of been when they started moving about in the womb. This little one could out-kick a horse. Certainly put some dents in a metal sheet, that's for sure."

"Robotnik," Jules said in a low voice, fear outlacing any anger now, "you’re not that low. Leave my children alone and get out."

"They're very beautiful," Robotnik complimented, now slowly running his hand over the hoglet's spines in the direction they were growing, privately marvelling that they were starting to feel even firmer than before. "This one is certainly extremely handsome. I take it there aren't any in the family that share his colouring?"

Silence spoke loudly.

"Didn't think so." The hoglet squeaked once more. "He's very special," Robotnik nodded. "You should be very proud."

His voice then became strangely quiet, turning the baby hedgheog in his hand to gaze into his clean green eyes.

"I... I have a feeling about this one..." he whispered, more to himself than anyone else, "and I don't normally get feelings. But this one... I think we'll be seeing each other a lot in the future."

It had been the wrong thing to say.

In reply, the tiny blue hoglet opened his mouth and revealed a gummy mouth. Spurred by the feeling of danger, he then proceeded to sink his non-existent teeth into the hand that held him causing the stranger to let out an exclamation of annoyance which offered his father an opening.

So engrossed with the hoglet, Dr Robotnik hadn't realised that Jules had slowly positioned himself closer between the human and the crib. Now the oppurtunity presented itself, he had jumped and grabbed Robotnik's wrist, kicking out a leg at the same time, practically wrenching his son from the scientist's hold and leaping away again. 

As he was pulled from the doctor's grasp, the tiny hoglet rolled and his little spines raked against Robotnik's palm, cutting through the fabric of the glove and lightly cutting the skin.

"I'll have it so that none of them ever know your name!" he snarled viciously. Aleena had now scrambled from bed and hurriedly scooped up the remainder of her litter, soothing them in her chest fur.

Robotnik stood, nursing a now bleeding right hand with a look of black fury in his facial features. Taking off his glasses, he glared at the hedgehog family.

"You can't keep him forever," he promised. "Try and hide him all you like. But we'll come for your son one day. You can't keep him." He was then out the window and gone.

"Tis darkness where we thrive and grow,
We, the hunters and they the prey,
So every night, my boy, go wander,
For just one prize may come our way."

Chapter Text

Vector took a good long look at his notes, scribbled out in shorthand on a slightly crinkled post-it that had lost most of its stick.

"So what we got?" he asked himself. "South Island, Christmas Island... uh, Flicky Island?" He leant back against his chair and almost pushed off Espio who, for some bizarre reason, was expertly perched like the ninja he was on the back.

Omega was doing his level best to not puncture the paper files he was holding in his sharp hands. 

"Records are extremely outdated," he bleeped. He had spent the past hour running through as many electronic files as he could possibly handle in an effort to compile everything anyone knew of the Abandoned Isles. All that effort had not given a very satisfactory result.

"Maybe it can be narrowed down by using newspapers," Espio suggested, deeming that it was safer on the ground. "Sonic's only 25, it's not like this all happened centuries ago."

"The residents of South Island knew of Sonic pretty well," Shadow murmured, leaning against the wall. "Don't see why we can't go back and carry out a little more friendly persuasion to get more information."

"Friendly persuasion?" laughed a bee above him. "You just look at them like you're about to murder them and they wet themselves in their hurry to give information."

Shadow shrugged. "Everyone has their own way of doing things."

"Oh yeah?"

"Silver uses the 'cute' routine by giving the whole 'Oh I'm from the future and I really need your help...' yarn."

Charmy flicked his attenae. "...So he tells them the truth."

"While on a mission, it is an effective method," Omega reasoned. "Not, however, when he is simply lost in a shopping centre."

"And then Sonic..." Shadow's face tightened. "...Well, he just has to smile or breathe and everyone trips over their own feet to help him out."

"Ah," Charmy giggled, "so THAT'S how you became friends with him."

It was incredible how a simple glare could sap the warmth from you.

"Charmy," Espio chastised, "you know better."

Deeming it sensible to put a good distance between himself and Shadow, Charmy buzzed to the other side of the room and hovered beside Vector instead. The burly crocodile was playing with his pencil and leaning on his elbow at the same time. His reptillian eyes casually swept the room from his position at his desk and came to rest on the red shape on the far side.

"The view out the window givin' you anythin', pal?" he asked.

Knuckles had nestled his head on his forearms, his eyes half-lidded as he remained motionless at the window seat, staring out at the scenery.

"...Guess not," Vector muttered when not recieving an answer. He glanced sideways at Shadow. "We can keep your idea in mind if this supposed 'in-fer-mation highway' don't give us the goods."

Shadow, on the other hand, was also looking at Knuckles.

The echidna had gone into some sort of slump since discovering that another of his friends was gone.

"...You know," Shadow told him, "it wouldn't take a trained robot two seconds to break that window and take off with you."

Knuckles hardly cared about that.

To an extent, Shadow could somewhat understand.

Knuckles had only ever lived alone before Sonic and Tails had crashed into his world and, though he was always reluctant to say it aloud, he considered them as his closest friends, his own personal brotherhood.

Shadow supposed that if Omega and Rouge were taken from him, he'd be a little distracted too.

He turned to the aforementioned Omega and lowered his voice, "Go guard the guardian."

Omega carefully dropped the file on the desk and tried to casually and discretely (which, for a large robot was near impossible) wander towards Knuckles and stand behind him.

"I enjoy window watching too."

At another window, a white-grey hedgehog and an orange-peach coloured echidna were stood with their faces up against the glass.

"I can tell them that I'm from the future and that I need help," Silver suggested.

"Yeah?" Shade smiled. "I can tell them I'm from the past and I'm looking for a valuable relic of my time. Which one do you think they'll be more likely to believe?"

Silver mulled it over. "...We really ought to hang out more."

"Here, got us coffee." Blaze and the others were walking towards them along the highstreet with a tray of takeaway coffee cups between them. "Why are you guys breathing all over the locksmith's window?"

"Working out if we can get him to bust open Tails' workshop," Silver replied, gratefully accepting a cup from Big.

The second group had been working on the best strategy to organise a rescue mission and, so far, the unanimous agreement was that the most reliable tools would be found inside Tails' workshop at Mystic Ruins. The only catch was that Tails' had made sure to shut down the workshop before dashing off to deal with the robot attack and a distraught Zooey hadn't any idea on how to get in. None of them wanted to risk breaking in and having the security system activate on them!

"Don't reckon it would work," Amy sighed in answer to Silver's and Shade's idea. "Tails has some pretty intense stuff in his workshop; you can't just get in with a key. The only ones will full access clearance are he and Sonic."

"That's 'cause they built it together," Big's deep, kindly voice said quietly. He was talking to Froggy Jr, cuddled into the long fur on the cat's shoulders. Froggy Jr was the offspring of Froggy who, I am sorry to say, fell victim to time and had died peacefully of old age 5 years ago.

Blaze stroked her silvery whiskers.

"There must be some way of getting in," she frowned. "I mean, wouldn't the system recognise you, Amy?"

All eyes turned to the pink hedgehog but she looked doubtful.

"In the event of an Eggman attack that requires us to be away," she explained. "Tails shuts his workshop down. It's a new protocol to minimise the risk of Eggman breaking in and stealing his stuff while we're not there. I only know the opening password but I have no idea what the number sequence is to actually get in. That's only for Sonic and Tails to know." She cradled her coffee and sipped it delicately. "Like Big said," she mumbled, "they're the ones who built it."

As the sombre mood descended and a little misery began to smother them all, Froggy grew aggitated. He croaked warningly as a new voice joined in the conversation.

"Can we be of assistance?"

Back at the Chaotix Detective Agency, Team 1 was just about to agree to Shadow's idea of returning to South Island to ask questions when Blaze lead the way through the door.

"Guys?" she called. "We might have got somewhere."

"What do you mean?" asked Espio, casually flicking the tip of his very long (and very hidden) tongue out between his lips as he thought about their predicament.

Behind Blaze, flanked by the others, two small robots came hovering in.

"Greetings!" Orbot waved, making his blue optics look 'friendly'.

"What the-?" Vector cried, jumping to his feet as everyone tensed up.

Omega was already warming his guns.

"Wait!" Blaze held out her hands to Omega. "They know where Sonic is!"

That was enough for Knuckles.

He pressed forward and stood impassively in front of them.

"And?" he prompted sternly.

Orbot and Cubot had, understandably, been startled by the -expected- reaction from the others but the former had recovered quickly.

"Sonic and Eggman are being held on Christmas Isle. Sonic's birthplace," Orbot announced grandly, lifting his round head proudly, awaiting praise.

He was waiting for a while.

"...You...You two knew that..." Shadow repeated softly, "...and it's taken you this long to tell us?"

"Give us a break!" Cubot grumbled. "D'you know how long it took for us to first find our way to the beach from Eggman's old factory? And then paddle all the way over the sea to find land? Then we later found out we were actually on South Island so then we had to paddle-"

"Where's the Robotnik Factory?" Knuckles interrupted.

"Well, er, we can take you," said Orbot. "See, our creator, Dr Eggman, you know... that fellow... he's, uh, well he seems to be at odds with his 'brother'."

"Yeah," Cubot continued, "and they ain't getting along either. Eggman's little bro socked him one and he's keeping him to do some kind of research. Don't ask us what 'cause we sure as heck don't know. But if there's been any trouble since then, it ain't been Eggman. It's that skinny guy with the goatee. Said he broke out of an asylum and stole a boat-"

"Awesome!"

Everyone turned to Charmy with varying degrees of confusion on their faces.

The bee flattened his wings and blushed.

"...I meant, you know, that's ONE case fully solved. ... You know, the harbour case? We... I mean... It's solved now." He cleared his throat. "Go us..."

"You also said you can get us into Tails' workshop," Silver pressed, shaking his head at the bee.

Not to be outdone by Eggman's current henchmen, Omega stepped forward.

"Any robot can access Tails' workshop so long as someone provides the opening password."

Now it was Omega that was the recipient to the faces.

"Flaming..." Blaze broke off, not wanting to swear. "...Omega, why didn't you tell us? We've been trying to work out how to get into that workshop!"

Omega dropped his head and enlarged his optics to make himself cuter. "I was not aware of this."

"How about we go and make ourselves aware?" Amy suggested in a hard voice. "Some of us are gonna need all the help we can get if we're going up against these robots."

"Especially Metal Sonic," growled Shadow.

Amy felt her heart shudder and a cold tingle stung the back of her neck. The piercing red eyes appeared in her mind again... the growl of circuitry and the gutteral groan of metal components...

"...Yeah."

Chapter Text

Eggman was watching with interest as Metal Sonic, having still not moved an inch since settling in the room, was staring, unmovably, at Sonic, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor of his 'cage'. The blue hedgehog was gazing right back at his metal counterpart, the occassional twitch of his ears and eyes being the only indication that something secret was going on.

"What are you two talking about?" Eggman asked slowly, smiling to himself.

Sonic only twisted an ear in his direction to indicate he had heard him.

"...Who said we were talking?" he asked back, eyes still transfixed on Metal.

Sonic's scans were complete now and Eggman was waiting for the computer to process and upload the results. He was aimlessly stroking the desk with his gloved finger.

"I built Metal and I know you very well," he boasted. "I can tell when there's a sneaky conversation going on."

In truth, the fact that Metal had worked out how to project his thoughts to Sonic wasn't originally intended. The Life Data that Eggman had been lucky enough to extract from Sonic was meant to give Metal the skills to anticipate and prepare for Sonic's iminent attacks, where possible, and to pinpoint Sonic more effectively when the 'Mach 1 and Beyond' hedgehog was an incomprehensible blur - the ultimate moving target. The somewhat 'Sixth Sense' had become mutual between them and had progressed and grown into an almost telepathic bond.

Eggman had never given Metal a mouth, deeming that the one thing of Sonic's that he didn't want to replicate was his lippy attitude, and so the closest that anyone else had come to hearing 'a voice', as such, was a borrowed aesthetic tone that Metal had downloaded from another computer and that simply sounded like a Text-To-Speech voice.

No-one but Sonic had heard the true voice of Metal and Eggman had still not worked out if he was envious of that or not.

"...You know I'm not going to be staying here very long, don't you?"

Eggman shook his thoughts away. 

"Of course I do," he answered seriously. "Ira is a spoilt brat that reckons he's got this 'evil villainy' in the bag. Doesn't know the first thing about catching hedgehogs."

Sonic had climbed back onto his feet, having finished his private exchange with Metal, and was presenting a perfect Sonic 'smirk'. 

"Neither do you."

Eggman looked a little indignant. 

"I know more than him," he protested. "I told him you would break yourself out of there or someone would do it for you and I look forward to you proving me right. No pressure."

"Actually wanting me to break out..." Sonic laughed in amusement. "Never thought our time together would come to this, Egghead."

"I know you'll make quite a show of it, as is your style, but please don't wreck the place too much. I'm..." Eggman chuckled. "Well, I'm rather fond of the old lair."

Sonic glanced around sceptically. "...Where are we? I never asked."

"This... Pardon? Oh, er, this is Ira's room." Eggman was partially distracted by Sonic's results coming through. It amazed him that he had never had this oppurtunity before in his life. "Probably why you don't know it."

Sonic shook his head. 

"I meant... Outside," he reiterated. "Where are we?"

Eggman glanced up. His malicious smile was back.

"...Christmas Isle," he replied. "...Welcome home."

He didn't expect those words to mean anything to Sonic; the poor wretched creature wouldn't remember anything of his early years.

Sonic studied the room carefully, not reacting to Eggman's reply, as expected. 

"...This... was your first factory." It was as though a small, fleeting memory was trying to resurface but just couldn't quite make it...

"Is. It IS my first factory," Eggman sharply corrected. "Still functions perfectly well, thank you very much. There's still life in these walls."

"Don't kid yourself; there's never been 'life' in one of your places. It's all metal." Sonic shot a scathing glare at the robot hedgehog outside his container. "Just like you, rust-bucket."

All Eggman heard was a vicious grind of gears.

Sonic heard different.

"Hey, now!" he protested. "Your master over there wouldn't like to hear you say that. Foul-mouthed hog-bot."

Eggman was now engrossed in his work again and gave little attention to the antics of his robot and his arch enemy; Sonic's statistics were starting to come through on the screen, earning his full attention.

"Biologically speaking," he thought to himself, eyes widening as he took in the information, "Sonic's...dead."

His heart, the precious muscle that worked to pump all that blood around the body, appeared to be just like any ordinary heart, on first glance, beating away rhythmically a little on the fast side. During the scans, however, Eggman had managed to catch Sonic performing a few high-speed rolls around his glass prison and the recorded data revealed that, when on the move, that same heart rapidly increased to BPM levels that science claimed were just NOT possible for any living organism to survive. Then there were the muscles in his limbs…

"...Out of curiosity," Sonic's voice interrupted his train of thought, "what's baby Eggman brother actually hoping to do? I've been here a while now and, thanks to Metal, I've not been completely bored but it's come pretty close. He knows about the running thing, right? I gotta be excercised every half an hour and if that routine doesn't start soon, I'm gonna go stir crazy. You told him that right? Also, I'm not being funny, but when am I allowed a bathroom break? I mean, wild hedgehogs might be comfortable doing 'their thing' while they're out for a stroll in the woods but, while I'm considered wild, I'm not THAT wild. Could I get food too? I'm getting-"

"The fact that you've yet to be fed, have not had bathroom trips organised for you and have had little to no schedual arranged for your constant running regime can only suggest that the current situation is temporary," Eggman snapped, frustrated that a new message had now popped up on his comms. "Ira will be moving you."

The glass recieved an unfair kick from a mighty powerful leg.

"...He's taking his sweet time about it," the hedgehog grumbled, striding a lap of the dome and awaiting some sort of patronising remark from the only other conversing occupant of the room.

Eggman, however, had stiffened. His face was pinched, an ambivolent expression that was too conflicting to read.

"...What?" asked Sonic suspiciously.

Eggman's thick throat rippled as he swallowed.

"Nothing." He shook his head. "Just tired."

"Eeeegmaaan," Sonic sang. He was leaning upon his elbow, his face tilted down slightly, his emerald gaze boring like steel. "You said you know me. Well, I know you too. And I know something is bothering you."

Caught between a rock and a hardplace, Eggman could only shrug his shoulders and accept the impending outcome.

"...I'm sorry," he sighed.

His message had been from Ira. Ira was on his way to see them.

The unsuspecting Sonic scoffed. "Bit late for that, isn't it?"

"No, I'm... I'm sorry that..." Eggman found his words faltering and he gave up. "You're not going to like what's coming."

What was coming turned out to be a defiant looking fox, escorted by a smug looking human.

Sonic's reaction hadn't been the one that the Robotniks had been expecting.

They had been expecting a furious outcry, a rage-induced roar, or a few good glass bangs maybe.

Yet, strangely, neither he or Tails spoke.

There was no calling out to one another, no asking of their welfare, or anything.

It was silent communication.

Metal recoiled a little after having tried to gain access to Sonic's thoughts and been abruptly - forcefully - slammed out. Any communication beween Sonic and Metal Sonic had to be two-way and, for the moment, Sonic was barring all visitors. His face was expressionless and his eyes void of emotion. One might think he had transmogrified into a waxwork.

"You've upset him now." The encroaching silence was broken by Tails. "Tormenting Sonic never got Eggman anywhere."

"And it's rude to talk about someone when they're in the room," Eggman huffed, rubbing his temples.

"Just wanted to let you know that there's more at stake than just yourself, Sonic," Ira began, patronisingly patting Tails on the head and being thanked with a low warning growl. "Before we progress with anything, it's worth letting you know that cooperation is going to be the wisest course of action. Also," Ira turned to Eggman, "based on what I've learnt, I'd wager that the rest of Sonic's apparent 'friends' will be working out a way to get back at us for this so..."

"Us?" Eggman wheeled slowly around in his chair, gripping the arm rests tightly with both hands.

Ira held his hand out to his brother. "We're partners. In for a penny, in for a dime."

"Oh are we?" Eggman gasped sarcastically and gave a sneer. "My word, you've learnt nothing from me."

"I've learnt that two hostages are more effective against would-be rescuers than just one. You used to love playing those mind games on your enemies." Ira shoved Tails forward towards Metal Sonic and closed the doors. "That's what I was saying; the other 'heroes' will be less likely to plow straight in and ruin everything if they aren't certain of someone or other's assured safety and well-being."

"You'll make a mistake," Eggman sighed, turning back round, "I guarantee you'll make a mistake. You've already made one."

"What? Bringing the double-dorselled runt here?"

Eggman hissed as he sucked air through his teeth. "...And there's mistake number 2."

"What?"

"Sonic just heard what you said."

Sonic and Tails were still silently staring at one another, almost as though there were some telepathic connection between them too.

Ira certainly wasn't feeling too threatened and he let his brother know by coating his voice in sarcasm. "I'm terrified."

"Good. That lets me know you're not all stupid."

"Are you working with me on this or not?" Ira snapped, his temper fraying on its last fibres.

Eggman decided to open another game of Solitaire.

"Ask yourself that and get back to me."

Ira's mind was a web of conflicting pathways. Was he not carrying out everything correctly? Already he had caught Sonic and now Tails and, despite everything, his brother was dead-set on carrying out this research. Then there was the fact that he had command of the robots...

Anyone who knew anything would admit that Ira was a successful villain.

Why was Ivo still casting doubts?

Why was he so certain that he was going to fail?

...What catch had he seen... that Ira hadn't?

"You know something."

Eggman sniggered wickedly. "I know lots of things."

"...No," Ira murmured. "No, you... I know what this is!" Ira stamped his foot childishly. "You're trying to make me trip up. Make me doubt something. All these cryptic warnings and... and... and vague statements and questioning remarks... You're going to get me to overthink something. This is all a bluff. A double bluff! A triple bluff-"

"Ira?" Eggman called gently. "Look over to that container and tell me what you see."

Ira looked.

"Sonic."

"Right and you want to know what I see?"

Eggman rose to his feet and came to stand beside Ira, revealing that he was a centimeter or so taller. Lowering his voice to a breath, Eggman took his brother by the shoulders and moved his mouth close to his ear.

"I see an extremely rare and unfathomly powerful animal that I have yet to unravel and that has constantly thwarted every scheme and plan I've ever come up with and is, single-handedly, the individual responsible for my increasing stress and insanity over the past 25 years. That is a young, hyperactive ball of energy covered in virtually indestructable spikes with an overactive heart and muscles that are absoultely jacked. Trust me: I've been in many situations like this. It doesn't end the way you think it will. He was already ticked off with you before..." He drew away once more. "...Now you're endangering his closest friend."

Ira was sullen. "... I don't need you to watch my back."

"You're right," Eggman agreed. "Whatever's coming your way is going to slam into you from the front."

Ominous indeed.

"Tails is going to be staying in here with you," Ira then announced, as an afterthought, it seemed, as he blatantly ignored the sinister forebodence. "I figure if your data on him is correct, he might be able to help you with your research. Sonic will be moved to a more comfortable... container."

He looked to Metal Sonic expectantly.

Metal whirred, sent a sneaky glance at Eggman, then rooted himself before Sonic.

Tails winced as a sharp, high frequency squeal emitted from Metal's throat.

To the Robotnik brothers, all was silent.

To Tails, the high pitch tone was an unbearable irritation.

To Sonic, it would have been less painful if someone were hacking away at his inner ear with a meat cleaver.

With his hands pressed over his head, it only took a second for the hedgehog to crumple to the floor, unconscious and, bizarrely, Metal followed suit, collapsing with a clang and a bang.

"Ira!" Eggman cried out in protest. He leapt from his chair and scurried over to the robot, kneeling and protectively scooping it into his arms. "You can't make Metal do that unless its an absolute emergency! He's short circuited now!"

It was a flaw in Metal's construction - to render Sonic in such a state without physical contact, the robot had to channel all his power and overload his systems.

"You expected me to grab Sonic by the scruff of his neck and hope not to get bitten?" Ira laughed. "Metal Sonic will reboot it an hour or so when Sonic wakes up. Plenty of time."

Tails was just about ready to jump at him but he restrained himself, logically concluding that nothing productive would come from such an impulsive reaction. Even if Eggman didn't hinder the attack on his brother, Tails knew that, waiting outside the room, the very robot that had got a hold of him, squeezed the breath out of him, thrown him inside a inner compartment and had made a hasty retreat was ready to resume bruising Tails' lungs. Every robot, Tails had firmly told himself, would be against him, not realising that their Master wasn't who they thought it was.

That being said... where was Orbot and Cubot?

He looked down and studied the contraption that had been 'given' to him; he had a tight bracelet strapped to his wrist, a device that would prevent him from wandering past a certain energy barrier that surrounded the room he was in. One step outside the barrier and Tails would be out for the count - just as Sonic was as Tails' large robot came in and took the hedgehog away with Ira following behind, barely throwing a farewell over his shoulder.

There was little Tails could do apart from wait and watch and keep on the alert which meant, for now, cooexisting with Eggman.

The partnership of Tails and Eggman wasn't an unusual one and during the times when they were forced into an alliance against a common enemy, they had proven that their combined skills were a force to be reckoned with. This time, however, Eggman and Tails had been forced into an alliance against their will, as prisoners, and their goals could not have been more different.

Tails was focusing on helping Sonic, on looking for a way out and getting word to the others to make the certain oncoming rescue mission easier.

Eggman was focused on finding his own answers and, ultimately, work on his own plans.

Surprisingly, Sonic's treatment wasn't to Eggman's taste.

He wasn't calling for a little common decency or that the Blue Blur be comfortably accommodated in First Class or anything of the sort. Rather, Eggman merely wished that he, himself, be in charge of Sonic, as he felt was his right. A little part of him did take what Sonic had said to heart; what would happen if he were trapped for too long?

"As soon as you bottle the wind," he had mumbled to himself, "it ceases to be the wind."

"...'And the wind rendered me mad and deaf and blind'..."

Eggman blinked and turned a bewildered face toward the golden furred fox, leaning against an empty desk. "What?"

"If we were coming up with quotes about the wind..." Tails shrugged.

Eggman wrinkled his nose. "I was not inviting a conversation."

Tails had learnt to mask his fear of Eggman and, to the untrained eye, he appeared nonchalent. "...My quote was Edgar Allan Poe..."

"I don't care."

Now Sonic was gone, there wasn't much to occupy oneself with but Eggman didn't want to appear desperate by leaving the room just yet. He instead focused on what his brother had left behind, rising to his feet, still cradling his precious robot and checking him over carefully.

"A lot of good you've been for your rat of a friend," he quipped to Tails. "Didn't see you put up much of a fight."

"Sonic's a hedgehog," Tails snapped back. "And anyway, let Ira think I'm useless. People are easier to fool when they think you're weak. I've got quite far by being underestimated."

Lugging the heavy weight of Metal Sonic up onto a workbench, Eggman skillfully hid his bared teeth. Loath as he was to say, Eggman could not deny that Tails was right: many a plan had toppled simply due to leaving certain 'unimportant' chess pieces out of the picture.

Ira had the 'King' firmly in his grip, that was true, but even the so-called 'Pawns' had the power to triumph over other pieces, with or without a prominent commander.

Out of wanting something to do, Tails padded over to watch Metal's repair work. Eggman may not have wanted conversation, but there was no way Tails was going to sit like a good boy and roll with what was happening around him.

"So now it's just you and me, what's going on?" he asked suddenly, "Why are you and your apparent brother targeting Sonic all of a sudden? If it was power you were after, you could have just gone for Knuckles or Shadow or Silver or Blaze or... or anyone with that sort of power, I guess. What is it about Sonic that you're looking for?"

If he had been waiting for the scalding remark or a withering look, he was let down tremedously, for Eggman, considering Tails' question in his mind, set down his screwdriver and smiled.

"Did you know that Sonic shouldn't be alive?"

The fox flicked his left ear, uncertain he had heard correctly. "I'm sorry?"

Eggman waved a hand at the neightboring bench. "Pull up a chair - you'll want to get yourself comfy."

Half an hour later and Tails now knew the same story that had been told to Sonic.

He sat in silence, his brain whirring with new information about the one he claimed to know best.

Eggman, on the other hand, as if re-telling the story had been the final straw, thumped his fist upon the desk.

"It just NEVER MAKE SENSE!" he roared in his own frustration, unloading everything he had on his chest upon the young fox. "How?! How is it scientifically possible? He should be DEAD! There is no possible way... The Chaos Emerald erupted. Literally. Its entire power was detonated like a nuclear bomb. That was pure Chaos energy in its unadulterated base form, the very element that tears atoms apart like jigsaw pieces!"

A tool box was pushed to the ground, spilling its contents over the floor.

"I saw it with my own eyes," Eggman fumed. "We all did. There was nothing left of the emerald. Nothing. It emersed itself into Aleena and targeted those embryos like a lightning bolt - faster than you could blink!"

Now his voice became a whisper, the spent energy leaving him breathless. He stared at his hands, begging them with his eyes to give him the answers he craved.

"It was raw Chaos energy... It was raw. He should be dead. Sonic took the full amount of it, soaked it like a sponge, which spared his unborn brother and sister... He should have died. A living, breathing, grown creature could not have handled it... So how could he have survived? ... He shouldn't. He should have died in the womb. He should never have been born."

The jaw clenched and now his voice began to rise once more.

"But he was," he growled, straightening up and curling his hand into a fist. "The last of the litter to arrive... the first on his feet. As blue as the Chaos Emerald... It never made sense. It never MADE SENSE! He should be DEAD!"

Tails stepped away from the maddened man, a little more afraid of him now.

"You see how he vexes me?" Eggman whirled round to face him. "Do you see why his whole existance infuriates me? I saw his mother take the brunt of the energy. I heard her screams." Beads of sweat had formed on Eggman's forehead. His brow, permenantly wrinkled from the years of frowns he had laid upon it, quivvered as his eyes pulsed. "She should only have had two children," he panted, "But she didn't. She had three. She had Sonic. He lived." His rant now complete, Dr Eggman collapsed into a chair. "And ever since," he groaned, "I've dearly wanted to find out how."

On the wall, a dusty old clock ticked and tocked away, the hands grinding on... and on... and on...

"Sonic's special."

Eggman knew not if he should laugh or scream. "...Is that it? A young, intelligent man of science such as yourself and...that's it? That's all you can say?"

Tails had never asked for Sonic's story.

Never.

To him, it mattered little where Sonic came from or how he had aquired his speed.

All that did matter was that he had been there to save Tails from himself when no-one else could, naming him and, in Tails' own words, becoming 'his mother, his father... and his picket fence'.

Was Eggman expecting anything more?

So he asked, "What did you want me to say?"

The stinging truth was that Dr Eggman didn't know.

...Aboard the ARK, a genius at heart, wanting to unlock...the mysteries of life...I am the Eggman...

A quiet chortle echoed around the room.

"...Sonic's special," Eggman repeated Tails' words to himself.

Yes, if Sonic was anything, he was that.

As though in retaliation to this claim, Metal Sonic suddenly spurred back into life, his limbs jolting as his systems rocketed online, causing him to roll off the table and crash to the floor. Tails kept his distance, leant against the far wall while Eggman patiently waited for his beloved robot to gain a sense of mobilitiy.

"Feeling better?" he asked rhetorically, knowing full well that Metal was unlikely to answer him. Sure enough, the metal hedgehog cracked its joints and relished in the feeling of electricity bolting through his copper veins.

"If you're awake then that can only mean Sonic is waking up too," Eggman commented, more for Tails' benefit than for himself.

One set of silver claws lifted and gripped the table, using it as a purchase for heaving the rest of his spindly body up off the ground to stand on his red-painted feet. He slowy examined his surroundings, reestablishing his position, blindly ignoring Eggman but allowing his blood red glare to settle on Tails on the other side of the room.

Growling, he had only to take an aggressive step in the fox's direction before his creator cleared his throat.

"Metal?" he warned. "Not yet. If you want something to do, you can go and find out where my brother has stored your favourite organic."

Though Tails' presence was enough to drive Metal mad, the thought of Sonic surpassed any ill-will he may have wanted to bestow on the fox and he took his silent leave a mere few minutes after coming online.

Eggman resumed his position at the desk and did not utter a single word.

Tails knew there was plenty for him to tinker with and do in a research laboratory but with Eggman still here, how was he supposed to do anything to get word out to the others?

And how was he supposed to rescue Sonic?

Chapter Text

Drip.

Drip.

Splish.

Splish.

If nothing else, Sonic's new home was certainly musical... and a little cold.

Underneath the factory, Eggman, in his Dr Robotnik days, had constructed a stone waterway for his secret underground dealings with whichever dodgy lowlife who was attempting to bargain with him for five minutes of 'not being shot at or roboticised'. It was also a clever means of slipping a few battle-ready robots out without anyone noticing.

For Sonic, it was your classic medieval dungeon, complete with metal bars, chains hanging from the ceiling, no heating, iron rings in the walls and only a smattering of straw fresh from a barn.

Yet behind the mask of a draughty stone waterway dungeon there was a fully functioning secondary laboratory, a back-up lab, with strong electrictiy lines running from the higher levels to the discretely hidden desks and computers dotted about the place.

In time, Ira decided, he would arrange to have all the power restored to the factory so that the underground lab could function again but, in the meantime, he was more satisfied with watching a restless blue hedgehog pace his cage.

"Roomy enough for you?" he asked pleasently, making an obvious point in not addressing the issue of the manacled ankles that were lashed to the wall.

Sonic hadn't uttered a noise since waking up and his mouth was still firmly shut. It didn't mean, however, that his eyes weren't allowed to shoot glares at his would-be tormentor.

"Now come on," Ira pouted, "you haven't spoken a word to me since you got to the island. You can't give me the silent treatment forever, you know."

Sonic flicked an ear and turned his back.

"Come to think of it," Ira frowned, "the only time you did talk to me was a few days ago and before then you've never spoken to me. Ever. Not even when you were a little spike-ball."

He was trying, of course, to provoke the hedgehog into talking. Anything was better than being ignored.

"Don't you want to know?" Ira went on asking, hoping for a reaction. "Not interested in how you came to be all alone in the big bad world?"

Defiant silence.

"I'll give you a hint - it's thanks to me. My brother doesn't seem as threatening anymore, does he?"

Sonic was still standing motionless, his back to the human, not even gracing him with a movement from any of his quills.

"Go on then, ask away. I know you want to. You're dying to know what happened."

Drip.

Splish.

"Fine then. I won't tell you," Ira huffed. "But just get it through your thick skull that, as soon as I've got all I need from Ivo, your life's purpose will be to keep my life going."

His exit was watched in Sonic's peripheral vision but the hedgehog wouldn't turn until he was sure that he was gone.

Now by himself, the speedster bared his teeth and angrily growled, throwing his weight back against the bars of his cage and kicking his legs furiously. He had enough strength in his calves alone to snap a chain but when tightened with the wall, a surge of electricity shocked him, deterring further thoughts to pull at his bonds. 

If he were still alone in this mess, Sonic may have simply continued, regardless of what pain was dished to him but... he wasn't.

It was a dirty Robotnik trick to use close friends as leverage.

Thinking of Tails elicited another snarl and Sonic threw his stiffened spines against the bars again, more out of frustration than anything else. There were probably security cameras around but Sonic didn't care about that.

From the bars, Sonic turned his frustration towards the walls, arching his back and hissing as he rammed the stonework over and over again, gouging deep scratches where his quills had made contact. It wasn't until an old quill finally snapped and dropped to the floor that Sonic relented and stood on his wobbling legs, breathing deeply.

Several things had bombarded him over the course of a few days and it was starting to catch up with him.

Seeing Tails had been the final straw.

And somewhere, deep inside, his rage and frustration was dabbling the Chaos energy stored in his body, threatening to turn cobalt blue to navy.

One thing that Ira hadn't been expecting when entering his brother's study was the sudden appearance of Metal Sonic.

"Metal!" Ira gasped and smiled. "You made me jump. Hope you're all up and running again."

Sitting down at the computer, it took a mere second to realise that it was already switched on and, on screen, were the words:
"dOCtoR EGGMAN is nOt yOur PRisonEr, yOu sAiD?"

Ira swallowed as his throat went dry.

"I know it looks that way, but I assure you that it isn't so," Ira told the robot, trying not to tremble at the steely gaze of the red optics. He would have to match confidence with confidence. "I was not aware that your creator's well-being was a concern of yours."

The computer crackled a little.

"yOur oBjeCtIVes dO noT hArMOniSe. yOur goAL is unKnOWn."

Ira stroked his goatee. "...If I tell you MY goal, will you tell me my brother's?"

Metal's circuits gave a whirr.

"You do know what Eggman wants, don't you?"

"hE waNts whaT hAS aLwAYs beEn waNTed - thE cOmPLETioN oF hIS EmPire."

"I meant in regards to Sonic," Ira went on. "What is it that he wants with him?"

" ...tO be fReE oF SONIC's iNteRFEraNce buT iDEalLy NOt oF SONIC hIMsElf. "

It wasn't the answer Ira had been expecting.

"So he wants him alive - ideally. What for?"

The computer screen fizzed a bit as a momentary static gripped it.

"yOu aRe iN no poSitIon tO dEmanD anSweRS FRoM mE."

A cold droplet of sweat ran down the left hand side of Ira's face and he smiled falsely.

"...Of course," he chuckled nervously. "I... am not your master. I suppose there is only so much I am allowed to know."

Metal's head rotated to the side, eerily staring at Ira in a slight tilt.

"SONIC's liFe is tO kEep yOur liFe gOiNG. tHAt is whAt yOu SaID," he typed on screen.

Ira actually broke the skin on his lip as he gave it a particularly hard gnaw.

"And that is what you heard," he murmured, cursing that he had neglected to check for eavesdroppers. "Well, you're Sonic's virtual twin, programmed with his life data. Shouldn't you be able to deduce for yourself what 'Project Eclipse' is?"

At voicing his own plans, a slight moment of power uplifted Ira Robotnik slightly, his passion for what it was he was doing causing him to lose a fraction of his fear.

"In the event of a Solar Eclipse," he explained smugly, "the light of the sun is obscured by another celestial body, usually the moon, preventing it from reaching the earth, shrouding its people in darkness."

The click of the computer halted him.

"wHerEUpoN thE mOON rEtAIns aLL sUNLighT foR iTsELf."

"Exactly," Ira nodded. "Somehow, Sonic absorbed all the raw Chaos Energy of an imploding Chaos Emerald, preventing the untimely death of both his siblings and his mother. That was before they met me, of course. My brother will find out how Sonic was able to be born and, when he does, I shall use that information to unlock the secret of eternal life."

"nO hUMan or aNIMal sHoULD poSSesS knOWlEdGe suCh As thAt."

"Who is to say that I will still be called human when I cure myself of time. All living creatures die; they're imperfect. Robots die too - there is evidence of that down in these factory vaults. Calling myself a human when I have the powers of immortality would be... insulting."

Metal hadn't moved but his optics continued to flicker and pulse.

"do yOu imPLy thAt SONIC is IMmoRtAL?"

Ira paused, counting the seconds that passed until he was sure that he had come to a reasonable conclusion.

"...Not his physical body, no."

Metal Sonic straightened and turned smoothly to leave.

" i wiLl reSUmE gUardIaNshIP oF yOur FoUNtaIn oF youTh. "

"There's no need," Ira called after him. "You are free to leave now."

The text on the computer screen said otherwise.

"i dO iT foR My OWn dEsirEs. NOt yoUrS."

The doors swept open with barely a breath while Orbot and Cubot hovered above the threshold proudly.

"And voila!" Orbot chirruped, moving to one side as Sonic's friends filed through, one by one.

"Much obliged, I'm sure," Blaze murmured by way of thanks.

Omega was bringing up the rear, not as grateful for the assisstance as the others were.

"I am perfectly capable of supplying robotic expertise," he felt the need to growl as he approached the door, making sure to narrow his red eyes at Eggman's two lackeys.

"We're sure you are," Orbot assured the larger robot. "We're...well, we just wanted to help."

Of all the allies, Omega harboured the most personal grudge against any Eggman robot, dismissing them as traitorous filth to be destroyed if they chose to serve their creator. While Orbot and Cubot were the least objectional creations that Eggman had made, Omega still resented them for doing the evil man's bidding and he made sure to let them know about it.

"Recall that you are here to guide us to Sonic and nothing more," he warned the two robots. "There is no place for turncoats among us."

"But we ain't wearing coats..." Cubot whined.

Ignoring the stupidity of the yellow henchman, Omega lifted his great chest and strode confidently through the door, his swinging arms and his heavy footfall making it clear that he was superior to the smaller, more slender, robots.

"Touchy fellow, isn't he?" Orbot commented to his partner.

"They say there's always a rebel in every family," Cubot agreed. "Typical E-Series."

"Now, Cubot, show a little respect. Dr Eggman was very proud of the E-Series, despite the trouble some of them caused him." Orbot took off his invisble hat and solemnly held it to his chest. "Rust well, E-Series."

Meanwhile, the Allies were making short work of ransacking the workshop for anything that would help. There were EMP blasters, laser cutters, saw-blades... anything and everything that someone might need; Tails had been impossibly busy over the years since his younger adventuring days. The only question remaining...

"Who knows how to fly a plane?" asked Shade, scratching her head thoughtfully as she looked up at the mighty Tornado which took centre position in the middle of the huge workshop.

"I can!" Charmy announced proudly. "Tails gave me flying lessons. I can pilot the Tornado no problem!"

"That won't be able to take us all," Big mumbled. "Some of us are... Erm... Heavy."

"Doesn't he have some kind of airship? Passenger plane?" Silver asked desperately, looking through Tails' aircraft files. "Hot air balloon?"

"I know who does have an airship," Knuckles grunted, glancing out the window, "but the day I ask them for help is the day I roll over and chuckle."

"Who?" Amy asked, joining Knuckles.

The thrum of engines drowned out the natural birdsong outside as a large shape appeared in the sky, shrouding Tails' house and workshop in a chilly shadow. The pink hedgehog ground her teeth and released a large sigh.

"Oh," she groaned, "them."

The Babylon Rogues descended in their usual fashion: with flair and pomposity, dancing their way down on the air currents as they perched on their extreme gear.

"You might just have to chuckle, Guardian," Espio murmured in sympathy.

"Look, we'll handle this," Amy told them, heading towards the doors. "You carry on getting ready."

Like Cerberus guarding the gates of hell, Amy and Knuckles stood beyond the workshop hanger doors, gazes fixed upon the great Babylon Airship that took anchor a short distance away.

Jet was in the lead, as usual, hopping off his board and tucking it under his wing to stand proudly with his chest feathers fluffed up for maximum show.

"Now this is quite a crowd," he said in greeting, nodding towards the workshop where the ally group was nearing the completion of their preperations.

Amy tactfully stifled a sigh. 

"What do you want, Jet?" she asked, not exactly politely but not exactly rudely either.

The green coloured hawk clacked his beak a little.

"Heard the news about Sonic," he snipped hurriedly, tightening his hold on his board.

Amy shrugged.

"So, what, you came to give your commisserations?" she asked with a frown. "Now's not the good time for a face-rubbing."

"Yeah, we guessed that," Storm murmured in his deep voice. "That's why we're here." His grey feathers floofed in aggitation when his echidna rival cracked a fist in his direction.

"I'm warning you, featherbags," Knuckles growled, "if you try and stall us..."

"Nah, Red, nah!" Storm dismissed with a firm head shake. "Just wanted to hear what was what, is all. Right, Jet?"

"Right," agreed his leader. "Can't have our favourite boarding rivals down a racer, can we?"

Knuckles grunted in sheer annoyance. "We haven't got time for any of this. If you want to help us find Sonic and Tails, on the other hand..."

"The Shrimp too?" Wave commented in surprise, speaking up for the first time since their arrival. "What on earth has been going on while we've been away?"

"The media don't know about Tails yet," Amy admitted. "Won't be long before they do."

Storm cocked an eyebrow at Knuckles.

"So you're all that's left of Team Sonic, eh Red?" he whistled. "Boy, wouldn't like to be you - I'd be worried about turning my back. Anyone out to be rid of you yet?"

"Knuckles isn't all that's left of Team Sonic," Amy made quick work to inform. "The rest of the Allies are joining forces to find him and Tails. Are you in?"

Jet poked a tongue and ran it along the sharp upper edge of his beak.

"As a matter of fact," he replied, "the real reason we're here was to offer a wing of support."

"And what's in it for you? What do you want?" asked Knuckles suspiciously.

Much like Rouge, the Babylon Rogues were kleptomaniacs and had a cargo of stolen goods up on their airship. Favours were only given in return for something shiny or valuable or, preferably, both.

Jet, on the other hand, flexed an unused wing muscle (for Mobian anthropomorphic birds seldem flew on their own anymore) and tapped a foot. 

"All I need from you chumps is a good race once everything is over," he answered. "Think you can fork that over?"

Despite himself, Knuckles smirked. "You know we'll throw it down any time, any place, beak-lips."

"Then that's settled." He twirled his gear and looked beyond Knuckles and Amy. "Is there anything we can do to help, allies?"

Knuckles could feel Amy's eyes on him.

 "...Actually," the echidna sighed, "we've a favour to ask..."

At which point, he gave in and let out a half-hearted chuckle.

Chapter Text

The house was far too quiet and empty; even the chiming of the mantlepiece clock wasn't enough to provide any real sense of comfort.

For the first time in all her life, Rouge felt lonely.

Curled up in her chair with her wings standing in as a make-do blanket, she could only resort to the power of television to distract her but even that was proving difficult as every news story would only prattle on about Sonic's abduction and the thought of an impending attack from Eggman. If it weren't for the Sonic Allies, the chances were there would be panicked citizens rioting in the streets shouting that the world was as good as doomed.

"...till no news on the whereabouts of Sonic the Hedgehog. The President has issued a worldwide petition for anyone who has any information to come forward..."

Rouge shook her head. She could only imagine the headlines if they discovered Tails was also gone:

"PANIC RISES AS SONIC THE HEDGEHOG'S DEVOTED PARTNER IS TAKEN!"
"ATTACKER STRIKES AGAIN - MILES "TAILS" PROWER DECLARED MISSING!"
"HOG-SNATCHER TURNS FOX-SNATCHER: IS ANYONE SAFE!?"
"ALLIES PUT UNDER GOVERNMENT PROTECTION AS SECOND DEFENDER IS TAKEN!"

All Rouge could do was hope that her friends would all be ok and not foolish enough to throw themselves into a stupid situation. Knuckles, especially, had to be back safe in order to be there for the birth of his child.

The bat shifted uncomfortably. In a way, she had to confess, she wasn't really alone anymore.

A much younger Rouge might have said that a baby was nothing more than a cute parasite which stole the food a mother ate and would continue to rob you of your life for the years that followed after its birth. She hadn't even considered if she was ready or not to start a family but, that was that. It had happened.

And trust Omega and Shadow to find out before her!

All they knew about the baby was that it was an echidna - or a small brick as far as Rouge was concerned. As far as gender went, no-one had a clue.

Her computer gave a trill, snatching her attention away from the TV. Muting it, Rouge climbed to her feet and tiredly opened the sent message.

"Rouge," read the message, "we're headed to the Abandoned Isles to rescue Sonic and Tails. You're in charge until we get back. Probably best you rest up and don't get involved in this. Love you. Knuckles X."

They had gone without her!?

"That rotten, no-good, spike-fisted, big-headed, mud-digging, lipstick coloured SWINE!" she shrieked, pinning back her ears and flapping her leathery wings angrily.

Another blip on the screen. Another message.

"PS. Shadow told me to send you this message after we'd left so there was no chance of you talking me out of it. In a funny way, I kinda miss you bat-girl. Stay safe - both of you. We'll see you when we get back."

"Oh and that sooty, soft-brained, quill covered ball of-! Ultimate Lifeform MY BACKSIDE!"

In her frustration, Rouge drew back her manicured paw and smacked a vase clean off the desk she was sat at.

"Traitors! Every last one of them are traitors. Surrounded by traitors!" As an afterthought, Rouge gently put her hand on her stomach. "You're going to have to learn this one day, kid," she murmured, "you can't trust anyone. And it's thanks to you that I'm suddenly told to sit down like a good little girl and snuggle up safe and warm."

It went to show just how emotional she was starting to feel as a hot-blooded determination rose up from inside.

"Rest up and don't get involved, eh?" she hissed to herself.

So just because she was 'with child' she had to roll over and play the helpless damsel? Stand on the train station in her flour-stained apron and wave her dainty handkerchief as her beloved went off to war without her?

If Rouge was anything, she was a rebel. She knew it was risky and she knew she'd get into trouble, but she was a woman scorned and she reasoned that a little back up was better than no back up.

Just as if she'd gone back in time and returned to her teenage years, Rouge went sneaking from the house and hurried up the shrine to the Master Emerald. She knew it was her husband, really, that could truly communicate with the mighty jewel but they had been married for three years and surely that was enough time for the Master Emerald to establish a connection.

Mind you, the Master Emerald was (pretty much) Rouge's in-law and some in-laws (not all) needed time to warm up to new family members. Standing in front of the Master Emerald, Rouge felt shy for the first time.

Viewing the stone as a treasure was easy. Viewing it as a part of the family suddenly made things awkward.

"So, er..." she gulped, thinking how Knuckles addressed his charge. "...Mighty Master Emerald? I... I'm worried about your Guardian and the rest of our friends. Tell me, please, where are Sonic and Tails? How much danger are they all in for? I know they can handle themselves but I'm... unsure."

The Master Emerald was shining a little brighter, sensing Rouge's distress and the precious life she was carrying.

"Is there anything you can tell me? Anything at all?"

Staring into the glass facets of the emerald, admiring their lustrous shine, she was reminded of Knuckles' unease when the Master Emerald had started getting 'twitchy'. Perhaps it had pre-sensed the calamity with Sonic. Perhaps it was something different.

As for right now, the Master Emerald... said nothing.

Rouge sighed in defeat. What right did she have to demand things from the Master of all Emeralds anyway? If she was going to do something worthy of a Sonic Ally, she was going to have to do it like everyone else did it:

Wing it.

"O' wind, beautiful wind, I want to see you.
Where you come from, where you go, You bring his thoughts while you blow.
I grow weary for I miss him. Bring the message of my dreams.
O' wind, beautiful wind, I want to see you.
I can feel you but wish to touch you. I can hear you but wanna talk to you.
When you pass by me, I feel my love's touching me.
O' wind, beautiful wind, I want to see you."

"What you waffling on about?" Wave asked, pausing as she strode by Amy who was sat in a window seat with a book in her paws.

Amy did her level best not to appear annoyed and, keeping a calm demeanor, she simply turned the page. 

"I'm not waffling. I'm reading."

Birds didn't have visible noses to wrinkle but they could twitch their beaks to give a similar expression.

Giving such an expression, Wave rolled her eyes. "Sounded slushy."

"It was a romantic poem about the wind."

A mischevious sparkly appeared in Wave's eye.

 "...Oh." Sniggering behind her glove, the swallow continued on towards Jet's room.

"Joanna Kantharia, if you're interested," Amy called after her.

"Which I'm not."

Knuckles only dimly recalled Wave passing by him with a smug air of authority but, otherwise, the activities of the others were ignored and he remained a silent figure in the corner, casually daydreaming out the window, watching the blue ocean pass by and trying hard not to think of Angel Island nor of what kind of precarious situation his best friends had been thrown into.

"I said, how far out are these islands?" Shadow's voice sounded irritably beside him, finally drawing his attention.

The Ultimate Lifeform did not like to be ignored but none had the stomach to tell him that his planted hands on hips, the tilt of the head and the slow foot-tapping resulted in an uncanny resemblance to Sonic.

It was still unclear as to why the three male hedgehogs bore suck striking similarities.

"Don't know, I've never been there, myself," Knuckles hurriedly replied. "Tails has."

"Doesn't help us much, now does it?" Shadow sighed, still looking and sounding like Sonic.

Perhaps, Knuckles thought to himself, it was Shadow's way of coping. 

"You never asked for help though, did you?" he said aloud. "Guess the ones you'd have to ask are Orbot and Cubot."

The two Eggman robots were up front with Jet, steering the Hawk in the direction to go and keeping out of Omega's way as much as possible. Shadow had thought about cornering them and getting a little information but...

"...Getting worried yet?"

Knuckles raised an eye. "About what?"

"About what you're going to have to deal with when you get back home," Shadow smirked, resuming his more Shadow-like stance once again.

The echidna, to Shadow's worry, smirked back. 

"Don't worry," he assured him, "I implied it was your idea."

"You went and did what?"

"Ah, you can handle her. She's one of your best friends, isn't she?"

"She's your wife!"

"Who was it again that wanted to set us up six years ago? Uh... Oh, yeah. You."

"And in my attempt at humour, I foolishly thought it would be funny."

"And now look where we are. Karma does that."

The argument was interrupted by Jet's voice over the loudspeaker: 

"Ladies and gents, this is your Captain speaking." The Sonic Allies each took turns to either roll their eyes or mutter something under their breath, wondering just how long Jet had waited to refer to himself as Captain of a ship. "We're coming up on the Abandoned Isles and beginning our descent. Our destination is Christmas Isle, coming up on the left."

"That bird is all beak," Knuckles huffed.

"So to recap," began Espio. "We're still going in two teams, yes?"

"Team 1 should go in first," Knuckles nodded. "Punch a way open, clear out the germs, make a path for the next team or, failing that, provide a handy distraction."

"Which is where we come in," Blaze took over. "Team 2 storms the castle, discovers the location of Sonic and Tails, meets back up with Team 1 - with or without the dynamic duo, depending on how much we're able to accomplish."

Vector rolled one his shoulders. "Then it's a final smash, grab and leg it, right? From the sounds of things, this place of Eggman's won't have that much power. Don't reckon the Robotniks have all their robots up and running yet."

"Don't forget about Metal," Amy cautiously warned, hugging her poetry book to her lap. "He's in there somewhere."

It was a discomforting thought; most of the team hadn't had to deal with Metal Sonic for years.

"Time check?" Silver asked quietly to which Espio replied,

"7:32pm."

Knuckles rapped his namesake against the door of the 'Captain's Cabin' "Take her down."

"Sonic died."

It was the revelation of the century.

Eggman and Tails sat across from one another, either staring into one another's eyes or staring off into nothing, unable to comprehend Eggman's wild conclusion from the data they had studied.

Thanks to Metal, Eggman was able to send for more blood and fur samples from the Prison, ordering for them like a customer at a restraunt which, truth be told, made Tails' insides fold over. He had refused to picture what it was Metal had to do to collect such samples from Sonic but this new statement from his brother's arch nemesis was now consuming his thoughts.

"He died," Eggman repeated, breaking from Tails' gaze and drifting off into his own fantasies. "I said it wasn't possible for him to have survived and... and I was right. He didn't survive. He died in the womb. The Chaos energy instantly killed him - just like I said."

He had been stooped over his microscope like an old piano player could be seen stooped over his ancient instrument, one hand twisting dials and the other tapping away at the computer beside it, bleeping out the results from the many tests done on Sonic's blood. After one such tweet from the screen, Eggman had then lifted his head, stared at the fox in front of him and had annoucned his discovery.

"Moves pretty well for a dead hedgehog," Tails murmured, not certain whether to believe him or not. His emotions were in constant turmoil, refusing to do anything to aid the Robotnik brothers and yet still curious as to what Eggman would discover while also being furious with himself for not doing anything to try and help Sonic who was slowly being sucked dry of blood at this rate.

"...The embryo died." Eggman was still talking to himself at this point - or so Tails' thought. "What is an embryo?"

"An unborn baby," Tails answered with a frown, walking round to read the computer screen.

"But more than that," Eggman pressed. "What is an embryo?"

"A fetus," Tails answered again. "A collection of living cells that are growing together to form a completely new individual." His voice was quieter now that he saw the information on the screen for himself.

The energy inputs in comparison to the extreme energy outputs was astonishing. Sonic, much like Shadow and Silver, could absorb residue Chaos Energy like a sponge, soaking it up in areas where you would not think a Chaos Emerald could possibly be. Sonic had been here for several days, away from Chaos Emeralds - there was nothing for him to abosrb and yet the readings indicated that... Well, he didn't need to absorb anything. His body readouts were showing signs of Chaos Energy radiating from his own self.

"...'New'... " Eggman echoed, repeating what Tails had said, drifting off into his own thoughts yet again. "A growing embryo. Not fully formed. Alive, but not ready to live. It's a pure soul."

"...I... I guess so."

"They say an embryo's heart begins to beat before the mother even knows its there." Eggman took a step back, his genius mind whirling. "And that was enough for the Chaos Emerald."

Tails read and then re-read the computer results but he wasn't able to change their meaning.

It was just as Eggman had told him: "The embryo that was meant to be Sonic died. Couldn't handle the energy, like I said. ... But he hadn't grown - he'd been growing... All his parts, his DNA, his blueprints... they were all there. So what does the powers of Chaos choose to do? It killed an innocent, unborn life... What does it do?"

Silence.

"...Brings it back," Tails replies, the dawning of realisation coming upon him. "Sonic died..." such words didn't sound right, "and Chaos energy... brought him back to life."

"Not just that," Eggman grunts. "Chaos energy completely reconstructed him. It killed the embryo so, to make up for it, it takes the DNA and the genes and the blueprints and simply fixes it. Carries on the work that Aleena's body now can't do for a dead child."

The laugh in the room comes from Eggman, but it isn't real. It's forced.

"Sonic was literally born of Chaos. Runs through his veins like lifeblood."

Silence.

"Interesting."

Chapter Text

Metal was back again. He watched his organic 'twin' balancing perfectly on his hands in an elegant handstand in the centre of his cell, head hanging between his shoulders and his strong back arched as he bent his powerful legs over behind him. It was as though he were in the middle of a yoga workout.

"Haven't you taken enough?" Sonic sighed, a murmur befitting some kung-fu master as he spoke to a potential challenger. "If Eggman wants more he's going to have to drain it from my cold dead body because I'm done."

"No more blood samples are needed."

Metal Sonic's voice always seem to echo in the back of Sonic's head, slow and quiet, whenever the robotic hedgehog telepathically communicated with him. Prolonged conversation was a quite literal headache.

"So, he's got all he wants?" Sonic smiled grimly, stretching one leg up in the air and then the other with barely a wobble in his taught arms. "Good for him."

"Would you like to know?"

"Know what?"

"What he has found."

Sonic gave a scoff and continued his balancing routine like the natural gymnast he was, continuing to exercise his legs above him and turning on his palms as though he were showing off in the Olympics, lost in his own little dance.

"I have high amounts of Chaos energy thanks to being influenced by a Chaos Emerald before I was born. I don't need to know more than that," he replied sharply, lifting up onto one hand to stretch his arm out, keeping his balance, then repeating the process with the other hand. "If you're really in the mood to answer some questions though," Sonic then muttered, "then, by all means, answer me two things - where is Tails and is he okay?"

From within Metal's throat sounded another harsh clunk. 

"Your companion is with Doctor Eggman," he replied. "I have not bothered to check his status."

"Then go do that, would you?"

With a ferocious snarl, Metal Sonic slashed at the bars, almost ripping them from their place.

"How dare you try and give me instructions, inferior animal!" he roared, privately trying to override his initial programming that kept him from working outside his coded perimeter and work freely as he had once done before, when he no longer needed commands. Having spent so long out for the count, the overriding process was taking a while.

"Sorry," Sonic smirked, twisting his neck to peek at Metal in an upside down position, not at all sorry. "I just thought that, since you're taking orders from everyone else, a quick skip up to the lab and a friendly 'how are you?' was an easy enough errand." 

The blue hedgehog shivered and recoiled as a piercing, high-pitched noise stung his brain. It took a lot of effort not to fall.

"...I am taking no orders."

Not appreciating Metal's retaliation, Sonic did his best to shake it off and smile again. "Says Egghead's data delivery boy. And the only thing that the other moron up there hasn't had you doing is his laundry. You've been threatening me a lot with talk of having your own 'desires' as you call them but, face facts: you're all talk at the moment."

A more timid person would have folded under the glare of Metal Sonic.

"I suppose you can't be blamed. You have been shut down for nearly ten years, after all, so the old processor is probably a bit rusty, eh?"

"Very soon," Metal promised, "I won't have need of any orders. I will be free to do what I like - and the first thing I'll do is cut out your tongue."

Sonic pulled in his chin and dropped into a roll, his momentum bringing him back up on his feet whereupon he turned and leant his shoulder against the wall, folding his arms and crossing his ankles in a leisurely 'cool-guy' pose.

"Then I'll be giving you a lot of grief up here, buddy," he purred in his head.

Metal may have been preparing a comment back but he was interrupted by the arrival of Ira, striding in confidently, his pride at assuming near total command of the facility practically radiating off him in palpable waves.

"Afternoon, boys," he greeted cordially, planting himself beside the robot at a safe but polite distance. "How is my future life support system doing?"

His question, directed at both hedgehogs, robot and biological, went unanswered audibly. Sonic's quills tightened slightly but, besides that, he made no move to bother saying anything. He sprang up at the metal bars over his head, as though he were working on his upper body strength but rather than do that, he instead flipped round with natural acrobatic grace and hooked his calves over to hang like a bat. The ankle chains tinked musically as he did so.

Ira scratched at his toilet-brush eyebrows. 

"Full of spirit and energy, I see," he chuckled dryly. "Good, good. I hope the exercise facilities have been to your liking?" 

The giant hamster wheel at the back was a recent eyesore.

"Tell him to get lost," Metal heard in his head as Sonic started to exercise on the bar.

"Tell him yourself, coward."

Ira gave an indignant hiss as he heard the internal clicking of Metal's processor replying to an invisible message. 

"It's rude to talk behind someone's back."

"Who's talking behind whose back?" Sonic smiled, closing his eyes and keeping his mouth firmly shut.

"Metal Sonic?" Ira growled. "What is he saying?"

Unfortunately, the computer was upstairs in the office. Metal stared impassively up at the human and said not a word.

"Well... Well, it doesn't matter." Ira folded his arms and stuck his Robotnik nose in the air. "It doesn't matter because my brother has been making progress. He thinks he knows how you survived being born."

"The same way any other baby survives being born," Sonic muttered inaudibly. "The sheer will to live is just too darn worthwhile."

"And as such," Ira continued, "I now am one step closer to harnessing the extent of that information."

"Worthwhile?" Metal growled, not letting Ira know about their continued communication by keeping his attention on the man. "A helpless sack of meat that needs air to live is hardly a worthwhile life."

"But at least it IS life and we're born with that. Machines like you have to learn it. Like Omega did. And Gamma."

"By the end of the week," Ira crowed. "When the Blue Chaos Emerald is in my possession, you and I will be ready to begin Project Eclipse."

Sonic stopped exercising. He dropped back down and took a gulp from his beaker of water.

"You may be wondering what Project Eclipse involves," Ira said, aware that the blue hedgehog wasn't going to be answering him. "You'll spend the rest of eternity wired and plugged into a machine. Using an artificial circuit, your blood will be extracted, your biological Chaos energy will be filtered from it, and your blood will then be refortified with the energy from the Blue Chaos Emerald where it will return to you to be naturally processed back into your own energy. Then the cycle will begin again. The energy bled from you will be used to keep me alive and healthy for millennia."

Ira's intent was that Sonic would either recoil in fear, in disgust, in loathing, or lash out in fear, in disgust, in loathing.

The hedgehog did neither. As though he hadn't even heard the man, Sonic stood beneath the single light bulb in his cell, straightening his spine and stretching his quills in pleasure, completely at ease with his place in life. Ira's patience had long been gone, utterly spent, so he did not break down into fits of anger as one may have predicted he would.

"Tell him that, would you?" he muttered to Metal, gliding away to deal with other business. Metal Sonic hardly had to tell Sonic anything.

"Why do these science freaks keep forgetting that I'm not the only Chaos Being alive?" Sonic complained, kicking his running wheel to start it spinning.

"You're speaking of the Ultimate Lifeform and the Hedgehog from the Future, aren't you?"

"Is that your way of admitting that you can't remember their names?" Sonic laughed. "It's like these guys don't even think about Shadow and Silver. And it's not just them; what about Knuckles? He's got gallons of Chaos energy running through him."

"The Echidna's energy is impermeable. The Master Emerald protects him. As for your fellow hedgehogs... I do not believe they were born with their own energy; it is only absorbed via the Chaos Emeralds and stored for later use. Their bodies do not create it naturally."

"So? What difference does that make?"

"Have you so little interest in how it is you are able to function, Sonic? Is there nothing about you that you are not bothered by?"

"Well, yeah!" Sonic nodded, jumping in the wheel and starting a 'strolling' jog for his chained ankles prevented him from running at too high a speed. "I mean, I've always wondered why, despite my colouring, I look good in practically anything I wear. You ever see a blue hedgehog work an orange onesie and purple crocs? I almost made the front page in the newspaper with that."

There was no answer. Metal had excused himself.

"Seems I lose more friends that way." Regardless, Sonic almost had all that he needed. He just needed to wait for the right time to escape.

As had been previously said, the vast majority of Christmas Isle was flooded. The rising sea levels had claimed most of the land and where thriving towns had dwelt there now remained only a smattering of little buildings, huddled like penguins in the centre of the isle, the residents being too old or too sentimental to abandon their place of birth. Yet fleeing was still an option open to them, not because of the ever increasing risk of being flooded, but because of the threat of a familiar menace.

Overshadowing the hamlet was a large hill which had long since sheltered the people from bitter storm winds and back in Mobian history small children would oft run up the hill to play.

None would dare do such a thing now. For upon the hill stood the ever watching Robotnik Factory, an ominous crumbling ruin of metal which had thrown its skeletal presence down upon the island for the good part of 30 years. It forebodingly reminded the people of when it was dangerous to go out alone, of when the risk of slavery hung over everyone's heads, of when it was perilous to even think of wandering near the place for fear that you might never been seen again - in an organic state.

Though the factory had been (supposedly) abandoned, the remaining Mobians on Christmas Isle had felt a new unease creep over them; sounds had been heard from the factory.

A short distance away, the Babylon Rogues had 'parked' their craft near the shore and the would-be rescuers were in sight of the village. The fields all around were dry and barren and the only movement came from a chilly wind that made the creaking trunks of the ancient spruce trees wobble.

"For a place called Christmas Isle," Charmy remarked, "it doesn't have a lot of cheer, does it?"

"Name comes from the old speech," Espio, beside him, replied, reading from a small article he had printed off from the data bank. "Chriso and Masme. Chrisomasme Island."

"And what does that mean?" asked Big to which Espio simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Like I have any idea. People just figured it's easier to call it Christmas Isle."

"Chrisomasme," Shade echoed quietly, humming to herself. "Sounds like ancient Hedgehog tongue." To the looks of surprise she was given, Shade rolled her eyes. "I was there you know, 4000 years ago," she told them. "I remember hedgehogs being the planet's dominant species before their decline."

"I have it on file that there were more of the echidna species at that time."

"Hedgehogs were the more dominant species - not necessarily the most numerous."

"So what does Chrisomasme mean then?" Knuckles asked her, partly wishing no-one had opened their mouth in the first place.

"Don't ask me!" Shade scoffed. "I barely got by with figuring out what my own kind were saying, let alone the dialect of another species." She then gave a very pointed look at Knuckles.

The Echidna tribes developed their own accents and expressions back in the ancient times and those of the Nocturnus Clan often made a point of pointing out how primitive those of the Knuckles Clan spoke. Knuckles, of course, was blissfully unaware of this and could not fathom why Shade looked at him with such frustration.

"That's Eggman's laboratory, yes?" Shadow was the one to steer the focus back on the mission at hand, glowering up at the shadowy ruin of a building at the top of the hill.

Hovering in front, Cubot started a sarcastic slow clap.

"Let's give the Ultimate round of applause for this guy." It was quite the wrong thing to say.

"Making fun of me, you oversized paper weight?" the Ultimate Lifeform growled warningly.

"Stow it, Shadow. We haven't got time for this," Amy sighed and then faced Orbot. "How do we get inside without being noticed?"

Orbot cleared his robotic throat and began to explain. "Most of the..."

"Most of the outside security systems will be non-functioning to conserve power." Omega was still feeling sour, it seemed and he hadn’t appreciated Cubot’s sarcastic clapping at Shadow.

Orbot twitched an optic. "However..."

"However since the capture of Sonic the Hedgehog, we may presume that many security systems will have been brought online within the base of operations."

Planting his hands on where his hips would have been, Orbot lifted his head. "...Fortunately..."

A long pause ensued.

Omega wrung his hands together. 

"...Fortunately..." he finally repeated, fumbling for words. "Fortunately..." Orbot was readying a triumphant robotic smirk. "...The weather forecast promises clear skies for the rest of the evening."

"...Fortunately," so Orbot triumphantly smirked, "Cubot and I know another way in that bypasses the main security system and avoids the robot sentries."

Omega tried persuading himself that he had been just about to say that.

"Team 1 goes in first with one of these guys and Team 2 follows later with the other, right?" asked Silver, stretching his arms in readiness, eager to channel a little of his energy into doing something relatively worthwhile.

Knuckles gave a firm nod. "Right. Ball bot, lead the way."

Deeming that it was to him that Knuckles was addressing the statement, Orbot lead the way towards the factory, making a point to assure the echidna later that he was no Ball Bot.

While Team 2 waited for the signal to move in, a purple coloured swallow was watching the events from one of the windows of the airship. They had been so eager to scramble off their craft without so much as a thank you and for what? To loiter about in the open?

"So what are we actually doing here, Jet?" she asked sharply, folding her wing arms over her chest. "You want me to go look around that village for anything worth our time?"

Jet was in his usual position, lounging like a king in his chair, feet kicked up on the desk in front of him. 

"We're already doing something worth our time," he told her, eyes closed, rolling a golden coin around his fingers.

"Come on, boss, I'm bored!" Storm complained, kicking at the rug from behind the hawk. "Can't we go grab something to eat?"

"There's nothing out there, Storm. You won't find a guy selling hot dogs on this island."

"Well I didn't want hot dogs..."

"Just sit down and pipe up!" Jet snapped, throwing a kick in the direction of the Albatross' whinging. "We've got a job to do, you know."

"Are you being serious?" Wave groaned. "You're actually, genuinely, being serious?"

Jet opened one blue eye at her. "About what?"

"Helping these guys!" Wave gestured a firm hand toward the window where Team 2 were still awaiting their call to action. "Helping these guys rescue Sonic, of all people. You're being serious about all of that."

Jet smiled and closed his eye once more, tilting his head back against the velvet of the chair.

"Tell me one thing, Wave," he murmured through his beak. "When was the last time you had the most fun out of life?"

A little insulted, Wave gave a huff, "What's that supposed to mean?"

The emerald coloured hawk stopped playing with his coin and stared up at the ornate ceiling of his office.

"Just for a second," he said quietly, "think about everything you've done. When have you had the most fun?"

"I don't know," Wave shrugged. "When I race, I guess."

"And when have you had the most fun racing?" The awkward pause was enough to tell Jet that he had Wave on that one and she knew it.

"...That's not the point." Wave turned her head away to stifle a furious frown. "Competition requires rivals and you're making it very hard to distinguish rival from friend."

Jet let out a chuckle. 

"You don't count them as your friends?" he asked teasingly.

"I sometimes wonder if I count you two idiots as my friends," Wave pecked back.

"I'm your friend, Wave," Storm piped up, crawling out from behind Jet's chair towards her. "Promise."

Wave leant against the wall and chanced another look towards Team 2. 

"Yeah, well..." she began but wasn't entirely sure what it was she wanted to say. "Well, whatever. This is still stupid."

"Wanna know something?" Wave and Storm looked at their leader who had just spoken. "Me and Sonic are one thing but you guys... Heh. Gotta admit I don't think I've seen you both step up your game quite as quickly unless the fox and echidna are in the race."

"I know I'm better than that red furred bozo!" Storm snapped. "He's just a dumb knucklehead."

"And what does that make you, chicken brain?" Wave laughed before correcting herself and frowning at Jet again. "And you're wrong. I don't get all excited just because the Shrimp happens to be racing against me. It's a matter of who has the better gear and that shorty reckons he knows Extreme Gear better than I do. I just race to prove him wrong." She would have lifted her beak in the air proudly but Jet wasn't looking at her.

"And you love it," he smiled, cuddling down further into his plush chair and fluffing his chest a little. "Anyway, racing losers gets boring after a while. Figured a change of scenery and some added excitement might just put us in the right move to help out our favourite competitors and win us a little, you know, publicity."

Wave shook her head and took a step towards the door.

"You're getting soft-boiled, Jet," she threw over her shoulder.

"'I wonder how the little squirt's been doing...'"

Wave stopped in her tracks. "What?"

Jet grinned triumphantly. "Just quoting what you said a few days ago. That's all."

Chapter Text

Never had their feet and breaths sounded so loud.

With the exception of Espio, one who had devoted his life to harnessing the powers of stealth and invisibility, the progress of Team 1 could hardly be described as quiet and the infuriating thing was that there was nothing that could be done about it. Their only consolation was that the walls of an old steam-hatch, by which they were entering the facility, were incredibly thick and unlikely to give away their position to those that may or may not be anticipating their arrival. The steam-hatch was an old ventilation system, dusty and rotting with the progression of time, which had once been called upon to extract the pent up steam from the holding room and expel it to prevent rust and mould. Before it was demoted to holding scrap and old familiar faces, the room that Team 1 were heading to was used as for maintenance, a lounge, as it were, for a robot squadron. A robot squadron long discontinued.

It was surprising that there were any robots left for the Sonic Allies, and Team Sonic in particular, had done a marvellous task of sending each rogue bot to whatever purgatory limbo they awaited after being destroyed. The thought that there may yet still be more robots in stasis, dormant until called for, did not sit well.

Voicing this concern, Charmy was the first to add his whispered tones to the echoing steps in the steam-hatch tunnel.

"How many robots has this Ira Robotnik got on call?" he asked.

Orbot, in front, was lighting the way with his blue optics and so did not turn his head to speak.

"Only those that were kept at this facility which amounts to around 30," he replied.

"Just 30?" Vector smiled, daring to hope that they weren't in for too rough a time.

"They're rather large," Orbot warned. "Of course, they weren't as efficiently designed to combat the likes of you back when they were built. Their programming was originally centred around Sonic alone but they will attack anyone perceived as a threat."

"And you're certain that we won't be bumping into any where we're going?" Charmy chanced to ask, aware that though their ally wasn't exactly a threat and had a reputation for leaking information to Team Sonic whenever it deemed it necessary, he was still an Eggman robot and one of his right hand henchmen. Charmy could fool an ignorant bystander into thinking he was still a child but the first thing he had grown out of was his naivety.

Orbot's optics dimmed as a faint glow appeared a few meters in front of him. 

"See for yourself..." he murmured, opening the way into the robot storage.

The vast, high-ceiling room, built like an underground library archive, was immense and provided a maze of walkways and rows upon rows of robotic debris. Dust hung heavily in the air and easily clogged the throat if one was to breathe in too deeply.

"What's... What is this?" Knuckles choked, his senses of smell and taste gradually becoming overwhelmed with the stench of rusting metal corpses amid puddles of dried oil and battery discharge fluid.

"The Crypt," Orbot shivered, continuing down one corridor of shattered motorbugs towards the area where previous Eggman henchbots were kept, "It's where all Eggman's robots were put to rust when their time was up. Or, more commonly, where the remains of Sonic's victims were chucked before they could be melted down to make new robots. Those that played important roles are kept preserved. For memories sake, I guess. Cubot and I hate it here so you can trust me when I say that no functioning robot will be finding us here."

Then, of course, they passed by the room at the back, still glowing blue.

Orbot stopped, circuitry fizzing in a way that a heart might skip a beat. 

"...Oh..." he remembered.

"What now?" Shadow muttered, eyeing the room as though threatened by it.

"Of course," Orbot squeaked, "there is the issue of one robot that may disturb us..."

No-one needed further clarification.

Not many could truthfully say that they had missed the deranged blue hedgebot and though Amy's warnings had been carefully accepted and considered, they only now seemed to truly hit home. Perhaps there had still been the silent hope that Metal Sonic wasn't involved at all and there had been no need for such worry. Those hopes were sorely dashed.

None, least of all Knuckles, could deny that the holding room was for Metal. It had a certain flair to it that Eggman kept only for his favourite.

"B-But... but he should be more occupied with Sonic for the present," Orbot's quiet voice spoke, betraying his own fear.

Shadow glanced at the red robot with a piercing gaze. "You're sure of that?"

"...It depends how far the two of them have got since our absence."

"Far? What exactly are the two of them doing?"

"Cubot said something about Project Eclipse."

"Project Eclipse?"

"I take it that it has nothing to do with the sun?" Espio grunted with his back to others, always on the lookout for any possible robot zombie out on a little sleep-walk. The darkness of the room made it impossible to know, for certain, what could be lurking out of sight.

"It somehow involves Sonic," Orbot was explaining, in the meantime.

"Of course it does," Shadow huffed, "Everything involves Sonic. Nothing happens on this planet unless Sonic's involved somehow. Centre of his own universe."

"Did you happen to find out where they're keepin' Sonic?" asked Vector, stepping away and giving a wide berth to a leaking trail of diesel that snaked across the path. It still looked fresh.

"No," Orbot said in answer to the croc's question, moving slowly towards the double doors at the end of the room. "Cubot and I left before his abduction. We only knew how to get you in."

Espio's fingers toyed with a shuriken. 

"Then we'll have to do this the old-fashioned way. Stealth and planning," he said, cautiously following.

"Can't be too long," Vector reminded them all. "Team 2 will come in lookin' for us unless we keep constant contact."

Omega hadn't moved very much. He had rooted his feet and grown silent, taking in all that was around him.

"Holding up okay?" he heard Shadow ask. The black and red hedgehog was at his side, peering up into Omega's eyes with genuine worry for his robotic friend. It was easy to read what it was that Omega was thinking, surrounded by the dead remains of other Eggman robots.

The E-Series let out a whirr and Shadow sighed.

"I know, old friend. I know."

There was an old saying: an animal backed into a corner will fight.

"Comfortable?" Ira asked, as he always did when entering the prison complex and, as usual, received his routine glare from within the only occupied cell. "Even now, you still aren't talking to me?"

Sonic glowered at Ira with all the contempt an Egyptian cat might cast upon a tyrannical pharaoh. His disgust was only amplified by the presence of Metal Sonic, quietly standing in the back.

"According to my brother," Ira remarked, "I should apparently be thankful for small mercies."

His lanky form glided across the floor towards the nearest computer terminal and, with a flick of a switch, suddenly awoke the area in a chorus of humming machinery and buzzing electricity.

"I don't need your voice anyway..." he chuckled darkly. "Just sit there quietly. Metal? If you would make him ready?"

Perhaps it was because he had been trapped and confined behind bars too long, had his legs restricted for a day too far, but the time spent of being deprived of freedom was eating away at Sonic so much that he actually shrank back from Metal Sonic's advancing figure.

Was it fear? Was it anxiety? Was it anticipation? Sonic couldn't say.

He simply did not trust himself at the present time to do the sensible thing. Reflecting on this, Sonic gave in to a rueful smile; of course when had he ever done the sensible thing?

So caught up was he in his uncertainty, Sonic had his wrists tethered to the wall along with his ankles before he could properly fathom what it was that Metal had been sent to do.

Now trussed up like a criminal awaiting torture, Sonic deemed the time was right to focus on escape as soon as the next opportunity came up. From his imprisoned stay he had successfully pieced together the motives behind his enemy and was now, in theory, better able to work out a solution to rectify the problem. 

In theory. 

The added complication of having Tails in the picture was only going to make it more of a challenge - something Sonic wasn't too afraid of.

"Okay," Ira's voice suddenly interrupted him, clearly addressing Metal, "you're dismissed for the time being. Go torment your underlings or something."

Metal Sonic, to Sonic's surprise, did not give a final fleeting glare before he strode from the room which, Sonic hoped, meant that Metal was expecting to see him again. Meaning that Sonic wasn't going to die from whatever was going to happen. Mind you, there were times when death was actually preferable...

"...How much do you know of your family, Sonic?"

The hedgehog, testing his wrist bonds, immediately felt his prickles tighten. This again?

"How much has Ivo told you? Do you even remember them?"

Eggman had been kind enough to tell Sonic a story, that much the hedgehog knew. The reliability and truthfulness of said story had yet to be discovered. Still, the topic of his roots was one that Sonic considered private and so he stuck to the treatment he had given Eggman's brother from the moment of his capture: the silent treatment. Ira barely frowned being so used to Sonic's silence that he had actually come to accept it.

"The funny thing is - you should do, shouldn't you?" he continued, idly turning a dial that caused a groaning noise to grow louder and louder and louder... "That's what's bothering you. You were at an age that you SHOULD remember last seeing your family."

Sonic yanked at his wrists and ankles again, suddenly aware that although he wasn't going to die, Ira clearly had something in mind for that precious energy that Sonic was just so naturally adept at storing in his muscles.

"Now, I wonder why you wouldn't remember..."

A push of a button caused the lights to dim and for a cringe-worthy screech of metal sliding into metal to sound out. Sonic couldn't see where his bonds went to beyond the walls of his cell but now it dawned on him that Metal had probably hooked him up to something terrifyingly scientific.

"Of course, it's my brother's word, and his word alone, that you have to go on, isn't it? I mean, if you can't prove the story for yourself then what CAN you believe?"

The drone of machinery was almost unbearable to a creature so sensitive to sound such as a hedgehog. The scent of fuel and burning electricity was enough to make Sonic's stomach churn but there wasn't anything he could do. Had Ira truly been serious in what he had said? 

"Is he going to try and take my energy?"

"Can't trust me...can't trust him..." Ira coiled his cruel fingers around a lever. "What a confusing muddle we land ourselves in, eh?"

Sonic grit his teeth. No, he wasn't going to die from this - but it was going to hurt.

"One thing I am certain of, however, are your Chaos Energy levels," Ira smiled. "It doesn't matter what backstory you make up for yourself, you can always rely on good old Chaos Energy to tell the Fool's Gold from True Gold."

From within Sonic's glassy green eyes shone a moment of disbelief. 

"Does he honestly think that Chaos Energy is exclusive? EVERYONE has Chaos Energy in them - we breathe the stuff in for crying out loud!" It was how those such as Tails were able to achieve a Super State. Okay, so they had a time absorbing it to sufficient levels (unlike certain members of the hedgehog species who lapped up Chaos Energy like sponges) but it was still a present source flowing through each and every living thing on the planet. "I just... I just have more of it than the average joe. That's all."

It was the first time he had trouble convincing himself.

"That's all."

"Between you and your friends..." (Oh so he was acknowledging the others.) "...there's an absolute Goldmine of Chaos Energy to be found - but they'll be time for them later."

"You leave them alone!"

Ira blinked at Sonic and Sonic blinked back. They were alone in the room.

Ira's face actually softened. 

"...Really?" he whined. "You choose now to start talking?"

Sonic shut his mouth, fuming with anger. Ira rolled his eyes behind his glasses.

"Typical." His hand then pushed the lever down.

Tails looked up sharply upon the flash of movement passing by in his peripheral vision.

"Where are you going?" he snapped, stopping Eggman's hand as it moved over the key pad that would open the door.

The scientist curled and stretched his lithe fingers. 

"I've finished my work," he replied. "Now I'm going to go and sit down somewhere comfortable and read a book."

The fox frowned at him, gripping the screwdriver in his paws tightly as though he were wringing someone's neck.

"That's it?" he scoffed. "What else are you going to do?"

"I might make myself something to eat..."

"What are you going to do, Eggman?" Tails barked sharply. "This isn't the end! You're not going to let your brother do whatever he's going to do, are you? You wouldn't let him."

Eggman spun around and crossed his arms, his moustache twisted up as he smiled. "Why not?"

"Because," Tails told him, "you're not like that."

"And you would know, would you?"

"After a decade of this?" Tails gave a chuckle. "Yeah. Sonic might not be able to remember much about his first encounter with you but I remember MY first encounter. And I've remembered everything you've done since then. You went from sinister tyrant to desperate scientist and now you've been starting to merge them together." Tails stood up from the stool he had been perched on. "I've noticed."

Eggman pursed his lips. 

"I'm a desperate, tyrannical, sinister scientist?" he murmured to himself, a delight shining from his aging face. "I believe that's the most heartfelt compliment you've ever given me, Tails."

"Well I could be completely wrong," Tails pointed out, putting the screwdriver down. "Maybe you're not the guy that had his..." he broke off and twitched his ear, "I was going to say 'heart'... but I'm not sure that's scientifically correct." Eggman leant against the wall, amusement now replacing delight. "Maybe you're not the guy that had his entire life set on owning the world. Or are you?"

To that, Eggman gave a cackle.

"You do have a cruel sense of humour, don't you?" he grinned, wiping away an invisible tear behind the lens of his right eye. "Talking about my hopes and dreams when you're one of the poisonous little bullets that shatter them."

Tails looked away with a sneer on his muzzle. Considering the Eggman Empire as a hope and a dream was wrong. It was totally, utterly wrong. But... what Eggman said was true; it was his hope and dream.

"I may not be able to create the Eggman Empire at this rate," the human murmured, "but I have Sonic. And that's just as good."

Tails' paws curled into tight fists. 

"Doesn't Ira have Sonic?" he hissed between teeth. It wasn't really a question - it was more a statement.

"Ah!" Eggman chortled, "That's the question. Does he?"

The fox still had his head turned away but he heard the rise and fall of Eggman's feet as he opened the door.

"...Thank you."

Eggman hesitated. 

"For what?" he asked, masking his obvious confusion.

A little smile had found its way on Tails' face. He took up his screwdriver and let his fingers dance it around.

"I know what you're doing," he said.

Eggman was going to leave him alone. Leave him unguarded. Leave him to free himself.

The man's lips tightened.

 "...Oh please," he sighed. "Don't go getting the idea into your head that I'm on your side."

"So I give you a compliment and you repay me with an insult?" Tails laughed. "Tsk tsk, Eggman. Who has the cruel sense of humour now?"

Eggman gave the fox a single look of fondness. 

"You've gotten sharper, Tails," he mused. "Almost as sharp as Sonic's back." He may have hated Sonic, but there was still something about the hedgehog and his compatriots that interested a man of science such as himself. Tails' genius mind, for one example. "Take care of yourself," he bade in farewell, keenly aware that with Tails' escape, he would only have very little time to execute his own arrangements.

Chapter Text

He may have been a several hundred feet beneath them, all alone and without any contact whatsoever, nursing his wounded body, but Sonic seemed to be in agreement with Dr Eggman; time was short.

He yelped as he pulled at the ankle chain and was shocked once again with a sting of electricity. His wrists had been 'kindly' released but only a fool would consider letting Sonic have full control of his most powerful limbs: his legs. Grimacing, it only reminded him that if he wanted to get out soon, he was going to have to pull up his non-existent big-boy pants, shove a stick between his teeth and take some extra temporary discomfort.

As he had been enduring Ira's brief experimentation - which had been necessarily to determine if his extracted Chaos Energy could then be re-absorbed in a continual circuit, like a blood flow - he had felt the presence of other Chaos Beings. Chaos Beings were few and far between which drew Sonic to one very welcome conclusion: his friends were here to rescue Tails and himself. He had to get out before either of the Egg Brothers made things impossible for them to find out where he was.

A cold drip splashed down onto Sonic's shoulder and it felt like the starting gun. 

It was less exhausting channelling his strength into a kick rather than a pull so, seizing the bars of the cell, Sonic prepared himself, pushing his front against it and taking a deep breath. He pulled his leg so that it was the tightest it could be without inflicting pain and then, bracing his ankle against the metal cuff, silently prayed that it would all be over soon.

Then he kicked.

After several minutes of excruciating pain, the chain snapped clean off and Sonic was welcomed with sweet relief that required him to slump to the ground and gulp in air like a fish.

"Ha, wasn't so bad," Sonic told himself. "A little static... Everyone can take a little static... I take static. I take it all the time. Generating friction with my feet and all... Yeah, that was easy. This is no sweat. Piece of...cake." He understood then, why people got so annoyed with him sometimes whenever he opened his yap. 

Now with only one channel for the electricity, karma was paying him back with a much stronger force as he worked on freeing his other leg.

"Stupid, flipping idiot!" Sonic growled in his head as his muscles spasmed and cramped under the effects of electricity's savage attack. "Piece of cake? I'll shove a piece of cake so far down that cakehole I won't be able to look at an iced bun every again!" His eyes pressed shut and a face scrunched in complete agony, Sonic wondered if he could actually physically hurt himself to distract him from 'unbearable' pain to just 'annoyingly painful' pain.

"A little static?" he laughed, "A little static!? Oh sure, everyone can handle a little static! How about getting plugged in to the planet's main electricity line!?"

He wouldn't scream though. It took a lot to make him scream and this wasn't the time for a whimper.

Other noises of distress were allowed, however.

And as the chain finally gave way, there may have been a slight squeak, much to Sonic's shame.

"Oh sweet Chaos on a see-saw in the summertime," he groaned (there were worst things that could have been said but Sonic is a good boy and watches his language), sliding down on his stomach and kicking the live chains away from him. "...My spines aren't gonna go down for, like, a month." Not that there was much time to mourn for something that trivial.

The next order of business was getting free of the cage which, let's face it, wasn't hard seeing as the cell wasn't actually designed to hold someone like Sonic who would have received VIP 5-Star treatment in his own personal dungeon had Eggman ever got a hold of him back in his younger years.

"Now," Sonic told himself, dusting himself down and making a dash for the exit, "I just need to find Tails, meet up with the others and... actually no, scratch that. I need to find Tails, smack around that other Robotnik dude, put a few dings in Metal, THEN meet up with... Ah, the heck with it, I'll smack Egghead too. Probably deserves it for something."

"I spy with my little eye... Something... Um... Something..."

"Surely we've spied everything now."

"No. I spy something beginning with... beginning with... Erm..."

"Silver, we've spied everything. Let's leave it alone."

"No, wait, I can spy something beginning with... E."

"E?"

"Right. E. Letter E. E for Espio."

"E for Extremely Desperate, more like."

"Emptiness?" Big was the first to guess.

"Nope."

"...Energy?" Shade's turn.

"No."

"Silver..." Blaze sighed, "Please."

"That doesn't begin with E."

"You'll be squealing 'Eeee' in a moment..."

"Epiphany?" Cream's guess.

"What? No."

"How about Ex-Boyfriend?"

Silver's big yellow eyes drooped at Blaze. "...Ouch."

"You guys there?"

"Hearing out loud and clear," Amy replied to her wrist. "Have you found Sonic and Tails? We clear to move in already?"

"Nah. Just warning you that we aren't sure how many bots are lurking about so we're going slow. We'll keep you in the loop so you don't freak out if you don't hear from us."

"Thanks for the heads up. Be as quick as you can though. We're running out of ways to pass the time and its getting dark."

"No promises. Catch you later." 

The line went quiet.

"...It was Evening Star," Silver moped, pointing a finger up at the first star of the evening that had recently appeared above them.

Blaze smiled and gave her boyfriend's paw a squeeze. "You can be quite cute sometimes, you know."

"I think I remember being told that, yes."

"Charmy," Vector warned in a low growl, "if you don't quit hummin' that Mission Impossible tune..."

"All bees hum, Vec," Charmy argued as Team 1 halted at the end of a particularly damp-ridden hallway.

"You’ll be hummin' your stinger outta here when I throw ya at a badnik," Vector promised with a toothy grin.

Even with Orbot to guide them, the going was slow, as Knuckles had reported back to Team 2, for they had no sure way of knowing who or what might be around the next corner and they were anxiously aware that their options for hiding were severely limited, if there were any options at all.

As for finding a way back out... Well, they'd have to rely on Omega having some kind of tracker so that he could retrace his steps. The most annoying thing was that it was hard to tell, exactly, how far away the distant sounds of... was that machinery? No, some kind of power generator? Robot footsteps? The number of times they had to stop to check out what was ahead was uncountable.

"What we got, Omega?" Knuckles asked. The E-Series could generate a sort-of pulse radar, almost like Rouge's echo-location, which gave him a rough idea on how many bodies, organic or otherwise, were in the general vicinity. Omega's chest cavity gave a ping.

"Corridor is secure," he answered. "Nearest target is approximately 15 meters north of our current position."

"Don't suppose you have a reading on where Metal Sonic is, do you?" the echidna then asked, paranoid to the point of looking over his shoulder every five minutes.

"Negative."

"Worth a shot. How much further, Orb?"

"Eggman's living quarters are stationed on the floor above us," Orbot replied. "If we don't run into trouble, we'll likely get there in fifteen minutes at the speed we're going."

"Can't you go on ahead and maybe divert 'trouble' elsewhere?" Shadow said, cocking an eye at the bot.

Orbot, however, shrugged. "I don't know. These robots believe they still serve Dr Eggman and Ira is just a face. But Ira will know that Cubot and I know differently."

"No robot should willingly serve Eggman." Omega's cold gaze wouldn't allow Orbot to meet his eye.

Nevertheless, the robotic henchman seemed to give a hum of agreement. "...Well, I can't argue with that."

Espio stepped forward. 

"Let me go on ahead," he suggested. "I'll report back in five minutes." After an exchange of nods, Vector clapped his teammate on the shoulder.

"Careful Esp," he murmured, "We dunno if any cameras are operatin' in this sector." Throwing a casual, two-fingered salute, Espio shimmered out of thin air and was gone, only the gentle whoosh of thin air giving away his presence as he left. 

Shadow was immediately onto his comms.

"Team 2?" he uttered in a low tone. After a two second silence, Blaze's voice came answering through.

"Here."

"We're quite a way in and Orbot reckons we'll be another fifteen minutes before reaching an information source," Shadow quickly informed them. "Espio is scouting ahead at the moment. Suggest that Cubot lead you to the point of entry where we came in so you can be on standby should the situation call for it."

"Copy that. Get a move on though - we're getting twingy." The line went dead.

"Get a move on?" Charmy snorted. "Easy for them to say..." He broke off, however, when the sudden arrival of Espio made them all start in surprise. 

It wasn't often that the chameleon ninja wore such a panicked face.

"Apologies for being back so soon," he started in an abnormally higher pitched voice, "but I would strongly recommend retreating back to the last door we passed down this hallway." He swallowed. "And to be fast about it." He was already beating a hurried backtrack and it was all the others could do but follow, including Orbot.

"Do I want to ask why?" Knuckles grumbled, aware that it was bewildering to imagine that anything had spooked a ninja.

"Let's just say," Espio panted, "that a hedgehog of extraordinary blue colouring is heading our way." He gulped audibly and quickened his pace. "The only catch is that he isn't exactly made of flesh and fur."

"Come on, come on, come on...gotcha!" The device that kept Tails inside the lab was snapped clean off and, with it, Tails' time as a well-behaved prisoner. He had done nothing to help Eggman besides hold a few books, deeming he was going to centre his brain power on helping friends instead.

Rubbing the flattened fur around his wrists, Tails dashed to a computer where a USB memory stick was busy lapping up all the results of Eggman's time studying Sonic. He had put Sonic through a lot even before Tails had arrived, apparently, all in the pursuit of finding out how good of a survivor the hedgehog really was (all in all, Sonic had been prisoner to Ira for almost three days) and Tails wasn't going to let that kind of information lie around in a place like this.

Deep down, Tails feared that it wouldn't matter anyway; anything to do with Sonic and Eggman was sure to remember it if he could. But at least they'd have an idea on what Eggman knew. In all honesty, the young fox hadn't fully believed Eggman's story and the period of time between Sonic's family being killed and the young orphan hedgehog meeting Tails was still very much a grey area, at least as far as the Allies were now concerned.

"Did Eggman...?"

Tails stared at the pages of documents that were flashing by at high speed as they were transferred to his device. The occasional bold word stuck in his memory.

... ... ..Subject...

...Experiment...Hedgehog. 

... be... ... Chaos Born...
legacy of...
... ... ... ...eternal... ... .../ ...
Enigma...
old...Monarchy. ... ...'... ...Transfer...
Slave to... ...
... ... ...Charles Hedgehog... Jules...
Ogilvie Maurice... ... ...
...Government...
...Military...
... # ... National...
...weapon...

The computer beeped, indicating that the downloading was finished. All files on the computer would be instantaneously wiped once the USB was removed and, as Tails took it, the screen went faulty and shut down.

The fur on the back of Tails' neck was beginning to prickle and the one thing about having a pelt of fur was that it was practically impossible to manage when natural instinct took over.

Foxes were predatory animals but that didn't mean they were immune to the fight or flight characteristics of typical prey animals. The sixth sense of danger was overpowering and it didn't take a genius like Tails to work out that all hell was going to break loose before long. The whole area had undergone a brief power blackout that had lasted a few seconds but when Tails had asked Eggman about it, the scientist had just pressed his lips shut and said nothing.

"Whatever it is these guys want Sonic for," Tails thought to himself as he pocketed away his screwdriver and other useful bits and pieces from the lab, "it isn't going to end well with any of us."

The words on the screen had only appeared for less than a second but they were there long enough for Tails to know that Eggman knew more than he was letting on.

The grip on the USB stick tightened.

All of that information was safely stored within.

All those answers...

With a shake of the head, Tails stashed it away in his fur and bolted for the door, hoping against all hope that his friends had a vague idea of where they were.

For now, though, all Tails was directing his attention to was finding that one blue hedgehog that he had followed ever since he was a cub.

He had promised Sonic back then that he'd always follow him into each and every trial that came their way and he wasn't going to let anyone make him go back on his word now.

Chapter Text

For a robot, Metal Sonic was eerily quiet. In an otherwise silent complex, the whispering hiss of his moving joints and the tap of his metal foot on metal floor, sounding over and over again in a walking rhythm, were far too suspenseful and nerve-wracking for even the most toughened of the Sonic Allies. 

Nothing about Metal Sonic could be considered natural, especially when compared to other badniks and even to the likes of Orbot, Cubot and Omega.

Peering through a slit in the grating of a single storage unit door, Shadow could feel his quills shiver as the robotic hedgehog advanced closer and closer, walking menacingly slowly, his unwavering red optics staring creepily ahead of him at all times. The very fact that Metal was indeed a hedgehog was the very reason Shadow loathed him so much and even made him feel slightly sick. He could certainly remember times when they'd fought together on the same side but knowing that Metal's loyalties lay solely with Eggman was enough to confirm that, hedgehog or not, Metal Sonic couldn't be trusted.

No - there was nothing natural about Metal Sonic.

The robot stepped by with no indication that he could sense their presence. Shadow could spy his lethal claws hanging by his side as he came and went, carefully step-step-stepping his ominous way down the corridor with all the fear-factor movements of a rogue AI android.

Shadow never once took his eye off it.

A little behind him, another robot twitched and expelled pent-up air from his system in a sharp but silent hiss of unease.

"Easy Omega," Shadow murmured from the corner of his mouth. "Easy..." 

He then noticed a smaller presence at his side. Charmy's antennae were taught and they wobbled at the slightest movement within the storage room.

"He's just as creepy as I remember him," he gulped, his voice barely audible due to the fear that seemed to freeze his throat. Everyone else was in silent agreement on that regard.

"You think he might lead us t' Sonic?" Vector then risked asking, carefully watching Shadow's body language so as to be alerted should Metal come sauntering his way back.

"He might do," the darker hedgehog replied in a voice just as quiet. "I find it hard to believe that he'd willingly obey Eggman's brother suddenly out of the blue."

"Well, it has been ten years," Charmy reasoned. "You know when you don't drive a car for a really long time and the battery drains and the tyres deflate and the engine gets all gnarly and the brakes get gunked up..."

"Yes, we know."

"Well maybe Metal Sonic is like that. I know I'd be out of it if I'd slept for ten years."

"You wouldn't be 'out of it', Charmy, you'd be dead," Espio felt the need to correct.

"Whatever. The point is, we all know Metal," the adolescent bee continued. "He won't take commands from someone like Ira and he ain't stupid to think Eggman's giving his brother free run of the place. Maybe... Maybe he's biding his time."

"Believe me, Metal isn't obeying Ira willingly." Orbot's blue optics were dimmed so as to minimise the risk of their discovery but they pulsed a little brighter as he spoke. "If I know anything about him, he'll be working on overriding his system."

"The times he manages to do that," spoke Knuckles, "is when he gets too worked up over Sonic."

Charmy wrinkled his forehead in a brief moment of confusion. "Well, he has him already, doesn't he?"

To that, Knuckles shrugged his shoulders. "It's not like Sonic's running around and winding him up though, is he?"

"Are you suggesting that Metal is going to try and let Sonic out?" Shadow asked, obviously not looking at the echidna but keeping the guardian in his peripheral vision at all times.

"I'm not suggesting anything," Knuckles answered. "I'm just wondering where he's going."

Charmy stood up on his tiptoes and peeked through the grating to where Metal was turning a corner out of sight in the distance.

"...Back towards the Crypt it looks like," he told them.

Vector grunted and nodded his large head. "There you go: Sonic ain't there 'cause were just there ourselves." 

Shadow, meanwhile had frozen in place. No, Sonic certainly wasn't there. But he knew who soon would be!

"...Ffff-!" he hissed, scrabbling to open the door. "Let's just serve up our reinforcements on a silver platter, why don't we?"

The chilling realisation that Team 2 were about to run slap bang into arguably Eggman's deadliest robot caused them to disregard their own concealment as they hurried to intervene.

"Ha! I see what you did there Shadow!" Charmy grinned as he took to the air. "Ha! Good one - because Silver will be... there..." The glares he received could have grounded a bald eagle. "Right, not appropriate. I know."

Not really wanting to entertain the idea of mooching about inside the vent, Team 2 had quietly emerged into the Crypt to await further communication from Team 1, turning up their noses and coughing as the others had done before them. Cubot did not appreciate the wait in the slightest while the others were trying to work out if they were more fascinated than horrified with their environment. 

"Don't call me strange," Silver had said softly, "but I swear I remember breaking this robot." He was stood in front of a robot shell that had been torn neatly in two and was surrounded by its own circuitry and metal components.

"You have the benefit of the doubt there, Dr Strange," Blaze smiled, more interested in looking up at the sheer height of the ceiling and hearing the echoes of the huge room. There were so many rows and walkways that it was practically impossible to see just how large of a space they were stood in.

Wherever one looked it was just... robots. Robots strung up on shelves, robots hanging from hooks, robot remains piled in unattractive heaps...

Blaze couldn't help but think that it was the perfect backdrop for a horror scene - they only needed to walk close to enough to a dormant dead robot for it to randomly spring into life and chase them down into the labyrinth that was Eggman's robotic version of an enormous library of bookshelves. Wouldn't have come as a surprise if they found the dead robots classified under genres and dates or put in alphabetical order.

"How many robots did this guy need, anyway?" Shade asked. There weren't any like the Gizoids that she had been used to seeing during the Echidna Wars which only made her more wary of Eggman's robots, machines that she wasn't so familiar with.

"How many robots does it take to bring down a supersonic hedgehog and his squad?" Cream had answered her. It was a rhetorical question; Shade was perfectly aware that taking down Sonic was an almost impossible achievement and she had first-hand experience of that.

"So Cubey," Blaze softly asked their guide, "how long do you think we can hold up here?"

Cubot looked to be in the process of hiding himself away and compacting himself down into his cube form when she had asked him. Now he peeked his optics up at her and hissed his circuits.

"You can stay in here if you want to but I'm not," he bleeped. "This room gives me the creeps." Saying that, he slid back into cube form and clumsily rolled towards the door, disappearing into the corridor behind them with as much speed as he could.

"Wait, Cubot!" Cream called after him, trying to be quiet. Whether the robot had bolted away or if he was just intent on literally getting out of the room and was simply waiting in the hallway for them wasn't something she could guess the answer to.

Amy could sympathise with him when she tried picturing the same scenario but instead featured a poacher's trophy room rather than a scrap room.

"He doesn't like robots very much, does he?" Big hummed, trying to pacify a very distressed Froggy.

"To be fair, this would freak a robot out," so said Amy, hugging herself as she eyed the dead robots with a mixture of fear and revulsion. "Like being stuck in the Egyptian Mummy exhibit in a museum after dark."

"Thank you for that," Shade chuckled, sharing her sentiments.

"O-Oh he-hello, M-M-Metal S-Sonic!"

Six hearts simultaneously stopped for a second upon hearing Cubot outside.

"Uh...I was... I was... j-just looking for Orbot! He...He's not in there."

Relying on whatever natural stealth was afforded to them as anthropomorphic animals, Amy, Silver, Blaze, Cream, Big and Shade hurriedly backpedalled from the nearest door and took cover down one of the aisles, not keen on venturing further and getting themselves lost in the maze.

"H-Hey, so... wh-where are you, uh, going?" Cubot was continuing outside, his efforts at stalling being severely tested by his overpowering terror. "You... A-Are you, um... Where are... Y-You're go-going in... there?"

Cheese cooed worriedly and took shelter beneath one of Cream's long ears, trembling his tiny body.

"Y-You look very...very blue t-today. V-Very shiny. What, er... You use the...um... You use the stuff Eggman makes?"

Did Cubot sound louder? Blaze could spy the eerie blue glow of Metal's 'bedroom' chamber. Perhaps the metal monstrosity was hoping for a quick recharge.

"...I like what you've done with... Um... You h-have lovely optics today. Oh! I mean, you have lovely optics all the time. Very...red. ... You...really w-want to go in there? ... Wait... W-Wait!"

The doors could be heard squealing but due to their positions, none of the group had any visual on the door. The only thing they knew was that something with a slow but heavy step had entered the room.

At that exact moment in time, the deliberate ring of metal foot hitting metal floor was, quite honestly, the single most terrifying sound known to any of them.

Shade the Echidna, one who hadn't ever had an encounter with the legendary Metal Sonic, couldn't fathom why she felt so scared. It was just a robot, wasn't it? The panic-gripped death faces from her friends suggested otherwise.

Whirrr...CLAT... ... ... Whirrr...CLAT... ... ... Whirrr...CLAT... 

Silence.

Around the corner, a very slight red glow tinged the walls in front of them, leaving no doubt in their minds that Metal's cruel red eyes were on the roam. Pressing their mouths into their arms to quieten their heavy breathing, the Team 2 Allies felt helpless. In a fight, they could hold their own against Metal Sonic quite well and had years of battling experience tucked away in their metaphorical belts to call upon. But Metal Sonic was unpredictable in his movements and attacks and there wasn't much chance of keeping a low profile from Eggman and Ira if they were the participants of a high energy, explosive brawl.

He didn't really think that there were intruders, did he? Had Cubot blown it?

Whirrr...CLAT... ... Whirrr...CLAT... ... Whirrr...CLAT... 

Metal Sonic's footsteps were quicker now and... louder?

Whirrr...CLAT... Whirrr...CLAT... Whirrr... 

The footfall never came.

"Wh-What you doing?" Cubot's timid voice suddenly squeaked. "You... Looking for something? Gonna r-recharge the old ba- I mean, NEW! Nice shiny batteries?"

Somewhere on the other side of the aisle divider, a robot hedgehog was humming menacingly. The Allies had no way of pinpointing his exact location for sounds were distorted and the glow from his optics couldn't be seen on the walls.

...CLAT... 

His foot finally came to rest on the floor.

She couldn't be sure about the others, but Amy's heart was beating at a tremendous speed, pounding in rapid thuds at the thought of Metal discovering them. It could throw off their entire mission! Sonic's life could be...

Whirrr...CLAT... ... ... Whirrr...CLAT... ... ... Whirrr...CLAT... 

One by one, the six of them (and Froggy and Cheese) visibly began to deflate in sheer relief.

"Leaving?" Cubot then piped up in a trying-not-to-sound-too-cheerful kind of voice.

He wasn't.

The robotic hedgehog went to his chamber and stepped into the glowing room, casting a brief glance at the computer.

"G-Going to have a nap? That's a good idea!" Cubot was still stuttering. 

Metal glared at him as the doors slowly closed and the room was cast into pitch darkness, the only indicator of the room existing being the little green light on the door keypad. If it were locked, the light would be red...

Not wanting to miss their chance, the Allies immediately slipped from the corridor and used Cubot's wide blue eyes as a beacon to light their way to the door. Out in the corridor, they heaved as their breaths were finally released and took a moment to gulp air to steady their nerves.

"O-Okay, I'm going then," Cubot quietly called and then shut the doors to the Crypt, spinning to stare at them in amazement. "How did you not get caught?" he asked incredulously.

"If you find the answer to that question, be sure to let us know," Cream breathed, cradling Cheese in her hands and stroking him in a soothing manner.

"You're all okay?" the yellow robot then asked, not entirely convinced that Metal had let them pass him by scott-free.

Just as Silver was about to confirm their wellbeing, Big gave a grunt.

"Amy isn't," he said.

The poor hedgehog was having trouble catching her breath.

"Amy? Amy, you okay? Talk to me," Blaze begged, taking her friend by the shoulders and pulling her closer.

Amy's eyes were wide and emotionless and her ears didn't give the slightest movement to show that she had heard her. After a few more shakes and a few pats, the young adult blinked and swallowed her shock away.

"I'm okay," she whispered. "Guys, really, I'm fine. I just..." She shook her head and straightened up, holding a paw over her, still rapid, heartbeat. "That's not happened for a very long time."

She hadn't had to deal with Metal Sonic in years. Perhaps the length of absence had coaxed Amy's mind into believing Metal to be nothing more than a bad memory, one that would have little impact on her current life. Having the robot thrust himself into her life again hadn't been a welcome in the slightest.

"You're okay to stand on your own?" Silver asked, gripping her elbow and supporting her back. "Can you move?"

"Yeah, I told you, I'm fine," she nodded and took a step away to prove this. "Really, it's nothing."

Shade was frowning at her and folded her arms. 

"Didn't seem like nothing," she murmured.

"Mild panic attack," Amy replied firmly. "Came and went. I'm done. I. Am. Fine. Point me at him and I'll mince him - without my hammer."

Her fighting talk was considered for a moment longer before they were all happy that she was telling the truth and, by that time, Team 1 had come skidding round the corner in a panic of their own.

"Guys!" Charmy told them, "Metal Sonic is..."

Cream stared up at him, deadpan. "We know."

Did they think him a fool, hiding from him like that?

He had Amy Rose's life signature embedded in his memory files and he had sensed her erratic heartbeat from outside the Crypt.

Amusing, really, to think that she still secretly feared him like that. How effective a good first impression could be...

Still, he hadn't the time or interest to bother with the likes of her at the moment. The little pink Sonic-doting brat could be dealt with at his leisure after he was done with Sonic himself.

His re-programming had been successful and he was now free of Ira's orders.

As for Eggman, well... Well, that depended on what it was that his creator had in mind. It was still in Eggman's interests that he employ Sonic to be Metal's partner and Metal knew this all too well. It didn't totally sit right with him, if he were being honest with himself.

He didn't want Sonic around. Full stop.

There was no way Eggman was going to succeed in fashioning Sonic into another robot or a mind-controlled slave or whatever typical scientist notion he was brewing in his bald head.

Staring at his capsule, Metal thought about Amy and about Sonic.

Then he thought about Sonic's friends. They were probably intending to scour the factory and find him - Tails too.

With the little energy that Ira had siphoned from the experimental session earlier, the decommissioned robots could be brought back for one last hurrah and the giant robots down in the hangers could be woken up too. Metal had only to raise the alarm that there were intruders inside the complex... But he decided against it.

The Sonic Allies would be Ira's problem now, not his. 

It did help to have friends though, didn't it? Metal let out a purr. Yes, it DID help to have friends.

Behind Metal's capsule, two secret compartments were hidden in the wall, unused for years, practically forgotten.

Metal Sonic hadn't forgotten. He wouldn't have forgotten his friends, even if the rest of the world had.

It wouldn't take long to open them up and awaken those that had slept dormant within for well over a decade and more.

Chapter Text

Tails wouldn't mind, she told herself. He wouldn't.

Of course, his planes were his pride and joy and, of all of them, the Tornado was the one nearest and dearest to his foxy heart for that had been his very first plane, a gift from Sonic back when the hedgehog was a budding pilot himself. People tended to forget this seeing as Sonic had, since then, traded wings for his beloved running shoes, figuring (quite correctly) that he could travel the world faster on foot than he could in the sky. 

Rouge had wings of her own but she wasn't strong enough to carry herself and her tag-alongs by relying on them alone.

While the bat piloted the plane over the South Coast and out to sea, her passengers in the back seat were peering over the edge and looked like two peas in a pod, they were so alike.

"Strewth, batty," the 17 year old racoon whistled, "if you wanted to go cruising, you should have just said so - would've brought my ship." She turned to the second passenger and gave her a friendly elbow nudge. "Did you know I have a ship now, mate?" she asked with her rolling tongue. "Proper little pirate me. Yep, got my official Captain's Degree about a year or two ago."

Sticks the Badger had only met Marine the Racoon once briefly a while ago. The two of them didn't have many opportunities to meet since they were both from other dimensions though they had heard plenty about one another - especially everyone's comments on how much they looked alike. For the moment, she was unusually quiet, trying to make up her mind about the chatty racoon.

"We're not 'cruising'," Rouge said sternly, her hands gripping the controls tightly. "We're the backup for the rescue of Sonic and Tails."

Marine's eyes sparkled. 

"Sonic and Tails!" she grinned. "It’ll be a laugh seeing those two again, though if this Egg has tried anything with 'em... Holy dooley, mates, I'll be as mad as a cut snake, you follow?"

"Honestly, love?" Rouge could only chuckle, "I haven't a clue what half the stuff that comes out of your mouth means."

Marine gave a chuckle of her own and shook her head. 

"Yeah, I'm one of a kind, eh spunk?" she elbowed Sticks again. "Oh, but before I forget, it's congratulations in order, I hear!" Marine leant over to address Rouge, "Got a littl'n on board? You clucky sheila! Bet ol' Knucklehead was grinning like a shot fox!"

Sticks raised an eyebrow, trying to discern what it was that Marine was saying.

"Something on my face, mate?" the racoon pirate asked upon noticing Sticks' expression, patting her furry cheeks. "It might be bog standard but it's the only face I've got."

"You talk too much, you Sticks look-alike," Sticks finally barked, deciding that she didn't really want to be here at all and was wishing to be back in her burrow where it was safe and free from conspiracies. Marine was smiling.

"Yeah, I get it, I talk a lot," she shrugged. "But I wouldn't say I'm your look-alike, Spunk. I'm a wily ol' raccoon, you know. Blaze told me all about you, mate - said you was paranoid. Well, no worries! I'm as legitimate as they come. It's the sook in the front you wanna keep your peeler's on, being a government spy and all. They're your kinda picnic, aren't they, Spunk?"

"Why do you keep calling me spunk? I'm no spunk! I'm nothing like a spunk!"

"Hahaha! I can tell this is going to be a fun trip. Mind, I wasn't expecting it to be all back of bourke like this." Marine poked her muzzle over the edge of the plane again, gazing wistfully down at the water.

"Back of what?" Rouge frowned to herself.

"Well, we've been flying for ages," Marine sighed. "You know where you're going, right?"

"Yes and if you keep looking up front, we'll be there any moment. Then I'm grabbing my husband, my friends and then leaving."

Marine leant back in her chair and folded her arms. "Good on ya, sheila. Straight to the bizzo, am I right?"

"I suppose so," Rouge guessed. "It's hard to tell with the lingo you use."

The plane was spotted by a bright-eyed squirrel who, upon catching sight of the distinguishable plane, hurriedly patted his companion to gain his attention.

"Yo, Mighty," Ray said out loud, "is that...?"

Mighty the Armadillo, wiping his brow as he gazed up into the sky, instantly saw the outline of the plane as it began to shrink into the distance.

"Hey, that's the Tornado," he noted. "Used to be Sonic's before he gave it to Tails."

"Yeah, I know that. Where's it going?"

"Meh," Mighty shrugged, adjusting the straps of his backpack, "you've heard the news; Sonic's gone on a new adventure. Probably on their way to go do a few rounds with that Eggload."

Ray the Flying Squirrel scratched his head. 

"Huh, didn't look like Tails flyin' it," he hummed. "Looked like that bat-chick that bagged old Knucklehead."

Mighty raised an eye. "Yeah? Well, we can check in with the Boys afterwards. Find out what's been happening."

He and Ray were still travelling the world together since leaving their old lives behind. Mighty still yearned to one day return to the Chaotix if his circumstances allowed it and Ray was all too happy to join him.

"Yeah, you're right," the golden furred squirrel nodded, flicking his tail. "If they need us, they'll call..."

The dynamic duo, satisfied with this mentality, started on their way again along the coast line, chatting away animatedly to one another.

"Oh! Speaking of the Boys, they called in about a week ago. Guess who's going to get hitched?"

"Hahahaha! Vector finally won that rabbit round?"

"...What? I'm talking about Sonic and Amy."

"...Oh, right, me too. ... Wait, Sonic and Amy were a thing?"

Metal wasn't replying to his contact attempts.

"Doesn't matter what material the blasted creature is made of," Ira grumbled into his fist, "hedgehogs will forever be my least favourite of the animal kingdom."

Behind him, a recently dusted generator was throbbing with power from the 'Sonic Juice' that Ira had been idiotic enough to feed it with. He had left it ticking over until his computers were ready to give him an accurate answer as to its current power levels. But what with Metal now ignoring him and the frequent flutters that kept twinging in his chest to remind him of his failing heart, Ira was struggling to keep his temper in check.

The factory felt uneasy.

For his own personal safety, Ira tried using a miniscule amount of Sonic's energy to power up one or two of the extra security systems, such as some of the cameras.
No sooner had he done so...

"ALERT! MULTIPLE UNOTHORISED LIFEFORMS DETECTED."

Ira's weak heart gave another flutter.

"SECURITY BREACH. DETAINMENT BREACH. ALARMED WRISTBANDS "MILES PROWER" OFFLINE. MULTIPLE UNORTHORISED LIFEFORMS DETECTED."

So the warnings came thick and fast.

One camera revealed the steely faces of the Sonic Allies while another was trying to keep tabs on where the two-tailed fox was flying off to. Panicking and acting on impulse, Ira routed the main power supply of his generator down to the lower levels where his brother's inactive robots were awaiting the call to battle.

"Battle robots: Online. Engage?"

Ira had time to slam the YES button before spinning on his heels and making a mad dash for the dungeons.

"We haven't long, Sonic," he breathed heavily as he entered the dank complex, "This place is now unsuitable for our needs so I'll just call back Metal and we'll move ourselves..."

Ira's voice grounded itself as he beheld the empty cell and the sparking chains. He could actually hear Eggman's snarking tones in his mind:

"I told you," he was chuckling. "Did I or did I not tell you? You never really had a hold of him, had you?"

Chapter Text

All over the factory were red lights and loud alarms which were making it impossible to think or to even begin formulating a decent plan of action. Under their feet came the rumbling of heavy machinery firing into life.

"Let's face it," Silver groaned over the blare of the alarms, "our cover is blown! It's no sneak and pinch anymore - it's a grab and run!"

"Then let's grab an' run already," Vector snarled, forever looking over his shoulder anxiously. "I gotta bad feelin' that somethin's comin' our way!"

Peering around the next corner, Knuckles had brandished one his namesakes in readiness. 

"I say we stick to the plan and split up," he said to which Blaze gave a firm nod.

"I agree. We'll cover more distance."

"And if you bump into Metal Sonic?" asked Cubot, rightly guessing that Metal was probably aware of what Cubot and Orbot had done.

The answer to his worry came from Knuckles who smirked and rolled his shoulders. "We smash him!"

Cubot and Orbot glanced at one another.

"Sounds unmissable," Orbot then jokingly admitted, "but... well, Cubot and I weren't designed for combat." 

All eyes turned to them in surprise.

"What?" Amy asked in confusion.

"Seeing as neither of us know where to find Sonic or Tails, we would only be an added burden for you. On the other hand, I've given Omega a detailed schematic on how to get to the living quarters upstairs," Orbot simply stated, holding up his hands.

"But... You can't go back to Eggman like that!"

Cubot turned to his partner with wide optics. "We can't? How do we go back to Eggman then?"

"Rest assured," Orbot told them, "we will contact you to let you know if we find your friends. In the meantime, sayonara!"

"That means goodbye in Swedish."

"But you can't-"

"Oh let them go," Shadow hissed as the two robots floated back along the way they had just come with a decent amount of speed. "They don't have a backbone between them."

"Assistance from Eggman lackeys will not be necessary," Omega happily agreed, finding his voice again.

"Look, we've got two corridors," Espio interrupted, his eyes darting in all directions in a way that only a chameleon knew how (to really freak out close friends). "Now is a good time to split if we're going to."

One corridor was long with several double doors leading off on both sides while the other corridor was shorter but seemed to turn a sharp left corner so it wasn't clear what was lurking deeper within.

"Let's make it clear that we aren't sticking around a moment longer once we have Sonic and Tails," Amy announced, gripping her hammer tightly. "The longer we delay in this festering dump the more likely we won't be leaving for a long time."

Shadow nodded to her and the rest of Team 2 before they made to take the long corridor. 

"Keep in touch and when we find them, rendezvous on our coordinates," he murmured, leading the way down the shorter corridor and making a grab for Knuckles' arm as he went, still aware that he had to keep an eye on the echidna so as to ensure his safe position in Rouge's 'good books'.

That safety was called into question ten minutes later when they had managed to make it as far as a large round room without being detected. It was one of those ominous rooms that didn't exactly take the likes of Miles Prower to tell you that it was the ideal spot for a confrontation; wide, tall, echoey...

Vector had only just taken a step over the threshold of the door when... they were left bitterly disappointed. Because nothing happened.

"Someone's been twisting the rules on this," Charmy had muttered under his breath.

"Maybe we have to get to the middle," Knuckles suggested. "You know, to make it really worth their while."

So the troop slowly and quietly walked forward. Those with fur felt their hackles rise and their ears went swivelling in all directions.

Vector was first to reach the centre of the room and he froze as... still nothing happened.

"Maybe they got lost..." Charmy shrugged.

"Or maybe we can be grateful for small mercies," Shadow growled. "Which way, Omega? Orbot said you had a clue on where we're going." 

Omega looked around the room. There were only two large hanger doors opposite each other which gave no indication on what could be lurking behind them. He then lifted a hand and pointed at the one on the right.

"There is a service elevator in that direction. The fastest route can be calculated from that point."

"Then let's get a move-on," spoke Knuckles. "We can trust Eggman to spend a little time gloating over his victory but I haven't any idea on how this second joker handles his prisoners."

Whether the 'bosses' of the dubiously dubbed "Boss-Battle" had failed to get the memo or whether it was a case of extremely poor time-keeping, no-one really knew. But when the hangers of the door were punched through by a temperamental echidna, their progress was interrupted by the arrival of three huge robots - giant metal behemoths that had been revived with raw chaos energy (courtesy of Sonic and Ira) and had risen from the bowels of the factory like robotic zombies. Their metal was rusting but thick and stiff, creaking and cracking as they took step after painful step towards them. The hallway was tall enough to accommodate the robots but wasn't exactly wide enough for a proper fight to take place so Team 1 were forced back into the room, almost falling over one another in a hasty retreat to avoid being stepped on.

"LIFEFORMS DETECTED," the first gargantuan robot warbled with its scratchy voice box. "HOSTILE. TARGET AND CAPTURE."

"Capture?" Vector asked in surprise, anticipating that it had been about to declare a certain penalty of destruction upon all six of them.

"These bots were from years ago," Knuckles explained, dropping into a fighting stance beside Shadow. "Back when Eggman was all about capturing his victims to robotize." At the sound of his voice, all three robots whipped their heads in his direction and settled him in their direct lines of vision.

"ECHIDNA LIFEFORM DETECTED," the first robot announced.

"IDENTIFICATION MATCH: MASTER EMERALD GUARDIAN," the second robot added.

"ALLY OF PRIORITY 1 HEDGEHOG. TARGET AND CAPTURE," the third robot declared as old weapons systems began to fire into life.

"Huh," Charmy buzzed, folding his arms. "Seems to remember you, buddy."

Knuckles rolled his purple eyes. 

"I'm touched. OW!" A canon-like projectile had been fired from the finger of the first robot with the intention of stunning Knuckles and rendering him unconscious. The aim had been a little off and had hit the echidna square in the chest so instead of being out for the count it had left Knuckles feeling winded and gasping for oxygen.

"Well, yeah," Charmy agreed with a nod, "you are now."

Espio, Vector and Shadow, on the other hand, had begun to engage the enemy as soon as there was room to jump. Omega was still retreating backwards, locking on to his own targets and warming up his weapons. Espio darted round the legs of the first robot and clung to the legs of the second, shimmering from vibrant purple into rusty grey within seconds. Vector was content with the first robot and gripped its ankle tightly, pulling with all his strength to topple the huge metal monster. Charmy quickly buzzed past his head and gave the head of the robot a good shove with enough force to send it on its way to the floor.

"Construction of robots date back to less than 2 decades ago," Omega then chirped. "In current condition, they should not be strong enough to move."

"What are you trying to say?" Knuckles wheezed, rolling over from the ground and tenderly feeling for cracked ribs.

"I am detecting a powerful energy source. Scans indicate Sonic's life signature."

"SAY WHAT!?"

BOOM! The first robot was now face-down on the ground.

"Are yer tryin' t' say that Sonic is in one of these pieces of junk?" Vector snarled, trying to prise open the armour plating with his gun and brute strength.

Shadow had fixed his attention to the third robot, 'chaos-controlling' up to the head and positioning himself to drill his spines through the neck.

"Don't be absurd," he growled. "I've not known any robot to hold Sonic inside for more than a few seconds. Not unless the Faker was unconscious or half dead."

Espio had taken out the optics of the second robot with well-aimed shuriken throws. Still in his rusty grey colour, the chameleon had then gone to assist Vector in trying to get to the tender computer components inside.

"I don't think Omega is sensing Sonic himself," he said, listening to the humming sound within the robot.

"I agree," Knuckles snorted, having recovered from his fall. "If Sonic is in one of these things, we're ripping him out. If not, we're ripping them up."

"You’re welcome to lend a hand," Vector grunted, struggling to find a point of entry. He jumped as Omega open fired on the leg of the third robot, causing it to stumble but not fall.

Shadow's presence was distracting it, causing it to wheel about in attempting at locating him. When it did manage to get Shadow in its sight, it threw out a hand and caught Shadow in mid-jump, stunning him momentarily. It then let out a mechanical roar.

"LIFEFORM DETECTED: PRIORITY 1..." It stopped, studying the hedgehog as its computer brain started to fizzle. "ERROR."

Shadow wiped a small trickle of blood from his mouth and bared his teeth. The defect had tried mistaking him for Sonic? Unforgiveable.

"Let's get a move on, Priority 1 Error," Charmy cackled as he flew past, firing his laser gun at the third robot's face.

"Charmy," Shadow seethed, "I swear to Gaia..."

"No time for swearing now, Ultimate Error, there's a giant robot to deal with."

A flash of red told Shadow that Knuckles had gone on the offense, driving an iron fist into the plating of the blinded second robot. A quick teleport jump was all that was needed to give Shadow a bit of space to make a hurried call.

"Team 2?" he barked. "We could use an assist."

And of all the Allies to answer him...

"We could use something hot and high in caffeine but life is full of disappointments."

"Silver, when all this is over we're going to sit down and have a long and violent talk about your attitude."

"I'm a hedgehog! Hedgehogs are born with attitude, aren't they?" Somewhere on Silver's end of the line, a loud explosion drowned out the last bit of his question and it sounded as though Big was in the middle of performing some Neanderthal war cry. "Would love to stay on the line and gossip with you, Shady, but we're neck deep in robot scrap. We can't even spare Cheese or Froggy at this rate."

Shadow let out a sigh. 

"Fine." And he ended the call.

Ducking under the swinging arm of one of the robots, Shade caught sight of Silver hovering above the battle and addressing his wrist watch.

"What are you doing over there, fluffy?" she called, aiming and firing at the face of the same robot that had swung at her.

"Talking to someone tall, dark and handsome," Silver answered her, flying down to prevent another robot from stepping on a very angry Big the Cat.

Shade cocked an eyebrow. "...You mean Shadow?"

"Hey, you knew who I was talking about!" Silver began laughing but he quickly choked on it as Shade threw him a deadly look.

"Do you want to repeat that a little louder?" she threateningly asked. He didn't.

"What are they doing?" asked Amy, having heard the conversation. She yanked her hammer out from the calf of a fallen robot. "Can they come here and help out?"

"Funny - that's exactly what he asked me," Silver told her. "So I guess not."

In the meantime, Cream had delivered a powerful blow to another robot with the aid of Cheese. "Where did these tin cans even come from?" she fumed, leaping up on her strong legs to drill a kick down into the servo of another bot.

"The reject pile from the looks of things," Amy huffed and then went flying as a robot managed to clip her from behind.

"IDENTIFICATION MATCH: FREEDOM FIGHTER," she heard the horrendously broken voice croak. "AMY ROSE. HEDGEHOG. TARGET AND CAPTURE."

"Been there, done that!" Amy hissed, bringing her hammer home on the hand that was outstretched to grab her. "Not a fan of it anymore!" The enormous robot stuttered and twitched and then seemed to stop.

"E-E-EERRRR...ERR-ERROR!"

All over the complex, robots of varying sizes and shapes and ability were fizzing and jarring themselves, including the ones that Team 1 were dealing with.

"ERR-RROOOR. ERROR... RO-RO-ROBOT-ROBOTNIK...RO-OVERRIDE. ERROR! PROGRAM... COMPROMISED PROGRAMMING. PROGRAMMING...COMPROMISED..."

"What the heck is happening?" Blaze barked, her tail bushing out in agitation.

"Programming compromised?" Espio frowned, watching alongside the others as their opponents began to, apparently, malfunction and start acting up.

"Omega?" Shadow asked in a low voice. Omega made a few clicking noises.

"Detecting new radio signals," he replied. "Intercepting... Eggman robots are now aware of Ira Robotnik."

"Aware?" Knuckles repeated. "In what way?"

"Their orders were from Ira, not Eggman. They have not realised this until now."

"Not realised!?" Charmy scoffed. "How dense do you have to be to not realise that your boss isn't who you think it is?" ...A quick recap of Team Chaotix's history... "Actually, forget I said anything."

"So no-one's questionin' why they've decided to realise who the boss is around here?" Vector queried. 

Omega let out another whirr.

"Orbot and Cubot are loyal to Eggman," he growled.

"What does that-" Vector's reptilian eyes widened. "You sayin' that those two grovelers have done this?"

"Ira's no longer in command," Shadow began to realise. "Now could be the only chance we get. Everything's falling apart for him and that either means he's going to be vulnerable or he's going to act drastically."

"If it's all the same to you guys, I'm more interested in what these scrap-heaps are going to be doing," Knuckles grunted, raising his fists once again as the giant battle robots calmed down and turned their interested optics back in their direction.

"ORDERS RECEIVED. LIFEFORMS DETECTED. HOSTILE. TARGET AND NEUTRALISE."

"Thank you Orbot and Cubot," the echidna groaned. "No really. Thanks a whole heaping bunch."

Yet just as the first robot came advancing, pulling back its fist to slam it into them, something yellow and furry flashed through the air brandishing a spanner.

The foolish would have been forgiven if they had assumed it was some kind of feral alien that was deciding to take apart everything in sight.

But we know that it was only Tails.

Chapter Text

Not all the automatic doors were working in the factory which meant that Sonic had to use brute force to get to where he wanted to go. There was nothing, absolutely nothing, that was going to stop him from getting to the others and that was final.

He had found himself in some kind of conference room though what exactly old Dr Eggman had once used it for was anybody's guess - unless he was using it for the odd dodgy deal with corrupted officials from the government. There was a layer of dust covering everything in the room, a clear indication that whatever Eggman had in mind for this room, he hadn't used it for such a thing in a very long time and since there wasn't a whole lot to see in here anyway, Sonic didn't feel like sticking around either.

It was to his terrible misfortune, therefore, that when he discovered the only door that seemed to work for him, it opened to reveal the delighted and yet sinister features of Dr Eggman himself, standing in the way with his arms held behind his back and his cheeks pulled into a grin.

"Sir looks to be a little lost," he began in a very gentleman-like fashion. "Would Sir like to purchase a map of the facility? Perhaps a guided tour?"

Sonic's back quills tightened and he bared his teeth in a warning snarl.

"Yeah, because this place is pretty massive and, for some reason, despite its size, I manage to find myself sharing a doorway with you."

Eggman laughed. "One of us is either very lucky or very unlucky."

"No," Sonic disagreed, "one of us is very stupid for still standing in the doorway I want to get through."

"We're a little tetchy today, aren't we Sonic?" tutted Dr Eggman. "What tick buried its way into your fur and died?"

"It's human-shaped and calls itself a mad scientist."

Eggman stroked his chin in mock-thought. "...You'll have to be more specific."

"And you'll have to move aside." Sonic crossed his arms. "Tails is waiting for me."

"Oh don't you worry about Tails," Eggman smiled, waving a nonchalant hand very elegantly in his direction. "I'd imagine he's already out of my brother's office and looking for you right about now. You might just have time to give him a high-five when you pass each other in one of the corridors!"

Green eyes brightened considerably. "You mean he's escaped?"

"Not to pat myself on the back," Eggman proudly replied, "but it was actually me that let him out."

Sonic's right ear flicked as he smirked up at his adversary.

"...Can you even reach your back?"

"...Ouch."

"Well, as thanks for helping him out, I'll give you a word of warning that the others are here too."

Eggman dropped his smile.

"Yes," he murmured, "Metal Sonic was kind enough to let me know." 

Sonic frowned at that.

"Oh..." he said, "good for you."

However as he attempted to move through the doorway, the bald scientist seemed rooted to the spot.

"Eggman," Sonic sighed irritably, "could you please move out of the way?"

"It's not often I get to hold you in one place, you know," Eggman pouted and then looked at Sonic in an adoring manner. "Let me enjoy the moment."

Not taking kindly to the expression on Eggman's face, Sonic began to tap his foot.

"How about I take a step back and start running?" he suggested. "It's been, ooh, how long since you last had a hedgehog-shaped bruise?"

"Do I have time to congratulate you on your engagement?"

"For Chaos' sake..."

Still Eggman seemed incapable of moving. He remained a sickly smiling barricade which Sonic was reluctant to handle.

"It won't be long before Ira finds out about the others," Eggman warned, finding a sweet amusement in how the blue hedgehog scampered from one side of the doorway to the other, poking his nose into a gap he wanted to make bigger for himself. It was endearingly cute, in a way.

"He'll find out when he ends up under Omega's foot," Sonic hissed. 

Eggman nodded in silent agreement.

"Did he manage to pull off his little experiment?" he then asked out of the blue. Sonic stopped his poking and hurriedly jumped back like he had been stuck with a needle. "Metal told me about your... appointment."

Sonic's pearly white teeth were bared so that his fangs were now visible.

"...The miniscule amount he's managed to take won't be enough to take over the world or give him everlasting life you know."

"I do know. I think he knows that too. Fairly certain the little amount he took from you was deliberate."

"And... What's he going to do with it?"

"...There are a lot of sleeping robots in this base." Eggman tapped the floor with his shoe. "When your Allies cross paths with them it's going to make a mess."

"...They can handle it," Sonic scoffed. "They're fighters and they've been taking apart your robots for years."

A flash of malice briefly glittered behind Eggman's glasses.

"Not for quite so long as you have, eh?" he noted to which Sonic gave his trademark smirk.

"Then it's a good thing I'll probably meet up with them and offer my assistance at some point," he grinned.

One of Eggman's bushy eyebrows raised itself a little higher than the other. 

"...No you won't."

Sonic didn't hear any more.

Breathing heavily from the exertion of swinging his metal rod (which had been hiding in his hands behind him) and cracking it against Sonic's temple (the only weak spot on the hedgehog's hard head), Eggman took a moment to admire his handiwork as it was splayed out in front of him like a blue fur rug.

"Ooooh Ira's so scary, Ira's so evil, Ira's the main bad guy around here..." Eggman jeered, jumping around excitedly. "Ha! When did I stop being Dr Eggman? When did I ever stop being the Top Bad Guy around here?"

He stood over Sonic's still body and laughed maniacally as he sent a message to summon Orbot and Cubot.

"Trick question - I didn't."

Chapter Text

Ira wasn't going to panic. This had gone beyond panicking.

"Ivo did this," he fumed in his head. "Ivo did this to me! That rotten egg did this!" His chest fluttered again and he took a sharp intake of breath. "I don't have time," he groaned. "At this rate, my heart will give up before I've left the building. I can't..." Then he gritted his teeth. "Fine," he decided, "if the Eggman is going to play foul, then so will I." He still had access to the main facility systems and there wasn't anything to suggest that Eggman had left the building with Sonic so it stood to reason that he was still around somewhere.

His brother's main office was a huge room, as staggeringly tall as it was wide, and it was here that Ira had immediately gone upon finding that his cargo was missing.

Eyes as dark as the night itself, Ira began to initiate the systems that would guarantee him complete victory over his enemies.

Because if he couldn't have Sonic then no-one could.

"Well," a voice stopped him, "at last. I don't think we've been properly introduced."

Slowly turning, Ira came face to face with two stern looking purple cats. One was enormous and seemed to possess arms thicker than Ira's head while the other one was smaller, slender and in her palm, a tiny tongue of fire had ignited.

"I'm Blaze."

The two cats were not alone. Beside the female cat appeared a rabbit girl with long velvet ears and a small blue Chao fluttering at her shoulder while beside the taller, fatter cat stood a fierce looking echidna woman dressed in black leather and holding a weapon up at him.

"And you must be Ira Robotnik," another voice added. Ira turned his head and discovered two other hedgehogs. The one that had spoken was a pink furred woman with semi-long quills and eyes as green as Sonic's, brandishing a hammer tightly in both paws.

The hedgehog next to her was male and Ira had to do a double-take before he was satisfied it wasn't Sonic in disguise. The male was silvery coloured and had long elaborate quills. His face though...

His face was uncanny, an absolute doppelganger, of Sonic's.

His mind racing, Ira began to wish that he had paid more attention to Shadow's face too; if all three had the same features...

"...My reputation precedes me, does it?" Ira chuckled, hiding his nerves very well.

"If you can call it a reputation," the pink hedgehog growled. Ira hurriedly recalled Eggman identifying her as Amy Rose the Hedgehog. "On the other hand," Sonic's fiancée added, "we have something to discuss." The hammer twitched.

"I'm sure there's been a misunderstanding," Ira smiled, calmly looking between the two hedgehogs and the other four. "You've all jumped to the wrong conclusions-"

"The only ones here who are professional jumpers are Cream and Froggy," Amy interrupted him sharply and then pointed her beloved weapon at the skinny man. "Where is Sonic?"

Ira knew he couldn't very well tell them that he hadn't the faintest idea where their precious hedgehog was - that would be a certified one-way ticket to the world of pain.

"Very bad manners to barge in here and trespass, let alone throw such dreadful accusations at me," he tutted, shaking his head at them. 

Amy was fast losing her patience.

"Would you prefer I throw something else at you instead?" she suggested but Blaze was quick to intercept.

"Enough of this," she slowly said. "You were asked a question and you haven't answered it yet."

"Why don't you ask my brother," Ira huffed, rolling his eyes. "He seems to know what's going on more than I do." 

Cream, the teenage rabbit, narrowed her own chocolate coloured eyes.

"The last we heard," she informed him, "you and Eggman weren't exactly seeing eye to eye. So who's in charge around here?"

Silence.

"...Where did you hear that?" Ira seethed behind his grit teeth. "Oh, wait, don't tell me. Those compact idiot sycophants of his. Were they the ones that messed up the battle robots? I can't get any of these walking junk piles to do anything!"

"Shame," said Big.

Those that knew Big the Cat could tell you that Big seldom rose his voice or had anything threatening to say to anyone. Sarcasm, however, was something that the large softie seemed to have mastered to an art form.

"So you learnt the hard way that Eggman doesn't appreciate anyone trying to be bigger and badder than him?" Amy murmured, planting her hammer on her shoulder and quirking her brow. 

Silver, meanwhile, had pinned back his ears.

"Have you lost Sonic too?" he asked suspiciously.

Ira's throat tightened.

"Don't be absurd you cheap little knockoff!" he snapped and then punched a button beside his computer. "Metal!" he screeched, "get here now and deal with these pests!"

Time stood still. One moment, all was calm.

Then, with the banging of metal, a blue robot came rocketing through into the room to the horror of Team 2 and to the delight of Ira.

"Ah!" he grinned, "it’s good to see someone is loyal to the Robotnik cause. Deal with these un-skinned fashion accessories. They are a threat to you and to our future!"

With a spring, all six members of Team 2 were ready and waiting for the attack. Shade was almost looking forward to it for she had yet to experience just how strong Metal Sonic was but she was left disappointed when Metal, hovering in mid-air, remained motionless, nothing to suggest he had any thought of fighting them.

"Metal? Metal!" Ira shouted. "What are you doing? Obey me this instant!"

Metal's head slowly turned while his body kept still. There was a fire burning within the robot's red optics and they were piercingly fixed on his would-be commander.

"METAL SONIC!" Ira shrieked as the robot hedgehog began to float ominously towards him and raised a hand. "STOP!"

He didn't and with an ear-shattering boom, Metal openly fired.

That very well may have been the end of Ira Robotnik.

I am sorry to say that it was not.

Throwing himself to the floor, Ira was able to narrowly avoid the blast that blew a hole the size of the Master Emerald out of the wall. Not waiting around for Metal to calibrate his 'lock-on' capabilities, the skinny scientist turned tail and ran for his very life, jumping through a door and vanishing down the corridor.

If he had been Metal's intended target then Metal was awful at chasing after him.

The robot remained where he was, floating in his sinister way and returning his attention back to the six Allies that had reformed closer to one another. A few crackles, a click later, and from Metal's throat came a sound that they hadn't heard for a very long time.

"yOu tHOuGht yOu cOuLD ROaM fReeLY WiThoUt mE kNowiNG ABOut It?"

Of course, as was previously explained, Metal's audible voice wasn't actually his own and he preferred not to use it at all. However, he couldn't establish mental links with any other Mobian save Sonic.

"Back off, Metal," Silver growled. "We're not here for you and you know that. Tell us where Sonic is!" Metal cocked his head jarringly and growled back at him.

"...SONIC iS nOt AVaIlaBle," he replied, an almost questioning pitch hidden in his tone.

"No-one is asking if he's available or not," Cream boldly spoke up, her fear of Metal Sonic having been replaced by the confidence of her team. "We're taking him with us today!"

"Are you working for Eggman now?" Big then asked. Of all the threats to the planet, the Chaos entity and Metal Sonic had been the two that had stuck in Big's mind with absolute clarity. He wouldn't have said he suffered bad memories of them for, in truth, there was actually very little that frightened Big. Some pinned it down to his apparent low intelligence. Others knew better.

"wOrk foR DR EGGMAN?" Metal answered him, also remembering the peculiar feline and his much loved frog, "i BrOkE thROugh mY pRogRAMing onCe. I hAVe brOkEN iT aGAin. I wOrk foR nO-ONe."

"Then how about you do what Silver said and back off?" Blaze said in suggestion and then widened her golden eyes. "Unless you're the one who has Sonic."

Metal said nothing to that. He stared down at them and continued to click and glare.

Amy, on the other hand, who knew Metal better than the others and hadn't actually addressed her ex-tormentor, slowly blinked.

"...You don't know where he is either, do you?"

Metal Sonic glowered at her, dearly wishing that he could fly over and drop the infuriating damsel into the ocean. If he was careful to play his cards right... That was still a possibility.

"I thought Metal had the capability to find Sonic even if he were swimming with space-hogs in another galaxy," Blaze quietly said, not daring to take her eyes off Metal.

"Doesn't mean a thing if Metal's signals are jammed," Amy spoke back in an equally quiet voice.

Silver had carefully risen himself into the air too, to be on hand should the robot make any sudden air attacks.

"Who would jam Metal's signals?" he asked, an aura of pale blue coating his snowy white arms and legs.

"Someone who wouldn't want Metal to find Sonic," Cream answered him to which Cheese let out a whine.

"Team 2," a familiar voice suddenly spoke from their communicators, "we're heading in your direction. We found Tails!"

It was Knuckles.

"Tails is okay?" Amy cried, lifting her wrist to her mouth while keeping Metal in her sights.

Metal Sonic had immediately perked up at the sound of the echidna and the jets in his feet powered a little louder.

"He's fine," Knuckles answered. "Are you able to stay where you are?"

"Well..." Amy almost laughed. "That's the thing. Metal Sonic isn't exactly attacking us but he's not left us alone."

It was the second time that 'silence' had a say in the conversation.

"Metal Sonic is with you!?"

"He's chased Ira off but as for what he's after, we're not sure."

Silence yet again...

"Be with you in three minutes."

With Tails' assistance, Team 1 had made short work of the three battle robots and, true to word, were with Team 2 in under three minutes. Metal Sonic seemed to virtually beam at them, impossible as it was for a robot to do.

"All right, Scrap Brain, what's the deal?" Knuckles was quick to ask, flashing his clawed fist up at the robot version of his close friend.

"He doesn't know where Sonic is," Big explained to the newcomers to which Espio gave a quiet scoff.

"Doesn't know?" the ninja hummed. "Who's side is he meant to be on?"

"As far as I can tell," Blaze answered him, "no-one. He's not working for Ira, he's not working for Eggman... We don't know what he's after."

Metal Sonic had glanced at the two-tailed fox and his 'voice box' was soon buzzing into life again.

"i Am glAd tO sEe YOu aRE wEll, TAILS," he said.

"I'm amazed you even care," Tails murmured in reply.

Metal's optics whirred as he zoomed his vision. "i Am METAL SONIC."

"What's that got to do with anything?" Charmy asked, his wings giving off a faint buzzing to add to the growls of Metal Sonic's motors.

It was Tails that answered the bee. "That's his way of admitting that he was created with Sonic's life data. Thoughts, memories..."

"So he's pleased on Sonic's behalf that you're still walking and talking, we get it," Shadow snapped and then addressed Metal directly. "If you're not going to help us then stay out of our way. If you've been acting under Ira's orders until now then we haven't any solid reason to quarrel with you. We're here for Sonic and that's it. Understood?"

If Metal had had a mouth, it would be smiling. "...aLlOW mE."

Various looks were exchanged.

"Allow you what?" asked Knuckles suspiciously.

Metal slowly turned in the air.

"i ShAll fInD SONIC," he said, "yOu oN thE oThER haND..." Above their heads, the lights flickered and the group instinctively huddled closer to one another. "...I hAVE arrAnGED eSCoRts tO sHOW yOu oUt."

There wasn't time to really ask further questions on that seeing as now two new faces - or rather two old faces - had just arrived on the scene.

Most of the Allies had never laid eyes on them before.

"Oh," Charmy gulped, suddenly finding that he hadn't the strength in his wings to stay airborne any longer, "so you really do have a metal counterpart, Knuckles."

Metal Knuckles had seen better days judging by his browning joints and the cringe-worthy screech as he tried taking a step, but he was still no less terrifying to look at. Beside him, looking just as worn and threadbare was the true fuel of all nightmares.

"And... do I ask?" Charmy squeaked, unable to take his eyes off the plush doll of Tails. Somewhere inside its fabric body, something was whirring and clicking.

"No," Amy replied, her mouth decidedly drying out. "No, you do not."

Chapter Text

According to the GPS, this was the right place: Christmas Isle.

"For a place called Christmas Isle," Sticks had commented, unknowingly echoing Charmy, "it doesn't have a lot of cheer."

It was gone midnight when the plane of three had touched down on the island and the stars resembled spilled glitter which, along with the moon, provided just enough light for the naturally nocturnal anthropomorphic animals to have a relatively decent view. They could make out the dark form of a village hamlet in the distance, made clearer by the lamps that were weakly flickering at various doors, and of course the immense form of the Babylon Rogues' airship was doing a grand job of being a lighthouse for them to navigate to. The light from Jet's study could have guided the Titanic in safely, Marine was certain.

Rouge hopped down from the Tornado and grimaced as she felt a brief wave of nausea. Walking it off, she marched up to the airship and glared up at one of the windows, planting her hands on her curvaceous hips and pinning her wings back.

"Hey!" she called up loudly, throwing a stone for good measure. A shape appeared at the glass as it was opened.

"Spare some consideration for the locals, moron! Have you any idea on what time-" Wave stopped as she took in the sight of the ivory coloured bat below her, flanked either side by a racoon and a badger that looked as though they had been separated at birth. "Well, whaddya know?" the swallow laughed, leaning on the window ledge. "Didn't think you'd be making an appearance. Thought you'd be back home sitting in a rocking chair knitting baby booties and getting weepy over charity commercials."

Rouge and Wave didn't get on. And never had.

"How about you bring your smug face down here and I'll tell you exactly what I've been doing?" Rouge threatened, tightening her glossy lips. 

Wave sucked in air and shook her head.

"Shouldn't over-exert yourself, Mother."

"Shut your beak and tell me where everyone is."

"Not here. It's been, like, four hours since Amy and her group left."

"Left where, sheila?" Marine asked, wary of the sharp-tongued bird.

Wave glanced at her and blinked. "...Who in the world are you?"

"Who's with you?" asked Rouge, wishing that there was someone else she could talk to.

"With me?" Wave smiled. "Well take a flying guess, honey! There ain't no way we'd risk our feathers in there. We're racers, not garbage disposal that sort out robots."

Figured. It was just Rouge's luck to be stuck dealing with all three Babylonians.

"Let me get this straight," Rouge venomously spat. "The three of you have been lounging with your feet up while my friends are risking their necks...?"

"Cool it, batty," Jet's voice interrupted her as the green hawk appeared at Wave's side. "For your information, we were told to wait here. Where's the wisdom in everyone charging in without people waiting behind to make a quick get-away when they come back?"

Rouge frowned at him. "No-one is with you besides you?"

"Just the three of us," Jet nodded. "And now you. You're welcome to come in and take the weight off your feet."

At Rouge's side, Sticks had taken out her boomerang.

"All the same to you guys," she snorted, "but I'm lookin' to break some stuff."

"I'm with Spunk here," Marine agreed.

"Have you, I don't know, checked in with them?" Rouge, meanwhile, was enquiring as her anger level rose. "Asked for any updates? A general 'are you okay?' type thing?"

Jet shrugged as Storm now joined his teammates at the window. 

"Wasn't covered in the contract, no. No point in blowing their cover if they're trying to be sneaky." They heard a scoff of disgust from beneath them.

"How thankful we are to have your help."

"Whatever," Wave huffed back at her. "She's only here because she doesn't want to admit that she's been taken off the playing field." Marine and Sticks winced a little, recognising the lack of wisdom in antagonising an expectant GUN agent.

"Before I fly up there and make you sing nursery rhymes for crackers," Rouge purred, a sound that had never been heard from any kind of bat, "how about you just tell me where everyone is and point us in the right direction? Or, at the very least talk to them?"

Whether he had detected the warning tone in her voice or whether he was merely acting so as to stop the women from hounding him with grief, Jet tapped his beak in Storm's direction.

"...Get me my radio," he ordered.

The yell from Knuckles almost threw Shadow off his concentration as the echidna was sent flying into the wall for the fourth time since the battle began.

Team 2's robots, however, which hadn't been taken down fully, had arrived on the scene and were keeping the others busy while Metal Knuckles sought to deal some damage on the one he had been modelled after. To make matters worse, other robots that had been awakened with Sonic's energy were coming quick and fast to ward off the intruders. Tails had suspected that Sonic's energy was being used in the activation of the decommissioned robots but he hardly felt the need to voice this out loud at the present time. He had been more pleased that he had managed to find his friends and could join them in finding Sonic, wherever he may be, and had actually tried to ask the Tails Doll but was only answered with a high-pitched scream and severe mental harassment.

Right now, the horrifying little plush was chasing him through the air around the room, weaving in and around the swinging limbs of the battle robots that were engaged with attacking the rest of the Allies by any means necessary.

The thing that unnerved Tails the most about his strange counterpart wasn't the fact that Eggman had taken aside time in his schedule to actually manufacture a plush that (apparently) wasn't technically a robot due to a lack of a proper endoskeleton, but rather it was the simple reason that Tails hadn't actually seen the Doll use any weapons.

Just how was the 'toy' going to deal with Tails when he got a hold of him?

The fox didn't want to find out but judging by how it pursued him with absolute tenacity, it was safe to say that it wasn't intent on just stalking him and giving him a hug. No-one dared question how it could even fly in the first place.

A smaller robot was shattered underneath them as Shade sprang up and dropkicked the pathetic excuse of an android into metallic jigsaw pieces. Another warning light had begun to flash and a new alarm was bellowing throughout the facility. Vector was locked in a battle of strength with a particularly confident robot that had a gaping hole in its head. Sparking circuit boards could be seen within but the crocodile couldn't spare a hand to rip any of it out for his arms were entwined with the robot's and were pushing against each other in a bid to topple the opponent.

Metal Knuckles threw a punch at the echidna in the hole in the wall but Knuckles was quick to move himself out of the way so that Metal Knuckles' fist knives only caught his arm - which hurt! Planting his feet on Metal Knux's shiny chassis, Knuckles threw this strength down through his legs to send the robot across the room, giving himself breathing space to remove his bruised body from the wall yet again. He shook his arm and grimaced as spots of blood appeared on the floor but, otherwise, his injury was unnoticeable.

He had always said that red fur was useful in covering up injuries and enemies wouldn't be easily able to see you bleed and, so long as he wasn't touched, no-one else would be able to tell either.

Unfortunately, Metal Knuckles knew.

The robot echidna was mighty pleased with himself when he came for another round and engulfed Knuckles in bone-crushing hug, if 'hug' was the right word for it. It was probably more accurate to describe it as a head-lock, upon retroflection.

"Can someone do something to shut off that noise?" Blaze cried, torching out the insides of a robot that had tried to tackle her into Omega.

"Unable to access any terminals remotely," Omega apologised, pushing his gun into the face of his opponent and shooting the wretched thing's head clean off.

Cream and Charmy were back to back and using the laser guns borrowed from the Workshop to keep would-be attackers at bay.

"There's no way we can get to the computer over there!" Cream called back. "There's too many robots."

"Leave it to me," a deep voice spoke and, with a whoosh of air, Espio suddenly materialised beside Eggman's desk having used his unique abilities to invisibly bypass his enemies. He tapped the keyboard a few times before gritting his teeth. "Ah. It's logged out!" he shouted, "I don't know how to get in!"

"I've got a key!" Tails then called from up high. He had bobbed and weaved for all he was worth but Tails Doll was on him like a foxhound, the mysterious red stone following him more closely than the actual body was. It had once caught up with the fox in mid-air whereupon it latched its hands around Tails' neck and attempted to choke him before Cream had shot at it with the Workshop weapon.

"You mean you're going to hack it?" Espio asked, watching the dogfight. Tails, however, shook his head and then spun around, kicking out a foot and managing to send Tails Doll reeling back with a scream.

"No," he panted, "that would take too long. I have this." His poor tails aching with the strength it took to keep him airborne, the fox came to hover above the chameleon's head and neatly dropped the Memory Stick (with the downloaded files from Eggman's computer still safely stored within) down to him which Espio, being a ninja, expertly caught in one hand. "That has an encryption code inside. I managed to keep myself busy while I was prisoner by making it. It might get you in. Completely automatic - just plug it in and it'll open up the computer."

Nodding his thanks, Espio focused his attention on the computer as Shade leapfrogged her latest victim and caught sight of Knuckles throwing Metal Knuckles over his left shoulder.

"When did that wide-load build a robot echidna?" she growled venomously, feeling offended by the whole idea. 

Shadow, throwing a Chaos Spear into the face of the Battle Robot, was the one to answer her.

"When he actually had a moment of sane intelligence to work out that Sonic wasn't the only problem in the equation," he replied. At Shade's look of puzzlement, he explained, "In a game of chess, its best that you take out the other playing pieces before you can have a crack at taking the King." He nodded at Knuckles and then glanced up at Tails. "These are his way of dealing with two of the pieces."

Over at the computer, the chameleon was staring at the screen, a heavy frown depicting a perfect blend of disbelief and denial.

"By the Emeralds..." he gulped, gripping the desk and widening his eyes further than they already were before he shook his head and gripped the desk further. "Ira's insane!" he called out for all to hear. "This whole place will blow in just over an hour's time!"

Several voices called back in harmony: "What!?"

An illuminated digital clock was steadily ticking down on the computer screen: 1:05:48

"But...But that could..." Big stuttered, "It could... What about the village?"

"If this factory goes up in a mushroom cloud, Christmas Isle will be flooded!" Tails was having trouble landing a hit on the Doll but he managed to find a way to talk amidst his efforts. "The factory goes miles underground and networks all over the island!"

With a grunt, Knuckles seized a demolished robot carcass and lobbed it into his metal counterpart's face just as a buzz came from his communicator.

"Yo Red. Listen, your woman's here and demanding to know what's going on. Where you at?"

Shadow looked at Knuckles.

Knuckles looked at Metal Knuckles.

Metal Knuckles was punched in the face.

"What in Gaia's Pit are you- AH!" Metal Knuckles punched Knuckles back.

The robot echidna was then promptly tossed over the organic's shoulder and thrown into the path of a trigger-happy robot toting a gun.

"ARE YOU TELLING ME ROUGE IS WITH YOU?" Knuckles then roared down the comms.

"No need to shout, pal..."

"JET!"

"Yes! Cheese Louise, why do you have to be so hot-headed all the time? She's turned up with some pirate racoon and a crazy badger."

An explosion as one Battle Robot went up in literal flames, thanks to Blaze, slightly cut off the very end of Jet's sentence but the others knew who he was on about. Silver ducked as a robot limb soared over his head and made contact with the wall behind.

"You there?"

"All right, listen up birdbrain," Knuckles snarled into his communicator. "The factory is gonna go sky high in less than an hour. You want to be a hero and have something to do? GET EVERYONE OFF THIS ISLAND!"

A pause.

"...Sorry, didn't catch all of that. Could you repeat?"

"THAT'S AN ORDER!"

"Hey! When did you become the leader?"

Knuckles was close to his breaking point so Shadow tactfully took over.

"Get Rouge to call in GUN carrier drones!" he barked to the hawk. "This is an immediate evacuation - Priority Level: ABSOLUTE! Do. You. Under. Stand?"

Jet seemed to consider this a moment. "...Better shake a tail then, fellas."

He rung off before he heard Tails Doll's maniacal squeal of delight as he rammed into Tails from the side and sent the exhausted teenager spiralling to the ground with a painful thump. Charmy was quick to flit in and fire a few rounds at the plush to ward it away.

"I-I meant to ask," Tails wheezed. "Where... When did you get..."

"Oh, you mean these?" Charmy held up the laser gun and struck a pose. "Your Workshop. You have a ton of neat stuff in there, dude! Or, you did..."

"H-How did you get in?"

"Amy had the opening passcode and Orbot and Cubot hacked the rest."

"...Darn it."

Cream suddenly jumped into view at that point and looked around. "Where IS Amy?"

Chapter Text

Where indeed had the pink furred hedgehog gone?

As far as the world was concerned, Amy Rose the Hedgehog was a ‘strong independent person’ that kicked butt, took names, and didn't need rescue.

Amy would always secretly disagree.

When she had been born, she was no different to the other populace of the planet who were ordinary, simple people that ferretted about their daily lives. Back in her younger years, Amy considered herself a classic ‘girly girl’; she loved cooking and baking and cleaning and eagerly entertained the idea of being a housewife, which was rare in the day and age where many sought to find different plans for their futures. Her fantasies of being a mother and tending to her own home and greeting her spouse after they'd been to work with a hot meal and a warm drink was all she ever dreamt of and so, of course, she wouldn't hesitate to say that she was often taken for the kind of girl that would need rescuing. Not necessarily by a man, true - but she'd have preferred one all the same.

Then, of course, she heard of a rebellious young hedgehog boy with electric blue quills and feet that could outrun a jet plane.

Amy sighed as she cautiously trotted down the corridor, ears pricked forward for signs that she was getting close to her quarry.

As anyone could now tell you, to be involved with Sonic was to be in acceptance of what he did - and what he did was protect the people of the planet from any threats and have fun while doing it. Becoming an ally of his and joining him as a Freedom Fighter meant that Amy had to let go of her dreams of being a regular housewife with a regular home and a regular garden full of regular flowers where she would regularly hang her regular washing and wait for her regular freshly baked apple pie to cool off on the regular old brick windowsill.

So yes, she was a ‘strong independent person’ that kicked butt, took names and only sometimes needed someone to rescue her - but only because she had HAD to be. There hadn't been a choice in the matter. 

Her current situation, on the other hand, WAS a choice and she'd be damned if she was going to go back without settling an old score.

Just ahead of her, Metal Sonic's red optics were illuminating the corridor in front of him as he hovered slowly to a stop. Amy stopped too, glaring at the back of the robot's head.

"...nOw wHAt Do yOu HOpE to pRoVE?" his grinding, false robotic voice spoke. Amy didn't say anything. "...YOu dONt fOOl mE, AMY ROSE. i CaN hEaR YouR hEArt rAce."

Teeth gritted against one another, Amy spread her feet a little further apart to give herself more purchase on her hammer.

"Don't flatter yourself," she snarled. "I'm not scared of you anymore."

"YEs YoU aRE." Metal barely skipped a beat in responding. "YOu rEek oF fEar."

Having enough of his ominous and over-the-top 'bad guy' routine, Amy raised her quills.

"Save your non-existent breath and put 'em up. I'm taking you down off your high horse."

Metal turned to look at her and Amy was proud that her heart only jumped a tiny bit this time.

"aLl bY yOUrsElf?"

With her confidence at a temporary high, Amy surprised herself by taking a couple of steps closer.

"I might not be like the guys with their speed and weapons and flying futuristic powers but... I'm still a hedgehog," she told him, "with a hammer."

Metal then produced a horrible sound which Amy then realised was just him laughing.

"yoU mAY HaVE pRogreSsED fUrtHER ThAn thE hElpLESs gIrl tHAt i oNce HaD tHE PlEAsuRe oF TOrMenTing mAny yEaRS aGo..." You might not have been able to see the grin but, boy could it be felt. "...bUt dEep DOWn, yOU Are sTiLL hElPleSs. ... AnD yOU ARe sTiLL sCaREd."

"I'm a hedgehog," Amy repeated again, more to herself this time. "And I'm here to prove that I can fight like one."

For a brief moment, Amy could have sworn that she had the confidence to accurately identify the 'expression' Metal Sonic was pulling but that moment was gone before she could begin to think about it.

"...hEdGEhoGs..." Metal drawled, slightly irritated, slightly proud, "...dO seEm tO be ThE ulTimATe LIfEorMs oF thE uNiVErSe, dOn'T ThEY?"

"Just because Shadow is one doesn't mean-"

"i rEfer noT tO SHADOW. aLL hEdGehOgs." Amy stared at him, anticipating a foul move coming her way. "tHE PlanEt'S fIrST tRue ROyaLtY aS chOsen By tHe pOwERs of CHAOS iTseLf. sUcH a lEgAcy."

"...What do you mean?" the young hedgehog frowned. "Chosen by... Chosen by Chaos? Stop spewing every word you have in your vocabulary and let me turn you into shavings!"

"YOu DOn'T bEliEvE mE?"

"Considering what I know about you? No, not really. You're another of Eggman's products - how trustworthy is anything you say?"

Metal's feet touched the ground.

"woRrY nOT," he snarled, "I aM fINisHed taLkiNG."

The unearthly screech that came from the doll as Tails drove his screwdriver down through its blank face caused several ears to pivot back in discomfort. The combined efforts of the Allies had resulted in victory over most of the battle robots and the only remaining contenders was a sparking Tails Doll that was still wriggling its twisted body across the floor and Metal Knuckles, still locked in a ferocious fist-fight with the one he had been modelled after.

Now that Knuckles' allies had little to do and few enemies to occupy themselves with, the metal echidna was soon to find itself brutally assaulted by the likes of Omega and Shade who both found the robot particularly offensive. It took several headshots before Metal Knuckles dislodged himself from his primary enemy and backed off a little to confront these new attacks. Big the Cat was giving the Tails Doll a wide berth as he clambered over the remains of robots to reach the Guardian of the Master Emerald who was just recovering.

"Are you okay?" the large cat asked as Froggy bounded down his arm and perched on Knuckles' shoulder.

"Fine," Knuckles answered stiffly, cracking his back. He didn't feel the need to list the cuts and grazes and gashes that had been kindly given to him.

Around the room, Omega and Shade were knocking seven or eight bells out of Metal Knuckles, Blaze and Silver were finishing off the robots, Cream and Charmy were covering the entrances to be sure that no more were coming, Vector and Espio were over at the computer with Shadow and were desperately attempting to find a way of cancelling the future detonation, the Tails' Doll was being assaulted by Cheese, Amy was still missing and Tails...

...

Well, this wasn't the first time that Knuckles had quickly sussed that they were down by one fox.

"And here I was sure that Tails was the responsible one," Knuckles muttered to himself upon noting that his friend was now nowhere to be seen. "The sensible one. The one that promised me that he wouldn't let Sonic influence him so that he wouldn't feel the need to go off on his own after someone and..."

The Tails Doll broke his concentration with another screech and hoisted itself up into the air, knocking Cheese aside like a balloon. The red stone that hung above his head flashed ominously as he let out a high-pitched call.

"What's that thing crying about now?" Blaze hissed.

No-one had an answer but Metal Knuckles seemed to respond instantaneously to the call. It had been playing dead for a second or two after Omega had blasted one of its legs off but at the sound of Tails Doll, it sparked back into life and pulled itself into the air before Shade could spring at it again. Without warning or a moment of hesitation, the two of them rocketed off in the direction that Metal Sonic had departed, vanishing into the base.

"Now where do they think they're going?" asked Cream, not expecting an answer.

"Abandoning ship," Shadow huffed, departing from the computer where he, Vector and Espio had unanimously concluded that the countdown was going to happen and an explosion was imminent whether they liked it or not.

Ahead of him, Tails could pick out the sound of another fight, a much more personal one-on-one compared to the ballroom blitz that he had left behind him after retrieving his screwdriver from the Tails Doll's face.

When it was brought to his attention that Amy was MIA, there was only one explanation: she had gone after Metal Sonic.

Now Tails had gone after Amy.

"Do all hedgehogs do this?" he had thought in his head. "Must all hedgehogs go off by themselves? I mean, I suppose if it's a trait of their wild relatives then it could be a trait of..." He ground to a halt and ducked as a red beam of light sizzled over his head and burnt the tips of his head fur. "OW OW OUCH!" he wailed, frantically rubbing his smoking fur and sore ears before peering up and jumping to Amy's assistance.

Amy wasn't quite sure how it had happened, but she was straddling the robot's back and had the handle of her hammer rammed up against his throat, threatening to tear the horrible thing clean off the torso.

Metal, on the other hand, had one of his limbs tightly wrapped around Amy's left leg and the other hand was clutching her waist.

Snaking trails of blood had coursed down her side and dotted the floor beneath them, but she hardly noticed her injuries. She was in the midst of inflicting years of due payback on her enemy and she wasn't going to go down quite as easily as she once had in her youth.

"You know what?" she shouted at the back of Metal's head. "I'm done! I am SO done with being pushed around, kidnapped and held hostage. I'M DONE with that!" Her free leg rooted itself in the small of Metal's back. "And so are you, you UGLY KNOCK-OFF!"

She pulled with her hammer and pushed with her foot which forced Metal to let go and they both crashed to the ground.

That was when Tails flew in and dragged Amy out of the way before Metal could whip his claws round at her and cut her open.

She had damaged his throat with her hammer so that he couldn't directly communicate with words anymore but that hadn't stopped him from calling out for his own allies with what was left of his voice, producing the most horrific scream ever to have been heard from any robot. The clock was ticking and the facility would blow. Metal reasoned that, with its current state, battling wasn't the most sensible thing to do and it was better to get away and plan revenge on your enemies than get blown up in the bid to destroy them now.

With the last of his energy, Metal Sonic rose up into the air and flew away in a burst of heat. In a matter of seconds, Metal Knuckles and the Tails Doll had followed after him, paying no attention to Tails and Amy on the ground.

Both were panting heavily and it was only now that Amy began to feel the sting of her wounds.

"P-Please, Amy," Tails breathed, his chest heaving. "If you're... g-going to be... like Sonic in... in doing that... Please don't pass it on to your kids."

"HEY!" Knuckles skidded to a stop in front of them. "Are you hurt? What happened?"

Tails hurriedly explained everything but Amy refused a helping hand, pulling herself up by using her hammer.

"Forget about me!" she thundered. "Where have those creeps gone?"

"Doing a runner," Silver suddenly answered, appearing next to Knuckles. "The facility is going to self-destruct in..." he checked his wrist and discovered that he wasn't wearing a watch, "...in a little while."

Amy's quills were still tight from her fight with Metal. A hedgehog with tightened quills found it difficult to calm down.

"But we haven't found Sonic," she said.

"No, I know that," Knuckles nodded. "The others have split up. We're covering the entire base and we're not bothering with stealth anymore. Can you run?"

"I can do better than run," Amy told him, gripping her hammer again and proving her point by putting her full weight on her injured side and giving it a swing.

Tails pressed a few switches on his communicator watch but it was totally dead. Letting out a humph, the irate fox glanced at Silver.

"You'll be quicker in the air," he told him. "Leave us to look for Sonic as a three."

"And take hoppity here back to Big," Knuckles added, prising the amphibian off his shoulder where he was still sitting and dumping it in Silver's hands.

"Are you sure?" Silver questioned. "I thought it was agreed that you guys shouldn't be left-"

"We're not by ourselves!" Knuckles groaned. "Please, just hurry! The more allies we have divided up into teams, the more ground we'll cover, the quicker the search, the sooner we get ourselves outta here!"

Not daring to argue further, Silver was off, returning to find Big and resume his own search.

Chapter Text

Bubble, gubble, gurble, glub. Whrrrrr, beep boo-beep, drrrrrthrrrr, whrrreeep. Zrrrrr click-click zrrrrr, gubble, bubble, beep, glub glub, whrrrrr, vooooom, bubble, click, beep.

So went the harmonious ambience of your typical evil scientist laboratory.

This evil scientist laboratory may have had a similar tune once but, right now, it was deadly silent.

...Almost deadly silent...

Sat at one of his many desks, the infamous doctor of science could have been up to his spectacles in new information, new schemes, new possibilities - all hugely eclipsed by Dr Eggman's recent victory: The Successful Capture of Sonic The Hedgehog.

But he wasn't. He was actually listening to a much more rare laboratory sound:

Grrrrr.

"Now don't be so disheartened," Eggman had cooed, the smooth lens of his glasses reflecting the illuminated green writing from his only working computer screen. "You've had your... extremely numerous victories. Ever heard the expression that what goes up must come down?"

Silence.

"No? The point is... You can't expect to go on winning forever." Eggman turned in his chair, another dark shape to add to the arrangement of his domain. "Even you..." He spoke, "...with all your speed and all your endurance... even you have to submit to that."

At a lengthy distance from Eggman, clamped down on a ring of metal, steel gauntlets restraining his formidable legs, the fastest living creature in the whole of existence was presented as a work of art, his limbs stretched and only his head, neck and back supported. He was at a 120 degree tilt, liable for adjusting no doubt, taking pride of place upon an elevated platform.

Though he had growled, his head did not hang. He would not allow it to hang. He had been caught by Eggman before, in the past, but that hadn't lasted. What proof was there that he wasn't going to get out of this situation too?

"Then why am I still alive?" he asked.

To that question, Eggman rose from his chair.

"Why am I still alive?" he asked back.

One step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
Four: He and his adversary were a meter apart.

"Hmm? Why do I still draw breath, after everything I've done?"

Sonic knew Eggman well. Eggman knew Sonic. It was a mystery to everyone else as to why both still lived.

"...I don't take lives," so Sonic uttered in his head, "I free them."

"What is freedom? Life without law." Eggman uttered back.

Silent conversation, however, wasn't a hobby that either was particularly interested in partaking in.

"I sussed what was wrong with you a long time ago," Eggman said, aloud. "You thrive on chaos. Not that you can help that - it makes up your DNA, after all."

To say that Sonic felt vulnerable was a literal stretch. His respect for Eggman as a scientist was considerably more than his respect for him as an enemy though the very fact that he was not in total control of the circumstances was enough to cause the minor quills that grew from his tail to the base of his neck to prickle.

Despite all this, the one thing that Sonic the Hedgehog could easily find time to do when facing peril situations was to consider the glass half-full.

"So you're, what, the order to my chaos?"

Eggman shrugged. "Can't have one without the other, can you?"

A light-hearted chuckle/scoff from Sonic. "And they always like to present 'chaos' as something negative," he mused. "Is this a breakthrough in the science community, then? The day when positive chaos was confirmed and tyrannical order was shunned."

It was then Eggman's turn to scoff-laugh. 

"We're quite the pair. You and I," he said. "You are one force and I'm another. The difference is that you can trust an animal to be an animal..." He leant closer and hid his gloved hands behind him, "...but you can never trust a human to be human."

Sonic had a particular smile. To one, it was a comfort. To another, it was an insult.

"We're feeling very philosophical today, aren't we Egghead?" So Sonic smiled.

Ever the receiver of such a smile, Eggman refused to be infuriated and instead chose to search, scrutinising search, for the trace of fear that was ever present behind every cocky smile.

"'Science," he quoted, "is what you know. Philosophy is what you DON'T know.' So in that respect, Sonic, to me, you are a philosophy in yourself."

"I think you've called me many things but that IS new."

There were times when Eggman saw Sonic as nothing more than a pesky nuisance but, every once in a while, when Sonic wasn't shredding his robots and pulling the wires from his beautifully crafted plans, there were moments, such as now, when the hedgehog was kept still, that Eggman was able to admire him.

After all, he was a magnificent beast in the eyes of nature; healthy, handsome, supple, strong, well balanced, well proportioned, full of life... Yes, to look upon Sonic as a specimen rather than a person was to reveal a whole other level of appreciation that only humans seemed to really venture into.

"It's true though, isn't it?" said Eggman, briefly contemplating this. "Everything about you is contradictingly symbolic. Everything. Your nature, your speed, your very species..."

Sonic's left ear twitched.

"Want to run that past me again?"

So Eggman did:

"You're free, Sonic," he began, "but you're not free - because you're bound to me. You work alone... among friends. As the wind you are the most refreshing of breezes and the most terrifying and destructive of hurricanes. Blue is the colour of hope and the colour of sorrow. You are a hedgehog..."

Now here was were Sonic truly locked eyes with his enemy.

"...So while you show a soft smile, a jolly laugh, a friendly face... No-one can get close to you. You are the very creature that pines for love... but cannot ever be cuddled for warmth."

If Eggman had claimed that he took no delight in seeing the face of his bitter foe fall, he would have been labelled a bigger liar than he already was.

"It's called the Hedgehog's Dilemma," he went on to explain. "It describes a situation in which, when fending off the bitter cold, a group of hedgehogs will seek to become close to one another so as to share body heat. But they must remain apart or else risk hurting one another with their spines. Though they all share the intention of a close relationship, it cannot be - for reasons they cannot avoid nor control."

The sigh of the Eggman was coated in insincerity.

"Despite goodwill," he went on to clarify, "close intimacy simply cannot occur without mutual harm. You embody this so well, Sonic. How safe your friends might now be had they just kept their distance from you. One by one they came to you in friendship and one by one they've been hurt, their chances for normal lives cruelly cut up right in front of them. You drag innocent creatures into our feud like lambs to the slaughter."

In situations such as this, which was practically unheard of for the likes of Sonic, the speedster would try and ignore the talk by thinking about wide open spaces and running and adventure and more running... but wherever he ran in his mind there he could only see two shivering wild hedgehogs, staring miserably at each other, desperately wishing to warm one another up and yet fearing the other's quills.

From that thought came a memory.

"Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! Are you okay? Gah! Of course you're not okay. I'm so sorry, Tails! I didn't mean to... please don't cry! Did it...? Oh man, you're bleeding! I'm sorry! I didn't realise you were behind me... No, please I... Do you want a hug to make it better? ... No, I suppose you don't, do you...?" A 4 year old Miles Prower had discovered the hard way that there was no such thing as a sneak hug when your best friend and adopted big brother had an armour of spikes coating his back.

"You sure as heck love to talk sometimes, don't you?" the fastest hedgehog in the world mentioned quietly, his words accompanied by a false smirk.

Eggman looked on, amused. "So says the pot calling the kettle black."

Sonic flexed his fingers, tingling with the feeling of pins and needles, and, having adjusted himself to this new attack, raised his face yet again. 

"All this talk about me," he mused, "and yet you're still forgetting that I'm not the only hedgehog out there, you know."

"I hadn't forgotten," Eggman assured him, casually beginning to circle his targeted foe. "So then it really all boils down to just one simple truth."

"And what's that?"

"You're not the only hedgehog," Eggman agreed, "but you ARE the only Sonic."

The blue hedgehog looked pleasantly surprised. 

"I will take that as a compliment," he said, bowing his head in gratitude.

"You should," Eggman nodded back before startling Sonic by throwing himself forward so that their faces were mere inches from one another, growling in a menacing tone. "Because it's you that l hate the most."

Gone was the witty banter and the jolly gloats; Eggman was notorious for reverting back into his despicable old personality from time to time. He was close enough for Sonic to smell the oil and the tang of metal that adorned his scent, a notable smell that didn't encourage jovial jokes, judging by the mercy at which Eggman had him.

"Which brings us back to right here, right now," Sonic said cautiously, "and to the question of what is it, exactly, that you're intending to do?"

For a second, all Sonic could see were his own eyes reflected in the lens of Eggman's glasses. Then Eggman snatched his glasses away and there, staring back into the eyes of the hedgehog, were the very eyes that haunted Sonic's dreams, the same eyes he saw whenever he looked into the soulless optics of any Eggman robot.

"I'm hoping to, one day, solve a great mystery," Eggman answered him.

The only way for Sonic to regain his confidence was to fall back on his unfailing tactic – wit.

"What, how a genius with an IQ of 300 took however many years to get a hedgehog to sit down and talk to him?" the hedgehog laughed.

"Interesting enquiry," Eggman chuckled back, sharing the joke, "but far too underwhelming for a scientist of my personal interests."

Sonic's smile did not last very long after that.

"Yes," he murmured, "and we all know where your personal interests lie, don't we Eggman? If it isn't coated in metal and void of an Eggman logo then it's really not worth having around."

"See?" Eggman grinned. "We're on the same page. And you are exactly 100% correct."

The blue hedgehog rolled his eyes, a movement he had perfected in his teenage years. "Please tell me you're not going to give the anti-climactic announcement that you're really just whittling your way down to robotising me."

Eggman hesitated.

Sonic waited.

It was Eggman's trademark work - roboticization. He took helpless Mobians and fed them into his machine, paralysing them, numbing them, and then stripping them of skin and fur and replacing bone and muscle for wires and computers, all dressed in metal and set to do whatever work they were assigned.

There was no choice in the matter.

There was no freedom.

It made Sonic sick.

Of course, Eggman had always, ALWAYS, publicly boasted to all that, one day, of all his robots, one of his favourites would be the robotised form of Sonic, standing at Eggman's side, programmed to jump to the scientist's every call and desire. The worst thing about roboticization was that the victim still retained their brains upon being robotised - their memories, their personalities... all overwritten.

It was worse than death.

"That was once my dream," Eggman admitted. "But in recent years and having to go through everything with Ira I've realised that, along with my declining sanity, my admiration and loathing of you seems to have only grown."

Sonic was not yet sure whether to be complimented or not. He had little time to decide, for Eggman was fixing his attention on him again.

"YOU are the great mystery, Sonic," he boasted. "More of a mystery to me than that of Shadow, even. Shadow, I can explain. You..." Eggman's head tilted. "You are an enigma that no-one can explain. And I wouldn't bear burying that enigma away within a robot." A pause. "...Not yet."

Eggman turned back to his computer and caught sight of Orbot and Cubot at the doors, silently watching in fear until their creator dismissed them with a sharp nod, elevating that fear higher. They were only every dismissed like that when Eggman didn't want to them to see what he was going to do. The pair of them had just closed the door behind them to wait outside and the scientist was just about to reach his desk...

"...What you see is what you get."

Eggman stopped in mid-stride upon hearing Sonic's soft voice. The hedgehog was down but by no means out.

"Thought I'd made a point of mentioning that a long time ago."

"Yes, to Shadow, if I'm not mistaken," Eggman replied, turning back around. "And what a deep answer to give him, Sonic. Of course, who of us sees the exact same thing as another? Hmm? What do different people see when they see you? I mean, what I see is different from what Shadow sees. And what Shadow sees is different to what Tails sees. And what Tails sees is different to what Knuckles sees. And to what Amy sees. And to Silver and to Jet and to Vector and so on. Maybe, what everyone sees is unmistakeably different to what you see every time you look in a mirror."

Judging by Sonic's renewed smile, the hedgehog wasn't ready to give up on the notion that he was still playing their usual game.

"I see a devilishly handsome hedgehog that loves to run," he announced. "Can't get more simple than that."

"Don't you find it's the most simple things that are the most complicated to describe?"

"Hey," Sonic chuckled, "if it looks like a hedgehog, walks like a hedgehog, talks like a hedgehog - it's a hedgehog."

"But is it a Sonic hedgehog?"

Eggman stepped forward with slow, deliberate strides, his advance threatening his captured animal.

"You are what you are," he sighed, following a pause, "...so what are you, Sonic?"

Was he Ira's Fountain of Youth?
Was he Chaos Born?
Was he an ordinary hedgehog that simply got lucky?
Was he a chance event?
A coincidence?
Nature's little joke?
Was he...anything?

Sonic had no answer.

"There's the enigma!" Eggman crowed.

Sonic's smile was now gone, replaced by a glare that might have unnerved Eggman had he not been so elated.

While the two stared one another down for a few slow passing seconds, it appeared that Eggman finally came to a decision in his head. He spun and abandoned Sonic upon his mount, giving his attention to a cumbersome stone protrusion in the lab wall. Lifting a hatch revealed a roaring furnace, the heat of which could be felt from wherever one stood in the room.

"You know," Eggman mused, "you were right about one thing - I much prefer things with an Eggman logo on it." Slowly, Eggman pulled on a leather glove, taking up a long iron rod that had been sat in the burning embers. He brandished the rod in front of him where, at the end that had been cooking within the coals, a small Eggman Industries Logo had been carved into a brand. Eggman had only to look at Sonic to make his point clear.
"Doesn't have to be made of metal, though..."

Had hedgehogs been able to visible pale, Eggman may have been rewarded with such a sight. As it happened, the only change that did occur was the raising of the quills.

His eyes wide, his ears pinned back, his jaw opened a fraction; Sonic was the picture of shock.

"...You're not coming near me with that," he could only utter, almost dumbfounded, as though he weren't quite capable of believing what his arch enemy was proposing he do.

"I agree that it's a little unorthodox," Eggman chuckled darkly, turning the brand over and over in the furnace, the iron glowing bright white. "Quite controversial. Inhumane even."

"This is low, even for you, Robotnik."

Eggman hesitated.

There was a way in which Sonic had spoken that delightfully terrified him.

"...How long has it been since you last called me that?" he asked.

Sonic's head turned away, his face set in an expression that betrayed his lack of patience.

"Not long enough," he snarled venomously. "I thought THAT man was dead."

"Robotnik never died," Eggman whispered. "He just accepted your insult. That's all."

"Look, I agree we've been doing this dance for a long time - and neither of us are ever going to get that time back - but we both know enough," Sonic began, daring to dabble with the chance of reasoning. "Now you may want to cut me open, poke around and then sew me back up and slap whatever's left inside a remote controlled tin can but you are a whole other level of stupid if you think I'm going to roll over and LET you do it while I still have the ability to breathe." His anger flaring, Sonic's voice was now growing in volume. "And the tiniest shred of respect I MAY have had for you can be kissed goodbye if you dare touch me with that. I'm a hedgehog - not a cow. I will NOT be branded like cattle for you to call property!"

Robotnik's brow creased as he turned back to look at Sonic.

"This whole ordeal with my brother made me accept the fact that you won't always be under my control. Others will attempt to claim power for themselves. But you've always been my property," he countered, as though it were the most simple fact known to the world. "Did you not know that? I've had a claim to you longer than anyone else. Far longer than Tails ever had."

Of everyone, Sonic would not hear a word against Tails.

"Tails made me who I am today."

It seemed to ignite the wrong feelings in Dr Robotnik.

"No, I made you!" the scientist fumed, pressing the brand into the flames with renewed vigour. "It was ME! You hear me?"

"Hard not to with your foghorn voice," Sonic growled. "Doesn't mean I'm listening."

"You don't have to listen," said Robotnik, calming himself. "You just have to accept that what happens here, today, will change us both."

"In your dreams. I might change one day, doctor, but not because of you. I can promise that."

When Robotnik looked at Sonic with his dead black eyes, it dawned on the hedgehog that there was little, if any sanity left in him. It was almost mesmerising to look at and, without warning, Robotnik was standing in front of him without anything to suggest he hadn't ever been more than a foot away at any given time.

He was smiling again.

"I wouldn't trust any of your promises, Sonic," he whispered.

Sonic had almost forgotten about the branding iron.

Chapter Text

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Move it or lose it people!" Wave called, clapping her wings as sleep-deprived residents of the town began to emerge like weary animals coming out of hibernation. "Shake a tail or stay and wail. Be ready or be dead-ey!"

"I'm not saying that you aren't doing a wonderful job," Sticks commented dryly as she passed by, "but could you please not do that?"

"Well, I'm not saying that I know you all that well," Wave answered in the same dry tone of voice, "but could you mind your own business?"

Sticks gave a growl and turned with her nose in the air, flicking her tail and going back to continue helping the residents of Christmas Isle evacuate. Feeling proud of herself, Wave carried on strutting up and down the hamlet roads, waking people up with her calling.

"She has a point," Storm suddenly said, appearing beside her as though from thin air. "I think you're making them panic."

"That's the point," Wave replied. "They'll hurry more if they're in a panic. Anyway, that badger girl is supposed to be the doom-merchant around here, screaming about the end of the world. She's just sore that I've taken her job - COME ON PEOPLE, WHILE WE'RE STILL ALIVE! - How many can the Airship take?"

"Dunno," Storm shrugged. "I'll ask Jet..."

"Oh don't bother," Wave sighed, catching the sound of approaching G.U.N. helicopters. "There's room."

Jet, meanwhile, was trying to organise seating on his airship.

"Look on the bright side," he told a terrified family, "your kids will have opportunity to marry someone not related to them on the mainland. Excuse me, that's MY cabin! Please sit in the designated places, THANK you. Sir? Sir! Could you remain seated? It makes my job easier." The hawk huffed loudly. "That's a lot of luggage for just the two of you. Are you... Oh, you have cats. Great. Could I remind the lot of you that young children should be kept with their parents at all times? If not, you can stick them in a spacious suitcase - we're not judgemental."

"Look at you, flat out like a lizard drinking!" Marine laughed, holding a pet carrier for a frail old human woman as she reversed into a seat by the window.

"Was that supposed to mean something?" Jet asked tiredly.

"Nothing offensive, mate," Marine told him, walking over after handing the carrier to the woman, "compared to you, I feel as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike. Hey, Spunk!" Marine suddenly stuck her head through the door and called down to Sticks, "How many left?"

"A little more. There's two other towns over the hill," Sticks answered, showing an old couple of sheep where to go and watching Rouge directing GUN craft in to land.

"Reckon it won't be long til we have everyone," Wave said, zooming up on her extreme gear and leaving Storm behind to keep the people coming. "But you know Batty over there is going to want something done about the lot in the factory."

"The G.U.N. will deal with that, " said Jet, "Just get the other two towns evacuated- MADAME! That's MY cabin!"

A short distance away, the last of the helicopters had landed, three in total. Rouge hoped that was enough.

"Agent Rouge!" Private Rocky Pawlett hopped from the first chopper.

"This hamlet is being evacuated," Rouge jutted a finger over her shoulder at the town in the distance. "But there are two more towns North of here. Focus on them." Other GUN soldiers ran to obey.

"What's the situation here though?" Pawlett asked, glaring at the Eggman facility on top of the hill.

"We last communicated ten minutes ago," Rouge replied, gazing over her shoulder. "Since then, nothing."

"No-one has come or gone from that building?"

"None that we've seen."

"Who's in there?"

"Everyone. Well, except for myself, Sticks, Marine and the Rogues."

"So the enemy is still in there too?"

"For now." The bat stared at the building above them on the hill, fear and longing twisting themselves into knots in the pit of her stomach. Or was that just the baby?

The two robots jolted sharply as Eggman suddenly appeared in front of them.

"Oh, Sir..." Orbot gulped but his master wasn't waiting for conversations.

"Pack your bags," he barked, "we're saying goodbye to this place forever."

While Cubot went hovering about trying to work out if he even had a bag, Orbot hadn't moved an inch.

"...But Sir..." he timidly asked, "what about Sonic? Is he... Did you...?"

"You know what that hedgehog is like," Eggman grinned. "He'll find a way to escape, as usual. Now get moving!"

Shadow couldn't hear the thump of Omega's feet behind him and so he turned sharply.

"Omega," he said sternly, "keep moving. We don't have time."

The robot was motionless, as though a thought had suddenly come into his mind.

"Omega!" Shadow barked, impatience taking hold.

Omega stared sadly (for a robot) down at his ally and quietly asked, "You don't think it possible that Gamma might be here?"

The black hedgehog sighed and though he didn't drop his frown, he did drop his harsh tone.

"...Gamma went offline a long time ago," he murmured. "You know that. You told me."

"But do you think the shell might be here?"

It was something, Shadow supposed, that Omega had been constantly considering the entire time they had arrived. After a pause to work out his answer, Shadow made his way back to his teammate.

"You know better than I do - the likelihood is that Gamma's body was left on Eggman's airship when he died. The airship was destroyed by Perfect Chaos," he said slowly, repeating all that he had been told seeing as he hadn't been there at the time.

"If the shell was recovered," Omega pressed, "would Eggman have brought it here? Like the other shells?"

"The chances are very small. Probably not," Shadow immediately replied. He then sighed and pushed a tentative paw through his flecked quills. "I don't know."

A whirr and a click sounded in Omega's head, a sign that he was turning over options and calculating hundreds of thoughts. Shadow knew what it was that Omega wanted but he also knew that they couldn't afford it - it was too risky and only based off speculation.

"There's nothing we can do," he told Omega, his voice firm once more. "When the facility blows, everything inside will be destroyed too and we have to find Sonic before that happens." He was just about to turn around to resume walking down the corridor when,

"I never knew Gamma."

Shadow closed his eyes and swallowed.

"Nether did I," he admitted. The robot's optics seemed vacant and the hedgehog knew there had to be a way to pull him out of his funk. "But," he therefore continued, "according to the others he was... strong. Intelligent. Brave. Noble..." He gave a half-hearted chuckle. "So he was just like you." Omega now looked at him properly. "And it sure would be a loss if you were blown up here so let's keep moving."

But it seemed that it hadn't been enough to chivvy the robot into life.

"Shadow..." he said. "New task: I must find Gamma."

"What?" Shadow wheeled around on his heels and nearly glared at him. "No, you... Omega, we have less than an hour. One hour! We have to get out of here as quickly as possible and get off the island - we haven't time to-"

"Gamma is designated as my brother."

Shadow's mouth quickly dried up and he shut it.

"I... I know," he nodded. "You want to go back for him. I get that. You don't want to leave him behind. I understand." He hung his head and slowly closed his fingers into tight fists. "I mean..." he muttered, "why... why should you live and someone else be left to die...?"

At that, Omega realised what he had done.

"I did not mean for you to think of Maria. Apologies."

Shadow closed his eyes and shook his head.

"...I can't lose you like I lost Maria," he admitted. "Rouge is safe outside, thank Chaos..."

"But you are not escaping the facility either, Shadow," Omega pointed out. "You are looking for Sonic."

"That's got nothing to do with this. I get it that you feel some kind of kinsmanship with Gamma because he's an E-Series Robot like you which is why you-"

"Do you not feel kinsmanship with Sonic?"

Now Shadow shut up entirely but his eyes opened wide as he lifted his head and gazed up into Omega's face, his expression unreadable. Omega whirred again.

"You are both hedgehogs of extraordinary power and have stood against those that wish to oppress you - as Gamma and I have stood against those that oppressed us."

A few more seconds passed. Then Shadow huffed.

"...Let me make one thing very clear, Omega," he growled. "Sonic and I have nothing to do with each other. He lives one life. I live another. Sometimes, those lives have to overlap and we deal with that when it happens. I respect him for who he is and what he does but GUN see him as a Person of Interest..." Shadow faltered at that, knowing full well that 'Person of Interest' could also be interpreted as 'threat', "...and so it is for THAT reason that I'm putting in the effort of finding him and that's it."

Having ranted all of that, Shadow resumed his fast pace down the corridor towards the doors at the end, relieved that he could hear Omega following him at last.

"Sonic, then," the robot spoke softly, "is not designated as your brother?"

Shadow gritted his teeth and reached the doors.

"...We share a face and a species - that is all," he snapped and pushed through. "I don't believe that the mystery of why that is will ever be..."

His sentence was never finished.

On the other side of the doors was yet another laboratory of some kind though it appeared as though someone had attempted to merge it with a library judging by the shelves upon shelves of books and chests and drawers. Flickering computer screens provided the only illumination of the dust smothered room causing it to feel sinister and unsafe.

Omega stared around in amazement, absorbing in everything while Shadow looked around in uneasiness. He recalled a room like this before, one that had been on the ARK. That room had been Professor Robotnik's study. Why did Eggman have one just like it?

"Omega," he breathed. "Do you have an idea of what this room might be used for?"

The robot clicked and looked around again.

"Research," he simply replied. "I have, on file, information that would suggest this room to be a private research laboratory. Major experiments were not likely to have been carried out here."

Shadow had dashed to a computer but, to his dismay, discovered that it contained nothing. Then again, Eggman hadn't used the factory for decades and the thick dust and grime layer only proved that point. While he contemplated the thought of smashing the computers up as payback, Omega made his way over to the bookshelves and, very carefully, touched the leather-bound volumes, wondering what it would be like to feel and experience a book.

The titles of some were unusual:

"The Engineering Dilemma."
"The Future of Robotics."
"Wildlife Guide to Hedgehogs."
"Alternate Dimensions: Scientific Fact from Fiction."
"Cloning and Splicing."
"DNA Manipulation." ... Omega stopped at that one.

"Come on," Shadow's voice came from behind. "Nothing in this room will lead us to Sonic."

"Eggman is a robotic scientist," Omega said in a seemingly random manner. "Why would he need this?" He held up the last two books carefully in his claws for Shadow to study.

The hedgehog didn't reply straight away, choosing instead to read and re-read the titles several times over.

"I don't know," he then admitted. He took one of the books and opened it but besides the technical words and the odd note scribbled in biro to the side which were vague and unhelpful, there was little to be gained from it at all. Until the back cover of the book swung wide and dropped a series of folded papers down at Shadow's feet.

Growling in annoyance, Shadow handed the book back to Omega and then bent and picked them up, flicking through them with disinterest.

"Notes... newspaper cuttings... science community events..." Then he held up a partly burnt piece of paper. The texture of it instantly told Shadow that it had been an official document but someone, probably Eggman, had torched most of it and had only kept the one piece for some reason.

"What is that?" asked Omega.

"Some kind of... letter?" Shadow answered, uncertainly. "Or it used to be. Most of it is illegible that I can't read."

Nevertheless, he cleared his throat and read it as best he could aloud:

"/efuse to approve!/he pursuit of power has lead to the attempted creation of an Ultimate Lifeform before and that is something we simply cannot permit a second time. /risks are too great and the potential is too devastating. T/s why, acting on the best interest of the planet, the G.U.N. have confiscated the DNA Sample fou/Robotnik's possession and will tak/ / /stored in the Metropolis Vaults. The Sample cannot be used to/ / / /fo/cting/ / /eeds be in the future whe/e situation is desperate enough for drastic measures.Everyone is well aware of the d/nger in tamperi/ / /power of this scale and that is why every precaution will be taken to ensure that the DNA Sample is..."

Shadow had been frowning throughout the whole thing. Were they talking about him?

"All samples from Project Shadow were destroyed," Omega seemed to assure him.

"Then if it's not my DNA they mean, then who..." His eyes drifted down a little.

"It does not prevent us from keeping Dr Robotnik from collecting further DNA Samples from the subject. All efforts/ll be spent to ke..."

"Sonic. It has to be him they're talking about. They kept his DNA?" Shadow thought in his head, "And how would they use it in the..." His pupils shrank as his eyes widened the furthest they could go. "...in the future..."

"Special delivery!" Silver called, flying to catch up with Big, Blaze and Cream.

Blaze turned around and pricked her ears up hopefully.

"Please tell me it's a one way ticket out of here," she answered him.

"Sorry," Silver shrugged. "It's a frog."

"Froggy!" Big cheered, having forgotten that he had left his best friend on Knuckles' shoulder and making it clearer why it was that he often misplaced that poor amphibian like he once used to misplace his predecessor. "Oh," the large cat moaned sadly as he took the frog. "Froggy, are you hurt?"

"What's wrong?" Silver asked, confused. He hadn't noticed that the frog was in any distress.

"Look," Big mewed, holding Froggy up. "Froggy has blood on him."

"That's weird. He was fine when I was holding him," Silver murmured, looking down at his gloves and now noticing the spotting of blood around his fingers where Froggy had sat. "Oh wait, it might be Knuckles. Metal Knuckles was smacking him around quite a bit."

Big twitched his whiskers.

"I'm not telling Rouge about that," he decided.

Chapter Text

The burning cloth caught alight pretty quickly and Ira threw the rag into the cupboard as fast as he could. The lighter fluid would likely only last three more uses and then he was out of there. Whether he believed that a little arson would hurry things along or was simply a way of adding salt into the wound, even he wasn't certain but behind him, throughout the complex, various cleaning cupboards were burning away nicely.

The first cupboard, situated snugly beside a carpeted 'lounge' of some kind, would most likely be spreading into the neighbouring room and filling the area with smoke by now. From there, all it needed was a little encouragement and then the whole place was going to blow.

Checking his watch, Ira noted he had only a little time left before he ought to start thinking about either abandoning the place or attempting one last search for the cursed hedgehog. All his carefully laid plans had fallen apart at the seams and the only thing he could do was try and grab any flyaway threads if he wanted anything to come from all his hard work. It was a clear indication that he'd left it too long, however, when he considered that the additional allies that Sonic had gained over the years were the forefront reason that he wasn't already sitting on his kingly throne and enjoying the rest of his eternal life.

'Blasted creatures', he had bitterly thought to himself. 'Most of them aren't even pack animals by nature.' Despite this, Ira managed to calm his head long enough to actually do some proper thinking. "Ivo will have him," he reasoned. "He was always a snatcher. If I so much as looked at something that belonged to him... So the question is, where?"

Thankful for a good memory, Ira recalled that one of the first things he had done upon taking over the factory was to look up a detailed map of the complex so as to determine where it would have been best to house a supersonic hedgehog. There were a few dark areas on the map that hadn't been labelled and which his brother had refused to give information about. If he wanted to hide something, it would be in those rooms.

"Hey, buster, you got yourself a whole lotta explaining t' do."

Freezing, Ira cursed his luck and, at this moment in time, cursed anything and everything that breathed. He wasn't sure how, but a large green crocodile had suddenly appeared in front of him. Perhaps his hearing was failing him too.

"Out of my way before I turn you into a pair of boots," Ira spat.

Not a fan of bad manners, Espio had him pinned to the wall with a pair of excellently aimed shurikens that had caught his coat shoulders. The lighter that Ira had been clutching in his hand dropped to the floor and dribbled flammable fluid around his feet. It was well that the burning cupboard was several paces further down the corridor.

Vector marched slowly towards him. 

"P'rhaps an apology would do you some good?" he suggested, baring an aggressive set of teeth as he did so.

To the Chaotix surprise, Ira, having looked around pathetically, smiled. The smile then became a chuckle which became a hearty laugh. The Robotnik family were, after all, prone to insanity.

"Oh what's the point?" Ira cackled merrily. "I'll be leading the lot of you to hell myself!"

"Looking over your history," Charmy gulped quietly, "I'm not certain you're leader material, pal."

"And seeing as you’re not in a position to demand anythin'," Vector continued, also a little taken aback by the scientist's mad threats, "how's about you start tellin' us what the deal is? My boys and I have been following your work since your boat theft at the harbour and, bein' detectives, a little closure would be appreciated."

"Sonic's allies?" Ira grinned.

"Friends," Espio corrected.

"How precious." Ira laughed again for a few seconds more. "Well," he then said, "your friend was my ticket to immortality. That's the 'deal'."

"Then what?" Vector asked but got no immediate reply. "Come on, pal. You’re sayin' Sonic would shrug and hold out his hands and say 'take me in, boss'? Not in a million. What else were you plannin' on doing?"

"My brother may have created a new line of robots to be powered by the chaos energy we siphon," Ira explained. "But I didn't have any further plans on that front. We just wanted to know how that hedgehog functioned."

Charmy looked at him witheringly. "Uh, like any other hedgehog functions?"

Ira narrowed his eyes. "... Very well. Then tell me why he's so fast."

Charmy had no answer and neither did Vector.

"I assume you know," Espio murmured, curling his tail tightly to ease his growing impatience.

"...No," Ira replied, telling the truth, "I don't. I only know the story that a Chaos Emerald created him but... well, that seems just a little too fantastic, don't you think?"

"It doesn't matter what we think. Sonic is complicated and simple at the same time and none of us have issues with that. He's fast because he just is. And that's enough for us."

The smile fell away and Ira was left scowling, not even attempting to pull his arms from the wall.

"You're right - it won't matter what any of you think," he huffed, "I'll be dead before long."

"Accordin' to the others," Vector interjected, grabbing hold of the situation once more, "you haven't any idea where Sonic is."

"He's with my brother," Ira answered him and scoffed loudly. "Ivo's special pet. Ivo's problem now. The fool is responsible for him so he can deal with the consequences."

Charmy buzzed close to Vector's head. 

"Vec," he said in a low voice, "this guy's nuts. What are we going to do with him?"

In a louder voice, Vector replied, "He's going back to his padded room at the asylum."

There wasn't any way they were going to leave a dangerous man like this to die here. If cliché stories and popular reputation were anything to go by, there was always a 50/50 chance that the bad guy somehow survives certain death.

"We might be cold-blooded reptiles," Vector decided, "but we ain't cold-blooded murderers."

"Speak for yourself, Vector."

Vector and Espio spun to face Charmy in horror and shock.

"What?" Charmy smiled innocently. "I meant in that I'm an insect, not a reptile."

It was probably one of the worst places they'd been in. After all, when a set of ominous doors opened in a creepy factory owned by a maniacal scientist, you were almost certain to be met with some kind of resistance. In this place, when the doors opened, you would either be met with an entire fleet of violence-starved robots or absolutely nothing.

So far, Blaze thought, they hadn't met anything which fate suggested meant that they were due a battle soon.

"Now where are we?" Cream had asked, following the cat princess into yet another room. "This doesn't look like the exit and I'm not seeing Sonic anywhere."

"Another dead end," Blaze groaned and anxiously checked her communicator.

"We can't afford dead ends!" Cream gazed around at the dismal room - another computer room, of course - with disinterest, already preparing to move on. "The others will let us know when they have Sonic, won't they?" she asked.

"If there's a signal," Silver had answered her, still standing by the doors. "At this rate, we could all be wandering around and end up getting blown up. Hey, Big? You got something?"

The larger cat was studying some blueprints on the wall. Among them were images of previous Eggman robots.

"...Big?" Blaze gently called to him, moving towards the doors with Cream beside her. "You think we ought to keep moving?"

Big tilted his head and pointed at one of the images up on the wall. "Look what I found."

"Another robot," Silver noted. "This place is crawling with them. Come on, buddy..."

"I know this one," Big was saying, not wanting to leave just yet, it seemed.

Silver and Cream exchanged quick glances with Blaze.

"You know it?" Cream murmured, peering closer, "Why would you-? Actually, it does look a little like Omega, don't you think?"

"Ah, the E-Series," Blaze realised, nodding. "Probably an old design that Eggman had."

"Silver?"

Silver jumped at the voice from his wrist. While Blaze and Cream were trying to coax Big away, he stepped back into the corridor.

"Shadow," Silver smiled. "You found Sonic?"

"Not even remotely close to finding Sonic." Silver's smile dropped. "Where are you?"

"I'll send you the coordinates if we have a temporary communication signal. The line isn't that clear though - you sound kinda fuzzy." Once he had sent their position, Shadow's voice, which sounded stiff, was coming through again.

"Omega and I have found a research area."

Silver deadpanned his communicator.

"...Gee, that's real nice but I'm not sure it's our main goal here."

"Don't get smart, idiot. I wouldn't bother trying to contact you (of all people) if that was the only thing I had to report. Who's with you?"

"Big, Blaze, Cream. Shade split to find the quickest way out of this place."

"Fine. I'm just letting you know that I might have something for you when we get out. So get a move on and don't die."

"Aw, Shadow..."

"Say another word and I'll spin dash you back into the future."

In the meantime, Blaze managed to eventually encourage Big to stop wasting time but, as they left, he couldn't help but glance over his shoulder at the image on the wall.

"That's the robot that took Froggy a long time ago," he squeaked to himself.

A watched pot never boils. That was how the saying went.

Perhaps, in a similar vein, a watched robot factory never gave up its prisoners.

It didn't mean Rouge wasn't going to try and use the sheer power of her glare in an attempt to weaken the factory's walls. Now if only speed-hungry birds would quit bothering her...

"Riddle me this, lady," Wave sighed as she sauntered up. "With our airship almost full and your G.U.N. craft now being packed too, how are you expecting your team to get off this island?"

Rouge wouldn't look at her - there was only so much 'Wave the Swallow' she could take. 

"I brought Tails' plane."

Wave turned up her beak and laughed. "The Shrimp's plane? Yes, because that flying foil contraption can transport the whole lot of you to safety, no problem."

"Don't talk to me about my plans if you haven't brought any good ideas with you," Rouge growled, her arms crossed over her chest and her wings tightening at her shoulder blades.

"I'm just curious," Wave continued. "Were you intending to use that tiny plane to get however many there are of you out of here?"

Rouge flashed her a false smile, laden with aggression.

"If you'd be so kind as to focus on helping the innocents, I'd be very grateful," she sweetly said.

"Just answer me!" cried Wave. "Do we have to make a return trip here for you lot or not?"

The bird was being serious. The teasing words were a façade for traces of legitimate concern.

Well, Rouge thought, I'll be damned. 

"There won't be time," she then answered seriously and calmly. "If this island is really going to go underwater, it will be too dangerous for anyone to come back once they've left."

Wave seemed to consider this.

"Right," she then replied. "...So we're sailing off into the sunset once we're done here. Thank you for finally giving me an answer." Having said that, she turned and skipped away.

There were times when no-one could really say for certain where the Babylon Rogues stood.

As Rouge stared blankly after her, wondering if the baby might enjoy hearing their mother punch a few senses into a senseless bird, Marine cautiously approached.

"So, not intending to call you out on anything," she began with a chuckle, "but...what was the plan for getting everyone off?"

The truth was, Rouge didn't have one.

"I'm working on it," was all she would say.

Marine, fair play to her, accepted that answer and didn't push for more details, opting to leave her alone instead.

When the raccoon had gone, Rouge lifted her wrist. "...Shadow?"

Chapter Text

COUNTDOWN TIL SELF-DESTRUCT: 35 MINUTES 50 SECONDS

"Rouge?" Shadow frowned, both amazed and relieved. "You're lucky you can get a signal. It's getting harder and harder to keep in contact with everyone the deeper into this place we go."

"Where's Knuckles?" It wasn't obvious when Omega was smirking but Shadow could always sense it and it was out in force right now.

"...He's fine," the Ultimate Lifeform stiffly answered.

"So you don't know." She sounded surprisingly calm.

"Specific coordinates are unknown, that's true," Shadow swallowed. "But he's okay."

"Or as well as he - and indeed all of you - can be considering you're STILL wandering around in a building about to explode."

"We haven't found Sonic."

There was radio silence for a moment. The regret and worry could be felt over the comms.

"...I know." Rouge's voice was quiet now and, unknown to Shadow, was actually fending back stress tears. "I, um... I'm not asking you to abandon him. I was... I was only going to say that tickets off this island are in high demand and in limited supply. And... Well, I'm worried that not everyone is guaranteed a seat."

Shadow felt sorry for her. She was in a situation where she couldn't directly help with her own two hands and there was no worse feeling than feeling useless.

"...Let me take care of that," he told her calmly. "How soon until everyone is off?"

"Another half hour?"

"Copy that. Good work." Then he rang off.

Omega was watching him closely and Shadow turned to him with anxious eyes. "That's going to cut things close."

Ira's fires were growing steadily, building in size and getting stronger and stronger as every minute passed.

"Hello? HELLO? Is anyone there?"

It was Shade, broadcasting on an open frequency.

"That you, Shade?" Charmy's voice then spoke after her. It appeared that they had temporarily lost Silver's team but had gained the Chaotix.

"About time!" Shade heaved a breath of relief. "I've been trying to get a hold of you guys for ages! What's going on?"

"This place keeps cutting signals," Shadow explained as he and Omega hurried along the corridor in an attempt of ditching the robots that were after them. "We haven't been able to get in contact with each other, let alone anyone... Wait, where are you?"

"That's what I was trying to get a hold of you about!" Shade told them. "I've found our ride!"

"Ride?"

"Omega has a plan of this place, right?" Omega gave a whirr of agreement. "Get him to lead you to the hangers - Eggman has aircraft down here!"

"Someone needs to tell Tails and co," Espio said. "They must be further in than we are. No-one has heard from them in ages."

Shade seemed to hesitate a bit. 

"You do that," she then whispered. "I've a feeling I'm in for some company."

"Shade?" Shadow worriedly called into his wrist. "Wait for backup, you hear me?"

There was no answer.

"Well, there you have it," he huffed to his partner. "All echidnas are stubborn hard-heads."

The echidna was, by all means, stubborn.

It was a trait inherited by every member of her species. Their very survival depended on sticking it out until the end, standing your ground until there was no ground left to stand on, planting yourself and refusing to move. The Knuckles Clan, the Nocturnus Clan... both were a victim to this. That was how they ended up getting into a war over territory.

So when the sound of oncoming feet came her way, she was ready to root herself where she was and pity whoever it was that told her to move. This was her team's best chance of survival and the discovery of the aircraft hanger was one that instilled hope.

It was a small hanger, compared to the usual sizes that the Mobius Air Force  used, but the three vehicles it housed were each powerful enough to see the Sonic Allies safely off the island. She had already chosen the craft; a medium size tilt-rotor helicopter, gunmetal grey in colour.

Her excitement at finding the vehicle, however, was at risk of being dashed by the arrival of Dr Eggman himself.

Thinking quickly and blessing her natural ability to blend into darkness, Shade took cover behind the tilt-rotor, plum coloured eyes narrowed on the doors as they opened to reveal the 'Master of the House'.

Her experience with Eggman was limited but she knew enough.

He walked with an air of triumph which made Shade's jaw clench; the fiend had obviously scored a point over Sonic.

She watched the scientist slowly walk towards the back of the hanger where a moth-eaten tarpaulin was pulled away to reveal a surprisingly clean and shiny eggmobile. It was apparent that Eggman was intending to take his leave as well.

To her surprise, Shade discovered her body was moving of its own accord, her emotions leading her to reveal herself in the dim light.

It was Orbot that spotted her first as she raised her fists to point her weapons. 

"Sir!" the robot lackey barked a warning.

Eggman's glasses caught a brief light as he turned to study his assailant. It was the first member of the Allies that he had met besides Sonic and Tails today.

"...Are you planning on stopping me?" he asked her.

The pair of them had little information on the other and if this was a good thing or a bad thing, neither could decide.

"In the interests of this world and our future, it is my duty," Shade answered him, her arm perfectly steady despite her anger. Her weapon was aimed right at his chest and she maintained his eye contact, daring him to move and make a mistake.

Yet, before Orbot and Cubot were sure she was going to fire, she lowered her arms.

"But that's for another time," she murmured, pleased to see that she had frightened her enemy for a moment. Baring her teeth, she turned her shoulder to him. "Sonic is more important than you right now."

The human scientist twitched one heavily bushy eyebrow and briefly looked confused. However he was soon gracing Shade with his well-known false smile.

"Ah," Eggman breathed, his face now unreadable, "another one seduced by that hedgehog's love for freedom. I remember you." As much as she wanted to, there was little she could do but watch Eggman climb slowly into his eggmobile and wait as his robots followed him. "Well then," he then smiled at last, "until next time."

The eggmobile thrummed into life and began to rise.

"One last thing," called Shade. Eggman looked back to her. "...If you wish your future defeat to be as painless as possible, don't ever try and fashion a robot echidna again."

Torn between escape and curiosity, Eggman gave in to his latter feeling. 

"You mean like Metal Knuckles?" he asked.

Shade hissed at him. "We are an elder species and I will not allow you to insult my ancestors. You understand?"

"With my IQ," Eggman chuckled, "I understand perfectly. Goodbye."

Having said all he needed to say, Dr Eggman activated the hanger doors and, without giving Shade any further attention, was lifting off into the night on the squeal of his motor's protesting engine.

There was just one more thing left for him to do, one more quick message to send, before he took his leave completely...

Tails' wrist communicator pinged, a sudden and yet very welcome sound lately.

"Was that your communicator?" Knuckles asked.

The three of them had stopped in their tracks after wandering miles, it seemed, of endless corridors, musing to one another that 'doesn't it smell awfully of smoke suddenly?'

"Maybe it's Sonic!" Amy cried as she wheeled on Tails, preventing herself from seizing his arm for her own means. The thing that might have caused worry for Tails was that his communicator had signalled a written message rather than an audio one but then, he had soon thereafter reasoned, perhaps the others weren't in a position to record an audio message for him.

Perhaps.

He examined his communicator and furrowed a furry brow. 

"It's not Sonic," he told his two friends solemnly.

Amy and Knuckles deflated.

"Who was it?" Amy then asked but was puzzled when Tails cocked his head to one side, signifying his apparent confusion.

"It says 'Security Computer in Corridor 25'," he read quietly.

Knuckles glared at the offending communicator. 

"Is that it?" he huffed.

"Just..." Tails shrugged. "'Security Computer in Corridor 25. Use it'."

"Use the Security Computer in Corridor 25," Knuckles repeated and grimaced. "I swear if this is a trap..."

"Wait!" Tails' eyes suddenly widened as he caught more of the message.

"What?" Amy and Knuckles chorused together.

Tails seemed to re-read his wrist. "...'Floor E. R91'."

"...What?"

"Those were directions." Tails was beginning to brighten, his eyes shining and his mouth attempting to smile for the first time in a long while. "Use the Security Computer to open up Room 91 on Floor- They've told us where Sonic is! COME ON!"

With a kick that he had learnt to master in the years he had been Sonic's devoted follower, Tails took off in a blur of yellow, nearly sprinting out of sight. Reaction times being their forte, Amy and Knuckles hardly allowed a second to pass before they were sprinting off after him.

"Who told us?" Amy asked in a loud, breathless voice, exhilarated by their renewed run.

"I'm going to say Orbot and Cubot," Tails guessed, promising that he would have to thank them properly if he ever saw them again.

"D'you think they got the message, Boss?" Cubot asked. He was stood to the side of his master, watching diligently as Dr Eggman turned off his own communicator with a proud smirk.

"I hope so," he replied.

New thoughts and plans were coming to him now that he had corrected Ira's mistakes and had the playing field back under his control. The future was still his to claim and it WOULD be claimed. It would be claimed HIS way.

"Now then," the feared Dr Eggman announced merrily, turning his eggmobile to the West, "let's get going. Evil genius doesn't build empires overnight, you know and I'm pooped. You two will be absolute angels and make me breakfast tomorrow, won't you? Can't wait to get my hands on a TV again! Can you imagine all the seasons of ‘Hedgehog Abbey’ I need to catch up on?"

And so, Dr Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik sailed off after the already-set sun, delighted in the knowledge that he had learnt so much about Sonic the Hedgehog and eager in the thought of crossing paths with the "fastest thing alive" again one day.

Because, in a way, Shadow had spoken the truth: If Eggman was going down, he was intending to take Sonic with him. And he wasn’t going down today.

Charmy paused where he stood and didn't move.

"Legs broken, Charmy?" Vector asked in front of him, giving Ira, who had been hoisted roughly over the croc's shoulder, another jolt.

The bee looked up worriedly. "Can I smell smoke?"

"I dunno. Can you?"

"I think I can."

"Right now?"

"Yeah."

Ira then discovered he had been left in the tender care of gravity and went crashing down with a yelp.

"I'm not as young as I look, you know!" he roared in pain. "Damn animals." He shut up pretty fast when Vector dropped onto all fours in front of him and hovered his jaw close to the scientist's neck.

"The only words I want from you are the answers to my questions, wise guy," he growled quietly, barely moving his lips as he did so.

Ira pathetically nodded, sensing that Espio was probably stood behind him somewhere in silence.

"What were you up to when we caught you?" Vector asked him.

"Running," Ira answered.

"What else?"

"Trying to find Sonic."

"And?"

Ira gulped. "All the closets from C Floor to here are on fire."

Charmy and Espio glanced at one another, stunned.

"Are you serious!?" Vector snarled, jumping back onto his feet. "Ya doom this place to get blown up an' now..." He shook his head. "Espio, try and get a hold of the others. This place won't hold out for much longer." Ira was picked up again by the crocodile as he and Charmy took off down a new corridor as Espio followed behind, calling into his communicator.

"Espio calling anyone and everyone! Floor C has been set on fire. We need to get out. What are your current positions?"

For a brief moment, the chameleon was worried that there would be interference again and the signal wouldn't get through.

So it was to his enormous surprise and relief that he soon received replies.

Shade was first to call in. "This is Shade and I'm in the Main Hanger. Floor A."

Next it was Shadow. "Omega and I are on Floor D. We can smell the smoke."

Then came Silver. Silver didn't sound so calm as the others did.

"This is Silver," he shouted, "and we can confirm the fire because WE'RE ON FREAKING FLOOR C!"

Ira was jolted again by Vector who could hear the conversations behind him.

"Can you make it to the Hanger?" Shadow's voice asked.

"With Blaze's help, thankfully," replied Silver. "But what about the fantastic four?"

"None of us have heard from them," Espio grimly said. "Tails is smart, though and he'll work out how to get in touch but we need to get out of here. The integrity of these walls aren't looking good."

The fires that were spreading above them (as they were on B Floor) were putting strain on everything and, as a result, the walls were starting to show cracks.

The first they knew that the Babylon Rogues were off was when the engines of their flying airship began to hum into life and over the increasing volume it was producing came a shout from Storm, hanging out the office window.

"That's everyone!" he called down. "Let's get going."

Marine had just seen the last person to their seat and was emerging outside again when she heard them. 

"Leaving?" she asked in surprise.

Rouge and Sticks were stood a few meters away in front of the other two members of the Babylon Rogues.

"Our boat's full," Jet explained as the raccoon hurried over with wide eyes. "We've been told to drop them off on the mainland so that's what we're gonna do."

Marine was looking to Rouge for some kind of confirmation but the bat was looking solemn, masking her expression like an expert.

"Were you expecting us to linger about with an airship full of sleepy innocents?" Jet scoffed to which Marine shook her head.

Of course, it wasn't as though she had arrived to the island on the airship but she was aware that her friends had arrived on it and now they were sending it away. She couldn't help but feel guilty.

"Get going then," Rouge barked stiffly. "This island is joining Atlantis before morning comes."

Jet gave an informal salute and sauntered back towards his ship with Wave right behind him, wagging her tail feathers proudly. The three of them watched the doors shut, unable to repress a feeling of unease and regret.

"How long have we got?" Marine murmured quietly.

Rouge watched the airship lift into the sky, blotting out the moon with its immense size, turning slowly and majestically in the air before moving off away from the doomed island.

Rouge shivered and hugged herself as she watched their friends' lifeboat sail from view. "...Not long enough," she replied.

Chapter Text

COUNTDOWN TIL SELF-DESTRUCT: 21 MINUTES 40 SECONDS

Why the security computer had to be here in one of the robot assembly rooms, Tails was sure he didn't need to know. The huge drop under the walkways which separated them from falling into an old, unlit furnace way down below did nothing to calm their nerves either. 

The computer was slow and the screen was cracked in several places but by Chaos did Tails put that hunk of junk through its paces. He didn't care that the thing hadn't been used for years, he wasn't going to let it beat him; he was going to make that computer work like it had never been worked before. In under a minute, Tails had hacked in and was making his way through the lines of code to find the right door.

"You guys get to Room 91," he ordered. "I'll have opened it by the time you get there."

"Which direction?" asked Amy in an instant, not wishing to waste a moment.

Tails peered at the screen and pointed to his left. 

"That way," he said. The walkway they were stood on ran forward a few feet before a second pathway veered off sharply to the left towards the far wall. "See this darkened bit?" Tails then asked, pointing at the map he had brought up. "That's where Sonic is. Let me know when you have him."

"Do we meet back here?" Knuckles asked, looking around him sceptically. In answer, a rumble in the distance caused the walkways to shudder and creak, a bolt or two falling from their places and clattering down into the factory below.

"...Maybe not," Tails swallowed, suddenly finding that his feet didn't feel as stable as before.

They weren't aware that several fires had grown out of control on the floors beneath them and were endangering the structure of the building. They just assumed it was the inevitable detonation that was sending out a few warnings before it blew.

"This is E Floor, right?" Amy asked for clarification. "How long will it take to get all the way downstairs?"

"We'll worry about that after we have Sonic. Come on!" replied Knuckles, surging forward to find Room 91 and, hopefully, their missing friend at last.

Shade had deemed that the tiltrotor was still functioning. There was gas in the tank, the rotors weren't too sticky and moved well, the instruments were a little rusted but could probably last them until the next island, the wheels... Well, they weren't in best condition but, for now, they would have to make do. It would mean their landing could be bumpy and quite rough but it beat getting blown up and sunk any day.

From inside the cockpit, the echidna heard approaching feet and she scrambled over the seats to get to the doors of the cargo area. Charmy was already yanking them open and he collapsed into the helicopter with relief.

"Are you all here?" Shade asked hurriedly as Espio appeared behind the bee.

"Not yet," the ninja told her, pushing Charmy into the nearest seat. "The others are somewhere behind us."

Shade then noticed Vector come running up with a pale looking Ira slung across his back. She said nothing as the burly crocodile pushed him in and towards the back of the aircraft.

"I take it this thing works?" he asked Shade.

She nodded. "Needs to get outside though."

Vector eyed the aircraft doubtfully. 

"It'll be hard by myself," he admitted, "but with help, I reckon we could do it."

There was a few crashes and bangs far above their heads as parts of the factory began to fail.

"Hope they're okay," Charmy gulped, thinking of everyone else, including Sonic - wherever he was.

"LOOK OUT!" Silver leapt and pulled Shadow out of harm's way with his psychokinesis just as a piece of ceiling and an unfortunate bookshelf fell down and shattered against the floor.

Shadow and Omega had ascended a floor and had caught up with the others in order to help them escape just as the fires, which had got into the pipes and the chemical tubes, forced the whole place into premature demolition. Cream was coughing as thick black smoke billowed from a vent and she held Cheese tightly to her chest as he whimpered and coughed with her. Chao were sensitive to these sorts of things and she was worried he might suffer some permanent damage from his ordeal.

"Get round me!" Shadow called, thanking his fellow hedgehog by clasping his shoulder and nodding at him.

Omega took Cream and Blaze in his robotic arms and stood as close to Shadow and Silver as possible while Big wrapped his tail around on the other side, squeezing his eyes shut as heat and smoke engulphed them. In a flash of energy, Shadow had used Chaos Control to teleport them down a floor to where he and Omega had been before. It was hard to transport many people at once and he gripped his fluffy chest hard to ease the tight feeling once they had gained their bearings. 

"This way." Omega told them, lowering Cream and Blaze back to the ground.

"Let's go, Shadow," Silver said gently, taking a recovering Shadow's elbow and steering him in the right direction.

Froggy croaked warningly right before part of a wall collapsed and a fire-damaged robot could be seen sparking on the ground in front of them. There was little time for pity. Up and over the debris they went, running and flying as fast as they could go.

"Tails? Knuckles? Amy?" Blaze was crying into her communicator while waving off the heat with her free hand.

Nothing.

"Shadow, what do we do?" Cream asked, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks. "What if they don't get out?"

"They'll get out!" Shadow shouted, though whether he was sure of that or not, not even he knew. "They HAVE to get out."

Silver looked over his shoulder with worried golden eyes. "Maybe I should fly up and see-"

"Not a chance!" Shadow spat aggressively. "Get your spines out of here, you hear me?"

Silver knew better than to cross Shadow. Like with Sonic, Shadow didn't consider himself a friend of Silver's. But Sonic and Silver were hedgehogs which meant, deep down, they were like family. Very estranged family. And if the data that Omega and Shadow had found was accurate...

"Down here!" Blaze called, jumping down a staircase that had appeared on the right. The elevator beside the stair case was gone completely, the fire above having cut through the cables a while ago. With their speed and agility, the group of them were soon on Floor A and the hanger was within their reach.

Amy skidded to a stop just as the doors gave a piercing shriek and began rolling back to reveal the dark laboratory beyond it. It shuddered and faltered halfway though but Knuckles, his patience having dried up, seized the door with one hand and pulled it straight from the wall, chucking it away with a growl of frustration.

They had come this far and a set of doors weren't stopping them now.

The darkness of the room was of no bother to them and they barely noticed the computers around them nor the gurgling of liquids in tubes nor even the warmth of the air. Their attention was given to only one thing.

Since her first encounter with the heroic hedgehog, Amy Rose had forever since regarded the colour blue with respect and devotion, recalling how often the flash of such a colour instilled her with the greatest relief and hope.

Rarely, however, had she seen it look so small.

Sonic was often to be seen standing tall, presenting his majestic quills with such dignity and pride that it was an insult NOT to admire them. He would only ever roll into a ball when his body was in motion or when he was dangerously cold, uncommon as that was.

Amy, therefore, could be forgiven for not recognising the tightly curled ball of blue at first, so eager she was to find her beloved hero standing to attention with his trademark smile, the kind that set her heart aflutter.

"Sonic!" she had cried, running to his side, kneeling beside him as instinct told her that all was not well. There was no movement to signal that he had acknowledged her concern. "Sonic, we're here," Amy soothed, unable to find a part of his body to stroke for he was simply a mass of stiff, unmoving quills.

This was the highest form of a hedgehog barrier - an impenetrable armoured shield of razor spears, criss-crossing and brandished to their full, allowing nothing to get through to the soft body beneath. Not unscathed, that is.

"Sonic?" Amy's sweet voice beseeched. "What's the matter? Talk to us." No sound nor sign came from the ball. "Sonic?" She had waited so long to see him again.

Silence.

"Something's wrong." Standing at a shortened distance from the scene was Knuckles, looking on with impassive emotion, resembling ancient sentinels in the way he held himself.

While the echidna was prone to striking awe and fear in many fools that attempted intimidating him, Amy knew him well enough that there was little he could do to frighten her anymore.

"You don't say," she had commented dryly.

Knuckles was examining the metal clasping that had held Sonic and he looked very serious.

"Eggman wasn't the one to set him free of these bonds," he realised. The metal where it must have met Sonic's wrists was distorted and warped, like it had slightly begun to melt, and Knuckles could feel the faint residue of an intensely negative form of energy emitting from it. "Whatever it was that Eggman did, it made Sonic go dark. He freed himself as Dark Sonic." He glanced at Sonic sadly. "But... it doesn't look like he's moved since then."

"Why not?" Amy asked, not expecting Knuckles to know the answer as she gazed at her fiancé. It chilled her to think that he had resorted to such measures in order to escape. Actually... was it to escape? He hadn't moved from this spot so 'escape' hadn't been on his mind. Amy was now beginning to think it was an involuntary transformation. An emotional outburst and nothing more.

She had tried nudging him with her quills, the only part of her body that could feebly match up to that of Sonic's, but she had only been successful in causing him to roll half a centimeter and for a stray blue quill to prick her painfully.

"Can you pick him up?" she asked Knuckles, deciding there were no other options available right now. They couldn't afford to loiter.

Knuckles looked at the ball of knives with great reluctance; all things great and small, organic and robotic, feared the quills of Sonic the Hedgehog. Similarly, the fists of Knuckles were equally feared and, more likely than not, stood the highest chance of withstanding those quills - for a short time, anyway. His only solace was that Sonic was not moving and so the quills were unlikely to do damage without rapid momentum.

"...Ow." Knuckles hissed, taking up the ball with both hands.

It was not to say that the blue spines were any less capable of skewering the inexperienced.

Though he regretted his generosity when the first few quills began to pierce his glove and the skin underneath, Knuckles, in his pride, deemed that he was capable.

With all their strength, the group of Allies, having reunited on Floor A, heaved the helicopter from its place in the hanger and got it outside in the fastest time they could manage.

"Get in!" Espio cried at the doors. "We might be able to circle round and pick up the others!"

"If you know where they are in that place!" Shade grimaced. Flames could be seen licking the windows and another crash came from somewhere inside the building.

"Put it this way, we aren't leaving without them," Blaze said firmly, strapping in Cream and herself.

Omega was about to jump in when he looked up expectantly.

"Now's not the time t' star gaze!" Vector nearly laughed as he scrabbled his leathery self into the aircraft and took up a military stance over Ira's miserable curled up form. He was in a very bad way from his previous exertions. 

"Sensing nearby agents," Omega suddenly announced.

Rouge had seen, to her delight, movement from the factory as a tiltrotor helicopter popped up in sight of her binoculars. She hadn't even waited to let anyone else know and had done something dangerous in actually flying through the darkness towards her friends, relying on echo-location more than her actual eyesight. Marine and Sticks had to high-tail it after her. 

"Shadow!" she shouted, tears of relief moistening her eyes. "Omega... You're all here?"

"We haven't got long, Rouge," Blaze told her, running forward and hugging her, just as relieved. "Have you heard anything from anyone else?"

Rouge shook her head and looked around. "Where's Sonic?"

Shadow had approached her and took her gently by the arm. 

"He's being rescued," he told her, moving her closer to the helicopter which Espio and Charmy were beginning to start up.

The bat, on the other hand, wasn't satisfied. "...Where's Knuckles?"

Shadow visibly winced. "Rescuing Sonic."

"He's still in there!?" Rouge shrieked, yanking her arm away and looking back at the factory in fear.

"Rouge, calm down," Shadow soothed. "He's on his way. Rouge! Listen to me! He's on his way!"

She wasn't listening to him properly but the last thing they needed was for an 'expectant' Rouge to start kicking off now. Shade popped her head out from the aircraft and tried her most gentle tones.

"Please, don't get worked up," she said, reaching out to pull her towards the craft. "Here, just let me-"

"Don't push me!" Rouge cried in fury. "I'm carrying a baby echidna and I'm extremely upset right now! Now get back in that helicopter or I'll take off my boot and shove it so far down your throat you'll be walking home with three legs, not two. WHERE THE HECK IS MY HUSBAND!?"

"We don't know!" wailed Cream, unable to take much more. "We got separated looking for Sonic!"

The ground shuddered again and cracks began to appear under their feet. There was no way they could try going forward.

Knuckles, still carefully holding Sonic in his arms, hurriedly searched for a window and, when finding one, ran towards it and full on head-butted it, sending shattered glass everywhere. He barely acknowledged a shard that cut his cheek.

"What are you doing?" Amy gasped, flinching away from the glass shards.

Knuckles went kicking the remaining shards away from the pane and he looked down at the ground below him, frowning but coming to a swift conclusion.

"No questions!" he told her and hopped up onto the pane. "Grab a hold."

In times such as these, the only thing they had was trust and, right now, with Sonic in his hands, Amy trusted no-one more than she trusted Knuckles the Echidna. She hoisted herself up onto the pane and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding on tightly as Knuckles, moving to hold Sonic in one hand, buried his other hand into the wall.

They began to slide down and memories came back to Knuckles of the fight at the gorge when he had caught Sonic and Tails in mid-air and had ended up bunking at Amy's house. Ironically, the echidna sighed, it was the same fist he was using now that he had used back then. And Sonic...

Knuckles looked down at the blue hedgehog. Sonic wasn't doing so good.

When they hit the ground, Knuckles accidently tightened his hold on Sonic which caused him to yelp as several quills spiked him. But with little time to complain, he and Amy turned on their heels and retreated into the trees.

"Tails?" Amy spoke into her communicator, diligently following Knuckles. "You need to meet up with us now."

A fair way from the laboratory, the pair had chanced that they were relatively safe and Sonic was placed down upon the mossy forest floor.

"Do you have Sonic? What's the matter?" Tails' voice came quietly. "Is Sonic okay?"

Of course his first concern was Sonic. His first concern was nearly always Sonic, such was the nature of brothers as close as they were.

Respecting such a bond, Amy concluded that the young fox may be the only key into stirring Sonic back into life.

"We don't know," the female hedgehog had replied truthfully. "He's curled up into the tightest ball and he won't uncurl."

"I'm already on my way!"

Chapter Text

COUNTDOWN TIL SELF-DESTRUCT 9 MINUTES 30 SECONDS

Quite rightly, Tails' main focus was that of the blue spiked ball, deadly still where it had been put.

"Sonic?" Tails had murmured softly. "It's me. It's Tails."

It was testament to their bond that, when the fox had spoken, the blue quills prickled and stirred.

But Sonic would not uncurl.

"What did he do?" asked Tails, referring to Eggman, to which Sonic said nothing. "Tell me. What did he do?"

Amy and Knuckles waited with their breaths held.

Silence reigned heavily.

Until...

"...He hurt me."

A couple of things struck them at that moment:

One:
The voice was muffled, a little sound emanating from within the ball of spikes, lonely and frightened.

Two:
Had that voice really been Sonic's, then everything that the three friends knew was thrown into question.

For Sonic never admitted when he was truly hurt. Never.

Having shaken himself from stupor, Tails was quick to respond. "...Where?"

Another silence.

"I don't want to show you." The blue ball tightened again, curling even further in on himself.

"Why not?"

"...It hurts."

"We can't help you unless you show us."

"You can't help me this time."

Three:
Sonic was always ready to accept help from his friends for he valued teamwork. If he couldn't accept that help now...

"What has Eggman done?" asked Tails, his voice remaining calm despite the worry and panic that had surely set in before.

The hedgehog ball gave another shudder as though Sonic were physically wrestling with his own body, wanting to both spare his friends from his misery and also welcome their love and sympathy at the same time.

"...Don't look," he practically whimpered.

Whatever it is he's hiding in there, Knuckles had privately thought, he's working hard on keeping it.

It should be known that Tails wasn't afraid of Sonic's quills. Never had been. He had first-hand experience of how dangerous they were and he respected them as much as someone would respect a wild tiger or an active volcano. 

But fear them? No. 

How could Tails possibly fear what had protected him throughout his childhood? 

Sussing the length of each quill and how often it moved, the fox was able to discern, with skill, just whereabouts his friend's head was hidden.

Somewhere, far beneath the spiked blue forest, a vulnerable face would be pressed against his chest, eyes squeezed shut, inhaling the scent of his own fur, dampening it with his breath. His hands and arms would be crossed over his tummy and his legs would be folded over the top of all of it, impossibly bending the hedgehog into a tight foetal position thanks to the creature's biological ability to stretch its spine and pull its own skin around its four limbs like a drawstring bag.

Tails carefully and slowly, oh so slowly, moved his right hand in amongst the spines, weaving around the lethal forest with the trepidation of an explorer in unknown territory. It was a manoeuvre that was impossible to do without touching some of spines and, in their sensitivity, they immediately tightened, clamping around the intruding paw warningly.

Sonic wouldn't hurt him though.

Sonic would never hurt him.

Though the quills did prick at his arm, Tails was able to finally feel his way down through to the soft fur underneath the spines and, beneath that, Sonic's skin.

Making physical contact with a distressed Sonic was a great feat only performed by very few and, of them, only Tails had mastered it - as he had just proven. The touch of his hand caused Sonic to tense and then relax.

"...Let me see," he murmured, aware that Sonic had only to cough and the fox's hand would be horrifically amputated.

"No."

"Sonic, please," Tails murmured again.

The hedgehog stirred and mumbled, "Let me find something to hide it…"

"Hide what?" Tails demanded, sorrow lacing his little voice. "Why can't you show me?"

Since they were children, Sonic and Tails had discovered there was near nothing that they could not share with one another. Any secret of Tails became a secret of Sonic's and any secret of Sonic's was sure to become a secret of Tails'.

To hide anything from each other meant something grave indeed.

So just as though Tails had uttered the correct password, Sonic crumpled.

His body became loose, he unfurled, his limbs re-emerged, his quills fell back and a damp face peeped round over his right shoulder.

He didn't say anything.

He simply sniffed and reached out for Tails' hand, wishing for comfort now more than ever.

Wishing to prove Eggman wrong about the so-called 'Hedgehog Dilemma'.

Tails had always trod carefully with Sonic for although the supersonic hedgehog had been called a pushover when it came to his fox brother, there was nothing to say that Sonic wouldn't push back. After all, Sonic still held so much power that he had never used, always holding back for the sake of nature around him... Yet there was still an element of vulnerability about him - something that reminded Tails that he wasn't the unbreakable immortal that some made him out to be.

This was one such example.

For when Tails slowly came round to face Sonic, the source of his brother's misery and pain was visibly apparent. So apparent, actually, that Tails stopped and stared.

"...He didn't..." His young voice caught in his throat, stinging him. To his amazement, he even felt hot tears begin to well in his eyes.

"What?" asked Amy. "What's happened?" She and Knuckles began to slowly edge round, wishing to know what it was that was bothering their close friend. They too were shaken when they saw.

Eggman had horrifically stepped the line.

The brand may have been small but it was still far too big. It had seared away the blue fur in the dip where Sonic's neck met his left shoulder and, in its place, had left a burnt dark mark - the Eggman Industries logo. A cruel label to say how far he'd gone.

How close he'd come...

"It's going to scar isn't it?" Sonic growled inaudibly, his fingers tentatively feeling his weeping wound, wincing at the painful cooked flesh. The fur around the mark had blackened and gone stiff. It felt scratchy and, above all else, sore. It stung like a fire in the cold late evening air around the edges but towards the middle he felt very little - an indication that the burn was severe enough to have damaged his nerves. "It's going to stay there permanently, right?"

Tails gazed at his best friend with every ounce of sympathy, already vowing to pay Eggman back.

No-one got away with hurting Sonic in such a brutal way.

"I know it looks bad," he spoke softly, "and I know what you're thinking. But this changes nothing." Blue eyes looked into green and he shook his head. "Eggman thinks he's scored a point. He hasn't. This changes nothing. The fur will grow back and yes, the shape of the scar may still be slightly visible... but it only proves that you're stronger than he is. He's left a mark on you - but you've left hundreds on him."

"And you'll leave hundreds more," Knuckles added, unable to withstand it. He sorely wished he could punch something to vent his anger but all he had were his own twitching palms to squeeze. It wasn't often that he got upset over Sonic's injuries but, in a poetic sense, Knuckles was a mountain, firm and immoveable against the howling wind - but he wouldn't have that wind tainted as it had been now.

So he had vowed to avenge Sonic.

He and Tails and Amy alike.

Yes, Sonic agreed as he thought about it, this changed nothing. He had said that, one day, change may come, but not because of Eggman and certainly not because of this.

"You've got us," uttered Amy's unnervingly calm voice. She looped her paw around Sonic's arm, gazing adoringly into his face, watching as the look of pain and sorrow began to morph into one of confidence and strength. 

She felt her heart thud as he made eye contact with her, his eyelids lowering softly as he smiled at Amy's dilating pupils.

"You three are soft," he chuckled, a welcome sound after his lengthy silence.

Of course, they were outside now which meant that communication signals were in action.

"Tails! Anyone! Knuckles? Amy? Please, for the love of Chaos, pick up!" 

It was the first communication they had in what felt like forever.

"Silver?" Amy replied and from the other end of the line came cheers and shrieks of relief.

"Thank the Master Emerald!" Silver seemed to cry. "Where the hell are you?"

"Outside. We have Sonic!"

More excited chatter sounded in the background. 

"Okay. I'll make this brief. Good news and bad news. Good news - we're in a helicopter and we're just about ready to leave, but we've left you the Tornado not far from your location - Coordinates have already been sent. The rest of the island is evacuated. Bad news - Rouge has gone to find you."

Eyes turned to Knuckles. The echidna blanched and shot to his feet.

"Rouge is... SHE'S INSIDE?" He turned to the building. "You guys get Sonic to the Tornado, I'm going after her."

"Be careful!" Tails called after him as Knuckles dashed back to find his wife.

Amy came to help Tails with Sonic. 

"Can you walk?" she asked.

Sonic bit his lip and nodded, leaning against Amy and Tails as he found his feet. The pain in his neck was unbearable but the presence of his best friend and his fiancée provided the same sort of comfort a terrified child would receive from a trusted adult.

"The Tornado's signal is that way," Tails said, gesturing with his head in a direction opposite to the factory. "Let's get you home, old buddy."

"Less of the old," Sonic smiled. "I'm only 25."

Chapter Text

COUNTDOWN TIL SELF-DESTRUCT : 5 MINUTES 28 SECONDS

Rouge recoiled as the ceiling collapsed in front of her. She had just squeezed into the safety of a fortified doorway to escape being buried. Over and over she called out for her missing friends and Knuckles' name, especially. Her fur was sooty and could only be identified as bright white from where the sweat of her hands had washed some of it away from her face as she wiped at her eyes. Desperately, she hid herself behind her wings and shuffled through the hot debris, the sounds of fire crackling and the walls groaning were the only things she could hear and it frightened her.

She knew Shadow would be angry with her for doing this but she hadn't been able to stop herself; the thought of losing Knuckles was too great of a fear. She couldn't live on Angel Island and raise a child by herself and take on the responsibility of guarding the Master Emerald alone!

There was no way! That wasn't her lifestyle at all.

Maybe she should have considered this before agreeing to marry Knuckles but it was too late now. Perhaps she had made an awful mistake and really should have just remained single. It would have been so much less complicated if she stayed unattached, like Shadow.

A pair of arms wrapped themselves around her at that moment and she shrieked in horror. Until she realised that these were arms she knew. Arms that broke walls and threw cars around but were gentle enough for her to sleep in when she wanted to.

The sudden feeling of safety chastised her thinking. She HAD made the right choice. There WAS a reason she had married the most infuriating echidna on the face of the planet.

Knuckles pulled her away from the walls and shielded her with his body as another piece of building came hurtling down behind them.

"Rouge!" he coughed. "What, are you crazy!? The whole place is on fire!"

But just because she was glad to see him, didn't mean she was any less angry with him.

"I can see that!" she shouted. "And where in Dark Gaia's country do you think you are right now?"

"You shouldn't have come in after me!"

"Why not? Tell me why not?"

"Because you..."

"Are pregnant. Yes, thank you for that! Thank you very much for reminding me of something I ALREADY know!"

Another wall caved in and Rouge buckled as she tried to dodge, crying out in pain and hugging herself as she attempted to get away. Knuckles instantly took her in his arms and held her close and away from the damage.

"Are you alright?" he gasped. "Are you hurt?"

Rouge blinked tears and hung her head. "...I don't know."

The echidna picked her up carefully and hopped over a heap of scorching hot metal.

"...I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear. "I'm sorry for yelling at you."

"When?" Rouge sniffed, trying to breathe through his red fur. "Now? Or way back when we first met?"

"...Both. Hang on." He ducked under a collapsed support beam and ran. He didn't stop running until there was a less likelihood of something falling on his head. He was close to the hanger. "Everything okay?" he asked when it was quieter, stroking her head in a soothing manner with his large hand.

She had stopped silently shedding tears but she was still glassy-eyed as she refused to look at his face, instead fixated on his white moon crest. 

"...I... Knuckles I... I don't..." She coughed again.

"Just breathe. Here." Knuckles lay her down for a moment to rub her back and he pressed his lips to the top of her head. For a moment, neither said anything. "Guess you've been feeling a little left out..." he said. "...Is that why you came?"

"...I'm one of the Allies too, you know," Rouge murmured, breathing a little better now.

"I do know, it's just..."

"I know. I was being stupid. Thought I could do more than I actually can."

"No, you weren't being stupid." Knuckles picked her up again to move on. "Don't know why I thought you'd want to take things easy even with... you know." Rouge leant against his chest again. "It's just... believe it or not, you're important to me. And, I'm not gonna lie, the thought of being a dad was... It was great. I couldn't figure out if you weren't happy about it or not so I didn't say anything but I- I just wanted you both safe."

Rouge released another hot tear. "Now I've probably gone and lost it..."

"You don't know that..." Knuckles told her firmly. "Come on... Let's get you outta here."

Marine saw them coming first.

"Hey Clacker! Get a move on!" she called to Knuckles. 

"Where's Shadow?" Knuckles called out as he ran. Shadow appeared in the door to the helicoptor - the rotors were spinning quickly now and it was hard to hear above the noise. Knuckles saw him instantly. "Shadow! Take care of her."

The dark hedgehog took one look at Rouge and leapt to help, Omega a quick second behind him.

"Where's Sonic?" he asked as Knuckles reluctantly handed his wife over to her faithful teammates.

"I'm about to find out," Knuckles replied, checking to see if the other Allies were all on board.

They were.

"You can't go back there by yourself!" Shade shouted from her seat, watching as Knuckles turned away.

"We have the Tornado," he explained. "Get Rouge to a hospital and get out of here!"

Christmas Isle was going to be history.

COUNTDOWN TIL SELF-DESTRUCT - 2 MINUTES 17 SECONDS

It was odd to see Amy standing on the wing of the Tornado where Sonic traditionally stood but, with Sonic being made to take refuge in the safe passenger seat, there was nowhere else for her to ride.

"Come on Knux, where are you?" Tails mumbled to himself, firing up the Tornado's engines and turning towards freedom.

In the distance, he heard the motors of the helicopter and, a second later, the aircraft was seen rising into the air. The Babylon Rogues were long gone and the G.U.N helicopters were all gone too, evacuating people to safety.

The tiltrotor climbed higher into the sky and Tails felt pleased to know that they were all safe and he watched it turn and fly off towards the mainland.

The four friends were the last ones on the island now. That was when Amy gave a shout; Knuckles was dashing up the hill towards them.

1 MINUTE 5 SECONDS

"Taxi!" he called, leaping at the wings of the Tornado and scrabbling up clumsily, mentally apologising to Tails for the dents he was causing.

"Mind the gap!" Tails announced, pushing his plane to move along the dew-drenched grass.

Amy gripped the other side of the plane wing with her legs and gave Sonic one final check.

The blue hedgehog was staring balefully over at the island, at the hamlet down below and its merry little cottages and then at the factory.

The burning factory.

He had been born here, on this island, once. Maybe in one of those merry little cottages. Maybe in another merry little cottage.

Maybe he hadn't been born at all.

10 SECONDS

"Goodbye," Sonic murmured as the plane lifted off.

The factory blew.

The island was ripped apart.

Sea water claimed the land.

Down went Christmas Isle.

It belonged to the ocean now.

All the old robots that were kept inside.

They belonged to the ocean now.

Had E-102 Gamma been there?

If he did, he belonged to the ocean now.

...

...

...

"But not I. I do not belong to the ocean."

...

...

...

Sonic's eyes widened.

Far away, Metal Sonic hovered in mid-air watching the Tornado fly away.

At his side stood Metal Knuckles.

On his shoulder sat the Tails Doll.

"Until next time," Metal called out telepathically. "My friends and I will be waiting."

Chapter Text

Rouge was admitted to a comfortable room moments after they arrived at the nearest hospital on the Emerald Coast for immediate attention and the others found themselves waiting around outside for confirmation that the rest of their team had made it off the island safely. 

That was when Tails arrived with his own precious cargo needing to be checked over.

It was the first time they had seen Sonic since his abduction and, naturally, they wanted to see if he was okay, each one flitting around him like a worker ant trying to tend to the needs of a very spaced out 'queen'. It meant, of course, that there was no hiding the neck wound from them.

Knuckles went about pacing the length of the waiting room for news on Rouge but he kept his eyes and ears on the reunion happening at the door.

With Amy and Tails flanking him, Sonic had put on a brave face, kept his left side hidden and had instantly tried to smile and grin and make jokes and act like his usual self, squeezing Espio's hand, high-fiving Silver, fist-bumping Charmy and nodding respectfully to Shadow amidst the babble of questions being asked. But it only took a hug from one of them, or an enthusiastic pat on the shoulder for Sonic to squeak and shy away, revealing everything. 

To say that it shocked the Allies was a bit of an understatement and shock gave way to anger and rage and distress. But if they knew anything about Sonic, they were aware that he'd hate any fuss given to it - so they kept their mouths shut and their tempers in check. 

They waited until he'd sheepishly apologised and had been ferreted away by nurses before they turned to one another and vented their boiling emotions. Big and Blaze allowed their ears to twist against their heads and their tails to whip from side to side, Charmy's wings buzzed in an unusually low pitch and Espio's skin began to darken. Shade turned away, Omega went quiet, Sticks zoned out entirely and soft, seething hisses could be heard escaping between the teeth of Vector's jaw. Cream had buried her face into Cheese, of whom she kept a tight hold in the knowledge that Chao were sensitive to Sonic's energy and would want to go to him. Marine had her head down and her fists clenched while Silver and Shadow had silently watched Tails and Amy move towards the receptionist's desk before their backs began to tense with spikes as they breathed heavily through their noses.

But, again, they reminded themselves that Sonic would hate a fuss being made. So nothing was said out loud. 

Tails, Amy and Knuckles were allowed to go and 'distract' Sonic while his wound was treated. It was confirmed by the doctors that, yes, the burn would scar and would leave a slightly visible mark but, they assured, it would only be noticeable up close.

Much later, when Sonic was given permission to get up and walk around the hospital, Knuckles was allowed to see his wife upon the discovery that their unborn baby was perfectly fine and no apparent damage had occurred. He sat beside her when she was visited by Shadow and Omega. By this time, everyone had calmed down about what had transpired.

"You are okay?" Omega asked cordially, trying not to bump into anything as he stood in the middle of the room.

"I'm fine, thank you," Rouge smiled at him, holding her husband's hand and leaning her head back against the pillow.

"Good," Shadow murmured, smiling a little himself. "I can reassure the Commander that you're not in any danger then."

"He can wait for a moment, surely," Knuckles said, lifting a drink for Rouge to sip.

"Ah, you've met the Commander, Knuckles," Rouge replied. "He frets. If he weren't human, I would swear he was a bird of some kind - he ruffles up feathers he doesn't even have."

"Speaking of: has anyone been in contact with the Rogues?" Knuckles asked.

"We've been in touch, yes," Shadow confirmed, "and they're pretending they don't care about what's going on. Jet's more eager to know when Sonic will be back to racing."

Knuckles chuckled, thinking back to Sonic and how he had pulled the most humorous of faces when two pretty nurses had cleaned and dressed his neck. His shoulder and half his torso was covered in gauze and he had whinged about looking like half a Mobegyptian mummy. The bandages wouldn't be needed long, Knuckles was sure - Chaos Energy would see to that. 

"Perhaps things can finally get back to normal around here," Rouge sighed, rubbing her tummy and feeling tired all of a sudden.

"Just so long as you're okay," Shadow pointed out.

"And that your daughter is okay," Omega then added.

"The baby is fine," Rouge smiled sleepily. "They say that it could have turned out very different but- what do you mean, MY DAUGHTER?"

Shadow sank his face into his palm. 

"Omega," he groaned, "...why do you do this?"

The early morning was beginning to come alive with birdsong and people going to work. Outside the hospital, some of the Allies had gathered one last time after they had spent most of the last few hours taking it in turns to eat something and catch up on sleep, courtesy of the hospital's separate over-night apartments used for patients' families or the sofas in the waiting room.

"So Sonic's on the mend, Rouge is okay..." Charmy yawned, "guess, we're all gonna be fine."

"That's a relief," Vector said, stretching his arms. "Well, boys, best say your goodbyes."

Cream blinked at them in surprise, holding a still-sleeping Cheese. 

"Where are you going?" she asked. After everything that happened, it would be sad to see everyone go and Cream had got used to seeing the full team around.

"We ain't done yet," Vector explained to her. "Ol' Ira Robotnik is goin' straight back where he belongs. Can't say he'll be around much longer but the asylum will look after him."

Cream's ears twitched. 

"...I feel sorry for him," she said quietly.

"Sorry?" Vector repeated. "What'cha feeling sorry for him for?"

"He was dying. People get desperate and afraid when they're dying. Maybe that's why he did what he did."

"...That's true," Silver sighed. "But it doesn't forgive any of it."

Unseen by them, Sonic, who had been about to come out and join them and actually start acting like his old self again, overheard their conversation and stopped briefly.

...Perhaps there was one thing he ought to do first...

Ira Robotnik was hand-cuffed and curled up on a mattress in the back of one of the GUN's vans that the Chaotix were going to use to transport him back. He'd blatantly refused medical attention and wouldn't step foot inside the hospital so here he stayed, wrapped in a thick blanket.

Two agents were guarding it closely and they moved to intercept the hedgehog when Sonic first appeared to them.

"Five minutes," he requested to which the agents, considering who he was, granted.

Ira wasn't in a particularly good shape when Sonic saw him. He propped himself up against the wall and his eyes seemed to sparkle a little when he saw who had come to see him.

"...Sonic the Hedgehog."

His voice sounded croaky and he was clearly tired. He shivered from time to time and coughed violently, either from the results of his arson or from his heart trying to give up after enduring all the stress he had put upon it. 

Sonic stared at him and the man stared back.

"Ira Robotnik," Sonic then answered him, actually talking to him willingly at last in a long long time. Ira recognised this feat and he properly smiled as though this simple action had actually touched him.

"You... You remember me?" he wheezed.

Sonic wasn't going to lull him into a lie. 

"...No." He watched Ira's smile wane and the human began breathing slowly through his nose as his shoulders sagged. "...But I will now." 

Ira's eyebrow rose up and he started to smile again. 

"You..." Sonic said with some difficulty, averting his eyes, "...killed my family?"

"Yes," replied Ira. "That was me."

Sonic wished the two guards weren't stood outside to potentially hear this conversation but there was nothing that could be done about that.

"...What for?" he asked. "What was the reason for it?"

Ira was gazing at Sonic wistfully and he coughed again.

"Because... I could," he answered. "Because I was o-only the brother. I wanted to be feared. Like... like him. I was going to use you to... to give me life and make p-people fear me."

A thought then came to Sonic... ... what you see is what you get... ... and he turned his eyes back to him again and asked,

"When you look at me, what do you see?"

Ira looked and hummed fondly.

"...Potential hope," he softly said. "And destruction."

Sonic briefly wondered what it was that Eggman saw but, thinking about Eggman caused his neck to hurt and he shook the memory of it away.

"What you see is what you get," he said in a soft voice.

Ira looked as though he wasn't quite understanding that comment.

"There are doctors here," Sonic explained. "They can help you."

The human's eyes blinked.

"No," Ira croaked after a moment to work it out. "You were hope. Not anymore. Now... you're just destruction. You will destroy me."

"Like you destroyed my family?"

"...possibly."

Sonic was frowning at him now. "What does that mean?"

"Maybe..." Ira chuckled, "...like me... you have family out there. Maybe."

Sonic thought to his allies, the ones that had all come to rescue him.

"I've always got family," he informed Ira firmly. "Quite a big one too."

Ira tilted his head and studied Sonic closely.

"He did that?" He pointed at Sonic's bandaged neck and shoulder.

Sonic glanced down at it and thought of his new scar underneath. "...He's done worse."

"...Brothers, eh?" Ira grinned. "...Tails, Knuckles, Manic..."

Sonic turned his eyes to him sharply at the unfamiliar name and pricked an ear but Ira wasn't looking at him now. He was staring off into space with a tired look on his face, wishing to sleep and never wake up.

"...Maybe they did," he mused. "Maybe they lived. Just like you."

Sonic took a deep breath. 

"So long, Ira," he said in farewell and left the van in silence.

The doors were shut again and Ira, lying in the darkness, ruefully smiled at where Sonic was once stood.

"...You were right after all, Jules..." he whispered into the air. "...Seems nothing can catch the wind."

Silver looked up as Shadow approached him with Omega at his side.

"What's up?" Silver asked, getting to his feet from where he had been sat in the grand waiting room.

The Chaotix had left with Ira an hour ago and Cream and Big had gone back to Zooey with the good news that all was well. The others were still waiting around for Sonic and Rouge to be discharged from the hospital.

"I said I wanted to talk to you," Shadow quietly reminded and then looked towards Omega who opened a compartment on his body and pulled out some dusty files.

Silver was confused and cocked an eyebrow questioningly.

"Thanks Omega," Shadow murmured and, to Silver's surprise, Omega left. "This is private."

"What's it about?" asked Silver, nervous all of a sudden.

Shadow moved them to a quiet corner where they could chat.

"Omega and I found evidence that Eggman was storing DNA, inherited from his grandfather it looks like," he began. "He's also quite well-informed on the specifics of dimension jumping."

"Okay, so Eggman has a few other hobbies outside of building robots and chasing hedgehogs. What's the problem?"

"It might not be called a problem, per se. It's just... interesting. You know my story, don't you?"

Silver nodded. 

"The whole alien thing and Professor Robotnik and the ARK and..." Silver faltered, not wanting to mention Maria, "...and all that? Yeah, I know."

Shadow played with the corner of the first file.

"...Did you ever wonder why I'm a hedgehog?" he asked.

It was the first time, really, that it had been brought to Silver and he only now properly considered that question.

"...Huh..." he breathed, "I guess I never thought about it. I just accepted it. Why?"

"It bothered me on and off for years." Shadow's grip on the files tightened. "Why was the Ultimate Lifeform me and why was I a hedgehog."

"...You sure I'm the person you want to be speaking to about this?"

"Shut up and listen, would you?" Silver shut up fast and Shadow sighed. "Dimension jumping, time travel... The Robotniks had that at their disposal. Now there's 50 years between myself and Sonic..."

"Hold up!" Silver gasped, holding up his paws and only now just realising what was being implied. "Are you trying to tell me that you might be connected to Sonic via DNA or something?"

Shadow looked Silver dead in the eye.

"If they can time travel, anything's possible. The point is I turned out to be a hedgehog and no-one can give me a clear answer on why that is unless..." Shadow glanced over to where Sonic had just walked in, warmly greeting Shade, Blaze and Amy who had been the first to hurry up to meet him. "...Unless someone's hedgehog DNA was used in my creation."

Silver glanced over at the blue hedgehog, noting his uncannily familiar face.

"Sonic wasn't around when you were, uh, created," he murmured.

"Means nothing in the terms of time travel. Hop forward in time, get what they need, hop back... The Professor probably reasoned it would have been safer to travel forward in time rather than back - less chance of erasing yourself from history."

Silver looked back to Shadow solemnly.

"...Why are you telling me this?" he asked in a soft voice.

"Because," Shadow replied, "the DNA that made me might have been kept for... future use."

Silver's throat tightened. "...You mean me."

Silver had never really looked into his own parentage (or lack thereof) nor had he questioned where he came from. Not in great depth anyway. The future was inconclusive and there were holes and gaps throughout his history ever since the Soleanna incident and the erasing of a timeline. He knew he hadn't been born with his power but, rather, had his power ingrained into him later on in life by genetic scientists who were attempting to recreate an Ultimate Lifeform via Chaos Energy.

"Like I said," Shadow repeated, "I don't know. I just wanted to make you aware of that possibility before I gave these files to Sonic."

"What are they?" Silver asked, briefly glancing at them.

"Not sure. They were all under the label: S.T.H. so we figured it's about him," Shadow said, looking at Sonic again.

"Centre of the universe, right?" Silver smiled, also looking over at Sonic once more.

"Centre of the damn universe," Shadow agreed, smiling too.

Rosemary was over the moon to see her father again and she wouldn't let him go for a whole hour. He had brought Sonic back to his place for a few days where he could keep an eye on his friend's injury to make sure it was getting better so Sonic was spoilt rotten by his niece and by Zooey. Knuckles and Rouge had returned home with strict instructions to take things easy from here on out and life continued on as though it had never changed to begin with.

Of course, the news hounds soon got a hold of everything and every TV on Mobius was now assuring the people that the Allies had been victorious and Sonic was safely back.

The hedgehog was smirking at the TV set where Jet the Hawk was blabbing away to a talk show host about recent events.

"Oh absolutely, I couldn't agree more. I mean, I suppose it WAS thanks to us that the Sonic Allies were able to go and get him," he was saying animatedly. "We were on hand to help in the evacuation of the people of Christmas Isle and I feel that we really were indispensable in the 'Rescue of Sonic the Hedgehog' as people are calling it... Yes?... Are they not calling it that?..."

"You wait until I'm back in business, buddy," Sonic promised the screen, "and I'll show you what's 'indispensable'." He was grateful, of that there was no doubt, but it would be good to remind Jet that it didn't change where he stood on the leader board.

"Give it time," he heard a voice behind him. Amy came round into view and sat beside him on his right, resting her hand on his leg gently. "You know Jet's just as eager for you to get better as you are."

"Ridiculous sack of feathers that he is," Sonic said with a laugh.

"Ridiculous, maybe. But if it weren't for the Rogues, we might not all have come to save you in time," Amy sighed. 

Her fiancé hummed in agreement.

"I'm not denying that," he said. "I'll thank the three of them properly when I next see them."

"They'll love that." The pink hedgehog rested her head carefully on Sonic's uninjured shoulder gazing at his furry peach chest. Sonic didn't have the long fur on his chest that Shadow and Silver had but Amy didn't mind; Sonic's fur was downy and soft and didn't get up your nose. "I'll go make chili dogs," she decided and, pecking a kiss on his cheek, made her way to Tails' kitchen.

Sonic yawned and stretched his arms before pulling them back in with a wince as his neck wound tugged. His cheerfulness ended and his eyes drifted to the coffee table.

There were the files that Shadow had given him and, on top of that, the USB stick that Tails had downloaded the data from Eggman's computer onto. They said that all his biological information were contained within and it could potentially explain everything: why Sonic could run so fast, why he could survive a fall from space, why the Chao seemed so drawn to him...

He looked down at his gloves.

Maybe it was the Chaos Energy they were drawn to which meant that, maybe, it had been a Chaos Emerald that had given him his power. But in the womb? Was Professor Gerald Robotnik involved? If so, how did he manage to connect Sonic and Shadow together. And Silver? 

Sonic rubbed his face and stretched his legs. There were so many questions and so many possible answers now within an arm's reach.

Peering through his fingers, Sonic decided to forget all those questions and focus on merely one:

Did he even want to know?

Chapter Text

With their hot drinks clasped in their paws, four of the Allies were slowly walking through town, stopping to thank people for their gratitude and answering their concerns about Sonic's welfare with reassurance. It wasn't until they got to the park that they stopped on a nearby bench and watched the ducks paddle over the pond, quacking to one another about duck business.

"So," Shade had said, "when are you going home?"

"Sooner rather than later," answered Blaze, to whom Shade had been talking. "The Sol Emeralds could get unstable without me there to keep them in check. Can't be away from our own dimension too long."

"Plus," Marine added, "we've got our own Eggman to smack around and he's got kangaroos loose in the top paddock, if you know what I mean."

"If you say so," Shade smiled and took a sip from her drink, regretting that she had had to wait so long until now to taste such a beverage. "Will Silver be going back too?"

"Most likely," Blaze nodded. "Travelling to the past always gives the future at a bit of a strain."

"Yeah, I'm glad I'm from the past. No timelines for me to mess up."

"That you know of," Sticks commented ominously. "You could've messed hundreds of timelines and not known about it. You could be messing up a timeline as we speak. Maybe the fact that you're drinking a Ginger Spice Americano in this park is ruining some minor timeline that could have resulted in a major development for this planet. The Butterfly Effect is everywhere."

Shade glanced down at her coffee. "...Thank you for that."

"What about you, Spunk?" Marine asked Sticks, distracting the badger. "Heading home to your dimension too?"

"Yeah, I guess," Sticks said, kicking at the grass. "Not sure how I feel about islands at the moment though..." (For Sticks also lived on an island.)

"Anyway," Blaze sighed, "we'll be back soon enough what with all these calendar events that are going to be happening: marriages, births, the Annual Green Hill Festival..." She got up and offered a hug to Shade which she, surprisingly, accepted. "You take care of yourself."

"Thanks," Shade smiled, "you too."

After Blaze, Marine and Sticks had departed from her, Shade discovered that she wasn't left alone much longer when she caught sight of two familiar friends walking in front of her down the high-street.

"Hi boys," she called, hurrying to catch up with them.

Shadow turned and dipped his head in greeting. 

"Recovered yet?" he asked as pleasantly as he could for a socially awkward Ultimate Lifeform.

Shade brushed her shoulder and smirked. "I'm an echidna. We bounce back from anything."

"Are you pleased for Rouge and Knuckles' echidna child?" Omega then asked. "It will be the first one born in this world for 26 years."

"Yes, so I am aware," Shade replied. "What about you? Rouge will insist on the child calling you 'Uncles', you know."

Omega looked thrilled.

"I am not an uncle," Shadow snorted, rolling his eyes.

"You are old enough to be one."

Shadow and Shade turned to Omega in surprise at his swift burn. They had never seen an expressionless robot look so thrilled with itself and they were certain that had they tried listening closer they would have heard some kind of buzzy giggling coming from him. The robot had been expanding his range of 'emotions' over the years and 'giggling' was a very recent upgrade.

"Excuse me, did that need a comment from you?" he asked venomously. "I don't think so."

"...I would like to be an Uncle although, biologically speaking, it should not be possible."

"Who says you have to be blood related to be called an Uncle?" Shade shrugged. "Look at Tails' kid - she calls Sonic her Uncle."

Shadow wrinkled his nose and shook his head. 

"An uncle Sonic I can tolerate. It's the thought of Sonic being a father that worries me," he muttered.

Shade peered at him out of the corner of her eye. "...See, you just sound eager for that to happen, uncle."

"Say that again and I won't let you sleep on my sofa ever again. I'm only 75 years old."

"Still practically a hoglet compared to me."

"Shall I scan Amy to see if she HAS got an foreign body in-"

"Omega," Shadow warned, "if you scan one more person and find out something you shouldn't know one more time, I'll turn you into a dishwasher."

Shade smiled in content. She was pleased that she was able to call this place home.

"Hi Cream! What you got there?" Charmy asked as he swung open the door to reveal the young rabbit with a huge tin in her arms.

Cheese was at her side and was holding another tin.

"Cakes!" Cream announced, holding out the tin. "Mother baked these for you to thank you for your hard work."

Vector looked as though he might burst into tears. 

"Naw! Ain't she just an absolute angel?" he sighed dreamily, taking the tin and opening to reveal a huge three layer cake. "You thank your Ma good an' proper for us, 'kay?"

"I sure will," Cream promised and smiled proudly as the Chaotix detectives oohed and aahed over the cakes that she had helped to make with her mother.

In Cheese's tray were a bunch of cupcakes and he was eagerly chirping and dancing around them, trying to explain the flavours in them with his squeaky, childish voice. The rabbit glanced at the board on the wall which had a list of all their solved cases. Down in the bottom right, out of the way to draw as less attention to it as possible, was a tiny photo of Eggman's younger brother.

There were no words with it. It was just a picture.

"Did you take Ira Robotnik back?" she asked quietly.

Vector looked at the photo before patting Cream's shoulder gently. 

"He's in good hands now," he told her. "Doctors there are even treatin' his heart problems."

"...What about Eggman?"

"We'll have to wait and see about that one," Espio replied, honestly admitting that none of them knew anything about where Public Enemy No. 1 had ran off to.

"He'll be stopped one day though, won't he?" Cream sighed, wondering what life was like without the threat of Eggman hanging over them constantly.

Charmy was the one to buzz over her head with a grin. 

"Sure he will! We've got Sonic, haven't we?" he laughed and tucked into the cupcake with absolute joy written over his face.

Angel Island was a paradise of security and safety compared to the now-sunk Christmas Isle. Knuckles was fortunate to have it, he knew.

The Master Emerald had welcomed him home with all the affection that a glowing green stone could give a Mobian.

Knuckles felt appreciated by the mighty jewel and he could sense its pleasure at having him close once more. He could always hear it calling for him whenever he left it alone for long periods of time and he sometimes felt guilty for when he had to ignore the call and continue on in whatever adventure he had fallen into. 

Who knew giant emeralds suffered separation anxiety?

"The Master Emerald behaving?" Rouge asked, coming up to see him with a hot drink.

"Yeah," Knuckles said, taking the drink and thanking her. "How are you feeling?"

"Better."

The pair of them studied the Master Emerald who had calmed down now that it had her guardian back and the Emerald's calmness, in that moment, felt like a balm.

"...So..." Knuckles cleared his throat, "...a girl?"

The Master Emerald glimmered a little and Rouge felt something inside her stir for just a moment. But it was gone before she could think about it.

"Looks like you'll be outnumbered around here," she told Knuckles but he just smiled. 

"I was outnumbered already, bat-girl. I've always been outnumbered."

"Well," she shrugged. "You go from being the last echidna to one of potentially three."

"We're getting there," Knuckles fist-bumped the air above him. "Just you watch, Tikal, I'll make sure that the echidnas return."

"Your ancestors would be proud," Rouge sighed, rolling her eyes but unable to hide a smile. Yes, his ancestors might very well be proud of him and so they should be.

 A warm feeling came over her at that point and she came to believe that those very ancestors had just smiled in approval of her.

Then Knuckles took her hand suddenly and squeezed it, mumbling something in an ancient tongue that Rouge recognised as being the language of the ancient echidnas. That was when, for the first time, Rouge actually felt the Master Emerald reach out to her and, in that moment, a new bond was forged.

Amy, wrapped in her silk night robe, stood out in her garden as twilight descended on the land, listening as the cicadas began to sing and the fireflies began to switch on their lights as bats wheeled about overhead in search for moths. The first star of the evening had made its appearance as the sun hung lower and lower in the sky. Overhead, the red and pink sky looked like a watercolour and the world had never felt so beautiful.

Earlier on that day, she had accompanied Sonic to see the doctor to have most of his bandages removed so that his torso was now free and he only had a small dressing on his neck now. The memory of seeing his brand was one that she couldn't remove from her mind and she knew, in her heart, she never would. 

She wasn't sure how long it would be before Eggman's path crossed theirs again but she was sure that when she saw him again, she was going to let him have it; Sonic was going to have to bear that brand for the rest of his life and, for someone like him, that was just an insult, both to his freedom and to his beautiful pelt. She was also of the distinct impression that the other Allies were of the exact same opinion.

The young hedge-maid, looking a little lilac in colour due to the evening air, inhaled the scent of the lavender growing by the fence and the sent of the honeysuckle over by the window and felt content finally after so many days of stressing and worrying. It would have been better had Sonic been there with her that evening but he was probably making good use of his running feet since he had been cooped up and detained for so long.

As soon as his injuries were okay, he'd probably be off around the world again and make good use of his freedom now that he had it back.

"I don't mind," Amy had thought with a smile.

Sonic came and went as he pleased, dashing off on another adventure, to outer space, to another world entirely... but he always dashed back.

He would be away for weeks and then suddenly appear on the doorstep with a bunch of flowers and a bottle of wine and he'd say, "Grab your coat, Ames, I'm taking you out for a picnic on the hill tonight."

That was Sonic.

She wouldn't have him any other way and she was looking forward to having that hedgehog back again soon.

She didn't care what deep dark secret the Robotnik family had been trying to unearth - let that blasted secret die for all she cared.

"What are you doing?" Silver asked, watching Sonic shredding paper in Tails' workshop.

"I've decided to hibernate this year and I need extra bedding," Sonic replied in a serious voice.

Silver grinned at him. "I'd give you a week before you throw in the towel on that."

"To be honest," Sonic chuckled, "I'd probably just use it as an excuse to binge out on chili dogs for the summer."

"And get really fat?"

"Ha! You know I can burn off fat faster than Blaze can burn off your winter coat."

Silver shared the laugh for a few seconds.

"In all seriousness," he pressed, "what are you shredding?"

Sonic shrugged nonchalantly. "Documents and stuff."

"Hey that's..." Silver then recognised the pile next to Sonic. "Aren't they the files from Dr Eggman? The ones that Shadow brought back?"

Sonic nodded. "Sure are."

"You're getting rid of them?"

"Sure am."

"...Have you read it?"

Sonic switched off the shredder and looked up at Silver. "No."

"But isn't it about you?"

Sonic sighed and gently rolled his shoulder to ease the slight pain in his neck.

"I like to think I've grown out of my slightly egotistical childhood," he told him. "Not everything is about me anymore."

"Yeah, but... but it's about where you came from."

"I know," Sonic said, looking at Silver in a funny sort of way with an expression that couldn't be easily identified. "That's why I'm not reading it."

Silver's face softened. "You don't want to know?"

"See?" Sonic smiled. "Knew you could be perceptive when you put your mind to it."

"But... why?" asked Silver, trying to comprehend Sonic's logic. "This is a chance to discover who you are and..."

"And then live with it for the rest of my life." Sonic's smile was more gentle and he regarded his fellow hedgehog with fondness. "Silver, I'm...happy," he softly explained. "I'm actually happy with who I am, where I am and what I am. This?" He held up a file. "This is about the past. Well, I'm not Shadow. I don't look back. And I'm not you - I don't worry about the future. I have to live in the moment, taking one day at a time. It's how I cope. Is that wrong?"

Silver leant against the wall and sighed.

"...No." He returned Sonic's gentle smile. "No, I guess not. Sounds great, actually."

Sonic glanced at the pile and rested his hand on it.

"...I can't change this," he went on. "Whatever happened, wherever I came from... I can't change any of it. And, I dunno... I guess a part of me worries that if I DO read it, it'll change me. I don't want to do that. I can still be Sonic, right? Even if I don't know where I came from?"

Silver just continued smiling at him and Sonic started the shredder back up, feeding it page after page of potential information.

"You, on the other hand..." he then said. "Well, you and Shadow have every right to figure out how you fit into this."

"What, how 3 hedgehogs born years apart can share creepily similar faces? Quirk of genetics."

"Or," Sonic winked at Silver, "are you guys born of Chaos too?"

"Nah, you're born of Chaos," Silver chuckled. "I was born of science and Shadow... he was born of both, I suppose."

"Ultimate Lifeform," Sonic said in his best gravelly Shadow voice.

After the joke had been shared, Silver twitched his ear.

"...Why do you think that is?" he asked.

"Why Lord Grouch-pants the Edge-Hedge is the Ultimate Lifeform?"

"Really more as in why hedgehogs are the Ultimate Lifeforms."

"...Who knows," Sonic shrugged again. "Maybe we're awesome. Maybe hedgehogs were like the Babylonians and we're from another world altogether. Maybe hedgehogs were the first to walk the planet. Or maybe an ancient hedgehog ancestor got hit by a radioactive meteor and spawned super abilities, passing them on to its descendants."

"Now you're just being ridiculous."

Sonic raised an eyebrow and peered at him with half-lidded eyes.

"My leisurely jogging speed is WELL over the speed of sound. Of course I'm ridiculous. Like I have been repeatedly told, I shouldn't be alive. I defy science."

"And so you're... NOT going to read the files."

Sonic lifted his head and grinned. "I like defying science."

"Until science does eventually explain you."

"Awww, where's the fun in that, Snowball?" Sonic pouted.

Silver said nothing and watched until Sonic had fed every last file through the shredder.

With a sigh of satisfaction, Sonic then stood up and nodded at Silver. "Some things we never find out and, sometimes, it's better that way."

Chapter Text

The fire had burnt low and only a few glowing embers were left. The evening was quiet and all that remained was Sonic, stood on the cliff and watching a few late birds fly about and chirp in the twilight air.

"...You okay?" came a voice behind him. It was Tails.

"Nice sunset, eh?" Sonic found himself smiling, aware of his best friend coming to stand beside him.

"Red sky at night..." Tails noted, echoing the popular folk saying. He then glanced down at what was left of the bonfire. "So everything is gone."

"Yep. Your computer stick too. I'll buy you a new one."

"...I made it."

"Oh."

Tails looked up to spy the first star of the evening. "...No word from Eggman," he mentioned as he did so.

Sonic didn't react immediately to that. He just breathed in slowly and exhaled softly.

"No. Still, it's only been a few days. It'll probably be another year again before he crawls back out to play."

"Can't imagine he'll let you off without roboticising you next time around."

"...He's done his worst," Sonic grimaced while murmuring, lifting his hand to gently touch the edge of dressed wound.

"...You should be resting," Tails told him. "The damp in the air won't do your neck any good."

"Can't rest now, little bro," Sonic smiled, wrapping an arm around Tails' shoulders. "We've got a baby echidna on the way and, according to Amy, the greatest wedding since Knucklehead was frogmarched down the aisle."

"Now is that YOUR wedding or Silver and Blaze's?" Tails grinned.

"Depends if Fluffy can actually muster up the quills to put a ring on that girl's finger. Chaos knows it's taken him long enough."

"He'll do it."

"Nothing like a little excitement to bring people closer together."

"Like us?"

"Like us."

The pair of them stood together and looked out across the West Plains where Sonic loved to run sometimes.

Tails could rarely recall a time when he and Sonic just stood there and just did nothing. His childhood was lived on the run, dodging badniks and evading mad scientists, travelling through time and fighting monsters, collecting Chaos Emeralds and learning secrets, travelling to space and raising Chao, making friends and creating life-long alliances, forming resistance groups and ensuring freedom...

Perhaps that would stop for most of them one day. But looking at his friend now and seeing just how eager he was for adventure and how his ears seemed to prick as the wind breezed past them were enough to tell Tails that Sonic wasn't going to be stopping any time soon and he doubted he ever would.

"I'll die running," he had once said, many years ago, to a wide-eyed 13 year old Tails. "When it's my time, I want you to promise me that you'll let me go. Let me run off into the distance like I always do. Let me break that sound barrier just one last time. Would you let me do that, Tails?"

To which Tails had said that he would - he had promised.

But, the fox reasoned, that fateful day was a fair way off and before it could arrive they had a whole life to live.

"I'm... sorry."

Tails gave a start, not anticipating Sonic's voice in his brief moment of thought. 

"What for?" he asked.

"Back on Christmas Isle..." Sonic murmured, his eyes downcast. "I didn't want to show you..." He was talking, of course, about his injury.

"Oh..." The Eggman logo hadn't just been branded into Sonic - it had stuck in the memory of Tails, Knuckles and Amy too. "Don't sweat it. I can see why you didn't want to tell us."

"...Really?" Sonic asked suspiciously, glancing at his friend in a way to challenge that statement.

"Sure!" Tails replied but, looking at Sonic's face, then had a moment of doubt. "I mean... I guess... I suppose you didn't want us worrying?"

The hedgehog turned away and lowered his paw away from his wound.

"...Actually, I was being selfish." Tails' silence was an indication of his momentary confusion and so Sonic continued, "I didn't want to show you because..." He faltered, lost for words, unsure of what he was trying to say. "...In all my years of fighting Eggman I've never ever walked away from a fight with anything but a bruise or a broken quill or..." 

Getting frustrated now, Sonic tried gesticulating his hands, hoping it would give the message better than he was at the moment. But in the end, there was nothing Sonic could do but come straight out with it. 

"...I was afraid that you'd... that you'd be disappointed." Sonic gave a defeated sigh and looked back at his best friend. "You used to look at me like I could do anything in the world and beyond it. Like there was no way I could ever be defeated and that, if it did happen, I'd just cheat death and come back. You used to look at me like I was invincible. Immortal, even. Then when Infinite happened and that business with Sage-"

"When that all happened, that only made me more convinced," Tails intervened sternly. "...And I didn't use to look at you like that - I still do look at you like that. Everyone else gets their share of bumps and scrapes. Like, Omega still has that dent in his chest and Shadow has that scar right beneath his ear that he thinks we don't know about-"

"He got into a fight with the chef at the sushi bar," Sonic smiled, remembering.

"Point is," Tails went on, pleased that his motivating speech was doing something, "they all get knocked about and beaten down and I'd still trust them with the fate of the world so why should you be the exception? As C.S. Lewis once wrote: 'You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down.' Enemies keep trying to walk against you all the time. I say that if you're not walking away from a fight with a limp and a black eye, you didn't try hard enough."

To that, Sonic kept quiet and Tails grew quiet as well.

"Tails?" the hedgehog asked uncertainly. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"You have to be honest, though. Tell me the truth."

"About what?" 

Sonic inhaled deeply. "Do you think I thrive on chaos?"

The fox frowned. "What?"

"It's something Eggman told me. He said I thrive on chaos because, according to him, freedom is a life without order. Do you believe that?"

"Do I believe that freedom is a life without order? No," Tails replied. "Freedom has to have some restrictions, otherwise everyone would be miserable. If everyone could do whatever they wanted, the place would be a mess. Your kind of freedom is about getting rid of tyranny and slavery, not scrapping law altogether." Tails glanced at Sonic from the corner of his blue eye. "Do I think you thrive on chaos?" He gave a big sigh. "...No."

Sonic didn't usually need these comforting reassurances from Tails but, for some reason, probably because of all that had happened, they were a soothing balm right now. A small moth began to flit around the glowing coals of the fire, bobbing up and down as the heat pushed it away as it tried to get close.

Sonic watched it and then glanced down at the flakey black ashes.

"...Did you want to know?" he asked.

Tails blinked at him, puzzled at the question.

"The files." Sonic nodded toward the remains of the fire. "I didn't ask if you wanted to know about... well, me."

The fox studied the fire for a few moments, shook out both tails and hugged his torso as the night air began to descend.

"You raised me, bro," he answered at last. "Spent my entire life with you - I think I know enough."

"It wont bother you then?" Sonic added in a quiet voice. "Knowing that you don't know?"

He then felt Tails' hand on his arm.

"If I'm being honest," Tails told him. "I... I don't care where you came from or how you do what you do." He looked up at Sonic properly. "And I don't think anyone else cares either. I don't reckon Eggman was telling the full truth and, even if he was, that has nothing to do with us now, does it?"

Sonic pulled Tails closer to him in a one arm hug. 

"You're right," he agreed, finally smiling broadly and relaxing at last. "It doesn't matter where I came from and it doesn't matter where you came from. We're just living life. There isn't anyone like us, except us."

What you see is what you get.

Sonic wasn't going to ask Tails that one - the fox had made his viewpoint clear enough and that was good enough for him. He trusted Tails with his life, so why not trust him with this?

He patted Tails on the shoulder and nimbly leapt away.

"Now chase me to the horizon!" 

The hedgehog slid down the cliff edge, dashed off through the forest and out onto the open plain, his gaze fixed on the distance where the sun had set.

"You can't physically get to the horizon, you know!" Tails told him with a laugh, flying over head.

"Oh I will one day, Tails," Sonic called. "You'll see. I will catch it."

"How?" Tails asked as they both became smaller and smaller in the distance.

Sonic's answer was carried on the wind: 

"I'll just keep on running!"

~~~THE END~~~?

Knuckles and Rouge welcomed their beautiful baby daughter the following spring.
Ruby-Lei the Echidna weighed in at a hefty 4 pounds (poor Rouge) on 30th March.

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~*~

"That Sonic guy sure is something." He held the newspaper open to the one sat beside him on the park bench. "Yo Sis, check it. Ain't he something?"

His sister, counting the spare change in her purse, cast her eyes over the front page which detailed the latest victory for the Sonic Allies.

"He sure is...something," she smirked. "A constant source of heart attacks for his family, I imagine. Are you ready or what?"

She got to her feet and shouldered her bag.

"Yeah, I'm coming, I'm coming," her brother answered, rolling the paper up and stuffing it into the pocket of his jacket. He gave his green quills a quick ruffle and jogged to catch up with his sister. "Hey, do you think I look like him?" he asked her as they walked off. "I reckon I look like him a little. What'cha think? Think I look like him?"

"Oh SURE! You've got that vibrant blue colour spot on..."

"...I think I look like him."

His raspberry coloured sister gave a chuckle.

"Whatever makes you happy, Bro."