Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A red quokka hums to themself as they wash dishes in pristine fashion. The art of this task was actually very intricate. Of course, it’s a well known process. Hot water, proper soap, and a lot of scrubbing.

…

Okay, Barry was seriously bored right now.

Something happened at their previous job, and while they weren’t there for it, Barry was let off a couple weeks ago and now they needed to search for a new job. Which they haven’t had much luck on doing recently. A lot of available positions they were either unqualified for or just straight sounds awful working in.

As they look around for jobs, this at least gives Barry more time to take care of the apartment and even play some of the video games they’ve been meaning to play for a while. Sometimes being unemployed is just the best thing ever. 

Sucks that they don’t have a whole lot of money though.

“And… Done!” Barry says, putting up the last water soaked dish. “There. I’ve washed the dishes, vacuumed the carpets, and got rid of any lingering dust… Oh, and took out the trash. What else is there to do?”

They’ve already cleaned their room. Tidied up the living room…

Man. Despite being so productive, they still feel so unaccomplished.

Barry sighs. “Guess there’s nothing to do until there’s something to do.” They make their way to the living room couch. “Might as well wait until Gadget comes home. Maybe we could play Mario Kart together or something.”

Knock knock knock!

Oh, wow. What timing! Usually those odd jobs Gadget takes lasts until late afternoon.

“Coming!” They call, redirecting themself from the couch and towards the entrance.

Barry opens the door and finds their roommate. “Gadget? You live here, don't you have a… Why are your eyes red?”

The war hero’s eyes are puffy, red, and clearly a little teary eyed. He sniffs once, probably to stop a bit of snot from falling. Which… Ew. All of this is clearly an indication of something that happened at least one hour ago. And it probably took a whole hour for it to stop.

“Were you…” Barry tilts their head. “Crying?”

“Mhm. But don't worry!” Gadget coughs, a smile appearing on her face. “They were happy tears. And I have someone to introduce you to.”

Gadget gestures to someone next to him. Said person is wearing a mask and a battered black cloak. Yeesh. Whoever this is, they’ve must’ve been through the wringer and back. Not to mention pretty… scary looking.

“Hullo.” Is what comes out of their mouth. It’s low and whispery. Almost nervous.

“Um, hi? Who are you?” Barry tilts their head in confusion.

Gadget pulls this mysterious entity in for a gentle side hug, causing both of the individual tails to gently wave back and forth. “This is my sister, Whisper! I’ve talked about her before, right?”

…Does she mean her dead sister? The one who died in the war? And who is now standing before them wearing a strange mask and shrouded in tethered black? Who Barry just basically called creepy?

Yeah, let’s think twice before ever speaking out loud again.

“Ah.” Barry says, smartly. So smart. “Um. How is she standing here? Alive??”

So much for that.

“Well, as it turned out, she didn’t die after all.” Gadget explains while also explaining nothing at all. “Er. We should probably step inside now.”

“Oh, right!” The quokka moves out of their way as if they suddenly grazed their hand towards a very hot frying pan. “Of course, what am I doing? Come in, come in!”

Whisper and Gadget enter the apartment, with the former taking in the scenery.

…It was a lot smaller than the former expected for two people living together.

As far as she could tell, there was only one bedroom (at least, she assumed it was the bedroom considering there’s only one other door) and across it was the bathroom. The living room was pretty spacious at least. There were some goofy looking paintings hung on a wall, one of them she’s pretty sure of being from Minecraft.

There were some photos sitting around at the TV stand, some of her, Gadget and… Slinger. It’s nice. He won’t be forgotten. None of them will, of course, but it’s nice to see it as a reminder.

(Whisper could never quite track down any family of Smithy or Claire’s. She never asked and they never told. Maybe that was a mistake.)

“Make yourself at home.” Gadget calls from the kitchen. Which wasn’t far nor a separate room but it still counts. “Well, make yourselves at home.”

Right, the wisps.

“Come on out, if you want.” Whisper lightly flicks back her cloak, gesturing to her little buddies to make an appearance. 

A colorful hue of wisps lights up the already brightened atmosphere. Cyan waves bounce off the walls excitedly, making pink and green beings follow behind closely and prevent anything getting damaged. Blue and Orange just watch as they stay by their caretaker.

Barry yelps as another flash passes by them. They sigh, “And here I thought Vee was bad…”

Oh, right. It hadn’t occurred to Whisper that Gadget had her own little alien buddies. Her tail wags slightly from the chance to meet them. “May I see them?”

Gadget smiles. “Vee? Burst? Come meet my sister!”

Two red and blackish purple aliens pop out from the inside of Gadget’s pockets. Which is werid because... is it that spactious? Whisper has no idea. The two of them spot their kind and warble delightedly, flying up to each and every one of them, rekindling their bond. Whisper’s wisps do the same.

A rainbow ring of wisps is formed, conversation taking place in their language. Barry eventually joins Whisper on the couch, in awe of the bunch of extraterrestrials in their living room.

“Heh. Despite living with them, it’s still amazing to see them.” Barry says, smiling.

Whisper agrees, “It never gets old.” 

The wisps that accompany Gadget lead the other five around the apartment, likely telling them of the items that are scattered around the area. It’s more than likely for some of the things to be foreign to them, Whisper was never the kind of girl to stick around in one place for so long. Plus, she camped out more than she thought was good for her. The fridge is probably the most interesting appliance to them.

“What’s Gadget doing?” The blonde wolf asks.

“Just getting some drinks. She said she was making something quick for you.” Barry responds.

Ah. He remembered. That’s sweet. Whisper’s tail wags in anticipation. It’s been a long time since she’s had her favorite drink made.

Though, there is one thing she's been wondering.

“Hey.” Whisper starts, breaking the comfortable silence. “How did you meet Gadget anyway?”

“Oh! Hm.” Barry’s ears flick in thought. “It was a little after the war. Her place was completely destroyed and she thought you and your parents were…”

“Dead.”

“Yeah, that. My place was the same so we went to the same homeless shelter until we managed to get back on our feet.”

“You met at the shelter?”

“Nah. We first met when we were at the hospital.”

“Ah.”

“Yeah. Then we got to know each other better when we were staying at the shelter.”

“Oof, that was a weird time.” Gadget cuts in smoothly, a platter of drinks in his hands. “It feels like a lifetime ago when realistically, it was just a couple months ago. Oh, and here’s the drinks.”

Whisper smiles, tail once again swooshing behind her, and politely takes the drink from her sibling’s hand. Then she drinks it all in one gulp.

Gadget eyes her. “I’m not making more.”

“I know.” She grins at him. “Worth it.”

Warm milk mixed with cinnamon and a touch of sugar. It was heavenly after so long. Whisper feels like she could almost cry from the amount of joy she felt. How comforting it was to have something she thought she’d never have again.

(Sure, she could just make it herself. But it wouldn’t really be the same. Not to her heart.)

“Anyways,” Gadget picks up where Barry left off. “Since a lot of landlords are eviler than Eggman, some of them raised rent to people who didn't have anywhere else to go. Barry was really the only friend I felt I had left so we both decided to move in together and help each other.”

“It was shocking at first.” Barry chuckles. “I actually didn’t know he was the one to help save Sonic and, you know, be a war hero. He had to tell me himself and I didn’t believe him until Amy Rose herself came to visit!”

Oh, it would probably blow their mind how Whisper is practically friends with most of the heroes of the planet. Well, she’s on her way for that at least. Maybe she should keep that fact to herself for now.

“I swear, everyone knows about me but can’t ever recognize me.” Gadget smiles. “Anyways, I took some odd jobs here and there, ones that may or may not require my wispon sometimes, we moved in, got settled, maybe had to threaten our landlord a bit—”

Whisper blinks. “You what–?”

“—Then the rest is history. Of course, there’s more to it than that but…”

Ignoring that one tidbit, Whisper just nods. “We’ll get into it.”

Not just Gadget’s side of the story.

“Alright.” He nods back.

The sound of wisps grabs their attention and the two wolves find their respective alien companions once again at their side. Whisper huffs amusedly before grabbing her masks to translate.

“Whisper, we need a Switch.” 

“She doesn’t have the money for that.”

“Then we’ll steal this one!”

“How about we don’t do that?”

“Ay, why don’t we jus’ share?”

“I would be surprised if he even knew the word existed.” 

“Hey!” 

“What are they saying?” Barry asks.

“Uh, something about robbing us?” Gadget guesses.

“Huh?”

Cyan bumps Orange playfully, all of them chuckling. Red and Violet, or Burst and Vee as Gadget called them, float up to Whisper. Seems they’ve gotten the courage for introductions now.

“Hello. I’m Burst and this Vee.” She sounds very calm and collected. Practically the opposite of their type. Neat.

Something nicked at her ear and she pats it instinctively, finding that the violet wisp was nibbling on her ear. 

“Er, sorry. That’s how they show affection.”

Vee just giggled.

“It’s fine.” Whisper said. Simply unexpected. “Do all violet wisps act like this?”

“Not that I know of. They… Wait. You can understand me?”

“Through the mask, yes.” She points to it. 

“That’s so cool!” That was Vee. “Usually, Gadget has to guess what we’re saying. I mean, he’s picked up some stuff but it’s still a hassle.”

Speaking of, Whisper glances at her sibling and finds what may have to be the most heartwarming moment she’s seen since reuniting with her thought-to-be-dead sibling.

Pink naturally found his place on top of Gadget’s head, as he does with anyone he likes. Cyan lies on the wolf’s shoulder, talking a mile per minute. Whereas the rest float nearby and listen, chiming in where possible.

Gadget notices her watching with a smile and sends one back.

“Aw, what the hell?! Someone else got all the action already?!”

Surge angrily kicks a pile of burnt up bolts and screws. All the action was done and taken care of when she got here! Sure, all the people are safe and junk but that’s not…!

“Urgh. That is the point.” Surge groans to herself. Yes, she wants to be flashy and admired but there won’t be any of that if there ain’t anyone to begin with. Damn it, Pinky. 

Still, she’ll let herself be pissed for showing up from, like, five towns and a city just to find her job to be done for her. That was her kill! All that running for nothing! At least a little more street cred would’ve been nice. 

Maybe it was Kit’s fault. Should’ve been faster in reporting the badnik attack for her.

…Nah. That’s not fair.

“Ma’am!”

The devil speaks. Or however it went.

“Ma’am, I understand you were excited but please wait a bit for–! Oh.” Kit paused, jet water coming to a halt. He takes in the very notable wreckage of robotic corpses. “I believe this is a new record time, ma’am.”

“As much as I wanna take the credit for it, this wasn’t me.” Surge deadpans, though the tone wasn’t meant for him clearly. “Some other schmuck beat us to it.”

“...Oh.”

“Feh. These things wouldn’t have put up much of a challenge anyway.” She glares at another dead mechanical body like it personally insulted her. “Not worth much.”

It does raise the question as to why Eggman has badniks prowling around. Is there something here he wants? If that’s the case, if Surge could get her hands on it first before he does then maybe…

“Hmm…”

Surge pops herself out of her thoughts and finds Kit inspecting the scorched badniks. “What is it, Drippy?”

“The report said there were more badniks than this.” He answers. He turns to her and gestures to all the robotic bodies. “Some of them are missing.”

“So?” Surge shrugs. “Maybe it was those Restoration punks who cleaned up.”

“Wouldn’t we have seen some workers then?” Kit argues. “People cleaning up the rest of this mess instead of leaving it out here?”

“...Fair point.” Even though it isn’t necessarily out of the question, Pinky did tell them that other branches of the Restoration existed or whatever, that did raise the question of where those people are. “What’cha thinking?”

Kit looks to the side, contemplating. He’s been doing that a lot.

“C’mon, spit it out! We haven’t got all day.” Surge, well, urges.

“...Clutch.”

The mere name being heard makes the tenrec spark small bits of lightning into existence. A scowl forms on her face not soon after the light show.

“That bastard.” It makes sense. That’s what Clean Sweep does. Clean up the mess for their own profit. The only thing that’s not adding up is, “Didn’t Eggman kidnap him or something?”

“Maybe he got away. Or maybe Eggman is using Clean Sweep for himself?” Kit ponders, a hand to his chin. “But it also wouldn’t make sense for them to leave some badniks behind.”

That’s true… Unless they were baiting them. But Kit isn’t sure why Eggman would do that or especially the old man. He had to have known that Surge and Kit were more than a match for any badniks he had in store. 

Or it wasn’t any of them at all.

“Bah! I’ll just ask someone who was here.”

Kit jolts out of his thoughts. “Ma’am?”

Surge jaunts over to a nearby pedestrian.

“Um, ma’am wait!” 

“Hey, you!” The thunderous punk catches the attention of a cow about to walk in a deli. “You seen what happened to these heaps of trash?”

The cow blinks. “What, you mean who destroyed them?”

“No. Actually, yeah. Do you know who?”

“Uh, a red wolf and another wolf. One of them had a mask thing while both had wispons.”

Ah. Everything made sense now. Sort of.

“Is no one gonna clean it up?” Surge asks.

“I heard word was sent to Restoration members a few minutes ago.”

Okay, so they just showed up early. Makes sense, Surge is the fastest thing alive. Probably doesn’t rule out Clutch even if he isn’t making any moves though. Clean Sweep itself is a mystery going on right now.

But Squinty being in the area is interesting. If she’s here then there’s gotta be something worth checking out! There always was with these big hero types.

“Cool, thanks.” Surge walks. She faces the fennec with a sharp grin. “We’re in luck, Drippy! Something must be going down in this city if we got big shot snipers here. I say we find it first and take the glory for ourselves!”

Kit smiles, “I’ll follow your lead!”

She ruffles his hair, “‘Course you will. Let’s move it!”

They zoom off, leaving trails of electric water particles in the air and the ground respectively.

…

A wisp flies out from under the cow’s poncho. He turns to the little guy, “I probably shouldn’t have told them that, right?”

The wisp shrugs.

“Yeah, probably not.”

Chapter Text

The door to the rabbit household swings gently open. 

“Vanilla? I need some assistance.”

Said old rabbit yawns. It was past Cream’s bedtime by now. She had been waiting for him on the couch upon the realization that he had yet to return. Normally, Gemerl is very punctual when returning from garbage duty to tell her a bedtime story. She wondered what happened.

Vanilla groggily turns to him, rubbing her eyes, “What is it, dear? If it’s about the container being full then just put our garbage on the si- oh.” She is now fully awake. Seeing someone passed out and injured in the arms of family would do that.

It hadn’t even registered to the rabbit that he called her by her name.

“Oh dear.”

“Vanilla. Help.”

“Oh my–! Set her on the table!”

Gemerl follows her command as she rushes to get some medical supplies. After running a quick scan, Lanolin’s vitals read normal if only dipping slightly. Still, she is in no immediate danger.

The elder rabbit comes back with medkit, opening it right up as soon as she sets it down. She turns to the gizoid, “Anything that needs stitching?”

“Negative. She sustains heavy but nonfatal injuries.” Gemerl reports. “Namely: several bruises and cuts. She has lost a considerable amount of blood but should she rest, she will be fine.”

“Good enough, I suppose.” She sighs. “Do you know her?”

“Not personally if that is what you are asking.”

“Then how do you come across her?”

“My sensors picked up a noise coming from the woods. Upon further inspection, the usage of hyper-go-on was discovered.” Gemerl nods at the KO’ed sheep. “She was fighting organic recruits of Eggman.”

Were it anyone else, no one would notice the way Vanilla’s hands froze and her facial muscles tense like she ate a bad apple. Not a second sooner did she refocus on the person laying unconscious on her table.

“I thought those who joined during the war were either jailed or saved.” Vanilla murmurs.

“It has been almost half a year since the end of the war. Since then, those jailed either escaped or were released. For those saved… Perhaps there were some who… could not have been saved.”

“Hm. Could you grab me some tylenol? This is going to be a long night.”

“I would normally urge you to rest but I suppose I cannot stop you.”

Whenever someone wakes up to unfamiliar surroundings after having gotten in a fight, how do they react? Usually, pretty badly.

Strangely enough, Lanolin doesn't wake with a startle, a jump, or even a gasp. She's still. Like it's hard to comprehend that she's… here. As if she's not supposed to be.

(Or, Gaia forbid, she didn’t want to be.)

A string of piano keys catches her attention a minute into consciousness. Lanolin looks around trying to find the source before landing on the coffee table to her side.

Maggie was idly laying there, seemingly looking worried. Well, Lanolin knew she was worried. The wisp didn’t have many visible emotions perceptive to anyone else unless it was strikingly clear what she was feeling. Maybe it was because Lanolin was her caretaker that she knew but it’s unclear. She’s not the expert on wisps.

As for the sound of a piano; rhythm wisps have this tendency of sounding like instruments in lieu of talking. There was a time where, when work was grating Lanolin’s mind, the two would quietly make a tune together. At least until she regained her focus.

The sheep tries to catch her attention.

“Hey…”

It’s hoarse, dry, and a whisper above all else but it’s her.

Maggie flinches, catching the sound despite its low volume. She immediately abandons the bell, launching herself into her caretaker’s cheek and nuzzling it. The action brings about a harmony of delighted ukulele instrumental, all in tune and not out of beat despite the ecstatic joy. It draws out an airy giggle out of the sheep as she places a hand on her wisp, soothing her with carding her fingers on her head.

“I see you are awake now.”

The moment passes and Gemerl makes himself known to the newest visitor of the household. Lanolin and Maggie stop with the commotion but do not separate. The wisp simply buries herself in the crook of her caretaker’s neck.

“Yeah.” Lanolin answers, unsure of what else to say. “Sorry but I kind of forgot your name.”

“Gemerl.” He reports. “I have brought you somewhere safe as you requested.”

“Thank you. I know I must’ve seemed… desperate. Sorry about that.”

“No apologies necessary. Although, an explanation would be appreciated.”

“Very much appreciated, to be quite honest.”

Lanolin almost flinches at the arrival of a new voice. She turns her head at who spoke—then immediately attempts to sit up straight. Maggie lets out a record scratching sound at the sudden movement but readjusts to lay on her shoulder.

Vanilla appears from the kitchen, holding a duo of cups upon a tray. “Sorry if I startled you, dear. Gemerl told me you were awake and I thought you would like a refreshment.” She places the tray down. “I wasn’t sure if you were a coffee or a tea person so I made both.”

“...Uh. Coffee is fine, thank you ma’am.” Lanolin murmurs, rigid as her schedule in the Restoration.

“Gemerl?” Vanilla inquires, “Do you mind checking in with Cream, tell her we have a guest?”

“Of course.” He nods, leaving not soon after.

Once he’s out of sight, Vanilla offers the sheep her cup of joe. Lanolin reluctantly accepts it from her, taking a sip, and then regrets it faster than Sonic after a chili dog run. Not because it was bad, far from it, but because a bit fell on her. And that was awful after being in a fight. Which might’ve been why she spilled a bit on top of her.

“Careful!” The motherly rabbit warns. “You’re still injured! Don’t push yourself.”

“It’s fine.” Lanolin grunts, appearing not fine. She grabs a napkin that came with the offered drinks, hoping to clean herself off…

Only to find that she’s not wearing her typical orange sweater. Ah. That explains why she felt the heat of the coffee.

Great. Now she feels exposed despite still having her sports bra on. 

(And, y’know, the rest of her clothes too. Obviously.)

“Er, where is my sweater??” Lanolin blurts out. In hindsight, it was sort of a dumb question. To reiterate; she was just in a fight.

“Sorry, Ms. Lanolin,” Miss? Where’d that come from? “But in order to treat your injuries better, I had to take off your sweater. Normally, I would just put it in the washer but… It was rather torn and murky.”

Right. Makes sense.

“While we’re on the topic,” Vanilla continues. Oh no. “Gemerl filled me in on some details about who you were fighting. Why were two of, presumably, Eggman’s soldiers fighting you?”

“I wish I knew.” Lanolin murmurs, looking down into her coffee. “All I know is that they must have been following me while I was in Central City. I tried to shake ‘em off but I guess I failed.”

“Hm.” The rabbit hums. “Were you, perhaps, there for any specific reason? I understand the Restoration headquarters had unfortunately been destroyed and that you were something of a," She waves her hand around in a circle, “High ranking official. If that’s the right term.”

Now, Lanolin frowns. It wasn’t exactly a secret, the Diamond Cutters were seen on television during the Clean Sweepstakes. The fact that Jewel and her worked closely together was another story. “How do you know that?”

“Ever since the… Metal Virus…” It sounded like Vanilla was really gnashing her teeth together with those words. “Gemerl had asked Amy, before she handed down the role of director, to keep him up to date with, well, most anything really.” She looks to where Gemerl left, clearly more than a little heartbroken. “To be prepared, he said.”

Hm. What a sense of deja vu.

“Since then, a young woman named Jewel reported to him. She mentioned a team that you were on, and now you’re…” She lets the sentence drag on, in fear of meaning something she didn’t. But Lanolin heard it.

Now she’s all alone.

A sigh leaves the sheep. Might as well be honest.

“Since HQ was destroyed, I needed a new place to sleep. I was looking for a homeless shelter that was willing to take me in but they were all full.” She informs, truthfully. “I’m not sure what those two wanted but I certainly owe Gemerl for his help in fighting them off. A-And you of course, for patching me up.”

“Think nothing of it, dear.” Vanilla smiles warmly at her. Wow. Lanolin could count on her fingers just how many times that she’s been on the receiving end of that.

Welp, time to move on from that.

“Anyways, I should probably go.” Lanolin stands, visibly holding back a wince. “If Eggman has it out for me, this place won’t stay safe for long. I’ll–.”

“Whoa whoa, hold on a moment.” Vanilla interrupts, standing with her, “You’re in no condition to be walking most anywhere. Gemerl had to carry you over here because you fainted.”

“I–. Yes, but the danger that could come to you and your family is far more important.”

“Even if you could leave without tumbling around, what happens if those two find you again? I don’t mean to sound rude but if you could barely handle them on your own…”

“I can handle them. I was just… having a rough week.”

“...Why don’t you stay here for a while?”

Lanolin jolts, not expecting that rebuttal. “I’m sorry?”

“As is, you’re in no condition to fight what may or may not come our way.” Vanilla says, not unkindly. “Here, Gemerl can help you hold them off. Cream too, as much as I would prefer her not to get involved.”

“Um.” Lanolin is unsure of what to say. “I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“I’m making the offer, honey. We have a guest room you could use anyhow.” The rabbit assures. “And you told me that the Central City homeless shelters don’t have space. You won’t be able to walk to the next city in your state.”

“...”

“If it is what you wish, however, I will not force you to stay here. You’re free to go whenever you’d like.”

Lanolin almost wants to say that she could always go to Riverside. It’s her hometown after all. Somehow, though, the mere thought of seeing her mother again makes her bite down the urge to admit it. Even just imagining how the interaction she’ll have with her sends a chill.

It’s selfish but… It also makes sense.

“Alright. I’ll stay.” Lanolin breathes out. “Thank you, Miss.”

“Vanilla, dear.” She gently corrects with a smile. “I’ll be sure to get you some new clothes too. I believe some of my older outfits will fit you nicely.”

“I appreciate it.”

As if on cue, Gemerl returns with Cream and a chao in tow. The little rabbit’s hand is tucked neatly in one of cold and warm metal.

Like clockwork, Vanilla steps to her, meeting her eyes on the same level. “Cream, darling, this is Lanolin. She will be staying with us for the time being, if that’s alright with you.”

The sheep isn’t quite sure what to expect when dealing with younger kids. They can be a handful, that much she knew. Then again, isn’t everyone their own handful?

“Um.” Wonderful start. Just keep it simple. “Hi, Cream.”  

“Hello, Ms. Lanolin! My name is Cream and this is Cheese!” Cream gestures to her chao companion as if she hadn’t completely blindsided her with a brighter smile than the world’s most powerful flashlight. “Gemerl told me what happened! I’m glad you’re okay. I detest fighting so I’m sorry that you had to be put in that situation.” She adds, looking empathetic. Cheese mirrors her expression.

Oh. Okay then.

“Yeah, um. You should see the other two.” She tries for a smile. If it comes out as more of a grimace, the others don’t say anything. “Gemerl really taught them a lesson.”

“I heard! He was great, wasn’t he?” The child affirms, looking at the robot in question.

“I just do what I can, Cream.” He actually looks sheepish for a moment. He then looks at Vanilla, “It is almost time for lunch. Shall I prepare the kitchen?”

“If you may, thank you Gemerl.” Vanilla nods. As the gizoid leaves, she says, “Cream? Do you mind showing Lanolin here where she’ll be staying in the meantime?”

“Yes, mother!” Cream enthusiastically shouts, “Come, Ms. Lanolin! It’s this way!”

Lanolin mouths a quick thank you to the elder rabbit before being dragged off to her temporary room. Vanilla giggles at the sight then leaves to join Gemerl in the kitchen. 

Or she would be if Gemerl wasn’t standing in front of the entryway, staring out the window strangely.

She frowns, “Gemerl? Is everything alright?”

“...Yes. I believe so.” He eventually answers. “I thought a strange burst of energy but my sensors are not detecting anything.”

“Strange…”

“Indeed.”

“Well, let’s hope it was nothing. We still have lunch to prepare, especially now that we have an extra mouth to feed.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Chapter Text

“...Now, I’m staying with them for a bit.”

As promised, Whisper was updating Tangle and Jewel on a daily basis. What news was to be delivered today was nothing short of a bombshell.

“...You have a SIBLING?!” Tangle exclaims once the wolf is done with her report. “Since when did that happen?!”

On the other end of the video, Whisper turns to Gadget, “How old are you now?”

“Uhhh. 20." He says. 

“So about 20 years ago. Also, why did you have to think about it for a second?”

“Listen, it's been a long time since I've thought about my age.”

“What does that even mean?”

“Guys,” Jewel cut in, “Back on track, please?”

That was enough to get the two siblings to separate. Gosh, to Tangle, it felt so weird to think that. The girl she loved had always been more of a lone wolf (haha) for as long as she’s known her. She never spoke of any family and she never pushed. Tangle never would’ve thought she would have the chance to meet a part of her family or the fact that said family was the hero of the fricking war.

Also, yeah. She can admit (to herself) that she loved Whisper. So what? She’s only cowardly about some of her feelings.

“Anyways, yeah. I didn’t find anything in Central City, so I’ll be staying with her and her roommate in the meantime. Until I could afford to actually travel to the Grand Chateau anyway.” Whisper finished.

“I did offer to just pay it for her.” Gadget murmured but was unavoidably caught by his sister. 

“We just reunited, I’m not letting you pay for me.”

“Well, you better start job hunting then.”

A sigh. “I’ll talk to you two later. Let me know if anything happens.”

“You too, girl.” Tangle says back, smiling. “Keep in touch.”

Whisper nods. As she goes to hang up, Gadget is heard saying, “So, is that the lemur girl you have a crush on?”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP, I DIDN’T HANG UP YET!”

Beep!

…

Jewel turns to look at Tangle, “Remind me again how you two aren’t together yet?”

All she got for a response was an airy, nervous giggle.

The days go on after that. Just as time will obviously.

Tangle lets out a sigh for what has to be the umpteenth time in ten minutes.

It's almost been a week since Whisper and Lanolin left—one chilling and catching up with her sibling and the other… understandably wanted nothing to do with any of them.

She didn't want to be around them anymore.

…

These thoughts have never left her head since the end of that day.

If I had just been better… Maybe if we had just told her everything… But, Duo was actually Mimic so then…

What was the right choice?

Anytime something like this popped in her head, she would violently shake her head before attempting to focus on whatever needed focusing.

She’s been trying to use this time doing what Whisper asked of her; be on the lookout for Mimic and protect herself alongside Jewel from him. She knew how important it was to stay but… she’d be lying if she said she would prefer to be here either.

Tangle wasn’t good at sitting in one place for so long, and Jewel didn’t want her to suffer in silence, so all the beetle had her do was help her organize paperwork and pretty much just act as her bodyguard. Not really anything different from when they were younger. Aside from being cooped up in one place for so long.

Yeah, that last bit definitely didn’t help the good distraction from, well, distracting her from her thoughts.

“Tangle?”

The lemur blinks out of her headspace and registers her surroundings once again. She finds the beetle looking at her with concern from her front desk.

“Everything okay? You seem distracted.” Jewel asks.

Tangle tries to play it off, “Yeah, I'm good! Just wondering what to make for dinner! Whatcha thinking, should I make some more arancini from last week or something new?”

“Sounds great…” Jewel trails off. Oh boy. Not a good sign for her best friend. “Is everything okay? You’ve been very quiet these past few days.”

It’s not that she wasn’t capable of being quiet, no, it’s that this silence radiating off her wasn’t the typical peaceful kind. Leave it to Jewel off all people to recognize that.

“Yeah, of course.” Tangle answers, trying to flow the genuinity off the tongue well, “Just have a lot on my mind right now.”

The beetle spins in her swivel seat, giving the lemur her full attention. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Gah. It was really hard to not cope in unhealthy ways when she had someone in her corner. Especially someone like Jewel, who knew her better than anyone else. Darn you, bonds of friendship! 

“It’s just…” A wince crawls its way out of her mouth. “Lanolin.”

“What about her?”

“Don’t say it like that.”

“Sorry, sorry! But you do know what I mean.”

“I do. And what not about her? I didn’t word that properly but still.” Tangle sighs. “Did you see the look on her face when Whisper said that we didn’t trust her? It was like she was… heartbroken but understanding at the same time and somehow, that hurt most of all.”

Jewel doesn’t say anything yet. Out of the group, it would be accurate to say she knew Lanolin the longest of them. Whether or not she knew Lanolin period is another story. The sheep fancied herself as more of a recluse who kept things strictly professional and anything personal stayed close to her chest.

This whole thing surrounding that sheep is… odd. She didn’t go out of her way to approach them in a non-work setting but still seemed betrayed by the fact that the trust she seemingly had in them wasn’t reciprocated.

…Maybe they should have tried to get to know her better? Lanolin was not the open feelings type, obviously, but that’s not an excuse. It was clear that not talking with her when it was necessary, no matter how valid the reasoning, was the breaking point. They really should have known better, tried harder, especially when they’ve befriended Whisper (even if they’re two different flavors of social hermits).

“We should have tried better to… be people she wants to trust, you know?” Jewel begins. The words don't feel entirely right but the message is more important. “In the end, there was no breaching her walls without scaling over it or breaking it down. She had to be the one to let them down.”

“Yeah, but… Did we ever do a good job of making ourselves approachable to her?” Tangle mutters. “After what Whisper and Silver tried to do… That’s probably where things started to fall apart for us.”

“That whole situation wasn’t anyone’s fault but Mimic’s.”

“I know, it’s just… I didn’t ever think, in my entire life, I would end up being the one to hurt someone on purpose.”

“You didn’t–.”

“I didn’t try to deny it.”

“...What?”

Tangle buries her face into the palms of her hands, “What Whisper said. About not trusting her. I didn’t try to deny it.”

Oh.

She continues, “Honestly, I think some part of me holds a bit of a grudge for what happened with Duo. I mean, it’s Mimic for crying out loud. What that guy has done to that poor girl is nothing short of torment. I mean, she practically admitted to us that she was scared for us when she found out the truth about him.”

Like it practically haunts her. A what if that will never escape the confinement of the mind.

“I know it’s not her fault but… Ugh.” Tangle groans, falling down to the floor, pulling her knees up to her face, “I hate this.”

Jewel joins her not soon after, “I do too. But, as much as I hate to say it, we can’t change the past. The best thing we can do is move forward and learn to be better.”

“Heh… Silver would argue the former half of that…” Tangle can’t help but quip before sighing, “You’re right though. Thanks.”

“Just returning the favor.” Jewel smiled. It's half gone with her next words, “If it cheers you up, I have a small bit of news for you.”

Tangle allows her bestie to pull her off the ground, saying, “What is it?”

“I received a letter from someone a while back and it said she was going to visit today. We haven't seen her in… a while, so I thought it would be a nice surprise.” For a “nice surprise”, the beetle doesn't seem too excited. 

“She?” Tangle pinpoints. “Who is it?”

“Well…”

SLAM!

The two whip around the entrance to find a dark blue pika panting at the door. She looks close to collapsing. That’s concerning. She looks about to speak but seems to need to catch her breath for a moment.

“...And there she is.” Jewel finds herself mumbling.

Is it normal to be so elated and to feel dread at the same time?

“Is that…?” Tangle lightly gasps.

The beetle and lemur flies and walks, respectively, on over, with the latter patting the pika on the back as she heaves, hands on her knees.

“This… serves as… a reminder to get… more exercise.” She wheezes, finally straightens up and smiles. “‘Ello–!”

The pika is then scooped up immediately in a Tangle patented hug, swinging her around and everything.

“RELIC!” She squeals. “Oh, sei tornato! Gosh, it’s been so long since we’ve last seen you!” The brawler puts her back down on the ground.

Relic grins, dusting herself off, “Hehe, I was planning on coming here for a while. Any opportunity to see you two again is one worth taking!”

“Yeah, I received your letter. First one I got from you in a long time…” Jewel says. If that last sentence was not meant to be heard, no one has to know. 

“Wait. Why were you out of breath when you got here?” Tangle asks.

“Oh, of course! How could I have forgotten?” Relic clears her throat, “See, if you recall one of my earlier letters, I visited the one and only Angel Island during the whole Chaos crisis at Station Square.”

“When Angel Island fell.” Jewel said. “I remember that.”

“I’ve been to Angel Island, like, twice.” Tangle grins, “It was so beautiful! The sunsets are to die for up there.”

An audible neck snap (in the context of sudden movement) is heard from the pika. Ah, that’s right. She’s an archaeologist. Having heard that one of her friends was up in ancient knowledge heaven must be mind blowing.

“You’ve been up there?! Gracious me, you cannot just say that and not share the experience!” Relic, honest to Gaia, squeals. That’s how you know she’s serious. “What was it like? Did you discover anything worthy of the history books? What about artifacts?”

“Whoa, slow your roll girl!” Tangle laughs, “I haven’t been able to do much sightseeing considering the times I was up there was during trouble.”

“Phooey. I got on up there during–!”

“Chaos’ attack on Station Square. We know.” Jewel says with a smirk. Despite her complicated feelings, it feels natural. “Didn’t you also say that you just barely got off it when it started to rise again?”

“...Yes.” Relic pouts for a moment then she’s all smiles. “However, I would still love to hear about what you two have been up to in my time away.”

“Hold on, didn’t you have something to say earlier? About your adventure on the island?” Tangle cuts in.

“Oh, that’s correct!” The pika snaps her fingers in realization. “So, while I was up there, I had made quite the discovery! It was an effort to get it off the island, call in some helpers to get it moved and shipped, paying for the expenses and what not…”

“You’re rambling, Relic.” Jewel said, not unkindly. 

“Right, excuse me. My point is, I believe I may have discovered a new mineral!”

That gets the beetle’s attention. Her wings start to flutter preemptively. “Go on…” She says. Tangle giggles at the sight.

“I believe it to be dated around four thousand years old—I’ve compared it to any available records of the lost echidna clan and the thing seems to date before it. It’s some sort of malachite, as water seems to make it toxic, but this ore is much tougher than it. I’ve seen someone attempt to chisel it and the poor thing ended up crooked!”

“Dang.” Tangle whistled. “Also, maybe a dumb question, but why bring it here? Shouldn’t you be trying to find out more about it?”

“Right. Well, you see...” Relic winces, nervously tapping her fingers together.

The duo before her blink confusedly.

“I know I haven’t been… keeping in touch with you two as well as I could be doing.” She begins. “After I left to adventure on my own, I realized a little too late about how I might’ve left you two behind. Then, the war happened and I couldn’t reach you without risking the possibility of… well. Dying.”

Jewel deflates a little.

“It felt wrong to come back and not at least bring something with me as a little apology. Hence, the delivery.”

“Hey,” Tangle softly starts, wrapping a tail around the smaller islander’s shoulders. “You were just following your dreams. Nothing wrong with that.”

“Yes, but…” Relic grunts, looking at the beetle. She immediately looks to the side, avoiding her eyes. “Who’s dreams did I have to ruin in the process?”

Ah, Tangle gets it now.

Before she could say anything, Jewel pulls herself up to Relic, a smile just barely noticeable on her face. “It’s certainly one heck of an apology gift.”

“Hah, well, you deserve it.” Relic wobbly mirrors the expression. “I know just how much you adore the geology of these hidden wonders.”

“I’m happy to hear you kept us in mind for all this time.” Jewel admits, pulling the pika into a hug.

“Of course! I missed you lot.” Relic grins, returning the hug just as joyfully.

Tangle watches, equally as elated for the two. Maybe things can get better sooner rather than later. Right now isn’t perfect, sure, but that’s what the future is for. To make it so that is.

“I’m in position. Eyes on the target.” There was no real need to coordinate since her help is a bunch of robots that can’t talk about but whatever. 

Clove spies on the Mineral Museum, watching from holographic footage thanks to some badniks scouting ahead. She, and an array of badniks, are hidden throughout the forest just before Spiral Hill farmlands and into the town itself.

Per Eggman’s orders, the objective was to secure the artifact shown on her hands-on scouter provided to her by any means necessary. Thankfully, that gave her the freedom to do this her way. As long as nothing goes wrong that is.

The badniks given to her were mere lowly grunts of the empire; Egg Pawns, Buzz Bombers, whatnot. The simpletons. But it would have to be enough.

No, it will be.

It is likely that there will be some resistance as Spiral Hill was one of many towns outfitted with weaponry to defend themselves since the war ended. Good. A perfect distraction for them via the badniks. No one will get severely hurt.

Clove may have to play by the mad scientist's rules but she’ll find a way to work them to her favor. She has to.

She signals the badniks behind her to march.

I may not fight for the Eggman Empire… But I’m afraid my will is bent to its very whim. Let’s see if you all are prepared for what’s to come.