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Chapter Text

The gift Sonic would receive for his 18th birthday would, from this moment on, make him hate birthdays.

Of course, the hedgehog was oblivious as to what was in store for him. Tails and Sonic had been enjoying a stroll through their favourite spot in the woods before the young fox fumbled out an excuse to go ahead. Sonic didn't question it, lost more in his own thoughts. Attacks had been relentless from the doctor as of late, chaotic one might say - hordes sent out across the land with seemingly no real goal. Was Eggman truly losing his marbles? Well, stupid question - he'd lost them long ago, it was a little hard to imagine he had any in the first place.

However, the attacks raised questions all the same - perhaps it was purposeful busy work, made to distract him and his friends from whatever his true scheme was that he was making up. Ah well, he was done contemplating the matter - no need to get worked up over it. He knew everyone would be ready for it. Eggman's plans would be foiled just like every other time.

Sonic made his way past some shrubbery and his eyes immediately lay upon the sight of a long wooden table. Bright colored paper plates and plastic cups and cutlery were laid out. Various cakes and snacks laid out on tier stands, looking comparably much fancier to the cutlery. Although, those observations were swept to the side as his mouth hung agape. In the centre of the table, there was a tall, chocolate tiered cake. A dark icing had been drizzled on the top and dripped down the cake - and various sweet and sugary confectionary was placed on the top, adding a nice touch of red and white to the top of the brown cake. He could smell the bitterness, yet somehow simultaneously sweet fragrance of cocoa from here.

"SURPRISE!"

Sonic stepped back, almost stumbling - as his friends appeared out from behind the table and surrounding trees, all yelling with beaming faces. He looked over them quickly - Amy, Vector, Espio, Charmy (who had begun inexplicably flying around in an excited circle), Cream, Vanilla, Rouge, Omega - and the slightly more surprising sights of Knuckles and Blaze. Of course, Tails was right there as well - at the centre of it all.

"Well Sonic, did we surprise you?" The fox asked expectedly.

"I really should have guessed, huh?" The hedgehog admitted with a smirk creeping on his face. "But I'll be totally real... I forgot my birthday was today!" He admitted with a chuckle. "I'm glad you guys remembered, or I would have been missing out on cake and presents!"

His response got laughs from most, Sonic was often one for cracking jokes - more out of habit at this point, he'd thank everyone properly soon. Seeing his friends together invoked a certain warmness in his chest, a comfortable feeling that he hoped would last.

Amy shook her head, but was grinning. "How could you forget your own birthday?" She asked.

"You're telling me I could have saved money by not buying a gift, because you wouldn't have remembered anyway?" Knuckles questioned in jest, but he received a light punch from Amy on his shoulder all the same.

"What would you even need to save money for?! You don't even pay rent!" She was getting huffy.

Never change, Knux. "Come on, tough guy. I know you don't mean that. Although I'm a little surprised you're here in the first place. You staying long or you gotta back to the emerald?"

"I plan on staying." The echidna answered surprisingly "You gave me a birthday party last year on Angel Island so, and I've asked you to hold onto that chaos emerald for me. It would be rude after all that not to come to your birthday party - wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, it would have been." The hedgehog teased lightly. "What about the emerald though?"

"I don't have to worry about it today, Shadow offered to look after the Master Emerald while I'm here."

It explained Shadow's absence, not that it really needed explaining. "You know he's not much of a party guy." Rouge added, suddenly entering herself in the conversation. "But he did tell me to wish you a happy birthday, and his gift is among these somewhere." She said, titling her head down towards the ground underneath a table. Ah, that's where the gifts were.

"I mean hey, it's more than I was expecting from him honestly." And it was the truth.

Rouge's eyes glinted, you knew the expression of her sparkling eyes meant that she was planning something mischievous. "I'll try roping him into a call later, have him join in singing happy birthday to you." She teased.

Amy giggled at this. "And that way everyone gets to be involved! He's not getting out of it that easily!"

Knuckles huffed in amusement. "If he has any sense he'll just hang up."

Sonic knew that Knuckles was most likely correct, and it didn't bother him. "If you do manage to get him in a call, I'll give him thanks for the gift... providing it's an actually good one." He told the bat with a playful smirk, and she nodded with her own. He turned his attention to the other he was curious about. "And what about you, Blaze? You sticking around? I don't wanna keep you from your duties."

"Oh, there's no need to worry about that." Blaze assured him with a shake of her head. "Most of my work is handled by administrators, and at present my world isn't under threat. I can spare the time." Her lips curved up into a small smile. "Besides, if I'm asked where I've been - we can always call it 'maintaining good relations with our neighbouring dimension'."

"Ooooh, bad girl." Amy interjected, wrapping her arm around the feline's shoulder, and Blaze let out a silent laugh. He remembered Blaze when he had first met her, so uptight. But their friendship had certainly loosened her, he couldn't imagine her cracking a joke like that back then.

Sonic gave her a thumbs up. "Then your presence bestowed upon me is a gift in of itself." Sonic gave her a wink and a smirk, flattering the princess with a bit of posh-speak, or whatever they called it.

The cat seemed a little flushed as she picked up a cup of fruit punch. "My pleasure-" She then took a sip. Sonic could hear a jealous huff from Amy, but chose to ignore it.

"Come on! Come on!" Charmy suddenly exclaimed. "Get to opening your gifts already! I want you to see what I got you!"

Vector suddenly reached out and gently grabbed the bees leg, pulling him out of the air above the table, and instead on the ground beside him. "And if you're not careful - you're going to end up flying into the cake!" He scolded him lightly with a sigh, before turning his attention to the hedgehog. "Happy 18th Birthday, Sonic! I know this year is gonna be just as good as any other." Vector's cheerfulness overwhelmed his previous annoyance at the bee. "We've got a special gift from you from the whole Chaotix Detective Agency! For the entirety of your birthday month, you can use our detective services free of charge!"

Vector's teammate, Espio, did a doubletake with wide eyes as he stared up at the crocodile. Sonic felt his surprise, when did Vector ever not want money? It would seem both the hedgehog and the chameleon made the same calculation in their heads. There wasn't exactly much of the month left - considering it was the 23rd. Espio gave a disappointed and defeated glance to his team leader before looking back at Sonic. "Happy birthday."

"Heh, thanks. To both of you."

"Come now," Vanilla, the oldest adult among them, was determined to get things moving along. "I'm sure we are all as eager as each other to get Sonic opening his gifts." She pointed out.

"Mama, can I give him mine now?" Cream spoke up with a shy smile.

"Of course you may." Her mother smiled down.

Cream quickly turned around and reached for something on the table, and Sonic swore his heart was about ready to melt with cuteness as he saw a soft, white and pink rose flower crown in the rabbit's hands. "Happy birthday, Mister Sonic! I made it myself."

"Wow Cream, I love it!" He told her genuinely. "Once I get in on my head, I won't be able to take it off." He added a slight joke that caused her to giggle. She was surprised when she saw Sonic bending down on one knee, holding his head down low - but she understood the assignment. She reached over and gently placed the flower crown atop his head.

"Happy birthday, Mister Sonic!" She told him, before skipping right back to her mother.

The gifts were all unique in their own right. A new pair of sneakers from Charmy, crystal bracelets with supposed magical healing properties from Amy, A red and white leather biker's jacket to match his classic shoes from Rouge, a grill from Omega (the robot had it saved to his databanks that Sonic had once spoken of wanting to have his own chilidog barbecue, giving him a slight unfair advantage in the gift giving department), Blaze had remembered a board game that they had played together while sailing the high seas of Sol with Tails and Marine, Vector gave the hedgehog some gaming gift cards, while Espio had given him an actual katana! Somehow it eventually evolved into a light sparring session in which Sonic almost cut the table in half, in which then it was decided that it was best to put the blade away for now.

Sonic reached for a gift and read the label attached. To Sonic, From Shadow, and he smirked. The gift was small and he was eager to unwrap it, what kind of gift had that hedgehog gotten for him? That smile quickly faded into a more playful pout as he saw the words 'Most Annoying Idiot' written on a mug, and the friends around him burst into laughter. Getting over the initial offence, he joined right in. There was a sense of humor underneath that grumpy exterior after all. Thankfully the mug wasn't the only thing - there were two envelopes, one with nothing written on it - but inside was a large sum of cash, no doubt so the hedgehog could buy his own gift. The other envelope read 'Do not open at the party' Since it was underlined, the hedgehog read it as a threat, so quickly pocketed the letter into the jacket Rouge had gotten for him.

Knuckles seemed a bit red in the face when his turn came up. He muttered something like an apology under his breath before he said his gift was hidden somewhere else due to its size. Of course, this hyped Sonic up - bigger the gift, the better right?

When the echidna produced an easel, confusion swept everyone in the area. It had a canvas on it, so that when Knuckles turned it around to show everyone - they gasped and awed.

"A portrait of me, Knux? Ya shouldn't have." The hedgehog grinned.

"Can't you just be grateful?" Knuckles mumbled under his breath, unable to look anyone in the eye. In truth, it wasn't a portrait of just Sonic - it was of the trio, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles - they had been close friends for a long time at this point, but something about this carefully painted portrait - all of it's intricate details and lighting - not only was it a testament to the skills he didn't even know Knuckles had, but it also told Sonic how much he valued their friendship with the amount of detail had been put into the piece. It would be hung up on the wall of his and Tails' home as soon as he was able to.

"Heh, I am, really. It's awesome! I didn't know you could paint like that." Sonic was walking over to his friend.

"Well, my people often made art and music and-" Knuckles cut himself off with a grunt, Sonic had wrapped his arms around him - patting the echidna on the back.

"Thanks, dude."

Once Knuckles had processed the gesture, he returned it - patting Sonic on the back, with an unintentional amount of considerable force - but Sonic could handle it. "No problem- Happy birthday."

Once he pulled away, he saw Rouge approach Knuckles - ever mischievous with that kind of expression. She leaned into his ear and whispered something only for him - something that made his whole face match the colour of his fur.

Sonic was going to make a comment, but caught sight of his best friend's slightly smug expression. "Guess it's your turn now, buddy?"

"You know it!" Tails said chipperly. He had his hands behind his back. "I decided not to wrap it in the end, the shape would be obvious. Plus I don't think I could wait any longer than I already have... so here!"

Sonic blinked several times, speechless. He eventually managed to move, taking the gift slowly and carefully from the fox's hands. It was in splendid condition, clean and dusted, with an immaculate shine. He noted how it was already tuned correctly in preparation. It wasn't exactly the same as it once was - it had been given a new coating of dark blue paint - and on it there was a light blue logo in the shape of his spines. It had been customised. "I... Tails, how did you know I wanted to start playing again?"

"Hehe- just a hunch-" Tails brushed off, rubbing the back of his head.

Was it possible to be such good friends with someone that you could begin to read each other's mind? If that was the case, then here was your evidence. Sonic passed the guitar to Knuckles so he could use both his hands to pick up the fox and pull him into a tight hug. Tails, momentarily confused as to why his legs were dangling in the air instead of touching the ground, eventually returned it as he laughed fondly.

Sonic then placed him down. "I've been so nostalgic for it lately, it's been so long since I've been able to just jam out on my electric guitar."

"And you won't have to wait long! I've already got the amps set up for when we get back-"

This is where it all went wrong.

"Well, well, well."

Everyone immediately turned around. They heard a voice that they didn't want to hear today.

"Did my invitation get lost in the mail?"

Who would arrive uninvited other than Dr. Eggman himself, he hovered onto the scene in his Egg Mobile, a calm smile on his face and a lightly mocking tone.

"What makes you think we'd ever invite you?" Knuckles glared, already raising his fists.

"DESTROY!" Omega exclaimed with his guns already loaded and pointed towards the doctor, the only keeping him from firing was Rouge pressing down on his arm.

"Yeah! You're the one that needs to get lost!" Amy added onto him.

"Maybe if you weren't trying to kill me constantly - you would get an invitation, Egghead." Sonic smile was just as even and chill as the doctors. "Lucky for you, I don't fancy a fight today, so why don't we call it a truce? If you're feeling that jealous, you can have a piece of cake and then you'll be off on your merry way."

"Ohohohohoho! I have much greater ambitions than cake!" He informed the hedgehog. "I have arrived to give you my gift - the plan that will defeat you once and for all!" He claimed.

That statement didn't get the reaction he expected, he got a lot of unamused and annoyed faces. "I suppose I shouldn't delay further..." Eggman snapped his fingers, and out from the bushes emerged a dark purple smoke. It begun to surround the heroes, making them stare in confusion and begin to cough as they breathed it in. There was a higher concentration of the smoke that was building up right next to Eggman, a mass of a darker purple - swirling rapidly as a violet liquid dripped down underneath it. This cloud grew in mass, and suddenly a pale blue light shone within it - and then several. It formed itself into, strangely, the shape of a face with angular eyes and sharp teeth.

At this point, all of the heroes readied themselves and their weapons into ready stances. Omega didn't hold back, bullets flew past the heroes heads and headed straight for the purple cloud monster.

Nothing.

Despite it being fruitless, the robot continued to waste his bullets. The other heroes watched helpelessly as it was not done transforming - most confusing of all was when the beast suddenly sprouted gears across its body of gas and metallic claws on the end of its hands - where had that even come from?

"It is a pleasure to present to you - the Time Eater!" Eggman announced to the heroes. "Years of research have finally come to fruition, allowing me the keys to the perfect plan!" Only now Omega had stopped firing.

"Oh yeah?" Sonic challenged, the happiness he had felt during the party had left him - all that remained was a pulsing anger, burning his skin. Could that man not leave him and his friends alone for one day? "What makes you think this time is going to be any different than your other plans?"

"You see, Sonic - I have finally learnt what it was. The reason I kept failing time and time again!" His words were accompanied with a snarl. "It was you, it was always you. You set this all in motion - you were the first to rise against me, you brought to together your rag-tag merry men bunch - and you have wielded the emeralds and brought me down!"

Eggman's eyes met Sonic's through his glasses - locked in an intense stare.

"And if I can't kill you, then it was only plain what I would have to do..." He broke Sonic's gaze and turned to the Time Eater with his own prideful grin. "I would have to erase your pitiful existence! Make it so that you were never born!" Eggman spat. "And so be what we have here... the Time Eater, that will bend this timeline anyway I want - and alter history!"

He continued on mockingly, not giving the hedgehog a chance to speak. "I do hate to be the one to break apart a friendship group, but without Sonic's help - none of you brats would have met." He pointed out, pretending to be concerned for them. "Oh, what a shame. But I'm sure you'll have wonderful, fulfilling lives serving the Empire in this new world..."

"I'm getting real tired of hearing you talk!" The hedgehog exclaimed, suddenly dashing forward towards the Time Eater. Before the hedgehog could land an attack, the world around him enveloped in a misty, purple hue. The greens of the forest had vanished- and it was only him, his friends, and Eggman left in what was essentially a dark void.

"And I'm getting tired of you being in my way." The doctor said. "So let's move on with the show~" The excitement was eating up inside, Sonic was sure.

But the Egg Mobile was soon knocked down by a single punch from an echidna, causing the human to fall out of the device and roll out. Knuckles quickly stood over him, yelling with a ferocity that Sonic hadn't seen for a hot minute. "YOU are going to STOP THIS. NOW!" The echidna had his fist hovering over the man's face, and yet Eggman cackled.

"Oh, it's too late for that."

The heroes gasped as they looked down on the floor, a bright blue illuminated clock hands and symbols alit underneath their feat, the hands on the clock circled around with great speed, making everyone's head spin as the purple mist picked up like a massive hurricane around them.

Knuckles had his arm raised, ready to land a blow to the doctor's face before suddenly his arms flashed blue, and Knuckles roared out in pain. He collapsed to the ground fully, his body glitching out in a blue light - flickering in and out of everyone's vision.

"KNUCKLES!" His friends yelled out for him, with Sonic printing ahead.

The echidna reached out for Sonic's hand and the hedgehog reached it - but there was nothing to grab, instead - Sonic's fingertips made contact with blue glowing particles that blew away in the kicked up wind. "NO!" Sonic exclaimed, voice cracking.

Knuckles' body had vanished into blue dust.

"Mister Sonic?" Cream was too shocked to be able to raise her voice.

He whipped around to see them both disappear.

"No..." He let out weakly, The Chaotix all fell at once, holding hands as they met the same fate. Omega was hunched over Rouge, the bat wrapped in his arms - but it was all in vain - they were gone too.

"Sonic-" Blaze's voice was pleading as she too began to glitch, "There has to be-"

Gone.

Body parts of Amy phased in and out of reality. "I'm- I'm sorry-"

She was no more.

"YOUR EMERALD!" Tails cried out, and he too breaks apart and fades into a blue dust - which vanishes as soon as it came.

They were all gone.

Sonic stared blankly ahead at where all of his friends once were. Once were... yet now they were gone. Would he ever see them again? The hedgehog's eyes flashed wildly, turning back to Eggman who had just stood up from the floor. "You have an emerald...?" The doctor asked in disbelief. "Is that why you're still here...?"

The hedgehog's eyes brimmed with tears, but he glared through them fiercely, producing the emerald in his hands and clutching it tight to his chest. Its yellow glow seemed to surround the hedgehog, creating a bubble, protecting him from the swirling environment. He had no witty comebacks, not this time.

"A variable uncalculated..." He admitted with a disappointed sigh. "But it shouldn't be a hassle. I would have already won."

The doctor removed his glasses, and he could see every inch of the doctor's malicious, sneering face.

"Goodbye, Sonic the Hedgehog."

When Sonic's eyes closed, they wouldn't awake again.

Chapter Text

The world that the hedgehog woke up to was ugly. It didn't take all that long for his eyes to snap open, and he found himself standing on a single hill - still clutching the emerald to his chest. The grass below his feet was washed out, practically grey - as was the cloudy sky above. He tightened his grip on the gemstone, regulating his shaky breath, trying to process the events of the afternoon - but his mind remained a frustratingly blank slate without a single thought being produced. Mindlessly, he turned his head around, as if physically searching for answers, until his eyes widened as he spotted a city below.

It was unlike any city he recognised, the abundance of grey among the buildings was sickly. The scent of smoke blowing over to the hill from the city had clogged his nose and the thick air almost made him want to choke. There was a metallic shine to everything down there that created a harsh glare - and with the mostly circular and tall size of the buildings - Sonic had to wonder if there were any houses at all, or if it were just a city of factories. As he examined the city closer for signs of life, his eyes narrowed as he spotted the abundance of flags and symbols scattered throughout.

The taunting, grinning face of the doctor stared back at him.

Usually the logo of Eggman's empire was a sight worth mocking, but now Sonic felt a heavy pit in his stomach as his memories began to flood back in. Was everything true? Had that madman truly succeeded? The evidence was plain in front of him, and yet the hedgehog would do anything to deny it. If everything was like Eggman had said… then…

This was a world in which Sonic had never existed.

This can't be right! He immediately thought to himself. The only change that had happened was that Sonic never existed, right? Was Sonic really the only reason that Eggman had never succeeded…? No! That wasn't true. His friends were heroes, they would step up and take care of the Empire - more than capable of doing so on their own. Not to mention there was G.U.N. - the military, there to keep everyone safe.

Then how did all this come to be? He scratched his head in confusion, there were so many questions and not enough answers. He did have to wonder though, if he was supposed to have never existed… how was he here now?

He could have sworn the emerald glowed slightly brighter, as if responding to that. He took a long, hard stare at the gem in his hands. Was this why Tails yelled at him about it before he-? He somewhat remembers the glowing yellow bubble that had surrounded him like a forcefield. Perhaps that was what had protected him?

Debating how he was here could come later, for now he would simply just have to accept that he was here now, and he had to figure out what his next move was going to be. Would the chaos emeralds help him revert everything back? Surely. They were capable of making even the wildest miracles come true, and besides - it gave him direction, a place to start.

Unfortunately, he couldn't just run around mindlessly until he stumbled upon them - he'd be here for way longer than he needed to be. He had friends that were way better emerald detectors - Knuckles could sense the emeralds, Shadow could too to an extent, and Tails was capable of building perfectly good emerald detectors. Rouge was also good at locating them seemingly inexplicably, she always said herself that it was just a treasure hunter's intuition.

So, those were the guys he needed to find. Easier said than done - where did he begin looking for them? Realistically speaking, Tails and Rouge could be anywhere. Shadow… had he ever even been released from stasis, or was he still on Prison Island? That was decidedly more up in the air. Knuckles on the other hand, it was safe to assume he was on Angel Island.

Unless he had come down to the surface to deal with Eggman, that is - but would he have left the island alone for that long? Could Sonic stop doubting himself for five minutes? He was getting tired of it - moping about his situation wasn't going to help him. How could people like Shadow be so pessimistic? 

Knuckles was the best option regardless. He was, in theory, the easiest to find. Instinctively, Sonic looked up at the sky and his heart sunk as he realised the significant absence of the floating island. That was because of all the clouds and smoke covering it up, right…? It was still floating. The hedgehog repeated that thought a few times in his head to make sure he believed it.

Either way, getting there wouldn't be a hassle with the power of teleportation. It had been some time since he'd used a single Chaos Emerald to chaos control - but he still remembered how. "Chaos control!" Sonic exclaimed, holding the emerald up.

It glowed brighter.

Sonic didn't necessarily want it to do that, he should be on the island by now.

He tapped his foot against the ground impatiently, inspecting the emerald closer by bringing it closer to his eyes - but soon regretted it as the light from it shone too bright. Sonic held it out far in front of him as he used his spare hand to cover his eyes.

It wouldn't stop there. The yellow light was now a sharp white that continued to build.

The emerald seemed to glow as harsh as the sun, the heat building up on the surface threatening to burn through his glove.

Finally, as it became blinding, the light vanished even quicker than it had appeared, and the emerald cooled down.

In fact, it was ice cold.

Sonic, now able to remove the hand from his eyes, blinked rapidly at the emerald. It was suddenly a murky, dark grey hue. The immediate word that came to the hedgehog's head was lifeless. It was though all the magic and soul had been ripped out of it, and all that was left was a husk of a gemstone.

Oh no.

What had just happened? What was he supposed to do with this? Was this a permanent thing? He prayed not, oh he prayed not! Knuckles or Tails could figure out what was going on. Yes, that's right.

"One step at a time." Suddenly, he recalled the voice of the gentle mother rabbit in his head. "One at a time."

Sure, Vanilla had said it to him when he had attempted to somehow complete several parts of a cake recipe simultaneously. Her scolding had been gentle but firm, and they did make the hedgehog slow down - the results had turned up well. There was a reason he was remembering it now, something about the advice was a bit philosophical - he supposed.

He could break everything down into small parts, tackle the problem in steps. He had the habit of trying to take things on all at once, but there was no time for that.

Step 1. Find a way to get to Angel Island

Instantly, things were looking a whole lot more manageable. Sonic knew there was nothing to gain by milling around on this hill - he needed to head to the factory city or whatever it was.

He set off faster than the human eye could blink.

The silence was defeating, everywhere he turned he hoped he'd just see a face - any face, but it became increasingly more obvious that he was alone. Perhaps he could have taken some comfort in it if the streets were dirty, or if the buildings were dusty - if it looked abandoned at all, it might have felt normal. Yet, everything was perfectly priesting - the streets, while dreary - were perfectly well kept, as were the buildings in perfect condition. The streets were practically begging to be lived in. Most were large places made of metal, they truly did look like factories, but on the odd occasion Sonic would stumble upon what appeared to be an apartment complex that didn't even look like they housed anybody. He could have also sworn that every window must have had black blinds, closing them off from the outside world.

"SCANNING."

Sonic quickly jumped around the corner of the nearest apartment building, taking a moment before daring to peer around the other side. It was an Egg Pawn, no different than the ones he's seen countless times before.

"PRESENCE OF ORGANIC..."

He held his breath.

"... UNDETECTED. TRANSFERRING DATA TO EGG BOSS ROSE."

Egg Boss... Rose? Eggman clearly hadn't gotten any better at naming. The robot was now marching away, and Sonic had some time to think about his situation. So he assumed that robot was at least somewhat aware of his presence - were there more robots around? He'd have to be careful when moving around now. Maybe this 'Egg Boss Rose' was some sort of leader bot - despite not sounding all that threatening.

He was now on a slow trek through the city, flitting his eyes side to side almost constantly for any signs of Eggman's machines. With what that Egg Pawn had said, it almost sounded as though no organic should even be here. But what use was a city without inhabitants? Was it a city for robots? Had the organics been removed?

Sonic shuddered at the thought.

Luckily he'd have something to distract him from that. Finally, he stumbled across a building no bigger than a bungalow, so its windows hung low. The blinds were only half pulled down, finally - allowing him a peak inside one of these places. His expectations weren't high to begin with, but they were immediately exceeded as he got on the tips of his toes and glared inside.

Humans and mobians alike were stationed in rows along conveyor belts. Broken pieces of what Sonic assumed were robots were placed on the belt, and the workers were sifting through the piles and recovering the pieces that seemed to be the most functional and in-tact, such as metal limbs, and placed them into boxes behind them. Constantly, Egg Pawns loomed behind them - watching their every move.

Pity flooded the hedgehog as soon as he saw the bags under the worker's eyes, and the rags hung over them barely doing their job at being clothes - since most had large holes and were fraying at the bottom. The look in their eyes was lifeless, as if every spark of hope or joy or even feeling in general had been snuffed out long ago, leaving them just as hollow as the robots around them.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. The hedgehog clenched his fists at his side as he decided he couldn't just stand and watch from the outside without doing anything. Rage burned under his skin as he stood back, a few paces from the door.

He jumped, tucking himself into a ball. The doors must have been reinforced with something, since it took two homing attacks to take it down.

The fight was easy, if you could even call it one. He bounced between all of the Egg Pawns effortlessly, scattering their broken pieces over the floor. Some of them attempted to fire off lasers in retaliation, but they didn't seem to realise just how slow those things were compared to the blue blur - he could run circles around them. He vaguely makes out the scared screams of the workers in all of the confusion, but all would be over soon.

Sonic finally untucked as he collided with the last Egg Pawn. Standing over it didn't make him all that satisfied, he wished there was some more way to deal damage to it - but it was already in pieces. Instead, he let go of a sigh and made his way to the workers, who had all gathered themselves in the far corner.

"Hey... it's okay-" Sonic assured them with a gentle smile. "They can't hurt you anymore, I just need to find a safe place I can take you guys to." It was setting back the original plan he had already decided upon, but these people needed his help now.

What feels like an entire minute passes before someone speaks up - a fragile human woman, ghostly pale. "There's... there's no safe place anywhere for us. The Egg Boss is going to come and take us all... away-" Her words were shaky, but mostly tired. Too tired to have emotion behind them.

"And I'll handle this 'Egg Boss' too!" He assured her and everyone else confidently. After all, no robot was a challenge for Sonic the-

"I WANT EVERYONE IN A LINE, FACING THE WALL, HANDS BEHIND YOUR BACKS!"

Everyone followed the order, all except for Sonic. He was frozen.

"A-am-" Sonic stopped himself, reminding himself of the facts. "I-"

He was staring at a familiar face. A pink furred hedgehog, green eyes with yet an unfamiliar, colder stare. The bobbed hairstyle was the same but different - just slightly shorter and neater. What stood out most on her was what she was wearing - it was practically an exact replica of the mad doctor's outfit - including the red coat. It was almost disturbing seeing that design on someone else.

Especially when that someone else was Amy Rose.

Similar to the workers, pronounced dark circles lingered under her eyes - but she was much more well kept with her hygiene. On one hand, he was grateful, very grateful to see his friend. On the other there was a harsh truth to accept. She was working for the doctor.

"Did you not hear me?" Amy's voice was like ice. "Against the wall. Now. I'm not going to repeat myself."

"Hey, look - can we not take a moment to talk this out-" He could already feel that the idea was stupid, that his attempts would be fruitless, but he had to try to reach out to her. "I know you don't want to be working for him-" But how was he supposed to explain himself? He couldn't just say that he knew her from an alternate timeline, right? What proof did he have to make that claim?

"Silence... There's nothing to talk about." Amy's voice was suddenly much quieter, that was bad news. Even from when he knew her before in the other timeline, when she lowered the volume of her voice - you knew that soon an angry outburst was sure to follow, it made the hedgehog instinctively flinch. She continued on. "You have destroyed Robotnik property and disrupted his workers. As the Egg Boss of Station Square, it is my duty to ensure you are put behind bars so that you never disrupt our peace again."

He remembered how those eyes used to look at him, full of love and admiration.

"Sonic!" Her voice called out excitedly as she ran towards him. Once in front of him, she almost tripped over herself.

"Oh... hey there, Ames-" Sonic had slowly turned around to see her, he had been hoping to avoid her on this day in particular. "What's goin' on?"

"I was wondering when I was going to find you!" She giggled. "You're so hard to find, you know that?"

Sonic awkwardly laughed it off. "So I've been told-"

"Since it's Valentine's day - I wanted to give this to you!" She held out a red box of chocolates in the shape of a heart, a card was attached to it underneath the wrapping ribbon. "Happy Valentine's day, Sonic!"

"Oh..." Sonic had let out quietly, staring down at the box with a haunted expression, dread lingering in his chest. "I uh- didn't realise that was today-" He dared to look up at her.

Her cheery face faltered, giving way to disheartened eyes and a slight frown, but they disappeared within a second. "Oh, haha!" Had that been forced, or was Sonic reading too much into it? "That's alright, I mean when you love each other - who really needs a dedicated day to show that affection? We should be giving gifts to each other all the time to show our love-"

Sonic's cheery laugh in response to that had definitely been forced. He fought the urge to grimace and hide away from the adoration and pining he felt in her gaze. He hoped she would look at him any other way.

He had gotten his wish in the worst way possible. Now, he meant nothing to her at all - he was just a problem that needed taking care of.

"You really don't remember me..." His words came out in barely more than a whisper, and she apparently chose to not even acknowledge that.

"Don't make this difficult!" She snapped, growing frustrated. "Or else I will fight you, detain you, and you will face execution for defying the orders of an Egg Boss!" Her signature hammer appeared in her hands but with one key difference - it was covered in large spikes.

Sonic's mouth set in a firm lime. "I don't want to fight you."

"Then surrender."

"You're not gonna win." Sonic warned her. While Amy was a tough fighter, Sonic knew their power levels, he knew Amy was someone he could easily beat in a fight, he could badly hurt her in the process. "So please, we can leave this all alone and we can talk somewhere else, I know you don't support this Empire- you're good at heart, you're being forced into it! We can work together to take it down!"

His desperation was met with her deepening her frown. "So you admit to planning treason as well...?" A sigh edged her words. "Then I must kill you myself."

"You're not listening to me!" Sonic raised his voice, would that get through to her now? "I don't want to hurt you. But I will if you give me no choice, his control needs to be brought to an end!" Sonic then let out a defeated sigh of his own. "Please-"

"...Very well. You have sealed your fate." It was though she hadn't even heard him. She raised her hammer, ready to swing.

Sonic ran past her in a flash.

Keen to avoid a confrontation, he planned to keep running until he heard that hammer slam against the ground, and then felt the ground dislodge from underneath him - jutting out under his feet and sending him suddenly flying. He landed ungracefully, rolling on his side.

Amy was relentless, she was suddenly in the air above him before he even had the chance to stand, ready to bring down that hammer onto him and squish him like some sort of powerless bug. However, he managed to quickly roll to the side and jump back onto his feet.

She attempted to knock him back down with another swing, but he ducked underneath it and landed a punch to her stomach. She grunted, but raised her arm up to bring the hammer down onto the hedgehog's head.

"Gah-!" He let out in pain, before leaping back to put distance between them.

Amy continued to be on the offensive, once again smashing the ground and breaking apart the ground underneath him - not only did it unsteady him - it made it harder to run without tripping. She obviously thought she had the upper hand as she aimed her hammer towards his stomach for a strike.

Right she was, Sonic only just began to sidestep and thus one of the hammer's spikes managed to leave a deep gash on the hedgehog's side. He flinched, fighting the urge to yell.

This wasn't one of their once friendly spars, they were drawing blood. Sonic couldn't stand this anymore, he needed to end this quickly. He tucked himself into a ball and spin dashed into her legs - sending her through the air and landing with her back against the wall, leaving a dent in it as she screamed.

Sonic immediately untucked from his ball and ran up to her. "Sorry- I'm sorry-!" The words came out before he could stop them. Hearing her in anguish, knowing he had caused it, immediately stuck him with guilt. "I- I told you I didn't want to hurt you!"

Amy's teeth were clenched as she fought through the pain, opening her eyes and staring up at him. Sonic now loomed over her as she saw sat on the ground against the wall. He had cornered her, they could talk now.

"I know everything is awful right now, I haven't been here long and I already can feel it - I can only imagine what you've lived through... to make you work for them." Although he had faced several foes in the past that had eventually found the path of good, Sonic was rarely the one making the speech to convince them - he usually had some help. He remembered Amy herself and how she had managed to talk down Shadow when he had once been hellbent on the destruction of the world. "But trust me, we have the power to stop him. We can put an end to the Empire if we work together!"

Amy was panting, yet to say a word in response.

"I must sound like a crazy person..." Sonic admitted in an attempt to empathise with her position. "I understand- you think the safest option is to keep following that Egghead's orders, right? But trust me, if we can stick together - I'll keep you safe. I won't let anymore harm come to you."

Sonic bent down and held out his hand for her.

"I promise."

She looked between the hand and the hedgehog's face several times, then turned her gaze away with a mild grunt. She appeared to be pondering what he had said. He could understand it must be a lot to take in, but he hadn't presented her with anything too crazy. He could have told her she was from another timeline, but then he knew he would be labelled as a madman talking nonsense, and then he would get nowhere. All he could do was make an ally by offering her the chance to rise up. In reality he knew little of what the world in this timeline had been through, but whatever this end result was - the Amy he knew would have never wanted it to come to this.

She reached into the pocket of her coat and held a communicator to her ear. "A blue hedgehog is loose within Station Square... speaking of treason. Please send... reinforcements. Over."

His heart dropped, and his hope disintegrated. "On one hand... I understand." Sonic spoke quietly. "But I'll show you. I'll start taking down this Empire... and you're welcome to join me at any time."

Of course he sounded crazy, no matter what he would say. Amy, and everyone else, had no reason to believe that this Empire could be taken down. He must be sounding incredibly naïve or stupid, or both.

"You're crazy." Amy said, as if that needed affirmation. She finally found the strength to pull herself up and stand, not needing to take Sonic's hand. "Your life is coming to an end yet you speak so confidently... thinking you can take down our saviour." She glared.

"I know I can." He said. He had done it so many times. Bile rose up in his throat as he heard her refer to Eggman as their 'saviour'.

"It's a fool's endeavour." She yelled as she charged up towards him, bringing her hammer back to unleash a massive strike. Sonic was all too ready to dodge, but something else entirely happened that he wasn't expecting.

Something collided with the back of his head, and it wasn't a hammer. It knocked him right down to the ground, his vision blurring and becoming a messy haze.

"Sorry, Pinkie!" A voice called out. "This one's too valuable to let go to waste-"

Was he getting picked up in someone's arms? There was a deafening ringing in his ears, and he could have sworn the surrounding area was becoming pink. He couldn't see much of it, as the world began to dim to black, his eyes closing as he started to drift out of consciousness - his thoughts grew silent, and his body became numb as darkness took hold.

"Don't die on me, alright?" That voice... something about it was... so familiar...

Rouge?

Chapter Text

Sonic knew he was in a dream as soon as he saw Tails and Knuckles fighting alongside him.

The trio was fighting through a horde of badniks, the easy kind that allowed you to hold conversations as you tore down the army. They felt more like training exercises than actual battles. Sonic heard Tails giggle in delight as he pulled off a rather difficult shot on a buzz bomber with his new laser gun. He could vaguely make out the fact that the fox was looking over at him for approval.

He did not want to engage with this dream, it was like a taunt - reminding him of the life that had been so abruptly taken from him. Sonic stood still as his friends fought, and he noticed how strained his muscles were, how heavy everything felt... and how cold metal seemed to be brushing his skin and fur. Hold on- He looked down and felt a slither of relief. Confusion was quick to replace that feeling however...

Why was he wearing armour?

It wasn't the weirdest sight, and it wasn't his first rodeo. He briefly recalls being summoned by Merlina and the grand castle of Camelot.

"Sonic?"

He turns to face the echidna's concerned expression. "You alright?" He asks further.

God, this armour was so heavy.

The blue one debates whether its worth responding, and before he can reach a conclusion - he witnesses his friend flash blue for a moment, and then promptly vanishing from existence - and reappearing again in less than a second. He was flickering, and he was acting as though nothing was happening.

Frowning, Sonic didn't answer his question and walked away - shaking away the resurfacing of memories by physically shaking his head. Knuckles' angered yells filled his brain, flashes of the moment where he disappeared - and the rest of his friends followed suit.

Some birthday, huh?

"You."

Amy.

Sonic looks ahead and sees her, exactly as he had seen her earlier today - spiked hammer, shorter bob, tired and enraged face. She pointed her hammer at him. "y-yOU wI-il-il pA-a-ay fOR-or-OR yO-OUR-OUR TRE-TEA-TREASON."

She was glitching out, Sonic squirmed uncomfortably. Just let the nightmare end, he thought.

Surprisingly, it did.

When he opens his eyes, he's surprised to find an absence of light in whatever place he was in. The smell of dirt wafting into his nose already makes his face scrunch up slightly, and he wiped it as though hoping this motion would somehow take away the smell from his nose.

Where was he? He allows a moment for his brain and eyes to work in unison. The best way he can describe it was a dirt room.

That was quite frankly it - just a dirt room - walls and flooring made of cracked earth, nothing else besides a wooden door on the oppsite end. It was a small room too, no bigger than a jail cell. Sonic scratches his head, could this possibly mean he was underground?

As bare as it was, it put him at greater ease than the bleak, intoxicated city.

Sonic doesn't attempt to leave out the door or even stand, instead he sits up and leans his back against the dirt wall, a soft groan escaping his lips. There is a distinct throbbing at the back of his head, but he still uses this moment to think.

Surprising the hedgehog the most was himself - he noted the distinct lack of emotions present within him, he didn't feel particularly strongly about anything going on around him - in fact his strongest desire was to just close his eyes and hope he might get another hour of peace in. Maybe he wouldn't dream this time.

Was it a lack of emotions - or exhaustion? Perhaps he was feeling everything at once, so much so that each feeling cancelled each other out.

The day had started out so innocently.

Amy, now an 'Egg Boss', made him worry about his other friends - if Amy, the sweet and bubbly Amy he once knew, had started working under the doctor... then what had become of everyone else?

"Ah, you're awake."

Life seems to spark in the hedgehog's eyes again. It was a familiar voice, one that did not sound hostile. He allowed himself to look up.

It was most certainly Rouge. There was no one else it could be, as no one else looked anything like her. Somehow, through all of the turmoil - her beauty had remained so striking. She was well put together, and perhaps his eyes were deceiving him - but she seemed to be wearing even more makeup than usual. He wondered if he had ever actually seen her without it. Her eyeshadow was purple and her eyelashes were long and fluttery, while her lipstick was a dark purple hue. Her outfit had a distinct lack of hearts present - it was a black and purple spy catsuit, simplistic but stylish, he knew she wouldn't allow herself to be anything less.

What was different however was her hair - it was much longer than he had ever seen it before - up to just above her wings, he was surprised to see it so wavy. The hedgehog also noticed now, upon closer inspection - she was much skinnier.

"No need to stare now." She said, a slight smile upon her lips. "I was expecting you to yell at me when you awoke, perhaps you're still a little dazed. Understandable, I did hit you rather hard."

"I..." Sonic's brain was finally capable of forming words. "Surprisingly, I'm not mad I'm- mainly glad I'm not dead?" Sonic stumbled out, he really had to watch his mouth. As much as he would love to pour everything out to her, he knew revealing the truth wouldn't do him any favours. What was he supposed to say? Oh hey Rouge, turns out I'm from another timeline! In that timeline, everything was so much better because I existed and I need your help to bring that timeline back because we were friends!

If only it could be that easy, but the chance that she'd believe any of that was not a risk he was willing to take.

"Is that so?" The bat sounded intrigued. "I thought you might have had a death wish, throwing yourself at an Egg Boss like that - telling her to her face that you wanted to take down the Empire." She let out a low, soft chuckle. "You're either stupid or brazen, or both."

"I've been called both before." He admitted, and such was true. "But I know I'm not being stupid now." Sonic steeled his gaze and truly took in the presence of Rouge - she was so familiar yet... the differences were distinct between the version he knew, and this one. The Rouge he was familiar with had this laid-back, playful air to her movements and words - but underneath it all lay a calculating woman. This Rouge... while her words were just as relaxed, she seemed to be taking herself a whole lot more seriously. Her posture, poses, and movement had an undeniable elegance and formality. He watched her slowly fold her arms in front of her chest, although she was smiling - that smile didn't reach her eyes. It was as though she was evaluating him.

In some off way, he felt out of his element. Rouge, as he knew her, was so easy to talk to. This one he couldn't say the same for - her eyes were colder than her face, as though she were evaluating him. She seemed to command an aura that demanded respect, one that he definitely wasn't used to her from her. Sonic tried to ignore these observations as best he could, and remind himself he should just be grateful that he has a friend back. He continued on. "But you saved me from the Egg Boss, didn't you? So you're not working for the Empire. In fact I feel comfortable in wagering that you don't like it as much as I." Sonic hoped his assumptions were correct here.

"How observant." She teased, obviously being a little sarcastic. "Yes, well - I'm not a fan of the man that has chosen to oppress our very livelihoods, and I thought what a waste it would be for a handsome guy like you to fall at the hands of one of his subordinates."

Sonic grinned a little. While this Rouge was different in the way she carried herself, he still felt at ease enough to tease her back. "And what an honor it is to be saved by a pretty girl like you - my knight in shining armour." He matched her joking sarcasm.

Rouge seemed to take it well, if her smile was any indication. "You flatter me. But in truth, I have my other reasons." She admitted. "I'll come out with it - I had been watching your fight with that Pinkie, in fact I was watching before you before the fight even broke out - and I'm sure you could have handled that fight on your own without my interference... I just found myself fascinated. I have never seen someone move as fast as you. I've seen speedsters, don't get me wrong - but never on that level."

Fastest thing alive had been his title for many years at this point, and only now were people in this version of the world witnessing what he could do. "I'm the fastest thing alive." He told her. "And I ain't trying to big myself up here - what you saw back there? Nowhere near my limits - not even close, Rouge." He was grateful to find himself grinning, in fact his strength quickly found his way back to his muscles and spirit. Talking with a friend, getting somewhere - it invigorated him, making him feel a whole lot more like himself.

Wait... had he just called her Rouge?

The slight hostile shift in her gaze lasted for a single second, or perhaps it hadn't been there at all. Had she even heard him? She didn't point it out.

Time to change the subject and start asking some good questions while he had the chance. "So tell me what your situation is - what were you doing in Station Square watching me? How come you haven't surrendered to Eggman? Like everyone else seems to have done?" Another question was forming in his mind. Why are you the one seemingly resisting the Empire, and not Amy? But it couldn't leave his lips.

"Eggman...?" She seemed caught off guard. "You mean- Ivo? Robotnik? Hahaha!" It seemed to get a hearty chuckle out of her. "That is very fitting, I'll have to remember that one." History was doomed to repeat itself. In the past timeline, Sonic had called the madman Eggman so often that all his friends, and then everyone else followed suit - so much so the doctor just found it easier to accept the new alias. Sonic was happy that he had made her laugh, and seemingly forget that name drop.

"You don't need to know what I was doing in Station Square, not yet anyway." She shrugged. "Trust and all that. Gotta earn it first, ya know? As for why I'm not some worker in a factory? Heh, well I was a thief before the old doctor came to power - you could say following the whims of authority and law has just- never really been in my blood." She had a prideful tone.

If Sonic's mind hadn't truly awakened yet, it had certainly been jolted awake now. He had totally forgot about Rouge and her thievery. In recent times, back in his own timeline, Rouge had slowed down a little when it came to that, and was more focused on doing the right thing. Could he say the same for this Rouge? Was she really a wise ally to have on an emerald hunt? Could he trust her not to be selfish? Surely... he could, right? The world was a mess, surely could prioritise saving the world over her own greed.

Sonic nodded slowly. "I... guess that's fair." He wanted to ask a question he really needed to know the answer to, but for it to make sense he'd have to come up with some laughable excuses. Sonic never was a strong liar. "Look, in truth - my... memory has been failing me." The hedgehog thought the words over carefully in his head, he hoped he wasn't speaking too slowly or unnaturally. "I might have gotten myself a bad head injury or something because I'm at a loss - I can't remember how Eggman came into power at all."

Rouge pondered this by bringing a finger up to her chin, thinking silently before responding. "Do you remember your name?"

"Yeah..." No point in lying about that. "It's Sonic the Hedgehog - and yours?"

She smiles. "Rouge." So she hadn't heard his slip-up earlier, thank goodness. "But this at least shows you're not a complete amnesiac, it seems like you just have some gaps to fill. I can provide you with that answer although I doubt it will be much help - a few years ago, it was as though the man had appeared out of nowhere, but he had the robotic army you had ever seen - he easily wiped out all the militaries. It all happened too quick..." She sighed as she was recalling the events. "Every continent could only submit if they wanted to live... and so, we've ended up in this mess. If the constant threat of death, harsh labor, or being turned into robots wasn't enough - we're all likely to die of pollution soon if we don't do anything about it." She was clearly trying to be casual, but the pain was given away slightly in her voice.

Rouge wasn't often vulnerable with him, but he remembers one scenario.

Not too long after the fight with Neo Metal, Sonic had encountered Rouge on a treasure hunting excursion. Usually, she was quick to notice someone approaching her - not today.

"Hey, Rouge." He kept a grin on his face as if he hadn't noticed anything unusual, speaking from behind her.

"Oh!" She let out in surprise, immediately turning around to face him. She had a bag slung over her shoulders, undoubtedly filled with colorful and shiny goodies. "Hey, Sonic... what are you doing... here? You hang around cave entrances a lot?"

"I wouldn't call it a hobby of mine exactly, but I was on a run and spotted you. Thought I'd say hello." He said truthfully.

"Well then- hello." Rouge and Sonic were extroverted people, and usually conversation came easily between them. Not today though, Rouge seemed quite eager to lend nothing to the conversation. "Hope you and your friends are well." She said, a little stiffly.

"I am, and they are... well, all except one." When Rouge tilted her head, he continued. "That person is you. I can clearly see something's up - what's wrong?"

Rouge looked at him, wide-eyed. "You... consider me a friend? I wouldn't recommend that, nor is the feeling mutual. Acquaintances works best." Sonic isn't offended by this, he has a habit of calling people he barely knows a friend. Sonic and Rouge's relationship was complicated... they liked each other, but were so often at odds.

"That works, but my concern for you still stands." He wouldn't relent.

Rouge sighed. "I... I think I'm being an asshole here."

Woah, where was this coming from? "What do you mean?" He asked her to elaborate.

"Ever since we defeated Neo... I left Shadow to his own devices. He's walking around out there with no memory..."

"You didn't tell him anything?" Sonic was confused.

"No, that's why I feel like I'm an asshole." Rouge was looking at the ground rather than him.

"Why didn't you then?"

"Because... well, we all lived through it didn't we? Shadow's conquest for revenge in the name of Maria and Gerald... if I tell him all this, won't that just... re-ignite those feelings? We don't want Shadow trying anything again. And even if he doesn't - do I really wanna be responsible for telling a guy all of his trauma? What he went through was horrible... and I don't know - it just doesn't feel right to make him remember that stuff. I think it would be better for everyone if he got a clean slate. I made the mistake of dragging him and Omega along for that adventure... but I think letting Shadow be independent and I dunno - become a gardener or something - would be better for him."

Sonic didn't know how to feel. On one hand, it felt cruel to purposefully withhold a guy's memories. On the other hand, he could see Rouge's heart was in the right place - letting a guy move on from his trauma, and preventing the possibility of another attempted world-destroying revenge conquest... it felt right too. "I trust your judgement, Rouge. And I can tell you've thought about it. You've spoken to him the most out of anyone... you're the most qualified to say what is best."

"I guess... but still, I could have made a wrong call. He was begging me, you know. He figured out I knew more about his past than I was letting on - it felt bad to lie to him... and I don't usually feel bad about lying."

"We'll see how things go." Sonic offered up, he wasn't exactly an expert on such things either, but they could always tell Shadow his memories later... maybe when he was in a better spot, and had adjusted to life on Mobius. "But maybe leaving Shadow to go out on his own wasn't the best."

"Well... once I refused to tell him his memories - he warped away, haven't seen him since." She then frowned. "It's not my job to babysit him either, I'm not going on a big conquest looking for him." She said dryly. "I never even wanted this... hero stuff." Was it just him, or was her voice getting a bit shaky?

"I never really thought about it, you were mostly roped into all of this by GUN..." He admitted. "But if it's any consolation... you might not have wanted this hero stuff... but you're good at it." He smiled softly.

Rouge thought about what the hedgehog said, she didn't smile back at him but her words were genuine. "Thanks... I guess that does make me feel slightly better. At least if I'm good at what I do, GUN has no reason to dump me and throw me in a cell." Huzzah! She joked - back to the Rouge he knew.

"Heh, yeah - you certainly don't have any reason to worry about that."

"We have solutions. We just gotta work towards 'em." He told Rouge. He remembers vaguely of how Knuckles spoke of the healing properties of the emeralds, and how they restored the planet and the people into a healthy and prosperous state. "Can I ask you another question?"

"Sure, just know I might not give you an answer if I don't trust you with it yet." Fair enough.

"Egg Boss Rose... what do you know about her?"

"Her? Well... I think a few months after Eggman came to power and had transformed Station Square to what it is... she was appointed as the Egg Boss. She was a young thing too, but clearly good at fighting. I hadn't heard anything about her life before the Empire or anything. As far as I know she's doing her job just like any other Egg Boss watching over a city. We've fought a few times, I've always won." She smiled. "I'm somewhat of infamous rebel you could say. Don't be surprised if you see a wanted poster with my face on it."

Even in the old timeline, Rouge had been proud of her wanted posters. "I see..." Sonic still desperately wondered what had led Amy to work for Eggman, and yet Rouge was opposing him... if anything, he would have expected the roles to be switched. He didn't want to think negatively of Rouge... but she had been undoubtedly selfish when they had first met.

"What do you know about the Chaos Emeralds?"

"The what?" Her eyes were narrowed in confusion.

How odd. Rouge hadn't mentioned the emerald or mysterious powers or anything along those lines yet. Eggman seemingly hadn't even needed them to successfully take over the world, which should mean they were untouched... wherever they were. But now Rouge was his pair of wings, he could get to Angel Island with her help and get Knuckles on board - and all three of them would work together to search for the emeralds.

Everything was coming together.

"Never mind-"

"Then why did you bring that up?"

"You've gotta earn my trust first." Sonic said, throwing her words right back at her.

She couldn't argue with it, but she did let out a huff.

"Do you know about Angel Island?" Sonic then asked.

Rouge nodded. "The island in the sky, right?"

"Yep!" Sonic couldn't help but be a little cheery, he was actually getting somewhere! "Any chance you could fly me up there?"

Rouge stared at him. "Uhhhh... no thanks." She told him bluntly. "People have already tried going there, but anyone who does never returns. Sorry, but I ain't interested."

Now this confused him - what was Knuckles doing up there? Was he killing people that came to the island? That didn't sound like him. "I'm sure those are just myths." He told her.

"How can you be sure? It's weird that it's even floating in the first place, I don't trust it."

Sonic sighed, running into problems yet again. "Look Rouge, if you're worried about getting killed or something up there - I'll be right there to protect you-"

The bat scoffed. "You think I need protecting? I don't know it just feels like a bit of a suicide mission with the stuff I've heard - why do you want to go up there anyway?"

Time to tell some white lies, he supposed. "I've heard about a powerful gem up there. The Master Emerald... it could help give us an advantage against Eggman." Perhaps... Sonic didn't even need the chaos emeralds, maybe the timeline could be reset with the Master Emerald? Sonic had never attempted to use chaos control via that emerald before... but perhaps it was possible. It was supposed to have more power than the seven of them combined, after all.

"The Master Emerald...?" She was clearly skeptical. "And where did you learn this from?"

Try as he might, he could not think up of a lie for this one. "I... well, that's where my memory falters yet again."

Rouge placed the palm of her hand against her forehead. "Right... as much as I want to believe there's a magical gem that can solve all our problems... it sounds like the ramblings of a crazy person. Your claims need some more credibility..."

"How can I get that credibility then?" Sonic asked, hopefully not coming off as too desperate. He couldn't afford to lose her cooperation.

"Do a couple of favours for me, then I'll give you all the answers you seek - and I'll take you that island. If you do these favours, I'll know your trustworthy." She simply said.

"Easy." Sonic said with a firm nod.

"Well then... these are certainly interesting developments." Rouge remarked, placing a hand on her hip. "The first favour I need of you is to stay in here for the night. I don't want you leaving this room. I don't live alone here, you see. And the others with me won't tolerate you without guarantee of your trustworthiness." She explained.

"You... live here? There are others? Where even are we...?" Sonic couldn't help but ask.

"All will be answered after my favours, as I said." She remained firm.

"Right, right- yeah I can stay here. It's a bit cold but I can just-" Sonic took off the jacket he was wearing, the one that was, funnily enough, gifted to him by the actual Rouge. "- use this as a blanket!" He held it up. "But if I may... you got anything to eat?"

Rouge slowly nodded. "Yeah, I'll get ya something."

The bat had returned shortly after with a small of stew, and she watched the hedgehog already begin to chow it down before she locked the door. The hedgehog didn't look like he was starving, and yet he scarfed it down like an animal.

With the hedgehog locked away, she stormed through the earthy halls and made her way into the office.

It was similar to the size of Sonic's cell but had a single desk and a bookshelf against the wall. Rouge walked over to the desk and pulled out a drawer from underneath, she didn't need to sift through it for long until she found what she was looking for.

'PROJECT SHADOW' She had read the title of the document before a voice called out to her.

"Hey, Rouge!"

She turned around "Tangle? Why are you here?"

The energetic lemur girl was grinning. "Well, we've been waiting to hear about how things went with the hedgehog guy! The curiosity has been burning me up inside! Please tell me we've got an ally this time- he seemed good when you mentioned him!"

"I'm afraid not." The bat sighed, looking back down at the document. "The doctor is trying to play me again."

Tangle's eyes became downcast. "Oh...? And why do you think that?"

"Sonic... he said my name despite never having introduced myself... and then proceeded to ask for my name later. He knows more about me than he should, and he's trying to hide it." Rouge frowned. "He also has some convenient gaps in his memory, so he claims. 'Selective memory' if you will. He spoke of this all powerful gem on Angel Island, yet can't tell me the reason why he wants to go there... what a terrible liar. He's trying to lure me into something." To think it had started out so promising, the hedgehog showed fighting skill and a rebellious spirit - someone they needed for this fight.

But he was just another one of Robotnik's tricks.

Tangle slowly nodded. "At least we've caught his lies early on... man! Why can't we just have a good ally for once?!" Rouge shared in her frustrations.

"They'll come in time, once we gain more ground." Rouge was reading through.

"You're not wrong there..." Tangle's momentary outburst seemed to have already passed, replaced with her usual optimism. "All we've gotta do is figure out how to take care of him so that he can't harm us!"

"Right you are. Listen Tangle... I've got some stuff to read through, I'll talk to you later - alright?" She finally looked up at the lemur, smiling at her sincerely - she had a fondness for that girl.

"Right! You're doing the strategy stuff, of course! Don't let me disturb you!" She closed the door on her way out.

With full attention on the document, she could process the words on the page.

Diary #72 - Gerald Robotnik

Progress with the experiment is going better than I ever could have hoped for. Project Shadow is responsive to the tests we have been running and is producing excellent results. His speed easily reaches the speed of sound, and possibly beyond. We must push him to his limits in further test runs. Chaos Energy readings remain potent, and his hedgehog body holds up without issue with the aid of-

Even though the rest of the page was no longer there, having been torn away - she had all the information she needed. A super speedy hedgehog, with ties to the Robotnik family.

Ivo Robotnik had finally unleashed this experiment, expecting to fool her by using this hedgehog to infiltrate her home base and find out her secrets... and kill her once and for all. A similar plan had worked well enough once before, and he perhaps thought he could try again.

He had underestimated her, she was wise to it now.

Sonic, or Project Shadow - whatever you wanted to call him, still remained a dangerous threat regardless. She needed to eliminate the hedgehog from the picture soon, before any harm could come to her people. She would need people watching that room carefully tonight, she couldn't let him escape.

What was the best way to kill a genetic superweapon?

Chapter Text

Sat at her desk, she took a moment for reflection. She couldn't believe that old man's audacity. Dwelling on these thoughts only served to bubble up irritation within her. The doctor was attempting the mole strategy again by setting up a fight between his Egg Boss Rose and 'Sonic', knowing full-well she'd come to that hedgehog's aid and try to recruit him in her ranks.

She had fallen for it - hook, line, and sinker. Now Robotnik's super weapon was too close for comfort, she hadn't been able to sleep knowing that the hedgehog might break out of the cell and hurt someone. She had posted guards outside the room for the night.

They had told her that Sonic hadn't attempted to escape. She didn't trust that.

He had been so willing to stay in that room with barely a question - she hadn't even given him a bed or anything, just a small portion of food. It was as though he was purposefully keen to earn her trust. After all, if he had reservations about the arrangement - he might end up out of her favour, right? He couldn't have that, he'd ruin whatever plan Robotnik had set him up for.

She drummed her fingers against the desk. She had caught it early, this time. She should at least be able to take comfort in that.

"Rouge-" Tangle's voice could be heard, whining at her. Rouge looked towards the entrance of her office.

"Why are you here? It's early morning-"

"I'm here because you weren't in your bed last night, I thought we could eat breakfast together but the I woke up and saw that you weren't there, your bed was still made up in fact so you hadn't been there at all-"

Tangle had the habit of rambling, and Rouge was zoning out.

"- So then I knew what had happened! You had stayed up in your office all night, which, as I've said before - it's important to get all the sleep you can and you really shouldn't be doing this-"

"Your concern is appreciated, Tangle." Rouge forced herself to give a tired smile. "And it is most certainly noted. But I had some important work to do, work that simply could not wait-"

The lemur was pouting, and she decided to interrupt. "I don't think that's the case... I can tell you're worried."

Good grief. Rouge let out a mild laugh - deciding to tease her a little to ease those concerns. "Worried? I'm never worried, hon. How can I be when I have plans for everything?"

Some semblance of pity formed in Tangle's eyes. "Getting you to admit your feelings is as difficult as... nailing jelly to a tree. Is that how the saying goes? Or was it a wall- the point still stands though! Sonic being here has riled you up, I can feel it. But I wanna let you know, girl - I'm not going to let that hedgehog lay a hand on you or anyone else here!" She assured her - her smile now beaming with confidence. "We're not going to have a repeat of the Espio situation - this time, we'll be ready!"

Rouge closed her eyes, she'd rather shut out those memories. "Thanks, Tangle - but I'm afraid I'm going to have to make sure that everyone else keeps their distance from Sonic. Including you."

"What? Why?" Tangle asked indignantly. "We can help you, you know! If you're going to use the 'it's too dangerous' excuse then I simply must fire it back at you! I'm not gonna let you handle him all on your own-!"

Breathing out from her nose, she placed her elbows on the desk and brought her chin down against the back of her hands. "I must deal with him quickly. I already have the plan to take care of him, in mind."

"But you say this guy is Project Shadow, right? Ultimate speedster and chaos magic wielder, or whatever you call it-"

"Which is why to ensure I am able to catch him off guard - he must have trust in me, and to be frank - you're an awful actress, and liar. You'll ruin this quickly." Hopefully her brutal honesty made enough of a point.

Tangle was wide-eyed. "I- Okay yeah, you're not wrong about that, but-"

"Exactly." The bat couldn't help but be smug. "So run along now and get yourself some breakfast, Sonic and I will be eating ours together - alone." She emphasized, putting on a pretty smile. "Have a nice day~"

Tangle stared at her for a moment, refusing to accept the bat's win in this debate - but then sighing as she realised she was unlikely to get anywhere if she continued on. "Well uh- good morning anyway, I don't remember if I said it already-" She added awkwardly, before turning and making her way to the dining area. Rouge watched her leave and felt bad slightly about her complete dismissal of the girl's offer to help, she was just trying to be useful after all. Rouge had a fondness for the girl and her energy - but unfortunately, it was often a hinderance.

She couldn't afford setbacks.

Sonic was in the midst of stretching his legs when he heard the door click, and he continued on with a grin. He had managed to get a good night sleep - which he was incredibly thankful for. He had food in his stomach, and he now had a friend on his side... well, a friend from another timeline - but they seemed on course to becoming friends in this timeline as well. She would be the pair of wings he needed for his plan to get to Angel Island.

The door finally opened. "Rise and shine, handsome." She said with that suave smirk that was almost permanently etched to her face. "Let's get you fixed up with some breakfast, shall we?"

"Sounds like a plan." Sonic said with a nod, his energy having returned to him as he saw his goal in sight. It's not like he would be in this timeline for too long, right? With some time to rest, he finally had some semblance of clarity. He got his bearings and realised he couldn't afford to mope if he wanted to get out of here. It was just like ending up as a knight in a storybook with his friends playing different characters. Just another world where his friends were a bit different, he'd get back to his original timeline soon. He silenced the small, doubting voice that wondered if he would actually be capable of doing so.

"Follow me to the dining area, then. We've got a few options... which is quite the rarity honestly."

"Wait, you're allowing me out of here - with the others you mentioned, I'm presuming?" Sonic blinked.

Rouge shrugged, looking down at the tips of her gloves. "Yep. I've briefed them all of your arrival, so they shouldn't be scared by you. Still, we'll be sitting by ourselves. You don't need to talk to them."

Sonic was a little struck by how assertive she sounded - spoken like a leader. He often wondered who the leader of Team Dark actually was. He was always told it was Shadow, but Rouge was more often than not making the strategies and getting her teammates to rally behind her. Of course he also couldn't exactly ignore Shadow's abilities - he was tough, strong, and could keep others in line. Sonic was also told Shadow was intimidating, apparently, but he never really had that affect on him.

"That's alright with me." Sonic said, bending down to pick up his jacket off of the floor and wearing it. Turns out it was quite cold below ground.

For whatever reason, this gets a chuckle out of her. "Ya know, I've never met someone so compliant. Especially with strangers they just met."

He didn't really know the correct way to respond to that, but he just smiled. "Well, you saved me from Egg Boss Rose, so it's the least I can do really. I owe you."

The answer seemed to satisfy her. "I see. Let's not waste anymore time, shall we hon?"

The familiarity in that nickname was so very welcome. As she began leading him away, he followed through the hallway - it really didn't take long before they walked through what was basically a cave entrance, not a door in sight - that lead to the dining area. It didn't contain the chairs and tables one would usually expect to find in a place such as this. Instead, long tables were made up by shoving a bunch of wooden crates placed together. The seats consisted of just about anything that sufficed enough at doing the job - such as boxes and even boulders. To light the place up, candle-lit lanterns placed on the end of the tables provided a warm and soft glow to the room that was very pleasant.

There was such a mix of people here. Humans and mobians, young and old - all chatting among themselves amiably. Sonic noticed one of the tables was slightly different. It mostly had older people sat around it - but their chairs were much comfier and made of leather, despite being a bit torn and worn down. It warmed his hear to see the more fragile being looked after.

He continued to follow after the bat to the serving counter on the other end of the room, and did a doubletake when he saw the face there.

Vanilla...? He genuinely couldn't believe how he kept seeing people he knew. He supposed it was a small world after all. He was thankful anyhow, he was happy to see her alive and well- he assumed Cream was well and somewhere here as well.

"Hey, Vanilla." Rouge smiled over at her. "How ya doing this morning? Slept well?"

The rabbit nodded. "Yes, dear. But I have to ask the same to you. You look... tired."

That remark made Sonic look at Rouge's face - he hadn't even noticed the bags under her eyes before. "Ah, well - I could have slept better, yeah. But I'll catch up on what sleep I've missed." The bat replied.

"Of course..." Sonic couldn't read Vanilla's tone. "And you're Sonic, yes?"

For a moment he didn't even realise she was addressing him. He spluttered a little. "Uh- yeah! Sonic the Hedgehog, at your service-"

"Welcome." She told him. While her words were gentle, they lacked the warmth he felt from his version of Vanilla. "What would you two like today?"

The two of them made their food requests which Vanilla would pile onto a plate for them - a combination of eggs, sausages, bacon, and beans were on offer today, as well as a slice of toast per person. It smelled so good, Sonic couldn't wait to sit down and dig in.

He was hungry, admittedly. Last night he had only been given a small portion of stew, he had awoken with a rumbling stomach. "Thank you." Sonic had said when he was handed his place.

Rouge didn't say a word, instead taking her leave to the one empty table, or rather crate, in the room with Sonic in tow. She sat down on a box and Sonic took a seat opposite to her.

"I'm gonna tell you right now, I hope you like beans. They're the food we're most often able to salvage and store, being in cans and all." She pointed out, making a sort of joke out of it as she began eating her food. "Lucky for you though, we were able to get our hands on more food than usual. Don't expect a spread like this all the time, alright? If it's not beans, it's oatmeal for breakfast."

"Heh, I pretty much eat anything!" He told her. "No worries there." Sonic grabbed his wooden knife and fork and began his own meal.

The hairs on the back of his head rose, he felt as though he were being watched by many eyes. He didn't want to make it obvious he was looking at everyone else, he looked out of the corner of his eyes and saw almost everyone else in the room was looking in his direction. Curiosity was only natural, so he tried to not let it bother him too much.

"Good for you then - because I positively hate oatmeal." Rouge said with a shudder, but moved on from the topic. I wonder about these memories of yours..." Rouge brought up, and Sonic internally cringed. Damn, why did she have to bring up his hastily made excuse? "Do you remember where you were born?"

"South Island." Sonic replied slowly.

"Remember your parents?"

Sonic looked down, having to remind himself that his parents, well, wouldn't actually be his parents here since he never existed. "No... I don't remember them, actually." He thought it was better to remain on the safe side.

"Is that so?" Before she could question him further, they were interrupted.

"Hello there!" Turning to face the voice, he was looking at a lemur with bright purple eyes and an infectious smile, she quickly sat down on the seat next to Rouge and placed down her own plate of food. She was skinny like everyone else, but he figured even if the food situation was better - she'd still be pretty lanky. Her fur was made up of different shades of gray and she had active wear attire on with a combination of yellow, orange, and black. She had a pair of yellow goggles on her forehead, the bright colours lending herself to be quite a shining presence in the room.

"Room for one more?" The lemur asked cheekily despite having already sat down.

Rouge looked at her a moment, smirk never leaving her face, almost to the point it was unnerving. "Of course you can, Tangle."

So, her name was Tangle, this was a face that he did not recognise from the old timeline but she did seem nice - he couldn't tell what it was, but something about her just seemed so friendly.

"Great!" She seemed pleased with herself. "Nice to meet you, Sonic! We've heard all about your fight with Rose - and how fast you are! Can you break the sound barrier?"

Sonic looked to Rouge for approval and the bat nodded, allowing him to talk.

"Easily." Sonic hoped his confidence didn't come off as unlikable.

"Wow! That's awesome!" Tangle let out in excitement. "What other mysterious powers you got on ya, then?" She leaned forward a bit with interest.

"Mysterious powers, haha-" Sonic thought about it, he supposed he could use the chaos emerald to some degree... but it seemed unwise to mention with his previously established memory issues. "Not that I know of! I'm just fast."

"Aw man, that's still cool though! Useful too - being able to quickly move from Point A, to Point B - being able to run out of tough spots, being quicker than your opponents - it's great that we have you here, you know!" She admitted. He wondered if she was truly always this cheerful.

"Well, thanks-"

"Would totes be a shame if you were on the enemy's side-"

Sonic caught a glimpse of Rouge biting her lip. "Uuuuh, well I'm here, don't think I would be if I was on Eggman's side anyway-"

"Eggman?!" She gasped. "Oh my gosh that's such a fitting name- I mean he makes everything egg themed anyway-" She couldn't help but giggle. He was glad that two people so far had taken a liking to that nickname. She turned towards Rouge. "I hereby declare that we refer to him only as Eggman from now on!"

The bat finally decided to comment. "Hm, adorable. You do as you please." That smile would just not leave Rouge's face, and yet again it wasn't meeting her eyes.

Tangle was pleased. "I can tell I'm going to enjoy having you around! You know, as long as you don't stab us in the back or something - that'd be rough, wouldn't it?"

"Uuuuuh..." He was speechless.

"Tangle." Rouge spoke up. "I had a task for you, actually - and it's just come to me. Vanilla needed an extra hand washing the dishes this morning, you'd be a great help to her."

The lemur narrowed her eyes slightly, and a silence that made Sonic uncomfortable lingered. She then suddenly proceeded to gobble the entirety of her breakfast down in a few seconds flat - and Sonic couldn't help but let his jaw drop.

"Sure thing, Rouge! I'll be done with that in no time at all." Tangle said, turning and quickly walking off to find Vanilla.

Sonic was now unsure what to make of the girl, she seemed so pleasant and joyful until her last words gave off a threatening vibe, it was quite the conversational whiplash. He heard Rouge let out a sigh.

"Don't worry about her. She's just... excitable." The bat apologised for her friend.

"I guess it's understandable that she'd be a bit worried." Sonic was fair to her. "I am a guy showing up out of nowhere, after all."

"Perhaps." Rouge was eager to move thing along. "That interruption has slowed us down - so let's get right to it with this favour, shall we? There's a factory in Station Square that I want you to accompany me to. I have reason to believe there's a significant store of power limiters there, and I wish to steal them."

"Power limiters?" Sonic questioned, confused as to what it meant. Were they like Shadow's inhibitors?

"As in, what prisoners wear around their wrists. Like bracelets accept they're there not to be pretty, but to instead nullify your abilities. So if you wore them, you wouldn't be able to go fast. You would run at the speed of an average mobian."

Sonic shuddered at the thought. "Yeesh... so why exactly do you need them?"

"Because it would be useful for us to have some. If we were to keep an Empire member prisoner here, or we simply wish to sedate them - then the only way to make them easier to handle is by taking away their powers. That way it becomes much harder to escape."

He supposed that made sense, she was taking away any advantages the enemy might have and preventing further harm. It was further proof she was a strategist. "And you want me to go with you?"

"Yes." Rouge confirmed with a nod. "I trust you will be able to take care of all the robots quickly and clear a path for me, before any of them can alert our dear, sweet Rose that we're causing trouble." She said with a mischievous grin. "It's quite the simple task that we'll be able to do quickly, I'm quite good at stealth you see."

Sonic knew that to be true. He returned her grin. "Count me in!"

What an embarrassment...

Egg Boss Rose, or as she preferred to be within the confines of her own home, Amy Rose, sat alone on her recliner with nothing to do but stare at the floor and reminisce her failings. How could she let that hedgehog slip from her grip? How did she let that bat get away again? If this was going to become too much of a pattern, she knew she'd be losing her title as well as her home - after all, only Egg Bosses owned houses.

Would she be made a factory worker like everyone else? Or did the fate of death await her if she couldn't meet his standards?

There was a knock on the door. Please let it be them... and no one else.

She took in a slow breath in front of the door before opening it, and she let her shoulders relax in relief at the sight. "The Chaotix... yes, please come in." There was a small smile on her face.

The crocodile and chameleon entered the house and shut the door behind them. "What troubles you got this time? Still that rebel?" Vector questioned as he followed the hedgehog into her living room.

"Kind of. But there's something else a bit more pressing- do any of you know of a blue hedgehog?" She was already asking them questions before they even got the chance to sit themselves down.

"I mean... I've met several of them. So that's kinda vague, you got anything more specific?" He asked while flopping down on the couch. Espio resigned to leaning himself against the wall next to it.

"I'm getting to that." She glared. "He was... well he had green eyes, red and white shoes and a biker's jacket... but most notably he was very, very fast." She closed her eyes, trying to remember his words. "He destroyed the robots in one of my factories and was vocal about his disdain of the Empire... he aims to bring it down. He even tried to ask me to join him, if you'd believe it."

"Sounds like a weird fella." Vector remarked. "He can't believe in earnest that he stands a chance, right? He just has a death wish at this point." He brought his palm up to his forehead, shaking his head at the idea of this rebel that was far too over his head.

Amy agreed. "Worst of all, before I could kill him - that bat stepped in, used her smoke bombs and whisked the hedgehog away. She's made an ally now, and this alliance spells bad news for this city. They're both capable fighters, and together I fear what they might be able to do..."

"So let me guess - the reason you're paying so high is because you want them both dead." Vector folded his arms.

"Exactly." Amy nodded with a sigh. "I want to take care of them before Miles gets wind of any of this. He's... he's probably going to have my head-"

"I understand that." Vector admitted. "If the two of them start getting more active because they think they have more strength, then it should be easier to locate them." He then turned to his companion. "Sorry bud... I doubt you really wanna be fighting Rouge again after, you know..."

"No." Espio spoke, monotone. "I think this will be... satisfying, more than anything." He pointed to the eyepatch over his right eye. "An eye for an eye, if you will."

Vector nodded in understanding. "Makes sense. Just tell me if you can't handle the job at any point, I'll take care of it."

"I'll be fine."

Amy hoped that Espio was telling the truth, she needed both of the Chaotix in on this job to increase the odds of success. She doubted Vector's ability to carry out a fight against the two on his own.

"Thank you, I mean it." Amy told them. "Every penny will be yours when you complete this task. But I do feel as though I owe it to you to warn you... Robotnik knows about you. He's angry that you guys are refusing to ally with the Empire. Being for hire means you'll also work with rebels if the pay is high enough... and he doesn't like that at all."

"If Robotnik wants us on his side, all he's gotta do is give us a well-paid job. We're happy to lend our services as long as the money's there." Vector insisted.

"He's more likely to demand you work for him or he'll kill you, you know that right?" Amy said with a raised brow.

"I mean yeah - but it's nice to dream. Right now we're focusing on making our cash, and we'll keep making it until we're forced to stop." He remained adamant. Amy, for one, never quite understood his fascination for obscene amounts of money.

"Right... by the way, how is Charmy?" She always did like that kid.

"Safe and sound at home." Vector told her. "Had a feeling you were asking something big out of us, so I didn't make him come here. Otherwise he'd be insisting on helping us out. I don't want him near the danger."

Amy liked that decision. "Well, I wish you good luck with this assignment. Do whatever you need to track them down and kill them. If you need my help, don't be afraid to ask for it."

"You got it, Rose!" Vector stood up from the couch and gave her a bow, which Espio would also do. "We're going to waste no time! Which is exactly why we're going to leave! Right now...!" Vector was aware of the awkward atmosphere he had just created and beckoned for his chameleon friend to follow behind him. "See ya, Rose!" Vector called back as Espio nodded a goodbye, and they both left the house.

Amy watched the door close. She couldn't afford to have them fail.

Something was wrong.

It lasted only for a moment, but Knuckles noticed it - a pulse in the air around him.

The echidna looked back to the Master Emerald, examining it closely so that he could notice even if there was even a tiny change. There was nothing. Perhaps that feeling had just been nothing...

He couldn't allow himself any relief, he would wait to see if that feeling returned.

Instead he got something else entirely, he let out a grunt as it felt as though sharp needles were being pricked into his skin, and a hot, burning sensation overcame him. He winced, forced to hunch over and hold his stomach that had just begun to cramp.

Just like that, the painful sensation was gone.

Knuckles took in a shaky breath to recover. What... what was that? It was so sudden. With a grimace, he managed to bring himself upright again. He immediately turned around to face the Master Emerald for any sort of sign as to why that had happened. There was nothing, it shone as it always did.

He had read the ancient scriptures left behind by the old echidnas, they mentioned how the emerald would communicate with the guardians through the use of energy pulses - some of which could be painful. He assumed that was what was happening then.

In that case, what was it trying to say?

Shame swept him momentarily - he was the guardian, it was his job to know and yet he was ignorant. Should he be able to talk to the Master Emerald and figure out what it meant? Would the previous guardians have had other clan members to consult? Maybe they'd have some wise insights and lend a helpful hand.

Knuckles had no such luxury. He had no people. No friends - he hadn't even faced an adversary in years.

That should be a good thing, shouldn't it? It meant the emerald was far from danger with no risk of being taken. Perhaps the people down below knew of his strength as a guardian, and wouldn't dare challenge him.

Yet, a small part of him wished they would. He felt selfish for having that desire, of course. It just... it's been so long since he's been able to swing a fist or hell... see another face. How long would it be before his sanity slipped away in this isolation? Or had he already lost it? Did mad people know that they were mad?

He told himself that he preferred being alone, that people would only get in the way of what he needed to do.

He was right, wasn't he?

Focus. He had to tell himself. He couldn't allow his thoughts to get sidetracked like this when there were more important matters at hand. As he had no theories now, he would just have to wait to see if the emerald tried to give him another signal. It would keep bothering him if the issue was severe - at least, that idea made sense to him.

"What are you trying to tell me?" Knuckles whispered under his breath, staring at the almighty gem and feeling small in its presence.

Chapter Text

Noon was upon them.

The hedgehog was grateful for the abundance of clocks lining the walls and generally being placed in every room. Being underground had a distinct disadvantage in the fact you couldn't look outside and see what time of day it was. It hadn't even been two full days yet, and he already missed the wide and bright expanse of the blue sky. He was glad that Rouge wanted him on this mission.

He had been told to stay in his room and wait to be collected. Of course, he could understand Rouge's apprehension to allow him near everyone else - but the isolation was getting to him a bit. While he had been rescued by her, he did feel somewhat like a prisoner - especially in that tiny, bare room that didn't even contain a bed.

"You ready?" The bat called out, and Sonic's eyes perked up.

"You bet!" Sonic assured her. He desperately wanted to get out as soon as possible so he could run - feeling the cool wind blow against his face, to see the world fly by. However, he didn't wish to come off as too eager - so he walked up to Rouge and was surprised when he saw Tangle right next to her. "She coming with?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah..." Rouge seemed a little exasperated. "She was insistent."

Tangle, on the other hand, was a little smug. "It took a lot of begging, but I can be persistent! You need someone to watch out for you two, right?"

"Well, it can't exactly hurt to have backup." Sonic acknowledged with a shrug, hoping he could bring an end to this slight conflict before any bickering could start.

"All we gotta be is efficient." Rouge said as she was already walking ahead, and Sonic and Tangle were now falling in stride. "So let's just get this over with, shall we?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Tangle cheered.

Sonic eyed the bat's neutral, somewhat dismissive expression before his eyes made his way down and caught sight of a holster on the bat's hip. It contained a dagger.

Huh, he had never seen her fight with one before.

Down the hall they finally came across a ramp leading upwards to a door - but nothing like the wooden ones in the underground base. This one was large and made of stone, but the points of interest were in the details. There were thin lines of gold across it forming geometric shapes. There was no way this sort of thing was natural, so he wondered when this would have been made - and he was even more curious about where he actually was now.

Rouge held a hand to the door... but she had bent down to do it, touching an area nearer the bottom right corner. The hedgehog's brow rose as she did this, but he knew she wouldn't do that if there was no point to it.

The gold lines all lit up, glowing softly. Stunned, Sonic watched as Rouge stood herself back up and the door was sliding open - letting in all the light from the outside world and forcing the hedgehog to close his eyes.

"Wha-?" Sonic let out, waiting a moment and opening his eyes just slightly as to not blind himself. "What kind of a door is that?"

"Not sure." Rouge told him. "I got here and just found it - it's some sort of secret door. Might be ancient tech? Considering where we are."

Finally able to open his eyes fully, Sonic realised he was staring straight at Mystic Ruins - untouched, same as it always was. The hedgehog smiled.

"I guess the world has its secrets." Sonic responded to what Rouge said, but was mostly struck by the familiar sight. He couldn't help himself - he suddenly took off, weaving in and out amongst the ruins of the temples of old, relishing in the freedom, breathing in the crisp, cleaner air that was a far cry from the city, feeling infinitely more alive as though energy flowed through his veins.

"Haha!" Sonic finally grinded to a halt after running around in circles, facing two very confused girls - but he still kept grinning like an idiot. "Fresh air and a run! Nothing better!" He declared, hands on hips.

Moments passed in awkward silence until Rouge smiled lightly. "You act as though you've been let out a prison after a decade. Don't tell me my hospitality is that bad." She teased, and Sonic couldn't help but let out a little laugh.

"Rouge wasn't kidding when she told me you were fast!" Tangle exclaimed in awe, her mouth forming an 'o' shape. "I mean- you were there, I saw you there and as soon as I look- boom! You're on the other end of the ruins! I don't think I even got the chance to blink..."

"Heh, as I've said - you ain't seen nothing yet." He brushed the tip of his nose with a smirk, couldn't a man indulge himself in praise now and again?

"He may be fast, but he's also the one holding the mission up with his running sprees. I'd prefer it if we got moving instead-" Rouge begun before getting interrupted by an enthusiastic hedgehog.

"Of course! My bad. I can hold one of you in my arms but the other will need to hold onto my back so I can run us over-"

"Nuh-uh." The bat shook her head, and the other two looked at her in confusion. "I don't want you running around these ruins, not like that. If Robotnik's picking up energy spikes he'll trace it to here and discover our hideout. This is the only one I've been able to find so I can't afford to screw this up - you feel me? It's either this or melting in the deserts of Chun-nan, if that isn't already overrun by factories..."

Sonic hadn't even thought of that, and he felt bad instantly. "Oh, right- I'm sorry-" He rubbed the back of his head. "I won't do that again-"

"Thank youuu~" Her tone immediately switched to nonchalant again. "You can start running when we're closer to the city - but otherwise, I'm going to need you to go slow while you're in this jungle."

Slow - what an awful word.

"You got it." Sonic said regardless. The three of them would head on their slow trek through the jungle and it ended up being better than he had initially thought. The state of Station Square easily made him uneasy, so seeing all the greens, the colourful flowers in bloom, and the birds flying over head filled him with a comforting contentment.

He thought nothing of it when he heard rustling up ahead, but for whatever reason - Rouge halted in her tracks. He caught sight of her ear flickering, and her complexion growing paler.

"Shit..." She let out in frustration. "Not one of those things again..."

Tangle gasped. "A Spooky?"

Rouge groaned, and Tangle seemed to accept this answer as a confirmation as she bit her lip. "Uhhh... am I supposed to know what you guys are talking about?" Sonic asked, narrowing his eyes.

"There's a monster up ahead. A big one by the sounds of it." Rouge said.

"I call them the Spookies!" Tangle then piped up. "They're these weird monster creatures with some glowing red and purple features... big teeth, a whole lot of strength, I've seen them straight up trample people before..." Her voice grew weaker as she recalled these memories. "They showed up just a few months after the Empire came to be... but they don't seem to be anything to do with them. In fact, whether you support the Empire or not.. they're everyone's common enemies. Robots take them out all the same."

Not even knowledge of an entirely separate timeline could help him figure out what those things were, and it made his brow furrow. "I... see." What could those things possibly be?

"We're quite lucky to have Rouge on our side, with those big ears - she can hear stuff like this from far away!" Tangle said, pointing to the bat's ears, a gesture that Rouge chose not to remark on.

"If you talk much louder the thing will hear us." Rouge pointed out. "And if you're gonna be sloppy enough to bring one of those things upon you... I might just leave you to deal with it on your own." She smirked, but in all honesty - her eyes just never seemed to have the same humor, he wondered whether it was truly a jest or not. Was Rouge just sterner in this timeline? Is that why she came off this way? He supposed she would have to get more serious if she was leading this rebeliion.

They knew to fall silent from that point on, their footsteps light.

Rouge brought them to a bunch of bushes once the monster was in sight. Sonic couldn't help but gawk at the sight - it was a massively oversized spider, the hairs covering its body being the same width as Sonic's leg. While he didn't have a phobia, he couldn't help but shudder at the way it sporadically moved its legs, circling around the area. Its eyes were well-defined - they were glowing red and had reptilian, narrowed pupils. The fangs dripped with purple ooze, and on its belly - there was a swampy green patch.

"Eurgh-" The hedgehog let out.

"That about sums it up," Rouge agreed, keeping her voice low. "I know I didn't want you using your powers around these parts... but there's no way we're gonna win this fight without using all our tools at our disposal. You're free to run."

Thank God.

"Tangle, you know what to do." She nodded to her, and Sonic caught sight of Tangle's determined smile. "Sonic, you keep the thing focused on you. Tangle will trap it and I'll attack from behind."

"Heh, so I'm the distraction? Guess I need to show off then!"

"How charming." She gave a slight snigger. "You better live up to all the hype, do your thing." Rouge slipped back into the bushes and seemingly disappeared - the woman's stealth work was truly admirable, as were her strategies. Sonic would of course oblige Rouge's orders and dash straight in front of the monster.

"Over here, you overgrown arachnid!" Sonic called up to it, smirking.

Predictably, the spider immediately turned to face him. It lifted up one of its front legs, ready to bring it down upon the hedgehog and dig the sharp end through his skull. Sonic sidestepped effortlessly. "Woops! Missed me!"

It tried again. The same result occurred. "Missed me again!"

On the third attempt, Sonic waited until the last possible second - and yet he remained unscathed. "Oops, almost got me!"

It hissed at him, loudly, he felt spider spit in his face. "Come on man, I'm going easy on you here!"

The thing finally decided it was time for a different tactic. For a moment it was still, before suddenly unleashing a large volume of purple ooze from its mouth, spraying everywhere near the hedgehog. Thankfully, he managed to avoid it all - not even a single drop tainted his fur. Sonic was about to make another quip - but words evaded him as he caught sight of one of the most magnificent things he had ever seen.

It was undoubtedly the lemur's tail - it had shot out from the bush... and it was long. It kept longer in fact! It wrapped itself around all of the spiders legs, coiling around them several times before it tightened - bunching all of the legs together. The monster became unsteady, unable to stand so it slowly began to topple - giving Sonic plenty of time to run back and put a bit of difference between them as the spider landed down with a tremendous thud - one that caused the ground to tremble.

Tangle stepped out of the bush and giggled with satisfaction, her tail still had its tight grip on the monster. "Good going!"

Sonic could feel the stars in his eyes. "That's so cool-" His voice was filled with awe.

"Oh - heh! Thanks-"

Both of their heads turned at the sound of a rustle. The bat had leaped out from a collection of trees behind the spider - prepared to land a kick on its back for a final, devastating blow. At least that's what should have happened.

Instead, Rouge found herself landing on something entirely different - a gigantic hawk bird swooped to intercept the attack, and so Rouge found herself colliding on its back. The creature had the same piercing red eyes as the spider and had jet black feathers.

Rouge's expression was baffled as she was now riding atop the creature as it screeches. "Where did you come from?!" Rouge yelled. "Can't I get an easy kill for once?!" The bat and the bird flew off into the distance before much else could be done.

"That's not good-" Tangle gulped, then addressed Sonic in a rush. "So basically like- the Spookies have this like magical force field thing that is really hard to break through - but Rouge has enough kicking strength to usually do that sort of thing just fine! Hence the plan. But now we've just gotta keep hitting it and hitting it until we can break through-!"

"You keep hold of it then! I'll hit it with all I've got." Sonic turned back to the monster, and was ready to jump into a homing attack, but then he heard a scream.

"AAAAH!" Tangle clutched her shoulder, panting for breath. Sonic noticed the purple ooze had made contact with her body. "It burns-! Rouge keeps telling me I need to look at my surroundings-!"

He then saw how Tangle's tail was retracting back in as she was now unable to focus, but this meant the spider was getting free from her grasp.

"Tangle! You don't wanna be in the way when it-!"

The spider's first free leg was already trying to strike at Tangle, and Sonic dashed towards the lemur. He wanted to scoop her up and get her to safety but there was no time for that. Instead, he shoved her as hard as he could out of the way - but unfortunately, he received the attack instead.

The spider's sharp leg grazed deeply against the back of Sonic's right leg. "GAH-!" The hedgehog stumbled, unable to stand as his wound stung harsher than anything he'd ever felt before. He could smell the blood from his wound.

Tangle, from her position on the ground, was safe - but she was staring up at Sonic in horror. "Oh gosh- I-" She gritted her teeth, bringing herself to a standing position. "Sonic!"

"Don't worry- about me-!" The hedgehog exclaimed through what was quite frankly agony, but there was a monster to kill. He tucked into a ball, launched himself up, and homing attacked the spider on the top of its head.

And again. And again. And again. And again!

He felt something akin to glass shattering, was that the invisible forcefield? One more.

He felt his quills get covered in the warm, thick blood of the creature as he broke through its skin. He shuddered, but jumped all the way down to the ground. Sure enough, it was dead - the haunting red eyes were now closed, and it didn't move an inch.

"Tangle, you alright?" The hedgehog asked, limping over to the lemur.

"Yeah, I'm fine- you aren't though! That's a nasty gash, your leg is covered in blood! I-I think Rouge has a first aid kit so just wait a moment-"

"Rouge!" Sonic exclaimed. "Is she okay?"

"I don't know! She and the bird flew off I-"

Both of their heads turn when they caught the spider suddenly glowing a slight red, and then - the whole monster vanished, floating away in a pile of sparkly red dust that disappeared into the sky. "Yeah they uh- they do that-" Tangle exclaimed, still in shock over Sonic's wound.

However, both of them would be greeted by a relieving sight. Rouge stumbled out of the bushes, twigs and leaves in her hair, and a few cuts here and there on her face, but nothing too major. "Stupid bird... how didn't I hear it earlier- Woah!" Rouge stopped talking to herself as soon as she saw the other two. "You guys had it rough I see..."

Tangle wasted no time in making sure Sonic got the help he needed. "Rouge, can you get a bandage on Sonic's leg? I don't think he can afford to lose much more blood-"

Rouge jogged over. Sonic remained standing, grimacing on the occasion as his right leg ached and pulsed. She bent down, pulling out her first aid kit. "Ugh... that's a nasty one." She remarked as she laid eyes on the wound. She began to wrap a bandage around it. "You look like you've been burned through your sleeve Tangle, get an ice pack on it."

"Right-" Tangle said with some embarrassment, picking up an ice pack and holding it to her shoulder. "Is Sonic going to be okay?"

The bat sighed. "He's not gonna die, I'll say that much."

"Heh-" Sonic laughed despite the pain. "It'll take a lot more than this to kill me." Sonic was aware of his own freakish defense and endurance, able to take some of the heaviest hitting blows as through they were merely a slap in the face.

"All done." Rouge said, standing up. "I imagine walking's difficult now, let alone running - you sure you gonna be able to do this?" The bat asked with a skeptical head tilt.

"Of course." Sonic kept his voice firm. "Not like it's a broken bone or anything. I can still walk."

Rouge blinked. "Your funeral, hon... I wouldn't want to walk with a wound like that, it must hurt to just take a step."

"It's pain I can live through." Sonic assured her.

"Please tell us if it gets too much for you." Tangle pleaded.

"Don't worry, I will." He wasn't quite as stubborn as Knuckles.

"Well now... I suppose it would be unfair to hurry this along so- take five I guess? Ten?" Rouge shrugged, comparably much more calmer and chill than Tangle.

"Actually, Rouge? Can we talk? Just us two?" Tangle asked.

"Sure." Rouge responded slowly, the two fell at each other's side and put a significant amount of distance between himself and them, they were no longer in earshot. Sonic wasn't even curious about the matter, he was just glad he managed to save Tangle's life today.

"I... don't think he's Project Shadow."

"Tangle..."

"I'm serious! I- look, that injury? He got it because he saved me! If he was evil and just pretending to be our friend then why would he let himself get hurt? Wouldn't he want my to die instead?!"

"Tangle." Rouge cut in, exasperated. "Naivety is a cruel thing, don't let it affect your judgement. Sonic still gains a lot of things from saving you! He obviously did that to earn our trust, and is now making you feel like you owe him something out of guilt - which he sure as hell will use later."

"I don't see it." Tangle insisted. "I know why you have your suspicions, I was suspicious of him too at first! But the more we've spoken with him - the more sincere he's felt! He suffered a massive injury for my sake and even after that he was concerned for even your safety!"

"Well clearly that wound was a consequence he's willing to live through. Think about it - no normal man would say he could still carry on doing this mission with that kind of injury. Clearly he made a 'noble sacrifice', knew that it wouldn't actually bother him that much, and he'd still get to reap the benefits of our friendship."

"I just- Oh I don't know- It was just so selfless of him-"

"Tangle..." Rouge smiled gently, placing a hand on the lemur's uninjured shoulder. "You're optimistic, and you're always wanting to see the good in people. That's an admirable trait to have, hon... but sometimes bad people do good things only when it suits them. And I'm afraid this is one of those instances. He's just... too good to be true, ya feel me? I have experience in this stuff, Tangle. I can read people."

"I... I suppose you are the smarter one... when it comes to this stuff, and most other things-" Tangle sighed in defeat.

"No need to get all self-deprecating now." Rouge shook her head. "You have other things you bring to the table."

"I guess so."

"Either way, I made sure I tied the bandage around the wound loosely, he's still losing blood under there. Ideally, I want him to pass out on the way to the city so we can kill him without hassle while he's knocked out."

Tangle wrapped her arms around her body, hugging herself and looking down, eyes downcast. "Yeah, that makes sense."

"Negativity doesn't suit you, sweetheart." Rouge told her. "No need to be so glum, remember that we're doing this to keep everyone else safe." Rouge finally turned her back to the lemur and was walking back to Sonic. "How ya feeling now?!" She called out to the hedgehog, Tangle slowly following behind.

"Good evening, Emperor." A young, two-tailed fox bowed before his leader. "I wish to bring something to your attention."

"Yes?" Robotnik did not look at the boy as the back of his chair was turned to him. The man was observing a large screen, scrolling through rapidly to find the measly piece of data he was looking for.

"Energy levels in our factories are slowly depleting, Emperor. Especially in our more remote locations. I have reason to believe our main battery is likely the cause." The fox straightened himself up, his posture was formal. Robotnik deserved no less.

The older man groaned. "Then do what you must to get that imbecile to be useful, Miles."

Miles grinned, showing his teeth as he fought back a giggle. "Of course, my Emperor. I'll pay him a visit and make sure he gets back to work."

"Good. Now leave, I'm busy."

"Of course, my Emperor." Miles wasted no time in leaving as requested.

Chapter Text

Arriving back at the city was bad enough, but with an excruciating pain pulsing through his leg - it made the experience even worse.

Admittedly, he wasn't sure if Rouge had tied his bandage tight enough - but he felt if he complained about it, Rouge and Tangle might leave the mission for another day. He wouldn't let that happen as long as he could still fight. Gritting his teeth, he walked in silence - following Rouge through small alleyways and across rooftops. She said she knew the city like the back of her hand now, and it showed. The Rouge he knew was also keenly aware of all the nooks and crannies in almost every area - all useful information for a thief.

Finally, the trio made it to their destination. The building was predictably bland - just a metal, long rectangle - but much bigger than the previous factory he had been in when meeting Amy. Doing a quick observation of the outside, it was abandoned - as most of the city streets were.

"Tangle, you're staying out here as the lookout - as you wanted to be." Rouge told her. "You take care of any robots that try to come here."

Both of them waited on Tangle to respond, but her mind had seemingly wandered, as had her gaze - which was staring off into the distance.

Rouge cleared her throat.

"O-oh!" Tangle snapped back to reality with a shake of her head. "Yep! I'm doing the- the lookout job, yes that's right!"

Rouge rose a brow. "Make sure you're concentrating, yeah?"

"Haha, yep! Yes, ma'am!" Tangle gave a salute.

Rouge stared at her for a few brief seconds before smiling at Sonic. "Now that's settled, follow my lead."

Sonic grinned and nodded, but before doing anything - he made sure to give Tangle thumbs up - for good luck. Tangle gave a small smile and did some finger guns. Despite the initial awkwardness in their first meeting, he found he really liked the girl. She seemed so optimistic.

The hedgehog watched as Rouge flew up to the side of the building near the rough, there was a vent. He saw the bat pull out what appeared to be a screwdriver, but it did the trick - opening the vent door. "After you!" She called down to him. "Rough 'em up, yeah?"

"You got it!" Sonic smirked, running up the side of the wall and hopping right in the vent.

The crawl through the vent passage was a little agonising with his injured leg, but he pulled through - he had to pull through! As long as he didn't pay attention to it, the burning sensation could be ignored.

"Don't worry about me, alright? Focus on the fight, I'll be sneaking through and grabbing the limiters." She reminded him from right behind.

"Of course."

At the end of the vents, Sonic made a quick observation of the area down below. Egg Pawns were walking through the area, clipboards in their hands as they made notes of the goings on. Throughout the spacious room, there were huge open vats containing bright green, purple, and red liquids. They bubbled and fizzed, and a thin layer of smoke rose up from the surface of it. It must be some sort of acid - like what was found in Chemical Plant.

He had seen what he needed to, this fight wouldn't be difficult - even with a bleeding leg. He broke the door of the vent open with a kick and landed on the ground.

"INTRUDER ALE-" Sonic rammed into the bot with a homing attack.

He jumped from that Egg Pawn to the next, brutally smashing them as they all went down with a single hit. Taking out all the ones he could see, he stood and smirked - dusting off his hands.

Turns out it was a bit too soon to celebrate, the hedgehog found himself hopping and weaving between lasers raining down from the air. The hedgehog looked up and set his sight on the swarm of Buzz Bombers. They would be taken out in the same way - he leapt high into the air, then rolled himself into a ball - and shot himself between them like a mid-air pinball, making them explode upon impact.

Not letting himself get cocky this time, he paused - eyeing his surroundings. Everything was empty - all that could be heard was the faint bubbling of toxic acids. Sonic didn't take care of them as fast as he would have liked to - his leg was definitely slowing him down. Of course, any other pair of eyes wouldn't be able to notice a difference - he was all too inhumanly fast for most to even process his movements.

The hedgehog cracked his knuckles.

THUD.

Damn it. The hedgehog slowly turned around, unamused. A large purple Egg Hammer towered over him, raising its hammer and threatening to splat the hedgehog into a blue blob on the floor.

Sonic ran up the side of the bot, and when he reached its hand - he wrestled to grab hold of the handle of the hammer it was holding. Despite the robot's hand being about the same size as the hedgehog himself, he managed to pry the hammer out of its hand and land down on the ground in front of it.

The hammer was about 5 times the tiny hedgehog's size, and his arms shook with the strain as he held it. This was why he left the heavy lifting to Knuckles...

"Heh, what's wrong? Can't attack without your hammer?" Sonic quipped as the robot blankly stared at him, not moving an inch - as if it truly were confused as to what it was supposed to do now without its weapon.

"Too bad!" With all of his might, and a lot of speed - Sonic took a gigantic swing at the robot - smashing it to the ground. One half of the robot was now completely damaged with exposed circuits and electricity sparking off of it. With the Egg Hammer finally taken out, Sonic could drop the hammer and gasp for breath.

He waited.

That was the end of the danger. Sonic allowed a smile to form on his face. He knew he could do it, even with his leg in the state it was.

"Look at you, hotshot~" Rouge said from the other end of the room. She had a small sack over her shoulder. "You got this whole place cleared out before any of these tin cans could alert the head honchos. Good work."

"Heh," Sonic brushed a finger over his nose confidently. "I assume you got what you're after?"

"Yeah - not as much of a haul as I would have liked but it's more than enough for now." Rouge said.

"Cool, I guess we're heading out-?"

Rouge held up a finger. "Not yet. I wanna check out what this weird acid is..."

"Oh, fair enough." The blue one shrugged.

The two headed up some stairs that lead them to a long grid platform they could walk along that was at the same level as the top of the vats. It allowed them to peer right into them, and inspect them closely. Sonic leaned forward a bit too far and almost fell in himself, but he straightened himself up before Rouge could notice. They could really have done with some railings here...

"I don't get it..." Rouge let out, pressing her knuckles to her cheek in thought. "What's the purpose for all of this?"

Sonic didn't know himself. "Maybe... acid weapons? I dunno-" He tried to be helpful.

He fought back a grunt, shit - the pain was throbbing now. The mission was done so there was no harm in asking for a tightened bandage. "Hey uh, Rouge? I think my bandage is a little loose - mind tightening it?"

"I'll give you a new one, that one's soaked in blood already." She bent down and did just that. Just like last time, he was numb for the most part as Rouge applied the bandage - it looked tighter this time, what a relief.

"Thanks, Rouge." Sonic smiled gratefully. "We might not know what that acid stuff is yet, but our plan went off without a hitch!" As he would do with his own teammates, he held up a hand.

Rouge stared at it for a moment, narrowing her eyes before the corners of her mouth upturned. "I guess so." She returned the high five. Sonic gasped - her hand was so cold and hard... like steel.

"I- uh- Rouge?" Sonic blinked rapidly as Rouge was tilting her head in confusion. It was metal... her hand was metal! "I uh- your hand, is it-?"

"Ohhhh," Rouge's eyes widened in realisation. "Yeah, it's metal - this whole arm is actually." She removed her right glove, revealing the shining metal underneath that made up her hand. She also rolled up the sleeve of her catsuit - and her arm matched her hand.

The hedgehog was stunned, he couldn't find the proper words to say. "How did it-?"

"How else? I got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time - right in the midst of the Empire's first attack. It was a big laser - arm came right off." Rouge shrugged it off as though it were nothing. For a moment, an image of the Rouge he knew flashed in his brain - he saw her screaming in terror and agony on the ground, her arm lost - tears flooding from her eyes. Sonic fought the sudden urge he felt to hug the woman in front of him.

Sonic wanted nothing more than to run to wherever Eggman was hiding and tear him a God damn new one. It was more important than ever for Sonic to bring back the old timeline - where Rouge would never have experienced such a horrifying tragedy. Since the Empire had succeeded, she had suffered a terrible fate - it showed how dangerous the man truly could be.

"I'm so sorry..." Sonic sighed.

"Huh? Don't be. Not like you were the one who took it off." Surely she wasn't this nonchalant about the matter. Rouge was always good at concealing her true emotions, that much he knew.

"Still... no one should have to go through that." He clenched his fists.

"Yeah, you're right. But that's the Empire for you."

It was a bit too awkward for them to look at each other, so they both resigned to staring down at the bright green liquid.

"Exactly why we need to talk them down." Sonic said, determined.

"Cute words - coming from a mole."

"... Huh?"

"Nighty-NIGHT!" Something silver flashed in the corner of his eye.

His attempt to sidestep and bend out of the way failed for the most part due to the shooting ache in his leg . He felt a dagger pierce his abdomen.

"GAH-!" Sonic stumbled back, pain shooting through the hedgehog's body before everything became numb.

"Robotnik thought he could outsmart me again?" Slipping out of consciousness, he could only just make out the wild smirk on her face. "Haha! Oh, what a fool..." She lifted her leg up, slamming her foot on the hedgehog's chest and sending him flying off the platform.

The hedgehog helplessly fell, plummeting straight towards the bubbling acid.

Miles, after inputting at least ten passcodes and five eye scanners, realised why Robotnik often complained about 'excessive security' - it was an absolute bore and a pain to do but Miles had insisted on its importance - especially here. The battery couldn't afford to be compromised - if something were to happen, the whole Empire would begin to collapse.

Once finally getting into the Battery Room, the young two-tailed fox found himself carefully stepping over and walking around thick cables and wires. It was like an electronical jungle, difficult to navigate if you didn't know what you were looking for.

Miles did, and peaking out from a mass of wires - he found it.

"Hello, Project Shadow."

He stepped closer to the capsule that held a black and red hedgehog. The thing looked even more weak and pathetic since the last visit. A metal strap over each limb kept him tied to the capsule, unable to move. His head had drooped down however, and his eyes were closed. Miles didn't doubt that the experiment likely didn't have enough strength to keep his own head up.

Project Shadow took a few moments before finally acknowledge the fox's greeting - and it was merely by opening his eyes. The hedgehog might not have been able to express much, but the resentment was potent in his eyes.

"You need some time to recharge, don't you?" Miles continued on. He inputted another code to the keypad beside the capsule, and watched as the door would slowly slide up as a result - and Project Shadow didn't react in the slightest.

It made Miles' job easier - opening up a small box to the side containing two inhibitor rings. Holding them in his hands, he then flicked off a switch next to the box. Any crackles of power across the wires ceased in an instant. The hedgehog took in a gasp of air.

Miles approached close to the hedgehog so that he could put the rings on the hedgehog's wrists. "Such a shame we can't keep you running all the time... it's quite the oversight in your design. I find it very odd that Gerald did not try to find a way that would allow you to utilise your full power without wearing your own body down... inhibitor rings are all well and good but... they're such a waste... preventing you from reaching your true potential..." He was mostly talking to himself, he didn't expect a response from the 'hedgehog' as he was regaining his strength. "Thankfully though, I definitely have found a way to prolong your resistance - or your body wouldn't last as a battery for more than five minutes!"

"Is it not a joy to be able to continue serving the Robotnik family?" Miles then asked.

To the surprise of the fox, Project Shadow managed to choke out a raspy response. "He is a disgrace... to the Robotnik... name." He broke out into an unfortunate fit of coughs. Oh, how far had the Ultimate Life Form fallen? Once a super weapon, now nothing more than a worn out battery. Miles knew that the hedgehog-alien was immortal, but all of the strain the hedgehog had endured definitely looked as if it added on a couple of decades to his face.

"Oh?" Miles questioned his response. "Growing delusional are we?" He shook his head with a sigh. "And here I thought you'd be ecstatic to know that the world was in the hands of a Robotnik. An intelligent bloodline that are the best suited to rule and judge-"

The hedgehog retorted through gritted teeth. "All I've heard coming out of your miserable, gloating mouth... is damn tales of oppression and murder, and you have the gall to ask me why I'm not proud of that?"

"It's necessary, mi amigo." Miles had a condescending tone, as though he were trying to brush off the worries of a small child. "Humanity, mobians... they are savage beasts... did you not learn that when everyone you loved was killed on the ARK?"

Project Shadow growled.

"But now order has been established-"

The alien hybrid practically cackled - Miles had to admit, there was something intimidating about the creature's laugh. "And you think you're better than them? You... Ivo... fueled by your own egos to kill and control as you please. This world needs to end. It's the only way this cycle of violence will stop. As long as you all live... you'll be selfish, fighting each other!" The fox could see the hedgehog trembling. Whether it was anger or the effort it took to yell, he didn't know. "Enjoy your Empire while it lasts Miles - because when I'm free from here - I will put an end to EVERYTHING ON THIS PATHETIC PLANET!"

Miles watched as Shadow tried to regain his breath after raising his voice. The fox's expression was apathetic. "Hm. Well, your threats might have had an affect on me if you weren't in your current predicament." He couldn't help but be smug. "Let me make one thing very clear to you, Project Shadow GRM45672 - you don't decide whether the world should get to live or die. You are nothing more than an object, built by the most intelligent brains in the world to be a tool. The crumb of sentience you have is an after thought - all people want you for is to use your power." Miles' voice became a whisper. "Which is why I suggest you forget your little revenge plot... and learn your place."

If his words had any affect, remarkably the hedgehog didn't show it. He just held his glare. "I suppose that's enough for today. You have more energy to keep you going for some time now..." Miles swiftly removed the rings from the alien hybrid's wrists, and pressed a button to allow the door to slide up again. Miles made sure to do everything quickly, not even giving him a slight chance to start breaking free. He flicked the switch back on and his ears flickered as the hedgehog let out an agonising yell, muffled by the glass. It always seemed to hurt him at first.

In no rush now, the fox placed the rings back in the box and left it on the table there next to the capsule. He heard Project Shadow's screams die down, and now knew the hedgehog was back to work pumping chaos energy throughout the Empire - powering every corner of the land.

Rouge could watch with nothing but pure satisfaction as she watched Sonic falling down towards the acid below. She simply couldn't help smiling, but something made it drop very quickly.

She almost stumbled backwards herself as something gray and fluffy shot through the air below and caught the hedgehog, wrapping his body in a thick mass of fur. Rouge whipped around.

"Tangle?!" The bat gasped. "What are you doing?!"

The girl was on the other end of the platform - her tail having stretched out far to catch the hedgehog. She was recoiling it back in, and when it was back to its orginal size she plopped it on the ground in front of her, pushing through the thick bush of a tail to seemingly get a look at Sonic's wounds. She winced. "I... Look, I couldn't just sit by while I let you kill a potentially innocent man!"

"UGH!" Rouge couldn't have let out a louder exclamation of frustration, giving a face palm. "The evidence is right there! I explained it to you!"

"A-and?! Project Shadow is a fast hedgehog... and Sonic here might have knew your name for seemingly no reason... but we have such limited information on Project Shadow even is! You're going off a quarter page of a document!"

"And he fits close to that description!"

"Who knows how many fast hedgehog's there are out there?! He could have heard your name in passing, you're kind of known around Station Square area! I-I don't know! But murdering him while going off of so little isn't right! What if we're wrong?!" Tangle's voice cracked with desperation, she unfolded her tail slightly so she could bend down and press her ear against the hedgehog's chest. Good, his heart was still beating... a bit fast though.

"What if we're wrong? So what if we're wrong?!" Rouge yelled back. "If we can kill him now - we don't put anyone's safety at risk!"

The room suddenly became very quiet, the bat could hear the quiet, shaky breaths of the lemur somehow - even with the distance between them. "So you're just saying we should kill him... just in case?"

Rouge looked over the lemur twice, three times - to make sure she was serious. "Y-yeah? Pretty much! Took a while for that brain of yours to click." She scoffed.

Tangle's mouth hung agape. "You can't be... serious..." She let out weak, breathy laugh of disbelief. "I'm no philosopher - I never studied ethics - but I think the one thing anyone with a heart should agree on is that- murder is- bad!" She fumbled for the right words. "If he's not Project Shadow... then you would have killed an innocent guy!"

"Oh, give me a break!" Rouge threw her hands up in the air. "He saves you once and suddenly you trust him like your life fucking depends on it!"

Tangle wrapped her tail tighter around the hedgehog. "You can't seriously think I'm wrong because I don't want to kill someone who might be innocent!" Rouge opened her mouth to interject but to her surprise, Tangle wasn't finished.

"I-if you have no empathy... for him - at least think that about how you might actually be trying to kill off a powerful ally if he's true about his intentions! He would be invaluable to you!" The lemur pointed out. The fact she even had to give this reasoning made her stomach churn - how could Rouge not care about what might be a good man's life?

Rouge stared, thinking of the correct way to respond to that. "You're willing to risk it despite knowing what happened to Mighty last time?"

It caused the lemur to shiver, looking down at the hedgehog bundled up in her tail with fear. Rouge fought back a smile, it was nice to see the girl coming back to her senses.

"N-no!" She looked up again, and Rouge frowned. The girl's cheeks were tinted red with fury. "That's a low blow! I'm trying to give this guy, who I believe to be innocent, a fair chance!" It all came off as desperate begging.

Arguing would seriously get her nowhere, huh? How did it come to this? Tangle never usually stood up for herself, and was happy to go along with orders. Rouge decided she wasn't a fan of being questioned - especially when the lemur's stubbornness potentially meant Rouge getting stabbed in her sleep by a hedgehog. "Your... damn funeral." She finally relented. "But if he attacks you, I'm not saving you."

"Fine by me." Tangle said firmly. The lemur stared closely at the bat - noted how her apathetic expression, lacking any sort of smile, matched the icy look that constantly lingered in her eyes.

"Now, I'm getting out of here." Tangle said. "My tail is applying pressure to his wounds - hopefully that should prevent too much blood loss until we can get him to a healer-"

"Tangle?"

"What?"

"It's never too late to change your mind on that decision. Remember that."

Tangle scoffed. "Doubt I will." She narrowed her eyes at the bat. She turned heel and headed out the way she came. Rouge waited for a moment, watching her leave and placing her hands on her hips. Damn her, damn it all - why did Tangle insist on making things far more difficult than they had to be?

Chapter Text

Voices chanting in a disjointed chorus echoed in the green void.

The echidna had never felt so weightless, and if it were an option - he might have chosen to float there forever. The soft green colour palette of his surroundings was gentle on the eyes, and the soft warmth in the air was like a hug - a feeling that Knuckles hadn't experienced since being a young child.

Losing himself to the embrace, he was ready to drift off into a sleep in the midst of this dream, eyes sinking shut - until the voices grew much louder. They were so overpowering in fact that Knuckles suddenly needed to cover his ears with hands. How did something so peaceful take a turn like that so fast?

It was made all the more infuriating by the fact he couldn't even understand them.

White sparks began to suddenly dance and swirl around Knuckles, picking up speed and causing his dreadlocks to flap around wildly. The chanting had seemingly died down, so he slowly lowered his hands and stared as the sparks were now forming shapes - silhouettes not all that different from his own. Echidnas.

His people.

What had he done? What had provoked this? The echidna couldn't believe the sight, the only thing he could compare it to was the day he awakened his guardian powers. But why was he here again?

Instead of floating on his back, he flipped himself upright - and he saw one of them approaching. It was hard to tell, but it appeared to be a young girl, only slightly younger than him. All she was here was a pale, glowing outline.

"Something is wrong." She said in the echidna native tongue.

Knuckles didn't know how to reply, would it be considered rude to ask her to elaborate? How did he properly showcase his respects? In the end, he just decided to apologise. "I am sorry for not knowing."

There wasn't a noticeable response to that. Instead, she spread her arms out, her palms faced upwards as she cast out an image. It showed no echidna, instead - it looked to be what he presumed was the twinkling shape a hedgehog. They appeared to be smiling.

"The passage of time has been disturbed. Even the smallest of changes... can have the most devastating consequences." The girl continued, clasping her hands together in a prayer. "This world is not as it should be. You must find the one."

Perhaps he responded a little too eagerly. "You want me to... find him? Protect him?"

A pause. "Ensure he succeeds."

"Then... I assume you want me to leave the island." The echidna couldn't believe the sentence had passed his lips.

"Do all that you must. This world must survive."

He had so many questions - ensure he succeeds? At what? Was the world seriously at stake here? What was all this about the passage of time? As the area begun to fade to darkness, and the girl began to disappear from his vision - he reached out a hand. "Wait!" He called out.

"You awake?"

Sonic let out a low groan.

"Yes! You are awake!"

As his eyes slowly blinked open, instead of seeing anything normal - he was staring right up into the face of a relieved Tangle... although she was a little too close for comfort.

"Hey... can you... meh-" His brain failed him, but Tangle understood regardless - no longer bending over his bed and face.

"Heh - sorry- Are you uh, you okay?" Tangle spluttered out in slight embarrassment.

"Still.. figuring that out-" Sonic choked out. The back of his leg pulsed, and his stomach was burning - but not at the same severity as before. Speaking of before... what had happened? Why was he here?

He gasped, sitting up - and immediately yelping in pain. That had been a mistake. "Argh-! Rouge- she- She tried to kill me!" The hedgehog yelled out in realisation.

"Yeah..." Tangle rubbed the back of her head.

"Why am I here?!"

"Because I... convinced her not to kill you!" Tangle tried to sound reassuring, but the hedgehog continued to panic.

"What?! Why was she trying to kill me?!"

"Well I- look, she thought you were a spy from the Empire. Still does, actually - but I said to give you another shot!" She grinned. Seeing that have no effect on the hedgehog's mood, she laughed awkwardly. "It's weird, I know - but we heard about a project created by Robotnik's - wait, Eggman's, I said I'd call him Eggman from now on - yes! It was a project created by Eggman's grandfather - Project Shadow. We sort of theorised that Eggman could have reawakened Project Shadow. Then you showed up - being all suspicious since you came out of nowhere with only half your memories, and you kind of fitted pretty close to the description of the Project and... yeah... that's that." Tangle didn't really know how to finish off the explanation.

Sonic's mouth hung slightly open. No matter the damn timeline, he would be mistaken for that faker. He then huffed through his nose. "I'm no project from the Empire - you got that?" Sonic was surprised by his own aggression, but he supposed he at least had a little right to show this side of him - he had just been stabbed after all. "I... why spare me then?"

"Well uh- I thought Rouge was right at first, but then you saved me during that fight with the monster and I don't know - wouldn't a spy have left me to die? It would make their job easier-" She explained, admittedly sounding quite unsure of herself. "You jumped in without hesitation and caught yourself injured in the process - but you still kept more focused on mine and Rouge's wellbeing over your own! I've... never seen something so heroic before. I- I kind of think you're awesome!" She laughed slightly. "So... I saved you. Sorry I wasn't fast enough to save you from getting stabbed in the gut... but I did catch you before you fell into that acid. I talked Rouge down and well - I got you here! In our humble little infirmary!"

Little was the correct word. There was a single medicine cabinet with only six beds total. "What about Rouge?"

"She's uh... well she gave into my demands, but I don't think she feels the same way as me - She'll come around! I'm sure of it!" Tangle said hopefully. "We'll all apologise and move on from this together, aye?"

Sonic stared at her, the two made eye contact. The clock on the wall continued to tick, timing the uncomfortable pause. "I at least want some sort of confirmation she isn't going to try to kill me."

"Right! Right-" Tangle nodded. "I'm sure we can come to an agreement! But please-" He was taken aback by her pleading eyes, looking shiny as though they were ready to water. "Bad first impressions have been well, bad- But, I really don't want to lose you! You're so cool and heroic and powerful - if our little ragtag group is gonna stand a chance against that doctor - you would be such a big help!" She was begging him at this point, grabbing his hand despite the blanket on top. "Don't let her scare you away! Rouge is okay and all but she's more likely to pick her own battles than work as a cohesive unit, you know? You'd be such a good help-"

"Tangle-" Sonic sighed, the lemur's words were now blending into one. "Could you give me... just five minutes?" He asked tiredly.

"Y-yes. Yes, I can." Tangle let out a breath to calm down, standing up. Turning around, she paused as Sonic called out to her.

"Hold on! Could you... grab that?" He pointed to his jacket, which had been hung up beside the bed.

"Huh?" Tangle blinked at the jacket. "Oh, sure!" She smiled as she passed it to him. Her expression softened into something more mellow. "I... know you probably just want me to leave but- just to explain, we had a spy in our midst before in our old base. One of our own was killed as a result. So Rouge jumped the gun and tried to take you out before anything like that could happen again, you know? Maybe that helps you... understand any better."

Another reminder of how awful this timeline was. "I see." Sonic said.

"The loss of Mighty has haunted us all since. Rouge especially, I imagine. Although she never really shows it."

"Mighty?"

"Huh?"

It had been so long since he had seen that guy last. They had broken out of Eggman Island along with Ray... and he'd heard the guy had some involvement with the Chaotix? His heart felt squeezed and his chest noticeably heavy - a guy he had worked with once, a nice guy - was dead.

"You okay, Sonic?"

He didn't realise he was tightly clinging onto the jacket in his hands. "Yeah... thought I just- recognised the name, is all."

"Ah. I see... If you did know him, I'm sorry we couldn't do anything for him..." Her eyes were crestfallen. "The Chaotix Mercenary Group sent one of their members, Espio, into our team with the goal of killing Rouge and disbanding everyone. Instead he managed to kill Mighty before Rouge took his eye out and he retreated... as a result though, we had to change the location of our base to here - which hasn't been too bad really." While she tried to be optimistic at the end, nothing could change the tone of the grim news she had informed Sonic of.

Espio killed Mighty. Espio... his friend. The Chaotix... mercenaries. Why were all of his friends damn murderers? Why was Tangle, a girl he'd never met before, somehow nicer than everyone he actually knew?! The hedgehog didn't realise quite how hard he was biting his lip. "Sorry for your loss. Now, could you please give me some time."

"Oh, yes! Sorry-!" Tangle quickly apologised, turning heel and practically dashing out of the room to give Sonic space.

Now alone, the hedgehog rolled himself over on his stomach, ignoring the pain for now. Taking in a large breath, he then realised a roaring scream, one that came from the bottom of his chest - but allowing it all to get muffled by the pillow. He needed to let his frustrations out somehow, and once satisfied - he rolled onto his back again and grabbed the jacket. After some shuffling around, he opened the right pocket and found what he was looking for.

An envelope. "Do not open at the party" written on it, aggressively underlined.

Well, it certainly wasn't a party now. He tore the envelope open and wasted no time in fishing out the letter and reading its contents.

Dear Sonic the Hedgehog,

Happy birthday. Materialistic gifts don't exactly express what I want to say to you, and I have never been particularly good with spoken words - so I hope you take the time to read this letter instead. We have fought many times, yet work so well when we're together. It has been an honour to fight alongside you and your friends in many battles.

They have taught me so much. You, specifically, have taught me a lot. You have shown me how to live life to its fullest and see the bright side of the world - it's because of you and your little squad, as well as my own dear friends, that I have been able to move on past my grief and use my power to protect others.

Most importantly, you taught me to never give up. Not on the people around me, not on myself. You have always been there to challenge me - whether it is to oppose me on my ideals or in combat. By fighting you, by being with you - I have pushed myself to new heights. We have gotten stronger since our first bout and we'll only get stronger still.

I believe it is my duty as the Ultimate Lifeform to surpass you. To fulfil my promise to Maria, I need to make sure I'm stronger than you so I'm working constantly at my very best to save the world and its inhabitants. I'm not going to stand for second best. I will be the hero she wants me to be, the hero that I want to be.

I'm never going to give up, I'm never going to stop fighting, so all I ask from you is that you do the same. We will push each other to new limits and ensure we are the best protectors we ever can be. It's our duty.

Thank you, Sonic. Truly, I am indebted to you.

Sonic couldn't help but smile at Shadow's signature at the bottom. What a dork he was, thanking him like that because he'd be too embarrassed to do it face to face. It was a letter that was very Shadow - spoken from the guy's heart.

Rouge's murder attempt had definitely been a blow to his confidence and pride, but this letter was quickly reminding him what this was all for. There was no time to get petty - what he needed to do was save the day and bring his timeline back - whatever it took.

Just like Shadow, he wouldn't give up. Perhaps Shadow didn't realise that the inspiring went both ways.

Another piece of paper poked out from beneath, and Sonic gasped as he pulled it closer to his face. It was a diagram, while the notes beside it were unintelligible... the picture was as clear as day.

It was a diagram of the monster that had attacked his birthday party.

What? How did Shadow know about this? Flipping it over - there was more of Shadow's handwriting to read.

Hence why I told you to wait until after the party. I fear this would bring the mood down or something. I located this in the doctor's base, he's plotting something with this creature - something to do with time, based on the calculations. However, the notes explicitly state that the emeralds are a counter. We need to work to gather them as soon as possible. My team will be on the search soon.

While Sonic had guessed as much, it did feel good to have confirmation. Sonic wondered if Shadow hadn't waited to put this information in a damn letter, would Sonic have been able to prevent this in the first place? He supposed not, Shadow wouldn't keep a discovery like that hidden for unnecessarily long - there wouldn't have been enough time anyway.

His smile slowly etched on his face again. That hedgehog certainly had some funny ways, but he had managed to reassure him in more ways than one.

"Deary me," Miles tutted as he shook his head. "Quite a lot of trouble has been plaguing you here." He stirred his spoon around his tea cup, scraping it against the bottom.

The fox had the luxury of sitting on the couch, her couch, might she add - but Amy had to show proper formality by standing, back straight and hands behind her back. "I will swiftly deal with the troublemakers." She assured him.

"Is that so?" Miles questioned, smirking over the rim of his tea cup. "First the attempted factory liberation... then the stolen power limiters... they seem to be quite good at evading you."

"I have made sure that the robots are keeping their eyes out." She couldn't let him see her fear.

"You think you'll make any progress with a few Egg Pawns on the case?" He raised an eyebrow. "I don't think so. Exactly why I have brought you something that will be of... more use. Outside your home are currently two mechs of my own design - they'll be your personal bodyguard and absolute fighting machines - they'll take out any nuisances in your way.

Now it was pointed out to her, she did notice how her window had now been blocked by a large chunk of metal - presumably part of one of these mechs. "Our Egg Bosses are made up of the very elite of all of us. You have one week to take care of that bat and this blue hedgehog you speak of. I can imagine you know what the consequences are."

Amy nodded slowly, hoping he didn't notice her trembling.

"Splendid!" Miles placed his cup back down on the coffee table, and then clasped his hands together as he stood. "Lovely tea - I enjoy a good mint brew." He admitted. "I have complete faith in you - you have proven yourself capable so far. I'm sure this is just... a bump in the road for you, is it not?"

Amy couldn't make eye contact, her head hung slightly low. "They will be killed, Professor Miles."

"Good." The young fox smiled.

"How have we never been here before?" Vector asked, in awe at the ruins and the greenery of the vines that were entangled in the midst of the old stone. "It's a perfect hideout spot for any rebel! No wonder the energy signatures led us here."

"I find it odd that Robotnik has left this place untouched, when everything else has been practically converted into a machine." Espio added.

"No kidding! Now if I were a secret rebel group, I'd be... well they have to be underground, right? The surface is far too obvious." Vector concluded. "They must have made some sort of entry way for themselves that we can find. Fang, Bean, Bark - spreading out and looking for anything suspicious is the fastest way to work here."

"Oi!" The purple weasel glared. "You don't order my team about, alright? That's my job."

With the snarl edging Fang's tone, Vector knew it was best not to argue. "Right..."

"Come on, surely it doesn't cost that much to apologise!" Tangle was begging with the bat at this point.

"And I'm telling you, I'm not going to apologise for trying to protect myself and everyone else!" Rouge huffed. "Especially when this guy does turn out to be from the Empire, and you end up being proven wrong-"

"Ugggggh." Tangle groaned into her hands. "How can you be so stubborn?"

"And when will you learn that just because a guy saved you once - that doesn't automatically make him trustworthy! I swear, if this is because you have some kind of crush or something-"

"I'm gay! I told you this! Don't play that card! I wanna know when you'll learn that you can't just kill people based on limited evidence-!"

"I let him live, didn't I? I don't need to apologise as well! I'm sure he can get on with his life without me saying sorry!"

"Well, I don't want any hostility here! If we can all just get along and be friends then we can work towards taking down the Empire once and for all - in a proper rebellion!" She had switched from arguing to a much more triumphant declaration.

Rouge face palmed. "When will you learn...?"

She gasped. Gunshots rung out from a few rooms down. Blood-curdling screams filled the halls.

"NO!" Tangle exclaimed, rushing out of the doorway towards the noise.

"Tangle! Stay back!" Rouge called after her, but it was too late. All Rouge could do was follow.

"They ain't in their dining room or whatever this shithole is supposed to be." Fang spoke into his communicator, before being interrupted by something heavy slamming into his back. "ARGH-!" He let out, soaring over the crate tables and falling right into the serving counter with a crash.

He shook his head to fight off the dizziness, facing the entry way to find who had dared attack him. It was the target - the white bat. The weasel narrowed his eyes. "Shame I gotta kill a pretty face like yours, but that's the job." He began to take aim.

"Funny." Rouge smiled sarcastically, showing her fangs. "I have no problem KILLING YOUR UGLY MUG!" She charged forward, enraged. He fired a bullet that Rouge had to flip to the side to avoid, but nothing could stop her pursuit. She ducked underneath his second shot, kneeing him in the stomach and sending him flying up towards the ceiling.

She wasn't done yet as she flew up - in the midst of the air, she swung her leg back and kicked him again - this time sending him back down towards the ground. She heard a bone crack as he screamed and made contact with the floor, his gun flying out of his hand.

She landed down again, walking over and tightly gripping him on the ear, pulling his limp body up to her face. "How did you find us?"

He coughed and spluttered. "You aren't as well hidden as you think you are, it was easy to figure out that door. We had energy trackers too - some people have definitely been using their powers around these parts. We just had to do a little investigating." Despite the pain he was in, he cackled. "There's more than me here you gotta worry about, you damn bitch."

Rouge gritted her teeth, ready to knock the weasel out before something sharp impaled her back. "GAH-!" She screeched, the pain shooting through her veins, but she found just enough strength to whip around and face her attacker.

"Don't tell me you've gotten sloppy." The purple chameleon remarked, glaring intensely into her eyes.

Here she was, face to face with the bastard that had snuck into her base before, the same man that had killed Mighty. She wanted nothing more than to break every bone in his body for tricking her those months ago, rage bubbling just beneath her skin. She caught one sight of his eyepatch and giggled. He deserved it.

"How's life been without depth perception?" She asked.

Rouge watched as fury ignited in the chameleon's eye, he pulled out a shuriken and threw it towards her, and a quick glimpse out of the corner of her eye behind her told her that Fang had located his gun and was about to shoot her back. She had no choice but to fly up to dodge both, but Fang seemed to have predicted this move as he aimed his bullet high - but not high enough to reach how far she flew up.

"Come on, come on - we can't dawdle. Children and elders first, easy easy-" Tangle tried her best to soothe the crying children and confused elders and seeing them out of the entrance, but boy was it hard to be the calm one when it felt like her heart was about to pound out of her chest.

"Mama... I hate this, mama-" Vanilla hugged her daughter close to her as they made their way towards the exit. "Everything will be okay." Vanilla told her, hushing her gently.

The lemur was definitely concerned - they were being left alone for the most part, that meant the attackers had their sights set on something else. Or rather, other people. "Keep going guys!" She called out to the group. Rouge could handle herself, Sonic at this moment in time - could not.

She needed to help him!

"So... you're the one that's caused all this hassle for Amy huh?" Vector questioned the hedgehog. The crocodile was seemingly a bit unimpressed at the fact that the hedgehog was clearly weak and just sitting in bed - he didn't seem much of a challenge. "You're looking tired and frail - I don't like killing defenceless targets."

"You're not a killer." Despite being in a very vulnerable position, he responded calmly.

"I don't take joy in murder I'll admit. But it's what puts food on the table."

It was always about money.

"SONIC!" The hedgehog was startled when he saw Vector running straight towards him.

"Woah, woah- everything alright? ACK-" His legs were lifted up from the ground as Vector pulled him into a hug.

"What's the deal, man? Pulling a stunt like that?" Vector asked as he set the hedgehog back down again, his smile couldn't be larger.

"Hm-? Oh you mean the- heh." Sonic grinned. "It was nothing."

"NOTHING?! Kid, you promoted us on live TV! The agency is gonna get so many new clients! You don't know how much this means to me, man - we're going to comfortably be able to pay our bills - we might even earn enough for a bigger office! You've changed our lives, Sonic. So on behalf on the Chaotix - I wanna say thank you."

"I know you guys work hard, and you never give up on a case. You guys deserve it!" Sonic gave a thumbs up. "Let me know if you ever need my help too."

"You're the best, kiddo. The actual best."

Despite the pain his injuries caused him, Sonic had no choice but to bring himself to stand. "Right, kill me then."

With Vector running towards him with no weapons on hand, he could only assume Vector's method of killing was going to be a brutal beatdown. Thankfully, Vector was slow - and even in his weaker state, Sonic was able to dash to the side and try to kick him with his good leg.

Unfortunately, Vector grabbed hold of it - throwing Sonic against the wall, leaving crack in it. Sonic coughed, landing to the ground on his knees, his legs too shaky and weak to stand. The crocodile was advancing, and Sonic was about as good as helpless.

Suddenly, something warm and fluffy wrapped around him - and he was pulled off the ground and bundled in a massive clump of fur. It was Tangle! "Hanging in there?!" Tangle called back at the hedgehog that was bundled in her tail that flapped behind her.

"Just about-" Sonic admitted with exhaustion, but he fought to keep a smile on his face. Tangle was sprinting as fast as she could down the hall, but passing the dining area - her tail grew even longer as she also picked up a bat.

Rouge however, wasn't all that grateful. "I almost had him!" She snapped to Tangle.

"You were in a 2v1 and I don't like those odds!" The lemur replied in a mad dash towards the entrance to meet up with everyone else. "Who have we got pursuing us?" Tangle asked.

"Espio and that weasel guy might be able to - but they'll go down quickly." Rouge grumbled.

"Vector is still there." Sonic pointed out.

"So three of them... hoo boy-" Tangle panted, but finally she emerged into the light of day. The door hadn't just been opened, it had been entirely broken down. Sonic wondered if it was the doing of Vector's strength.

When they emerged out into the ruins, Sonic was confused. "Where is everyone else?"

"We've rehearsed the escape route before - they've gotten out of the WAY-!" Tangle leaped to the side just in time to avoid the small bomb that exploded when it met the ground.

"Oopsie- It wasn't your fault George, it was my bad aim!" A green duck assured the... bomb... that had already exploded. Wait, was that Bean the Dynamite?! Now that was a face that Sonic hadn't seen in a long time. Did that mean the rest of the hooligans-

Tangle had to roll to avoid the chunk of stone that was lobbied towards her by none other than Bark the Polar Bear, the silent giant. Tangle had to set down Rouge and Sonic on the ground, otherwise she would never be able to attack without them getting hurt too.

"Sonic... stick close to us." The lemur told the injured hedgehog.

Sonic hated feeling so useless. He watched as the two girls stepped in front of him, like a protective barrier.

All of the 'mercenaries' had emerged outside and were now facing down the heroes. Vector, Espio, Fang, Bean, and Bark got themselves into a line formation. "Listen lemur, you aren't a part of this! All we're here to do is kill Rouge and the blue kid! You've still got time to run!"

Tangle scoffed in disgust. "Do you take me for a coward?! I am not abandoning my friends!"

"Your funeral." Espio remarked coldly.

"Fighting 'til the end, suppose I can respect that." Fang shrugged, pointing his gun at the trio. Espio was poised and ready to throw several shurikens, and Bean was ready with a bomb in each hand.

The trio of heroes got ready in their battle stances, ready to dodge the barrage about to come their way.

Before Fang could pull the trigger, he dropped his gun.

Espio's shurikens fell to the floor.

Beans bomb's slipped out of his hands, yet to be ignited.

All five of the mercenaries dropped to the ground, on their knees. Sonic flinched as they began to roar and wail, but even more strangely - Sonic could see the shape of veins glowing a bright green on their skin, almost as if their veins were actually being lit up from the inside and burning them from within.

"WHAT- ARGH- IS THIS?!" Vector screamed.

"It.. burns-" Espio choked out, collapsing to his side.

"Leave. him. alone."

All three heroes turned to look behind them, and Sonic lost all of his breath in an instant. Eyes widening, he struggled to absorb the sight. The echidna before him was undoubtedly Knuckles, wasn't it? Yet he was so different.

He adorned actual clothing for one, a majestic white toga - with a gold belt around his waist decorated with various jewels. The edges of the toga were decorated in intricate patterns that Sonic couldn't quite make out from the distance. Knuckles also had several golden necklaces and a gold headpiece that dangled and shimmered beautifully over his dreads. Speaking of his dreads, Sonic noticed how Knuckles had white striped markings all over them.

It was all as though he was some sort of deity. Sonic would have once said this look didn't suit him at all and yet - Knuckles even seemed taller, more divine. His hand was outstretched and his eyes glowed an emerald green.

Knuckles was the one hurting the mercenaries.

"Make it- STOP-!" Fang screeched.

"I hereby order you to retreat, and leave the hedgehog alone." Knuckles kept glaring at the five of them. Sonic's mouth was hung open in awe. "I will free you only if you follow my command."

"WE WILL! WE WILL!" Vector howled. Sonic hated hearing his friends in anguish, hell - he didn't like the hooligans but even hearing them scream like that made him shudder. Knuckles lowered his hand, and his eyes returned to his usual shade of purple. The trio heaved a sigh of relief and the villains gasped for air, laying on the ground helplessly for a moment to recover.

Knuckles' gaze was cold as he looked down upon them. "I suggest you get moving."

The five scrambled to their feet, ignoring the pain it caused them. "Let's - let's get out of here! That guy's a freak!" Fang gasped, as all of them ran as fast as they could, fleeing away into the jungle.

The echidna released a small sigh once they had disappeared from sight, and looked back at the three heroes who were all gawking at him. "You." He stepped forward so that he was in front of the hedgehog, addressing him directly. "What's your name?"

"... Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog."

Chapter Text

What's your name?"

"... Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog."

Folding his arms, the echidna takes a brief moment to observe the one before him. He matched the outline he was shown, definitely. Yet he somehow managed to look both plain and impressive at the same time. There were no special markings on his body, just a blue hedgehog with ordinary green eyes. Even still, Knuckles noticed the well-toned and slightly muscular body he had - nothing comparable to him of course, but it showed that this 'Sonic' was quite physically capable.

What fascinated the echidna most was the spark alight in his eyes - filled with passion and energy. Sonic stood tall and determined despite the large wounds he had across his body. He possessed a fighter's will.

"You are injured." Knuckles spoke. "Allow me to heal you."

"Uh-" The echidna didn't really give him the chance to object, after all - he had been tasked to ensure the hedgehog's success in... whatever he was supposed to be doing, so he couldn't exactly afford to let those injuries get any worse. Knuckles held up his hand slowly again - and a soft, pale green glow surrounded the hedgehog's leg and stomach gashes. Sonic witnessed the scabs and dried blood disappear as if they had never been there in the first place, getting patched up with good as new healthy skin and fur.

"Th-thanks-" Sonic stuttered out in amazement - only just now realising the echidna's eyes had turned a shining green again before he de-activated the healing again. This wasn't the first time Sonic had ever seen Knuckles heal himself - he had seen it the first time around when Emerl had been re-awakened. But even then, Knuckles could only ever really heal smaller wounds that were on himself - something to do with the Master Emerald, if he recalled correctly.

Here, Knuckles had effortlessly healed Sonic's larger stab gashes with what was practically a wave of his hand.

The sound of Knuckles' voice brought Sonic back out of his thoughts. "I come to your aid in response from Angel Island to a call made from The Master Emerald itself." He explained, stepping closer to the trio. In response, Rouge and Tangle stepped backwards with wide eyes - Sonic realised they were probably intimidated.

They'd soon learn Knuckles was probably the least intimidating to person to exist. He was a dork through and through - gullible in the ways of the world below, and so easy to make flustered. It took great restraint not to tease Knuckles for his outfit and his power showcasing - but even Sonic recognised that he couldn't do things like that until they had become friends again.

"Call from The Master Emerald, eh?" Sonic couldn't help but grin. "It told you to come look after me?"

Knuckles' gaze narrowed. It sounded like very slight mockery coming from the blue one. A chosen one should be taking things more seriously, shouldn't he? Perhaps he was unaware of his grand destiny. He cleared his throat and pointed at the hedgehog. "Listen close!" Knuckles announced, his voice booming across the ruins. "You are destined to be a crucial piece among the passage of time-! and-! Ugh-" The three watched as Knuckles face palmed. "I can't take myself seriously... sorry..." He groaned into his hand.

There was the Knuckles he knew. The guy was never one for fancy flair, always straight to the point. Sonic smiled as Knuckles continued. "Look, I've just been told to make sure you succeed at... something. I wasn't even told that much-" He admitted, embarrassed as he lifted his hand down and his head up again.

"You're here to help me save the world." Sonic concluded, unable to hide his excitement with the way he was beaming - holding his hand out for a shake for them to seal the deal. "I can already tell we're gonna work well together."

Knuckles raised a brow, staring at Sonic's hand in silence for a few drawn out seconds.

"Is... your hand okay?"

"Huh? O-oh yeah! Haha..." It was Sonic's time to feel embarrassed now, forgetting that Knuckles wasn't used to mobian customs - or people and conversations in general to be frank. "Don't worry about it-" He'd explain it to him later.

Knuckles gave him a brief questioning glance before both of their attentions turned to Tangle. Her voice was squeaky with nerves as she focused on Knuckles. almost as though she was ready to tear up. "H-hi, God - Um, sorry to intrude I really don't mean to be rude or disrespectful to you- but I was wondering if maybe you'd come with when I check up on the other people that might have injuries- and do your healing stuff-"

Tangle then dramatically bowed, so far in fact her head somehow managed to touch the ground. " I'm sorry for asking please don't kill me-!"

Startled, the echidna immediately sought to calm her down. "Uuuuuh, I'm not- I'm not a God, alright-?"

"Sorry for assuming-!" Tangle gasped, Knuckles' display of power had apparently freaked her out to a significant degree. "B-but my question still stands-"

To the hedgehog's surprise, Knuckles turned to him expectedly. Sonic met his eyes with a confused expression before it dawned on him - Knuckles was waiting on Sonic's permission to assist like Tangle had asked him too. How strange... Sonic wasn't used to this, Knuckles was usually the one challenging his authority more than anything. Sonic preferred that from Knuckles - so he hoped this wasn't about to become a pattern.

Sonic nodded. "Let's help the others. Lead the way, Tangle."

The route was awkward to navigate, especially when they had to shove their way through prickly bushes - getting in each other's way. Tangle was especially clumsy, tripping over Sonic's foot once and getting wacked in the face with a vine - despite supposedly being the one that had worked out this route in the first place.

"Here!" Tangle announced, breathless by the time they finally reached their destination. The lemur spread apart a large bush and lead them to a small clearing - filled with a crowd of wailing children and frightened adults. Vanilla stood in the middle of it all, trying to calm down the situation and get everyone to just take a moment to sit down - but her gentle voice wasn't loud enough to be heard.

"We're here!" Tangle called out to everyone, the noise ceased for the most part - aside from the tears of young children. "Are we all okay? Line up here if there are any injuries-" She pointed out to make a line in front of a small tree - thankfully nothing appeared to be serious among them.

They slowly shuffled into said line and Sonic made a glance at Knuckles - the echidna had been silently observing with an uncomfortable expression, unsure of what to do with himself. Sonic understood why, everyone was glaring with suspicion at him. However, Knuckles seemingly knew what to do when faced with the injured group - one by one going through and healing their various wounds. Knuckles at several different points had opened his mouth, then shut it again as words alluded him - feeling as if he didn't have the right to speak up.

Grief was there to stay and linger in the air like a heavy storm cloud over the loss of their base, but people began to bunch together and whisper in each other's ears - shifting their gaze back towards the mysterious red warrior.

"Excuse me-" A small girl, voice barely above a whisper, sought to get Knuckles' attention.

That girl was Cream.

Sonic had caught glimpses of a face he thought had been Cream several time around places like the dining hall, but here she was - frightened and frail, as though a small gust of wind would be enough to blow her down. Sonic felt the sudden urge to bend down and hug her - to shelter her from the world's evil, but it was far too late now.

"Who are you?"

With a start, Sonic realised Knuckles hadn't even said his name yet.

"Knuckles... Guardian of the Master Emerald." He replied slowly, but Sonic noticed the way he softened his voice when speaking to the young girl.

That last part meant nothing to her, so she blinked slowly before asking the question that everyone else had on their minds. "Mr... Knuckles, what species are you?"

The clearing fell silent.

"Echidna."

What were previously whispers turned into full-blown conversations that Sonic could easily pick up pieces of.

"How's that possible?!"

"Echidnas are extinct! They've been so for ages!"

"But that healing power - my injuries are gone! That's straight up divine power!"

"I thought they were just a myth!"

Wide-eyed, Knuckles was overseeing a crowd that didn't even believe in his existence. Rouge was pursing her lips and Tangle desperately wondered for a way to calm everyone down - but she didn't have any answers to provide them with.

Finding a small rock that allowed to stand just a few inches taller than the average mobian, he called out across the survivors. "Hi! Hey! Helloooo!" Sonic made sure to be loud so that all eyes would end up on him.

He cleared his throat once he got the silence he needed. "So! I understand we're not all that familiar with each other- so uh, hi - I'm Sonic the Hedgehog. Right now we've all gotta get on the same page. The base is now compromised and we've gotta relocate - quickly."

Briefly, Sonic looked back at the other three. Tangle was giving Sonic an encouraging thumbs up for addressing and taking charge of the crowd. Knuckles frankly looked pretty relieved not to be in the spotlight anymore. Rouge's expression was unreadable.

No stranger to being the one giving motivational and often times corny speeches - Sonic felt surprisingly in his element, for perhaps the first time since he had entered this new timeline. "Ultimately, this is but a small hurdle in the road we're about to embark on. We're no longer going to be the victims hiding away from the Empire. We're turning from the prey to tbe predator! It's about time we turn the tables on them and start dealing some damage!" Sonic pounded his fists together with a grin.

"We can't afford to stand for his tyranny any longer! It's about time we start saving lives, we can't wait any longer! Now, I hear your doubts - the Empire feels like too big of a threat to take on, you're worried about losing..." Sonic then pointed to Knuckles. "But is this man not evidence that miracles can happen?! More myths and legends are real than you realise... and now we've got people like Knux on our side - which means we have the tools we need to succeed. We've gotta start making our own miracles, and reclaim our freedom from Egg-!"

Yes, Eggman.

"- Eggman! Yeah that's right, wanna know why I call him Eggman? Because he looks like an egg! And he's stupid like one too! And he smells like a rotten one! Are we gonna let a guy like that take away our lives?! I don't think so!" Sonic breathed in, getting a bit carried away. "It's time to save the world!"

Crickets chirped.

"WOOOOOO!" The lemur cheered and clapped, ever supportive. "He may have raided our base... BUT NOW WE'RE GOING TO LEAD A REVOLUTION!" She pumped the air with her fist.

The speeches were far from elegant or well confirmed - but delivered with enough energy, the crowd found themselves ignited with a feeling they had thought had long since left them - hope.

"Revolution!" Sonic saw someone call out.

"Revolution!" Another yelled.

"REVOLUTION! REVOLUTION! REVOLUTION!" A chant had started to erupt, everyone fist pumping the air - Sonic and Tangle made sure to include themselves, perhaps yelling louder than everyone else.

Knuckles watched with a lot of amazement, but he was missing a lot of the context. Rouge was apparently too cool for the morale boosting so stayed silent with her hand on her hip.

The chorus would eventually die down as people needed a chance to catch their breath. Invigorated, Sonic pointed to the echidna. "So Knuckles - you're from Angel Island you say? Is it free for us to use as a base?"

Knuckles' shoulders tensed. "... If you wish it so."

He had to admit, having chosen one status was helpful - he'd abuse it this once. If there were any other circumstance Knuckles would refuse to let this many people on his island - only if there were absolutely no other alternatives, and even then he'd still be stubborn.

"Thanks!" Sonic gave a thumbs up. "That takes care of that! Now we've gotta figure out how to get up there-!"

"I can... warp you?"

"Huh?" Sonic tilted his head. "All of us?"

"Yeah-?"

"Oh, well then." Sonic couldn't help but be impressed. Not even Shadow could pull of a teleportation of a crowd this size. "Lead us away!" He gave a final thumbs up.

Angel Island deserved its name. Tangle had to pinch herself several times to make sure she hadn't somehow landed herself in the afterlife. Every inch was covered in the most beautiful nature and flora. The birds tweeting was music to her ears, the breeze caressed her fur, and the sun hugged her with its warmth.

Beautiful yet almost haunting - she noticed how the evening sky was so clear - not a hint of the pollution and smog that filled the air everywhere else, not even the distance. She wondered how that was even possible, it was like the island was being protected from the toxic world below.

"I have one rule."

Tangle stopped in her tracks when Knuckles spoke in a chilling voice. "Do not touch the Master Emerald."

Noted.

Finally tearing her eyes away from the sky - she realised what had prompted Knuckles' words. They were walking up a flight of stone stairs that were far too long, but they led to something glowing green at the top - and she could take a good guess as to what it was.

Approaching closer and closer, the group found themselves suddenly halted by the echidna. Their view of the emerald was clear now, and what a majestic presence it was. Tangle almost felt the need to bow in front of it. Its radiance and size was incomparable to anything she had ever seen before. She took a moment to check out everyone else - their eyes were filled with starry awe and jaws were just about ready to drop to the floor.

Then there was Sonic - there was something about the way he smiled that she couldn't put her finger on. It was... a knowing smile, that's all she could really describe it as. His eyes held a certain degree of amusement in them - and depth... she couldn't put her finger on it but it was almost like... he simply knew things, knew how they were going to play out - so he could sit back and watch expectedly as things fell into place.

Maybe he did know a lot - maybe that's why Knuckles had been sent to find him, maybe that's what made him the chosen one - destined to be a crucial piece in the passage of time as Knuckles had said.

Well, there was certainly something special about him. She liked him, whether he was an omnipotent chosen one or not - there was something vulnerable and honest about him - what you saw was what you got, a guy with a good heart. She knew him to be good, his selfless actions so far had cemented it as such.

"No one takes a step past this... step." Knuckles pointed below her feet to the step she was standing on. It was a fair distance away from the top of the shrine and the emerald, but enough to get a clear view of the thing. "The Master Emerald can be observed from afar, but not beyond this point. So it should go without saying that NO ONE should touch it."

She nodded and smiled. "Understood!" Wow, he sounded quite fierce about that emerald...

She couldn't help but be curious, looking towards the direction of the bat she had known the longest.

Rouge looked like she had just fallen in love.

Tangle knew she had previously been a jewel thief, and she could only imagine how something like the Master Emerald was to her.

"Walked us all the way up here to tell us that, Knuckles?" Sonic asked the echidna with a smirk.

"... It was important." He replied.

Everyone groaned when they realised they would have to walk down the long flight of stairs they had just spent going up, but begrudgingly turned away to head back down. All except one however - Rouge. If a bomb had gone off, she probably wouldn't have noticed since she was so transfixed.

Tangle smiled and began to pull Rouge back towards the crowd with her tail. "Come oooon,"

Rouge extended her arms out in a futile effort towards the Master Emerald. "My baby-" She squeaked out, but soon accepted her fate of getting dragged by Tangle's tail.

It would be weird starting from the ground up, Knuckles had put these boundaries in place when they had first met and the dust had settled after their initial scuffle. Of course, as the two friends grew closer - he also found himself able to get closer to the emerald without having Knuckles chew him out.

Ah well, he had earned his trust before - he could do it again.

Sonic had to stifle back a snort of laughter when he saw Rouge gawking at the emerald - the more things changed, the more they stayed the same.

Knuckles himself lived in a small hut off to the side of the shrine - not that he was exactly in there often, he'd much rather be beside his emerald as much as possible. But it was there for those dark and stormy nights. It was nestled in with a bunch of old hunts and odd ruins pieces - remnants of the echidnas who had lived there once before. What was once was likely a village had now been turned into a rundown camp.

Luckily for them though, that was more than enough.

Everyone was sat around the fire that Knuckles had made in the centre of the camp, huddled together as the evening sky was gradually becoming darker and the air grew chillier. Knuckles had been a good host so far, but was very quiet. Sonic couldn't help but feel Knuckles even seemed a little scared of everyone around him - he supposed the extra years he spent isolation was more time his social skills had to dwindle - but it felt so odd to see Knuckles... unsure of himself.

The echidna had gone to get food for everyone, and this time - Sonic had allowed him to go alone, recognising he probably needed the space. Sonic himself stood away from everyone, needing some time to think about where to go from here. Getting to Angel Island had been his target... where to go from here? Could he reset the timeline with the Master Emerald? If Knuckles allowed it?

Sonic almost jumped out of his skin when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

Rouge was there, standing behind him with a mild glare. She wasn't going to attack him again was she-?

"You knew, didn't you?" She glared at him - not with anger, but it was definitely intense.

"What do you mean?" Sonic asked.

"About Knuckles. Is that why you wanted to come here so badly?"

Oh. How to answer this...

"I told you about the Master Emerald, didn't I? Now you've seen with your own eyes it's real . I knew about the guardian, I didn't know he was looking for me."

"Cut the crap with the faltering memory stuff, alright? How do you know these things?"

"I believe in myths and legends."

That got a scoff from the bat. "If you're going to lie to me and withhold information - fine. But I'm telling you right now, whatever secrets you're hiding won't stay secrets. I'll get the answers I want whether you like it or not."

Sonic sighed. "Do you still think I'm some kind of villain?"

She looked off to the side. "... No. Not anymore. I mean, you're literally the chosen one - whatever the red guy said."

"You're not suspicious of him like you were me?"

"I'm suspicious of everyone." She admitted bluntly. "But at least I can tell he is who he says he is, his powers showed that quite plainly... but you - you're hiding something."

He hated how astute the bat always was. Sonic thought about it then though, now that Knuckles had arrived and announced that Sonic was indeed special, so special in fact that the Master Emerald had sent Knuckles to retrieve him... maybe they would be much more likely to believe that he could be from another timeline. Yes... he'd give it a few days, once Tangle and Rouge had processed things like the emeralds and chaos energy, maybe then he could explain and they would understand.

For now though, he'd keep his secrets.

"Aren't we all?" Sonic smiled, he thought he'd play around - add some mystique if he was going to be telling the truth soon any way.

She didn't seem to take any notice. "Why do you need these... Chaos Emeralds?"

"They've got the power to end the Empire." He told her straight.

"Is the Master Emerald not good enough on its own?"

Jeeze, so many questions he didn't know how to answer. "I'm not sure."

Rouge rubbed the bottom of her chin. "Hm... don't you think you'd better find out? If we can just use the Master Emerald's power, saves us looking for these other emeralds."

Was she... talking strategy with him? Well, that wasn't unwelcome...

"Yeah, I guess it's worth it. I'll talk to Knuckles about it once everything has settled down."

"He seems quite protective of it... I'm worried he won't let us use it..." She admitted. "Although what are you exactly planning to do with the emerald?"

"Another one of my secrets."

Rouge pouted, then sighed. "Well, chosen one or whatever you're supposed to be - I have no choice but to believe you know what you're doing." She said. "If Knuckles is your main obstacle standing in the way of getting in the emerald - we'll probably have to kill him. He's a very dangerous target but I do have a few methods-" Rouge cut herself off as she saw Sonic staring at her with the widest eyes known to man.

"Girl... can you cool it with the murder stuff?" He asked incredulously.

Rouge looked unimpressed. "Grow up. You aren't a child, sometimes it's necessary."

"Very damn rarely-" Sonic couldn't believe Rouge, and he would have chastised her further if not for-

"Hi, hi!" The two were interrupted by an energetic lemur bounding over to them. "Don't you two wanna be near the fire? The night is a-coming and the cold is a-chillin!"

"Heh, guess I should."

Rouge shrugged. "Suppose I wouldn't mind."

Tangle stung her tongue out at Rouge. "It's definitely better than trying to stab the chosen one again." She said cheekily.

"Shut up-"

The three of them then faced a bush as it rustled and out popped the red echidna, hauling a large basket filled to the brim with vegetables and fruit. He didn't say a word, instead opting to slip past everyone as quickly as he could and getting into one of the huts to start cooking.

"He's quite shy, huh?" Tangle commented with a soft smile. "I suppose I would be too if I lived on my own up here for... oh wow, he must have been alone for a long time-" Her eyes became filled with pity.

Imagining Knuckles alone for years on end... knowing nothing but isolation, made a surprising anger stir up within him. He understood the Master Emerald's importance, he really did - but also stripped Knuckles of his autonomy and independence. It was less of a gift and an honor, more of a curse.

Sonic had always made sure to visit him frequently. Because if anything, Knuckles needed to at least have some form of stable companionship. This Knuckles didn't even have that.

Sonic nodded slowly. "It's a lonely existence... while he's here with us, we've just gotta make sure we get to know him."

Tangle nodded enthusiastically. "Agreed! We'll become besties!"

Rouge shuddered.

The lemur then doubted herself. "Yet again he's also kind of like a God so maybe he doesn't want us-"

Sonic chuckled softly. "That ain't no God - he's nothing like one."

"How would you know? Ever met one?" Tangle challenged him with a smug expression.

If only he could be honest. "Maybeeee noooot, but he definitely doesn't give off God vibes, come on now." It was so nice to be able to talk to someone casually like this, Tangle was a lot of fun to be around.

Sonic looked towards the hut that Knuckles had entered. He found himself longing for a conversation with him like the one he was having now - where they could joke together, and be relaxed in each other's presence. "I think I'mma check on him actually. Get some bro time in with our new bestie." He quoted Tangle with a cheeky wink.

Tangle grinned. "Have fun!"

"Hey, Knuckles!" Sonic smiled as he opened the door to the hut.

He was met with the sound of bowls falling to the ground and shattering to pieces. "Oh-! Shit..." He heard the echidna a few doors down, so Sonic rushed to the noise.

Knuckles looked as though he had been in the middle of plating food from the pans on the hot stove into the bowls, but had dropped them suddenly. He looked up when Sonic entered the room and his face quickly grew flushed. "I-I'm sorry, you startled me- and- don't get me wrong I'm not blaming you for that mistake-"

"Aye, aye chill - relax." Sonic brushed off his stutters. "Didn't mean to frighten ya." Still, Knuckles was surprisingly jumpy.

"Right..." Knuckles sighed finally.

"Hey, just so we can be clear? Just because you were sent to help me with my goals and I'm this important piece of time - doesn't mean you need my permission to do things, nor do you need to be excessively nice. I'm not gonna punish you for breaking some bowls." He let out a slight snicker. "If anything I'm the one that should be scared of you - you did crazy stuff to those guys earlier-"

"Huh? There's no need to be scared of me!" Knuckles quickly insisted. "I just did what I had to do to protect you like I've been tasked to do..."

"I know." Sonic smiled. "Was still quite a feat, I haven't seen anything like it."

"Well... Guardians get special abilities due to our unique connection with the emerald."

Then why couldn't the Knuckles of his timeline do these things?

"It's cool." Sonic admitted honestly.

Knuckles paused. "Cool...? What has... temperature got to do with this?"

Oh jeeze, he didn't even know the most basic of slang. "It's another way of saying awesome, you goof." He explained, oh he just couldn't resist teasing him a little.

"I... see." Knuckles said despite not looking as though he understood. "Goof...?" Knuckles repeated under his breath in a very quiet whisper.

Sonic decided to change the subject. "You got enough bowls for everyone?"

"Yeah- I make a lot of ceramic stuff-" He was already producing more.

Sonic did know of Knuckles' pottery hobby, Knuckles had a lot of time on his hands - so he had ventured to messing around with the natural materials on his island and seeing what he could make. It was all very weird to pretend he didn't know this stuff already. "Oh really? When did you first learn how to do it?"

"I... might have been 12, I think. I taught myself."

"Ah, you're experienced!" On the surface it always seemed like Knuckles did nothing but stand or sleep in front of his emerald all day, but Sonic knew there was a lot more to him than that. "What about making other things besides bowls?"

"Uh... plates, vases, jugs-"

"Impressive!" Sonic complimented. "I tried pottery once, did not have patience for it - the clay went everywhere." He admitted with a chuckle.

"Unfortunate." Knuckles said, sounding sincere.

This is where things differed - the Knuckles he knew would have poked fun at him upon hearing this news, or found some way to gloat or chastise. Was this Knuckles just trying that hard to be polite... or was this his social ineptness showing itself?

He watched Knuckles and the way he was awkwardly shifting his gaze around and avoiding making eye contact with the blue hedgehog. It was though Knuckles was desperately trying to search for what he was supposed to say. Those few years extra he had spent in isolation had taken some sort of toll on him - making him more... anxious, seemingly. Talking with people for the first time in so long was probably a scary experience.

Sonic realised he needed to take things slow. "Hey, let me help you get the food plated up." Sonic said.

The two carried out their task in an acceptable silence.

Night...

Rouge hadn't seen stars in a long time - far too used to seeing them covered by smoke and smog. Yet here they were, bright and dazzling over the floating island. What an odd place it was.

It was also weird to feel full for once - she hadn't had a proper meal like that since before the Empire's reign had begun. Was this about to become commonplace now? She was definitely ready for that change.

As great as the island seemed to be, one thing just didn't add up to her.

Why did the trails of pollution disappear around the island? There was something keeping the island protected, and Rouge was determined to find out what. She was flying off through the sky, and was surprised by how far she got with the sky still remaining clear. However, she'd soon find what she was looking for.

"Ooof-!" Her face slammed into thin air.

Except that wasn't quite the case. She reached out to tap whatever she collided with and was surprised to see the area turn green and flicker.

A forcefield.

So that was it, just a large bubble around the island that was only visible when you touched it.

Well... there was one more thing to test.

She backed up a few paces, swung her leg back, and unleashed a heavy kick - instantly shattering a small hole that she could easily fly through. On the other side, she coughed and spluttered, lungs making contact with toxic fumes. She was quick to kick her way back into the island's bubble and watched it quickly reform behind her.

Gasping for fresh air, she hovered in the night sky.

Now then...

Rouge was aware of her extraordinary strength in her legs, so strong in fact that some thought it possible she might be physically strongest mobian in the world - a title that made her feel great pride. It was no surprise that she had managed to break through using her powers.

So the question remained, did she have to use her legs? There was only one way to find out.

She winded back her metal arm before punching at the forcefield. It flickered, it didn't shatter.

Pound.

Another flicker.

Pound.

The same again.

Pound.

Nothing new.

POUND!

She gasped as she felt it shatter again. Rouge didn't leave the bubble, instead watching it mend up again after for a few moments with a baffled expression. The forcefield kept the pollution away from the island... that much she understood.

But this forcefield was not strong enough to keep out intruders - she could punch through it. Robotnik was no fool, he wouldn't leave an opportunity like this hanging in the air. He should have gone here before, he would have been easily able to break through the barrier with a ship fleet, he should have found the all powerful emerald and taken it for himself.

Yet... it was evident that Robotnik had left this place alone. On purpose.

Why?

Chapter Text

"Sonic."

Amy's voice echoed in the dark chamber Sonic found himself in, realising quickly that he was dreaming. Peaceful nights simply weren't an option, it seemed.

"Sonic!" She called out, voice growing more desperate.

The hedgehog grunted, the fur on his back raising as a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind. He felt a face bury itself into the back of his shoulder. "Oh Sonic, I've missed you so much..."

A clock was ticking in the distance, despite a visible one being nowhere in sight.

Shivering, Sonic felt her cold tears against his body. The blue one could not bring himself to comfort or reach for her, finding himself frozen in place.

"Missed you... so much..."

Tick. Tock.

It was a struggle to even turn his head to face her, facing an invisible resistance as he slowly twisted his neck back.

"Why?"

Tick tock.

Instead of the familiar face he knew most, his eyes laid upon the new, twisted version of her. With her sleek, shorter bob and pristine uniform, she looked well put together - but it was all outward cosmetics, distracting from her tired, empty eyes.

"Why weren't you there?"

He did attempt to respond to her, but no sound came out.

"Why did you let this happen to me?"

Her ice cold breath drifted into his ear as she whispered. Despite his best efforts to get away, it was as though he was rooted to the spot, held down by an invisible force.

"Nothing to say?"

If he hadn't been frozen, he would have immediately jumped out of the way as soon as he saw a dagger blade being pressed against his neck. Somehow it was no longer Amy that had a hold on him, it was Rouge.

The Rouge he knew from his own timeline, yet the tone she spoke in he could only imagine being used by the new one.

"Some chosen one, aye? How did you let it all get like this?"

Her giggle echoed, Sonic desperately wanted to scream at the top of his lungs. 'It's not my fault! It's all Eggman's!"

Yet his voice refused to work. He could feel the pressure of the knife, threatening to pierce his throat open any second.

Then the blade faded to dust; she faded to dust.

Tick. tock. Tick. tock.

Ahead of him, Sonic saw something glow a bright cyan blue - like a little spark. It expanded in size, beginning to form a swirling pool of energy.

A portal.

Still unable to move, the only thing Sonic could do was narrow his eyes to inspect it. Why this was suddenly a part of the dream? Not that dreams made all that much sense anyway...

For a brief glimpse, Sonic managed to spot a shape in the middle of it. It was a silhouette, one that was quite distinct, all things considered. He only knew one thing, or rather, one person - who resembled it.

Silver?

"Wakey-wakey~!" As soon as he opened his eyes, Tangle's face was right above him

Sonic scrambled into a sitting position on his bed, almost hitting the poor lemur in the process. "Whe-?! Wha-?!" He gasped out.

Tangle leaned back to avoid him, and almost fell over. "Wow-! I did not expect you to get up that fast!"

"Sorry-" Sonic sighed out. "Just wasn't expecting your face being right in front of mine as the first thing I saw today-"

"Well, at least you're awake now. You overslept, you know! The rest are all out finishing up their breakfasts-" Tangle seemed to have pulled a fruit bowl out of thin air, putting it in front of the hedgehog's face. It was a dish of that was colourful and bright, a little bowl of cheery sunshine. Everything on Angel Island had been such as welcome change of pace - it was peaceful and safe. "Knuckles made everyone fruit salad! Gotta say, it took a lot of self control not to eat yours too while you were sleeping like a baby." She teased.

Sonic found himself able to chuckle lightly. "Thanks for your restraint." He said, taking the bowl from her.

There had been quite the conundrum last night when the resistance had sat down to eat their dinner and realised they didn't have cutlery. Knuckles, being brought up in the way he was away from a civilised culture, ate with his hands - never having a need for it. Everyone didn't mind doing the same if they had to as well, after all they were hungry and tired - more focused on getting food in their bellies in the first place, rather than how it went down. However, other people brought up how much useful equipment they had left behind in their haste to evacuate from the old base.

The hedgehog wondered if the Chaotix and Hooligans had crawled their way back after initially being scared by Knuckles. If that was the case, then they had most likely stolen a lot of the things that were there. He had requested Knuckles warp him back to have a look - but surprisingly, they found out that the base had been untouched. His own speed combined with Knuckles' warping skills allowed them to quickly move anything from crates, blankets, and beds to smaller objects like books and cutlery. Everyone else got to work setting everything up.

It was quite a quaint little camp, much more homely to him than the underground chambers of Mystic Ruins. It hadn't been a bad location at all, but there was something much more comforting about being able to see the sky.

Eagerly, he tucked into his fruit salad. Angel Island's fruit and vegetables were always perfectly ripe and flavourful, and frankly he had been craving something sweet. As he begun to shovel it down, Tangle took a seat on his bed next to him.

"Knuckles said there's a lot of produce here, and that it grows quickly. There will be enough to make sure we're all fed. Last night was amazing... I hadn't felt full in so long, I forgot what it felt like." She admitted with a weak smile. "I'm so glad we're here now. I always felt bad when I went out to try and get food for the others... and came back with basically nothing. I've never been that good at stealth... stealing food crates isn't the easiest thing for me. But now it's just... here. Everything we could possibly need. I'm so grateful for that- it's like- everything got worse when we were attacked but now everything's suddenly ten times better!" Light shone in her eyes, and Sonic couldn't help but be infected by her optimism. "Are you sure I wasn't killed in that attack and ended up in heaven?" She asked with a smile.

"If that was the case, I'd be dead too." Sonic pointed in amusement. "This is very real, Tangle. You may have gotten used to a lot of failures, but I'm telling you now - things are only going to go up from here." He assured her.

Tangle nodded. "Yes, as you said - we've finally gotta get a revolution underway. A proper revolution-" She repeated it to let it sink in. "We have a good base now, it's high in the sky - but where do we go from here?"

Staring into his bowl, Sonic wondered how much longer he could afford to withhold information from his 'new' friends. It would be hard to get them to have any faith in him if he kept telling them what to do without giving them a reason why.

However, Knuckles had provided a perfect reason to now tell the truth of his origins. It was clear the Master Emerald thought he was special, so now if he were to say that he came from another timeline - he imagined they were much more likely to believe him as the supposed 'chosen one'.

"I have a plan." He smiled at Tangle. "I wanna tell it to you, Rouge, and Knuckles - speaking of which..." Sonic peered over to the bed that Tangle and Rouge were supposed to have shared last night. They were all housed in a small stone structure the size of a large room, the girls had shared a bed while Sonic had gotten one all to himself - which he felt a little guilty for since their bed looked quite small and cramped. This morning however, he realised the bat was nowhere to be found. "She already up?"

"Hm? Oh yeah - she was up way before I was apparently, since she left this-" Tangle reached into her pocket and then handed Sonic a small, crumpled piece of paper with Rouge's handwriting.

'Went out for a walk xx'

"Went out for a walk?" Sonic said questioningly.

"Yeah..." Tangle sighed heavily, the hedgehog watched as her shoulders drooped down. "She's probably gone back down to the surface for some reason or another. She always does this. Disappears and then doesn't explain where she went... I tried to tell her she should communicate more or have someone go with her but she kept ignoring that- So, I stopped trying to tell her what to do. She always comes back safe at least..." A groan escaped her lips. "I should have tried harder really, she might get herself seriously hurt one of these days..."

"I don't know - with how tired you sound about the whole ordeal, you probably tried hard enough." Sonic gave her a pat on her shoulder before standing up off of the bed. "Not a whole lot you can do about stubborn people, only they can teach themselves after experiencing the consequences of their own actions." Faces like Knuckles and Shadow's couldn't help but spring to mind.

"It seems like they only learn when the worst thing possible that could happen to them, happens. You're like 'Hey, don't fight that massive horde of robots!' and they're like: 'You can't tell me what to do!' - and then they come back to you missing all their arms and legs and say "Woops, guess I should have listened to you in the first place.' - Like, what are you supposed to do after that?!"

"Trust me, I get it." Sonic told her. "But Rouge, from what I can tell, has a good head on her shoulders. I think she knows how to get out of a situation that's too dangerous for her."

"Maybe so- yeah." Tangle agreed with a slow nod, and then gave an expression that was more determined, ready to place faith in her friend.

Sneaking into an apartment complex at 9am in the morning probably sounded like a stupid idea on the surface, but there was a method to Rouge's madness. Security was always heightened at night, at least in Empire City - it would be less of a hassle to sneak through the streets in the daylight.

Sure, someone with less skills in the stealth department might find themselves struggling not to be spotted in the midst of daytime, but Rouge was no novice. She knew how to traverse the places that no one turned an eye to.

So few people bothered to turn their attention to the skies, and that's where Rouge operated best. She flew to a window right near the top of the building, on the side of it that faced the dark alleys rather than the bustling city life.

If you lived in one of the few places like Empire City, you could almost convince yourself life was normal. It was the hub of luxury for Empire citizens - made for Robotnik's worshipers and helpers, those that helped him and funded him into the position he was in today.

It was enough to make you vomit.

However, there was some form of sanity to be found hidden away in these parts, like a diamond in the rough.

She knocked a soft rhythm upon the glass of the window, just loud enough for the people inside to take notice, but not anyone else unwanted.

A grin crossed her face as she saw the curtains on the other side being pulled apart, and then the window sliding open.

"But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief-"

"No, we aren't quoting Romeo and Juliet." The always impatient and huffy sounding purple swallow gave her an unamused look, but stepped back to let Rouge climb her way into the room. "We aren't even on a balcony-"

"Am I not allowed to enter with some dramatic flair, Wave?" She questioned with amusement at the bird, having fully stepped into the room and closing the window for Wave right behind her.

"You just sound like an idiot." She told her frankly. Rouge appreciated the Babylon Rogues and their straightforward nature. At least with them, you knew there would be no false niceties. "Now hand Jet the payment-"

On cue, the green hawk was leaning against the doorframe that led to their kitchen. He had a smug expression as he beckoned Rouge over with a hand gesture. "Haven't seen you in a while, bat. Hope you've got something good with ya."

"I think it will satisfy you just fine~" She uttered confidently, matching his expression as she held out a decently sized brown sack.

Jet quickly took it from her, surprised at the weight he felt within it. "Hmph." He undid the string tying it shut, and poked his head inside to have a look. Rouge's smile only grew as Jet's head stayed there for a few moments as he examined everything inside, finally lifting up his head. "A surprisingly good haul." He said.

"I always get good treasure for you, actually." She pointed out, taking off her jacket and revealing the dark tank top she wore underneath. She also took her glove off of her metal arm, allowing the full thing to show and glisten in the light.

"Yeah, yeah whatever - I'm just wondering where you manage to get half this stuff from-" Jet said, pulling out a golden crown from the midst of treasure. It was unlike a traditional crown worn by monarchs - it was this odd abstract shape that Rouge couldn't put a label to, but it was heavily decorated with sparkling green and purple gemstones. Unsurprisingly, Jet put it right on top of his head.

"My sources are for me to know, and you to find out." Rouge shrugged, but found herself being abruptly being shoved into leather recliner by Wave.

"Good to know." The swallow remarked sarcastically. "Now stay here, will you? I've got something I wanna try."

Now, that did peak some of Rouge's curiosity. What trick up her sleeve did Wave have this time? Wave disappeared off through the door she knew led into her little workshop, and the bat was left sitting opposite to Jet, still admiring his new crown.

"Oh, Rouge is here?" A grey albatross appeared from the kitchen, holding a plate of cookies and observing the bat cautiously. "I suppose the timing worked out well-" There was a small table in the centre of their living room that the tall and muscular bird decided to place the cookies. "Now we can all eat together and make sure there's no waste-"

"Storm." Jet turned his head impatiently to the albatross. "How am I supposed to eat cookies without milk?"

Storm immediately grew flustered, red in the face. "S-sorry, boss! I'll get the milk-!"

Rouge chuckled and shook her head at the same time. "You're a brat, you know that?"

"I just have my preferences." Jet replied. "And standards."

Causing everyone to jump, Wave almost kicked the door of her workshop down as she made her way to Rouge, carrying a case in one of her hands. "This ain't gonna be the usual check up, alright? I'm planning to upgrade your arm here."

"Upgrade?" Rouge rose a brow.

"Yes, that is what I just said-" Wave huffed in annoyance, placing the case next to the cookies. "You're my first experience with bionic limbs and now I'm sure I've got it down... I can expand into adding some weaponry-"

Before Rouge could say anything, she was interrupted. "I'm back, boss! With the milk-" Storm almost tripped over himself trying to get back into the living room with the milk, it was a wonder he didn't spill it. Jet quickly snatched a glass off of him.

"About time-" Jet grunted, taking a gulp. "We'll get Rouge sorted and then we're back to work."

"You got it!" Storm gave an enthusiastic salute.

The bat had admittedly phased out of their conversation, instead focusing on the warm, sugary scent of the cookies that drifted to her nose. Honest to God, she couldn't remember the last time she had some chocolate chip goodness. She couldn't help herself, immediately reaching for one - if she waited for much longer she might have started drooling.

It was so unfair how everyone in Empire City lived a life of extravagance compared to everyone else. She had lost count of the nights she had gone hungry or figured out how to survive as long as she could on a single dumb can of beans. The feeling of an empty stomach was an aching annoyance on its own, but when she felt everything in her middle go numb - that was her first true experience of starvation.

Yet up here, all the cookies, soft recliners, luxury highway shops and activities a person could ever need - and all the citizens had earned their place in paradise via corruption and greed.

"This shouldn't take too long Jet, if the measurements turn out wrong then she'll just have to come back some other time-" Wave finally produced a metal arm from the silver case. It looked very similar to the one she already had, aside from the odd blue circle on the palm of the hand.

"You three seem to be in such a big rush. What's the matter? Do you hate me that much you already want me gone?" She teased.

"No..." Jet sighed tiredly. "Since Robotnik decided to push his annual Empire celebration way earlier - we have less time to prepare for the performance."

"Huh?" Rouge narrowed her eyes. "When's it happening?"

"Three days from now."

"What-? Since when?" She immediately asked.

"Since a few days ago. You're usually on top of this shit, aren't you?" He squinted at her.

"I've had... things to deal with."

"Typical." Jet scoffed.

"Hey, can you learn not to chew and speak at the same time? You're getting crumbs sprayed in my face. Were you never taught etiquette?" Wave grumbled to Rouge. The bat was purposefully looking away from the swallow during the conversation. Rouge knew she had bent down and was now attaching this new arm, but Rouge was not at all interested in seeing the process.

"If you were in my position, you'd be scarfing your food down too." Rouge answered back.

"Boss?" Storm interjected, standing awkwardly in the midst of it all. "Didn't you say that you wanted to speak to Rou-"

"Yes!" Jet suddenly exclaimed with a snap of his finger. "Yes, I did. Now we have more details on the celebration, I have some news that you might want to hear."

Rouge leaned forward with intrigue before being chastised by Wave. "Hold still-!" She was mostly ignored.

Jet continued on. "It's taking place in Station Square, you're pretty close to there right?"

Was - but that had changed when moving to Angel Island. However, Rouge didn't intend on correcting him to past tense. "That's right."

"Turns out the big man himself is gonna be there. Out in the flesh." Jet smirked. "Of course, he'll be surrounded by his usual lackeys but there'll be plenty of distractions. Us Rogues are putting on a performance with our extreme gear air tricks, leaving behind colourful smoke trails and all that nonsense. We're planning to make things... flashy." It was now Jet's turn to lean forward. "You wanna kill Robotnik, don't you? It's your perfect chance, all eyes will be on us - you can take your shot."

Rouge almost had to stop herself from physically gasping at such a perfect opportunity. It almost sounded too good to be true, all the pieces in place to allow for a perfect kill... was it truly possible? Her eyes were now filled with a starry-eyed hope. "You damn genius." She smirked.

"I know~" Jet flicked his feathers smugly. Wave stepped back from the bat, and Rouge finally looked back over at her shiny, metallic arm - now new and more easily manoeuvrable as she rolled her shoulder a few times, they did tend to get stiff after a while so she was glad for the chance to have a new one.

"And I've got something to help you with that." Wave said, a smile beginning to show itself on her own face. "Come on, let me show you how your new laser works."

Was he truly doing the right thing?

It didn't feel like it. Not when he woke up in the morning, and some of the island's treasure had already been stolen.

Perhaps it was paranoia that had prompted him to search the important corners of Angel Island before the sun had even risen, but it would have plagued his thoughts all day if he hadn't. Knuckles had spent a fair amount of time across his life gathering gemstones and other artifacts from the history of his people, collecting them in a small worn-down alter a fair distance away from the Master Emerald. When Knuckles had gone there, he knew immediately that some things had disappeared.

Necklaces had seemingly vanished into thin air, and a crown worn by a very old clan chief had supposedly erased itself from existence. Except that wasn't the case was it, objects didn't just disappear for no reason. Someone had stolen it.

"Is this what you wanted?" Knuckles had found himself asking the emerald afterwards. "You said to help Sonic in any way possible... was it right to allow him and his people here?"

He had been met with silence, as he so very often was. Sometimes, although he hated to admit it, the temptation to throw the Master Emerald into the ocean could often be quite potent. It just refused to give any sort of answers.

He supposed he could just stomp up to everyone else and demand that they give his treasure back, but... he kept making excuses for himself otherwise. It wasn't that big of a deal anyway, right? What if causing a fuss put him in conflict with Sonic - the emerald didn't want that, right?

Damn it, what was wrong with him?

He had spent years longing to just see another face - whether it was friend or foe, to hear the sound of another voice that wasn't his own. He was most certain he had been driving himself crazy when the blowing wind began to sound like whispers.

Now, he had finally gotten his wish - and all he wanted to do was hide away. The thought of getting near everyone else caused his heart to pound like a hammer in his chest, and when someone looked in his direction he found himself bringing his dreads over to hide his face. His stomach twisted uncomfortably when he thought about having to make conversations with them, even Sonic - it was a wonder he hadn't yet vomited.

The moment of his reveal played like a rewinding record - he recalled all the voices crying out - not believing that he could even exist. He remembered their eyes staring at him, the way their shouts of disbelief echoed-

Oh, what a baby he was being. He bit his lip, reminding himself of the person he was supposed to be. His ancestors were men of pride, brave warriors who were never phased by the horrors of the battlefield. Yet here their last descendant stood - scared of... what, being stared at weirdly? Having a conversation?

Maybe that's why the Master Emerald gave him such little information, it knew he was helpless too.

"Hello, hi!"

Knuckles grunted, his heart rapidly being faster - was this a heart attack? He looked down the altar steps and saw none other than Sonic and the rather loud lemur on the step that the echidna had previously set as the boundary.

"Hi, Knuckles!" The lemur said. "We were wondering if you wanted to join us for some training!"

The answer was frankly no, he began praying that the emerald would just warp him somewhere else. "No, thank you." Knuckles finally breathed out.

"Ya sure?" The hedgehog added on. "We thought it would be a good way to catch you up on what's been happening on the surface."

He had a point, damn it. Knuckles supposed that if he were to be of use, he needed to know what the hell was happening - since he still honestly felt quite out of the loop. "I- then, yes-" Knuckles said, feeling awkward now he was backtracking.

"Awesome!" The girl exclaimed eagerly.

"Guess we need a nice open spot. You got a good one in mind?" Sonic smiled.

"Hm." He found himself only able to make a sound, words alluding him. Why did he have to be so useless, on so many levels? He walked past them and made a hand gesture for them to follow, and at least they seemed to understand.

"Everything changed three years ago."

Sonic was just as intently listening to Tangle as Knuckles was, after all - he was still lacking in knowledge of a lot of the finer details. They were all stretching their muscles as a group, an essential part of a good training session.

"There was a massive attack on G.U.N's headquarters, unleashed by Robotnik, Sonic calls him Eggman though and I find it more fitting so I will refer to him as such from now on so - yes! Eggman launched attack on the HQ of our military with a massive robot army and airships. That wasn't the only attack that took place either - everywhere from Chun-nan to Shamar found themselves facing off against his massive fleet of machines. G.U.N.'s commander and main forces were all killed that day... so that was that, some brave individuals stood their ground but - everyone had no choice but to surrender to the man. Then he was able to create the Empire... it all happened very fast. I don't know how he managed to make and build everything he's got now." She admitted.

"I-" Knuckles hesitated before speaking up, "Robots...? I don't understand what you mean-"

Wow, he hadn't even seen a robot before here. This timeline kept feeling weirder and weirder. "It's a bit easier to show you than explain..." Sonic admitted. "But, it's like an inorganic person made of metal. Something with no heart and soul and just follows orders." Sonic of course knew there were exceptions to this, the faces of all his robot friends springing to mind, but he couldn't delve into that when Knuckles didn't even understand the basic concepts of AI.

"Yeah I'll- understand more when I see it." The echidna admitted. Was Knuckles shaking? It was a little hard for Sonic to make out.

"Mhm, yeah it'll all make sense then. So! Eggman turns most cities into factory wastelands and gives people the bare minimum they need to survive so they can work for him. Some places are kept nice though - for Eggman's wealthy friends, oh! And of course to house his theme parks... he really likes theme parks for some reason."

Well, that certainly hadn't changed.

"Also about like- I wanna say a year or two, no- a year and a half after Eggman became in charge of everything - these weird monster things showed up, seemingly with no affiliation to anyone. They cause problems sometimes..." She admitted. "Oh yeah there was also like this- alien invasion once but Eggman actually saved us all then! Wouldn't ya know it? I don't know how, no one knows how he did actually - but it's probably the only good thing he's done." Tangle shrugged.

Was she... was she referring to the Black Arms?

"But with everything becoming mechanical - Eggman has polluted a lot of the world's natural resources. He definitely doesn't care for organic life at all - as sometimes he uses roboticization to turn people into robots..." Tangle frowned.

Sonic felt rage boil beneath his skin.

"So there you have it!" Tangle forced herself to laugh. "The world is a mess-!"

"Having fun there?"

The three of them turned their heads and were surprised to see Rouge standing there.

"Oh, hey Rouge!" Tangle smiled and waved. "You're back in one piece!"

"Of course I am." Rouge shrugged off nonchalantly. "Filling in the echidna, I see?"

"Yep, he knows the basics of what's going on!"

"Good, because I have something I want to share with all of you-" Rouge began eagerly, but now Sonic had his opportunity, he wasn't about to let it slip from him.

"Actually, Rouge - I've got something important I wanna say too." Sonic brought up.

"Oh! Wow, got a lot of news - huh?" Tangle plopped herself down on the floor, crossing her legs. "Then let's sit and talk!" Everyone else sat down slowly in the same position on the dirt ground. Sonic remained standing.

"Take it away then, Blue." She allowed Sonic to take the stage, as it were. "Since you're so eager to share something."

"Right." Sonic nodded.

Here it finally was, the crucial moment where he could finally tell his new allies about his true origins. After everything now, they were much more likely to believe him now, surely? Yes, he was sure. Now he could establish a crucial trust and bond between the team, and let them know that the timeline they lived in was in fact just wrong - that there was a way to fix all this, and Sonic knew how.

"So... this might be a little hard to wrap your heads around at first but... you see, I'm not from here."

The other three tilted their heads,

"I'm from... another timeline."

Suddenly, his vision clouded over with a hazy purple smoke. Sonic gasped, unable to see anything before him or utter a word. Moving was also a futile effort, he was paralyzed. What he was seeing... it reminded him of that thing at his birthday party-

Sonic blinked and his vision had returned to normal.

"Oh! Wow, got a lot of news - huh?" Tangle plopped herself down on the floor, crossing her legs. "Then let's sit and talk!" Everyone else sat down slowly in the same position on the dirt ground. Sonic remained standing.

"Take it away then, Blue." She allowed Sonic to take the stage, as it were. "Since you're so eager to share something."

Wait, hadn't they just done this? He wasn't going crazy, right?

"Uh- well I-" Sonic spluttered. "Did none of you see that-?"

"Saw what?" Tangle tilted her head, concern showing on her face.

"I-" This was bad. "I just wanted to explain what might be very hard to understand but if you'd let me explain... I'm not from here, I'm from another timeline-"

The dark purple smoked swooped in to conceal his vision again, it looked just like that brute - what did Eggman call it, The Time Eater? That couldn't be a coincidence.

Once again he was powerless.

"Oh! Wow, got a lot of news - huh?" Tangle plopped herself down on the floor, crossing her legs. "Then let's sit and talk!" Everyone else sat down slowly in the same position on the dirt ground. Sonic remained standing.

"Take it away then, Blue." She allowed Sonic to take the stage, as it were. "Since you're so eager to share something."

Okay yes, they had definitely went through this already. Time was... rewinding itself?

"I'm from another timeline!" Sonic desperately exclaimed.

The only reason Sonic didn't yell as his eyes were clouded up was because his vocal chords refused to work. He stood still as the hands of time were rewound.

"Oh! Wow, got a lot of news - huh?" Tangle plopped herself down on the floor, crossing her legs. "Then let's sit and talk!" Everyone else sat down slowly in the same position on the dirt ground. Sonic remained standing.

"Take it away then, Blue." She allowed Sonic to take the stage, as it were. "Since you're so eager to share something."

"Woah, Sonic? You okay?" Tangle asked. "You look a bit pale-"

Sonic's legs felt like jelly, and he felt unable to control his shakes and shivers as an unnerving cold swept over him. With an unsteady breath, he tried to find a way to quiver a response back to Tangle.

It was all flooding back - watching his friends scream and call out his name as they were turned to dust... all because of that fiend. All because of Eggman!

"I'm- fine! I'm fine!" Sonic snapped awkwardly. "Rouge, you just- say what you need to say-"

Rouge was staring at him awkwardly. "Oooookay... Right, whatever that is out of the way - I have managed to discover a perfect opening to kill Robotnik once and for all." She wasted no time at all getting to the point, grinning at the three of them - her eyes wild with excitement. "In three days it's the anniversary of the Empire. Robotnik's gonna be there. Out in public - with everyone distracted by the celebrations there's guaranteed to be a perfect window - we can actually end this!" She added eagerly.

"You... you really think we can do that?" Tangle asked, unsure of the prospect.

"It's a very real possibility. Our only problem will be his lackeys - but now the chosen one and an echidna guardian are with us - what kind of threat are they gonna pose exactly?" She asked smugly. "I can't believe how oddly perfectly it's worked out-!"

"Rouge..." Sonic spoke up. "I don't think we should do that."

"What?" She questioned him quickly. "Why?"

"I... think there's better ways to go about defeating the Empire. If we try and kill Eggman and we fail... you're risking everyone's lives. There's a way to take him down and that's with minimal fighting - if we can find the Chaos Emeralds-"

"The Chaos Emeralds?" Knuckles spoke for the first time in a while. "What do you propose to do with those?"

Sonic knew if he said something along resetting the timeline, he wouldn't be allowed as the time eater or whatever it was would just rewind time again. He was drawing a blank, truly unsure of how to explain why he wanted to use them so bad. "Because... chosen one... omnipotence-?!" As if the excuse wasn't flimsy enough, Sonic sounded like he was questioning himself. "Look, they perform miracles right? If we get all seven we could erase the Empire from existence!"

"So instead of... killing Robotnik and taking down the Empire now, you propose we go on a treasure hunt and then kill him." Rouge said dryly. "I'm a fan of the quicker option, personally. As much as I love treasure, I love my freedom ever so slightly more."

The hedgehog wanted to slam his head into a nearby tree. The universe had given him a massive slap in the face by refusing to allow him to tell his teammates the truth. How was he supposed to get anything done if he couldn't explain himself? How could he rally them together to find the emeralds if he couldn't even tell them why?

For now, Sonic couldn't think of a reason. Rouge had a plan that she could actually explain the reasoning for. It wasn't worth arguing about, not now. "Fine then..." Sonic finally sighed.

"I'll follow your lead, Rouge."

He didn't really have a choice.

Chapter Text

Life was determined to kick her in the face repeatedly, throwing every possible curveball to make everything far more difficult than it had to be.

First, a blue hedgehog appeared out of nowhere and attempted to liberate one of the factories under her watch.

Second, power limiters were stolen right from under her nose from one of her most important facilities.

Third, Miles had gotten her case and given her a week deadline to deal with the aforementioned troublemakers.

Fourth, as if she didn't have enough problems to deal with - she had been informed, rather abruptly, that her city was supposed to be hosting the Empire's Anniversary Celebration. They had only given four days to prepare, and one of those days was already done!

Unfortunately - there was about to be a fifth problem thrown her way.

"Guys, we're on a timer here. With those pathetic looks on your faces - you failed, so keep your report on what happened concise so we can finish before those robots come back-" Miles had 'gifted' her some robots that constantly stood in front of the door to her house. She knew better to think he had been thoughtful and was giving them as some sort of bodyguard. No, they were there to spy - find out who was getting in and out of Amy's home.

However, they were still designed to follow orders. Amy had commanded them to go off and investigate some suspicious reports that didn't exist in a nearby clothes factory. She needed them out of the way so she could talk with her mercenaries.

"Amy, I promise I'm not pulling your leg here, but the story- it's- bizarre!" Vector immediately explained. Amy turned her head to the side and scoffed impatiently.

"We had located their base of operations." Espio added on. "We were getting ready to kill them off but then there was this... strange mobian-"

Before Amy could brush that off, Vector made sure the Chaotix could finish their explanation first. "Yeah! I don't even know what species he was! Some red... weird porcupine? He had spikes on his hand? And that isn't even the strangest part!"

"He attacked us in a strange way... we suddenly felt as though our veins... were on fire." Espio was careful to try and explain the feeling as best he could. "And we could see them glowing green through our skin... we were unable to move."

"It was agony!" Vector insisted, and somehow Amy knew it to be genuine. "We could do nothing but retreat!"

Amy leaned over the kitchen table, placing her head in her hands and letting out a low groan. "You can't be... you can't be serious. I don't need this too-"

"We're sorry, Amy! We really are!" The hedgehog caught a momentary glimpse of Vector's piteous gaze. "We're going to get out there again as soon as possible and finish the job-"

"I have until Monday." Amy stressed. "Today is Tuesday! So not including today - I have 5 days to have those rebels killed! And in the middle of all that, I have a stupid anniversary festival to host in my city AT THE LAST NOTICE!" She ran out of breath after yelling, her voice having cracked unsteadily through the rant. It couldn't end for her like this, not after everything she'd been through. The hedgehog, staring up at Vector and praying he didn't notice her eyes tearing up, tried to make her voice as steady as possible. "I don't care how you do it, all I need are results."

"With all due respect, lass-" A voice she was much less familiar with cut in. "I'm a little confused as to why you're hiring mercenaries like us to do this job - don't you have robots that are supposed to do this shit for you?" The purple weasel with a cowboy hat leaned against her kitchen fridge, narrowing his eyes at her.

That would be the ideal situation, wouldn't it? "I don't have robots strong enough to take on people like them... and the Empire are keeping me so busy that I don't even have time to do the task they want me to-!"

"Sounds like you're being set up to fail then-" He remarked off handedly, but it set off a spark of rage within her.

"I know what they're doing! I know! They don't trust me - so they're giving me an impossible task so that they have an excuse to kill me when I fail at it! I know!" She panted.

"Or-" The tiny green duck standing next to the weasel spoke up, interrupting what was very close to turning into a meltdown. "Killing them isn't as hard as you think and you're just really bad at your job-"

Espio bent down to clasp the duck's beak shut.

"Ignore... him-" Vector sighed with embarrassment. "We're working with these guys while we have this assignment, they're good killers - you know?" It was a feeble attempt to soothe her.

Amy gulped, finally standing herself up straight and addressing them one final time. She needed to make herself seem far more composed than she was if they were ever going to take her orders seriously and get the job done. She slowly approached Vector, getting as far up close into his face as her short height would allow. "Then if you guys are so good... then I want them dead. And if they aren't, and I'm being sentenced off to my execution - I'm dragging you all with me." She threatened in a quiet tone. "Are we clear?"

After a moment's pause, Vector hesitantly nodded. "Of course, ma'am."

She tilted her head towards the window. "Now get out of my house."

Leaving through the window was unconventional, but it was the only way they would be able to leave without being spotted by the new robots that were undoubtedly on their way back by now. The bear, weasel, and bird hopped out quickly, while Espio followed at his own pace. Vector took one last glance back at her, but as he was met with nothing but a cold stare - decided to shut his mouth that had opened slightly, and instead leave without another word.

They had to know she was bluffing, she didn't want anything to happen to them, she couldn't do that to the poor kid who they had at home.

With legs that suddenly felt weak and shaky, she practically fell into her kitchen chair. The clock that ticked on the wall was practically mocking and laughing at her with each passing second. It was counting down the day until her death, every single second. Tick. Tick. Tick.

She heard the door of her house open, and wore her best smile.

"How did the investigation go?" Amy got up from the chair and turned around, heading straight into the living room and meeting the two annoying bodyguard bots that had been a constant thorn in her side ever since Miles brought them over. You could tell they hadn't been made by Robotnik, Miles had a much sleeker way of designing his robots - less clunky exposed joints, and less dramatic colors. They were a plain shiny silver with a dark Robotnik logo on their chest.

"NO SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITIES." One of the two robots replied.

"Oh, well then that's great-"

"YOU HAVE GUESTS."

Shit.

"Ah. Well okay then, guess I should open the door for them-" She made sure to smile, showing her teeth. If Miles were truly spying on the other side of those glaring, red robotic eyes - then she needed to maintain standard Empire protocol.

Always smile. You had no reason not to. Life was just so wonderful with Robotnik in charge.

As she made the short walk to her door, the robots falling in behind her, she breathed in slowly. There were so many faces she didn't want to see today, but she mentally prepared herself for the worst - because when did things ever go her way? The handle clicked and she was immediately able to relax her tense shoulders.

"Hello, Egg Boss Rose." Wave, member of the Babylon Rogues, gave her a bow - and Storm replicated the gesture. Jet did nothing of the sort, standing in the middle of them and instead choosing to yawn silently. "We are here to check in." The swallow added, her grin wide.

"Ah, yes!" Amy kept up the positive spirit. "Prower Bot - please update the systems and the higher ups know that the Babylon Rouges have found their way here."

One of the machines made beeping noises in acknowledgement.

"I have to say, it's a tremendous honor that Robotnik has granted us to be performing at the anniversary festival! He has done so much for our careers, propelling us to a level of stardom that we could have never have dreamed of if it weren't for him!"

It was another part of standard protocol, always make sure you praised the Emperor in any way you could, at any possible opportunity. It was quite ridiculous really - surely Robotnik had to know that constantly keeping people smiling and singing his praises because a gun was being pointed at their heads, didn't mean their feelings towards him were actually authentic.

Yet, she supposed she had realised the strategy behind it - forcing people to repeat nonsense over and over until they finally begin to believe it. She had watched it happen slowly to several people that had risen to the top of his council. Those that started out as Robotnik's unwilling slaves, unafraid to shout their disapproval - until one day something snapped, and the Emperor became the best thing in the world to them.

It was selfish of her, but sometimes she did pray that her day to finally break would come - then doing her job wouldn't hurt so much.

"Not only has he helped develop our careers - he helped us develop as people! Enlightening us, challenging us to become more improved versions of ourselves - the best versions." Those words from Storm were far too articulate, this had definitely been rehearsed. It became even more evident when they both made a quick glance to their leader, as though it were some sort of cue.

However, as soon as Jet opened his mouth - the performance derailed. "Robotnik iiiiiis... sooooo... cool." Jet said in the most bored and tired tone possible, like he had forgotten his lines in a stage play and was now improvising on the spot, not caring about the result as long as he got the scene done. His slouched posture displaying clearly how much he didn't want to be there or saying any of these things. "I want him... toooooo... have my... babiiiiiieeees." He added in an obvious display of sarcasm.

Wave's face became red. "Oh! Haha! Oh Jet, what a silly kidder!" She forced herself to laugh despite being flustered. "You know him and his... bratty persona. He's always like this before a big race or a performance!" Her gaze desperately flitted between Amy and the bots standing behind her desperately in the hopes she convinced them.

Meanwhile, Jet did the same - but in a way that was apathetic, and almost challenging them, daring them to do anything about his disrespectful attitude.

How was she to respond to this in a manner that would end in no one getting hurt?

"The amount of effort you three put in to all the work you do is incredibly admirable, and no doubt a result of Robotnik's influence as he has encouraged everyone to push themselves to the limit. Jet's commitment to his persona is a show of dedication that would have only been inspired within him under our wonderful empire's influence!" Amy said finally, smiling brightly.

Yet another protocol - understand that all your achievements were a direct result of Robotnik, it had nothing to do with you.

"We were wondering Rose if perhaps we could have a look at where we'll be performing-" Wave began before being interrupted.

"Oh, look at that timing! I don't wish to be rude and hold up your conversation."

Amy wanted to crawl out of her skin, of course it was him. Dr Starline. He was a platypus with an incredible scientific mind, refined and acted more of a gentleman than most you found in Robotnik's council, and seemed to enjoy fashion to some degree. However, everything about him seemed fake - like he was desperately seeking approval more than anything else, especially when it came to Robotnik.

"Of course not, Dr Starline! You are always welcome. Let me get you registered-"

The robot was already on it, beeping as the information was updated. Both the Rogues and Starline were in Station Square, and Amy knew this was just the beginning.

"I'm one of the first few here." Starline observed, seeming pleased with himself. "Fitting seeing as I've completed all my assignments early." Everyone around him must have felt the pure smug energy pouring out of him. "Here before Miles, no less."

Starline seemed proud of this fact. Of course he would be, he was a participant in one of the most pathetic rivalries she had bared witness too. Starline and Miles were extremely devoted followers of Robotnik, and both geniuses - always looking to outdo each other and earn more approval from their Emperor. However, it was quite one-sided. Everyone but Starline seemed to know Miles was the favourite, as he was often the one by Robotnik's side. Amy had no doubt that Miles would only show up in Station Square when Robotnik did.

"You were showing the Babylon Rogues where they are to be performing?" Starline went on. "I would love to see it as well."

Now subjected to the fate of being a tour guide, she knew her cheek muscles weren't about to get a rest any time soon.

"You're such a good cook, Knuckles!" Tangle complimented, eagerly lapping up her bowl of vegetable curry.

"Vanilla helped." Knuckles mentioned, eating his own food at a much slower pace compared to the lemur. Cooking for a whole group of people was no easy task, so naturally Vanilla offered to help the echidna in these endeavours. Luckily he didn't seem to mind her presence too much, being the quiet and gentle soul she was.

"Well, this is your recipe isn't it?" Sonic interjected. "You can accept a compliment, dude." He said, lighthearted.

"Hm-" He let out, as if he wasn't really sure how to respond.

There was something about the whole scene that made Sonic feel right at ease. The three of them sat in their stone, cube shaped room - lit by a single lantern, sat on the floor and eating off a long rock that acted as a low table. However, making him feel warm was the presence of others. They weren't exactly the friends he was used to, but it was good company all the same.

"Where did you learn to cook like this?" Tangle then asked. Sonic really did appreciate her efforts to get Knuckles involved in the conversations despite his stand-offish nature.

"Old scriptures." Knuckles replied, a moment passed before Knuckles decided that needed some more elaboration. "Many documents were left behind my ancestors, traditional recipes were some of those."

"Huh, that's really cool!" Tangle beamed. "But I mean like- you're cool in general - powerful and mysterious!"

"I'm... not all that."

"Are you kidding?!" Tangle exclaimed. "Did you see what you did to those mercenaries. You were all like 'You better leave now binch!' and then you used your powers on them and they ran away because they were so scared! That's an incredible feat." She assured him.

"It was an improper use of my power." Knuckles spoke steadily.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Sonic asked.

"The Master Emerald grants me the ability to use light chaos energy - the kind that heals and strengthens. And yet," Knuckles sighed. "I found some way to attack with it."

When he saw both Sonic and Tangle looking at him with confusion, he went on. "Every mobian has a small spark of chaos energy within them, and it manifests in the form of their unique ability-"

"Like my tail and Sonic's speed!" Tangle added enthusiastically, stretching her tail out and curling it around a few times for demonstration.

"Yes." Knuckles confirmed. "What I actually did was enhance the abilities of those mercenaries by making the spark of chaos energy within them stronger... but I purposefully made it far stronger than their bodies were able to handle, thus causing them all that pain."

"Oh wow-" Tangle blinked. "I would have never guessed-"

For Sonic, this brought up a multitude of questions in his head. "So, is chaos energy not something you use to attack?" He rose a brow.

"Dark chaos energy is what is used to cause physical harm to others - so projectiles essentially-"

"Like laser beams!" Tangle cut in enthusiastically again.

"Laser...?"

Tangle doing her best to explain what a laser was to Knuckles was a conversation that quickly faded into background noise.

Sonic reached for his cup of water and took a slow sip. Sonic thought back to all the times he went super with his friends, all the times that people like Shadow had used chaos energy. Had he... had he and his friends been using dark chaos energy this whole time? What a weird thing to think about, and once again - how come this Knuckles was happy to explain all this but his Knuckles had never explained it? Hell, the other timeline Knuckles didn't explain chaos energy at all - at times, it felt like Shadow was more knowledgeable on the topic than the guardian, but that wasn't a comment he'd ever make to the echidna's face.

"Do you ever use dark chaos energy?" Sonic then spoke up in the middle of the other two's conversation.

"... No. At least, I try to avoid it."

Sonic supposed that was somewhat consistent with the Knuckles he knew. The hedgehog knew full well that Knuckles had to be capable of using chaos energy like him and Shadow, if not more so - right? He was the guardian!

Yet it was odd that this Knuckles, who seemed much more in touch with the chaos energy side of himself, still refused to properly fight with it.

"Fair 'nough-" Sonic shrugged off, although he definitely had more things he wanted to ask.

"How boring."

The three of them looked to the entrance and saw Rouge leaning against the doorframe. "All the power in the world at your finger tips but nahhh, won't use it." She mocked him.

It was fascinating how no one had noticed her until now, she really was good at remaining undetected. She came over and sat opposite the trio on the floor, a piece of paper in hand.

"Finalized plans." She explained with a smirk, placing the paper on the table. "I've got it all figured out."

The three of them sat up straighter, obviously interested in what she had to say. This was supposedly the plan to end the tyrant once and for all... and Sonic couldn't help but doubt it. It was never that easy, not with Eggman. The man always had a trick up his sleeve.

"Eggman's Empire Anniversary Festival is in three days-"

"Yo, you said Eggman!" Tangle pointed at Rouge.

"I mean- it's catchier, flows on the tongue-" She acknowledged, and Sonic felt a smug sense of accomplishment.

"Anyways that isn't important-"

"Actually, if I may ask before we begin..." Tangle spoke up hesitantly. "The sudden move of the festival to be early and in Station Square... doesn't it feel like a deliberate attempt to lure us rebels out?"

"Oh, it absolutely is." Rouge agreed. "Which is exactly why this plan involves a staged attack to trick Eggman that his rebels have arrived to cause trouble, when in reality it will just be the distraction. Ugh, now I'm getting ahead of myself, let me start at the beginning- So, it's in three days - I have access to a general layout as to how it's going to go. The plan is simple in theory, but it all comes down to good execution, most importantly timing." She said. "Our first issue is infiltrating the festival itself - everyone needs an Empire ID to be given clearance to enter, we do not have those. I'm a criminal, Tangle lost hers ages ago, and Sonic has also been recently added to the wanted list for his actions in that factory. So needless to say, not only can we not get in - we have targets on our backs."

Sonic wondered how Rouge planned to overcome this.

"So we need to be clever with how we enter, just outside of the area that the festival will be held is the place where the parade floats are set up and start their journey through the roads of Station Square. Each float has a driver inside and a minimum of three dancers on top of the floats. When the last float is ready to leave, we attack the driver and dancers so we can knock them out of commission and steal the float."

You know, at least it wasn't murdering.

"Tangle, you'll be driving the float-"

"Yes!" Tangle fist pumped the air. "I've always wanted to do that!"

"That's an... interesting thing to have on your bucket list." Rouge remarked before moving on. "Sonic, Knuckles, and I will be the dancers. I do apologise, boys - but we have some rather stupid looking costumes to wear. We'll be dressed in Eggman costumes - which is basically like wearing a large egg." She explained with a grimace. "But at the very least they conceal our bodies entirely."

The idea of wearing an Eggman costume was weird, if not borderline creepy. Did people even dress up as real people? Cartoon characters sure, but the thought of wearing a whole Eggman bodysuit made him shudder. "Can't say I'm too enthused about that but go on, I'm assuming this plan goes somewhere." Sonic said. He took a moment to glance at Knuckles, who was intently listening.

"Right, so we're dancing on top of this float until the parade show goes on a quick half an hour break at 9pm, during this break, the dancers mingle in with the crowd as a supposed attempt to act like mascots to hype up the crowd. So now that we're finally inside the festival, we aren't going into the crowd at all - but rather getting into our positions. I will sneak off and get into a position behind Eggman and his followers here." She circled the map. "Sonic, this half an hour window is where the Babylon Rogues, famous extreme gear racers - will be putting on a performance of aerial tricks and colourful light trails. Your job is to get here-" She circled the map again near the centre of the square.

Sonic was a little stunned. He hadn't spoken to the Babylon Rogues in a while - they were arrogant as hell but Sonic did think they were capable of good, it was a shame they were with the Empire, but unfortunately not all that surprising.

"Allow for a few minutes of the performance to pass until you find a window of opportunity to attack their leader - Jet, he's a green hawk, you can't miss him. Make the attack look flashy as possible... but try not to hurt him too much, he's actually in on it-"

"What? The Babylon Rogues already know about this plan? Since when- since when were we even working with them?!" Tangle asked in utter disbelief.

"As I always say - I have my connections." Rouge smiled, but the bat's refusal to elaborate only made Tangle pout. This was also pretty surprising to Sonic, maybe it had something to do with the fact they were all thieves? No point in trying to figure it out though, he supposed, he just needed to know this plan. The hedgehog was surprising himself when he felt hesitance and even guilt to lay a hand on Jet, Sonic honestly didn't realise he cared for the green bird that much at all. Sonic would definitely be careful not to actually hurt him.

"Your attack is going to distract everyone, even if just for a moment - and that moment is precisely what I'm going to take advantage of, that's where I'll take the shot to land the killing blow on Eggman." She finally said. "Once that deed is done, everyone will be sent into panic mode - if I can kill anymore of Eggman's subordinates while I'm there, I will. Knuckles is there to help too. But largely I imagine what I'll need you to do Knuckles is warp me back to the square before his lackeys can do anything. I'll make a speech to the crowd, let them know Eggman is dead, and... well it's kind of vague from there but the people should rise against the remaining Egg Bosses and start to rebel across the world- Ideally. We'll cross that hurdle when we get there, we need to kill the man first." She huffed.

"What details am I forgetting... ah right! I want Knuckles and Tangle seeing Sonic to his spot, but I only want Knuckles to come find me. Tangle, you stay with Sonic and you'll act as a watcher to see if there are any anomalies, and you're also there for backup if shit goes south. Knuckles, you'll be doing the same but for me. Your warping will be essential in helping me get out of rough spots."

"So!" She clasped her hands together. "Any questions?"

Surprisingly, the plan was pretty simple to understand, but one thing did nag at him. "Are you sure the Babylon Rogues are trustworthy? You don't think they could have told Eggman about all this?"

"I'm sure they haven't." Rouge said. "They've got too much to lose, they're just as likely to be punished for the stuff they've done, believe me."

"Alright..." Sonic agreed, although a little uneasy. That was the only hiccup he saw in the plan, otherwise it should go pretty seamlessly. He knew how good Rouge was at staying hidden and stealthy - and really didn't expect there would be a problem for her to find the perfect spot to camp out until the moment to strike came.

It felt... almost too seamless, and he was just waiting for something to go wrong. Jeeze, since when did he become such a downer?

"I think... I think the plan makes sense!" Tangle agreed, a smile forming. "I think we can actually do this!"

Before Sonic gave his own opinion, he turned to Knuckles. Knuckles thought for a few moments before responding. "It appears to be feasible. I am a little worried as to what consequences will arise as the result of killing this... 'Eggman'. It sounds as the though the world will be in disarray. I feel as though we should plan more about that-"

"That is a problem for the future versions of ourselves to deal with." She cut him off. "What's important now is that we KILL this crazed madman and finally put an end to his dystopian rule!" Sonic noticed just how enthusiastic Rouge was, and eager. There was a hungry, bloodthirsty look in her wild eyes that he'd never seen before.

Knuckles slowly sighed. "The plan is fine enough, then. For what you want to achieve."

Sonic would be outvoted if he were disagree now, but even so - perhaps he didn't want to disagree. Perhaps he shouldn't underestimate Rouge's strategic skills, after all he could imagine the plan actually working. Either way, it was better than doing nothing at all, right? Sonic had no other alternatives to suggest.

"Alright, Rouge. We'll do it." Sonic said.

The sky was turning dark now, a rich navy blue decorated with the white sparkling stars. Sonic didn't think he could ever grow tired of seeing a beautiful night sky. The only reason he hadn't taken up stargazing was his inability to stay still and analyse the patterns or whatever- he much preferred a nighttime run instead.

"Hey, Knuckles!" Sonic called out from the boundary step, looking up at the echidna who was sat in front of the emerald. "I was wondering if you wanted to talk!"

"Is there something you require?" Knuckles asked.

"I mean, not particularly just- before I'm going to bed, I wanted to see you." They hadn't exchanged many words at dinner as Tangle carried a lot of the conversation. While he certainly appreciated her for that, Sonic did want some time to speak with Knuckles alone. "Just see how you are, you know?"

"I'm fine."

"Must be difficult." Sonic continued on. "Having all these people around after such long isolation." Sonic acknowledged with a small smile. "How has it been for you?" The hedgehog had noticed Knuckles more nervous nature and it made him feel worried - it wasn't like the echidna he knew before. Knuckles was always the type to stand proudly and confidently, unafraid to step up or voice his thoughts on anything if he felt it necessary. Sonic just hoped this Knuckles was okay.

"It's..." The echidna paused. "Well, it's been... taking some getting used to-"

"Kind of weird getting all these people at once on your doorstep, huh?"

"I guess. It's been... a lot-"

"Overwhelming?" Sonic inquired further, reading the echidna easily now.

"Sort of."

"I get it, bud." Sonic assured him gently. "I just wanted to say that, well, if you ever need to or just want to talk to me - I'm always happy to have us talk, just the two of us. We can train as well, whatever you like. Just... wanted to put that offer out there for you, okay?"

Knuckles was staring at him with an expression clearly surprised. "I- I see." The echidna looked down at the stone beneath him. "Thanks-"

"No problemo-" Sonic grinned with a thumbs up. "Let me leave you to it then, I'm gonna get some shuteye - make sure you get some sleep too, aye?" Sonic was already turning heel before he heard Knuckles speak up.

"G-goodnight-"

"Goodnight, Knuckles." Sonic smiled back, before finally dashing down the altar stairs.

Miles was back to whip the so-called Ultimate Life Form into shape.

"We need you at your maximum energy output to fuel our approaching festivities." The fox explained to Project Shadow with a smile. The hedgehog was collapsed on the floor having been let out of his pod, inhibitor rings back on so that he could recharge his body once again. "I've had clearance to use one of my own little projects on you... so let's go for a walk, shall we?"

The hedgehog-alien hybrid couldn't even stand on his own at the moment, let alone walk. Project Shadow was getting weaker by the day.

"You haven't been for a walk in a while, right?" Miles asked as he hoisted the alien-hedgehog up to his feet. He allowed Shadow's arm to drape over the fox's shoulders, and the hedgehog could take small, weak steps now he was being supported.

It was quite funny really, if Project Shadow had even slightly more strength, he was certain that he would be trying to kill him right now.

"Don't worry about getting tired, the journey isn't that long."

At least Miles was true to his word, it was a walk down a few hallways that the alien-hedgehog was barely conscious enough to process. Miles watched his slow blinks, the blank and glassy look in his eyes - his insufficient design was definitely wearing him down.

It was time to change that.

"Come along now." Miles coaxed, leading him to a door labelled clearly in bold letters at the top.

OPERATING THEATER

Chapter Text

Miles couldn't afford to have the Ultimate Lifeform attempt any sort of attack, so while the creature was still weak - he made sure to have him strapped down to the operating table with steel straps over his arms and legs.

"I believe I have found a way to eliminate your faults." Miles offered him happily, prideful of his breakthrough. He watched Project Shadow stare back at him, with the strongest glare he could manage at that time.

"Are you not happy? Nor grateful?" The fox asked.

He wanted to reply, but all that came out was a rasp. Miles was content with continuing. "Quite rude. Luckily for you I don't care too much about manners, I'm far more interested in the scientific breakthrough I'm-"

"What's your game?" The experiment finally asked, able to get out words from his scratchy throat.

"My game? All I aim to do with you Project Shadow is help you run more efficiently-"

"And if you do that, you make me stronger... Do you believe I'm here out of choice? If I had the strength you'd be DEAD, fox!" The sudden raising of his voice called him to lapse into a coughing fit.

It was certainly hard to feel threatened by a wheezing man. "It is true that in theory, yes - making you more powerful would make you harder to control - but" Miles leaned closer down to his face. "I'm confident in my methods."

The door had opened behind them.

"Chop chop chop!" Robotnik exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "We haven't got all day to chit-chat! My festival is fast approaching!"

"My apologies, Emperor." Miles turned around and gave him a bow. "I just... find this thing so fascinating." He admitted, turning back to Project Shadow and giving him a hard poke on the forehead. "Despite all of our attempts to break his will... his tenacity and fortitude have remained so strong... did Gerald somehow design this? Is it possible to manufacture great persistence and drive?"

"It wouldn't surprise me all that much." Robotnik spoke with a shrug, stepping forward and examining the hedgehog on the table. "He was a genius, after all. But it's more of an annoyance on our end..." He grumbled, crossing his arms. "Hardly matters though, since we managed to figure out the right serum."

"Of course!" Miles smiled, walking over to a tray and picking up a needle filled with a bright green, thick fluid. The hedgehog-alien squirmed as much as his restrained body would allow him to. "We'll never have to worry about letting him recharge again, our Empire battery will finally run continuously!" He grinned.

"I've been thinking about what you once said, Miles. About how Shadow's more useful to us as a weapon than a battery," Robotnik began, rubbing his chin in thought. "If we manage to truly control him as we hope, then I think I might just be willing to test him out on the field."

Miles blinked. "Then what about-?"

"A chaos emerald will do the trick, as you said."

"You said you didn't want ours to be separated in case any rebels got their hands on them."

"I did. But the likelihood of someone managing to sneak into the heart of the Empire to take it is low. And besides, they're basically useless unless you have all seven, and I'll still have two others close on my person. I think we can afford to take the risk."

"That makes sense." Miles spoke with a nod. "Good idea."

"You were the one who suggested that idea to me in the first place, Miles - do not forget. I'm simply choosing the time to implement it." The doctor went over to pat the young fox's shoulder fondly, and Miles gazed up at the man's face with awe. For his greatness to be acknowledged by the smartest man on the planet... it was a feeling that could only be described as euphoria!

"Yes, of course, my Emperor. It's always a pleasure to assist you in any way possible." Miles assured him.

"I know." Robotnik finally smiled and let go of the fox. "Now let's get a move on with this, shall we? I did want us to hurry."

"Absolutely!" The needle was prepped, but he realised Robotnik was about to talk to the experiment, so he withheld from inserting it just yet.

"Humiliating, isn't it?"

"You're the one that should be ashamed of yourself!" The hedgehog snapped back, he was clearly trying to push relentlessly against the straps and wriggle his way out, but his body was incapable of doing so.

"Come now, Shadow." The doctor sighed. "It's rude to yell at family."

Shadow let out something close to a cackle. "Family? I'd rather be dead than see you as family!"

Robotnik was dismissive, waving his hand. "Whatever. I don't particularly care for you either. In fact, I'm going to quite enjoy watching you suffer." The grin on his face grew terribly wide. "Because trust me, this will be much worse than death." Robotnik gave a nod.

Miles knew his cue, injecting the fluid into Project Shadow's shoulder and watching his eyes glow red.

What ensued was a blood-curdling yell that echoed down the halls.

The Day of The Festival - 9:00am

Slinger had been the marksman, he never missed. Whisper could not say comfortably that she was anywhere near as skilled with a gun.

Miraculously, she had managed to find a place on the rooftops that allowed her to observe the city below. It was rarely ever so crowded with everyone usually boxed within their factories. Today, they had different duties. They had to prepare for their Emperor.

Flags of the Empire's signature symbol were raised high, banners hung over the street reminding everyone of how long it had been since their freedom had been snatched away.

The Third Anniversary of Robotnik's Empire

Three whole years. It was a number that still didn't feel real. It somehow managed to feel like both the shortest and longest period of time in history.

One thing was clear though, it needed to end.

Whisper no longer had the assurance of Claire to tell her how likely a plan was going to succeed. She now had to traverse blindly forward to an invisible future.

Could she truly make this shot?

The world was crying out for change, to finally be set free of the chains Robotnik had tied them to. Someone had to do it, she told herself.

That's what Smithy always told her, right? Sitting around and waiting for things to change was ultimately pointless, if you wanted change - you had to bring it about yourself.

This is what they would have wanted her to do - to end the mission they had started, or die trying. They had fought against the Empire since its inception, and now with everything in place - if she didn't seize this opportunity, it'd be akin to spitting on their graves.

Whisper had to make this shot. For them.

She had a long day ahead of her, staying hidden from every pair of eyes until nightfall.

It began with Sonic falling through an endless sky.

He found it funny how after a while, his heart rate slowed and the adrenaline would just dissipate - and the experience became far more calming than it had any right to be.

Suddenly, the blue sky would fade to black - and Sonic would land down hard on some ground he couldn't even see. Thankfully it was a dream, and he couldn't feel a thing.

The hedgehog slowly stood up and surveyed his surroundings.

"Hi, Sonic."

Sonic gasped, turning to look behind him.

Tails was right there, smiling - Sonic couldn't help but smile too, rushing forward. "Tails!" He bent down to pick up the fox, twirling him into a hug. Sonic missed him, so so much.

"I wanted to thank you." Tails said, his tone even despite having been hoisted up into the air for an embrace. "For everything."

"What are you thanking me for, buddy?" Sonic asked with slight disbelief as he placed Tails down, wondering what he would even have to thank him for. Considering everything that happened... why would he be-?

Well, this was only a dream he supposed.

Tails didn't actually answer Sonic's question. "You ran away from the birthday party... when are you coming back?"

Ran away? The whole timeline was reset! Why did no one in his dreams understand that this wasn't his fault? None of it was!

Sonic sighed slowly. "I'll be coming back soon, bud. I promise you that." Sonic attempted to smile back in assurance.

Tails' face was blank, then he faded away.

As Sonic stared aimlessly ahead, he saw something unexpected. That blue portal! It had formed again just like in his previous dream. Sonic watched out for the silhouette of his friend as it had shown up last time.

"Silver?" Sonic called out.

The hedgehog actually jumped back as a head poked out of the swirling energy. His eyes widened - it actually was Silver! He appeared tired and drained, his spines all out of place. He was struggling to pull himself through the portal, grunting and straining. "Please-!" Silver gasped out. "Don't wake up again!"

What? Was this still a dream? Sonic rushed to help-

10:00am

"It's ten in the morning, silly! You gotta wake up!"

Sonic couldn't stop himself from letting out a groan. Tangle woke him up before he could- damnit. The hedgehog slowly sat up and began rubbing the sleep from his eyes, yet to acknowledge the lemur. The way Silver spoke to him compared to anyone else in his other dreams... it was more real. Was that actually Silver?

How was that even possible? Would it even be the Silver he knew, or this new timeline's variation? Already thinking about it was giving him a headache...

"Yoohoo!" Tangle called out, waving a hand in front of Sonic's eyes. "Ya there?"

"Wuh-? Uh yeah-" Sonic let out. "Sorry I just- my brain takes a while to wake up-" He said, rubbing his head.

"Heh, that's alright! I'm glad you got good sleep, I kept waking up in the night-" She admitted.

"Nervous?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah, just a little-" She laughed awkwardly. "The big day's really here! Felt like it would never come. I have faith in everyone's skills, don't get me wrong - a huge amount of faith! It's just- I don't want anyone getting hurt today - you know? I want things to go off without a hitch!"

His immediate instinct was to comfort her, but saying everything was going to be fine would feel like a lie. Sonic, more than anyone here, knew how ruthless and cunning Eggman truly was. The assassination attempt being thwarted was a very real and uncomfortable possibility.

"If things do go wrong, we've gotta have faith in ourselves - and in each other. I believe we're more than capable of overcoming any adversity, any hurdle sent our way." He grinned at her. "We've just gotta be confident."

"Confident." Tangle repeated. "Yeah... yeah that sounds right. We need confidence if we're going to pull this off!" She agreed.

"You're finally awake?" He heard Rouge question from the entrance. "I'm glad to see you got a good rest, because you certainly won't be sleeping tonight." She said with a small laugh.

There was an undoubtable aura of energy around her, an excited spark in her eyes. "Morning to you too, Rouge." Sonic said with his own small smile. "You seem oddly excited about this all."

"How could I not be?" Rouge asked. "I've been waiting for this opportunity for so long and it's finally here! It's like waiting for Christmas... but the wait was literal years. Ya feel me?"

Sonic just accepted it with an amused snort. "I guess."

"Now, get some breakfast, Blue." Rouge told him. "We're not going to the festival to eat the snacks."

"Awww, not even one?" Tangle pouted jokingly.

"You won't be able to stop me if I see a chilidog stand." Sonic added.

Rouge looked at him oddly before chuckling slightly. "What are they like- your favourite food? Weird taste..."

"There's nothing weird about them!" Sonic huffed indignantly. "What, can't handle spicy food?"

"I love spicy foods, but beef chili on my hot dog? I'd rather just have a hot dog at that point." Rouge said.

"I have to agree with Rouge here." Tangle spoke up with her views. "Classic hot dogs are," she made a chef's kiss gesture "simply superior."

"You two are just weak." Sonic could not stand for this chilidog slander.

"Nah, we're just right." Rouge corrected him. "Now stop talking about food and actually get something in your stomach, you need to be fully prepared for tonight. I don't want any fuck ups."

The conversation reminded Sonic of how much he missed the taste of a good chilidog, and his tummy grumbled just thinking of it. Oh well, he supposed he should be grateful for Angel Island's food in a world like this - and so he'd get out of bed and begin his pursuit of breakfast.

1:00pm

Knuckles sat listening to the whispers that filled his mind whenever he sat by the Master Emerald. He could never make out what they were actually saying, but it was strangely soothing all the same. It was the one note of familiarity in his life among all the chaos of the last few days.

Knowing that tonight he was going to be leaving the emerald while he went with Sonic to help pursue his goal, he couldn't help but feel a bit sick. He hadn't been able to bring himself to eat anything, almost feeling as though he didn't deserve it as he was leaving it behind.

Yet, this is what his people wanted right? They told him to help Sonic any means necessary! Then why was he beating himself up inside like this?

This was stupid, he needed something to distract himself with. Oh right, he had wanted to check out the treasury again... see if anything else had gone missing. Knuckles wasn't going to be very impressed if that was the case.

The journey to the treasure temple was short, thankfully. He really didn't want to have to kick anyone off the island, knowing how hellish the world was below - at least according to the word of his peers. He was sure that tonight would be an eye-opening experience.

At the entrance of the temple, Knuckles' eyes immediately lay upon a figure.

He wasn't all that surprised by who he saw.

"Put that down." Knuckles said firmly.

The bat dropped the long, glittering necklace she had been holding - right back into the pile of jewelry on the floor. She slowly turned around with a nonchalant expression, holding both her hands up to show they were empty. "Was I doing something wrong?" She asked lightly.

"Everything on this island is mine." Knuckles informed her simply, it couldn't be more clear for her to understand. "You don't have the right to take anything."

"Me?" Rouge gasped. "Take? Steal? I'd never!" She claimed.

"Since you arrived, several things from this place has gone missing. Don't lie to me." The echidna glared.

No longer being dramatic, Rouge held her gaze before responding with a smirk. "I had a debt to pay."

"Not my problem. Pay your debts with your own wealth." He warned her, quickly growing impatient. "This is your first and last warning, I'm not going to stand for this behaviour, so if you continue - I frankly don't care who you are, I will throw you off my island."

Somehow, his threats seemed to fly right over her head. "You know, I think that's the longest sentence I've ever heard you say since we met." She pointed out.

"That- has nothing to do with-" He didn't even know how to respond, and Rouge would end up cutting him off anyway, slowly approaching him, getting up close in his personal space.

"I do enjoy the strong and silent types." She remarked, reaching and using her finger to twirl one of his dreadlocks around it.

Knuckles immediately tensed, rigid as a brick - he could feel his cheeks practically burning. "I- uh-" He stuttered, almost certain his brain had somehow left his head entirely.

"We don't need our spend time arguing, it'd be such a waste." She sighed softly. "Let's just get back to the others and start sorting out everything before we leave tonight, okay? That'd be a much better use of our time, no?"

"Uhm-"

"Couldn't agree anymore." Rouge said, walking past him and exiting the temple. Knuckles eventually turned and stared after her in bewilderment. He had just caught her stealing from him... and somehow.. she had come out of their altercation on top?

It was cemented in his mind now - he didn't like Rouge very much.

He couldn't decide if her pretty face was a saving grace, or if it just made him dislike her more. Either way, he didn't quite understand what she had just done to him. Was she a witch? A demon? A combination of the two?

Knuckles shook his head, he'd be prepared for such tactics next time.

2:00pm

"Hey, Knuckles."

It seemed as though the echidna hadn't even realised that Sonic was sitting on the boundary step, as he was snapped out of his daze. "Oh, hi-"

"How ya doing?"

"Um-" Knuckles shifted his gaze to the side for a moment, as if he was deciding whether he should say something or not. "Can I be honest with you?"

"Sure." Sonic replied, sitting up with interest.

"I don't like this plan very much. Well, the plan itself is fine it's just- there's a lack of planning elsewhere."

Sonic rose a brow. "Go on."

"Well- the plan is to kill this Eggman person, what then? What happens after? These are important questions and not just a bridge we should cross when we get there. The world below is going to struggle when their leader is gone, they've gotten used to a tyrant - not thinking for themselves. It feels like we're about to bring utter chaos to the world here. The people won't know what to do with themselves, and I imagine there's a chain of command. You may be cutting the head off the snake, but at this rate I imagine the snake is just going to grow a new head. There has to be people that are going to take over, or at least fight for the leadership position. By getting rid of one problem... I feel like we're just creating more."

Knuckles was often unfairly labelled as the stupid one due to his ignorance of how things worked down on the surface, but that was only the result of his isolation. Looking beyond that, Knuckles understood battle strategies to an insane degree, and he learnt a lot of ancient war tactics from the documents left behind of his ancestors. He was well-informed in this area, and Sonic wasn't about to dismiss his concerns.

"Yeah, I think you're right." Sonic said. "But at the same time, who knows when we're ever going to have such a good opportunity to do this again? We might just have to seize it because there's no other choice."

"I understand that, but your leader- I think she's your leader? The bat woman, she should at least be thinking about these consequences but she refuses to."

Yet again it was very unusual behaviour compared to the Rouge he knew. In Sonic's old timeline, Rouge was always careful and thorough and would have absolutely considered all the consequences. Sonic could not say the same for this Rouge - who seemed quite... rash, if he was honest.

"And it's hard to get her to listen." Sonic agreed.

"Whatever way this goes, I wouldn't suggest following her lead anymore. She's ruthless, as a good leader should be. But her lack of planning is going to cause unnecessary harm."

"I get what you're saying, Knuckles. But still, I don't think she's a bad person, and definitely not stupid - we just need to work on our communication more, you know?" Sonic smiled at him. Sure, this Rouge was vastly different than the one he knew. His Rouge always had a warmth in her eyes and a glint of humour, and a bigger heart than she liked to admit to. While this Rouge had proven herself to be seemingly much colder, he hoped the Rouge he was more familiar with was somewhere inside.

"You have more patience than I do." Knuckles sighed.

"Me? Patient? Ha! Don't think I've ever heard that!" Sonic couldn't help but laugh. "It's not patience, Knux. I just believe in giving people chances."

"Well... it goes to show your compassion, I suppose. A true trait of a warrior."

"Heh, if you compliment me anymore I'm gonna blush." Sonic rubbed the top of his nose confidently. He always did enjoy a bit of praise. Sonic's eyes then widened. "Oh wait - I called you Knux, sorry- don't think we know each other enough for nicknames-"

"Oh..." Knuckles almost seemed disappointed, eyes looking downward. "I mean, I didn't mind it-"

"You didn't?" Sonic asked to make sure, after all it took a while for the old Knuckles to warm up to Sonic and he refused to allow them to 'get chummy' as it were. Perhaps this Knuckles was just desperate for friendship and connection. "Then I'll keep calling you Knux then."

Sonic felt his heart warm as he saw Knuckles grin. "Sure I don't mind that." The echidna said.

4:00pm

"Alright, you three. Tonight's the night!" Rouge announced. She had gathered the three of them up in their bedroom thing, whatever you wanted to call it - the stone that structure that vaguely resembled a room. Tangle and Sonic were sat on the bed looking up at Rouge and Knuckles stood a few paces away from everyone else, but was still listening.

She had everyone's attention. "I understand that this isn't exactly... easy for a lot of you, which is why I want us all to be here and have a pep talk now before our plan is underway. Tangle, I feel that you're nervous - but I assure you that you've got this girl. You haven't been on a big mission before like this and I imagine you're thinking of all these horrible scenarios that could happen. That's only gonna throw off you off your game, you gotta keep your eyes on the prize."

Tangle nodded with determination. "Yes, ma'am! I'll remember that."

"Knuckles, you must be nervous about what the world is like down below and working with us on a mission for the first time, but I assure you that we'll all be looking out for each other. We won't let you get lost and we certainly won't allow harm to come to each other. You've got this, you're an all powerful echidna god thing."

"Hm." Knuckles acknowledged. "Also I'm not a-"

"And Sonic," She interrupted him. "Chosen one status must mean you have a lot of pressure on you right now to do things right. But take it one step at a time, focus on executing each part of the plan as they come, and you're guaranteed success."

Sonic smirked. "Giving us pep talks, eh Rouge? What's got you to be so sweet all of a sudden?"

"I need you all on your A game." She told him. "That means you've gotta be both physically and mentally prepared. Because I swear to God if someone messes it up I will kill them-"

"Aaaaaand the nice moment's ruined." Tangle sighed with a weak smile.

"If we're going over the plan now..." Everyone turned to look at Knuckles, his face turning almost as red as his fur. "Can I ask... do I have to be one of the ones... dancing? Can I not swap places with Tangle?"

"I don't think you know how to drive, sweetheart. We need Tangle behind the wheel to steer the float." She pointed out.

Sonic couldn't help but think back to a simpler time when he and Tails had first taught him how to drive.

"Brakes." Tails had said.

The car kept moving forward. Tails leaned over and coughed to get his attention. "Knuckles... brakes."

"I'm... I'm trying-"

The fox took one glance out the front window and gasped when he saw how close a tree was. "Knuckles BRAKES! BRAKES, BRAKES, BRAKES-"

"I AM PRESSING THE BRAKES!" Knuckles snapped back.

Tails looked down at the echidna's feet. "Knuckles... THAT'S THE ACCELERATE!" He pointed at the right pedal. "BRAKES! THERE!"

Finally, Knuckles brought his foot down on the right pedal and the car grinded to a halt. Sonic, in the back seats of the vehicle, was heaving with laughter while Tails held his head in his hands.

"Ok now how do I..." Knuckles was attempting to move the car now and steer it away from the tree... but it resulted in a clunking nose as somehow the echidna managed to rip the steering wheel off the car. "Uh-"

Sonic and Tails stared at him with open mouths before Sonic began to wheeze, Tails tried to hold back his laughter with his hand but couldn't - snorting and giggling into it. "Knuckles... oh my God..."

Another glance at Knuckles' bewilderment sent the two into another fit of laughter. "Today's gonna be... a long day!" Tails managed to say.

Sonic loudly snorted at the memory and the others immediately looked at him. "Oh uh- don't mind me-" Sonic excused himself, and everyone was happy to move on.

Knuckles frowned. "Well... you have a point. Fine... but I'm not a great dancer."

"Oh trust me, it'll be easy. You're not gonna be expected to dance like a professional." Rouge said. "And it'll all be worth our victory in the end, so what if we sacrifice a little dignity on the way?" She shrugged.

"Whatever-" He grumbled, not satisfied but going along with it any way.

"Our main priority is making sure Eggman is dead. If shit hits the fan and things do spiral out of control, killing Eggman is the only thing you guys should be worrying about. Nothing else matters. You guys got that?"

It sounded a little foreboding, but Sonic understood the sentiment. "Mhm." The other two voice their agreement as well.

Sonic caught sight of the lemur's downcast face and didn't think too much of it.

5:00pm

Last minute festival security meeting... oh, what a joy.

It had been the standard discussing of safety hazards and what not, if Robotnik didn't have Miles behind him - Amy was certain that risk assessments would simply not exist in any corner of the Empire.

"And of course, we must make sure our Emperor remains safe throughout this event. Unfortunately, we must look upon even our own with suspicion." She couldn't help but notice Miles glance towards her as he said that. "Betrayal could come from anyone of you, which is why I find it best that if one of you were perhaps thinking... of trying anything funny... you might just want to know the consequences of said actions."

Miles smiled as he went behind the curtain of the stage. Amy was confused, what was he even on about? She knew what lied ahead... the end of her life as she knew it.

Gasps and even a scream sounded out through the room. A few people jumped out of their chairs, including Amy. Miles had rolled in a cage. Inside? A sort of deformed, monstrous hedgehog. It had a long tail and the white's of its eyes were black, and its red irises glowed. It bared its sharp teeth and talon-like claws as it gripped hold of the bars of the cage. It hissed loudly and roared before moving sporadically on four legs like some sort of wild animal.

Yet, there was undeniably a mobian quality to it. Like they had taken a hedgehog and... turned it into something far more monstrous.

"Meet Project Shadow. Don't let the animalistic look fool you, he is a warrior with capabilities that far exceed anyone in this room." Miles explained. "We're... on a few test runs with him. We want to really see what he can do. So what perfect way to help with the testing process than to make use of what is no longer of use, traitors will be thrown his way and... well-"

Miles picked up the plush bear that had been placed on the stage, Amy having had no reason why until now. The young fox dropped the bear into the cage.

Project Shadow tore the bear to shreds, the stuffing inside spraying throughout the cage as he tore into the bear with his fangs and claws and tossed the thing around. It was relentless - sheer overkill.

"It will be a great learning experience for all." Miles concluded with a sadistic smirk.

7:00pm

It was time.

Sonic, Tangle, Rouge, and Knuckles stood upon the hill overlooking Station Square, the very one that Sonic had initially landed himself up on when he first entered the timeline. Thinking about it, he had come so far already - already gathering up some friends and figuring out how to set things right.

It felt as though things were coming full circle, and it allowed him to feel just a bit more at ease.

Knuckles' locks blew gracefully in the wind. The echidna had ditched the gold headpiece but was still wearing his toga. Even though his clothing was light, the harsh cold of the wind didn't seem to bother him. Tangle on the other hand had a jacket on and a bandana around her neck to keep her warm and she was still shivering. Rouge stood gazing at the city, unphased as her own long hair flowed behind her.

Needless to say, Sonic was very grateful for his jacket.

"This is it." Rouge said.

In the distance, they call all make out the hues of orange and yellow light that danced among the buildings. Even music could be heard faintly from their position.

"We all know what to do?" She asked.

Sonic, Tangle, and Knuckles all nodded.

"Alright..." The silence between them lingered as everyone gathered themselves.

"Let's do this."

Chapter Text

"It's a pleasure..."

Not a breath could be heard as their leader addressed them, hanging on to every word.

"... To stand before you today, to mark the end of my third year as Emperor, and begin the fourth."

His smile could not have been more wide.

"I remember how it all began - in a run-down shack, picking up the metal scraps and the research papers left behind by my grandfather, and using those fragments to build the greatest creations known to man. With that same ingenuity, same pair of hands - I seized the world, picking up the fragments of that broken planet... and transforming it into what it is today."

He pointed at the crowd.

"I TOLD YOU ALL THAT THE WORLD WAS GOING TO CHANGE!" He roared. "THAT UNDER ME, THE PLANET WOULD BE AT MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY! THE INTELLIGENT AND THE INNOVATORS HAVE TAKEN THEIR RIGHTFUL SEATS AS THE RULERS OF THE LAND - AND HAVE USED THOSE MINDS OF THEIRS TO CREATE PARADISE! I HAVE BUILT PARADISE!"

The crowd of starving withering people gazing up at Robotnik erupted into a deafening cheer.

"MAKE NO MISTAKE! I AM YOUR DICTATOR! ONLY I KNOW HOW TO LEAD THIS WORLD TO GREATNESS! ONLY I KNOW HOW TO SALVAGE YOUR PATHETIC LIVES AND GRANT THEM PURPOSE! ONLY I AM CAPABLE OF LEADING YOU TO GREATNESS. I'M NOT STOPPING AT THIS MEASLY PLANET, NO, I WILL NOT STOP UNTIL THE WHOLE UNIVERSE IS MINE!"

He let out a dark chuckle.

"All I want for you, citizens, is to reach your full potential. I have perfected society in a way that means that everyone contributes, that everyone is giving it their all to keep everything running like a well-oiled machine. In many ways, you are the cogs of this glorious Empire - playing a part in the most meaningful endeavour of your lives. This coming year, I want everyone operating at perfection - taking on the jobs they are gifted with pride. "There are gross rumours beginning to circle... of people trying to tear down what I have worked towards... but I assure you, it is of no concern. They will learn to see the value in what I've built... or they will simply cease to be."

It almost felt directed at him. Sonic folded his arms, listening and feeling a hot rage bubble and burn underneath his skin. Eggman couldn't see him, but Sonic had a view of the doctor clear as day on the several screens that displayed the speech. The old man looked the same for the most part, but with some royal flair. Golden armour plates sat upon his shoulders as a long cape draped behind him. All he needed was a crown to complete the look, Sonic was frankly surprised he didn't have one already.

The hedgehog's eyes drifted off to the high stage in the far distance, where Eggman's body was nothing more than a speck. It took a significant amount of resistance to not give into his urge to sprint ahead and beat him to a pulp-

Damn it, since when did he get so violent?

Once, he had morals - he had always told himself he didn't need to stoop to killing to defeat Eggman, otherwise he'd be no better than the evil doctor himself. Yet, here he was - participating in a plot to end his life for good.

What had exactly changed? Was it desperation?

He didn't really want to linger on these feelings, so instead he'd turn his attention to his team. He noticed Rouge's body tremble - and he couldn't tell whether it was nerves or anger as she listened to the doctor. Tangle's nerves were much more obvious with her worried eyes and the way she fidgeted with her hands. On the other hand, Knuckles seemed to be the only one not paying attention to the words - rather everything surrounding him. The echidna looked so shocked and horrified to a degree with his wide eyes and open mouth. He was taking in every detail of this ruined world for the first time, and what a far cry it was from Angel Island. Knuckles probably couldn't even fathom a place like this.

"After the parade and performances, you'll hear from some of my Egg Bosses about our plans for the future." Eggman was concluding. "Do enjoy tonight. You have no reason not to."

The crowd roared and clapped. How brainwashed did you have to be to give a man like that applause? Sonic wanted nothing more to free them from his grip, to give them their freedom back. They didn't deserve any of this, nothing could tell him otherwise.

"Speech is over, so the parade is starting up." Rouge informed them. "When all the floats have left except for the last, that's when we strike."

The first was already departing from the parking area, and frankly Sonic was grateful that Rouge had found them a perfect spot behind a factory - keeping them out of sight of the crowd but close enough to peer over and observe the goings on.

"Tangle?" Rouge spoke up. "I think you'd be the best to take care of them."

"Hm?" The lemur seemed startled before her cheeks flushed pink and she corrected herself. "I-I mean of course, yeah!"

"Ssssssh." The bat quickly put a finger up to her lips. "Not so loud."

"S-sorry-!" Tangle whispered back, it was evident that she wasn't much of an infiltrator.

"Is this seriously what it looks like now...?" Knuckles said quietly. "Is every place on the planet like this?" He asked them all in disbelief.

"This apocalyptic? Pretty much. There are a few exceptions with some nature but... not exactly easy to get to those places." Rouge replied to him, keeping her eyes on the floats that were leaving. "Goes to show all the damage one man is capable of causing."

"I... can't believe anything like this was allowed to happen in the first place." Knuckles admitted honestly. "I thought, there were people watching over the world... that wouldn't allow this sort of thing."

Although he didn't specify, Sonic knew that Knuckles must be referring to his ancestors - the ones who guided him. Still, it seemed a little weird, Knuckles had never really gave off the impression that he believed his ancestors would protect him or something.

"Well if their are divine spirits supposed to be protecting us they're doing a shit job." Rouge remarked dryly. "That or they just don't care, one of the two."

Knuckles opened his mouth to retort but was beaten by Tangle. "Whatever the case may be - it's clear the power is in our own hands to bring an end to this." She gave a small smile. "We've gotta have faith in ourselves to do this."

Her optimism was greatly appreciated in that moment, a drop of sunlight amidst the dark cruelty masked as a 'festival'. Sonic did wonder where exactly Tangle was in his own timeline, she'd make a splendid hero - she had already proven herself as more than enough in his eyes.

"Mhm." Rouge acknowledged, but was mostly dismissive as she focused at the parking lot. There was no one left there now but the last four remaining workers and the remaining float. "There's your cue, Tangle."

"Oh, right!" Tangle quickly exclaimed. The lemur didn't need to move an inch to attack, her tail did all the hard work as it stretched out and battered four of the unfortunate workers in one fell swoop - slamming them against the harsh outer walls of the factory. There was no way they wouldn't be unconscious after that. "S-sorry!" She called out to them with worry, despite the fact they couldn't hear her now.

Rouge already began to walk ahead, but Tangle called out to her. "Uh- what do I do with them-?"

The bat pointed to the far corner. "Trash can over there - large enough for them all."

The lemur stared at her for a moment, before sighing quietly - scooping up the unconscious bodies into the fluffy end of her tail and somehow managing to reach over and open the trash can at the same time. The more time he spent with Tangle, the more he realised her tail wasn't just a weapon, but a third arm with many tufts of fur to act as 'fingers.' It was just a superior arm in many ways.

She placed them all within the trash can. It was hardly a dignified or respectful option, but Sonic knew they didn't want anyone finding them - otherwise people would know that there were imposters upon the float, and not the actual performers.

They all made their way to the float, Rouge ahead of the pack. Sonic watched her smirk as she bent down to pick up something on the floor. "Well boys, I did warn you."

"Yeah you were right, they are ugly!" Sonic exclaimed in agreement, grimacing. Knuckles didn't look all that impressed either.

You couldn't even make it up if you wanted to, the costume was quite literally the shape of an egg - just with an embroidered design of his outfit and face on it. The large shape of the costume would keep your whole body concealed aside from your spindly arms and legs. So... not all that different from the real Eggman, he supposed. "See? Even he knows he's egg shaped!" Sonic added.

"Yeah, yeah we get it - your nickname for him is fitting." Rouge didn't seem all too interested in the banter now, handing Sonic and Knuckles their outfits. The echidna eyed it with disgust, took a hesitant sniff of it, and immediately regretted it as his face scrunched up.

Tangle meanwhile seemed quite pleased with herself. "Sucks to be you guys, I'm out of sight behind a wheel baby." She grinned. "No stupid costumes for me!" She gloated, but not without good humour.

Sonic smiled in response. "Anymore teasing and I'll be swapping places with you Tangle." He joked, and Tangle stuck her tongue at him playfully.

"Oh, this is a fashion crime..." Rouge groaned miserably, popping the costume over her head. "Hurry it up boys, we don't have all night."

Being reminded of that, Sonic scrambled to put his on, and Knuckles slowly followed.

...

"Haha... HAHAHAHAHHAA!" It was a bit hard to make out, but Tangle's laughter was loud and clear, and he could just about see her bending over due to the force of her chuckles. "You look so ugly and stupid!" She wiped away a tear that was forming in her eyes.

"Thanks for your insight, Tangle." Rouges voice spoke from within the costume in a monotone, but she already began to head up the stairs to the top of the float.

Honestly, the float itself wasn't all that impressive. The ones in the front of the parade had been in extravagant red and golds - even with statues of the man itself. In comparison, the float they had been stuck with was a dull silver metal with the Eggman's face on the front, in an odd way it reminded him of the Death Egg. It was as though the idea of a festival of parade floats had excited the doctor at first when he had been designing them, but then got bored towards the end and just started recycling old ideas.

However, a bland design meant that all eyes were more likely to be on those dancing on top of it.

Sonic and Knuckles trudged up the stairs behind.

"Why are there so many controls in this thing?" He heard Tangle briefly say in confusion before she was out of earshot, and Sonic couldn't help but smile.

Now, the dancers were upon their stage, and their driver as in their seat. All pieces were in play now, and Sonic didn't know about the rest of them - but he himself was ready. The float began to slowly drive forward.

"The doctor always rambled on and on about achieving perfection, always performing at your best no matter the circumstance-" Rouge began.

"Those would be some inspirational words only if they came out of any other mouth." Sonic said.

"I agree. But the point I'm getting at is - you don't need to be good at dancing, just give it all you have, with all the fucking enthusiasm you can muster."

Alright, he could do that. It was but one small step towards trying to end the tyranny once and for all.

Surprisingly, there hadn't been a single disaster.

Everything was going smoothly, Tangle seemed to know what she was doing in the driving department - and the trio of dancers were, maybe he was a little biased, but the thought they were absolutely killing it.

Knuckles had said he wasn't a good dancer but he was proving himself wrong - even when it was hard to see anything out of the eye slits, he could tell Knuckles understood rhythm and the timing to the music. He moved his legs and arms and was giving the performance a lot of energy, and while his footwork may not be as impressive as his own, Knuckles was quite good at it.

Rouge on the other hand, was extraordinary. She possesses a fiery stage presence with all of her movements, making plenty of gestures to hype the crowd. Her footwork was putting his shame with how fast she could move.

Had Rouge always been this good? She often did say she was a woman of many talents - he supposed these kind of surprises were what she meant.

The three of them were in sync, perfect harmony - and even with their limited field of vision, they had managed to not bump into each other.

For a moment as he let his body be moved by the music, he felt like he was having a good time. One look at the crowd brought him back to his senses though - their vigorous dancing, their laughs that were too loud and smiles that were too wide - all the celebration going on that the man simply did not deserve.

Yet he was getting it anyway.

Having lost himself in his thoughts, he didn't even realise the float had stopped and that they were now in a new parking lot - he only became aware when Rouge shoved his arm slightly. "Impressive work, Blue." She complimented him. "But we've gotta get moving."

They were now parked up with the rest of the floats, but the workers had left them before their float had arrived. They had one last breath of solitude before the rest of their plan would commence.

Hopping down and removing their costumes, the three were relieved to no longer be trapped in a stuffy egg suit.

"You guys were awesome!" Tangle cheered as she shot out of the driver's seat and went out to greet them. "The crowd seemed to be loving you!"

"Aren't they just pretending to be having a good time anyway?" Knuckles grunted.

"Well- yeah-" Tangle admitted, not really have a good response to that.

"You were better at dancing than you tried to claim, Knux." Sonic smirked.

"I still hated every second of that-"

"Good thing that part is over then. We got what we wanted - we're in the festival." Rouge dumped her costume to the side and the others followed suit. "Sonic, Tangle, Knuckles - get going, the Babylon Rogue's performance starts in a few minutes and I need you all in position. Knuckles, you'll find me on the left wings of the stage." She pointed in the direction, Sonic almost jumped when he realised just how much closer they were.

Now, he could see that Eggman wasn't alone - Amy was with him too, standing right by his side. There were others adorning similar uniforms to her, other Egg Bosses if he had to guess - except one platypus guy that was standing on the other side of Eggman who was wearing a luxurious purple coat.

"Good luck, Rouge." Sonic said.

She gave him one last glance. "You too." And then she flew off.

Sonic let out a long breath.

"Remember - it's important we look just as happy as the rest of the crowd, otherwise we're gonna draw suspicion." Tangle reminded them.

The two guys nodded.

"Alright, let's go then." Sonic said.

She just didn't know.

Tangle wanted to have faith in Rouge, faith in the plan, faith in a bright future that lie ahead of them. She did not have that though, not fully anyway. Eggman seemed so untouchable, she remembered how easily he had risen to power, how effortless it was for him to turn the world upside down.

Were four misfits really enough?

One look in the eyes of Sonic and Knuckles abruptly swept her worries away. Seeing their fierceness and passion, she could practically feel the strength radiating off of them. They were both so cool... with them, she felt like she did stand a chance after all.

She'd keep smiling for them.

"We're not heading to the stage, we wanna go to the centre arena where the rogues are performing. You know I'm glad there was a map of the place in that float otherwise I would not have remembered where I was supposed to go- Oh! Crowd incoming- be happy- OH WOW," She called out loudly. "ISN'T ROBOTNIK SO GREAT FOR LETTING US HAVE THIS WONDERFUL CELEBRATION?"

"HE IS SO GENEROUS, AND HE THROWS SUCH GREAT PARTIES TOO!" Sonic understood the assignment.

"WE DON'T DESERVE HIS KINDNESS!" Knuckles, a little surprisingly, did too. His smile was rather noticeably forced though.

Yet again, everyone's was.

They shoved and danced their way through the crowd to make their way closer to the centre square. She could at least appreciate the fact that the festival did have some rather good music, reminding her of traditional samba. The streets were decorated with lights like it was Christmas morning, and the smell of freshly made goods wafted in the air - causing her stomach to growl. Several people had dived to those food stands, desperate to actually have full stomachs for once.

As hungry as Tangle was, who knew what was in that food? She'd only touch it if she had to.

She laid her eyes upon a large area blocked off with white tape. "This is it, we just need to be around here so we can easily attack them- Knuckles, you know what to do." She smiled at him encouragingly.

"Be careful." The echidna told them both, watching them carefully before pushing his way back through the crowd - going off to find Rouge and tell them that they were in position.

"This'd be so much easier if we just had phones, huh?" She told Sonic lightly.

"Yeah..." Sonic blinked. "It would. Why... aren't we using them? Or like- not even radio communicators?"

"The Empire tracks all frequencies. It's definitely not safe or secure." Tangle explained. "So-"

"Hello, everyone!"

The crowd fell silent and turned in unison to either watch a nearby screen, or the stage itself. It was Egg Boss Rose, making a speech probably to introduce to the performance.

"It is a great honour for this city to be hosting this year's Annual Empire Festival!" The pink hedgehog beamed. "I have been working tirelessly to enforce the rule of our saviour onto the people of my land, and it has produced excellent results! To celebrate the progress made on robotics and scientific production this year, it is my pleasure to announce that we are about to witness a performance of the one and only BABYLON ROGUES!"

Tangle yelled and fist pumped along with the crowd. Sonic had previously been good at acting to blend in, but now he stood perfectly still with a stony expression. She didn't know whether to say anything or not... maybe this was just how he focused.

"They're ready." Knuckles said from behind her. "It took a while for me to find you..."

"Means I've hidden myself well." Rouge smiled. "Now do be quiet, we don't want anyone hearing us."

The bat's heart pounded in her chest rapidly as she removed the glove off of her metal hand, staring at the shiny blue circle on her palm. She hadn't had that much experience with the laser function, but it was surprisingly similar to firing a gun. She knew how to aim well with those.

She had a clear shot from here. His lackeys had their backs turned and Eggman himself had his back turned, oblivious to the fate that lied ahead of him.

A lot of her effort was being used up as she fought to keep herself from laughing in ecstasy, adrenaline coursed through her veins and was making her shake from head to toe. After all this time, she could finally slaughter that old man, and make him pay for what he did.

Sonic's distraction couldn't come sooner.

The Babylon Rogues' skills were impressive, the way they dashed and weaved among each other - leaving colourful trails of smoke behind them and forming shapes in the sky - the latest? The Empire logo - Eggman's stupid face.

The crowd loved it, apparently.

Several times, Sonic could have sworn they were about to crash into each other - but they knew their way with a board, and were able to manoeuvre themselves at tremendous speeds.

That was quite enough sitting around though.

"Tangle, everything looking alright?"

"Nothing seems off." The lemur confirmed.

"Alright. I'm going in."

"You can do this."

Sonic gave her a thumbs up.

Turning to look up at the sky, he awakened the energy deeply rooted inside of him - his green eyes glowed blue, and pale blue sparks began to shoot off from his body.

He was the distraction, he needed to be flashy.

What was more distracting than a tornado?

He leapt over the tape and began to run. At blinding speeds, he circled the rogues again and again - wind pulling against his face and fur but Sonic was stronger - much, much stronger.

Wave and Storm huddled together to avoid getting swept up by the vigorously twirling air - Jet distanced himself from them, making him a perfect target, easy to hit.

Sonic leapt towards the hawk, energy swirling around his fist.

Had Rouge already fired the shot? He had no way of knowing.

Sonic yelled at the top of his lungs.

His muscles abruptly became numb as he froze in place, right in the middle of the air. All he could see before him was a purple haze.

"Nothing seems off." The lemur confirmed.

Sonic wanted to faint.

How-? What-?

Time had reversed again... yes, it had! The Babylon Rogues were just finishing up making the logo again! Tangle was saying the same thing as before!

Yet how? Sonic had done nothing to prompt it.

"Sonic..." Tangle's voice was filled with concern. "You look very pale and ghostly right now... you okay?"

No, he wasn't. Why did time reset again? What would happen if Sonic tried again? The same thing?

Or did time reset... so something different could happen?

Had Rouge already used his distraction to her advantage? Had she taken his life?

Did the timeline reset in response to that?

No, surely not. That would mean time itself was protecting Eggman...

Sonic began to deeply and rapidly breathe, searching around him desperately. The screens were all showcasing the performance... until they switched to show Eggman.

Those not scanning every inch of the TV screen wouldn't spot it, but Sonic caught sight of his hand. He used his index finger to make a beckoning gesture.

"Sonic... can you hear me?" Tangle's voice was a muffle.

No... surely not.

"Tangle..." His voice was hoarse. "I'm calling off this plan-"

"Huh?" She rose a brow, her face looking a little anguished as she placed her hands on Sonic's shoulder. "No, no Sonic - you can do this! Don't let your nerves get to you-!"

"No, Tangle. I don't need a pep talk!" He said desperately. "This plan... its not going to work!"

And he was powerless to explain why.

"Sonic, is this fear... or something you genuinely believe?" Sonic's worry seemed to spread to Tangle.

"This plan is going to fail, Tangle. If we go through with it, we all risk getting ourselves killed. We risk other people getting killed!"

"I-" She was speechless. "We've gotten so far... who knows when we'll have this opportunity again! Are you sure this is what's right-?"

Sonic nodded as firmly as he could.

"O-okay..." She finally yielded with a quivering sigh. "What are you gonna do now then?"

"I'm gonna tell you to get back to the float, we'll meet you there."

"Convincing Rouge to back down is gonna be-"

"Hard? Yeah. Already figured. I'll drag her with me if I have to." Sonic was getting a little impatient, but he was mostly concerned for his friends' safeties. "I'll see you in a bit Tangle."

He made his way as fast as he could through the crowd.

"What's taking him so long...?" Rouge muttered under her breath. "The performance is about to end..."

Knuckles could do nothing but linger behind her, he had no answer for her question.

"Rouge! Knux!" Sonic called out to them in a tone that was loud enough for them to hear, but quiet enough so that he didn't alert any of the villains.

"Sonic?" The bat turned to face him and so did the echidna. "What are you doing here? You're out of position-"

"We can't go through with this! We have to get out of here!"

"Are you kidding me right now?! Just because you're getting cold feet I'm supposed to call this whole thing off?!" Rouge's face was flushed with anger.

"Please Rouge," He was practically begging her. "This isn't going to work! You're endangering everyone by continuing with this!"

"I-!" Rouge began to protest before being cut off.

"Knuckles, do you agree to back down?"

He bit his lip. "Okay first, keep your voices down, they're starting to get loud. Second, I'm here to make sure you succeed, Sonic. I'm... I'm standing by your wishes." He sounded uncertain about his own stance.

"See?" Sonic turned back to Rouge. "Knuckles agrees and so does Tangle, she's currently waiting back at the float- Tangle?!"

The lemur was now behind the group, rushing towards them. "Yeah so I was supposed to be there, but then I realised Rouge is unlikely to listen to you but maybe she'll listen to me- Rouge, please, we need to go-"

...

Everything seemed to fall silent and become slower as all their eyes turned a bright blue beam that was being fired from the opposite end of the stage, heading right towards the Emperor.

They watched helplessly as Amy swiftly turned around, holding out her hammer to deflect it and swing the energy away.

"Get back here!" Amy called out, dashing to find the perpetrator whom had jumped on top of a rooftop.

It was a masked wolf, nothing Sonic could recognise. She held a complicated and large gun in her hands but was quickly running from the scene.

They hadn't been the only ones lining up to kill Eggman.

"How adorable." Eggman spoke with a smile.

All the action in the celebration had stopped, the Babylon Rogues' show had ended and the people below were dead silent and still. They had been able to see clear as day the moment that their leader was almost killed.

The cameras all cut off their feed and staff began to usher and yell at people to go back indoors. The party had finished abruptly early.

"It's funny how... there are still some people that think they can outsmart me."

All four of them felt shivers down their spine as they felt the presence of someone behind them.

"But I assure you, I'm always a step ahead."

They all turned to face them

"The Station Square rebels, we were wondering if you were going to show up." A very recognisable yellow fox stood and smiled, seemingly nonchalant about the whole ordeal.

"N-no..." Sonic gasped out.

"Bravery or stupidity? Or is there any point to ask, for both are the same?" His smugness.. it wasn't like him. It couldn't be him!

"Tails?"

Miles rose a brow. "Yes, I have two tails. How observant of you. You know, for a man trying to ignite a revolution, those aren't very impressive words coming out of your mouth."

Sonic didn't feel like he could stand.

"Like lambs to the slaughter." Eggman spoke with amusement on the opposite end of the four. They were surrounded.

Sonic couldn't take his eyes off of his buddy. His little buddy...

"How misguided you souls are..." Miles sighed.

"T-Tails? Come on dude, snap out of it!" Sonic stepped towards the fox with his begging plea.

The fox narrowed his eyes. "Are you... trying to call me Tails? My name is Miles! Miles Robotnik!"

No no no!

"Tails, please! Listen to me! I-I'm your friend-!"

"Ugh, I'll save you the embarrassment shall I?" Eggman cut in, snapping his fingers.

Purple smoke filled the area around him, the only thing still being visible to the hedgehog now was the doctor himself. It was all becoming fat too much, he found himself on his knees, hands on the ground as he fought to keep his breath in check.

"Long time no see, Sonic the Hedgehog."

"You... you know everything." Sonic's head hung low and he spoke with a rasp. "The old timeline..."

"Finally figuring it out, are you?" Eggman began to walk in a slow circle around him, hands behind his back. "Of course I remember the old timeline, I'm the one who rewrote it!" He pointed out. "And what use would rewriting it be if I didn't learn from my old mistakes?"

"And you... you made time reset just now, didn't you? Rouge shot you, didn't she?"

"She fired a shot, she might have killed me, if the Time Eater didn't protect me. It does that, you know."

Sonic gritted his teeth.

"You ignorant... spiky blue-haired fur ball, I'm the commander of time now! It bends to my will! MWAHAHAHAHA!" He cackled. "I will always be protected, no matter what! You thought you stood a chance at killing me? Bah!"

The hedgehog was seething. "What did you do to Tails?"

"I recognised his value, and I didn't let it go to waste." He explained simply. "And I must say it was worth the reaction! I have never seen you so livid!" He went on. "I have lived two lifetimes. As far as I'm concerned, that timeline you emerged from was merely the test run. Here, my victories are absolute! Set in stone in the passage of time and there's nothing you can do to-!"

Sonic stood up and sprinted forward, pulling his arm to deliver a punch-

Everything became purple.

"How misguided you souls are..." Miles sighed.

There was nothing he could do, nothing he could say to get the fox to listen.

Sonic wanted to scream.

"Perfect opportunity for a test run, isn't it, Emperor?"

"Absolutely! Retrieve the Ultimate Life Form!" Eggman commanded.

Surely not...

"You four are a rather troublesome bunch... aren't you?"

Rouge suddenly pulled out a dagger from her belt, the same one she had tried to stab him with. Eggman was surprisingly nimble, able to dodge and weave her attempts to cut him down with her blade.

Or it was less Eggman's skill, and more Rouge's blind rage that was the problem. She was seeing nothing but red as she yelled in her attempts to inflict any sort of injury. "You'll pay, damnit! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY!" She screeched.

Sonic only just now noticed that all of the other Egg Bosses were gone, how odd. Tangle's tail extended behind her, ready to give Rouge backup while Knuckles balled up his fists.

"Will you now?" Eggman smirked. "We'll see about that." He clicked his fingers yet again, but yielded much different results.

With a ferocious snarl, something slammed itself into Rouge and pinned her to the ground. She gasped in fear, helplessly squirming under the creature's strength, doing everything she could in an attempt to pull him off.

Sonic knew the spines and colours... but everything else was unrecognisable.

"What happened to you...?" Sonic whispered.

Shadow, barely comparable to a hedgehog, was now a beast - scales had replaced fur, his pupils were narrowed like a lizard, his teeth dangerously long and sharp. His eyes glowed and his eyes were black where they should have been white. His long tail swished behind him, and he couldn't help but notice how the pointed tip would make an effective cutting edge.

Sonic was so stunned at the sight that he stood rooted to the spot as Shadow impaled her through the stomach with her own dagger.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Tangle shot her tail out in attempt to restraint Shadow.

"Be careful! He has chaos energy-!" Knuckles called out to her.

Before she could process what that really meant, her tail made contact with the creature - and in response the hedgehog shot crackling chaos energy from his body that shot through the lemur's tail. She yelped as she was shocked all throughout her body, feeling like she was being stung over and over. She immediately let go of him.

Shadow seemed to forget about Rouge as he stood up, glaring with fury at Tangle. Sonic could see Knuckles was ready to step in but Sonic, now finding himself able to move, was much faster. He landed a punch to Shadow's chest.

"You guys go!" He called out to them. "I'll hold him off!"

In response, Shadow grabbed hold of Sonic's arm before he could pull it away, and dug his sharp claws right through the hedgehog's skin and immediately drawing blood. Sonic cried in agony.

"We aren't leaving you-!"

"Of course you aren't." Miles interjected. "In what world would I let any of you escape?" He asked.

Eggman placed a hand on Miles' shoulder. "It doesn't matter, Miles. Do not waste your effort, either they die here or escape to live another day - and that's fine by me."

"But-" The fox gazed at him questioningly.

"Trust me, Miles."

Sonic kneed the creature in the stomach and managed to create a distance between them. He then tried to launch several kicks, but he warped behind him and dug his claws straight down Sonic's back. His cries were loud - shit, this fight was going so awfully. It didn't help that Sonic could barely think straight right now, all of this... all of it was becoming too much.

"I'm helping you whether you like it or not!" Knuckles suddenly announced angrily, charging forward before bending down and punching the ground. The ground shook furiously and Shadow let go of Sonic as he tried to remain balanced. Knuckles was quick to take advantage of this - landing a hard hitting right hook to his face and sending the creature flying.

Knuckles was panting. "Sonic, take Rouge and Tangle and get out of here! This guy has far too much chaos energy!"

"N-no!" Sonic grunted out, still in agony. "You don't know... what you're getting into!"

"And you're in no condition to solo this guy so don't even try it! Save the girls, and I'll catch up with you!"

Sonic looked down at the unconscious Rouge with her horrific stomach wound, and the distraught lemur sat on the floor - quivering and wincing as every movement of her body made her muscles ache.

"I-!"

"Stop being an idiot and just go!"

Shadow had recovered, warping behind Knuckles - somehow the echidna was fast enough to head bump Shadow aggressively, an attack that caused both of them a but of pain.

Sonic recognised he had no choice, the girls needed to get out of here. Hell, he needed to get out of here, he could feel blood dripping down his back. "Tangle, get Rouge in your tail, I'll carry you." Sonic told the lemur. She obliged, wrapping Rouge up with her tail and allowing Sonic to pick her up.

They dashed away, and Miles couldn't believe that Eggman was happy to let them go.

There had to be a reason, right?

Miles fiddled with the dials on the frequency box in his hands to make sure everything was in order. Eggman grinned widely. "I do love a good celebration all about me... but, I think I prefer this type of thing. Blood sports, if you will."

The echidna and hybrid had been exchanging blows, but none had a stronger advantage. Shadow hit faster, but Knuckles hit harder. Shadow struck with his claws and managed to deeply cut the echidna's cheek. Knuckles retaliated by upper-cutting Shadow, grazing the beast's chin with the spikes on his hands and sending the hedgehog flying up in the air.

Shadow allowed himself to land gracefully by warping back down on the stage, and then summoning a chaos spear - he tossed it at the echidna.

Knuckles ducked. "Enough of this!" He announced, and his eyes glowed green.

He held his arm up, and the Master Emerald's energy sparked through the sky like lightning.

"The Servers are the Seven Chaos! Chaos is Power! Power enriched by the Heart! The Heart is the controller! The Controller exists to UNIFY THE CHAOS!" Thunder began to rumble. "Spirits of my ancestors - take the chaos energy away from this beast - AND ALLOW ME TO BE ITS HOST!"

Chapter Text

Amy didn't know if she could run for much longer.

She had chased down the mysterious assassin through the hills outside the city, and far into the jungle - the untouched Mystic Ruins.

The hedgehog found herself tripping over and stumbling on hidden twigs and rocks as she sprinted after her. The masked woman herself did not seem to have these same issues, even with her large cape flowing behind her.

The distance between them continued to grow.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" Amy called out desperately.

As if she would listen.

"YOU CAN'T RUN FOREVER!"

The woman didn't acknowledge her, she kept running.

Struggling to catch up on her breathing, Amy realized she did not have much left in her to keep pursuing them. Did they just have incredible endurance, or was Amy weaker and more pathetic than ever?

At least she had an idea.

She summoned her hammer, mustered up all the strength she could in her arms and threw the weapon onto the ground, trapping the woman's cape underneath one of its pointed ends.

The woman was tripped up and collapsed onto the ground, and as she began to furiously tug at the fabric to get away - Amy was able to close the gap. Just as they tore their cape to escape, Amy picked up her weapon and took a strike at the lady on the ground.

She rolled to the side to avoid the blow, leaping back up and taking aim with her laser rifle - but Amy was quick to strike once more - reaching to hit them in the side.

Even still, they jumped high to avoid the hit.

Amy let out a frustrated growl. She noticed them taking aim once more mid-air to fire down on the hedgehog, but she saw it coming, and Amy jumped back to avoid the pale blue beam.

They weren't about to give up, as soon as she landed down she fired off at Amy again, but the hedgehog swerved. Letting out a yell, she swung as hard as she could muster - and they fell to the ground, dropping their weapon.

The hedgehog wasted no time placing a foot down on the other's chest, holding her hammer down at her face.

"You're under arrest for attempted regicide!" Amy announced through ragged breaths.

They stayed quiet.

"You'll be sentenced to execution for your crimes against the throne!" Amy growled. "Do you have nothing to say for yourself?!"

Still silent.

She couldn't quite figure out why, but this just made sparks of anger pop and burst within her. She balled up her other fist. "Answer me!" She commanded.

Nothing.

Clenching her teeth, she spat at the figure. "Am I not worthy of your respect?!" Her voice trembled with fury. "I've worked... so hard to remain in his good graces! For years I've endured non-stop abuse, every day I live a lie - I don't even know myself anymore! But you, but you? No one knows who you are! You get to parade around with a mask on and play the hero! You're still able to act independently, my freedom is all gone! Gone!" She felt herself choking up. She hadn't been able to stop the words tumbling out like a rockfall, even though she had no idea why this was all coming out of her now.

"You're one of Rouge's rebels, right?" She finally quivered.

Of course she didn't give confirmation.

Amy sighed, looking off to the side. "Please just... tell me Cream and Vanilla are safe-"

She felt something burn against her skin and saw a flash of blue before being sent flying back, everything slipping into darkness as she lost consciousness.

It had seemed like the best option, after all - taking away an opponent's strengths was the best way to make them more manageable, right?

Now, he was starting to have doubts.

He saw the creature writhe and kick its limbs around furiously on the ground as yellow chaos energy was being drawn out of its body and being brought into Knuckles. The energy itself wasn't an issue, in fact it flowed into him naturally and pumped through his blood as though it was supposed to belong there.

The problem lied in the fact that there were whispers - so many whispers, that it drowned out everything else. They echoed in his ears and mind - so loud, yet the words were indistinguishable.

Knuckles gritted his teeth and put his hands over his ears in a desperate attempt to block them out, yet the effort was futile. In fact they only seemed to get noisier. The blaring ringing in his ears now causing him physical pain that shuddered through his nerves. It was an effort to remain standing.

"Take it!"

He could hear them now.

The echidna gasped for air, but he still refused to give in - determined to strip the beast of all its power, the chaos energy it didn't deserve.

"STOP!"

The whispers vanished.

His surroundings had suddenly completely changed - he had returned to that green void from his dreams. Instead of floating, he was stood on some sort of invisible flooring - but hardly any of that mattered. What did matter was the girl in front of him, hands on his shoulders - gazing into his eyes pleadingly.

"Stop." She repeated, Knuckles realized with a start that this had to be the same woman that told him to seek out Sonic - but instead of a glowing outline, he could see her fully in the flesh. She had peach-coloured fur and wore the classic, beautiful attire of his ancestors. He was stunned - barely processing the how and why he was here with her now.

He couldn't believe he was seeing another echidna.

There was pity in her blue eyes, but she had a soft smile. "There are other forms of strength, Guardian."

"Huh?" He managed to say, still bewildered and stunned.

"I'm not... supposed to be here."

Why was her smile so sad?

"Please, do listen to me..."

"W-wait!" Knuckles called out when she noticed her form was fading. "I don't understand-!"

She vanished into the wind, and so did everything else - he was back on that stage, still draining the creature's power - and the whispers were slowly coming back.

Knuckles abruptly cut off the connection between him and the beast, the energy he had gained drained out of him - and would now be finding its home in the creature once more. The echidna panted, admittedly quite relieved that the whispering seemed to have disappeared for good now.

He couldn't exactly relax though, as the enemy was getting stronger again.

"He... gave up in the middle of it." Knuckles heard the fox observe. To think that he and the doctor had just stood there... watching this whole ordeal, out of the way of any sort of crossfire, ignited a flame of anger within him.

He wanted to fight them all - take out the miserable creature, and bring an end to whatever hellscape this 'Eggman' had brought forth. The world in front of him was cold, hanging by a single thread in an attempt to sustain itself. He refused to believe that this was the way the planet was supposed to be.

Eggman shrugged. "Eh, hardly matters."

Their commentary certainly wasn't helpful.

Knuckles balled his fists as the monster stood itself up again with the energy that had returned to it.

He recalled how quickly it had wounded his companions - this wasn't about to be an easy fight.

"There are other forms of strength, Guardian."

That's right... his allies, they had escaped - but they were broken down in body and spirit.

They had managed to get away safely, right? He had given them enough time.

Either way, they needed him to get to safety. Carrying on this fight, in hopes of the flimsy chance he might achieve something, was ultimately pointless. He needed to make sure the others were okay.

The monster lunged, and Knuckles held up a bright green forcefield - and the creature viciously tried to scratch through, causing it to flicker.

"Emperor... whatever false title you've decided to give yourself," The echidna began, not looking at Eggman as he held up his shield, but addressing him all the same. "Know that this isn't the last you've seen of me."

Knuckles vanished as soon as the shield broke.

"Don't worry... he'll be here soon! If he... even knows where we are-" Tangle's confidence faltered. She was now the hero in the best condition, the effects of the chaos energy shock having worn out for the most part besides some aching in her muscles.

She glanced towards Sonic, and only became more disheartened at the sight of him. Sat on the floor among the ancient rubble, he stared down at his shoes with foggy eyes. She could tell that not only were his wounds causing him pain, but there was something much deeper inside, haunting him.

"Sonic... i-it'll be okay, alright? You've seen Knuckles! He sent those mercenaries running with their tails between their legs! He's definitely being just as cool handling the monster right now!"

She saw the hedgehog bite his lip instead of reply.

Tangle rubbed her own shoulder sheepishly, was being optimistic insensitive? She could never read a room, huh?

Her tails' grip tightened on Rouge's unconscious body to ensure the bat wouldn't be losing too much blood by applying greater pressure. Her wound was bad... worse than the one she had dealt to Sonic in the chemical factory.

"It's okay." She was mainly speaking to herself now. "We just need a healer... we just need... Knuckles... to get back and find us."

She hung her head low with a sigh. Was he really going to be okay as she thought?

"GUYS!"

Her ears perked up and her eyes scanned the ruins frantically until the red shape of the echidna was visible in the distance. "OVER HERE!" She called out to him, waving her arms around until Knuckles saw her.

In a blink, he appeared in front of the others. Knuckles had a couple of scratches and bruises but ultimately was holding himself together well. "You guys okay?" Knuckles asked, panting slightly.

"Y-yeah, but Rouge here definitely needs healing-! So does Sonic-"

"I'll sort that out later, but for now we need to get back to Angel Island." Knuckles' voice was so much steadier than her own. "The beast might still be pursuing us-"

Tangle immediately tensed at the thought. "You retreated then." She observed.

"It's for the best, you're all vulnerable otherwise." Knuckles said, standing in the center of the heroes and making them vanish from sight.

...

"Angel Island... now ain't that interesting, Bark?" The small green duck turned to grin at the polar bear smugly, the two of them hiding behind a bunch of tall jungle tress.

The polar bear silently nodded.

"And Fang said I was no good at spying! He hurt my feelings - the audacity!" Bean exaggerated how hurt he was by pressing the back of his hand to his forehead as if he were about to faint.

Bark blinked at him through slightly narrowed, unamused eyes.

This didn't phase the duck. "Oh well, I'll be able to rub this information in his face!" He declared. "Those rebels think they're so smart and secretive - but they're no match for Bean the Dynamite Duck!" He brought a fist to his chest with pride. "And the rest of the Hooligans too, I suppose-" He tagged on half-heartedly.

The bear rolled his eyes, wondering when he'd get his next quiet moment.

Despite how late it was at night, no one was asleep in the Angel Island camp.

Knuckles ushered the other three through the crowd of people asking how the mission went, asking if they had truly succeeded in killing the dictator - as they had set out to do.

"Please," The echidna spoke loudly with emphasis. "Questions come later - I need to tend their wounds."

"Sorry guys-" Tangle tagged on after. "We'll explain everything as soon as we can-!" She promised sincerely.

The echidna had lead the three to their stone box room, out of eyeshot of everyone else and she assumed the room was decently soundproof at the very least, granting them the privacy that they most certainly needed right now.

"Set Rouge down on the bed." Knuckles instructed Tangle, and she obliged - placing the bat down gently on top of the sheets of their bed. Knuckles immediately stood over her, holding his hands out - wasting no time in emitting a soft green light illuminating her stomach wound.

"Thank you, Knuckles." Tangle told him, gently sitting herself and Sonic down on the other bed.

"No need to thank me."

She smiled at him before turning to Sonic, who immediately got back into the same huddled position he had been sat in earlier - this time on a bed rather than the floor. She went to rub his back but reminded herself of his large gashes so instead went for a gentle pat on the shoulder. Sonic showed no reaction to this either.

"Is... Rouge going to be okay?" She asked, mainly to fill the void.

"Yes." Knuckles replied. "But it's going to take a couple days of healing to get this completely recovered, there was some damage to her internal organs - this isn't damage I can undo all at once, unlike Sonic's wound which was less severe by comparison."

"Yeah... makes sense." Tangle said.

"As she's regaining her energy, I imagine she'll be waking up pretty soon." Knuckles tagged on before stepping away, her wound looked far better than it had been, instead of fresh blood - it had dried. "The wound's less deep now, her organs should be repaired. But I don't want it getting infected - do you have anything I can use to wrap around it?"

"Rouge usually has a first aid kit on her... check under the bed." She told him.

The echidna looked at her confusedly, as if he was trying to figure out what a first aid kit actually meant - he ducked underneath however, and a few seconds went by before he pulled out a green case. "This thing?"

"Yep!" She confirmed. "There's bandages in there."

Knuckles opened it up and it didn't take him long to find what he needed. Knuckles had large hands, ones that didn't seem to be capable of being careful - yet it was clear how gentle he was being as he wrapped the fabric around her, but still firm enough that it would apply the pressure to the injury that it needed to. He then laid her down softly, and Tangle was sure that she had never seen the bat appear so peaceful.

Knuckles walked over and gestured for Tangle to sit up from the bed so he could take her place. He sat and asked Sonic to shuffle to the side a little so that his back would face him. It took a while for Sonic to seemingly understand this request, but eventually he did turn.

"Less severe - I can heal this in one go." Knuckles remarked, hovering his hands over Sonic's scratches and working his magic. The process was swift.

"Thanks-" Sonic whispered, barely audible, but sincere.

Knuckles and Tangle exchanged a confused and concerned glance, worried about what had gotten into the hedgehog to psych him out so much.

They heard a gasp of air come from the other bed as Rouge quickly sat up. "No-!" She immediately exclaimed, before blinking rapidly - glancing around the room before finally setting her sights on the others on the other bed. "What-? Why am I-?!" She then hissed in pain.

"Try not to move so suddenly." Knuckles cautioned. "You'll only cause yourself pain and risk opening that wound further."

Rouge stared at him in disbelief, as though as his words had just flew over her head. "Why are we here?! What happened to the-?"

"You were badly hurt and knocked out by that... thing, the only option we had was to retreat." Tangle explained with sad eyes, unable to directly look at Rouge.

The other girl stared at her before glaring and clenching her teeth. "That wasn't our only option!" Rouge suddenly snapped. "If we had stuck to the damn plan we wouldn't be in this mess!" She claimed, angrily turning her attention to the Sonic. "What the hell?! Why did you back out?!"

Sonic just stared at her with no response, he frankly looked feeble.

Rouge scoffed. "Oh, of course. Go head - mope. You're obviously the one who deserves to be upset right now after you ruined the mission!" She yelled sarcastically.

"I told you - the plan wasn't going to work!" Sonic finally exclaimed, a new-found anger sparking in his eyes.

Rouge broke into mocking laughter. "HAHAHAHAA! Okay, yeah, sure - I would love to see some proof of that, but you don't have that - do you? You didn't even let the plan happen in the first place - so how can you say with so much fucking confidence that it was all going to fail?!"

Sonic seemed to be fumbling for a response, but this hesitation only allowed for Rouge to drill into him further. "If you were so adamant that this plan was going to fail - why didn't you say anything earlier?! Why did you wait until the middle of the festival?!" She asked him, clinging tightly to the bed sheets.

Sonic opened his mouth, and Tangle realized if no one stepped in - this argument would last way longer than it needed to. "Guys! Please! Arguing like this doesn't help anyone!"

Her pleas fell on deaf ears as Rouge continued her verbal assault.

"You're the one who endangered everyone's lives by backing out the way you did! Now we're right back where we started - except this time we're injured, tired, and now we have even bigger targets on our backs than ever before!" She pointed it out. "We could have ended it all - right then and there! But you took that opportunity from me-! From everyone!" Her eyes suddenly widened, and she giggled with a closed mouth. "OR, or, maybe I'm looking at this all wrong - perhaps you did know what you were doing - maybe I was right about you all along - maybe you sabotaged our plan on purpose, Empire spy!"

She quickly stood up from the bed, if her wound was causing her any pain - she didn't let it show on her face.

Tangle stood in between the beds to prevent things from turning ugly.

"I'm not an Empire spy!" Sonic insisted, clenching his fists. "I want to end Eggman's tyranny just as much as you do! But that wasn't the way to go about it!"

"So instead you risked our lives, yeah? Tangle could have been killed by that monster, so could Knuckles! Hell, I was nearly killed! Because of your screw up, I got stabbed!"

"You know what, consider it karma!" Sonic snapped back, but his eyes immediately widened afterwards as he gasped - as if he couldn't believe the words he had let out of his own mouth. Tangle knew Sonic had been referring to how Rouge had attempted to kill him before... but that comment was uncalled for.

Rouge was glaring daggers, and honestly looked ready to give the hedgehog a beating. "Guys, please-"

"STOP!" Knuckles' voice bellowed.

Tangle nearly jumped out of her own skin, Sonic flinched, and Rouge turned to the echidna with a surprised face. There was no way that everyone else outside wouldn't have heard it too.

"Honestly, what the fuck do you think you're achieving arguing in circles like this?!" Knuckles asked them. "Nothing! What will be more useful to you two is going to bed and having a civilized discussion in the morning! We're all tense, I want to sleep and I'm sure you all do too - yelling at each other's going to wear us down even more!" The echidna pointed out.

Sonic and Tangle remained silent and stunned, Rouge opened her mouth once before closing it - thinking better of arguing.

"Right," Knuckles breathed out. "Now we're in all agreement, this argument is only going to continue after I leave so the girls can have this room to themselves - Rouge needs it. Sonic, I'll find somewhere else for you to sleep - before you tear each other's throats out or something." He folded his arms impatiently.

"Yeah..." Sonic said finally. "Sorry-" With a sigh, he stood up and fell beside Knuckles.

"Goodnight." Knuckles said to the girls, still with an annoyed edge before his tone softened. "Sorry Tangle." He said, seemingly apologizing for his yelling that hadn't been directed towards her.

"Oh, no need to-"

Knuckles and Sonic were out the door.

"Are you all alright?" A kindly looking gentleman walked up to the duo with sympathetic eyes, he was tall - even for a human.

"How did it go?" A wolf asked with concern.

Their voices all began to blend into one and Knuckles knew he had to say something at least. Everyone hushed themselves when Knuckles spoke, and he was as frank as he could be - making sure nothing could be left up to interpretation. "We failed to kill the doctor. He is still alive. The plan was compromised."

Sonic grimaced beside him.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry-" Someone said.

"Better luck next time, right?" Someone added optimistically.

"What a shame... it's not your fault, guys."

"You did your best!"

Knuckles was caught slightly off guard by the amount of support being showered upon them. Knuckles felt his cheeks flush as he slinked his way through the camp with Sonic. "Thank you... we can talk more in depth tomorrow, we just need sleep-"

"Of course."

"Rest well!"

"Goodnight!"

Knuckles smiled at them in an attempt to be polite before taking Sonic out of the camp.

Once out of the way of everyone else, Knuckles focused on breathing in and out slowly as they continued walking. Even when they had been so nice, he felt practically threatened having so many eyes on him. He shook his head lightly, he needed to remain focused.

To distract him he took time to admire the forest, it was a wonderful place to be at night with the mild chill that drifted between them. The silhouettes of the trees stood tall and dark, but they were comforting instead of imposing. He would love to paint a scene like this, if he had the time.

Sonic was still quiet, and it made Knuckles wack him gently on the back of his head.

"Agh-!" Sonic let out, rubbing the back of his head and wincing.

"Your head seems to be in a strange place right now. Staying muddled like this is only going to drag you down. Focus on the positives, your friends are safe. Forget about the rest." Knuckles tried to offer the best advice he could.

Sonic stared at him before slowly nodding.

"You didn't lose your vocal chords, I want to hear you say it." Knuckles folded his arms.

Sonic blinked. "Y-yeah... you're right."

He didn't sound as though he believed it.

"I don't particularly wish to bombard you with questions while you're so disgruntled - but I agree with Rouge to a certain degree. It is hard to understand why you suddenly backed out."

"Because I knew it wouldn't work." Sonic repeated, looking at the ground.

"How did you know?"

"I can't... explain it." He could hear the frustration building up in his tone.

"Sonic."

"What?"

"Look at me."

Sonic slowly lifted his head up, his emerald green eyes shone in the moonlight.

"Are you certain you can't explain it?" Knuckles asked slowly.

"I just... I just knew."

"Like instinct?"

Sonic paused. "You could say that."

Knuckles stared up towards the night sky, the stars twinkled softly as the background hum of crickets allowed him to focus on his thoughts. "I can understand that." Knuckles said. "I've always believed instinct to be something like an outside force pulling the strings - willing you to do certain things, but it all ends up benefitting you in the end."

"Gut instincts aren't always right though."

"Perhaps not, but I can speak for myself at least - acting upon them has never done me wrong yet." The echidna said. "Perhaps you did make the right call."

He allowed Sonic to dwell on that.

Knuckles paused when he made it among a small clearing in the forest, between two trees hung a bamboo hammock. "I've slept here once or twice." Knuckles remarked. "It's not the most comfortable, but when you're really tired, your body generally doesn't really care."

"Thank you, Knux." Sonic said softly, walking up ahead and eventually clambering up into the hammock.

"Sonic?"

"Yeah...?" He slowly rolled himself around so that he could still see Knuckles' face looking up at him.

"We need your head in the game, alright? I've been tasked with ensuring your success, I can't have you crumbling here. Even though I don't know you too well, you must at least have a strong will if the Master Emerald chose you. What happened tonight isn't strong enough to break that, so don't let it."

"You're right." He sounded like he actually meant it this time. "I'll... I'll be better in the morning." Tears surely brimmed in his eyes, and it was confirmed when Knuckles saw Sonic wipe them away. "Sorry- You just... remind me of an old friend, that's all-"

Knuckles wasn't sure how to respond to that, so just nodded. "Let out all your emotions out tonight. Tomorrow's a new day."

"Of course, goodnight, Knux." Sonic laid on his back.

"Goodnight, Sonic."

"Back in the cage." Miles glared at the beast, turning the dial on his handheld device rapidly. Instead of complying with his orders, it opted to tearing down one of the many banners with Robotnik's face on - furiously shaking its head as it tore up the banners with its teeth.

"Don't eat the decorations!" Miles exclaimed in frustration, his voice cracking as a result. "How hard is it for you to understand to go back in the cage?!"

The creature turned to hiss at him.

"Don't sass me!"

Robotnik seemed to find the whole ordeal very amusing, grinning widely.

After turning more dials, Miles made eye contact with the beast - watching it suddenly bend to his will, crawling into the cage and allowing Miles to shut it in. "Finally." The fox sighed with a roll of his eyes. "This device is really inefficient." Miles pointed to the box in his hands. "I need some way to incorporate a translator that converts my words into frequencies it understands-"

"In due time, in due time." Robotnik brushed off. "Wasn't this event wonderful, Miles?"

"Wonderful?" Miles repeated in disbelief to make sure he heard that correctly. "This is the worst festival so far! There was an entire security breach - an assassination attempt!"

"I know!" Robotnik exclaimed with pure joy. "I haven't had that much excitement in ages - not since the Black Arms showed up!"

"All citizens had to run inside! The Egg Bosses were ordered to escape! How was that a display of the Empire's strength?!"

"Ssssssh." Robotnik gently placed a hand on the young fox's shoulder. "Can you really say that they won? No, no one was hurt - and the assassins were forced to run like cowards." He pointed out.

"The one that actually fired the shot is being pursued by Rose - what if that woman ends up killing Rose?"

Robotnik shrugged. "We'll find a new Egg Boss for Station Square. Egg Bosses dying and being replaced is nothing new, Miles. That is no sign of weakness."

"P-perhaps not, but what if something had happened to you?! I don't want you to get hurt!" Miles revealed his true cause for concern, his quivering voice giving away his fear.

"Miles, I have made certain that the probability that I lose my life is at 0%. That is no exaggeration, dear boy. It's one of my grandest accomplishments, one that I will explain to you properly when it's time."

Miles looked down with a shaky sigh. "If... if you're sure." He said, before suddenly extended his arms out and wrapping around them the doctor... as much as he could with his small arms could around his rotund waistline. "I love you, dad."

"You know I prefer Emperor-" Robotnik sighed. "But I will allow it this once-"

He did not return the hug, he didn't like them.

"Hey... echidna lady? Sorry I- don't know your name-"

Knuckles was on his knees, hands clasped together in front of the Master Emerald, his body being illuminated by its glowing aura.

"You were... peach furred?" He added with uncertainty. "You- you know who you are! You stopped me while I was trying to drain that beast's power - I wanted to talk... more. Find out what you meant by all that..."

Knuckles began to stutter over his words. "I'm probably overstepping my boundaries here, I don't mean to sound demanding... or entitled but- please, if you're out there - do say something, visit me in a dream. I-"

Knuckles sighed.

"It's a... selfish request, really. Sorry for wasting your time with my pleas, dear ancestors."

Knuckles ended the prayer, opting to lay down in front of the Master Emerald in his usual spot, and finally allow sleep to take hold. It had certainly been a long night.

The pink hedgehog had been taken care of, Whisper didn't envy her position - she wouldn't want to be her when she finally woke up.

The last thing she had needed to hear from an Egg Boss is having one rant to her about hard their life was. How miserable it must be to have one of the highest positions in society, how difficult.

It made her sick.

The wolf had finally made it back into her cavern, it was a wonder she had managed to keep it this long. Mystic Jungle was one of the very few remaining natural areas, surely the Empire should inspect this area more often - it was the perfect breeding ground for rebel hideouts. She knew Robotnik wasn't stupid, perhaps it was arrogance.

She set her lantern down on the rock she had been using as a table, and took a moment to gather herself.

Whisper had failed.

Robotnik was alive.

There was no time to waste, she needed a new plan.

Dwelling on her losses would not produce results, she told herself. There were always setbacks in these things, it rarely went right the first time.

Yet... it felt so much easier with the Diamond Cutters.

No, tonight was not a night she planned to spend crying. She had to rest and get back on track to planning her next move. Before she could sleep peacefully however, there was one last thing she had to check.

She made her way to a chest, a stolen item - she didn't like to resort to thievery but when it was something from the Empire, it was hard to feel guilty at all.

Whisper opened it with the key that had been in her pocket, and opened the lid slightly hesitantly.

Her shoulders relaxed, and a relieved breath escaped her lips.

It was still there.

A large, cobalt blue gem shone brightly - the shape of a diamond, yet far too large to actually be one.

She couldn't quite place her finger on it - but the way it sparkled, it breathed energy into the surroundings. It exuded power.

It felt intimidating yet... so natural. When she had found it, she knew she couldn't just leave it - so she had swiped it for herself.

She didn't know what it could do, but at the very least - she was certain that it was no ordinary gem.

She knew it was better in her hands, than Robotnik's.

Chapter Text

"Sonic? You okay?" The young fox questioned, examining his face closely.

Huh?

"You're all phased out there!" He added on with an awkward laugh. "Do you need to sit down?"

"Where am I-?"

Worry immediately flashed in Tails' eyes. "Um, the forest? We're going-" He blinked. "- I mean... we're just strolling!" Tails quickly corrected himself.

"Eggman... The Time Eater...?" Sonic slowly panted, needing to lean against a tree.

"The what-?" Tails tilted his head, shifting his gaze nervously as he went to support his friend. "Is everything okay?"

"I... don't know..."

"Hey, maybe we just need to... get you to bed...?" He suggested sympathetically, offering a comforting smile. "I can get you back home-"

"Is it really you, Tails?"

Sonic can see how Tails is taken aback by his desperation.

"O-of course? It's me, Sonic."

Sonic immediately pulled him into a hug. Tails spluttered in confusion for a moment, but would return it - and Sonic had never felt so warm. "I... I love you, Tails." Sonic gasped out. "You'll always be my little brother... do I tell you that enough?"

"Ummm... well, it's definitely not the first time I've heard you say that." Tails offered up, laughing again hesitantly. "It's just kind of weird coming from you now-"

"I really should make showing my affection more commonplace, huh?"

"You show it all the time, Sonic - by just being my friend... are you sure you don't wanna go home and rest?"

"I wanna spend time with you."

At a loss for words, Tails just smiled. "Well... let's continue walking then. Maybe your head will clear up-"

Sonic couldn't believe it. Everything, quite literally overnight, had returned to normality. Could this be true? Had anything of what he had been through even happened in the first place?

It felt real - yet so did this.

Unable to trust himself and his perception of reality, Sonic nodded and followed the fox. "Yeah... should do."

Their brief stroll passed with a necessary silence - allowing Sonic to organize his thoughts. The questions chaotically ravaging his mind immediately paused as he allowed himself to just... soak it all in. The grass beneath his feet was green and bright - not ashen. The trees were tall and proud, with no hint of withering - and the flowers and bushes were blooming - thriving.

It was untainted by that... villain. Nature was truly in control again.

"Sonic?" Tails broke up his train of thought. "I uh... just realized I have something up ahead I left there! I'm gonna... go grab it- You can catch up with me!" Tails ran off quickly, not giving Sonic the option to question him.

It was his birthday again. The day it all began.

It was a very poorly thought out excuse, and Sonic wondered how he hadn't found it suspicious before - he must have not been paying attention. He wouldn't be making that mistake again, moments with his friends... they were precious. He'd never let go.

Sonic found his pace quickening as he continued on ahead, knowing what would await him. His friends, they'd be there. He'd be able to see them again!

There it was - the picnic table. The same cake, same plates...

"SURPRISE!"

Same friends.

"Well Sonic, did we surprise you?" Tails asked eagerly, surrounded by Sonic's closest companions.

Sonic smiled.

"Yeah, you did..." Sonic's voice shook ever so slightly. "This is awesome, guys. Thank you..."

"There's no need to thank us." Amy stepped forward in front of the table, beaming. "If anything - we should be thanking you!"

Knuckles joined at her side, widely grinning. "You've done so much for us, Sonic!"

Tails hopped in, forming a neat line with the other two. "We don't know what we'd do without you!"

"I- Thank you..." The would-be compliments made him apprehensive.

There was no emotion behind their eyes.

They all began to clap.

Not those just three, everyone around the table. Sonic rubbed the back of his head as he witnessed the sudden applause, unsure of what to do with himself. "Guys...?"

His eyes scanned the crowd, and his heart immediately dropped.

"Tangle?"

She was part of the crowd, copying everyone else.

Of course, this was too good to be true.

"Thank you for saving us, Sonic!" Vector called.

"Thank you!" Rouge added.

Faces that had never been at the party cheered too - smiling just the same.

"Thank you so much!" Silver thanked.

"Thank you for all your hard work!" Shadow applauded.

Stupid... stupid nightmares...

Their praise was defeating and seemed to only get louder and louder, harassing his ears

With raggedy breath, the Sonic turned on his heel quickly - almost tripping over in the process. All he knew is that he wanted to get away as fast as possible. He sprinted as fast as his legs could take him.

It was nowhere as fast as he could normally go.

He felt like there was a force trying to pull him back, but Sonic persisted - refusing to look back and forcing his legs to move despite how heavy they were.

The forest was fading away before his eyes, giving way to an empty, dark expanse, and he didn't even care as long as he didn't have to see his friends like that again.

Soon, there was no forest left, and Sonic finally allowed himself to crumple onto his hands and knees.

Nightmares had never, ever haunted him like this. As if it wasn't enough to live through hell when he was awake, he couldn't even escape it when he was asleep. Nothing had ever gotten to him this deeply before, why did he feel like he was being crushed?

And things were only going to get worse.

Sonic hung his head low as a light briefly flashed in front of him, not having enough strength to fight whatever was ahead - this was just a nightmare, he'd accept it... and hopefully things would move on.

"Please... don't wake up again!"

Immediately, the hedgehog lifted up his head.

It was Silver again, just like in the previous nights - trying to push his way through a portal. His face was strained and wrinkled from the effort it was taking him to try and thrust his way through - but this time...

The other hedgehog popped out of it, and face planted into the invisible floor. "Ow..." Silver let out, his voice muffled.

Slowly, Sonic stood himself up - staring at Silver.

Silver lifted up his head but the rest of his body didn't move. "Sonic!" He gasped. "I- I did it! I've found you! I actually got in!" Gleefully, he scrambled to his feet. "I thought I'd never actually get it-!"

The smile slowly faded from his face when he saw Sonic sigh. "Sonic?" He asked with a raised brow.

"I'm just... waiting for this dream to end." Sonic admitted in exhaustion.

"Uh-" Silver blinked. "Sonic, this isn't a dream- Well, I mean- this is technically a dream but like- I'm not a dream. Or am I... because I'm inside a dream-?" He placed a finger against his chin as he contemplated the idea.

The confused ramblings of Silver caught Sonic's attention. He was talking like no one else had ever done in his dreams. "Silver, is it really you? You remember me?"

Silver nodded rapidly. "That's what I'm trying to get across! Admittedly I'm doing a bad job of that so - I'm Silver! The one who knows you! From the old timeline!"

"You know? About the old timeline...?"

"Of course I do! I lived in it! I know time's been messed up, otherwise I wouldn't be like... in your head right now!"

"Silver..." Sonic let go of a breath. "Can I... hug you?" It came out awkwardly, if not pleading.

The urgency fled from Silver's face and tone to give way for a surprised expression. "Oh- Um, I mean, sure-?" The hedgehog stammered out, but was silenced as Sonic slowly brought his arms around him. After a moment, Silver would do the same. Sonic could only describe the feeling as... cozy.

"S-sorry, I'm not used to this- sort of thing- should I be letting go now-?" Silver asked.

"I'm... not used to getting all touchy either..." Sonic admitted as he broke away. "I just needed that-"

"I can kind of tell. You're all shaky... I'm guessing things have gotten pretty bad?"

"Silver, it's awful!" Sonic exclaimed, and the other hedgehog was taken aback. "Eggman used this thing called the Time Eater - erased me out of existence, and now everything has become an Eggman Empire hellscape! He's taken over everything, our friends are... our friends- some are with Eggman, those who aren't still aren't exactly the same-"

"Sonic, breathe." Silver asserted, looking him in the eyes. "I've never seen you like this before, I didn't think you could get so panicked-"

"Tails, Amy-"

"Sonic." Silver said again. "Just take the time to breathe."

Actually heeding his words now, Sonic concentrated on breathing slowly to calm himself down - deeply in through his nose and out slowly out through his mouth. Silver waited patiently with sympathy, but clear worry - until he finally spoke up again. "Simplify it for me, okay? Just explain it as best you can - you say Eggman erased you from time?"

Sonic slowly nodded, thinking about his answer and how to narrow everything down. "It was my birthday party... Eggman showed up with the Time Eater and said he was going to erase me out of existence. I had a chaos emerald on me... and I think it's the only reason I'm even alive now. I showed up in this new timeline, my chaos emerald sort of exploded on me - then I fought Amy, who works for the Empire- met some rebels, Rouge being among them - then we met up with Knuckles later and then there was- then Tails, he was with Eggman..." Sonic omitted a lot of details, but Silver did ask for the short version.

Silver's ears drooped. "Sounds... difficult."

"Eggman knows about the old timeline as well as I do - and he used his knowledge of it so that he could live again and make all the right choices that would lead to the Empire he wanted. That included making my friends his allies-! And furthermore, whenever I try to tell anyone that I'm from another timeline... time resets itself! Going back a few seconds so I can't explain myself! And Eggman just seems to be able to reset time at will!"

A pause. "Well now, this is a lot to take in - give me a moment."

Sonic rubbed one of his arms and waited, wondering why Silver had paused - but the other hedgehog just seemed to be deeply thinking. He watched as Silver's eyes suddenly lit up and he snapped his fingers. "Aha!" Silver declared. "I think I have some sort of idea of what's going on here- Let me just, well it's easier with a visual demonstration-"

Waving his hands, a purple blanket appeared in between them - causing Sonic to rub his eyes to make sure what he was seeing was correct. "How did you-?"

"This is a dream, isn't it?" Silver asked. "You can do anything in dreams."

Huh, fair point.

Using his telekinetic powers, he flattened the blanket out and made it hover in the air between them. "This blanket represents time." Silver said.

Where exactly was he going with this? Sonic folded his arms and decided that just staying silent and listening would probably be his best option.

"Typically, it's all smooth - no tears or creases... but Eggman is instead creating this false timeline with the time eater... this false reality, so things become a little flimsy."

Silver made the blanket form creases.

"The foundation is already unstable, but factor in that you and Eggman still have your memories of a time that technically never existed..." Silver tore two holes in the blanket. "... And now things are even more wrong, and I think the Time Eater recognizes this because..." Silver ripped one of the holes, making it even bigger. "Every time you tell everyone about your predicament, you're making more people aware of knowledge they shouldn't have - further breaking the timeline, so the Time Eater-" Silver then reversed the damage he had caused, making the hole return to its original size "-sews the hole back up, so to speak."

"So time is already vulnerable, and it doesn't wanna break further?" Sonic asked to see if he was understanding correctly.

Silver nodded. "That's right."

"Do the same rules apply to Eggman?"

"That... I'm not so sure of." He admitted. "While the Time Eater is acting sort of passively whenever you try to further break the timeline... it seems to be taking orders from Eggman, if you said he can do it at will. Has he demonstrated this?"

"Yeah, Eggman and I had a conversation - he revealed to me that he knew everything, and then he just reversed everything to before that conversation began."

"Was it a long conversation?"

"No, it was quite brief... does that matter?"

"I'm just thinking- perhaps Eggman doesn't have as much control as he's claiming. Let's say something happens that he doesn't like- a base of his explodes! He finds out ten minutes after the event... I don't think he'd be able to reverse time then. It's too much to reverse, especially when it's just trying to hold up the timeline itself. That's more of a theory though, I'm kind of guessing here."

"It's something that might be worth testing out then, if I'm able to." Sonic said. "How did you figure this all out just now?"

"Heh - well you learn how to time travel without chaos emeralds, and as a result you learn a whole lot more about time." Silver explained, his smile showing slight pride. "Technically our original timeline was unstable since some of us still remember... that."

"Solaris?"

"Mhm." Silver's lips curled. "But it wasn't too much of a problem. In this timeline's case however, everything is being held up by this Time Eater creature, and by the sounds of it - it's not some rightful time deity - it has to be some sort of creation, another Eggman attempt at playing God if I had to guess."

"You think he'd learn his lesson by now." There was something bitter in Sonic's voice. "I'm lost, Silver - if everything I'm going to do is just going to get reversed, what am I supposed to do?"

"Isn't it kind of obvious?" Silver questioned him surprisingly. "The reason you're here now is because you had a chaos emerald, if you can gather all seven - you should be able to find a way to defeat the Time Eater and revert everything to normal."

"Easier said than done, Silver." He was starting to grow a little impatient. "But trying to encourage everyone else that a treasure hunt is the best way to solve their tyrant problem becomes very difficult when I can't explain myself at all!"

"Well, why are they working with you right now?" Silver moved the blanket with his powers, placing it around Sonic's shoulders suddenly. The gesture wasn't unwelcome though.

"Because- we hate Eggman?" Sonic offered. "Rouge wants him dead, Tangle wants to save people, and Knuckles is supporting me because I'm like a chosen one or something-"

"Tangle? Never mind, I mean I can think of a lie already to convince them-" Silver said with a shrug, narrowing his eyes at Sonic - looking at him as though he were a little stupid.

"Huh?"

"You ever read a book?"

"I don't like books, they're boring."

Silver looked momentarily offended. "I know opinions can't technically be wrong but come on, that's definitely a wrong opinion-"

Sonic decided it was best not to talk about the fact he had actually been inside storybooks before.

"- That aside," Silver continued, "Chosen ones often receive prophecies that tell them to do a certain thing - often in their dreams. Retrieving magical items, defeating the big bad... what's stopping you from saying something like that?"

"So you're saying I should tell them that I was told to find the Chaos Emeralds in my dreams through a prophecy?" Sonic was skeptical. "Are they really gonna believe that?"

"Sonic, they're living in a world where a giant egg-shaped man rules with a robot army and magical all-powerful rocks exist... I don't think that a prophecy is going to be the weirdest thing they've heard about. I mean, Knuckles already thinks you're a chosen one - so what reason does he have not to believe you?"

"Parading around and calling myself a chosen one doesn't feel right!" Sonic let out, frustrated. "Just... look at everything that's happened."

"None of it's your fault."

"But I've been a terrible hero." Sonic went on, looking away. "Fighting Eggman.. it's always been little more than a game to me. Now I'm getting hit in the face with the consequences of what happens when he actually wins, and the people I love the most are getting hurt because I roped everyone into my dangerous adventures-"

"Are you hearing yourself right now?"

Sonic looked back at the silver hedgehog.

"I've never heard you talk like that, ever. You're wrong, Sonic - maybe you didn't realize the full extent of what Eggman could do, but you aren't at fault for that. You're a hero, Sonic. You're courageous enough to always be the one to step up in the face of danger! When I first met you, you never gave up - you fought a God and then erased that God from existence and you did it with a smile! And that was after you had just died too! I get it, seeing harm come to those you care about is much harder than anything that could happen to yourself... but you can't let these doubts get to you. Back in the future where everything was ravaged by Iblis, if I had given up - then everything would have been lost. But I held out hope, I knew there was a way to fix everything - even though it seemed impossible! That's what you've gotta do now."

Silver smiled encouragingly. "You can define what a chosen one is - but knowing there is someone destined to help save them, you'll be bringing hope to everyone and encourage them all to take a stand. I don't think there could be a better guy for the job... and I know you could do it all with a smile. The Empire only truly wins if hope is lost, so work on restoring it. Eggman may know of the previous timeline, but so do you - you can use that knowledge to lead you to victory! I know you can! When have you ever lost?"

"Mephiles killed me once."

"I-" Silver was baffled. "I gave you a whole motivational speech and that's what you say to me-?"

"I'm messing with ya, Silver." Sonic grinned. For the first time in what felt like forever, he felt his shoulders relax. "Thank you, I needed to hear that."

"Ooooh- you were joking, heh-" Silver's cheeks tinted a light pink in embarrassment. "Either way, I wanna let you know that I'm here for you, Sonic. I think there's some sort of barrier preventing me from entering this timeline fully, but I'll be here to talk in your dreams. I will be trying to find out new ways to help you, you can count on it."

"You're a massive help, Silver." Sonic said, now relieved he had worked out a plan with the other hedgehog's help.

"No problem. People call me the emotional one but look who's being the sensible one now." Silver pointed out with a hint of smug energy.

"Yeah, yeah." Sonic rolled his eyes playfully. "Whatever you say - by the way... I understand you're a time traveler, but how are you like - inside my head?"

"Good question." Silver responded. "And I don't know."

Quiet descended upon them as none truly knew what to say, until a white light suddenly brewed above them.

"Oh look, you're waking up now." Silver remarked.

"Huh?" Sonic looked alarmed. "Oh- Wait! Ah shoot, uh BYE I MISS YOU!" Sonic called as he faded away.

"You know, if I wasn't here to wake you up, I'm really worried that you'd end just end up sleeping all day." Tangle joked lightly. The hedgehog rolled over in his hammock but looked at her with noticeably brighter and clearer eyes than she had seen from him the day prior.

Sonic yawned and stretched. "What time is it?"

"11am, dummy - almost noon!"

"Heh, not my worst." Sonic grinned. "You know I once went to bed at 9pm... woke up 6pm the next day."

"Woah! You're serious?" Tangle asked, fascinated. "I could never sleep for that long - I have too much energy! Sleeping 8 hours is a stretch let alone 21 hours, Mr Sleepy Head!"

"I consider myself energetic too, I just like my sleep- WOAH-!" Sonic had shifted awkwardly in his hammock, causing it to flip upside and drop the hedgehog down on the ground.

"Oh! Gosh! You alright?" She asked, walking over to help the hedgehog up.

"Yeah, of course." Sonic was grinning. "I just forgot I was in a hammock, is all."

Satisfied that the hedgehog was indeed uninjured, she allowed herself to giggle a little at his expense. "Or you're just clumsy." She teased.

Now that they stood face to face, Tangle noticed how great it was to see that life had returned to him - he was smiling, practically glowing even. It was so much different than yesterday, had he had a midnight epiphany or something? She hoped he wasn't putting on a brave face, so she started probing him a little.

"So I mean... we should talk about how everything went."

"Badly-" He admitted.

"I mean we're going strong in the first half, second half we kinda dropped the ball-" She spoke with a grimace. "But I trust you! You weren't confident in the plan, and I'd rather go with a plan that everyone agrees on than a plan that one of us is unsure on! Besides, I think Knuckles was a little apprehensive too so ya know - uncertainty and all that- I think we made the right decision to back out-"

"About that.. I wanna speak with you, Knux, and Rouge - and explain why I backed out. Properly. I... didn't know how to say it at first."

"Oh..." Tangle blinked. "I mean, yeah sure! That's great! Everyone will be on the same page then and hopefully Rouge'll be a bit less mad!" She offered optimistically.

"Rouge didn't give you any trouble last night, did she?" Sonic asked with concern.

"Hm? Oh psssh, nah-" Tangle waved off.

The two girls laid in separate beds - the lemur occupied the one that was usually taken by Sonic as Rouge had their bed all to herself. Tangle definitely appreciated having the room again, especially for her tail to sprawl out - either it tended to hit Rouge in the face or the bat would tug at it sharply - misinterpreting it as a blanket.

She couldn't enjoy it much though, not when the tension in the air was so thick.

"Rouge?" Tangle's voice spoke out in the darkness.

"Don't talk to me."

A few seconds went by.

"... You okay?"

"No Tangle, no I am not." Rouge finally said, practically hissing through her teeth.

"We'll get it right next time." Tangle tried to comfort her by being optimistic.

"No reason why we shouldn't have got it right this time."

"Sonic said-"

"Sonic's voice means more than mine?"

"What-? No!"

"I thought you were someone I could count on." Rouge sounded hurt. "I thought you wanted to take down the Empire as much as me."

"I do!" Tangle insisted. "I just didn't wanna go ahead with a plan that he was uncomfortable with-"

"I thought we were friends, Tangle."

"I- of course we're friends, Rouge!"

"Are you sure about that? It's always 'Sonic this', and 'Sonic that'-" She mocked. "- You seem to listen to him and value his opinions more than mine."

"That isn't true!" Tangle claimed desperately.

"Yet you've done nothing to prove otherwise." Rouge sighed. "I just- I don't get it, why did you do that to me, Tangle? We've known each other longer and yet... you know what, forget it."

Tangle heard Rouge turn under her sheets, hissing slightly due to her injuries. Rouge truly did sound affected, as though she had been betrayed and yet... Tangle doubted it. Rouge knew how to play people like fiddles, and for that reason, Tangle could never be sure if her emotions were genuine. Especially in more recent times.

However, doubting her in the first place just made her feel more terrible.

The lemur could not shake off a queasy feeling all night, unable to get much sleep at all.

"She's fine." Tangle added for extra reassurance.

"Right." Sonic didn't pry any further. "I take it she's still in bed?"

"She should be." Tangle acknowledged. "But she snuck out again, in the night- Knuckles isn't too impressed considering he told her to stay in bed..."

"Can't say I'm that surprised... kind of worried for her though, she shouldn't be moving about with that wound."

"We'll see if she comes back in a couple of hours, if not... probably the time to worry." Tangle said, and Sonic agreed.

"I'm sure you can find something to snack on but lunch is kind of an in an hour so, not sure if you want a full breakfast." She laughed lightly.

"Eh, I'll figure it out." Sonic brushed off before the two of them heard a rustling in the nearby bushes, and turned their attention towards it.

"Jewel!" Tangle exclaimed happily.

"H-hello-, I'm just wanting to speak with Tangle." She looked towards Sonic. "A-alone, preferably." Despite sounding a little shaky, her voice was firm. She was a pale blue beetle, short in stature, and she had a keen eye for rare minerals. The two of them had been best friends all the way through their childhood.

"Oh, sure." Sonic took the hint, stepping away from the two. "I'm gonna head back to the main camp!" He told Tangle. "We'll talk later!" He added, giving a thumbs up before dashing off.

Once Sonic was gone, Tangle beamed. "Hey, Jewel! What's up?"

"I just... wanted to make sure you were okay. The mission fell apart, so I've heard..." The beetle began. "You all got badly hurt..."

"Am I okay? Yeah! I mean my injuries are fine - just a shock to my system! Sure, things didn't go as planned and I'm kind of bummed about it, but in my eyes - things could have gotten a whole lot worse so - it's not too bad really! It's a learning opportunity!" She assured her.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Jewel's eyes were forlorn.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm... I should have told you all this sooner-" She looked away painfully. "I should have spoken up. I'm just... so often worried about you. Whether you're trailing off after Rouge and following her schemes or joining in assassination plots - you're always thrusting yourself into danger. And I don't- I don't like it."

"Jewel..."

"It's just- I know what you're like, how you can get - you rush into things, you don't always think things through and I worry that- well I worry that one day you'll be hurt... badly hurt. What if you-? You know... I don't want to lose you, Tangle. But at this rate I fear I will!"

"Oh no, oh gosh - I didn't know you felt this way at all." Tangle bent down to be eye level with her friend. Usually the girl would be wearing smarter attire, but like everyone else - she wore a salvaged mash of worn out clothes. This, combined with the fear in her eyes, made her look fragile. "Jewel, I'm always being as careful as I possibly can be. I assure you of that."

"With all due respect, Tangle - I'd... rather have the certainty. There's no need to go on those dangerous missions, there are others that'll take care of it." Her tone was pleading. "I want you by my side, and I want you safe." Her eyes were watering too.

Tangle pulled her close into an embrace. "I love you, Jewel. You're my best friend in this whole wide world - you mean so much to me... but I can't just sit idly by on the sidelines while others are fighting against the Empire-" She tried to explain. "I promise that I try not to be reckless, I always fight with the hope I'll be making it back to you."

Jewel, eventually, hugged her back. "I didn't really expect you to yield... but at least I finally said it." She said with defeat. "Please... try to think about it, though."

How dare she make her friend worry like that? Tangle wanted to kick herself - she should have been spending more time with Jewel than she had done lately, she wasn't being a very good friend to anyone lately - it seemed.

"Of course, Jewel. I'll think about it."

Amy's screams of rage were muffled by the duct tape over her mouth. As for the rest of her body - tied tightly to a tree with rope. That damned masked assassin - how dare she?! She had just left her there, on a tree.

"My, my."

Amy stopped yelling, looking downwards.

"Someone has found themselves in quite the predicament."

This had to be the first time she was ever grateful to see Starline.

"You're quite lucky that I carry a vast amount of tools on my person-" The doctor continued to ramble, opening up a case and producing a rope cutter, with which he began to free the hedgehog.

"Failed to catch the assassin, did we?"

Amy was able to weakly nod.

"Unfortunate. However, the Empire thanks you for your service. If you hadn't stepped in and blocked that shot, our beloved Emperor would have perished. You're a hero, Miss Rose!"

No, the heroic move would have been to let that laser fly and see if it killed him.

Yet she saved him, desperate for approval - desperate to be on the Empire's good side, desperate to avoid her execution. She was such a coward...

Finally free from the rope shackles, she stood up and forced herself to smile at Starline. "Thank you, thank you very much."

"Let us head back to Station Square, yes? Our Emperor would like a word."

"Egg Boss Rose."

His voice sent chills down her spine.

"You saved my life at the festival." Robotnik began. "Allowing my glorious Empire to live on. You have proven yourself worthy among your peers."

She was bowing down in front of the Emperor, Miles standing by the doctor's side. "It is of my understanding you were given until Monday to kill the rebels... I recognize this deadline as... ambitious. Punishment for not meeting such a target would be... dare I say it... unfair for a woman who just saved my life."

She daren't release a breath.

"No such deadline exists anymore, Miss Rose. I am offering you a weeks vacation in the capital - Empire City!" The doctor grinned. "Starline will fill in for you in the meantime. When you return - I will have all my Egg Bosses on watch for those ruffians! It is their responsibility now just as much as it is yours." He said. "Those arrangements work well for you, don't they Miss Rose?"

In some ways, yes.

She no longer had that miserable deadline looming over her head, and was now clearly a favorite in Robotnik's eye. However, the vacation was inconvenient - she had contacts she needed to stay in touch with, she wouldn't be able to in Empire City!

"They do, Emperor. Thank you so much for these wonderful gifts."

"Good." He seemed quite satisfied. "You're dismissed."

As Amy stood up to leave, she caught sight of Miles' glare and Starline's smirk.

Chapter Text

Thunder rumbled in between the dark clouds hanging in the sky as rain came down heavily on the cracked sidewalk. This area of the town had the unfortunate dreary stench to it of faded cigarettes and abandoned, tucked away pie shops that no one had really heard of or were willing to touch.

Robotnik had to wonder what an orphanage was doing in a place like this. There were much nicer areas in town, arguably closer to the typical things he had heard were involved in a typical childhood - like parks and schools.

Even if you were to factor out the weather, he was sure it wouldn't make a difference to how miserable the place was.

The orphanage itself was old-fashioned, but it blended in with every other building along the street. There was abundance of windows, all of them dirty - the rain was likely the only sort of a clean they'd get.

Unimpressed by everything, Robotnik grabbed hold of the ring on the door (now a musky brown rather than the gold it should be), and knocked.

"What you want?"

When the door opened, he was greeted with a woman - mid-late twenties if he had to guess, she was a sheep mobian - all of her other features being drowned out by the abnormal excess of red lipstick she wore on her lips. Even if you were to try, it was hard to look away from - as she chewed on a piece of chewing gum loudly.

With an open mouth.

"I'm... looking to adopt." Robotnik forced himself to smile.

The lady looked him up and down a few times. "Huh." She chewed some more. "Thought you were going to a funeral. Come in I guess-"

He was grateful to get out of the rain and didn't a waste a second to hop inside, closing up his umbrella as he did so. Robotnik had adorned himself in a long black coat - factoring in the rain and making sure it was a formal looking piece - after all, formal wear gave off a good impression - did it not? In hindsight, the lack of colour anywhere in his clothes did give the funeral impression.

Removing the coat, he hung it up on one of the hooks available at the entrance along with his umbrella. Following the woman, she lead him through a door labelled 'Office' in faded and scratched lettering.

"We don't get many people around here - how'd ya hear about us?" She said, taking a seat behind the desk in the room.

He assumed that was his cue to sit down as well on the available chair; it creaked beneath his weight.

"Oh, well - a friend brought it up, we were talking about the local orphanages." Robotnik lied.

"Uh-huh." She spoke dismissively. "What kind of kid you after?"

He was surprised they were getting straight to business already, he had been certain that there'd be more questioning. At least it was more convenient for him this way. "I've always been interested in having a son, you see." Trying to sound compassionate took a considerable amount of effort, he could even taste the bile at the back of his throat. "In my life I was never able to have one, and before I get too old - I thought now was a better time than any." He explained.

With the way her eyelashes futtered, it looked like a half-hearted attempt to stay awake. "You married or...?"

"Oh, no - single."

"Makes sense." Rude. "We don't get a lot of single people wanting kids though."

"I see." The woman wasn't writing any of this information down anywhere - did they even have a records system? This felt very illegal right now - not that Robotonik cared too much.

She stood up from her chair, simultaneously spitting her chewing gum in the bin next to her desk - which he couldn't help but notice was full of the stuff. Promptly, she put another piece of chewing gum in her mouth from a packet on her desk. "I guess you wanna take a look at the kids then." Her mouth squelched with every chew. "Just a heads up - a lot of them are rascals."

Children always were.

She lead him out the office doors and into a common living area - and he immediately couldn't help but notice the absolute state the room was in. The wallpaper was scratched thoroughly, pillows and rugs hapharzardly scattered over the furniture and floor. Toys were littered as far as the eye could see - and half of those were broken or torn. Upon further inspection, there were crude drawings on some of the far wells in a bright red pen.

"Sorry for the mess." The sheep said, interrupting his thought process. "We don't get enough money from the council to fund repairs."

No surprise there - but he did wonder how the place was even still open.

There was a loud crashing noise from down the hall - and then the repeated slapping of metal - as if someone were clapping a set of pots and pans together.

"Ah shit," The lady let out, but she didn't seem to care at all. "They got into the kitchen again."

Children were truly loud, abhorrent creatures - he dreaded the years he had ahead of him. He had made sure to make preperations though.

3 months earlier...

"Welcome to Parenting: 101!" Orbot announced. "A class made by yours truly - comprising of knowledge learnt from a very reliable source - the internet!"

Robotnik already knew it was going to going to be a trainwreck. The only reason he didn't disregard the idea entirely was due to sheer desperation.

"Today, it will be a multiple choice, practical quiz - where you get to apply what you learn on Cubot - who will act as our 'child' today."

"Goo-goo, ga-ga!" Cubot cried out.

"Cubot - you are imitating the wrong age range. Robotnik is looking to adopt a five year old, specifically."

"Oops, my bad!"

"Although I do have to say - it is still quite bizzarre how the doctor insists on looking for a child as his assistant, rather than just opening up job applications..."

"I'm right here, you know." Robotnik said, unimpressed. "You're supposed to do as I say, not question my methods."

"Sorry, boss!" The two bots apologised immediately.

How did he manage to make them both idiots... the second time around?

"Let's move this along then, shall we?" Orbot quickly said. "Today we shall get a difficult topic out of the way - children's tantrums."

Robotnik shuddered.

"Cubot, like we rehearsed-"

Cubot, from the opposite side of the kitchen - stared at Robotnik for an empty few seconds.

"I WANT CANDY FOR DINNER!" Cubot cried out.

"No." Robotnik told him bluntly.

Another stare.

"I SAID... I WANT CANDY FOR DINNER!" Cubot somehow imitated loud crying sounds despite not being able to let out tears, and began to float up and ravage the kitchen cabinets - chucking out every box and container he could out onto the floor - resulting in spillages of flour and cracked eggs leaking on every surface.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU DEFECTIVE-?"

"Now, now-" Orbot interrupted the start of his yelling tirade. "I have not given you your options yet." He pointed out. "I have three potential answers for you - and all you have to do is pick one- Do you A.) Yell aggressively at the child, B.) Hold your ground and talk down the child in a calm manner or C.) Give the child what it wants?"

"D.) Put it down." Robotnik answered, reaching into his coat pocket and then pointing a laser pistol at Cubot.

"Incorrect!" Orbot quickly cut in while lowering the doctor's arm. "The answer is B! It's B! You have a very long way to go..."

At the end of it all, Robotnik had gotten the hang of things for the most part, it was all very time consuming though. There had to be more efficient methods...

"Welp, here's some of the kids." The lady said.

Robotnik had been so distracted by everything else in the room that the didn't actually notice there were actually some children here - there were three of them, huddled together in front of something that the doctor couldn't quite make out.

"What a freak!" A girl giggled.

"I wonder how many more body parts he's gonna get extra of!" A gruff sounding boy added smugly.

"What if he gets two heads?!" The other asked.

"Two butts!" The girl said - and the three of them cackled.

"It's so funny how he's pretending not hear us." The boy spoke up again before aggressively leaning down. He had a notebook in his hand now, holding it far above his head. "What is this stuff, anyway?"

The kid gasped in surprise as he felt the notebook slip out of his hand, as it was taken by someone behind him - all of the children turned their attention around.

"Quadratic equations." Robotnik remarked, quickly glancing over what was written. "High school homework. Impressive for a kid your age..." Robotnik smiled encouragingly at the child - surprisingly not being much of an act. "But I think you could do better."

The conversation had already clued him in to who the bully target was, but his suspicions had been confirmed when he got closer and saw a yellow, very young, two-tailed fox, trying to sink into his chair away from the world.

Now though, his head lifted up a little at Robotnik - curiosity sparked in his eyes.

"Excuse me." Robotnik turned to the sheep who was leaning against the wall, quickly typing out text messages on her phone. "Yeah?"

"Can you tell me about this one?"

"Which?" She looked over. "On the chair? Miles Prower I think? 5 years old - his teachers keep saying he's really smart or something." She shrugged.

"Hello, Miles." Robotnik smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Miles Prower: Age 7

Following what was a very illegal adoption process in which he only had to sign a paper, and not a single home inspection was involved - Miles entetered the Robotnik household - or perhaps fortress was more appropriate.

It took a while for the kid to settle in, being very quiet and looking for excuses to shelter himself away as he was unsure of his new dad. Robotnik didn't mind this too much, after all - the last thing he really wanted was a child running around while he worked on his machinery.

Rather, it was Orbot and Cubot who would be the ones to bring Miles out of his shell - offering him kindness and support, and being the social interaction that children were supposed to have. They were his only friends after Robotnik had immediately pulled Miles out of school - in absolutely no circumstance would he have Miles' wonderful brain be tainted by those mind prisons.

Robotnik himself was the far superior teacher, and they ended up eventually bonding over their love of robotics and engineering. Miles gazed up at Robotnik with neverending awe as he introduced him to the basics first - building cars and planes, and they were quickly able to move onto greater projects - weapons and artificial intelligence.

The fox never questioned the ethical side of things, after all as far as he knew - this was just innocent experimentation carried out through by a pair of inquisitive minds.

"What are we working on today, Dad?"

"I want to show you something." Robotnik said. Miles had clung to his hand, and knowing he had to play the role of the loving father - he didn't pull his hand away, as much as he wanted to. "A very unique, complicated process of robotic creation - but opens up so many possibilities..."

"Wow, wow! That sounds so cool!" Miles exclaimed, skipping at his side.

"It will be even cooler once you see it with your own eyes."

The doctor bent down to the little screen on the side of the door. It emitted a green laser that hovered over Eggman's eyes for a few seconds before displaying a tick. "AUTHORISED ENTRY." It announced - and the doors slid open.

The room was small, but when the fortress would expand - this would definitely change. Much more space would be needed here in the future. A large pod stood in the centre of the room right near a control panel - wires and cords leading up to the ceiling.

Miles' eyes widened. "Dad... what's a flicky doing in there? Is it okay?"

"Oh, don't worry about that!" The doctor waved his hand to disregard the question. "Whether it's happy or not, doesn't matter when science is involved."

Miles rose a brow, but his eyes were wide with intrigue.

"This is a process I have dubbed 'robotization' - something I have perfected over many years." He explained to his son as he walked over to the control panel. "Instead of construting artificial intelligence through raw materials... instead it is possible to convert living tissue into machinery."

Temporarily, Miles seemed confused - until realization dawned. "H-huh...?" He spoke weakly, stunned.

The bird was flying around the cage helplessly, ramming itself against the glass despite the pain it must be in - desperate for a way out.

"Let's give you a demonstration." The doctor grinned, pressing a finger down on a large, red button.

"NOO-!" Miles called out - watching the pod fill with a blinding white light, reaching his hand out helplessly. The blue bird's screeching however ended up overpowering even the fox's cries.

The light would eventually die down, and Miles gasped in horror when he no longer saw a bird - but an oversized robotic wasp, hovering in the pod with a pair of glaring red eyes, buzzing loudly enough to be heard from outside the glass.

"I have other designs but I like to call this standard badnik a buzz bomber-"

He heard sniffling, and rolled his eyes - glaring down at Miles. Tears were flowing from his eyes as his shoulders jerked with each sob. "That poor birdie!"

Hardly the adoration he had expected.

"Come now, Miles. Now's not a time for tears-"

"YOU HURT THAT BIRDIE!" He yelled through his tears. "DOES IT EVEN HAVE FREE WILL ANYMORE?!"

"Well, no-"

This only made the crying worse. "YOU KILLED IT! YOU KILLED THE BIRDIE!"

"I did nothing of the sort." Robotnik scoffed. "You have picked up all my lessons quickly, and I hope your understanding of this one shall be no different." Going down on his knee to reach Miles' height, he placed a hand on his shoulder gently. "The process of robotization was painful for the creature, yes - for a brief moment. However, I implore you to look at it this way - Robotization is no different than undergoing a surgery - you suffer through pain while doctors fix your injuries, and make you better than what you were before." He explained.

He turned his head to the Buzz Bomber. "Think of all the improvements that have been made - that bird no longer requires food or water to survive, it can live in any condition, it is more equipped to defend itself, its lifespan is drastically expanded! It has been enhanced in every single way! That is the beauty of robotics!" He grinned.

Miles still did not seem convinced, so the doctor sighed. "Listen here. The type of sobbing you're engaging in right now - this sentimentality, has halted scientific progress for generations! If people weren't so hung up on the insignificant details - we would have had the cure to far more diseases! We would have made advanced superweapons - we could become a perfected, galactic society! Don't you understand, Miles? Emotions make us weak. Empathy and sympathy are only there to hold us back from reaching our full potential... which is why we, as people, need to cast those feelings away! You want to know why robots work so effieciently? Because there are no emotions! No empathy! No free will! It's just perfection!"

Realising his enthusiastic rant had made him forget to breathe, he caught up on it now - before breaking his lips into a smirk. "Don't you understand. Miles?"

The fox didn't reply immediately, slowly wiping away the tears on his face. "I mean... purely logistically-" He choked out.

"Logic is the only thing that matters, my son. Logic, and intuition. You're a good mechanic now, Miles - but once you learn this fundamental truth - you will grow from a measly mechanic to a pioneer of the future! You'll be just like me! That's what you told me you wanted to be, right?"

Miles slowly nodded.

"I'm proud of you, son. I understand... it's not easy to cast your emotions away. But I have an effective method - the more you practise, the more desensitized you will become - and then your mind, just like a robot, will be running at maximum efficiency."

He grinned widely. "I want to see you operate the machine, Miles. I have plenty more Flickies to go through."

Miles Prower: Age 9

"Nerd!"

"Weirdo!"

"Shitface!"

Miles was shoved to the ground, papers and books falling out of his hands and scattering on the ground and getting soaked in the puddles. The fox cursed to himself, why did he think going to the library was a good idea? There was a reason Robotnik kept him limited to the fortress - they were safe from idiots there.

These teens had to be at least 5 years older than him, proving further just how pathetic they were. Miles gritted his teeth.

"What are you gonna do about it, huh? Gonna stand up for yourself, wuss?"

With a glare, the young fox reached into his inside coat pocket - producing a laser pistol, one of the first things his father had taught him to make. He immediately fired at one of the bullies.

"What the hell-?!" Unfortunately, they managed to quickly dive to the side.

"We gotta get out of here!"

"He's got a weapon! We need to call the police!"

They all ran with their tails between their legs, and Miles watched them go with a huff - standing up and dusting himself off.

...

"Ugh, I'm so annoyed it didn't hit him!"

"Sounds like you need better target practise."

"You're right, dad. After dinner, I'm writing up a strict training regiment!" Miles said with conviction, bringing his fist down on the dinner table.

Oh wow, Robotnik thought... how far he had come. The doctor was sure now that his plan had succeeded - Miles was far beyond the Tails of the old timeline - this Miles saw the light, knew his place in the world, and had a ruthless philosophy.

Robotnik knew Sonic would inevitably return, but when he did - Miles was going to be unsalvageable. It gave Robotnik pure ecstacy to imagine the look of terror and grief on his face when he laid eyes on his old, dear friend.

"I never understood it." The fox said as he was cutting up his steak. "The point in making fun of me for my appearance or intelligence."

"Appearance is easy - people are pathetic and need to feel better about themselves." Robotnik answered. "Why people make fun of intelligence is a much more interesting question... and I'll tell you right now, people hate intelligence."

"What reason would they have to? Why don't they praise the ones with the knowledge or value them? The intelligent are the ones that make the true developments in our society!"

"Couldn't agree more. But it all comes back to the many faults of man - people are afraid of power, in any form. Everyone wants to be in control, and if humanity percieve something to be powerful, they immediately wish to shut it down." The doctor explained. "The superior form of power? Intelligence. You could have all the physical capabilities in existence but it is no use if a smart individual knows how to counter your every move. People know this - they know they'll never be better than people like us, so they shun us... have I spoken of my grandfather to you, Miles?"

"Not much."

"Then allow me to indulge. My grandfather was a genius - Gerald Robotnik - he created a project aboard a spacecraft-"

"Spacecraft?" Miles piped up. "How have I never heard of-?"

"Ssssssh! I'm telling a story!" Robotnik snapped. "Anyway, this project was an immortal creature - and by using its blood, they were going to be able to find a cure to all incurable diseases. However, this project would end up scaring the military - they feared its capabilities, they feared what it might do to them - and then they feared Gerald and what he was capable of creating. Their solution? Kill everyone aboard the spacecraft. The project ended up escaping and Gerald was kept alive so he could be taken down to Mobius for further experimentation on the project - but under the close supervision of GUN. Eventually they grew paranoid even still as they monitored his every move - finally shooting Gerald and locking the project away for good."

"I... had no idea." Miles said, blinking in shock. "Gerald was only trying to help everyone... yet they threw it back in his face because they didn't lile the fact it made them feel weak!" The story had clearly angered him. Good. "Ordinary people fear the unknown, while we scientists face up to it - we explore it - we dive headfirst into the unknown and make discoveries they never could! They have no right to shun us!"

"Which is exactly why I told you I plan to take over it all, with you by my side. The intelligent deserve a place at the top of the world, leading society to a grand future - we will not stand for anything less."

"Yes, we will claim whats ours." Miles smiled enthusiastically. "The day our takeover comes - they won't know what hit them!"

Robotnik couldn't stop smiling - knowing he already had one victory over Sonic, and there was nothing that rodent could do about it.

Miles Prower: Age 14 (Present Day)

"I don't understand!" Miles exclaimed. "I told you I had reason to suspect that Amy was working with outside mercaneries to get her work done! I told you I'd find an excuse for us to execute her! Yet you're turning around and giving her a holiday?"

"You shouldn't be questioning me as though I don't know what I'm doing!" Robotnik snapped back - picking up his walking pace down the hall, but so did Miles. "There are two ways to get people to be loyal to you - intimidation and respect. I'm trying the latter method! Giving Amy a reward so she's less likely to turn on us."

"I don't see why you're bothering to go through so much trouble to keep her-"

"Miles." Robotnik sighed, stopping in his tracks and turning back to the fox. "There is a method to my madness, there always is. There's a reason I want Amy on our side more han ever now, and it is one that I will tell you in due time!"

"Whatever it is, I assure you I can handle it-"

"I'll decide when you can handle it or not."

Miles hung his head down slightly. "Yes, my Emperor..."

"Now, where's that Starline-?"

"Right here, sir!" The platypus announced with a smile as he opened one of the doors. "Was just finishing packing up my things for a week's stay in the... delightful Station Square."

"I am entrusting the Ultimate Lifeform to you, a decision I have not taken lightly - but since you're insistent that the rebels are likely to attack and my agreement with that evaluation - I will allow you to have him for the week.

"Of course, sir. I will look after the creature... thing. The power it holds is immense, I wouldn't dream of letting it fall into enemy hands." Miles tapped his foot impatiently, there was something about Starline's smug attitude that he despised.

"Good - you're dead otherwise. Orbot and Cubot have the creature ready in room S1, along with the fequency controller - look after that box unless you want Shadow to kill you."

"U-understood, sir." The stutter was oh, so satisfying. "Shadow... didn't know it had a name. Alright. I assure you, no harm will come to Station Square as long as I am looking after it."

"Good."

"Enjoy your trip to the stars, Doctor."

"Hm."

Miles grinned to himself as the platypus was left in their wake.

Last night...

Rouge knocked on the window to no avail. Was it wise to knock again?

Oh hell, what else could go wrong at this point?

She tried again, and this time - the window would actually open upon her request.

"What the hell happened?" Jet growled, glaring at her as she hovered in the air outside. "How did such a simple fucking plan go wrong?!"

"It is stupid, I know! One of the key players in the plan backed out-"

"Then it's your poor leadership! Why should I waste my time with you further? Why should my team have their times wasted by your antics?"

"But-"

"Nope! Nuh-uh." Jet interrupted her. "I know your games, I know your tricks - I'm not giving you the chance to speak here. You're going to listen to me." Jet pointed a finger at her. "We aren't going to entertain your revenge fantasies stemming from your personal problems! If you're going to waste our time like that, we have no reason to be allies. Wave has no reason to keep working on your arm! So you can forget that too!"

Rouge's eyes widened with worry, but Jet wasn't finished. "We don't want Robotnik gone for the same reason you do - you know what we're after, so the only way you're getting our cooperation is by getting us what we want."

"I-"

"Good. Night." Jet closed the window, leaving Rouge in the cold night air and a burning stomach wound. Perhaps leaving her bed hadn't been a great idea after all...

Subconciously, she grabbed hold of her right shoulder - she could feel how icy the metal was, even underneath her clothing. Her remaining organic hand wouldn't stop shaking.

"You're lucky I'm nice." Knuckles spoke through gritted teeth. "You disobeyed my simple instruction yet here I am, still choosing to heal you."

"I preferred you when you were more nervous..." Rouge groaned.

"Then don't make me annoyed." Knuckles replied as he hovered his hands over Rouge's injury, healing it further. "Because you opened up the wound further in the night, I need another day to heal it now."

"Whatever, it's not like I need to go anywhere anymore." Rouge shrugged off.

"It is it really that hard to say thank you-?"

"Hello!" Tangle called from the entrance of their stone room.

"Sup?" Sonic added with a small grin.

Rouge immediately narrowed her eyes as her gaze settled on the hedgehog's, Knuckles however observed him carefully before smiling a little himself - seeing the hedgehog was now looking a lot better.

Sonic then made eye contact with Rouge, and his ears fell slightly. "So I wanted to have a group meeting but - I think I just wanna talk to you Rouge, first. Settle some things. After Knux is done healing you, of course!" The hedgehog quickly added.

"I'll be out of your fur in no time." Knuckles informed him.

"Oh! Yep, we'll give you two privacy!"

Rouge let out a "Hmph.", looking away as she did so. It was bizzarre in many ways to Sonic that Rouge's aggressive and dismissive tendencies she was showing here were exactly the kinds of things she'd be telling off her teammates for doing.

Knuckles was replacing the bandage before Sonic could give it too much thought, and Tangle cut in. "Knuckles and I will be hanging out in the camp, so come and find us when you're ready."

"I'm going back to the shrine..."

"Oh come on, Knuckles! Their conversation will be like- two minutes! Five max!"

Knuckles didn't look thrilled at the thought of spending time with all those people, but he grimaced and nodded. "Fine..." He stood up now that Rouge's wound had recieved its treatment.

Tangle was bounding out of the foor excitedly and Knuckles slowly followed. Before leaving, the echidna gave a small nod to the hedgehog before disappearing out into the camp.

Now, there was nothing but a bat and a hedgehog. There was nothing to do but get on with it.

"Look Rouge, I'm sorry about - calling off the plan abruptly, it really did end up screwing everyone over - but I assure you, there is a reason why I backed out. I just... I didn't know how to explain it at the time, and I'm going to explain it after I apologise to you and the others come back. I just- yeah it looks really bad that I suddenly backed out the way I did."

Rouge bit her lip. "I don't get why you're apologising, Sonic. We can't change the past - we lost our chance, and we never know when a good one like that will arise again. I'll only forgive you when I know what your reason for backing out was - if its justifiable, I'll be less mad."

"You won't completely forgive me though."

"No, because of you I've lost some very useful allies, and now I have no one to repair my arm when it wears down."

There were far worse knock-on effects than Sonic had even imagined, he looked down and sighed. "I'm sorry, Rouge. I really am. I didn't want this to happen. I didn't mean for this to happen."

"Just hurry up and get the others in here, all I want to hear is that explanation." Sonic took one last glance at Rouge, noticing how her left arm was very visibly trembling at her side.

"You sure you're okay-?"

"I told you to hurry up, didn't I?"

"Yeah... right."

Sonic stepped out into camp again and looked for the two of his friends. Things might not be... perfect right now, but things were finally about to get back on track. At this current moment in time, Sonic was happy to cherish each individual step of progress.

Chapter Text

"So, how did it go?" Tangle smiled sympathetically as Sonic stepped out of the stone den, as though she already expected that Rouge would have dismissed his apologies.

"Eh, could have been better." Sonic admitted, walking out nonchalantly. "Don't think she'll accept my apology until I explain myself though."

Knuckles scoffed. and folded his arms "Not surprised."

"We can't really blame her for being mad though, right?" Tangle pointed out. "In the end we screwed up big time."

"I screwed up big time." Sonic corrected. "But now I know for sure what we need to do." He smiled assuringly.

"Then let's get this meeting on the road! At this point you're just building up unecessary suspense-" Tangle grinned humorously. Before Knuckles could even start walking back inside, her tail suddenly grabbed hold of him and reached out to place him in the room. "Come on, Red Riot!" She exclaimed as she did so, not giving the poor echidna any sort of say in the matter.

Despite Tangle coming off as a little intense sometimes with her friendliness, Sonic really did appreciate the effort she was pouring in to forming a friendship with Knuckles. The lemur bounded on in, and Sonic followed shortly behind.

Rouge wore a very grouchy face from her bed. Tangle and Knuckles sat next to each other on the other, sat up and eagerly awaiting Sonic to address them.

"Soooo to recap," Sonic began, feeling hot sweat beginning to bead down his forehead. He couldn't afford to screw this up, he needed his friends on his side to find those emeralds. "I backed out of our assassination plot, giving no reason as to why - and almost got everyone very hurt-"

"Not almost." Rouge pointed out bitterly, he supposed she did have the right to - considering she had ended up injured as a result.

"Right-" Sonic achknowledged. "So, the reason why is a little hard to explain but basically..."

Hang on...

With all four of them in the same room, now was a better time than any, right?

Before the chosen one story, he'd see how far honesty got him.

"I'm from another timeline."

As expected, his muscles froze and the world was enveloped in purple.

"Not almost." Rouge pointed out bitterly, he supposed she did have the right to - considering she had ended up injured as a result.

Now, time to get creative.

"I'm from... another world..."

As the edges of his eyes saw dark purple flames, he sighed. "Not gonna give me that one? Okay..." Sonic sighed, before he froze once more as the clock wound back.

"Not almost." Rouge pointed out bitterly, he supposed she did have the right to - considering she had ended up injured as a result.

Sonic slowly breathed in, clasping his hands together.

"Guys, you ever seen that one really old Christmas movie 'It's a Wonderful Life'-?"

Purple again. "Oh, come on!" Sonic exclaimed in frustration.

"Not almost." Rouge pointed out bitterly, he supposed she did have the right to - considering she had ended up injured as a result.

Sonic rubbed his temples, not saying a word.

"Yo, you good...?" Tangle spoke up hesitantly.

"Just a- just a tad annoyed-" Sonic forced himself to speak calmly. "Just a little hard to explain how I'm here with all this... wibbly, wobbly... time-wimey... stuff-"

Again. "OH COME ON, WHAT WERE THEY SUPPOSED TO GET FROM THAT-?"

"Not almost." Rouge pointed out bitterly, he supposed she did have the right to - considering she had ended up injured as a result.

You know what, he had nothing to lose - why not test visual metaphors?

"OKAY SO IMAGINE A CLOCK - AND I THROW IT ON THE GROUND-!" Sonic mimicked the gesture aggressively with an imaginary clock.

The same result. "This... ugh-" He groaned in defeat.

Alright, one more experiment.

It wasn't about to be his proudest moment.

With his already angered face, he stood rigid before holding one arm above his head, and the other to the side of ihis body. To the best of his ability, he tried to imitate the hands of a clock ticking every second.

...

"Is he... possessed?" Knuckles finally questioned with worry.

"I think this is charades." Tangle remarked in fascination, before smiling. "I love charades! Oh, oh - I think he's a clock! Or a watch-!"

Sonic wasn't even surprised as the dark shades enveloped him, he sighed - it was though the beast could even read his intentions. Any hope of being able to express the truth had been shattered, and now the hedgehog knew he had no choice.

"Not almost." Rouge pointed out bitterly, he supposed she did have the right to - considering she had ended up injured as a result.

His only option was to go ahead with Silver's lie.

"Fair point Rouge-" Sonic responded to her, sounding impatient after his many failings that the others didn't know about. His attitude caused Rouge to roll her eyes, but Sonic just wanted to move on with it.

"So... I didn't really understand at the time the messages I was receiving... but it's become clear to me. I think it might have something to do with the fact I'm like- the 'chosen one' or something because - I've been having dreams. They've been very vague... but ultimately their message is clear. They're trying to tell me that I need to find the Chaos Emeralds... seven powerful gems, like mini versions of the Master Emerald. They're the only way we can take down the Empire... the plan would have gone wrong if I allowed it to go through. That's why I had to stop it."

Sonic could practically hear the gears turning in their heads as they processed this new information. Tangle blinked repeatedly at the hedgehog as if wanting him to provide some sort of further explanation. Rouge meanwhile had some sort of vague expression of bewilderment mixed with disgust, she looked ready to speak but held her tongue. On the other hand, Knuckles was so lost in thought he seemed to be on another planet entirely.

Realising that no one would, the bat broke the silence. "If you were having magical, prophetic dreams all this time before we set off to the festival - why did you suddenly screw us over in the middle of the festival? Why didn't you talk about this before?!" She questioned him, outraged.

Good question. He really should have thought this excuse through...

"I just- everything was vague! Right up until that night... when I got a vision-" He was stumbling over his excuses, and Sonic knew he had to be careful not to trip himself up - but it was a struggle to think clearly. "I was spoken to directly..."

"By who? What?" She further pressed.

"By uh-" Damnit! If they hadn't noticed he was sweating before, they definitely were seeing it now. "By..." Sonic ran through all the divine beings he had encountered before in his lifetime, but none of them felt appropriate - but he couldn't spend too long thinking about the answer!

His eyes settled on Knuckles. "By an echidna..."

Knuckles looked up at him.

"Peach-furred-" Sonic stuttered out. "Green skirt with a pattern- she had jewelry- her name was Tikal, I believe?"

She was the best person he could think of, especially when visions sprung to mind - he remembered being thrusted into a vision of the past - seeing the poor echidna girl, trampled by her clanmates as the bloodthirsty echidna warriors swarmed the Master Emerald in a desperate bid for its power.

Was she here in this timeline too? He supposed there was no way of truly knowing that.

"You're telling the truth..." Knuckles said softly.

Sonic kept his mouth shut, he'd rather not screw this up now.

"She is an ancestor of mine. An ancestor that I definitely knew the name of before you said it here-"

It was easy to tell Knuckles was lying on that last part, deception had never been his strong suit. Sonic, however, didn't care - he allowed himself to release a breath of relief knowing he had support backing him.

"She was the one who told me to find you." Knuckles further added.

Huh. Tikal was actually still in this timeline, and she was aware of him? His crazy gamble wasn't as far-fetched as he initially thought it would be.

"Then this is by design... by the will of my ancestors." Knuckles declared with determination, suddenly standing up from the bed and stepping in front of Sonic. Suddenly, the echidna went down on one knee and hung his head low. "I pledge to you that I will help you obtain the seven chaos emeralds to restore peace to the lands!"

While he was very, very grateful for the support - the bowing was a little weird. "I- thanks, but you don't need to do that-"

"Well, it's not like you two guys communicating with the same echidna ancestor is a coincidence, right?" Tangle said with a little smile. "I was unsure at first but I think that settles it - I have faith in you, Sonic. And your weird chosen one powers..." She laughed awkwardly, but gave a thumbs up - confirming her beliefs.

All was left to Rouge - and her response shocked everyone.

"Sure, whatever." She mumbled, looking off to the side.

That... sounded like an agreement, just barely. The other three rolled with it, knowing it was about as good as they were going to get.

"Our divine ancestors have deemed a treasure hunt as the quest we must undergo to save our world!" Tangle proclaimed, first in the air - like a true dramatic protagonist. "The question is... where do we begin our journey?" She looked between everyone for answers.

All of their eyes screamed uncertainty.

"Knuckles, you can sense chaos energy right?"

"Only when I'm close to the source of it - I can't just stand here and pinpoint their location exactly-" Knuckles explained, sounding a little disappointed at himself for his own limitations as he stood up straight again.

"But that's something." Sonic pointed out. "Which is better than nothing. We'll just... have to explore a lot of places..." He rubbed the back of his head.

"Wow... I mean I love travelling but this is sounding like it could take a really long time... we can't just abandon everybody and go on a quest, we've got people in this camp to look after!" Tangle mentioned.

Rouge huffed through her nose, but didn't offer up a verbal contribution.

"Well... my speed can help us cover a lot of ground hopefully! No reason we can't still have Angel Island as the place we sleep at night - I can run to Chun-nan and explore the entirety of it within a day!" Sonic declared confidently for the lemur. "We'll find a way to get this done, and I'm sure we'll come up with ways to speed up the process as we go!"

Tails made emerald hunting infinitely easier when he first built emerald tracking devices, but this was a luxury that he simply did not have access to here.

"Yeah... I suppose you're right!" Tangle nodded confidently. "And what about like- what do we do once we have all seven?"

"Well, I guess as the chosen one I'll find out." Sonic shrugged, but tried to make sure to smile. In all honesty, as much as Sonic wanted to get the emeralds - how exactly he'd fight the Time Eater and return the timeline to normal was a question that had only gotten more confusing after his talk with Silver - how was Sonic supposed to fight a being that was currently holding time itself together?

Whatever, that could come later. They didn't even have a single emerald yet, let alone seven.

Tangle accepted his vague line, but Knuckles had further things to bring up.

"How can we be sure Eggman hasn't gotten his hands on some Emeralds?"

"Maybe he has..." The thought made Sonic queasy. "And maybe we'll have to fight him for it. But if he had all seven, we'd know about it." Sonic said. "Just because we're going treasure hunting, doesn't mean we'll be avoiding conflict."

"Can't escape fighting no matter how hard we try, aye?" Tangle shrugged lightly. "But this settles it. I'm on your side, Sonic - and I'll make sure you get those emeralds so you can kick Eggman's butt!" She declared, and Knuckles nodded reassuringly alongside her.

Silver's suggestion worked like a charm, Sonic would have to thank the hedgehog later. The blue hedgehog felt as though he could collapse of relief as he managed to finally rally his friends around a goal that would allow him to fix the timeline for good. Sonic smiled, his joy quickly beginning to overtake any other emotion. "Then let's do this!" Sonic exclaimed.

The only one that didn't smile was Rouge.

"My... what has happened to you? Eh, scratch that - I have a pretty good indication." Starline spoke to himself, poking through the metal bars of the cage with a pen onto the monster's forehead.

He growled, but did not attempt to fight against the unwarranted prodding. The frequency box certainly did its job. "I can't tell if they're supposed to be soundwaves... no, they can't be. It's something telepathic- a hive mind if you will."

Starline continued droning on, standing up and away from Shadow and making it to his desk - picking up the black radio box and examining it. "Replicating the alien communication systems... to keep you under control, aye?" Starline looked over to the cage as if expecting a response, and then shrugged carelessly when he didn't get one.

"Fascinating. But a waste... created by Gerald to be first and foremost a perfectly sentient, artificial mobian- spitting on a legacy, I call it. But what else could you expect from Miles?" He groaned.

He then smirked.

"No matter, this isn't something that can't be undone. It will just take time... and patience."

He had been advised by Robotnik first and foremost not to lose the frequency box, the thing that sent commands to Shadow and ensured he'd do your bidding - otherwise you'd find your head torn off. It was sound advise... but in science, sometimes the best endeavours simply involved risk.

The platypus switched the device to 'OFF.'

Starline watched as Shadow panted, crawling around in circles in the cage that was barely big enough to fit him. He eventually turned to Starline and snarled. "Now, now Shadow - I understand my allegiance is a point of contention for you. The first thing you want to do is kill me, of course."

Trying his best to keep his voice firm and hide any sort of fear he actually felt, he stepped back towards the cage. In reality, his body was shaking with the knowledge that in a split second - Shadow could warp out of that cage and tear him to shreds.

"However I know despite your monstrous appearance, there is still a man with intelligent head in there - something that little device has prevented you from fully utilising independently... so, Shadow - let me make it plain to you that my only mission here is to help you."

Well, he hadn't tried to kill him yet.

"This... whatever you want to call what was done to you... is not something I want Miles recieving praise for. I am a firm believer this damage should be reversed... and you should return to your true self. I endeavour to simply find the best way to do that, do you understand me?"

The half hedgehog/half beast stood still, glaring through at the platypus before nodding.

Oh, it heard him alright - he understood just fine.

"Then play along with me, yes? I might have to utlise you further in this state but hopefully not for long... and I will return you to the man you once were."

Starline could see it now, Robotnik finding out that Miles' endeavour to turn Shadow into a controllable killing machine through an alien serum had failed due to the effects wearing off. Oh yes, he could see it now - the doctor's rage, the absolute fury he would release upon that fox-

He'd love nothing more than to see that fantasy become reality.

"That's damn outrageous!" Fang slammed his fist down on the table. "We busted our asses trying to locate those rebels within your stupid deadline and now you don't need us?"

"The circumstances have changed." Amy sighed. "I no longer have my deadline, no more pressure - I'm still paying you half of our deal."

"Love, when I accepted this job I had the full price in mind." He growled as he leaned towards Amy's face, before Vector elbowed him gently aside.

"What Fang meant to say is thank you." The crocodile said impatiently.

"There's gotta be a high bounty for those guys, surely?" Fang continued to ramble, mostly going back to his own team - leaving just Vector, Espio, and Amy together.

"Enjoy that vacation, Ames. You were under a lot of stress." Vector pointed out, with Espio nodding in agreement.

"And while I'm gone, Starline is operating Station Square. Whatever you do, don't get caught. " Amy warned them. "Starline is the biggest Empire ass kisser in the world and when he finds you mercenaries, it is over."

"We've been at this gig for years now, silly." Vector brushed off her concerns. "We know how to hide from authorities."

"Remember it's not just your lives at stake. You have a kid with you."

"One that we've vowed to always come home to." Vector narrowed his eyes. "No need to worry yourself about that."

Amy slung her scarlet handbag over her shoulder and sighed. "I still don't understand why you chose the life you did."

"With all due respect, could say the same for you."

The hedgehog stared at him with widened eyes, before they became downcast with shame. "I-" Realising she had those emotions slip, she set her mouth in a firm line. "It's all too late now."

"Perhaps it is." Vector achknowledged with a regretful nod.

"Try not lose this Mystic Ruins base, will you? It's spacious... hidden underground-"

"You kidding? No way we're letting this go! Those rebels had the jackpot as far as bases go..." He admitted with joy, knowing that everything they once had that had been left behind was now theirs - as they had taken claim to the base used by the rebels. According to Bean and Bark, they were now on Angel Island - and as far as he was concerned, they could keep that place. Vector was content with the ruins, and he could tell Espio was too - it was also roomy and secure for Charmy.

"Then I'll leave you to it, as I said - I must get going-" Amy said, turning around.

"Ames?" Vector called after her.

"Yes?" She replied, but didn't turn around.

"Wish you the best."

"... You too."

For some inexplicable reason, Knuckles wasn't at the altar. The day had passed on by and Sonic had made the time to speak with the civilians in camp - getting to know them, their reasons for being here, and how they felt about things as they currently were. They spoke of how since Sonic and Knuckles had entered the ranks, a new spark of hope had been ignited among everyone as people finally saw a chance - a possibility of actually causing damage to totalitarian Empire the doctor had created.

After all was said and done he wanted to check on his old friend, suspecting there could be no other possible he would be - yet the space in front of the emerald was empty - not an echidna in sight.

Thus, Sonic had been left to debate the other possible areas he could be. Sonic made his way over to Knuckles' thatched hut, the place Knuckles stayed on those rainy nights rather than sleeping on the stone of the altar underneath the open sky. Knuckles didn't exactly own many possessions in there but it functioned as a minimalist house.

The hedgehog knocked and there was no answer, but testing the handle of the wooden door would show that it wasn't locked.

Admittedly, it had slipped the hedgehog's mind that he wasn't as close to this version of Knuckles than the other one - Sonic was always allowed inside, without knocking or formalities. It didn't occur to him that would have changed.

"Knuckles?" Sonic called out as he stepped inside, and immediately stood stunned when he realised there was a perfectly cut square hole opened up in the middle of the makeshift living room floor.

A basement?

Knuckles had a basement?

Curiosity got the better of him, entering down into the ground on a rope ladder. Knuckles never told him he had a basement! What was he even keeping down there?

When Sonic finally had a look around, it wasn't something the hedgehog had expected to see at all.

Shelves of books, most of them fraying at the seams with brown covers - it was a mini library, all in Knuckles' secret little underground basement. In the middle of it sat the echidna himself, flipping through the pages of a book with a messy stack of them beside him. It was clear Knuckles wasn't reading, but rather looking for something.

"Ayo, Knux!" Sonic called out to him.

"Agh-!" Knuckles almost dropped his book in shock. "Sonic?! What are you doing in here?!"

"I was worried about you, bud! Didn't see you at the altar." He explained simply.

"Well, I'm here-" Knuckles explained awkwardly. "You can leave now."

"You look like you're searching for something." Sonic brought up. "Maybe I could help you?"

"No. You couldn't read this if you tried."

Ah, so they were ancient echidna scriptures - should have been a given, Sonic supposed.

"I'm just... trying to find out who Tikal was." Knuckles admitted finally.

"You don't know?" Sonic tilted his head.

"No... do you?" Knuckles furrowed his brows.

Sonic's eyes darted around. "Hm? Oh me? Nope, don't know a thing." Sonic had seen her story with his own eyes, but it's not like he'd seen it in this timeline - Knuckles hadn't likely seen Tikal's visions either.

"Hm. It's just a bit weird - there are no records of her in any of these books."

"That's... kinda strange." Sonic agreed. Unfortunately, Sonic didn't exactly know the reason why Tikal wasn't mentioned in any of these books - perhaps all echidna literature refrained from talking about her, even in the old timeline - how would he know?

"I suppose it's not a big deal but... I was just curious." Knuckles finally sighed.

"You like learning about your ancestors, huh?" Sonic said, walking in closer and smiling softly at his friend.

"Yes, I don't exactly have living clanmates so... I learn about the ones whose memories are kept alive in these books." The echidna explained to him.

Sonic knew Knuckles always lamented the fact he was the last of his species, and he made it his life's mission to not only protect the emerald, but to carry on their legacies - and be a guardian they could be proud of. Sonic remembered the first time Knuckles had really delved into those feelings, the two had sat on the steps of the altar, talking all the way until the sun went down and the moon shone bright.

"It's kind of bizarre, I find myself missing people I've never met." Knuckles achknowledged with a self-deprecating chuckle.

"I don't think there's anything weird about it, Knux. You're the last of your kind, you've been alone for a long time with just their mantras to guide you - it's only natural that you'd long to be with them, you know?" Sonic said, sitting down by Knuckles, and the echidna didn't seem to mind.

Knuckles nodded. "Yes, that makes sense..." Sonic noticed the echidna staring into his eyes and Sonic met that eye contact, Knuckles' amethyst eyes were captivating - they had always been. Sonic could never quite explain why, but they felt strong and filled with depth.

"Sonic, what was the world like before Eggman took over?" Knuckles finally asked, breaking eye contact with the hedgehog and turning his head - hiding his pink cheeks.

"Hmmm..." Sonic tapped his chin. "It was lively, joyful - people were all over the place, having a good time. Things were much brighter of course, nature was still alive - there was always so much fun stuff to do!"

"It's admittedly hard to imagine that." Knuckles said honestly. "After everything I saw... do you believe that world, that time before Eggman, can be restored?"

"I have complete faith." Sonic smiled. "And you know what we're gonna do, Knux? When the world's back to normal, I'm taking you on a day trip. Just you and me."

"... What would we do?" Knuckles asked, hesitant but intrigued.

"We would... hang out a restruant, eat whatever you fancy - get you to try foods you've never had before like ramen and ice cream-! We could also hang out at a concert! Figure out what music you like and we'll see it performed live! We could hang out at the beach, we could do sports - man, there's so much stuff I could show you!"

The words had run out of his mouth before he could truly contemplate them. When Eggman was going to be defeated, the timeline would be restored and this Knuckles wouldn't even exist - it would be his Knuckles again.

Either way, Sonic knew that if that wasn't the case - Sonic would have absolutely offered Knuckles a day trip, several day trips in fact! So they could explore the world below. There were so may wonders down there that Knuckles had been deprived of, something that Sonic had always seen as incredibly unfair.

Knuckles' smile was precious. "Well, you speak of all those things excitedly so I'm going to assume they're good things. Can't believe you'd go out of your way like that to show me what things are like..."

"Of course I would, Knux."

"It's a lovely idea, but I have a duty, once everything is restored - I must remain at the altar." Knuckles said firmly.

"Hm..." Sonic hummed, knowing that no matter the timeline, as long as Knuckles had friends that cared about him, Knuckles would be able to go to the surface, entrusting the emerald to trustworthy friends for safekeeping. "We'll just have to see what the future has in store."

"I have a clear vision of what my future holds." Knuckles spoke plainly. "My work will always be a priority. Speaking of work... Tangle was talking about plans for a supply run earlier? She said she wanted to speak with you on that."

Sonic took the hint, figuring out quickly that Knuckles didn't dwell on his personal issues too much with Sonic, who was still a relatively new friend - despite how naturally they were getting along.

This Knuckles did significantly less arguing, less of a tough guy - Sonic wondered if when Knuckles' confidence began to grow again, he'd see those traits return.

"Then I guess i shall have a word with Tangle. Good talk, Knux." Sonic grinned.

"Yeah... good talk." Knuckles smiled.

The in-between continued to make less and less sense. Silver trudged through thick layers of pale white snow yet barely felt cold. He didn't even need a coat, which was quite a blessing really since the hedgehog did not have one at hand.

How long had he been here now? His perception of time had been utterly warped. Had he been here for a day or a year at this point?

Silver had been somewhat convinced that whatever realm he had been shoved in was just a snowy one - just an area where snow covered everything, but that changed today when he came across a small, humble train station.

The hedgehog floated himself onto the platform, being the first thing he had seen in this area aside from snow - he was carefully scrutinising it - wondering how a whole train station platform could be here - especially with no tracks around.

Why was it here? He supposed there was no hurry to figure it out...

Sitting himself on the single available bench, he closed his eyes - perhaps he could get some sleep... it was comfier than the ground, anyway...

Suddenly, something made him uneasy and caused the fur on his body to stand on end. It felt like... something was nearby. Something close. Silver's eyes snapped open.

"AH-!" Silver screamed, jumping off the bench as he laid his eyes upon a peach-furred echidna, sitting right next to him.

Chapter Text

High on her pedestal, she had a long way to fall.

There was a certain irony to the title of 'Best Thief in the World' - generally as a professional in the field, a low profile was necessary - having your name broadcasted everywhere was generally a sign you weren't good at staying hidden.

Yet, in Rouge's case - her renown was a further testament to her skill. Her face and name were well-known, her tactics recorded - and yet, she never failed. She always left with what she wanted, always able to evade capture.

Lucky streaks always had to end, though.

Lights flashed.

"Rouge the Bat! You're under arrest!"

"Let me get this straight... instead of arresting me, you're offering me a job?" She asked with suspicion.

"Your unique skillset is highly valued, you'd be much more valuable to us as an asset rather than another rotting mouth we have to feed in a cell." The old man on the other side of the desk pointed out,.

"So I'm getting special treatment?" She asked lightly, leaning back in her chair. "Who am I to turn it down then?"

"Don't think it's going to be some walk in the park, young lady. We'll be whipping you into shape." There was a growl edging his voice.

"Of course you will." Rouge nonchalently shrugged.

The man straightened himself up in his chair, broadening his shoulders. "Let's see how you fare after one week in bootcamp, aye?"

"They wanted me here because I was so good at my work - why on Mobius did they think I needed all that bootcamp training?" She sighed on the couch of the break room, helping herself to one of the chocolates on the nearby coffee table.

"Maybe because you needed lessons in the basics - like conduct, basic morality, respecting your peers-" Topaz began to list off impatiently. She was a human, short for an agent - but the size of her nagging mouth made up for it.

"And I learnt all that and more, dear Topaz." Rouge informed her. "Which is why, out of respect for you - my dear ally, I have to point out how awful your haircut is and how much it unfortunately makes you look like an old lady." She spoke condescendingly, a smug smirk creeping up her lips. "Doesn't help you're graying too..."

The other agents present snickered - and Topaz's face grew furiously red. "H-hey! There's no room for that attitude when talking to your superiors-!"

Despite being her first step into the militaristic world, far from her comfort zone - it would be the last, fleeting moment of normalcy she'd get to experience before everything went wrong.

Alarms began to blare.

She woke up hours later to a ringing in her ears.

Choking on ash, she slowly scrambled to her knees, weaving between chunks of rubble on the ground with pulsing, screaming muscles. She squinted through smoke, panting as she was desperate for clean air.

Her hands were quivering, making it hard to get a grip on anything around her.

"There is someone here!" She heard a man cry out in relief, although everything sounded muffled in her ears.

Suddenly, she felt herself being lifted up to feet - a glimpse at his uniform told her he was a soldier.

"What- what's going on-?" Rouge gasped, tired and bewildered.

"We're trying to figure that out- there was a ship in the sky- i-it appeared out of thin air! It slipped past the base's detection, and before we knew it - the base was blown up!"

"Wha-?" Rouge needed to lean on him for balance, blinking rapidly as she tried to process what she was hearing. "Where's that ship now-!?"

"We don't know!" The man snapped, his voice cracking. "But that's the least of our worries now! Look-!" He pointed out to the distance, and Rouge turned.

Between the crackling flames littering the expanse ahead, sillohettes loomed on the horizon. Their shapes were bulky and large - imposing as they began to make their approach.

"Some kind of... mechs?" Rouge questioned in disbelief. "This- this has to be a nightmare! It has to be!" She almost tripped as she was yelling.

"Please!" The man tried to get through to her. "I know where the other survivors are - we have to go before those things come after us!"

She wanted to run as fast as she could, away from everything - but she feared her body may give way any second. She didn't feel any pain, but everything was cold and numb despite the roaring of fire closing in on them.

Glancing around with a helpless gaze, her eyes drifted to a face in the rubble - causing her to suddenly start pushing away pieces of metal and stone to reach them.

Topaz's blank, glazed eyes stared up at her - and the bat quickly bent down and held up two fingers to her neck.

No pulse.

Rouge wanted to faint.

"It's just us now." The man said gently. "And we have to go-" He reached for her arm so he could tug her back up.

"TWO REMAINING G.U.N. SOLDIERS - MUST ELIMINATE."

The robotic voice caught them both off guard. Rouge was fast enough, spreading her wings and quickly taking flight.

Her companion wasn't so lucky.

A beam of red energy shot his way - large enough to set his body ablaze - and in a single flash, to disintegrate him into nothing but dust, not even giving him the chance to cry for help.

Rouge covered her mouth as she let out a horrified screech. No, that man - where did he-? No! He wasn't gone just like that! "No..." Rouge let out, lowering her hands and staring at the spot he had once been standing in.

"ONE REMAINING G.U.N. SOLDIER - MUST ELIMINATE."

Sirens wailed in the distance.

The bat, frozen, yelled. Desperately willing her body to move - just a damn inch!

The robot aimed, and fired.

The agony was excrutiating as her arm erupted, snapping like a twig and flaking off into ashes. The end of what remained seethed and throbbed, as though set alight. She didn't even realised that she had fallen back onto the rubble.

Instead, she screeched at the top of her lungs, tears cascading down her face as her crimson blood begun to create a boiling puddle for her to lay in. Her body remained limp, there was no escaping now. Choking on her cries, she struggled to see through the water clouding her eyes.

The robot loomed over her, the claws of its hand ready to reach down and tear her apart.

"OMEGA! Enough." A voice called, and the robot slowly backed away. "Splendid work..." They continued. "But I want this one alive... let her soak in it. Let her witness the full glory of my takeover in the moments she has left..." His cackles echoed through her cries, her body jerking with sob.

"UNDERSTOOD. SHE WILL WITNESS THE TRUE GLORY THAT IS THE ROBOTNIK EMPIRE."

Darkness began to take hold, wrapping her up and slipping her out of conciousness.

Rouge sat up - shaking with heavy breaths.

Heaving a sigh, she fell back onto her pillow - but her heart continued to vigourously pound in her chest.

She spared a quick glance at the lemur laying next to her, seeing that she was sleeping soundly.

At least one of them was.

Silver, rather ungracefully, landed on his butt on the stone platform - causing him to wince. The lady on the bench stared down at him with wide eyes.

"Are you okay, dear warrior?" She asked with concern.

"Uh- me? I'm fine-" Silver slowly stood up, knowing the soreness would die down. He was mainly confused at how she addressed him, and well - her existence in general to be exact. She was... she was an echidna, right? But how was that possible? He opened his mouth to begin asking her questions - but she continued on.

She clasped her hands together. "I did not mean to install fear within you, I come in peace!" She insisted.

"Oh- Uh, yeah okay-" Silver stuttered out. "What's going on exactly-?"

"You are lost, but not without a purpose." She closed her eyes. "Fragments of the old timeline remain, such as we."

"You... you know about the timelines?" Silver questioned eagerly. "Do you know how we sort this out then?"

To the hedgehog's disappointment, she shook her head. "There are many opposing forces in the way." She explained. "But I will be relentless in my pursuit for answers. I must continue my search here, for the answer is most likely to lie within the broken - the remains of this realm-"

She was losing him quite quickly with the flowery way she chose to speak. "Right...? So, what is this 'realm' then?" He asked her.

"Before you lies the discordant remnants of what time once was..."

As Silver stared at her blankly, the echidna seemed to catch on to the fact that he wasn't really understanding. "The passage of time in which you are most familiar with - this is what remains of it."

"You're saying... this... is the old timeline?" Silver's voice cracked with confusion. "How does that make sense? The timeline was changed..."

"Overwritten." She corrected him, standing up and meeting his eyes. "No matter how hard they could try, they would not be able to dissipate life as it once were - merely conceal it underneath a veil of deception."

"Like... a blanket. The new timeline is like a blanket covering the existence of the old. I knew my analogy was accurate!" Silver exclaimed, perhaps a little too gleefully for the situation at hand. Realising this, he awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "So um, in theory all we need to is... tear off the new timeline?" He suggested, unsure of himself.

"In a metaphorical sense." She agreed. "But the task is not simplistic, we must battle the corrupt to seize the ability to steer ourselves on course."

"Eggman and the Time Eater..." Silver slowly nodded. "Sonic's working on gathering the Chaos Emeralds in the new timeline- Oh wait, you don't know who that is-"

"No, I do." She responded to Silver's surprise. "I am familiar with all of you, Silver."

"Oh, um - that's kinda surprising-" Silver scratched his head. "I don't know who you are though-"

"My name is Tikal. It is a pleasure to speak with you, time travelling saviour." She gave him a curtsy.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you too, Tikal." Silver bowed in return, as it would be rude not to return the formalities.

The echidna brought the conversation back to their blue-furred companion. "Sonic is continuing his pursuit of the emeralds in hopes that it will aid him in his battles, but there are some battles he cannot reach. Henceforth, it is a journey I pray that we shall embark on - if you would accompany me thusly."

"What does that journey entail exactly?" Silver asked.

"Even I am uncertain, all I know is that... I'm running out of time." She held out her hand suddenly. "As I understand, this is a modern gesture - a symbol of a pact. Do you wish to shake on your cooperation?"

Silver stared at the hand, before sweating a little, looking at her with uncertainty. "Last time I worked with a mysterious stranger to save the world... a lot of bad stuff happened." He said regretfully. "How can I be certain I can trust you?"

Tikal looked slightly taken aback before pondering the question, she looked out at the nearby railtracks before returning to the conversation with her answer. "My heart stands with the modern idelogies of your people. Sonic knows me... knows the person I am. The next time you commune with him, he will be able to make you understand that my intensions are good and true."

The hedgehog didn't exactly have a reason not to believe her on that. He slowly sighed, still hesitant about following the strange lady and working with her - was she truly looking to work with him, or simply use him as a tool for her own ends?

He didn't really have a choice.

"Okay." Silver finally said with a nod. "I'll follow you until I speak with Sonic, and then he can tell me whether I can trust you or not." He spoke firmly.

"I have gratitude to you for taking this leap of faith." Tikal dipped her head. "This endeavour will be much easier with the two of us." She added with a smile.

"Hopefully." He offered up with a shrug and small grin of his own. "So... you seem to know more about this place more than me, if this is the old timeline then - this should be the world I'm most familiar with - right?"

Tikal shook her head. "Different, yet the same. Things are simply best described as... upside down."

"Huh?" Silver tilted his head.

"Reality was broken in the crossfire - the fragments are... not as they should be." Tikal tried to elaborate, before pointing slowly up at the sky.

Silver wordlessly gazed towards where she was pointing to, and his eyes suddenly widened - for a moment, it could have been easily mistaken for a bird in the sky - but taking more than second to examine it would clearly show the shape in the air was flapping uncontrollably.

It did not have wings - but it did have fins.

It was a flying fish.

"I... think I get what you mean now..." Silver slowly realised.

A couple of days after Rouge's injury had healed fully, the gang were ready to set off on a supply run that Tangle had planned a few days prior. The agenda of the day was obtaining some new clothes - everyone was wearing old garments that were wearing down with holes in them, making it clear that replacements were needed. It was a simple task to allow the group to get back into the swing of things before they hoped to start their hunt for the emeralds.

"Obnoxiously large travel backpacks - check!" Tangle pointed to the bag on her back.

"Check!" Sonic added, pointing to his own and returning her grin.

"And insiiiiide - binoculars, first aid kit, torches-?"

"All set!" Sonic gave her a thumbs up.

"Awesome! And finally..." The lemur bounded over to the bat that was sitting on a boulder. "... one grumpy transport bat!" She poked her lighly on the cheek, obviously meaning it in good humour.

Rouge grunted, and it was a good enough answer for Tangle as she hopped away. Sonic looked at her a bit more carefully, Rouge's eyes appeared... a bit red, as much as he wanted to her question her on it, he imagined Rouge wouldn't be too amused. Instead, he offered a simple smile.

One she did not return. Oh well.

"Beautiful night, aye?" Tangle pointed out - and it was. The stars softly twinkled in the dark sky above, acting as a comforting source of light. "Perfect to commit some robbery." She added.

"Hah!" Sonic chuckled. "Guess you could say that-"

"You guys gonna hurry up or what? It'll be morning if you keep chit-chatting - and I don't think daylight robbery is the ideal choice here." Knuckles pointed out from behind them. Sonic couldn't even hide his grin if he tried - Knuckles was getting more comfortable with the gang, meaning his old personality was beginning to shine through - something that Sonic was very grateful for.

"Is daylight robbery ever ideal?" Tangle asked.

"If you wanna rob a house, yeah - generally you'll have better luck robbing a house in the day when the homeowners aren't home than you would trying to sneak in at night when they're asleep-"

Rouge cut off her own explanation as everyone in the group gave her strange looks.

"You asked..." She grumbled.

"Rouge's criminal past aside-" Knuckles folded his arms. "Try to stay safe, okay?"

"Of course we will!" Tangle assured him. "We're rested up and better than ever for any challenges we might face!" She informed him eagerly, punching the air with excitement. "Sure you don't wanna come with?"

Knuckles nodded, affirming his choice to stay. "I still have my duty to guard the Master Emerald - I will journey with you when you intend to go after the emeralds, but otherwise, I will remain here to do my job."

"We getcha, Knux. Just try not to miss us too much." Sonic gave him a brief wink.

"Ha! What's there to miss? I think I'll be too busy enjoying the peace and quiet without you." The echidna smirked.

How great it was to hear the echidna's humour once more.

"Well if that's how you feel about us, maybe we won't come back." Sonic pouted, pretending to be offended.

Knuckles' eyes grew wide with alarm. "Uh- hang on! I didn't actually mean that-!"

Eh, his sarcasm detection needed work.

"Heh, of course we'll be back - where else are we gonna get delicious food from?"

Realising they were still joking, Sonic saw as Knuckles' muscles relaxed. "Oh, so you see me as some sort of personal chef? Caretaker?"

"Hmmm... nah, you're just the guy we bunk with so we don't have to pay any rent-"

Their banter was interrupted with Rouge coughing into her fist. "Weren't you the one pointing out the fact we need to hurry up?" She asked Knuckles.

The echidna stepped back in embarrassment. "Right- Sorry for... distracting-"

Sonic made sure to give Knuckles a carefree thumbs up to show that he wasn't really bothered like she was.

"If we're actually ready now, we can take off."

"Yes, ma'am!" Tangle gave a salute. "Rouge's strength is in her legs, Sonic. So what we do when we wanna fly with her is that we form a kind of chain, holding onto her legs - it's awesome! Stand on top of my shoulders-!"

Little did she know that Sonic was very familiar with the flying technique - it was how he, Tails, and Knux got around. "You got it!" The hedgehog said, hoisting himself up on top of her. For someone so lean, she was surprisingly strong and sturdy. Sonic reached up and grabbed hold of Rouge's boots as she flew above him, and with Tangle's grip secure on his own legs - they were ready for take-off.

"See ya later, Red Riot!" Tangle called back down. "We're gonna bring back a cool haul, just you wait!"

The echidna merely waved, amused by her remarks as the two made their way higher in the sky.

...

After some time of soaring through the skies, the island grew smaller and smaller as Sonic glanced behind him.

"Isn't it weird how the pollution kinda just- stops?" Tangle asked - bringing Sonic back to his senses. As they were floating towards what had to be an invisible boarder. On their side, it was a clear night sky - filled to the brim with stars, but ahead of them lied a sky with no stars - but visible smoke.

"There's a forcefield around the island." Rouge explained. "It blocks it out."

Sonic narrowed his eyes... there was never such a thing back in the old timeline, he wondered why it was here now.

"Are we... gonna be able to get through it?" Tangle asked uncertaintly.

"Yep, I've tested it out myself, it's not that strong against physical forces - it's really just keeping out the smog and all that shit." The bat explained.

That... explained it, he supposed? Perhaps it was Angel Island's way of preserving its beautiful nature - was Knuckles doing it passively somehow? Or was this the work of the Master Emerald? He assumed the latter.

When Rouge approached the invisible barrier, she began punching - and Sonic and Tangle watched in awe as the area grew green and flickered - showing what the bat was truly punching at. After a few punches, they watched as the green barrier shattered - and they were able to fly through.

Sonic made sure to turn his head back, watching the green shield illuminate, patch itself up - and then seemingly vanish out of sight once more.

"Very easy to break through..." Sonic spoke to himself.

"Makes ya wonder why Eggman never touched the place." Rouge said.

"Yeah... yeah it does." Sonic agreed softy.

The ensuing flight was uneventful; there wasn't even a sight to gaze at beyond a dark, smoke ridden abyss that concealed the ground below and the stars above.

To be frank, it didn't get any better when they were able to see the ground - all he did was find himself staring down at the roofs of miserable, dull buildings - the only thing remotely exciting being the shape difference between them. Instead of a rectangular factory, you might just be able to spot a dome one!

"I was gonna suggest a game of 'I spy' but- well, I don't think there's much point to that, heh-" Tangle laughed, a little uneasily.

"No kidding..." Sonic achknowledged.

The lemur had her hands tied as she was holding Sonic's legs in the chain, so instead extended her tail - a tuft of fur poking out at the end of it, acting as a finger that pointed below. "That's the warehouse, Rouge!"

"I know." The bat replied.

"It's big." Tangle said. "Dystopia hell aside - I don't get why warehouses have to be the most boring buildings to look at. Like come on, get creative! Hire a designer! Instead they're shoved on the end of a city looking like a big pile of... blah-"

"Real articulate of ya there, Tangle." Sonic smirked.

"I don't know how else to describe it!" She giggled.

"I getcha, I getcha." Sonic assured her. "Thing is are you sure we're even gonna find anything worth bringing back to base with us? Have you seen the clothes everyone's wearing in this city? Rags made out of the same material as those bags in sack races from kindergarten..." Sonic shuddered, his time in school had been brief - and he'd hated every second.

"That's what the peasants wear, which our buddy Eggman over here considers to be 99% of the population but that's beside the point. The other 1% of people are the rich, living in the capital of Empire City 'cause they kiss Eggman's butt and give him money - some of the factories here are dedicated to making clothes for the elite - then they're shoved in this warehouse and then shipped out on a train to the city." Tangle explained. "So really it's a Robin Hood situation, we're stealing from the rich and giving back to the poor!" She grinned.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Sonic claimed, it was hard not to share in her enthusiasm.

"Unless you guys wanna be spotted, I suggest you hold off on the talking for now - I'm landing us down on that block of flats across, we'll figure out our next move once we're able to survey the area."

The two understood and fell silent, allowing Rouge to land them down on top of a neaby roof, allowing them to be out of the line of sight of any robots on the ground, and lending them a clear view of what was going on outside this warehouse.

Egg Pawns were heaving large crates onto their backs, walking in a motonous single file line to the right.

"Headin' to the train station..." Tangle whispered to herself, and then began rubbing her hands together mischievously. "Little do they know of our schemes..."

"What exactly is the strategy here again?" Rouge asked in her own whisper.

"After some long and hard thinking that took approximately 5 seconds - I thought we could do a hit and run! Beat up these bots around here, open up the crates - take what we want, and flee the scene! We're hitting 'em hard and fast, before they can do a thing about it!"

Rouge blinked, dumbfounded. "I shouldn't... shouldn't set my expectations too high, should I?"

"Come on, Rouge! We'll be fine!" She assured the other girl. "Just follow my lead!"

Perhaps Sonic wasn't as apprehensive as he should have been, but he remained unbothered - having faith that the task at hand was simple and his friends were more than capable of carrying it out - it's not like Egg Pawns were a challenge, after all. The hedgehog showed his neutral stance with a shrug, and simply awaited for a signal to move in.

It didn't take long.

"Move out!" Tangle exclaimed, leaping down off the roof and landing down on the ground - not on her feet, but the end of her tail that also smashed an Egg Pawn to pieces. She then proceeded to use her tail as a spring, bouncing up again and pounding yet another robot down to its remains.

Sonic followed quickly, jumping up into his signature blue ball and rocketing down at an Egg Pawn, effortlessly crushing the bot before jumping to the next, yeilding the same result. The speed of which he was barrelling into his enemies lit his veins up with adrenaline - oh how good it felt to just kick ass again.

As Sonic untucked, he saw Rouge glide down. With both elegance and ease, she threw a kick at a robot - sending it flying like a helpless rag doll right over the warehouse itself. Sometimes, he forgot how strong she was.

"That's it!" Tangle called out to even Sonic's surprise. How easy was that? "Let's get these crates opened up and nab what's inside!" Knowing there was little hope in her arms being able to pry off the wooden lids, she used her much stronger tail for the job - after a momentary struggle, the top of the crate popped off - and Tangle peered inside.

"Oh boy... those aren't clothes-"

Sonic stood beside her. "Nope, those definitely aren't clothes-"

"They're fucking bananas." Rouge announced from beside them. "Now instead of gawking at them, we can get these other boxes open and maybe they'll have something useful inside-"

"On it!" Tangle scrambled to another crate, and Sonic just gave a nod - dashing to the nearest. He had no way of getting them open neatly, so he resorted to simply smashing the crate to pieces with a homing attack and allowing the contents to spill out onto the floor.

Books littered the floor around him, and Sonic glared closer at the covers. All of them were the same - they all had his stupid face. 'The Memoir of Dr. Robotnik - the world's greatest genius!'

Not to mention the title font was legitimately comic sans. "Ew..." Sonic let out, picking up one of the books with the tips of his fingers, allowing it to dangle. Maybe he should take one, it might be therapeutic to burn later.

"More bananas?!" He heard Tangle call out, irritated as she had opened her next loot.

"Here! Clothes here!" Rouge then yelled, and the two sprinted over to her as fast as they could. Sonic arrived first, promptly removing the bag off his back and setting it down - reaching into the crate at rapid speeds. He grabbed all of the plastic packages he could - not really knowing the types of clothes that lied within - they felt warm and bulky at least - like hoodies and jeans. They were more than enough.

Tangle joined him in this process and Rouge stood scanning the surroundings. "Make this quick, Rose has likely got robots coming this way... if she's not gonna be ariving herself-" The bat said.

"All set." Sonic said, zipping up his backpack before shoving it on his back - now considerably heavier than it was before, but nothing he couldn't handle. Tangle was done with hers shortly after.

"Got it! See? Knew we could get this done-!"

Things were far from over.

The trio heard a thud that caused them to step back, something had hit the ground hard. They all looked down, and Tangle gasped.

The body of a blonde wolf lie limp. She was bruised and scratched on the parts of her skin that were visible, and she could have easily been mistaken as unconcious until she tried to roll herself over with trembling breaths.

What appeared to be a mask had rolled across the ground before stopping as it made contact with Sonic's shoe.

"Wait, is that..?" Sonic blinked with recognition. "The masked girl from the festival?" He pointed out. "The one Amy was chasing?" He didn't hesitate, immediately stepping forward - only stopping when Rouge grabbed hold of his arm.

"We've completed our mission, Sonic. That's her problem, let's get out of here before shit hits the fan-" She urged him impatiently.

Sonic only gave her a frown of disgust before pulling his arm away - joining Tangle as the lemur rushed over to help too.

"Oh gosh, are you okay!?" Tangle asked her.

"Fine." The stranger replied in a monotone whisper as they gradually sat up.

"What's going on? How did you-?" She answered him before Sonic could finish his questions.

"A beast has been chasing me." She told them.

"A Spooky?!" Tangle exclaimed.

Sonic had admittedly forgotten all about them. The memories of the injuries they had left behind on him however... that memory was still fresh. Sonic balled up his fists. "Then we've gotta take care of it." He said with determination.

After a second, Tangle nodded to him. The wolf scrambled for her weapon on the floor - and fired.

A blue beam soared past them and they followed the direction it was heading in with their eyes, their eyes widened as they saw it made contact with a bear-like beast - half the size of the tall apartment blocks, towering over the heroes.

The shot did nothing.

Its red eyes gleamed, and instead of fur - the creature's body consisted of murky, purple scales - almost allowing it to blend into the night. Before the heroes could decide what to do next, they were swept off their feet by a roar that kicked up a massive gust of wind.

They yelped in pain as their backs collided with the warehouse walls before they fell to the ground. The wolf girl whimpered and hissed, using her hand to grab hold of her shoulder.

"Are you okay-?!" Tangle asked worriedly.

"Dislocated... shoulder..." The woman gasped out. "Agh-!" She grunted as pain jolted through her.

"Guys!" Rouge snapped. "We need to get out of here - this is a fight we can avoid-!"

The oversized bear brought its two hind paws down on the ground, causing the concrete to crack.

"Um, lady-" Tangle began with a smile, trying to soothe the wolf. "We assure you that we're on the same side here, you'll be safe with-"

"Oh for goodness sake, ditch the girl and hurry up!" Rouge snapped to Tangle.

The lemur stared back at her with an open mouth. The ground trembled under the bear's weight as it begun to charge towards them.

She chose not to follow the order, instead wrapping the wolf in her tail and standing up straight. "Sonic, get on." She told him in a icy tone that he wasn't prepared for, he stood on her shoulders quickly - and Rouge wasted no time in flying up. As Sonic grabbed her legs, they immediately took flight again - just barely missing the claws of the beast that swiped at them in the air.

The group landed down on the steps of the altar, and Knuckles began to walk down to greet them. "You guys don't seem to be bleeding anywhere, I'm assuming things went well?" Knuckles asked.

"Sorry Knuckles, got someone injured here for you to take a look at-" Tangle told him regretfully, stretching out her tail and gently setting the wolf down on the step in front of the echidna. Knuckles bent down to his knees, observing her body before identifying the jutting lump on her shoulder.

Knuckles frowned for a moment before grabbing her shoulder. "Sorry... this is going to hurt." He warned the wolf.

With the twist of his hand, a crack sounded out as the wolf's shoulder was moved back into place. "Aaaaah-!" She screamed initially, before being able to take in deep breaths. After a moment of this, her trembling eased up. "Thank you." She whispered to him quietly.

"It's okay-"

"Where do you think you're going?" The burning hot rage coursing through her blood was building up seizing the reins.

All heads turned to Tangle - who in turn was addressing Rouge as she had begun walking down the altar's steps.

Rouge paused and looked back. "What does it matter?"

"Are we gonna talk about what happened back there?" Tangle folded her arms.

The assertiveness coming from the grey lemur was unusual, causing Sonic and Knuckles to exchange a glance of worry - yet an undeniable curiosity.

"Didn't plan to." Rouge shrugged. "Come on, don't make a pointless drama out of it-"

"No!" Tangle cut in. "We're not glossing over this! You seem to have forgotten all that we're trying to do - what we stand for! We're trying to take down the Empire to save lives. Yet here you were - ready to abandon someone that needed our help! That isn't what heroes do!"

"Are you- are you seriously trying to lecture me on this?" Rouge fully whipped herself around, pointing a finger at the lemur. "I've never claimed to be a hero, alright? You're the one beliving in fantasies! Believing a bunch of pathetic, delusional rebels can hold hands and defeat the Evil Empire!"

"Then if you don't believe we can a difference - why are you here with us?!"

Rouge's shoulders heaved with laughter. "Hahahaha! Tangle, I made it so fucking clear, on day one of meeting you - I had no interest in being a charity! But you clung to me like a damn leach! You picked up every random person you could off the streets-!"

"And you took them in with me!"

"Because you didn't give me a choice!" Rouge fired back. "I finally made an ally, someone who could fight - someone who'd be useful to me! I put up with your antics because I needed you but now I'm struggling to see what benefit you even bring-" Rouge stepped up closer to her. "All you're doing..." She began to speak in a dangerously quiet whisper, "... is dragging innocent people into a fight they can't win, because you believe in plucky, fictional prophecies... all you're going to do is lead them to their deaths, Tangle. Just. Like. Mighty."

"STOP!" Tangle exclaimed, suddenly pushing Rouge. The bat fell off balance, somehow managing to save herself from tumbling by landing on her knees on a step. The bat winced as Tangle continued her tirade. "You always do this! You try to make me feel guilty for doing what's right - I'm- I'm not apologising for that anymore! You always make me feel bad... because whenever I'm trying to do the right thing, it's an inconvenience to you! An inconvenience to what you want..." Tangle's eyes were glassy as they began to fill with tears. "All you care about - is getting revenge for your arm. Everything else doesn't matter. At all. You wanted to kill Sonic because you were paranoid, and you wanted to abandon that girl because it was the easy option - compassion just... it isn't even in the equation, is it?" She accused.

"I've always said that my goal was to kill Eggman, never once have I said anything different-!"

"And you'd burn every bridge to do it!" Tangle yelled. "You'd- you'd-! If I was no longer useful to you, you'd just leave me to die - wouldn't you? You'd leave all of us to die!"

"Now you catch on - only took you like, a year-" She remarked sarcastically. "Because, guess what Tangle, welcome to the fucking real world!" Rouge glared at the lemur. "People are driven by their own selfish desires! Especially me! I'll be honest with you, I don't know what else you were expecting teaming up with a thief! All I want to do is kill Eggman - I don't care what happens to everyone else, I don't care what comes after - everything could burn for all I care!" She claimed.

"How could you be so selfish?" Tangle choked out, bewildered as she made sure to not let a single tear drip free. "How can you feel no shame? You're disregarding people's lives over a grudge! Something that happened years ago!"

Rouge's eyes became ablaze with anger, but instead of arguing back - she held back her response, biting her lip.

"You bring up Mighty like you cared about him... but you never did. You only care about the day he died because it was a day that someone got the better of you, outsmarted you - you only care about things when they're a hit to your ego!" Her anger was quickly simmering down into a gentle sadness. "I used to- I-I admired you, you know that? I thought you were so cool... and strong... that you never let anything get to you, now I realise you just don't care at all."

"Are you going anywhere with this... psychoanalysis?" The bat asked dryly.

"Since I'm apparrently the only one that cared about everyone here, that I'm the one who started this whole thing - then these people, these survivors by my side - it's my responsibility to protect them." She glared. "The last thing I want to do is force you away... I just want you to understand where I'm coming from, where we are coming from-"

"Then that's where we differ, Tangle. Because right now, I think this is finally the perfect excuse for us to part ways." Rouge said coldly. "You guys are a hinderance more than useful tools... so what reason do I have to keep you around?"

"Guys-" Sonic abruptly cut in. "There's no need to break off from each other like this-"

"I think it would be the better option for everyone here." Rouge countered. "You guys can go around listening to the ghosts in your heads, and I'll be working towards achiebing my goals - with no one else holding me back."

"Then why waste your time?" Tangle gritted her teeth. "Just go. Just... go."

A prideful smile crept on her face, one that could only really be described as punchable - in some sort of twisted way, she percieved she had won this debate. "Gladly. Good luck on your fantasy endeavours."

With a flap of her wings, she took flight. Tangle watched her go, gulping down the lump in her throat. Gradually, the lemur turned around and faced the two guys - Knuckles' expression was hard to read - but there was some sort of lingering annoyance lurking behind the neutrality. Sonic's eyes were wide and his ears were down - he seemed... saddened.

They had wanted her to stay, hadn't they?

"I'm- Oh gosh-" Tangle's voice quivered. "I don't know what I've done I- I'm so sorry-"

Chapter Text

CONFIDENTIAL
DO NOT SHARE
OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTATION

12/04/1969

To Prof. Gerald Julian Robotnik,

Concerning Project-Shadow-GRM45672

Over an extensive reviewing period of all the documentation and reports provided on the project, several points of signigicant concern have been brought to our attention. After examining both internal and external reports, we, The Guardian of United Nations, hereby order than Project-Shadow-GRM45672 be shut down immediately.

THIS PROJECT HAS BEEN DEEMED A THREAT TO OUR PEOPLE AND PLANET. PROGRESS WITH THE PROJECT MUST BE CEASED IMMEDIATELY.

The project posseses levels of extraordinary and dangerous power, in the event that it loses control - we will not be able to detain the specimen. There has been a lack of contigency planning which means everyone is at risk of being in immediate danger. Furtheremore, we have reason to believe that data concerning the project's power levels have been falsified to eliminate concerns.

The creature has proven itself to have extraordinary intelligence, it is impossible to tell the difference between it and an organic living being. This means the project is susceptible to going rogue, and may use its intelligence to deem humanity an unsalvageable species. We have been made aware of the project's agressive and anti-social tendencies, and we believe this process has already begun.

We have been able to uncover the secrets surrounding the project's creation. The involvement of the Black Arms alien species is a direct violation of our Interstellar Relations Policies, and places the planet at high risk of future invasion.

YOU MUST:

On 16/04/1969

STOP ALL VITALS
LOCK PROJECT-SHADOW-GRM45672 IN STASIS
WAIT FOR G.U.N. COLLECTION

FAILURE TO COOPERATE WILL RESULT IN A FULL SHUT DOWN OF ALL SPACE COLONY ARK ACTIVITIES
FAILURE TO COOPERATE WILL RESULT IN EXECUTION

"Hmmm, what a delight." Starline remarked sarcastically, glancing over the contents of the letter one last time over the rim of his teacup before throwing the paper onto the desk. "Seems like you caused quite the stir back then... Troublemaker, aren't you?" He concluded, placing the teacup down and standing up from his desk chair.

The beast grunted, laid out on the operating table. It did not even need to be restrained, it was complying. They knew what Starline was hoping to accomplish, and they wanted it as well - it was frankly the only reason he hadn't been left as a bloody corpse on the labatory floor.

Station Square was quite peculiar in the fact that a facility entirely based around scientitific experimentation and production was located there. Egg Boss Rose was not a genius by any means, if a problem were to occur that a robot could not solve - she was certainly not qualified to deal with it either. Sometimes, Starline wished Robotnik put a bit more thought into who he chose to manage what area and what facilities.

Yet again, there was something about his bombastic, often insane decision making that was just so enthralling - making him a charasmatic and enigmatic leader, one that Starline was happy to devote himself to. Especially since that while Robotnik's decisions were often times irrational, they almost always worked out.

This attempt to utilise Project Shadow, however? It was not an intelligent move on any account, and no doubt the result of Miles interfering and begging his adoptive father an opportunity to play with his toys. He did not yet understand that science was not a game. Project Shadow was dangerous on every possible level, and in Starline's humble opinion - the hedgehog and alien hybrid was best kept at a far, far distance from the Empire - before that thing could ruin everything that the Empire and its ruler had built.

Knowing he had the opportunity to finally show how unworthy Miles was, the platypus was gleeful. Even if he wanted to, he could not have held back his grin as he picked up a needle from the tray. Sure, it was purposeful sabotage - but ultimately, Starline knew that his decision would most benefit the glorious Empire.

"Well now, Shadow." Starline began, walking over to the table and smiling down on the creature. "I believe this is the closest I'm going to get to being able to reverse what has been done to you, Shadow. Your Black Arms DNA was enhanced by Miles' serum, which means I needed to create a nullifier to counter it... problem is, I haven't exactly had an appropriate subject to test it on... I'm relying on instict here. I apologise in advance if I am not able to... completely fix what has been done."

Project Shadow began to writhe.

"This is about to be very painful." The doctor warned him. "But it'll be over in seconds, so do try not to scratch..."

"Tangle-" Sonic tried to cut in before the lemur could work herself up into being too upset.

It would seem he was too late for that however, as abruptly - the lemur turned around. "I... I need a minute-" She spluttered out breathlessly, making a quick descent down the altar's steps. "So sorry... oh, what have I done-?"

Sonic could make out a vague hint of her continuing to talk to herself, but she was too far away to hear.

The hedgehog's shoulders slumped as he rubbed the tip of his nose, closing his eyes and taking a moment to think. Rouge was gone... was she coming back any time soon? Was this a feud that would be over in a few days, or was this something irrepairable? He wished he could take a better guess, but the differences in his friends' personalities made its significantly harder to make any accurate predictions.

Contemplating this new version of the bat, he realised that the bat was pretty unrecognisable in everything but appearance. It was easy to dismiss the bat as selfish and vain, but fighting alongside her proved those impressions wrong - she fought for what was right, she cared about other people - especially her close teammates. Sonic had no problem imagining her sacrificing everything she had to protect them.

Yet here, she blatantly admitted to the fact she would be happy to sacrifice lives to achieve her goals. Ironically enough, she possessed the exact sort of attitude that she chastised Shadow and Omega for, and their vengeful tendencies.

Damnit, how was he going to get the Rouge he knew back? He just hoped she was okay for now...

Sonic managed to smile slightly as he finally turned to talk to Knuckles and the wolf, addressing the girl first. "Sorry about that, heh - not the greatest first impression, huh?"

She didn't respond right away, but eventually she'd nod. "It's fine."

"So, what's your name?"

"Whisper."

Fitting, considering how quietly she spoke. "Nice name!" He complimented, eager to salvage at least some good will between them. She didn't really deserve to be immediately exposed to a row like that. "My name's Sonic, that's Knuckles-" He pointed to the echidna. "Like Tangle was trying to explain to you earlier, we're on the same side - we're trying to take down the Empire."

"You were at the festival." Whisper achknowledged. "I caught glimpses before I had to run."

"Yeah... we were there to try to kill the man himself, but... things happened, and you got to take the shot first."

"It failed."

She spoke with no hint of sadness, but Sonic couldn't help his tone becoming sympathetic regardless. "Hey, no need to worry about that. You did the best you could." It was true as well, because no matter if Amy had intercepted or not - the wolf's attack would have been doomed to fail any way. "As long as we're still alive - we're gonna keep trying until the Empire is down for good!" Sonic claimed, balling up an enthusiastic fist.

"Hm... I need to leave." She stated calmly, although unrelated to the topic at hand.

"Huh?" Sonic tilted his head. "No need to be hasty now, I was gonna offer you a place with us so we can work together!" He tagged on with a smile of assurance.

"It's nice of you to offer... but please. I prefer working alone."

"I mean... you sure?" Sonic questioned her. "I mean we've got plenty of food, shelter, clean air, and we're far away from enemies-"

"It's a good arrangement for you." She agreed at least. "But I won't change my mind."

Sonic breathed out of his nose and decided to shrug, at the end of the day - what reason did he have to refuse her wishes? The last thing he wanted to do was tie someone down, even if he did think she'd be safer here. "I'm sure Knuckles can warp you back quickly to where you... want..."

The hedgehog's voice faded out as he laid eyes upon the red echidna behind her. He was urgently shaking his head back and forth. Knuckles was trying to tell him... no? Why though? What for?

Knuckles cleared his throat. "Actually um, Whisper? He suddenly interjected. "I don't think I'm comfortable warping you below just yet... I'd rather know that you got some... rest first? For your- shoulder-"

The pauses in between his excuse were painfully awkward, but Sonic caught on to what Knuckles wanted. He wanted her to stay for now, why? Sonic couldn't be sure, if anything he would have thought Knuckles would be happy to get someone off his island. "I agree." Sonic said to back up his friend. "It's already late as is, you should at least get some sleep in the remains of the night we have left, we can give you breakfast in the morning - and then you'll be on your way, don't you think that's fair?" He offered kindly.

Seconds passed before she finally responded. "Fine... thank you. I wish to sleep on my own though."

"Guess she can have the hammock then." Sonic grinned. "Bamboo ain't the most comfortable thing in the world but it ain't too bad." He told her good-naturedly.

"I'll take you there." Knuckles offered, and once she nodded - they both disappeared in the blink of an eye. Now Sonic had a moment to himself, he removed the backpack off his back and slumped down on a step of the altar, releasing a heavy sigh that had been building in his chest. It felt good to be out. Taking a glance up at the night sky, Sonic couldn't help but smile at the beautiful sparkles of light in the night sky.

...

Sonic blinked upon Knuckles' return as he appeared in front of the emerald. "What... what were you thinking?!" The echidna asked in frustration.

"What-?" Sonic let out in confusion.

"You were gonna let her go with a Chaos Emerald!" The echidna raised his voice.

"What?" Sonic's bewilderment only increased.

Knuckles finally caught on that Sonic had no idea what he was talking about. "You don't... you didn't know she has a Chaos Emerald on her?"

"Uuuuh, no?" Sonic slowly shook his head. "How was I supposed to know that?" He asked him.

"I thought that was the whole reason she was here in the first place." Knuckles said, now his turn to be puzzled.

"No, we just saved her from a monster-"

"Excuse me, a what?" Knuckles' voice cracked tiredly.

"Right, yeah - monsters are a thing- We haven't explained that, have we?" Sonic did a light face palm.

"No..." Knuckles confirmed. "What on Mobius are you on about?"

"Look, I don't even know where they come from - they're just ugly, oversized creatures vaguely based on animals running around, and they just attack whatever they fancy, it seems." Sonic explained.

"That.. there are no scriptures I've read about the surface that mention that!" Knuckles placed his hands on his hip.

"I don't know how they even appeared either, alright? They just poofed into existence out of nowhere, got birthed from the bushes for all I know - I don't know how those things work." Sonic said. "But we're kinda getting distracted here - so you're definitely saying Whisper has an emerald?"

Knuckles looked like he didn't entirely want to move on from the monster debate, but he ended up recognising what was more important. "Yes, I sense immense energy coming from her, an energy signature only capable of being produced by an emerald."

"Hah! Honestly - what luck is that?" Sonic found himself smirking. "I mean we didn't even have to try to find that emerald, it's practically been handed to us on a silver platter!" If the rest of the emeralds were going to be this easy to locate, Sonic knew there would be no problems restoring the old timeline.

"We still have to convince her to hand it over though." Knuckles brought up, folding his arms with uncertainty.

"Shouldn't be too difficult, she seems smart - and I don't think she would have missed seeing that massive emerald behind ya, Knux." Sonic pointed out to him. "She'll recognise that as just a bigger version of what she has, and she'll put the pieces together that you own all of them - I don't think she can use the emerald anyway, so what reason would she have to keep it?"

"She can try to sell it, bribe someone with it-" Knuckes began before Sonic shook his head with a soft chuckle.

"Relax Knux, she seems like a nice person."

Knuckles glared slightly. "I don't trust how her eyes look - she's squinting all the time, they're basically closed... what is she hiding?" He asked suspiciously.

Sonic shrugged. "Maybe we should judge if someone is suspicious or not based on their actions rather than appearance, yeah?"

Knuckles frowned and looked to the side. "I see that you wouldn't make a very good guardian..."

"Oh?" Sonic was mainly amused, giving a lazy grin. "How come?"

"As part of my job, I've gotta be able to spot suspicious people before they even open their mouths - not everyone is gonna come looking to fight me for the emerald, some people are gonna try and trick me to take the emerald - so I need to be able to tell who I can trust or not."

The hedgehig pursed his lips; it was so tempting to let Knuckles now that he had a strong tendecy to evaluate people completely incorrectly. Sonic remembered their first encounter in the old timeline, where the echidna chose to believe Egghead and decided to fight Sonic - thinking he was the enemy. Recalling these events, Sonic let out a snort.

"What's... so funny?" Knuckles narrowed his eyes.

"Heh, eh - nevermind." Sonic shrugged.

The red echidna rolled his eyes. "I still think she'll try to take off with it."

"And I think she'll be cooperative." Sonic countered confidently. "Besides, not like she can run off the island with it anyway - as far as I know, she has no means of flight."

"I stand by my evaluations."

"Of course you do, Knucklehead."

Knuckles face scrunched up with slight disdain. "Not a fan of that nickname - makes me sound stupid."

"Can't get too coddly with ya, can I?" Sonic smirked.

"Hmph." Knuckles finally decided to take a seat in front of his emerald.

Sonic took a moment to stare as the green light illuminated the echidna's body. With long dreads that made it all the way down to his hips, accompanied by gold beads and rings laced between them - the echidna looked damn near ethereal as the emerald created the illusion that his body was glowing. Sonic found his cheeks turning a light shade of pink before he quickly glanced away. "We got the supplies by the way, if you were curious." Sonic finally said.

"Glad one thing went well at least." Knuckles said honestly. "How are you feeling now Rouge is gone?"

"I'd rather the team were able to stick together..." Sonic spoke slowly. "I hope she comes back and helps us, but she doesn't agree with our plans so- it's unlikely. But I hope she changes her mind... don't exactly want to imagine her dying out there on her own, you know?"

"Understandable." Knuckles nodded. "I wasn't fond of her... but losing an ally is difficult all the same, especially since she seemed to be rather knowledgeable of the surface affairs."

"Yeah, certainly a bummer." Sonic scratched the back of his ear. "I'll give Tangle some time to be on her own to think, but I'll talk to her tomorrow. She seemed pretty shaken, I don't know but- feels like something bad has been building up between those girls for a while, and it just came to a head now."

"If you think so, I can't say I agree or disagree - I don't exactly have experience with interpersonal drama." The echidna hugged his knees closer to his chest, resting his chin on top of them and gazing down at the ground.

"I'll get to the bottom of it." Sonic said with certainty. "I was also thinking we should make everyone here aware of our plans to find the emeralds, they need to know that assassinating Eggman isn't exactly what we're after anymore."

"Good call." Knuckles voiced his approved.

"I wonder how they'll take Rouge's departure..."

"I imagine it depends on how long they knew her, if she treated them well or not."

"Well, whether she liked it or not - she seemed to have been the leader of this little rebel group. I think it's gonna take some getting used to, but we'll be there to support them."

"We'll survive." Knuckles said as he closed his eyes.

"Agreed, what else is there to do tomorrow aside from spreading out the clothes between everyone... hm, guess it's just getting Whisper's emerald and then deciding how we're gonna rest of them. Although, there is one thing I wanted to ask-"

One of the echidna's eyes opened.

"How would you fancy a spar tomorrow?"

Knuckles cracked a smile. "Sure."

"Way past cool." Sonic clasped his hands together as he stood up and gave his legs a stretch. "Think I'm gonna do some running before the sun comes up, I'll see you in the morning - yeah?"

"Enjoy yourself." Knuckles said. "Don't fall into the lava in Lava Reef." He tagged on the warning.

"I think I know how to handle myself, Knux." Sonic gave a light chuckle. "The concern's sweet though."

"Just in case."

"You know what?" Sonic looked up briefly, holding up a finger. "Give me just one second."

Thanks to Sonic's incredible speed, it took quite literally a second for Sonic to disappear and then return - he came back with a small bowl in his hand, and he set it down carefully on the boundary step - not wanting to risk recieving a punch to the face for being to close to the emerald when handing it over directly. Sonic then began putting his backpack on as he grinned. "Grapes, your favourite snack. Enjoy 'em."

Knuckles' eyes were adorably wide as he stared down at the fruit. "I- how did you know-?"

Sonic gave the echidna a wink, and that was the only answer Knuckles was going to get as the hedgehog dashed away out of sight.

It left the echidna on his own to take into the gift once more, gazing at it - so stunned he could barely form a cohesive thought. Realisation dawned on him, it had been so long since had recieved a gift - the last one he had ever recieved had been something passed down from his father before he disappeared. So many years had passed since then.

Knuckles stood and went down the steps to collect what had been left behind for him, and sure enough - he couldn't help but smile as his cheeks became tinted with a soft, rosey hue.

She felt nothing but discomfort in the city of luxury.

Immediately, it was clear that she didn't belong - too different from the residents that lived there since the beginning of the takeover. Everyone's eyes still shone with life, their bodies were healthy and strong - adorned in the latest fashions, leather seemed to be a trend. Their smiles weren't forced - they were true, as was their laughter as everyone chatted amiably.

Amy stuck out like a particularly sore thumb with her noticably frail frame, tired expression, and the way she huddled into herself as she walked - not wishing to make eye contact with anyone in the street. The dress she wore even felt juvenile with all the bows in place as everyone else wore more form-fitting leather suits and jackets.

Empire City seemed to have stolen all of the world's stars. Amy hadn't seen any in years, yet here they were - scattered everywhere in the night sky above. This was not a pollution free zone though, Amy realised quickly that the air was still heavy each time she took a breath - but it still made her wonder how the sky managed to be so clear.

There was an empty bench in the middle of the streets, and she immediately took the opportunity to sit down. The city scape was lively despite how late it was, light illuminating from almost every window in every building. Many boutiques and restaurants were still open, she couldn't imagine getting customers at 3AM, surely?

She stood corrected as a group of young women all stepped into the open boutique.

How was this fair?

It wasn't, obviously. She lived in the sad excuse of a city known as Station Square, a production hub rather than a place to live. As far as she understood it, the rest of the world was in a similar circumstance. All except Empire City.

Now she was seeing the capital with her own eyes, her stomach twisted into a knot. How could these people live with themselves knowing the suffering that the rest of the world was enduring? The only reason this damn city could exist was because everyone else endured intense pain and anguish every single day of their lives. They were working tirelessly, sometimes for days on end without sleep - all so they could have their stupid leather outfits.

Here she was, complaining as if she wasn't playing a part in it. She was just as bad - she was the one enforcing the rules, keeping everyone working - day in, day out - the city was like a machine, a faulty gear would disrupt the entire operation, and that's when she'd end up getting in trouble.

Living in Station Square, she felt worse-off than the elites, who lived in comfortable ignorance - but the realisation that she was just as much of a monster as them made her want to scream.

Perhaps, because she was so aware of the true operations of the world, and her large role in enforcing those policies... it made her far bigger a monster than anyone walking Empire City's streets.

"Didn't notice me?"

Amy let out a surprised squeak and almost jumped out of her skin, she turned to the side of her and realised she was no longer alone on the bench - how long had thay man been there?! He was an odd looking man - older in years (but certainly not elderly), a green-furred opossum - bearing the unique feature of black sclera and white eyes. He was noticably fashionable despite his age however as he was dressed in a formal white tuxedo jacket.

"Oh! Ah, shi- gosh, um- sorry I-!" Amy spluttered.

The opossum chuckled with a closed mouth. "It wasn't my intention to give you a fright, rather to thank you for your service."

"Huh-?" She blinked.

"Have you already forgotten, or are you just being humble?" He smiled with humour in his eyes. "You protected our Emperor from an assassination attempt, you're a hero - you know."

"Oh. yeah-" Why did she have to be reminded? "It was nothing-"

"I disagree." He spoke calmly. "You are certainly being recorded in the history books as we speak."

"Oh wow- heh, what a lovely thought-" She brushed off awkwardly. No, it really wasn't a lovely thought.

"I was going to be delivering this to your hotel, but seeing as we've had the opportunity to see each other face to face - it makes more sense to give to you now, no?" The opposum reached into his pocket, and handed the hedgehog a gold, sparkling envelope before standing up with the aid of his cane. "The name is Clutch. Pleasure to meet you, Miss Rose." He said finally, before he began to walk away.

Amy was left to stare at the envelope in her hands before letting out a sigh, beginning to tear it open and read the contents within.

As if losing access to easy food and shelter wasn't enough of a blow, she now had a monster to deal with. Rouge, for once, wanted to have absolutely nothing to do with Station Square, believing firmly that she could make progress elsewhere. Finally, she was free from the shackles of having to drag around useless deadweight - allowing her to move around much more freely than ever before. She won some, but she certainly lost some - as her rumbling stomach was certainly quick to remind her.

Rouge had an easier time than most would against these creatures - her strength allowing her to easily break down their barriers and land a killing blow. Tonight was no different, she flew around and launched a kick on the lion beast's back - causing the red aura around it to flicker before shattering away into sparkly dust. She wasted no time in attacking now it was vulnerable - launching a kick straight at its head.

Its bones cracked, and it fell down to the ground limp - leaving the bat with a boot now stained with blood.

Green blood, that was. Rouge gagged - but at least felt relieved when the beat finally glowed and splintered off into red dust.

The last thing she had expected to happen on her flight over the city was an oversized emo lion to pounce at her, especially considering just hours ago - she had encounted a bear monster with the others. Usually, there was not an excess of monsters within the city - yet now there seemed to be a higher concentration of them in one area than ever before.

Was there a reason for it? She hated how little she knew, no research or investigations she had completed had lead her to any answers.

She took a moment to stretch her arms, but it would seem her guard had dropped far too low.

"AGH-!" She exclaimed, dropping to the floor as she felt a jolt of electrcity shoot through her body.

"Good old fashoned taser, always does the trick."

She knew that voice, and as soon as she recognised it - she groaned. "Dr... Starline-" She grumbled, rolling in pain but beginning to push herself off the ground. "This some half-assed attempt to kill me?"

"Far from it." He informed her. "I have something I wish to give you."

"... What-?"

"A gift!"

"What?"

"I know you heard me, young lady - so I shall not repeat myself again. Follow me!" The platypus was already beginning to turn heel.

Rouge now had the strength in her to stand. "Do you think I'm stupid?!" She called after him.

"Hmmm, do you want me to be truly honest?" He asked as he continued to walk.

"I-" She was still caught off guard. "Hang on, you seriously think you're just going to drag me into whatever trap you have laid out for me. You think I'm really going to believe you're giving me a gift?" She scoffed.

The platypus finally stopped walking away, sighing - but not turning back. "Then allow me to be more frank with you, I am proposing a deal - you will get something that will benefit you, I will get something that benefits me."

"You're making a deal with the enemy?" Rouge rose a brow in suspicion. "You? The Supreme Eggman loyalist?"

"Desperate times call for desperate mea- Did you just call the Emperor, Eggman?" He asked when he processed the statement. "How juvenile..."

Damn, that Sonic guy was rubbing off on her. "I mean he looks like a fucking egg, don't think you can disagree with that one."

Starline sighed heavily once more. "Your immaturity aside, as I was saying - I have something I want to achieve, and my best opportunity to get that which I want is to get you on board with the idea."

"Well, I'll tell you right now - I have zero interest in what you could have to offer me, and the last thing I wanna do is help you." Rouge folded her arms stubbornly.

The platypus finally turned around, breathing in slowly. "Rouge... where are your rebels?"

A pause.

"I'm a solo act now."

"Hmmm..." He rubbed the bottom of his bill with his finger. "Then you have all the more reason to find what I'm offering you as useful."

The bat glared at him. "Just tell me what it is, then I'll decide if it's worth my time."

Starline smiled softly. "It's power, my dear. Power beyond your wildest dreams."

...

Rouge followed Starline inside the science production facility, the exact same one she had stolen the Power Limiters from... and the same one she attempted to kill Sonic in. She gritted her teeth, lamenting that particular failure as the reminders prickled against her fur.

She knew better than to trust Starline of course, wherever he was leading her to - she expected to be faced with some sort of immediate trap. Rouge was confident however, her capabilities surpassed his and whatever crummy robots he could have her face - she expected to come out on top, which is why she thought she could risk actually following him and satiating her curiosity.

Power... what exactly did he mean by that?

The platypus finally opened a door hidden between two large stacks of barrels, and Rouge followed after him. "Don't worry, he won't hurt you."

"He-?"

"His appearance will be somewhat familiar to you." The doctor claimed as he stepped within the room and made his way to his desk, sitting down on the chair and smiling - relaxed and at ease, as he always tended to be in laboratories.

"No kidding..." Rouge was finally able to see what Starline was talking about.

There was an operating table in the middle of the room, and laying atop of it was a mobian hedgehog. It didn't take her long at all to recongise the shape of the quills and the placement of his stripes... he was that beast that impaled her at the festival!

The Ultimate Lifeform... Project Shadow.

Rouge took several steps backwards when she saw the hedgehog blinking. "How is this even possible? What happened to that beast form?" She asked in disbelief.

"Robotnik and Miles carried out their own experiments on Project Shadow, which lead to the monsterous form you were introduced to. This, my dear, is his original form." Starline explained. "I reversed what they had done to him."

Rouge continued to stare at the hedgehog in awe before snapping out of it and shaking her head. "Why would you do that? Don't you love Egg- Robotnik?"

"Well, lumping those two together was incorrect of me. It was largely Miles' work, and personally, based on extensive reearch - I felt like it would cause more problems for the Empire than it would anything else."

"Right..." Rouge spoke hesitantly. "So what has this got to do with me?" She looked at him.

"Taking too long to get to the point, am I darling? Then allow me to explain - Project Shadow is an artificial being, created 50 years ago by Gerald Robotnik - the greatest scientist of his time. Shadow functions similarly to a Mobian, but possesses extordinary power - particularly a strong connection to Chaos Energy."

"Where are you going with this?" She placed a hand on her hip, starting to get impatient.

"I want you to have him." He came out with it.

"And I don't trust that for a second." She spoke bluntly. "He sounds like something that would be incredibly beneficial to the Empire - why are you passing him over to me?"

"Because I want us to suffer a loss, more specifically - Miles. Once Robotnik finds out Shadow is in your hands, it's game over for that little fox." He admitted, starting to giggle at the prospect.

"So you're... Hang on," Rouge face palmed as she tried to make sense of the peculiar situation. "So you're giving me, a rebel, a powerful living superweapon all because you're jealous that Robotnik pays more attention to his son than you - a random ass scientist-"

"Robotnik needs to see the light, and that light is that Miles simply is not as good as he thinks he is." He spoke with delusional confidence.

"And you're wlling to give me, the enemy, this powerful superweapon?" She couldn't believe her ears.

"I'm of the mind that the Empire will do just fine whether he's on our side or not." Starline explained. "It's a risk I'm willing to take."

"You're that desperate for Robotnik's attention." Rouge rolled her eyes. "You wanna discredit Miles so bad that you're literally willing to put everything in the Empire at risk."

"I wouldn't go that far... I'm merely evening the playing field. Let's face it, the number of rebels is well... quite small, no? And even then, not many of them are a fighting force, I think this is a risk I can afford." He shrugged.

The bat fell into a stunned silent, flipping her hair behind her and staring speechless at the platypus - it took several moments before words came to mind, and they weren't exactly eloquent. "You're insane."

"Geniuses are often labelled as such."

"No, this is the stupid kind of insanity." She scoffed. "But alright, your petty motivations aside - give me one good reason I should take him on board. If you're so conident that the Empire will still be able to beat me anyway, why should I bother with your deal?"

Starline removed his glasses, reaching for his microfiber cloth and rubbig the glass gently with it. "I have pieced a lot of things together about you, Rouge." Starline began. "I know your arm was blown off in the first ever invasion, I know you lived with the infamous babylon rogues until you split off from the group due to some... ideological differences, and I know you've been working tirelessly in an attempt to assassinate Robotnik for what he did to you. That's the reason you fight, to see Robotnik lose, and you want to win."

The platypus gestured to the hedgehog on the table, who was slowly blinking as he looked between them - breathing somewhat raggedly. "I am handing you a victory on a silver platter. Not one that will kill him, absolutely not - but when he hears that infamous troublemaker Rouge the Bat made off with his grandfather's greatest scientific achievement? That is undeniable victory you will hold over him, his rage and despair will be undeniable."

Rouge hated how tempting it sounded, but she wasn't about to give in. "I gave up on teammates for a reason, they were slowing me down - what makes having this guy on my tail any better?"

"Shadow is not quite the same as you and I-" Starline began. "He's somewhat... robotic, despite lacking mechanical parts. He lives to serve, he is not one to question orders - he follows through without question. He's subserviant, much better than unruly teammates - wouldn't you agree?"

Rouge bit her lip.

Starline had to hide his grin, already knowing just by looking her in the eyes that he had won her over.

An hour later...

"Robotnik can't take a call right now. He's much too busy leading our Glorious Empire. Leave a message only if it's important, otherwise he won't hesitate to vaporize you."

He loved how Robotnik referred to himself in third person.

"Robotnik, s-sir-" He put on the best disgruntled voice he could manage. "Rebel Rouge the Bat was engaged in combat with the Ultimate Lifeform as I was trying to keep her from stealing Power Limiters... but in the middle of the fight - suddenly, Project Shadow was no longer a beast?! He became just a mobian hedgehog! And Rouge managed to run off with him! I was not warned this was even a possibility, sir. I... I apologise for my failures. How did this happen, my Emperor? Did I do something wrong-? Contact me as soon as you are able, sir."

With a click of a button, just like that - the bombs were about to go off. He leaned back in his chair, imagining the sounds... picturing the young fox's face as he was subject to the worst yelling tirade of his life.

"Shadow..."

Her voice echoed as white flashes filled his vision.

"Shadow... h-help me-"

Where was he? Where was she?

"SHADOW!"

Shadow gasped so hard he almost choked on his own breath. He sat up, and was immediately confused by his surroundings. This wasn't... no, he wasn't with Starline in the lab anymore. When had he moved? Where was-?

He was sat on dirt, surrounding him were brown, muddy cave walls. At least, he suspected as such - it matched the description he had been taught.

"Is Sleeping Beauty finally awake or is he gonna go back to sleep again?" A voice asked, feminine. It was famiiliar. Where had he heard it-?

Oh yes, back at the lab - the bat he had been speaking with. He looked over towards the bat who was sat on a stone and staring at him with a slightly amused pout.

What was she going to do with him?

"Where am I?" Shadow asked slowly.

"Eh, some cave in Mystic Jungle - I found a bunch of supplies already here in it, probably is a hideout for someone else but I'm using their stuff while I can." She shrugged.

She said that as if Mystic Jungle meant anything to him. He breathed in and out, deeply and gradually, before he'd choose to speak. "What year is it?"

The bat blinked at him oddly. "Uh... 2022."

Over 50 years.

Shadow stared silently in front of him, trying to regain his senses fully.

She had been gone for over 50 years.

"Who are you?" Shadow finally asked the bat.

"Name's Rouge the Bat, just call me Rouge though." She seemed happy to introduce herself. "You're no longer with that crowd in the Empire anymore, you now have the pleasure of my company." She grinned, seemingly confident. "I've been told you're good at following orders, and you better be - because I've had enough of useless teammates making poor decisions."

Following orders... obedience. That was what she wanted? Yet, here he was - for the first time, out of pods, out of labs - in the world beyond.

She wanted to control him... yet he was free.

Finally free.

He knew what he needed to do.

He had to sacrifice some dignity, but that was fine.

It would all be over soon.

The hedgehog found the strength within him to stand, he stared down at the bat - and made sure to smile, pressing his hand to his chest. "My name is Shadow the Hedgehog - the Ultimate Lifeform - and your wish... is my command, my master" He bowed to her.

"Oh, wow- okay-" Rouge seemed a little confused, but some joy edged her tone after hearing this declaration. "Good to hear that then, because we've got a dictator to kill-"

He straightened himself up again. "As long as I serve you, I will grant you my knowledge and strength. I will show you the true power that I possess!"

Rouge was gawking at him. "Starline was an idiot for letting you go..." She said as a smile crossed her face. "But this is an absolute win for me. All we need to do is figure out how to-"

"I already know how we defeat the doctor." Shadow interrupted her.

The bat eyed him carefully. "How so?"

Soon Maria. Soon Gerald.

"What do you know about the Space Colony ARK?"

He would fulfill his promise.

Chapter Text

"Robotnik, s-sir- Rebel Rouge the Bat was engaged in combat with the Ultimate Lifeform as I was trying to keep her from stealing Power Limiters... but in the middle of the fight - suddenly, Project Shadow was no longer a beast?! He became just a mobian hedgehog! And Rouge managed to run off with him! I was not warned this was even a possibility, sir. I... I apologise for my failures. How did this happen, my Emperor? Did I do something wrong-? Contact me as soon as you are able, sir."

"Did you catch that? Or do I need to play it again?" Robotnik hissed through his teeth.

His fuming red complexion was unmistakable, and it sent Miles into a cold sweat. It took every ounce of will within his body to keep his head lifted and looking toward his father's enraged face. "I-I heard, Emperor... that shouldnt have happened-!" His tone was begging to be listened to.

Robotnik was quick to shut him down. "Excuses don't fix anything!" He snapped. "I'm going to get that blasted platypus on the line and you're going to explain how much of a miserable failure your experiment was!"

The doctor then proceeded to place his communicator device in the holder that was linked up to the main computer. "Call Starline." He grumbled.

It wasn't long before the platypus' face flashed up on the big screen. The usually prestine and dignified man was noticably more disgruntled than his typical demeanour would allow - with hairs that were out of place and missing the mascara that was normally upon his lashes. "Oh thank goodness, Emperor! Thank you for calling back - I'm so, so sorry for my failures - you simply can't fathom how so!" He placed a hand to his chest. "I really don't understand, my Emperor. There was nothing to forewarn me about this! Were there any documents I didn't see? I've been searching and searching but I just can't-!"

"Oh, shut up Starline." His eyes might not have been visible under his glasses, but Miles could practically hear them rolling in their sockets. "Your panicking isn't doing you any favours!"

"O-of course, sir." Starline quickly dipped his head in achknowledgement.

"To answer your question - no, there were no such papers, no prior warnings - and the reason they didn't exist was because this was not supposed to happen!" Fiercely, he grabbed the young fox by the shoulders and pulled him in front of the camera. "If it wasn't for his oversights, there wouldn't have been any problems at all! He is to blame for this!"

Miles gulped. Robotnik's anger threatened to drill into him from behind, and the fox knew he needed to suck up and admit his mistakes now. "I- I didn't plan as much as I- should have. I... I didn't think this was even a possibility! It shouldn't have been-!"

"MILES!" His father yelled.

"I'M SORRY!" Miles spat out towards Starline - more out of fear than of genuine regret. "It won't... I won't make a mistake like this again."

Starline was blinking with dumbfounded eyes, but Miles knew everything about him must be some sort of attempt at deception to garner pity and favour from the Emperor. He knew buried within the outward confusion, his soul dancing with satisfaction and joy at Miles' failings. That platypus always took joy in even the most minor of screw-ups that the fox made.

"As for you, Starline-" Robotnik addressed him with a growl. "Letting that nuisance of a bat escape with Shadow is sloppy performance that I won't let slide! I entrusted you with looking after Station Square in Rose's absence and you're already making a mess of it! Clean up the act before I get impatient!"

"Understood, sir." His voice was firm. Witnessing Starline getting told off was merely a tiny glimmer of enjoyment Miles could experience amidst the sea of fear.

"If you come across Rouge and Shadow in Station Square again, they are to be killed. Immediately. Do you understand me?"

"Of course, sir-"

Robotnik ended the call right then and there, snatching his device from the holder and abruptly cutting off the connection. He leaned over the control panel, keeping his head hung low over the buttons and levers. "Do you understand what's about to happen, Miles?" His voice softened dangerously.

Miles knew best not to answer.

The Emperor continued. "We have a very big problem on our hands. Shadow only has one goal - one that, if he succeeds, will destroy everything!"

The size of Miles' pupils shrank.

"Shadow's plan is to destroy the entire world using the ARK!"

His father always spoke with such confidence and conviction, even when saying the most outlandish things. Miles had to wonder where this idea had stemmed from. "But... how? The Eclipse Cannon isn't that powerful!"

"When the cannon is activated, it will trigger a program that will send the whole space station crashing into Mobius!" The doctor finally whipped around.

"That... can't be right! We've used the cannon before on the Black Comet! No such program was activated!" Miles argued.

"That's because we only had three emeralds." Robotnik explained. "While it made the laser powerful enough to destroy their comet, it wasn't enough power to activate the code that'd send the ARK plummeting!"

"Then..." Miles cut himself off in confusion. "Then surely we've got to override the programming so Shadow can't activate it, right?"

"If I could have done that, I already would have!" Robotnik claimed, trembling with rage and annoyance. "But that programming was created by my grandfather, Gerald Robotnik, possibly the only man that has surpassed my own genius! I already attempted to get rid of that code - but there's so many layers of security to break through that even if you automated the entire process - it would take years to overwrite!"

The revelation that something, perhaps for the first time ever, had outsmarted Robotnik shook the fox to his core. "But- But we can still do something about this! What if we destroyed the ARK?" He asked, desperately and hopefully.

"And how do you propose we do that, hm?" He questioned the fox mockingly. "Stupid fox! The ARK is a huge space station comprising of the strongest metal known to man, with defensive forcefields in place to protect it from attacks! We don't have nearly enough firepower to break through! We'd need to gather even more Chaos Emeralds and build our own super laser capable of handling that kind of power!"

"But-"

"I'M DONE WITH YOU, TAI-!" Miles flinched, not really processing the slip-up as his heart pounded so loud it was beginning to drown out the shouting. "MILES! I'M DONE DEBATING THIS WITH YOU! BECAUSE YOU DON'T GET IT!" Robotnik bent down as far as he could go, so that he was almost level with Miles' face. "I had a plan, Miles - one that I carefully crafted. I did everything I could to keep Shadow under my control, I allowed you this experiment of yours because I believed it was the best way to maintain power over him - and look what's happened. Your incompetence now means Shadow has broken out of our reigns."

He heaved an exaggerated, disappointed sigh. "I forgave your first failed experiments, I expected you to learn - those beasts still ravage my Empire to this day, so I expected you to understand that when you fail - it'll have consequences."

Miles hugged himself in a pathetic attempt of reassurance, he hadn't meant to create those beasts! It was his first time with genetic experimentation, but he'd learned from it! He got everything down eventually...

"I need to figure out our next moves..." Robotnik turned around again towards the computer. "When that bastard shows up again, everything starts tumbling down..." He muttered to himself, with Miles not really understanding what he meant.

"Is there anything I can do to help...?" Miles asked, barely above a whisper.

"I think you've interfered enough." Robotnik told him. "Go to your room."

The fox wasn't about to argue, he made the quickest heel turn and walked as fast as he could out of the room without running - tears of terror brimmed his eyes. How could he have done this? How could he have made such an oversight? How could he have failed his Emperor? His father?

Knowing he was a disgrace, Miles headed to his room with his head dipped in shame - internally contemplating how he was going to make it up to his dad, and earn his love again.

...

Robotnik face palmed and let out a long groan. Everything for him had been going smoothly up until this moment - recruting Tails, the takeover, running his Empire - but as soon as Sonic is in the picture again, things were starting to go wrong. Of course he revelled in seeing Sonic suffer in anguish as he saw the state of the world and his former companions - and secretly the doctor had been wishing for his return for a long time... but now he was starting to remember it all.

Those complicated plans and schemes - intricately researched and designed - yet all foiled by a blue rodent.

He knew Shadow's new-found freedom and Sonic's reappearance were hardly connected, but it certainly raised his eyebrows that both had happened around the same time. Sonic was like a bad luck charm, destroying Robotnik's life by merely existing and causing things to mess up without even influencing them directly.

Knowledge was a gift - and it had been invaluable to him throughout his entire takeover - having knowledge of what would happen, and how to influence events to his liking had not only help him succeed - but also develop a following of people, ones that held onto his every word. Robotnik knew that Shadow was capable of failing - he had seen it with his own eyes.

Yet - the only way he was defeated was through words; well-chosen words. Sheer luck combined with naivety that allowed the heroes to break through to the hedgehog. It was margianally terrifying when he thought about it - how if there hadn't been an attempt to appeal to Shadow's humanity, there was nothing stopping his complete success. Sonic would not have been enough to defeat the Biolizard or warp the ARK.

The thought even made him slightly bitter - that Shadow's plan was basically full-proof while all of his own schemes in his previous lifetime had been foiled. Yet again, he supposed it never really was Shadow's plan - it had always been Gerald's.

One question remained then - could Shadow be reached again? Robotnik couldn't say for sure, and he didn't like not having that certainty.

After debating the ideas in his head, there were only two real opions for him to take - and he wasn't fond of the lack of control he had over either. The first was to ensure Shadow was killed before he'd have the chance to enact his plans... something he knew was much easier said than done... after many failed attempts. The second was to stay out of the way - allow Sonic to be useful for once with the knowledge he possessed, and see if he could get through to Shadow once more.

Robotnik knew he wasn't qualified to do that job.

It made him infurirated to know that if he wanted Shadow to fail - he needed to ensure Sonic was kept alive, for now.

However, he still had some power in this situation for now - and that involved making sure his forces were all on the same page, intent on Shadow the Hedgehog's demise.

The doctor gazed out the window - space looked the same as it always did, as did the planet below.

Night was turning to dawn - the sky now filled with the gold, foggy light that gently shined against the ground below - granting the whole world a gentle glow. If Sonic was ever asked his favourite time of day, he'd always say sunrise. It was the only time where he felt like he wanted to slow down, and truly take in everything around him.

Gazing up at the sky was not only pleasant to look at, but it also provided a decent enough distraction from the ice cold snow he was trudging through. While Sonic was extremely grateful for his leather jacket, it was hardly the type of thing you'd want to wear in the freezing landscapes of Ice Cap Zone.

Shivering to death wasn't how he had intended to spend his morning, but the sight of a bundle of gray fur in the distance had lead him here.

"Hey." Sonic smiled softly. "What's with this, huh? Sitting dramatically in the snow and staring into the distance?"

Surprisingly, the lemur - sat huddled with her knees bunched to her chest, cracked a small smile of her own. "Am I not allowed to have my brooding moment?" She spoke humorously, before the moment of brevity in her emotions had passed - and her face darkened, becoming sullen.

Sonic did his best to ignore how his butt freezed as he sat down next to her with a considerably more relaxed posture. "Well, there's nothing stopping you." Sonic said. "But I can't lie - it upsets me a little seeing you like this. I want us to talk about it."

"There isn't too much to say... not really-" She admitted, before taking in a slow breath. "You know... I was always told that whole 'Never met your heroes' thing, never really understood it until now..."

Sonic remained silent, knowing it would be best to allow her to pour out her feelings.

"Stories of Rouge's feats spread all over the world - she was a rebel, stealing from the Empire and tearing it down! Very few people were standing up to the Empire... and those that were... didn't last long. Rouge was a different tale altogether - her plans always succeeded, and she always managed to evade the Egg Bosses. I guess it's kind of sill but - I looked up to her, like she was a hero in all those books I used to read... a selfless Robin Hood, standing up to authority and fighting for the people! But now... I know the truth, and knowing it... kind of sucks." She admitted with a weak laugh.

Wordlessly, Sonic began to remove his jacket - allowing the cold to bite into his skin. He dismissed the sensation as best as he could, instead focusing on reaching over and gently placing it over the shivering lemur's shoulders, draping it over her back like a cape.

It wasn't much, but it in his eyes - it was better than nothing.

"So, you're beating yourself up because the one you looked up to didn't turn out to be what you expected? What's that supposed to achieve, huh?" He questioned her gently.

"It's not just that... I mean, think about it. By working with Rouge, everyone I've managed to save and bring here with me - I was putting them in danger. I worked with a woman who was willing to sacrifice lives to get what she wanted. Think of... what could have happened-"

"You can think about that for as long as you like, Tangle - but it's not going to change anything. What's important is that in the end, working with Rouge didn't end up resulting in anything like that. And when she did try to abandon people - you stepped right in and made sure they were safe. You did it for me, you did it for that girl... your heart is in the right place - that's what counts." Sonic assured her with conviction.

Tangle took a moment to truly absorb his words, and when she gave him a grateful smile - Sonic made sure to return it. "Well, with Rouge gone now - guess all I can do is move forward, right? Now I know to look after my people... and not make the same mistake."

"I like the way you're thinking." Sonic said cheerfully, placing his hands behind his head. "I can offer you some advice Tangle, you see - I never bother myself with what other people are doing - I try not to have idols, or get myself lost in fantasy stories - instead, I focus on being the hero that I want to see in the world. I think... that's what you've gotta focus on now. Not imitating or following anyone else - just... figuring out what you stand for, and fighting for it with everything you've got... in your own way."

Nodding, the lemur immediately took his advice on board - immediately balling up her fist with determination. "That's what I'll do." She told him. "I promise you that."

"And I'll be right by your side." Sonic promised her as he stood up. "Now, why don't we head back to camp... before we get hypothermia?"

Tangle giggled. "Yeah... good idea."

Knuckles struggled to halt his ragged, quick breaths, begging for a way to make his heartbeat slow. It was nerves - irrational nerves fluttering in his stomach and result in a queasy feeling that he had no idea how to shake off. What was this? He was talking just fine with Sonic and Tangle! ... For the most part! Why was he working himself up over the thought of having to talk to anyone else?

He couldn't afford to become some pitiful, emotional wreck - he had to carry out his duty, and that meant biting his lip - and getting on with before his brain could force him to back out.

The echidna pushed through the bushes until he made it to the clearing - eyes settling upon the hammock with the wolf laying inside. She turned her head towards him when Knuckles showed himself, revealing to him that she was, in fact, awake.

"Whisper." Knuckles addressed her, doing his best to make sure his voice didn't falter. "I need to speak with you."

No words were exhanged in response, but she was looking towards him as though wanting him to go on. At least... he assumed that was what she wanted, it was hard to tell when her eyes were practically closed.

"You have something that belongs to me." He went on to explaining, stepping closer. "Earlier, you were in the presence of the Master Emerald - the gemstone I have been protecting all my life from the forces of evil. It's been my destiny since I was born. The gem you saw has the power to regulate seven other mystical gems called the Chaos Emeralds - I sense you have one such gem on your person as we speak. I urge you hand it over without resistance... for the safety of the planet. By gathering them all, my... allies and I seek to put an end to the tyrant dominating the land below."

Knuckles held his palm out.

For the first seconds, Whisper did nothing - causing Knuckles to hold his breath as he pleaded silently towards the heavens that she wasn't going to try to have a debate with him. If she was going to disagree, he'd honestly much rather have her just attack him.

Fights were much easier than conversations - punches and jabs were a language he could understand.

Suddenly, she managed to clamber out of the hammock - hopping onto the ground and approaching him. She reached into the inside of her cape, before - to his surprise - unveiling a dark blue chaos emerald and placing it in Knuckles' outstretched hand.

His gaze immediately fell upon the gem in undisguised awe and fascination - in his palm he could feel it radiating the exact same warmth that came from the Master Emerald. He had seen the emeralds before depicted on murals and tapestries - now, it was the first time he had ever seen one in person. The realisation stunned him slightly - how had this even ended up being the case? If he was guarding the Master Emerald, surely a part of his responsibility should have been guarding these little guys too.

"Just... like that?" Knuckles let out in disbelief before he could stop himself.

"I have no reason to distrust you." She whispered, true to her name. "You clearly have a connection to the gem if you were able to sense it was with me... if you are its owner, and it is most safe with you, then I have little reason to keep it to myself."

"Huh." Knuckles remarked, blinking. "I was expecting this to be more difficult..."

"I don't wish to make it so." She said. "If I find more of these emeralds on the surface, I'll find a way back here to give them to you."

Was this truly going to be this easy? For whatever reason, a part of himself wasn't going to allow him to believe it. He narrowed his eyes with suspicion. "And why are you so willing to help?" Knuckles asked her. "Why not take off with these emeralds and try to make a fortune or... steal its power... or whatever else you surface dwellers do?"

The slight opening of her mouth indicated she was a little surprised by his questions. "I have little to gain. If this gem contains such power, I have no clue how to access it. Selling it would just cause the emerald to fall into Robotnik's hands... and I already know that him getting his hands on these... would make him invulnerable."

Knuckles had every reason to be pleased that she was cooperating so easily, yet he couldn't bring himself to trust her fully. "I see. Then I guess I'll just make sure you know that if you do choose to try and keep any of the emeralds for yourself... I won't hesitate to smash your face in."

"Understood."

"Hmph." He folded his arms - honestly a little disappointed his threats seemingly had little effect on her, as a Guardian wasn't he supposed to be a bit... intimidating? Maybe he needed to work on that... "Now you know that, I'll get you back to the main camp - get you breakfast, then I'll take you back down to the ground."

"Thank you."

"What do you know about the Space Colony ARK?"

"The Space Colony ARK... that's the place you were created, right? Some sort of space research facility." Rouge replied, folding her arms.

"Do you know of its status?" The hedgehog asked her, already beginning to walk out of the cave and out into the jungle while fiddling with the black and red cuffs on his wrists that were placed beneath two rather large golden rings - one for each arm. Shadow was glancing around at everything in front of him, and him suddenly being on the move forced Rouge to quickly start following behind.

"Can't say for sure..." Rouge told him honestly. "I assume it's still in space, at the very least? Last time it was used was a couple of years ago - destroyed a comet with a bunch of aliens. That's about the only good thing that old man has done for the planet."

Shadow blinked, but continued moving onward at a decently quick pace. "How was it powered?"

"I... don't know?" Rouge was a little confused by the question. "Can't exactly say Egg- ugh, Robotnik is open with information like that."

"I see." Shadow sounded comtemplative, and Rouge tried to observe him closer with narrowed eyes. He carried himself well - back straight with a sturdy posture, creating an aura that exuded confidence and certainty. It was hard to believe that not long ago, the man had been a savage beast - what that almost tore her stomach open in fact. She didn't think that it had quite clicked for her yet that the two beings were the same.

"I need a space shuttle." Shadow's calmly spoken statement quickly broke Rouge's train of thought.

"Uhhhh... as far as I'm aware, according to the records I've read anyway, his space shuttles are kept within a base in a desert... on another continent entirely." Rouge placed a hand on her hip as she walked. "Not exactly the most convenient..."

"Hmmm, unfortunately my knowledge of this world is limited - I cannot warp you to a place I've never seen, we must catch a ride. What would be most convenient?"

"I guess we could travel to Apotos, it has a harbour for cargo ships... one of those has got to head to Shamar." Rouge explained before shaking her head. "But why do you want us to grab space shuttle...why go to space at all? What's so special about the ARK?" She imemdiately drilled him with questions, not willing to be dragged into literal space while not knowing the reason for it.

"Robotnik lives aboard his ship dubbed the 'Death Egg', am I correct?"

"You are... how do you even know that?"

"His underlings had an awful tendency to ramble." Shadow spoke with a slight grimace, and Rouge couldn't blame him - remembering the faces of his closest allies, they were all rather putrid to look at.

"Sounds on brand." Rouge sighed. "But what has the Death Egg got to do with the ARK?"

"The ARK holds the answers we seek... I simply need remind myself of some files, and once I'm able to do so - we should be able to use what's on the ARK to destroy the Death Egg." Shadow's composure remained steady as Rouge's eyes widened in utter disbelief.

"Destroy the Death Egg...?" She repeated quietly. "Is such a thing really possible?"

"As I said, I need to look over some files and figure out how Robotnik utilised it before." Shadow reiterated. "But once that's done, there's no reason why we shouldn't be able to."

"Using that cannon to destroy his Death Egg..." Her lips curled up into a smirk. "That's downright genius, you know that? But Robotnik has to be protecting the ARK in some way, right? If he's using it as his own super weapon."

"That is of no concern." Shadow stated, and the assertive voice he used was able to make Rouge agree with him despite her doubts.

"And well, Robotnik would catch onto what we're doing quickly and escape to Mobius-"

"Of course he will, unless he's truly that senile." Shadow tagged on dryly. "But destroying his main base gets rid of his valauble resources, and makes it so that Robotnik has nowhere to escape to. We force him to stay on Mobius, making him far easier to kill." He explained in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

Rouge couldn't hold back the chuckle in her throat anymore. "Haha! Oh wow, I can imagine it... his face, his fuming anger when he witnesses his base get absolutely obliterated!" She spoke with utter glee. "Christmas has come early, Shadow!"

Shadow seemed to feel some of the same joy as he smirked. "I live to serve - you crave Robotnik's demise, so that is what I shall help you bring forth." He told her.

"Then let's do this." She grinned. Looking into his eyes, she was fascinated by the raw intensity they seemed to hold - something told her that lingering within his heart was a need for revenge that was just as potent as her own.

He had showed up in her life like a knight in shining armour, he almost didn't feel real. He was hypnotising her in a way she had never thought possible before.

"Do you have a vehicle we can use to get to Apotos?" He asked.

"Not personally, but we can make a quick trip to the criminal underground." She informed him. "I'm sure someone will own something that we can... borrow." She gave him a wink. After all, 'borrow' had never been a word in her vocabulary.

"Hello, hi! Hate to interrupt breakfast but while we have everyone gathered - we wanted to talk and fill everyone in about some new changes!" Sonic announced, standing atop a boulder that allowed him to look down upon the camp members that were sitting on logs, munching away on their morning fruit salad bowls.

His words brought forth some confused mumbles in the crowd, but they quickly died down so Sonic could continue. Tangle stepped up on the boulder with him, and decided to address everyone for him. "Some of you might have been wondering where Rouge is... or not, because you know- she disappears a lot-"

Everyone exchanged looks.

"Rouge..." Tangle hesitated briefly. "Rouge isn't with us anymore, disagreements happened... and we all deemed it best that... flying solo was the best course for her." She dipped her head.

No one reacted the way people normally would when being informed that an important figure in their group had made their departure without even a goodbye. They shuffled their sitting positions awkwardly, some merely nodded at the news - and a select few, unless Sonic's eyes were decieving him, seemed to have sighed in relief.

He knew that ultimately, things were better this way. As long as he thought of this Rouge and the Rouge he knew as seperate people - he could bury any feelings of guilt. This Rouge was different, he told himself again - the Rouge he knew was better, and he wouldn't have spoken of her in any negative light. This Rouge was different, he repeated the mantra to fight off the uncomfortable pit in his stomach.

"But... we can offer some good news!" Tangle gave a slightly forced, bright smile. "We have a plan to take down the Empire once and for all! I think you should explain your role in that." Tangle gave Sonic a poke on his shoulder.

"Right-" Sonic nodded a little awkwardly. "So guys I know it's like, gonna sound a little unbelievable... but you guys know now about the Master Emerald, you know about this island - you know that mystical power exists in this world. Knuckles came to find me because he was told to by the emerald..." Sonic searched for Knuckles in the crowd. He was difficult to find as he had distanced himself away towards the back, hiding under the shade of a tree and dipping his head low. "I've been... chosen... to be the one to locate the seven chaos emeralds, and defeat the Empire. You can... think of it like a prophecy, heh-"

It felt wrong to stand up in front of everyone and essentially announce 'Hey, look at me - I'm special!', but how else could he tell them this information. He watched their faces twist with confusion and uncertainty.

"And... how are you planning to find these emeralds?" An old owl spoke up.

"That's a little up in the air - but Knuckles has sensing and warping abilities, I have speed to search areas quickly... we should be able to work out a good system." Sonic assured the man.

"Is there anything we can do... to help?" Sonic was taken aback when he heard the voice - it was Vanilla, he had seen her around the camp with her daughter a few times, but Sonic hadn't had much of an opportunity to speak properly with the pair - something Sonic decided that he must correct soon.

"I think we'd rather you guys kept away from the fighting." Sonic admitted to them honestly. "We can handle the dangerous missions to keep you all safe-"

A cough interrupted him, and Sonic looked around to see who it was. "Perhaps-"

Sonic's ears picked up when he heard Knuckles attempt to speak up, he watched the echidna gulp - struggling to to get his voice and brain to work in unison. "They could learn.. some self- some self-defen-"

"Self defence!" Sonic snapped his fingers and grinned, saving Knuckles from his stuttering by talking to the crowd for him. It was still strange, very strange to see Knuckles so nervous - he had always been on the shy side when it became to socialising, sure, but poor Knuckles in this timeline seemed to be in bordeline anguish when he was speaking to people he was unfamiliar with... which was everyone besides him and Tangle, really. "That's right - we never know if the island might be targeted, or if you might end up in a vulnerable position - so whoever is able, we can get you training up on some basic fighting knowledge so you know how to defend yourselves!"

Surprisingly, the people were nodding their heads in agreement - and even a degree of eagerness. However, one voice sounded out louder than the rest, and much more critical. "Forgive me for my pessimism but why should we trust you? How do we know you're not just gonna abandon us like Rouge, huh?" The red-haired human lady asked.

"You trust me, don't you?" Tangle suddenly asked. "Then you believe me when I say that Sonic is a great guy - selfless, trustworthy, kind - I know he isn't going to turn his back on us!" She beamed with positivity. "Knuckles too - reliable and steadfast! Us three? We'll be taking on the Empire head on for you! With Sonic's speed, Knuckles' brawn, and my... ability to fulfill a gender requirement... there's nothing we can't do!" She giggled at her own joke.

Despite it not being the most well-thought out speech, it seemed like Tangle's vulnerability and charm had won them over - they laughed with her, nodding with brightened up expressions.

"We're with you." A man spoke up.

"Time to get some chaos emeralds!" Another added enthusiastically.

It was all coming together.

"So... what are we doing?"

Perhaps it was already too late to ask.

Tikal stared at Silver. "Restoring time."

"I mean, yeah - we agreed on that. But how are we going about this?" Silver questioned her, after trecking through deep snow and staring at the various sea creatures flying over his head for goodness knows how long now - he was starting to get a little frustrated as their walk seemed to be aimless.

The echidna girl sighed. "I am not certain, all I know is that we should be thoroughly investigating these lands until we find something."

"Something?" Silver repeated. "So... we're looking for literally anything... that isn't snow or flying fish."

"And hoping it will help us, yes." Tikal said regretfully. "I apologise for not posessing more answers."

"No need to apologise for that." He quickly told her. "It means we can at least be clueless together."

"I suppose it is better that we share our strife, instead of carry our burdens alone." She nodded.

"Yep."

Silver didn't know if he could take much more silence.

"So... Tikal, how do you know Sonic?" Yeah, that seemed like a good place to start.

"I communicated with him during the reawakening of Chaos, and showed him the events of the past - allowing him to understand his origin."

Oh right, Silver had heard about Chaos - a water God monster... thing. It had flooded an entire city and Sonic turned super to defeat the creature... but turns out, he was actually once a peaceful guardian of the chao. When Sonic defeated him, Silver believed that Chaos kind of... disappeared after that? He didn't remember the story too well.

"I see..." Silver said slowly, before his brows furrowed. "But how... like, Knuckles is the only echidna so that must mean... you're a ghost?"

"Yes and no."

Silver's cheeks whitened. "I... I'm not dead, am I?"

"You are not. You are well."

Silver's shoulders relaxed as he heaved a sigh. "Phew... I was worried then. I don't know how I didn't catch onto the fact you were kind of a ghost before, I mean - Knuckles is the only echidna alive, right?"

"I sealed myself and Chaos away inside the Master Emerald thousands of years ago. Thus, I never really died - my spirit has lived on through the many generations, perhaps it's the power of the Master Emerald that keeps me from moving on." She didn't sound fully certain herself.

"Sealed inside the Master Emerald... that must have been lonely." Silver said sympathetically.

"Not exactly." Tikal said. "Chaos has been a close companion to me, my spirit is still able to tend to the island's chao, and to a certain degree - I have been able to connect with the Guardian."

"Oh, that's good then!" Silver smiled at her genuinely, glad to know she was content - but her statements only caused further questions to form. "So... if you were sealed inside the Master Emerald... how are you here with me now...?"

"This questions troubles me so, for I dispair not having an answer." She frowned, but sadness lingered within her eyes.

"Oh... well, come on-" Silver put on a determined tone of voice. "I'm sure we'll figure it out-"

Suddenly, a large and fierce gust of wind picked up and blew past the duo - sending their respective dreads and quills flying into dissaray, and almost causing them to stumble over. This, however, was not the shock that made them gasp.

What did leave them speechless, however, was the sight of a blue streak speeding by. Silver's mouth hung agape, while Tikal stared on blankly.

"That... can't be Sonic. can it?" Silver finally spoke up. "That doesn't make sense!"

"It should not be him." Tikal agreed with concern. "And yet..."

"Come on! We've got to get to the bottom of this!" Silver exclaimed. "Sorry Tikal, but if we wanna stand even a chance of catching up with him - I've gotta use my powers-"

She let out a surprised squeak as her body was surrounded by a teal aura and lifted into the air with Silver's mind. Silver, surrounded in his own aura - levitated and blasted after the direction the blue streak had been headed in, Tikal flying right beside him as he held her close with his powers.

Nothing seemed to make sense about this realm.

The afternoon sun beamed down warmly on the meadow, and Knuckles couldn't imagine better weather for a fight. He cracked his knuckles, left with nothing to do but wait for his sparring partner to finally appear - having already completed his stretches. The echidna's gaze darted around the area, searching for signs of the blue hedgehog.

Despite this, his appearance caught him off guard - Sonic was so fast it almost looked like he was warping, and when did show up in front of the echidna, Knuckles almost fell backwards. "Sorry 'bout the wait!" Sonic apologised. "Was talking to Tangle - she felt upset Whisper was gone so soon, she felt responsible for turning her away because of the whole argument with Rouge - tried explaining to her that some people just... like working alone." He recounted with a shrug.

"If she actually stays true to her word, it might not be the last time we encounter her either." Knuckles pointed out. "She already said she'd give any Chaos Emerald she found to us."

"Feels nice to have an ally!" Sonic admitted. "Also I told you she'd give up her emerald." Sonic pointed out.

Knuckles scoffed, looking to the side. He still felt like there was a catch somewhere.

"Either way, something tells me we'll probably be seeing her pretty soon once we start travelling around emerald hunting." Sonic said.

"I just hope she stays cooperative."

"Relax, Knux." He didn't understand how Sonic could keep his voice so relaxed and carefree a lot of the time. "Don't get paranoid. How about we actually get on with fight, eh?"

"What do you think I've been waiting for?" Knuckes grinned, his sharp teeth on display. Sonic gave a smirk, standing back and creating a small distance between the two mobians.

"Hope all that time standing in front of a rock hasn't made your muscles stiff." Sonic mocked lightheartedly.

"Hmph. Talk is cheap." Knuckles countered. "I wanna truly get a feel for how you fight."

Combat - the form of communication he understood, the art form he knew most in-depth. His fighting style was about to reveal a whole new side of the hedgehog that Knuckles was, quite frankly, eager to explore. Knuckles watched Sonic's stretches - Sonic put a lot of care into his leg stretches - everything from calfs to hamstrings were warmed up and ready to go. Sonic didn't put as much care into his upper body stretches.

Already, Knuckles knew Sonic was the kicking type.

"Oh don't worry, I'll show you what I'm made of." Sonic spoke with true confidence. "On the count of three?"

Knuckles gave a nod.

"One, two, three-!"

As soon as the match began, Knuckles felt a knee slamming into his stomach - leaving Knuckles to groan in pain. He knew Sonic was fast, but how was he that fast? Knuckles didn't even have a moment to recover before Sonic's fist made contact with the side of his head - causing Knuckles to stumble. Sonic immediately took advantage of his lack of balance, sweeping his leg and knocking the echidna down on the ground - leaving Knuckles to land on his back.

Sonic was looking down on him, and Knuckles was almost certain that a smugger expression couldn't have existed. The hedgehog rubbed his nose. "Heh, too slow." He remarked cockily.

While obviously a little embarrassed that he got taken down to the ground so quickly, he felt a bubble of laughter inexplicably rise up in his throat - and he let it burst. "HAHAHA!" Joy swelled within him. "That felt great!" He added through his chuckles.

"What? Losing?" Sonic asked, amused.

"Hah! Don't think you've won yet!" Knuckles stood up without any struggles. "I haven't had a proper battle like this in ages! And with someone like you? You're a proper fight!" Knuckles exclaimed eagerly, pounding his fists together. "You're not gonna be a pushover!"

"Of course not, you might though if you don't step up your-!"

Sonic cut himself off when Knuckles abruptly pounded the ground, causing a tremour that almost made Sonic fall over due to its ferocity - but the hedgehog saved himself that embarrassment. He jumped in the air and tucked into a spinning ball before hurling through the air towards him.

Knuckles held out his hand, and caught Sonic in his palm.

No how matter how hard or fast Sonic spun in his blue ball, the echidna's glove was like an impregnable fortress - it would not waver. The echidna was strong and usually blocking an attack would be of little effort - but the amount of force and speed Sonic was creating to put pressure against him caused Knuckles' muscles to tremble just slightly with the effort it required.

With greeted teeth, Knuckles raised his other arm and slammed Sonic down onto the ground.

The force of which he collided with the ground caused a cloud of dirt and grass to get kicked up. With Sonic exposed and vulnerable, Knuckles brought a fist down on the lying hedgehog's stomach - and the hedgehog growled quite loudly in pain. Perhaps that had been too hard...

Despite this, as Knuckles went for another punch - Sonic managed to roll to the side and quickly leap back to his feet. Sonic narrowed his eyes before trying to launch a kick at the echidna's chest - one that the echidna effortlessly blocked with his hand. Sonic tried again and yielded the same result, and Sonic would soon find all his kicks - no matter from what angle, were we being blocked by his opponent.

Perhaps Sonic purposefully created the rythm to lull him into a false sense of security, so that when he changed his tactic - Knuckles would be caught off guard.

Sonic underestimated him.

When Sonic suddenly dashed around and tried sending a kick to the back of his head, Knuckles smirked as his eyes glowed green.

The hedgehog only made contact with a green forcefield. He seemed startled by this, giving Knuckles the perfect opportunity to whip around and throw a right hook at the hedgehog's face.

The force of the blow sent Sonic flying helplessly into the distance before he landed down on the meadow - thankfully on a patch of longer grass, which he hoped managed to cushion the impact at least a little.

Knuckles used his hand to block the sun out of his eyes, and glared into the distance. "You okay?!" Knuckles called loudly.

No response. Damn it, had he been too rough?

Suddenly, a blue streak was beginning to circle around Knuckles at high speeds. What? Since when did Sonic even get up, let alone start running? The echidna tried to follow it, but doing so only caused him to feel dizzy. He grunted, disorientated - holding his fists close to his face in an attempt to prepare for what might come.

He did not expect the incoming storm. Sonic, in his balled up form, rammed into his back - then rammed into his stomach - smashing into just about every body part in Sonic's quick and relentlessly birrage of spinball attacks - Knuckles grunted and gasped, any attempt to swing his arm to hit the hedgehog would always miss.

Finally, Knuckles felt a fierce kick in the back of his head, and Knuckles was knocked down.

The echidna lay there panting as his body was doing its best to recover, from the onslaught while Sonic seemingly hadn't broken a single sweat - the only indication that he had been fighting beign the occassional flinch in pain. "You alright?" Sonic asked.

"You kidding?" Knuckles replied, before chuckling again. "Where was this side of you at the festival, huh?!" He asked, gleefully grinning - his veins still feeling ablaze with adrenaline.

Sonic's laugh was comparably more uneasy as he offered a hand to help the echidna up. He ignored the question entirely, but Knuckles was too excited to care. What a thrill! What a challenge! He'd have to see if Sonic would be up for something more intensive some time soon!

"Great fight, Knux!" Sonic complimented. "Although I was surprised you only used those Master Emerald powers of yours once that whole time."

Knuckles took Sonic's hand and was pulled to his feet promptly. "As I said, chaos energy tactics that are used to harm another person is utilising dark chaos energy, I don't like using it - not only would it be overkill for a spar, but I also don't like how the voices in my head tend to get louder-"

"I'm sorry, the what?" Sonic blinked rapidly and obcious worry.

"I-I'm not insane!" Knuckles quickly reassured him. "I just hear my ancestors when I use those powers! And as I said, when I use harmful energy... they tend to get louder so- and that just ends up being overwhelming, not really convenient for a fight-"

"Ooookay, got it-" Sonic nodded slowly, and Knuckles wasn't sure if Sonic truly believed him. "So like- what do you do with your powers then?"

"Well, you saw I have force fields, you know I can heal - I can also grow plants at will, which I can use combatively - I'll show you later- I can understand chao and animals and- Oh! I can control the weather!"

"... Hold on, hold on - control the weather?" Sonic's voice cracked.

"Yeah! Kinda takes a lot of effort though..." He admitted with a sincere smile. "And only over a certain area - that's something else I can show you!" Knuckles honestly felt like bouncing up and down like an excitable child. He was ecstatic to not only have a new friend, but a challenging fighting partner - he had been craving a good battle for years! It was taking all his effort to restrain himself and remain composed.

"Wow... that's really impressive." Sonic said finally, and Knuckles' heart warmed at the compliment, and he couldn't stop himself from beaming a smile. Sonic's own gaze softened as well - his striking emerald eyes filled with compassion.

"Knux?" Sonic said.

"Yeah?"

"You realise you're still holding my hand, right?" Sonic teased.

Knuckles glanced down, immediately gasping and pulling his hand away - his complexion turning the same shade of red as his fur. "Shit - I-I didn't realise!" Knuckles quickly exclaimed as Sonic burst into laughter.

"Oi! What are you doin', you animal?!"

"Taking this."

"That's my bike!"

Shadow lost his patience, letting go of the bike and forming a blade of what looked like electricity to a more ignorant eye - but Rouge knew better, it was chaos energy - weilded in a new way, unlike how she had seen Knuckles use it before. The hedgehog abrutply slammed the man into the wall, and Shadow held the spear reminsicent shape of light up to the hyena's neck. "I'm giving you one chance to live." Shadow warned, his voice carrying through the air like an icy cold wind. "We're taking the bike. You're going to get out of our way."

The hyena gulped, his entire body was quivering - and yet, foolishly, he took a stand. "You have no right to take my bloody-!"

Leaving no time for the man to finish his yelling declaration, the hedehog sliced through the man's neck with the chaos spear. The hyena coughed violently, scarlet blood periodically bursting from the wound and staining Shadow's fur - yet he didn't even flnch at the sight. He let the hyena drop to the ground, ignoring him as he walked silently to the motorbike.

"It'll do." Shadow remarked.

Rouge wasn't able to take her eyes off of the dying man, seeing the life slowly begin to leave his eyes sent a deep shiver through her spine.

"What's the matter?" The hedgehog asked her.

"Nothing- just-" She couldn't find the words to describe what she was feeling.

"His death is a means to an end, Rouge." Shadow told her sternly. "You say your previous allies were too soft, always finding excuses to spare lives despite it being a hinderance."

"And... I still stand by that. Just because I see the necessity of taking lives, doesn't mean I enjoy it." She explained to him with a shudder. "I was a thief before the takeover, not a serial killer."

"His life, Robotnik's life - what's the difference?" He asked, without expecting an answer. Instead, he turned and walked over to her. "Any job you do not wish to carry through, I will be able to enact." He assured her with a surprisingly soft and comforting tone of voice. "I already told you that your wish is my command."

"Heh, thanks." Rouge found herself somewhat amused despite herself. "Quite the gentleman, aren't you? Doing a lady's dirty work?"

His eyes almost appeared as though they were glowing red, and she couldn't help but taken in the hedgehog's features - she understood why he was the ultimate lifeform - with perfect facial structure, handsome yet pretty features, not a quill out of place. His strong masculine frame was hard to tear her gaze from once she dared peek.

Shadow's gorgeous smirk made her heart flutter.

She had known him for barely a day, yet cupid had struck - determined to intoxicate her with infatuation. She knew it was dumb, knew it was stupid. Yet her heart wouldn't listen to her brain.

"Hop on." Shadow told her as he began getting on the bike. "I'll drive."

Chapter Text

While Silver's telekinesis was powerful, it wasn't enough to catch the fastest thing alive. No matter how hard he tried, he just never seemed able to close the humongous gap between them.

"SONIC!" Silver called, straining his lungs in an attempt to be heard.

"SONIC, GREAT HERO! LISTEN TO OUR PLEAS AND HALT!" Tikal joined in, Silver found something a little amusing about the way she spoke, but he had to focus.

To his surprise, the blue hedgehog seemed to suddenly stop in his tracks, and before Silver could truly register this fact - Sonic changed direction completely, heading straight back towards Silver and Tikal.

As the distance between them grew smaller, Silver's eyes shrunk with panic.

"Sorry, Tikal!" Silver apologised to her, flailing his arms and sending her flying with the might of his abilities - unfortunately, this created the perfect window.

A cold, metal fist punched him in the face - hurtling him backwards.

He landed on his back in a mound of snow, thankfully cushioning the fall - but there was little to celebrate before Silver felt another fierce punch dig into his stomach. Silver gasped loudly in pain, unprepared for yet another blow to his face.

The metallic taste of blood whirled on his tongue.

Silver wasn't getting a moment to breathe any time soon, he had to make a move now.

With a yell, he lifted up his hands and managed to seize his opponent in his telekinetic grasp - finally throwing him away so Silver could rush to his feet. "How-?" Silver questioned in disbelief as his thoughts finally began to make sense. "How are you here-?"

Metal Sonic glared with his red, heartless eyes.

"Oh right, you can't talk-"

The metal hedgehog dashed forward - thrusting a kick into Silver's chest. Before Silver could fall down again, the robot gripped him by the throat, dangling Silver's body above the ground. Metal Sonic had yet to tighten his hold, allowing Silver to breathe - but that didn't stop the hedgehog feeling his muscles lock in place as the sharp tips of the robot's claws threatened to pierce through his skin at the slightest movement.

"Cease this at once!"

Silver's eyes widened as Tikal ran up behind the robot, her voice pleading. "You have nothing to gain from such violence - unhand him!"

"Tikal, get back!" Silver warned her desperately, but it was too late - Metal Sonic decided to switch targets. Letting Silver drop to the floor, the robot turned around and immediately launched towards Tikal. She was unprepared - in less than a second finding herself locked in a chokehold, barely able to squirm against the robot's superior strength.

"Let go of her!" Silver shouted, enraged as he stood once again - hands glowing with cyan energy, ready to get the psychotic robot away from his new companion.

Something made him stop.

Metal Sonic wasn't even attempting to harm the echidna, and come to think of it - Metal Sonic had no reason not to strangle Silver when he had him in his grasp earlier - the robot's goal... it wasn't to kill them. The robot had Tikal restrained... no doubt an attempt to blackmail him into doing something - lest his echidna companion get hurt.

Even upon this revelation, Silver did not relax his fighting stance - but he would withold from making a move. "What do you want, Metal?" The hedgehog questioned with anger, gritting his teeth as a fuse within him had been sparked by their altercation.

There was a pause, before Metal then decided to respond in a stream of discordant, glitchy sound effects that were harsh to the ears.

"Um-" Silver stuttered a little. "You- I don't speak beep language-!"

The robot did nothing in response, causing Silver to scoff in annoyance. "Huh! You come in and attack us and you can't even explain why!" Perhaps that was unfair to say to a robot that literally couldn't talk - but Silver was still mad at the fact they had been hurt in the first place, and he put Tikal in danger. "This just fun for you?" Silver asked aggressively.

There was still nothing from the metal hedgehog, and that infuriated the hedgehog more.

"We're already stranded in this... who-knows-where... weird timeline thing! The last thing we need is you causing problems!" Silver tagged on.

Metal Sonic beeped again, louder this time - still not moving an inch. Tikal's anxious expression somewhat eased as the conversation went on, despite her situation, and her gaze flitted between the two.

"Eggman isn't here, you know! Neither is Sonic! Your master is gone, you've got no one to take orders from! And your main objective? The guy you're supposed to kill? He isn't even here! Not in this timeline! So why are you-?"

Suddenly, Metal dropped Tikal onto the floor. She grunted in shock as she landed to her knees - and Metal Sonic stared at Silver once more. So that's what the robot wanted to know, huh?

It appeared as though the robot wanted more details. "Look, we're still trying to figure it out ourselves." Silver sighed. "But Eggman created some kind of alternate timeline, one where Sonic didn't even exist - and he actually managed to succeed. Us? This place? This is what remains of the old timeline, the one we've lived in." Silver finally explained as Tikal got back up, walking to him and standing close behind.

The robot looked off to the side, placing a hand on his hip.

"There's no other way of putting it, Metal. Eggman saw an opportunity for success, and the minute he did - you were tossed aside like a piece of junk." Silver narrowed his eyes.

Metal folded his arms, refusing to look in Silver's direction.

"At the very least - if there's no Eggman to follow, no Sonic to kill - then maybe you have no reason to hurt us, yeah?" Silver asked, although it was more of a request - trying to get the robot to make a good decision.

"WIPING CURRENT OBJECTIVES."

His red eyes suddenly disappeared - leaving just empty black screens before the robot collapsed onto the snow like a lifeless corpse.

"Oh, my!" Tikal exclaimed with worry, placing a hand over her mouth.

Silver's anger vanished from his veins and was replaced with concern. "Oh no... did I-? Did I do that-?" He held out a hand uselessly, jogging up towards the robotic hedgehog. Bending down, Silver tried to turn the robot over so that he could take a look at his face - but before he could - a gentle, beeping melody began to play - and just as suddenly, Metal Sonic was standing up again.

Silver stood himself up to meet his eyes, blinking in confusion.

"AWAITING OBJECTIVES." The robot suddenly announced.

"... Huh-?" Silver let out. "You can talk now-? And what do you mean, what objectives?"

Silence.

The hedgehog and echidna exchanged puzzled glances, but eventually, Silver managed to catch on to the opportunity that had arisen. He honestly felt awful for what he was about to do.

"Your... objective is to follow Tikal and I... and help us in figuring all this out, and restoring the timeline to what it was before. And no more trying to kill us or attacking us either!" He tagged on as a precautionary measure. He felt his stomach twist sickeningly - the last thing he wanted to do was become like Eggman - ordering Metal Sonic around like a mindless lackey... but if he wanted to keep himself and Tikal alive, and have an ally on their side - what else could he do?"

"OBJECTIVES PROCESSED. RECITING..."

Silver held his breath.

"PRIORITY 1: AID TIKAL AND SILVER IN RESTORING THE TIMELINE. PRIORITY 2: DO NOT ATTACK OR KILL TIKAL AND SILVER."

Well... it seemed to have work, Silver let his breath free.

Silver wondered what was with Metal collapsing earlier as though he had shut down - was this... some sort of a reboot? He supposed he had bigger questions to prioritise for now, and turned his attention to Tikal. "Do you know of Metal?"

"I know all of you." She replied softly.

"Right, you said-" Silver mentioned with slight embarrassment. "How is he here? I get this is like... the remains of the old timeline, is it because he doesn't exist in the new one? Well, at least I'm assuming he doesn't but maybe he does-?"

Tikal cut him off before he could second-guess himself further. "I'm... starting to doubt my own understanding of the situation." Tikal admitted. "But in turn I'm beginning to recongise what I'm interpreting wrong. If my theory is correct, the rest of your friends - just as you know them - are currently alive and well in this realm."

A flicker of hope and happiness sparked within him. "That's... that's great news!" Silver grinned at the thought of seeing them again. "That gives us a place to start! The more heads we've got working together, the better right?"

"Your statement rings true." Tikal nodded. "I think I'm understanding more about the relationship between the two timelines."

"Oh?" Silver tilted his head.

"We stand in the original timeline just as it was; the new timeline is a copy, a mimic of the original - but with curated alterations." She explained her ideas. "In this process, due to the lack of forethought and knowledge possessed by our villains, the original version of the timeline has transformed into a chaotic environment - one where the fish can fly, and the snow isn't cold... and even I am able to walk freely." She placed a hand to her chest.

"So... one version of the timeline is the original, what it's meant to be - it's just been turned into a wacky mess during Eggman's meddling - and the other version is an attempt at copying the old timeline and altering it.. meaning these two timelines are existing alongside each other somehow... Eggman's gotta know about this, right?" Silver asked with concern. "And if he does know that the original versions of us are lingering around out there - don't you think it might be possible he's looking to destroy this timeline?!"

Despite Silver beginning to get anstsy, fiddling with his hands - Tikal shook her head slowly and responded in a calm, almost somber manner. "I... doubt he is looking to destroy this realm."

"Can you say that for sure?" She could easily tell by his tone that he was skeptical.

"Not with certainty..." She closed her eyes. "But with my thousands of years of collected knowledge... I am fairly confident in my assumption. This timeline-" She bit her lip suddenly, as if holding something back. "It may hold many secrets."

"I guess..." Silver shrugged begrudginly, still hesitant to put complete faith into her prediction that this timeline would remain untouched. Hs eyes met Metal once again, who had stood without a single contribution - not even a beep.

"Now we know what we're looking for, and we've got a new traveling buddy - we should get moving again." Silver offered up, forcing energy into his voice to bring in a more light hearted atmposphre amidst all the confusion. Tikal agreed with a hum, and Silver looked toward Metal.

The robot was back to being silent.

"... I suppose you don't have a say in the matter either way." Silver admitted awkwardly. "Let's go-"

"It's funny, I feel like I've already made more progress during a single day with you than I did during the years with those idiots." Rouge said with a mild chuckle.

"Hm." While it was barely achknowledgement, Shadow's hum was drowned out by the loud rumbles of the engine.

"Not really much of a talker, are you?" She asked him lightly.

"Never have been."

"That's alright." She excused him, even though it was something he wouldn't bother to apologise for. Even back on the ARK, Shadow always found that speaking only when necessary was the optimal way to function.

"You know, I think I prefer quieter people like you. They tend to be good listeners."

Shadow didn't care for her preferences. He just... didn't know what to make of the woman. She was knowledgeable, and had been easy to work with, and was actively seeking to destory the oppressive force currently dominating the world. Such a cause was noble, wasn't it? Yet there was something about her that he noticed whenever he looked into her eyes, or when she opened her mouth - there was an ice cold malice lingering in her soul, a level of hubris that soared above the clouds - it made his fur stand on end.

"I see." Shadow focused his attention on the road ahead. When Rouge had described the state of the motorways, he had been skeptical - but they really were as eery as she spoke of them. There were plenty of vehicles - but all of the same design - monotounous steel greys, with blackened windows that prevented from seeing inside. The cover of night only served to make the surroundings even more bleak.

Rouge said those behind the wheels were Egg Pawns, robots, and he had no other choice but to take her word for it. They only served one function - that was to drive, transporting whatever needed to be moved. Thus, they did nothing as a motorbike sped past them all.

"Rouge? Can I ask a question?"

"Go ahead."

"Why did you split off from your old team?"

Rouge pouted in deep thought. "Ideological differences I guess." She didn't sound too bothered. "They wanna save the world like we're living a fantasy novel. They're convinved by finding the seven miracle gems - or whatever they're called, they can take down the Empire for good and just... magically snap things back to normal. Even though even five-year-olds know that the world doesn't work that way."

"Are your goals not the same though? You both seek to destroy the doctor and his Empire."

"Only one of those things is true." She informed him. "I want the man at the top of it all dead, that's all I want - nothing more, nothing less. I know that by cutting the head off of the snake won't matter in the long run, it will just grow another head, the Empire will live on whether he's alive or not - and that doesn't matter to me. I just want Robotnik to pay for what he did." She stated with a venemous growl.

"It's personal, then." He observed.

"Guess you could say that. He stole something... a part of me."

"Your arm." Shadow assumed. It soon appeared as though he was correct.

"Yeah, my arm... my-" She abruptly silenced herself, purposefully witholding something. "Nevermind, no need to pour out my whole life story on to ya." She said with some degree of amusement. "I was surprised you didn't point it out immediately when you felt it."

"Would there have been any point?" He asked. The bat's metal hand as well as her organic one were securely holding onto Shadow's waist. Of course he had felt the difference, but it seemed unnecessary to mention.

"Nope." She replied. "Heh, I wish other people thought like you did. They always feel the need to say something, reminding me about how... I'm not the same as them. That I'm different now."

"The only way to heal your wounds is through revenge." Shadow said. "And you're content to let the world burn thereafter?"

"It's not my place to take down an Empire, while my old team are likely debating over the perfect name and branding of their rebel group as we speak - they just can't see what fighting the Empire really means. It means heading into fights they can't win... ones that they'll just lose their lives in. Yet, blinded by naivety, they go ahead anyway - might as well be walking straight into their coffins... but I guess the war has fucked up everyone in the head, really. Don't think there's a man left that's truly sane."

"Then, once you succeed in killing the doctor - what's left for you?"

"Just gotta try and get by. I'm too stubborn to surrender at this point, so I'll just - keep going, live life how I want until I'm eventulally caught and slaughtered - all I can do really - and that's fine with me."

He realised now that Rouge's cause was only noble on the surface, but the truth of the matter was that she only cared about her own retribution, everything else be damned. It was selfishness. Vaguely, he wondered what the ulterior motives of Rouge's old teammates were - because of there was anything he was learning quickly, is that mobians... humans... they only cared about meeting their own ends, not for looking after each other.

Shadow had been warned - all the living beings on this planet were corrupt.

They needed to be destroyed. Everything needed to meet its end.

"It sounds as though you know what you want out of your life." It took a considerable amount of effort to keep his tone neutral, to conceal his disgust.

"Believe me, I've had a lot of time to mull it over. You've come right when I needed you, you know. I've needed to get myself back on track for the longest time now. I had an ally, she scooped up any random person she could find and brought them back to me - thinking I was some sort of refugee camp. Looking after them has prevented me from making progress... but I'm back to what matters now." She spoke with determination.

"And I will help you achieve those aims, no matter what it may take."

Confirming his loyalties, uttering these lies - he felt rotten to his core. The last thing he wanted to do was bend to the will of a greedy fool, but there was no other choice. If he wanted to win, he had to play their game.

It would only be for a while.

He did something wrong - according to them, anyway.

Shadow didn't move when the timer began.

"Project Shadow." A voice he didn't recognise echoed throughout the training chamber. "Your combat session has begun."

"I know." Shadow stated, he didn't want them to think otherwise. "I just... I'm struggling to understand."

"There is nothing to understand. Do as you have been instructed."

Shadow tilted his head upwards to stare down the head of the oversized robot. It towered over him in comparison, making him look like a mere, tiny mouse. The hedgehog was aware, however, that no matter the size of his enemy, or the expanse of the arsenal it possessed - Shadow would always triumph. Such was the power of the ultimate lifeform. And yet...

"Why?" Shadow dared to question.

Silent seconds passed uncomfortably.

"Why are you asking? Your job is to listen and obey."

"Because... I don't want to." Shadow said finally, with a totally calm manner. "I would rather be... with Maria right now. She's sick."

He heard the shuffling of papers and audbible murmerers through the speakers, before a much more commforting voice decided to speak up, in turn queting down the stir that had been worked up. "I-It's alright, Shadow! This will only be a short while! We have some guests over who came here to see your performance in action for some important data keeping - so give them your best shot, eh? Then you'll be free to gp and do as you wish!" Gerald explained kindly.

Shadow looked the robot up and down, and slowly nodded. "Understood, Gerald... could you start the timer again?"

"Of course, Shadow."

Gerald rapidly twisted his head, looking both ways down the halls to ensure no oe was heading in their direction. Once satisfied, the old man shut the door to his office, and heaved out a sigh. "Shadow... oh my boy, first of all I wish to preface that I am so, so glad you're asking more questions. The growth in your independent thinking and initiative is astounding! You should be proud!" The scientist walked over, bending down on a knee to place a hand on Shadow's shoulder and meet him as close to eye level as he could.

"Thank you." Shadow didn't know what else to say.

"But - and this is... an unfortunate result of a lot of things... but I ask that in future situations you know you are being observed by a government authority, that you... refrain from asking questions, and do as you're told. It's not something I'm proud of telling you right now but... there are just some people in the world not ready to accept you as an independent, living creature..." The professor gazed at him with sympathy under his glasses.

Shadow blinked. "Am I... being watched by them now?"

Gerald seemed confused by the question, but answered it regardless- removing his hand from Shadow's shoulder. "No, my boy. No. It's just us."

"Then I can ask a question?"

"Of course you can." The human replied with a voice that cracked slightly.

"Why...?" He struggled to find the words, pausing for a moment. "Why do they not like it when I... try to ask certain questions?"

"Because..." Gerald halted himself mid sentence. "Humans, mobians - they are ultimately feeble creatures that all fear the unknown." He began to explain. "Nothing like you has ever been made before so naturally, they fear it a little. Especially with the power you possess, I mean - it's just a case of their fragile egos being threatened, really! You have nothing to worry about-"

The last part of what Gerald said seemed to have just bounced off Shadow as the hedgehog's ears drooped. "So... I'm scary to them?"

"... Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear-" Gerald wasted no time in reaching his arms out and wrapping the dark hedgehog into a warm embrace, Shadow - still unused to the gesture - didn't return it, but it was comforting, safe - he didn't want it to end any time soon. "Don't talk about yourself like that, okay?" Gerald said softly. "You're not some kind of scary monster. Maria and I love you, Shadow. We'll always be there for you, through the toughest of times."

Shadow knew that already, but it didn't make it any less impactful to hear. "And... do you think... other people will come to like me too?"

"Unfortunately, I doubt they will overcome their insecurities... they cling to power, and seeing how much you possess... it's threatening to them - but... that hardly matters when you have Maria and I here." The man assured him, pulling out of the hug but remaining kneeled. "For now, do as you must to keep yourself safe - play their games by their rules. Listen, obey. And eventually they'll learn that you're capable of so much more."

Wordlessly, Shadow raised his hand and stared at his own palm. With barely a concious thought, Shadow could tap into a power of unlimited potential - and as Gerald told him, that was what made him unstoppable.

"I don't want to hurt anyone." Shadow said.

The scientist chuckled softly. "You have much to learn, Shadow. But you'll understand in time... what your powers can do, and how can they be used to... take care of our broken world."

"Hello-? Oi!" Rouge was calling loudly, poking the back of his head.

She could wait.

Shadow furrowed his brows deeper, not able to understand why the scenes in his head were so murky - as though he were glaring through a thick layer of fog. All the words too - they sounded more like echoes. Was it because it had been so long now? Was he struggling to remember?

He'd cling onto his memories for as long as he could, but even as they became distorted and faded... he knew the promise he had to made to them... made to her, and he was never, ever going to forget it.

"Yes?" Shadow finally asked after a particularly aggressive poke.

"I- Whatever, I was just kind of worried about the fact you completely blanked on me there - I was talking, but you weren't responding to anything..."

Even if he had heard her, he doubted he would have wanted to anyway.

"I thought you might be about to pass out - which would be more than inconvenient right about now." She stated dryly.

"I'm awake." Shadow said, staring ahead.

"Nice to know." Rouge finally remarked with sarcasm, holding onto him again. "Just try not to crash, yeah?"

"Of course I won't."

Taking just a mere glance around him, he could see the planet was already dying - enduring a slow, agonizing demise. The bushes along the edge of the road didn't even contain leaves, the fields beyond were more dirt and marsh than grass.

"Hang on." Rouge whispered, snapping Shadow's attention back to her. "I hear buzzing."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning we have pursuers, sounds like Buzz Bombers - a swarm of 'em." She concluded. "Flying robots." She added for clarification, due to Shadow knowing little about the Empire's machines.

"Can you handle them?" Shadow asked.

"Obviously." She smirked.

Rouge didn't need to wait for any further cue - she flew from the bike and soared into the air - ready to face down her opponents. Shadow didn't look back, not yet any way - he made sure the path was clear up ahead for now. It seemed to be.

He heard the sound of metal being smashed to pieces - bolts and screws slamming on the roofs of the cars below. Turning his head back to observe the bat's combat - he found himself mildly impressed. She was tearing through the wasp-esque bots with flurries of kicks - without so much as a grunt of effort. She must possess a lot of strength within her legs - perhaps it was her ability.

Narrowing his eyes he could take note of the little details - sometimes she wasn't paying enough attention to what was behind her, and golden energy orbs threatened to impact her back, but more often than not she dodged just in time. Overall, her fighting needed some... fine-tuning, more discipline - but she turned out to be far more skilled than he had expected of her.

Shadow had his own problems to deal with now as the same golden orbs were being fired towards him and the bike... well, 'problems' wasn't exactly the correct word in the scenario - 'mild annoyances' suited it much better. Effortlessly, he avoided the lasers - weaving and twisting the bike betwen them.

Soon, the lasers ceased as the number of them reduced.

"Large mech up ahead." Shadow calmly stated. Despite Rouge being a way behind him, she managed to hear his remark.

"Wait, wha-?"

He gazed up at an oversized mecha - it stomped on the cars below, without mercy - crushing them like ants on its path towards him and causing the ground to shake. Shadow began to accelerate the bike.

"Robotnik has announced he wants you dead, hedgehog!" A scratchy, female voice from within the mech announced with fury, sounding out across the road over loud speakers. "And I shall be the one to fulfill his request, and bring glory to the Empire!"

Hm, so there was a person in there.

Removing one of his hands off of the bike handle, he fired off a beam of chaos energy aimed at one of the robotic arms. It made impact - leaving a small dent from what he could see, but it didn't seem to affect the mech's performance.

"Tch." Shadow let out once the distance between them had closed. He suddenly swung himself off the bike, running alongside it on the road as he still held onto the handles.

"Puny runt! You're a fool for making your way towards me!" She was practically spitting onto whatever microphone she was yelling into. The mech suddenly began to bring its hands down towards the ground - in an attempt to swipe the hedgehog.

Unphased, he suddenly lifted the bike into the air and over his head - taking a massive leap into the air, he proceeded to bring down the bike and slam it on top of the robotic hand - and watched as the appendage came clean off.

"N-NO! HOW COULD THIS BE?!"

He then landed on the ground, calculating his next move. He frowned when he saw the bike now missing one of its wheels as the result of using it as a weapon. He tossed it into a bush, annoyed that it was broken so soon after initially getting their hands on it.

He was ready to channel that frustration into the fight.

"H-Hold on-!" The lady seemed to have suddenly realised something. "You look a lot like that beast Robotnik had! That... no, that doesn't matter! What matters is that I stop you,and finally get the recognition I deserve!"

Shadow rose a brow as a large red beam came down onto the road. It came down at a sluggish pace, with Shadow effortlessly dashing out of the way.

"Let me help you out there, Shadow!" Rouge shouted out for him as she landed by his side - now facing the mech alongside him. "I can give that rolling attack of yours a boost!"

If his assumptions about her skillset were correct, Shadow knew where this was going. "Aim for the knee joints! We can stop it moving!" Shadow commanded immediately, before tucking into a ball again.

"Got it!" With a yell, she kicked Shadow towards the left knee joint, and with her added strength - he absolutely tore through the leg of the machine, leaving it with just a single leg to balance on. Shadow landed on the other side of the bot and turned to admire the damage done with a small grin.

"YOU!" The woman spat. "Rebel Rouge the Bat, you're... working with him! I'll have to kill you BOTH MYSELF!"

"Good luck with that!" The bat scoffed smugly, aggrevating the machine's pilot as they let out a vicious snarl.

The hedgehog activated his rocket shoes and boosted up - helping him to summon a spear of chaos energy and then it pierce through the plate of metal on the machine's back. The move left a deep hole, one that revealed the inner circuitry of the entire mech.

He took a glance at what the mech was doing, and smirked - it was being kept busy because in front, Rouge was flipping around to avoid the fist of the robot that kept poundng the ground in a fruitless attempt to squash pound her into the concrete. She eventually broke off her evasive strategy, catching her opponent off guard as she flew into the air and drilled a kick into the robot's arm that still had a hand.

It was the perfect distraction.

Shadow reached into the hole and grabbed hold of the wires, grunting as he tugged at them - causing the wires to snap.

"No... no!" The lady's voice cried. "It... the mech.. it won't move!"

He almost felt bad as her voice cracked with desperation... almost. Satisfyingly, the mech's limbs went slack, causing it to slowly crumple down. It gave Rouge and himself plenty of time to get out of the way before it graudally came down - landing on the road with a heavy thud that left large cracks in the ground below.

Rouge voiced what he was thinking.

"Ha! Too easy." She smiled at their handy work. "Like... so damn easy."

"Embarrassingly so." Shadow frowned, his hands on his hips. "Is this really the best of what the Empire has to offer?" He questioned, not being able to help but feel a little insulted - these were the type of machines that had been used to conquer the whole planet?

"This attack was hastily planned, put together on impulse." Rouge observed. "Generally, Robotnik has much better tools at his disposal, but anyway - what's more concerning however is that they're clearly after you..."

"I'm not concerned." Shadow dismissed. "Anything he can throw at me, I will triumph over. I can guarantee that."

Rouge rollled her eyes. "Sure, just don't let that confidence kill ya." She said, before narrowing her eyes - gaze flitting around the area. "Shit... the bike's broken." She pointed out.

"Annoying, but not the end of the world. There are other vehicles." Shadow tilted his head towards the cars on the other side of the road that were still driving, as though a battle had never even took place here.

A smile crept onto the bat's face. "You... have a point there, Shadow. If we can get into an Empire car, we're less likely to be chased too-"

The two suddenly became on alert - ears pirked and fists readied as the rubble began to move. "YOU-!" It was the lady's voice from the mech as her face finally became revealed to them. It was a yellow chinchilla, and she was - quite frankly - tiny - her image did not match her screechy voice. "YOU FIENDS! YOU ARE MAKING A MOCKERY OF THE GLORIOUS EM-!"

Shadow blinked as Rouge brought out a white bomb with a pink heart on it, chucking it at the head of the chinchilla. It didn't even detonate, landing with an unceremonious bonk - but it did the job to knock her unconcious.

"Gremlin-looking ass..." She grinned, finding something funny about it all. "Now that's taken care of, let's steal a car-"

As Rouge turned away from him, he allowed himself to scowl at her. Play their game... He told himself. Listen, obey.

"Ray?"

The squirrel froze in place, then quickly whipped himself around. "Oh, haha! Hey, Cream! What ya doing out here so late?" He placed his hands behind his head, obviously trying to appear casual and innocent when that was far from the truth.

"You're not trying to sneak away, are you?" Cream asked with a soft sigh and saddened eyes.

"Wha-? Me? No, no - you've got me all wrong-" His lies were obvious, that much he knew... so he just decided to change course. "Come on, Cream. You know what Sonic said - we're supposed to be going after emeralds!"

"They're supposed to be going after the emeralds!" She corrected him. The moonlight illuminated her face, showing her desperation plainly. "We're supposed to be where it's safe..."

"And what use is sitting around doing nothing, huh?" Ray argued back. "If we want the world to get back to normal, we have to find them! Why shouldn't I do a little searching on my own?"

"Because it's dangerous." She was trying to get through to him. "You... don't even know where to start, you'll get hurt-!"

"And-"

"And I don't want you to get hurt!" He could tell by her glassy eyes that she was holding back tears.

Darn it, how could you ignore pleas coming from her of all people? You would have to have the cruellest heart in the world. "Cream..." He have her a look of sympathy. "I... don't you understand we can be heroes too, here? By getting these emeralds we can start to help people!"

"By interfering, all you'll do is cause trouble!" Despite the fact the conversation was upsetting her, she held her ground - and even changed up her tune to sound more assertive. "You aren't going anywhere, Ray! Not on my watch!" She pouted, folding her arms.

Ray pursed his lips, looked around him, then smirked. "Then... don't watch."

"Huh-? What-?! That's not how that works-!"

"You two."

Double darn it, there was no getting out of this now. "H-hey, Miss Vanilla-" He greeted the mother rabbit with a forced, wide smile. Cream meanwhile looked horrified at the fact her mother had caught her out so late.

Vanilla gazed at them sternly. "We do not play in the forest without supervision, let alone at night." She told them. "You could seriously hurt yourselves, and we still don't truly know what might be lurking in these woods." The rabbit explained. "So come now, back to camp. I don't want to have this conversation with you again."

"Yes, mama-" Cream hung her head down meekly, following right behind her mother. Ray didn't move right away, how could he? The thought of adventure continued to tug at him - the thought of being a hero, being able to save lives and bring them some sort of joy in this world - why did that dream always have to be so out of reach?

Or rather, why had it been so out of reach ever since... he was gone?

"Yikes... what's up with him?" Cubot asked with worry. The two assistant bots were gazing upon Miles with pity as the fox was sobbing into his pillow.

"I'm not sure." Orbot admitted. "Miles ran into his room crying, threw himself on his bed and then the waterworks came-"

"Huh. I'm willing to bet Robotnik did somethin'."

"When does he not...?" Orbot sighed.

"I'll get cookies and milk!" Cubot offered up eagerly. "That should cheer him up!"

He was already floating away as Orbot called after him. "Make sure they're the mint ones!"

"You got it!" Cubot called back, already down the hall - leaving Miles and Orbot alone in the bedroom together. Hesitantly, the robot made his way towards the bed - and spoke gently. "Hello Miles, is there anything we can do to help-?"

"I'm a FAILURE!" Miles abruptly spat, lifting his head from the pillow and revealing his red, puffy eyes. He sat up quickly and began to ramble "I disappointed dad by screwing up again, and now he's mad- and- I don't know what he's going to-! And now I'm crying about it like a pathetic-!"

Orbot placed a hand on Miles' shoulder. "Please, do not believe such a thing. You are an incredibly skilled scientist, young Prower. You are a pioneer of the Empire-!"

"Then why did Project Shadow break free? Why did my DNA manipulation reverse?" He asked him through his tears. "Explain that one to me!"

"I... cannot say why." Orbot said truthfully. "But I know this mistake shouldn't define you. You have done an incredible job so far, Miles. You've come so far since you were first adopted into our household." He assured him - if he could better convey a smile, he would. "Whatever anger Robotnik is feeling towards you will blow over before you know it."

"Oh yeah!" Cubot exclaimed in agreement upon his return. "Usually when Robotnik is mad at me, he'll throw me against a wall a few times and then forget about it!"

This information caused Miles to whimper, and Orbot to glare at his companion. "Not... helping."

"Whoops- I-I mean I'm sure he won't throw you anywhere! Probably just a me thing-" Cubot tried to insist, placing a tray of cookies and a glass of milk on Miles' work desk.

The fox was gazing at the two robots desperately. "I can't keep failing him like this! He's done so much for me... the least I can do is actually be of some use!" Miles explained. "What if he abandons me...?" His voice quivered.

"Robotnik would do no such thing. I'm sure of it." Orbot's voice was firm. "He can be... a lot.. sometimes. But he wouldn't have adopted you if he didn't care about you. You aren't someone he'd just toss away." The robot tried to explain as best he could, although he didn't believe his own words - Robotnik was a terrible father, and didn't care about his own son despite the great lengths he went to obtain one. Orbot couldn't help but feel a bitterness, an emotion potent enough for him to recongise it despire his robotuc nature.

"I just... I have to make it up to him." Miles hugged his knees closer to him.

Orbot could easily sympathise with his plight, Robotnik was a downright terrifying man sometimes. "If I may... allow me to teach you a trick, Miles." Orbot began. "When you want to stay in the doctor's good graces - what you want to do is observe him carefully, figure out what he wants at the moment... and then give it to him, despite the fact he never asked you to give it."

"What... are you going on about?" Miles' brow furrowed as he wiped away a tear.

"I'm saying that... well, I'll give you an example. I've learn to pick up on the way Robotnik's moustache twitches when he's craving a coffee, when I see that - I will go and make a coffee and bring it to him, despite the fact he never requested for one. This is simply the reason why I am the favourite between myself and Cubot. No offense-" He added to his friend.

"Nah, you're right." Cubot wasn't bothered and shrugged it off.

"So that's what I suggest Miles - figure out something that Robotnik wants, and go do it before he even tells you so - he'll immediately start to look upon you favourably again." Not that Miles should have to worry about that. Despite the fact he was trying to help him, giving this advice still felt wrong somehow.

Miles took the time to consider what Orbot had said, though his eyes were still downcast - he nodded. "I... yeah, I get your point. I'm freaking out over nothing- I can please him again, easily-" His voice sounded stronger again, more certain.

Orbot didn't have much power in the Empire at all, but if there was one thing he could do - he could at least look out for the young fox. Robotnik may be his father... but he and Cubot had spent more time raising him than that man had ever done.

Yet, all Miles seemed to care about... was serving Robotnik.

Chapter Text

"My skirt was lovingly crafted by my Fapetto." Tikal said, pinching the end of her skirt as she traversed the snow.

"Oh, I see." Silver smiled, before the expression faltered and gave way to confusion. "What's a... what's a Fapetto?" He asked hesitantly, not wanting to come off as rude.

"Ah! You say... you say grandmother, yes?" Tikal asked to make sure.

"Oh! Yeah, I got you!" Silver confirmed with a nod. Honestly, it was weird enough talking to another echidna that wasn't Knuckles, and the fact Tikal was speaking of a relative only blew his mind further. There was a whole history about these people that he'd only ever heard tidbits of. Maybe Tikal would be able to teach him more about that era of history? He was definitely interested, and maybe it would be a better way to break the ice during their journey rather than brief attempts at small talk.

That would have to wait though, Silver shuddered as a small jolt of what almost felt like electricity sparked in his brain - not painful, just a little shocking. Silver inwardly laughed at his own unintentional pun. It was a signal, one he had already learned not to worry about - as all it did was signify to him that he could make a connection with Sonic once more.

The hedgehog glanced to his other side at the silent Metal Sonic, and pursed his lips. What to do with him? If he saw Sonic again, the robot would likely go on a ramgage again. Silver had to think of something else...

"Metal? How about you scout ahead?" Silver suggested to the robot, pointing into the distance. "Have a run and come back to us to if you find anything, we'll be here. I need to... sleep, yeah - that. Who knows what time it even is anymore? The sky never changes-" He shook his head to wave away his confusion. "Do you need to rest too, Tikal?"

"Slumber has not been a necessity for my body for over a millenium." The echidna replied.

"So that's a no." Silver quickly translated. "That's fine, guess I'll be the only one then."

"I wish you the best on your brief quest, Metal Sonic." Tikal gave the machine a curtsy.

It was, of course, hard to tell if Metal even appreciated the polite words and gesture due to his perpetually blank face. After a few seconds passed, Metal eventually gave a quick nod - suddenly taking off towards the horizon. With his incredible speed, who knew you how far from them he already was?

Silver let go of his breath. "I get that he's working with us and all... but he still gives me the heebie-jeebies." He remarked with a shudder. "In truth, Tikal-" He looked towards her. "I don't need sleep, in fact - sleeping, eating - I haven't needed any of that since I wound up here. I just needed Metal out of the way-"

"Are you that frightened by him?" She questioned with worry.

"It's not like that- Just, give me a second-" He turned his back to the girl, and suddenly extended his arms in front of him. Narrowing his eyes n concentration, and letting out a forceful yell - he spread his arms out, as though opening a set of imaginary doors. Instead though, a spark of blue energy formed. It grew inside, beginning to swirl.

"A portal..." Tikal realised.

"I'm not quite sure why - but it seems when Sonic falls asleep, I get this like- almost electrical charge kind of feeling in my head... like a connection forming between us, that's how I figured out I could open up a portal that took me into Sonic's dreams." Silver explained. "Can't say I'm sure why we have this connection in the first place though..."

"While peculiar, it is a connection to be thankful for." Tikal told him, and Silver agreed.

"I'm glad I still have a way to talk to him, and I'm sure Sonic appreciates it too. Seemed like he really needed my help last time we spoke. But..." He sighed. "I guess you've caught on to why I didn't want Metal here. If he finds out Sonic is in reach, I'm worried he'll go all murderhobo and remember his previous objectives-"

"Your concern is understandable." She nodded. "As it stands, he is an unpredictable soul. However, I do wish to ask of you that we do not keep too many secrets from him. For the three of us to work well together, we need to trust each other."

He understood what she was saying, but he was a little hesitant to back her completely - Tikal, from what he'd witnessed earlier, was unlikely to be able to defend herself in the event of Metal betraying them. He wasn't sure if keeping her and Metal so close truly was the best course of action... yet, what choice was there? If they wanted to get anything done, teamwork was going to be important - all three of them needed to play their part.

"You're right, Tikal. We won't keep any more secrets than we need to." Silver said. "But still... not showing Metal how to get to Sonic is probably the best thing to do."

"Agreed." She said. "You wish to speak with Sonic now?"

"I mean, yeah - that's why I've opened this portal now. I should let Sonic know about what I've been able to do, and Sonic likely has updates of his own." As he stepped forward, Tikal placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I wish to also speak with Sonic." She said. "You also wanted proof I was trustworthy from Sonic, did you not?"

Silver blinked a few times. "Oh yeah, you're right." He gave a look behind him over his shoulder at the silent, snowy expanse. "We... shouldn't be long, we'll be back before Metal even knows we left."

"Then let us depart." She didn't even wait for Silver, stepping into the portal without hesitation - causing Silver to hurry in after her.

...

"Quick to throw me away, weren't you?" She asked him, her voice echoing through the dark cavern.

"Rouge-" Sonic began with difficulty. "It's not- it's not like that, you know that as well as I do. You- she- was being difficult, she didn't want to work with us - I couldn't force her to!"

"You really don't think you could have tried harder to work with me?" Rouge folded her arms. He was staring down the face of the Rouge he was more familiar with instead of the new. Her short hair, lighter makeup, and heart suit - he could handle a glare like that from new Rouge, but not this one - he wanted to flinch and turn away.

"I don't- damnit-" Sonic sighed. "I don't even know why my own psyche is hellbent on making me feel guilty- Just because things aren't working out with a new version of you doesn't mean I don't like you! You two are seperate-!"

Rouge scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Then you believe your existence is so important that your lack of existence in one timeline caused me to be an entirely seperate person." She glared. "How big does your ego have to be?"

"That's not what I'm saying at all-!" Sonic shouted back in exhaustion.

To the hedgehog's surprise, she suddenly faded from his vision - and a pale blue light sparked in her stead. Could it be...? His suspicions were confirmed when he saw it expand and take shape.

"Silver!" He called out with tremendous relief, beginning to run towards the portal - but skidded to a halt when the person coming out of the portal was not the hedgehog he was expecting, but rather a face he had not seen for a long, long time.

"Tikal...?" Sonic breathed out.

She was grunting as she struggled to push herself out onto the other side of the portal, so Sonic came up and grabbed her by the arm. "I got you!" He exclaimed, gripping onto her tighter and pulling back with a sharp tug. It ended up being a bit too forceful, as Sonic stumbled back and the echidna promtply fell on top - knocking the wind out of him.

Not even getting him a moment to recover, someone else landed on top of the pile - and by the little "Oof-!" sound they let out, Sonic knew this time it actually was Silver. The blue hedgehog wheezed under the pressure at the bottom of the body pile - with Silver and Tikal quickly doing their best to get back on their feet.

"Goodness-!" Tikal exclaimed. "Are you alright?"

"Sorry, sorry-!" Silver apologised profusely.

Sonic took in a big gasp of air as soon as he was able. "I'm fine." He told them. "Just- Didn't expect you to fall on top of me like that-"

"We did not foresee such an outcome either." Tikal said as she watched Sonic stand up. "It is not quite how I wished to introduce myself to you again."

"Heh, hardly matters to me. It's been so long!" Sonic smiled at her. "What brings you here? You and Silver seem to be working together?"

"Yes." She confirmed quickly. "We found each other in the old timeline, and have formed an alliance-"

"Woah, woah!" Sonic waved his hands. "Old timeline? How does that even work?" To say he was confused was an understatement.

"Get this, apparrently the place I've been wondering in this whole time is the old timeline! It still exists!" Silver informed him. "But it's... weird, it's not like- properly in tact. The snow isn't cold, there's flying fish and- well yeah, that's about all we've seen so far- but you get my point, right?"

"I understand what you're saying, but like- Eggman created a whole new timeline to make sure I didn't exist, so how can the old one still exist?" Sonic asked.

"We are still trying to gather the pieces to solve this mystery." Tikal went on to explain. "The current theory as it stands, however, is that the Time Eater was used by Eggman to create a... duplicate timeline, one that included his own personal changes. But, because it's a duplicate made by this strange being - it is not, inherently, a 'true' timeline - therefore the old one still exists."

The new information laid upon him was baffling, but also relieving. "So if the old timeline, and everything from it still exists... then-"

"Our friends should be there somewhere." Silver finished for him. "Tikal and I are gonna be working towards finding them, seems like the best thing we can do for now at least. We've already encountered Metal Sonic, funnily enough."

"Metal Sonic?" The blue hedgehog repeated with concern. "You two okay? He didn't hurt you?"

"Yeah, we're fine." Silver assured him. "Funnily enough, since neither you or Eggman exist in that timeline the guy doesn't really know what to do- so we... gave him new objectives. He's going to be helping us."

"You gotta do what ya gotta do..." Sonic said quietly - still trying to process the idea of Metal Sonic actually working alongside him and his friends for a good cause. Even when Metal Sonic had broken free from Eggman's control in the past, the robot had always chosen the path of evil - believing himself to be the real Sonic, still seeking to kill him... and usually aiming for world domination. "Need I even warn you to be careful?"

"I'm already worried enough." Silver sighed. "But I'm hoping for the best."

"So, I get why Silver's still kicking around - but what about you?" Sonic turned his head to Tikal. "How come you're able to roam around with Silver? You were trapped in the emerald, right? Only ever coming out as a spirit... but you're like- fully here." He observed, rubbing the bottom of his chin.

"I believe, that just as fish are flying in the sky, my own position in the old timeline has shifted and become something new. I have been granted independence from the emerald... amidst all the chaos." She replied steadily.

"Right, yeah that's fair - I guess you're just as confused as the rest of us are really." Sonic shrugged. "Speaking of 'chaos' though... is Chaos with you?"

Somberly, she shook her head. "No... but he's likely out there. Free, like me. I'm worried that our reunion has not come to pass yet... but I have no reason to believe he is not well. Chaos is likely looking for ways to aid us through our plight in the ways unique to him." She added on - more hopeful than she had sounded before.

"That's pretty good news all thing's considered." Sonic remarked, hand on his hip.

Silver nodded slowly. "So you two do know each other." Silver said thoughftully.

"Hm?" Sonic tilted his head.

"Sorry, it's just - you know, I wanted to make sure Tikal was who she said she was. But you two, do in fact, seem to have met."

"Yeah, it was a fun adventure. Shame you weren't with us then, Silv. You would have had a blast." Sonic grinned.

"Your idea of a 'fun adventure' usually involves some God trying to terrorirse the entire planet, and that's not quite my ideal adventure. I tend to prefer them when entire worlds aren't hanging in the balance." Silver smiled slightly.

"Eh, not my fault you're boring." Sonic shrugged smugly, and Silver only gave him a look of unamusement.

The three of them then looked at eachother in a prolonged silence, exchanging glances - both Tikal and Silver seemed to be looking at him expectedly for some reason, until Silver eventually broke the awkwardness. "So? Any news on your end?" Silver asked Sonic with a raised brow.

"Oh, uh - not really no." Sonic looked away from them. Those two were already figuring things out, yet he hadn't made any real progress towards his goal of pursuing the emeralds - he'd only lost a friend along the way. Or... half friend. Or whatever you were supposed to call an alternate version of a friend!

Feeling like the gazes of the other two were drilling into him, Sonic brushed off whatever concern they might have with a handwave and cocky smirk. "You guys have no reason to worry. I'll be getting my hands on the emeralds in no time."

They didn't seem all that convinced, so Sonic found something else to talk about. "By the way, Tikal - I hope it's alright with you, but to get people to listen to me I had to make up a bit of a lie - explaining away that I've been kinda recieving... prophecies... and I used you in that excuse-"

"Do as you must to succeed." Tikal replied to Sonic's relief. "But I urge you not to believe your own fabrications. I wanted to come here with Silver to clarify that.. you... are not special."

"Wow... ouch-" Sonic grimaced slightly. That was rather blunt, didn't she think so?

"I told Knuckles you were the one. That he must ensure you succeed in your efforts to save the world - this was not a declaration of destiny or fate, I merely needed to ensure Knuckles would be your side and working with you. It is not written in the stars that you will succeed - what the future holds is a mystery to me. You, however, are undoubtedly the one with the most chance to steer time back on course with the knowledge you possess."

"Well to be honest, kinda gathered." Sonic admitted. "Prophecies aren't really a thing outside of storybooks."

A white light suddenly flashed above them, causing Tikal to let out a surprised squeak.

"It's okay!" Silver told her. "It just means Sonic is about to wake up..."

"In that case..." She spoke up again as she recovered from her moment of shock. "Sonic, I only ask one additional favour of you. Please... look after Knuckles."

The last echidna guardian, the last remaining descendant of the Knuckles clan, of course she wanted his safety. "You don't have to tell me, Tikal. I'll be protecting him." Sonic said firmly, allowing himself to smile. Knuckles wasn't someone he was planning to let go of any time soon - no matter the timeline.

Sonic was lucky that Knuckles was by his side.

"EggNet - play my celebration music."

"Playing: Celebration Playlist"

'I got this feeling, inside my bones - it goes electric, wavy when I turn it on~"

As the song began, Starline bopped his head slightly in his chair to the beat. The past few days had been hard work, but hoo boy had they payed off.

'I got that sunshine in my pocket, got that good soul in my feet~'

As the singer moved on through the verse, Starline stood - jigging and tapping his feet, gleefully smiling. Oh, how the days had become bright and sunny, knowing that he had suceeded in causing the Empire to lose faith in the troublesome wart that was Miles.

"Nothin' I can't see but you, when you dance, dance, dance-"

As the chorus kicked in, he couldn't contain himself - he grabbed hold of the screwdriver and belted the lyrics into it as though it were a microphone. He deserved this, he thought. A moment to just... enjoy his success. Nothing could possibly ruin-

"Feel a good, good creepin' up on you, so-"

Buzz. Buzz.

Hm. Oh well.

"EggNet, stop the music." Starline sighed, and the music paused. He picked up the phone on his desk and held it up to his ear. "Hello~ Starline speaking."

"STARLIIIIINE! I NEED REPAIRS!" The voice yelled from the other end.

The platypus flinched at the volume, but forced himself to smile and sound pleasant. "Oh dear Thunderbolt, what is the matter?"

"I'd tracked down Shadow on the highway! I had the big mech with me and everything - but he wasn't alone, and they both managed to wreck my mech and escape!" She was yelling frantically.

"Ah, goodness - how unfortunate-"

"THIS MECH MUST BE FAULTY!""

"Perhaps-"

"YOU NEED TO UPDATE YOUR TECH!"

Starline found himself rolling his eyes. "It is very upsetting to hear about this failure, you must be exhausted. I am happy for you to return to Station Square and I'll fix it up for you in a jiffy - what do you say to that?"

"THAT'S WHAT I WAS CALLING FOR IN THE FIRST PLACE!" Thunderbolt screeched. Did her vocal chords ever get tired? Give it a year, and she might lose her voice entirely.

"That's okay, that's okay." He kept his tone sweet. "Do you need help with getting here?"

"I'M PERFECTLY FINE ON MY OWN, DIMWIT!"

"A 'No, but thank you for the offer' would have sufficed." He hissed through a forced grin. Starline liked to think he had a lot of patience, but for people who screamed and raged like her - it seemed to dissipate so very quickly.

"YOU ARE IN NO POSITION TO LECTURE ME! THE ONLY MAN I TAKE ORDERS FROM IS THE ONE, THE ONLY - LEGENDARY ROBOTNIK-!"

"Understood, darling. See you later~" As he hung up, he let out a large groan. Why did so many of the people he worked with have to be so insufferable? Oh, what was he doing - complaining like this when he had been so ecstatic moments ago? Robotnik was finally seeing the light! Finally recognising that he could do without Miles, and instead have something more competent.

Someone like him.

Starline glanced back at the photo of the Emperor on his desk - stood tall and proud draped in a large red cape, fit for a King, getting lost in the memories the image invoked...

...

"Today's the day, Starline. You're going to witness something very special." Robotnik had told him as he was about to board one of his space shuttles. "Stay with Miles if you want good front row seats to the action."

"Is there... are you sure there's no way I can help you, sir?" Starline questioned with disappointment, already suspecting the answer.

"Everything's already in place, there'd be no point." He remarked.

"But-"

"Don't test my patience." The doctor warned briefly before the doors of the shuttle shut behind him, leaving the platypius to stare after him.

...

"I'm quite proud of these, I must admit." Starline wanted nothing more than to punch the smirk off of Miles' face as the fox began to ramble. "It's a shame they're a one-time use only kinda deal, I hope to develop the formula and make that change soon though." The fox gestured to the six, significantly large laser cannons he had set up in the field. Just what purpose were they supposed to hold?

"I see." The platypus looked away, making his disinterest evident.

This only seemed to give Miles a degree of pleasure. "Come now, we both admire Robotnik and his work-" He began "- so if you're ready to quit moping, join me. The show is about to begin~"

Starline narrowed his eyes as Miles pulled out his tablet. As much as he wanted to resist complying with anything Miles wanted, curiosity was easily getting the best of him - and that was why he stood behind the fox to peer over at the screen. It was displaying... space?

What was this supposed to be?

The platypus gasped when suddenly, seemingly out of thin air. a large comet faded into view. "A comet?!" He couldn't help but exclaim. "Comets don't just appear like that! And why is it... is it headed for Mobius-?!"

"No need to panic." Miles said nonchalently.

"Why shouldn't I be panicking?!" Starline shot back. "A comet appearing out of nowhere in space is a very concerning development-!"

"Black Doom."

Starline silenced himself upon hearing Robotnik's voice. With so many questions whirling in his head, he decided it was best to fall quiet - and wait for the answers. He quitely gasped as just as suddenly as the comet had made its appearance, so too did a beast. Its features were demonic with spikes resembling horns on the sides of its head, and it wore torn robes and dangling chains - but most unnerving of all were the red cat-like eyes piercing through whatever it gazed at. The creature turned its head away from the camera.

"I have returned for what your planet owes me." The creature announced, and Starline shuddered.

"I see..." The smug tone of the Emperor was a little concerning to him, surely he couldn't afford to take this lightly!

"I require the seven chaos emeralds, and Project Shadow to be returned to me."

"And... if we refuse?"

Silence. 'Black Doom' did not react, but instead replied calmly.

"Then you have sealed the fate of this planet. We will take over Mobius."

Who was this creature? What 'we' was he referring to? Why was he speaking of the Chaos Emeralds and Project Shadow? So many questions, not enough answers!

"Ah. Hmmm... decisions, decisions then..." Robotnik hummed to himself. Starline could practically hear him grinning. "Good thing I've already made my choice."

The crackling of energy could be heard in the distance, steadily growing louder.

"You see, Black Doom - my grandfather prepared for this day over 50 years ago. With his intelligence and mine combined, I know exactly how to vanquish your entire alien army! So allow me to turn the tables onto you, Black Doom - leave this planet now, or I blow you all to smithereens."

All was quiet, yet again - before the monster spoke.

"You INSOLENT-"

"Sounds like you made the wrong choice."

There would be no chance for retaliation, no chance for negotiation - already, it was too far beyond that point. Starline, stood hundreds of thousand miles away from the action, watching it all from behind a screen - even he could feel the momentous weight this moment carried.

The world came to a standstill as bright blue light flashed, filling the screen. With a start, Starline quickly looked up and his eyes widened as he saw the same blue light flash in the sky. It was small from where he was, but the fact it was even visible from the planet itself revealed the true power and size behind the explosion of light.

When the glow faded, the comet was gone - leaving him with nothing to stare at but the empty expanse and glittering stars.

"Miles, take care of the stragglers."

"That's my cue." The fox grinned at Starline, and before the platypus could grow too irritated - the sky began to bleed red. Starline's mouth hung agape, stepping backwards in his shock as the clouds whirrled angrily and frantically above. A large circle had been formed in the air, a white gaping hole in the centre.

Then the aliens began to fall out of it.

Starline instinctively flinched, covering his face - knowing he had no means of defense. What was he supposed to do now?!

"Don't cower, Starline. I've got it covered." Miles said, before letting out a loud and long cackle. "FIRE!"

Tearing his hands from is face, Starline saw the cannons as they all fired blue beams up at the sky, similar to what he had just witnessed in the footage of space. Starline followed the direction of the beams - and watched as they vaporized the falling aliens to ashes.

Just like that, the sky faded back into its original grey hue - and Starline heaved a sigh of relief. One that was let out too soon.

"Gah-!" Starline let out as he heard a screech, one of the creatures was frantically flapping its wings in pursuit of him and Miles. Calmly, the fox reached into his lab pocket and pulled out a small laser pistol - firing it off at the creature. It let out one last howl of pain before it collapsed onto the ground, right onto Starline's shoes.

"Ew, ew-" Starline stumbled backwards as he got away from the alien corpse. In contrast, Miles walked towards it - and picked it up in his arms, Starline had to force back a gag.

"It is done." Miles announced with a smile, the  luminescent, bright green blood dripping down his coat.

"Behold, dear citizens, the might of the Robotnik Empire! MWAHAHAHAHA!"

...

The event had been broadcasted across every screen in the Empire when it happened, and Starline found himself replaying it from time to time. Just as he had thought he couldn't possible cement his loyalty to a man further - he did the impossible.

He conquered an entire planet in less than a year.

He stopped an alien invasion before it even happened.

He was bringing forth a world of perfection.

Starline had vowed, then and there, he would become Robotnik's greatest assistant, earn a throne beside the doctor, and rule the glorious Empire by his side. All he had to do was get rid of the competion.

"Bingo-Bongo." Tangle said as the trio stood behind a wide pillar to conceal themselves, setting sight on their targets - the many planes that were stationed within the hangar.

"This has been far too easy..." Knuckles spoke up quietly, almost sounding disappointed at the lack of obstacles.

"Well, it's about to get more difficult-" Sonic pointed out as Egg Pawns emerged into view.

"I'm surprised we even got this far with my plan to be honest..." Tangle admitted with fascination at the turn of events. "Maybe I'm a better tactician than I thought~" She tagged on pridefully.

Sonic and Knuckles exchanged a look, both recalling the same event of the previous day.

"Squad!" Tangle called out to grab their attention. "Today's the day we start making plans!"

Sonic was sat on one bed, Knuckles on the other - and they both nodded at the lemur, who was standing in the centre of the room with an easel whiteboard next to her. Sonic squinted. "Hang on a sec - have we always had that?" He pointed at the board.

Tangle looked at it, then back to Sonic. "Don't question my methods. Anyway-!"

That question was going to burn in the back of his mind, but he blinked - trying to focus on what the girl was about to say.

"It only just now occured to me that I didn't have a name to call us by... if we're going to be a proper force fighting the Empire - we need a rebel group name!" She pointed at the two of them with her whiteboard pen. "I want both of you to brainstorm names and come back to me with them in the next meeting." She told them sternly.

There was going to be more of these? It was honestly starting to get a little difficult to stifle a laugh at this point. Tangle was trying very hard to be stern with her voice and expression to establish herself as some kind of leader - but her pout looked more goofy than anything. She promply wrote '1. Rebel Names' in scribbly handwriting.

"I also want to, due to... recent events, make our priorities clear and make sure we agree with them. Number one!" She said sharply to make sure the boys were playing attention, wiping off what she had written previously and replacing the words. She wrote down '1. Our priority is to save lives that are in danger and look after those in need', and then underneath it wrote '2. Our priority is to gather all seven chaos emeralds.'

"Do we agree with this?" She asked, and both of them nodded.

"Are we sure? Because last alliance I made, we clearly did not have the same priorities-"

"Tangle." Sonic said firmly. "We're on the same page. No need to worry about it." Clearly, thoughts surrounding Rouge were still getting to her to a degree.

"Right, right-" Tangle breathed out. "Next point then-" She wiped off the board once more. "I was drilling Knuckles with some questions last night, and lo and behold - I found out I have no idea how warping works! Turns out, a guy can't warp to a place he's never seen before, so I tried to figure out how we're going to be travelling from here, and all across the planet to different places - and I thought - Oh, a plane! But, who knows how to drive one of those-?"

"I do." Sonic said, a smirk slowly creeping up on his face.

"You do? Awesome!" She beamed, before her smile dropped and she narrowed her eyes. "Wait, you do?"

"Yup."

"... How old are you?"

"Just turned 18."

"So... how long ago did you learn to.. ride a plane?"

"Eh, 4 years ago - give or take." Sonic shrugged. Most people forgot that Sonic, was in fact, the actual owner of the Tornado - and not Tails, but his little buddy used it so often that he never really thought there was any point to correct people.

"I-" Tangle raised a finger, about to comment - but decided not to question it. "You know what, as long as you have the knowledge - great!" She gave a thumbs up. "So, we grab our hands on a plane for travel - we go to different areas, searching for people that need our help and for our trusty miracle gems-"

Sonic raised his hand. "Permission to speak, ma'am?" He asked jokingly.

"Permission granted." She said.

"Knux-" Sonic looked over to his friend, the echidna seemed a little bewildered as though he was several pages behind on the conversation - but was doing his best to follow along. Knuckles blinked at him in surprise as he was being addressed, folding his arms. "I know you said you'd be accompanying us on our emerald hunts - but even with my speed - we can't search an entire city in just an hour or so - we'll be out there for days at a time. You'll be away from the emerald. Are you... okay with that?"

"Not really, no-" Knuckles admitted frankly with a heavy sigh. "But I have given explicit orders by my ancestors to ensure your success, and have been granted permission to leave this island. It is part of my duty to be following you now, so I shall be with you. Still, I do worry for the emerald's safety in my absence, and the safety of the survivors too... I hope my ancestors are keeping careful watch over the island now..." He said wistfully, looking up at the stone roof.

"Our little group here will be doing their best to protect your home, Knuckles." Tangle smiled at him with determination. "There's a great girl here, Lanolin - you might have seen her. She's stepping up to be the leader of our group while we're off emerald hunting, and I know everyone else will be pitching in to look after one another!"

"And we're sure everyone here is trustworthy?" Knuckles asked bluntly. It wasn't all that surprising that he was doubtful, Sonic knew Knuckles well enough to know that he wouldn't be keen leaving a group of strangers on his island alone without supervision - especially with the Master Emerald being right there for the taking.

"I've... had no reason to doubt anyone before." Tangle offered up, knowing it would be unwise to make too definitive claims.

"Well, if someone tries to take it - I should be able to sense it, no matter where I am. So... I'll have to make do." Unfortunately, all three of them had little choice in the matter - and Knuckles knew this to his dismay, so he resigned himself to letting out a low grunt and looking off to the side in thought.

"We won't let anything happen to your rock, Knux." Sonic dared to tease lightly to bring up the mood.

"It's not just a rock-"

"Oi! Back on track!" Tangle tapped the whiteboard repeatedly with her pen. "So we grab a plan, fly to locations. The only thing is... how do we get a plane? We could, uh..." Tangle rubbed the bottom of her chin, looking to the two boys for help - but both of them were just as clueless. "Um, I think there's an airport in Station Square? I think Rouge told me that? An airport for those small planes that drop bombs, usually driven by Egg Pawns - we could... take one of those? Somehow?"

"I mean, we could give it a shot?" Sonic shrugged. "Got any idea how we gonna do that?"

"No... not really." Tangle said, not exactly inspiring confidence. "Guess we'll just-" Her eyes shone briefly, suddenly smiling widely "- have to... wing it-"

Sonic and Knuckles stared blankly.

"Get- get it? Like a- plane's wing? Planes have wings- I... I thought it was pretty good-"

Sonic forced a chuckle, as he was sure Knuckles didn't even understand the joke. While Sonic never really made plans himself, he sure did miss having someone like Rouge or Tails around to do all the smart thinking.

Oh well, all they could do was try their best.

Knuckles began to crack his namesakes, narrowing his eyes at the robotic enemies. "And I can obliterate these guys no problem?" He asked for clarification.

"Absolutely no degree of sentience in those things." Tangle confirmed. "Some of Eggman's most soulless bots."

The echidna nodded. "They're very weird... I saw some of them at the festival. Like.. walking minerals-"

"That's because they are." Sonic said. "Metals that are melted down, made into different parts, put together - and then embedded with a program that makes them move."

"It's like... Eggman is trying to create life... in a distorted way." Knuckles said slowly, trying to process all the new information being given to him. The world below was filled with so much he had never heard about - he had a lot to learn if he wanted to survive down here - thankfully, both Sonic and Tangle were knowledgeable on the planet's matters.

"Guess ya could say that." Tangle said. "And we should probably like- quit standing here and beat them up before they take off on those planes - yeah?"

"Are they even gonna be taking off?" Sonic questioned. "These planes drop bombs, right? What place would they even be bombing?"

"Not sure." Tangle replied. "Maybe they're just being inspected then..."

"Hm... you're probably right. So, on count of three?" Sonic grinned as Tangle gave a nod.

"1.. 2... 3!"

The tro launched themselves out and towards the 'Egg Pawns' - Sonic dashed ahead in a curled ball before jumping up and ramming his curled up self into one of the robots - causing its limbs to break off and scatter across the floor. It was a powerful attack - Knuckles wondered if Sonic could talk him through such techniques.

Tangle meanwhile batted three Egg Pawns to the side with a swing of her extended tail - what a unique attribute, and honestly quite versatile - Knuckles thought himself lucky to be surrounded by impressive combatants.

Knuckles himself dived towards a robot and sent a clean punch at its chest - and was surprised at how easily it crushed into itself, the lights of its eyes immediately shutting down as it was sent flying off into the wall - all its parts dispersing through the hangar. These robots may look sturdy, but they were nothing compared to his own sheer strength.

He grinned, suddenly grabbing hold of the head of the Egg Pawn that tried to run towards him. The echidna promtply lifted it into the air, and swung its helpless body at another of the robots - taking them both out as they smashed into each other.

"Woah!" Tangle exclaimed as she dashed past with excitement. "Do those things even weigh anything to you?"

"Heh. No more than a feather." Knuckles replied confidently, how could he not feel a sense of pride?

Briefly, he caught a glimpse of the speedy blue warrior bouncing between any of the robots in his sight - with how fast he was tearing through them, there would shortly be no enemies left. Knuckles needed to get into more action while he still could. He yelled, more due to adrenaline than effort, heaving a punch directly at the face of an Egg Pawn. As it shot backwards - it made contact with two others along the way - so that a pile of three would land into a pillar, all left absolutely crushed.

"Three at once, not bad at all Knux." The echidna turned as he heard Sonic's voice behind him. "Still destroyed more than you though." He stated a smirk and a puffed up chest.

Knuckles wondered if Sonic was always this arrogant. He scoffed in response. "This was easy fodder, we'll see how you perform in a proper brawl the next time we encoun-"

"Look out!" Sonic exclaimed, before Knuckles could even move - the hedgehog suddenly had him pinned to the ground and the echidna caught a brief glimpse of a red beam shooting over head - but that wasn't what he was focusing on.

The hedgehog was panting but getting his breath steadily under control, his eyes - wide with worry, were now beginning to soften as the danger had passed. Sonic had Knuckles' arms pinned to the ground, and the echidna knew it would be easy to pull him off - but instead found he didn't want to, momentarily entranced by the clear gaze of his emerald eyes.

Knuckles could feel Sonic's breath like a gentle breeze against his face, and he felt himself shudder - not of fear, but of an emotion he couldn't quite place as butterflies fluttered in his stomach.

He needed to get out of this. The echidna instinctively pried Sonic off of him with a shove. "Don't touch me!" He growled with annoyance, trying to ignore the heat building up in his cheeks.

"Ow-! Hey!" Sonic hufffed indignantly. "That's the thanks I get for saving you?"

"I could have dodged that." Knuckles grunted, dusting himself off.

"Doubt." Sonic countered, making Knuckles frown. "You owe me now~"

"What-?"

"Guys!" Tangle called out, and they both turned and caught up with her. Knuckles realised with a start what had actually fired at him, a much larger - purple machine, that had once been weilding a hammer by the look of it. It had been thoroughly trashed, and the echidna assumed that was the lemur's doing. "I don't actually see anymore bots around. I think we're free to hop on one of these bad boys and get going!"

"Awesome stuff Tangle!" Sonic cheered, immediately running forward and in the blink of an eye - was already sat within one of the planes. "On board to Sonic Airlines!" He called down to them.

The announcement made Tangle laugh before she addressed Knuckles. "You take the seat behind Sonic, I'm standing on the wing - I've always wanted to stand on the wing!" She squealed excitedly. Knuckles didn't really understand what was so gleeful about it, but he was at least glad she was having fun.

The echidna clambered up into the seat behind Sonic, staring in wonder over the hedgehog's shoulder at the funny little nik-naks he assumed were there so that Sonic could control the plane. All this modern technology looked so complicated...

Knuckles looked over at Tangle when he heard her feet make contact with the metal wing. "Aaaaah! This is awesome!" She clapped her hands together.

"So, where we headed?" Sonic asked her, and Tangle hummed.

"Hmmmm - let's start with Central City, shall we? Not too far away - we'll see if an emerald is nearby, and even if not - there might still be some people we can help!" She balled up her fist with determination.

"You got it." Sonic grinned, flipping a switch. "Hey Knux, this is your first ever flight - right?"

Nothing good could be coming out of that mischievous tone. "Yes... why?" Knuckles rose a brow.

"Heh, well - let me warn you, it's about to be a wild ride."

All of a sudden, Knuckles did not feel so confident about leaving his life in the hedgehog's hands while he was stuck in this vehicle... but it was far too late to back out now.

"Egg Boss Rose! Over here!"

Amy quickly shut her eyes to block out the flash.

"How does it feel to be the Empire's hero?" Another chimed in, holding a microphone to her face.

"Did Robotnik thank you personally for your service?" Yet another tried to cut in front.

"Can I have your autograph?!"

There was nowhere to run, despite being overwhelmed. Amy's breathing quickened, trying to back up and push her way back through the surrounding reporters - but the force of them combined would be impossible to break through. Trapped, she couldn't find words to respond to anyone - or evem figure out who to respond to. She just wanted to shrink down... shrink away, away from it all - away from everything.

"Beat it!" A recongisable voice snapped, somehow managing to be louder than the entire crowd. They all began to break away from her, revealing to her the face of the one that had provided her momentarily relief.

Jet, the famous Extreme Gear Racer, and his two teammates stood. The hawk looked irritated, as he often did. "You paparrazi are always in the way!" He claimed, suddenly stepping forward and grabbing hold of Amy's arm - too tightly, in fact - and she found herself wincing.

"Sorry guys, but we need privacy for now!" Wave called out sweetly to everyone, beaming as she waved. "She'll be available for questioning later!"

"Yeah! Later!" Storm chimed in forcefully, emphasizing that point.

Amy found herself being dragged towards a nearby apartment complex by the three birds against her will. Her voice refused to cooperate with her brain, so she allowed herself to be silently pulled away - accepting there was nothing to do but accept their fate.

When Storm closed the door of the building behind them, Jet finally let go of her - allowing Amy to finally have the ability to gather her thoughts. "Wha-? Where are we-?"

"Sh!" Jet held up a finger. "Not a word from you. Not until we get to the apartment."

"But-"

"Shut it."

Wave gave the hedgehog what could only be described as an apologetic glance as they made their way down the hall towards an elevator that would take them up a few floors. Why was she heading with them to their apartment? Had she... done something wrong? It honestly wouldn't surprise her if she had somehow screwed up again...

A very awkward elevator journey passed, with the three of them standing in close proximity in the small box - close enough to smell each other's breath and sweat. You'd think the city of luxury would have a bigger elevator... or maybe the issue was just Storm taking up a load of room. There was nothing she could do but follow them as they lead her through, despite not being in handcuffs - she felt like a prisoner.

...

Jet slammed the living room door behind him. Amy was sat on a recliner, as was Storm - with Wave on the couch, whom Jet would promptly sit himself down next to. He had a deep frown on his face and folded arms - glaring daggers at Amy, making her fur prickle.

"What the fu-?"

"Jet, please-" Wave immediately interrupted before Jet could even begin.

"No, what the fuck were you thinking? We were this close to finally having Robotnik kick the bucket!" Jet shouted.

"I-" Amy began to sweat profusely. "What do you mean-? He's our Emperor, I had to save-"

"Don't give me that crap - I know you're not like them!" Jet immediately cut in. "I thought you were one of the few Egg Bosses that still had a brain, but apparrently not-!"

"JET!" Wave snapped loudly, otherwise she would have not been able to get a word in. "Let's at least explain to her that it's safe to talk here!"

Safe? The first thing they did when get into this apartment was yell! How was this going to be safe?

"Amy-" Wave sighed as Jet shut up for now. "It's okay, talk bad about Robotnik all you like in here. We're... not exactly devout followers. And we can tell you aren't either." She explained, trying to sound calm.

Was this a trap? This had to be.

She shook her head. "I... don't know what you're talking about."

The swallow groaned with exasperation. "Look, I get it - you're used to constant surveillance - but I assure you, we don't like Robotnik - never have done. We're only here because we had no other choice - become celebrity racers for the Empire... or be killed or roboticized - simple as that." She told her. "I'm sure that ultimatum is something you're pretty familiar with as well."

The hedgehog looked down at the green carpet, unable to bring herself to make eye contact. "I... I'm sorry-"

"No! 'Sorry' doesn't change anything!" Jet stood from the couch. "Do you know how damn excited I was when that laser beam was headed towards him? And then the absolute anger that followed after you decided to save his ass! His rule could have ended! Right then and there! But you had to screw it up!"

"I don't know why I saved him! I didn't mean to!" Amy insisted desperately. "I didn't want to! I acted before I could think! All I wanted was for Robotnik to g-get off my back! I was so close to being roboticized in a few days if I didn't-!"

"Would that have mattered if Robotnik died?! No!" Jet pointed out.

"I know! That's why I know it was stupid! I was just... so desperate! So, so desperate-!" Amy's voice began to crack.

"Ugh-" Wave face palmed. "This is pointless. You-" She pointed at Amy. "Shut up. You like you're about to cry - don't - I don't have the paitence for it." She warned her, before turning around and slapping Jet on the back of the head. "You - also shut up! I don't know even know why we're having this conversation! You just wanted an excuse to let out some testosterone!"

Jet rubbed the back of his head and hissed in pain.

"Hey! Don't hit the boss!" Storm told Wave, who decided to flat-out ignore him.

"So, I hope everyone is proud of themselves." She held her head up in the air, looking down at the others with disdain. "Letting your emotions get the better of you like children so that nothing changes! Robotnik is still alive and those that don't like him are still fighting amongst themselves!"

Shame washed over the hedgehog like a tidal wave, ready to drag her down. If only she could disappear, if only-

The hawk huffed, flopping down on the couch again. "Damn it! I just..." He cut himself off, seemingly figuring out what he wanted to say. "I just wanted him gone. I wanted-"

"To get the Babylon Garden key back." Wave finished for him. "I know, Jet - but there's no use in yelling. We just have to figure out what we can do now." Wave said, finally standing up and beginning to walk out of the room. "Since we have a guest I'm making coffee." She told them.

Amy wouldn't dare mention that she doesn't even like coffee.

She was left alone with the grumblng Jet and Storm, who was trying his best to look angry - but kind of faltered as an awkwardness lingered in the room. The albatross instead sought out to fill the silence.

"So... did you happen to get an invitation too?"

"For... the ball?" Amy spoke up quietly, fiddling with her hands. "Yeah... I did."

"Ah." Storm said. "Yikes..."

"You sure you wanna do this, kid?" Vector leaned against the rocky doorway.

"I'm not a damn child." Fang was quick to reply. "And I've already made up my mind. There's no future for mercanaries like us. We either give into the Empire, or die - and now's a better time than any to secure a good position."

"I'm suspicious of it, ya know." Vector went on. "I don't think it's gonna be an easy job."

"Easy for me." The weasel's confidence didn't waver. "I think you need to face the reality of the shit going on too. You're somehow convicing yourself that just because you aren't directly working under the Empire, that somehow gives ya a moral highground."

"It ain't nothing to do with morals." Vector glared. "It's about Charmy's safety-!"

"Safety of the kid, yeah right - because the mercenary life is oh so safe." Fang said sarcastically. "Listen, I shouldn't need to tell you that the people we work for outside of the Empire are all killers and thieves, and our clients that aren't the lowly living in sewers? Empire members themselves outsourcing their own work! Our hands are already bloody. Might as well give in to what we're denying."

"I'm not giving up on the kid. I don't wanna give him a life under the Empire."

"I'd wager life outside the Empire is worse, Vector." Fang commented dryly. "By refusing to cooperate with him and his regime, you're putting the kid at constant risk. If you decide to work with him however - there's a chance that kid could be allowed to survive."

"And be brainwashed into serving Robotnik? No way in hell that I'm letting that happen." Vector stood his ground.

"Huh. No cure for stupidity." Fang twirled his pistol in his hand. "But let me put it this way, I'm givin' you one shot - the Empire has announced they want this 'Shadow' guy dead, in fact - they're desperate for it - his face is being plastered over every screen in every city. If we're the ones to kill him, our job history is gonna be excused. Robotnik will want our loyalty secured, so he'll be treating us like Kings. If you still wanna give that up, I don't know what to tell you."

Vector's own resolve surprised him. "Not coming with you. For Charmy's sake. I wish you luck, though."

"Alright." Fang finally shrugged. "Not like it matters to me. I've got a hedgehog to hunt down, and my team are waiting for me above ground." He picked up his rucksack, and slung it over his shoulder. Vector recieved no good will in return, not even a goodbye - as the weasel turned - heading out the base one last time.

Vector scratched the top of his head, having not slept in what felt like a decade - his head pulsed, and his muscles ached. Everything was exhausting, even just trying to live. The crocodile needed to rest, at least a little, so sat down on one of the crates and tried to relax his muscles.

"So... they're gone, huh?"

"Charmy!" Vector exclaimed in shock, looking back towards the doorway where the bee stood. "Didn't I tell you not to eavesdrop?!"

"You did... didn't stop me though."

At least he was honest.

"Well, I don't wanna catch you doing it again." Vector instead grumbled, but knew best to soften his tone now. "You gonna miss 'em?"

"The hooligans? No." Charmy shrugged. "Bean was funny but kinda crazy with his bomb obsession, Bark never talked, and Fang only spoke about money and guns so - eh."

Vector wondered what it was like to be so carefree like Charmy was. "Kid, come over here."

Charmy looked around momentarily, before flying towards the crocodile, sitting next to him. The crocodile wasted no time in wrapping his arm around the bee, holding him gently - but close to his body. "You know I'm not gonna let any harm come to you, right?"

"Man..." Charmy began with a whine. "Don't get all sappy! I heard what you said back there!"

"And I am trying to make sure that you know that it's true." Vector said, getting just a tad frustrated. As much as he loved the kid, Charmy often had that effect - his boisterous nature and lack of filter was a lot to manage.

"Of course I know it's true." Charmy pouted. "In fact, I think you keep me too safe! I'm always locked up in here while you and Espio are out doing missions! I wanna help you guys out, you know!"

"Charmy, we've had this conversation-"

"And I don't need the lecture!" Charmy cut in - but this wasn't a temper tantrum, just annoyance - a frustration within him that was steadily building, due to not being able to help out the adults - feeling useless. "I just... I wanna help somehow, you know?"

"I know, you're a good kid Charms. Maybe one day." Vector squeezed a little tighter. The boy was so small compared to his own height, only serving to make him appear more fragile.

"That day can't come soon enough." Despite his irritation, the bee leaned his head against Vector's side. The crocodile felt a heavy stone dragging down the weight of his heart, Charmy didn't deserve any of this nonsense - he didn't deserve to grow up in such a cruel world. There was nowhere for them to run - they could continue on their path until they were caught, join the Empire and become brainwashed goons, or join the rebels... but that bridge had long already been burned.

Rouge had her hands behind her head. "Might as well get comfortable. It's a long ride to Apotos."

Shadow was concentrating on the road ahead. so she took the time to glance at his steely, focused face - something she was learning quickly about him was that he didn't voice his thoughts, or show them either - he needed a lot of prompting to express anything at all that wasn't related to their mission.

"Wonder if this car has any snacks..." Rouge spoke, as expected - Shadow didn't respond. "Doesn't look like it... makes sense, these things are usually driven by Egg Pawns after all... although I do wonder..."

She reached over and tapped the screen in the car, scrolling through the options - until smiling as she came across a music note icon. She tapped on it, and thus revealed that there was one album downloaded.

"You like Mina Mongoose songs?"

"I don't know who that is."

"Oh yeah..." Rouge felt stupid. "Well she's like- she did bubblegum pop shit, you know? Some rock too - I like some of her songs but she was never my favourite artist. Sound like your thing?"

"I don't really care." The bat felt a little taken aback by his bluntness. "Play it if you so desire."

Well... he did say she could. "Why thank you." She smirked, pressing play and allowing the cheesy pop track to fill the car's silence, making up for the lack of conversation between the two mobians.

It wouldn't stop Rouge from trying though, she had many questions after all - so many things about Shadow were unanswered. She decided to come right out with a heavy hitter. "So... you were created 50 years ago. But only recently were you experimented on by the Empire and became that monster thing... so tell me, where were you for the past 50 years?"

Shadow's grip on the wheel tightened, Rouge saw his chest rise as he took in a deep breath. "In stasis."

"Locked away, huh?" Rouge tilted her head. "How come?"

The bat wasn't entirely sure if she imagined it, but she could have sworn briefly that yellow energy crackled at the end of his fingertips. "It doesn't matter."

"I- Fair enough, I guess." Suspicious much? That answer made her wary, but she knew drilling him about it wouldn't put them on any better terms - so she held back for now. Getting him to talk about the past might be a problem, it seemed. And yet...

Oh damnit, whenever she tried to think rationally and question the man she was working with and the opportunity she had been granted with - she found herself gazing back at the hedgehog, and noticing something new everytime - his perfectly groomed fur, his toned muscles - every logical thought in her head suddenly being replaced by a deep sense of longing.

He was damn near perfect.

Her heart was beating loud and fast, so much so it made her embarrassed - surely it was loud enough for Shadow to hear. She broke her gaze away and opted to staring out the window, hiding the blush forming on her cheeks.

So stupid, she told herself. Rouge knew better than anyone that letting infatuation get the better of you only lead to disaster - how often had she used men's hearts to advantage, and broken them thereafter? But here she was - falling for him so fast like a tumbling waterfall.

"Shame a handsome guy such as yourself was hidden for so long~" She teased.

She might as well have been flirting with a wall as he didn't even spare her a look. Was he just oblivious? Or was he toying with her, playing hard to get? The worst part was that she couldn't even bring herself to be mad about it... she loved a challenge. She loved the game.

"But you're out and about now, and that's what counts." Rouge went on to say. "You know, it's a shame you had to see Mobius while it's in this state... before Robotnik took over, there were some really pretty spots."

"Hm." Ah, some achknowledgement.

"That man really did ruin everything... I was set to become a G.U.N. agent before he attacked, ya know-"

"A what?" Shadow asked.

"Hm? A G.U.N. agent... you know, the military but like- I was going to be part of the more elite special forces-"

"G.U.N..." Shadow began to breathe rapidly, each breath being ugly, raspy - on the brink of choking.

"Shadow-" Rouge began, extremely worried about Shadow's state - her heartbeat growing faster again, but for an entirely different reason. "Are you okay?" She reached out a hand, but refrained from touching him.

His body was trembling. His eyes weren't focused on anything - but his pupils had shrunk with panic.

"Gah-!" Shadow grunted in between his panting. "No-! Not... not her-!"

He let go of the steering wheel, holding onto his head.

"Sh-Shadow!" Rouge called out to him desperately, not wasting a beat - she reached over from the passanger seat and took hold of the steering wheel. "What's going on!?"

"Don't-!" Shadow cried out in sudden pain, chaos energy charging off of his body in small bolts - some of which hit Rouge, but she bit back her own yelps.

Something was happening - Rouge broke her eyes from the road back to Shadow, and she saw something on the tips of his fingers move underneath his gloves. Suddenly, sharp claws tore through the fabric. The fur on that arm was slowly fading away, and becoming scales.

Was he... turning back?

"Shadow!" She yelled out again. "Please! Just.. just breathe!" Rouge was helpless - she didn't know how to help him, and from her seat - she couldn't even stop the car - the only thing she could do was try to prevent a crash.

Shadow gasped for air, trying to regulate himself - but he was still breathing far too quickly. "Uh- match my pace! Okay? You got this, just-" She stuttered. "Breathe in for five..."

With Rouge's guidance, he gained back some degree of control over himself - following the instruction despite his shaking.

"Hold for five."

He did as told - and, rather surprisingly, she watched as the scales on his arm seemed to dissipate, and were once again replaced with his fur growing back.

"Out for five..."

The claws on Shadow's hands disappeared as well, and while his appearance was back to normal - his distress was still evident. No way was he taking control of the wheel again right now, she continued to go through the exercise with him again, and again.

She wasn't sure how many times they had repeated the process until Shadow finally seemed to be... aware of his own surroundings again. He gazed around, chest rising and falling at a regular pace.

"Shadow...?" Rouge spoke up hesitantly.

"It... appears I-" He began, exhausted. "I'm not fully cured. Starline did... warn me that his cure might not have worked... fully..." He groaned tiredly.

"So that's all that was? Your monster...alien form coming back?" Rouge asked with concern.

Shadow nodded slowly, and as he grabbed the steering wheel - Rouge could finally let go. "I didn't anticipate such a factor as an interference..."

"What triggered it?" Rouge immediately questioned. "If we can find out the cause, we can stop it happening again! But, we were just talking-"

"It seems-" Shadow interrupted her. "It seems as though it will be a... random occurence."

Rouge gazed at the hedgehog with pity - suddenly seeing him going from so composed, to panicking during his transformation - she had never witnessed anything like that before, and she certainly didn't want it to happen again.

"We'll... we'll figure out how to make sure that doesn't happen again." She assured him gently. "I promise."

Chapter Text

The dusk was silent - in the comfortable, peaceful sense, like a gentle hug from a loved one. The gentle humming of the plane's engine did nothing to break the serenity of the moment. The hedgehog couldn't help but be put right at ease, despite his initial worries of getting back in his plane ifor the first time in a while. After letting Tails become pilot, Sonic was a little rusty on his skills - but hey, he'd gotten this far - right? That was worth smiling about.

With Angel Island's dense forest below him, Sonic eventually identified a good clearing he'd be able to land in - close enough to the altar. His mind drew a temporary blank for a moment as he tried to recall how he was supposed to go about landing - but it quickly came back, aiding him in a successful touch down.

The hedgehog hopped out of the plane quickly, pleased with himself. Acting on his late night impulses hadn't resulted in any accidents, for once.

It had only been logical in his head. Usually, randomly visiting your friend's home in the middle night wouldn't be a gesture all that appreciated - but in Knuckles' case, Sonic believed that might be different. He remembered when Knuckles had explained the reason he napped so much in the day because he was awake for a lot of the night - as that's when thieves were most likely to roam.

In hindsight, it made so much sense.

Sonic began making his way up the tall flight of stone steps, expecting Knuckles to be up top with precious gem.

That assumption was proven right, but not in the way he expected.

"Gah-!" Knuckles unmistakably grunted, followed by a frustrated growl. "Damnit-!" It was loud enough to the way he hissed his discomfort.

He was in pain.

Sonic immediately quickened his pace, practically jumping up the staircase.

"Knuckles?" Sonic said worriedly as he was finally able to lay his eyes upon him. "You okay?"

"Sonic-?"

Knuckles was hunched over, catching his breath - leaning one of his hands against the Master Emerald for support. His dreads had become frizzled, and his body had several dark bruises all over - but what caught Sonic's eye was the pink, raw skin on his shoulder devoid of fur - a newly inflicted burn.

"Jeeze! What happened?" Sonic immediately dashed in front of the echidna, making his concern plain.

"Gah-! It's nothing-!" Knuckles tried to insist, his face screwing up with frustration. "Just some stupid bandits - attacked me and the emerald because I was stupid enough to doze off-"

"Aye!" Sonic immediately cut in, holding up a finger. "First off - don't blame yourself. Second - did you give them what for?"

"Obviously." He scoffed. "Sent them packing with their tails between their legs."

"Good." Sonic briefly smiled. "Now, we gotta do something about that shoulder-"

"I used some Master Emerald energy on it. it's fine."

"No offence Knuckles, but I can clearly see it's not done much-" Sonic pointed out. The hedgehog was well aware that the echidna's healing capabilities were rather limited - only really useful for smaller cuts. "Tails usually keeps a bunch of medical stuff in the Tornado, so I'm gonna look for some ointment-"

"Son-" Before Knuckles could finish his objection, Sonic had ran and already came back with an oinment to apply to the echidna's burn.

"Phew! At least Tails thinks about this stuff." Sonic offered up with optimism. "Oh wait! We should really clean that- Angel Island's water is clean, right? Hang on-" Knuckles could barely intake a breath before Sonic returned as though he had never left - carrying a wet, dripping towel that he had soaked in a stream. "Knew little bro would have one, heh." Sonic honestly admired Tails' ability to prepare for so many situations.

Without even thinking, Sonic gently applied the towel to Knuckles' wound and rubbed the area - trying to be both soft and firm to make sure it was properly cleaned. It would have been easier and more thorough to use soap and running water from a tap - but Angel Island was lacking in such luxuries, so improvisation it was.

In the thick of the process, Sonic felt stupefied. He knew Knuckles was strong, everyone knew that - but now that he was so close, actively touching the echidna - Sonic could truly appreciate his toned, broad muscles. The hedgehog could feel the echidna's arm muscles suddenly tense, hardening under his grip, and Sonic inhaled - he'd better apply that ointment now, but he found himself not wanting to pull his hand away.

Sonic dared make a glance towards the echidna's face, and saw that Knuckles' cheeks were flushed with a flurry of emotions. "I- I can look after myself, you know-!" Knuckles then snapped. "I don't need you to do this for me-!"

"Yeah, yeah-" Sonic smirked, realising that Knuckles hadn't even attempted to step back. "But while I'm here I might as well make myself useful-"

"What are you doing on my island anyway? At this time of night?" His tone became accusatory.

"Had some night jitters - a lot of energy to burn, so I thought - why not see you? You must get lonely at night sometimes." Sonic explained, shrugging - resisting the temptation to hold and feel the echidna any longer-

Wait... what were these thoughts? Why did he-? His mind went weird places at 2am, huh?

"You were bored." Knuckles summarised.

"Yep. And I wanted to see you." Sonic picked up the tube of ointment, and started applying a thin layer of the cream. As he made sure to cover every part of the burn, he stroked the curves and ridges of the echidna's robust frame.

"To annoy me." Knuckles' voice came out like a whisper, no matter how much he wanted it to sound otherwise.

"Of course, it's my favourite pass time." Sonic didn't skip a beat with his response.

"But if you're here, and the Tornado is here too - where's Tails?" Knuckles then rose a brow.

"He's not the only one that can fly it, you know. That plane was originally mine, in fact."

Sonic couldn't help but be amused at Knuckles' surprised face. "Oh. I- I thought Tails was the tech guy so-"

"Yeah, he's definitely more skilled at it than me though. That little guy can pull of some insane aerial tricks!" How could Sonic not gush about Tails when given the opportunity?

"Ah. I see-" Knuckles nodded.

"Got something to cover the burn with?" Sonic asked, now done tending to the infliction.

"Yeah... I'll sort that out later." Knuckles said, looking away from Sonic and off to the side - folding his arms, gritting his teeth through the pain it caused him. "Thanks-" Knuckles said stiffly. "Even though I didn't need it-"

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that last part." Sonic said, shrugging smugly.

"You can get off my island now."

"Nice try." Sonic's grin was unwavering. "You've gotta tell me what happened here, Knuckles - unusual of you to look so, well... roughed up."

Knuckles immediately huffed, frowning. "They attacked while I was sleeping. First some hyena with fire powers burnt my shoulder, and as I'm woken by that - their teammates are on top of me trying to beat me to death with their fists! Idiots... they had the perfect advantage to take the emerald but instead went with a sloppy, dirty attack-!"

"Guess that's thieves for you." Sonic remarked dryly, admittedly sympathising with Knuckles' plight.

"I made sure they knew they picked the wrong fight. They ran back to wherever they come from." There was no mistaking the disgust in his tone as he spoke of them. "Whatever aircraft they used to get here probably didn't even belong to them! Stupid thieves-"

Sonic understood Knuckles' hatred for criminals, but could see the echidna was working himself up - so Sonic wanted to instead put him at ease before he hurt himself further. "And they're not likely to be coming back any time soon. And even if they do? You'll kick their butts twice as hard!" Sonic grinned. "The Master Emerald's safe again, that's what counts right?"

"Spoken like the idiot you are." Knuckles rolled his eyes, before the sass dissipated - and gave way to reveal his regretful gaze. "I shoudln't have been sleeping - I'm getting sloppy-"

"Sloppy? Ha! Couldn't be further from the truth, you Knucklehead! You're like- the most hardworking guy I know! You're constantly on the job. It's not like you can stop sleeping, it was just - unfortunate timing, that's all."

"I train my body to stay awake for long periods - especially at night. It shouldn't have happened." All of Sonic's praise had just bounced off of him.

Sonic let out a slightly exasperated sigh. "Fine, don't listen to me. Be that way - I'm not your emotional support hog."

"And I don't need one."

"You sure? Usually, you're too proud to admit your mistakes." Sonic rose a brow, crossing his arms.

Knuckles' eyes widened. Sonic could be surpisingly observant when it came to the people around him. The echidna opened his mouth to speak, but sighed when no words came out.

"Admit it, you dork. You're telling me about your insecurities because I'm your friend. And because I'm your friend, I wanna help you and make sure you know that you weren't at fault for the things that transpired today. You got it? Cool." Sonic answered his own rhetorical question before Knuckles could.

Knuckles gave up trying to argue, resigning himself to biting his lip. Knuckles was so easy to win against, he almost felt bad.

"Now, I know this is gonna be eating at you a while so, what can I do to make myself useful while I'm here? Do you need more traps set up on the island...?" Sonic began to suggest.

"Not... right now, but-" To Sonic's surprise, Knuckles began to sound as though he was actually going to ask Sonic's help for something. Finally! It would appear they were making some progress in their friendship. "Could you run through the island for me? Make sure those thieves didn't somehow circle back and are now camping out on the island again-"

"Sure thing."

"I don't want a stone unturned." Knuckles said strictly. "I know how oblivious of your surroundings you can be."

"If you're worried about me not doing a good enough job - how about you come with me on the Tornado? We can hover around the island together and search - that way you get to be certain the island is safe yourself. How does that sound?"

He blinked. "In the Tornado? With you? I'd rather not die today..."

"Oh come on, I got all the way here without crashing - didn't I?!"

"I... guess..." Knuckles admitted tiredly. "I- Sure, I'll do it then..."

Sonic was pulled out of his memories by the sound of Tangle's excited squealing. "AAAAH!" She was doing a bizzarre little dance on the plane's wing. "I'm actually standing on a plane! Gosh, I'm so excited! I'm going to burst-!"

"You okay there, Tangle?" Sonic couldn't help but grin.

"I AM IN A STATE OF EUPHORIA, SONIC!"

Sonic gave a hearty laugh at the lemur. He could agree, standing on a plane was a pretty cool experience - and it never really got old. He preferred it over piloting, to be frank - but hey, this plane wasn't going to fly itself.

The hedgehog's mind drifted again, there was another reason it felt wrong to be here. This was Tails' spot, he had basically claimed it for the whole three years he'd known him. His little brother... the brother he didn't have here. Try as he might, Sonic could never forget the way... 'Miles' had looked at him - the malice in his face, the mockery in his tone - Eggman's influence written all over him as he gloated with emotionless eyes.

No. Not emotionless... that empathy was just buried, that's all. Buried by the cruel man he worked for.

Sonic was going to save him, whatever it took.

For now, at least he had his other close friend to hold onto. Sonic looked back over his shoulder and saw Knuckles' awestruck face - Sonic realised this version of him had never been in a plane before. Sure, Knuckles could glide - soaring through the air was nothing new to him. However, the plane gave a new experience - allowing him to fly higher and much longer, all while sitting down as the machinery did the hard work. This Knuckles was still getting used to the concept of vehicles in general.

"Having fun there?" Sonic asked.

"Hm? Oh, it's uh-" Knuckles was taken off guard by the sudden question. "Just new to me, is all-"

"Heh. Well I'm honoured that Sonic Airlines got to provide you with your first air travel experience."

He silently wished there had been more interesting things to see than gray clouds and smoke - light a bright, sunny day with a scattering of clouds among the blue - or better yet, a starry night.

Just like before.

"Thank you for having chosen Sonic Airlines' for your Angel Island tour tonight!" Sonic spoke in his announcer voice, looking briefly at Knuckles on the backseat.

"I had no other choice." Knuckles said bluntly, resting his cheek in his hand and looking over the side of the plane. "But if I did have one - I would have picked any other option."

"Oh yeah?" Sonic smiled mischievously, ready to challenge his claim. "So you'd rather get into a plane driven by Rouge, huh?"

Knuckles' face paled at the thought. "I stand corrected... Okay, I'd choose MOST other options-!"

This set off Sonic into a laughing fit as Knuckles doubled down with growing frustration. "Come on! She's the type that would crash the plane on purpose!" Knuckles insisted.

"That made you think twice." Sonic spoke through his snickers.

"You're insufferable-"

"Yeah, but I'm rarely ever wrong."

"Hah! Bold claim, Sonic. I'll remind me you of that after your next screw up." It was now Knuckles' turn to be smug, puffing up his chest.

"We'll see about that, Knucklehead." Sonic shook his head, amused. "Anyways, we're getting a bit distracted here-"

"I'm not. I've been carefully looking this whole time." Knuckles declared pridefully. The two of them were undoubtedly petty, always looking for ways to one-up each other - no matter how minuscule the victory.

"Then I'm assuming Angel Island is free of intruders, then."

"Far from it actually..."

Sonic's ears perked up, and his eyes narrowed. "Where are-?"

"They're right in front of me, actually."

It took an embarrasingly long time for Sonic to figure out what Knuckles meant by his words and the shit-eating grin on his face, but when Sonic pieced it together and frowned, Knuckles loudly began to chuckle.

"HAHAHA! You walked right into that one!" Knuckles pointed at the hedgehog.

Sonic rolled his eyes, but Knuckles' laugh was infectious - and he joined right in. "One of your rare witty moments, Knux. I don't expect it because they don't happen often."

"Whatever, you're just salty." Nothing could rain on the echidna's parade as he leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head. "In all seriousness though, we've circled the whole island - nothing seems off, and I don't see any traces of thieves anywhere."

"Really? We've been round the whole place? Didn't even realise..." Sonic blinked with fascination.

"Proves my point about your lack of spacial awareness."

"I'm more impressed that I basically drove the plane subconciously-"

"Not bad for being out of practise, I suppose." Knuckles achknowledged. "We should head down..."

"You in a rush?" Sonic asked. "Don't you wanna enjoy the night differently?"

"What... do you mean by that?" Knuckles questioned with some suspicion.

"Well, you're always looking up at the sky from the ground - right? So why not enjoy hanging around in the air a little longer?" Sonic suggested lightly, Knuckles had few changes in his daily life - and Sonic had no idea how the echidna hadn't gone insane. Despite how tough and rigid he acted all the time, Sonic knew that Knuckles must be bearing some restlessness at the repetitiveness of his life - and that's why Sonic always tried to be exciting and do something new with him... although it wasn't always appreciated.

"I... guess?" He didn't object to the idea.

"Let's us spend more time together too." Sonic smiled. "I know as soon as we get to the altar you're gonna be shooing me away so-"

"You really want to spend time with me, huh?" Knuckles realised softly.

"Wouldn't have come to you in the middle of the night if I didn't. I would have stayed on my warm couch."

"I guess I just don't get it. I'm pretty boring, really." The echidna admitted awkwardly, removing his hands from the nonchalent position he had been in before - placing them in his lap.

"Your lifestyle is. But you? Far from it." Sonic replied simply. "And I know you can't exactly help the lifestyle part so - I try to bring a little excitement over to ya when I can. You're welcome by the way."

"Heh... thanks." Knuckles said with a gentle smile, catching Sonic by surprise as he had been expecting some kind of retort. "For being there, I mean." He continued. "You and Tails, Amy too - your visits do make a big difference. I'm grateful for it..."

"Knew you'd be less prickly at night. Or is it your injuries that are softening you up and making you tired?" Sonic teased despite the echidna's sincerity.

"Oh shut it, I was thanking you for once!" Knuckles huffed.

"And it was music to my ears." Sonic quickly said in a self-satisfied manner. Ultimately, Sonic knew that Knuckles wasn't the most comfortable opening up about his feelings - so Sonic brought the conversation back to a tone they were more familiar with. However, he made a mental note to be visiting Knuckles more often - he may be a grump, but the last thing Sonic wanted for the echidna was for him to feel alone.

"Hey, Knuckles?"

"Yeah...?"

"You ever ridden on the wing of a plane?"

"Nope."

"Come on then." Sonic said as he stood up from his seet, stepping out of the plane's cockipit much to Knuckles' alarm.

"WOAH, WOAH, WOAH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! THE TORNADO NEEDS A PILOT OR IT'LL CRASH!" Knuckles yelled, waving his arms around frantically.

Sonic laughed lightly, "Aye, chillax. It's on autopilot - it's driving itself."

"Are we sure we can be trusting this technology?" Knuckles glared at the now empty seat in front of him.

"Well, the autopilot system was made by Tails. And you don't doubt his skills, do you?" Sonic tilted his head back at the echidna - now standing on the plane's left wing and tapping his foot repeatedly.

"Well.. no- ugh-"

"Then up you come." Sonic beckoned him up, and Knuckles had no more excuses to refuse. The echidna was unsure of himself as he unbuckled and stood up initially, but it seemed it wasn't as unstable as he had anticipated. Knuckles shuffled towards the left wing, and Sonic reached out a hand.

Knuckles grasped it, and Sonic held pull him up onto the wing so they could stand together.

"Pretty cool here, don't you think?" Sonic smiled, still holding onto Knuckles' hand.

"I mean... feels dangerous, actually. How have you never slipped?" Knuckles asked, not letting go either.

" 'Cause I'm too cool."

"... Forget I asked." The echidna grumbled.

"Tell you what though, the moon is gorgeous." Sonic suddenly remarked, prompting Knuckles to look as well. It was large in the sky, gleaming down on the planet below - granting the world a white-yellow glow, a gentle dash of warmth. The stars also shone, elegantly scattered across the dark sky - but the moon, with its powerful and ethereal presence, captured the world's attention.

"It is." Knuckles breathed out, staring at it in wonder.

"Tell you what - I'm not always gonna be able to visit you at night, so whenever you're feeling lonely - I want you to look at the moon, and remember me. Remember this little night of ours, yeah?"

"Look at the moon and... think of you?" The idea was so absurd - how could Knuckles not laugh at it? "Hahaha! Sonic, you okay? You're not normally so poetic."

"Hahaha! Come on, Knux-" Sonic found it funny too, but his cheeks were flushed. "I'm trying my best here!"

"I.. guess I appreciate the sentiment?" Knuckles snorted with laughter before finally calming down. "I guess that's your corny way of saying you're watching over me... thinking of me?"

"Exactly that." Sonic nodded. "And come on, you definitely couldn't have come up with anything better."

"I might have surprised you."

"Doubt it."

He chose to ignore that. "Hm." Knuckles thought to himself for a moment before speaking again. "You called me Knux just now."

"Huh? Oh yeah, I did-"

"I like it."

"Really now?"

"I wouldn't be saying that if I didn't-"

"Heh- Oh Knux," Sonic squeezed Knuckles' hand a little tighter, not even realising he had done so.  "I'm happy to call you whatever you like."

Gazing up at the shattered moon. both mobians fell into a comfortable silence.

"Sonic!" A hand grabbing his shoulder and shaking his body back and forth brought him back to reality again.

"H-huh-?"

"Massive red beam headed our way!" Knuckles shouted in an angry panic.

"Wait - what?" Sonic glanced behind him. "Oh shit-"

"Can you dip the plane under it or something?!" Tangle called out.

"Guess I'll have to find out-!" Hoo boy, this was not Sonic's forte, but he couldn't afford to get anything wrong.

He tilted the controls down as fast as he could, allowing for the plane to narrowly avoid the laser projectile. "What else you guys seeing back there?!"

"I'm seeing..." Tangle squinted, hand shielding her eyes from the sun so she could focus. Her cheeks paled at what she saw. "Oh goodness, oh dear - okay so... we may or may not have an entire swarm of Buzz Bombers pursuing us-"

"Darn it..." Sonic growled. "Those things fire off so many electrcitity balls! I'm not sure how well I'll be able to avoid all of the projectiles-" Sonic admitted. "Tai- My friend, he did this kind of stuff, not me-!"

"Then I'll try to take care of them before they can even get to us!" Tangle announced with determination. With a roar of effort, she flung out her tail and extended it the furthest Sonic had ever seen it go - did it even have a limit. Whipping her tail through the collection of winged badniks, a large number were knocked out of the sky - crushed to mere metallic parts by the might of the lemur's tail.

"Oh dang! You're awesome, Tangle!" Sonic cheered.

"Woo! Thanks!" She beamed back. "That takes care of that!" She dusted off her hands, despite not even using them in combat. "Wasn't expecting to get attacked, I'll be honest."

"You... weren't expecting that?" Knuckles asked in disbelief. "Tangle, we stole someone else's plane! Of course we're going to have pursuers!"

Tangle blinked blankly, opening her mouth - and then closed it again, before finally allowing herself to speak. "Right! Yeah... right, totally didn't assume for whatever reason that the hard part was over already and that we'd face no resistance in the air... totally wasn't thinking that-"

The lack of a strategist in their team was now more than evident.

"Guys-" Knuckles spoke up again. "What Tangle took out... that was only phase 1-"

Both Sonic and Tangle turned to face the direction Knuckles was pointing in.

"Oh no-"

"Ah, Starline. How wonderful of you to stop by my lab." Miles began, opening up the doors with a swipe of his identity card. He could read all over Starline's face that the platypus was bitter that he still had to put in passwords, not having yet been trusted with an ID card in the same way Miles was.

"Well, if we wish for this Empire to run successfully - we must ensure proper commmunications." Starline said, keeping himself formal in both body language and tone.

"Couldn't agree more."

"That and I was very impressed by your work in surpressing the Black Arms invasion-"

Starline was trying to be a kiss ass, and he could feel the doctor writhing with discomfort as he fought against his jealousy. Miles loved every second of Starline's suffering.

"Why thank you." Miles said, finally opening up the door to his labatory... or rather, one of his many.

"How familiar are you with genetic science, Starline?" Miles had asked, whatever the answer was - he didn't care.

"Oh, quite - one of my favourite study fields." He smiled pridefully.

"Then... you'll have an appreciation for this."

"Miles, what on Mobius happened to your lab...?"

Instead of the usual sights on might expect - the large, lavish equipment - the vials of acid among the shelves, or at the very least a worktable - there was absolutely nothing there. It was empty - leaving nothing but the white wall and floor tile - making the whole room feel akin to an asylum.

The only thing in the room was a chair, and a mobian bear sat on it - his head hung low as his hands were tied behind the seat.

"I had a clean up!" Miles responded happily, before giggling. "No, no I jest - not quite. You see, I didn't exactly want my things getting broken so I'm anticipating the worst, and I got rid of anything that might get damaged in this experiment!"

"What...? What are you about to do?" Starline asked, baffled.

Miles reached into his pocket - slowly taking out a needle, a bright green, viscose liquid contained within the barrel. "Do you know what this is, Starline?"

"Watered-down playground putty?" Starline offered up sarcastically, but shook his head 'no' for his true answer.

"Oh, you are funny." Miles didn't laugh, he grinned with his mouth alone - his eyes were not filled with the same joy. "This, Starline, is DNA from the Black Arms themselves. You remember the alien I brought back with me, don't you?"

"How could I... forget?" Starline shuddered.

"I extracted it's blood, and with some alterations - I made a serum. When combined with Mobian DNA, the two will merge - and the subject at hand will develop the alien features of the Black Arms species."

"And you would want that... why?" Starline tried to cut in, but Miles held up a hand - silencing him.

"The Black Arms are an elite alien species possessing great power. As much as an advocate I am for robots filling near every role in society - I do believe that sometimes a more... organic touch... is certainly useful in combat. The Black Arms operate within a hive mind - communicating to each other telepathically, but most importantly - following the orders of their leader without question. What the Empire needs is a powerful, efficient army that we can take with us to conquer other planets. That is the aim of my project!" The fox finished off gleefully.

"An army of monsters..." Starline said slowly. "Quite a risk."

"There's always risk in science." Miles replied with ease. "Just watch." The fox made his way over to the test subject on the chair. "Yoohoo! Time for the show to begin!"

"S-stop-!" The bear immediately looked up, his body shaking in a frenzy. "Don't come anywhere near me!" He pleaded.

"Nervous?" Miles asked. "First time?"

"Please!" He continued. "I have kids! I have KIDS!" His eyes brimmed with tears.

"Oh, hardly a problem." Miles shrugged. "When I'm done with you, you won't even be able to remember their names."

"NO! NO, DON'T DO THIS-"

Try as the test subject might, wriggling and struggling with all his strength - there was no escaping his position tied to the seat. He roared in anguish, bubbling sobs escaping his throat as he finally lost control. It was going to make injecting the stuff a nuisance... oh well.

"Farewell." Miles said, hovering the tip of the needle over the man's arm, letting it brush against the very tip of his fur.

"P-PLEASE, I'LL DO ANYTHING-!"

Miles plunged the needle in, piercing the bear's skin and injected the serum into his veins.

This was where the fun began.

The fox wasted no time in backing away to the furthest corner of the room near the door, ready to make an emergency exit. The bear already begun to mutate, losing its humanoid features and much more resembling the natural beast found in the wild - a large, heavy frame filled with thick fur, sharp and snarly teeth, and small, black eyes.

Then it kept growing, and growing.

Brown fur faded into purple as it towered over the two scientists, slobbering a dark purple substance from its mouth. It roared, sending a tremour through the room and causing Starline to gasp in shock. Miles had to wonder what was running through Starline's head right now.

As for the fox himself? Nothing but satisfaction - seeing his hard work come to life.

Miles opened his eyes.

He couldn't help but realise quickly that his dream had ended on what would have been a perfect note. His experiment was proving itself to be a success with every morphing change on that bear's body. Sure, Starline had been the only one to witness it but - that counted for something at the very least.

It had all gone wrong after that.

No wonder father was getting frustrated with him - two major scientific mistakes unleashed onto the world - and those mistakes were linked to each other!

The fox sighed, heaving himself to sit on the edge. He had pondered for at least an hour, alone with his thoughts, before he had finally been able to sleep peacefully - and found his mind chasing himself around in circles.

It shouldn't have happened. Project Shadow should have stayed an alien, so why didnt he?

The serum had no sort of expiry. It was not something that could be suppressed by mobian DNA strands... so what on Mobius had happened?

Project Shadow was now running off with one of the rebels, as far as he knew any way. Had they been anything to do the unexpected turn of events? Possibly! How could he know without research? Rouge... that was her name, wasn't it? Yet, as far as he recalled there was nothing particularly special about her besides exceedingly high levels of strength - which had nothing to do with what Miles was interested in.

What of her accomplices he had met at the festival? The lemur seemed even less remarkable than the bat. The blue hedgehog...was a mysterious one. Admittedly, after the festival - Miles had felt inclined to search up data records for the blue speedster that Robotnik had referred to as Sonic in his ramblings - yet, no records showed the hedgehog existed.

Now, how was that possible?

Sonic looked ready to crumble and was spewing out nonsense back on the anniversary, so he honestly wasn't expecting him to last all that long as a rebel. Miles would withold judgement though, maybe he had some secret ability - something that interfered with Project Shadow, as the fact that Sonic was nowhere to be found on record was still suspicious.

Finally, Miles had been very surprised to see the echidna guardian with the rebels - but that surprised had turned into an anger seething within. Miles had spoken to his father a long time ago about what was to be done about him. They could have killed him and swiped the emerald for themselves! They could have made him endorse the Empire and help them succeed! And yet...

Robotnik had told him to leave the echidna alone. He had told him to leave Angel Island alone. Even... to leave the Master Emerald.

It was one of father's decisions that did not make sense - was there truly a smart reason behind it? There had to be, right? Of course there was! How could he ever doubt him? The Emperor's most bizzarre plans always had a tendency to work out, how was this going to be any different? Trust the process...

Ugh, but had the guardian somehow interfered with the-? UGH!

Starline's gloating, the rebels interfering - it was all stupid! It was all becoming too much!

Miles stood up from his bed, picked up his laser pistol from the bedside table with a yell - and aimed a shot. He fired at his picture of Starline that hung on the far wall. It was good target practise.

A whole in the picture had been made right where the platypus' head once was.

Bullseye.

The drive had been awkward from that point on, at least - for Rouge it probably was - by the way her gaze quickly shifted around the vehicle, but refused to look directly at him.

Shadow, on the other hand, was quite content to space out with his thoughts.

Starline had warned him that there was a chance he had not been returned fully to normal, but Shadow hadn't expected his alien form to manifest in the way that it did. Honestly, Shadow couldn't describe what that moment had been, he just... lost control.

It wasn't going to happen again. He couldn't falter in his mission... his promise to her.

He missed her.

"Oh goodness me, Shadow. Pushing yourself to your limits again?" Maria spoke, her voice gentle like a songbird in the early morning. Even though Shadow was barely concious, he could just about make out the fact he wasn't even on the ground - rather, hovering above it as he was being carried in someone's arms.

...

Shadow opened his eyes slowly and gradually, allowing light to filter into his vision at a steady pace. For a moment, he couldn't figure out why he was here... where had he been before?

"Ah! You're awake, Shadow." Maria smiled, standing over the bed and placing a glass of water on the table next to it. "Just in time, I thought you could use some hydration when you wake up. When you're ready of course."

"Maria-?" Shadow gasped out, shock setting in. "Was that-? Did you carry me all the way from the training area-?"

"Unfortunately, yes." She said sympathetically.

"But- Maria, you shouldn't exert yourself like that! It's too much for you!" Shadow tried to insist. "You need to be resting, your NIDS has been getting worse and-" Shadow himself wanting to sit upright, but failed to - a wave exhaustion and muscle ache forcing him back down to laying on his back.

"Shadow, I've been fine for the past few days - and trust me, you're much lighter than a human." She giggled lightly. "Don't you think you should be taking your own advice?"

Shadow breathed in slowly. "Is this going to be a lecture...?"

"Only if it needs to be." She had always been reasonable in that regard, never one to nag. "You do understand why you can't keeping doing this, right?"

"How else am I going to get stronger if I can't train without them-?"

"You have your inhibitor rings for a reason, they are to keep you safe and healthy." Maria explained gently despite Shadow's growing frusration.

"But I don't know how else I'll-"

"Do you need to get stronger?" Maria questioned, knowing what Shadow was about to ask before he had even said the words himself. Shadow stared at her in silence, unable to hide his pained expression.

"How else will I please the G.U.N. officers...? They're coming in a week and I'm not making progress in any tests-!" Shadow asked her, truly at a loss for what to do.

"Shadow, oh you poor thing... you have nothing to prove." Maria soothed him, beginning to stroke the top of his head. "You should not push yourself to your breaking point for the sake of pleasing others, it'll only cause you pain." She advised. "If you want to get better at something, or improve yourself - then you need to make sure you're doing it for you - and make sure you treat yourself with kindess, and take things at your own pace."

"I just-" Shadow sighed with difficulty. "I don't want to let Gerald down. It's important we impress them or- Well, I don't know exactly... but I refuse to believe that I'm imagining the tense atmosphere in here these days... I worry G.U.N. might do something bad to Gerald and the other scientists if I'm deemed ineffective-"

"You're not ineffective, Shadow. You're not. You're grandfather's greatest creation... his biggest success." She reminded him, still stroking the ultimate life form to provide him comfort. "They will see that Shadow. They will all see in time... the destiny that awaits you. They'll learn that their approval... has little bearing on fate."

Shadow's eyelids began to droop again, begging for much needed rest.

"You will fix this world, Shadow... by bringing about its end."

"Shit."

Shadow snapped back to his senses. Hearing Rouge speak combined with the fact she was staring out the window with a stunned expression, Shadow looked out as well. They had finally approached the entrance of another city - but the hedgehog also knew they were only passing through on their way to Apotos.

The hedgehog finally managed to see what exactly it was that got Rouge to swear, and narrowed his eyes. Their were images of both himself and the bat illuminated on billboards on the sides of the buildings - announcing them as wanted criminals, for immediate arrest.

Shadow didn't know they'd gotten a picture of him staring directly at a camera to begin with - was the image generated?

"Wow... that's the biggest wanted poster I've ever been on..." Rouge remarked with equal parts horror and fascination.

"You've been on them before?" Shadow rose a brow.

"As the world's most famous thief, yes - quite a lot actually." She bragged with amusement.

Oh, so he was working with literal scum. Good to know. Shadow's burning desire to reach the ARK strengthened tenfold at the revelation. "I see." Shadow remarked stiffly. "Which city are we entering now?"

"Central City." Rouge revealed. "Like Station Square - but slightly more techy, I guess."

"We'll drive through, get out of the city - and then we'll find a place for you to rest up." Shadow said, knowing his mobian partner was undoubtedly getting tired due to her weaker body.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Rouge nodded with a yawn.

First though, they needed to make it through Central City without running into any trouble. For whatever reason, Shadow doubted that they would be having easy travels...

He was preparing for the worst.

Chapter Text

"Yikes...?" Amy repeated with increasing concern. "Why yikes?"

Storm seemed to be searching for the right words to explain what he needed to. He made a quick glance towards Jet, who wasn't being helpful as he moped and stared down at his shoes - leaving Storm on his own.

"It's uh - not really a party, per say- not in a good way-"

Wave returned to the living room, much to Storm's relief - miraculously carrying two coffee mugs in each hand and placing them down on the centre table. Upon closer inspection, one of them was quite clearly a hot chocolate - topped with swirly whipped cream and marshmallows. Jet was the one to reach out for it.

"The ball is being hosted by Breezie the Hedgehog, and Clutch the Opossum - two of the most sleaziest Egg Bosses this Empire has to offer." Wave said, taking a seat again. "How much do you know about them?"

"Nothing other than names." Amy admitted.

"Clutch used to be a criminal ringleader before getting into chao races in his retirement, becoming a world-renowned Chao racer champion. He's still doing the same thing since even after the Empire took over, chao caces stuck because Robotnik likes them - so the same deal as Extreme Gear racing, really. But, of course, he still helps the Empire with other shit - just like any other Egg Boss." Wave explained, stirring her coffee. "And Breezie... well, she's kind of an enigma. She's the head of media propaganda. No one really knows where she came from though - there's a popular conspiracy she might secretly be a robot. Which, in today's society, more plausible than you think."

"And... I'm assuming them hosting this ball is a problem?" Amy spoke up hesitantly, not really wanting to hear further bad news - despite knowing there was no way to avoid it.

"Yep, there's no real reason behind this party other than to self-indulge... and weed out some traitors."

Amy's complexion grew pale as Wave went on. "You know how it'll be. They'll put your arms around you, perhaps get you a little tipsy-" She said, demonstrating as she wrapped her arm over Jet's shoulders and got closer. He scowled at the gesture, then rolled his eyes - giving up and allowing him to be used for his friend to demonstrate her point.

"They get friendly with you, and then they start dropping in little phrases like 'Oh, remember when we could do that thing before the Empire? Don't you miss how things were sometimes?' " The swallow put on a sickly sweet tone as she asked her fake questions. "Then you start getting comfortable. You start thinking they're just like you - you start admitting all the things you don't like... all the things you've done." Her voice lowered. "Then you find out... they've recorded your every word. They get their hands on you... And if you're lucky, you'll never be seen again. If you're unlucky - you'll be turned into a metal shell of your former self."

When the 'lucky' option was death, the true gravitas of Amy's situation hit her like freight train. She hugged herself as a shiver shot up through her body, a sudden numbness shuddered through her core.

"Or the third option-" With all the pauses, it was as though Wave was purposefully being dramatic. "- they'll fix you."

"F-fix...?"

"Granted, we don't know all the details but-" Wave held her hand out in front of Jet. After grumbling, Jet would produce a leaflet - shoving it in the swallow's hand. Wave then passed it on to Amy so the hedgehog could look for herself. Upon reading it, the contents confused her.

WELCOME TO ROBOTNIKLAND!

Have you been feeling sad or restless lately? Has life in the glorious Robotnik Empire not been to your liking?

Then we have the solution for you!

Come visit ROBOTNIKLAND! A world of imagination, fun, and games to turn that frown upside down!

You will leave as a much happier, fulfilled individual :)

Amy's grip tightened on the leaflet after reading the last line - but all of it was still perplexing. "I don't get it... all these pictures, this is a theme park?" The rollercoasters and ferris wheels depicted were bright and colourful, decorated with lights. They even had pictures of some delicious meals that she supposed were served there.

"That's what he wants you to think." Wave said with a glare. "But do you seriously think this is what it seems? As it's a new thing, we don't know much about it but, there was someone who recently stayed there for some time... they came back as an entirely new person."

"What do you mean by that?" Amy immediately questioned.

"Well, before they were like us - hating the Empire, but going along with things to survive. One day they were taken to Robotnikland... they were gone for weeks. Then they suddenly returned-"

"They were spouting about how great the Empire was with the blankest fucking look in their eyes..." Jet spoke bitterly as he recounted the memory. "Any of their old personality? Just... gone. They became this soulless, always smiling freak-"

"Never questioning orders." Wave added on, as Storm somberly nodded in agreement.

The hedgehog's eyes widened at this new information - just what exactly was this 'Robotnikland', obviously it was more horrifying than the leaflet cared to imply. "Oh gosh..." Her voice quivered as she placed a hand over her heart. "That's awful..."

"That's the place awaiting us if we're stupid enough to reveal our true thoughts on the Empire." Wave told her bluntly. "Which is why Jet should cool off about being vocal against the Empire!"

"Tch." Jet scoffed, taking another sip of hot cocoa.

"I don't know how you do it all the time, Jet. You always talk about how much you hate the Empire and Robotnik yet no one bats an eye..." Amy said, thinking deeply.

"Jet's worked up being a persona of being an asshole. well - actually it's not much of a persona - it's just how he is-" Wave began to explain, and Jet didn't even attempt to deny it. "When Jet mouths off everyone, people just think it's a part of his act and stage presence - so no one's done anything about it. But that doesn't mean that there will never be people questioning it!" She turned her attention to Jet, frowning.

"I'm going to get away with saying whatever the hell I want until it kills me." He told her simply.

"Yeah! Don't question the boss!" Storm tagged on.

Wave let out a frustrated growl, akin to the sound a dog makes. "Ugh, these boys never listen to me!" She huffed, setting down her coffee so she could fold her arms dramatically. "I need to get away from these two - Amy, you picked out a dress for the ball yet?"

"Um, no - actually." Amy shook her head.

"Cool, gives us an excuse to head out-"

"Trying to go clothes shopping without me?" Jet narrowed his eyes. "Tough luck. I need to buy new shoes."

"And I'm going wherever the boss goes!" Storm announced, as though it wasn't already obvious.

"Uuuuuugh..." Wave groaned, rolling her eyes so hard they almost went into the back of her skull. "Fine, whatever. Tag along. Just don't be annoying about it."

The world around her was moving at such a fast pace. She had started the day alone in Empire City, wandering aimlessly - sticking out like a needle in a haystack, but now she found herself ready to go shopping with new friends. Well, friends... were they friends? Jet only pulled her into their apartment so he could yell at her so... probably not, but - perhaps they could be acquaintances at the very least.

Most importantly of all, it was... comforting to be surrounded by people in a very similar predicament to her own - people who actually understood. Perhaps she wasn't so crazy after all.

Behind them was a fleet of airships, rocketing towards the plane at high speeds - each individual vehicle was exactly the shape of their dingy aircraft, but much more high tech and proected with metal hulls.

"Hoo boy... I don't know how we begin to tackle this. I can't exactly slap entire aircrafts out of the sky with my tail! Not like the buzzbombers!" Tangle told the two boys worriedly.

"Just... give me a sec-" Sonic was debating on the right plan, but his brain was sorely lacking in any concrete ideas.

"Sonic! They're firing at us!" Knuckles called at him.

"Damn it!" Sonic cursed, knowing the chances of them being hit were disturbingly high. Tails had always been better at this, he could manouver the plane around a barrage of projectiles. Sonic did not have those same skills himself.

Even still, he had no choice but to get this right. He could do this, just... he had to remember what his little buddy used to do.

"Make sure you're secure Tangle!" Sonic warned her ahead of time. With alarm written all over her face, she fumbled over what to do before settling with gripping onto the plane's wing with her tail as a method to anchor herself.

It served her well as Sonic was forced to swerve the plane to the left to avoid a missile strike. Both the echidna and lemur seemed startled by the sudden movement.

Little did they know it was about to become so much worse.

Missiles began to shoot towards them rapidly, and in large droves. It was lucky that Sonic was as fast as he was, able to react as soon as he caught sight of the missiles in the mirror. He jerked the steering wheel without a second thought, often twisting the plane far more dramatically than needed.

"OH- GOSH-!" Tangle exclaimed unhelpfully, but who could blame her as she was being flung around, clinging onto the plane for dear life with her tail?

Sonic's eyes widened, heart dropping as he saw another larger barrage headed their way at seemingly faster speeds.

"Sorry in advance guys-!" He fumbled over the controls, and before his brain could even catch up with his movements - the plane made many consecutive rotations, and then had abruptly turned upside down.

Tangle and Knuckles were screaming loudly - the latter of which miracously reaching the same pitch as the former.

The lemur was dangling upside down as her tail still clung to the plane. "THIS WAS NOT WHAT I WAS EXPECTING-"

"Look, I'm sorry, I'm sorry-!" He repeated apolegetically, hastily trying to get control of the plane again - but now in the upside down state, the plane was no longer steering in the direction he wanted it to.

"WHAT YOU APOLOGISING FOR? THIS IS SO MUCH FUN!" Tangle squealed, giddy,

"Wait - what?!" Sonic exclaimed. Maybe if he wasn't in the driver's seat, he'd be enjoying the thrills. However, knowing that his amateur piloting skills were the only thing keeping them alive at this moment, was making things infinitely more stressful. His heart pounded faster than it would after a high speed run across the continent.

In complete contrast to Tangle, Knuckles was not having a good time. Sonic's ears flicked upward as he picked up that Knuckles was muttering to himself under his breath in a distinctively different language, hands clasped in front of his chest.

Was he... praying? Yeah, honestly he couldn't blame him.

Especially as the plane's wing was struck.

Thankfully, it was an attack Tangle was spared from as she was on the other side - but it resulted in one half of the plane being absolutely demolished.

They were hurtling down, spiralling out of control.

Sonic panicked, barelling down towards the ground - he had a clear view of what awaited below. They were heading right towards a road filled with speedy cars. No shot this was going to be a soft landing... Sonic closed his eyes and held out his hands, powerless - all he could do was brace for impact.

To the hedgehog's surprise, his feet suddenly made gentle contact with the ground.

He opened his eyes, scanning the immediate area around him - he saw Tangle and Knuckles were fine too. The echidna's eyes were glowing green, but they returned to their purple hue almost instantly. Sonic was able to piece together what had happened - Knuckles had warped them to safety at the last minute before they became mobian pancakes on the ground below.

Where were they now? A rooftop, it seemed.

They suddenly heard a loud crash, and the three ran up to the edge so they could survey the scene below. The remains of their plane had fallen down in the middle of the road, uttely demolishing cars in the process and leaving significant cracks in the concrete.

"Darn it..." Tangle placed her hands on her hip. "And we just got that plane too!"

"There aren't... there aren't people in those cars... right?" Sonic whispered worriedly.

"Nah don't worry, only Egg Pawns."

Sonic could have collapsed with relief, but he held onto his composure.

"Wasn't that awesome though?! You were all like 'nyoom nyoom!'" She mimicked the gestures of steering the plane, and Sonic sighed tiredly.

"We very almost died, Tangle..." Sonic pointed out. "We're very lucky-"

What had happened to him lately? Typically, he'd be one to share in Tangle's enthusiasm - cheer other's up by proclaiming he enjoyed the adrenaline rush, despite the setbacks. All he felt now was depleted.

"I never want to do that again." Knuckles said suddenly, holding his hands out.

"Hate to be that gal, but we still need a plane to travel places on our search. This is far from the last of it..." Tangle reminded him.

The echidna groaned loudly.

"Hey, come on-" She tried soothing him, keeping her smile optimistic. "We just have to figure out a way that we can avoid being detected next time! That way we can have a smooth journey free from missiles!"

"Easier said than done..." Knuckles rightfully pointed out.

"Those airships are heading the other way now." Sonic remarked in the middle of their exchange, shielding his eyes from the setting evening sun - staring out at their old foes that were now backing away.

"Well, they struck the plane down. That was their objective, right?" Tangle said, before a mischievous grin crossed her face as she rubbed her hands together. "Little did they know that we know how to cheat death!"

Knuckles rose a brow. "Hmph. You're welcome-"

Both the hedgehog and lemur proceeded to thank him profusely for the save, and the echidna's frown turned into a small smile as his contributions were achknowledged.

"On an even better note though..." Tangle began. "You two realised where we even are?"

Sonic had found the area vaguely familiar - even with the absence of people on the streets and buildings that held no light within them. "Central City...?" Sonic slowly questioned to clarify,

"Bingo-bongo!" She confirmed, giving him a finger gun.

"Uhhh, guys?" Knuckles spoke up. "You seeing this?"

The other two turned to face the direction Knuckles was pointing at. Sonic almost stepped backwards in his shock.

"Rouge...?" Tangle gasped out. All their eyes were fixed upon a holographic billboard displaying an image of their former teammate. She was staring into the camera with a dispassionate expression, a plain white background behind her. The text below her face read:

WANTED!

ROBOTNIK EMPIRE TRAITOR ROUGE THE BAT

CRIMES: THEFT, SMUGGLING, EXTORTION, VIOLENCE, MURDER, TREASON, ATTEMPTED REGICIDE

REWARD T.B.D.

"Has this- has there always been billboards of her?" Tangle asked, rubbing the top of her head. Sonic wished he could answer the question, but he was just as clueless. "And where did this photo even come from-?" She cut herself off as she shuddered. "Yeesh, AI generated images are getting too good..."

Knuckles had his arms folded, contemplating something but choosing to keep his thoughts to himself.

Just where was Rouge now? Was she okay? A regretful pit sunk in his stomach, damnit - he should have fought harder to keep her on his side. Now, she was likely alone - with no safe haven to retreat to in the night. She had been hung out to dry, and sure - she had been... difficult, but that was no excuse not to care for her wellbeing.

"She- She can handle herself, she's strong - she's fine! I know she's fine-" Tangle sounded like she was desperately trying to convince herself.

While Sonic debated if it was worth even saying anything, the image changed to something new entirely - and this time, Sonic did actually step backwards - stunned.

WANTED!

RUNAWAY SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG

REWARD T.B.D.

"Shadow the...?" Tangle's voice trailed off. "I know I don't know him but... he looks familiar all the same, somehow. Ugh, where am I recognising him from-?" She rubbed her temples.

"I'm not sure if I'm being crazy here, but he reminds me a lot of that monster we encountered at the festival." Knuckles said thoughtfully. "Like - those spines, black and red - in the same shape and style they were on the scaly creature."

"Yeah!" Tangle quickly agreed. "That photo is what you'd get if you took that monster and turned him into a hedgehog!" Sonic listened as his friends put together the pieces of information to come to the conclusion he already knew.

How could this be? Shadow had been clearly under the Empire's control not long ago - yet here he was wanted by them? Declared to be a runaway, back to his original state? Sonic found himself split in two - on one hand, he was inwardly quite thrilled that Shadow had somehow broken away from the Empire.

On the other hand, his heart swelled with dread. Shadow was free, and that could only mean one thing.

...

"It all starts with this... a jewel containing the ultimate power."

...

Sonic blinked rapidly as memories flashed by, Shadow's voice lingering like an echo. No, damnit! No! Shadow was back to how was before. He was hateful, revenge driven, guided by falsified memories.

The hedgehog had learned since then - that Shadow would prove himself to be so much better than that.

Everything Shadow had fought for, to improve - to do his utter best for the people of the world - those motivations had dissolved in this timeline. In recent memory - Shadow had finally figured out who he wanted to be, and what path he wanted to follow.

Yet, here he was. Eggman had stripped all that progress away - tearing Shadow down to the man he was before.

Sonic clenched his fists.

"Also, in a weird way - he kinda looks like you." Tangle pointed out, although it fell on Sonic's deaf ears.

"If this hedgehog here was that monster, how did he go from that thing to this?" Knuckles questioned, rubbing his chin. "It doesn't make sense. And don't you think the text is kind of vague? It's just labelling him as a runaway - compared to Rouge's that listed off all her crimes..." The echidna had a fair point.

"Then... I guess he is how they've described him. Whatever turned him into a monster must have worn off or something, and then he ran from the Empire - so now they want him back!" It clicked for Tangle. "Maybe we should try to find him before Empire law enforcement does? He might want to join our side!"

"It's not so simple." Sonic said. They both turned to him.

"Well, if he doesn't like the Empire as much as us then surely-"

"No-" Sonic cut off the lemur. "It's... look, it's complicated-" Sonic could easily explain Shadow's true intentions, but he held off from doing so - for now. He didn't want to immediately make them scared of Shadow and antagonise him. Perhaps, there would be a way to calm him down before things got too out of hand with his revenge plot.

But... how was he to approach this? Could Sonic really preach hard enough to make Shadow switch sides? Sonic hadn't been the once to invoke Shadow's heel turn before, Amy had been - to this day, he didn't know what Amy had said to him, it wasn't his business to pry. But right now, Sonic wished he had actually asked her.

"Okay..." Tangle said, sort of warily as she watched Sonic. "Guess we should... get around this city looking for emeralds, then. Like we planned... sensing any magical connections, Red Riot?" She asked Knuckles as she began to walk forward.

"Not right now..." Knuckles replied. "But it wouldn't hurt to keep rooftop hopping until I perhaps come across an energy signature - keeps us out of the way the things below too."

"Right you are!" Tangle gave a thumbs up. "Time to get this show on the road!"

Rouge stared at the rear view mirror, rubbing her eyes at first to make sure what she saw was actually real and not a result of her sleep deprived brain.

Oh yep, it was real alright. A plane had suddenly crashed down into the road behind them, narrowly missing the duo in the car. Eerily, them - as well as all the other cars - continued to drive as normal as if such a major accident had never even occured. The cars in that lane just made their way to differet ones - not a care in the world.

She had to remind herself that there were only Egg Pawns driving the vehicles on the road.

Shadow seemed to have noticed the events behind them as well, but his face was as dispassionate as ever as he didn't even comment on it.

Rouge opened her mouth, and shut it again - something she had been doing a lot on that car journey.

Shadow seemed to have noticed her attempt at speaking. "What happened there hardly matters to us." Shadow told her. "All we need to do is park up and get you situated with food."

All Shadow was doing was the bear minimum of looking out for her - yet she found herself gazing at him, warmed by the fact he was looking out for her needs. Damnit, infatuation was such a stupid emotion - her heart refused to listen to her brain.

"I believe we're almost at the end of this part of our trip." Rouge said, pointing out the window. "There's the multi-storey car park where all the vehicles are gonna go to load off their goods. Except, we're gonna be the only ones not doing that."

"We'll park, I'll warp us out of the way before our car is invesitgated." He said to her.

"Works for me."

...

Things went swiftly, without error. Shadow parked up in the available space that he assumed was left open for them, as the other cars naturally headed to their other spaces. Rouge saw how the Egg Pawns all got out of their cars in unison and walked to the boot of the car, opening it up and carrying out a box that was inside. Then, they would all march in the same direction towards an elevator with perfect synchronisation.

It was all the same, all disturbingly efficient.

Rouge blinked, and suddenly the two of them were out of the car, hiding themselves behind a pillar. They peeked out and saw a larger Egg Pawn make their way to the car they had just been sat in, and opening the door.

The robot stared at the inside of the vehicle for a long time, before suddenly closing the door and heading back to follow their mechanical bretherin into the elevators.

"Tch." Shadow scoffed. They waited it out until there was nothing but the empty car park, and themselves. Shadow walked slowly towards the edge of the parking storey. Instead of the elevator, he was going to head down the way they were much more unlikely to encounter a robot.

Shadow jumped off the edge, activated his rocket shoes so that he then hovered down onto the street below. Rouge followed, able to fly down and land beside him.

"Most optimal place for sustenance?" Shadow asked.

"You speak so robotically sometimes..." Rouge commented before actually answering. "All we need to do is find the nearest warehouse and ravage, it's bound to have something edible."

"Understood."

Instinctively, both had stuck to walking into the darker shadows and quieter, smaller lanes. They were both wanted criminals - who knows what kind of people were out there and trying to hunt them down.

Even so, she didn't want their walk to pass by in complete silence. "You know... those rocket boots of yours are cool as shit." She admitted to him with admiration. "Don't think I've seen anything like them - they're also stylish too which is a great bonus-" She waited for how he'd react to her compliment expectedly.

"I see."

I see... I see? Jeeze, they'd already established he wasn't much of a talker but hoo boy - even holding very slight small talk was difficult. "Sooo... where'd you get them?"

"They were made for me."

"Makes sense, makes sense..." Rouge sighed. Shadow clearly had no story to share based on his minimal response. She did like the quieter types, but even those people could carry a conversation at least a little - this hedgehog was a different breed. Perhaps she needed a new tactic.

"Shame we had to meet when the world is a shithole, I would have loved to take you out to a nice place for dinner." Could her flirting have been more obvious?

Shadow's face was as neutral as ever. "Hm."

Hm? Hm? Hm? He wasn't even flustered in the slightest! It was though he had barely even heard her, was he aware of just how many other men would have loved to hear those words coming from her mouth? There was no way that he was that oblivious!

He was playing hard to get, and there was something about this frustration... something she loved. It was such a unique experience compared to what she was used to. She wondered what would get him to crack, if anything at all.

"I'll scout ahead for a warehouse. Try not to stray too far as I can find you again." Shadow said, already skating away before she could even say anything.

What an enigma...

"Espiooooo..." Charmy began.

"No."

"You didn't even know what I was going to ask!"

"You're very predictable, Charmy." Espio responded calmly, looking up from his book and gazing down at the bee.

"No I'm not!" He quickly defended himself with a pout.

"The answer is still no. You're not coming on missions with us." The chameleon stood his ground.

"Ugh, you're no fun! I thought you were the cool one!" Charmy folded his arms, huffing as he looked away.

Espio still shook his head. "The work we do is far too gruesome for a young boy like you. The Empire is a dangerous place. I've lost count of how many times Vector has explained this to you."

Defeated, Charmy plopped himseld down on the floor and sulked. "Stupid..."

"It's not."

"I can handle it you know! I'm 9 years old!" Charmy pointed out.

"Those two sentences juxtapose."

The bee fell silent temporarily. "I... don't know what that means- but come on, pleeease-"

Espio sighed and set the book down on the crate he was sat on. "Charmy, I was trained to be a warrior from a very young age - I have been fighting for most of my life - yet-" He pointed to the eyepatch covering where his eye used to be. "Look what happened to me."

It was hard to rebuff or say anything to that, Charmy fiddled with his hands as Espio continued. "Even with all my experience, I was gravely injured. My vision will never be the same again. If someone as skilled as me ended up like this... what do you think will happen to you?"

The chameleon laid it out bluntly, as he often did. Charmy didn't try to argue his point further, it was just... ugh!

"I understand it is hard to sit on the sidelines when you want to help out those you care about. I was out of comission after my injury for a while, Vector insisted it so. I didn't much appreciate all the rest at the time, but I understand now that the rest and slowly working my way back up was beneficial in helping me heal." Espio was practical with his explanation, something Charmy could at least have a little appreciation for.

"Right..."

"Look what I found!" Vector announced as he suddenly entered the room, holding up what appeared to be a comic book. "Thought we could read it together~!"

"A comic? Really?" Charmy huffed. "I'm 9 years old, not a baby! I don't read baby books and I definitely don't need them read to me!"

Despite the bee's dismissals, Vector smirked. "You're telling me you don't want to know what happened to Laserboy and Invisigirl at the end of the sludge monster arc?" Vector asked him.

Charmy gasped. "What?! You found the finale issue?! Aw man, this is so cool. Hell yeah, we've gotta read it now!" All attempts of trying to be grown up flew out of the window. When Charmy was younger, Espio and Vector read these books to him before bed - even putting on different voices for each character. Those nights were some of his favourite memories - nightss where both Espio and Vector were there together, and they finally got to spend some time together as a trio.

Espio and Vector exchanged grins - Charmy didn't care if they considered it a victory over him - at the end of the day, he just wanted to know how this story ended.

"Clear out!" Jet announced, the bell above the door ringing as they made their entrance. "Out peasants! This boutique is reserved!"

The four of them stood out of the way as all the shoppers darted out of the doors in a large drove. Amy couldn't quite fathom the sight before her - imagine having so much power and status that you could just... get everyone to listen to you like that.

"I don't usually wear dresses..." Wave admitted. "But I wanted to go a little more classy and presentable - if Jet is gonna be a pain all night, Storm's gonna follow... so one of us needs to be a little professional." She said, mostly to Amy. "I don't even know the colour I want to be honest."

"Um, yellow compiments your purple feathers." Amy suggested softly.

"Yellow? Gross - I'll look like the fucking sun." Clearly, her feedback wasn't appreciated. "I'll just try on whatever I feel like."

Jet and Storm had wandered off into different sections of the store, Jet was examining the heel section quite closely - and Amy wondered if it was just boredom, or if he was actually considering purchasing some. Storm wasn't looking at anything in particular, instead choosing to wander aimlessly through the isles.

There was only one shopkeeper with them in the store, but that was more than enough.

As Wave went on to peer at the various garments, Amy settled on her dress quite quickly. It was red - simple, slightly frilly - all she needed. Long ago, before the Empire took over, she would have been over the moon in a boutique like this - trying on so many dresses and accessories. She couldn't bring herself to indulge like this now, not after all she's done. She... quite frankly, she didn't deserve all these nice things.

Before Amy knew it, Wave had come out of the fitting room with a poofy black dress with a lacy torso. She was ready to compliment the look until Jet called out. "You look like a goth!"

"Point taken." Wave groaned, ready to pick out another.

The cycle repeated several times, the swallow came out wearing a new dress - and Jet always had some snappy remark to critque it. Either it was too long, too short, out of style, or simply just ugly - it seemed as though nothing would please him, despite being at it all day.

Then, Wave came out in the winning piece. It was simplistic - just a white, form fitted gown with long sleeves. It was an awfully good colour choice for her. "Yep, that's the one." Jet confirmed, and Amy smiled knowing they wouldn't be stuck in the boutique for another hour.

"Cool." Wave grinned, then looked towards Amy. "You not gonna try yours on?"

"Hm?" She held it up. "Oh, no - it's fine, I know it will fit me." She assured the swallow.

Wave stared at her briefly, as did Jet - and then the two birds exchanged a look between them. One of confusion - a look of pity akin to the expression one gives a child, all condescending.

"Whatever." Wave shrugged. "Your loss I guess, you do what you feel like."

All Amy wanted to do was leave. Leave the boutique, leave the city - leave the stupid Empire... but there was nowhere to run.

"That's... ominous." Silver said.

Metal Sonic, having scouted ahead, finally found something new that wasn't a landscape of snow. Instead, what lied before the trio was a massive, gaping black hole in the ground.

"What are its depths?" Tikal questioned in wonder, removing her golden headband. "We shall listen out for when this makes a sound." She dropped her jewelry into the hole.

They waited and listened for the headband to finally hit the ground - but no such sound came.

A little longer perhaps? They waited longer.

Nothing.

"Huh-" Silver said uneasily. "Yeah, that's very weird - I'm not sure if it's wise to do anything with this-"

"Then I suppose the safest path forward is to walk around the darkness of mysteries before us." Tikal said with a nod.

When Metal Sonic let out a series of broken beeps and sound effects, the two mobians couldn't tell whether he was agreeing or disagreeing with their decision. It had to be agreement, right? It was the most logical option after all. Silver just gave a nod to the robot before turning back to Tikal.

"Sorry about your headband." Silver told her apologetically.

"It is quite alright. I've wanted to vanquish it from my sight for a while." She spoke bitterly. Silver wondered if at first she was being sarcastic - but it was genuine, running deeper than a quip.

"Oh... you didn't like it?" Silver asked her hesitantly.

"It was a gift... from someone who means little to me now. We were never able to fix things..." She recounted, seemingly flinching at some painful memories she was being reminded of. Silver placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I uh- sorry, I didn't mean to get you angry or hurt." He assured her.

"I am fine." She told him. "Our relationship has remained turbulent for thousands of years."

"Sounds like a lot..." Silver sighed, glancing back at the hole.

His ears perked up as Tikal spoke again. "Metal...?"

"AAAAH-!" Silver abruptly began screaming as he was shoved off balance, plummeting towards the black abyss.

"SILVER!" He heard Tikal call after him. "METAL, WHAT ARE YOU-? WOAH-!"

As he fell deeper and deeper, the hedgehog's conciousness began to sip away.

"You still got the emerald on you?" Knuckles asked.

"Of course." Sonic replied quickly, knowing anything less than a direct response would set off Knuckles' paranoia to some capacity. The hedgehog had admittedly been a little hesitant about taking the emerald with them - but Knuckles had insisted that he didn't want to leave any more previous gems on the island with the others than he had to. That, and using chaos emeralds was a good way to detect other ones in nearby areas. Sonic had went along with it, knowing he had to be careful.

It was oddly liberating to walk alone on the rooftops, just as a trio and nothing more - looking down upon the bare roads and buildings without an Egg Pawn in sight to watch them.

"I'm guessing that there's been no kind of signal yet." Tangle said, doing a twirl as she wandered forward.

"Nope." Knuckles said.

"This emerald ain't giving me any signs either." Sonic told her.

"Ah, well - at least we're sightseeing!" She offered up.

"You say that like there's something interesting to look at." He smiled cheekily at the lemur. "Sure there is! We can play... 'I spy' to pass the time! I spy with my little eye... something beginning with b!"

"Building?" Both the hedgehog and the echidna said in unison.

"Oh, huh - yeah that's correct!" Tangle smiled. "Knuckles? You have a go!"

The echidna had picked up on the rules quickly, and decided to play along. "I spy with my little eye... something beginning with c."

"Cloud?" Sonic and Tangle asked in unison.

"Correct."

"Huh... yeah, I guess there really aren't many things around to pick from, huh?" Tangle admitted defeat.

Sonic looked around his surroundings regardless, still trying to wrap his brain around the empty and bleak Central City, as well as the billboard posters of his former friends. It was struggle to get them out of his head, even if he hadn't been the closest with Team Dark - he still cared for them, and would fight for them no matter what. He wondered what Omega was doing in this timeline... if he even existed at all. What a horrifying thought to think otherwise.

Sonic's aimless glances lead him to peering down on the street below, and he abruptly paused.

Was that... Shadow?

By all accounts, it looked like him - he could recognise those black and red stipes anywhere. The other hedgehog began to suddenly move, dashing off at a high speed. If Sonic wanted to reach the hedgehog, he had no other choice but to move now. Sonic needed to know what was what, how was Shadow going about his plan now? Could he try and stop it here and now?

"You two... wait here. I need to do something-" Sonic told his two friends, suddenly sprinting away - leaving the two of them startled and bewildered, staring after him in shock.

...

"Shadow!" Sonic finally called to him once he caught up.

The black hedgehog halted in his tracks, and slowly turned around. He didn't utter a word, but his icy stare chilled the hedgehog's spine. Shadow had always been naturally intimidating, but this... Sonic hadn't seen that look in his eyes for a long, long time. He had hoped he'd never have to see it again.

"Hey... Shadow... I-" Sonic suddenly found himself speechless.

Shadow's eyes narrowed, and there was an agonizing pause.

"You sound... as though we've met before."

Chapter Text

"You sound... as though we've met before."

Sonic found himself at a loss for words, realising quickly that he should have come up with some sort of plan before dashing ahead towards a confrontation.

Where did he go from here?

"Well, you see - we kind of have, uh-" Sonic responded to Shadow, eyes widening slightly as he realised nothing had caused time to reverse just then. He decided to push it. "It's an alternate timeline kind of deal-"

Purple smoke swelled the area. Of course.

"You sound... as though we've met before."

What was he supposed to say to that now? Could he pin this back on him somehow? "I dunno, you tell me - have we met?" Sonic said, with an undeniable sassy edge - the side of himself that was so easily provoked when Shadow was in proximity.

Shadow seemed to genuinely contemplate, his gaze drifting away as he lost himself in his thoughts. Sonic tapped his foot waiting for the other hedgehog to speak.

"I admit my memories falter sometimes... they're not all clear. More... foggy, faded. I am able to recall our meeting at the festival, at the very least. Yet... you sound as though there's more familiarity between us..." The black hedgehog looked like he was talking to himself more than the hedgehog in front of him. "But I can't have known you. You're much too young."

"Heh, compared to an old grandpa like you I certainly a-" Sonic cut himself off quickly, almost choking. He'd forgotten who he was talking to now - not the grumpy rival he had slowly befriended over time... or at least managed to find common ground with. No, Shadow didn't even know his name here. That hedgehog had one goal, one of utter destruction.

As usual, Shadow gave nothing away with his expression. "My patience is wearing thin." He informed him flatly. "For what reason are you speaking to me?"

Did he have anything to lose at this point? Should he just come out with it? Sonic straightened out his expression, meeting Shadow at eye level. "I know what you're trying to do." Sonic spoke calmly. "You're trying to find the Chaos Emeralds to activate the Eclipse Cannon at the Space Colony ARK - once that happens, you're going to trigger a secret doomsday program that will cause the ARK to hurtle down towards the planet - destroying the world."

For someone who had just had his entire plans laid bare, he remained remarkably apathetic. "You have one more chance to get to your point." The hedgehog said, beginning to slowly make his way closer to the other, gradually closing the gap between them.

"I'm going to stop you." Sonic said. "I want to stop this fight before it even begins - we don't need to be at odds Shadow, all you've gotta do is listen to me. I know this isn't really what you want-"

"Your words are foolish." Shadow interrupted, now standing right in front of Sonic - causing the blue hedgehogs fur to prickle. "You've come declaring you'll put an end to my goals, while simultaneously bearing an emerald that I won't hesitate to cut you down for."

Shit, the Chaos Emerald! Sonic did have that on his person, and Shadow could sense it thanks to his own powers. How had he not even thought about this? "Shadow-" Sonic began, a little helplessly - starting to doubt his position and actions thus far. "Please listen to me, you're a good guy - you're not the one who wants this! Your memories aren-!"

Sonic gasped as the tip of a chaos spear hovered in front of his neck. He could feel a sting against his skin each time the energy crackled. A spark of fury had been ignited within Shadow's eyes as he was pointing his spear at him, an inch from taking his life. His voice was dangerously soft when he spoke again. "Do not try to tell me what I do, and what I don't want."

"C-come on, man-" Sonic surprised himself when his voice came out as a quiver. "This isn't you..."

"What, or who, I am matters little." Shadow glared. "I am fulfilling a promise... So, if you're done rambling, I'm giving you a choice - relinquish your Chaos Emerald to me, and cling to the rest of your pitiful life you have left." A pause. "Or you can fight me - and I will remove your head from your shoulders and take the emerald myself."

"Or you can listen to me!" Sonic suddenly raised his voice, trying to reach the hedgehog he knew was inside - the hero, the one that would do anything it took to protect the world...

Sonic's limbs were shaking, but he broke out into a grin.

The most powerful chaos control he had ever performed - it saved the world. They did it! They stopped the ARK... The world was safe!

It was almost hard to believe, almost. Sonic stared in awe at the gap in space where the station had once been - gone, finally gone - away where it wouldn't harm anyone again. His friends... oh, he couldn't wait to see them! They were fine. Everyone was fine!

"We did it!" Sonic beamed, unable to contain his enthusiasm as he turned to his new companion.

"... Shadow?"

The glow surrounding the hedgehog was quickly fading, as was his pale golden hue. His breaths came out ragged, and he could no longer keep himself afloat.

He began to fall.

All remains of his super form was dissolved, and Shadow was nothing more than a limp body descending down towards the planet below. Sonic had never seen him look so small.

"Shadow!" Sonic cried out, flying down in pursuit of his partner at a relentless speed to catch up to him.

He got to a point where he was close enough to hear Shadow mumble to himself, his voice carrying through the stillness of space. Each word grew quieter, more feeble than the last.

"Maria... this is what you wanted, right? This is my promise I made to you..."

"SHADOW!" Sonic called to him again at the top of his lungs.

Shadow closed his eyes.

Sonic could feel the power of his own form beginning to slip away, if he were to try to continue reaching Shadow now - would they even make it out? There wasn't... there wasn't enough left in him. No! He couldn't just leave him-! Sonic pushed himself harder, he needed to go faster! He wasn't going to let things end like this!

Against his better judgement, Sonic suddenly stopped.

Shadow was smiling.

It was sincere, lacking in his typical smugness or scorn. It was gentle - yet at the same time, shone brighter than any star could.

It was the face of man... who'd finally found peace.

Before Sonic knew it, Shadow had fallen so far that he was no longer in Sonic's sight. The hedgehog straightened himself up, hovering in the dark, empty expanse. Uselessly, Sonic reached out his hand - as if hoping that somehow, miraculously, Shadow would grab onto it.

But Shadow was long gone.

Sonic grimaced painfully, his heart weighing down on his chest like a heavy stone. He didn't allow any tears to fall, clinging onto his composure - allowing his distress to build, but not release. There would be time for that - after everything had settled, once his friends were back home and safe. He needed to get back before his form-

Two objects - gold and glittering - floated down above the hedgehog's head. Sonic reached up and grabbed hold of them, biting his trembling lip as he now finding himself gazing upon Shadow's rings.

He sighed, and then slowly grinned.

"Thank you... Faker..."

"How do I get through to you?!" Sonic shuddered at both the memories, and the menacing face before him.

Shadow closed his eyes, letting out a small huff. "I see you're insistent on being idiotic. Very well-!" Shadow thrust his spear forward, intending to pierce through Sonic's neck.

Sonic dashed behind Shadow - kicking the hedgehog in the back, surprising the other with his speed. At least Shadow was no wild beast this time, his moves would be a little easier to predict.

The black hedgehog quickly turned and sent a brutal punch at Sonic's face. The hero stumbled backwards slightly, the metallic taste of blood lingering in his mouth - but no way he was going down like last time.

Sonic jumped up and tried to drop kick Shadow in the head, but the ultimate life form's reflexes allowed him to grab hold of Sonic's legs mid air and toss the hedgehog to the side - causing Sonic to crash into a nearby wall and splutter out a cough.

A chaos spear was thrown at him when he was vulnerable, but miraculously he recovered - pressing his hands against the ball and swinging his body around to avoid the projectile. Sonic landed back down on the ground and glared desperately at this opponent.

"Shadow, your memories aren't real! Gerald made-! Ugh-!" Sonic grunted as Shadow suddenly warped right in front of him and delivered an upper cut. Sonic gritted his teeth, refusing to let Shadow get the upperhand - thus sent a flurry of punches at Shadow's chest.

He could hear a small gasp of pain from the other hedgehog, but then he decided to teleport again onto a rooftop.

"I don't have time for your games!" Shadow spat.

Sonic, getting frustrated, temporarily forgot what he had approached Shadow for in the first place. "What's the matter?" Sonic asked him smugly. "Mad that the ultimate life form is getting bested?"

It was so easy to fall back into bad habits.

"Did he- did he just-" Tangle was pointing in the direction Sonic ran off in, blinking rapidly. "Ayo, he just ran off!" She exclaimed as it finally clicked. "Should we be worried...? I mean, he told us to just... wait here- huh."

Inexplicably, Tangle reached into the fluff on her chest - and then pulled out a white stick of sorts that Knuckles couldn't put a name to.

"Good thing I always have my emergency chalk!" Tangle announced brightly. "What game do you wanna play? Hopscotch? Tic-tac-toe?"

Knuckles shook his head, and began walking away. "No- No time for that, we've got to find Sonic."

She began walking up to him with a concerned expression "But he told us to-"

"I know what he said." Knuckles emphasized that last part with a little frustration, his eyes closed. "But he's currently alone with a Chaos Emerald, if someone realises that - they're going to jump on him. I'd rather we be there too when it happens so Sonic doesn't face a horde on his own."

"Fair points taken!" Tangle agreed, bounding the rest of the distance so that they were now side by side - and they picked up the pace, running across the rooftops and leaping between the gaps when need be. "But how are we-? Oh, you're tracking Sonic's chaos emerald?"

Knuckles nodded.

"Heh, thank goodness we have you here! Aye?" How did this girl have so much positivity in her? It was admirable to be certain, but a little overwhelming. He didn't know what to do with the praise except let out a grunt of achknowledgement.

They ran in relative silence after that - until they both skidded to a halt upon an unexpected sight.

Sitting on the edge of an apartment building roof was a bat, a very familiar face - one that he was sure neither he or Tangle had expected to see again so soon.

It was Rouge.

They both stared at Rouge in a stunned silence, and by judging her expression - she was just as taken aback as well.

"Ummm... heyyyyy, Rouge-" Tangle began, the awkwardness in the air was thick enough to be cut through with a knife."We were just- you know, passing through, heh-"

She wasn't about to let them pass by so easily, eyes narrowing. "How come you guys are in Central City?" She asked, not even bothering with a 'hello' back to them, not surprising Knuckles in the slightest.

"Well, you know - emerald hunting? Like we said we would be-" Tangle stuttered a little, Knuckles noted the unusual way her tail was almost vibrating - was that a display of her nerves?

Rouge rose a brow. "And you're searching... in Central City?"

"We're checking out everywhere we can, even major cities - if Eggman already has his hands on an emerald, then they've gotta be stored in some kind of facility somewhere - right?"

"Sure, I guess." She shrugged, sounding both disbelieving and disinterested.

Knuckles was eager to get moving in pursuit of Sonic, and not give the woman any attention - trust between them had been broken ever since she invaded his treasury, as far as he was concerned - and all she had been to her teammates was moody, rude, and downright mean sometimes. Tangle, for a reason he could not decipher, continued the conversation.

"So... I hope you're well." She smiled, although it faltered slightly. "We've uh- seen the billboard-"

"Impressive, right?" Rouge responded smugly.

What on Mobius was supposed to be impressive about it? She was on an enemy watch list. Tangle entertained her by quite obviously pretending she understood Rouge's enthusiasm in the situation. "Hm? Oh yeah, pssht - so impressive! You go, Queen! Slayyyy... girlboss- we love that, we love that-"

She might as well have been speaking an entirely different language - Knuckles was completely lost.

"Okay but like-" Tangle scratched the top of her head. "What are you doing here?"

"Eh, just chillin'. Waiting for my partner to come back. Such a sweetheart he is, offering to get the supplies I need." She smiled widely, seemingly getting lost in her thoughts.

"Your... partner?" Tangle asked. "You're working with someone?" It would seem she was a little skeptical too.

"Yep, you already know his face." Rouge lazily pointed back towards the billboard that was now displaying the image of the black and red hedgehog. The two heroes stared at it, baffled at the revelation.

"Ah-" Tangle spoke up again. "Yeah he seems... such a... sweetheart-"

"No he doesn't." Knuckles cut in.

"Yeah, no - he doesn't-" Tangle finally admitted with a shake of her head. "I look at his face and all I can hear is 2000s emo music, he's giving me Three Days Grace... or perhaps Evanescence-"

"Have you not noticed it?" Knuckles looked down at the bat. "How much he resembles the monster we fought back at the festival?"

"Oh, that? Ha! I'm way ahead of you, hon-" Rouge waved her hand dismissively. "They are in fact, the same guy. You could say he had a glow up."

"No kidding-" Tangle said with wonder. "But like, how did you two meet? How come he looks like that now? How come you're working together?"

"Well, there's no need for me to divulge all the details now..." Rouge tapped her chin as she figured out what was best to say and reveal. "Shadow here had some shit done to him by the Empire - but he managed to escape. He wants revenge against the Empire, just like I do. So naturally, we've made quite the team so far."

Knuckles and Tangle exchanged a look.

"Cool, cool-" Tangle began. "So things are coming along well with the whole - assassinating Eggman plot you're tryna do?"

"Ah - you suddenly care, do you?" He hated how condescenting she sounded. "Ha!" Rouge let out. "I thought I didn't stand a chance - that the will of the dead have claimed that Robotnik can not be killed without the magical rock candies-"

Tangle seemed to be avoiding a conflict as much as possible. "Look, um - we've been over this. We don't need to tread this topic again. You're doing your thing, we're doing ours-"

"It's funny, I do feel kind of sorry for you - choosing to parade around with two guys claiming to hear the voices of dead people telling them to search for mystical rocks."

Knuckles balled up his fists but he wasn't about to speak. She was wasting their time with useless taunting while Sonic had ran off to goodness knows where.

Tangle looked down for a split second, before meeting Rouge with her response steadily. "I'm believing in the people I wanna believe in."

For some reason, Tangle's words caused some kind of shift in Rouge's approach - something dark flashed within her eyes, and her face twisted into an undisguised frown. "Trust the guys you just met over the girl you've known for way longer, why don't you?" She spoke bitterly.

"We're done talking." Knuckles said quickly, a hot rage was building up underneath his skin, and the longer he was going to be in close proximity to Rouge - the greater chance it had of exploding. The bat was constantly trying to guilt the lemur and make her feel smaller in comparison - and that admittedly bugged him more than when she had stolen his treasure. There was something to like about Tangle - perhaps her unapologetic sincerity and enthusiasm. He could not say the same for the bat - she was arrogant, entitled, trying to bring those around her down.

She just wasn't worth the trouble. In a move that he would only percieve in hindsight as a little bold, he held onto Tangle's hand and begun to drag her away from Rouge. The lemur was surprised momentarily, but a brief smile of gratefulness flashed on her face.

Rouge, on the other hand, couldn't seem to fathom that the two had turned their backs to her - fully willing to ignore her. "What's the matter?!" She called after them incredulously. "Can't stand the fact I'm pointing out how crazy you all are?!"

"Oh, shut up! We don't have time to bother with your insecurities!" Knuckles growled back, still walking away. Would it have been better to say nothing at all? Absolutely - but his mouth moved before his brain could come to that realisation.

"Fine then! Go back to your stupid treasure hunt!" She told them."Go on your pointless quest. Listen to the dead people in your head! Maybe you'll die like the rest of your species, and get a happy reunion in the afterlife-!"

Knuckles suddenly paused stood agast at the escalation, as did Tangle. That... abhorrent woman! How dare she? Overwhelmed by a flare of his anger, energy surged through his veins - his eyes glowing involunatrily as his clenched fists now trembled.

The lemur abrutply whipped around to face Rouge, pointing at her with aggression. "Honestly, who do you think you are?! Don't you ever talk to Knuckles like that again!"

"Or what? You little-!"

Their confrontation was brought to a halt as the three heard a loud crash back down on the streets below, causing them all to run to the edge of the rooftop so they could peer down and witness the commotion.

Sonic's body, of all people, had crashed through a car, splitting the entire vehicle in two with how hard he managed to collide with it. Despite everything, all the other cars in the road simply drove around the commotion - as though they couldn't even see what was happening.

As yet another surprise, another hedgehog jumped onto to the roof a car a few paces away - and Knuckles was mystified as he realised he had recently come to know the face - Shadow the Hedgehog, the runaway on the billboard - Rouge's supposed partner.

Shadow formed a chaos spear in his hand before throwing it at the other hedgehog. It was fortunate that Sonic was suddenly able to leap up from having taken such a hard fall, avoiding the projectile and instead launching himself in a homing attack at Shadow.

Knuckles couldn't honestly say whether Sonic's attack had hit or not, as suddenly the two were moving so fast on the ground below - they appeared to just be red and blue streaks zipping around at a pace that he had no hope of catching up with.

"We've got to help him!" Tangle declared with worry, ready to leap down and join the altercation - if not for a sudden interruption.

Something Knuckles couldn't quite make out landed right near his feet - and the echidna soon found himself coughing and spluttering as pink smoke suddenly swarmed around him. With a start, Knuckels realised he couldn't see anything in front of him - not even his companion he had been standing right next to. Disorientated, he looked around himself helplessly.

A blow to his stomach knocked the wind entirely out of his lungs, and caused him to fall backwards. His back didn't make contact with anything - instead, he was falling from the building he had just been standing on.

Before even thinking about what he should do, he felt a mound of fur wrap around him - hoisting him back on top of the roof. Now all the pink in the air was beginning to vanish, and he could clearly make out Tangle and Rouge engaged in a fist fight - with Rouge gaining the upperhand as she landed a clean right hook to the other.

"Haha!" She laughed confidently, allowing herself to look towards Knuckles as Tangle recovered from her dazed state. "You seriously thought I was just gonna let you run off and help him? You have to get through me first, idiot!"

Knuckles cracked his namesakes. "I'm just glad I finally have an excuse to shut you up."

Both fueled by the flames of their fury, the echidna and bat charged towards one another - none of them willing to settle for anything less than a complete knockout.

Sonic was convinced by now that he and Shadow had been chasing each other all throughout the city. Sonic didn't have the slightest clue where he was right now, one moment ago he had been on a road - now they were in an alley of sorts. At least he no longer had to worry about getting run over-

As fast as he could, Sonic launched a punch at Shadow's chest. The other grunted painfully, and Sonic knew he had to take advantage of Shadow's fleeting moment of vulnerability.

The blue hedgehog ran circles around the other - building up such intense winds that Shadow was lifted off the ground. Sonic then jumped up and kicked Shadow down onto the ground below.

The concrete had cracked below where Shadow had landed - but ultimately, Sonic knew that Shadow was going to recover quickly. But while he was like this- "Shadow, you've been through a lot- I get it!"

For whatever reason, this exclamation only seemed to enrage the black hedgehog. Shadow suddenly fired a birrage of chaos energy arrows towards Sonic - causing the blue hedgehog to duck and weave around them.

Sonic sprinted towards Shadow, attempting another punch - but this time Shadow caught his fist, causing Shadow to then opt to kick Sonic in the stomach - sending the hedgehog flying back. Shadow might not look that particularly strong in regards to his build - but the strength he possessed shouldn't be underestimated.

Sonic brought himself to a halt by skidding - before his eyes widened with surprise as he saw Shadow picking up an entire large garbage can that was filled to the brim - and then suddenly hurl it towards him.

Sonic swiftly leapt to the side. He had to bite back a quip about littering, knowing if Shadow was going to listen to him - it would be wise not to get on his nerves.

Instead, Sonic sought to unleash a flurry of kicks onto Shadow - Shadow was able to swerve to avoid most of them, but Sonic eventually succeeded at a kick in the face. Shadow growled with a combination of anger and pain - before suddenly disappearing into thin air.

The blue hedgehog knew this wasn't a retreat, he kept constantly turning - fists raised, not wanting to let Shadow get the jump on him. Despite his efforts through, Shadow would find a way to surprise him. Shadow was fast enough to ram into him from behind - smashing Sonic's face into the concrete below. He held Sonic's face down against the ground, even with Sonic's feeble attempts to break out of it - Shadow was simply the stronger of the pair.

"This is your final warning! Hand over your Chaos Emerald, and leave my sight!" Shadow warned with fierceness, applying yet more pressure.

Sonic just barely managed to turn his head in a way so that his words wouldn't be muffled. His annoyed glare lingered, eyes darting around before, eventually, he decided to smirk. "Heh."

Shadow narrowed his eyes at Sonic's cockiness before a laser was fired at his face.

"Gah-!" He exclaimed as he landed on the ground and rolled from the sudden force he hadn't anticipated.

Now free from Shadow's grasp, Sonic stood - the cuts on his face stinging and bleeding, but it was hardly the worst he had ever endured. His new ally landed beside him, her weapon at the ready.

"Thanks for the save, Whisper."

"No need to thank me."

What was this now? The third time she had appeared out of nowhere? He wondered what she was even doing in Central City-

If only he had the luxury to ask, for now though - Shadow was still very much a problem. The other hedgehog had recovered, and was now charging up a homing attack - hurtling towards the new contender on the field.

Whisper met the attack by taking a different approach to using her weapon - pulling it back like a baseball bat, and then taking a swing at Shadow.

Sonic took advantage of this, as Shadow was flying back still in a ball - Sonic jumped up high to deliver a drop kick - sending Shadow straight back down towards the ground again.

Sonic landed back down beside Whisper. "All we're tryna make Shadow do is stand down, alright? I'm trying to get him to listen to me-"

After a pause, which he assumed was her internally debating, she nodded. Shadow was slowly standing - for once showing an emotion beside anger or apathy. With eyes that were wide, he stared down Sonic in a confused, almost peturbed manner. Sonic realised quick what was going on - Shadow was struggling to wrap his head around the idea that Sonic was even putting up a fight at all. The Ultimate Life Form... was struggling?

It was more likely than he realised. Plus, Sonic had at least two years experience fighting the guy - this version of Shadow didn't have as much experience, as honestly baffling that was to think about.

Sonic swallowed, knowing he had to get to the point - but not knowing how Shadow would end up handling it. "Revenge isn't going to bring them back, Shadow. What happened on the ARK 50 years ago, the massacre... destroying the world isn't going to avenge anyone that died! This wasn't the promise you made to Maria!"

Shadow gasped loudly - it was visceral. The hedgehog suddenly grasped hold of his head - bending down in a way as though he was struggling to stand upright. "Don't-!" Shadow pleaded, an exhausted, emotional pain brimming his words. "No-! Not her-!"

Oh God, what had he done? Sonic wanted to go over to help him, but Whisper tugged on his arm - causing him to look at her.. "We must retreat." She told him.

"You don't understand, Whis-!"

"No. Look!" She pointed back at Shadow, who was groaning loudly in agonizing pain. On one hald of Shadow's body, his fur was dissolving - giving way to dark, murky scales surrounding by a thick layer of purple ooze dripping down his body. The white of one of his eyes flashed to black.

He was turning... back into the beast! He couldn't let this happen!

"Sonic." Whisper said in an attempt to get Sonic to move. She was staying remarkably calm considering the situation.

"I'm not running away." He said to her. "I'm not failing him, not again-"

Shadow suddenly warped behind Whisper, scratching down her back with his newly found claws. The pain caused her to yelp and drop her own weapon - before he wrapped his arm around her neck in a chokehold.

"Whisper!" Sonic yelled for her.

"Hand over the emerald!" Shadow snarled - his voice distorted by an unusual effect. "Or the girl is dead!"

Knuckles' fist and Rouge's boot collided - creating a shockwave that shuddered through the air.

Both their limbs pushed against each other with equal force, unable to overpower the other.

They made eye contact - staring at each other in shock. This didn't make sense - how were they... exactly as strong as each other?!

They broke away from each other - surveying their opponent. Tangle had stood watching in awe, forgetting for a moment that she a part of this battle too.

"Not bad for a guy in a toga." She ackknowledged mockingly.

Knuckles decided he wouldn't dignify her comments with a response, instead he charged at her - throwing rapid punches with a yell. Infuriatingly, she swiftly dodged each and everyone by making small ducks and slight leans - she didn't break eye contact from him, and her smirk never wavered.

Knuckles decided he needed a new tactic - but it was this moment of hesitation she immediately took advantage of, slamming her own kick in his chest. He grunted, but for the most part - tanked it out.

Her leg suddenly swept underneath his feet, tripping him over.

Before Rouge could get another hit on him, Tangle's tail suddenly wrapped around her. The lemur used this opportunity to throw her to the other side of the roof - when she landed down, she just barely managed to avoid rolling off the side.

"2v1, huh? Don't ya think this is a bit unfair?" She asked the two of them as she stood up.

"Hey, you started this!" Tangle pointed out indignantly.

"You dug your grave, now you get to lie in it!" Knuckles glared.

"Yooo, that actually sounded so badass-" She gazed at him in awe, eyes shining.

Knuckles' cheeks flushed momentarily before he suddenly launched a punch at the ground beneath of his feet. It caused a crater, and no doubt a lot of damage to the things within the top few floors of the building. Most importantly, it created a tremour that left Rouge unsteady on her feet for just a moment.

Tangle swept Rouge up into her tail's grasp again. Rouge, unable to do much about her scenario, sighed as Tangle lifted her up - and brought Rouge close to her face. "Sonic wouldn't be fighting Shadow without a good reason!" She huffed. "So tell us what you two are really planning!"

"Look, I have no idea why Sonic and him are fighting either." She admitted dryly.

Tangle gave her a skeptical look, and then Rouge suddenly changed her tune. "Well, I suppose there is one thing-"

"Then you're gonna spit it out!" Tangle told her, frowning it deeply - doing her best to sound assertive, but not really succeeding. The lemur pulled Rouge dramatically close to her face.

Rouge smiled softly, and then kissed Tangle's lips.

The lemur was so stunned by the action that her tail immediately dropped Rouge - the bat wasted no time, sending a heavy kick at her opponent. Tangle flew far and landed harshly on a seperate rooftop entirely - her body lying limp.

Knuckles' mouth was slightly hung agape, so utterly dumbfounded by what he just witnessed - unable to get himself to move.

"What's the matter?" Rouge asked, seeing his face. "Jealous~?"

The remark brought Knuckles back to reality. "If you touch me like that - I will pound you into the ground." He warned her quickly.

Rouge's lips pursed. "Nope-" She said with a shake of her head. "There's a joke to made there, but I'm not gonna say it-"

Knuckles didn't understand what on Mobius she was on about, what was so funny about what he had just said? Ugh, did it matter? He didn't want to waste anymore time. Realising his combat partner had yet to get up, he realised he had to do this on his own.

"Just stop being weird and fight me already!" Knuckles shouted at her, growing impatient.

"If you so wish~" She told him, flying up into the sky. She suddenly threw down two balls onto the ground, and Knuckles' vision was swarmed with a thick, pink smoke again - and it was even denser before.

One of her boots thrusted against his back.

Another against his stomach.

Another at his back again.

Try as he might to catch her, the effort was fruitless - he could not see where she was coming from - still, he imagined to tough out each blow - only winching in pain for a moment.

As soon as the smoke began to clear, Knuckles caught a brief flash of Rouge's leg moving towards him - and this time, successfully caught onto it. He pulled his arm back, lifting her up as though she were nothing more than a feather - and tossed her away.

He heard her yell as she slammed into the ground, and didn't get up for a moment.

"Your fighting tactics are dishonourable!" He scolded her.

"Oh no- whatever shall I do?" She asked sarcastically while on the ground. Quickly after though, she stood once again - and her taunting had yet to cease. "Come on, aren't you supposed to be the Guardian? Put up a fight! You haven't used your weird powers yet once!"

"As if you're even worth using them on!" Knuckles folded his arms. "I can't believe you."

Rouge's brow furrowed, and the fight continued. She jumped in the air but instead of flying - she began to spin, feet pointed towards him - Knuckles watched in confusion as her speed kicked up and up.

She then flew straight towards him like a drill.

Knuckles leapt aside just in time - but wasn't prepared for Rouge suddenly untucking herself and kicking him in the back of his head. He stumbled over, catching himself with his hands and managing to catch her leg again as she went for another kick.

Enough of the games - he was going to end this.

Letting out a fierce yell, Knuckles threw her down against the ground.

He let her go as he saw blood begin to dribble from her mouth.

"You asked for it..." Knuckles sighed, looking down at her momentarily - before jumping over to the rooftop Tangle was laying on. She seemed to be regaining conciousness, to Knuckles' relief.

He bent down by her side. "You okay...?"

"No-" Tangle panted out. "That was... embarrassing- Gah! She used my weakness of being a gay disaster against me!" She exclaimed in frustration as Knuckles helped her sit up.

"Her methods were underhanded. Don't feel bad for your defeat." He told her. "If you're ready to get going, we need to catch up with Sonic."

Shadow squeezed tighter on Whisper's neck - and she gasped, gagged, and spluttered - desperate for an ounce of air in her lungs.

Sonic knew Shadow wasn't bluffing, especially as a monster was overtaking his body as well - to his dismay, he was left with no choice.

He held out the blue Chaos Emerald. "Let her go."

Shadow swiped it from Sonic's hand with his spare arm before he had the chance to back out, and then dropped Whisper. She fell to the ground, coughing - and Sonic ran over, kneeling beside her.

At least Shadow had been true to his word. Shadow stared at the emerald held within his clawed fingers, panting in exhuastion from his partial transformation. "One step-! One step... closer!" He heaved out. "The pain... it'll STOP!" Sonic shook as he heard the genuine anguish in his voice.

Shadow vanished from sight.

Sonic couldn't help but stare at the place Shadow had once been. How had it come to this? Eggman had really dared to conduct horrific experiments on Shadow to turn him into that thing- and now Shadow had that to suffer through on top of his trauma.

This stupid timeline... Shadow didn't deserve any of this. Sonic was going to do everything to ensure he was able to bring Shadow back to his senses - and keep him safe with the rest of them.

But, for now, they had lost a Chaos Emerald. Shit. Shadow was that much closer to fulfilling his plans. What was he supposed to do next?

"Whisper, you okay?"

"Better- My... apologies-"

"No need to apologise for that." He assured her.

"You lost the emerald because of me. You shouldn't have-"

"In no way was I going to let you die for an emerald, Whisper." Sonic frowned at her slightly, unsure as to why this was even a debate.

"You barely know me."

"So?" Sonic shrugged. "I'd do that for anyone."

Whisper fell silent, and the two were interrupted when they heard voices calling to them from above.

"Sonic!" Knuckles called to him, and Sonic felt a swell of relief.

"Good thing you guys ended up being so close, huh?" Tangle used her tail to lower herself down onto the ground from on top of the building, coming down slowly like Rapunzel. Once she was on the floor - she stretched out her tail and wrapped it around Knuckles - bringing him down on the ground as well. "Hey Whisper!" She then smiled. "Fancy seeeing you here, aye?"

"What happened?" As usual, Knuckles was quick to get to the point. "I don't... sense your emerald on you anymore."

"I-" Sonic was suddenly cut off by Whisper.

"Shadow made away with your emerald."

Sonic was about to explain what had genuinely happened - Shadow's threats and all, but Whisper offered up a much simpler explanation. Sonic realised Whisper felt the need to cover for him, to make sure he wasn't going to get in trouble for giving his emerald to the enemy.

Knuckles heaved a loud sigh in response to the news. Tangle looked down for a moment, before meeting their gazes with a smile. "You guys did your best - that's what counts!"

"This isn't over." Knuckles said. "I just need to relocate the signal of the emerald and we can pursue-"

"No." Sonic cut him off, as a new wave of tiredness over came him - his voice was almost as quiet as Whisper's. "We should avoid fights with Shadow... we need a different approach. I'll... I'll explain what I know to you all when we're able to rest up somewhere - okay?"

Knuckles and Tangle made eye contact with each other, both uncertain and by the looks of things - they were a little unwilling to follow Sonic's words, but they both decided to relent. Not that Knuckles in particular looked happy about it, folding his arms. "Let's hurry up and find a place to rest then. The sky's getting dark."

Shadow warped in the area he had left her, and found her atop a rooftop - sitting up, wiping off blood that was streaming down her face.

"Woah-!" She exclaimed upon seeing him. "Holy shit, are you okay?"

Shadow stumbled amd swayed side to side, gripping onto his monstrous arm with the other - growling and heaving loud breaths. The alien-hedgehog seemed to be trying to emulate the breathing techniques he had learned from her earlier, but was struggling significantly.

"It's okay. it's okay..." She offered up in an attempt to be soothing, trying to keep her voice soft. "Just breathe. There's no rush-"

Rouge's eyes drifted downwards - suddenly realising there was something blue and shining in his hands - dazzling with a radiant beauty. Was that... a Chaos Emerald?

Holy shit, it was pretty.

Questions would have to wait though, Shadow was finding a rythm - closing his eyes as he decided to sit down and utilise his breathing techniques. Yet again it proved to be useful, with the scalew and goo vanishing from sight as if they had never been there in the first place - his eye returning to normal as well. The only evidence that something unusual had occured with him was the now torn glove he wore - as the tips had been torn through by his potruding claws.

Now, he was just a normal hedgehog again.

"Better?" She asked with some hesitance.

Shadow nodded slowly. "I have... retrieved an emerald."

"Is that why you were fighting Sonic?" She asked him. "But... why? Why do we need it?"

"To power the ARK." He explained to her through gritted teeth. "The Eclipse Cannon needs the emeralds for the laser to fire-"

"Huh? So you're telling me I left my old team because I wasn't interested in an emerald treasure hunt, only to come to you and now you're telling me to do the exact same thing?"

Shadow stared at her with a frustrated bewilderment. "This is a problem now? Didn't you say you were a thief or something. why are you opposing this?"

"Because I have bigger shit that I'm trying to do right now! Like kill a dictator!" Her own irritation was seeping through.

"Whatever..." Shadow sighed, closing his eyes again and mulling over the news she had presented him with. In no way would he have thought to anticipate this was a problem for her, what an entitled princess-

"I suppose... there's a quicker alternative." Shadow finally said, burying his anger deep - fighting for self control. "Our plan is the same for now, we head to the ARK as there are things I need to see to. Once that is done, we shall pursue the Master Emerald - am I making myself clear now?" He glared at her. "Are we finally on the same page?"

Rouge pondered his suggestion for a moment - taking on everyone back on the island at once? She doubted that Knuckles was going to make that job easy at all - he'd hunt them down relentlessly.

Yet... Shadow had come out of a fight with Sonic... relatively unscathed, if you didn't count the whole monster thing - and he had managed to take his emerald from him. That was surely a testament to his skill - perhaps they did stand a chance.

Hunting for an emerald they already knew the location of, rather than seven gems that could be anywhere on the planet - sounded like a much better arrangement. "Yeah." Rouge said. "That's a plan I can get behind."

Chapter Text

Tikal's scream echoed through the darkness. Silver, while startled, was comparably quite calmer – after all, he could just save them from the fall with his… huh?

Despite his efforts, the cyan rings on his hands refused to glow.

Why were his powers not working?

It's okay, okay – no pressure, he told himself. Just stay calm-

He could not stay calm – and his panicked yells joined Tikal's in a horrific chorus. There was no way to go but down, and there was very little he could do to control the descent. He tried reaching out for Tikal's hand and she attempted the same – but the distance between them was too great

Why had he even entertained the thought of trusting Metal? Was this seriously how it was going to end for them? No, there had to be something he could do! He just needed to focus, needed to think-

Metallic claws seized his waist, and Silver let out a gasp of surprise. "Metal?!" Silver exclaimed. "What the heck-?!"

Anger morphed into confusion as, now one of the robot's arms, he realised Metal was using his jets to boost towards Tikal – and caught her in the same way with the arm he had to spare.

Wait, why bother saving them after he had just-

Silver lost control of his train of thoughts as his ears flickered towards sounds coming from above. Loud, harsh wails rang through the air around them – and he could have imagined it, but their cries almost appeared to kick up gusts of wind blowing against his face.

Metal Sonic was still flying the trio downwards through the limitless pit – away from the agonized screams. Silver squinted, wanting to identify the source of the noise – but everything was empty.

Until a green light shone.

The hedgehog stared up at it with fleeting wonder, before realising it wasn't just a pretty light show – it was a cause for concern.

Arrows and spears barrelled down from the glow. No, not chaos spears or anything of that calibre – weapons in the most traditional sense – sticks and sharpened stones tied together. While they might have had a frankly ancient design, they were just as capable of causing fatal wounds.

Silver flinched, and Tikal yelped – burying her face into Metal's neck.

The robot didn't even need to look at the incoming barrage – he activated his black shield, surrounding the three with a protective barrier that deflected all of the projectiles without issue.

Then that was that - the attack just ended, leaving Silver even more baffled than he was before. Were they really in the clear already? Metal was keeping his shield up, perhaps as a cautionary measure.

Silver dared to look down, and his eyes widened as he saw there was actually ground below - some sort of cobblestone street, wet and shining as though it had rained not too long ago.

This realm, timeline... whatever it was - it was quickly growing more and more unusual. Before they reached the ground, Metal Sonic paused - hovering as he finally allowed his shield to drop. He then slowly descended the last few inches until his feet touched the cobblestone - and he promptly let go of the hedgehog and echidna, setting them down so they could stand on their own.

Silver found himself staring down a linear path, each lined with identical buildings with yellow lights glowing from the windows.

"Oh-!" He heard Tikal exclaim, and turned to look upwards again - seeing the black void above their heads suddenly disappear and reveal a navy sky - alight with glittering stars.

It completed the scene of the seemingly never-ending street, the lights from the houses illumnating the night provided an oddly cozy feeling to it all, already such a contrast from the nonsensical landscape of snow and flying creatures that weren't supposed to fly.

Oh well, that was enough cotemplating. He found himself turning to look at Metal, the pieces of the puzzle starting to come to him, and allowing him to piece together the reasons behind Metal's actions. "You pushed us into the whole to protect us from our attackers... right?" He asked the robot.

Metal Sonic quickly nodded.

To think not moments ago he had thought the tin can had most certainly betrayed them. Metal really did seem to be abiding by his new protocols, and it was a huge relief to him.

Silver noticed Tikal's shoulders relax, and she was able to breathe easier after that scare.

"Thanks." Silver gave a genuine smile to Metal Sonic. While the robot stared back at him, he didn't achknowledge his gratitude in any other way.

"I am... truly indebted to you." Tikal admitted gratefully, giving Metal a bow.

It yielded no reaction for him again - that was fine. It's not like Metal really had a face that could emote very well or a voice that offered more dialogue options. Still, Silver wondered how easily Metal could get some pivotal information across.

"So then, did you see who or what was attacking us?" Silver asked him.

Silver was beginning to realise that most of the time, Metal stood perfectly still like a statue. However, whenever he did move - it was always a sudden jerk of movement - one that could easily startle those not expecting it. Silver almost stepped backwards instinctively as Metal Sonic snapped his arm into position... to point at Tikal.

What? How did that make sense?

"I'm... sorry?" Tikal questioned, blinking a few times with a mixture of hurt and confusion written on her face.

"That can't be right." Silver immediately said. "Metal, are you sure you understood the question?"

The machine nodded again.

"Then... no, I'll ask again. Is Tikal the one that... somehow attacked us?"

In a contradictory move, Metal Sonic shook his head.

"Then why are you pointing at her?!" Silver's voice cracked with frustration, causing him to then clear his throat.

Metal understood it as a question rather than an exclamation of irritation - so he stood to the side of Tikal, holding out his hands as though he were presenting her as part of a magic show.

"Do you- do you genuinely not understand how confusing you're being-?"

Silver was cut off by Metal's harsh, messy beeps as he brought the palm of his hand to his face in a face palm, shaking his head as he walked away from the duo and out further into the street

Silver sighed. "I guess it doesn't really matter... for now at least, we've got other problems. You okay, Tikal?" He then turned his attention to the echidna, who was staring down at her feet with a narrowed gaze - as though she were quite intensely contemplating something.

"Hm? Oh yes, I am very well." Tikal said, as Silver brought her back to the present - meeting his eyes with a soft smile.

"If you're sure." Silver said. "I don't know why Metal pointed at you like that-"

"It's certainly unusual." She interjected, a little too quickly. Silver eyed her for a moment, before flitting his gaze back to Metal.

"Ah, well - I guess we should catch up with the tin can." Silver shrugged, and Tikal agreed with the sentiment - so they both picked up their paces to fall in line with Metal Sonic. The robot was thankfully not moving at too quick of a pace - and Silver saw his red eyes darting between the houses on both sides of the path.

Every building was quite literally identical, but Metal seemed to be scrutinising everything in attempt to spot a difference.

Silver wondered if there was any point investigating one of the buidlings - as the lights were clearly on inside them, could it be possible that there were people inside them? On the other hand, he thought about how if they stepped inside - what would be waiting for them? Another death trap like the black hole? At least out on the street it was safe-

Suddenly, rain began to pour down onto the trio - each drop felt like an icicle pinching his skin. For the first time since finding himself in this new realm, he actually felt cold - a different temperature. It was relentlessly heavy, the water already clinging to his fur - with Tikal in much the same predicament, but finding her clothes starting to get soaked through.

"Heavy shower..." Silver said awkwardly, closing his eyes quickly to avoid the rain getting in them. "Do we... wanna try getting in one of these-?" He pointed to the buildings with his thumb. Tikal tilted her head, gritting her teeth uneasily before sighing - eventually nodding.

"We can pray that these roofs will be our sanctuary."

Metal Sonic took the lead once the decision had made, testing the door handle of the nearest house. It opened. The robot hedgehog stepped inside and Silver internally hoped that the robot would wait at least a second for the other two before going ahead all the time.

Silver then heard a screech from inside. "IT'S- IT'S METAL SONIC!"

It was a voice he didn't recognise, but it was brimming with fear. Silver ran inside the building, sprinting and almost stumbling in the coridoor leading to the living room - looking over Metal Sonic's shoulder. A group of five mobians had pinned themselves to the farthest corner away from the entrance of the room.

"Guys!" Silver called to them, putting on an assuring smile. "It's okay! He won't harm you."

They looked between themselves, then back at Silver - before slowly breaking away from each other and standing awkwardly.

"Silver?" A pale owl asked, as though she couldn't believe her eyes. She then turned to the group with a new found spark of hope in her eyes. "If the heroes are running around - things are bound to get fixed up soon!"

"About time-" A blue goat grumbled.

"Hey, guys - sorry, I'm going to need to ask a lot of questions-" Silver excused himself with an embarrassed laugh. "How did you guys end up here?" He asked.

"It was very weird, one minute we were going about our daily lives, and then we all- we all sorted of started turning blue and glitching out - and then- and then we woke up in this house. Us? Yeah, we didn't know each other before all this-" The owl explained a little shakily - but everyone else with her nodded to that statement. "And well, nothing has happened since. We haven't left this place besides looking at the other houses nearby and sure enough - people just like us are occupying some of them too, whiile some are empty-"

"And you guys... you sure you're okay?" Silver asked them with concern.

"Oddly, we're perfectly fine." A pink gerbil spoke up suddenly. "Like- listen, we haven't needed to sleep, eat, or shi-"

"It's like all our basic needs are suddenly out of the window." The owl cut in quickly.

"I've noticed that too..." Silver admitted softly. Metal Sonic shifted his gaze towards Silver, and the hedgehog only just now noticed that Tikal was lingering behind - glancing away shyly from the group - blinking at the walls in the coridoor. "Guys - I have to be honest, we don't understand what's going on either. Not really- We're trying to figure it out."

Sure, Silver could explain how Eggman had created a new timeline - but how did that really describe this realm? This was still supposed to be the timeline they were familiar with but if that was the case - why is everything so messed up and not making sense? It was like the world had flipped upside down. He'd rather spare them from such confusing information.

"You gotta do what you gotta do." The pink gerbil lady said with a nod. "If you guys are trying to shelter from the rain, next door to the left there's an empty house where you can rest." She told them.

"Thank you." Silver smiled sincerely. "I- If I had more questions you could answer, I'd ask them - but I think we're all just as confused as each other." The hedgehog said with a small sigh. "I'm sorry I don't have more."

"You're trying your best." The owl said. "That's what matters."

"And we're not going to stop until we solve this." The determination in his voice could not be mistaken. "Again, thank you all for your help."

He'd get his two allies to the house next door, and wait for the rain to ease - it was something small, but it was objective he could follow that gave him some direction for the first time in days. At least... he'd assumed it had been due to how often he felt the signal of Sonic sleeping. Ugh, frankly - he was quite looking forward to having an excuse to rest and think everything over.

The heroes realised that standing around an alley would get them caught by robots eventually, so they opted for a place to go that was safer - the criminal underground.

The irony certainly wasn't lost on Sonic.

Whisper seemed the most informed and was able to lead the other three to the entrance of the sewers. Tangle had rambled on about how the underground sewers were home to the people that refused to comply with the Empire - but this didn't exactly translate to innocent people taking a stand. No, in most cases - it was the murderers, thieves, and thugs that hadn't followed the whims of authority even before Eggman's takeover.

Now that they were inside, the smell was making Sonic's stomach churn - and it was hard to comprehend that there were people living here on a day to day basis. He eyed the people that were sat on the floor, backs against the wall with their heads hung low - dressed in rugged clothes and having matted fur and hair. It was a dreadful sight.

Sonic turned his focus to the stream of green sludge making its way through the centre. For a moment, Sonic imagined what tripping off the platform would result in. If you were to fall in that... would you even be able to move, or would it ensare you and drag you down like quicksand as you found yourself unable to move despite your best efforts?

His intrusive thoughts were surprising him - but it was something else to think about, rather than...

"We can sit here." Whisper said, indicating to the empty floor where there was space - no one else loitering near the area.

Tangle sat down, fidgeting with her hands and Sonic joined her with his back leaning against the grimey wall - whatever, he'd wash it off later - he just wanted to rest himself at least a little.

Whisper hesitantly joined them on the floor - and Knuckles was the only one left standing, arms crossed as he stared away from the other three. Sonic knew that expression well - lips just slightly pursed, eyes burning with a rage contained within. His anger was stewing like a pot of water boiling on a stove, vigurously bubbling with a lid barely able to prevent the contents from spilling over.

Sonic couldn't blame him, and it was about to get worse.

Tangle broke the silence between them. "Sonic... why did you run off from us when you saw Shadow? Is this to do with your chosen one... thing... knowledge?" She asked.

Sonic closed his eyes. "You could say that... I- I made a wrong call." Sonic admitted right out of the gate. In hindsight, trying to reason with Shadow had yielded results that Sonic should have anticipated - there was very little chance it would have ended in the blue hedgehog's favour. "I know why that guy wants the emeralds... and we should be worried."

Everyone had their full attention on him now. Sonic's fur bristled.

"Shadow is trying to gather the Chaos Emeralds to destroy the world, there's a space ship that needs the emeralds to activate a doomsday code that will send said space ship crashing into the planet - destroying everything as we know it."

All was quiet. Agonizingly so.

"What?" Tangle choked out.

The bomb went off. "And in your infinite wisdom - you decided that the best course of action was to run towards him... while you had an emerald on you?! And you thought that was smart?! You didn't think that it would backfire?!" Knuckles yelled, pointing down at him.

"And I know now that it was wrong-" Sonic found himself gritting his teeth, while he perfectly understood Knuckles' frustration - he hated to be reminded of his failures so plainly and loudly.

"Hah! Well that hardly helps, does it?" Knuckles pointed out. "Somehow, I don't think you undersand how important these gems are-!"

"I understand a little too well, actually..." Sonic commented quietly, despite it being unwarranted - invoking the echidna's rage further.

"They are some of the most powerful gems in the world! Second only to the Master Emerald itself!" Knuckles went on to explain. "Last time I fought him - he had the power of chaos control - and now he has an emerald that's going to make him even stronger! And he's going to have an easier time tracking the locations of the other emeralds!"

Sonic opened his mouth, but was quickly silenced by Knuckles' tirade. "Don't! Don't try to argue! You're such a... such an idiot! Even with the world at stake, you're making stupid decisions- What use is a chosen one if they can't even use the knowledge they've been granted correctly?!"

"GUYS!" Tangle suddenly snapped over them. "Please... what's done is done. Look, I don't - I don't understand it either Knuckles, I'm mad too. But arguing isn't going to get us the emeralds, or save the world. We need to figure out what to do..."

Sonic didn't say anything in response, but looked towards Whisper. Her expressions were hard to read due to the way she was always squinting - but her face seemed somewhat sweaty.

It was only his, but did he Knuckles yelling at him about it right now?

"Just- UGH!" Knuckles threw his hands up in frustration. "All we've done so far is fail in what we've been trying to do, and sometimes even just making things worse rather than better! This... oh Sonic's fucked up, he fucked up big time-"

"That's why we need a plan going forward." said Tangle firmly. "I think it's safe to say that our new main priority is stopping this Shadow guy from... well, entire world destruction-" She spoke nervously as she thought about the prospect.

"If I may..." Whisper managed to speak up. "I... wish to help with this. I am willing to work with you to put an end to this individual."

Sonic blinked, the heroes stared at her with disbelief.

"You sure?" Tangle asked her. "I heard you were quite insistent on working alone before - so these guys told me."

"Yes, but... I believe saving the entire world is more important than my personal preferences... I will leave you once this threat has been dealt with. But, I wish to help for now - I feel as though you will need all the help you can get." The wolf explained her reasoning.

Sonic realised quickly the reason for Whisper's sudden change of heart. She felt herself responsible for the loss of the Chaos Emerald due to Shadow's blackmail - and Sonic realised that he'd have to tell her, if he could get to her alone, to get that idea out of her head - it wasn't her fault. Still, her help would be appreciated all the same.

"Yeah you're uh- definitely right on that one-" Tangle admitted with an awkward laugh.

"Great." Knuckles said, lacking in enthusiasm - clearly impatient and wanting to move things along. "Right... I should be able to try something if we travel back home." Knuckles said finally. "By using the power of the Master Emerald, I should be able to shut off the power of the Chaos Emeralds for as long as I need to. Shadow won't be able to use their power at all, not to enhance his own abilities - not to power this... space ship you speak of."

"Oh!" Tangle blinked. "That's a great soluti-!"

"But doing so will mean that if we are to continue hunting for emeralds, the emeralds will not be giving off a signal I can track. Rouge, I have no doubt, will inform Shadow of who I am and what the Master Emerald is, and if they put two and together might attempt a direct attack on the isl-"

"Hol' up-" Sonic interruped with narrowed eyes. "What's Rouge got to do with this?"

"Oh yikes, you don't know..." Tangle said with a grimace. "They're kind of... working together? They're- Oh my gosh!" She suddenly exclaimed, worried. "She's working with a guy that wants to destory the world! Oh no, oh no - she's not doing that intentionally... right?" She asked desperately.

"I... can't imagine she'd genuinely want the world to be destroyed, no-" Sonic said with a slow shake of his head. Shadow and Rouge working together was, of course, nothing knew to him. Rouge had worked with him even while he was enacting his revenge plot in the old timeline - but instead of actually being an ally, she had been a spy sent by the government - never truly desiring the same outcome as the villains.

No, Sonic was confident that this wasn't what she wanted - that Shadow was witholding his true intentions from her.

"Of course... of course she wouldn't-" Tangle told herself repeatedly.

"Are we done interruping me now?" Knuckles glared at them, and they both looked at him guiltily so he continued on. "If I cut off the power of the emeralds, Shadow might launch an offensive on the island to attack me or try to claim the Master Emerald for himself in an attempt to restore the Chaos Emeralds... not that he'll be able to." He huffed. "So that's something we will have to prepare for."

"Well... if we all work together, we can defeat Shadow if he comes to us." Tangle spoke firmly. "He'll be fighting on our home terrain, and most importantly - we'll be preventing him from using the emeralds for his doomsday plans. So yeah, seems like the best we can do." She smiled up at Knuckles to give some assurance.

"Yeah... it works." Sonic slowly said - contemplating what would happen if Shadow really were to come to the island in response to Knuckles de-activating the emerald? Would he just try to take the Master Emerald and use it instead? He knew Knuckles wasn't going to let that happen in a million years - would Sonic ever have a good opportunity to reason with Shadow?

He found himself getting more worked up the more he thought of the black hedgehog - what had Amy said all that time ago that finally made Shadow change his mind?

Whisper just nodded in agreement with everyone else - and thus, their next course of action was settled upon.

Orbot could do nothing but watch as Miles' attempts to get his father to speak to him, even look at him - grew more and more desperate. They say that attempting the same thing over and over again expecting a different outcome was the definition of insanity, and well - he supposed in all honesty, Miles was well beyond that point.

The fox had requested Orbot provide him with some of the data he had gathered on the doctor - such as the times he drank coffee, so Miles could be there and ready with a freshly made cup as soon as thought crossed the old man's mind.

Robotnik pretended he didn't notice his efforts, insistent on ignoring him.

Orbot was getting tired of watching from the sidelines as each of the fox's gestures were left unappreciated, stirring up sympathy within his non-existent heart. Miles was a very hardworking kid with loads of potential - one that he was quite proud to have been involved with raising, but he never seemed truly good enough for Robotnik.

Nothing ever was.

Before, he would have ignored his own doubts about the doctor's actions and carried on with the duties expected of him. It wasn't his position to question anything his master did or said - just to do as told.

Something had changed, perhaps because it involved someone else he cared about - rather than his own opinions that didn't matter, but he found himself with a new urge to finally say something.

"Robotnik, sir-" Orbot began. The man in question was hunched over his desk, working on some blueprints.

"What is it, Orbot?" Robotnik asked, the only reason that he didn't snap at the robot for talking to him was due to the fact he was mostly engrossed in his work.

"Well... I had a- question-" Orbot began uneasily, shifting his gaze quickly to look at the wide window and the darkness of space on the other side.

"Spit it out." Ah, there was the doctor's usual tone - he was paying more attention now.

Orobot looked back at him. "I can't help but notice how much you've been ignoring Miles since we lost control of Project Shadow - and while I understand it was a signficant blow to the Empire... ignoring your son for this long. It's- well, it's a bit cruel, isn't it? He's been trying his absolute hardest to get you to even just look at him-"

"Bah!" Robotnik abruptly threw down his pen onto the desk. "Oh Orbot, trying to speak as though you have a single ounce of intelligence." He swivelled his chair. "My goal is not to be a loving father, it's to have an efficient worker-"

"He's 14, sir." Orbot pointed out.

"Exactly! An adult!" Robotnik exclaimed, as much as that didn't make sense to Orbot at all. "He doesn't need me to hold his hand, that's not how I'm going to get the results I'm after. Let's see here, how do I explain this simply enough for you..." He twisted his moustache as he thought for a moment. "If you want people to do as you say and do it right - you need to understand what makes them tick. In Miles' case, he steps up his performance once he realises he's disappointed those around him. He can't bear the thought of disapproval, he clings to words of affirmation like a leach and will do absolutely anything to hear them-"

"Then why-?"

Robotnik wasn't finished. "Miles works best when he's desperate. Now more than ever, the Empire needs successes, it needs developments. The rebels are getting bolder, Shadow is on the loose, and Sonic is back-"

"Back?" Orbot questioned with a tilt of his head. "What do you mean, sir?"

Silence hung in the air. "I'm running out of patience speaking with you." The doctor eventually growled before waving his hand away, signilling for Orbot to leave. "Go! Shoo! Clean the labs!"

"Understood, sir!" Orbot gave a brief salute, before hovering out the door of the workshop. Robotnik certainly said some weird things sometimes... but he could hardly think about that. That conversation had been a flop, it had changed nothing - he had let Miles down. He was glad that his voice box was developed enough to allow him to sigh.

What else could he have expected?

"Um, Miles? When was the last time you slept...?" Cubot asked hesitantly, making the mistake of peering around the door and finding the fox sitting on the floor among of a pile of papers laid out haphazardly among the random energy drinks strewed across the ground.

Miles held up a finger. "Do not ask me irellevant questions." The fox said through gritted teeth.

Cubot thought to himself. "And uh, what type of question would you consider relevant?"

"Nothing." The fox replied bluntly, peering closer at a half-torn piece of paper in his hand. "I doubt you could add anything of value to my research."

The robot dared to inch closer, hovering to where he got a clear view of what was written on some of the documents. He decided to focus on reading one in particular, trying to grasp what had gotten Miles so transfixed and obsessive.

Diary #63 - Gerald Robotnik

Project Shadow's vitals remain stable, and his pace of learning is so quick, far greater than I had anticipated. He already understands quadratic equations - I thought Maria's textbooks were going to keep him busy for a while, but he's quickly outgrowing the content. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if in a week I could be teaching him about quantum mechanic. As much as I'd personally enjoy coaching him on the subject, I doubt he would feel the same way - I can tell he's not keen on math. He's more interested in literary theories - only natural I suppose for someone wanting to learn more of the world's history and culture. Perhaps I'll spare him from advanced mathematics and science, at least for now.

Some of my fellow scientists have approached me with concerns about Shadow's "limited emotional range'. Bah! What nonsense! He's not very expressive in the face, I'll admit - but that will come with time. If they actually took the time to get to know him, they'd learn his subtelties - the way his ears flcker when he's curious or the way his eyes quickly shift off to the side when he was getting impatient. It's all in the little details! Their lack of observational skills is causing them to spread unecessary fear throughout the ARK - comparing Shadow to a sociopath lacking empathy, and how that might increase his likelihood of going rogue.

Honestly, what nonsense!

At the very least, I'm glad he and Maria are getting along - quite comfortably might I add! I actually saw Shadow smile for the first time the other day after she told a joke! Maria just seems to have that effect on people - she's undoubtedly someone relaxing and warm for Shadow to come to, unlike the scientists that can often be so blunt or dismissive. I really need to have a talk with the team - alienising Shadow as they insist on doing so is negatively impacting his development. To teach him to be human, we need a human approach.

Although, there was something rather funny I saw a few days ago. That weird kid, Abraham, visiting his father on the ARK - took one look at Shadow - screamed his head off, and ran as far as he could! It was hilarious - I couldn't stop laughing, and Shadow looked so perplexed too! It was worth every stare I got from my colleagues, seriously - I don't know that got into the kid, it was like he'd never seen a hedgehog before. I'm chuckling as I write this, his face was far too funny.

These diary entries are becoming more personal than I intended, but I suppose that isn't a bad thing. I have more than enough systems I keep dedicated to record keeping. I should write here more often, quite soothing after a day's work.

"Any particular reason you're lurking around?" Miles asked Cubot tiredly, bringing the robot back to the present.

"Just reading-" Cubot replied. "Gerald seemed to care a lot about Shadow, huh...?" Quite frankly, Cubot wondered what it would be like to recieve the same level of affection from his own creator. If only he could dream...

Miles almost seemed capable of reading Cubot's mind when he next spoke. "Robotnik cares about you too. It's just - pleasantries are simply a waste of time. If we all get too close with each other - it will impact our work, make us weak."

Yep, the kid was definitely brainwashed.

"Sure, sure." Cubot shrugged off, realising there was little point in disputing that. "What's with you looking at all this stuff anyway?"

"I'm searching all of the files we have on Gerald Robotnik and his projects to look for a way to override the doomsday program that Shadow's planning on activating. But - there's nothing... nothing here!" The fox suddenly threw the paper in his hands into the air. "All I can find are diagrams, data sheets, and pansy diary entries!" He snapped. "How could there be no record of this?!"

"Maybe he just didn't write it down. Maybe he like, just forgot-"

"Cubot, stop being stupi..." His voice faded out, then he tapped his chin. "Maybe he didn't write it down... maybe- well looking at all this, it seems he would only have wanted to install a doomsday program after the infamous raid... which means he updated the Eclipse Cannon's code while in G.U.N. captivity!" Things were finally clicking into place for the fox. "He must have been a genius! Just like Robotnik is saying - perhaps... there might be something in the old G.U.N. databases-" Miles stood up, fully intending to set off on yet another researching journey.

Cubot moved in his path. "Woah, slow down there dude! You've been working for the past few nights - don't you think you should be sleeping? That information isn't going anywhere-"

Miles appeared ready to argue back, glaring at the robot before the need to yawn overcame him. It was loud, an undeniable sign of the fox's sleepy state - as if the dark circles around his eyes hadn't been enough of an indication.

"Fine-" Miles said stiffly as he could no longer deny how he felt. "Fine, I'll- go to sleep."

"Get ready for bed - I'll clean your room while you're doing that. Cans for the trash - and those papers will be on a pile on your desk!" Cubot assured him cheerfully, happy he had managed to convince the fox to look after his health.

The fox let out an exhausted sigh. "Thanks, Cubot..."

Wave was the easiest Babylon Rogue to talk to by a long shot, and she was carrying most of the conversation - dancing between every topic from mechanical engineering to planting tomatoes. It was hard for Amy to keep up, so she retorted to nodding with the occassional hum of agreement.

Jet was still being miserable, following behind them like a rainy storm cloud. Storm, on the other hand, seemed cheerful enough despite not speaking, carrying everyone's shopping bags - Amy was figuring out quickly that Storm seemed to religiously follow whatever Jet did - and if Jet wasn't being sociable, he wasn't going to be either.

She wondered why Storm had decided to be so devoted. Especially when Jet was so... prickly.

They were a few paces away from the apartment before a voice called out to them all from behind.

"Yoohoo~!"

They all turned in unison, wearing the same baffled expression at such a flamboyant and eager sounding call.

"Do you have a moment to talk about our glorious Emperor?!" The human lady asked far too eagerly, bending down to their level with shaky breaths.

"Nope." Jet told her bluntly, immediately turning away.

Amy found herself too disturbed to look away from the lady. Everything about her outfit and auburn hair was prestine, but her eyes were wide in the way a crazy person's would be. Amy wasn't sure if she had even blinked yet.

"Ignore him." Wave forced herself to smile pleasantly for the woman. "What did you wish to say?" As Jet realised Wave was continuing the conversation, he paused his walk with a grumble - waiting for his team.

"I just- Oh, forgive me!" The lady begged them before breaking out into a sudden stream of laughter. Amy's fur was standing on end. "I'm so happy! Robotnik has helped me feel true happiness!"

"Oh..." Wave said at a loss for words. "Sounds... nice-"

"Have you felt it too?!"

"Every...everyday-! Haha..." Wave's false smile faltered uneasily, sweat beading down her face.

"Our lives... they were so futile before!" The woman's eyes brimmed with tears as she properly fell to her knees. Amy stared at the car crash in front of her, horrified but in a manner she couldn't tear her eyes away from it. The human broke out into further cackles.

"Alright - that's enough creepy weirdness-" Jet spoke up again, grabbing hold of Wave's shoulder and pulling her back. While momentarily startled, Wave seemed legimitately grateful for an excuse to leave, walking by Jet's side away from the weeping woman.

"Amy!" Jet snapped at the hedgehog. The pink hedgehog finally turned away, a whirlwind of questions swirling in her mind as she followed after the birds.

"What... what was with that woman?" Amy asked once they were enough of a distance away.

Jet and Wave eyed each other, then nodded - as though they had almost communicated their thoughts telepathically to each other. "She's probably just come back from Robotnikland."

"We said earlier - once you go there, you don't come back as the same person." Wave tagged on. "Mina was the same when she came back from there, until eventually she settled - now she's just, a smiley husk - barely more than a robot really. That woman is likely on course for the same fate-"

Amy's eyes widened. "This... this sounds like a horror movie-"

"We've been living in one for the past three years." Jet pointed out, taking out the keys to enter the apartment complex. "We've just started to get used to it. But that old man? He's always got new tricks up his sleeve... that's one thing I'll give him."

Starline swirled in his chair, phone up to his ear. "By the way... you did give an invite to Amy Rose, as I requested - didn't you, Clutch?"

"Of course." Clutch's voice replied on the other end.

"Splendid work. I assume you can already predict as to why I'm so eager to make sure she gets there." Starline said.

"Ah, so you weren't just wanting to give a colleague of yours a good time." Clutch joked, causing Starline to snort - they both knew that would never have been the intention.

"Haha! Oh no, oh no - of course not. I need her investigated, thoroughly - make her a main priority target. I still have my suspicions that her alleigance does not truly lie with our Emperor." Starline's face twisted with disgust.

"I understand, Starline. We'll get her talking, one way or another." Clutch assured the platypus. "Although it's sort of funny to be looking into the woman who was just responsible for saving the Emperor's life."

"Well, you tell me what's smarter - try and kill a man with no guaranteed success, or save his life once - earn his trust, and once he's vulnerable around you - you make a killing move that is far more likely to succeed." Starline reasoned.

"Hmmm... I see." Clutch remarked with light amusement.

"You know, it is an absolute relief to hear your buttery voice. Repairing Thunderbolt's mech suit with her screeching almost made my ears bleed-" The platypus whined.

"I don't envy you." Clutch said. "Other than annoying chinchillas, how are things in Station Square?"

"Operations are going swimmingly!" Starline replied eagerly, happy someone was taking an interest. "Although there was one minor hiccup where a few rebels decided to steal a plane, but I'm not too concerned. I sent badniks and a few ships after them, that should have taken care of that problem."

"Rebel activity has increased somewhat, wouldn't you say? Haven't heard of this many incidents in a short span since the Diamond Cutters were still alive." Clutch said thoughtfully.

"Well, we all saw Whisper at the festival did we not? She's carrying on despite the loss of her teammates, perhaps as a consequence - it's been inspiring others that are... misguided, to also try and make a stand-"

"Half-a-job, Mimic eh?" Clutch chuckled softly. "Ah well, none of these rebel forces seem all that organised. Rouge was a problem for a while but now she's running with off with the science experiment, she's painted an even larger target on her back."

"Yes, it is most bizzare." Starline smiled. "This chat has been delightful Clutch, but I'm afraid I simply must get back to my work - these files don't write themselves, unfortunately. Although I suppose I could program them to!" Starline added with a laugh.

Clutch's laugh was soft again. "Of course, of course. Twas a pleasure to catch up Starline. I'll inform you of important updates. Goodbye-"

"Good-" Starline was cut off as Clutch hung up the phone call. Starline smirked to himself, pleased with all the progress he had made. Ruining Miles' reputation, eliminating Amy Rose - Robotnik would have to achknowledge his efforts eventually! Maybe then he could finally earn the recoginition he deserved...

"Shadow... why are you mumbling to yourself?" Rouge asked tiredly.

"I thought you were sleeping." Shadow countered.

"Yeah, well, thanks to you-" She yawned in the middle of her sentence. "- I'm awake again."

Rouge was laid out across the back seats of the car, a newly acquired blanket wrapped around her. At last, no longer finding themselves being interrupted by nuisances, Shadow was able to gather the supplies needed for the journey. Well, he hadn't really needed anything for himself - the supplies were for Rouge. She now had food and water in the trunk of their newly stolen car, enough that would last her the journey - as well as spare clothes, just in case. Shadow had tried to gather as many things as possible as he could fit into their next stolen car - as he really didn't want to have to make another stop before Apotos.

Shadow exhaled slowly. They had told each other about their individual encounters. Rouge had encountered some of her old teammates - and Shadow, although he had fought him at the festival, was still surprised that an echidna was part of that team. Gerald had always told him that he was fairly certain that echidnas were not instict like everyone else believed - and it seems like he was proven right by the revelation.

Guardians were renowned as powerful, but he had retreated from their last encounter. Shadow was confident he could seize the Master Emerald for himself, he just needed to be smart about it.

However, there was a bigger issue plaguing his thoughts. "Rouge... the blue hedgehog was a part of your old team - wasn't he? Who is he? Where did he come from?"

He knew too many things he simply shouldn't have - how did he know about the ARK and the Eclipse Cannon? How did he know about the program that would activate when the Cannon was used? How did he know that's what his own intentions were? How did he know about Maria...?

"That's the funny thing - we have no clue where the fuck Sonic came from..." In her tired state, Rouge's words were a little slurred and hard to make out. First thing he asked me when he met me was about the Chaos Emeralds... and the Master Emerald, and he knew my name before I even told him it-"

Did... did this Sonic have omnipotence?

"He remembered where he was born but said he didn't remember his parents... so weird honestly. Could never bring myself to trust him."

"He is certainly puzzling. I wouldn't trust him either." Shadow thought back to Sonic's attempts of getting him to stand down and back away from the path he had chosen. If Sonic had so much knowledge of events to come, he should have foreseen that Shadow's resolve was absolute - the world was going to meet its end.

"Finally - someone agrees with me." Rouge smiled, closing her eyes again. "Now do try and stay quiet, I'm a light sleeper."

Shadow rolled his eyes, but quickly fell back into a state of contemplation - Sonic's eyes had been pleading, phrases such as 'This isn't you' pouring out of his mouth, confounding him entirely. Sonic had never known him before - how could he saw what was him, and what wasn't?

If they ended up encountering each other again, Shadow would get his answers - whatever it took.

The heroes blinked into sight onto the steps of the altar. Due to it being night, the island was still - those in camp were resting away in their homes. Knuckles ran up the steps and got to a point where the Master Emerald was visible at the top - and Sonic noticed how Knuckles' facial expression softened. At least the emerald was safe.

Knuckles went right up to the gem, while the other three lingered on the previously established boundary step. "Are you- are you doing this now?" Tangle spoke up, tilting her head.

"What use would there be in waiting?" He pointed out, before turning his head back to the Master Emerald. The echidna closed his eyes and placed a hand on top of the large gem.

"The Servers are the Seven Chaos..." Knuckles recited. "Chaos is Power... Power enriched by the Heart. The Heart is the Controller, the Controller is the one that unfies the chaos... ancestors, heed my call - protect our weary souls from the power we can't fathom - halt the flow of energy to the Chaos Emeralds!"

The emerald glowed a bright green, Sonic's mouth hung slightly agape - it was hard not to stare in wonder.

Knuckles suddenly let out a cry of pain as a jolt of energy shot through his body. The echidna fell to his knees with a groan - beginning to pant. Sonic, without thinking, sprinted up the steps to the top of the altar, kneeling beside Knuckles.

"Knux!" Sonic called to him with concern as he placed a hand on the echidna's shoulder. "You okay?"

Knuckles didn't reply to the question, nor did he yell at Sonic for being too close to the Master Emerald - instead, he stared ahead at the large jewel - eyes wide and glassy. "It..." His voice came out barely louder than a breath. "The emerald... it rejected my call..."

Their new house had everything they could possibly need. Silver, letting his curiosity get the better of him, was investigating the closet in the living room - which was an odd location for a closet to begin with - but the clothing inside was even more strange. Among generally normal looking pieces were an astronaut costume, a dinosaur suit, but something in particular caught Silver's eye - so he quickly tried on the garment.

Hw turned around to face the other two sat on the couch, and spread out his arms. "Ugly Christmas sweater!" He announced, a little too excitedly. "I've always wanted to wear one!"

Tikal let out a small giggle. "You look... interesting, draped in such cloth-"

Silver did some poses for dramatic flair, causing the echidna to laugh louder at the absurdity. The previous family had been right, this house was empty for them to use. It was nice for more reasons rather than just being shelter from the rain - it also provided a place to finally rest. Silver hadn't felt sore or tired by all the walking - but he had most certainly been bored.

Now they could rest, and entertain themselves for a while.

Silver turned away from the two and began sifting through the clothes again.

...

Tikal heard a whisper in her ear.

"The Servers are the Seven Chaos... Chaos is Power... Power enriched by the Heart. The Heart is the Controller, the Controller is the one that unfies the chaos... ancestors, heed my call - protect our weary souls from the power we can't fathom - halt the flow of energy to the Chaos Emeralds!"

What was Knuckles doing? First trying to steal Shadow's power, now this - all these big chants that were going to bring him that much closer to falling to his ruin. No, she was sure he likely had a good reason for it, but she could not allow him - she couldn't risk it.

"Sorry, Guardian." She whispered under her breath, pressing her hand against her necklace. "Not today."

Silver had heard and seen nothing - Metal was a different story. His eyes were transfixed onto her, and Tikal felt her face flush with embarrassment. "I, um- forget you heard anything - okay?" She whispered urgently to him.

Metal darted his eyes away from her, focusing instead on the carpet.

Creak.

All three of them lifted up their heads, their ears perked and alert as they heard the creaking of floorboards from upstairs. Tikal's heart began to beat furiously. Contrary to what they had assumed... this house wasn't empty.

They weren't alone.

Chapter Text

"The emerald… it rejected my call..."

Knuckles' dejected and perplexed expression tugged at Sonic's heartstrings in a way he didn't expect. Perhaps it was due to the fact that Sonic knew how much the Master Emerald and his duties meant to him. Sonic couldn't begin to comprehend the thoughts running through the echidna's head after his ancestors had turned away from his pleas.

The worst part of it, however, was that Sonic didn't have an explanation for it either.

Sonic pondered what to say, but was it wise to say anything? He doubted comforting words would do much good, especially when he didn't really know what he was talking about.

"I think… we all need some rest, Knux." Sonic told him quietly.

"Y-yeah! That might do the trick!" Tangle offered up, trying to be helpful as she smiled with a pretence of confidence. "We'll come back to this tomorrow! Could just be a… huh, what's the opposite of a fluke-?"

Sonic turned his head back to the lemur. "Tangle." He said simply, trying to make sure that his face somehow got across the message that talking wasn't going to do much for now.

"Right, um-" She got the message. "Whisper!" She suddenly exclaimed, turning to the blonde wolf beside her. "Wanna come back to the base with-?"

"I'm happy to take the hammock again." Whisper responded quickly.

"Oh! Yeah, pshhh – whatever's best for you!" Tangle smiled brightly. "Have a good night!"

Whisper nodded and wasted no time hurrying down the stairs away from the group. Sonic could easily sympathise with her – suddenly ending up stuck in a team with people she had never intended on joining in the first place must be overwhelming.

"I'm…" Tangle's eyes darted around, looking for an excuse to leave and grant Knuckles some privacy, "Oh! I'm gonna wake up Lanolin and let her know that we're back! And then we can all go back to sleep and yeah- deal with this in the morning."

Of course, the stress Tangle was under couldn't be underestimated either. The revelation that Shadow was on the path of trying to destroy the world wasn't an easy thing to stomach. Sonic watched as the lemur bounded soon bounded away.

Only now did he realise he still had his hand on Knuckles' shoulder. Even still, the echidna hadn't pointed that out, or tried to pull away. Knuckles, on his knees, stared dead ahead at the Master Emerald – shining as brightly as it ever did.

"You gonna be okay?" Sonic asked, his concern evident on his face.

"Don't." Knuckles said, his voice finally cutting through the air. "Just… don't-" He sighed as though he didn't really know what he was saying anymore. "This is punishment from my ancestors – for failing and losing the emerald."

"That can't be right." Sonic defended him immediately. "They have no reason to do that."

"I have been deemed unworthy of its power, Sonic." Knuckles' impatience grew as his brow furrowed. "It is telling me I need to get better."

For the first time in a while, Knuckles turned and finally looked Sonic in the eyes. "Rouge was the closest thing you guys had to a leader before, now – we lack any sort of direction. From now on, I will be coordinating our efforts."

Sonic was admittedly taken aback at how Knuckles had announced himself as the new leader despite not having consulted anyone on that front. While surprised, Sonic found he had little reason to oppose him. In fact, a voice at the back of Sonic's head told him that Knuckles was probably best suited for it.

His tactical fighting knowledge and understanding of the emeralds made him more than qualified. Sure, his social skills weren't all that great – but that was something that he could easily learn. Sonic had seen it once before, so he would see it again.

"That works-" Sonic began before Knuckles cut him off.

"Which means I immediately forbid you from running off without permission!" Knuckles made clear, standing upright, and prodding the end of one of his mitts into Sonic's chest – after all he didn't exactly have a finger to poke with. "And please, please run all your nonsensical ideas by me first – so I can stop them before something stupid happens."

The corners of Sonic's mouth slipped upwards despite himself. "You got it, Knucklehead." While Sonic couldn't realistically promise that he was never going to get ahead of himself – he absolutely was going to try and make the effort not to.

Knuckles' eyes narrowed. "I feel like you're not taking this very seriously." He accused.

"Nah, it's just cool seeing you step up and be assertive, reminds me of…" Sonic's voice trailed off. The Knuckles of my timeline, he had wanted to say. Ugh, what was he supposed to say now? "Never mind." Sonic shook his head. "Get a good rest tonight, won't ya?"

Sonic was in a hurry to leave before he got anymore questions sent his way, but Knuckles called after him. "Just one thing!"

Sonic stopped in the middle of turning, looking over his shoulder back at Knuckles.

"If… you end up communicating with my ancestors tonight, can you… well, can you ask them why they didn't-? Well, I mean I know why it's just… I want to hear it confirmed from them. I want to know they at least listened…"

"Of course, Knux. If I meet them, I'll find out for you." Sonic smiled softly, but the guilt inside him was beginning to grow heavier. There were no ancestors he was communicating with, not unless you counted Tikal, but he didn't know how much she knew about this either – especially considering she and Silver seemed to be doing their own thing now. "Goodnight, dude."

"Goodnight… Sonic."

Sonic was finally free to rest.

…

Sonic had been laying in bed for only a few minutes until Tangle hopped into their stone room, and practically collapsed onto her bed and then proceeding herself to wrap herself in her blanket like it was a cocoon.

"Lanolin knows we're back." Tangle spoke in a whisper, knowing that Sonic was still awake – but not wanting to jostle him out of the falling asleep process with her loud voice.

"Good stuff." Sonic replied.

The room became quiet, and Sonic had thought that would have been the end of their conversation until the lemur spoke again.

"Sonic?"

"Yeah?"

"You know that… Shadow guy?"

Sonic had a sneaking suspicion he knew where this was going. "What about him?"

"You two look like you could have been brothers…" She whispered in fascination.

Sonic sighed heavily.

"Goodnight, Tangle."

Metal Sonic was the first to stand, both hands raised as though he were about to pull off an elaborate karate move on however was upstairs if they came down. On the other hand, Silver and Tikal got up with much more caution - refusing to look anywhere but up.

"Silver... should we exit?" Tikal asked him with uncertainty, a hand anxiously placed over her chest.

"I..." Silver thought about it, but shook his head. "Come on, what's the likelihood of it being that bad? The other house was fine." He smiled at her, hoping his words were comforting her on the matter. Her posture seemed to relax just slightly.

A door opened. Footsteps were heading down the staircase, getting louder as their mysterious figure was getting closer.

Thankfully, Metal Sonic had read the room and ditched his previous pose - although he got out of it rather slowly, and was probably ready to jump back into it at a moment's notice if they turned out to be hostile.

Silver gasped as he saw them for the first time.

It was a face so famliar yet... different. The man had a rotound body but a distinct face with a large nose and a dramatically large, grey moustache. He was wearing a white labatory coat with the collar of a red turtleneck sweater peaking out from underneath, and a small pair of dark glasses on that covered his eyes.

While there was some sort of resemblance in body type, it was the face that was so strikingly similar.

The man stopped in his tracks in the middle of the flight of stairs, staring back at the trio just as they were gawking at him.

"Eggman... but old?" Silver breathed out, and the pout that formed on Tikal's face let him know quickly that it was a stupid observation.

"Gerald Robotnik." She said, staring at the hedgehog.

"Gerald-" Silver blinked. "That Gerald?"

Tikal nodded slowly.

"I-" His brain failed him. "Hold on, how is that-? He's-" He pointed to the man. "You're- dead- He's very dead..." Anxiety rose within him, staring back at Tikal with wide eyes. "Are you sure I'm not dead and that this isn't the afterlife?!"

"Silver, I have little reason to decieve you." The echidna spoke firmly.

"Right, right - yeah, of course." Silver sighed, but his ears perked up at the sound of Gerald speaking for the first time.

"You gain very little by standing there and talking in circles." His voice was gruff, impatient. He walked down the rest of the steps and the the three smaller mobians stepped back to make way. They now stood in the same room, disturbingly close.

"Um, hi?" Silver's voice cracked. What was he even supposed to say? Gerald Robotnik - what did he know exactly? Well, he was Shadow's creator and Eggman's grandfather. As far as he knew... the man sort of went crazy after the... incident, and then somehow programmed Shadow to try and destroy the world?

Recalling all this now... Silver was quickly realising that Gerald was unlikely to be their friend.

Yet again, having a genius working with them - wouldn't that help things along? Perhaps it was worth a try.

Gerald let out a huff as he walked past them and into the kitchen, Silver just now realising that Gerald had been carrying a mug this whole time. Silver followed behind him, and so too would Tikal and Metal. Silver was surprised when he saw Tikal's face - her generally softer face was twisted into a glower as she stared at the scientist.

She had seen it all, hadn't she? She had seen everything. If she knew everything there was to know about him and all his friends, then surely she knew of the ARK and the things that transpired.

Silver debated on how to start this conversation as Gerald flipped the switch to boil water in the kettle, ignoring everyone around him. It was still bizzarre to him how the kitchen just seemed to be miraculously stocked with everything you could need - even as the world was falling apart.

"Soooo..." Silver began. "I know your grandson-"

Tikal breathed in through her nose. Metal turned his head incredibly slowly until he was looking straight at Silver.

"Nice to meet the man who... helped birth his father and then... you know, by extension help bring him... into the world-"

Tikal closed her eyes as Metal Sonic face-palmed, loudly beeping in the process.

Silver turned to the robot, indignant. "You got any better ideas, Metal?!" He huffed. "Sorry I never rehearsed how to talk to a dead guy!"

"Do you know what is going on, Gerald?" Tikal asked, interrupting the bickering. Her voice was steady and she didn't keep her eyes off of the scientist.

"The dead and the alive are reconvening, this realm was broken due to a space-time anomaly - but something is trying to piece it back together." Gerald explained indifferently, mixing his coffee with the hot water - and reaching into the fridge for milk.

Silver blinked. "And that... means?"

"I don't know how else I could possibly further simplify that." Gerald replied with a slight snap in his tone.

Tikal took the reigns of the conversation once more. "Your grandson, Ivo Robotnik, has used a weapon of great destruction to craft a new timeline of his own design. This world is what remains of the fragment of the old, but that makes little sense - does it not?"

Gerald scoffed. "So even my own descendant has grown to be selfish... creating whole new timelines because the world isn't as he wants it!"

Silver found that there was something oddly satisfying about Eggman's own grandfather being disapproving of him.

The professor continued on. "For this sort of event to occur, Ivo created a new timeline - but is very purposefully keeping the old one still in-tact, existing alongside the new one he has created."

So, this was certainly no oversight on Eggman's part - it was purposeful. "But why would he want to keep it...?" Silver wondered out loud, hand to his chin. "Surely he'd want to erase everything in the old timeline - so it has no way of intefering with his new one - right?"

"That would be most logical." Gerald agreed surprisingly, dropping a tea spoon of sugar into his freshly made cup of coffee.

Silver rubbed his temples. "This is so confusing... dealing with Mephiles' time stuff was somehow easier than this..." Still, he wasn't about to give up trying to wrap his head around it all. He was one of the few individuals with the power to try and do anything about this time conundrum.

"Okay-" Silver sighed slightly. "Let's go over what we've learnt. Metal, can you record logs?" He asked the robot curiously.

He nodded.

"Then record one for me."

After a few seconds, the robot gave a thumbs up - which Silver supposed was the indication to start talking. "We know that this realm is the old timeline we're familiar with, purposefully being kept in-tact by Eggman - we don't know why yet, though. All we know is that this old timeline is messed up in weird ways - even dead people and alive people are existing together."

When Silver was done, he gave his own thumbs up to signal to stop the recording. After waiting a few seconds, Silver grinned. "You have your uses, Metal. I'll give you that."

Silver looked towards Tikal, still smiling. "Helps us keep track of where we're at!" He told her. Tikal nodded in achknowledgment, but he wouldn't allow her to say anything as more questions dawned on him. "Wait, so you're really telling me that everyone that has died is just- randomly chilling now with everyone that's alive?"

"No." Tikal told him, closing her eyes in contemplation. "Most of the dead die with complete souls - they are satisfied with the life they led, they are happy - even if it might have been cut unfortunately short. These souls move onto a higher plain... one which I have never been able to reach. However, there are spirits who die with malice, wrath, and greed coursing through their veins. They die, incomplete - dissatisfied with the life they led so they cling to life, refusing to move on - and instead becoming a ghost - invisible to all, trapped in a realm of darkness, and never finding peace - just... there to wallow and weep."

Silver's mouth fell open slightly. "Oh... jeeze, I had no idea-" Processing that information was going to take some time. The fact that some people never truly passed away... the thought made him shudder. "So all the dead people we're going to be walking among are gonna be people that were all nasty and refuse to move on?"

"To put it simply, yes." Tikal said.

"Yikes..." What else was there to say? He couldn't find it within himself to articulate something more profound.

"Your plan to doom the world failed, Gerald." Tikal suddenly said. Silver's heart started beating a little faster, was she seriously going to tell Gerald about how Shadow decided to save the world in the end? Was there a point to that? "Shadow saw the light, and works to protect the planet from the forces of evil. In many ways, he is a shield for the people. He broke away from the path of cruelty you sent him upon. Tell me, Gerald. Are you anything like him still? Can you find it within your heart to love humanity again, and aid us in piecing back the world?"

Gerald placed his mug on the counter. Despite the emotion behind Tikal's preaching and pleas - the doctor wasn't moved by it in the slightest. "So... Shadow betrayed me." The old man said.

"Huh-? No!" Silver immediately rose to defend his friend, glaring. "I think you're the one that betrayed him! You were the one that altered his memories and programmed his brain to undertake a revenge plot he never wanted!" The hedgehog stepped closer to Gerald, and the human finally turned around to look at the creature far below his height.

"There is no hope for humanity, they will find themselves always caught in the same cycle of greed and destruction." The professor said darkly, his voice like a growl. "I died a broken man upon finally coming to that realisation. Now, I have had 50 years to accept the world as it is - and my resolve has only strengthened. This world needs to end."

"You're... you're an awful- person!" Silver stuttered out, too angry to form a coherant sentence. "You seriously think you have the right to decide the fate of everyone on the planet?!"

"Silver." Tikal cautioned, placing a hand on the hedgehog's shoulder - shaking her head solemnly, before glaring back at the doctor with a look of disgust. "It is clear that he will not aid us. We would gain more from leaving this house, rather than debating with a mad man."

"But-!" Silver's frustrations didn't fade, but he certainly realised Tikal had a point - what was yelling at him going to achieve anyway? Silver wanted to defend humanity, defend Shadow against any sort of claims he made - but it simply wouldn't be worth their time. "You're right..." He finally admitted to the echidna with a sigh. "Let's just go. We've been here enough-"

Tikal nodded slowly. "Let us witness what lies beyond this street... and pray we uncover the answers which we seek."

Sonic was alone. He was just a tiny hedgehog, floating in the never-ending universe - surrounded by nothing but the twinkling stars.

"Sonic!" Shadow's voice echoed through the darkness.

"Shadow!" Sonic called after him, twisting himself around in all directions - trying to identify where his voice was coming from.

There was no sign of him anywhere.

"SONIC!" The black hedgehog now cried in a loud, desperate plea - the sheer emotion of the call disturbing Sonic to his core, he wasn't used to hearing that tone from Shadow.  It was fear - fear coming from a man he often viewed as fearless.

"Shadow, where are you?!"

Sonic suddenly found himself falling - space blurred, and his surroundings began to transform. He felt the ground, soft grass crunched beneath his feet as he shifted his weight. Suddenly, tall trees were hanging over him - bright and vibrant.

"Happy birthday."

Sonic's heart skipped a beat as he turned his head towards Shadow again. Shadow stood in front of a long wooden picinic table, it was the exact same set up as his surprise birthday party - write down to the chocolate cake.

The only difference was - his friends were absent. Everyone except Shadow, who had never went to that party in the first place.

"Shadow-" Sonic's ears drooped. "What are we doing here-? This is..." Sonic's shoulders dropped down as he heaved an exhausted sigh. "Come on, this is a dream. I just want to wake up-"

"You are certainly eager to avoid your problems." Shadow stated, folding his arms.

"I know you're not real, Shads." Sonic countered, fully prepared to walk away and hope the dream wasn't going to play out any longer. That was until Shadow spoke again.

"I understand we don't see eye to eye." Shadow began, and Sonic's mouth hung open when the Shadow of his dreams produced the handwritten letter that he had written to him for his birthday. "But I believe I... thought you cared more... than you actually do."

Sonic flinched as Shadow suddenly tore the paper in half, the sound grating loudly in his ears as he watched helplessly.

"Despite knowing me for years... you are unable to convince me to join your side. What's wrong, don't you know me well enough by now?" Shadow questioned. Sonic found himself speechless. "I guess you just didn't care to know me more. That's fine. I suppose for a hero of your callibre only has enough room in their heart to care for so many..." The dark hedgehog speculated.

"Still, I wonder why you have chosen, all this time, to dismiss me so... it's not out of dislike, is it? I don't think it's...hatred exactly."

Why was this dream Shadow rambling on like this? When was this dream going to be over already? What was he trying to get at? Still, Sonic found himself rooted despite how much he wanted to leave.

"It's something else." Shadow's tone was too careless, too mocking. "Perhaps you've avoided getting close to me for a reason. Yes, could it have something to do with the fight in space, Sonic?"

The blue hedgehog's face lost its colour.

"Perhaps... you couldn't face up to it. You just can't accept it, can you? You don't want to admit the truth..."

Sonic's breathing hastened.

"You left me to die."

Sonic was woken up by the sound of a large scream.

The hedgehog scrambled out of bed, and in the middle of the process caught sight of Tangle doing the same. They rushed out of the entrance of their room and out into the camp, right as the sky was just starting to lighten.

Dread swelled within him as he saw Vanilla in the middle of the camp grounds upon her knees - crying out in distress. Lanolin, the sheep he had only exchanged brief words with before, was placing a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to soothe her nerves.

"Lanolin!" Tangle gasped, skidding to their side. "What's going on?!"

The sheep was clearly distressed herself, sweat beading down her face. "Well, uh- Vanilla woke up and... well, she found a note-"

As Lanolin had said that, Sonic spotted that Vanilla held a piece of paper in her hands. "They're gone!" The rabbit suddenly exclaimed. "They've ran away- and- oh, no they're never coming back. They're never coming back, are they?! My baby... my poor baby-"

"Oh no..." Tangle said softly. "Vanilla... we are going to do whatever it takes to fix this. But please, may we see that note?"

Vanilla, with a shakey hand, lifted it up so both Sonic and Tangle could see it clearly.

We've gone down below to help search for Chaos Emeralds! :)

- Ray, Cream and Cheese

Sonic and Tangle exhanged a wide-eyed glance. "Yeah..." Tangle repeated. "It shouldn't be too late. They can't have gone far, Vanilla! I assure you - we'll set off right away!"

"We'll get them back, Vanilla. Promise." Sonic tagged on for assurance.

"Lanolin, can you watch over-?"

"Already on it-" The sheep pointed out, rubbing the rabbit's shoulder - Tangle nodded to her in gratitude and stepped away from the duo, now seeing that more people had been woken up by the sounds of the wailing, Sonic followed right behind her.

"Aaaaaaaaah, okay-" The stress and frustration getting to her now as she grabbed hold of the sides of her head. "So, the world's about to end, and now we've got runaway kids on the loose- This is fine, this is totally manageable-"

"We should split up." Sonic offered up, as the calmer one of the two - he could offer something more logical. "If Knux and I continue our hunt for the emeralds and stopping Shadow, maybe you and Whisper could try finding the kids and then join back up with us? That sounds like the best idea to me so we can split ourselves up and tackle both these problems at the same time."

Tangle snapped her fingers. "Smart thinking."

"I'm gonna run this by Knuckles, though. He... kind of elected himself leader last night." Sonic mentioned.

Tangle accepted it without issue, she actually seemed pretty grateful for that revelation. "You know what? Awesome. I trust him with that, he's cool." Tangle said quickly, before her voice quivered. "Those poor kids... they aren't going to make it long on their own-"

Sonic couldn't quite figure out why he wasn't as worried compared to Tangle or Lanolin on the issue - perhaps because he knew Cream was actually far more capable of defending herself than one might expect - especially when she had Cheese with her. "Those kids are strong, they'll be able to hold on a little while before we can get to them." Sonic told her with confidence. While he knew they weren't defenceless, it didn't make Sonic any less eager to set off to find them. Although it was admittedly a little weird for a good girl like Cream to running off on her own...

"You're right..." Tangle said finally as it sunk in. "Now go talk to Knuckles, I'll find Whisper."

"You got it!" Sonic gave her a nod and finally dashed away.

"Get up!"

"You're oversleeping again!"

"Don't make us throw you!"

Where was he?

His ears were swarmed by the sounds of voiced he didn't recongise, and most bizzarrely of all - they were speaking in Ancient Echidna tongue. Knuckles' barely concious brain tried to assemble his thoughts.

He had been at Sonic's birthday party, and then Eggman and his new weird creation came and messed everything up, More vividly now, he remembered as his rage had eneveloped him, before witnessing himself fade away out of existence.

Chaos, was he dead?

Knuckles' eyes opened, and he soon forgot to breathe.

Several faces were peering down at him with playful smirks or impatient frowns, and if that wasn't overwhelming enough - one thing was abundantly clear.

They were all echidnas.

Most of them shared a red-to-orange fur pallette, but Knuckles was surprised to find a few other fur colours standing out such as grey and green. However, they were all distinctly echidnas - broad shouldered with white markings, with long flowing dreads.

"Fucking hell-!" Knuckles exclaimed suddenly, sitting up in a nest made of leaves and flowers - trembling and gawking before them. Echidnas, actual echidnas - but how, and why?

"Nightmares?" One of them inquired, a little mockingly. He was considerably largely built, making Knuckles feel hopelessly small and weak in comparison - like cornered pray.

"He looks as though he's seen a ghost." Another observed with considerably more concern. Despite this, most of the echidnas chuckled at the idea.

It was all too much, Knuckles' breathing came to be ragged as he stared helplessly like a deer caught in headlights. The other echidnas seemed to catch onto the fact that something more was going on with him, and that perhaps joking around wasn't the best solution for it.

"Speak!" Another large echidna commanded. His fur was as bright as a flame. "Why must you act cowardly before your superiors?!"

"I... don't know where I am-" Knuckles finally panted out, pressing his back against the stone wall. When everyone met him with blinking, bewildered faces - he realised he was speaking the wrong language. "I don't know where I am!" Knuckles exclaimed finally.

They all raised their brows, looking between each other and murmuring.

"Stop speaking nonsense, Viracocha!" The echidna from earlier snapped in a huff.

Who the hell was Viracocha? Well, they were clearly speaking to him so... was he Viracocha? That didn't make sense at all!

"There's been some... some sort of mistake." Knuckles finally found the strength in him to communicate clearly, rather than stutter random things out. "I'm not Viracocha, I don't even know who they are- Or why I'm here-"

"Did he hit his head?" One of them asked bluntly.

"Perhaps he ate something poisonous." Another suggested.

"Or-" Knuckles jumped at the sound of a voice that was suspiciously close to him. In fact, Knuckles realised that he was actually sharing a sleeping nest with someone else. They were sitting up, more composed than everyone else in the room and looking unimpressed by all the speculation. "He's had a bed dream and needs some time to wake up properly. I'm sure you have more important things to do than stare."

The relief he felt after that echidna was able to make the others gradually decide to turn away came down like a tidal wave. Knuckles gazed at the other echidna clearly - their fur was a unique shade of grey - paler fur on his body but fading into darker areas on the ends of his limbs and dreads. It was like he was the personification of a strong gust of wind.

Something was so familiar about his green eyes.

"Are you alright, Viracocha?" His voice was much walmer and calmer, sympathetic even.

Knuckles didn't know how to respond. One moment, he had been at a birthday party - the next, he woke up surrounded by people of his own species... people that were long dead, and they were all claiming he had a different name. Just where exactly was he?

Maybe the question was when.

As much as he'd deny it to others, Knuckles often wandered about what it would have been like to live among his own species... to be surrounded by a community, a tribe. To not be alone... it was like that wish was suddenly coming true.

"Viracocha?" That echidna asked again, looking into his eyes intently and placing a hand on top of his own.

Chapter Text

"Viracocha?" That echidna asked again, looking into his eyes intently and placing a hand on top of his own.

A million thoughts ran through Knuckles' brain all at once, none of them coherent. The shock he felt was as though several semi-trucks had rammed into him all at once. He'd woken up, surrounded by his species that were long since supposed to be dead, all of them calling him by a different name - and now one of them was holding his hand.

How was he supposed to process any of this?

"I'm…. I'm fine…?" Knuckles managed to choke out, not sounding very convincing.

The echidna with the thin dreads and smoky looking fur was unsurprisingly sceptical, raising a brow. "Are you sure you're not sick? I can take you to see Koka-" He let go of Knuckles' hand and instead raised it to his forehead to check his temperature.

Knuckles flinched away from the contact, scrambling to stand up.

"Let's get something straight-" Knuckles began in the firmest voice he could muster. He held both his hands out in front of him, as if telling the other echidna to stay back. "I'm not Viracocha, I don't know who Viracocha even is!"

The other echidna blinked up at him a few times. "My initial instinct is to dismiss this as some sort of foolery – but you're not the type for jokes…" He then smirked. "Unless I'm rubbing off on you?"

Knuckles wanted to gasp – stricken by the other echidna's expression. Perhaps only because it was paired with those green, mischievously sparkling eyes – but that grin, it was so recognisable. It was though this echidna had somehow stolen it off of Sonic's own face.

"This isn't a joke!" Knuckles tried explaining desperately. "I don't even know who you are!"

The humour left the other echidna's face, his mouth setting in a firm line. "That's it. We're going to see Koka."

Leaving him with no choice in the matter, the grey echidna also stood and grabbed Knuckles by the arm. Knuckles couldn't find the effort within himself to break away. He was just so utterly confused.

As he was being dragged, Knuckles got the first clear view of his surroundings. He was in a stone building – patterns of vines engraved along the walls and the roof. One half of the room was taken up by a large flower bed filled with soft grass and brightly coloured plants.

Echidnas believed that sleeping among the ground and the plants brought them closer to nature and the planet, but they also wished for a roof over their head – hence they built houses around large beds of flowers - so families and partners could all sleep together.

Knuckles tended to sleep at the altar – but when heavy rain fell, he'd crawl back into his hut below. He'd slept in his own small flower bed, akin to that of how his ancient people used to sleep. That was until Sonic, Tails, and Amy had made an abrupt appearance to the island one night on the Tornado – bearing a new gift, a modern bed of cotton and silk, insisting he needed it – at least for the nights that were harsher.

From that point onward, Knuckles had chosen comfort and luxury over upholding tradition. He had been stubborn at first, of course – while he had been bullied by his friends into accepting the gift, he didn't sleep in it for the first new nights. It wasn't until a bout of snow came down in the middle of December that Knuckles had given in. It was a guilty pleasure – and he still slept at the altar most of the time, so what did it matter?

Still, shame overcame him in a wave. His ancestors couldn't even fathom the idea of a warm mattress made with 'memory foam' (he still didn't know what that meant exactly, all he knew was that it was comfy). Knuckles was, in many ways, spoiled – far too soft compared to them.

"Viracocha!" The echidna called that name again, snapping Knuckles back to reality. He was surprised by the amount of concern in the grey echidna's tone. "Damn you! Are you even listening to me?"

Knuckles had been so caught up on a bed of all things he hadn't realised the other echidna had been trying to reach him – hell, he hadn't even noticed his surroundings had changed.

Once he did realise, Knuckles' mouth dropped in awe.

Having emerged from the sleeping quarters, they stepped out onto stone paved ground – tall palm trees surrounding the pathways. There were stone structures of all shapes and sizes – but most importantly, they were all whole – complete.

It was Mystic Ruins – but there were no ruins in sight. The echidna village was alive and thriving.

He had seen this before, in visions granted by Tikal – he had never expected to be here again, let alone walking among his ancestors.

This confirmed it then, this had to be the past! How had he got here though? Why was everyone else convinced he was an entirely different person?

The grey echidna let out an aggravated sigh at the fact that Knuckles continued to ignore him – albeit unintentionally. It was hard to do anything but gawk at everything he was seeing – but he tried making an effort as he saw the echidna's frustration.

"You're the one not listening!" Knuckles argued back. "I already tried telling you that I'm not Viracocha!"

"You look like Viracocha; you sound like Viracocha – you are Viracocha!" The echidna snapped in irritation, tugging at Knuckles' arm with a fiercer grip. Viracocha didn't even sound like a proper word anymore.

Knuckles was dumbfounded – how could he be telling the truth? Knuckles looked down at himself to figure out what the grey echidna was talking about – and he blinked repeatedly. Was his fur a darker shade all of a sudden? Or was he just imagining it?

He needed a mirror, or at least something reflective.

Was his voice strangely deeper too? Or was he imagining things in his confusion?

Finally, Knuckles was dragged into a small stone structure with a low roof. The door was simply a slab of rock that the grey echidna had to move aside to get in.

Once inside, the echidna let go of his arm so he could pull the stone back over, sealing the entrance. Knuckles wandered in further, eyes wide as he admired the stone shelves along the walls. It held up neatly separated bundles of herbs, berries, and spices – and as a result the whole room had a fresh and fruity aroma.

"What are you here for?"

Knuckles jumped when an old, particularly croaky voice of a lady spoke out. She was sat in the corner on a rock right beside the shelves with a glowering face – once again the vast array of colour palettes he found among the ancient echidnas stunned him – having only ever seen red and orange furs depicted in visions and cave art. This lady had dark purple fur – with uneven strands of hair sticking out from her dreads.

"Sorry if you were busy Koka, you see – Viracocha has been acting strange all morning. Woke up pale as death, and now he's trying to claim his name isn't even Viracocha, and that he doesn't know me – apparently."

Koka stood up with a grumble, picking up a thick tree branch that was leaning against the wall – and using It as a walking stick as she hobbled towards Knuckles. She was far shorter than he was, so had to crane her neck up high to look him in the eyes.

Knuckles tried again. "I promise you I'm not sick… ma'am. My name is actually Knuckles, and as strange as it is to say - I think I've found myself in the past somehow-"

Koka and the grey echidna exchanged a glance of mutual dubiety – after all, his words were absurd – there was no way someone could change their identity overnight.

The old woman hummed to herself before huffing out through her nose. "Possession." She included in an irritable tone – as though it were more of an inconvenience than something particularly worrying. "Haven't seen a case of this in 10 years." She used her stick to poke Knuckles in the chest.

"Possession?" The other echidna's worry was evident. "Well – is he going to be alright? What has possessed him?"

"A confused ghost by the sounds of things…" She grumbled before glaring at the echidna. "If you want him cured, stop asking questions!"

"O-of course, Koka." He reluctantly stood to the side, still remaining respectful of Koka's wishes and closing his mouth.

Koka stared at Knuckles for a few more seconds, looking him up and down and assessing the situation. "I'll have to try what worked last time… this will be painful Viracocha, but we cannot afford to lose you of all people!"

"Painful-?" Knuckles immediately questioned but was interrupted as Koka's stick wacked him on the top of his head.

And it hurt.

"OW-!" Knuckles exclaimed. "WHAT THE-? AGH-!"

He was hit again, even harder. She rose up her stick again for a third strike, causing Knuckles to step backwards and hold his hand up in defence. "Stop! Stop! I'm not possessed!"

Koka stopped the strike mid-air. "Do you know who you are now?"

Knuckles wanted to scream that they weren't getting it, that he wasn't crazy nor possessed – he wasn't the person they thought he was. At this rate, would they ever believe him? Was there a point to argue? If it wasn't going to result in more blows from a stick, then perhaps…

"Viracocha..." Knuckles sighed in defeat. "I'm Viracocha."

Koka frowned, then turned her head to face the grey echidna. "There you are, Kon. He's fixed."

Knuckles looked over towards Kon – and saw he was raising a brow as though he didn't quite believe the issue had been solved that easily. "And… do you know why he was possessed?" He asked Koka.

Koka shrugged. "It's rare – but it happens."

"I see…" Kon gave up trying to argue. "Are you certain you're alright, Viracocha?" He asked him in a gentler tone of voice.

"I'm fine – aside from a throbbing head." Knuckles groaned slightly, rubbing the top of his sore head. He was quickly beginning to understand why the ancient echidnas weren't renowned for their contributions to the medical field. He could gather quite easily by the shelves of leaves and other remedies that Koka was the clan healer – and he did have to wonder how many of her other treatments entailed getting beaten by a stick.

"You are awfully calm for someone that just found out they were possessed." Kon pointed out.