#Robian Zone

[sapphanimates]

i think i figured it out, so uhh here's Indigo lmao

[whitecompri]

I know this sounds wide but can you please do a romantic roboticize sonic X yo-Kai reader basically one of eggman robot severely injured sonic and the only way to save his life is to fully roboticize him and after that tails calls sonic parents (Jules and Bernadette) sonic uncle chuck and his cousin shard and then there a time skip to where sonic his parents uncle and cousin are some how stuck in terror time where gargaros a evil yo-Kai attached then but before he could a yo-Kai save them not knowing that the yo-Kai that saved them is y/n an till they ask there yo-Kai friend venoct to get them to blasters HQ and venoct tells them everything and of course they are shocked and soon they meet y/n dad Lord Enma or Enma for short and soon y/n comes back after defeating gargaros to see that there dad is showing them embarrassing photos of them and they tell there friends that they a yo-Kai (shard is considered a part of the hedgehog family in this,sonic dad Jules is a robian,a roboticize sonic looks like the sonic from Mecha sonic Vs Mecha knuckles from issue 39, because yo-Kai are immortal and because robian are immortal that mean the reader and sonic can be together forever)

Beyond The Metal Heart

Pairing: Robian!Sonic x Yo-Kai!Reader

Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Drama

Rating: T (Teen)

Warnings: Moderate violence, Supernatural elements

Disclaimer: This fanfic is a crossover between Sonic the Hedgehog (mostly based on the lore of Archie Comics) and Yo-Kai Watch, mixing elements from both universes. All characters belong to their respective franchises, and this story was created for entertainment purposes only.

A/N: Thank you for this request! I must admit, it was one of the most daring requests I've ever written. And the research I did for this one was huge too, considering that I had never played Yo-Kai Watch in my life, so I went after the games themselves to familiarize myself. It was a fun challenge and I like to practice my writing outside of my comfort zone sometimes. By the way, I won't put any tags on this fic, since it's a crossover and for a more niche audience. I hope you like it.

--*--

The late afternoon sun was already setting on the horizon of Mobotropolis, reflecting off the windows of the buildings and beginning to cast increasingly larger shadows on the ground. Night would arrive soon, and this breezy day had everything to be as peaceful as possible—if not for the massive explosion that echoed in the city center, causing a tremendous tremor in the ground.

The heavy sounds of something moving shook the earth. Amid the dust and rubble, a metallic threat emerged, scanning the area with its robotic eyes, searching for the blue menace that had been spinning around it for some time.

The robot's eyes gleamed as it locked onto the blue rodent darting out from the dust below and dashing in the opposite direction. With a metallic sound of moving parts, the robot began its pursuit, following the hedgehog’s trail.

Sonic glanced back as he ran, a small smirk playing at the corner of his lips. Leaping over some debris, the hedgehog managed to slide along the ground just in time as the mechanized threat slammed its fist into the pavement.

Above him, Tails flew by, positioning himself atop one of the structures. He had one of his devices in hand, analyzing the robot, its capabilities, and the threat it posed. The fox furrowed his brow upon noticing that this enemy was unusual—something he had never seen before.

"You never get tired, do you, Egghead?" Sonic taunted, hopping onto a pole, crossing his arms as he stared into the glowing eyes of the doctor’s latest evil creation.

That robot, even though it seemed to Sonic like just another pile of scrap metal to destroy, was different from anything they had encountered before. It resembled a mechanized beast, with sharp fangs and horns, an imposing and reinforced structure, enormous clawed hands, and a strange purple aura surrounding it. Its glowing red eyes had a sinister gleam, and every movement was accompanied by a threatening purple energy.

The robot let out a hiss, and a familiar voice echoed from within, making Sonic roll his eyes.

"Hehehe! You have no idea what you're up against this time, hedgehog! Keep up that cocky attitude of yours—let’s see who laughs last! After all, this badnik is my latest creation after extensive research. It’s powered by energy from a dimension you can’t even imagine!"

The robot vented steam, taking a heavy step forward.

"After I paid a little visit there, I was captivated by the power and magic of that place. How could I leave without bringing back a little gift for you? Right? My overgrown blue rat."

Sonic placed a hand on his hip, raising an eyebrow at the robot.

"To me, it's just another pile of old scrap, just like everything else you make. And I’ll destroy this one like I always do."

Cracking his fingers, Sonic shot forward, leaping off the pole and dashing straight at the robot. As he got closer, he charged up a Spin Dash, launching himself with force at the metallic beast’s chest. At that moment, the purple aura flared up in a surge.

The impact of Sonic against the robot was massive, echoing like thunder throughout the city. However, to the shock of both Sonic and Tails, the badnik didn’t even budge. It remained standing, unmoved, merely watching Sonic.

In a quick maneuver, Sonic pulled back, landing firmly in front of the monster while Eggman cackled maniacally at the situation.

"Urgh… What the heck was that…?" the hedgehog grunted.

"Bet you’re impressed, Sonic," Eggman taunted.

Grinding his teeth and clenching his fists at the doctor's words, Sonic charged up another Spin Dash—this time even stronger—hurling himself once more at the robot’s chest with all his might and speed.

This time, the robot staggered backward, the impact causing sparks to fly from its circuits. The purple energy flickered but then began to concentrate in the machine’s fists.

In an unexpected move, just before it could fall, its claws, now imbued with the glowing purple energy, slashed through the air—hitting Sonic.

The only thing he felt was the searing pain and his body instantly weakening as that strange energy began to consume him. As his strength faded, he found himself plummeting to the ground, crashing into the grass.

Tails, watching from atop a building, was horrified. Seeing his friend collapse, he immediately abandoned his devices, soaring down at high speed toward the hedgehog.

"Sonic!" the fox called out, but there was no response.

The world around Sonic seemed to spin, the noises were distorted, and his vision grew blurrier by the second. His body no longer responded, nor did he have the strength to make a sound.

The robot, now unstable from its own attack, collapsed backward, sparks flying as it began to fall apart. A countdown to self-destruction initiated, threatening to obliterate everything in its vicinity.

"Sonic! Answer me, can you hear me?" Tails knelt beside him, staring at his friend’s condition, his eyes welling up with tears. "I’m getting you out of here."

All Sonic could see was a blurry yellow figure. The sounds of words no longer made sense.

With effort, Tails grabbed Sonic and struggled to lift him. Panting from the sheer exertion of carrying him, he finally managed to take off.

Behind them, the robot exploded, sending a shockwave of heat through the air, slamming into Tails and pushing him forward. He wobbled slightly but quickly regained control, clutching Sonic tightly as he flew away from the destruction.

--*--

The sounds of worried conversations and the beeping of machines filled Tails' workshop, the closest place he could take Sonic.

Around the hedgehog, several familiar faces watched with anxious and concerned expressions.

Tails flipped through a book, trying to identify the best treatment for his friend. His hands trembled, making it difficult to turn each page. On the left side of the bed where Sonic lay, Bernadette held her son’s hand tightly, her own hands shaking with nervousness. A robotic arm wrapped around her shoulder. She opened her teary eyes, looking at her husband beside her as he tried to comfort her—though even with his efforts, concern was still etched into the metallic angles of his Robian face.

On the right side, near Tails, Shard stood with his arms crossed, watching Sonic’s unconscious form. His usual sharp demeanor softened with worry as he saw the despair on the others' faces.

An older hedgehog entered the room carrying a few items. Stopping by the right side of the bed, he reached out to feel Sonic’s pulse. Uncle Chuck then grabbed a device, beginning to analyze him.

"He can't die like this... Not him! There has to be a way, some way for us to figure out what this is," Tails murmured, flipping through the book more frantically. "There’s nothing like this in here…"

Chuck examined the readings, furrowing his brow.

"His vital energy is being drained slowly. If we don’t do something, it’ll keep fading away until it disappears completely…" The older hedgehog rubbed his temples, earning concerned looks from everyone in the room.

"Yes… It’s that purple energy. It’s not something we can just remove physically. It’s slowly killing him… I’ve tried everything, but nothing seems to work," Tails admitted, closing his eyes as a silent tear rolled down his face.

Jules gently squeezed Bernadette’s shoulder. His eyes narrowed as he observed his son’s state. Then, he opened his palm, staring at the metallic parts of his own body. He sighed, deep in thought—until he made his decision.

"There is one last solution… But I don’t think anyone’s going to like it," Jules said, his voice firm with resolve.

Tails’ eyes widened in alarm, already understanding what he meant.

"No… You’re not suggesting—"

"That’s right… Full roboticization… It’s the only way." Sonic’s father stated briefly, his voice heavy with emotions and pain.

Shard averted his gaze, clenching his fists.

"We all know what this means, right? He might never be the same after this… but…" The robotic hedgehog trailed off, his voice quiet.

"But if he survives… then it’ll have been worth it," Bernadette said with determination, bringing her son’s hand to her lips to kiss it gently.

Tails hesitated for a moment, his eyes wide with uncertainty. He knew better than anyone that Sonic would probably never accept becoming fully roboticized. But there were no other options—either this, or letting him die.

With a heavy heart, Tails curled in on himself slightly, nodding.

"It has to be done…"

Silence filled the room, accompanied only by the humming of machines and the quiet sound of tears falling to the floor.

--*--

The first thing he heard was the sound of birds singing outside. Slowly, his vision—still blurry—began to clear as he opened his eyes.

He felt… different. Yet he couldn’t pinpoint exactly why. He just felt disconnected from himself. The morning sun shone through the room’s window, reflecting onto him—but for some reason, he couldn’t feel its warmth.

Something was definitely wrong.

Sonic tried to sit up, but his body was heavier than usual. His movements felt sluggish, not as fluid as they used to be. He blinked once, then twice—but he didn’t feel the subtle creasing of skin over his eyes as he did.

Then, he noticed something else—the faint beeping and humming of unfamiliar machines beside his bed.

Focusing his vision on the equipment, he traced the wires leading towards him. Following their path, his eyes suddenly widened in shock as he caught sight of something gleaming.

Metal.

His arm—his entire body—was now encased in polished, mechanical plating.

Sitting up slowly, he took a deep breath, gathering the courage to look at his own hands.

They trembled.

His palms were metallic—resembling his father’s. A shaky sigh left him as he flexed his fingers, feeling nothing but the faint vibration of metal shifting against itself. The sound of his joints moving filled the room as he stared at his newly transformed body.

The dull yet reflective surface of his new form shimmered under the daylight, mesmerizing him. Confusion clouded his thoughts.

With difficulty, he pushed himself into a sitting position, running a hand over his head—only to freeze. Gone was the soft texture of his natural quills. Now, they were rigid, cold metal spines. Turning his head, Sonic’s breath caught when he spotted a mirror nearby.

The roboticized hedgehog stared back at him.

His black eyes—now illuminated by an artificial glow—locked onto his own reflection. A shiver ran down his spine. He gripped his arms, hearing the faint creak of metal under his tightening grip. He flexed his fingers, watching his hands move—unable to comprehend the sight before him.

"What… happened?" He stared at the blue plating on parts of his roboticized body. "I…"

But no words came to him.

He buried his face in his hands, overwhelmed by the emptiness inside him. His voice, when it finally escaped, was clear—but carried a faint metallic echo.

The nearby door creaked as the handle turned.

As it swung open, it revealed a small, familiar fox.

His eyes were red-rimmed, his nose twitching—he had clearly been crying for a long time. Dark bags under his eyes made it obvious that he hadn’t slept in days.

"Sonic…!" Tails’ voice was small, heavy with emotion. He rushed to his friend’s side, gripping Sonic’s hand tightly—though he hesitated, unsure if he should hug him or give him time to process everything.

At the door, other familiar faces appeared upon hearing Tails' exclamation.

Bernadette was the first to enter, her eyes glassy as she covered her mouth with trembling hands. She sat beside her son, taking his hand into hers. Jules followed soon after, concern etched into his features. Shard entered next, uncertain, observing Sonic with cautious eyes as he leaned against the bed.

Lastly, Chuck stepped inside, arms crossed as he carefully examined Sonic’s new mechanical body.

"How are you feeling, son?" Jules asked, stepping closer and placing a hand on Sonic’s shoulder.

Sonic turned to his father, uncertainty clouding his glowing eyes. But then, he forced a small smile—one that didn’t quite reach them.

"I think… I’m okay, Dad."

The newest Robian turned to Tails, still keeping that faint smile.

"Hey, Tails, looks like I turned into a big walking sardine can, huh?" Sonic let out a quiet chuckle.

Tails stifled a watery laugh, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to hold back his emotions. But that small attempt at humor only made the weight of the situation settle heavier in the air.

"Do you feel anything different? Any pain? Weakness?" Chuck asked, rubbing his chin as he observed the way Sonic’s mechanical joints moved.

"Well… it kinda feels like something’s missing, y’know?" Sonic averted his gaze, scratching the back of his head.

Silence followed.

Of all of them, Jules knew this pain better than anyone. He knew what it meant to wake up and no longer feel your own heartbeat. To no longer sense warmth against your skin. He understood what Sonic was going through.

"Sonic… I know it’s hard… but we’re here for you, son. You’re not alone. You have your family and friends to support you."

Sonic kept his eyes on the floor, unwilling to meet his father’s gaze.

"Alone or not… it doesn’t change what I am now. It doesn’t change the fact that I can’t feel anything anymore, Dad."

Tails, trying to hold back tears, gave him a small, determined nod.

"We did what we had to do… but you’re still you, Sonic."

"Do you feel anything different? Any pain still? Weakness or anything like that?" Chuck asked, rubbing his chin while observing the movements of his nephew’s mechanical joints.

"Well... It feels like something's missing, you know?" Sonic said, averting his gaze and scratching the back of his neck.

Silence filled the room once again.

Of them all, Jules knew well the pain of becoming a Robian. He understood the weight of waking up and no longer feeling his own heartbeat. The absence of touch in his metallic palms. He knew exactly what Sonic was going through. But he also knew that, with time, his son would learn to live with himself in this new form.

"Sonic... I know this is hard... but we’re here for you, son. You’re not alone. You have your family and friends to support you."

Sonic kept his gaze fixed on the floor, not trusting himself to look at his father. He remembered the battle, the impact—but he never imagined it was severe enough that they would have to turn him into a Robian.

"Alone or not... It doesn’t change what I am now. It doesn’t change the fact that I can’t feel anything anymore, Dad." He shifted his mechanical gaze to meet his father's robotic eyes.

"Sonic... No matter what happens, you will always be my son." Bernadette squeezed his hand tighter.

Shaking his head, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed, pushing himself up. His family instinctively loosened their hold on him as he stumbled slightly, adjusting to his new body. But he quickly steadied himself, lowering his head as he began walking toward the door.

Bernadette made a move to follow him, but Jules gently placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her—a silent signal for her to let Sonic have his space. He needed to cool down, to better accept his new body before they could have a proper conversation.

Stepping out of Tails' workshop, Sonic took in the familiar scenery, clicking his tongue in frustration. He knelt down, staring at his metallic feet before slamming a fist into the ground in frustration. Getting back up, he moved his heavy legs with more intensity.

He needed to run.

Inside the workshop, everyone remained still, watching as the hedgehog took off at full speed. They all hoped Sonic would soon find a way to reconcile with his new body and reality.

The wind cut through the air as he accelerated. But this time, it was different. Before, speed had always brought him an exhilarating sense of freedom. Now, it was as if he were merely floating—detached, weightless, trapped in a surreal and unsettling dream.

He could still feel the impact of his metallic feet against the ground, but he could no longer perceive the subtle sensation of the wind brushing against his face, the breeze ruffling his quills, the warmth of his body exerting itself, or the sweat dampening his fur.

Abruptly, he stopped at the top of a hill.

Frustration burned inside him as he realized he wasn’t out of breath. He wasn’t tired. He felt nothing at all.

His glowing eyes locked onto the horizon, where Mobotropolis stood tall, its towering structures framed by the bright blue sky.

For everyone else, nothing had changed. Life carried on as usual. But for Sonic, this was a different reality. He wanted to wake up. He wanted to sigh in relief, knowing this was all just a dream. But it wasn’t that simple. He placed a hand over his chest, but all he felt was the mechanical hum of his metal body.

Sonic wanted to feel warmth. He wanted to feel his heartbeat.

But all of that was gone. A deep growl of frustration rumbled in his throat before he let out a heavy sigh. He already missed the sensation of heavy breathing after an intense run. Now, all he could feel was an overwhelming emptiness inside him—a strange, hollow presence that brought nothing but pain. A pain deeper than anything Eggman’s badniks had ever inflicted on him.

"Why did this have to happen to me...?" he whispered to himself. He wanted to cry, but he didn’t even know if this body was capable of it.

Sonic closed his eyes, seeking comfort in the darkness. But all he saw was the cold, artificial interface of his robotic sensors. He didn’t want to live like this. But he would have to learn how. And that bothered him more than he wanted to admit.

After his intense reflections at the top of the hill, Sonic found himself walking back toward Tails’ workshop, his head lowered in thought. He sought the comfort of familiar faces. He needed to talk—to understand what came next, how he was supposed to live from now on.

As he neared the workshop, he spotted his family gathered outside, standing in a circle as they talked amongst themselves.

They saw him approaching, offering waves of greeting. He raised a hand in return, though his movement was small, hesitant.

Then—

A sharp noise rang in his ears. A strange, static-like distortion—one he had never heard before. Sonic froze in place, scanning his surroundings, trying to pinpoint the source of the sound. Suddenly, the ground beneath him trembled violently. Before his eyes, a massive sphere of purple energy materialized right in front of his family.

It crackled and pulsed, growing larger with each passing second. The sky darkened, thick storm clouds swirling into existence as the once-clear air became dense and heavy.

The energy began to distort itself, twisting unnaturally until it formed something akin to a black hole—its force pulling in nearby leaves and debris. And then, in a matter of seconds, Sonic felt himself being pulled toward it too. He struggled, digging his metallic fingers into the ground, clawing for stability. But when he looked up, his stomach twisted.

His family was fighting with everything they had to hold their ground, grasping onto anything they could. But the stronger the energy grew, the more intense the pull became.

It didn’t stop. It didn’t slow down. And then, one by one, they lost their grip.

Sonic’s heart—or what was left of it—dropped as he watched his family be yanked into the vortex. He shouted their names, reaching out for them. But he knew there was only one choice.

Without hesitation, he released his grip, allowing himself to be pulled in as well. If he was going to lose them, then he would lose himself too. No matter where this vortex took them, no matter what lay ahead—He would bring them back home.

--*--

Sonic slowly opened his eyes, trying to figure out where he was now. Propping himself up on his elbows, the Robian hedgehog sat up, placing a hand on his head as he scanned his surroundings. This was clearly not the same place he had been before, nor was it anywhere he recognized. 

With a start, Sonic analyzed the environment. A dense, thick gray fog reduced visibility, and the surrounding buildings were distorted, some even floating motionless in the air, creating an eerie atmosphere. Above, an enormous moon loomed over the sky, illuminating everything with a post-apocalyptic glow. 

Taking a few disoriented steps forward, Sonic spotted several silhouettes lying on the ground. Without thinking twice, he rushed over to them. 

Crouching beside the four figures, Sonic examined them, making sure they were alright. 

"Guys? Are you okay?" the hedgehog asked, concern in his voice. 

Jules nodded, beginning to pace around, muttering something to himself. Bernadette held Sonic's hands firmly as she stood up with his help. Shard assisted Chuck in getting up, and at last, the four of them gathered in front of Sonic. 

"I want to know what the hell that was!" Shard exclaimed, clenching his robotic fists and scanning the area through his mechanical lenses. 

"It feels like... we were pulled into another dimension," Uncle Chuck mused, scratching his neck. "No... actually, this feels more like another plane of existence. We won’t know for sure until we explore." He took a step forward, placing a hand on Shard’s shoulder while turning his gaze toward Sonic, his expression filled with concern for his nephew. 

That was when a chilling sound of heavy breathing echoed in the area, followed by a thunderous step that shook the ground of the warped environment. A loud growl made them all turn toward the source of the noise. The five instinctively moved closer together, trying to stay united in the face of whatever was coming. 

Through the thick fog, a colossal creature advanced slowly, each step sounding like a tremor. As it approached, more details became visible—its wrinkled red skin, the beast's curved teeth, its glowing eyes, the large protruding horn on its head, and the enormous club covered in sharp spikes resting on its shoulder. 

The creature grinned cruelly, pausing for a moment to observe the group. Then, gripping its weapon tightly, it raised the club and slammed it against the ground. 

Sonic let out a brief growl, clenching his metallic fists. 

"Hey, I don’t know who you think you are, but I don’t have time to play around with some oversized brute like you. So, unless you want me to smash you to pieces, I suggest you show us the way out and leave us alone." Sonic took a step forward, crossing his arms. 

The creature didn’t hesitate, showing no intimidation toward Sonic. The red monster took another heavy step forward, grinding its teeth. 

The hedgehog grew furious at the creature's audacity. 

"Alright, you asked for it." 

In the blink of an eye, Sonic shot toward the monster. 

However, as he accelerated to gain momentum for an attack, Sonic felt something was off. His movements seemed slower within the fog, as if its density was hindering him. The thick air seemed to sap his speed. 

Before he could think of a way to strike, Sonic felt a brutal impact against his metallic body—the sound of the creature's club colliding with his mechanical parts echoed throughout the area, forcing a pained gasp from the hedgehog. 

The immense force was enough to send him flying. Sonic only stopped when he crashed into one of the warped gray buildings, sending up a cloud of dust and crumbling debris. The hedgehog fell along with the concrete walls, lying motionless on the ground, panting as he tried to process what had just happened. 

"Sonic!" Jules shouted from afar, calling out to his son, urging him to get up and keep fighting. However, when Sonic didn’t immediately rise, a wave of worry overtook Jules, pushing him to start running toward him. 

Bernadette tried to hold him back, but to no avail. The monster turned its attention away from the unconscious Robian, locking onto the figure dashing across the open space. A savage, maniacal grin spread across the beast’s face as it took its first step toward its next target. 

But before it could advance further, a beam of light struck the monster’s arm. The red creature observed the small laser hole left on its skin, then turned its gaze toward Shard, who instinctively took a step back upon realizing his attack had done nothing. 

With an ear-splitting roar, the monster prepared its club and slammed it into the ground with all its might. A surge of purple energy erupted, sending everyone flying backward, causing them to land in a heap near one another. 

Sonic’s eyes fluttered open in confusion as he placed a hand on his head, his robotic vision gradually refocusing on his surroundings. Even though his metallic body was more resistant, the impact had affected him in more than just a physical way. He knelt on the ground, trying to gather enough strength to stand, but his legs wavered beneath him. 

"Okay… that was one hell of a hit…" he murmured. 

The hedgehog only looked forward when he saw a shadow looming over him. Looking up, he spotted the towering red monster, its club pulled back, readying a final, crushing blow against him. 

Sonic shut his eyes, bracing for impact. 

However, before the attack could land, a wave of heat surged through the area, followed by an enormous explosion, blinding everyone with its brightness. The monster shielded its eyes with both hands, stumbling backward, keeping its distance from the fiery impact site. Grumbling in frustration, it rubbed its eyes, trying to regain its vision as quickly as possible. 

When the monster’s sight returned, it scanned its surroundings in a rage, ready to strike down whoever had dared to attack it. But to its surprise, its eyes widened upon spotting something in the middle of the flames. Its stance shifted to a more defensive one, a stark contrast to its previous aggression. 

Amidst the roaring fire, a lone figure walked calmly, carrying a sword over their shoulder. 

A little farther away, Sonic’s family helped each other up, supporting one another. Their eyes widened as they noticed an unfamiliar figure approaching the monster. Bernadette quickly scanned the area for her son, finding him on his knees, staring in awe at the burning scene before him. 

For now, there was no way to reach him—not until the sea of fire cleared from their path. 

"He’ll be fine. Sonic always is." Bernadette reassured herself, trusting her son’s resilience. Chuck placed a hand on her shoulder, showing that he believed the same. 

You took short, steady steps through the flames, gripping the hilt of your red blade tightly. Your free hand reached up to adjust the oni mask covering your face. 

Saying nothing as you approached, you lifted your hands, your palms beginning to glow. Within seconds, swift flames burst forth, engulfing the monster, distracting it and preventing it from attacking. 

Sonic finally managed to get back on his feet, clutching his robotic arm, which felt slightly stiff from the impact. 

"Who are you? I already have enough problems dealing with that thick-skulled ogre over there!" The Robian hedgehog eyed you from head to toe, analyzing your reddish skin and the golden hue of your hair. 

Your only response was to turn toward him, observing the roboticized hedgehog the same way he studied you—taking in the tension in his shoulders, the sadness in a face that shouldn’t have had emotions, and the rigid, hesitant stance he held. Despite noticing all of this, your mask concealed your expressions and feelings. 

"Finally found you!" A masculine voice called out nearby. Soon, a young, medium-built figure emerged from the thick fog, a snake coiled around his body. His long turquoise hair cascaded down his back, a single strand covering one of his eyes. "We’ve talked about splitting from the group... but I have to admit, you’ve stumbled upon quite the find." He glanced at Sonic before shifting his gaze toward the weakened figures on the ground. 

You huffed, turning away and walking deeper into the mist, leaving the group with your ally while keeping the red monster contained within your fiery vortex. 

The turquoise-haired man studied Sonic, the hedgehog looking utterly confused. 

"And you must be that so-called hero of Mobius. Didn’t expect to see you here… and certainly not so… metallic." Sonic frowned at his remark. "Well, either way, follow me. I’ll get you out of the Terror Time." He held up a golden key. "Once we find the exit gate, we’ll regroup and discuss things properly." 

Sonic nodded, hurrying to help his family get back on their feet. Stepping over the now-dwindling flames, he couldn't shake the feeling that this day was only going to get crazier.

--*--

In the middle of a quiet and cozy hall, the group stopped, observing the place with reverence. In front of them, the turquoise-haired man attempted to guide them further inside.

"You were lucky that our patrol was nearby. Gargaros doesn’t usually let his prey escape alive..." He glanced at the group, all of whom looked confused by everything that had happened. Suddenly stopping in his tracks, the man turned around abruptly.

"I haven’t properly introduced myself yet. I am Venoct, a Yo-Kai. A pleasure to meet you, people of Mobius." He bowed in greeting.

Jules narrowed his eyes in suspicion, taking a step forward.

"Where are we?" he asked briefly, positioning himself in front of Bernadette, who held Sonic’s hand firmly.

Venoct crossed his arms.

"At the moment, you’re in New Yo-Kai City, in the Yo-Kai world, specifically at the Blasters’ Headquarters." He paused, gesturing toward the place. "We’re a group dedicated to hunting down troublesome Yo-Kai and maintaining balance between worlds. Just like that red Oni you saw—Gargaros. He is, in a way, the master of Terror Time, a distorted reality of his own making."

Sonic crossed his arms.

"So how exactly did we end up in this world? This wasn’t supposed to happen."

"That’s true, Hero of Mobius, it wasn’t. But for some reason, for a while now, Terror Time has been experiencing... instabilities, to the point of opening portals to other dimensions using Yo-Kai energy... And we have no idea what’s causing it."

Uncle Chuck stroked his moustache.

"I have a theory. I suspect that these... anomalies in this world are directly related to that badnik we saw Eggman controlling, as well as the power he used on Sonic." The old hedgehog’s eyes focused on Sonic. "Maybe Eggman was the real culprit behind this. After all, he apparently used the same purple energy that the monster did, and extracting that energy from this so-called Terror Time might have caused these spatial distortions."

Everyone stared at Uncle Chuck with their mouths slightly open. Jules cleared his throat before responding.

"Well, Sonic still has that energy running through his body. The main difference is that it can’t drain the life force from a Robian."

Venoct crossed his arms, processing the situation.

"He still has that energy? Interesting... but tragic. His essence has been corrupted by Yo-Kai energy—an energy that was never meant to come into direct contact with a living being’s essence. And yet, you remain alive due to this robotic body. Truly, an incredible advancement in your world’s technology."

Venoct suddenly turned as the entrance door swung open abruptly.

You entered the room with heavy footsteps, carrying your sword over your shoulder. Stopping near the group, you remained silent.

"I don’t think you’ve been introduced yet, have you?" Venoct asked. "This is (Y/N). She’s also part of the Blasters. She’s a bit reserved at first, so don’t worry."

"We need to find a way to open a portal so they can return to their world..." you said, your voice slightly muffled by your mask as you crossed your arms.

"We have to wait for the next energy surge from Terror Time. Maybe another portal will open due to the anomaly," Venoct replied, shifting his attention to you. "We’ll send them back with an escort when the time comes, to ensure they return safely."

That’s when you narrowed your eyes, sensing the intense Yo-Kai energy emanating from Sonic.

"Hey, you, robot..." You pointed at him. At first, he looked confused, but then he realized you were talking to him. "How do you have so much Yo-Kai energy?" You took a step forward, making the group instinctively move back.

"Whoa, whoa, easy there, sword lady. First off, the name’s Sonic. Second, I didn’t ask for this energy, so if you want to get mad, blame Eggman." Sonic spoke abruptly.

"(Y/N), focus," Venoct intervened. "That’s the Hero of Mobius. His essence was corrupted by Yo-Kai energy, which is why you sense it so strongly—it’s a powerful essence."

"And what if this corrupted essence ends up taking control of him? Do you really want to take that risk? We already have enough problems with the Onis of Terror Time; I don’t need another situation getting out of control." You huffed, glaring at Venoct.

"Calm down, there’s no need to be defensive. I’m sure that with the right practice and guidance, our hedgehog friend could even learn to channel this energy in battle." He looked at you hopefully.

"I know that look... You’re not suggesting..."

"Yes, we’re going to train him. I’ll help you all get settled here at HQ. We’ll continue our conversation soon."

Sonic observed everything in disbelief, staring at you for a few seconds before turning and following Venoct. This was going to be quite the journey.

--*--

Sonic stood in the training field, arms crossed, tapping his metallic foot on the ground, the sound echoing through the area.

"Alright, Hero of Mobius, you need to learn how to use the energy within you somehow. Let’s start with something simple—attack that dummy over there. Feel the energy in every circuit of your body, then strike." Venoct took a step back, letting Sonic concentrate.

The Robian took a deep breath, focusing on the humming of his robotic body, sensing the strange power within him—energy that had become even stronger since he stepped into this world.

After a few seconds of focusing, Sonic curled into a ball, charging a Spin Dash. The purple energy began to surround his metallic quills, swirling around him like a mist. When he attacked, the energy dispersed upon contact with the dummy, pushing it slightly backward.

Sonic looked proudly at the power he could still develop.

"Impressive..."

Your voice echoed through the area, startling Sonic and making him jump slightly before turning toward you.

"You..." he said in a monotonous tone, narrowing his eyes.

"Interesting that you can channel this energy... It’s quite a unique weapon." You walked to the center of the training area, stopping in front of the hedgehog. "But attacking a dummy won’t be enough. If you want to go back home, you need to enter Terror Time again. And to get in there, you have to be ready to take hits and fight back." The hand holding your sword gripped the hilt tightly, pointing the blade at him.

"(Y/N), don’t go too hard on him," Venoct said, sitting on a nearby bench, merely observing the battle. "But she’s right—facing a Yo-Kai is the perfect way to train your new abilities."

"Show me what you’ve got." Your voice came out muffled due to your mask.

"You got it, lady!" Sonic said excitedly, clenching his fists and taking a combat stance.

A little further away, Sonic’s family watched attentively. Bernadette held Jules’ robotic hands tightly.

"Just look at him... He seems so... excited," Sonic’s mother said, her voice filled with emotion.

"He really does. He looks happier, more lively, ever since we arrived here. It’s like he feels at home." Jules watched his son as he dashed and spun against you, his Spin Dash being deflected by your sword with impressive skill.

--*--

Later, you were sitting under a cherry blossom tree, holding a cotton cloth as you gently cleaned the blade of your cherished sword. Your gaze lifted as you noticed a familiar figure approaching.

Sonic raised a hand, greeting you.

"Hey, so, (Y/N), right? You were amazing in our training... I gotta admit, I never thought I’d be able to feel tired and sweaty in this body..." He moved closer, sitting on the grass beside you. "I never thought I could feel so... alive, you know?" He looked at his own hands, admiring how much these past few days had been filled with change, new emotions, and adventures he never imagined he’d experience.

"You weren’t too bad yourself, hedgehog. Your fighting style is unique."

His eyes lit up with hope at your compliment, and he scratched the back of his head, flashing a small grin.

"Ah, thanks. You’re pretty nice, you know that?" He closed his eyes, tapping his foot restlessly against the ground, though this time, he was determined to stay still, simply enjoying your company and the growing friendship between you.

After a few moments of silence, your voice came out softer.

"You must have realized by now... Your connection to this place is stronger than you think." Your eyes searched his, which filled with uncertainty as he absorbed the meaning behind your words.

"What are you getting at?" Sonic asked, crossing his arms.

"That you’re practically one of us now... I had some doubts about you at first, I’ll admit. But after seeing you genuinely try to integrate, even if just temporarily, and make an effort to train your new abilities... I can feel the connection you have with this world."

"Listen, (Y/N), I know everything here has been fun... but I have my world, my home, my family, my friends. I can't just leave them behind, you understand?"

But even as he said that, Sonic was reminded of his condition. He was a Robian now, something entirely different from what he used to be. A sense of fear crept up inside him—how could he live with this new metallic body, with this energy still coursing through him? How could he go back, knowing he was no longer just a normal Mobian hedgehog?

"If that's your decision... I know someone who might be able to remove this energy from your body. We can look for him first thing in the morning." Your voice was serious and low, making Sonic extremely hopeful.

"Seriously? Nothing would make me happier." He flashed a smile, his reflective metallic muzzle gleaming, truly grateful for your help. "You know... I've always been a guy who runs free, never worrying about anything. But for the first time... I wonder if my home is still the same. But that doesn't change the fact that I need to go back. I can't just abandon Mobius."

You noticed the doubt flickering in his eyes.

"I understand your side. You don’t need to worry, Sonic. Well, I think it's time to go. It's getting late."

You stood up, and he nodded, following you.

--*--

Sonic lay down on the makeshift bed at the headquarters, staring at the metallic glow of the ceiling. Your words still echoed in his mind. "You're practically one of us now..." He squeezed his eyes shut and sighed. He wanted to deny it, but part of him felt like it might be true.

Then, the world darkened, and fire began to consume everything.

The scene made him shudder. Mobius was in flames, thick purple mist engulfing everything, making it impossible to see anything beyond the distant embers surrounding his entire world. Panting, Sonic turned around, falling back when he saw a massive figure wielding a club, grinning wickedly with those crooked teeth.

With a start, Sonic sat up in bed, panting, cold sweat dripping from him—even though robots weren’t supposed to sweat. He looked toward the window beside him, exhaling when he realized he was still in the Yo-Kai World, but the overwhelming sense of danger hadn’t left him. The images of his home world burning and crumbling were too vivid to simply fade away like morning dreams.

He had to tell someone as soon as possible. Maybe they could help.

--*--

"Hmm, this seems more like a vision than just an ordinary dream, Sonic."

Venoct stroked his chin, sitting at the meeting table across from Sonic. Leaning against the wall, you paid close attention to their conversation.

"A vision? Just what I needed..."

"You mentioned that some crazy doctor from your world took energy from the Yo-Kai World, right? Well, we can confirm that energy came from Terror Time—or rather, it could have even been Gargaros’ own energy. He’s an Oni that loves to appear outside our world just to spread fear. And that kind of mass destruction would definitely be something he’d do if he could walk freely outside his Terror Time." Venoct spoke firmly, beginning to worry about the future of Sonic’s world.

"You're telling me he might try to use me to invade Mobius and destroy everything? Like, use the energy inside me to do it?" Sonic asked.

"Affirmative. Your energy must be amplifying the anomaly's portals. That explains why you were pulled into our world. If he manages to use you, the next portal he opens will allow him to walk in Mobius freely, outside of Terror Time."

A deep dread settled in Sonic’s chest. If that Oni invaded his home world, it would be the end for everyone. Sonic had to stop this.

"I have to stop him before that happens." The hero responded with determination.

"Listen, Sonic, you can’t just charge in alone. You won’t be able to fight him head-on—"

"I’m going with him. We’ll fight together to defeat Gargaros. Maybe that way, the spatial anomaly will stop."

Your voice was firm and confident, already preparing yourself mentally for the long battle ahead.

The hedgehog looked at you with warmth in his eyes, grateful that you had volunteered to fight by his side.

"Well, you two better be careful, then. We don’t want either of you getting hurt." Venoct stood up. "You should get ready. Apparently, Gargaros has appeared with his Terror Time not far from here."

"Let’s go, Sonic. Wish us luck!"

Gripping the hilt of your sword tightly, you began walking, determined to put an end to this once and for all.

--*--

Sonic stared at the twisted towers of Terror Time, his eyes glowing within the purple mist. He clenched his fists.

"If we fail... Mobius could be destroyed."

You noticed the more serious tone in his voice and crossed your arms.

"Hey, don’t think about that right now. You won’t fail. I trust you."

He turned toward you, studying your masked features.

"I don’t think I’ve ever fought for something this important before..."

You stepped a little closer.

"Then make sure you do it right."

The atmosphere of Terror Time was suffocating. The heavy air vibrated with a dark energy, while distorted towers loomed over Sonic and you, like specters from a nightmare. The ground trembled with each step Gargaros took, his presence exuding sheer menace and dominance.

Sonic tightened his fists, feeling the cold metal against the skin he once had. He glanced at you. Standing beside him, you radiated a powerful aura of spiritual fire. Your eyes, hidden behind your mask, showed nothing but confidence—but also a weight he couldn’t quite understand yet.

"This guy is a massive problem," Sonic muttered, trying to keep his usual bravado but feeling the tension in his voice. "Do you have a plan? Or are we winging it?"

"Gargaros is all brute force and instinct. He doesn’t think much before attacking, and that’s an advantage," you explained, your eyes gleaming in the shadows. "If we’re fast enough, we can use his own strength against him."

Gargaros roared, his voice booming like malevolent thunder. He lifted his club, spinning it with surprising speed for his colossal size, before bringing it down in a devastating strike toward them.

Sonic reacted instinctively. His boosters activated in a split second, launching him away from the crushing impact that shattered the ground and sent debris flying. He zigzagged around, searching for an opening while you leaped high into the air, flames forming an arc of light around you, ready to strike.

"Now!"

Shouting, you unleashed a blast of fire directly at Gargaros’ face. The monster roared in pain, bringing his massive hands to his face to shield himself, giving Sonic the perfect opportunity.

The hedgehog seized the moment, dashing at full speed and striking with a Spin Dash infused with Yo-Kai energy. He slammed into Gargaros’ chest, forcing the creature to stagger back.

But Gargaros wasn’t that easy to bring down.

With a brutal motion, the Oni recovered and swung his club, barely grazing Sonic—but even that was enough to send him crashing against a warped wall of dark energy. The pain reverberated through his entire robotic body.

You rushed toward him, kneeling beside him and placing a hand on his metallic chest.

"Sonic! Are you okay?"

Your other hand instinctively lifted your mask, revealing your face to assess his injuries better. Sonic’s eyes widened as, for the first time, he saw your true features. For a moment, he felt a strong connection between you, an unshakable desire to fight alongside you forever.

Sonic froze for a second. His gaze took in every detail of your now-visible face. Without the mask, you looked more... real. As if the warrior who always kept her distance was, in truth, someone just like him.

He blinked a few times before finally speaking.

"So this is what you were hiding?" Sonic whispered.

You raised an eyebrow.

"Expected something different?"

Sonic shook his head, a small smile forming.

"Nah... It’s just that... Never mind. We have a fight to win."

Masking how impressed he was, he simply huffed, forcing himself to sit up.

"I've faced worse... but this guy hits hard."

You grasped his metallic hand firmly, transferring a warm energy through the cold metal.

"We can do this. Trust me."

He returned the gesture, nodding.

"Always."

You stood up together, facing the red monster. Gargaros roared once more, preparing another attack.

"This time, we do it my way!" Sonic shouted, dashing in the opposite direction, drawing the Yo-Kai's attention. He ran in circles, increasing his speed and creating a whirlwind of wind around the enemy.

"Got it!" you exclaimed, raising your energy to its peak. The flames around you flared up, illuminating the darkness, until you concentrated all of it into a single point in the palms of your hands.

"NOW!" Sonic yelled.

At the exact moment Gargaros attempted to strike, you launched your fire blast into the opening Sonic had created. The impact was devastating. The fire fused with the vortex of air generated by the hedgehog’s speed, turning into a fiery whirlwind that engulfed Gargaros.

The creature let out a wail, its dark energy form slowly disintegrating. Flames consumed its body as its roar of rage and pain echoed, until it was finally silenced.

Terror Time began dissolving around them, the distorted buildings vanishing into the void. Sonic finally stopped running, standing beside you as you both, breathless, watched where the creature had been.

Sonic turned to you, a tired smirk on his face. "Tell me he's not coming back in ten minutes."

You laughed, still catching your breath. "No... at least not anytime soon."

The hedgehog stepped closer, his eyes shining with a different kind of warmth.

"Hey... About before... Thanks. For everything. You really helped me, offered to fight by my side."

You smiled softly, your eyes gentler as they met his.

"You would’ve done the same for me."

Without thinking, Sonic took your hand, feeling real warmth through his cold metal. For the first time since becoming a Robian, he felt something beyond emptiness. For the first time, he felt alive again, like he always had before—not like the scrap metal he once thought he'd become.

"Terror Time... It dissipated," Sonic observed, thoughtful about how he would return home.

"Not completely... That energy is still inside you, Sonic. It's still possible to open the portal and send you back. And the best part—you really did it, you saved your world." You gave him a sweet smile.

"None of this was just me. We did it together." He flashed a small grin.

"If you prefer to see it that way... Come on, we need to tell everyone about our victory."

You both started walking back to HQ at a relaxed pace.

"By the way... You're really pretty... Especially without that mask hiding your face." He gave you a playful wink, and you laughed at his comment.

"Well, I appreciate that... Maybe I'll start leaving the mask off from now on then." Now, it was his turn to chuckle softly.

--*--

All eyes were on you, filled with disbelief. Venoct sighed, closing his eyes.

"Wait, say that again—you’re what?" Sonic asked again, completely shocked by what he'd just heard.

You had just returned to the Blasters’ HQ, and the first thing you did was seek out the only one—the only Yo-Kai—who could use the Terror Time energy inside Sonic to safely open a portal back to his world.

And that was when Venoct revealed something that took everyone by surprise.

"Yes, yes, I’m the daughter of this world’s ruler. Surprise." You said, not particularly enthusiastic.

Sonic stood there, stunned.

"So you're telling me I’ve been running around with the Yo-Kai princess this whole time, and nobody told me?!"

You crossed your arms.

"And does that change anything?"

Sonic rubbed the back of his neck.

"Hm... Honestly? Now that you said it, it kinda makes sense. You fight like someone who's been trained since childhood."

Jules patted Sonic on the shoulder.

"Son, you two make a great pair, don't you think?" He chuckled. "Well, it’s an honor to be in your presence, and it'll be an honor to meet your father."

"I'll guide you to where Lord Enma is," Venoct stepped forward.

"I need to talk to Sonic first. Go ahead, Venoct." You nodded to him.

Once your ally had left, taking Sonic’s family with him, you turned to the hedgehog.

"Well, I guess this is it... Are you ready to go back to your world?" Your tone was friendly and playful, trying to keep things light. Sonic laughed awkwardly, scratching his head.

"Ah, yeah, yeah, I’m totally ready..." He hesitated for a moment. "We’ve been through a lot, huh?"

"Yeah, I have to admit, it’s been quite the journey." You adjusted the sleeves of your kimono nervously. "You know... I’m going to miss you, Hero of Mobius."

"Drop the 'hero' thing... I’m just a hedgehog... well, a Robian hedgehog who loves adventures." He chuckled softly, then sighed. "It was really nice getting to know you, (Y/N). But now we gotta go, right? Can’t keep your dad waiting too long."

--*--

Sonic’s family sat in a spacious, luxurious hall inside Lord Enma’s palace, with Venoct standing beside them. The blue flames of the torches cast an ethereal glow over the room, giving the place an air of grandeur and mystery.

You and Sonic arrived at the same time. Sonic's mouth opened slightly in awe at the sight of the palace, his eyes quickly scanning everything until they landed on the familiar silhouettes of his family. Venoct stood beside them, all seated in front of a large table.

On the other side of the table, sitting on a throne-like chair, resting his face on his hand with an amused look, was a red-skinned, yellow-haired figure—whom Sonic assumed to be Lord Enma.

You both approached, Sonic feeling a bit apprehensive, though still somewhat excited to be there. Stopping in front of the grand table, the Yo-Kai ruler observed the two of you with a small smirk before finally speaking in a low voice.

"Now that the formalities are out of the way," Lord Enma began, a mischievous smile playing on his lips, "I think this is the perfect time to share a little something about our dear (Y/N) with our esteemed guests."

Your eyes widened, and a chill ran down your spine, a cold dread settling in your stomach.

"Wait, Dad... What do you mean by that?"

Enma snapped his fingers, and in the blink of an eye, a large scroll unraveled in the air, displaying images projected onto a magical surface. The first picture showed a much younger version of you, dressed in childish pajamas, clutching a huge stuffed animal with a teary expression.

"Awww, look at this! This was the first night (Y/N) tried to sleep alone without a nightlight!" Enma announced, laughing as he pointed at the image.

Sonic tilted his head, barely holding back a laugh.

"Wait, you used to sleep with a nightlight? That’s adorable."

You covered your face with the palm of your hand, feeling overwhelmingly embarrassed, while Sonic couldn’t help but find it hilarious—especially after seeing how formidable a warrior you were.

"Dad! Don’t do this to me!" Your voice sounded desperate, but it only served to encourage Enma even more—after all, he was just getting started. With a wave of his hand, the image changed to another scene: a younger you, running through the palace wearing a crown-like oversized hat that was clearly too big for your head.

"And here we have little (Y/N) wearing some random hat as a crown and proclaiming herself the new ruler of the Yo-Kai World!" Enma laughed.

Jules and Bernadette chuckled softly, exchanging glances, while Shard let out a whistle.

"Look at that, she always had the spirit of a leader!" He turned to Sonic, giving him a subtle wink.

Sonic was struggling to keep his laughter in.

"Hey, maybe you would’ve made a good ruler!" He nudged you with his elbow.

"I was five years old!" You protested, stomping your foot in frustration and embarrassment.

The sequence of images continued: you with a face covered in birthday cake, you tripping and falling straight into a fountain, and finally, a picture that even made Uncle Chuck stifle a chuckle. It was a picture of you sleeping on the palace floor with your mouth wide open, clutching a toy sword.

"This was when she swore she’d stay up all night to patrol the palace," Enma explained. "She lasted exactly fifteen minutes."

Sonic finally lost it, bursting into laughter, slapping his knee.

"This is pure gold! I wish I had seen this in person!"

You covered your face with both hands again, your entire body trembling with embarrassment.

"I'll never get over this..."

Lord Enma smiled, crossing his arms. "Oh, I have more if you want to see."

Before more images could appear, you used your Yo-Kai powers to try to erase the projection, but Enma quickly reversed the spell with a simple gesture.

Sonic put an arm around her shoulders, still laughing. "Relax, princess. This just proves you've always been amazing. Even if, you know, a little clumsy."

You grumbled but ended up resting your forehead against his, still feeling your cheeks warm.

"Well, I think this shows that our new friend has had a pretty eventful life." Jules smiled. "And that she'll fit perfectly into our family." Bernadette nodded.

Lord Enma gave a satisfied smile. "Well, if that's the case, then I think I can consider this introduction dinner a success!"

"What is this, Dad? That's not why we're here!" You crossed your arms at him. "Oh yeah? Well then, go ahead." He still had an amused smile on his face, waiting for you to take a deep breath and finally say what you needed to.

--*--

With a crackle and a buzzing sound, the purple-colored portal began to open in front of Lord Enma. "This should do it. I have to say, the amount of Yo-Kai energy in it is impressive, truly." Your father crossed his arms, observing the Robian hedgehog. Then, turning to you again, he noticed your troubled and distracted expression. "Are you going to say goodbye to your friend?"

Snapping out of your trance, you nodded briefly, approaching Sonic. A little farther back, Venoct watched everything while leaning against the wall, and near the portal, Sonic’s family turned their attention to you two.

"Well, I guess this is it... Are you ready to go back to your world?" You tried to sound casual, but something in your voice faltered at the end.

Sonic chuckled, scratching his neck. "Oh, yeah, totally ready... I think."

The silence between you two lasted a little longer than expected. Then, you took something out of your pocket—a small, shining pendant with the symbol of the Enma Tribe engraved on it.

"Take this with you. It can protect you... Or just remind you that you’ll always have a home here too."

Sonic took the amulet carefully, twirling it between his fingers. For some reason, he felt like he shouldn't leave so quickly.

"So... Does this mean I have to come back someday?" He smiled.

You shrugged. "If you want. But don’t expect me to come and get you."

He held the pendant tightly, laughing softly. "It’s good to know I’m still welcome."

You both smiled and nodded. Sonic turned to his family, a strange sense of longing already filling him as he approached his parents.

Bernadette was the first to notice that her son seemed a bit down, placing a hand on his shoulder. The others noticed and gathered closer.

"Son..." She called, lifting his chin to make him look into her eyes. "Listen... It’s okay if you want to stay here... In fact, I wish for your happiness, and if that happiness is here in this world... Then do it."

Sonic’s eyes widened for a moment, left speechless. Jules sighed. "Your mother is right, son. We want what’s best for you, and we understand that you’ve been through a lot in Mobius... Especially in those last days. I could feel how much you were struggling... But here, here you laugh, you have fun, and you have a freedom you never had before... I won’t force you to go back to Mobius. I want you to have the same joy you had before becoming a Robian, and I saw that joy in your eyes here."

"Wait, wait, n-no, this won’t work, I need to protect you, and defeat Eggman—" Bernadette placed a finger over his metallic lips, silencing him.

"Don’t think about that. You have the power to open portals and go there. I’m sure these friendly Yo-Kai will always help you when needed. Visit whenever you can..." She cupped his cheeks, pulling him in to kiss his forehead.

"We’ll be fine, Sonic, and you take care of yourself here." Chuck patted his back.

Sonic’s mother looked into Enma’s eyes, nodding briefly as if a silent understanding passed between them. Then, she hugged her son tightly, followed by the rest of the family.

"This isn’t goodbye, son. We’ll see each other soon." Bernadette held Jules' hand, stepping into the portal first.

"Take care, Sonic, and try not to end up destroying this world with your speed." Shard playfully ruffled his head, while Chuck gave him an approving nod, shaking his nephew’s hand.

Sonic stood still before the portal, the purple energy flickering in the air, the metallic reflection of his body gleaming on the portal’s surface. He lifted a foot, about to step forward... but then stopped.

A tight feeling gripped him. He looked back—at you. And in that instant, he knew he couldn’t leave.

He lowered his foot and took a deep breath. "I... I think I already made my choice."

Bernadette’s eyes shone, but she didn’t cry. Instead, she smiled proudly. "You did, my son. And we’re happy for you."

Even after all his family had stepped through the portal, Sonic remained still, watching it close.

Your first reaction when the portal fully shut was to run to him, kneeling down and pulling him into a hug.

"So, you decided to stay, huh?" You laughed. He chuckled softly, returning the embrace.

Enma approached, crossing his arms.

"Things turned out better than expected, and now you can have your power back!"  Enma raised his hand, and a golden glow surrounded both you and Sonic for a brief moment.

"Now, you are officially part of our world and my Tribe, hedgehog." Enma declared.

Sonic blinked, touching his metallic chest as he felt the energy shimmering inside him. "Well, that was... different." He smirked, feeling the Yo-Kai power flow back into him.

"Consider it a gift, a recognition. And also a warning: take good care of my daughter."

"I can’t thank you enough... This place... has become a home for me." Sonic held your hand as you stood beside him.

"Yes, definitely, and I can also see that you and my daughter make a very efficient team. I see no other option but to bless your relationship." He said happily. You felt your face heat up but chose not to react, remaining silent. "It will be good to have someone fighting alongside my daughter. The Blasters always need help, and I’m sure Gargaros won’t easily give up on completely taking over a world, so stay alert and work together to prevent that."

"As you wish, Father." You bowed briefly. "I’m looking forward to this new chapter of my life." You squeezed his hand briefly, and Sonic nodded.

The two of you, ready to start a new life—one that would last for eternity.

--*--

Sonic never thought he would one day choose to stay away from Mobius. But there he was, sitting on the rooftop of Lord Enma’s Palace, gazing at the vast starry sky of the Yo-Kai World. The night breeze blew gently, and for the first time in a long while, he felt something close to peace. He felt complete and content, no longer sensing that emptiness inside him or the feeling that something was missing ever since he first became a robotic being.

Life had changed drastically since he became a Robian, but somehow, he had found something that made it all worth it—you.

"(Y/N), you’re stalling again, aren’t you?" Sonic turned his head, watching you standing beside him, holding a small scroll in your hands.

"Me? Never," you replied with a mischievous smile.

"Uh-huh, sure... So, what does Lord Enma want from us now?"

You sighed, sitting next to him, your shoulders touching.

"Nothing much... He was just helping me plan our next mission. We have countless places with Yo-Kais that need to be kept in check, as well as ensuring the Yo-Kai World and other realms coexist peacefully. It’s going to be quite the job."

Sonic stayed silent for a moment, looking at his metallic hands. He missed his old life, running across the open fields of Mobius, battling Eggman, feeling the real wind against his face. But now, he also had a new purpose—to help the worlds, prevent anomalies like the ones that had occurred, and ensure harmony between Yo-Kais and other species.

And more than that, he had someone by his side now.

He averted his gaze to you, watching how your eyes gleamed under the moonlight, how the fabric of your kimono swayed gently. He remembered the fear he felt when he almost lost you and the certainty that came after. Just the thought of returning to his world without you caused him physical pain, proving that he would never be able to live without your presence by his side again.

"Well, we have to decide on our first mission, then," he said softly.

"Hmm, I’ve got an idea! How about a little investigation in Mobius? There's a surge of Yo-Kai energy coming from the top of a mountain," you said excitedly, watching as his smile grew wider. Sonic stood up.

"So, I guess that makes us the official guardians of balance between worlds, huh?" you said, rolling up the scroll and securing it at your waist near your sheathed sword.

"Yeah, and we're gonna do it in style!" Sonic winked at you.

Your laughter echoed through the night, and once again, Sonic couldn't shake the feeling that this was right—this was where he had always needed to be.

You watched Sonic for a moment, seeing the moonlight reflect off his metallic body.

"Do you regret it?"

He looked at you and shook his head.

"No. For the first time in a long while... I feel like I belong somewhere." Then, he flashed his signature grin, a spark of excitement in his eyes. "Now, let’s go before things get too sentimental."

You chuckled, and together, you leaped from the rooftop, ready for the next adventure.

He didn’t know what the future held for them, but one thing was certain—they would face it together.

[beevean]

I never understood why people praise Satam as the end-all be-all of Sonic media and gush about how dark it is. First off, the games (especially Sonic CD) handled the "Robotnik takes over and turns world into polluted hellhole with his machines" concept much better. Second it wasn't even all that dark. The games had darker moments like having an unarmed terminally ill child get gunned down like a damn dog on-screen, baby Chao being stomped to death and having Sonic's friends experience a "I have no mouth and I must scream" sensation of floating in a black limbo without a body, after being turned into fully conscious immobile statues. The robians were just mindless zombies. They got it easy.

Even Satams Robotnik was pretty lackluster. All he did was sit on his rotund rear end at hq and bark orders like a Screaming Dumbass. He even begged for his worthless life before a Canon foreigner villain . He literally kissed the ground while beggingm

Also he was a freaking dumbass for not using the robians as meat shields against sonic or using them as attack dogs since the freedom fighters wouldn't want to harm a former mobian that could very well be a loved one.

Also Satam Sonic was weak AF! Satam tails was weaker than a kitten!

Sorry, no point in coming to me to complain about SatAM because I never watched a single episode of it lmao.

To be fair, all the dark stuff you mentioned came after SatAM, and to this day Shadow's backstory and Gerald's diary are considered the darkest point of the games. (no such respect for my girl Tikal or the Time Eater's effects, sadly :( ). I can see how, superficially, people back then would be appealed by SatAM's grimdark nature contrasted with how bright the Classic games were. It's true however that CD was much more creative in its depiction of a world conquered by Eggman: we actually see how much he damaged the zones, from turning the lake in Palmtree Panic into a grey sludge, to mining down all the crystals in Quartz Quadrant, to defacing ancient ruins in Tidal Tempest. It's not just an endless sea of super scary buildings: the zones are corrupted, ruined, and it's all your fault for not stopping it. And, of course, the Good Futures show technology aiding nature instead, making Sonic CD possibly the earliest example of Solar Punk <3

I also personally really love Scrap Brain Act 1's aesthetic. Sonic 1 has a nature-urban progression, so you go from unspoiled Green Hill, to ruins overcome by nature (Marble Zone and Labyrinth), to a city with greenery (Spring Yard), to a city without any greenery but still pretty to look at (Star Light)... to an utter industral monstrosity, the ground completely made of metal and a sky turned orange from the sheer amount of pollution being emitted.

I also find brilliance in how Act 3 is a palette swap of Labyrinth Zone! Eggman has built his base over ancient ruins! He's dumping pollution in the water!

And a personal appreciated detail of mine is how the "good" ending of Sonic 1 8-bit is the power of the Chaos Emeralds cleansing the smoke surrounding South Island. Even in that little game, they made sure to include how much of an ecoterrorist Eggman is <3

Yeah sorry, I have nothing to say about SatAM. Maybe (maybe) one day I'll try to watch some episodes, but I'm not interested. I prefer to talk about the games :>

[sonicgirlsmackdown]

ARCHIE MATCHUP ROUND 1

Propaganda under the cut c:

Bernadette Hedgehog:

She's Sonic's mom. She was robotisized early in the war, but was rescued along with the rest of the residents of Mobotropolis. She was also a soldier and helped evacuate a city during the Great War

Sonic's badass ex-robian war veteran mom

girlboss!

Sally Moon:

She's Sally's equivalent from the Luna Zone and is basically Sailor Moon

Sailor Moon

[aureumdraconeus]

Metallix just glowered at Shard, stepping closer and closer toward the likes of the Robian as they knew that this would be a more...equal fight. After all - had he seen what might have occurred in different worlds and Zones then perhaps he'd be more aware of how this matchup often went.

Regardless, the Metallic Hedgehog simply clenched a fist before slowly activating their thruster once again - ready to charge in and wipe the floor with this outdated copy.

"UH, GUYS?! A LITTLE HELP HERE?!" Silver shouts through his communicator to the others as he tries to escape with the Time Stone, but saw Metal Sonic closing in!

"Dammit! Metal got ahead of us using his Black Shield! We won't be able to catch them in time!" Shadow growled! "I knew I should have brought Omega...I should have planned this better..."

"Jeez, Guess we got knocked into another dimension then, cause I actually have a back up plan~!" Sonic smirked before presses something on his wrist "He's all yours 'Yellow Jacket'. Make sure Silver gets away safely~!"

Back with Silver, He was about to push Metal back with his powers before he saw something blast Metal into the nearby wall, Hearing another Engine roar to life, Silver saw something land on the ground as the dust cleared.

"Heya, 'Brother'. Miss me~?"

[archiesoniconline]

Sonic Universe Online #52 Behind The Scenes!

Hello, everyone!  Boy, it’s been a while since we’ve done one of these, huh?  But considering we finally managed to release this issue after its nightmarish production cycle, we decided that it was a good time to bring the “behind the scenes” posts back.  There’s a lot to talk about with this one, so get ready for a real doozy!

As usual, let’s start with the cover.  We wanted to have Bunnie and Scarlett as the focus, and RocketPOW! went through several drafts of what that would look like.  In the end, we settled on having them playing cards in the bar from Sonic Mania’s Mirage Saloon Zone to fit with the desert theme.  It’s also worth noting that we had Jack on the cover at one point but ultimately decided against it, since the story focuses more on his lackeys than himself.

Before we start on the actual story, I guess we should begin with the elephant in the room: Bunnie’s redesign.  Even though we technically first saw her new look in issue 51, we might as well go over it now.  Picking up from where the official comic left off, we knew that Bunnie had a redesign after being legionized, but the reboot happened before we ever got to see it.  And with the redesign of such an important character, obviously there was a lot of pressure to do her justice.  There was some old concept art by Tracy Yardley of legionnaire Bunnie, but we didn’t want to just take that and call it a day.  We had quite a field day with many of our talented artists coming up with their own interpretations of her redesign, including @miitoons, @riggo-draws, @drawloverlala, @fritzymagpies, Tim Campbell, CrimDa, DoNotDelete, and more that I sadly can’t remember anymore.  From the shape and function of her cybernetics, her overall color scheme, her clothing, her hairstyle, her weapons, etc., every last detail was meticulously gone over until we arrived at the final design taking what we liked most from each of them.

At first, we had gotten Tale to draw out the first several pages, and even though they were finished, he unfortunately had to step out of the issue and we had Gilgalad take over, better known as Thomas Rothlisberger, who we were lucky to have on the team before he moved on to the IDW Sonic comics.  For the sake of consistency (lol), we unfortunately had to scrap Tale’s pages so he could redo those as well.

Holly’s sickness isn’t elaborated on in the actual story, but the gist is that she’s a snow leapord who was roboticized during the First Robotnik War.  But after the Bem deroboticized her while she was in the desert, her body became sick due to being stuck in the inhospitable environment, which is an example of how misplaced many of the former Robians were being sent far out of their natural habitats, and losing the protection of their robot bodies was actually a detriment.

A Sonic fan with a good eye for detail may notice that the guard who takes over watching Bunnie after Scarlett is actually one of the unnamed members of Infinite’s Jackal Squad from the Sonic Forces prequel comic.  Since this cameo may or may not go anywhere in regards to Infinite in ASO, we opted against using Infinite himself since he’s too important of a character to pass off as a mere cameo.  If you want this plot thread to be expanded upon, let us know!

Since this is where we introduce Holly and her relationship with Scarlett, it’s as good a time as any to discuss the process of their creation.  With Scarlett, we wanted to introduce a character who would serve as a foil to Bunnie, another person struggling due to their bedridden lover, but with diametrically-opposed views regarding cybernetics.  Her design was actually taken from a random Sand Blaster who appeared in a single panel of StH #218, who we decided to turn into a full-fledged character.  Although her species was unknown during her single appearance, we decided to make her a fennec fox.  On the other hand, Holly was an entirely new design that we came up with for the story.  The LGBT aspect of their relationship was actually the idea of my editor for the issue, The Shadow Imperator.  I stated in the interview after the issue that I was the one who came up with their names, but that’s not the whole truth.  There was a whole team effort dedicated to naming the two of them, before I suggested Scarlett since there was an abandoned plot point about how Bunnie’s true name was at one point planned to be Scarlett O’Hare.  Our Scarlett’s full name is Scarlett O’Fenn, with ShadImp being the one to suggest adding the last name as well.  But since her last name didn’t come up in the story, I apologize for forgetting to mention it.  Holly was also one of several names I came up with, which was agreed on due to the sort of “snowy” feel it has to it.

In my initial draft for Scarlett and Holly’s conversation, I wrote Holly as being more openly pessimistic about her condition, outright stating that Scarlett would be better off if she was gone.  But since that seemed rather inconsiderate to Scarlett’s feelings, ShadImp suggested that I tone it down a little and have her only mention feeling like a burden.  He was also the one to suggest that I make sure their romantic relationship is mentioned as explicitly as possible, so there would be no room for ambiguity that might lessen the impact of their sexual orientation.

Scarlett taking off her hat here wasn’t actually in the script I wrote, but it was a smart move by Gilgalad, showing her letting her guard down around the one person she can afford to do so with.  To put it simply, Scarlett offers Holly physical support while Holly offers Scarlett emotional support, so neither one is one-sidedly supporting the other.  This scene also demonstrates that even though Scarlett is easily the most level-headed and compassionate Sand Blaster we’ve seen so far, some of the old bigotries and prejudice against cyborgs and robots that Jack instilled into her still remain.

Gilgalad had actually already penciled out the next couple pages, but since he wasn’t able to stick around for the full story, we decided that that the end of Scarlett and Holly’s scene was a good cutoff point for the drastic shift in art style.  Red Rabbit is an amazing artist with a style very similar to Patrick Spaziante, but it is still a jarring shift compared to most other artists on the project.  I had also originally written Bunnie mentioning not being very good at undercover missions, but when ShadImp brought up her successful operation tricking Battle Lord Kukku I changed the script to have her mention that instead.

At first, I was planning for the poker scene to have the characters holding cards that reflected their position in the conversation, such as holding a winning hand when they have the upper hand in the argument.  But since I have absolutely no knowledge or experience with poker, that idea ultimately didn’t come through in the final story.  This scene also serves to flesh out the Sand Blasters and show that none of them are blindly loyal to Jack.  Tex obviously has his own agenda, Avery just goes along with whatever’s the least troublesome, Shift wants to get his hands on new technology, and Jolt does genuinely want the city to open up to the rest of the world.

You may have noticed that instead of rocket feet like her old design, Bunnie now flies with a removable jet pack on her back.  If you’re wondering how that wouldn’t burn her tail off, it was specifically designed so that the fire trails would shoot aiming away from her tail.

Originally, during the car chase sequence Bunnie’s jet pack was just written to malfunction for no real reason.  But eventually, I decided to give it a more interesting explanation by adding in hints that Shift may have intentionally sabotaged it to trip up Bunnie, only to reveal that he was actually trying to fix it and he didn’t betray her after all.  This was also the portion of the story where Ink Pants took over for pencils, and then Lav after him.  Even though they’re all fine artists in their own right, hopefully this will be the last time that we need to include so many drastic changes in art style to illustrate a single story.

We almost had one more shift in art style, with @gendeerfluid​ penciling the last page.  In the end, Lav managed to finish that one as well, giving us a massive cliffhanger both figuratively and literally in the form of Jun Kun, the Iron King.

That’s about it for this one, folks!  Thanks for sticking with us all this time, and look forward to the conclusion of this story next issue.  Until then, keep on juicin’!

[robotnik-mun]

I can imagine that you’re pretty stacked up with asks, and maybe busy playing Frontiers, but I just wanted to ask what your thoughts are on why SATAM and Archie Robotnik bothered with banishing Sally’s father to a pocket dimension, leaving Fiona Fox for dead after making an Auto Automaton of her, and some other punishments that ranged from curious to cruel when he could’ve just Roboticized them.

Banishing Naugus in SATAM and Kodos in Archie made sense, considering the former was pretty dangerous and the latter was an immediate obstacle in a time before the Roboticizer was invented, but seeing as how de-roboticization wasn’t exactly a thing, I can imagine that he wouldn’t have much to fear from keeping the King around as a Robian for one example.

You already answered 'why'- cruelty. Robotnik is indeed a deeply cruel man who actively relishes in the suffering of others, and given how much he surely loathed working under the King for the sake of seeing his own ambitions through, he likely stuffed him into the Void as a very SPECIAL way of paying him back for the indignity of being forced to play the role of loyal second-banana. In the Void/Zone of Silence, King Acorn can do nothing but sit helplessly as the entire world falls under Robotnik's cruel hand, with no way of knowing whether or not his daughter is even alive anymore. Perpetual, everlasting torment with virtually no realistic hope of escape... its the kind of thing Robotnik would do for giggles.

As for Fiona, it'd likely be simply not caring enough about her to really do anything after he got what he wanted. She was just some nobody he snatched to act as a template for his infiltration machines- leaving her to simply starve to death in his labs after he was done with her seems entirely in-character, assuming he didn't just forget about her due to more pressing matters. In the grand scheme of things she's just a Mobian test subject, to be utilized, abused or sacrificed however Robotnik so pleases. She's not important enough to care about, and that includes caring enough to exterminate or roboticize her. She may as well be a dust mite as far as Robotnik's concerned.

Of course, all that is the Watsonian explanation for things. In Doylist terms, it's all simply mechanisms towards an end for the writers- King Acorn being reinstated into power serves as a convenient goal for the Writers within the series, so, King Acorn must be alive in some capacity. In order for Fiona to be a character outside of her automaton copy, she needs to have somehow gotten away from Robotnik, so, Robotnik left her to rot and she dug her way out. Everything else is what we can extrapolate based upon Robotnik's behavior and general personality.

[spiderman616]

Sonia and Manic (this counts right?)

I mean technically theyre from a different zone in preboot, but if you want you could say that they were Sonic's siblings that were roboticized early on, but lived with the Bem in space during the grand deroboticization thing for a similar reason to why Jules wasn't deroboticized. And then for some reason or another they go back to mobius (maybe the war between the Xorda and the Black arms and it was too dangerous to have Mobians or Robians since both sides had a vested interest in Mobius)

[spinb0t]

Sometimes, curiosity got the better of the siren. And admittedly, she's never seen a mobian like him before. In fact, she wasn't even sure if he was mobian at all. Serenity drifts a bit closer, eyes peering up over the water's surface to watch him. But she doesn't make a sound, for who knows just how dangerous he could be. @seaofserene

  EUughhh... Water. Really the least favorite place for the Robian to be-- he’d been sent to this zone just to take a look around, get some intel on the area before he’d head back to his own world. It was so bright here, and not polluted. Gross. 

   “Man, I hate water. ‘Specially wet water. Do I really have ta--” ..........Wait a friggin second. Was somebody... His ears twitch, and with a quick and fluid motion, he’s training his laser rifle on the water... Sensors picking up something, anyway. 

   “.... It better not just be, like, a fish or somethin’. That’d be laaaame.”

[goosewhisker]

this crooked posture (is all you’ve ever known)

read this on ao3 || read this on fanfiction.net

i wrote this whole thing in a span of about 5 days :pensive: as u can maybe tell i have a lot of feelings abt that one conversation btwn scourge and jules...there is so much potential here and im sad we never got to see it

as far as timeline goes- this would probably take place in the pre-boot universe about six months or so after scourge & co escape from zone jail. the destructix are camping out on mobius for the time being to avoid drawing zonic's attention and knothole has wrapped up the ixis naugus/metal sally arcs.

Summary: Fiona heads off with a wave, and he's left where he started - staring through a window into a nearly-empty kitchen, looking in on a life was never his and never will be. Inside, the robian sets bacon on the stovetop to fry and starts making toast, blissfully unaware of the hedgehog just outside. It's hard to tell on a robot, obviously, but he looks perfectly content with his life. Happy, even.

Pathetic. 

Or: Scourge avoids his problems, Fiona is exasperated, and Jules is mostly oblivious.

It's the early hours of the morning. So early, in fact, that it shouldn't even technically be called morning because it's still basically nighttime and no one sane is up right now.

Which is probably why the idiotic robian is up at five o'clock in the morning, puttering around in the kitchen and making breakfast. There's literally no reason for it. It's not like he can eat anything, after all, and his stupid son lives off chilidogs, so he's not going to eat it. And his stupid wife isn't getting up for like two hours, so she's not eating it either. See? Idiocy.

Yet another thing that their universes seem to have in common.

"What are you doing?"

Scourge almost shrieks - key word is almost, 'cause he's too cool to scream like a dork - and tackles Fiona into the bushes. "Shhh!"

Fiona splutters indignantly and a second later her fist bounces off his jaw, which, ow. "Are you nuts? Get off me!"

"Shhhut up!" Scourge throws a quick glance over his shoulder at the window. No one's come outside to investigate, so hopefully no one's heard. He rolls off her a second later. "You wanna get us arrested, woman?"

"Hey, I'm a legal citizen of this universe!" Fiona protests. "If anything, it's you who's getting arrested, Mr.-Snooping-Through-Other-People's-Windows. That's so creepy."

"We're both wanted criminals here; if we get caught, we're going down together," Scourge points out, graciously ignoring her last comment. "And anyway, I'm... gathering intel."

Fiona snorts. "Pull the other one, Scourge. That's not gonna work on me." Crossing her arms, she adds, "You've been gathering intel every night for the past week. And I know you're technically the same person, but watching Sonic sleep is really weird."

"I'm not watching him," Scourge snaps before he can help himself.

"Oh?" Fiona's eyes glint and it's then that Scourge realizes he's slipped. "Then who are you watching?"

"Uhhh..." Scourge fidgets while trying not to look like he's fidgeting. "No one. I'm just passing through, not watching anything. Why'd I want to do that anyway?" He forces a laugh. "So lame."

Fiona regards him with a flat stare. "Your fingerprints are smudged all over the window."

"What?" Scourge whips around to check the window. He'd been so careful not to leave any traces of his visits, but-

Waitaminute.

"Very funny," Scourge growls into his gloved hands. Fiona snickers.

"Look, if you don't want to tell me, I won't make you," she says, standing up and brushing the dirt off her pants. "But I'll find out eventually. And if this new obsession of yours endangers yourself or the team, I'm going to put a stop to it."

"Yeah, yeah," Scourge mutters, waving her off. "Get lost."

"Mhm. We still on for that movie night?"

"'course. See you there, babe."

Fiona heads off with a wave, and he's left where he started - staring through a window into a nearly-empty kitchen, looking in on a life was never his and never will be. Inside, the robian sets bacon on the stovetop to fry and starts making toast, blissfully unaware of the hedgehog just outside. It's hard to tell on a robot, obviously, but he looks perfectly content with his life. Happy, even.

Pathetic.

Scourge kicks the side of the house, suddenly incandescently furious with everything. Inside, Jules looks up in surprise, but Scourge is already gone.

"I need to stop," Scourge says later. The movie is over - some samurai flick that Simian had picked out and Lightning had ruined with his constant nitpicking - and they'd gone out for ice cream afterwards (read: robbed that nice gelato place downtown). Getting used to having teammates again is... something, Scourge supposes. But it's not completely terrible.

"You need to stop," Fiona agrees. She's texting furiously, slouched into the ratty couch in their current hideout with Scourge's head on her lap.

"It's just weird seeing him alive, is all," Scourge tells the ceiling. "That's all it is. Like, when you see something weird, and you just gotta look at it. It doesn't mean anything."

"Are you trying to convince yourself or me?"

"Not tryin' to convince anyone. I'm just saying what it is."

Fiona sets down her phone with a sigh. "Look, you gotta stop hurting yourself like this."

Scourge sits up a little too fast. "Hurting myself? What? Babe, have you forgotten who you're talking to? I'm Scourge the Hedgehog, I don't hurt."

Fiona gives that all the acknowledgment it deserves, which is none. "I told you about the... the prison, when I was a kid," she says. Scourge falls silent. "I went back there a few times, after I was big enough to handle myself. There wasn't a reason, really. I just thought I had to see it. And it sort of helped the first time - I cleaned out all the bots and made sure that place couldn't hold anyone ever again - but after that, I just went back again and again because it made me hurt and that felt good. Because I was hurting anyway, and being able to make it worse when I wanted to made me feel like I could control it."

Scourge doesn't say anything.

"But that wasn't true," Fiona says. Her voice shakes just a little, and without thinking Scourge takes her hand. It's stupid (sentimental) but she smiles faintly. "I wasn't healing or in control or anything. I was just hurting myself. And I can't stand watching you do the same."

"Babe," Scourge begins hoarsely.

"Tell me it's not the same," Fiona says flatly. "Or tell me- tell me that if I went back to that prison and crawl through that tunnel I dug with my own hands and relive every moment of the hell I went through, that you wouldn't stop me. That you would watch me do it."

He can't tell her that. He can't tell her that and she knows it.

Scourge looks away.

Fiona sighs and runs her hand along his spines. "He's not your dad, Scourge," she says quietly. "He's an entirely different person. Hurting yourself isn't going to make anything better."

"Okay," Scourge agrees. "Okay." Then, after a moment, "Thanks, babe."

Fiona smiles again, and there's something so sad about it he squeezes her hand again (uncool, but it's not like there's anyone else to see it). "No problem, hun."

He goes back again the next day.

This time, the wife is there too.

Scourge crouches in the massive oak tree beside the window, pretending he doesn't feel like a massive creep. His green fur blends neatly with the leaves, rendering him all but invisible to any casual observers, particularly when it's not-quite-light. With luck, it'll fool robian eyes as well.

Anyway.

Scourge doesn't remember his mother. She was simply never in the picture; whether because of death or divorce he never knew. Generally, he suspects the latter - months upon months of neglect, of being constantly passed over and ignored for the more important burdens of the state and the good of the people - yeah, he can see how a divorce would happen. Not that he'll ever know now.

The hedgehog in the kitchen doesn't look neglected. She throws her arms around the robian, not seeming to mind the cold metal, and dances around him as they prepare breakfast. The robian, in turn, leans into her touches and takes advantage of a moment of distraction to dab pancake batter on her nose. It's disgusting. Scourge gags.

Part of him wonders what he's gaining out of this. Hiding in a tree, spying on some losers and their dumb domestic life - not exactly fitting behavior for the former king of Moebius, after all.

It's not... It's not that Fiona's right. It's not like he's hurting himself - like he told Fiona, he's Scourge the Hedgehog. He doesn't do that emotions garbage. That kind of wimpiness is more Sonic's thing.

(Let alone that Fiona had said it happened to her. Let alone that she's usually right, and that she's one of the strongest people he knows.)

He's just curious. That's all. Nothing more, nothing less.

(The voice in his head sounding suspiciously like Fiona whispers, Yeah, right.)

Inside the kitchen, the robian starts flipping pancakes. For a second, Scourge tries to imagine his own father like that: Jules the Hedgehog, king of Moebius, flipping pancakes in a frilly pink apron and laughing with his wife. Arguing over who gets to wake up their son. Talking and hugging and laughing and living -

- and the illusion dissipates. Jules wouldn't set foot in a kitchen. He had servants to do that kind of thing, just like he had servants to take care of his son.

Scourge drops down from the tree branch and lands lightly on his feet. He's done here. He slinks off into the streets, hiding his face from the strengthening sunlight as synthetic laughter rings out behind him.

"Hey, Simian," Scourge says a few days later.

Simian continues lifting weights without slowing. "Yes?"

Scourge likes Simian, as much as he likes anyone. The ape is steady and has a solid head on his shoulders, and while it's kind of a drag most times, he does occasionally have helpful bits of advice. And when he goes loose on the battlefield, he can be really fun to fight alongside.

So that, plus the fact that Hawk doesn't care and Lightning would probably make fun of him and he'd rather eat his own shoes than talk to Fly, makes him Scourge's best option.

Scourge swings his legs back and forth as they dangle off the chair and tries to think of a way to broach it. He just needs to be subtle, right? "When was the last time you saw your parents?"

And maybe that wasn't super subtle after all, because Simian stops in the middle of his workout session (he never stops in the middle of a workout session) to stare at him. It feels... extremely uncomfortable, actually, wow. Scourge hops up and starts his stretches (anything to avoid looking back).

"When I last left my village, I was eighteen," Simian says at last. He sounds thoughtful, which is never a good sign. "That was several years ago... six years, I believe."

"That long, huh?" Scourge moves to quad stretches. "You're pretty old, man. Slowing down anytime soon?"

He's rewarded with a sharp grin. "I'm not that old. Though I suppose most people look slow next to you."

"Damn straight!"

"Why do you ask?"

And that's the issue - when even Scourge isn't sure why he's asking. He takes his time answering. "Oh, you know... just curious. Ever think about 'em?"

There's another ponderous silence, which mostly just succeeds in making Scourge antsy. Well, antsier.

"Sometimes," Simian says. "But I am a dedicated member of this team. You can rest assured of that."

And that's nice, but it's not what he's asking-

"...but that's not what you're asking, is it?"

Scourge freezes. Is he just that transparent? Why can everyone suddenly read his mind now? "What're you on about, man?" he deflects.

Simian shakes his head. "I do miss them, sometimes. It is natural for children to miss their parents."

"Not me!" Scourge laughs, and if it comes out a little too sharp, well, who's to blame him?

"Of course," Simian says, sounding vaguely indulgent. "Does that satisfy your curiosity?"

"Uh, sure," Scourge lies. "A little heavy on the oversharing, but it's cool." And then he scarpers, because if super speed's good for anything it's for escaping uncomfortable conversations. Simian doesn't say anything about it later, and thank Chaos because he doesn't think he'd be able to face Fiona if she ever got wind of that little talk.

The next time he's in town, Scourge picks up a new set of woodworking knives and leaves it on Simian's equipment. It's not like he's gone soft, buying presents for his friends or whatever, Scourge tells himself. He's just... buying Simian's silence. It's a bribe, is all.

(Simian saves him some extra ice cream the night after and that's that.)

It is natural for children to miss their parents, Simian had said. Ha! As if. Scourge hasn't missed his old man a day of his life and he's not about to start now.

... that'd carry more weight if he wasn't spending two or three mornings a week moping outside their kitchen.

Scourge sips his frappe and pretends he's not sulking. Right now, he's outside some random diner in Knothole in full disguise, complete with a trenchcoat, fedora, and sunglasses. He was honestly expecting someone to stop him before now - this kind of garb is about as suspicious as it gets - but no one seemed to even notice anything out of the ordinary. Idiots.

Fiona would kill him if she knew the kind of risks he's taking - which, of course, is why she doesn't need to know.

Scourge checks the time. Seven o'clock, meaning the wife is just getting up and they're having breakfast right now - Chaos, he has their entire morning schedule memorized, doesn't he? Fiona was right, he is obsessed. Scourge slumps over the table and buries his head in his arms.

He can still turn this around. Knowing their schedule is useful, from a strategic standpoint; he could threaten them, take them hostage... even kill them. Sonic would be taken completely offguard. It would be simple. Easy. The smart thing to do.

Scourge's groan is only partially muffled by the table.

"...you alright, son?"

What-

Something electric shoots up his spine. Scourge's claws dig into the edges of the table with a crunch as he bolts upright. And there, before him, with a look so familiar but so foreign in his eyes is-

He's not the same.

His skin is metallic where it should be flesh, plated where it should be furred. His eyes burn a bright pixelated red when they should be brown. That stupid tuft of fur on his head is shining chrome that glints under the bright sun.

But the way he stands - colored though it is with a hint of a soldier's posture - that proud tilt of his chin, the gentleness in his hands as they reach out to him -

It's Jules.

It's different from seeing him in that dim, lamp-lit room. In the daylight, the differences are exaggerated - and so are the similarities.

For a second, Scourge can only see his dad standing there.

He reacts on instinct. Scourge rears back and smacks Jules' outstretched hand away. "Don't touch me!"

Jules straightens up, virtual eyes widening with shock. "I'm- I'm sorry, it looked like you were unhappy. I only meant to-"

"Well, don't," Scourge spits. "Get lost."

Jules looks at him longer and then, for some Chaos-forsaken reason, doesn't leave. Why isn't he leaving, Scourge thinks furiously, and only realizes he's breathing heavy when his breaths start coming too fast and harsh in his ears. Jules says something, but the words don't make sense and he can't tear his gaze away from the polished metal. Beneath his fingertips, the table starts to splinter.

And then there's warm hands on his shoulders, and a steady voice in his ears, saying, "Listen to me. Do you want me to leave?"

Nothing comes out of his throat. Scourge shakes helplessly. He wants him to leave, he wants him stay, he wants to never see him again. He wants his dad.

Jules must take it as permission to stay, because he doesn't leave. The grip on his shoulders is a solid, unmoving presence, and Scourge can't help but lean into it. "I'm going to count slowly. Try to match your breathing to my voice - it's alright if you can't. Starting now. One, two..."

For some completely batty reason, he tries, and it helps some. His breathing is a little too fast and a lot shaky, still, but it settles into a more even pace instead of the uncontrollable rush. Sense comes back slowly, and with it, an acute, uncomfortable awareness of what just happened.

Well. At least he's not crying.

Scourge stands abruptly, tearing himself from Jules' arms. The robian raises a brow but doesn't protest. "Are you feeling better?" he asks instead. It's entirely casual, with no hint of pity, and Scourge hates himself a little for being pathetically grateful.

"Peachy," Scourge snaps and whirls around, hiking up his collar. Jules isn't screaming yet, so he clearly hasn't realized who he is, and Scourge is in no hurry to correct him. Honestly, this hedgehog's stupidity knows no bounds.

"Well." The robian stands up, reaches for a grocery bag that Scourge only just realized was there, and adds, "Stay safe, son."

Scourge's vision briefly whites out from fury. "Don't call me that," he snarls and takes off running before Jules can reply.

He finds a secluded place in a lonely corner, throws his warp ring, and promises himself that he'll never go back.

Scourge does some research.

It's called a panic attack, apparently. Common among soldiers, which is probably why Jules knew what to do - he said he'd been on the front lines, hadn't he? Common among victims of PTSD, the website says, and Scourge scoffs and closes the tab. Trauma - ridiculous. Scourge doesn't do trauma. If anything, he gives it to other people.

He's still snickering at his joke when Hawk comes in to tell him that Finitevus called in with another job. Normally, Scourge would tell him to screw off, but he's offering a massive stack of Anarchy beryl in return - something they've been in short supply of since they ditched Moebius.

Scourge's body itches at the thought of going super again. He accepts.

Thirty minutes later, they're waist-deep in smashed Eggman bots and struggling to fend off a fresh wave while Fiona and Hawk bicker over the terminal.

"I'm telling you, if we do that, we'll get locked out of the system entirely!" Fiona snaps.

Hawk throws up his hands. "Fine! Ignore me! It's not like you literally just have to enter the code or anything!"

Scourge spindashes down the line of Eggpawns, smashing through them like paper. He hits the wall at the right angle to bounce right off and uncurls in midair to land on his feet.

"Wrap it up, guys!" he yells and ducks beneath a stray kunai. "Watch it, Lightning!"

"Thought you were supposed to be the fast one," Lightning calls back.

"And I thought you were supposed to be able to aim!"

"I can." Lightning flicks a wrist and Scourge drops backward into a roll to avoid the next kunai that comes his way. When he springs back onto his feet, ready to chew out the idiotic trigger-happy lynx, there's a Badnik pinned to the wall right where he'd been standing. Lightning shoots him a smug grin.

"Right back atcha," Scourge mutters and barrels through the cluster taking potshots at Hawk and Fi.

"Ugh, fine!" Fiona shoves Hawk away and starts typing furiously.

Scourge drops another five Badniks and skids to a stop as an Egg Launcher smashes through the wall directly in front of him. "Fiona!"

"Give us a minute," Hawk snarls back.

The Launcher brings its arms down to eye level and Scourge leaps into the air as its targeting system locks on - and then Fly drops out of nowhere onto on its shoulders. "Need help?" the frog giggles (sweet Chaos Scourge hates him) and rips the thing's head off. Scourge blitzes right through its chest.

As its body slumps bonelessly to the floor, another Launcher steps through the wall behind it... and another one. And another. Chaos.

"If those things unload all those missiles in here, we're going to have a problem," Lightning says, echoing Scourge's own thoughts.

"Out of the way," Simian grunts, swinging the first bot's disembodied missile launcher-slash-arm onto his shoulder and taking aim.

"Are you nuts, man?" Scourge yells. "Didn't you hear Lightning? You fire that thing and this whole building's going down!"

"Better have the exit ready, then," Simian returns evenly.

"Got it!" Fiona announces, jumping up from the terminal with a chip in hand. Hawk follows, looking severely disgruntled. "Turns out we really did just have to enter the code. Hah."

"I told you," Hawk begins, but Fiona waves him off.

"You were right once, don't go getting a big head. You got the ring ready, sweetie?"

"Everyone over here! You miss the ring, we're leavin' you behind!" Scourge doesn't wait for a response and throws the warp ring. The portal spins into existence, glistening faintly in the electric light, and they all pile in. Simian fires off a final missile salvo before the ring vanishes and they tumble haphazardly into the Doc's lair to the sound of the entire base going up.

For a second, no one moves, too tired and bruised and tangled together to bother getting up. Lightning sighs heavily from the bottom of the heap. Scourge laughs.

"I trust you have what I asked for?" Finitevus asks from literally two feet away, and Scourge isn't even going to question how he knew where they'd end up. After all, they are at his mercy inside his weird evil lair, and Scourge knows how to be tactful.

Scourge props himself up on an elbow. "So do you like, practice being creepy, or is it natural?"

Without looking, Fiona smacks him in the back of the head.

"Ow!"

"We have it," Fiona says, extricating herself from the tangle. Scourge considers tripping her as she walks past, decides against it, and settles for hooking his ankle around Hawk's heel as he stands up. The bird goes down with a satisfying squawk right on top of Lightning and the ensuing chaos lets Scourge hop up onto his own feet.

Fiona ignores it.

"All the files relating to the roboticization process are on this USB," she says, holding it out. Finitevus takes it and, after a moment's inspection, slips it into his robes.

"So why'd you want that, Doc?" Scourge asks, adjusting his sunglasses. "Woulda thought that robot stuff wasn't quite your style."

"It is true that roboticization is a perversion of the natural order and representative of that which I seek to destroy," Finitevus concedes. "But I am not opposed to much that will give me the advantage against my nemeses. And I must admit the idea of enslaving your opponent's will to your own has a certain... charm."

Scourge and Fiona exchange a look - of the literally why is he like this and the why do we talk to him again variety - and Scourge shoves his hands in his pockets and steps up. "Uh... yeah, man. Totally. Anyway, if we're done here, can we have the beryl now?"

"Of course. But first, I have one more task for you."

Scourge scoffs disbelievingly. "Are you kidding? The deal was we break into Eggman's lab, steal your stupid information, and hand it over. We've done that. It took like forever and it was a massive pain in the butt the whole time, we are not adding anything else onto that and that's final."

"...I'll double the amount of beryl."

Scourge hesitates.

... which is how they ended up here. Scourge crouches on the windy rooftop, tugging his dumb fancy suit jacket closer and hoping idly that something happens soon. "Can we go in yet?" he asks.

Hawk, who's busy adjusting his own disguise, shakes his head. "You really have no patience at all, do you?"

"Nope!" Scourge tugs on his overly-tight tie and mostly just makes it worse. "How 'bout now?"

"If you were any good at infiltration, Fiona would've let you go in already," Hawk says. He's typing on his communicator, syncing all their devices into something they can actually use. It's not that Hawk's particularly adept at technology, or anything; it's just that all the rest of them are so abysmal at anything electric that tech duty usually falls to him or Fiona. "Unless Plan C falls through, you're not headed in 'till the last minute."

Scourge sighs loudly, letting his feet dangle off the edge of the building. "I could just walk in and grab him. They wouldn't even see me coming. Then we wouldn't have to spend a million years sitting out in the cold."

Hawk doesn't look up. "And then Sonic would pursue, and then we'd have to fight him off while trying to kidnap a geriatric former soldier without killing him. Which, given our previous track record..."

The bird trails off and Scourge grimaces. Yeah. They'd given up on kidnappings for a reason. They wouldn't have even considered this one if not for the offer of Anarchy beryl - which has been in extremely short supply recently, given they can't hop dimensions without instantly snagging Zonic's individual attention. And it's not like Scourge isn't flattered that the self-important dimensional cop will drop everything for a chance at catching him, but he's not planning on seeing the inside of Zone Jail ever again.

Anyway. It's a small blessing that Zonic hasn't come looking for them personally, or sent Sonic after them, but it's one Scourge isn't willing to throw away just for a power-up. Thus the kidnapping mission.

Scourge swings his legs contemplatively and longs for Fiona to hurry up so he can bash some heads.

Right on cue, their communicators ring. "Alright, boys," Fiona's voice comes through a little tinnily. "You ready?"

"Heck yeah," Scourge says immediately.

"Ready to go whenever," Hawk confirms.

"Roger. Meet me where we agreed." The comms unit crackles and goes silent. Scourge hops up and starts stretching quickly, trying to limber up his half-frozen muscles. Hawk sets his communicator down and picks the lock on the trapdoor they'd been sitting next to. Once it's open, they slip down a small flight of stairs and through an empty hallway. At the end, they take a right through another hall and stop outside a janitor's closet.

Scourge raps on the door. "Knock, knock," he says.

There's a moment of silence. Then Lightning opens the door. "Hurry up," he whispers, peering over their shoulders.

Scourge clicks his tongue in disappointment. "Dude, you're supposed to say 'who's there.'"

"Yeah, Lightning," Fiona says from inside. "You're ruining the script."

"I- what?" Lightning sputters. "You people are so immature. Simian, can you tell them to shut up?"

There's a good fifteen seconds of judgemental silence. "...you should've said 'who's there.'"

Lightning rolls his eyes and Scourge pushes past him into the room. Simian nods as he enters and Fly, who's doing something he can't quite make out, cackles in a corner. Scourge spreads his arms wide. "Alright, I'm here now, the party can start!"

"Good to have you," Fiona says. She's sitting on an overturned bucket, one ankle folded over her knee and eyes glued to her phone. "Alright, so Plan A failed."

"Yes!"  Scourge cheers, pumping a fist in the air.

Fiona shoots him a glare. "We weren't able to get him away from his bodyguards and the speech is about to start soon. I didn't want to do this in front of a crowd, but we may not have a choice. Right now, we only have to deal with the normal security and Sonic. After the ceremony, they're going to meet up with a bunch of Sonic's friends before going back home to Knothole."

"Wouldn't it be better to wait, then?" Simian asks, folding his arms.

Fiona shakes her head. "No for two reasons. We can handle the normal security easily, especially if we use the crowd for meatshields while Scourge is distracting Sonic. Sonic's friends are, frankly, a much greater threat than the security, and they will not be holding back. And if we wait until they go back to Knothole, we have that... woman to deal with."

Everyone shudders at the mention of Nicole. Their last attempt on Knothole is not a memory anyone wants to relive.

"So if we use the crowd for cover and Scourge's able to distract Sonic for long enough, this is doable," Fiona resumes. "We'll just have to time it right. And we can not let Sonic know our target at all costs. If he realizes we're trying to kidnap his uncle, he won't let the old man out of his sight, and our job will get a lot harder. Got that?"

A quick briefing on everyone's roles later and it's time to go. Scourge starts to follow the guys out the door and is caught short by Fiona's hand on his wrist. "Sweetie, can I talk to you for a second?" she asks and drags him back inside before he can answer.

She turns him loose and Scourge spins around, rubbing his wrist. "Alright, if this is about what I think it's about-"

"Don't worry, I'm not yelling at you. Just..." she trails off to stare at him.

Scourge tries not to fidget and goes for a confident smile, propped up against the wall. "Babe, don't worry about me. This'll be a lark."

"It's... you know." Fiona shrugs and apparently decides to just go for it. "You've been having issues about your dad. I need to know if that'll affect your performance here."

"What?" Scourge is almost kind of offended. If it was anyone but Fi asking, he would be offended. "Babe, my uncle was a total nutjob. Like, worse than my old man. No issues here."

Fiona looks at him a second longer. "Alright," she says at last. "If you say so. I'm counting on you."

She brushes past him on her way out, squeezing his hand on the way, which is nice since she's weird about stuff like that. Scourge follows a minute later.

I require one more thing for my research, Finitevus had said. Charles the Hedgehog. Inventor of the roboticization process. He is receiving an award for his technological advancements in Central City in two days. Bring him to me alive and you will have your full reward.

Scourge scans the crowd for Charles now, leaning on the fancy railing of the fancy indoors balcony overlooking the fancy banquet hall. There's a name for a balcony like this - a mezzasomething - but he can't remember what it is. Maybe Fiona would know.

Scourge tugs at the collar of his unbearably fancy suit jacket and longs for his sunglasses.

He'd told Fiona the truth earlier - his uncle was a wackjob. Paranoid, jittery, simultaneously ravenous for power and terrified of it - no one had liked him, least of all his nephew.

Jules had liked him, probably. Enough to give him a home and a laboratory for his crazy experiments and to turn a blind eye when they started getting darker and more deadly. That had gone on up until Charles had invented a machine that turned moebians to robots, and its first (unwilling) test subject had been Jules.

Yeah. After Ivo managed to save Jules' life, they'd put a stop to that real quick.

They'd told Scourge that Charles had gone far away to someplace he could be happy. He still remembers that scene - Jules crouching down before him with mournful eyes, one arm cold and stiff where the roboticization process had gotten it before Ivo had pulled him out. His flesh hand had been warm and comforting on his shoulder, and Scourge had been so distracted by the touch that he hadn't even cared that his uncle was gone. He'd faked tears just to get Jules to stay with him a little longer.

Scourge shakes his head wildly, dissipating the memories. Anyway, it was painfully obvious in hindsight that Charles had either been jailed or executed for treason. Not that Scourge would have cared either way. Mostly, he's just vaguely curious to see what Charles is like in this world. Still a mad scientist, or something more benevolent?

A mass of whispering erupts at the main entryway of the hall. Scourge straightens up.

A bunch of bodyguards in black enter, followed by a few people who could be family or friends. Sonic's there, obviously, and next to him can only be Uncle Charles.

Scourge doesn't really remember his uncle; he was, after all, a kid when the guy vanished, and he avoided him whenever possible. But the face before him is undeniably like his own. He has the same sloping forehead, the same pointed muzzle. Honestly, he looks exactly like Sonic with a mustache.

Scourge leans forward, intrigued, as the old guy says something that has Sonic pitching forward in laughter. It's weird, seeing him. Not like seeing Jules, or even like seeing the mom. Just... weird.

Not the kind of weird that Fiona's worried about, thank Chaos. No, he'll have no problems handing this schmuck over to the Doc.

Charles and his little squad sit down in the front row while the bodyguards split up to cover the exits. Scourge tracks their positions automatically, mostly focused on the target. Charles claps his nephew on the back and leans over to whisper something in his ear. Scourge looks away with a sneer.

The ceremony starts. A bunch of people Scourge doesn't know talk about a bunch of things he doesn't understand, blah blah blah. Scourge yawns and taps a tattoo on the railing with his claws. Luckily, all the civilians seem to have gone down to the seating area, so he's alone on the balcony. As long as the security doesn't notice him, he should have no problem staying under the radar until it's time to make his move. Until then, he amuses himself trying to find the rest of the Destructix hidden in the crowd.

Down below, the speeches start wrapping up. Charles ruffles his nephew's quills one last time and heads up to the stage. Scourge straightens up as he accepts his award and takes the mic.

"First, I'd like to thank you all for being here today," the hedgehog says. Scourge taps his foot impatiently. "I know it's a bit of a long way for a lot of you - we've got some visitors from Holoska, even! - and it means a lot to me that you'd take the time to make it here today. So thank you."

Ugh, so boring. Can't Fiona hurry up? At this rate, they'll be doing the audience a favor by sparing them all this drivel.

"- of the University of Spagonia for funding my research and going out of his way to help me whenever I needed it. Thank you, old friend."

Scourge taps his communicator and almost jumps when it crackles to life.

"Alright, everyone's in position," Fiona says. "On my mark, Scourge, you're going to distract Sonic. Jump down there, challenge him to a fight, anything. His sole concern needs to be beating you up."

"All he has to do is be himself and Sonic'll be jumping at the chance to tear him a new one," Lightning interjects. "Works on me."

"Oh, shut up," Scourge says. "Fiona, tell him to shut up."

"...well, he has a point."

Lightning's amused huff is audible over the comm. Scourge rolls his eyes. Traitors, all of them.

Fiona's voice goes serious. "But for real. Get him mad and get him out of here. Make him chase you 'till I call you back, and don't give him a second to realize there's more going on. If he comes back here before we're done, it's over. Okay?"

"I got it handled, babe," Scourge says. "Worry about yourself."

"Believe me, I am." The comms go silent a second later. Scourge stands up, shakes the stiffness from his limbs, and hops up to crouch on the railing. It's showtime.

On stage, Charles is still talking. Does the hedgehog not know how to shut up? "And finally, I'd like to thank my family, who loved and supported me every step of the way, up to and including being here with me today as I accept this award. Sonic, my amazing nephew - you've grown so much and, while I wasn't there for all of it-"

Well, that's enough of that. Scourge leaps into the air, curls up, and lands a perfectly executed homing attack on the podium. Splinters, chunks of wood, and a massive dust cloud fly everywhere. Someone in the audience screams, and behind him he can hear Charles stumbling back and coughing furiously.

"Uncle Chuck!" In the front row, Sonic rockets to his feet and dashes forward, only to come skidding to a stop. As the dust dissipates, Scourge grins. He can feel the light glinting off his fangs.

"Long time no see, faker," Scourge spits. He pulls his sunglasses out of the stupid suit jacket's pocket and slides them on with a flourish. "Can't exactly say it's a pleasure seeing you... then again, I always look forward to a chance to kick your butt."

"Wh- Scourge?" the blue idiot sputters. The shock only lasts a matter of seconds before fading, as the flabbergasted expression turns into something more like a smirk. "Well, well. I haven't heard from you since I demolished you and left Zonic to drag your sorry carcass away. Did they let you out on good behavior?"

Good behavior. Hah. As if Sonic knows anything about what goes on in Zone Jail. "Please. I smashed my way out of there the first week. The Zone Jail's in shambles; just ask Zonic! Oh wait - you can't." He laughs.

Sonic's smile slips a notch and the quills on his back bristle. "What happened to Zonic?"

Scourge keeps laughing.

"Alright, pincushion. Maybe you'll tell me when I beat it out of you!" Apparently done talking, Sonic curls up into a spindash. Scourge, still laughing, topples off the wrecked podium and leaves Sonic to smash into the stage where he'd been standing. People are screaming, someone's escorting Charles off the stage, and Scourge is reveling in the chaos.

"Slowing down, blue boy?" he mocks him. "You'll never find out about your stupid friend if you can't even touch me." Zonic's perfectly fine, actually, unless you count the truckload of paperwork Scourge saddled him with after his escape from Zone Jail. Not that Sonic needs to know that, 'cause if anything ticks him off, it's a threat to one of his friends.

And, true to form, Sonic snarls wordlessly and Scourge knows he's got him.

"You're looking kind of slow today - let's see if those legs of yours still work," Scourge calls over his shoulder and takes off. The world blurs around him as he taps into his speed, rockets between panicked partygoers and confused waiters and angry bodyguards. Out of the corner of his eye, he briefly spots Fiona crouching behind a pillar before she's blown away in his wake. Like this, outside sounds, sights, everything drops away, leaving him alone with himself and the wind.

It's nice. Peaceful, even.

And then the only other being who can keep up with him barrels into his side, sending them tumbling over each other right through the big open doors outside. Scourge lands a kick to Sonic's chest, sending him spinning away, and sprints down a sidestreet towards the marketplace. A moment later, the sound of footsteps running at 300 mph picks up behind him.

Scourge grins. The plan's working, then - Sonic's so ticked that he hasn't even stopped to wonder why Scourge isn't stopping to fight, or why he crashed the party in the first place. Now he just has to play this out 'till Fiona's done.

"Been slacking your exercise regimen lately? 'Cause I thought you were faster than this!" Scourge calls out.

"That so?" Sonic returns. The sound is unexpectedly close and Scourge looks back to see Sonic running only a few paces behind him. "I could say the same for you."

Scourge growls and vaults a fruit cart, sending it flying with a back kick. Sonic dodges the cart and dives through the onslaught of flying fruit, coming up without a scratch. Scourge's gained a precious few seconds, but in a contest of speed, those seconds mean everything. He blocks Sonic's path - kicking over trash cans, dodging in front of moving cars, knocking a baby out of its mother's arms with a well placed swipe. Sonic dodges the trash cans, goes over or around the vehicles, and loses a good fifteen seconds saving the baby. By the time they've cleared the marketplace, Scourge is about thirty feet ahead and gaining.

"What's wrong?" Sonic yells. "Scared of a little fight?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Scourge yells back. "Dunno 'bout you, but I'm not wasting my time fighting someone too slow to keep up!" Up ahead, a pile of trash bags is stacked against a sloping wall, reaching up to the edge of the roof. Scourge leaps up in a single bound and sprints along the rooftop. Behind, the trash bags crinkle as Sonic races up, and tiles creak as the hedgehog fights for balance. Scourge snorts and picks up speed.

The rooftop run is fraught with near-misses and almost-falls. This area of town has a mixture of buildings; some are modern and boxy, with flat tops, but there's a number of older structures with pointed tile roofs. Scourge skids down the sloping ridge of one of these, slips off the building, snags a flagpole on the way down and turns his fall into a launch point. He lands upright on the narrow ledge of a skyscraper and darts along the line of windows, flashing a mock salute at some goggle-eyed kid in its bedroom.

Sneakered feet hit the concrete behind him as Sonic pursues, grinning despite his ferocious eyes.

Scourge hooks a fast right as the ledge ends and drops down to the top level of the parking garage nestled against the 'scraper. Mostly he's planning on going back down to street level, but Sonic puts on a burst of speed and tackles him right there.

They roll head over heels across the concrete, colliding with a dusty pickup truck hard enough to dent in the side. Scourge throws himself out of the way and rolls onto his feet just as Sonic picks himself up. The blaring car alarm is the only sound as they stare each other down.

Sonic moves first. He doesn't bother curling up, just lunges fist first at Scourge's face. Scourge ducks the punch and goes in low for Sonic's solar plexus, narrowly dodging a knee to his face. Sonic slams his heel down on Scourge's foot and drives an elbow into his neck. Scourge stumbles back, falling into a roll to avoid Sonic's left hook, and comes up on his feet with room to spare.

There's another moment of staring and circling as they pant heavily and pretend they're not.

And then Sonic steps something that crunches and looks down.

Scourge lunges. Sonic sidesteps him easily and snatches it up - and wait, Chaosdammit that's his communicator-

"Is this a mic?" Sonic asks disbelievingly and then the pieces click.

He stares at Scourge blankly, and Scourge can practically see his train of thought - comms means accomplices, accomplices means there's a plan, a plan means Sonic was intentionally drawn out here away from the ceremony, and if Sonic's out here then -

Then -

Scourge swears and moves to tackle Sonic but the idiot's already gone. Instinctively, his hand goes to his ear - "Fiona, he's coming your way, I-" No, wait, Sonic's got the communicator and it's broken anyway, dammit. The plan's falling apart and it's entirely his fault.

Well. It hasn't fallen apart yet.

Scourge takes off, running full-tilt after Sonic. The irony of the situation isn't lost on him, not that he appreciates it. Sonic's trail is a direct beeline back to the hall. It should be easy to follow, but for some reason Scourge can't catch up those last few feet.

"I thought you wanted to fight, you dingus!" Scourge snaps. "Make up your mind already, sheesh!"

"You tricked me," Sonic growls.

"Uh, yeah? I'm the bad guy. It's kinda what I do."

"What's your actual plan?"

"Thought you were gonna beat me up and find out?"

Sonic snarls and, impossibly, picks up speed. Scourge has to drop the conversation entirely to focus on just keeping up.

They hit the convention hall scarce minutes later. There's clearly a fight going on inside; explosions and the faint sound of screaming accompany the flood of people battering down the doors in their desperation to escape. The Destructix are clearly having fun... and more importantly, haven't escaped yet. What on Moebius are they doing?!

Sonic zips through the crowd, dodging panicking mobians with practiced ease. Scourge doesn't bother; he kicks one middle-aged cat into the heart of the rush and vaults over the resulting pileup without missing a step. "Babe! Hope you're wrapping it up in there!" he yells as they burst into the ceremony hall.

The Destructix are more than holding their own. The security has been almost entirely cleared out; fallen guards litter the area while none of their own are even scratched. Fiona, wielding a G.U.N. issue stun pistol, jerks up in surprise as Sonic skids into the room. "Scourge, you had one job!" she screeches.

"So did you!" Scourge rams into Sonic from behind, sending them both flying into a row of seating. Scourge comes out on top. "What happened to Ch- the target?" he asks, pinning Sonic down with an elbow to his throat.

"Escaped," Fiona says grimly. "We've already informed the Doc... and, uh, we have a new objective now."

Sonic makes a choked-off sound and Scourge leans down harder. Something shifts behind him but he ignores it. "Alright, what is it?"

Fiona hesitates.

And then cold metal claws clamp down around his shoulder and tear him off Sonic, lifting him bodily into the air. The hedgehog wheezes for breath on the ground, but Scourge isn't paying attention. He's not paying attention to anything anymore, because in front of him-

"What the hell are you doing here," Scourge breathes.

Artificial red eyes burn into his own. "Don't touch my son," says Jules, and the anger in his voice causes every limb in Scourge's body to lock up with instinctive fear.

Of course Jules is here, Charles is his brother, why wouldn't he attend the ceremony - hadn't the blasted hedgehog said as much during his speech? Scourge should've realized it then. This was a bad idea, they need to get out of here, why did Scourge even come here in the first place-

Something in Jules' mechanical expression thaws.

The clawhold on his shoulder eases as he's lowered to his feet, but Scourge's brain is still spinning in circles. He's gone completely unresponsive, some part of him knows, but he can't think.

"Get away from him!" Fiona yells and plants a high kick right in the center of Jules' chest. The robian goes flying, pursued by Simian, and Hawk swoops down behind them to tackle Sonic away. "Babe," Fiona says, kneeling down beside Scourge, feeling frantically at his shoulder. "Did he get you?"

The world shifts a little bit back into place. "No," Scourge mutters. "Fiona, I don't-"

"Save it." Fiona's eyes are full of worry as she grabs his wrist and hauls him to his feet. "I think you need to sit this one out, sweetie."

"What? No." Scourge grips her hand like a lifeline. "I can fight. I can still fight."

"Scourge... the new target is Jules."

Something in his chest catches. Scourge stares at her, and around them, the noise of the battle seems to fade. "...what? Why?"

Fiona grimaces. "We lost the inventor of roboticization. Next best thing is its last survivor."

"No. We're not doing that." Scourge has no idea what he's doing, only that they cannot hand his- hand Jules over to Finitevus. He catches both her hands in his own and squeezes them tight. "Call off the mission, we're going home."

Fiona stares at him. "What? Scourge, you can't be serious! After all the work we've put into this? And what about the beryl?"

"We already got the beryl from the first mission. We'll be careful and save it until we can restock. We've gotten this far without any beryl at all, we don't need it that badly!" Scourge hesitates. "...Fiona, please."

It's the last word that breaks her. She knows how bad he hates saying it, knows how much this means to him that he's saying it now. Her shoulders slump in defeat. "...fine. But you get to explain this to the Doc - and please, let's try to avoid burning that bridge again."

Scourge squeezes her hand one last time before letting go. "Thanks, Fi. And don't worry about the Doc; I'll take care of him."

"That's what I'm worried about," Fiona grumbles, but she's smiling. "Alright, team," she calls out, pulling out her warp ring. "Mission's off. We're going home."

"Wait, what?" Hawk asks and nearly gets clobbered by Sonic for his trouble. "Why?"

"Ask questions when we get home," Fiona says and throws the ring. As the portal whooshes open, Scourge turns to survey the troops. Lightning and Simian are slowly retreating back to the portal, fighting Jules every step of the way, while Hawk and Fly are trying without much success to fend off Sonic long enough to run.

Scourge spindashes into Sonic, knocking him off-balance. "Get to the portal, idiots!" To Sonic, he adds, "Sorry, but it looks like we're cutting this date short." If Chaos has even a drop of mercy in its unforgiving soul, Sonic will have been too thoroughly distracted by the fight to have overheard his exchange with Fiona.

And it looks like for once, his prayers are answered, because Sonic's grin, strained with exhaustion though it is, hints at nothing off. "I'm not letting you get away this time," he says and launches into another spindash. "I still have some questions for you to answer!"

"Then they'll have to wait for next time." Scourge ducks the attack and slams his heel into Sonic as he passes, boosting his momentum to slam into the opposite wall. "Alright, time to go!" he yells, scrambling for the portal. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the rest of the Destructix doing the same.

Fiona's already waiting at the portal, with one leg halfway through, and-

"-aaaaaAAAUGH, WHAT THE HELL," she screams and falls back, pinwheeling wildly.

"Fiona!" Scourge yells and then the world blurs briefly and he's at her side, hauling her to her feet. "Fi, what's-" and then he screams too, because Finitevus is literally right there, climbing through the ring like a monster in a horror movie.

The battle cuts off. A few feet away, a newly recovered Sonic skids to a stop, staring incredulously. The Destructix are sort of ranged out behind him, looking to Scourge and Fiona for the next move. And who knows where Jules is.

"Dude," Scourge says emphatically, putting a hand to his chest. "Don't do that."

"What are you doing," Finitevus hisses.

Scourge makes a show of looking around. "Uh, escaping? I mean, what does it look like?"

"I should have known better than expect you lot to pull through," Finitevus mutters, and hey, that's actually kind of offensive.

"Hey! Screw you, man!" Scourge yells, shaking his fist. "We're leaving 'cause we want to, not 'cause we're losing!" Fiona slaps a palm to her face.

"Oh? And what possible reason could you have to do that?" Finitevus asks, but he doesn't seem very interested in an answer, because his hands flare with dark energy a second later, and Scourge knows what that means.

"Scatter!" he yells and hits the ground with Fiona as a bolt of Chaos energy goes right over their heads. Fiona rolls out from under him as he leaps to his feet.

Sonic seems to have switched targets. Currently, he's hammering away at Finitevus' defenses, running his mouth the whole time. The ring portal is still open behind Finitevus, but they need to get the crazy echidna out of the way first.

Fiona, as usual, is two steps ahead. "You're going to need to team up with Sonic."

"What, seriously? Can't we just let Sonic take care of the Doc and ditch?"

She gives him a flat look. "I don't know how he did it, but Finitevus must have hijacked the ring's signal and keyed it to his lair. I need time to reset it before we can leave. Just, you know-" she waves a hand vaguely. "Move the fight away. Whale on Finitevus. Keep them both off my back long enough for me to work."

"Ugh. Fine." Scourge turns around on his heel. "Hey, loser!" he calls out, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Five minute truce?"

Sonic uncurls in midair long enough to yell, "Make it two!"

Fiona had better work fast, because this isn't going to take long. "Destructix, watch Fiona's back," he orders and throws himself into the fight.

Finitevus was clearly anticipating something like this, because he moves smoothly into defending against the both of them without hesitation. And it's - frustrating. Whenever Scourge throws a punch, a ring portal swirls into being in just the right place to take his hit. If he tries a kick, the same thing. And Chaos forbid he spindashes, or he'll wind up on the opposite side of the room (or, more accurately, slamming into Sonic).

Between the ring portals and the constant misdirection, the two minute mark passes and they haven't landed a single hit. The guy isn't on their level, exactly, but he's unpredictable with enough tricks that he could probably take either of them on their own. Against both of them, he doesn't stand a chance - or he wouldn't if Sonic would get out of his way.

"Dude, we're supposed to be working together!" Sonic snaps.

Scourge flicks his ear (it's been ringing since Finitevus dropped a portal that sent a spindashing Sonic on a collision course with Scourge's face) and ducks beneath a Chaos-infused punch. "Not my fault you can't keep up."

He sidesteps a second punch and follows up with a roundhouse kick that comes inches from the Doc's face before another ring portal intercepts. Dammit.

Sonic, of course, chooses that moment to go for a homing attack, which takes him right into the portal as Finitevus dodges. From somewhere on the other side of the room, the moron makes a faint oomph sound as the portal spits him out.

Scourge rolls his eyes and sweeps his legs under Finitevus' ankles, forcing the echidna to stumble back. "You make a remarkably disloyal minion," Finitevus says and drops into a portal.

On a hunch, Scourge spins around and slams a haymaker into Finitevus' face when the echidna reappears behind him. "Calling me a minion was your first mistake, Doc," Scourge says. "I'm the king, baby."

Finitevus snarls and vanishes again. "I must wonder at the cause of this particular instance," his voice says. Scourge whirls around, fists up before him, but the scientist is nowhere to be seen. "You were, after all, so eager to serve at first. What changed your mind?"

"You really gotta learn the difference between serving and making a deal, bud," Scourge says. "This why your friends always leave you?"

Finitevus ignores him. "Nothing changed between then and now. Nothing... except the target." Something flickers in the corner of Scourge's eye and he starts to turn, but he's met with a blow to the jaw followed by one to the shin. Scourge crumples to his knee with a cry of pain and looks up to see Finitevus' Chaos-powered boot swing for his face-

And then someone's hand snags his wrist and they're moving.

The world blurs just a little as Sonic hauls him across the room at lightning speed to drag him behind an overturned table. Scourge clutches the lapels of his jacket and tries to force his racing heartbeat to settle. For a second, they just breathe.

"Okay, we need to coordinate," Sonic says belatedly.

"Don't tell me what to do," Scourge says, mostly on reflex.

Sonic rolls his eyes. "If you draw his fire, I'll go behind to take him offguard. Think you can do that?"

"What? No. You draw his fire and I'll sneak up behind him."

"Yeah, maybe I'd do that if I had any faith at all in your stealth. You aren't exactly subtle, bud."

Scourge thinks back to every mission that involved some level of sabotage/stealth/general sneakery and their inevitably disastrous ends and winces. Unfortunately, he has a point. "Fine, whatever. Don't mess this up, dweeb." A blast of chaos energy rocks the floor beneath their feet - time's up. Finitevus is here.

Scourge breaks for the left.

"Hey old man, having trouble keeping up?" He leaps into the air as Finitevus goes for a sweeping kick and curls into a spindash, aimed at the scientist's head. Predictably, he sails right into a ring portal and falls out several feet away. In midair, he uncurls and kicks off the ground to rebound towards Finietvus.

The Doc raises his hands coated in Chaos energy and actually catches the spindash. For a moment, they war against each other - dark energy to living buzzsaw - before Finitevus shoves back and they break apart.

Scourge hits the ground in a crouch and lunges again. This time, he feints an uppercut followed up with a knee strike to the gut. The echidna stumbles back, but recovers almost instantly. As Scourge goes in for another strike, Finitevus snags his collar and yanks him off-balance, slamming him into the dirt. Scourge tries to wriggle out of his grip, but the Doc pins him to the ground with a hand on his throat and a knee on his chest.

"I can't say I haven't been waiting for this," the mad scientist breathes, and raises a handful of swirling black energy.

Scourge scrabbles helplessly at his wrist and wonders, briefly, if this is it.

And then a blue ball of spikes rockets out of nowhere, smacking into the back of Finitevus' head so hard the floor creaks when he faceplants. Scourge kicks him off and rolls back onto his feet, smacking away Sonic's outstretched hand. The echidna staggers upright, but his shield is broken and Sonic and Scourge poised on either side of him. The echidna eyes them warily, rings at the ready, and for a second no one moves.

"Got it!" Fiona's voice breaks the spell.

Sonic's concentration slips. Scourge can see it; the way his posture straightens slightly, the way he half-turns to face her. Finitevus sees it too.

And then Finitevus' hands are up, radiating dark energy, and Scourge drops into a defensive stance 'cause the blue buffoon can get himself killed if he wants but Scourge is going down fighting- but Finitevus isn't looking at either of them.

He's looking behind them.

At Jules.

Jules, who has no Chaos abilities, can't break the sound barrier on a whim, can't dodge bullets point-blank.

Jules, who both is his father and isn't, who's a machine but still alive, who stood across from Scourge in a dark room and didn't flinch though Scourge held his life in his hands, who loves his wife and child and wouldn't hesitate to die for either of them.

Jules, who would walk a random stranger through a panic attack on the street but can't dodge a Chaos spear if it's pointed at his chest.

Time slows down to a crawl. Scourge doesn't think.

He just moves.

The last thing he sees, as pain erupts from his chest like lightning and the world is drowned out by the black of corrupted Chaos energy, is the bright red of Jules' horrified eyes.

There's a beeping noise somewhere near his ear. Fiona's phone, probably (even though it sounds nothing like her alarm). Scourge reaches up to shut it off and is stopped halfway by the clink of cold metal.

...huh?

He opens his eyes to dim electric light and a pounding headache. There's a hard surface beneath his back, thin sheets around him, and a metallic chill around his wrists, ankles, and throat.

Through the haze, something about the last one feels familiar.

Beside him, something rustles, and a soft voice says, "Awake, then?"

"Dad?" Scourge mumbles foggily. For a moment he's eight again, in the hospital after a near-drowning, and his dad took a whole day off from work to rush to his bedside and hold his hand. It was the first time he'd seen him in a week.

Then reality catches up and reminds him that no, his dad is dead and whatever's going on here is something to worry about. The fog is gone in an instant.

Scourge's eyes snap open and he throws himself as much he can to the far side of the bed from the figure standing there now. Jules is there - a little scratched and dinged up but very much alive.

There's a flicker of something like relief inside him before Scourge stuffs it down and crushes it very firmly. Chaos, Fiona was right. He let his stupid hangups about this robian get out of hand, and now look what's happened - the mission went south, Scourge is chained to a hospital bed, the rest of the Destructix are nowhere to be seen, and worst of all, he made a heroic sacrifice like he's Sonic or something.

Chaos, Scourge is never living this one down.

"It's good to see you're moving around already," Da- Jules says in that same too-soft tone. "Some of the doctors were convinced you wouldn't live another day. I suppose any son of mine, even from another dimension, is just too durned stubborn to go out like that..."

"Don't," Scourge rasps.

Jules blinks at him. "Pardon?"

"That." Scourge lets go of the bed's railing just long enough to gesture irritably. "I'm not your son. Don't call me that."

Instead of rearing back in offense or dropping the nice act altogether, Jules tilts his head slightly, as though in recognition. "Ah," he says after a moment. "So that was you."

Scourge freezes and tries to play it off. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"That day in front of Chuck's diner," Jules says. "That was you. I wasn't sure, since you were still supposed to be in Zone Jail then."

"Chuck's diner? What?" Scourge forces a laugh. It comes out entirely fake and just a little unhinged.

"You had a panic attack," Jules continues, unperturbed. "I walked you through it. Honestly, at the time, I thought it was because of me."

It was because of you, Scourge wants to say. Instead, he asks, "Whaddya mean?"

Jules gestures vaguely to himself. "I'm a robian," he says. "Robotnik put Knothole through a lot when the roboticizor was still functioning. Plenty of people have had... adverse reactions to my body in the past. It's unfortunate but can't really be helped, except through time and patience."

...for some reason, that stings. Scourge pushes the thought away and snorts. "Sucks to be you. Don't see what that has to do with me."

"You did ask," Jules reminds him, which is fair. He supposes. They lapse into silence.

Scourge slumps against the bed, a little more relaxed with no attack evidently imminent, and holds up a hand to the light. The dangling cuff glints coldly. He can't reach the collar on his neck, but he suspects it shines the same way - like the inhibitors back at Zone Jail. "You guys already talked to Zonic, then?" he guesses.

He's not really expecting an answer, but Jules gives one anyway. "We did. He gave us that inhibitor collar you're wearing right now." Nailed it. "He wanted to take you back with him to Zone Jail right away, but with the condition you were in, we didn't want to risk moving you until you were stable."

Scourge flexes his fingers, watching the muscles move. He'd suspected already, given how drained he feels right now, but knowing that he's wearing the collar is... disheartening. That level of powerlessness is something he'd never wanted to feel again. "I'm stable now. So when will you be moving me?"

Jules hesitates. "Now that you're awake, we'll probably call Zonic to pick you up sometime tomorrow. It's nighttime right now."

"What? How long was I out?"

"Two days."

Two days, and he's still here? Either the Destructix got nabbed too (possible), are planning a rescue mission (unlikely), or ditched (most likely). That... also stings. A lot. He'd liked Fiona, and he was getting used to the rest of the idiots, too.

"What about my team?" he asks.

"Vanished. They tried to retrieve you but retreated when reinforcements arrived."

It doesn't mean much - he is, after all, their strongest fighter and tactically it makes sense to avoid losing him if possible - but it makes Scourge feel better to know they'd at least tried. He lets his hand fall back to the bed with a metallic jingle.

"I still don't understand," Jules says, and Chaos, why won't he shut up? Is this something inherent to Sonic's family? "Why did you save me?"

Scourge inspects the patterns of cracks on the ceiling. That one looks like Sleuth Dog's face. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he mumbles.

"You took an attack meant for me. That much concentrated Chaos energy would've killed me - it's likely the only reason you survived is because you're a very adept controller."

"Sounds like you already have an answer to me."

There's a brief pause. Scourge continues avoiding eye contact. "I do have an idea," Jules says softly. "But I'd like to hear a confirmation from your own mouth."

Scourge doesn't say anything.

What's he supposed to say - that every time he sees Jules some stupid, long-dead part of him longs for his approval? That Jules is dredging up memories better left buried? That when he saw his dad - any version of him - in danger, that his first instinct was to protect him, despite everything he'd done?

Ha. Yeah, right.

"Think what you want, old man." Scourge bares his teeth. "It doesn't mean anything. It was an accident."

Jules doesn't waver. "I think we both know that's not true."

Can't this guy take no for an answer? Scourge huffs and rolls over as much as he can so his back is toward Jules. "Leave," he says. It's what you're best at, after all.

"Sonic heard that you attacked the ceremony to kidnap Chuck."

Scourge has a sudden, sinking feeling he knows where this is going. "I don't care. Go away."

Jules marches on, implacable. "He said that halfway through, after Chuck escaped, Finitevus told you to switch targets. That the new target was me."

"Shut up!"

"And that when you heard I was in danger, you-"

"So I called it off, alright?" Scourge bolts upright. The handcuffs snap back against his wrists painfully and his ankles scream as the cuffs cut into his skin, but he's too furious and aching and raw to care. "Yeah, I called off the mission. Yeah, I took that stupid attack. It doesn't change anything! I'm still your enemy, I'm still going to kill Sonic, I'm still going to tear apart your world and everything you love! So what if I- if I..."

"Risked all that to save one broken-down, tactically unimportant robian?" Jules finishes quietly.

"Yes! No!" Scourge tries to bury his face in his hands and can't even do that, damn this tiny range of motion. "Will you leave me alone?" Metal glints in the corner of his eye as Jules reaches out a hand. Scourge growls deep in his throat until the hand is slowly drawn back.

Mercifully, the robian is silent while Scourge desperately tries to keep himself from falling apart. Chaos, what is wrong with him?

"What do you want from me," he mutters.

This time, it's Jules who looks away. "There's not much time before I have to call Zonic in," he says. "Before he left the first time, there was talk of... life in solitary confinement. Or execution."

Breathe. It's fine. Scourge has been in worse scrapes before. "I can see where the similarities between you and my dad come in," he says softly. Venomously. "He never hesitated to lock me away, either." Sure, it hadn't exactly been tossing him in a prison cell and throwing away the key, but the perpetual grounding to an empty mansion, the total abandonment of him to an endless stream of nannies... and then, of course, that fiasco right before he died.

Dads. So eager to foist their screwups on other people, wash their hands and move on.

"Doesn't any of this setup seem odd to you?" Jules asks abruptly.

Scourge blinks, thrown. "What? You hit your head somewhere, old man?"

"Think about it. You're a top-priority prisoner. You've broken out of Zone Jail. And yet your only security here is an inhibitor collar, some handcuffs, and a broken-down old robian."

...there's a trap here somewhere, Scourge knows it. "Yesss?" He eyes Jules warily. Is this some kinda reverse-psychology thing?

Jules laughs wearily. "You're not the only one with emotional ties he can't quite cut, son."

"Don't call me that," Scourge says reflexively before the weight of Jules' words catch up to him. "Wait, what? Are you saying-" and then he cuts off, because that's so ridiculous it shouldn't be said out loud.

"Yes," Jules confirms. "I volunteered for guard duty because I had to ask, first. To make sure for myself that something of my son is in there."

"I am not your son," Scourge snaps. Distantly, some part of him recognizes that he's being actively detrimental - that if he plays his cards right he could actually walk out of this free - but he's past that kind of rational behavior now. "You're chasing ghosts, old man! Stop looking for stuff that isn't gonna happen!"

"You're not my son," Jules agrees. "You're not my Sonic. But you're a Sonic, and somewhere... that potential for great good is inside you."

And isn't that exactly what Sonic had said on their last birthday - the day he'd finally ditched that lame Anti-Sonic moniker, had finally stepped out of Sonic's shadow into his own light - that all it'd take is a bit of decency, and Scourge would be just like him? The echo stills him.

"You're making a mistake," he says hoarsely. He's not going back to Zone Jail, he'll die before he goes back to that hellhole, but he needs Jules to understand this. "I'm not Sonic. I'm no hero. If you let me go, I'm just gonna go right back to doing what I did before. People will die because of you."

"No, they won't," Jules says, half-smiling. "I've done my research. The Destructix don't kill. You wreak havoc and destroy things, but... no bodies. I understand it's to avoid trouble with G.U.N.," he adds, holding up a hand to forestall Scourge's protests, "But you don't have a body count. That's important."

Shows what he knows - but Scourge can't bring himself to point out the obvious. "I still ruin lives," Scourge says instead. "There's other ways to kill people without holding a gun to their heads."

"I know. And that's where I'm being selfish." The half-smile turns into a full smile, but it's so sad and wracked with exhaustion and bitterness that Scourge has to look away. "I... I lost my son once. I can't help it... I can't watch a son of mine - from any universe - be destroyed while I can do anything to stop it. I'm not a good person, Scourge. I've lost too much to try. So I'm going to be selfish, just this once, and hope you don't make me regret it."

Scourge is silent. He's silent when Jules stands up and unlocks the cuffs, one by one. He's silent when Jules reaches up to his throat to unlock the inhibitor, and he's silent when it falls away and power rushes freely beneath his skin once more.

His boots are on the floor, suit jacket draped over a chair. He pulls on the shoes and digs through the pockets until he finds his sunglasses, but leaves the jacket behind.

"Scourge," Jules says quietly, as Scourge pushes the window open. He hesitates over the window sill, half inside and half out.

If Jules asks him to stay, he doesn't know what he'll do.

But he doesn't. In the end, Jules looks down and whispers, "If you ever need somewhere to rest, my home is always open. Till then... be safe, son."

The words catch in Scourge's throat. He nods, wordlessly, and drops out of the window to land lightly on his feet on the ground below. For a moment, he dallies beneath the window, waiting for-

For...

He doesn't know. Scourge shivers in the cool night air and starts running.

...thanks, Dad.

He finds the base a few hours later, jogging to the next town over and hopping a train the rest of the way. When he walks in, the base goes dead silent.

Fiona leaps up from the circle of Destructix - planning a rescue mission, he later finds out - and tackles him, hugging and pounding him in equal measure. She cries a little too, which he only discovers when she points out he's tearing up himself. The Destructix surround them, yelling over each other and clapping him on the back until Simian picks them all up in a group hug. It's at that point that Scourge declares he's done with all this mushy stuff and if they don't knock it off he won't bother coming back next time. Fiona announces that if there is a next time he won't have to worry about coming back because she'll kill him first, and Simian gives them all one last squeeze before turning them loose.

Scourge retrieves his leather jacket with a sense of great relief and they all end up watching another trashy samurai movie, which Lightning ruins again. Fiona holds him tight the whole time and doesn't chew him out like he deserves, for which Scourge is unendingly grateful.

He doesn't go back to the house. He pulls jobs with the Destructix, they beat up on Sonic and his lackeys, they have one run-in which Finitevus that they come off much worse for. And they watch crappy movies, eat ridiculous amounts of junk food, and get personally banned from every arcade and amusement park across the continent. He's... not gonna lie, it's actually pretty fun.

But in the back of his head, the house is always there. The robian bustling around the empty kitchen in a pink apron. The scent of pancakes frying. Till then... be safe, son.

It takes a long time - months of denial, of wondering and longing and furious self-restraint - but he caves eventually.

He shows up on a morning he knows Sonic and his mom won't be there. He doesn't knock on the door, or ring the bell. Mostly, he just hovers outside, unable to work up his nerve to do anything.

He's about to leave when the door swings open. Jules stands there, looking exactly the same as he did that night by the hospital bed, with eyes too soft for his wayward not-son. Scourge, half-frozen on the sidewalk, searches for something to say and comes up empty. They stare at each other silently.

Scourge shoves his hands in his pockets and forces back the lump in his throat. "I was in the area, so I dropped by," he mutters. "Don't think this means anything."

Jules looks at him for a long moment and Scourge forgets to breathe. Slowly, softly, his dad smiles. "Welcome home, son."

[mechanicalkindness]

Jules had never been the best with directions, both as a mobian as well as a robian. You'd think having a "robotic" brain would mean you'd be able to keep track of things more easily, but no... In fact, he wasn't entirely sure how he had even gotten here in the first place. "I think I'm lost..." He muttered to himself, though it was still loud enough for anyone nearby to hear... - @thelastrobian

[ @thelastrobian]

Of course, Julius being- well- Julius- he had been mid-repair on one of his Egg Pods when he heard the voice. He looked up, the voice having reverberated off the surrounding walls and metal pipes of the abandoned construction zone. Call him weird, but it was rather nice to do work in these places- plenty of material left in case he came up short. Although he could task Yggdrasil to dig, that wasn't really something he enjoyed forcing on the AI.

"Hello?" He turned 'round, false eye switching modes to try to scan for intruders. While usually he'd be more passive, he was a trite more worried right now that the voice had been someone coming to attack him (or worse yet, steal Golby, who was still mid-repair). "I don't mean to be rude, but could you please show yourself?"

This would hopefully answer the easy question- friend or foe? But of course, there was always the chance the other was just afraid of him.- So he would take it with a grain of salt and adjust his actions accordingly as he went.

[mashounen2003]

Chaos Emerald - Summarized | Chapter 2: Brand New World

[link to AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31143266]

混沌緑柱玉・要約した | Konton Ryokuchūgyoku - Yōyakushita | Chaos Emerald - Summarized

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編纂：真新しい世界。 | Hen-San: Ma-Atarashī Sekai. | Group of Sagas: Brand New World.

[link to AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31143266/chapters/76957619]

Here are the events immediately after the end of the war against the original Robotnik. The general tone of this part is much less dark and more optimistic than in Sonic SatAM, showing this is a bright new world after the end of a worldwide guerrilla war. On the other hand, it never gets too whimsical, and with the exception of the downright comedic moments, the seriousness level (the edginess, if you will) remains equal to or higher than that of the Red Ribbon Army saga (during the second half of the original Dragon Ball, before the Great Demon King Piccolo's appearance; the RRA saga's tone is already relatively lighthearted, we must admit).

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[Last edited on February 14, 2023.]

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Opening theme for this group of sagas:

“Makafushigi Adventure”, the opening theme of the original Dragon Ball TV series (original Japanese version by Hiroki Takahashi et al., French TV-size cover made by “AMVF Studio”, French TV-size cover made by “Beastboy”, English TV-size cover for the Funimation dub by Jimi Tunnell et al., English cover for the Phillippines’ dub).

Ending theme for this group of sagas:

“Kawaita Sakebi”, the opening theme of the often called "season zero of Yu-Gi-Oh!", the 1998 Yu-Gi-Oh! TV series made by Toei (original Japanese version by "Field of View").

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Right after "Doomsday", all Robians are mentally freed, although there’s no way to restore them to their organic form at the moment. In a bittersweet moment, Sonic and his uncle Chuck are reunited with the rest of their family: Sonic's parents, Jules and Bernadette, and the family’s pet, the non-Mobian dog Muttski; Aleena is nowhere to be found, not even appearing on Robotnik's records of Robians under his control. The Freedom Fighters also keep travelling throughout the rest of Mobius, initiating diplomatic relationships with more nations, dealing with lesser villains, and sometimes assisting with rebuilding efforts.

The super-weapon Doomsday was apparently not only far more powerful than any other invention of Robotnik, but it was also more powerful than the Freedom Fighters had calculated: since its destruction caused the very inter-dimensional barriers to weaken. A couple of weeks after Robotnik's fall, Sonic and his friends are forced to face the invasion of the Suppression Squad, his doppelgängers from the planet Moebius; the Freedom Fighters win this time, after easily finding out the key to defeating their Moebian versions is by making each one fight with the evil counterpart of another. A few days later, the Freedom Fighters also take a chance to rescue King Maximillian Acorn from the Zone of Silence, with no side effects this time. Just another couple of days after that, as the Freedom Fighters freed people from Robotnik’s prison camps and eliminated remnants of their forces, they find Fiona Fox, who soon after joins the team as a field medic.

Hope Kintobor is a 14-year-old Overlander girl, a mechanic prodigy and pilot-in-training; she’s also Snively's half-sister and Robotnik's distant relative. After the fall of the Overlander nation at the hands of the dictator, Hope had migrated throughout Mobius; she eventually settles in Knothole after the regime’s fall and does her best to help the Freedom Fighters and restore the Kintobor name in the process.

At around the same time, as soon as it seems the Robotnik Regime's remnants are under control, Antoine leaves Knothole, just leaving Bunnie a brief letter where he says goodbye without saying where he's going or what he plans to do, thanks her for her support and for being such a good friend, and apologizes for “not having lived up” with her and the rest of the team.

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編：七つの混沌緑柱玉の探求。

Hen: Nanatsu no Konton Ryokuchūgyoku no Tankyū.

Saga: the Quest for the Seven Chaos Emeralds.

At least a month after Robotnik’s fall, the Freedom Fighters learn that Snively is preparing some kind of super-weapon on some unexplored islands south-southeast of the former Kingdom of Acorn; Sonic goes there, initially alone, beginning the adaptation of the classic 8-bit and 16-bit games and the fan-games created by LakeFeperd, in the following order: 16-bit Sonic 1, 8-bit Sonic 1, Sonic Chaos aka Sonic & Tails 1 (an 8-bit game), 8-bit Sonic 2, Sonic Before the Sequel (by LakeFeperd), 16-bit Sonic 2, Sonic After the Sequel (by LakeFeperd), and lastly, Sonic 3 & Knuckles.

[Snively gets a redesign from here: he's a bit more athletic taller, and has hair again, which in his case is light brown and styled like Dr Starline's hair (based upon a drawing by @adokle)]

Upon arriving on the islands -called "Berilian Islands" by their inhabitants-, Sonic discovers an absurd and astonishing variety of climates and landscapes, as well as a technologically quite advanced society made up of Mobians and other sentient beings suspiciously very similar to the Overlanders but without such markedly violent tendencies; he also finds that Snively has reactivated the old Badniks Development Program and is using it to try to take over the islands, so the blue hedgehog decides to take the mantle of the region’s new local hero. Throughout his adventures, he finds six Chaos Emeralds that Snively is also looking for, probably to use as a power source; every time he picks one up, he’s taken to a pocket universe called "Special Zone", where he apparently has to overcome different tests and challenges in order to return to his homeworld and keep the Chaos Emerald he has just taken; also, when Sonic carries Chaos Emeralds with him, he feels some kind of mysterious energy emanating from them.

In the adaptations of the two versions of Sonic 1, both set in the South Island of the archipelago, the hedgehog simply collects the six Chaos Emeralds before Snively does, then proceeds to destroy the Overlander’s operations base, and for some reason, the gemstones drift away from him and spread throughout the South Island once Snively has been defeated. Each time, he has no problem with this... until Robotnik's nephew attacks the islands again and the blue hedgehog has to gather the gemstones again.

In the Sonic Chaos adaptation, also set on the South Island, Tails arrives aboard his mini-submarine Sea Fox to help Sonic, if only to explore the rest of the island.

[Once “A+Start” -aka “Son of a Glitch”- and others release the full final version of the “Sonic Mania style” remake of Sonic Chaos, that's what I'd rather use for this adaptation]

At the end of that adaptation, Tails goes back to the continent in the Sea Fox...

[Soundtrack: Serris / Yakuza Boss Theme – Metroid Fusion OST, orchestral arrangement by “The Noble Demon”]

But a nuclear submarine manned by Snively's forces approaches him in the middle of the trip and begins to pursue him; Tails manages to resist and deal some heavy damage to Snively's sub. When the Sea Fox's ammo runs out and the drill on its prow is too damaged and stops working, the fox decides to let himself be captured and activate the self-destruction of his mini-submarine, letting its remains sink into the sea and take with them its true source of energy: a seventh Chaos Emerald.

A couple of days later, both Sonic on the islands and the Freedom Fighters on the mainland are officially very worried; they soon learn Tails has been captured and is held prisoner at Snively's new base on Westside Island, and Sonic decides to gather the Chaos Emeralds for the fourth time, initiating the events of the 8-bit Sonic 2 adaptation. It seems the hedgehog is merely trying to collect the gemstones before Snively and then destroy his base of operations and rescue Tails, but the plan turns out to be more complicated than that: Sonic trusts to be fast enough, but he also trusts Tails's slyness; the hedgehog creates a distraction of sorts, letting Snively try (and fail) to go after him and find the Chaos Emeralds or simply eliminate the hedgehog and take from his corpse whatever Emeralds he’s carrying; meanwhile...

[Soundtrack: Crisis Mission – Metroid Fusion OST, orchestral arrangement by "The Noble Demon"]

[Soundtrack: Facing A Huge Reaction – Metroid Fusion OST, orchestral arrangement by "The Noble Demon" & Julia Booth]

Robotnik's nephew's base is weakened, allowing Tails to eventually escape on his own and rendezvous with Sonic.

Once Tails is safe and Snively's new base is neutralized, the six Emeralds in Sonic's hands signal him, through some kind of vision or suggestion, to go to the region of Hilltop Heights on the Eastside Island; upon arriving there, he founds out the real super-weapon Snively was building: the aerospace battle station Death Egg, which is mounted on a rocket and whose construction has already progressed considerably. As Sonic tries to stop the launching of the Death Egg, Tails is pulling the Sea Fox's wreckage out of the seabed with a little help from the islanders, after Sonic publicly gave the fox some credit for saving them from Snively; Tails also receives the plane Tornado, piloted by Rotor, after the fox commissioned his friends in Knothole to send it to him so he can update it with the technology provided by the islanders; once his submarine’s remains have been recovered, Tails secretly removes his Chaos Emerald from among them, realizes it seems to be attracted to the six gemstones in Sonic's hands, uses its energy to slightly increase his own physical attributes just as he had done in Tails Adventure, and heads to Sonic's approximate location at that time: Star Shores. This kicks off the events of Sonic Before the Sequel. In the final battle, Tails provides Sonic with the seventh Chaos Emerald, allowing the hedgehog to turn into Super Sonic for the first time, attack the Death Egg and render it useless and severely damaged.

Sonic and Tails reach the Westside Island in the Tornado, the seven Chaos Emeralds once again scatter across the island, and the duo set out in search once more: now the duo know better the gemstones’ immense power, and aside from preventing Snively from getting his hands on them, they also have to prevent him from finishing repairing and rearming the Death Egg in space; this leads to the events of the 16-bit Sonic 2 adaptation. This is followed by the events of Sonic After the Sequel, set in the North Island, where Tails presents an invention he had developed based upon an idea proposed by Fiona about a weapon based on static electricity: a jester hat that gives its wearer great powers, either to manipulate and concentrate static electricity or to briefly crystallize the air around oneself (the hats that gave Sonic & Tails powers based on Kirby's in the game made by LakeFeperd). They also come across Elemental Shield technology, which they had already seen a bit of when Sonic used a Bubble Shield in the underwater urban district of Fortress Flow on the Eastside Island (Sonic Before the Sequel).

After the Death Egg crashes on Angel Island, the adaptation of Sonic 3 & Knuckles unfolds almost exactly the same as in the original, but with three noteworthy differences: Sonic hasn’t developed the Insta-Shield yet, Tails can access his Super form with the ordinary Chaos Emeralds and his Hyper form is the one that allows him to summon the Flicky Army of Death, and Knuckles in his Hyper form turns bright green.

[Soundtrack: Metal Gear Solid 1 main theme (version for the 1997 E3)]

Sonic and Tails explore Angel Island, usually going their separate ways and meeting again when fighting the war machines sent by Snively. The Freedom Fighters act as Mission Control, staying in contact with them, watching everything they do and helping them when needed: Rotor is granted access to the satellites of the inhabitants of the Berilian Islands, and coordinates them with each other and with his own scouting drones to scan the island's regions from the outside and give Sonic and Tails a rough idea of what they're up against; Sally and Nicole routinely chat with Sonic and Tails about possible strategies for entering each region; Fiona uses her personal experience as a treasure hunter to watch and try to interpret the inscriptions in some areas (mostly the ancient echidna constructs in Hydro-City, Marble Garden, Sandopolis and the Hidden Palace), in order to deduce if there may be either hidden deadly traps or mechanisms that Sonic and Tails can exploit to keep going.

Meanwhile, Snively gets Knuckles to let him investigate the ruins of the ancient echidna civilization. Robotnik's nephew makes some discoveries, the most important being a stone golem guarding the Lost Pyramid [this is Sandopolis's mini-boss, the Guardian, and the pyramid from which it comes out and where Sandopolis Act 2 takes place is known as "the Lost Pyramid" in the British Sonic comic] and a series of "Guardian Robots" [another element from the British comic], both with armour that might endure attacks from someone on a Super form; he experiments on many of his vehicles and war machines, trying to copy and apply to them that revolutionary "anti-Super armour", forcing Sonic and Tails to find and directly attack weak points and/or cleverly identify and exploit design flaws in order to destroy them even though they've already gathered all seven Chaos Emeralds and attained their Super forms; this can be seen in the Bowling Spin [Carnival Night's mini-boss], the Gapsule [Flying Battery's mini-boss], the Laser Prison [1st stage of Flying Battery's boss], the Big Arms [Sonic 3's final boss, a sort of "3rd stage" of Launch Base's major boss, if standalone Sonic 3 is played], the Egg-Golem [Sandopolis's major boss], the Heat Arms's giant hand [Lava Reef's mini-boss], and the Egg-Inferno —including its supply of spike-clad bombs— [Lava Reef's major boss]. To ensure the success of his plan to manipulate Knuckles into continuing to help him, Snively also shares with him all his discoveries about the echidna's own home, not holding back a single detail, as a sign of goodwill.

Angel Island is not completely deserted: there are descendants of very diverse groups of Mobians and humans who discovered and settled on the island, with Carnival Night being the main settlement. Knuckles, in his role as Guardian, used to just live on his own, make no contact with them, and ignore them as long as they didn't get too close to the Master Emerald.

Tails and Knuckles meet in the Hidden Palace, and the former tries to explain to him what's happening, his and Sonic's true intentions, and what kind of person Snively actually is. At first, Tails seems to be successful in calming things down, but one tiny knee-jerk reaction of his ruins everything: the fox is still on the defensive in case Knuckles doesn't believe him and attacks him, this eventually causes small green sparks induced by his Chaos powers to briefly run through his tails' surface, and Knuckles sees that and reads it as a sign that Tails is lying and planning to attack him from behind when he lets his guard down, so the Guardian lashes out.

[Soundtrack: Boss Theme – Mega Man 2 OST, cover made by Maxim Zhuravlev]

Tails manages to react in time, deflecting Knux's punch with a tail swipe. Then the fox begins to fight mercilessly, trying to slice the echidna with his tails immediately after deflecting that blow; Tails also keeps his distance, making fleeting attacks and moving away again. At one point, Knuckles manages to catch Tails from behind, but he uses his tails to finally slice through the echidna's defenceless belly with little effort. Knux heals his wound with his own body's Chaos energy, and now Tails has only pissed him off even more, but that doesn't seem to matter to the fox; when the Guardian lunges at Tails again, the latter dodges the blow, wraps his tail around the echidna's outstretched arm, and begins to squeeze it and try to twist it; Knuckles tries to get rid of the fox, but he doesn't yield.

*CRUNCH*

Tails shatters the bones inside Knux's arm. After one loud crack, thin strands of echidna blood slowly trickle out from between the foxtails firmly gripping the Guardian's arm. Knuckles reacts by punching Tails in the temple with all his strength with his good arm before Tails can get away again; the fox flies into a corner and lies on the ground, knocked out, with blood dripping from his head; Knux heads towards him, but Sonic grabs the echidna from behind by surprise, knocks him to the ground, then just looks down on him... and goes Super: now Sonic is genuinely angry and determined to sweep the floor with the Guardian.

Super Sonic does just that, overwhelming Knuckles and not letting him even react. But then Knux senses the energy of the Master Emerald and figures out how to use it to go Super too. The fight becomes more even until Tails —already healed though still with his own blood staining a whole half of his head— goes Super as well, ascends to their side, calmly declares "this is getting annoying enough", points one finger at Knux...

Tails: [echoing] "Bang."

And from the tip of his finger, Tails generates and fires a bullet of pure radiation at the Guardian; the fox fires several times again, but this time Knux deflects all the shots by simply hitting the energy bullets with the back of his bare fists, then the echidna tries to get to Tails but Sonic attacks him again to get him away from his little brother. Now Knuckles mostly runs away, dodging Super Sonic's strikes and the energy shots from a Super Tails who seems to be enjoying this a bit too much. As a last resort, Knuckles calls Snively and asks him to deploy the Hidden Palace's Guardian Robots, which turn out to be durable enough to be able to swarm and hold off a Mobian in their Super form; then Tails does a long and tortuous Hyper transformation, and when the transformation completes, Hyper Tails is visibly struggling to maintain the form but manages to yell a Kiai, send all of his flickies in one go and take out the Guardian Robots. With the droids destroyed, Tails immediately sends those same flickies to attack Knuckles from the sides as Tails himself attacks from behind by doing a mid-air spindash towards the echidna, and Sonic —who begins to transform into his own Hyper form as well— also does an aerial spindash from the front towards Knux so that he and Tails defeat the Guardian together. Knuckles can no longer take this and decides to do a kamikaze by releasing from his own body an explosive wave made up of almost all the Chaos energy stored within him.

Knuckles returns to his base form and is still more or less conscious and able to move, though he can't fight again yet; Tails loses his Hyper form but then falls back to his base form and also gets knocked out; Sonic exits his Hyper form, then reverts back to his base form as well but by his own choice, and is still able to fight. Snively takes the opportunity to steal the Master Emerald; Knuckles tries to stop him by holding on to the gemstone, but Robotnik's nephew electrocutes him and easily gets rid of him, then taunts Knux by complaining that he "expected more from the one in charge of protecting such a powerful artefact"; Sonic tries to stop Snively but the hedgehog's normal attacks can't even scratch the "ASA" (Anti-Super Alloy) coating the Overlander's vehicle, which is shown to have similar properties to the armour of both the Guardian Robots and the stone golem in Sandopolis.

Sonic wakes Tails up, they both tend to Knuckles' wounds, and the Guardian decides to finally listen to their side of the story and then help them retrieve the Master Emerald, giving them access to the Sky Sanctuary.

[Soundtrack: Milky Way Wishes: Shooting – Kirby Super Star & Kirby Super Star Ultra OSTs, mash-up of multiple versions by "Fuhi"]

The Death Egg has got its own combat drone squadron, the Lamna-class Stealthbots ["Lamna" comes from "Lamniformes" the order the great white shark belongs to], either to defend itself against external attacks or to defend the core against attempts to sabotage it from within [they look like something in between the Stealthbots from Sonic SatAM and the Fighter Aircraft A from Sonic Adventure 1 (the aerial combat drones deployed by Eggman to defend the Egg-Carrier in "Sky Chase"), and the name "Lamna" is another reference to the "shark" design of the latter]. When Sonic and Tails are already inside the Death Egg, while one of them makes his way through the decks, the other gets on one of the "Lamnas", takes control of it by hacking into it with a program created by Tails beforehand, and attacks the core of the Death Egg, powered by the Master Emerald. When the core is severely destabilized by this direct attack, Snively ejects the Master Emerald from there and stores it inside the giant EggRobo, using this mech later to fight Sonic and Tails themselves. [If this were a Sonic 3 & Knuckles remake videogame, the player would choose which of the two to assign the two acts of the traditional Death Egg level and which of the two to assign the shoot-'em-up level, and the order would be: Death Egg act 1 with one character, the shoot-'em-up with the other, then Death Egg act 2 with the first one, and lastly the fight against the giant EggRobo with Sonic and Tails together.]

Snively is shown to have used the ASA again on the pillar housing the Red Eye [Death Egg's mini-boss], the Death Ball —whose mobile mines have a less resistant version of the ASA— [Death Egg's major boss], the giant EggRobo —minus its fingers— [Sonic 3 & Knuckles's final boss (but not its true final boss), a sort of "2nd stage" of Death Egg's major boss], and the 1st stage of the Final Weapon —both the blue casing itself and the cannons and missile launchers mounted on it and all their ammo— [the true final boss, in the level "Doomsday"]. When Sonic and Tails are chasing Snively and his Final Weapon through Mobius's upper atmosphere, they coordinate their attacks, with Sonic doing the actual chase and attempting to make the Final Weapon's weapons damage the vessel itself while Tails gets ahead, flies away and attacks from a distance. They eventually get the Final Weapon to lose its casing, but this reveals the Death Egg Robot inside it has its own version of the ASA enhanced by Snively himself rather than just an imitation of the Guardian Robots' armour; fortunately, both Mobians have already mastered their Hyper forms and their attacks can pierce the ASA armour, so they continue the chase until they finally destroy the machine, retrieve the Master Emerald, and bring it back to its Guardian.

Knuckles' story in Sonic 3 & Knuckles —set after Sonic & Tails destroyed the Death Egg and brought the Master Emerald back— is not adapted here... yet.

[I briefly considered the possibility of including the 8-bit game Sonic: Triple Trouble, aka Sonic & Tails 2, but then I found out its plot is even less defined than that of its predecessor Sonic Chaos; then I thought about including, after Sonic’s & Tails’s story in Sonic 3 & Knuckles, the 16-bit remake of Sonic: Triple Trouble being currently developed by Noah N. Copeland, which was mentioned to be set after the events of Sonic’s & Tails’s story in Sonic 3 & Knuckles, but there’s still a long time until that remake is finished]

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幾つかの副筋書き。

Ikutsuka no fuku-sujigaki.

A few sub-plots.

Meanwhile, Geoffrey and Hershey start spending time together. They're just friends for the moment: she just got out of an abusive relationship with the traitor Drago Wolf, and even though it hadn't lasted long enough and the scars left by that relationship were thankfully not as severe as they could have been, she’s still not ready to start another romance so soon; on the other hand, his friend (who's not a perverted asshole here, unlike how Penders tried to write him) is actually not even very interested in being her boyfriend. It's not until some months later that both begin to feel something for each other, after having known each other better. Geoff also begins to question the idea of honouring and following in the footsteps of his father, the late Commander Ian Saint-John, someone who may have been kind to his son but was also fiercely and openly racist against the Overlanders and also quite sexist.

When Fiona joined the team, her resemblance to Auto-Fiona had rekindled traumatic memories of fairly recent events in Tails's life, so he initially decided to keep his distance and spend more time working on his projects with Hope. However...

[Soundtrack: The water returns (M116) – Dragon Ball original series’ OST]

Fiona shows quite an interest in science -specifically electricity- outside her work as the team’s new field medic, proves she’s quite smart, astute and a bit of a fast learner, and approaches Tails of her own free will. Sometimes Hope invites her to the workshop too. The two-tailed fox begins to feel more comfortable around Fiona, especially as he realizes she has very little in common with that robot: in addition to having one or two interests in common with him, she’s sassy and sharp-tongued, frequently uses rather subtle humour, and has no qualms about criticizing Sonic and Sally, something that makes her a kind of new role model for Tails, who’s also trying to be a little more independent from his “surrogate family”. The two become friends, working together on a project or two, including the jester hats with powers to manipulate electricity and light, used in the adaptation of Sonic After the Sequel.

[This version of Fiona is loosely based upon both Caulifla and Kale from the Dragon Ball Super anime, and her friendship with Tails is inspired by the relationship between Nadia and Jean in Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water.]

Fiona also befriends Bunnie. The cyborg Freedom Fighter is much more open than the others to the idea of having more people on the team, and both she and Fiona find they’ve had similar experiences.

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Someone else joins the team too: Leónidas Proción. The raccoon had spent much of the war living relatively isolated in a hut near Knothole, visiting the village from time to time to do some small jobs and gather supplies; he was aware of what the Freedom Fighters were doing, but he only knew Sonic and Sally were part of them and he had heard a few things about Tails and the possibility of him also joining the team someday. In a demonstration of the abilities Leónidas thinks he can contribute, he does quite well in mêlée combat, although it’s nothing extraordinary; he shows a pretty simple, a bit rudimentary fighting style based on using his whole body as a sort of ram, onrushing and tackling with all his weight, and he’s quite fast, which leaves some surprised due to the kind of body he has -robust, wide, rather square-shaped-; he also uses his 大小 ["daishō"] (set of a 刀 ["katana"] and a 脇差 ["wakizashi"] short sword), made by him, to demonstrate quick attack techniques for emergencies, mainly the 抜刀術 [“battō-jutsu”] techniques of attacking while unsheathing (of course, the weapons he uses in that demonstration are 竹刀 [“shinai”], non-lethal substitutes made of bamboo). On the other hand, when they make Leonidas go through a simulation against SWAT-bots, stealth seems to be his weakness; when he attempts to directly engage the reprogrammed SWAT-bots, he’s able to dodge the fake laser shots, although it’s the first time he's forced to actually predict the shots’ direction instead of just using his reflexes after each shot was fired, and then he attacks with his daishō at the joints and other areas where he assumes SWAT-bots may be more vulnerable, but then he outright fails at the simulation when being overwhelmed by one or two squads of SWAT-bots.

Sally and Sonic aren’t convinced to admit Leónidas to the team. It’s true he's got gifts: he can fend for himself most of the time, as proved by living on Knothole’s outskirts of his own accord for a few years now; he’s inventive and capable of adaptation, having developed his own fighting style from the resources and knowledge available to him; he’s dedicated, fiercely and passionately loyal, visibly eager to help but not naive at all, and realizes how horrible war can be; he doesn’t seem to be seeking fame and glory, and the fact that he has chosen to live fairly isolated and keeping a low profile seems to suggest otherwise; on the other hand, he seems to get along with the rest of the team, being quite funny but without being unbearable nor getting trampled on either. However, Sonic sees no use in his abilities should they enter actual combat -something that seems to have been proven by their failure in the simulations of infiltration in Robotropolis and combat against SWAT-bots-, and Sally feels forced to agree with him in that regard, since the only ones with truly useful combat skills had always been Sonic and Bunnie, a super-powerful Mobian and a cyborg respectively, while the others were useful in other ways but always had to either be stealthy or be kept protected by Sonic and/or Bunnie; also, much of what Proción learned to do seems to be specifically to assassinate ordinary Mobians and this doesn’t suit her or Sonic very well, since the Freedom Fighters have fought for ten years a war where Robotnik has claimed many lives but the only ones they ever had to kill were the robots Robotnik manufactured and deployed and the Resistance had always had the sole goal of overthrowing the dictator and freeing the roboticized Mobians.

Two days after Leónidas's demonstration, he learns from Bunnie, Tails, and Rotor that the Knothole Freedom Fighters and some other Resistance teams across Mobius had made impressive technological advancements that could help make the raccoon's abilities useful in battles against robots; for example, there’s the alloy “Megatal”, capable of withstanding extremely high temperatures while also remaining solid and preserving all its properties, and Tails could try to make a more advanced version of Leónidas’s daishō, where the blade of both sabres is replaced by a Megatal filament traversed by an intense electrical current that heats it to white-hot and allows to cleanly cut robots in half almost like butter. Later, Proción is informed that Sally has rejected his request to join the Freedom Fighters, the raccoon begins to have doubts about the way he was evaluated, and heads to speak with the team's tactical leader.

Sally and Sonic explain to Leónidas their reasons for not admitting him to the team. Proción responds by insisting the team will need people like him to fight other different kinds of villains, and even if someone like Robotnik appears again, it’s also known there are Mobians who were mentally free or even organic but had pledged allegiance to the dictator anyway; the raccoon also claims the team should give its non-super-powerful members technology to combine with their already present abilities and actually help. Sonic is especially against the latter, he and Proción start arguing, the hedgehog accuses the raccoon of trying to get some sort of “special treatment”, Leónidas accuses the hedgehog of being conceited, and Antoine is eventually mentioned. Proción finds out Antoine had joined the Freedom Fighters, he asks Sonic and Sally about him, and what they tell him about the coyote is very different from the "Tony" that Proción remembers, a usually nervous but more idealistic cadet determined to become a brave and honourable warrior over time; when it’s also mentioned that Antoine had recently left the team, Sonic and Sally insist they have no idea what the former cadet's motives might be, but Proción deduces Antoine’s departure was their fault. As the discussion drags on, Proción begins to lose his composure and become much more emotional, getting closer and closer to breaking down. Leónidas accuses Sonic of being a brat and not taking the team's cause seriously; Sonic, remembering with pain and sorrow the day he lost Kat (Sonic SatAM, 1st season, episode “Sonic Boom”), angrily accuses Leonidas of never having gone out to fight, cowardly staying isolated and safe in his own bubble; Proción argues he didn’t come to their aid because he knew his abilities would be of no use against Robotnik, Sonic dismisses this and takes it as a mere excuse, and Proción replies by calling Sonic a "hypocrite" and mentioning that, when Antoine did offer to help despite his apparent uselessness, Sonic responded by bullying the coyote. The discussion escalates more and more, becoming more and more heated...

Until Proción finally breaks down in tears silently, later revealing he wants to redeem himself for his inaction on the day of Robotnik’s coup d’etat, when the dictator's forces had killed his family and boyfriend and made his mentor disappear. The raccoon ultimately begs to be allowed to participate, to be given technology to modernize his weapons, in exchange for him being absolutely obedient to them. Sally doesn't really know how to react to this. Sonic doesn’t dare to say anything either, seeing that prolonging the discussion and continuing to verbally attack each other wasn’t helpful anymore. Leónidas, thinking he has just “hit rock bottom” when resorting to pleading, decides to just walk away, forgetting the whole thing about him joining the team.

While Sally is pondering this matter in her office, Tails shows up at Proción's hut. The two chat for a while, and when the raccoon talks about his missing mentor, Tails realizes that person is his father, Colonel Amadeus Prower.

According to what Leónidas recalls, Amadeus was a quite unusual member of the Royal Army of Acorn. He was cordial and chivalrous, but also matey and not very rigid, and had found a way to healthily cope with his war-related trauma. That attitude wasn’t a facade, it corresponded with his actions; in particular, Amadeus was almost the only hierarch of the Royal Army of Acorn who focused his hatred only on the Overlander nation’s leaders, had no intention of getting revenge by hurting its people, and treated the Overlander POWs with at least a modicum of respect. The use of child soldiers from the age of 12 was common practice, and many military leaders from both Acorn and the Overland used their armies as cannon fodder; however, Amadeus tried to somehow "save" as many children as he could, and rather than just throwing his people straight onto the battlefield, he tried to train the younger ones properly to start fighting as adults or even avoid being sent to the battlefield whenever possible, and their tactics usually consisted of sending small groups of well-disciplined agents with the best possible training and equipment to attack Overlander facilities and avoid fighting head-on against the enemy army; one of those "special forces" teams included Amadeus himself, his wife Rosemary, and Sonic's parents.

The conversation is interrupted when Sonic departs back to the Berilian Islands and Tails goes with him, leading to the adaptation of Sonic Chaos. With Sonic and Tails out of Knothole, Sally asks Proción to have another meeting. She decides to allow Leónidas to join the team, but she also warns him she’ll be watching him in order to stop him from just starting killing Mobians indiscriminately, and she also recommends people to help him deal with his guilt over his loved ones’ loss. Sally also begins a program to modernize all of the Freedom Fighters' equipment.

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外伝：節・針土竜・と・「混沌とした・×」隊。

Gaiden: Fushi Harimogura to “Kontontoshita-X” Tai.

Spin-off: Knuckles the Echidna & Team Chaotix.

Later, on Angel Island, the events of the adaptation of Knuckles’s Chaotix unfold. Mecha Sonic, severely damaged and barely able to move and function after his fight against Sonic & Tails in the Sky Sanctuary (Sonic 3 & Knuckles), finds ancient writings about something called "Chaos Ring": so small that it can be worn on a finger, it’s considerably less powerful than a Chaos Emerald but still seems to have a high concentration of Chaos energy, since it’s still quite powerful. Quickly but secretly, Mecha Sonic makes six artificial Chaos Rings, rebuilds himself, creates his own army of Badniks and equips each unit with a fake Power Ring of his invention; on the other hand, the robot hedgehog is still not capable of powering up or reaching any kind of Super form as Sonic & Tails had achieved.

Two weeks after the events of the adaptation of Sonic 3 & Knuckles, the robot hedgehog finally goes on the offensive. Knuckles tries to stop him and is kicked off the island, but he also discovers a ring he used to wear is actually the only, true, original Chaos Ring. Realizing once and for all that he cannot keep living alone or protect the Master Emerald without help, the echidna decides to set out in search of allies, and thus forms Team Chaotix:

Espio, a ninja chameleon who had left his clan, supposedly to explore the world. Actually, he also left his clan because he was the heir to the position of leader but had a totally different vocation and didn’t want to sacrifice it.

Vector, a strong but unorganized crocodile who on the other hand aspires to be a detective, with a past no less mysterious than Espio's.

Charmy, an irate and prideful swordsman with his modified stinger as his weapon of choice. He used to be the Prince of Golden Hive Colony until Robotnik destroyed it and killed or roboticized everyone except him, who managed to escape and later developed a bit of survivor guilt along with a much stronger thirst for revenge.

Mighty, a quite strong armadillo for his size, somewhat weaker than Vector but also protected by a shell capable of stopping bullets and even laser shots. He stands out for being very friendly, calm, focused and cordial, and though he's willing to use his physical strength for combat when there's a good enough reason for it, he still deeply dislikes unnecessary violence and his fighting style is mainly based on defence and using an opponent's attacks against themself.

Lastly, the flying squirrel Ray, a humble and rather introverted boy. He was born to a family of circus performers but lost them all to Robotnik, and later Mighty picked him up and cared for him as if he were his little brother.

The six Mobians retrieve the six artificial Chaos Rings, defeating Super Badniks each powered by one of those rings. However, Mecha Sonic finds the Master Emerald and manages to turn into an unstable Super form (like in Knuckles’s story of Sonic 3 & Knuckles) that later degenerates into a red robotic monstrosity (the "Titan Metal Sonic" or "Metal Sonic Kai" from the final battle of Knuckles’s Chaotix). Despite this, Knuckles partially goes Super by using his original Chaos Ring and the six artificial ones made by the robot and retrieved by team Chaotix. He fights the metallic beast with the help of his new friends, and finally finds an opening to take the Master Emerald, directly become Hyper Knuckles and take down Mecha Sonic once and for all.

After this adventure, the ragtag team begins a new life on Angel Island, they and Knuckles establish their new base of operations in the Hidden Palace, and the echidna takes them to meet the Knothole Freedom Fighters shortly after.

————————————————–

御負け [“omake”]:

Once upon a time, Mighty was on the verge of being kicked outta Team Chaotix.

After each of the team members had done all the housework at least once, it came the day when Mighty would have to cook, so the armadillo made fried eggs as the main course, and later he made flan for dessert. Since almost everyone else in Chaotix was oviparous, they didn’t take it very well.

Ray’s mediation attempts, coupled with Mighty’s promise never to step into the kitchen ever again, were the only thing that saved his place in the team.

————————————————–

外伝：アントワンの復帰・と・保護天使の謎。

Gaiden: Antowan no Fukki to Hogo-Tenshi no Nazo.

Spin-off: the Return of Antoine & the Mystery of the Guardian Angel.

Meanwhile, Bunnie and Proción are sent on a mission that at first seems simple enough: track down a hitman, capture them, and take them somewhere safe for questioning. That hitman has done some jobs requested by local criminal organizations, but isn’t working for the remnants of Robotnik’s Regime or for any major villains at the moment, and doesn't seem to have any loyalty to anything or anyone either, working sometimes for villages and some visibly vulnerable and defenceless people. As far as it’s known, this hitman wears some kind of electro-mechanical suit or very light and flexible armour, and they use a 直刀 ["chokutō", "straight sabre"] whose blade vibrates at high frequencies, but their signature weapon is a bow and special arrows with varied tricks and effects.

Bunnie and Procion head to the Alemannic Raetia, one of the regions of Mercia where Robotnik’s Regime has already been expelled for good, hoping to find the hitman there. Once they locate them, they begin to chase them, but to the surprise and slight horror of both Freedom Fighters, the person they were looking for is actually Antoine. He manages to get out of their grasp shortly after, but the two Freedom Fighters have caught a glimpse of his face when he had been forced to open the armour on his head and expose his face: the coyote is pale and somewhat gaunt, a physical appearance in stark contrast to his suddenly enhanced abilities.

Then the two Freedom Fighters are contacted by a mysterious independent agent, whom many Resistance teams around the world call "their Guardian Angel" and treat almost like a legend: a young Mobian Indian wolf wielding a strange kind of multi-function laser weapon; undoubtedly a hero, someone loyal to the Resistance’s cause and dedicated to protecting the defenceless, but also apparently very reserved and non-talkative, always speaking in whispers and through a voice distorter, wearing a mask similar to those of the kabuki theatre and remaining in the shadows, usually operating as a sniper despite being able to fight hand-to-hand. The agent introduces himself to Bunnie and Proción without giving any name, but the raccoon is immediately amazed and intrigued by this legendary "Guardian Angel". The mysterious agent tells they’ve been chasing Antoine for over a month, insists the Freedom Fighters allow them to keep looking for him alone, and requests details that may allow them to know him better and help to find him; Bunnie and Leónidas are reluctant at first, but contact Sally and she in turn contacts other Resistance groups, which in turn confirm the existence and description of the "Guardian Angel", so the two Freedom Fighters reveal everything they know about the coyote, begging the Indian wolf to have mercy on him and to try to bring him back so that the three of them can talk.

In a town in Batavia, another region of Mercia freed from the remnants of Robotnik’s Regime, amid torrential rain in the evening, the "Guardian Angel" finally finds Antoine. The unknown Freedom Fighter figures out what happened to the coyote: he was subjected to experiments with cybernetics and an advanced Badnik suit prototype, which included uploading combat knowledge directly into his brain via some kind of interface; Antoine broke free from his captors, but his physiology had been radically altered (including the replacement of much of his blood with silvery, mercury-looking synthetic simile, more effective than normal blood at its same functions, but very rare and difficult to produce and obtain), his new cyborg body needs special maintenance, and the coyote cannot perform that maintenance by himself or access it without giving himself back to those who made him this experimental fighting machine; that's why, although he sometimes used his new abilities to help vulnerable people, he started working as a bounty hunter and hitman in an attempt to get the maintenance necessary for his survival, either by accessing surrogates that give him a little more time to live or by amassing money to buy his former captors the means to repair and maintain his cyborg body on his own. The Indian wolf defeats Antoine with relative ease: the coyote's combat knowledge doesn't seem to include improvisation or developing new techniques or adapting to new situations or anything like that, he's only got what's strictly necessary to infiltrate and steal or kill with the least degree of confrontation possible; the only thing that seems to be a "genuine" skill of Antoine is his marksmanship with the bow and arrow, as he can shoot and be pretty accurate no matter what he's doing or the situation he's in.

Antoine accepts his surrender, claims to have been a disgrace and asks the "Guardian Angel" to finish him off. The people who turned him into a cyborg were a few Mobians who had worked for Robotnik, had gotten their hands on an abandoned experimental Badnik prototype, and were trying to produce their own bootleg versions based on it; Antoine had learned of its existence and had offered to be an experimental subject, and his reason for doing so was somewhat superficial and selfish: the coyote wanted just the skill and raw power to fight, the nullification of his own emotions so he'd never have fear again, and to stop caring for "unnecessary values and feelings" such as honour (after Antoine's former obsession with honour hasn't prevented his reprehensible behaviour during the war against Robotnik). However, the Indian wolf lets him live: they know Antoine, despite his behaviour, shortcomings, awkwardness and bad relationship with his comrades, was always one of the most loyal members of the Resistance; the coyote has left behind much of his problems, including his tendency to brag; before offering to be turned into a cyborg, he was simply "lost" and now it’s a matter of time until he finds his way again and becomes a hero, especially now that the "Guardian Angel" has a chance to establish a healthy friendship with him and achieve what the Knothole Freedom Fighters hadn't been very successful at; Also, the cybernetic enhancements are already installed on Antoine and can still be useful, they simply have to give the coyote the means to survive, let him have his own life, and train him so he puts his new abilities to better use.

The "Guardian Angel" shows Antoine their Variable Wispon, the multi-function laser weapon they've been seen with so many times; the Wispon's power source turns out to be "Wisps": sapient, jellyfish-like creatures capable of emitting their own light, who agree to lend the mysterious agent their many powers. The agent sends a white Wisp at Antoine, and the creature lends some of their power to the coyote, allowing him to stay alive and in peak physical condition for a few more years, thus giving him much more time to get maintenance for his cyborg body. The “Guardian Angel” also lets Antoine go, only proposing for him to be their apprentice, without forcing him to do so or demanding anything else in exchange for having saved his life. Time ends up proving the mysterious agent is right: the coyote stops accepting jobs no matter what they are or who pays for them, and now that he has a clearer mind, he agrees to follow the Indian wolf's steps.

————————————————–

Snively replaces Robotnik and tries to continue his legacy, with little success. The events of Sonic Adventure 1 unfold almost four months after Robotnik's fall, and the events of Sonic Adventure 2 happen another six months later, always with Snively taking his uncle’s place.

Bunnie also meets with Antoine occasionally: he helps her a bit on some missions, she's also willing to talk with him, and both help the people of Station Square when Perfect Chaos attacks, although he leaves again without telling anyone shortly after.

[For every event, dialogue line and element of any kind that remains unchanged from the original videogames, the original Japanese script will always be used.]

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編：ソニック の 壱番目・大冒険。

Hen: Sonikku no Ichi-Banme Dai-Bōken.

Saga: Sonic’s 1st Grand Adventure.

[Main theme for this specific saga: "Sono Chi no Sadame", the opening theme for the anime of JoJo Part 1 (original Japanese version by Hiroaki "Tommy" Tominaga, French TV-size cover by "AMVF Studio", English cover by Jonathan Young)]

[Here's a video of the Sonic Adventure 1 intro but with that song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ErW7RRWe0g]

[Alternative main theme for this specific saga: "Dio's Dervish" – JoJo Part 1 1993 OVA OST, Disc 2, Track 9]

At the beginning of the events of this adaptation, Sonic and Sally -the latter accompanied by Nicole, still in the form of a handheld computer- go together to Station Square to take a vacation and also as an excuse to visit Tails in his new workshop near the Mystic Ruins. Sonic and Sally witness the appearance of Chaos 0, the hedgehog fights the water creature alone, and after some successful attacks by Sonic, Sally deduces a pattern, discovers the weak point in Chaos 0's brain and accurately shoots at its head, forcing the eerie creature to escape. After this, Sally calls the rest of the Knothole Freedom Fighters (at that moment: Bunnie, Rotor, Fiona and Leónidas), asking them to go to Station Square as well: if there’s any danger lurking, they can investigate and try to prevent it, and if not, they can still take this chance to take a vacation together with her and Sonic.

————————————————–

The beginning of Tails’s friendship with Sonic in Sonic SatAM and Archie-Sonic (on which my fanfics are based mainly) was very different than in the games, and this version of Tails has already accomplished some feats on his own and is aware of his Chaos powers and what he's capable of, so his character arc in these fictional universes can’t be about him learning to fend for himself, or put a lot of focus on him having been bullied either. Here, his story is about him fighting against reminders of his own flaws, maybe also overcoming the fear of destroying everything with his powers.

[Soundtrack: Special Boss – Spark the Electric Jester 1]

In some battles, immediately after delivering the coup de grâce to an enemy, Tails -or his mind, at least- is apparently teleported to “corrupted” versions of the locations where those battles had taken place, where he’s forced to fight beings that look like demons or hellspawn, who in turn seem to be linked to Tails's insecurities and emotional issues; every time he’s drawn into these battles, his body is knocked unconscious in the real world and he only wakes up once he defeats those mysterious enemies. This happens for the first time in the fight against the Egg-Hornet, Sonic goes to help Tails when seeing his “little brother” lying on the ground, and Snively takes that chance to steal the Chaos Emerald the fox had dropped; after the fight against Knuckles and the loss of Tails’s and Sonic’s two Chaos Emeralds, Tails again falls unconscious and fights another of those creatures as Snively takes the Emeralds and unleashes Chaos 4, but the fox wakes up just in time to face the water beast along with Sonic and Knuckles; when the Tornado 1 is shot down by the front laser cannon of the Egg-Carrier, this happens again and the enemy in this battle has Sonic’s shape and abilities; the last of these battles is after defeating the Egg-Walker.

[For a moment I considered the possibility to make this adaptation of Tails’s Story in Sonic Adventure 1 be also a crossover with NiGHTS Into Dreams. But I ultimately discarded that idea, since it'd have made Tails’s story way too “loaded”.]

[Theme for Sonic’s & Tails's boss battles: “Encounter”, from the Metal Gear Solid OST]

During Sonic's fight against Chaos 6, Tails manages to get the Tornado 2 flying again... by pushing it off the Egg-Carrier, falling with it and starting its engines mid-fall.

Snively's mechs are a bit more sophisticated and aggressive than in the original version of Sonic Adventure 1. In the particular case of the Egg-Walker, it has two stages: the first one is the same as the original version of this boss; in the second one...

[Theme for the Tails-versus-Egg-Walker final battle, stage 2: “Escape”, from the Metal Gear Solid OST]

The mech radically transforms, becoming bipedal, deploying heavier and more comprehensive armour along with deadlier and more accurate weapons. Tails can no longer attack him directly, so he sends out a signal for the Tornado 2 to bring and drop weapons and ammo for the fox to use against the Egg-Walker. When Tails manages to do enough damage, Snively is forced to remove the armour from his cockpit; Tails still can't use his tails to fly up and then attack in the air without quickly falling down, so he rises to a low altitude and then fires his bazooka towards the ground to propel himself up, repeatedly slashing Snively's cockpit with his tails as soon as he reaches it.

[Soundtrack: Voodoo Kingdom – Soul’d Out]

Meanwhile, the spirit of Mammoth Mogul, the elite sorcerer who had founded the Order of IXIS about 1,200 years earlier, breaks free from his prison, which relied on the Master Emerald to keep him locked away. He still doesn’t make public appearances and remains in the shadows, until he finds out about Tails: the fox is appearing on television, having deactivated Snively’s nuclear missile and defeated the Egg-Walker manned by Snively himself; seeing him, Mogul senses he’ll be the main obstacle in his plans. When Tails has already turned away from the people who were cheering him on for his latest exploits, Mogul ambushes him in an alley; the fox's experience in magic is almost nil, and the sorcerer brutally wounds him, cutting his body along his left half, from the head’s top, passing through the eye, the corner of his mouth, the left half of the torso and the left leg, to the ankle, almost completely separating the fox's body into two pieces. However, as Tails is lying on the ground apparently dead, small blue flames light up along the cut on his body, emanating a shining blue smoke that in turn takes on a shape vaguely similar to that of a big wild fox as Mogul also manages to hear a sort of ethereal animal growl; Mogul freaks out slightly, mutters something about a prophecy that has just been proven to be true, and quickly walks away. Some minutes later, Tails wakes up again, discovering he’s healed and all that remains of the wound caused by Mogul is a long scar along the left half of his body, almost entirely hidden under his fur. He immediately goes back to his workshop, frightened by the fact that he’s had three near-death experiences in less than an hour, and also with many unanswered questions about this mysterious wizard and his own Chaos powers.

Later, in the battle against Perfect Chaos, Tails turns into his Super form and fights side by side with Sonic: as the hedgehog attacks Chaos directly, the fox spends most of his time away from the beast, either hovering or standing on terraces of buildings, sending his "Flicky Army of Death" to attack specific spots. While Tails is in his Super form, the scar of the wound caused by Mogul, including his entire left eye, also glows but in blue.

————————————————–

Although Amy Rose isn’t totally removed from the story, her role is largely fulfilled by Sally, whose missions are stealth-based, à la Metal Gear Solid (yes, with Codec and everything). Amy accompanies her most of the time, albeit reluctantly at first, since the friendship between the two is almost non-existent and the relationship between them is a bit tense, especially after Amy had tried to flirt with Sonic, which Sally didn't take well but Sonic also took really bad.

————————————————–

Flashback:

After Amy tries to “get close” to Sonic for several days in a row, he calls her to his hut to have a private chat. There, the blue hedgehog asks Amy questions so that she’ll reveal why she’s trying to flirt with him, and it soon becomes clear Amy is actually in love with an image of him she had created after hearing about his exploits.

Sonic explains (so eloquently that he’s amazed at himself) that although he likes to meet more people and make friends, he still has a small circle of much closer friends who are the Knothole Freedom Fighters, he trusts them much more, there are things he’d do for them and wouldn’t do for anyone else, and that kind of close relationship has to be cultivated by all the participants, which Sonic is willing to do but Amy seems to be overlooking. Amy insists Sonic to be at least her friend; Sonic, having hoped a little talk would be enough to solve this, begins to get tired, reminds Amy she has no idea what he’s like in his private life or what kind of flaws and bad habits he may also have despite being a hero, and declares she’d keep being a fangirl more than a friend, only praising him and never calling him out in case he’s wrong about anything.

Then Amy mentions Sally and says the former princess bosses him around and stops him from being “free”. Sonic was trying to hold back his anger in order to avoid hurting Amy's feelings, but that comment really hurts him on the inside, to the point that calling it "the last straw" would be an understatement: enraged and also wanting to cry, he asks how she dares to say such a thing; Amy starts to get scared when she sees Sonic like this, and he tells her how Sally isn’t only her girlfriend but has also been her best friend for years along with Tails, they had both fought the war together, he had privately shared with her many of his fears and insecurities, and they both complement each other. In the end, Sonic is still angry and now he’s also embarrassed for being forced to tell something so intimate about his life in order to get Amy to understand; in a rather ominous tone, he demands Amy to leave.

Since then, Amy begins to avoid Sonic and Sally. Sonic does the same, and Sally raises some concern that he might have been too harsh on the hedgehog girl.

————————————————–

Back to the Sonic Adventure 1 adaptation: throughout Sally’s & Amy’s story, the hedgehog girl is fascinated by Sally's abilities as a fighter and strategist, is surprised by how the former princess also helps her overcome a breakdown when they’re trapped aboard the Egg-Carrier, and begins to feel inspired by her to be more independent. They also reconcile and begin to better know and appreciate each other; at the end of their story, Amy also makes amends with Sonic, with Sally’s help.

The Freedom Fighters’ leader meets with Amy, who’s protecting the blue Flickie, and helps them to escape from the Badnik “Zero”; the three are captured by the robot later, but the events are pretty different than in the videogame: firstly, they and Sonic enter Twinkle Park in an attempt to confuse “Zero” by taking advantage of how extensive and labyrinthine that place is (Sally and Sonic had already gone for a walk in Twinkle Park the same day the Chaos 0 incident had later happened), then they reunite with the rest of the team and Sally decides to let “Zero” capture her so she can infiltrate the Egg-Carrier while Sonic follows them as well; the plan is successful, except for the fact that “Zero” also went after Amy, who was carrying the Flickie with her and was also captured; once on board, Sally finds escape may be more difficult than anticipated, but then E-102 Gamma is convinced by Amy to let her, the Flickie and Sally go, and inexplicably Gamma also develops a soul of their own and actually sets the three of them free out of genuine kindness and concern; during the escape, Sally steals some heavy artillery and manages to set a trap for “Zero”, and it seems both she and Amy have destroyed it. At the end of Sally’s story, as Sonic and Knuckles battle Chaos 6, Tails has escaped along with Amy & Gamma and the Egg-Carrier is slowly falling into the ocean, she fights Snively hand-to-hand on the scaffolding of the first part of the Sky Deck; she ends the fight by kicking Snively off a scaffold and letting him fall into the void, but he ends up landing in his Egg-Mobile and escaping; Sally is picked up by Tails on the Tornado 2 shortly after. Later, Amy is ambushed by “Zero” (rebuilt as a "Mark 2" variant) but she destroys it for good and takes the Flickie back to its family.

[Sally’s character theme: “Starfox - Corneria”, Synthwave remix by "Elezeid"]

[Tema for Sally’s boss battles: “Solid State Scouter”, “80’s” remix by "Elezeid"]

[Theme for the Sally-versus-Snively final battle: Snake’s theme from Metal Gear Solid, “80’s” remix by "Elezeid"]

[The other Freedom Fighters’ theme: the Ginyu Special Forces theme from Dragon Ball Z, “80’s” remix by "Elezeid"]

During Sally’s & Amy's story, not only the Freedom Fighters’ leader is impressed by Amy and sees potential in her, but she’s also intrigued by some abilities the hedgehog had unintentionally manifested when they were on the Egg-Carrier: Amy summoned her hammer seemingly out of nowhere, and she was moving slightly faster than normal without being aware of it at all; she wasn’t fast as if she had Sonic’s super-speed, but as if the flow of time itself was altered for her only and she was going in fast-motion. After the events of Sonic Adventure 1, Sally invites Amy to train with her personally.

————————————————–

Erased scene:

Amy is in a simulation room, fighting holographic SWAT-bots with her hammer. She had increased the difficulty by making the robots smarter, but now this seems to be too much for the hedgehog. After receiving about three fake laser shots, she stops the simulation.

Amy: *pant* *pant* “Goddammit, this way I'll never be of any help to Sonic, Sally and the others! How did I even manage to get by on the Egg-Carrier?”

???: “Maybe you need someone guiding you to train you and find that out.”

[Soundtrack: Ryu’s theme – Super & Ultra Street Fighter 4]

Amy looks to the side and sees Sally. The chipmunk carries a non-lethal 薙刀 [“naginata”] for training and wears its corresponding variant of 防具 [“bōgu”, “training armour”].

Amy: “S-- Sally? No way, are you really gonna help me?! Oh, I love what you and the others on your team do, show me how to destroy entire SWAT-bot squads and s***!”

Sally: “The ways of Freedom-Fighting can be learned in one of two ways: we can do what everyone else did during the war, training your mind and body for ten long difficult years just so you know all the ins and outs of the tactics to infiltrate enemy bases and live to tell the tale... or I can show you how to spam like a pussy.”

*The music stops*

Amy: [wearing Tha Shades] “F***, yeah! Show me how to spam like a pussy!”

*The music resumes*

Sally: “The first step is to look deep inside yourself, and ask yourself what has led you to this moment.”

Amy: “Probably fantasizing about Sonic.”

*The music stops*

Amy: “What? Are you gonna tell me this is not an open secret?”

*The music resumes*

Sally: [closes her eyes] “The answer lies... [opens them again] in the heart of battle.”

The combat simulation resumes. Sally nimbly moves between the SWAT-bots, cutting some with the blade of the naginata and tripping others on its pole portion. When Amy locates Sally again, she’s already on the other side of the room, SWAT-bots holographically exploding behind her.

*KA-BOOM!*

Amy: “HOLY S***! THAT WAS SO F***ING COOL!”

*The music stops*

*BUM!*

Something falls from the ceiling, leaving a crater on the floor and raising a dense cloud of smoke.

[Soundtrack: Akuma’s theme – Super Street Fighter 4]

Sally: “It seems we have attracted unwanted attention.”

Amy: “But who the hell is that?”

Knuckles: “Hey! I am Knuckles, and I will teach you the meaning of pain...”

The echidna activates electricity in his fists, charging a Thunder Arrow.

Knuckles: “Prepare yourselves!”

[Yes. I made a rip-off of this “DevilArtemis” video. Deal with it.]

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Big the Cat shouldn't even have been in the original game, and his story could have been removed or replaced by a different one with another character and Sonic Adventure 1 would have been a very good game anyway. Therefore, here I replace his character arc with one centred on Bunnie and featuring Johnny Lightfoot (from the British comic), wherig the Cat shouldn't even have been in the original game, and his story could have been removed or replaced by a different one with another character and Sonic Adventure 1 would have been a good game anyway. Therefore, here I replace his character arc with one centred on Bunnie and featuring Johnny Lightfoot (from the British comic), where both become friends and learn to see life differently: he learns strength isn't everything and he can still be valuable and a hero in his own way, while she understands she's much more than just the robotic limbs that give her the huge power allowing her to fight. Their missions would be “beat 'em up” fights against multiple enemies, a tribute to the Streets of Rage saga. Near the end of Bunnie's story, Johnny is injured and rendered permanently unable to fight, so Bunnie decides to carry on his legacy, symbolically represented by his bo staff, which will be used by her ever since; in fact, during Sonic's battle against Chaos 6, Bunnie uses both her skills & weapons and Johnny's staff combined when fighting another mech sent by Snively.

[Bunnie’s character theme: “Dashing Thunderbot” by "Elezeid" & "Ryan Thunder"]

————————————————–

Unlike the original game, and just like in the Archie-Sonic adaptation, Gamma survives. The E-100 series’s robot is eventually found by Sonic, Amy and the Station Square authorities, who offer Gamma to help protect the city-state.

————————————————–

間奏。

Kansō.

Interlude.

By the end of the adaptation of Sonic Adventure 1, the Freedom Fighters and the local authorities in Station Square managed to coordinate efficiently in rescue efforts in the face of Perfect Chaos’s attack. Once Chaos is neutralized, these events inspire the President of this city-state, João Falcão, to initiate closer diplomatic relations with the rest of Mobius and with the Freedom Fighters, as well as to launch a campaign across the United Federation for the rest of the city-states to follow Station Square’s example and for GUN to collaborate with the Freedom Fighters. Falcão also starts a project to host the Overlander people in Station Square, which leads him to meet Commander Abraham Tower and Hope Kintobor.

In the Great War, Tower had been well-known among the Overlander forces for his great concern for his own soldiers and his respect for the rights of prisoners of war, a behaviour totally opposite to that of the rest of the leaders of his own army, including the Overlord Charlemagne; in the Acorn Army, there had been a colonel called Amadeus Prower, who had similar ideas and was also surrounded by other less morally upright military leaders; both he and Tower developed a great respect for each other, as neither the Mobian colonel nor the Overlander commander agreed to wage this war, and neither had contempt for the other's race. Falcão shares many of Tower’s ideas, wants to cultivate and maintain a friendly relationship with the Mobians and for the United Federation to integrate with the rest of Mobius, doesn’t approve of many things happening both in GUN and in the society of many city-states of the United Federation, and wants to change all this by taking office as Federal President; so he proposes to Tower to work together, with the Overlander commander joining GUN, becoming its leader, having the organization collaborate with the Freedom Fighters, and ensuring that Falcão's reforms in GUN are actually carried out.

Tower gets his former rank of Commander recognized in GUN. Four months after the events of Sonic Adventure 1, Falcão wins the election while his allies also win a sizable chunk of the seats in the Assembly of the Union; he takes office as the new Federal President, and with Tower's help, begins investigating within GUN.

Tower also offers Hope to work at GUN, answering only to him and Falcão directly, and begins the search for suitable people to create a Special Ops team of their own...

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Once life has pretty much returned to normal throughout the Kingdom of Acorn, a provisional educational system is established, more similar to that of the university courses not requiring attendance: children and teenagers study in their homes what used to be taught in schools before Robotnik's coup d’etat, and then they attend school only to take the exams, on dates chosen by the students (no, the events of those dumb comic issues about the heroes going to school never happened here). There's a brief disagreement about the topics to be included in the exams, not only because there are many teenagers and even children who were forced by the war to mature early and now know many things or at least have learnt a trade or a skill, but also because the programs of the country's schools before Robotnik were already terribly outdated.

At one point, King Max attempts to rebuild the nobility and the Royal Court at Knothole, as a first step in restoring the old Kingdom of Acorn and its traditional system of government. But Robotnik’s coup d’etat had had unexpected effects on the country's society: the noblepeople's children had lived in total equality with people from other social classes for ten years, and in fact, that way of life is the only one many of them even know; as for the nobles of the pre-Robotnik era themselves, if they hadn’t been roboticized and used as slaves, they did have to live in Knothole and other similar villages, also on an equal footing with every other survivor and contributing to the war as much as everyone else; people had left behind the idea that some individuals deserve privileges and a higher rank than others by birthright only; the villages created at the beginning of the war, which are now beginning to become new cities, mostly govern themselves by direct democracy [like in Ancient Greek city-states, but truly including everyone]; even the national identity of the Kingdom of Acorn had faded, and other new identities had been constructed in its place by each village of survivors, eventually coalescing into one brand-new, unique national identity centred on Knothole, from where the Resistance was being led. Bottom line, Robotnik had inadvertently “rebooted” Acorn's society. Therefore, King Max's "National Restoration Program" doesn’t get any support and ends up being abandoned; he's still rather a figurehead, and the new cities -now inhabited by both Mobian survivors and Robians recently freed from Robotnik's control and even Overlander survivors- keep functioning as they used to.

Shortly after the Knothole Freedom Fighters' journey to Angel Island and their first encounter with Knuckles, Geoffrey and Hershey find out that Elias Acorn, the kingdom’s original Crown Prince and Sally's older brother, is still alive and has settled in the forests at the Mushroom Valley. During the Great War, Max had tried to keep both his son and Queen Alicia safe by sending them somewhere far away on Mobius accompanied by Colonel George Sommersby and his wife Martha, but the plane they were travelling in had apparently been shot down by the Overlanders. Now Elias makes a living as a lumberjack, married to a female Mobian squirrel named Megan, and they both take care of Alexis, the daughter Megan had had with a deceased previous husband; the Sommersbies had survived but Queen Alicia had fallen into a coma after the plane crashed on Angel Island, and Elias had been lucky to find a way to keep her alive in a makeshift stasis pod. Geoffrey and Hershey bring Elias, his family and the Sommersbies to Knothole, the prince is reunited with Sally and Max, and the Freedom Fighters use Power Rings to heal and awaken Alicia. Max repeatedly tries to convince Elias to become heir to the throne again; however, the young prince is quite disenchanted with his father's behaviour, considers Sally to be much better prepared to rule, feels the Monarchy has already lost its raison d'etre in this new world even though he still doesn’t think that system is fundamentally harmful, and decides to carry on with his simple life as a lumberjack along with Megan and Alexis, although moving to the Feral Forest, southeast of the Kingdom of Acorn. Anyway, Elias and Sally stay in touch; on the other hand, Alicia stays at Knothole with Max.

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編：ソニック の 弐番目・大冒険。

Hen: Sonikku no Ni-Banme Dai-Bōken.

Saga: Sonic’s 2nd Grand Adventure.

[Main theme for this specific saga: “Bloody Stream”, the opening theme for the anime of JoJo Part 2 (original Japanese version by "Coda", Italian TV-size cover by "ohitsjuno", English cover by Jonathan Young, English Eurobeat cover by "MasakoX" et al.)]

This Sonic Adventure 2 adaptation would have more content and would take its due time to explore interpersonal relationships a little more. There are also some things from the original game's story that were present but only in an implied way, and here those things would be mentioned openly; for example: how Sonic managed to do Chaos Control with the fake Chaos Emerald, and why Shadow was exhausted and fell to Mobius while Sonic remained unharmed after both had defeated the Biolizard and stopped the ARK's fall.

Sonic is quite flamboyant in this adaptation’s events: he poses all the time; he still does things he used to do during the war, like taunting and aggravating his enemies a lot, pretending to be less smart than he actually is, and sometimes being playful and goofy even with his enemies while also liking to make more friends. Tails has imitated him, not out of blind admiration but because he has discovered he likes to present himself like this; he doesn't have much problem expressing his feelings; he’s kind, friendly, polite, selfless and humble but also shows that without fear of appearing weak -although he may still flaunt his talent for mechanics a bit- and is still determined to fight and defeat every villain.

This adaptation should also better showcase Sonic's knack for befriending people, the blue hedgehog's effect on Shadow, and how he led the "Ultimate Lifeform" to become a hero.

[Some extra notes: Sonic's clothing is relatively minimal, with a tank top showing part of his belly and tight pants, sometimes also wearing a red jacket and a really long dark purple scarf; Tails has developed his own way of presenting himself, with his hair syled into a pompadour, wearing expensive clothes such as a pair of Bally shoes, and with a dark purple Japanese school uniform he himself modified with many golden emblems, unbuttoned and pined aside in his torso’s upper half and forming an opening vaguely similar to a heart that lets the fluffy white fur of his chest come out; Tails also strongly likes vintage stuff, having in his workshop a vinyl record player and a racing car designed from the Lotus Super 7 but hydrogen-powered (a reference to the Sonic Drift saga for the Game Gear). Seeing either Sonic or Tails on the street is usually quite a... shocking sight, in any sense, for most passersby.]

When Snively awakens and frees Shadow...

Snively: “Awaken! My living weapon!”

[Soundtrack: Awaken – JoJo Part 2 anime series]

Shadow: [makes a Pillar Man pose as “Awaken” intensifies on the background]

Sonic is in Central City when GUN -still led by Commander Hugo Brass- issues an arrest warrant against him; the Paladin Team Sigma-Alpha-2 captures Sonic, but he manages to escape, starting the events of the Hero Side Story in Sonic Adventure 2. Both Falcão and Tower are convinced of Sonic's innocence and suspect GUN is hiding something, but the brand-new President thinks he and his friend on GUN have to be cautious and go one step at a time, so they start investigating on his own by hiring Rouge. The bat learns Snively had broken into a clandestine GUN military base and taken something from there; she follows in his footsteps, and she eventually not only gains Snively's trust but also finds out all about the Space Colony ARK, Project Shadow and the Eclipse Cannon: indeed, GUN had issued the arrest warrant against Sonic, thinking they'd thus divert attention and try to keep all this a secret.

Sonic's friends at Knothole cannot officially come to his aid, should they worsen Knothole’s and its team of Freedom Fighters’ relations with the United Federation. Sally is trying to be pragmatic, find the truth and solve this peacefully, but GUN’s hierarchs give her no explanation and rudely demand of her not to stick her nose in their affairs; the only good thing she gets is the President telling her he’s also investigating to clarify what happened, without going into details. However, the princess has also given permission for a really eager-to-help Tails to unofficially go rescue Sonic from Prison Island, and the fox has taken his heavily-armed convertible mech Cyclone with him.

When Tails arrives at Prison Island, he’s surprised to see Fiona and Amy: apparently, they had thought the same as him, had enough of sitting around doing nothing and already arrived on the island, but now they’re fighting Snively, with Fiona mostly protecting Amy; Snively also has his own mech and has both Mobians on the ropes, although Fiona manages to shoot Robotnik’s nephew and blow up his ear, exploiting that his mech had its cockpit open and unprotected. Then Tails gets in the way with the Cyclone and defeats Snively; as the latter escapes, both foxes and Amy separate to search for Sonic inside the prison.

When Fiona finds Sonic locked in a jail...

Fiona: *gasp* “I never thought I'd live enough to witness this: Sonic inside a cage. How does it feel to be locked up this time, "Hero of Mobius"? Did somebody else here turn you into their prison b--?”

Sonic: “Pssh, you wish. By the way, nice to see you too, Fiona. I thought I heard lots of explosions, gunshots and a mech walking around. Tails came to rescue me too, right?”

F: “Yeah, and Sally is busy with this "diplomacy" thing. Ugh, I'm never gonna understand this sudden obsession of hers!”

S: *tsk* [starts exercising inside the cell] “Let her do her thing. She has always had a gift for solving problems through words, unlike me; this is how she settled all the disagreements between Knothole villagers and between Resistance teams for ten years. That hasn't stopped her from being a passionate fighter and leader, willing to do whatever it takes. I mean... If Tails is here having fun blowing up stuff with his inventions, it's because Sally gave him permission. Anyway... Are you gonna get me outta here?”

F: “Not so fast. Amy discovered me when she was trying to leave, so I let her come with me.”

S: “Great...”

F: “Yeah, I thought she could take care of herself without me helping her much.”

S: “Looks like Amy still didn't quite get over her crush for me either, she couldn't help but want to rescue me... Wait a sec: Amy did get over her crush! I bet she never asked you to come, and bringing her here was 100% your idea, like some kind of sick joke. Do you still hold a grudge against me for leaving you in that other jail, and now you're taking it out on me?”

F: [walks over to the cells' control panel] “Oh, c’mon... I couldn't be that evil, much less with the magnanimous Hero of Mobius, Sonic the Hedgehog. By the way, you should be able to break those bars with your trademarked spin-dash.”

S: “Stop teasing me and get me outta here. I may have let GUN catch me to see if I could find out something this way, but staying in this cell ain't useful for me anymore. Besides, I wanna teach that fake hedgehog a lesson already. It's because of him that GUN is chasing me in the first place.”

F: [presses the button to open Sonic's cell] “You mean the black hedgehog with red marks who appeared on TV?”

S: [surprised, leaves the cell now open] “Yes! That’s him! How did you know that wasn’t me?”

F: “Everyone at Knothole and the Berilian Islands knows it: we’re watching a news channel from Station Square, and their videos clearly show the guy who robbed a bank and destroyed a GUN base is someone else; the thing is, a media group based on Empire City, the Kane Broadcasting Company, is intentionally showing lower-quality images and using them to claim that hedgehog is you, and a few places on the United Federation are crying out for you to be captured and punished. I wonder how they’ll react when they find out this black hedgehog is helping Snively: I saw them together on this island.”

S: “So the Robuttnik wannabe is behind this... Alright, I’ll take care of everything from here. You can play with all those formulas written on the walls of my cell if you don't have anything else to do.”

F: “Which formulas--? [She notices Professor Gerald’s notes] MA CHE CAZZO?! This is science gold! Tails and Hope are gonna go nuts. I'm totally taking photos of this...”

S: [thinking as he runs away] (“Fiona and Tails are made for each other, I swear to Perfect Chaos...”)

With Sonic's second face-to-face encounter with Shadow in the jungle of Prison Island, the "Ultimate Lifeform" taunts the blue hedgehog and seems to have managed to hurt his pride, but Sonic also teases him in response, making Shadow somewhat flustered too, and doesn’t immediately jump into fighting the black-and-red hedgehog; then they have their first actual fight, which takes place throughout the island's jungle rather than being confined to a small square platform of flat terrain; Sonic makes some -at first glance- absurd plans, many of them being feints or ruses, which catch Shadow off-guard and lead to them ending up in a tie when they’re forced to escape before Snively blows up the island. On the other hand, both hedgehogs begin to be truly intrigued by one another: Sonic keeps claiming he's better than Shadow, but he also has a feeling that this black hedgehog is anything but a heartless villain like Snively, and Sonic doesn't dislike Shadow that much either (although the “Hero of Mobius” will never admit it out loud); Shadow still sees Sonic as a faker, an uncool copy of himself, but he’s also confused by that blue hedgehog, someone unconventionally smart, greatly determined, and at the same time carefree and not as hostile as he expected; Shadow is also impressed by how Sonic uses Chaos-based abilities, although when the "Ultimate Lifeform" asks Sonic about it, he claims not to know what he’s talking about and seems to be honest about it.

After Snively's announcement and the warning shot that destroys part of the moon, Tails contacts the Freedom Fighters, specifically Rotor, for help locating Snively, and Sonic meets again with Sally secretly. When Tails gets ready to go after the President's car, he decides the Cyclone would be too flashy... So he chooses to bring his Lotus Super 7 (as if a collector’s racing car driven by a pre-teen Mobian fox dressing like Prince didn't turn heads too).

As Tails follows the President, Rouge catches up to him and damages his car with her Screw Kick, starting another fight. Tails recognizes Rouge as the one who tried to steal the Master Emerald, based on what Knuckles had told him, and is already pretty pissed off after she has wrecked his vintage car. But then Rouge “presses the Fiona button”: the bat deduces Tails is in love with the red vixen, tells she had already met her, and claims Fiona is just a gold digger who joined the Freedom Fighters purely for convenience; this makes the fox throw his sanity and any sense of honour overboard, grab his Chaos Emerald and use it to enhance all his abilities. Tails goes berserk and begins to attack everything with his tails, slicing through things indiscriminately, including the cables of the bridge where he and Rouge are fighting; one of those tail-slashes makes a tiny cut on Rouge's ear, indicating to her he's serious. At one point, Rouge inadvertently kicks Tails in the head; the jewel thief is horrified to have done such a thing to a child, but then gapes when seeing Tails's head has a deep crack but the damage hasn’t reached the brain, and that crack slowly closes; the fox, all blood-stained and with his pompadour dishevelled, just smiles at Rouge, admitting she’s a strong and capable fighter and he’s not surprised that Knuckles has apparently fallen in love with her. In the end, he asks Rouge why she joined Snively and is still working for him if, judging by her reaction to breaking the fox's head, she's not a bad person at heart; Rouge only replies that he and Sonic should stay away from this matter and she’s already taking care of everything; the bat also tells Tails that Fiona is actually not a bad person and she only said those things about her to make him angry, but he should be careful around Fiona anyway, though not because the vixen is dangerous.

Sonic and Tails break into the President's limousine, but he and the two Mobian heroes exchange a few words too: Falcão clarifies he believes in Sonic’s innocence, tells them he suspects GUN, and warns them he has already sent someone to investigate for him. Regardless, Sonic and Tails continue as normal on their mission to find Snively's “Pyramid Base” and go to the ARK from there.

When Sonic and Tails leave the limo, Falcão is phoned by someone else: it's Rouge, who has yet to gain access to some data and is still investigating but already has enough evidence to prove that GUN was covering up the existence of Project Shadow, falsely blamed Sonic as part of their efforts to hide the truth, and had in their possession three Chaos Emeralds in a secret base without informing the government about it. The President immediately starts making calls: he removes Hugo Brass from office, appoints Tower as GUN's provisional chief and asks the Knothole Freedom Fighters for them and GUN to devise a plan to neutralize the threat Snively poses in the ARK (trying to keep out of this the Paladin Team Sigma-Alpha-2, who were apparently chasing Sonic because they also knew about the cover-up and participated in it, not just because they were following orders).

At Snively's Pyramid Base, Sally takes the place of Amy Rose but the hedgehog girl still comes with her, and Sally’s role is quite different: she runs ahead of Sonic, Tails and Knuckles to do surveillance, watching the Pyramid Base from a safe position, sending a drone built by Rotor from Robotnik's old “Surveillance Orbs” into the facility. After this, Sally leaves to meet with the rest of her team and a group of GUN soldiers, the Spider Troop, selected and led by Tower himself: they’d act as a distraction while the team led by Sonic enters the ARK.

Both when Sonic, Tails and Knuckles enter the Pyramid Base and when they enter the ARK, Fiona goes with them to take care of everything related to computers and hacking as Tails mainly blows s*** up with his mech.

In a rather stupid incident, Tails finds a room with prototypes and blueprints for a few science projects, tries to go inside to obtain them and share them with Fiona, and when trying to bypass the safety mechanisms, he loses his left hand. Anyway, he reunites with Fiona taking with him a disk with all that data digitalized. She immediately runs to check on his wound, but he doesn't seem very concerned or upset about the loss of a hand; quite the contrary, he looks disturbingly happy and satisfied, assuring his teammate that "the Freedom Fighter insurance will cover this". [This is a reference to the cutscene before the battle against the Egg-Golem, where Tails is missing his left hand.]

Once Sonic and his team have managed to enter the ARK, when they’ve not yet parted ways and are still planning what to do next, Tails presents them with his fake Chaos Emerald. When Sonic, Tails and Fiona finally go their separate ways...

Fiona: “Wait a minute, Tails: how did you manage to create the fake Emerald?”

Tails: “Oh, it was very simple: by harnessing the power of the true Emerald we had already got--”

Sonic: [with a knowing smile] “The one you got as a prize for saving Station Square.”

Tails: [blushes, avoiding looking at Fiona directly] “Yeah, that one, hehe... *ahem* By using its power, I generated heat and pressure high enough to synthesize one of those yellowish synthetic diamonds, but much larger. To store Chaos Energy within that diamond, I took samples of my blood and mixed them with the carbon I used to synthesize it. Applying a lot of heat and pressure apparently doesn’t cause the stored Chaos Energy to be lost, even though the blood has been burned or evaporated, so the diamond ended up with Chaos Energy stored within.”

Sonic and Fiona look at each other, visibly concerned.

Sonic: “Tails, you've been through some pretty... heavy stuff lately, if you will. Are you sure you don't wanna talk about it--?”

Tails: [talking fast] “I’M FINE! Totally fine! Nothing bad happens to me, now let's continue with the mission, we’ll resume this conversation NEVER!” [runs off in his mech]

Meanwhile, in another corner of the ARK, the team of the Freedom Fighters and GUN led by Sally and Tower bumps into a strange creature moving through the corridors; this creature immediately attacks them, but Bunnie manages to react and stop it, then fighting it for a short time before it finally escapes and the team loses sight of it. Judging from what they had seen, it’s a long-bodied Mobian lizard, taller than the average Mobian, red on the back and black on the belly, with a set of machines similar to a life support system messily connected to its back.

While Tails and Sonic carry out the same parts of the plan as in the original version of Sonic Adventure 2, Fiona sneaks through vents and other safer but hard-to-reach spaces, looking for some station, terminal or control panel from where she can hack into the system, control the entire space colony and launch some kind of plan B. However, Snively realizes what Sonic, Tails, and Fiona are planning to do, detecting the suspicious signal of an "eighth Chaos Emerald" and a subtle side effect of one of Fiona's intrusions into the colony’s network. Robotnik's nephew finds and captures Fiona, albeit not before she shoots him with her gun and blows up his other ear.

Tails goes there first, followed by Sonic. The events unfold the same as in the original version, but with Fiona replacing Amy Rose and with a notable difference in Tails's reactions: when Snively locks Sonic in a pod with the fake Chaos Emerald and a ticking bomb to launch him into space, Tails tries to calm down after this surprise, not to reveal the Emerald is fake, and to play mind games with Snively to make him distrust himself and suspect the Emerald offered by Sonic may be the real one. Despite Tails's best efforts, the Overlander is simply not convinced by this, ejects Sonic’s pod into space, and in retaliation for being taken for a fool, fires his mech's bazooka with no warning, destroys Tails’s Cyclone, leaves Tails himself badly injured and trapped in his own burning mech’s wreckage, and forces him and Fiona to watch as Sonic's pod explodes.

Tails cannot move at all, he has his right side impaled by a piece of metal from the Cyclone. Once he’s seen Sonic’s pod explode, he immediately takes the true Chaos Emerald he was carrying with him and exits his mech’s cockpit, letting the piece of metal rip from his body and cause an even more serious injury; the wound begins to regenerate but is very severe and heals too slowly. Meanwhile, Snively points a gun at Fiona's head and orders the two-tailed fox to give the Emerald once and for all. But as soon as Robotnik's nephew finishes saying that, a screw from the Cyclone shoots out at full speed and cleanly pierces the wrist of the hand he was using to hold the gun. Snively lets go of Fiona, looks at his incapacitated hand, then turns his gaze to Tails, and is left dumbfounded.

[Soundtrack: The Crane / At Sea Again – 2000 OVA of JoJo Part 3]

The fox is piloting the Cyclone, battered but repaired, functional and armed, as some metal threads come out from within the cockpit to cover the wound in the side of its pilot and keep him alive, and as many threads connect with his amputated left hand’s stump and specifically to its nerves in order to make piloting as easy as it used to be. Snively has truly succeeded his uncle with all his atrocities so far, has killed Sonic and threatened to do the same to Fiona; Tails himself had also failed to fight for his friends and live up to his own ideals, but now he's ready to right both his own wrongs and everything Snively has done, by mercilessly beating the s*** out of him.

Once Tails tells Fiona to go away, his second mech battle against Snively starts. Tails wins, he even regenerates his hand and manages to heal his wound in his side enough not to need to be rushed to a hospital immediately once the metal threads are separated from his body, and Snively has to escape again.

[Soundtrack: J. Geil – 2000 OVA of JoJo Part 3]

However, right after the battle ends, the fox passes out from fatigue due to using one Chaos Emerald to simultaneously stay alive, enhance his abilities, fight, pilot the Cyclone by some kind of “bio-mechanical connection”, heal, and use that new whole "machine manipulation” power he has only just discovered.

While he’s unconscious, someone else enters there: it’s the red and black lizard-like Mobian, the one who had attacked the mixed squad of Freedom Fighters & GUN soldiers; the creature sees the passed-out Tails, but does nothing to him, just grabs the Chaos Emerald with all the patience in the world and silently leaves.

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The events of the Final Story of Sonic Adventure 2 unfold the same as in the original version mostly, at least until the Shadow-Biolizard battle. With Tails exhausted and still injured, Fiona takes his place piloting the Cyclone, and Bunnie participates too. On the other hand, as soon as Snively fulfils his part of the plan to stop the ARK's fall, he leaves instead of staying to help the others.

Amy convinces Shadow to help save the world, but there are some differences in this event as well: she, Sally, Tower and the mixed squad of Freedom Fighters and GUN approach Shadow, but Sally insists that they stay away from him due to his righteous hatred against GUN’s soldiers; when they discuss who should go talk to the “Ultimate Lifeform” and try to convince him to help save the world, Amy volunteers, and the way she expresses her arguments to Shadow is slightly different than in the original version, sounding less naive but still friendly, inspiring and optimistic. Shadow not only remembers his original promise to Maria but also details that make him suspect the veracity of that video recorded by Professor Gerald, Shadow's memories also show that, although Maria was kind-hearted, she was pretty feisty too and had activated a mech to resist the advance of GUN’s soldiers in the raid of the ARK 50 years ago [a reference to the fact that Emerl's “soul” in Sonic Battle was based upon Maria's and Emerl themself strongly liked to fight and show their powers after gaining more Chaos Emeralds and thus developing a more “complete” personality.].

When Sonic, Knuckles and Shadow arrive at some kind of altar [it doesn't look familiar to Sonic or Knuckles because the echidna still uses the Hidden Palace to guard the Master Emerald] where the Eclipse Cannon’s core is located with the seven Chaos Emeralds, they meet with that red-and-black Mobian lizard from before: it’s the Biolizard, who had mutated and evolved in their 50 years of confinement in the ARK, connecting with the abandoned colony’s systems and devising a plan. Programmed only to destroy, the Biolizard sounds more cultured and magnificent when speaking and gesturing but he never truly surpassed that programming, becoming instead a strategist and setting himself the primary goal of destroying Mobius: he had set everything up for the ARK to crash onto the planet when someone too greedy tries to use the Eclipse Cannon with the Chaos Emeralds, and he also created a fake video of Gerald detailing these plans and vowing revenge on humanity. The Biolizard introduces themself to Shadow as his “brother” (although the implicit innuendos in his voice tone aren’t few or subtle) and tries to convince the hedgehog to join him, but Shadow already remembers more than enough not to believe him, so they both fight while Sonic and Knuckles carry the Master Emerald to the altar in order to deactivate the Chaos Emeralds and separate them from the cannon’s core.

During Shadow's fight against the Biolizard, Sonic moves away from Knuckles and helps the black-and-red hedgehog, thus ensuring their victory over the reptile [and yes: before, during and after the fight, both Sonic and Shadow do JoJo poses to their hearts' content].

When the Biolizard is defeated by Shadow and the ARK stops falling, Shadow's "brother" teleports to the Eclipse Cannon itself, merges with it but stands very theatrically on the tip, and causes the entire space colony to resume its fall towards Mobius. Aside from the Biolizard's shape and personality, the battle against Finalhazard is almost the same as in Sonic Adventure 2. At the end of the battle, Shadow lunges at the Biolizard and cuts him in two, then flinging both halves towards the Sun at full speed; despite the creature is capable of regeneration, the intense heat and radiation from the Sun are too much for the Biolizard, who’s destroyed even before hitting the surface.

[As for why Shadow falls to Mobius but Sonic doesn't after preventing the ARK's collision, I'll just copy and paste the explanation provided by @toaarcan...]

[Shadow telling Sonic he's actually the "Ultimate Lifeform" may be one of the many mistranslations in the English dub of Sonic Adventure 2, but if taken as intentional, then it could be seen as Shadow acknowledging he's been surpassed by Sonic in some way despite being this apparently perfect being. There's a little more evidence of this since, after the battle against Finalhazard, Shadow falls for seemingly no reason while Sonic remains unhurt; true, Shadow does land the final blow if you hit the boss perfectly every time, but considering the terribly wonky flying controls and those goddamn lasers, that’s no easy feat, and Shadow falls even if Sonic did more work than him. Another bit of dialogue from the battle is Sonic warning Shadow to be careful with his Super form because he'll "disappear" if he uses too much energy; that's probably another mistranslation, with it really being Sonic reminding the player to make sure they have enough rings, but it could easily also be taken to mean that, if someone overexerts themself while using a Super form, then the Chaos energy destroys them by breaking their own body down. Shadow falls because he uses too much power; Sonic, having been using the form since Sonic 2, has mastered it, perfected his use of it, and even went beyond the Super form in Sonic 3 & Knuckles; Shadow used it for the first time here, so he's probably unaccustomed to it; to top it off, the last cutscene clearly shows Shadow using his hover-shoes to fly, so he possibly spent himself too much.]

Tower tells Tails about Amadeus Prower, comparing the young fox to his father, and offers him to work for GUN and help reform it. Tails cordially asks to stop being compared to a father whom he didn't even know. He also demands that Tower and the rest of GUN earn his trust first.

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[I've already touched on this in the preface, but I'll address it here as well as it'll be particularly relevant to my portrayal of GUN, the United Federation, and both organizations' relationship with Sonic, the Freedom Fighters, and Shadow. I'm aware that a large part of the Sonic fandom reads the events of Sonic Adventure 2 as a work with a markedly anti-police and anti-military message, specifically against the fanaticism of the USA government of Bush Jr. back in 2001, and they prefer that GUN and the United Federation government be portrayed as yet another villain in the Sonic universe, to imagine Shadow as a punk icon of resistance to authority, and to imagine he never joined GUN and the entirety of the Shadow spin-off game is non-canon; I'm also aware of a more specific and recent aspect of this: a big fear among fans is that the 3rd live-action Sonic movie, while featuring Shadow and even portraying him decently, will also end up "watering down" the original anti-authority message of Sonic Adventure 2 by having the ending be like "Shadow's creators and GUN were just a rogue faction in the government, the USA military as a whole is still a-OK" in order to avoid damaging the USA Armed Forces' reputation too much and thus get the Department of Defense to continue giving Hollywood the money and other resources needed to film Sonic movies.]

[I'll concede that GUN's actions certainly do fit in with an over-the-top but accurate enough fictional portrayal of the excesses the real-life USA military and security forces have committed and/or are capable of committing (Prison Island and Sonic being locked up there is pretty close to being some sort of abandoned Guantanamo), and I realize my plans for my stories (having Project Shadow, Eclipse Cannon, the assault on the ARK Space Colony and all other reprehensible actions by GUN be the work of an internal rogue faction and previous United Federation governments) might not be well received by a large part of the fandom. But on the other hand, a sizable portion of the fandom's ideas are their own interpretations encouraged by SEGA not providing more information, such "headcanons" sound more like typical anarchist rhetoric from someone who has always lived in the USA and never seen what life is like in the rest of the world, and it's pretty clear that SEGA and the members of Sonic Team lack any political convictions and included such anti-authority messages in Sonic Adventure 2 only because that was trendy in the early 2000s (I don't know about you guys, but for me, Sonic casually saying "Sheesh! There always seems to be a lot of police around when you don't need them!" just sounds cheap, effortless and too contrived and convenient to take seriously, both in English and in Japanese); this is also part of a broader phenomenon where fans "asign" revolutionary and progressive political messages to various Japanese videogames and manga/anime series, even though this is usually an over-simplification with no knowledge of contemporary Japanese culture, very few authors write these stories with some genuine conviction for the anti-authority and anti-establishment messages conveyed by their work, and many of these stories could be simultaneously labeled both "progressive" and "conservative" by Western standards. Besides, these fans are blatantly hypocritical and have piss-poor short-term memory if they're demanding today that the Sonic movies' producers not be the USA military's bootlickers, because this already happened with the two previous Sonic movies and the Marvel movies both after Disney bought Marvel Studios and before that buy-out (when Marvel movies were instead produced by Paramount, which as also pretty infamous for its nationalist propaganda not too long ago and now produces the Sonic movies), and yet these same fans praised Sonic non-stop for its supposed anti-authority message (almost non-existent in the live-action movies) and lambasted Marvel solely because its movies were being produced by Disney. The experiences of much of the world with either the police, the military or the government as a whole are usually not as negative as in the USA; if the big underlying problem to fight against is actually the selfish and bigoted ultra-conservative elites corrupting institutions such as the Armed Forces, then it's worth mentioning that those same elites in my country have chosen the tactic of doing the complete opposite and using anarchism as a tool to take over the government and get whatever they want, not to mention the way climate change deniers or COVID deniers have turned resistance to authority into their perfect propaganda device, so perhaps it'd be better to be careful before turning the heroes of a story into champions of absolute individual freedom without an iota of critical thinking skills. Lastly, here I'm working mainly with material from the Archie comics (both before and after the reboot), where the United Federation is more like a hypothetical global government based on the UN and includes all city-states inhabited mostly by humans, while the United Federation in the videogames (and in Sonic X, for that matter) is much more specifically an allegory for the USA and encompasses only those city-states that most obviously reference the major cities of that country.]

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A few days later, Sonic tells Sally he’s still strangely hurt by Shadow's sacrifice. Sally decides to ask Tower and Rouge for help to search for the black hedgehog, and she encourages Sonic to participate in the search. Shadow is found at the bottom of the sea by Sonic himself, who feels the black hedgehog is still alive and jumps into the water to rescue him, overcoming his hydrophobia. The “Ultimate Lifeform” awakens just as Sonic is about to drown, and they both manage to get out. Shadow, with his memories intact, stays to live in Knothole for a while, shows great interest in Tails's Chaos powers, and spends time with Sonic (albeit reluctantly at first).

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Some random headcanons:

Jewellery theft isn’t Rouge’s only passion: she also has a vocation for Psychology. When the bat woman wasn't stealing jewels or carrying out a mission, she studied to pass subjects of the Degree in Psychology; GUN first, Falcão and Tower later, founded her studies after she pointed out this knowledge would help her to do a better job as a secret agent.

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Tails has an unspecified ASD (autism spectrum disorder), and “reading” others’ facial expressions and voice tone was always difficult for him; if he manages to understand them, it’s just because he usually interprets the understanding of non-verbal language as an exact science: he previously studies all about facial expressions and voice tone, how they’re generated and what they could mean depending on the context, watches people’s gestures and analyzes them, but he doesn’t use intuition for this as almost everyone else does. On the other hand, he’s very perceptive: he pays great attention to details and seemingly irrelevant things, and when people do anything and he’s just near there with nothing better to do and without anyone caring about his presence, he also has a habit of carefully watching and analyzing those people and their actions and gestures. He may not initially be able to capture, for example, micro-expressions of someone he’s talking to, but if he’s given the necessary information about them as if they were accurate scientific data, he’ll be able to make surprisingly correct assumptions about what his interlocutor is feeling and actually wanna express, which helps him, for example, understand and comfort someone who’s going through a bad time and doesn’t wanna admit it; Rouge, with her knowledge about Psychology, is usually the one who helps him by providing that information.

Anyway, as is often the case with many people with an ASD, any kind of "limitation" in Tails's ability to perceive others' emotions via "social clues" and whatnot is a completely superficial trait of his personality: once he manages to perceive what another person is feeling, he's fully capable of understanding emotions, as well as "connecting" with other people and feeling their emotions when observing them as if he was experiencing them himself. In fact, despite his reputation as a mechanical genius, an aspiring scientist and someone with a fairly strict self-imposed discipline, Tails can still get too carried away by emotions (which adds the problem of potential Chaos powers, closely linked to their user's state of mind) and could even be considered the most emotional member of the Freedom Fighters.

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Sonic regrets a lot of things, including some which he thinks were his fault; for example, people who were victims of Robotnik, such as Kat, while the hedgehog was busy somewhere else with something else or wasn’t available for whatever reason. His title of “Hero of Mobius” makes him feel obligated to keep this to himself, without letting that other side of him be seen by anyone, not even by his closest friends. He usually cries, and a lot, when there’s no one watching him.

Sonic certainly has no qualms about using lethal force against villains when the situation calls for it; quite the contrary, much of his internal conflict comes from a feeling of not having done as much as he could have done from his position: not having saved enough prisoners, not having prevented the capture and roboticization of more Resistance comrades, not having destroyed enough Robotnik facilities, not having ended the war faster, and so on. Sonic's attitude of a carefree "free spirit" who does what he wants and helps others because he wants to is natural, this is his true self, it's not a mask he wears in front of others; however, he has gradually become more aware of the effect he has on people all over Mobius, how he has become a symbol on whom the survivors of Robotnik's conquest depend to be able to go on, so behaving naturally as a "free spirit" feels more and more like an obligation for the blue hedgehog... and he's still not entirely sure how to feel about it: for example, he wants to keep being himself and also wants to keep helping people whenever, wherever and however needed, but there might come a day when those two desires -for whatever reason- collide with each other.

That's why Sonic totally understands Sally's situation as the Freedom Fighters' leader and main strategist as well. On the other hand, when he saw Fiona still alive and organic, and especially when she seemingly overcame any possible grudge against him and joined the Freedom Fighters, Sonic momentarily felt immense relief: everything he had done hadn't been in vain.

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Sally genuinely appreciates Amy Rose, notably for her unwavering optimism, her inspiring character, her "rascal" attitude (sassy and mischievous but in an adorable way), her rebellious spirit, and her never-ending energy; the former princess is also impressed by Amy's people skills and her natural aptitude for connecting with others and being so convincing. For the chipmunk, all of this reminds her of Sonic, and sometimes also reminds her a bit of herself when she was younger. When Sally personally trains Amy, she does her best to strike a good balance, trying to make her a competent Freedom Fighter aware of the reality around her without crushing that bright personality or turning Amy into some kind of "hardened war veteran with no faith in the world".

Sonic had initially been a bit irked because of Amy: her character was slightly "overwhelming" to him (later he'd internally laugh at the irony of having reacted like this to someone whose behaviour was so similar to his own, and he also better understands how Sally feels having to live with him), but Amy had also assumed a lot about Sonic's personality even though the two barely knew each other, and that's what made Sonic take offence and react so harshly to Amy's advances before the Sonic Adventure 1 adaptation (it wasn't helped by the fact that Sonic is still quite the introvert, contrary to what his exceptional charisma might suggest). With some help from Sally, he gets used to Amy's presence later, and the two become fairly close friends. Amy's attitude keeps causing problems anyway: she can be quite teasing and bluntly honest when she wants to, and she's the first to openly point out that Sonic likes Shadow (by the way, when that happens, Sally doesn't take offence, she just raises an eyebrow instead...).

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Knuckles is the one who has the typical friendly rivalry with Sonic: he admits the blue hedgehog is trustworthy, honest, responsible when necessary, and the one who helped him out of his isolation, even though the echidna is also easily irritated by his antics. On the other hand, Shadow is comradely, prudent and discreet, and has developed a profound admiration for Sonic, namely the way he never seems to lose his composure, the fact that Sonic is always the one commenting on his enemies and getting on their nerves instead of the enemies doing that to him, and the way Sonic seems able to move on with his life with no regrets whereas Shadow still feels he owes Maria and his life revolves around his promise to her. Speaking of Maria, the "Ultimate Life Form" can't help but notice similarities between her personality and Sonic's after having unlocked his true memories about her. Something that left Shadow completely starstruck in the battle against Finalhazard is Sonic's Super form, his majestic appearance and the fact that he was so stable while Shadow was still out of practice with his own Super form. After the events of the Sonic Adventure 2 adaptation and Shadow's rescue, Shadow starts practising and experimenting with his Chaos powers, seeking to control them in the same way Sonic has managed to.

[Shadow's personality after the Sonic Adventure 2 adaptation would be similar to Proto Man/Blues in the classic Mega Man/Rockman games and Zero in Mega Man Zero/Rockman Zero. Maybe I'll include Jack at the end of Mega Man Star Force 3/Ryūsei no Rockman 3 as another example, but I still need to actually play it and see it myself. I'm not sure if I should use Eugene Chaud/Enzan Ijūin -along with his NetNavi ProtoMan.EXE/Blues.EXE- from Mega Man Battle Network/Rockman.EXE as an example either, since Chaud seems to be cockier than Classic Proto Man.]

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To be continued...

[thankskenpenders]

While we still have three issues left featuring stories written by Karl Bollers, we’ve pretty much come to the end of his run as lead writer on Archie Sonic. As I’ve said many times, his work certainly had flaws, and there were stories of his that bored me. (I definitely could’ve done with less stories where Sally’s parents prevent her from joining the action.) But there were also many I quite enjoyed, and on average I’d say his stories were usually pretty okay. He definitely went out on a high note with Return to Angel Island, though. That’s for sure

In this post, I’d like to look over the list of scrapped story ideas listed on Bollers’ wiki page, and give some thoughts. Had he continued writing Sonic, this is what he would have done

Sonic and Amy becoming a couple after being stranded at sea together and keeping it a secret from Princess Sally.

Ehh... I’d have to see how this really played out. Sega was pushing SonAmy super hard at the time with Sonic X, though, and the Archie comics had barely even acknowledged Amy’s crush on Sonic, so I guess something like this had to happen eventually. I’m also sure it wouldn’t have lasted long, since it was obvious Bollers would have Sonic and Sally reconcile eventually

Tails reuniting with his parents by traveling into space on a modified Tornado.

This would’ve been pretty neat, honestly! I’d just hope that Tails wouldn’t stay out in space for too long

Amy's origins being explored in a fuller adaptation of Sonic CD.

Very cool! Definitely would’ve liked to see this. But Ian ended up doing more with Amy and incorporating the stories of the Genesis era games into the comics later on, so I guess we didn’t really lose much by not getting this story from Bollers

Knuckles departing Angel Island after learning that his presence exposes the location of the Master Emerald, going on a global pilgrimage to learn martial arts, and battling a Dr. Eggman controlled-Monkey Khan while under the control of the Iron Queen before discovering the Master Geode.

Now THIS sounds cool. While I’m not exactly a fan of Monkey Khan, I think sending Knuckles off on a big adventure and having him learn more fighting skills would be a great use of his character. Way better than having him sit around on Angel Island all day, that’s for sure. And after how great Return to Angel Island was, I would’ve loved to see more Knuckles stories from Bollers

Mammoth Mogul beginning to age rapidly due to his original Chaos Emerald running out of energy, forcing him to seek out alternative sources through illicit archaeological expeditions and hiring mercenaries like Nack the Weasel. The Master Geode, a powerful gemstone that would fulfill Mogul's needs, would be contested by him, the Iron Queen, Robotnik, and Rouge the Bat.

Also pretty cool. I’m assuming this is all part of the same overarching story as Knuckles’ martial arts training. It’d be fun to see this combination of new and old game characters as well as old Archie characters vying for power. I also love that all these forces would be vying for control of this powerful gem, but then Rouge is also there because... she just wants it. All of these characters would have their time to shine in Ian’s run, though

Sally being a pawn in a villainous plot by the corrupted Source of All and Ixis Naugus to prevent the future first previewed in Sonic In Your Face.

Antoine gaining his scar due to an accident with a knife and becoming a villain after allowing himself to be possessed by a corrupted Source of All in hopes of winning Bunnie back.

The Source of All surviving Robotropolis' destruction and reconstituting itself in a remote mountain range, beginning to exert control over King Max, brainwashing the Arachne and another group of Spiders known as the Strand, and possessing Antoine while under the control of Ixis Naugus.

We’ve already talked about this canceled subplot before, but oh man, I would’ve loved this. I always hated the concept of the Source of All, and the idea that Max’s actions were all justified by some sort of omniscient future vision. The Acorn family rituals surrounding the Source were also already extremely creepy, so turning their bonding with the Source into a bad thing would’ve been an incredibly easy pill to swallow

Bunnie and Antoine breaking up due to a change in Antoine's personality, with Bunnie's origins later being explored and her true name being revealed as Scarlette O'Hare

I mean, Bunnie’s last name being Rabbot (pronounced Rab-OH) was always silly, but I don’t know if we really needed this. Y’all know I’m down for more Bunnie, though

Rotor retiring from field duty in order to pursue a role analogous to that played by "Q" of James Bond fame.

They’d already been leaving him out of missions for years. I guess this makes sense, and at least turning him into the guy who makes the gadgets for everyone would give him a more clearly defined role

Locke and Lara-Le putting aside their previous disputes to help raise Knecapeon "Kneecaps" Mace after his father Wynmacher ends up in the Egg Grape Chamber.

I’ve talked about all this a bit before. Really not sure what to think of it. My gut instinct is that I don’t like the idea of Locke reuniting with Lara-Le at all. He hasn’t earned her forgiveness. But I’d have to see how Bollers wrote it, I guess

Robotnik kidnapping Hope Kintobor under the pretense that he is the only correct choice to be her legal guardian, while genuinely using her as bait to lure in Shadow the Hedgehog.

Not sure how I feel about Hope getting kidnapped, but the mental image of literal tyrant Dr. Eggman going to child protective services and pretending he’d be a good guardian for Hope as part of a scheme to get Shadow is really funny to me

Ixis Naugus attempting to return by transforming Max's body into a duplicate of his own, only to be thwarted by the destruction of the Crown of Acorns

I would’ve liked to see Naugus explored more, but hey! Ian sure used him a lot. So this is another case where we aren’t missing out on much

Nate Morgan surviving the destruction of Robotropolis, being De-Roboticized by the Bem, and returning as Coconuts' amnesia-addled ally, who creates a new Metal Sonic, Metal Amy, Metal Knuckles, and Tails Doll that are mistaken for Robian versions of the heroes.

This would’ve been a REALLY interesting development. Bollers was very open about how he hated the direction Nate Morgan had gone in and had some interesting plans to bring him back. And, well, this is it. Kind of reminds me of a certain subplot with Eggman in the IDW comics, except in reverse

I also love how this would’ve brought in Metal Knuckles, Tails Doll, and a new Metal Amy. Bollers really seemed to be enjoy bringing in elements from the older games in his later years at Archie, with much of the action in Return to Angel Island taking place in actual zones from S3&K. Getting Coconuts involved is also wild. This would’ve been a really fun story

Snively taking up a fifteen foot-tall mechanical battlesuit and the alias "Skarkus" in pursuit of revenge against Robotnik for leaving him alone against the Xorda, leading to an alliance between him and Shadow.

Yeah, this one sure is. Something. Honestly I have no idea how it would turn out. It’d be all about the execution

A.D.A.M. and NICOLE becoming romantically involved, leading to A.D.A.M. seizing control of the Shadowbot army and leading them from New Megaopolis to Knothole.

Okay I hate this one lol. But to be fair, I mostly hate it because the other writers ended up taking Nicole in a completely different direction and giving her her lynx form (and eventually pairing her with Sally). Bollers had no way of knowing that Nicole would become such a central character, so I can’t really blame him for having an idea like this, I guess

A new Dingo Regime leader named Colonel Mange being introduced, with Croctobot, Jack Rabbit, and Gala-Na being reintroduced as Robotnik Sub-Bosses over Downunda, the Great Desert, and Albion. This would have led to the disappearance of the Downunda Freedom Fighters and a confrontation involving the Mercian Freedom Fighters.

Ah, the beginnings of Eggman having Mobian sub-bosses working for him. I guess Kage in Return to Angel Island was really the start of this, but still. Gala-Na becoming a subordinate of Eggman actually makes a lot of sense to me. She was already an antagonist in the Chaos Knuckles arc, and it’s painfully obvious that the Albion echidnas are selfish pricks who only look out for themselves. If she thought that siding with Eggman would protect Albion, I totally think she’d sell out

Anti-Sonic coming to enjoy impersonating Sonic and enjoying the love of his parents and adulation of his people, leading him to plan to eliminate Sonic and permanently take his place.

This one’s also kinda interesting I suppose, although we definitely got no shortage of Anti-Sonic impersonating Sonic in the last year of Penders stories. Can’t say I’m dying to see this story told

---

So, all in all, definitely some interesting ideas! If there’s two major throughlines I see in this plans, it’s 1) bringing back forgotten elements from both the games and earlier comics and 2) reinventing Penders characters and concepts. Which makes a lot of sense, because that’s exactly what he was doing with Return to Angel Island

Part of me is sad that these stories were never told. The Source of All being evil and Knuckles’ martial arts training stand out to me in particular. But there are other ideas that are pretty similar to things Ian would do in his run, like Eggman having Mobian sub-bosses or Naugus coming back, so it’s hard to feel too sad. It’s also hard to know how good the execution would’ve been on these pitches

Of course, if there’s one thing I’m certain of, it’s that these stories probably would’ve been better than the ones we actually got from Penders and Chacon over the next year and a half

[mobius-prime]

191. Sonic the Hedgehog #123

The flippancy of these cover blurbs is hilarious. I can't even handle the little blurb for Afterlife up there. Like, the story itself is played totally straight, with Knuckles having to navigate the realities of death and afterlife, something he was never yet ready to face, and meanwhile the cover blurb has all the subtlety of yelling "LOL THAT GUY IS SUPER DEAD." It's kind of amazing.

Heart Held Hostage (Part Two)

Writer: Karl Bollers Pencils: J. Axer Colors: Jason Jensen

Sonic has arrived at the mansion the weasel thug spilled the location of, ready to dive in and rescue Sally, but he finds himself with an unexpected tagalong - Mina, who was the only one of the group to be able to keep up with his speed. He reluctantly takes her along, making sure to have her promise she won't try to be a hero due to her inexperience, and she's mostly just starry-eyed, thinking about how much of a crush she has on Sonic and all that. Not a recipe for disaster at all!

Sally, meanwhile, is thankfully unharmed, being guarded in a room deeper in the mansion. She decides to get the weasels talking, and then pulls out perhaps one of her best schemes that perfectly demonstrates why she's the leader of the Freedom Fighters.

Amazing. Classic. Wonderful. She spins a yarn about hating how her parents control her wealth and wanting to get back at them, directly appealing to Nack's money-loving heart, and he begins to agree, liking this darker, more selfish side of her he's seeing. Of course, it's all a ruse, and as soon as he gets close and drops his guard she tackles him and steals his gun, acting like she'll shoot him to prevent the other two from getting near her and making her escape this way. Once she's out in the hallways she begins running, with the two henchmen taking potshots at her, which immediately alerts Sonic and Mina to Sally's location. The thugs corner Sally, who is out of ammo (…somehow? Like, was the implication meant to be that Nack's gun was already empty, or was Princess Sally Acorn actually shooting back instead of merely bluffing?). However, their guns abruptly disappear from their hands, and a second later they're left beat up on the ground by none other than Sonic the Hedgehog. Sally, upon seeing this, finds herself suddenly overwhelmed with emotion, and runs to him, overjoyed that he came for her.

Ohhhhh boy.

Mina doubles over in horror, suddenly sick, realizing that all this time she was competing against Sally herself and now keenly aware of the fact that Sonic will never feel the same way about her as she does him. She furiously tries to maintain her composure and not look like she has just burst into tears, since Sally and Sonic haven't yet noticed her in the nearby doorway - but then she notices something horrible. Nack has by now woken up from being knocked out earlier, and is furious, deciding that if his plan has been derailed, he's going to take his last revenge before making his getaway. And so, he raises a gun - points it at an unsuspecting Sally - pulls the trigger - and Mina makes a split second decision. For Sonic.

And thus, the late Mina Mongoose's memory lives on in her friends and in her - nah, I'm totally kidding. She wakes up later in the hospital, having survived the shot to the back. Sally and Sonic admonish her for being foolish, but are also grateful for her act of heroic sacrifice. Mina, for her part, seems to come to terms with the fact that she will never be with Sonic, and thus we can finally put this love triangle to rest. Right?

R-right?

Afterlife (Part Three)

Writer: Ken Penders Pencils: Art Mawhinney Colors: J. Jensen

So just like the last installment of Afterlife, this one is almost entirely made up of recaps from previous issues. Literally, nothing is new except for these couple panels at the very beginning.

One, we have confirmation that Knuckles had a crush on Sally. This isn't exactly news, but it was always left juuust ambiguous enough to keep it off the table as a plot point. And two, Knuckles is now apparently spending his time in the afterlife in a "virtual zone" in which he's able to reexperience scenes from his life in the third person, as though watching a movie play back in front of his eyes. We're skipping the rest of this story, because again, all it does is remind us of various plot points and events of issues past, mostly from the Knuckles the Echidna series. And I don't just mean it retells the story in general - I mean it literally copies old panels from all the previous issues, down to the smallest details. Seriously, I don't know why Kenders is suddenly allergic to giving us anything new, but it's annoying and I for one am super done with Green Knuckles and eager for something more interesting.

The Last Robian

Writer: Karl Bollers Pencils: Art Mawhinney Colors: Jason Jensen

This story is told mostly through text boxes, something which I've criticized Karl for doing before, but in this case it actually kind of works. We begin on a morning in early June (which, if you'll remember, would mean it's around the time of Sonic's birthday), where the world awakens to find every single Robian on the planet missing. Just vanished without a trace. Obviously, this causes a lot of confusion and distress among the population of Knothole, who have by now gotten used to living with their roboticized brethren, and though everyone immediately suspects Eggman, he's nowhere to be found. Three weeks pass before any new information comes to light, and one day Sonic gets a lead that his dog is roaming around in Deerwood Forest in the Kingdom of Mercia.

Celebration and joy engulf the world at this apparent miracle, but Sonic is quietly bothered, as there is one single Robian who still hasn’t returned - his own father. It takes much longer for Jules to return, but when he finally does, he's still a robot - the only person on the whole planet not to have been changed back. Chuck, sensing an opportunity to make up for his past failures, goes into overdrive trying to find a cure for Jules, who begins to feel like an outsider as the only one who can't eat, sleep, and do other normal organic things like the rest of his family. Sonic sees his father's pain and becomes enraged, certain that Eggman has deliberately done this purely to torment him personally. He races to Eggman's current base to confront him, but Eggman irritably insists that he did nothing, and that he is himself disappointed in the sudden return of all the Robians to their original state.

Well, this does certainly seem suspicious. I'm gonna go ahead and call it another deus-ex-machina in fact - I know I've been bringing up that term a lot lately, but well, it's because there's been a lot of cases of it in the past several issues. I honestly think that Karl kind of backed himself into a corner with the Robian problem, and finally decided it was time to get rid of it and start anew, and had no other way to do it than… well, this. There is an explanation, one we'll be receiving shortly in fact, but it still seems like a massive copout this way.

[original-silver-sonic]

Just an other day at the office (not)

Origin Zone, Death Egg Research Facility.

~TELEPORTATION COMPLETED SUCCESSFULLY~ Informed a control panel after Silver Sonic vanished from one of the telepads. 

The Metallix badnik supervising the aforementioned control panels released a synthesized sigh of relief. So far these next-gen interdimensional teleporters have been meeting calculated expectations. 

Just the push they needed for…

“HmHmmHmmm” MX-50 was humming while searching through remaining coordinates of interests. One dimension returned particular beacon results… quaint robots and some kind of...human(?) interacting. This was a zone he had been wanting to research for some time. And since the facility was charged for the next teleportation, he might as well have a go at it.

“Parameters set, yadidaaa… there we goo.” After all required data was entered, a swirling breach presented itself on the pad. Crackling electricity emitting from the portal caused a smell similar to superheated ozone.

Finally at the pad, MX-50 couldn’t wait any longer and walked right into it. Perhaps a bit... too quickly.

Inside the portal between space and time, literally with unlimited magnification, sprawling trees with endless universes unfurled themselves. A sight that boggled the ecludian mind. And with exceptional acceleration, the blue Robian was hurle-

CRACKLE - A portal formed inside the specified zone, out of nowhere. CRASH - The poor robot was thrown on the floor, hard.

It appears this teleporting business could use some refinement, still. Greatly disoriented, the Metallix holds his head as faux eyes dart around their photoreceptors.

@thehouseofivo​

[spinb0t]

🏆 Metallix's arrival certainly did gain attention, with quite a few civilians not daring to make eye contact, and others running to the nearest terminals... clearly they were reporting on the intruder's arrival in this Zone. On a closer inspection, most of these Mobians were Robians, either partially or fully roboticized.

🏆 It was barely a few seconds later that a gust of dry wind blew through, kinetic energy crackling in the air as a twisted image of a fallen hero stepped up, a brightly shining cyan grin plastered across his muzzle, eyes beaming with joyful malice.

🏆 "Heeeey, Metal! Ain't seen THAT look in a while... You sightseeing? Come to take a look around New Robotropolis?" Spinbot inquired, adopting a more casual demeanor.

@spinb0t liked for a [Starter]

The sounds of a Warp Ring opening could be heard - the metallic footsteps of a familiar yet imposing face were heard. It seemed that in the first bits of travel outside their zone, Metallix had found themselves arriving in a place that seemed...for lack of a better word, bleak.

Metallix could sense a familiar energy yet it was one that was...warped, distorted even. The Metal Overlord took it upon himself to look around and see what or who was giving him this feeling.

But as they approached the center of some city streets, with Mobians looking upon them with a sense of fear and confusion...perhaps that would be enough to alert this familiar presence to show themselves?