Chapter Text
The first thing Tails could feel was a dull throb. His vision swam as he sat up with a slightly pained groan. Opening his eyes only seemed to strengthen the migraine he was stuck with.
“Great,” he grumbled quietly.
‘A month away from Sonic, and I am kidnapped and brought into a strange room with no way out.’
Looking around quickly disproved these thoughts. He was in the middle of a hallway, quite a lavish one too. The surrounding area didn’t have much he could use as a weapon, either. Thankfully, whoever had kidnapped him didn’t seem to have the foresight to take the Miles Electric from his belt.
With some effort, he stood up and dusted his fur off. He dug into his right-side pouch and retrieved his device. Global Mapping was a useful function he’d installed for cases such as these; it would let him know his exact location in the world in case he didn’t recognize an area.
He cautiously walked through the hallway as his technology continued scanning the surrounding biomes.
‘It seems to be taking a bit more time than it usually does. Maybe I am in another plane of—?’
His thoughts came to a halt as his eyes locked onto the Miles Electric. The location indicator seemed to be going on the fritz, the red dot appearing and disappearing in rapid succession across different locations on a blank map. His tablet beeped a warning about the system overheating before the screen suddenly turned off.
“What the…?” His words trailed off as his eyes locked onto a door.
He debated with himself for a few moments before extending a cautious hand towards the handle. Within seconds, he opened the door with full force, ready to fight or run if the need arose.
As he scanned the room, Tails laid startled eyes upon a crowd of people; a few he didn’t know, some he knew personally, and others he vaguely recognized from descriptions given by Sonic as he recounted meetings with people he had met all over the world.
As he stepped through, the eyes of many suddenly turned towards him. That old anxiety of his that never quite disappeared suddenly flared again. Thankfully, before his mind could spiral further, a voice he knew all too well called out to him.
“Tails!”
A pink hedgehog girl and a red echidna approached him as he processed everything.
“It’s so good to see you again!” she said with a familiar kindness.
“Nice to see you are well, fox,” said the red echidna as he playfully ruffled Tails’ bangs.
“Amy! Knuckles!”
The nervousness receded into a slight smile as he removed Knuckles’ mitten from him. Relief flooded his system as he realized that he wasn’t the only one trapped in this bizarre situation. After all, there is strength in numbers. And if Knuckles, Amy, and the rest were also caught unaware the way he was, then they would need every bit of strength they could spare.
“What is going on here?” Tails asked once he had recovered from the initial shock.
Knuckles and Amy exchanged a guarded look, silently debating how to explain their current predicament. Eventually, Knuckles sighed and looked Tails in the eyes.
“From my end, I was aiding the Chaotix Agency with a case when we were all ambushed. Not even Espio could see anyone approaching us, and he’s a master of stealth.” Knuckles grumbled as he crossed his arms. “The next thing we knew, we woke up in the hallway and found our way to this room with a few others. More have been arriving the same way ever since.”
“I was the same, except I was with Cream and Miss Vanilla when it happened.” Amy placed a hand against her cheek and closed her eyes. “I arrived a few hours before Knuckles did.”
Puzzled, Tails raised an inquisitive brow. “And none of you have managed to leave?”
“Sadly, no,” a new voice answered.
Tails looked past Amy to see Silver, Blaze, and Team Dark approaching them. Shadow seemed more annoyed than usual, though perhaps Tails was exaggerating since he hadn’t seen him in a few months.
“What have you guys tried?” Tails asked.
If whoever, or whatever, was holding them captive could kidnap so many of the most powerful people Tails knew, then they could be in much more trouble than he had initially thought. Especially considering Team Dark’s resilience. Shadow alone would have been a challenge, but Rouge and Omega as well?
Yeah, something was definitely going on.
“So far, there seems to be only one door leading somewhere, and that is the one you just came through, hun.” Rouge smirked in her usual way. “Shadow and Silver combined their efforts and abilities to see if they could blast an opening through a wall. Both were unsuccessful, as you can see.”
She pointed vaguely towards a wall. Although it was quite far away, Tails could tell there wasn’t a single scratch on it.
“Similarly, my fire doesn’t leave a mark on it, no matter how long it is ablaze,” Blaze added.
“That is… a problem.” Tails held a hand to his chin, trying to make sense of it all. His Miles Electric couldn’t give him an exact location either. Even if he were stranded on another dimension, he was sure his technology would have still been able to pinpoint a location, even if the results were sometimes inaccurate.
“Where is that blue hedgehog, anyhow, Prower?” Shadow asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice.
“Huh? Oh! Um…” Tails snapped out of his “thinking sprint,” as Sonic sometimes called it. “Well, I’ve been traveling on my own for a month now, and I haven’t seen him personally since.” He scratched his cheek bashfully.
“Though, he did call me a mere three days ago.”
“Hmph. I’m surprised that hedgehog isn’t hovering over your shoulder. Quite the careless idiot.” Shadow narrowed his eyes in disdain.
Tails felt a little indignation rise in his chest on behalf of himself and Sonic. It wasn’t like Shadow knew, but Tails was very aware of what other adults and the media said about their lifestyle, as well as the criticism Sonic received online because of it. Not that Sonic even cared what the masses said. He was cool like that.
In the end, Tails merely huffed and moved past the jab, focusing on more pressing matters.
“Aside from us, who else has arrived?” he asked.
“Well, there’s you three,” Silver said, pointing at Tails, Knuckles, and Amy. “Team Dark, Team Chaotix, the Babylon Rogues, Blaze, me, and a few others I don’t recognize.”
Tails perked up. “A few others?”
“I HAVE IDENTIFIED MIGHTY THE ARMADILLO AND RAY THE FLYING SQUIRREL. COMMANDER TOWER AND THE PRESIDENT ALSO SEEM TO BE IN ATTENDANCE,” Omega answered.
“Mighty and Ray are here?”
That surprised Tails. Out of all their friends, Mighty and Ray were the least likely to get into trouble like Sonic did. His mind raced through all the possible connections between the captives. Who had brought them here? What did they all share that had made them targets?
“There are also two other humans and another two hedgehogs,” Amy chimed in. “The pink and green hedgehogs are brother and sister, from what I heard. There’s a human man and a child, too.”
“The other pink hedgehog seemed to recognize me for some reason. I would suggest keeping an eye on the pair,” Knuckles said.
“Two more hedgehogs, huh?”
Sonic had never mentioned any other hedgehogs aside from Amy, Silver, and Shadow. While humans weren’t often involved in their adventures, except for Eggman, of course, that didn’t mean Sonic didn’t know them. Something to take note of.
Originally, Tails had thought that maybe the people here were being held for ransom or as hostages against Sonic. Maybe they were even prisoners, kept here until Sonic himself was captured.
But neither Commander Tower nor the President really fit into that theory.
'Prisoners.'
An idea came to him like a bolt of lightning.
He turned to look at the others, an edge entering his voice. “What about Eggman? Has there been any suspicious activity from him leading up to our capture?”
Shadow and Rouge looked at each other.
“That is unlikely,” Shadow said. “It’s impossible that the doctor would be able to sneak past most of our defenses, especially considering Blaze and Silver’s situations.”
The aforementioned princess and time-traveler merely nodded in agreement.
“Darn.”
Well, there went that hypothesis. In theory, it made sense. Not even with Infinite had Eggman managed to capture all of their allies.
“Has anyone attempted to communicate with anyone outside?” he asked.
“Commander Tower has attempted to call outside forces, but none seem to be responding,” Rouge calmly said. Her right ear flickered, as if annoyed by the inconvenience.
“My Miles Electric also couldn’t tell me our exact location,” the fox stated as he fiddled with the busted piece of technology, feeling his friends’ worried gazes on him. “It seems that wherever we are, it’s disrupting the radio frequency on which our technology operates.”
He hummed.
“Which means we cannot establish contact with the outside world,” Blaze reasoned.
“Can you fix it, Tails?” Amy placed a hand on his shoulder.
Tails looked up at her. “I-I can try, but…” He frowned. He didn’t even know if he had the tools available to him. His belt only held his favorite wrench, a screwdriver, and a few other miscellaneous items meant for quick fixes.
“But what, fox?” Shadow demanded.
“Well, for one, I’m not even sure I could do it. I don’t have all my tools! Not to mention that I don’t even know if we’re on a new planet, in another dimension or era, or even in the same timeline! Anything is possible.”
The weight of his friends’ stares was crushing.
“And even if I knew where we were, calculating and calibrating a new radio frequency powerful enough to transmit a message through the space-time continuum would take time and resources. Resources, mind you, that this place doesn’t have!”
His breath came out in labored pants after his rant. It had been crude, and he could have said it more gently, but they had to understand the severity of their predicament.
After a few moments of contemplative silence, Knuckles cleared his throat.
“Well then. I think it’s best if we all fill the others in on what we know. Maybe they’ll recall something useful.” He nodded towards the rest of the crowd a short distance away.
Tails sighed. “I guess we should do that and agree on a course of action.” His shoulders slumped slightly.
Knuckles nodded and started walking towards the Chaotix, who seemed to be deep in conversation with the pair of humans. Team Dark walked towards Commander Tower and the President, who were not too far away, to act as security, no doubt. Silver and Blaze stayed with Amy, occasionally engaging in quiet conversation.
The Babylon Rogues mostly kept to themselves, and Tails didn’t think they’d make an effort to socialize anytime soon.
Mighty and Ray spotted him as he approached and smiled when their eyes met. Tails waved slightly and beckoned them closer, which they obliged.
“Heya, kiddo,” Mighty greeted him.
Tails gave him a weary smile. “Hey, Mighty.”
“How have you and Sonic been, huh?” Mighty asked, placing a comforting hand on his back.
“We’ve been fine. I set out on my own a month ago.”
“Aye, every bit the independent and adventurous young kit, just like that hedgehog.” Mighty chuckled. “Still, I just wanted to tell you that you can stick with Ray and me, at least until we get out of this.” He smiled.
Tails merely nodded gratefully.
‘If we get out of this.’
A dark voice in the corner of his mind echoed.
~()~
Vector spared a glance at Tails, who seemed deep in conversation with Team Dark. It could have been useful to approach the kit about their situation. After all, if anyone could figure out where in the damn world they were, it was Tails.
However, Vector also had to keep in mind that while Tails was brilliant, capable, and self-sufficient, he was still a kid. He didn’t want to overwhelm the kit, lest he wanted Sonic on his tail.
So, he decided to let the kid approach them in his own time. He would tell them what he knew eventually. Besides, Charmy and Espio could use a moment to—
“Excuse me.”
Vector definitely did not jump, Charmy shut up.
He turned around to face the one addressing him; an elderly human in a lab coat and a kid roughly the same age as Amy. Huh.
“Yeah?” he asked with a slight tilt of his head. He didn’t recognize the humans, at least not as any of his clients. Then again, Espio might have been a better candidate to ask, just in case.
“Your name is Vector from the Chaotix Detective Agency, right?”
“That’s me. How can I help?” Perhaps this was someone looking for his services before they were captured?
“I’m Chuck. Chuck Thorndyke, and this is my grandson, Chris. We were wondering if you had any idea what happened?” the human, Chuck, asked.
“Couldn’t tell ye. My team and I were in our agency, and the next thing we knew, we were here alongside Knuckles.”
“Knuckles?” The kid perked up.
“You know him, kid?” Vector turned to Chris.
The kid seemed to open his mouth, only to look over at his grandfather, who gave him a slight shake of his head. Whatever the human child had wanted to say, he seemed to think better of it and only followed up with a nod.
“Yeah, I… know of him.”
‘Weird. Something to mention to the others when they finished their conversation.’
The man in the lab coat merely stroked his chin. “I see.”
“We’re waiting on Tails to tell us what might have happened. If anyone would know, it’s him.”
Before the situation could get any more awkward, Espio decided to appear from… wherever it was he had been, Charmy in tow.
Vector nodded in agreement with his teammate. “Kid’s got smarts like no other.” He gave a confident thumbs-up.
“Hey! Why don’t you two stick with us? We’ll keep you safe!” Charmy flew around the two humans.
Vector simply extended a hand and caught the hyperactive bee mid-trajectory.
“Sorry fer him. He ate too much sugar before we got ‘ere.” Vector could only apologize to the humans. It wasn’t every day a human had to deal with Charmy’s intense personality.
Much to his surprise, however, Chris only laughed while his grandfather chuckled.
“His offer does stand, though. From the look of it, we might be here for a while until we discover a way out.” The crocodile turned around to see Tails getting worked up, saying something about resources.
“We will take you up on the offer then!” Chuck said.
“So, how did you two end up here anyway?” Espio asked, crossing his arms.
Chuck and Chris merely shared a look.
“The same as you, I’m afraid,” the older human answered, lifting a hand to the back of his head. “My grandson and I were back at my lab. The next thing we knew, we woke up here.”
“Well, that answers it then. You two are with us!” Vector clasped his hands together with a beaming smile.
“Hey, Tails and the others are coming over!” Charmy pointed out.
Sure enough, the Chaotix and the two humans turned to see the group disband, with Knuckles heading their way and Mighty striking up a conversation with Tails. The kit looked a little tired, which didn’t bode well for their situation.
Vector only hoped that wherever they were, they could all get out safely.
~()~
Sonia could not believe her luck.
Or her lack thereof.
Getting ambushed was not something she tended to fall for. Sleet and Dingo were not so sneaky that she couldn’t fight back if they tried something so stupid, especially if it was them against her, Manic, and Sonic.
Waking up in a lavish hallway reminded Sonia of the days she had tired herself out in the middle of Lady Windermere’s home when she was a mere hoglet in diapers. Oftentimes, Lady Windermere herself would carry her to her room and tuck her in. Sonia would sometimes wake up, only to feign sleep if it meant her surrogate mother would hold her a little longer.
Simpler times.
It would have been comforting, even, if only one of her brothers weren’t missing and if they weren’t surrounded by strangers whose intentions she didn’t know.
Bartleby might have said she wasn’t thinking. Sonic would have scolded her and told her she was being reckless. But when she saw a red echidna a short distance away, she took a chance and ran towards him, tackling him into a big hug despite Manic calling out to her.
“Knuckles!”
She tackled him from behind. Despite her rigorous training, her strength wasn’t enough to make the echidna budge even an inch. Though, oddly enough, she did feel him tense at her embrace.
After a few seconds, Sonia reluctantly let go.
Her relief was cut short, however, when Knuckles turned around with a guarded look.
“Do I know you?”
Unfamiliar purple eyes looked at her as if she were a stranger.
She took a staggering step back, her resolve shaken. “Wha—It’s me, Sonia!”
His eyes… Were they always a deep purple, and she just hadn’t noticed? No. She could have sworn his eyes were just as dark as hers.
“Sis!”
Manic ran towards her and grabbed her by the shoulders while facing the not-Knuckles.
“Sorry, dude. She sometimes gets confused. You know how it is with girls and their terrible eyesight!”
Her brother then proceeded to push her away from the crowd of unfamiliar mobians.
The shock coursing through her veins was enough to numb her. Manic guided her towards one of the rows of seats furthest from the other mobians.
How could he not know her?
She gripped her medallion for comfort, a reminder that she would not be alone, no matter how far away she was from home.
Her racing thoughts kept her so distracted that she failed to notice the white glove waving in front of her.
At least, she didn’t notice until said glove decided to poke her with a drumstick.
“Hellooo, Mobotropolis to Sonia!”
Her admittedly less annoying brother’s voice broke through her haze.
Annoyance surged through her as she felt Manic poke her even more.
“Manic!” she yelled with as much fire as she could muster, which wasn’t much, all things considered.
“There you are, sis!”
Her brother smiled cheerfully.
She struggled to stay mad at him. No matter how pestering he was being, neither she nor Sonic could stay mad at Manic for long. He had a certain charisma that made it difficult.
It was hard not to absorb some of his spirit for herself. After all, he was all she had right now. And she knew that, come hell or high water, he’d always be in her corner.
As if to agree with her thoughts, their medallions shone with their respective green and pink hues, as if to tell them everything would be okay.
“See, sis? Everything will be back to normal in a jiffy! We just gotta gather information and see where to go from there!” Manic smiled at her.
“Yeah…”
Her voice didn’t carry much certainty, which was not what they needed right now. A moping Sonia wasn’t of much use to the Freedom Fighters, and if Manic could afford not to freak out, she could as well.
Slapping her cheeks, she gathered as much resolve as she could muster.
“Yeah! You’re right. If we’re gonna figure out how to get out of here, we’ll need information.”
She turned around with an idea.
“Manic, could you—”
“Way ahead of ya, sis!” With a wink and two finger guns, her brother proceeded to disappear into the shadows.
Stealth was one of Manic’s strongest skills. As a thief, his ability to blend into the dark corners of Robotropolis was paramount to his survival. Because of this, the Resistance often sent him on intel missions. And while she, Manic, and Sonic were a package deal, she couldn’t deny that Manic was the best at stealth.
If Manic didn’t want to be seen, he wouldn’t be seen. Simple as that.
With a sigh, she busied herself studying her surroundings.
In her haze, she hadn’t realized that Manic had brought her to one of the end rows of a theater room. The kind of theater only the aristocrats in Robotropolis could afford.
From her seat, she could spot the various groups of mobians sticking together. It seemed as if a new member had joined them during her panic attack; a fox kit with two tails.
The not-Knuckles and another pink hedgehog seemed to have gathered around the fox, with a few others making their way towards them. Among them was a robot. She had to keep an eye on it.
It didn’t seem hostile towards the mobians, but one could never be too careful.
She shifted her focus to the flock of birds keeping their distance from everyone else. Their apparent leader, the green… was that a woodpecker? She couldn’t tell for sure.
The green mobian was cussing up a storm, judging by the frown on his face, while his companions seemed to be steering away from him. She decided to ignore that. It wasn’t her business, anyway.
Her eyes moved towards the towering figure of a crocodile. He and his companions seemed to be striking up a conversation with two people who appeared to be human.
Finally, not too far away, there was an armadillo and a squirrel simply talking to each other.
Huh. An odd bunch all around.
What purpose would anyone have for kidnapping random people off the street anyway? Robotnik couldn’t be behind this. If he were, all of them would already be chained in cells or roboticized.
She hadn’t seen anyone sneaking up to knock her out. And even if she had missed something like that, Manic surely would have noticed someone trailing them.
Sonic wouldn’t have let them be taken, either.
Her brother was reckless and had an ego to match his speed, but disloyal he was not.
“Sis!”
“Gah! By the Oracle, Manic, would it kill you not to do that!?” She placed a hand against her chest, trying to calm her startled heartbeat.
“Sorry.” Manic scratched his cheek bashfully, not really feeling that apologetic. “I gotta tell ya, sis, there’s good news and bad news.”
Sonia sighed wearily. “I guess wanting an easy fix to this problem was too much to ask. Bad news first.”
“Bad news is that the others ended up here the same way we did. Good news is that they seem to be on the good side. Even the robot.” Manic sat down beside her.
“Huh. Well, that changes things,” Sonia thought aloud.
“Also, bat girl has crazy good senses. Pretty sure she knew I was there.” Her brother pulled out his drumsticks and started mimicking a song against the armrest.
“What!?” Sonia turned to her brother in disbelief.
For as long as she had known him, which admittedly wasn’t that long, Manic had been the best at what he did. The competition would often be caught and roboticized or straight-up killed, which spoke volumes considering her brother had remained undetected in the heavily monitored Robotropolis.
His drumsticks continued tapping out a familiar beat.
“Yup. Also, we should move closer. Me thinks the fox kit has something to say.” Manic pointed to the fox in question, who was now striking up a conversation with the armadillo and squirrel.
“I guess we should.” She stood up. “Together?”
Sonia held out a hand to her remaining brother.
He took it.
“Always, sis.”
Somewhere out there, a third medallion glowed blue.
~()~
Abraham Tower was not a paranoid man. He was a highly trained military officer in charge of a global military and law enforcement organization. If there was a threat to the United Federation, he would be the first to respond.
Unfortunately, it seemed as if fate was determined to throw a curveball at him every week of every month.
Relying on a single hedgehog to do their job had somewhat tarnished G.U.N.’s reputation. While Commander Tower would have liked to bring Sonic into their forces, the public and Sonic himself would surely oppose the idea, causing more problems than it was worth.
In extreme cases such as this, however, Commander Tower sometimes reconsidered his decision to let Sonic roam free.
The blue hedgehog would have been of great help right now.
Especially with the President’s life at stake.
“COMMANDER,” Omega stated.
He turned towards one of his most esteemed forces. Team Dark was a force to be reckoned with, both as a team and as individuals. Their strengths complemented each other’s weaknesses perfectly.
“Team Dark.” He curtly greeted them. “Report.”
There was no sense in beating around the bush.
“The fox does not seem to know what is going on as of now. However, he will look into it. We probably won’t hear any results for a while, though, seeing as even his technology managed to fail in this prison,” Shadow said.
“There is also the issue, or miracle depending on how you look at it, of Big Blue not being in attendance with us,” Rouge pointed out slyly. “It seems as if those who captured us wanted to take the big players out. Blue will be out there alone, with no backup, and Eggman running free.”
That was something to worry about.
With the United Federation’s leader and G.U.N.’s commander gone, there would be panic among the masses. Granted, the Vice President and Lieutenant Commander Walters would take charge in their stead, but the disappearance of such major figures would be noticed.
As Agent Rouge had mentioned, Sonic’s absence was either a miracle or a huge problem, depending on the perspective.
Despite this, the only issue he could presently solve was the President’s safety.
“Anything else?” the Commander prompted.
Rouge and Shadow merely shook their heads.
“Alright then, Team Dark. Your first priority while we’re in here will be the President’s safety. It is imperative that you protect him with your lives if need be. Your second order is to do everything in your power to assist Miles Prower in finding a way out.”
At this, Rouge and Shadow gave a curt nod of acceptance.
“Alright, dismissed.”
With those words, each member of Team Dark found themselves sitting on either side of the President, with Commander Tower occupying the seat behind him.
A glint of something caught Rouge’s eye.
She turned around to see a pair of hedgehogs sitting a couple of seats away, their medallions glowing in the dim light.
‘Well, this will be interesting.’
~()~
Jet was about to eat his own hoverboard.
If only he had it.
Waking up in an unknown place was not the ideal situation for any Extreme Gear racer. Sabotage was not strictly prohibited, but there was an unwritten code among the more sportsmanlike racers. Jet was not what he would call sportsmanlike, but that didn’t stop him from taking advantage of any opportunity that would allow him to win.
If others wanted to handicap themselves, then by all means, go ahead. But there was a line to be drawn between deliberately tripping someone off their racing gear and outright kidnapping them.
And worst of all, that hedgehog’s friends were here.
If they were here, then that meant he couldn’t be far behind. The last thing Jet wanted was to be some damsel in distress for the blue hedgehog to save. Fighting off a horde of metal zombies while sending a Chaos Emerald to that menace’s friends was enough, thank you very much.
So, this left him here, cussing up a storm at everything around him for all he was worth. Wave and Storm merely watched dispassionately as their leader paced back and forth, cursing their situation, and their missing gear.
He was about to curse that blasted hedgehog when a loud bang made him swallow whatever words he had been about to shout.
~()~
Everyone turned towards the source of the noise, only to find that the door Tails had previously opened had slammed shut with the force of a thousand winds.
The lights in the room flashed intensely before dimming just as quickly.
Suddenly, a screen in the distance flickered to life.
The static that erupted from it was enough to make everyone cover their ears and double over in pain. Rouge seemed to be suffering the most.
Tails crouched on the floor, his white-gloved hands covering his ears as he tried to muffle as much of the accursed sound as possible. He could hear the pained grunts of those closest to him.
The static lasted for a few seconds before fizzling out into a white screen.
Sighs of relief echoed throughout the room as the noise ended, only for the reality of their situation to catch up with them.
“What is happening?” Amy’s voice quivered with an uncertainty he hadn’t heard from her in a long time.
“Whatever this is, we have to be quick and figure out a way out,” Shadow said as he hovered over Rouge, intending to lend her a hand should she need it. “Whoever brought us here might not be very considerate of our well-being.”
“Agreed,” Knuckles grumbled.
The white screen sizzled again.
A blue logo appeared.
[SEGA]
‘SEGA…?’ Tails' mind pondered over the implications of an acronym being shown to them. Was this an organization or faction responsible for their abduction?
[As soon as the logo disappeared, the screen faded into a shot of Green Hill Zone, with a yellow ring decorated with blue stars, at the center. The ring itself was highlighted by a blue outline, a pair of wings hanging on the ring. A red and white banner seemed to hang on the lower half of the ring.]
In the circle there was someone he never thought he’d see while trapped here, and it seemed he wasn’t the only one thinking so as many of the ones present shouted a single name in surprise.
“SONIC!?”