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Chapter Text

Alpha Shadow Android came to a screeching halt on top of the Resistance base. "Okay, time to slip into Sonic and blend in!" He shifted his form into Sonic and dropped down, speeding into the base itself. Man, I forgot how fun it is to just run instead of letting my thruster do the work.

"Sonic!"

The blue hedgehog came to a stop in front of the pink hedgehog. "What is it Amy?"

"Riverside is being hit with another Badnik attack, we've already sent reinforcements, but they're struggling pretty bad."

"So go help them? Sure!" 'Sonic' sped off into the horizon.

As Riverside came into view, it became clear to 'Sonic' that they definitely needed his help. Two Super Buzz Bombers were flying high above the sky, dropping Badniks relentlessly.

He ran into action without a second thought, boosting through a whole line of motobugs. He came to a stop at the center of the town, where most of the action was. "Yo! Need my help?"

"Sonic!" A brown dog with a helmet blasted a badnik before coming to the hedgehog's side. "We're completely surrounded! We've evacuated most of the civilians to the town hall but they just keep coming!"

"Yeah, it looks like it's not gonna stop until a certain blue hedgehog goes up there and busts those Super Buzz Bombers up. Oh wait, that's me,"

Suddenly, a rain of plasma came from the sky as the two took cover. The dog looked up. "Buzz Bombers! A whole swarm of them! Here, take my hover wispon and take them out!"

"That won't work, they're too fast. Charge up your wispon and blast me up,"

"What!?"

"Just do it,"

"Okay then." The canine charged his wispon, launching 'Sonic' high up. He then grabbed a Buzz Bomber and tore the metal on it's back off, revealing it's circuits.

He then pulled a circuit, causing the Buzz Bomber to fly straight up. The other Buzz Bombers started blasting at him, forcing him to weave through the shots. "C'mon c'mon, which one makes it go pew pew?" He suddenly fired a blast from his Buzz Bomber, the shot piercing through multiple of the machines. He then aimed up, taking a shot at the Super Buzz Bombers.

The precise shot caused both of the technological terrors to fall. He then charged up a Light Attack before releasing it, causing the rest of the Buzz Bombers to fall down. He then grabbed back on to his own Buzz Bomber before slowly descending on it.

As the hedgehog landed on solid ground, the people of Riverside swarmed him.

"That was awesome!"

"You're the coolest!"

"Sonic!"

"Sonic!"

"Sonic!"

As the people cheered for him, he felt something soaring within him. A sense of praise, fame, respect. This must be what they call "Pride".

"You're welcome everyone! Just doing my job,"

As the people separated, he noticed a meek sheep approaching him. "H-hey...um...thanks for saving the town again Sonic,"

"It's cool....Umm...did you say what your name was the last time I was here?"

"O-oh, I believe not. Call me Lanolin," She reached her hand out for a handshake.

The hedgehog quickly returned it. "You're named after the liquid stuff that comes out of your wool?"

"I-I mean...yeah. Umm...do you want to come to my place for tea?"

"Eh, why the heck not?"

The two sat down in Lanolin's small house, the sheep pouring two cups if tea. "I really didn't expect you to take up my offer. Don't you have other things to do?"

"The Badnik attacks have been slowing down a lot recently, I'm pretty sure I have time,"

"Well...if you say so,"

The hedgehog held the teacup close to his face. Hang on, how is this gonna work? He took a sip, not tasting anything and not sure where the hell the tea went. "It's...fine"

"I'm glad you like it" Lanolin smiled, before it faded and her eyes squinted.

"What?"

"Why do you have a busted up Buzz Bomber with you?"

'Sonic' looked down at the busted bug besides him. "It was a pretty useful tool for taking down the Super Buzz Bombers, may as well take it to Tails and see what he can do with it"

"It's Eggman tech though"

"Meh" Suddenly, a nearby phone rang. "Should you get that?"

"It's...fine..."

"Well if you say so" The hedgehog noticed something in Lanolin's wool on her head. "Who's your little friend there?"

"What are you talking abo-Woah!" Suddenly, a magenta creature popped out of Lanolin's wool. "I told you to stop doing that!"

"Is that a wisp?"

The sheep groaned. "Yes, a wisp. No clue what it does or why it's taken a liking to me, but it's there"

"Huh, neat" The wisp floated forward, nuzzling the hedgehog's cheek. "Aw, thanks little fellow" He turned to Lanolin. "Have you named it yet?"

The sheep look puzzled. "Named it?"

"Isn't it a pet?

"I mean...I guess? What type of wisp even is it?"

'Sonic' gazed at the wisp. "Magenta wisp, has sound powers"

"Sound powers?"

"Yeah, it can create some pretty nasty sound waves that can disorient people's ears and can cause serious destruction if used properly. Hang on, I have an idea!"

Lanolin squinted her eyes curiously. "What kind of idea?"

"Well-" Suddenly the phone rang again. "Are you sure you shouldn't get that?"

"Umm....Y-yeah....D-definitely,"

"Are you sure?"

"Mm-hm,"

"Riiiiight. Well, you know how you've been...well...helpless every time a Badnik attack has come here?"

The fluffball's eyes widened. "That's...an interesting way to start off, but continue,"

"I can make you a wispon that uses the magenta wisps power to protect yourself"

Her eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yeah! You would actually be able to get in the action and fight back,"

"Swee-" Lanolin slammed her fist on the table when the phone rang again.

The hedgehog's eyes widened. "I'm...uh...going to need your little friend to make the wispon,"

The magenta wisp's eye got watery as it whimpered and looked up at Lanolin. "Sorry, but you need to go,"

The wisp begrudgingly floated towards 'Sonic'. "You can come too you know,"

"I know...I just..." The sheep glared at the phone. "Want some time for myself,"

"Okay then," 'Sonic' started walking to the door, before turning his head back. "Hey Lanolin?"

"Yes?"

"Come to the Resistance sometime, we could use someone with skills like yours." He then sped off, magenta wisp in tow, before suddenly zipping back. "Hey um...kind of a weird question but do you have a spare cowbell you're not using?"

"Why do you need one?"

"Reasons"

Lanolin sighed before exiting the room and coming back with a yellow cowbell.

"Thanks Lanolin!" 'Sonic' grabbed it before running out the door again.

Lanolin chuckled while laying back in her seat. "You are so weird and yet so extraordinary," Suddenly, the phone rang again. This time however, Lanolin actually picked it up.

"Yes?"

"Uh-huh"

"I'm not telling you where I am living"

"Because you're controlling and clingy"

"Well sometimes you don't want to deal with your asshole mother!" She put the phone back down and groaned. "How does Sonic deal with this world?"

Chapter Text

"And one screw turn, and two screw turns, and-" A small explosion covered everything in the lab in black soot. "Damnit!"

Tails was in his lab, working on something. He leaned back in his chair before groaning. "Ugh. Please lord Gaia above, give me something else to do, literally anything,"

Suddenly, 'Sonic' bursted through a nearby door with a busted Buzz Bomber, a cowbell, and a magenta wisp following him. "Tails! I need your help with something!"

"Screw it, why not?"

The hedgehog laid all of his stuff across the table. "What are you working on Buddy?"

The two tailed prodigy groaned. "I am trying to make a battery that converts Hyper-Go-On energy into usable electricity, but it hasn't been going well,"

'Sonic' put a hand on his back. "Sorry about that, Buddy,"

"It's...fine," Tails straightened up. "So what do you need help with?" The blue hedgehog pushed the Buzz Bomber forward. "That's a Buzz Bomber,"

"Yep,"

He stared at it in confusion. "I just...why do you need me to fix up a Buzz Bomber?"

"Well," 'Sonic' began. "Y'know the attack on Riverside earlier today?"

"Yes...?"

"Well, if I didn't take control of this Buzz Bomber, I may not have been able to save the city,"

Tails' eyes went wide. "You...took control of the Buzz Bomber?"

"Yeah, like this," He tugged at one of the wires inside of it, causing it to hover slightly before floating back down.

The fox's face lit up. "Now that's pretty cool," His expression quickly changed to disappointment. "But...I don't really know how to work with Egg Tech. Maybe I can figure something out?"

"Thanks Tails, you're the best," Tails fiddled with the wiring until the whirring wasp's eyes came to life. It floated upward before pointing it's blaster stinger at the fox. 'Sonic' jumped on it's back before turning it off, causing it to fall to the floor. "Okay, maybe keeping it's coding the same was probably a bad idea,"

"There's nothing I can do about that, Egg Tech is basically an aneurysm to figure out,"

The hedgehog looked disappointed, before the magenta wisp nuzzled against his cheek. "Thanks little guy,"

Tails punched his arm playfully. "Hey, I'M the little guy around here,"

"Can you get out your wisp translator?"

"Sure!" Tails exited the room, before coming back with the Miles Electric. He held the tablet up to the wisp. "Okay just speak into this and we'll be able to understand you"

The wisp let out a curious electric garble, before reading off the Miles Electric, which read Really? Just like that?

Tails nodded. "Yep! Really easy. Now, do you have a name?"

No, I do not have a name.

"Huh, really? Okay then, do you wish you had a name?"

A little bit.

"Hmm..." 'Sonic' thought for a moment before snapping his fingers. "Ma-jee!"

Tails and the wisp looked at him in confusion. "Ma-jee?"

"Yeah, like a shortened form of magenta,"

"And how would you spell this?"

"M-a-g-g-i-e. Why do you ask?"

The fox face palmed. "Because 'Ma-jee' is an actual name, and it's pronounced 'Mag-ee,"

"The g comes before the i, deal with it,"

"Mag-ee is how is has been pronounced for years, deal with it,"

The hedgehog's face went blank. "You know what? Fair point, Maggie it is then,"

I like Maggie.

"So...what else do you need done?"

"Oh yeah!" 'Sonic' took out a cowbell. "Do you have any experience with making wispons?"

"Yeah? Why?"

"Well, there's this lady named Lanolin from Riverside, and she has struggled to help out her town whenever a Badnik invasion happens. So, I offered to make a wispon for her so she could fight back,"

Tails sighed. "Don't you think you're list of buddies is getting a little bit too long?"

'Sonic' stared blankly before waving his hand nonchalantly. "Nah, the more buddies the better!" He is right though, the real Sonic has a lot of friends, and I...don't. He held up the cowbell. "So we doing this or what?"

Tails took the cowbell and pulled a box full of parts onto his workbench. He then opened the box and searched through it. "Hmm...I have almost everything I need, but I'm missing a specific kind of part required for wispons," He turned towards 'Sonic'. "Can you see if the Resistance base has any wisp coils?"

The hedgehog rose an eyebrow. "Wisp coil?"

"Basically where the wisp goes to power the wispon,"

"Got it, see ya!" He sped off into the distance, far far away.

Hehe, our hero is definitely a little weird.

Tails smiled. "He may be weird, but he is awesome,"

'Sonic' ran across the hills and through the mountains before sprinting straight into the Resistance base. He eventually found Knuckles and Amy chilling in the Command Center. "Ay, Knuckles, Amy!"

The pink hedgehog smiled. "Were you at Riverside this whole time?"

He shook his head. "No, I've been at Tails' place, and I came here for a specific part,"

Amy pulled out a clipboard. "We almost certainly have it. What do you need?"

"A wisp coil,"

She tapped away at the clipboard. "I'm pretty sure they have one in the back," Amy walked away to another room, leaving 'Sonic' and Knuckles.

"So...how have you been?"

The echidna smiled. "Pretty good actually, Eggman is neutralized, Badnik attacks have been slowing down, and absolutely nothing bad is happening to Angel Island,"

Yeah, haha, absolutely nothing bad.

'Sonic' just nodded. "Sounds great,"

"Yeah but you know what would help?"

"What?"

Knuckles cracked his knuckles (haha). "If I could just SMASH that Alpha Shadow Android freak!"

'Sonic' froze up. Play it cool, play it cool, play cool or else your chance of getting [$5.99]ing smashed into a million different pieces are going to be multiplied tenfold. "Uh-huh...yep...umm...cool,"

The red warrior raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong Sonic?"

"No, it's just...um..."

"Here it is!"

Oh thank Gaia.

Amy handed 'Sonic' a small coiled object. "This should be the wisp coil,"

"Yep, looks about right," Sonic prepared a peel out. "See you around!" He then flew through the base, the exit doors swaying uncontrollably.

"Sonic's been...off lately," 

The pink hedgehog looked at Knuckles, confused. "What do you mean off?"

"I mean he's way quieter than usual, he doesn't quip, and he doesn't even joke. And while I do appreciate a Sonic that actually shuts up, it's concerning how quiet he is,"

"Huh, I guess you're right,"

'Sonic' ran back into Tails' lab, wisp coil in hand. "Here's the thingie you needed buddy!"

Tails grabbed the coil from his hand. "Nice, I have most of the wispon already built, so this should only take a few minutes,"

Ugh, finally. Let's get this show on the road.

Tails fiddled with the bell, before holding it up triumphantly. "Maggie, fly into the bell,"

The wisp nodded before she was absorbed into the cowbell. "Now we just need to test it," 'Sonic' held his hand out. "May I?" Tails handed the hedgehog the cowbell. "How do you use this thing?"

"Just give it a good swing,"

'Sonic' nodded before swinging the bell, causing a large pink shockwave to knock a lot of supplies down. Tails, 'Sonic', and Maggie, who just popped out of the bell, to stare at the wispon in awe. 

The fox smiled at his work. "Yep, that'll do," 

"Awesome!" 'Sonic' prepared to speed out before looking at the Buzz Bomber. "You sure you can't do anything about that?"

Tails shook his head.

The hedgehog turned back around, ready to run out. "If only there was a way to make it not evil...wait..." 'Sonic' stopped in his tracks, before his eyes lit up with an idea. He suddenly pulled out a USB. "Tails, find a USB port in that thing,"

Tails looked confused before sighing and opening up the Buzz Bomber. "Here it is,"

The hedgehog stuck the USB into the Buzz Bomber. "Now turn it on,"

The fox nervously turned on the wasp. It's eyes lit up again and it flew up. However, instead of being aggressive, it looked...confused? "What the heck is it doi-?" 

'Sonic' shushed Tails, before beckoning the Buzz Bomber to him. The mechanical wasp slowly floated down to his level. The hedgehog patted it's head, almost like a pet. Tails looked very confused. Suddenly, 'Sonic' climbed atop the Buzz Bomber, before it happily flew around with him on it. "Down boy, down," 

The Buzz Bomber carefully floated down before the hedgehog came to his feet. "Whaaaaat the heck was that?" Tails eyed the USB with interest.  "What on Mobius does that thing do?"

"A...uh...guy made it. He wanted me to test it on something. It's supposed to give robots emotions,"

Tails' face suddenly beamed. "Well it definitely works! This is a huge discovery! Tell whoever made this that it works and that it's a rousing success!"

'Sonic' climbed atop the Buzz Bomber again. "Will do!" He then flew out of the lab, cowbell wispon in hand and Maggie hovering close to his head. He couldn't make out what she said without Tails' translator, but he did know...

He had a few visits to make.

Chapter Text

"Whoo-hoo!" 'Sonic' flew around rapidly on the repaired Buzz Bomber, Maggie barely holding on. Her electronic warblings were loud, clearly signs of excitement. The Buzz Bomber slowly floated down as the city of Riverside came into view. Suddenly, screams pierced the air. 'Sonic' quickly jumped off the Buzz Bomber as he looked around frantically. "What's going on!?"

"Badnik! Right behind you!"

The hedgehog turned his head around. "I don't see anything,"

"The Buzz Bomber right in front of you!"

Oh...right.

'Sonic' groaned as he put a hand on top of the Buzz Bomber. "No worries everyone! This one is nice!" The citizens still looked scared, and now they also looked confused. They then went back to their homes. "Well...that...could've been a lot worse," The Buzz Bomber looked at him with worry. "It's okay buddy, people are...not used to seeing Badniks that are good,"

As the hedgehog walked through town, he still noticed the people's fear. People were locking their doors and closing their blinds, parents were taking their children in, and he could've sworn he heard wispons charging up. He put an arm over the whirring wasp and Maggie nuzzled it's face to soothe it. He then made it to Lanolin's house before knocking.

The sheep meekly opened the door. "Oh, hi Sonic," She opened the door fully. "Come right..." Her eyes widened at the sight of the Buzz Bomber. "Ummm..."

'Sonic' groaned. "I promise he's friendly, everyone in this town is afraid of him," 

"Well...you know bes-" Suddenly, Maggie tackled Lanolin into her house. "Woah! Someone missed me,"

'Sonic' chuckled before walking in. "Chill out Maggie,"

The sheep rose an eyebrow. "Maggie?"

"It's what I named the magenta wisp,"

The little noise maker and the wasp buzzed in agreement. "Okay then, Maggie it is,"

"And here you go," 'Sonic' passed Lanolin the upgraded cowbell. "Just let Maggie enter it and give it a good ring,"

Lanolin looked at the bell in curiosity. "Is that all?"

"Yep!"

Lanolin straightened herself up as Maggie jumped into the wispon, causing it to glow pink. She then raised the bell above her head, before bringing it down with a mighty RIIIIING! The shockwave caused her ears to ring as everything in the room shook. She looked at the wispon with newly found awe. "I...can actually fight now!"

"Yep yep yep!" 'Sonic' prepared to run out the door. "Sorry to leave now, but I got another friend that needs something. Don't forget to join the Resistance Lanolin!"

The hedgehog bursted out of the door, the Buzz Bomber following him and, rather incredibly, keeping up. Lanolin leaned back in her chair before sighing. Maggie then laid on top of her head. "You truly are full of mysteries, aren't you," All she got in return was an affirming electronic warble. 

As 'Sonic' ran along the hills, he kept his eyes peeled for Windmill Village. "Trees, hill, mountains, more hills...There it is!" He dashed right ahead, coming to a stop in front of the village. As he walked forward, he was prepared to see a small army of children attempt to swarm him, but they stood back. He even saw some kids look...scared. 

He looked at the Buzz Bomber, they were undoubtedly scared of it. "Calm down everyone, this Buzz Bomber is with me," That barely changed anything, people were still hiding. He soon made it to Eggman Land. He went to the door in the back before knocking. 

"Coming!" The handyman opened the door. "Ah, Sonic! Pleasure seeing you here! Come right..." He turned his head up to see the Buzz Bomber. "Umm...is that a-"

"It's important Mr. Tinker, the Emotion Drive worked,"

'Sonic' saw the handyman's eyes go so wide that he could see them through his glasses. "The...the Emotion Drive worked?"

The hedgehog pointed at the Buzz Bomber. "Proof of it right here. It used to be just a destructive machine, now it's basically a pet," The whirring wasp buzzed with affirmation.

Mr. Tinker opened the door all the way with newly found enthusiasm. "Come in! This is so exciting!" 'Sonic' and the Buzz Bomber entered quickly. "Imagine the possibilities! Robots living among mobians, robot dogs, robot pets, robot children, all from my invention! I'm going to change the world!"

"Love the enthusiasm. Say, how is your robot kid doing?"

"Oh, you're right!" Mr. Tinker wheeled out a mechanical exoskeleton, resembling a puppet of sorts. The machine was colorless, aside from the wires inside. It had big eyes and hands whose fingers had several tools on them. 

"It's...certainly a start,"

"I know, I know, but she's still beautiful to me,"

"Can't really argue with that, have you thought of a name for her?"

The handyman tapped his head. "Unfortunately no, I'm trying to find something that will suit her well, but I can't think of anything,"

"Well when the time comes, I'm sure you'll think of something," 'Sonic' prepared to speed out.

"Can you try naming her?"

The hedgehog jerked his head around. "Me?"

"I mean, you don't have to, I just-"

"No I can probably come up with something," He looked upon the exoskeleton. "Umm...How about Belle?"

"Belle?"

"I know it's simple but I think it can work. What do you think?"

Mr. Tinker thought for a while. "It's simple, bit it's effective. It'll do,"

"Sweet!" 'Sonic' prepared to speed out, when the Buzz Bomber revved it's wings next to him. "Actually...Umm...can you look after the Buzz Bomber for a little bit?"

The whirring wasp looked sad at the statement. "Why Sonic?"

"Just to make sure the Emotion Drive doesn't have any issues,"

"Sure," 'Sonic' sped through the door, leaving a trail of trampled grass. The Buzz Bomber whimpered as he left. "Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be back," Mr. Tinker stared at the wasp. "You look...strangely familiar...eh, probably nothing,"

'Sonic' ran off to a nearby hill, the area still charred from his previous visit. He then gave up his form, returning to Alpha Shadow Android. He then looked down at a nearby puddle. "I still need a name, Alpha Shadow Android isn't gonna cut it. Alph? No. Andy? No. Anderson? No. Shadow? No-"

Suddenly, a green spear of energy grazed his shoulder. His head spun around on his body, only to see a very angry crimson hedgehog running after him. He frantically boosted out of the cave, only to be hit by a Chaos Spear and fall to the ground, his body overheating rapidly. He looked up as Shadow floated down on his air shoes. "So you're the fucker behind all of this, aren't you?"

Chapter Text

It felt like everything was burning all at once, his body white-hot as he desperately tried to get back up. He was then kicked in the face, making him fly into a nearby boulder, breaking it in half. Alpha Shadow Android then tried flying away with his thruster again, only for Shadow to close the distance and axe kick him back down, making a crater. As Shadow dived down for another axe kick, Alpha Shadow Android put up his shield, causing Shadow to recoil back onto the ground. "Shadow please! Listen to m-" Shadow went for another swing, only for Alpha Shadow Android to keep his shield up. "Can't we just talk?!"

The crimson hedgehog then shattered his shield with another Chaos Spear before grabbing him by the neck. "Oh we are far beyond talking!" He then rammed his Android doppelganger into a nearby hill. "You have been plotting with Mr. Tinker, haven't you? Tell me!"

"He has nothing to do with this!" 

Shadow dropped Alpha Shadow Android to the floor. "I knew he was still the same. I'm going to finish him off, then you're next," Shadow scoffed and started to float away, only for his back to get charred from a fireball and him to fall to the ground. 

"You are not touching Mr. Tinker!" The android then sprouted his long mechanical tail and ignited his hands with flames. He then grabbed Shadow while his hand was still alight.

The crimson hedgehog groaned in pain, only to headbutt the android away. He then tried to punch his face in, only for Alpha Shadow Android to duck under it as his tail grabbed Shadow before tossing him down.

"Please, I don't want to fight. Stand down and we can talk this out," The android reached his hand out, only for Shadow to punch him away.

"I don't need your sympathy, I just need your head," Shadow slowly clipped his inhibitor rings of his hands. "The Eggman Empire, will FALL!" Suddenly, Shadow was engulfed in a terrifying red energy, causing the android to back away.

Shadow then maniacally laughed, before launching a flurry of Chaos Spears. Alpha Shadow Android hastily weaved in-between them, only for one to cause him to fall to the ground.

Shadow then ran forward and launched a full on assault of hits to Alpha Shadow Android. He then grabbed Alpha Shadow Android by the chest and dragged his face against the ground, going full speed. 

He then threw the android off a nearby cliff, forcing him to hover with his thruster and fire. Fighting is absolutely not the right choice. Alpha Shadow Android thought. Lets just hope I'm faster than him when I combine everything. He quickly lowered himself to the ground then prepared a peel-out, ignited his hands and his thruster, before speeding far, far away. 

Shadow breathed heavily as his fur returned to normal. As he put his inhibitor rings back on, he muttered under his breath. "As much as I would love to pummel you to scrap, the possibility that you brought back Eggman is too risky to ignore," He ran for the hills, a red trail following him.

Meanwhile, Alpha Shadow Android doubled back to the cave. "Okay, just need to recover, go back to Windmill Village to pick up the Buzz Bomber, and then...Wait...Shadow thought that I turned Mr. Tinker back into Eggman, and since Shadow didn't chase after me..." His digital eyes widened as he prepped another peel out. "I'm coming Mr. Tinker!"

____________________

"Ah...Now this is the life, right guys?" Amy, Knuckles and the adult members of the Chaotix were relaxing on a hill right next to Windmill Village, while Charmy played in Eggman Land. 

"Y'know it Ames!" Vector chimed in. "Clean skies, no Badniks, no problems, and no Eggman whatsoever! And if we have any problems, that's what our little blue hedgehog is for,"

"Vector," Knuckles sat up and put on a stern look. "Sonic is our friend, not just an errand boy we put all of our responsibilities on,"

"Sorry, he is just very willing to help,"

"That's what we love about him," Amy added. "He's brave, funny, and always willing to help,"

"That's our Sonic!" Mr. Tinker approached with a small wagon in hand. "Now who wants lemonade?!"

Charmy hurriedly buzzed back, waving his hands. "I do! I do!"

Vector grabbed Charmy by his head. "Charmy, say please,"

"Do I have to?"

"Yes,"

"Mr. Tinker, may I please have some lemonade,"

The humble mechanical poured a glass and handed it to the bee. "Of course you can!"

Suddenly, the sound of an engine roared as Shadow drove towards them on his motorcycle, braking before jumping off. "Is 'Mr. Tinker' here?"

"Right here!" Mr. Tinker walked towards Shadow, holding a glass. "Lemonade?"

Suddenly, the crimson hedgehog pulled out a Desert Eagle. "I don't think so,"

The Chaotix, Amy, and Knuckles quickly lunged between them, blocking Mr. Tinker. "Shadow what the actual ffffuuuuuuiiretruck is wrong with you!?" Vector slowly walked forward. "What's with the gun? There are kids here. Plus, we already know he's clean. Just drop the gun,"

"Believe me, I thought he was safe too, but I've learned he's still his rotten self,"

The handyman slowly backed away. "N-no need to j-jump to conclusions, I-I'm sure we can work this out-" Suddenly, a Buzz Bomber floated right beside Mr. Tinker, who gave the wasp a pat on the head. "It'll be fine, h-hopefully,"

Everyone stared at Mr. Tinker, dumbfounded. Except for Shadow, who tightened his grip on his gun. "What. The hell. Is that?"

"A Buzz Bomber I think it was called?"

The crimson hedgehog growled. "Last chance, surrender and I'll drop the gu-"

"Get away from him!" Suddenly, a blur tackled Shadow head on, taking him far away.

The blur then grabbed Shadow by the chest and slammed him down multiple times, before Shadow kicked him, revealing him to be Alpha Shadow Android. "Back again for round tw-"

The android slammed Shadow into a rock. "You mess with Mr. Tinker, you don't get to talk,"

Suddenly, Alpha Shadow Android ignited his thruster, shoving Shadow through the terrain. He then flew straight up into the sky, before accelerating back down, his grip tight on Shadow's chest. "Taste gravity edgelord!"

Suddenly, Shadow teleported out of his grip, causing him to barrel uncontrollably into the ground, leaving a crater. Alpha Shadow Android stood up, his body looking dusty and bent. "Show yourself coward!"

Shadow reappeared before him. Alpha Shadow Android charged forward with his thruster and coated his right hand in fire, ready to punch the damn hedgehog. Shadow rushed forward as well, before suddenly teleporting behind him and kicking him in the back of the head, sending him tumbling to the ground.

Alpha Shadow Android quickly got up and clashed punches with Shadow, their hands locking together as they stared down each other. "You got some nerve protecting your master, Clanker,"

"AH!" The android headbutted Shadow, sending him reeling before he grabbed him with his tail and swung him around, before throwing him into a tree. "I AM MY OWN MASTER! NO ONE CAN CONTROL ME! NOT EGGMAN, NOT NEO, NOT MR. TINKER, AND NOT YOU!"

Alpha Shadow Android wrapped his tail around Shadow's arms and the tree before punching him, splatters of blood hitting his cold, metal face. Shadow then teleported out of his grip before grabbing him by the neck and stepping on his tail.

Alpha Shadow Android then tried to ready a blast of fire before Shadow pierced his midsection with a Chaos Spear, causing him to overheat. The android's voice started to glitch and crackle slightly. "N-no...C-can't-mmmrrzt!-let y-you kill Mr. T-tinker," With desperation, Alpha Shadow Android morphed into Sonic. "P-please...I-I want-mmmrzt!-to b-be a hero-"

"Shut it Clanker," Shadow pulled his Desert Eagle out and held it straight at the hedgehog's forehead. "You don't deserve to be a hero, you're a villain, so stop lying to me and stop lying to yourself. You. Are. A. Good for nothing. Lying. Impersonating. Freak of nature. And I am happy to end the Eggman Empire, with one. Last. Pull of the trigger," Shadow's grip tightened on the firearm.

"Sayonara, Clank...Clank..." Shadow's eyes started to droop. "Clank...er..." The Desert Eagle fell to the ground and his grip on 'Sonic' faltered. Suddenly, Shadow fell to the ground, eyes closed, a tranquilizer dart in his back.

Espio walked forward and plucked out the dart. "You okay?"

Vector sighed in relief as he picked up Shadow. "That was too close for comfort, thanks for the save Espio, I have no clue what Shadow was doing but my bet is he got mind controlled or somethin'. You good Sonic?"

"I swear, whoever planned this is gonna get a good serving of these damn hands!" Knuckles growled, before looking at the hedgehog's blank expression. "You good Sonic?"

"You good Sonic?"

"You good Sonic?"

"Sonic?"

"Sonic?"

Sonic...Sonic isn't here, just a pathetic parasite who's stealing everything he has. Not Mobian, not a person.

Not. A. Hero.

He stared down at his hands. He can't hyperventilate, he has no lungs. He can't cry, he has no eyes. He can't feel,

He has no heart.

He then ran off. Where? No one knows. 

"Sonic!?" Amy tried to chase after him, but he quickly got away. "Did...did Shadow just try to...kill Sonic?"

"Now hold on Amy," Espio put a hand on the pink hedgehog's shoulder. "Shadow more than likely wasn't himself-"

"I don't care!" Amy ripped herself free and pulled out her Piko-Piko Hammer, rushing towards Shadow's limp body on Vector's shoulder.

Knuckles and Espio desperately tried to hold her back. "Vector! A little help here!"

Vector quickly set down Shadow and helped hold Amy back, angry tears swelling in her eyes. "He tried to-! He-! H-he..." Amy collapsed to the ground, hands covering her eyes. 

__________________

He ran through hills, mountains, trees, valleys, everywhere he could find, desperately trying to clear his mind. He stopped at the bottom of a canyon, before shifting back to Alpha Shadow Android. He stared at his reflection in a nearby river, his negative thoughts surging through him. How could he ever become a hero? He was made for violence, is a liar, and only wanted to become a hero just because he was inspired some dumb teens who didn't know how the world worked and got betrayed.

As he looked down, he noticed something falling into the water from his head. He checked around, realizing oil was coming out of visor. Soon he couldn't stop releasing oil, the liquid piling on top of the water. "What...is this?"

"Am I...crying?"

Chapter Text

"Shadow did WHAT?!"

Tails was completely shocked as Amy and Knuckles (haha) relayed what happened. 

"Yep, pointed a gun straight at Sonic's dome. Thank Gaia Espio knocked Shadow out," Said Knuckles.

Tails stammered. "And then what happened?!"

"Sonic just...ran off," Said Amy.

"Ran off? Do we even know where he is?"

Amy sighed. "No, but the Chaotix are looking for him," Tails suddenly sprang up from his chair and walked forward. "Tails? What are you doing?"

The fox forced open a nearby garage door, revealing the Tornado. "I'm finding Sonic,"

Knuckles reached forward. "How are you going to do that?"

"I need to find hi-"

"Hey guys!"

The three jerked their heads to see the blue blur himself walking forward, smile on his face. 

"Sonic!"

"I know, I know, you all missed me-"

Suddenly, Amy and Tails tackle-hugged him to the ground. "You're okay!"

'Sonic' stared blankly at the position. They...really do care for him, like...a lot.

Amy and Tails looked up before getting back up. "Was that too much?"

'Sonic' shook his head. "Nah, just a bit sudden,"

Amy pulled away before looking worried. "Are you sure you're okay? Shadow roughed you up pretty badly and-"

"Oh that? Don't worry about it!" 'Sonic' put on a wide grin.

"Are you-" Suddenly, Amy's phone buzzed as she put it up to her ear. "Hello? What!? Send reinforcements immediately, I'll be on my way!"

"What happened?" Asked Knuckles.

"Another attack on Spiral Hill Village!"

Tails hopped in the Tornado and revved it's propeller up. "Everyone hop in,"

Amy and Knuckles jumped on the wings while 'Sonic' stayed on the ground. "I'm faster on the ground, I'll meet up with you guys at Spiral Hill!"

"Got it Sonic!" Tails flew forward. "Safe travels!" 

'Sonic' took off, grass flying up behind him. Spiral Hill again, been a while since I've been there. I wonder if the lemur is still there.

'Sonic' sped along until he made it to the foot of Spiral Hill and it was bad. Two Super Buzz Bombers were above the city, and a new Super Badnik, resembling Coconuts (The monkey badnik from the classic games that threw coconuts and yes that his government english name), was approaching rapidly from the north. "Looks like Neo Metal Sonic isn't pulling any punches," Neo, wonder what he knows of my recent activities.

'Sonic' shook his head and ran up the hill, landing on a motobug before kicking it away. Resistance forces were around the town, doing the best they could. 'Sonic' quickly swerved between buildings, destroying all the Badniks he could find until he heard someone. "A little help here!"

He quickly turned a 180 and booked it, destroying a whole group of Badniks. He turned to see who it was and- "Lanolin!" 'Sonic' quickly gave the sheep a handshake. "Finally got around to joining the Resistance?"

Maggie popped out of the cowbell and swirled around him. Lanolin sighed. "Yep, first day out doing 'field work'. Is it always this chaotic?"

"Meh, sometimes. We got a lot coming from all around, always stay on your guard,"

"I...can't,"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Lanolin sighed. "It's just that...I just scare easily and...I-I don't really know what I'm doing..."

'Sonic' lightly bumped her on the shoulder. "Hey, not everyone is born a hero, just follow my lead and you'll get the hang of it!"

"But...you're so fast,"

"I can take it slow," Lanolin nodded as she sprinted after the basically-walking hedgehog. Huh, not everyone is born a hero...

"What do we need to do?"

"Amy, Tails, and Knuckles should be arriving soon on a biplane, they should be able to handle the Super Buzz Bombers, which means we'll need to handle the swarms of badniks and the Super Coconuts,"

"How will we do that? "

"I have a plan, trust me!" Soon Lanolin and 'Sonic' made it to the town square, where several Resistance forces were struggling to fend off the shear number of badniks. "Maggie, get ready!" Maggie quickly flew into Lanolin's cowbell. "Take a deep breath, swing that cowbell, and wreck all those badniks!"

Lanolin took a deep breath before swinging the cowbell with all her might, the sound waves echoing across all of Spiral Hill Village. Before anyone knew, all the badniks were disabled with some falling over. The reinforcements quickly shot down the badniks before commemorating Lanolin.

"Not half bad rookie!"

"You're pretty good!"

Lanolin blushed at the compliments. "Umm...y-yeah! D-definitely meant to do t-that,"

"THAT WAS AWESOME!" Suddenly, a certain lemur swung down with her tail. "That was one of the coolest things I've ever seen!"

"O-oh! W-well...umm...t-thank you-"

"No, thank YOU! These attacks have been getting pretty bad recently, so a couple extra hands are very appreciated," Tangle then noticed the blue blur himself. "Hi Sonic!"

"Hi....uh..." [$5.99] what was her name again? "...Bangle?"

The lemur couldn't help but giggle. "Nope, Tangle,"

"Whoops, sorry,"

"Meh, who cares? Anyway, what next?"

Suddenly, a roar shook all of Spiral Hill, followed by the beating of a metallic chest. 'Sonic' zipped up a building to get a better view before going back down. "Something tells me that Super Coconuts isn't really in the mood for negotiation,"

"Meh, it can't be that bad-"

"Look out!"  Suddenly, a huge coconut bomb almost landed on them, before Lanolin knocked it away with her wispon. "Wow, I really underestimated how powerful this thing is," The sheep shook her head. "Anyway, we need to bring that thing down, or else Spiral Hill will be demolished!"

Suddenly, the hedgehog's eyes lit up. "I have the perfect plan!"

"What is it?"

'Sonic' whispered the plan into their ears, and them both their eyes lit up as well.

Tangle chuckled. "Is it that simple? Sweet!"

Lanolin nodded her head. "Simple yet terrifyingly effective, I like it,"

The three dashed through the town, sliding down on the hill before making a break for the Super Coconuts. 'Sonic' ran up the back of the robot and onto it's shoulder. "Yo, King Kong! I would really like if you stopped smashing the village!"

The Coconuts' eyes flashed red as I tried to punch off 'Sonic', while Tangle ran around it's legs, her tail tightening around them. The robot continued to punch himself as the hedgehog ran around on it's body, continuing to quip his head off. Eventually, Tangle's tail tightened around the legs, immobilizing the Super Coconuts. However, it was still upright. Tangle groaned as she called out to Lanolin. "Yo floofs! Kind of on borrowed time here!"

Lanolin took a deep breath before running forward and swinging her cowbell. The sound waves disabled the Coconuts' senses as 'Sonic' prepared a spin dash. "Just like we said Tangle! You tug as I spin! Got it?!"

"Got it!"

Tangle yanked with all of her might as the hedgehog spin dashed, causing the Super Badnik to fall and hit the ground with a mighty thud. 'Sonic', Tangle, and Lanolin climed on top of the wreckage. "Bigger they are, harder they fall, right Tangle and Lanolin?!"

"You know it!"

Lanolin look down at the Super Badnik she helped destroy. "There was no hesitation, I just...did what I needed to,"

"I meaaaaaan..." Tangle started. "Nevermind, bask in your victory, you earned it,"

Suddenly, the three turned their heads to see the two Super Buzz Bombers going up in flames and crashing at the bottom of the hill. "They actually made it! Well that's less work for us,"

"Aw man, I was hoping we could do something cool for those two,"

"Meh, let the Resistance have this one, what we did was definitely cooler," Suddenly, the sound of a biplane whirred through the air. "Oh yeah, I honestly forgot Tails, Amy, and Knuckles were gonna come here too,"

The biplane passed right over them into Spiral Hill Village. "What?" Tangle groaned. "Oh come onnnnn. Really?"

"They're probably checking in with the reinforcements, they're probably expecting me," 'Sonic' prepared a peel-out. "Meet ya at the village!" He then sped off.

Lanolin sighed. "He never waits for anyone, does he?"

"Nope, but he great nonetheless!"

"Makes sense, want to head back to the village?"

The lemur pumped her fist into the air. "You know it! I got this friend in town, bestest gal in the whole wide whole world! She's a lot like you, organized, careful, patient, kind..."

Lanolin chuckled as she followed Tangle, who continued yapping.

As 'Sonic' ran on top of a building, he saw Tails, Amy, and Knuckles in the town square. Right as he was about to jump down, he noticed something high in the sky. A third Super Buzz Bomber. "Huh, guess that one got the wrong coordinates," He thought for a moment, then smirked. "Y'know, if I flew up there, and, I don't know, completely wrecked that thing, no one would suspect me, and I have been wanting to cut loose for a while..."

He then took his robotic form before boosting up with his thruster. He then activated his shield, the momentum making him crash into the Super Badnik like a meteor. He pierced all the way to the top before boosting back down into the deployment bay.

He was then surrounded by badniks. "Alright then," He ignited his hands and his sprouted his long tail. "Let's. Get. Bolts," He instantly spin dashed through a line of badniks, a destructive trail of fire igniting behind him before he sprayed fire all around him.

He then grabbed a straggler Egg Pawn with his tail before igniting it and then tossing it like a fiery bowling ball. The projectile rolled through another line of badniks as it kept going and took out one of the Buzz Bomber's wings.

However, several Egg Pawns and other badniks jumped on top of him, all trying to dismantle him. Suddenly, all of them were flung off while Alpha Shadow Android spin dashed on his side while a firey tornado engulfed him, several firecracker-like sparks flying out rapidly and causing thousands of tiny explosions.

He then got back up on his feet before getting on top of the Super Badnik and activating his shield again as it crashed into the ground, the explosion launching him through the sky. He then landed right in the middle of Spiral Hill Village. "Bam! Now that's what I call a real hero move-"

Suddenly, Alpha Shadow Android got shot up with several lasers before he activated his shield. "Oh! So you want round two huh?! Sure then!" He boosted forward and punched the badnik leading the charge into a wall before boosting towards it.

Just as he was about to annihilate the robot with a punch, he noticed something. A brown color? A strangely natural looking muzzle? And...a face? Alpha Shadow Android's eyes widened as he recognized that the 'robot' he punched was actually the brown dog that led the reinforcements back at Riverside.

"[$5.99]! Sorry! I thought-"

Suddenly, he was pushed back hard by the dog's hover wispon. "Troops! Surround and open fire!"

Before Alpha Shadow Android could process anything, several more lasers fired at him until he put up his shield. He then recognized the lasers as the ones from laser wispons. "Why are all of you-!?" The realization hit him hard. They didn't see him as Sonic, they saw him as a dangerous metal hedgehog who just kicked their leader into a wall.

Before he could speak, his shield was suddenly shattered by Knuckles, who grabbed both of his arms and held him. "Amy! Hit him real hard!"

Amy ran forward with her Piko-Piko Hammer before ramming it right into Alpha Shadow Android's forehead. She went in for a few more hits before she moved out of the way for Tails to blast him with his energy cannon.

Alpha Shadow Android quickly used his tail to get Knuckles off him, accidentally throwing him right into the Tails' line of fire. He quickly attempted to boost away, but the three quickly followed behind. He quickly ducked into an alleyway before taking cover behind a building. As the three made it to the end of the alleyway, they looked left and right. As they looked in his direction, Alpha Shadow Android prepared to fight, before they...groaned in frustration? Why are they upset? They know right where I am!

Tails looked puzzled. "How did-? I could've sworn he took a left,"

"Are you sure it wasn't a right?" Challenged Knuckles.

"Yes I'm sure!"

"Split up you two! I'll go back to the Town Square in case he doubles back!" 

The two nodded and Alpha Shadow Android looked extra puzzled when Tails just walked right past him. I'm sorry what?

Amy turned around and went back. The edgy doppelganger looked at his hands in confusion, before realizing...he couldn't even see his own hands! He was invisible. How on Mobius did I do that?! He searched through his Bio-Data database, eventually stumbling on the Bio-Data of Espio. Oh, I must have copied his Bio-Data back at Windmill Village. Windmill Village! Mr. Tinker at that Buzz Bomber must be worried sick about me! Wait...no, they must be worried sick about Sonic. 

He then shape-shifted back into 'Sonic'. Just pretend that you ran off. "Yo Amy!"

The pink hedgehog jerked her head back. "Sonic!" She ran up to him. "About time you showed up, Alpha Shadow Android is somewhere in this town! We need to find him!"

'Sonic' chuckled. "Oh him? Nah, I saw him run off just now,"

Amy looked puzzled. "Really? He just...ran off?"

"Yeah!"

Amy groaned. "Coward," She muttered under her breath. She then sighed. "You could've at least shown up quicker, it's your whole thing,"

"Oh, nah, I was here way ahead of you three! I just had to fight a Super Coconuts with Tangle and Lanolin- Oh yeah them!"

"Who?"

"So, new friends. Tangle, hyperactive lemur and resident of Spiral Hill. Lanolin, meek sheep newbie to the Resistance. Tell them I said hi! I'm gonna look for Alpha Shadow Android! Maybe I can track him down!"

Amy beamed. "Great idea! I call Tails and Knuckles down and we can all come with you! Just like old times-

"Nope! Not happening!"

Amy look confused. "Huh? Why not?"

"Because...Alpha Shadow Android is too fast, only I can catch up to him,"

"But doesn't he have several powerful Bio-Datas?"

"Like that good for nothing stupid coward knows how to use them other than running away"

Amy chuckled. "You're right...Be safe though,"

"Maybeeeeee!" 'Sonic' called out while running down the hill.

'Sonic' ran down low enough until he thought nobody could see him and then shifted back into Alpha Shadow Android before bashing his head into the base of the hill. "[$5.99]! [$5.99]! [$5.99]! Why did I not put my disguise back on!? Great! Now I know for a fact nobody is going to accept me unless I'm disguised as Sonic, but I can't keep Sonic locked up. But if I set him free, everyone will know something is wrong when there are two Sonics! What the actual [$5.99] do I do?!" Alpha Shadow Android slumped against the hill, stumped.

"Ummmm...what?"

Alpha Shadow Android jerked his head to see Lanolin and Tangle staring at him in complete shock. He then immediately took off. "Hey wait!" Lanolin turned her head to Tangle. "I'm...I'm not insane right? Did-"

"Did Sonic just reveal that he has secretly been a shape-shifting robot this entire time? Yes," Tangle stared blankly, her voice dead panned. 

Lanolin sputtered. "W-well...w-we need to tell someone!"

"Not yet!"

"Excuse me?!"

Tangle sighed. "I know it sounds insane but listen to me. He...he looks like he has some stuff going on,"

"Yeah, but he's still a genocide robot!"

"You don't know that for sure...maybe he was built with a better brain than other robots? I don't know, I just feel bad for him,"

Lanolin groaned. "Damnit now it's complicated. I still feel like we should tell the Resistance about this,"

"Well I think we should try talking to him!"

"If you want to take your chances, fine, but since we are the only two people who have witnessed this, I'm going to report this to the Resist-" Suddenly, Maggie popped out of Lanolin's cowbell and floated over to Tangle. "Really Maggie?"

The small alien creature could only answer with a nod and an affirming warble. "Two to one Lanolin, two to one,"

The sheep groaned. "Fine, I won't report him, but if we find him, the second he tries anything funny, I'll give him the good ol' ringer,"

Tangle couldn't help but giggle. "Did you just quip?"

"Huh...Yeah...I guess I did...I guess spending time with you and Sonic brings that out of me,"

The lemur elbowed her. "You mean me and Alpha Shadow Android brings that out of you,"

"Don't push your luck, Tangle,"

Chapter Text

"Ready to wake him up?"

Amy sighed. "Yeah,"

In the Resistance base, Amy, Knuckles, Espio, and Vector were all in front of a prison cell containing an incapacitated Shadow, whose arms and legs were restrained.

Espio pressed a button on a desk, causing Shadow to jolt awake. "Ah! What the hell?!" Shadow's eyes widened as he observed the surroundings. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Don't act like you don't know!" Amy growled. "You tried to kill Sonic!"

"What? Oh..." Shadow groaned. "That isn't Sonic,"

"What the FUCK does that mean?!"

"Calm down Amy" Espio pulled her away. "But seriously, I highly doubt that,"

"Listen to me! Remember Neo Metal Sonic?"

"How does he factor in?"

"Alpha Shadow Android can also copy Bio-Datas, and did something to the real Sonic so he could shape-shift into him and take his place!"

"So you're saying that Sonic is actually Alpha Shadow Android?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying!"

Espio backed away to whisper to Vector. "He's definitely hungover"

"Ex-Gaiadamn-cuse me?! You thought I was drunk when I did that?! I knew what I was doing! I know for a fucking fact that Alpha Shadow Android is disguising himself as Sonic!"

Espio groaned. "Knock him out again,"

"Wait wha-"

Espio pressed the button on the desk, causing Shadow to get knocked out with a shock. "There we go,"

Vector chortled. "Not very ultimate are you now? Life-Form?"

Amy sighed. "Great, add that to the growing list of problems, something is clearly wrong with Sonic, we still have no clue what Alpha Shadow Android is planning, and now there's something wrong with Shadow too!"

"Calm down Amy," Knuckles reasoned. "Things could definitely be worse, and besides, Alpha Shadow Android is clearly playing the long game, so that should give us some time,"

"I know...I'm just..."

"...Really worried about Sonic..."

________________

"What to do what to do what to do!?"

Alpha Shadow Android was at the top of a hill, upset. "They saw me shape-shift from Sonic to my true form, now they're gonna tell everyone!" As he sat down, he noticed something at the edge of his vision, an Eggman base. He stared at it for a long time before changing back into Sonic and running towards it. "I don't know what to do, I don't know how I'll get better, I don't know how people will accept me, but...I need to do what I can, I'll figure something out later,"

The base's lights lit up the night sky, the moon shining overhead. 'Sonic' quickly dispatched the group of badniks blocking the front door, bouncing off all of them before rolling into the base. "Too easy! I've seen Motobugs do better!"

'Sonic' weaved as an explosion went off at his feet. He looked up to see a giant Motobug with a a tank barrel at the top. "Well...shoot," The barrel aimed down at 'Sonic' and fired, before the Suddenly turned a 180° and exploded the Motobug. "What?"

He turned his head to see the silver hedgehog himself floating down. "Just the person I wanted to see!"

Isn't this guy in the future? "Silver! Long time no see!" 'Sonic' gave Silver a firm handshake. "So, did you just stumble on this base too?"

"Kind of, the Resistance filled me in on Alpha Shadow Android's appearance, and told me to find information on his plans, so I've been going around trying to find anything, and I eventually ended up here,"

"Cool! Buuuut...aren't you supposed to be in the future?"

Silver's eyes widened. "I was...but...winning the Phantom Ruby War didn't save the future,"

The blue blur's eyes widened. "Really? What happened?"

"Before we won, the future was a dystopian nightmare, polluted air, evil robot dictators, the works. But when I came back, everything was covered in some weird, metal, gooey stuff. And..." Silver shuddered. "There was only one person I saw too, it was a weird robot hedgehog, one that was way different than Metal Sonic,"

'Sonic' froze. "Different...how?"

Silver tapped his chin thoughtfully. "He...was all black, his quills were a lot sharper, and they had faded red highlights...They..."

"...They honestly looked more like a Metal Shadow if anything..."

"And they were really busted up. When I saw him, he kept saying how he 'failed them' and 'failed everyone he knew'. It was...kind of sad honestly,"

"Do you...do you think they were the one that caused that future?"

Silver sighed. "It's possible, but you never really know what causes these specific futures, that's why I came here-" Suddenly, an idea crossed Sliver's mind. "Do you think that metal hedgehog is Alpha Shadow Android?"

"I mean...maybe, but-" Suddenly, a whole hoard of machines approached rapidly. "Nevermind that, big badnik bash incoming!"

"Right!" As the two hedgehogs took their stance, they were surprised when all the badniks rushed past them. "What the heck? What are they doing?"

"I don't know...but we should follow them," 'Sonic' and Silver quickly ran and floated after them respectively.

Suddenly, the biggest badnik instantly fell when a cyan laser pierced through it. A pink saw blade then ricocheted and took out almost all the badniks, with the few that remained being blasted away by an orange rocket. Now there was only one badnik left, an Egg Pawn with a sword. A cloaked figure then floated down with some sort of green energy before smashing the Egg Pawn to pieces with a blue hammer.

'Sonic' was in awe before Silver beamed. "THE GUARDIAN ANGEL!?" Silver ran forward before the cloaked figure flew back up to where they were. "What? D-did I do something wrong?"

The blue hedgehog looked very confused. "The Guardian who-now?"

"How do you not know about the Guardian Angel!?"

"I don't know, just never heard of her. Also probably has to do with the fact that I was in a jail cell in space,"

"Oh yeah," Silver cleared his throat. "The Guardian Angel was a mysterious figure that would change the tide of battle on a whim, they decimated entire hoards of badniks. And yet, they never joined the Resistance, it's not even known if they were part of any organization to begin with. Some theorized they used to work with Eggman but stole his tech and betrayed him, while others believed they were an angel sent by Light Gaia himself, and thus, the title of 'Guardian Angel' was born,"

"Sheesh, so that's how you guys held up while I was gone," 'Sonic' noticed that the Guardian Angel was peeking down from where she was hiding and looked up. "Sorry that Silver came on a little strong. Y'know...we could use the extra help,"

The Guardian Angel poked their head out, still obscured by the shadows and said in a barely audible voice. "I don't do teams,"

"I understand, sometimes I wish I didn't need to carry everyone's survival on my back, but a lot of the time, a team can be everything you need, and more!"

The Guardian Angel remained still. Silver added. "Look, we're not even asking you join the Resistance, or help us defeat Alpha Shadow Android, we just-"

Suddenly the Guardian Angel interjected. "What did you just say?"

"Alpha Shadow Android? He's been the one running everything since Eggman has been gone,"

"...well then..." The Guardian Angel dropped down, they had a cloak that covered her back and a mask with a cyan dot where a pupil would've been. "I suppose we could see where this partnership goes,"

"Great," 'Sonic' reached his hand out for a handshake. "Sonic the Hedgehog," Why is that mask so familiar?

The Guardian Angel sighed...before taking off their mask...revealing them to be Whisper...before she shook his hand. "Whisper the Wolf,"

Three things were going through Alpha Shadow Android's mind at that moment.

1, he just shook the hand of a Diamond Cutter.

2, she probably only joined just because she wants to fry his ass.

3, and the most important thing, HOW THE [$5.99] IS SHE ALIVE?!

Suddenly, a whole swarm of wisps jumped out from Whisper's cloak and swarmed 'Sonic' with affection. "Haha! Thought I was seeing some Hyper-Go-On action!"

Silver butted in. "Umm, sorry, I don't think I caught your name, you were kind of quiet,"

"Whisper," she replied plainly.

Silver lowered his voice. "Now can you tell me your name?"

'Sonic' and all the wisps facepalmed. "Whisper is her name,"

Silver awkwardly chuckled. "Y-yeah, sorry...b-being from the future and having almost no social interactions your whole life does that,"

Whisper shook her head. "We have bigger things to worry about,"

"Right!" Silver lifted open a shutter door with his psychic powers. "Time to completely demolish this base-" He suddenly dropped the door and turned around, visibly shook.

"Huge hoard of badniks?"

"Yep,"

"Whole lot of big ones that won't go down easy?"

"More than likely,"

"Bring it on, Nickel,"

Silver thrusted the door away. "You got it, Quill,"

Quill...Quill...

"Umm...Sonic?" Silver and Whisper ran forward before looking back at 'Sonic', who stood there awkwardly. 

"Oh, right!" 'Sonic' ran forward while Silver's nickname echoed through his mind. Quill...

Inside the room was several badniks, most of which were small, but there was a whole group of the Tank Motobugs from earlier. But then, the three looked up and saw that there was a very tall stationary badnik, who was deploying missiles and other various explosives rapidly.

"Whisper! Try to focus on the big guys. Silver! Try to handle the biggest guy. I'll focus on the smaller bots!" 'Sonic' prepared a spin dash while Silver and Whisper nodded.

The blue hedgehog spinned forward, taking out the badniks like bowling pins. Whisper shot a rocket at the Tank Motobugs, taking out one and damaging the others.

'Sonic' continued to thrash the small badniks. "How you holding up there Nickel!?"

"Not half bad Quill!" Replied Silver as he redirected the missiles from the tall badnik back at it.

Suddenly, an explosion went off near the Tank Motobugs, sending Whisper flying into the air and falling flat on the ground.

"Whisper!" 'Sonic' quickly ran towards her, her wisps popping out of her cloak, ready to defend her. The smaller badniks started to swarm them.

"T-the explosion s-should keep the big ones down f-for a bit-" The Tank Badniks wheeled from the smoke, damaged, but not dysfunctional. "Nevermind,"

'Sonic' and Whisper were now trapped in a corner, surrounded by badniks when suddenly, the blue hedgehog's eyes lit up before he bounced off the walls and the badniks.

He then penetrated the Tank Motobugs before coming to a halt, Whisper's cyan wisp popping out of him. "Woah!" THAT WAS THE MOST INCREDIBLE THING I'VE FELT EVER! "Thanks little guy,"

The wisp let out an appreciative warble. "A little help up here?!" 'Sonic' looked up and saw Silver getting swarmed by Buzz Bombers. 

"Coming!" 'Sonic' came up with an idea and ran back towards Whipser. "Hey, do you mind if I borrow your wisps for a little bit?"

Whisper hesitated before nodding, lifting her coat up and letting her wisps fly out. Cyan, blue, orange, green, and pink...this will do nicely. 

'Sonic' absorbed the pink wisp before turning into a buzz saw and spinned up the wall, the other wisps following behind diligently. He jumped off the wall and sawed through the Buzz Bombers before absorbing the cyan wisp again to bounce off all the Buzz Bombers, freeing Silver. "Thanks Quill!

"No issue Nickel!" 'Sonic' then used the momentum to launch himself high up before switching to the green wisp to slowly change his aerial position to be right on top of the tall badnik. "Let's end this with something special!" He absorbed the blue wisp and the orange wisp at the same time before turning into a blue cube with a rocket on top. The cube then plummeted down rapidly, shredding through the tall badnik with almost no resistance.

When the smoke cleared, 'Sonic' jumped out of the rubble, the wisps popping out of him. "WOO-HOO!"

Silver chuckled before floating toward Whisper. "Nothing broken?"

"Yes, I'll live,"

'Sonic' ran towards them with a huge grin on his face, the wisps following behind. "We make a half decent team together, don't we?"

Silver nodded. "You know it Quill,"

The wisps returned to Whisper as she hid a smirk behind her mask. "I mean, I don't normally do teams, but if I am forced to, I wouldn't mind teaming up with you two again,"

The three noticed a large door with a bunch of computers. Whisper readied her wispon with orange energy entering it.

'Sonic' put his hand over the wispon. "We can blow the place later, first we need intel,"

Whisper stared at him with her cold mask, before lowering her wispon. "Okay,"

Silver typed away. "I can't get into anything! Shoot!"

"Glady,"

"Not that kind of shoot!"

As Silver tried to get in with no avail, a thought crossed the blue hedgehog's mind. I do know a master password that works on of Eggman's computers...but...Sonic wouldn't know that. On top of that, this computer would have all of Neo Metal Sonic's plans, including Sonic's kidnapping and me taking his place. Silver and Whisper wouldn't understand, especially Whisper, she would tear me to pieces. I can't go good...

Then...'Sonic' remembered something. The wisps...they sense good and evil, if I was truly evil...they...they wouldn't have worked with me...But...I don't even have a name, how would I...Quill...Quill....so that's why that nickname meant so much.

'Sonic' pushed Silver aside. "I have an idea," He hesitated before typing in 'Neoand4lpha' and logging in successfully.

"That was fast Quill, but then again, what would I expect from you?"

Even if they still can't trust me, this computer has all of Neo's plans...they can defeat him, even if they scrap me, or lock me away, or de-weaponize me. 'Sonic' moved the mouse over a document. I want to be good...I can be good...I will be good... "Silver...Whisper...you two may want to read this,"

'Sonic' backed away as Whisper and Silver investigated. Please Lord Gaia...give me a chance, I promise to not waste it.

After a while, Whisper and Silver looked back at 'Sonic'. Whisper and Silved turned back to him, both their eyes wide. "Sonic?"

Now or never. Alpha Shadow Android dropped his form, revealing his true self. "No...not...not Sonic," Whisper and Silver remained silent. "Will you two please give me a chance to explain myself?"

Whisper growled, her eyes returning to their partly closed state. "One, that's all you get,"

"Thank you Whisper...I...I am Alpha Shadow Android. I was an upgraded Shadow Android built by Eggman, designed to serve Neo Metal Sonic during the Phantom Ruby War. However, me and Neo Metal were completed too late. With the war lost and the badniks scattered, Neo Metal Sonic took charge. He used me like a second in command, a pet to do his bidding. He hid in secrecy while I did the action. And then, he kidnapped Sonic and made me take his place. But, during that time...I became more than a machine, I gained feelings, emotions...and above all else, a sense of right and wrong. I continued my masquerade as Sonic, unsure on how to continue...until now. With the knowledge I may cause the end of the world in the future, as well as the fact that the wisps didn't detect any evil in me, I want to drop my disguise and help the Resistance defeat Neo Metal Sonic. I don't care if you lock me up, scrap me, de-weaponize me, or what...I just don't want to hurt anyone anymore,"

Silver and Whisper were astonished, not sure how to proceed. Silver finally spoke up. "I just...wow...that's why you were so shook up when I told you what happened in the future, right?" Alpha Shadow Android nodded. "So you're really want to go good...don't you?"

"Yes,"

Silver thought for a moment, before turning to Whisper. She kept her wispon raised but not activated. "How can we trust you now?"

"What do I have to hide behind?"

Whisper further thought, when her cyan wisp suddenly popped out of her cloak and closely investigated Alpha Shadow closely. He then beckoned the other wisps to take a look as well, all exiting Whisper's cloak. They all got close up to him, before the blue wisp nuzzled into his chest. Soon, all of the wisps were nuzzling against his body. They all soon got up and went back to Whisper, speaking in warbles. "They say he's good,"

Silver sighed before walking towards Alpha Shadow Android and reaching his hand out. "Don't make me regret this, Alpha Shadow Android,"

"Really? You're giving me a chance?" Alpha Shadow Android stared at Silver's hand before shaking it. 

"How could I not? You've acknowledged that you were in the wrong, and you actively want to be better,"

"Thank you Silver, you won't regret this...however..." Alpha Shadow Android Quill paused. "I would like to be know as Quill from now on,"

Silver chuckled. "If you wish, Quill,"

"Well...there's still an entire Resistance I need to reveal myself to,"

"Yeah, but I'm sure most of them will understand,"

"And if they don't?"

"That's their problem, you deserve a second chance,"

Whisper walked forward. "But seriously, try anything and you're scrap, got it?"

Quill nodded. "Got it, believe me, I know how powerful wispons are, but I have to say, I don't think I've seen a wispon like that,"

Whisper held it up. "It's a variety wispon, the only one of it's kind, able to switch between multiple wisps,"

Silver examined it closely. "Did you build it yourself?"

Whisper went quiet before hiding her face behind her mask. "No,"

Quill prepared a peel-out. "Well see you two at the Resistance-"

Silver suddenly held him in place. "We can't run as fast as you Quill, and Whisper doesn't even know where the Resistance is,"

"Dang it you're right," Quill's eyes lit up with another idea. "Hang on, new idea. Silver, try to tether your telekinesis around me,"

Silver tightened his telekinesis around Quill like a rope. "Like this?"

"Perfect, now just grab onto Whisper,"

Silver used his other hand to lift up Whisper. "Now what?"

Quills prepared another peel-out. "Now just hold on tight!" He then sped off, Silver and Whisper in tow. "Redemption here I come!"

Chapter Text

"And we're here!"

Quills came to a stop on a hill in front of the Resistance base while Silver relinquished his grip on him and Whisper. Silver looked at Quill. "So...how we doing this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well...I just assumed you had a plan and how you were going to reveal yourself,"

"Huh...Guess I never thought that far,"

"How about this, you turn into Sonic when we go into the base to not make anyone jump to conclusions, and then you can show yourself to people like Tails, Amy, and Knuckles, before they can make an announcement or something to tell people you're good,"

"Yeah, that can work,"

Whisper nudged Quill with her wispon. "Yeah, but try anything..."

"And you'll make me look like burnt swiss cheese, got it. Believe me, I want to go good," Quill then shifted into Sonic. "Let's do this," 'Sonic' hesitantly walked into the base, Silver and Whisper behind him. "Huh, I thought at least some people would know by now,"

Silver raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well...I accidently revealed myself to two of the Resistance's newer recruits, I thought they would tell people, but they must have held that information to themselves,"

"Really? Who are these two?"

"They-" Suddenly, the falser hedgehog's eyes widened.

"What?"

"There they are," 'Sonic' pointed towards Tangle and Lanolin, talking to Blaze. "That purple cat again,"

"Blaze!" Suddenly, Silver ran forward and hugged the cat. "Good to see you again!"

"Silver, happy to see you too...but could you please let go?"

"Oh, sorry!" Silver let go before Blaze gasped for air.

"Much better,"

Whisper tilted her head curiously. "You two know each other?"

Blaze nodded. "Of course, we don't see each other often, given that we're from the future and another dimension respectively, but when we do, we're unstoppable together,"

Lanolin looked at the two before smiling. "Huh, what an odd duo," 

"Yep, hang on...is that?" Tangle's eyes went wide when she recognized Whisper. "The Guardian Angel?!"

The wolf nodded. "I'd prefer Whisper, but yes,"

The lemur beamed. "You're the coolest person ever! You get to blow up badniks in destructive and bombastic ways? Who wouldn't want to meet you!?"

Something about the lemur's smile made Whisper smile herself behind her mask. "Thanks,"

'Sonic' suddenly whispered in Silver's ear. "Would...now be a good time?"

Silver nodded before whispering back. "Probably, definitely not here though, way too many people,"

Blaze gave them a side eye. "What are you two talking about?"

"Well...does anyone know a room that no one uses?"

Lanolin raised her hand. "I do, follow me,"

They all followed Lanolin to a dark, empty room. Tangle gave Lanolin a pat on the back. "Nice job, how did you find this?"

"I just found it while wandering, sometimes I go here to relax,"

"Alright, now that we're all settled," Blaze stood in front of 'Sonic' and Silver. "Tell me what is happening,"

'Sonic' looked at Silver, who gave him a reassuring smile and a thumbs up in return. "Fine, just let me explain myself," 'Sonic' suddenly lost shape as he transformed into Quill.

Blaze's eyes widened before she ignited her hands. "You!"

Silver got between the two. "Blaze, let him explain himself,"

"Silver?! Are you even remotely aware of what he has done?!"

"Yes, but...he's really sorry, and he wants to be better,"

The cat's face went from anger to shock before she shook her head and put out her flames. "Explain,"

"Thank you, Blaze. Basically, used to be pawn of Neo Metal Sonic, we captured the real Sonic, I took his place, I gained feelings, emotions, and a moral compass, I felt bad for what I did, and now I'm trying to make up for my past mistakes,"

Blaze thought for a moment before sighing. "It's going to take a lot more than an 'I'm sorry' for me to trust you completely, but I guess I can let you live,"

Quill reached his hand out. "Good, a little trust is definitely better than no trust,"

Blaze stared at his hands before hesitantly shaking them. "You are certainly a strange one Alpha Shadow Android-"

"It's Quill now,"

"Quill,"

Quill nodded before turning to Tangle. "Sorry for setting fire to your village Tangle,"

"Apology accepted Quill, I knew there was something under that cold, metal heart of yours,"

"Thanks. Also, I appreciate that you and Lanolin didn't tell anyone about my...slip up,"

"Oh you accidentally showing yourself? Yeah, we decided we probably needed more context before telling anyone, and I'm sure glad we didn't, right Lanolin?" Tangle bumped Lanolin with her elbow. 

"Just know that I didn't tell anyone because Maggie sided with Tangle,"

"Who?"

Suddenly, the magenta wisp popped out of Lanolin's wool. Suddenly, all of Whisper's wisps popped out of her cloak and surrounded Maggie, letting out congratulatory warbles. Lanolin smiled at the sight. "Well, looks like you and I Whisper are going to get along just fine," Lanolin then looked over to Quill. "Quill?"

"Yeah Lanolin?"

"How long have you been disguised as Sonic?"

"About two weeks, why do you ask?"

"Why...why did you encourage me to join the Resistance?"

"Oh...well...I just saw that you had some potential to do some good things,"

"Oh, good,"

Silver chuckled before he remembered something. "We...we still have some more people to show the truth,"

Quill looked down. "Yeah, hopefully it will go as well as it did here,"

Silver nodded before turning to Blaze. "Do you know where anyone else is Blaze?"

"Amy, Knuckles, Tails, and the Chaotix are currently interrogating Shadow,"

"Interrogating Shadow?! What did he do?"

"They said he attacked Sonic and...oh,"

Everyone turned their heads to Quill. He nodded. "He caught me when my disguise was down, I tried to reason with him, but he never gave up,"

Silver sighed. "Well...nothing is going to fix itself,"

"Yeah," Quill shifted back into Sonic while all of them followed Blaze.

Vector knocked on the cell. "Wakey wakey,"

Shadow opened one eye. "Huh?" He opened both of his eyes before groaning. "Great, are you going to tell me that I was a drunk idiot who didn't see what I saw?"

"Your mind was clearly not in the right place," Espio added. "You need to realize that Alpha Shadow Android isn't disguising himself as Sonic,"

"I know what I saw!"

"U. How," Vector turned to face Amy. "Yo Ames'! How's managing going?"

"It'd be a lot faster if this bee would stop making terrible puns and let me do my job,"

"Oh come on! Don't honeysuckle out all the fun!"

"See!?"

Espio shook his head. "Sorry Amy, Charmy found this kid in Windmill Village who gave him all sorts of terrible puns, and we couldn't trust to leave Charmy by himself so...yeah,"

Knuckles groaned before turning to Tails. "Do you think Sonic has found Alpha Shadow Android yet?"

"I hope so,"

Blaze then knocked on the door. Amy sighed with relief. "Finally! Someone else for Charmy to annoy! Come in!"

Blaze opened the door before Lanolin, Silver, Tangle, Whisper, and 'Sonic' also entered.

Knuckles smirked. "Awfully large crowd we got here, any of you find Alpha Shadow Android?"

Silver grimaced. "Umm...yeah...we did,"

Vector fell over himself before picking himself back up and running towards them. "Wait you did!? Actually?"

"It's...complicated,"

"Well what're you waiting for?! Where is he?!"

'Sonic' sighed. "Don't be mad at me," He grimaced before losing his form, returning to Quill.

Everyone's face went pale. Tails and Charmy clung onto each other, Vector and Knuckles backed away, even Espio was shook. Suddenly, Amy plunged her Piko-Piko Hammer into his chest. "Tails free Shadow! Everyone else get him!"

"Wait!" Silver and everyone else next to the door were ignored as Amy flung Quill into the opposite wall.

Tails fumbled with the keys before releasing Shadow, who immediately jet shoed to Quill before lodging a Chaos Spear in his chest. "I should've killed you when I had the chance!"

"EVERYONE STOP!" Silver used his telekinesis to lift everyone into the air and held them in place. 

Shadow squirmed in the grip. "Did you just use Silver's Bio-Data!? Oh that's it! Silver, get over here and-!"

"WOULD EVERYONE SHUT THE HELL UP FOR TWO SECONDS!" Everyone went silent, even Blaze looked startled. "Thank you, now I am going to drop all of you, and you're going to let him explain, okay?" Everyone nodded before Silver dropped them. "Okay. Now Quill, explain yourself,"

"Thank you Silver. Now, you all may recognize me as Alpha Shadow Android, the menace who has been behind all the badnik attacks and the reformation of the Eggman Empire. However, that is very wrong. Neo Metal Sonic is the one in control, he just used me to make everyone think it was me,"

Amy stared in disbelief before anger returned to her face. "Where is the real Sonic?!"

"Egg Base Rho. Also..." Quill pulled out a USB drive. "I have all the information about Neo Metal Sonic's plan right here,"

Amy snatched the USB before handing it to Tails. "Scan this and quadruple check everything, Shadow, Knuckles, and Vector, lock up Alpha Shadow Android,"

Knuckles cracked his...well knuckles before walking up to Quill. "With pleasure Amy,"

Quill held his hands out. "Very well...take me away,"

Knuckles looked confused before Vector grabbed a pair of handcuffs. "Goin' out easy? Very well-"

Silver suddenly stood between Vector and Quill. "Not happening,"

Vector tried to push Silver aside. "Sorry kid, but-"

"I said..." Silver held Vector in place with his telekinesis. "Not happening,"

Shadow growled before getting in Silver's face. "Silver, you fail to understand, Alpha Shadow Android is-"

"His name is Quill!" Silver moved Vector aside. "And he is basically a child! Are you saying that he doesn't deserve a chance of going good because of what he did as a mindless machine?"

"That is a murder weapon, he already lied to us by pretending to be Sonic, how the hell can we trust him now?"

"If he wanted to, he could've stayed as Sonic and destroyed the Resistance from the inside out! But he didn't! Why?"

"Because he revels in our suffering just like Eggman, that's why,"

"No! Because he actually wants to be a good person!"

"I think we should take a vote, raise your hand in favor of locking up Quill,"

Amy, Knuckles, Vector, Espio, Tails, and Charmy all raised their hands. Silver stammered. "Really?! Are you serious right now!? Espio, you're reasonable right?!"

Espio sighed. "He is far too dangerous, he must be detained,"

Silver turned around, shocked to see that Whisper and Blaze also had their hands up. "Whisper?! Blaze too!?"

Blaze sighed. "Silver...I've seen directly what he has done, he is far too destructive,"

"Agreed,"

Before Silver could say anything else, Shadow walked past him with a pair of handcuffs. "Majority, good, almost everyone agrees," Suddenly, Quill also raised his hand. "Got anything left to say Clanker?"

"No...I'm just raising my hand in agreement as well,"

Everyone's eyes widened, before Shadow smirked. "Good," Quill lifted his hands in front of him. "You'll make great scrap metal-"

Suddenly, Lanolin pushed Shadow off. "No!"

Shadow stumbled before rolling his eyes. "Ma'am, would you please-"

"No! Listen to me! You're just going to put away and maybe even kill someone who only wants to do the right thing?! What the hell is wrong with you!?"

"That 'someone' is a murder machine who-"

"That is who Metal Sonic is! That is who Alpha Shadow Android is! But Quill is neither of them...he's Quill, he may be a machine, but he's no less mobian than us!"

"Really? The bucket of bolts is just as mobian as us? Pathetic,"

"Before I met Quill, I was the universe's doormat, I let everyone and everything step all over me before I met him. After I met him, sure I'm still timid and not a full blown hero but I can handle myself now, thanks to Quill! So if he can give me a chance to be a hero, you should give him one too. Quill?"

Quill lifted his head. "Yes?"

"What robots have betrayed Eggman and joined the good side?"

"Gamma,"

Shadow rolled his eyes. "There was a flaw in his coding,"

"Gemerl,"

"Was reprogrammed,"

"Omega,"

"He...he..."

Quill added. "There were never any flaws in his code, he was always like that. The only reason he became good was because he hated Eggman,"

Lanolin nodded. "Yeah, how is Quill different from Omega?"

"Omega..." Shadow groaned. "He's still too dangerous,"

"Omega doesn't care about property damage, doesn't consider who gets in the crossfire, and his only driving force is his hatred for Eggman,"

Tails rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "They're not wrong,"

Espio's eyes widened. "Agreed, it would be hypocritical of us to allow Omega to act as he pleases but lock up Quill,"

"What the-? You can't actually be considering letting him free right?"

Amy stepped forward. "Not completely free, but he could probably earn it if he proved he was truly good,"

Silver looked shocked. "Really?" He turned to Quill. "Hear that Quill? They're considering letting you go good!"

Quill's red electronic eyes widened. "Really?"

Lanolin smiled. "Of course really," She walked up to Quill and held her hand out. "I couldn't just let them lock you up, you helped me out of the kindness in your heart, so I returned it,"

Quill stared at Lanolin's hand, before suddenly pulling her into a hug. "Thank you,"

Lanolin's eyes widened before she wrapped her arms around Quill. "You're welcome...friend,"

Quill pulled away before walking up to Amy. "So, Miss Amy, would you mind scanning that USB? It should have everything about Neo Metal Sonic's plan-"

"No, no, no!" Shadow snatched the USB before throwing it on the ground and stomping on it. "Not happening!"

"Shadow!? What the hell?"

"He's clearly just sweet talking us so he could upload a virus and take control of the entire Resistance!"

Silver clenched his fist. "Seriously, what is your problem with Quill?!"

Shadow groaned before walking out while waving his hand dismissively. "Don't come crying to me when that clanker betrays you all!"

"Why is he..." Amy shook her head. "Now what are we gonna do?"

"Not to worry, I have the precise coordinates for Egg Base Rho, I can just head up there and-"

"Yeah not happening,"

Quill tilted his head. "Why?"

"Look, if you want us to trust you, then you shouldn't just go somewhere and not have anyone confirm what you were doing,"

"Very well," Quill looked towards Silver. "Care to join me with freeing Sonic?"

"Sure Quill,"

"Good, anyone else?"

Tangle stepped forward and lifted her hand for a fist bump. "Count me in!"

Quill stared at her hand before bumping her. "Glad to have you on the team, you have shown to be quite the powerhouse,"

Lanolin nodded. "I'm going too, could learn a little bit more about 'fieldwork' as you call it,"

"Thank you Lanolin,"

As Quill turned towards the exit, Blaze stood in front of him. "I apologize for voting in favor of you being detained, however I still believe you should be monitored, which is why I'm coming as well,"

"I forgive you, Blaze. Considering your experience with robot pirates, it's not surprising you would have your doubts about me," Quill noticed Whisper leaning against the wall with her mask on. "Coming too, Guardian Angel?" Whisper shook her head. "Not coming? Very well,” He walked out with his small army of new friends in tow. “Sonic here we come!”

The battalion rushed out the door, before Amy leaned against her desk and sighed. “Finally, some sort of peace around here, right Knuckles?”

“Yeah…but…I feel like something is…off,”

“Just relax for once in your life Knuckles, you can't even do that when you're on Angel Island,”

“Fine…” Angel Island…why do I feel like something is off up there?

Quill was now on a hillside, resting with his new allies. “We have a long journey ahead of us,”

Tangle chuckled. “I jog a mile every morning, I'm sure I can handle this,”

In a nearby tree, Whisper laid there, concealed by the leaves as she stared down Quill from afar.

I've got my eyes on you.

Chapter Text

Whisper slowly followed behind the group, careful not to reveal her position. She found a tree before flying to the top with hover mode on her wispon. She looked through the scope and in the distance was Egg Base Rho, an imposing fortress and a central command point for Eggman.

She then aimed her scope down at Quill, who was looking at the base on a hilltop. Silver floated towards him. "What are we working with Quill?"

"Army of badniks that are a variety of sizes. Egg Bases like these are designed to be control points to manage Eggman's armies effectively,"

"Got a plan?"

"Indeed, in the heart of the base is a control console. From there we can disable all of its offenses and navigate the base to find Sonic with nothing attacking us,"

Silver nodded. "I'll go tell the others, want to come with me?"

"No, I will make sure I don't miss anything,"

"Great," Silver turned to float down before looking back. "Hey...how do you think your whole 'go good' thing is going?"

Quill turned to him before looking back at the base. "It's going...fine...could be better,"

Silver put a hand on his shoulder. "It could also be worse, keep doing what you're doing Quill,"

"Of course Silver,"

Silver smiled before floating down for real this time. Quill turned his head towards the base. Whisper charged up her wispon with a cyan light. "Perfect, all alone,"

Suddenly, all of her wisps popped out of her cloak. Cyan then jumped out of her wispon. "Whisper...I don't feel too good about this,"

Whisper kept her mask on, hiding her expression. "You all know we need to take him out, now,"

Pink shook her head. "We are literally beings of good and we didn't see a single scrap of evil in him!"

"Keep it down!"

Whisper and all the wisps ducked as Quill looked towards the tree. He then turned away. "Must have been a flicky,"

Whisper sighed and was sure to keep quiet. "Look, I understand that...but...did Blue see anything bad in Mimic? No, and that's how we-" Everyone's eyes widened as they turned to Blue, who was sniffling slightly. "Blue...I...I didn't mean...I didn't mean that, I-I was upset and..." Whisper looked down at her shaking hands. "I-I..."  The wisps all cuddled up to the wolf, before she took off her mask and gently cried.

Quill stared at the tree. [$5.99], what do I do? I can't just tell her I knew what happened with the Diamond Cutters, but I don't want her to remain upset. What do I do-?

Quill's thoughts were interrupted by Silver floating towards him, Tangle, Blaze, and Lanolin in tow. "We're ready Quill!"

"Excellent," Quill looked down at the base, before looking up to the tree. I'll figure something out, that's what I've been doing and I'll keep doing it. 

The five (and the sneaky recluse) made their way to the front of the wall surrounding the base. Quill looked at the towers on top of the wall. "There are 6 guard towers, if they detect us, the entire base will be put on high alert and will make our job approximately 84% harder,"

Blaze ignited her hands. "Let me handle this,"

Quill blocked her way with his arm. "Negative, it will alert the other guards,"

Blaze growled. "You underestimate me, Quill,"

"I'm sorry, but your fire attacks will definitely be noticed. Anyone else got ideas?"

"Nope,"

"Me neither," Lanolin turned to Tangle. "What about you Tang-" Only to realize that the lemur was now gone. "What the- Where did Tangle go!?"

Silver looked around. "She was just right there!"

Whisper ignored the disappearance of the lemur, keeping her sights on Quill. "Gaia these guys are a mess,"

"Well, I wouldn't say that,"

"Really? Well, brownie points to whatever wisp said that,"

Cyan popped out of the wispon, looking concerned. "Whisper...that was none of us,"

"What? Then who..."

Whisper slowly turned behind her, only seeing a grey muzzle and big purple eyes. "Hello!"

"WHAT THE FU-" Whisper jumped, causing her to tumble out of the tree and onto the ground.

Tangle laughed before jumping down as well. "Hey guys look who I found!"

Silver looked confused. "Whisper?"

The wolf picked herself up and nodded while Lanolin tilted her head. "Didn't you say you did not want to go?"

"I changed my mind,"

Tangle elbow bumped Whisper. "Why were you so sneaky then? Afraid to admit a little attachment?"

"....Sure..."

Quill nodded. "Great, you're actually perfect for what we need right now. There are 6 guard towers on each corner of the wall, think you can handle them?"

The wolf nodded before slowly floating up with her wispon. She landed on top of the wall before switching to Cyan and shooting a laser, which ricocheted across all the badniks in the towers. She landed on the other side of the door before switching to Blue and knocking the door wide open.

Everyone was flabbergasted, before Tangle beamed. "That was INCREDIBLE!"

Whisper hid her expression behind her mask. "We need to move,"

Everyone ran into the base, ducking behind a large storage box. Tangle rolled her eyes. "Really? A stealth mission? Boooooring,"

Silver peeked over the box before going back down. "Quill, do you have a map of this place?"

"I do, it appears that the control console is 4 doors to the left, 3 doors to the right, and then a long hallway filled to the brim with badniks, that will be our opportunity to let loose,"

The lemur took a deep breath. "Okay...Gotta stay in control until I can go completely nuts,"

Silver grabbed the boxes and slid them across the ground to cover where the group was walking. They then reached the door leading to the next hallway. The hedgehog tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Shoot, turning this corner is going to be almost impossible," His eyes then lit up with an idea. "We need a distraction, anybody got one?"

Blaze lobbed a fireball far away, creating a decent-sized explosion and drawing the attention away from all the badniks. "Made one,"

Silver lifted the boxes before everyone sprinted behind them around the corner. "Could it have been less...blunt?"

"I mean, maybe I could've done it more elegantly, but where's the fun in that?"

"Finally, someone gets it,"

They all sneaked their way through the hallway. Quill gazed at the door leading to the center console. "We're almost there," Suddenly, he spotted an Egg Pawn approaching. "Get down,"

The Egg Pawn investigated the boxes before walking away. Suddenly, a certain lemur's tail punched it away into a wall, causing all of the badniks to look at the boxes. Everyone stared at Tangle disappointingly, even Whisper. "Umm...Oops,"

All of the badniks immediately charged towards the boxes, before Lanolin took out her wispon and rang it, causing all of the badniks to fall to the ground, stunned from the sound wave. "Damnit Tangle. Screw it, time to move!"

Everyone kicked the boxes out of the way before sprinting through the door, entering a vast hallway. The badniks in the hall, as well as the badniks recovering from the shock, swarmed them. Quill ran ahead before spin-dashing through a horde of badniks. "Silver, keep them away from us! Tangle, you and I will clear a path! Everyone else, let loose!"

"Finally!" Tangle kicked a motobug aside while running beside Quill.

Blaze, Whisper, and Lanolin all blasted the badniks sky high while Silver tossed the bigger ones aside. Suddenly, a Hammer Super Badnik stomped towards them, swinging down on them. Silver held the hammer in place while groaning. "Can't...hold it back...much...longer..."

Lanolin rang her bell at the Super Badnik, causing it to stumble back before dropping its hammer. "Hey Silver! Try grabbing the hammer with your telekinesis!"

"Ooooh!" Silver lifted the hammer before annihilating all of the badniks around them. He then dropped to the floor, panting. "That's...that's enough out of me...oh Gaia I'm tired..."

Tangle patted him on the shoulder. "You did your best, and that was probably one of the coolest things I've ever seen!"

Blaze chuckled. "You tend to see things like that a lot around here, certainly a lot more chaotic than my dimension," She draped Silver's arm over her shoulder. "You sure you're not hurt?"

"Yeah...Just...very...very tired," Suddenly, a whole wave of stomping shook the ground when several Hammer Super Badniks ran through the door behind them, approaching rapidly.  "Oh...oh no..." Silver tried to stand before wincing.

Blaze's eyes flashed with worry before she tried to blast the Super Badniks with Whisper and Lanolin. However, their numbers were too big, they managed to put a dent in one of them, but the other ones kept running.

"No! We won't go out like this!" The Sol Emeralds floated out of Blaze, ready to transform her. Suddenly, everyone was pulled up by psychic energy before being pulled rapidly to the other door. They crossed through the other door before they all fell on the ground. "Silver? How did you do that?"

"That...wasn't me..."

"Who else has telekinesis?! It could only be-" Blaze saw Quill with the blue psychic energy around his hands, holding back the Hammer Super Badniks while tapping the door's PIN with his tail. When he locked the door, he collapsed to the ground.

Tangle rushed to his side. "Quill! Are you alright?"

Quill struggled to stand up. "Condition...stable...battery...2% remaining,"

Lanolin stammered. "H-how-? D-did he just-? H-huh-?"

Tangle wrapped her tail around Quill's arm before lifting him to his feet. "He can copy abilities, that's his thing,"

The sheep's jaw went slack before she sighed. "Sure...why not?"

Blaze turned away from Quill to look at a large computer monitor. "Is this the control console?"

"Affirmative," Quill staggered over to Blaze. "I should be able to turn off the base's defenses. However, after this, I'm going to need to find some form of power to regain my battery," 

"Great, I'll stand by in case you need defense,"

Blaze and Quill approached the control console, before Quill stopped. "Hang on...something isn't right here,"

The cat continued to walk towards it. "What do you mean?"

"The schematic of the base I've been using to navigate, it says that the control console should be further down,"

"Well then what's it doing here?" Blaze continued to get closer.

Quill suddenly boosted towards Blaze. "Blaze it's a trap-!"

An explosion suddenly engulfed the two while Silver and everyone else watched in horror. "BLAZE! QUILL!"

Silver sprang to his feet and frantically looked around in the debris before calling for the others. "Help me find them!"

They all dug around, when Tangle lifted up a rock with her tail. "I found them!"

Quill's forcefield surrounded him and Blaze, before deactivating. Blaze stood up, looking frightened.

Silver pulled her into a hug. "Blaze! You're okay!"

Blaze's eyes were wide before she turned to Quill. "Quill? You saved me? I...Thank you, Quill, I am forever in your debt,"

...

"Quill?" Blaze shook Quill. "Quill, this isn't funny...Quill?!"

A small, automated voice came out of Quill. "0% power remaining,"

"Zero percent?! We need to find a way to charge him, now!"

"How are we supposed to-?" Silver was cut off by the sound of the Hammer Super Badniks tearing down the door. "Shoot! We need to move!" He lifted everyone up, including Quill, before running over to the other side of the room.

They passed through the door and locked it behind them, before they all sat down, exhausted. Tangle tiredly chuckled. "Wooooo...now that's an adrenaline high, ain't it?"

Blaze stood up. "No time for standing around, we need to find a way to charge Quill,"

Lanolin's eyes lit up with an idea, before pulling Maggie out of her head fluff. "Quill said wisps were a form of energy, maybe he could use some of it?"

Whisper's wisps popped out and nodded, agreeing with the idea. "Fine..." The wolf muttered. "Just make it quick,"

Blaze smiled. "Wonderful, your efforts won't be dismissed. Hang on..." Blaze's eyes flashed with anxiety. "...Where is Quill?" Everyone looked around worriedly. "Silver are you sure you grabbed him?"

"I know I did, how is he-?" Silver's eyes widened as he looked through the glass on the door. "Oh no," Quill was on the floor on the other side of the door. "Damnit I dropped him!" The hedgehog went to open it, only to be met by the gaze of one of the Hammer Super Badniks.

Blaze prepped a large fireball while the Sol Emeralds slowly swirled around her. "Silver, get out of the way, I should be able to-"

Silver blocked her with his hand. "Hold on..." Everyone looked closer.

The Hammer Super Badniks were all standing around Quill, before one of them picked him up with surprising gentleness before they all walked away.

Everyone was stunned. Lanolin turned to Blaze, seeking confirmation. "D-did that Super Badnik just-?"

"Picked up Quill and walked away? Yeah,"

"Why?"

"Maybe the badniks still think he's on their side?" Silver piped up.

"Or he's still working with them and all of this is an elaborate double-cross," Everyone turned to Whisper, whose voice remained deadpan. "It's very possible,"

Silver stammered, before taking a deep breath. "From the bottom of my heart, I genuinely trust Quill,"

Blaze nodded. "Believe me, I didn't trust Quill too, but he just saved my life, that has to be worth something,"

Whisper shrugged. "You never really know until it happens,"

Lanolin sighed. "Let's worry about Quill later, he said the control console should only be a little bit away,"

Silver nodded. "Good call,"