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Language:
English
Series:
Part 1 of Miles the Fox
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Published:
2022-03-22
Completed:
2022-06-11
Words:
114,618
Chapters:
12/12
Comments:
24
Kudos:
72
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3,084

West Side Skirmish

Summary:

During his travels, teenage genius Miles Prower tracks the energy of the legendary Chaos Emeralds to a quaint place known as West Side Island. Here, he meets Nicky, a young hedgehog with a love of freedom, pride in his speed, and a desire to see the world. The Battle Kukku Empire, old enemies of the two-tailed fox, have also come seeking the mystical minerals for their own ends. To stop the antagonistic avians, Miles races across the island to collect the Emeralds before they do. At the same time, he must also deal with having a fearless, stubborn, and somewhat impulsive spiny boy along for the ride, and it only gets more complicated from there...

Notes:

I've gone back and done some edits in the story, primarily for spelling and grammar, and also changed the title so that it's only the story itself, rather than including the series. I hope folks have a cleaner experience reading this now!

Edit: The story has surpassed 2750 hits and 60 kudos since it first dropped! Thank you so much, everyone!

Chapter 1: Emerald Excitement

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

There exists a planet known by different names, depending on which denizens you ask. To those that lived in certain regions, it was known as "Earth", while the residents of other places referred to it by another moniker or refused to designate one at all. Many of them co-existed, but many were also content to keep to themselves and would offer the same courtesy to others. While there were occasional tensions between certain societies, there was a general agreement between most peoples that all of them shared this world. Escalating conflicts in the past had nearly destroyed it more than once, and those around today were wary of repeating those events.

One particular region was West Side Island, a modest place with myriad geographic features and biomes. It is one of many territories inhabited primarily by anthropomorphic animal people, or Animals, as they were simply called. The settlements that dotted the land mostly took their names from the areas they were founded in. It was a simplistic scheme, but one that worked for the many species that made up their populations.

Along the peninsula on the island's western coast was a region known as Emerald Hill. It was a long stretch of hilly, tropical plains with many wildflowers, shrubs, palm trees, sandy beaches, and numerous small waterfalls among the cliffs in the higher reaches of the area. A few hundred Animals made their home in this place, and many were passingly familiar with each other. So, when someone new strolled into what could be loosely considered a small town, the news tended to make the rounds fairly quickly.

The visitor was a fox Animal that had mostly amber fur, with white fur around his muzzle that ended in four tufts on each cheek, much of his front torso with side-ward protruding fluff higher up on his chest, the tip of his rather thick and long tail, and the inner canals of his ears. He also had cyan-blue eyes, a small black nose, three prominent bangs in a loose fringe above his forehead, and a few tufts of “hair” on the back of his head that fanned out from the level of his muzzle to just below his shoulders. Lastly, he had a trio of tiny tufts atop his ears, and his fur turned tawny brown from the tips of his ears to a little more than halfway down, from his forearms down to his hands, from his calves down to his feet, and in a small jagged pattern that bordered the amber and white sections of his tail. He was tall and a smidgen on the lean side of what would be considered average for a medium frame, but his muscles were solid underneath his soft coat of fur. For attire, He wore white gloves with bands that matched his eyes around each wrist, and shoes that were blue from the heel to the middle and white from the middle to the toe, with gray soles and a cyan-blue band fastened about each ankle. He also had a strange backpack that shared his colors, one that appeared to be made of metal rather than fibers, and a pair of black wayfarer sunglasses that rested on the bridge of his muzzle.

"This is a nice place," he said aloud as he looked around, his voice a low and lyrical tenor, "reminds me of Puru Puru Village back home, only larger and more spread out."

He reached into his pack and pulled out a small device that resembled a one-handed RC car controller. It possessed an orange-yellow plastic casing with a square shape except for the lower left corner, which was longer than the rest, and it had both a thin handle with black wrappings on the top and a gray-black grip with orange plastic plating on the bottom. It also had small went holes in the upper corners and the lower left corner, a small green button in the lower right corner, and what appeared to be a silver button on each side. There was a thin antenna on the right side of its top surface, and lastly, it had a green-black and square screen in the center.

The fox held it in his left hand and tapped the button up against his thumb a few times, changing the contents on the screen to a radar display. Two tiny blinking lights in the shape of long emerald-cut gems popped up on the screen, one of them in the center, which was his current position. The other was on the edge of the right side, prompting the fox to click the button there a couple of times. The symbol moved closer to the middle of the screen, and a vague outline of the region's boundaries appeared on the radar as well.

"The reading's coming from less than one kilometer south-southeast," he murmured as he adjusted his course in that direction, "and judging from the elevation and topography, it should be above ground." He put the device back in his pack, stretched his arms and legs, and rolled his neck against his shoulders. "That should be easy enough to find."

He peered out down and over the hills that way, minding the placements of houses and cottages along the way. There was a modest forest a little further out, and then another beach beyond that, which was roughly within the distance he calculated. The fox knelt down into a runner’s starting position, took a few moments to reaffirm his path, then went into a sprint. To anyone that had been close by, he appeared as little more than an amber blur now, and they had to subsequently shield themselves from the immense gust of wind that followed in his wake. Although foxes were known to be pretty fast among the many species of Animal, the speed on display was more akin to what one would expect from an Olympic-level cheetah, if not even greater.

Within the first three seconds, he careened down a large and steep hill, tufts whipping in the wind as he leapt over a field of wildflowers, some of their petals scattering as he passed. There was a brief ascent after a short stretch, leading the fox to one of the many suspension bridges over the falls of the highlands. After crossing the planks, he jumped over a gap in the ground to a small plateau, then used that as a stepping stone to reach an even higher cliff. Past the incline there, he found one of several strange loops that were present throughout this land, and with his incredible speed, he traveled up and through the inside of the structure, then blasted off again once he was righted. The second three seconds ticked by, and he found his vision twisting as he ran along the length of a “bridge” in the style of a corkscrew. His feet led him to a sudden rise in the terrain, and he soon soared past the edge of another while he flipped forward in midair. The fox didn’t lose any momentum as he hit the ground, continuing across another suspension bridge, where two more loops awaited him not too far from there. Roughly seven seconds after he’d started his dash, he made it up this first loop, and then, using the speed he built up on the way down, cleared the second one with ease and shot into one of the tunnels in the hills. He came to yet another bridge with a large pair of waterfalls nearby, then a second corkscrew structure that connected two cliffs on his path. After crossing another gap, he landed in a grassy stretch of shrubs and palm trees and skidded to a stop, noticing that he was very close to the woods and the shoreline he’d spotted before.

The fox retrieved his gadget and recalled the radar function, fine-tuning it so that he could get a closer and more accurate reading. It was now about 100 meters away to the east, just a bit further up the coast. He smiled, then bolted to where it pointed him. When he arrived at his destination, where the forest met the shore, the fox was surprised to find a homely airstrip with a single red and gray hangar nearby. The runway was clear of sand and other debris, suggesting it saw frequent use, or had at least just been cleaned. There was no control tower either, so it must have been a private field. Once again checking his handheld, the fox determined that his objective was within the lone building. He stored the gizmo and made his way over to the hangar, considering what to do when he got to the main door. Did he go around to the side and try there, or perhaps knock on the shutter in front of him? That was assuming there was anyone there to greet him, anyway.

Having no better ideas, he shrugged his shoulders and went with his first option. A cursory search revealed a simple white door at the rear of the building. He first tested the knob, and when he found it locked, he raised a fist and rapped on the bleached metal a few times with his knuckles. His tall ears picked up the clatter of a spanner against concrete and a muffled tone of frustration, followed by the sound of shoes heading his way. A couple of seconds later, he heard the lock click and watched the door swing slowly inward.

On the other side was a young hedgehog that stood nearly two feet shorter than the fox. He had cobalt blue fur and quills over most of his lightly rounded body, with the exception of his belly, muzzle, and arms, which were covered in peach-tone flesh. The boy also had small, triangular ears, six long quills on the back of his head, two spines protruding from his back behind his shoulders, and a short tail. His emerald green eyes seemed strangely fused into one, as there was no division between the two sockets. He wore red sneakers with white ankle cuffs and white straps across top, which were held down by gold buckles, and a pair of white gloves with sock-like cuffs.

“Yeah?” he asked informally, his voice a tad nasally.

The young one didn’t seem one bit intimidated by the sight of someone nearly twice his height and presumably his age. Given that the kid's head only came up to about his belly, the fox was kind of impressed at that. However, he didn't really want to waste any more time than he had to. All he wanted was to get what he came for and then move on.

“Hey,” he greeted the azure hoglet casually, “this is probably going to sound weird, but I need to take a look in this hangar for something.”

The kid regarded him curiously. "Um, okay? Who are you?"

The bigger Animal couldn’t resist an opportunity to show off a little coolness. He smirked and tilted his sunglasses up to reveal his eyes to the smaller one, his fangs glinting in the sunlight.

"I'm Miles Prower," the fox introduced himself, leaning in against the doorway with his other arm, "a traveling mechanic and inventor with a fascination for the history and workings of our world and the things within and beyond it."

“I’m Nicky the Hedgehog,” the younger boy answered in kind. He perked part of his brow to show he was intrigued by what the fox said before. “So, a traveler, huh? Where are you from?”

"Just a little spot down south," the older guy replied vaguely, letting his shades stylishly fall back onto his snout.

The younger boy smirked at that. "Alright, so, what brings you here?"

Miles debated telling him the reason, as it wasn't exactly a subject that many were firm believers of. Even those that had witnessed what the fox had were hesitant to accept it. Heck, Miles himself had a hard time acknowledging it, as he was a fellow of logic and science, and what he sought was not something bound by either. No, he'd hold off on disclosing the truth to this lad. The explanation would come when it was relevant, if it ever came up. He’d prefer that it didn’t, to be honest. But, at the very least, he could show the reason, if not tell it.

"Well," Miles started, reaching back into his pack with one hand, "I'm looking for something that I think might be somewhere around here."

He knew where it was, of course, but he wasn’t about to give that away. Better to get this boy to lead him to it, if he knew himself. The fox brought out a gemstone that was roughly the size of a small smartphone. It had a long emerald-cut shape, and perfectly flawless cyan facets. And though Nicky wouldn't be able to tell from a glance, Miles felt a warm pulse coming from the stone, almost as if it were alive.

"Have you seen something that looks just like this, only a different color?" he inquired.

A look of recognition crossed Nicky's features and he stepped back to let the fox through.

"Yeah, I'll show you! Come on in!" the hedgehog said excitedly.

Thankful for how well things were proceeding, Miles readily accepted the invitation. When he stepped into the hangar, however, his eyes were immediately drawn to the craft in the center. It was a vintage biplane with a red fuselage and two gray main wings attached by pairs of poles on both sides. The empennage had two horizontal stabilizers and a vertical one, the latter of which was emblazoned with an emblem of a winged red and blue sphere that sported a star in its center. It was held up by two wheels below its main wings, and a third below its tail. It was the sort of aircraft that Miles had only seen in the books he liked to browse through, one that rarely saw much use these days outside of enthusiast pilots.

“Whoa,” the fox breathed out in wonder, finding himself walking over to it without much thought.

There were still sections where plating was needed, among other things, but he wanted to take a closer look nonetheless. He dug his feet into the ground and jumped high, landing on one of the wings. Miles peered over the edge into the seat, marveling at the gauges and buttons, and the shiny two-handed flight stick. He hopped into the seat and allowed himself a closer look, running his fingers over the displays and controls. He wasn’t afraid of activating anything, not with the state the plane was in. From what he could tell of that which was finished, though, everything appeared to be in working condition, and the body of the craft was otherwise pristine.

Satisfied for the moment, Miles leapt out of the cockpit and stuck a perfect three-point landing. He smiled and gave the vehicle’s chassis a gentle pat, almost like he was comforting a draft horse.

“You like planes?” he heard Nicky ask him from off to one side.

“Yeah,” he called back as he gestured to the fine piece of work, “I like all types of vehicles and machines, but planes are by far my favorite. This is a beautiful bird you’ve got here, Nick.”

The hedgehog giggled as he came around to meet the fox. “Well, she’s not finished yet, but hopefully soon!” He grinned as he cast a fond glance at the incomplete craft. “I plan on naming her the ‘Tornado’ when she’s all put together.”

‘That is a pretty cool name,’ Miles admitted to himself. The kid certainly had a good sense of style and taste, he’d give him that.

“Oh yeah, I found that other thing, too!”

Nicky extended his right hand to show that, indeed, his gem had the same exact shape and cut as the one the fox had. Rather than cyan, it was green, as was expected of an exemplary emerald, not to mention the same color as the hedgehog’s eyes. With the mineral this close, Miles could now also feel the same heat radiating from it as the one he possessed. Good to know that the radar function had steered him in the right direction after all.

“Yep, that’s definitely just like mine,” he confirmed, fixing an inquisitive gaze on Nicky. “Where’d you get it?”

The hedgehog nodded in the direction of the peninsula to the west through one of the hangar windows. “I found it in one of the abandoned emerald mines the other day.” He then turned back at Miles with a more interested expression on his face. “It does look nice, but I can’t really do anything with it. Since you said you’re looking for it, I’d be happy to give it to you...”

Miles could scarcely believe it. This kid was so willing to hand it over, just like that? He’d been expecting some kind of a show of stubborn resistance, or at least a bartering. Well, don’t look a gift Cloppy in the mouth, as the saying went. But, when he went to reach for the stone, Nicky pulled it back, flashing a confident grin at the fox.

“On one condition,” he clarified, his other hand pointing at Miles in a challenging manner, “we race for it. If you win, I’ll let you have it, and I'll even join you as your partner. We can use my plane to go around the world!”

Miles looked at him incredulously. Who did this kid think he was, trying to muscle his way into being a tag along?

"What," deadpanned the fox.

"I said I'll–"

"I heard what you said," Miles cut him off, running his bangs through his fingers as he let out a sigh, "you can't just decide that on your own, kid. And besides, I don't need a sidekick."

"Partner," Nicky corrected him.

"Partner, sidekick, assistant, however you want to refer to it," the fox replied, rolling his eyes, "I repeat myself: I don't need one. And why would I take you in if I win, anyway?"

Nicky put his hands on his hips and showed off a confident smirk.

"Because no one's ever beaten me in a race," he claimed proudly, "not once since the day I first started running."

Miles was rather doubtful of such a boast. But, when he scanned those green eyes, he didn't see any trace of arrogance or embellishment in them. Maybe the kid was telling the truth.

‘Well, if this is what I have to do to get that emerald,’ he considered, ‘then I'll just have to put up with it. Much as I wish I could move on already, I can't just take it. Well, I mean, I could if I wanted to, but it wouldn’t be the right thing to do.’

With that settled, there was just one more thing he needed to know.

“So, what happens if you win?” he had to ask.

Nicky chuckled. “I’ll still give you the rock, but you have to help me finish the Tornado...and you'll become my partner.”

The fox suppressed a groan at the insistence of the quill-coated child, finding himself losing his patience, not to mention his temper. That said, either way, he’d be getting what he was after. And if by some unforeseen complication he did end up losing, it was a great opportunity to flex his muscles as a mechanic. He could just bounce after that, since he really wasn't interested in being a partner to anyone. Then again, perhaps if this turned out to not be a grievous misuse of his time, he’d lend his skills even if he won. It wasn’t every day that one got to work on an airplane, after all, much less one like the Tornado. Still a firm no to the sidekick idea, though, in either case.

“Alright, I accept,” Miles announced, holding out a hand to the hedgehog. To get him back for his earlier stunt, he withdrew his glove a little bit when Nicky reached to shake it. "Only if I get to choose whether or not to be partners with you."

Nicky's facial expressions ranged from irritation to contemplation, and ultimately to acceptance. He nodded his assent, prompting the fox to extend his hand once more. The hedgehog met it halfway and gave it a firm shake. “Cool, let’s head out to the hills, I know the perfect race course. Just, ah, be ready for some people wanting to see what’s up. I’m a bit of a local celebrity...”


“Hey, someone’s gonna race Nicky!”

“Oh man, this guy doesn’t know what he’s getting into.”

“Mmm, I dunno. Foxes are really fast, and this one’s pretty fine, too.”

“Pfft, good looks have nothing to do with speed. Just watch, that cute face will be a long face soon enough.”

When Nicky had been telling him to expect spectators and that he was known around the area, Miles hadn’t thought that their little race would draw such a large crowd. They had been on their way over when a couple of civilians had asked what they were up to. When Nicky had filled them in, they went off to tell other people around town. Now, there were at least a few dozen Animals that had come to see, with a number of Critters, that is, non-anthropomorphic creatures, also in attendance. Not only that, but many of them voiced their support for the young hedgehog, confident that he could handily defeat the fox. Judging from how certain they were of Nicky’s victory, Miles felt a bit of doubt creep into his mind.

Would it be wrong of him to come out of the gate on a serious note? His opponent was a child, but the villagers' faith in him made Miles believe that he shouldn’t go easy on him. Still, a part of him felt bad about potentially embarrassing Nicky. He didn’t want to blow the kid away too badly, less so in front of so many backers.

After setting themselves up at the same bit of land he’d stopped at earlier, Miles walked over to Nicky and put on a friendly demeanor.

“Let’s just have fun, alright?” he offered, “no matter what happens, no hard feelings.”

The hedgehog flashed him a thumbs-up. “Yeah, for sure, I won’t feel bad...”

Well, it was good to see that he was so sporting about thi–

“As long as you don’t feel bad about losing to a kid,” he added cheekily and wagged his index finger.

Miles’ smile evaporated as he glared daggers at Nicky through his specs. He had a feeling the hoglet could tell that he was, too, from the way he was beaming at him.

‘Alright, you want to be like that? Fine,’ the fox thought.

He shut his eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm himself. Afterwards, he shrugged his backpack off of his shoulders, set it down on the ground, knelt down next to it and gave it a pat.

“Watch my stuff for me, Remi,” Miles said to the bag, drawing odd looks from the crowd and Nicky.

The tote suddenly and rapidly changed shape, the grinding of metal and the clicking of mechanical joints ringing out in the air. After a few seconds, what was standing there was not a backpack, but a robot! It was a small, quadrupedal likeness of the fox, though not to exact specifications. Its head was more proportioned like that of a goofy, almost cartoonish chihuahua, for it was nearly the same size as its body. Like Miles, it was mostly an amber color with white details and a little tawny brown on the ears. Its eyes were gray rather than sky blue like the fox's, it had a pink metal tongue within its muzzle, and it sported a thin tail with a blue sphere on the end.

Miles plucked his sunglasses off his muzzle and placed them on the robot’s own, which barked and wagged its tail much like a real dog Critter. He chuckled and rubbed it under the chin before he stood up and directed it to go stand with the crowd. After it did so, he went back over to the spiny kid, a small part of him rather enjoying the surprised expression on the younger boy’s face.

“Alright, now I’m ready,” he told the hedgehog.

Nicky blinked at him. “What’s up with the robot dog?”

“Oh, Remi’s my companion I built from scratch,” Miles said offhandedly, as though creating an autonomous artificial being was no big deal.

“I thought you said you didn’t need a partner.”

“I also just said that Remi’s my companion. He’s more of a pet than a protege,” the fox responded. He folded his arms and cocked his head to one side, a small smile on his lips. “So, are we going to race, or have you decided to wuss out?”

The hedgehog ignored the taunt and went over to kneel down into a starting position parallel to the last palm tree on the stretch. The fox joined him on his right and readied himself, his tail flicking behind him in anticipation. Standing next to the palm tree was a pink rabbit with a tan-peach belly and inner ears, and purple eyes that were merged similar to Nicky’s. He also wore the exact same sorts of gloves and shoes as the hedgehog, though without the gold buckles on the latter. They were probably friends, or the spiny tyke was popular enough that folks copied his fashion sense.

“Alright, the moment my stick slaps the tree,” he explained, holding up a drumstick for all to see, “and I say so, you guys go. Ready? On your mark...”

Both racers pressed the toes of their shoes against the soil so that they could more readily kick off. They momentarily stretched their arms behind themselves before bringing them forward again.

“Get set,” the rabbit warned, his fingers expertly twirling the stick as though it were a baton.

Miles and Nicky placed their fingers onto the ground and lowered their heads, keeping their gaze forward. They folded their ears out behind them, both to listen for the signal and to keep the coming wind from blowing into them. The lapine suddenly stopped spinning his instrument and thwacked it against the trunk of the palm.

“GO!”

The crowd let out a gasp as cobalt and amber streaks shot forward like rockets and nearly blew them away. Miles had started at 35 meters per second; it wasn't close to his top speed, but it was still faster than what most Animals were capable of, even among the species that were far more agile than his own on average. Thus, he was alarmed to see Nicky keeping pace with him, and not even breaking a sweat, at that.

‘Okay, he's pretty quick for a prepubescent boy, especially a hedgehog,’ Miles conceded to himself, ‘but I’m just getting started!’

The two of them shot down a minor slope that led to a bridge, followed by a shorter but sharper descent that carried them across a second overpass. They hit a rise in the terrain that sent them sailing into the air, trading a gander at one another and then the ground below. Miles whipped his tail in an arc and redirected his momentum forward and down, soon landing on a hill near yet another crossing. He leaned forward and tucked his arms closer to his sides, and then once his feet hit the planks, he doubled his speed.

In a flash, he was on the other side and already more than halfway up a loop structure, slowing down for but a moment before he descended through the other opening. As he came to a second one, Miles peered up above him, and his jaw tightened as he saw Nicky leap from the top of the previous arch to the next. In another blink, he cleared the successive loop and found himself entering one of hollowed out tunnels in the hills. The fox had to screech to a stop when faced with a high cliff wall, but he wasn’t hindered long, for his powerful legs allowed him to clear the height of it.

After moving across another platform over the falls, he jumped low between two palms, then pounced up to another cliff just beyond the coming decline. He made his way up the grassy ramp here, spotting the young hedgehog running along a corkscrew bridge a few meters above his position. The fox hurried over several short gaps in the cliffs, dropped down to another short plain, and then came to one of the small twisted crossings himself. As he was about to enter it, he saw Nicky catch up to him and run by his side over the bridge and towards a long and flat grassy plain.

“I hope this isn’t all you’ve got,” the young speedster taunted him, no sign of a sweat or haggard breath, “because I’m just coasting!”

Miles laughed excitedly. His blood was pumping from the exercise, the thrill of the competition, and the prospect of this boy having more to give. He hadn't expected to have this much fun, but here he was. And the kid was already pretty fast, but could he match up to the more mature vulpine? There was only one way to find out, and he was eager to test it.

“Not even close,” the fox retorted, coaxing the hedgehog into giving more effort, “how about we stop playing around?”

“Sounds good to me! There’s a big palm at the end of this road before we hit the Zone border. We’ll turn around there and go for it!”

The pair of them came to level ground, and then their vision blurred as they more than tripled their velocity. They grit their teeth and heavily lidded their eyes, arms pinned to their sides as they leaned forward as much as they could to reduce their drag. In no time, the aforementioned tree showed up in their sights. They each put distance between one another, circled around the trunk from opposite sides, and then that’s when things really heated up.

Miles pushed himself to a staggering 315 meters per second, ninety percent of the speed of sound in the prevailing environmental conditions. He growled as he noticed Nicky do the same, the both of them essentially flying over the ground. The lightest jump carried them past the cliff they’d used but a moment before, reversing their course back across the small corkscrew bridge. The hedgehog took the low road back while the fox hurtled himself from the top of the crossing to the higher ground and the loop up there. He cleared it in no time and came to the much larger winding structure he’d seen Nicky use earlier.

On the last rising slope of the bridge, he whipped his tail and transferred his momentum to vault above and over the two loops uphill of him. This put him in the position to land on the cliff high above the cave he’d passed through, only to see Nicky shoot out of said cavern’s entrance. Miles propelled himself to the upper of the two following loops, just closing the gap before having to hop up to a higher cliff to avoid the oncoming rock face. He nearly destroyed a wooden bridge he crossed on the upper path, then came face to face with the hedgehog as they approached the final stretch back.

‘This is so cool,’ the fox mused, unable to hide an awestruck smile.

“I’m not gonna lose!” Nicky proclaimed, his legs turning into a veritable blurred wheel, “now, it’s over!”

BOOM!

Miles watched as an even lighter blue sort of shield manifested in front of the hedgehog, but he knew from that noise what it truly meant. The kid had broken the sound barrier. The older boy had to admit that he hadn’t expected to have to actually try this hard. It was exhilarating to be able to push himself this much again after it had been quite a while since the last instance. But if the little blue blur thought he’d already won, then he was sorely mistaken.

“Never count your Cuckies before they hatch!” the fox shouted, even though he logically knew that Nicky wouldn’t be able to hear him.

BOOM!

Miles, too, told the sound barrier to go curl up in a corner as he tore through it. But he didn’t stop there. To Nicky, it appeared that the fox’s big tail suddenly split in half, leaving him stunned. In reality, it had been two separate tails all along, and the pair of them rapidly spun behind Miles like helicopter rotors. Despite the seeming physical and anatomical impossibility of the action, it worked, and the fox’s feet left the ground, clipping it every so often with his toes like fingers rapidly thumbing the pages of a book. The sheer acceleration and the dramatic increase in speed caused him to barrel past his opponent, catching the hedgehog giving him a look of incredulity.

He only had a brief moment to make use of his hidden talent before he had to hide it again, as he needed to seriously put on the brakes before he got to the crowd. Nicky might have seen his two tails, but he didn't want others around here to know, not yet. The fox nearly fell over as his legs carved up a huge swath in the soil from his skidding, stopping just past the rabbit that had acted as their starting gunner. Less than a second later, Nicky zipped up behind him, a disbelieving look on his face.

“I...I lost?” he uttered in astonishment, his eyes shifting between the fox in front of him and the path they’d just raced behind him.

Murmurs swept through the gathered Animals, many of them just as shocked, though for various reasons.

“D-did that really just happen? Nicky actually lost? But, he never loses! That other guy must have cheated!”

“Heehee, you were so confident Nicky was going to win. I think I like that fox even more now.”

“Insane...they raced across the whole eastern half of the Zone and back in less than half a minute.”

While some of the people started to leave, the rest gave a respectful round of applause to the two racers. The fox even got a few shouts of “yeah” and a couple of whistles from some fans he’d apparently made. With the comprehension of his victory finally sinking in, Miles grinned from ear to ear. He balled his fists and did a 360 spin on one foot before flashing a peace sign to the onlookers. He snapped his fingers with his other hand, then reached out to catch his specs when Remi flicked them over to him, placing them back where they belonged. After what he’d just been up against, he was allowed to show off a little, right?

‘Oh yeah,’ he congratulated himself, ‘Miles Prower, star of the hour.’ His expression became more pensive after coming down from his winner’s high a little bit. ‘Well, that was fun, and Nicky sure is something else. I bet he feels cramped running around here. I know I would want to go out and find a place with more room after a while.' Something of a defeated smirk crossed his muzzle and he shrugged his shoulders. 'I suppose I could stick around a little longer and help him with that plane, at least. Maybe I could give him a few pointers about piloting, too, if he’s not already knowledgeable.'

He thanked the crowd, watched them disperse, then wheeled around and strode over to Nicky. He slapped a hand onto his shoulder, which seemed to knock the hedgehog out of his daze as he jumped a little bit from the action.

“That was awesome,” the teen praised, shaking him lightly, “I had my doubts before, but after seeing you in action, I can definitely believe that you’ve never lost a race before.” He then stuck out his tongue and winked. “Well, until today, that is. No hard feelings for breaking your streak, though, right?”

Nicky let out a “tsk” and folded his arms as he pretended to gaze off in one direction. “Yeah, I guess.”

Miles chuckled and gave the kid’s shoulder a soft squeeze before letting it go.

“Hey, Nick,” he said with a gentler tone, his brazen smile softening to a more compassionate one, “I really did have a great time, more than I thought I would. So, guess what? I’m going to help you finish the Tornado.”

The hedgehog's head jerked up at that, stars in his eyes. "Really!?"

"Yep. We can get started right away, if you want."

Nicky pumped a fist excitedly. "Alright! Hey, you think maybe we could also be par–"

"No," Miles interrupted, lightly poking the spiny boy's black nose, "I'm already offering to do something for you that I originally agreed to do only if I lost. Don't push it."

The hedgehog shut his mouth and huffed through his nose. Miles might have been insistent, but so was he. He'd get the fox to come around, sooner or later.


Meanwhile, on the other end of West Side Island, a small but inconspicuous landmass could be seen offshore. While it appeared to be a mostly plain, grassy islet, underneath the surface of the ocean, it was anything but. Its true form was that of a titanic metal fortress with a round underside, relatively small aircraft wings, a huge runway that protruded from the flight deck on the top side, a bridge that stood tall and proud in the center of the structure, and many, many batteries of artillery cannons and anti-aircraft guns all over.

Within the command center of the bridge, there were many short bird Animals with white plumage, orange beaks and feet. They wore red combat jackets, black flight goggles, and dark blue helmets in the shape of shark fins, which had an insignia of a rooster’s skull with an intact comb and waddle. Each of them were busily minding a computer console or moving to attend to other tasks, speaking only when it was necessary. Watching them go about their duties was an avian that stood about twice as tall as them and had a pronounced and slightly round lower torso. He was dressed in a red coat, dark green pants with high-heeled shoes, white gauntlets with red cuffs, a pair of blue pince-nez glasses, and a large, black hat with the previously mentioned insignia on the front. He also had two tail feathers that were the same shade as his pants, light orange and brown feathers, and a large orange beak filled with crooked teeth.

His attention shifted as a pair of chrome double doors slid open to reveal another figure. It was a green-feathered bird Animal with red eyes and a yellow beak that stood a little more than a head shorter than the big guy. His attire consisted of a white sleeveless jumpsuit with red striped patterns on the sides, a red neckerchief, brown gloves, brown goggles with red lenses, and brown boots with lighter brown cuffs, stripes and soles. He walked into the chamber, made his way over to the apparent leader, and stopped a couple of meters in front of him. The verdant flier folded one arm across his chest and bowed humbly, averting his eyes from a direct gaze out of respect.

"I've returned from my mission, milord," he announced in a light baritone.

"Welcome home, Speedy," replied the bigger bird in a regal and gentlemanly voice, giving his subordinate a nod, "were you successful in your endeavors?"

The shorter avian grinned, revealing crooked teeth much like his superior's own set. He reached into the collar of his flight suit and felt around his breast, soon pulling out a gemstone. It was identical to the ones possessed by a certain fox and hedgehog, though in this case, it was a rich magenta like a rhododendron flower. He studied it for a moment before holding it out to his lord, showing a proud smirk.

"Yes, Great Battle Kukku," he affirmed, chuckling a little, "it's funny. This is the same one I tried to retrieve last time..." He trailed off for a second to grit his teeth and snarl angrily. "The same one I lost to that two-tailed freak!"

"Now, now, my son," the GBK said calmly as he plucked the mineral from the irate flier with one hand while the other patted a shoulder, "we shall have our revenge in due time." He stood back and held the gem up high, staring through its facets. "For the moment, we must locate and acquire the remaining Chaos Emeralds. With their power and Dr. Fukurokov's designs, the Battle Kukku Empire shall become the true rulers of not only the skies, but the land and sea below! All birds will be united under one incredible wingspan, and shall be in control of this world as they were always meant to be!" He sidled over to the prince and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "And you, Speedy, shall guide us through the coming glorious golden age!"

'And we'll all live happily ever after,' the young adult sarcastically thought, 'I get to shoulder so many burdens I never asked for. Yay.'

The GBK released his son and tightly squeezed the Emerald, his bright smile shifting to a sinister scowl. "Then, once our victory is assured, we shall crush Miles Prower once and for all!" He then stood straight, cleared his throat, and returned the stone to Speedy. “But enough about that for now. Most excellent work on retrieving this, Speedy. Take it down to Dr. Fukurokov in his lab, and then you are free to do as you will until I summon you for your next mission.”

“Yes, my liege,” the heir to the Empire replied, bowed once again, then made his way out of the room.

Speedy followed the long, dull gray corridor to the bridge’s elevator, lazily saluting to soldiers along the way. When he got to the shaft, he was pleased that the car that arrived had no one else inside. He tapped the button for the floor he needed, then leaned back against the wall as he rode on down. He brought the Emerald up close and gazed deeply into it, turning it over to play with the light coming through.

'Tch, lost you?' he mused bitterly, 'I wish that had been what happened.' His scowl deepened at the Emerald. 'Instead, I handed you over out of respect for some genetic anomaly's aerial abilities.' His free hand slowly balled into a tight fist. 'And then he saved me when he could have easily let me die. He could have killed us all if he’d wanted to. Yet, despite everything that I and the rest of the Empire did, he spared us.'

"Why?" He had asked it out loud without meaning to.

'Even the worst people deserve a second chance, Speedy,' came the memory of Miles' answer.

The young adult avian rammed his fist into the display screen above the elevator buttons, cracking the glass and distorting the floor preview. Some second chance. His father and the doctor had already squandered theirs, and he hadn’t even been given the opportunity to capitalize on his own. His father had made certain that any thoughts of discharge, or worse, desertion, were swiftly swept aside. He was promised the freedom to do as he pleased and rule how he saw fit once the world was theirs, but Speedy didn’t want that. All he desired was to live life how he wanted, not how others expected him to.

"Damn you, Miles!" he shouted, his voice echoing around the car as his mood turned volatile, "if only you hadn't been so merciful." He snarled and glared at the magenta Emerald. "I'm in the same position I was four years ago, and just as resentful of it. All because of your bleeding heart!"

He chucked the gemstone at the walls, hearing it clink and bounce around a few times before stopping. It didn't even have the slightest scratch after that, as expected. With a resigned sigh, Speedy bent down and picked it up just in time for the elevator to arrive at the right floor.

"Stupid sentimental fox," he muttered morosely as he stepped out of the car.

Speedy only had to go a short distance before he passed through the entrance to the laboratory. Among the shelves of texts, messes of wires and scraps, and tools scattered on tables and strung up along the walls, he found the doctor. Dr. Fukurokov was a rather short and elderly brown owl with a big, flowing white beard, and a yellow beak and talons. He wore white gloves with blue cuffs, blue open-toed sandals, a red robe-like pair of overalls, and a pair of blue glasses with spiral designs in the lenses.

The doctor’s head swiveled around just short of a semicircle to turn to Speedy, a broad grin on his beak.

“Ah, Lord Speedy,” he greeted the younger bird in an airy voice tinged with the cracks of old age, turning the rest of his body around to properly face him, “you have returned from your mission. And I see you have procured a Chaos Emerald as well!”

“Yeah, yeah,” the heir replied in a far more flippant tone than what he used in front of his father, “Father told me to drop this off with you, so here you go.”

Speedy unceremoniously planted the Chaos Emerald in the owl’s hands, then spun around on his heel to leave. Before he could get far, he heard the old scientist waddling after him.

“Hold on a moment, is that all?” Dr. Fukurokov asked him as his brow dug into his specs, clearly annoyed.

Without turning around, Speedy waved him off dismissively. “Yes, that’s all, Dr. F.”

“I do wish you would address me properly,” the owl complained.

“Hey, I’ve told you before,” the prince said as he shrugged his shoulders, “I know what it is, I just can’t pronounce it to save my life.” He reached the edge of the lab and stopped at the door for a moment. “Besides, I need some rest before I have to go out again. You can study the Emerald and, I don’t know, maybe send some of those new Kukkudroids or whatever out on a mission to get another one? Later, doc.”

Once Speedy was out of earshot and out of sight, the doctor let out a hiss.

“Disrespectful chick,” he cursed, moving back over to where he’d been working before the royal pain walked in, “I've been chief engineer of this vessel since the tail-feather end of your grandfather's reign. My genius is wasted on hatchlings like you."

He peered down at his console, where an image and many lines of information were on display. It was a bird-like machine with a body shape and appearance like that of normal grunts, but with metallic gray bodies, orange heads, and black "eyes". Its arms had retractable wings, and its talons were notably sharper and more fierce than those of its organic counterparts. It also possessed a turbine in its head, as well as exhaust ports on the bottom of its feet.

"Though I suppose I should thank you, prince," the doctor said as he uttered a dark chuckle, "for I shall take your advice in this instance. Having my Robo Kukkus go to task would be so much more efficient than letting you gallivant about with feather and blood troops. Maybe then, you will learn to appreciate my brilliance as you rightfully should. Hoo hoo hoo!"


"Well, that should do it, Nick!" Miles announced as he tightened one last bolt with his spanner.

The fox stepped back and took a moment to admire the handiwork he'd managed with the young hedgehog's help. The Tornado was complete after several hours, a task that would've taken that many more days or even a couple of weeks normally. Nicky hadn't realized how much of the scrap around the hangar could be broken down and repurposed. Then again, he didn't have a robot dog that could act as a smelter, scanner, spotlight, soldering kit, and more on the go. But, that aside, the plane was done! Miles felt that there was something missing, however.

"Although, I feel like the space between the cockpit and the rear stabilizer could have something painted there," he commented.

Nicky glanced at the area of the fuselage the fox mentioned. "Like a name or something?"

"Yeah," the older boy said with a nod, "something to let people know she's yours."

The hoglet pondered the idea for a moment before he smiled.

"Well, I know she's fast," he reasoned, "and I like going fast. Maybe something to do with that?"

Miles snickered. "Fast is an understatement. We were both going supersonic during the final stretch of our race."

"Supersonic," Nicky mumbled to himself, though still loud enough the fox could hear, "Sonic...hey, that works!"

With a brush and paint can in hand, the little cobalt speedster applied his artistic touch. It took him only a handful of seconds on each side, then he jumped back to take a gander. Just behind the cockpit on both sides, the word "SONIC" was now written, with stretchy F-letter labels underlining them.

“What do you think?” he asked the fox.

Miles gave the Tornado a firm pat near its power plant and gave the hedgehog the peace sign. “I think it fits just fine."

"Nice." Nicky paused for a few seconds, then looked at the other Animal with a grin. "I think I'll go with it, too."

The fox perked his brow curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Call me Sonic," the other stated simply as he jabbed a thumb at himself, "I like giving nicknames to people, but I never got one myself. It'd be cool, don't you think?"

Miles hummed as he ruminated on that, twitching his tails in alternating patterns. It would certainly be an appropriate moniker after what he'd seen earlier that day. And "Sonic the Hedgehog" did have a much better ring to it than "Nicky", if he were to be honest. In any event, the kid could do whatever he wanted, and if that's what he decided, then good for him.

"Sure," he told the hoglet with an amused smile, "at least there'd be no doubt who the Tornado belongs to when people look at it."

"True that," the newly dubbed Sonic agreed, looking quite pleased with himself, "I gotta come up with one for you, too."

The fox shrugged at that, not really caring one way or the other. As the boy mulled it over, Miles went to the work bench and retrieved the gem he'd won. He knew that if he brought it into more direct proximity with his own, they would react to each other, and that it wouldn't be a minor affair. That was why he had Remi maintain his distance ever since they returned. He was still set on not wanting Sonic to find out about what these rocks could really do. Unlike most, the hedgehog seemed like the type that would actually believe what he had to say. Because of that, Miles was convinced his new acquaintance would want to tag along if he heard the truth.

'Never mind not wanting him to follow me,' he thought as he tucked the emerald into the fluff of his tails, 'I wouldn't want him to get hurt or worse.'

"I've got it!" Sonic exclaimed suddenly, causing Miles to flinch.

Shaking off the slight fright, the fox turned around to face the hedgehog.

"What'd you come up with?" he asked, willing to humor the boy.

Sonic pointed to the older Animal's soft twin appendages. "Well, your two tails are really cool." He smirked a little when the fox's ears folded back and the guy rubbed at the back of his head. That told him well enough that Miles wasn't used to being complimented about his unique trait. "So, I figured I'd call you 'Tails'."

To Sonic's surprise, Miles tensed up and his fur visibly bristled. He tilted his head down so that his eyes could peek above his shades and gaze at the boy. The hedgehog could have sworn there was a brief glint of sadness in those cyan-blue spheres, but it was swiftly replaced by evident anger. It was punctuated by him slowly stepping closer, his lips curling and showing his fangs.

"No, you won’t," he growled, his tails puffed up to further show his irritation as he stood only a meter away now.

Sonic tilted his head in confusion. "Huh? What's wrong with it? If you think I'm making fun of you, I'm not. I just–"

"Don’t call me Tails!" Miles all but shouted, looming over the smaller animal, "do you understand?"

The kid stepped back and held up his hands defensively. "Okay, calm down, big guy. I get it, you don't like it."

'That's not it,' Miles replied internally, moving his sight away from Sonic, 'I used to love being called that, but...'

He shook his head quickly. He didn't want to think about the day he stopped liking that designation given to him. Miles placed a hand on his chest and slowly breathed in and out, focusing only on the feeling of his fingers in his fur. In time, the heat left his head and his thoughts moved past that unpleasant near-recollection. He cast an apologetic look over to Sonic, his ears and tails drooped down.

"Sorry, I just have a bad memory associated with it," Miles explained as best he could without revealing anything too personal.

"Hey, it's okay," Sonic assured him, an empathetic smile on his face, "you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. I'll come up with something else, alright?"

The fox nodded and let out a wistful sigh. He shifted his attention to the main window and saw that the blue sky had faded into the soft reds and oranges of dusk. He recalled that on the map he'd checked of West Side Island prior to coming here, there was a city further to the east of Emerald Hill. If he left now and kept a decent pace, he could get there just before nightfall and get himself a hotel room. He had his doubts that there was a place here where he could crash, and he didn’t want to impose on any of the locals.

“Well, I better get going,” he said a bit awkwardly, “I need to find a place before it gets too late.”

Sonic shook a finger at him. “Why do that when you can just bunk up with me? I don’t mind.”

Miles lightly clicked his tongue. He’d been expecting that, what with the propositions of being partners from before. It was tempting to not have to run all the way to the next place over, but again, he didn’t want to be a burden. He needed to get to finding the next gem as well, and he’d have a better head start if he left now.

“I shouldn’t,” he told the hedgehog as he headed towards the exit of the hangar, “I need to keep moving.” To his relief, it appeared as though Sonic got the message, though he was visibly disappointed. The fox stopped and turned around, then knelt down to the kid’s level, resting a hand on his shoulder like he had earlier. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back to visit before I leave the island.” He smiled and winked. “I wouldn’t want to miss the Tornado’s maiden flight, after all.”

That seemed to cheer Sonic up, as the young hedgehog flashed him a thumbs up in return. With that, Miles bid him adieu for the time being, Remi following him out dutifully. The little robot morphed into its backpack shape, which the fox then hoisted up over his shoulders, stowing away his sunglasses before taking off in a run. He followed the path that he and Sonic had taken earlier for their race, and soon enough, he went beyond the tree they had used the marker to double back. From there, he could see pristine skyscrapers and an immense industrial plant complex whose structures towered over even those, the lights providing him a convenient beacon as the sun dipped lower into the sky.

Once he was certain that he was far enough away from anyone noticing, he withdrew both of the stones he now had from their respective places on his person. The moment he brought them close in his hands, a light welled up within the core of the minerals. It soon became too bright for him to look at directly, but Miles knew what was happening even with his eyes shut. A cool sensation shot up his spine, one that was pleasant and familiar. It gradually spread out into each part of him, his whole body feeling like it was being cleansed by mint, his most favorite flavor in sweets. Right to the tips of his fingers, toes, ears, and nose, the small aches from his earlier race faded. Miles kept his eyes closed and his hold fast until every trace of heat from his sore muscles vanished and the energy bubbling between the two gems finally calmed down.

Miles opened his eyes to see that the light within the emeralds had settled into a dim, but constant glow. He let out a breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding in, then placed both of the stones into Remi’s storage space. With his mind cleared and his body healed up, the fox continued on his journey. Just as he’d calculated, he managed to arrive at the limits of what was called Canton City with minutes to spare before the last vestiges of the day faded away.

He brought out his trusty gadget and zoomed out the range of his radar. It detected the two in his pack, and then a third one that was a bit further east. It wasn't in the city itself, from what he could gather, and it was a bit lower down in terms of elevation. Oh well, he could determine its location tomorrow, after he got a meal in him and a good night's rest.

KRACKOOM!

Such thoughts of winding down were rudely interrupted by a large and fiery explosion that came from the plant in the middle of town. Cars in the street stopped, and Animals were pointing to the commotion. Miles' vision snapped to that of a forest in flames, Flicky birds fleeing in terror, only for some of them to be caught up in the horrific blaze. He could hear their cries for help, for him, their friend that had lived by them for so long. To him, they were like those of any other person, even though they were Critters and did not have a "language" in the way Animals understood. He had been close enough to them to develop such a comprehension, and so when he heard one close by, not as echoes of this memory, his mind came back to the present. He saw a blue Flicky in front of him, chirping frantically and gesturing to the pillar of smoke from the site of the blast.

"Easy there," he said soothingly, holding out one hand for the small bird to rest on, "just slow down and tell me what’s happening."

The Flicky bobbed its head and chirped up at him in a more level way.

"Strange shiny birds," he mumbled aloud as his ears made sense of the feelings behind the sounds, "searching for something. Some walk, some fly. Animal birds with them, a rooster skull..." His eyes widened. "The Battle Kukku Empire! They must've found out the Chaos Emeralds are here and set up shop under everyone’s noses!” He clenched his other hand into a fist so tightly that it trembled. “It’s Cocoa Island all over again!"

"The who, what, and where now?" came a voice from behind him.

Miles just about jumped his own height into the air, then whirled around to face the speaker. He had to rub his eyes a couple of times before he accepted that they weren't playing tricks on him. It was Sonic, of all people, peering up at him expectantly.

'You've got to be kidding me,' Miles thought with much exasperation.

“What are you doing here?” he asked the hedgehog with audible irritation, crossing his arms and tapping one of his feet like a parent waiting on their kid’s flimsy explanation.

The kid pointed at the plume rising in the distance. "I heard that all the way from Emerald Hill, so I came to check it out.” He gave the fox a wry smile. “Sounds like you know what's going on."

Miles would have asked how he got here so fast, but he already knew, so he didn't bother. Besides, he was more concerned about dealing with the Empire now that they'd arrived on West Side Island.

"Yeah," he admitted, turning back around to face the carnage, "I don't have time to explain the full story right now. To simplify and summarize, some bad guys I've fought before are here and want magical gems to take over the world."

Sonic's eyes shone with wonder and his body visibly vibrated in his excitement. “Does that mean you're a hero!?"

Miles' ears wilted as he lowered his head somberly. Some people called him a hero, yes, but the fox didn't think of himself as one. He didn't fight for fame or whatever perks came with doing what he did. In most cases, there was no one else that could or would, and Miles didn't believe it was right to be idle as others were harmed.

"I just can’t stand seeing people and Critters be subjected to cruelty and wanton destruction," he told the spiny boy, petting the scared Flicky with the back of a couple fingers to try and comfort it.

For the first time since they'd met, Sonic's expression became truly serious. He took a step forward, legs poised to run at a moment's notice.

"I feel the same way, big guy," he empathized, "we gotta do something!"

"Oh no," Miles objected, shifting one of his tails in front of the kid like a road block. While he would have normally appreciated the help, Sonic was just a child. The kid really shouldn't have to get involved with his personal battles. "You don't know what they're like, Sonic. You're fast, but you need more than speed to beat the Battle Kukkus. You have to plan–"

"I think best on my feet," the hoglet cut him off, hopping over the furry obstruction and moving on ahead, "so come on!"

"No, Sonic, wait–"

The hedgehog put on the gas and was already several tens of meters away before the fox could finish. Miles let the Flicky go and double facepalmed, slowly dragging his gloves down his muzzle and letting out a slow, long suffering puff through his nose.

"Damn it."

He shook off his mounting frustration for the moment and hurried after Sonic. Not only did he have to stop the Kukkus, but he had to make sure nothing bad happened to this reckless kid. And it had been such a good day, too.

Notes:

I came up with this story while mulling over what to write for the 30th anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The idea itself, switching around Sonic and Tails' ages and roles, is something I've always wanted to try. The Battle Kukku Empire is the main antagonistic force due to circumstances leading to them surviving this universe's version of events surrounding Tails' Adventures, rather than dying like in the original game. While Dr. Robotnik/Eggman would have been fine as the big villain, I wanted to utilize other characters and make it so that Sonic and Tails' ages and roles weren't the only ones being changed. Don't worry, though, everyone's favorite hard-boiled scientist will still be knocking around in some way, shape, and form...but it may not be a simple swap.

Miles' personality here, while still retaining core traits like bravery, gentleness, and intelligence, takes notes from other depictions in that he's not as modest, and is more "cool", rude, and temperamental. There's also the consideration that he's a hormonal teenager and spent almost twice as long growing up without Sonic as he did in the games. That's not to say he didn't make other friends that may have influenced him, however. His physical appearance is similar to the one he has in the fan-comic "Brotherhood Twist" by drawloverlala on DeviantArt, which I do recommend giving a look. I changed his wrist and ankle bands to sky blue and his shoes to blue because I find it more aesthetically pleasing, and as he wore wayfarer shades in the manga, I decided to have him do so here to reference that. I honestly don't have a well-known VA in mind for teenage Miles; I simply think of his voice by Kate Higgins and imagine it around an octave lower. Colleen Villard (née O'Shaughnessey) was my original choice, and I do like her take, but after revisiting some of the games, I find Higgins to be a better fit.

As for Sonic, he takes less from other parts of the overall franchise, though I thought working in his name from the manga as well as that version's admiration of heroes would be cute. I also always figured that Sonic had to be a competent aeromechanic in addition to being a pilot, enough to perform maintenance at the least. While not a gearhead like the fox, I made it so that the Tornado is a personal project that he gets around to finishing with Miles' assistance; consider it the one thing he's really good at when it comes to machines. His appearance is based mostly on Classic Sonic, while the voice is meant to be similar to his portrayal by Jaleel White, at least for as long as he's a kid.

The Great Battle Kukku and Speedy take their designs from the Archie comics, pre-reboot and post-reboot, respectively, while Dr. Fukurokov's likeness is more in line with (but not quite identical to) his original game depiction. Their personalities are something of a combination of their game and comic versions, with adjustments made here and there. As for voices, just use your imagination with the descriptions I provided to determine what sounds best, as I have no ideal VAs for them.

Remi is pretty much an expy of T-Pup, which was the Archie comics' spin on the Remote Robot from Tails' Adventures. It has more forms and functions here due to Miles' increased knowledge and experience, in part because of his age. Like the other incarnations, it wasn't made for direct combat, but it can be helpful in other ways.

The Chaos Emeralds being long emerald-cut is just a personal preference of mine here, and I am aware that the Sol Emeralds are square emerald-cut in the canon.

And lastly, chapter length will vary, as I usually keep writing until I feel I'm at a good place to stop. This also means no set update schedule, but I'll do my best not to be too sporadic. Anyway, that's all for now. Tune in next time, where the boys contend with the attack on the Chemical Plant!

Chapter 2: Chemical Crises

Summary:

Our protagonist and his intrepid young acquaintance tackle the crisis at the Chemical Plant Complex! What will they find within the depths of the facility and what has the Battle Kukku Empire prepared for them?

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Miles came to a stop at the border of the Chemical Plant Complex, where the clean streets and occasional foliage gave way to cold steel and iron ground. Pathways of blue and yellow stretched this way and that around massive monochrome silos, almost with no rhyme or reason. He saw many transparent tubes that snaked around the facility, some carrying thick blue sludge, while others pumped strange pink water. Most concerning of all, the land had been dug deeply on all sides, allowing the complex to spread into the earth. This meant he would have to use the numerous ramps, catwalks, and access roads to get around. He could simply fly over the area and across the vast gap, but the smog clouds billowing forth from high-rising pipes, as well as smoke from the earlier explosion both dissuaded him.

There was also the deal with Sonic, whom he found a few meters away, just looking around. Miles followed his gaze, and curiously saw no sign of the threat, or anyone else for that matter. Maybe they were deeper within the facility. But before he went off to investigate, the fox marched over to the hedgehog, a scowl etched in his features.

"You made it," Sonic greeted him in a chipper tone, "you ready to bust some bad guys, buddy?"

"I am, and you're not coming," the older boy replied succinctly.

"Aw, don't be like that, big guy," the cobalt kid said in a slightly teasing manner, "what's the worst that could happen?"

Miles didn't answer that, fixing a deliberate stare into the hedgehog's green eyes. He maintained it for a moment before he shook his head and moved on past the younger Animal. He didn't want to deal with this right now. But, he didn't go far before his ears picked up the patter of those smaller shoes on metal. Miles let out an annoyed huff and tilted his head to look back at Sonic.

"Stop following me and get to safety," he told him tersely.

The hoglet chuckled. "Nah, running away isn't my thing. Besides, the safest place right now would be with the hero, and that's you!"

"This isn't a game," the fox said, losing his patience, "most of these people won't hesitate to try and kill you."

"That doesn't mean we can't have fun while kicking butt!"

Miles exhaled a heavy sigh. Sonic was proving to be mighty stubborn. The fox knew that he could be a bit persistent himself, but this boy was decidedly more so. Maybe it would be easier for him to just relent, otherwise he'd never hear the end of it. That, or Sonic would run off ahead, and he really didn't want that. He stopped and turned around to fully face the other Animal.

"You're going to come along no matter what I say, aren't you?" the fox assumed.

Sonic smirked and wagged a finger at him. "You know it."

"Fine," the teen conceded, returning his attention to the way forward, "just stick close to me and don't do anything too reckless, okay?"

The hedgehog gave the okay signal and strolled up to his right side.

"Alright, let's do it to it!" he declared, prompting Miles to groan and roll his eyes.

As they ventured forth into the complex proper, Miles noticed that two paths rose and fell in alternating arches. As he gazed further ahead, he noted that one of them continued along the same elevation. The other descended deeper into the facility, crossing near one of the large clear pipelines. There was the need to hurry forward, to stay on the course that would get him through. The mechanic in him, however, couldn't help but be curious at taking a look at the inner workings.

Deciding to heed the inquisitive part of him, Miles took off down the lower path. It narrowed out at one point before plunging even further into the complex, bringing the pair to a sudden loop in the path. What was with the environment and the people when it came to these structural designs? There weren’t any odd things like this back where he came from. The fox and hedgehog sped up and made it through, only to come to a sharp turn. The former drifted on his soles and steered with his tails to keep from crashing, while the latter leaned far into the turn. They ran up a ramp at the end of the way, stopping in their tracks at what they found.

There was a pair of robotic bird Animals that stood roughly the same height as Sonic. Miles recognized them as similar to the typical Kukku combatants, but the metallic sheen gave away that they weren’t organic. He let out a low growl, knowing exactly what these were.

“Robo Kukkus,” he muttered, putting himself between the hedgehog and the synthetic soldiers, “and it looks like they've been upgraded since the last time I saw them. They still seem kinda clunky, though.”

Sonic rubbed the bottom of his nose with one finger and sneered at the metallic minions. "Then this should be no problem!"

The robots took to the air and just as quickly dove for the fox, prompting Miles to dodge back. Sonic attempted to approach them from behind, but one of them swiveled its head around and opened its beak, firing a white hot laser. The blue blur weaved out of the way and curled into a ball while still running, soon after crashing into the droid’s back. The Robo Kukku flew forward from the force of the blow and collided with the hazard railing, which damaged its wings. Because of that, it went hurtling over the side and into the strange pink liquid below, where it summarily exploded.

“That was a Rolling Attack just now,” Miles said as he sidestepped a lunge from the remaining Robo Kukku.

Sonic uncurled right back to his feet and gave the fox a puzzled look. "You know about it?"

"I can do it, too," the older Animal replied, then smirked, "but let me show you one better."

The fox hunched low to the ground, and to the hedgehog's astonishment, he turned into an amber sphere that started to spin in place! A noise much like rubber tires screeching against pavement filled the air for a couple of seconds, and then the fox blasted forward. The yellow-orange ball smashed into the Robo Kukku with enough force to dismantle it on impact, sending scrap and shrapnel flying. Miles just as easily came out of the roll and whirled around to face Sonic, still wearing his grin.

"I call it the 'Spin Dash'," the teen declared as his chest fur puffed out a little, "I came up with it after testing a few different approaches to modifying the Rolling Attack."

"Way past cool!" the hedgehog exclaimed. He put his chin in the crook of one hand and stroked it thoughtfully. "I bet I could do that, too!"

Miles hummed and nodded his head. "With your speed and natural rolling ability, I can see you picking it up in no time." His face became serious once again, and he returned his attention to the way ahead. "Anyway, let's get going. There's no way those two Robo Kukkus were the only forces here."

The two of them carried on, and at the end of the path, one of those many large tubes from before was unblocked. Miles was hesitant to get any closer, but Sonic had no such compunction and all but tackled him into the pipe. The fox yelped as he found himself being jettisoned into the tight space, which forcibly balled him up into a Rolling Attack. They shot forward through the glass passage, then took a deep dive as it turned down, plunging further into the facility. The path hit another right angle, traveling parallel to a veritable lake of the pink water. The tube looped back up towards the complex, and at the end, the pair shot out of another opening and went sprawling until they came to rest on their backsides.

"Ow," Miles grumbled aloud, rubbing at his tails and glaring at the hedgehog, “thanks for the warning."

Sonic snickered and put his hands on his hips. “You’re the one who said we had to get going. And that got us a lot deeper into this place, didn’t it?”

The fox grunted his displeasure at the smart-alecky remarks, but said nothing. While the tubes were a rough way to get around, it did make some sense. The maze of catwalks and pathways would take a while to navigate even for the regulars. Installing an easier way to travel about the complex was common sense, though it was a little intense. It also made Miles wonder exactly where all the workers were. He and Sonic hadn't encountered another Animal apart from themselves since they got here. Had the Kukkus gotten to them, or did some manage to escape?

Miles noticed that their only way forward was back up, and so both fox and hedgehog took the nearest ramp. They passed along a small walkway with wire mesh on either side, presumably another sort of safety precaution. As the duo continued along the path, some of the blue sludge from before suddenly shot down an overhanging pipe, forcing them to jump back. Miles gasped as a little bit of goo got on his right glove, which he promptly took off and threw to the ground. Within seconds, the substance corroded through the material on the back of the hand, but fizzled out completely before it could eat into the palm on the other side.

“That’s some boiling hot stuff,” Sonic commented, earning him a pointed look from the older boy, to which he simply shrugged and grinned.

Once he was sure it was safe, Miles put the damaged glove back on and examined the flow of sludge closely. It took him a moment to notice the exact intervals, seizing the chance once the way was open. But, there was trouble waiting for them on the other side as three more Robo Kukkus swooped in from above. Miles dove forward into a Rolling Attack to dodge the robots’ attempt to claw at him, then spun on his heel and swung his tails into the abdomen of the nearest one. Despite the soft and fluffy appearance, the appendages sliced through the metal like a hot knife through warm butter, bisecting the bot horizontally and rendering it nonfunctional.

Sonic ran up behind a second one and gave it a jump kick in the backside, which didn’t damage it very much, but the hit certainly got its attention. The hedgehog zipped back towards the caustic blue goo and stuck his tongue out at the robot while also stretching one of his eyelids. While not programmed to feel offended, the Robo Kukku charged all the same towards its young target, talons extended. At the last second, Sonic leapfrogged over his incoming foe and kicked at the rear of its head. The strike sent it hurtling down into one of the tubes that was spewing the sludge, plugging up the end. Scant seconds later, the crackling of electricity and the groaning of warped metal could be heard as the pressure and acidity of the bubbling azure liquid seeped through the droid’s head.

"And the score is now two-all!" Sonic declared as he took on the voice of a high-energy sports announcer.

As Miles contended with the last one, he reached into Remi’s storage space. While he dodged his foe's talons left and right, he felt around for a moment until his fingers grasped what he’d been meaning to find. The fox pulled out a one-handed hammer with a yellow handle topped with a blue cylindrical head, sporting two larger yellow cylindrical faces on either end. It wasn’t a huge tool, but Sonic did notice that it seemed a little too big to fit in the pack form of the robot companion. Miles kicked forward off the ground, his weapon relaxedly held at one side. The Robo Kukku made to slash him while he was in midair, but the fox twirled his tails just enough to delay his trajectory and avoid the attack. With his enemy now open, the teen flipped in the air, brought his tool's face over his head and down into the cranium of the synthetic bird...at least, that was what he meant to do.

Instead, Sonic came out of his right blind spot and performed a Rolling Jump, sending the robot tumbling into a nearby wall. Miles clenched his teeth as his hammer slammed into the much thicker metal of the floor and sent a dull ache up his arm, nearly making him drop his tool. He spun about to see the young hedgehog repeating his attack from before, this time driving himself into the top of the Robo Kukku. Much as the fox had intended, Sonic crushed the thing's head, making it drop to the ground in a sparking heap. He whooped and pumped a fist into the air, looking quite pleased with his handiwork.

"Alright, that brings it up three to two!" he called out, cupping his hands around his mouth and mimicking a roaring crowd.

Miles, however, was not so content.

"I had that!" he protested indignantly, "and I told you not to do anything too reckless! I almost caved your head in!"

"Yeah," Sonic retorted with a cocky smirk, "but you didn't."

The fox clutched his bangs with his free hand and sucked in a breath. As fun as it had been to race this guy and build the Tornado with him, he sure could be grating. But, he couldn’t let it get to him, not when he had to focus on the situation.

'Calm down, Miles,' he thought, 'it's because things are going well that he can be like this. Be thankful nothing’s gone seriously awry yet, earlier explosion notwithstanding.'

Miles grunted and let go of his hair, then stowed his hammer away.

“Look,” he said in a patient tone, “if I need your help, I’ll say it. Please don’t cut into my fights unless I ask, okay?”

Sonic nodded up to him and flashed a thumbs-up. He hoped that the hedgehog really did understand, otherwise he’d be...well, frustrated might not be strong enough of a word.

With that out of the way, Miles and Sonic contended with more open pipelines releasing the corrosive sludge, watching their steps as they went. They came into another open area and took the opportunity to briefly speed up to make up for some lost time. The two shot through another of those oddly placed loops that seemed prevalent in this island’s geography and architecture, then at the end of the path, they bumped into a quartet of yellow and blue cubes. The objects reacted to their touch, rising up into a simple staircase, albeit one that required them to jump to climb it rather than step. Miles and Sonic proceeded down a slope, but just before they got to the ramp at the end of it, they felt the floor give way beneath their feet.

The hedgehog reached for the fox, who reflexively brought him close in a bridal carry as his two tails began to spin. He was surprised that the kid was a fair bit heavier than he looked, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle. Fortunately, he’d had enough time to react so that they could painlessly hover down to the floor below. After a couple of seconds, Miles put Sonic back on his feet and peered back up towards where they’d come from. The floor hadn’t so much as collapsed as the panels had rotated beneath them at precisely the wrong moment. That was when he also discovered that they were very close to the bottom of the facility, as the tainted water was only a handful of meters below now. They could fly back up, but it would be easier to find another way forward from where they were.

He only made it a few steps before his ears alerted him to the fact that his young charge wasn’t following. Miles glanced back to see that Sonic was staring at him.

“What?” the fox asked, a bit weirded out.

Sonic pointed to his tails and cocked his head, a broad grin on his face. “You can fly?”

Ah, right. Miles recalled that Sonic had seen him use his appendages to give himself a turbo boost, but the kid hadn’t witnessed him utilize their true talent.

“Yeah,” he responded, rubbing one of his arms with the other hand, “ever since I was really young, I’ve been able to.” He wasn’t sure why he felt the need to share that, but it was out in the open now.

Sonic took a moment to digest that.

“That sounds just like my speed,” he said in an oddly contemplative tone, though he soon returned to his usual chipper self, “but that’s radical, big guy! Don’t get me wrong, I love running and going fast. But I wish I could fly without help, and that I could sw–” He suddenly clamped his mouth shut before he could complete the sentence.

Miles cocked one side of his brow and tilted his head. “Could what?”

“Nothing,” Sonic replied as he quickly walked to catch up with the teen.

The fox watched him pass by, then let his lips curl up into a grin.

“Is there something you don’t want me to know?” he inquired teasingly.

“Let’s just go,” the spiny boy insisted, “there’s more of those guys, right?”

Miles snickered to himself, leaving it at that. He’d have plenty of time later to pester the hedgehog about whatever it was he was hung up on. He felt the kid deserved it after all the sass.

They proceeded carefully, avoiding burns and worse as they ducked away from sludge that was now firing in arcs from tube to tube. From there, it was a fairly long stretch for the both of them, one that ended up leading them back up into the main complex. They came across another of those transport pipes, and since they were ready and knew what to expect this time, Miles leapt into it without pause. He once again became an amber sphere, riding with Sonic through the tube and quickly gaining more altitude in the place. Once they left through the other end, the duo found more of those stair cubes from before. This set went down instead, connecting with a ramp that evened out into another long straightaway. From here, the boys picked up some speed, coming closer to what seemed to be the center of the plant.

The two ran for a solid minute before they felt the path start to dip down. The descent became very steep, so the fox took advantage of the slope by curling up into a Rolling Attack, with the hedgehog following suit. They continued to build up speed, watching the environment around them start to blur from his rising velocity. The route suddenly came to another ramp at the bottom, making the pair shoot up high into the air. The teen spun around to catch the younger boy while he put his two tails into action. Just before they started to come back down, Miles used them to fly over the guardrails of a nearby outcropping, where a second ramp awaited them.

They spotted two platforms that rotated along an automated belt, leading up to another ledge. Up there, Miles and Sonic found another transport tube, hopping inside after determining there was no other place that they could go. They ascended further up into the facility, and after they came out of the other end of the pipe, found themselves nearly as high up as they'd been a minute ago. A third ramp brought the fox and hedgehog to another yellow and blue path that turned down in the other direction, the one they’d used before now visible on the opposite side. The layout was rather perplexing, but they followed it all the same, once again using the Rolling Attack to ride the slope. Their speed allowed them to easily clear a loop, and they were delivered up yet another incline to a second tube. This one brought them just below where he had started, which was beginning to rather annoy Miles. Sonic, on the other hand, was having fun with all these twists and turns.

This third decline sent the pair through one loop, which turned sharply down onto a new path that put them even closer to the pink water. They didn’t have time to gawk at his proximity, as they were shuttled through a second loop along the way, and again came to a sharp upward turn. The two flew through the air once more to find his path blocked by more of those cubes from earlier. However, they began to rotate even before they approached, showing that there was more to explore beyond the makeshift wall. Miles waited until the time was right before he jumped on top of one of the cubes, riding it until it brought him to the other side. Once Sonic joined him, they moved on and found a small hump in the path and a loop just past it. This led to a second one, and after they passed through that, the two went sailing over a large gap to another suspended pathway that nearly touched the pink water.

Looking above, he spotted two platforms that were moving along a belt on another stretch above. Rather than continue on where he was going, Miles flew up and headed along the path up there in the direction he came from. This turned out to be a wise decision on his part, as he found the tainted fluids below began to rise, until the level stopped just below the moving platforms he passed. The fox narrowly avoided more of those panels that switched under his feet, and ascended up onto another walkway that rose and fell. Two more loops awaited him, directing him down near the higher water and across another gap to a ramp. He flew across a wide crevice in the path, touching down on the other side and running along another open stretch.

This kept up for a few seconds, even at the pace they were going. Miles could see that they were coming near the source of the explosion from earlier. But, just as the two of them made their way into that section, a blast door slammed down behind them, as did another one a bit further ahead. That tainted water was now just below the floor, giving the fox a very bad feeling. The true threat, however, he soon discovered was not below, but above.

A bulky, tarantula-like spider mech dropped down, its weight causing the platform to buckle and nearly topple the boys over. The lower half of its legs and its body had a red trim, and its abdomen was mostly black aside from some gold accents around where the spinnerets would be. Its mandibles were a combination of those three colors, while its four pairs of electronic eyes were a neon green. Miles may not have had a phobia of creepy crawlies, but he could concede it was an intimidating design.

"Need my help with this one?" Sonic asked him cheekily.

The fox eyed up the robot, then briefly shifted his gaze to the hedgehog. "I think I'd appreciate it, yes."

“Hoo hoo hoo! If it isn’t Miles Prower!” came a voice from the spider.

The optics of the machine projected a light down onto the floor a few meters away from the duo. It shifted into the form of an elderly owl that the fox was all too familiar with, a devious grin on his beak. Sonic was intrigued by this development, while Miles could only give a deadpan look at the hologram.

“And my, how you’ve grown!” the bird remarked with a cackle, “how the years can change someone!”

“Not for the better in your case, Dr. Foolkurokov,” the fox answered snarkily.

“It’s Fukurokov!” the owl interjected, ineffectively stomping a foot in anger, “Fu-ku-ro-kov!”

“Oh, I know how it’s pronounced,” Miles replied impertinently, “and I know how much it aggravates you when people say it incorrectly.”

The sound of grinding teeth could be heard over the audio transmission.

“Ooh, you’re more impudent than the last time we crossed paths!” Dr. Fukurokov growled as his feathers ruffled up.

Miles laughed at the ridiculous sight of the hologram. "You mean the time you went behind the Empire's back and tried to capture me along with two buddies of mine?" He had a mocking grin on his face as he recalled the incident. "I bet Fifteenth was royally livid with you after that catastrophic screw-up."

"Your victory was a fluke, you fetid freak of a fox!" the old bird screeched furiously, “bah, enough! I’ll dissolve you and your little friend with my Auto Arachnid’s caustic chemicals!”

The robot aimed its abdomen in his direction and fired a small volley of the volatile sludge he’d come across before. The fox leapt out of the way and took flight, turning over in mid-air as the massive arachnid attempted to swiped at him with a couple legs. Sonic darted towards one of the walls, flipping around so that his feet would brace against it. He launched himself off of it into a Rolling Jump, narrowly avoiding a shot of blue slime sent his way and careening into the thing’s abdomen. A loud clang sounded out as the blue blur bounced off of its carapace and uncurled from his ball form.

“Ow, what’s that hunk of junk made of?” he complained as he rubbed at his head.

"Why, only the latest and greatest alloys and polymers devised by my brilliant mind!" the Kukku chief engineer boasted.

The kid had to weave to one side as the spider brought down a limb to try and skewer him, only to get it stuck in the floor. While it attempted to free itself, Miles dropped down on the other side and reached into Remi, pulling out a palm-sized metallic disc from the storage space. He dashed towards the Auto Arachnid, went into a slide, then slapped his device right on its belly before he came out from the other side of its legs. The moment the spider wrenched its leg free from the metal below, the fox pulled out his multitool and tapped one of the buttons on the front. An explosion rocked the robot, and while it wasn’t seriously damaged, it was knocked off balance to the point it tumbled onto its side, leaving its belly exposed.

"So brilliant that you didn't think to apply them in even layers over the whole frame," Miles criticized as he shook his head in disappointment, "tsk tsk."

Sonic took the opportunity to attempt a Rolling Attack, ramming into the underside like a hammer. A few crackles and sparks indicated that it had been much more effective than his previous attack, proving the fox's point. The Kukku creation was soon back on its legs soon after that, focusing its optics on the boy. It dipped its mechanical fangs into the pink water and drew some of it into its over-sized body. As Sonic retreated back, it spat the fluid at him in tandem with the sludge from its rear blaster. The hoglet swerved this way and that, watching as the spider climbed up the opposite side of the chamber. Miles flew up towards him and went to deliver a strike with his twin appendages, but the big bot saw it coming and swung one of its legs at the amber teen. He was sent tumbling back through the air, but he used his tails to stop before he smacked into the wall. The robot took the moment to capitalize on his disorientation, launching more water at him.

Miles quickly lost altitude as he was hit and slammed into the wall behind him, then slid and fell towards the floor below. Luckily, he managed to right himself and slowed his descent until his feet were as high as Sonic's head. The spider attempted to fire more of its corrosive slop, but discovered that its tank was empty. It climbed further up the wall to one of the ceiling’s corners, fixing itself to a pipe of the stuff and slowly restoring its reserves. Sensing an opportunity, Miles hovered over to Sonic.

“How high can you jump?” he asked the hedgehog.

The kid thumbed his nose confidently. “How high do you need me to jump?”

“High enough to hit that thing's underbelly,” the teen answered.

Sonic’s eyes glanced up and down from the floor to the refilling robot, then turned back to the fox. “Yeah, I can do that, I just need a little head start.”

“Then I’ll distract him and get you an opening.”

The fox soared up after it, being wary to dodge its spitting as he closed in. It raised a leg and tried to bring it down on the teen, though Miles was ready this time. His form listed to the side at the last moment, tricking the robot into getting the appendage stuck in the wall.

"No surprise there, doc," he snidely remarked as he picked at one of his ears, "it's built to be tough, but it's obvious you're the one controlling it with how predictable it's acting. Why didn't you give this one A.I. like with the Robo Kukkus?" He dodged out of the way of more limb strikes as he kept it up. "And why the spider design? Your old Mecha Golem was based on a mole, too. I thought you guys were all about birds being the ones on top."

"Shut your damn mouth!" the owl yelled crossly through the transmission, "unlike most in the Empire, I am not so blinded by my avian pride as to be one-note!"

As the thing whirred and strained to get free once again, Sonic bolted for a second, then leapt high and spun into the underside again, causing the Auto Arachnid to spasm and jolt for a hot second. This, however, gave the mechanical menace the leverage it needed to remove its leg from the wall, prompting the paid to retreat back to the ground for the moment. The spider detached itself from its spot and slid down the metal surface, stopping itself just before the overhang above the blast door and using its rear four legs to anchor its form as it prepared another assault. The boy backed up as their foe unleashed a torrent of blue sludge at their feet, forcing Miles to grab him and retreat into the air, but it didn’t stop there.

The spider whipped its head about, scattering its shot in a loose spread. Miles wheeled around to shield Sonic while also trying to avoid this change in tactics. He was able to dodge most of the volley, but some drops of the stuff did get onto his shoes and yellow-orange coat, making him cry out in pain and nearly drop Sonic due to it. The chemical hurt worse than all the times he accidentally splashed and burned himself during lab experiments, and it was in multiple spots to boot. Not only that, some of the material on his favorite kicks also suffered, which made Miles angry. His hands twitched as he felt the temptation to reach for the Chaos Emeralds and call upon their power to scrap this metal minion.

It would be so much easier if he did that, but after a brief consideration, Miles chose to ignore this impulse, thinking it best to save the gems for a more desperate situation. For now, he looked around to see if that liquid had affected anything else like it had him. Sure enough, the corrosive substance had worn away part of the platform they had stood on, and bits of the wall he was hovering in front of. Miles began formulating a plan in his head as he considered this. He couldn't be sure the spider wasn't waterproof, but it didn't look like it was equipped to be amphibious. At the very least, he could slow it down if he could manage to get the thing even partially submerged. It just required a little time and ingenuity on his and Sonic's part, and exploitation of that weak belly.

Miles dropped the kid, making sure he landed well enough before flying further up towards the ceiling and turning to face away from the Auto Arachnid. It seemed confused, no doubt due to Dr. Fukurokov's direct input, which was perfect for his plan. He peeked over his shoulder at the thing and bent over more during flight, showing off his rump.

"Come on, old man owl," he jeered as he slapped his furry cheeks a couple times, "give it your best shot!"

To his amusement, the doctor took the bait, if the outraged squawk from the spider's speakers was any indication. The Auto Arachnid let loose another spray of blue sludge, intending to douse much of the area the fox was in. Miles had anticipated this, diving low to avoid the shots, but staying high enough that his companion wasn't in the line of fire.

"Go for the eyes, Sonic!" he shouted to the hedgehog.

Sonic knelt down and curled himself up, the spiky blue ball revving in place for a couple of seconds before he burst forward. He launched himself from the path into the eyes of the spider as he transferred the momentum to a Rolling Jump. Miles couldn’t help gawking at the display.

‘I know I said he’d pick it up in no time, but this is ridiculous!’ he thought, ‘I showed him the Spin Dash only a few minutes ago!’

The robot was out of sorts for a good few seconds from the hit, letting the fox refocus and get into position as he flew up the length of the undamaged wall above it.

"Bet you can't hit me up here, dead eye!" Miles taunted, one of his hands flashing a rather rude gesture its way.

Once again, it was goaded into firing a load of slime, this time straight up into the air towards the fox. He narrowed his form as he shot downward, watching as the fluid splattered along the wall the spider was fastened to. The Auto Arachnid was unharmed by the substance, but its hold on the wall began to slip as corrosion wore it down. It attempted to reestablish its hold, but found itself tumbling down as bits of the material flaked away. The floor panels below it broke off as the big bot crashed into them, its legs flailing about as it tried to grasp at its surroundings. Sonic wasted no time in hopping, skipping, and Roll Jumping into the spider's belly just as it broke the surface.

The chemicals in the water caused the arcs of electricity from the hit to flash all across the spider, making it writhe and convulse. It righted itself back onto the main platform after a short time, but not before taking another blow to the face, courtesy of the hoglet. It retaliated with a swipe of its front legs, and tried to bite the boy with its mandibles as well, but he was far too nimble. Miles whipped through the air and performed a double foot dive into the Badnik’s abdomen, making it so the spinnerets were driven into the now jagged edge of the partly corroded platform. A horrific crack came from the spider's innards, and the acidic fluid started to leak profusely from its backside.

As the Auto Arachnid thrashed about from the doctor trying to free it, Sonic slid under its belly to avoid getting stomped by the wildly flailing legs. The hedgehog slammed up into the weak point with yet another Rolling Jump, causing the arachnid robot to once more fall back into the water. Seeing his chance, Miles whipped out his hammer and set his mind to dealing a decisive blow. He flew up as high as the room would allow before letting gravity take hold. He lifted his weapon above his head and brought it down right as he landed on the Auto Arachnid, delivering a pinpoint pounding to the spider's dented gut. It warped and buckled to the point much of the inner circuitry of the cephalothorax was revealed, giving more surface area for the thing to be shocked. And, much to the fox's satisfaction, the sensitive workings lacked resistance to the pink fluid and the torrid sludge now leaking over them.

Water bubbled and sparks flew as the terrible machine's legs folded in towards its body. Miles wrenched his hammer free and put it away, then ran over to heft Sonic onto his shoulders and put as much distance between them and the floor as he could. He knew where this was going.

"No, this...impossible!" he heard Dr. Fukurokov fuming through the speakers, the damage distorting the audio, "you...child! Don't think...yet–"

In short order, the fox was proven right as the Auto Arachnid sank below the surface and exploded seconds later. Much of the platform and support beneath the nearby blast door was destroyed, and a huge column of water erupted upwards like a geyser. The fox brought himself and Sonic back down once the spray dissipated and the water’s tension had calmed. The hoglet whistled and clenched his fists excitedly.

"That was tight!" he said with exuberance, looking over to the teen with a glint of respect in his eyes, "you fight things like this all the time, big guy?"

“No, not all the time,” Miles replied honestly, then grunted in pain and hunched over, putting his hands on his knees.

Now that the adrenaline had worn off, the burning and stinging from the earlier chemical splash attack came back. It wasn't the worst thing ever, but it hurt more than he'd expected. He took in steady breaths and stood upright, grimacing as the action sent another hot shock down his spine.

"Hey, you alright?" Sonic asked him with a tinge of concern in his voice.

He walked around the fox and gasped at what he saw. Small patches of fur were eaten away, leaving sore red spots and a bit of blood staining the surrounding amber coat. In fact, Sonic noticed fresh drops were slowly pooling from the wounds.

"We gotta get you to a doctor!" he exclaimed worriedly, taking hold of one of the teen's arms in his hands.

Miles lightly shrugged the hedgehog off of him and shook his head. "No, we're not done here yet."

His eyes scanned and went to the sight of the smoke and fire that was still present in their part of the complex. It was spreading from a handful of ruined platforms and silos, and the water below did nothing to slow it down. He'd nearly forgotten about it thanks to the heated battle. Sonic followed his gaze and upon seeing what he meant, he sprang into action.

"Take a breather, big guy," he told the fox, "I'll find a way to put it out!"

After the boy ran through the opening in the blast door, Miles slowly took flight, his eyes darting around to see if he could find some sort of control room. He spotted an isolated chamber in the middle of the pink lake with two walkways that connected it to the rest of the area. He made his way over and landed on one side, going to one of the doors to test it. To his luck, it was unlocked, and he rushed inside, shutting it behind him. Inside were several consoles with dozens of buttons, switches, and standard keyboards, with many more monitors above them, most of which had footage that comprised the majority of the facility.

He had to take care of the fire, but with the pain and blood loss, he knew he'd have trouble focusing. Miles shrugged Remi off of his back and put it down, then brought out the cyan Emerald before the robot subsequently changed into its Critter state.

“Remi, pull up surveillance,” he commanded his companion as he sat down against one of the walls and cupped the stone in one hand, “search the past half hour for suspicious activity, then determine if there are any civilians or Kukkus still in the complex.”

The robot barked affirmatively and strolled up to the console next to its master. It located the necessary data port, then extended a wire with the proper fitting from the back of its head, plugging it into the slot. While that was happening, Miles ran his other hand over part of his back. He cringed at the sting of his gloves touching raw patches and the obvious lack of fur in some spots, then shuddered a little when he brought it back in front of him. The material was splashed with quite a bit of light and dark red, not good.

The fox slowed his breathing and shut his eyes as he focused on the warmth of his gem. His thoughts centered on the energy flowing into him, and he projected his need to recover. He hissed as the hot pain flared up again for a moment, only to groan in relief as an icy sensation washed over it. It was as strange as it was pleasant, for he could feel his wounds closing and fur slowly sprouting back where it had been burned away. In a few moments, Miles noted that every bit of prior discomfort had faded. He once again felt over his back with his free hand, fresh hairs brushing his fingers that hadn't been there seconds ago. With that, he put the Emerald away, got to his feet, and went over to another of the consoles.

Miles typed away at the keys and navigated the basic layout of the OS to the emergency systems. A prompt for an administrative login came up, but the fox brought up the command window rather than enter any info. All too easily, his fingers flew across the keyboard, streams of code filled the window, and after several seconds, he executed it all. With that, he bypassed the login and gained direct access, wasting no time in going for the fire contingencies. As was standard for large places like this, he saw that there were safety measures in place for each class of fire. Given that it was explosive in origin, the best approach was to smother it. He clacked away a few more times and ran the program he found.

The fox covered his ears as a loud klaxon rang throughout the facility, which was followed up by white clouds coming down on the flames and pretty much everywhere else outside the room he was in. It was a specialized chemical foam backed by pressurized nitrogen, serving to not only cover up the fire, but rob it of its heat as well. The streams of the agent kept up for a minute or so before Miles deemed it safe to shut them down. Once the view was clear again, he was pleased to see that the blaze had been extinguished, though there was a lot of residue coating the place as a result.

A few moments later, Sonic arrived with bits of foam sticking to him, but had a beaming face despite how he appeared. The fox couldn't help but chuckle softly at how silly, and somewhat cute, the kid looked like that.

“Just couldn't sit still, huh?” he asked, dusting some of the substance off of himself and taking a peek at the older guy's spine. His eyes widened at the lack of wounds. "Wow, you heal pretty fast, big guy! You've got some white patches back there now, though."

"Perhaps that chemical went deep into the follicles and bleached the roots," Miles theorized as he went over to check on Remi's progress, "either that, or it's the result of scarring. I'll most likely know by the time my winter coat comes in."

The small robot yapped to get their attention, its gray eyes glowing an electric blue. On the screen above its position, footage showed the Auto Arachnid had made its way into the facility from the depths of the chemical waters. Huh, so it had been waterproof and somewhat amphibious, at least until its innards were exposed. On the monitor to the right of it, a detailed plan of the complex was pulled out, where Remi had outlined an immense pipeline that went under much of West Side Island to the Oil Ocean Refinery built off the eastern coast. Another camera displayed a handful of Robo Kukkus entering the place from above, having used the darkening sky to their advantage.

At first, Miles had been confused as to why such a small force would be used to attack a considerably large installation like this one. However, he soon discovered the reason when additional video showed that those had turned out to be a diversion from another sinister operation. Kukku combatants had swept through the complex while their automatons and the remote-controlled spider wreaked havoc, taking bird Animals prisoner, and capturing Flickies as well as eagle Critters known as Lockies. In a matter of minutes, they’d rounded up dozens of such individuals and loaded them into compact submersible transports that they’d also snuck in through the Oil Ocean Pipeline. From what Miles could tell, the squads of soldiers had left with their captives not long after he and Sonic had confronted Fukurokov’s creation. They had just missed the chance to save them!

“We’ve got to move!” the fox exclaimed, Remi morphing back into its portable form upon recognizing the urgency in its master’s voice and body language. Just as he slung the robot onto his shoulders, Miles felt the events of the day catch up to him at that moment and put a hand against his head. The Emeralds may have healed his physical wounds and discomfort, but they hadn’t replenished his stamina, and using their power to perform tasks like mending himself could be taxing in that regard.

“Maybe we should rest first,” Sonic suggested, once again taking him by the arm, “then we can go after them first thing tomorrow morning!”

Miles thought about pushing him away a second time and moving on until he fell asleep against a tree under the starry sky. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d done something like that, but he knew that the hedgehog was right. He’d need a full night’s rest to best recuperate from the strain his body had gone through, especially after using the Emeralds’ power. At least that way, he’d be ready for the next day with a clear mind, and just a wee bit more strength than he woke up with previously.

Thus, the fox went along with Sonic and eventually found themselves a relatively affordable hotel that was willing to let anyone stay so long as they could pay. The room was pretty bare aside from the essentials, but that suited them just fine, aside from the fact that there was only one bed. Miles went to sleep on the couch and offered Sonic the large mattress, but the hedgehog got the idea that he could sleep under the covers while Miles slept on top. Since he had so much fur as a fox, as well as two big fluffy tails, he could more easily keep himself warm. Too tired to argue, the teen capitulated to this arrangement and let his head sink back into one of the pillows. Remi climbed up onto the sheets and “slept” at the foot of the bed like a dog Critter would, thankfully spaced enough so that the two Animals wouldn’t feel crowded.

Before Miles could nod off, though, he found the younger boy looking his way with a curious expression.

“Hey, Miles?” the hoglet inquired, which surprised the teen a little. It had been the first time he’d heard Sonic actually use his name.

“What’s up, Sonic?” he replied, turning his head to face the smaller Animal.

The blue boy hesitated a moment before speaking again. “Earlier, you said that ‘we’ had to go.” He chuckled softly. “I thought you were against me tagging along or being your partner.”

“Well,” the fox tried to search for a reason, then recalled something his companion had said, “you’d claimed the safest place was by my side. And,” he continued with a sigh of reluctance, but also had a soft smile on his muzzle, “after seeing what you can do today, you’re probably right. We’d stand a better chance if we stuck together, at least for the time being.” He held up a finger just as Sonic began to say something. “But, this doesn’t make us partners.”

The hedgehog snickered at that specific addition. “Sure, whatever you say, big guy.”

“Ugh, I’m going to sleep now,” the fox groaned as he rolled himself over to the opposite side and slipped one hand under his pillow to help support his head, “good night, kid.”

“Good night.”

And almost like a light, the spiny tyke was out. But Miles stayed up a little longer, his thoughts occupied by several things. There was the matter that the Battle Kukku Empire really was back, and that they were willing to take bird species from both Animals and Critters as prisoners. The latter point was something they’d previously done, but they appeared more aggressive this time, and with West Side Island’s larger population compared to his home, there were far more potential targets.

‘Not to mention the Chaos Emeralds,’ he considered, ‘the Empire likely has at least one of them by now. And if Sonic’s going to continue accompanying me...’

Miles hummed and shut his eyes. He knew that, as hesitant as he’d been before about disclosing the nature of the stones to the kid, he’d have to sooner than later. That also meant he’d have to explain just who the Empire was and what they’d done in the past, which would involve divulging his own origins. And then, what to do after this ordeal was over? Part ways with Sonic and go back home for a while? Bring the kid along with him to whatever new adventure awaited at a future destination?

For now, he’d sleep on all that and figure out what to do after he was refreshed.

Notes:

Another chapter done, and this time with more focus on the zone and the action therein. Not a whole lot to add here aside from the fact that references were made to SegaSonic the Hedgehog, just with the fox in the hedgehog's place, among other things. Also, the "old man owl" insult he used for Dr. Fukurokov is a vague reference to a character from the Sonic the Hedgehog OVA that I just felt like throwing in. Is Miles starting to warm up to Sonic, or are things only just beginning when it comes to the difficult journey ahead? Join our boys next time as they navigate the treacherous remains of the Aquatic Ruin Zone!

Chapter 3: Aquatic Adversity

Summary:

Our dynamic duo forges on through the wetlands of the Aquatic Ruins Reserve in search of the next Chaos Emerald. Along the way, Miles makes a few discoveries about the island, the Empire, and his young companion.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"Fukurokov!" Speedy yelled as he stomped through the door to the old owl's lab.

The doctor wheeled around, somewhat startled by the prince's tone, but also a little happy. "You finally got it right, Lord Speedy! Granted, you didn't include my title, but that's forgivable, I thin–"

"Nevermind that!" the Kukku heir interrupted him, pointing a finger at him accusingly, "what's this I hear about an operation that you had carried out?"

"Ah, yes," the elderly bird replied, his beak slowly curving up into a smirk, "I presented and executed a most wonderful plan to bolster the strength of His Highness while you were recuperating. One that allowed us to obtain many new recruits for the Empire earlier this evening."

Speedy crossed his arms and fixed on Dr. Fukurokov with a skeptical look. "Am I to believe these people came along willingly?"

"Their initial compliance is not a factor," the owl answered amusedly, "not when the Chaos Emerald will allow my Conversion Therapy to operate at peak efficiency."

The ace flier shuddered and ruffled up his feathers. It was an uncomfortable fact that there was a rather sizable minority among their numbers that had not joined or stayed of their own accord. The doctor's "Conversion Therapy" was what he called the process regarding the machines he strapped people into in order to conscript them into service. Much of the work on the “patients” was done via chemical injection, though the device was equipped with other functions to aid the process. Pro-Empire propagandistic projections, hypnotic audio, and other such ways of contorting the subject emotionally and mentally were available. It wasn’t perfect, as "follow-up treatments" were common in order to maintain control.

The prince found the practice utterly repugnant, though not just the idea. That his father approved of the creation and of the application of such a procedure left an even more bitter taste. The GBK preached about his son being free to rule as he saw fit, but wouldn't let a bird refuse to join the Empire, and would go even this far to make them a part of its forces. It was hypocrisy, but as his father was still in power, there was nothing Speedy could do to change things. Not yet, anyway. For the time being, he would instead scrutinize the doctor's methods and results.

"Well, doctor, as I am second in the chain of command," he began evenly, pulling his rank, "I order that you debrief me on this latest success of yours. Perhaps I'll put in a good word to my father and he may consider upping your budget."

The owl’s sudden shift in body language made it seem he was no longer so enthusiastic about his accomplishment. He gave the prince a weirdly curt report on the operation: a diversion and infiltration mission into the Chemical Plant Complex located within Canton City. How he’d used a small squadron of Robo Kukkus and one of his personal pet projects to act as a distraction while a company of combatants had abducted Animals and Critters alike. While Speedy may not have agreed with the plan or the method, he was begrudgingly impressed by how well the doctor had pulled it off. They’d have another such unit soon enough thanks to these efforts.

However, there was one detail that Fukurokov seemed to be neglecting to mention, or perhaps, was deliberately keeping quiet about.

“All personnel are accounted for?” Speedy inquired of the doctor.

Dr. Fukurokov appeared offended by the suggestion that he’d failed to bring their boys home. “Of course, my prince! I am nothing if not efficient!”

“So if I inspect the hangar and storage later, I won't find any missing units, doctor?” the young adult pressed on.

He was disappointed when a look of shock crossed the owl’s face, only to be swiftly replaced by a nervous smile as if to hope the prince hadn’t just seen that. Said hopes were dashed with the next question.

“The Robo Kukkus and your little spider were destroyed, weren’t they?” Speedy concluded with a tired sigh, "gee, what a surprise."

Dr. Fukurokov would have been more incensed at the sarcasm, but the prince had him dead to rights. If he lied and said that his creations were accounted for, Speedy could and would easily prove him wrong. And the GBK would certainly not like hearing that misinformation was fed to his son. Seeing that he couldn't hide any longer, the owl allowed his real emotions to come out.

“It was that accursed Miles Prower!” he screeched in fury, “he and his toddling little friend scrapped my preci–”

“Wait, wait, hold on,” the prince cut him off, genuinely surprised at this bit of news, “that fox is here on West Side Island?” The owl nodded and was about to speak before a hand was held up in front of him. “Did you include this in the report to my father?” When the smaller avian shook his head sheepishly, Speedy growled at him irritably. “Why?”

Dr. Fukurokov touched his two index digits together and moved his gaze downward. “I fear for my remaining expectancy in the wake of His Majesty’s wrath.”

“You must have some morbid curiosity then, doc,” Speedy retorted menacingly as he narrowed his eyes, “because if you think Father will be mad when he learns Miles is here, you can bet he’ll be downright pissed when he finds out you hid such pertinent information when it could’ve been provided sooner!”

Normally, the chief engineer was not intimidated by the prince’s displays or words. But, in that moment, Speedy had that same volatile demeanor that the GBK himself carried when things didn't go his way. And he knew that the ace’s words were not a bluff, not when he’d seen for himself the sorts of punishments his leader was willing to dole out. There was nary a soul aboard this vessel that hadn’t been given one of His Majesty’s infamous disciplinary actions, whether directly or passed down the chain. He quivered at the memory of having to re-outfit the Battle Fortress’ entire collection of weaponry, both on the craft itself as well as those used by the soldiers, by himself to answer for his failed rogue mission against Miles Prower and his two traveling companions at the time.

He rather wouldn’t go through that or anything like it again; the process had taken him months.

“You make a strong argument, my prince,” Dr. Fukurokov conceded, “please do not leave out anything when you speak with His Majesty.”

Speedy frowned at the old owl’s statement. “Oh, I won’t be the one making the amendment in your report to our Emperor,” he continued as he grabbed one of the doctor’s arms and began to coercively walk him to the exit, “that’s going to be you.”

“W-wait, Lord Speedy!” the engineer protested, struggling feebly against his grip, “there is no need to bother the Great Battle Kukku personally! I can inform him through the communications from here!”

The heir simply ignored him and continued to drag him along, his thoughts occupied with what he’d discovered.

‘It’s almost like fate is bringing us together again,’ he mused, ‘first, I found the magenta Emerald, and now, you’ve shown up. I wonder if things will end the same way as when we last saw each other.’ A scowl spread across his face as he pulled the doctor with him into the elevator and rode it up. ‘I suppose we’ll just have to see when the time comes, right, Miles? But, before then...’

The elevator dinged and the two continued on, the doctor having given up fighting against the ace’s grip. They walked into the command center, where Dr. Fukurokov was lightly shoved by Speedy to stand between him and his father. The GBK, who had been looking over a few documents, peered up from them, then stood with a smile.

“Ah, Dr. Fukurokov,” the Emperor greeted him amicably, “such a splendid showing with that mission you proposed. We’ll have quite a few more able bodies after this!”

Speedy cleared his throat and jabbed the doctor in the back, who glared at him, but the younger bird’s own firm expression made him back down.

“The doctor wishes to revise his earlier report,” the prince said.

The GBK regarded his son, then tilted his head towards the eldery scientist.

“Oh?” he wondered aloud, taking a few steps forward and peering down at the owl, “is there something you neglected to add, my old friend?”

Dr. Fukurokov trembled as he felt his much taller superior loom over him, taking in a deep breath to try and steel himself.

"You know, uh," the old bird stuttered, "one thing I should..."

The GBK's smile morphed into a dark smirk. "Tell me right now, Dmitri, or I'll pry it from you myself. Do you want that?"

"No, please!" The owl fell to his knees and bowed his head. "I had not wished to burden Your Excellency after another successful mission! But, I am afraid I must report that...Miles Prower is here, and he knows we are present as well!"

Gasps rang out through the command room, and murmurs spread at the mention of that fox.

"That crazy kid that brought us down last time?"

"He wouldn't be a kid anymore at this point. That's even scarier!"

“Oh, hell no! I don’t wanna fight that!”

"Silence!" cried the GBK, his voice echoing throughout the chamber. Once he saw that everyone immediately ceased their squawking, the Emperor stared down at Dr. Fukurokov with an almost crazed look. "You are going to tell me everything that you know about his movements and involvement on West Side Island. Now!"

The old owl shivered and whimpered pathetically under his leader’s terrifying aura of authority. He was afraid he wasn't going to get out of this one in great shape.


Miles and Sonic found themselves amazed by the sight of the landscape once he entered the Aquatic Ruin Reserve proper. It had taken them a bit to get there, as aside from the matter of breakfast, the fox had also bought some new gloves and gotten his shoes repaired. While he admitted they'd probably get damaged again soon, he insisted he would run better if they weren't falling apart from corrosion. Thankfully, Sonic hadn't badgered him about it, and as it was still pretty early in the day, the two had plenty of time before it got dark.

They peered out at the long and tall grass that was still dripping with morning dew, letting it shine in the sunlight overhead. There were patches of old, worked stone and tile in the soil that blended with the light clay and rocks. The willows grew high and their vegetation was thick, blocking most of the view above the treeline. A few fallen logs here and there led over the gaps and small ravines that led into the Zone's massive lake, while bushes sported many berries for the local wildlife. The clear waters below were constantly fed by numerous streams and small waterfalls from higher sections of the land. The depths were teeming with various fish, insects, amphibians, and aquatic reptiles, while the surface was tinged with sparse traces of algae. The buzzing of bugs and the chirping of birds could be heard throughout the vast marshlands, something the pair found pleasant.

Further out, they could see tall marble columns that were similar to those the fox had seen in one of his history books. The pillars resembled ones from an old human civilization, the Romans, if Miles recalled correctly. It made him wonder if a fleet of them had visited this place in the distant past and once had a colony. Or, perhaps, the ancients of West Side Island were inspired by the architecture of the Romans, and thus emulated them. In any case, he could see the ruins of more structures beyond the cliff he and Sonic stood on. Many of them were partially submerged in the lake, along with old roads and paths that dipped in and out of the water. It was easy to see how they came up with the name of this place.

"Your island's got some amazing sights, Sonic," Miles said, complimenting the scenery.

The spiny boy smiled and nodded in agreement. "Yep, though I'd like it if we could stick to the high ground."

"Not a fan of getting wet?" the fox presumed.

"Something like that," Sonic replied uneasily.

The teen thought about prodding for more info, but decided against it. Once they were done sightseeing, the fox and hedgehog began their journey through marshes. They kept their pace relatively modest, in no small part due to all the unsteady ground. The two passed by several moss-covered pillars before one of the more pristine columns sprung up in front of him. Miles' sensitive ears picked up a faint click from behind him, and he turned around to see what it was. A slit opened in one of the marble structures and fired a rusty iron arrow, prompting him to dodge. Fortunately, Sonic had also sensed the trap and was quick enough to duck out of the way, the projectile clinking harmlessly off the surface of the column nearby.

Now that he knew there were traps strewn about, Miles kept his ears perked and his eyes peeled even more. He sidled the obstacle in his path, waited for his companion to follow, then continued on to a low bridge over the lake. A short distance ahead, one section of the road had collapsed, but there was a large log that conveniently allowed them to cross. Once that was behind him, the fox noticed the path was split in two directions. One of them went down near the water, and the other would take them across the roofs of ruined buildings.

Heeding Sonic's earlier wish, Miles elected to lead them onto the high road, Roll Jumping to the ledge and jogging up the incline. They came to a ring-shaped loop, this one held up by the ruins around the place, and passed through it easily enough. Another makeshift bridge of wood carried the two over the waterlogged path below, though a glint made the teen stop and take a look. He could see a blue and yellow fish below with some vicious looking teeth, but upon closer inspection, it was not natural. It was yet another Kukku robot, as indicated by the insignia, though it wasn't a model he was familiar with. The droid appeared to be searching for something, the fox figuring it had to have been a Chaos Emerald. With that in mind, he retrieved his multitool from Remi's storage.

Sure enough, the signal he'd picked up last night was much closer here, but still a ways off. Now knowing that, he carried on, and another Roman column rose up from the ground in front of him and Sonic. A bit annoyed, Miles flew them over it and onto the roof of the next structure, which may have been important in its glory days. The fox assumed such due to its sheer size, which kept them running across the top of it for a good short while. His ears caught the sound of another trap being triggered, and he increased his speed, the hedgehog following suit. They outran the arrow, dipping down in the way forward through another loop, but not in the typical manner. From this vantage, it was more of a decorative arch, one that the deadly projectile collided with before falling to the ground.

More trouble loomed ahead for them as they came across a group of five small, fly-based robots. They possessed wings much like their organic counterparts, mounted on small blue bodies with six gray legs, and a motor on the rear. Their red compound eyes and yellow mouths gave the fox pause, suggesting they were based on biting species of the insect.

"What the heck are those?" Sonic wondered, glancing at the teen, "more Kukku bots?"

Miles gazed with uncertainty towards the flies. "Well, they do have the Empire's insignia, but I've never seen this type of unit before. Between these and the other one I saw a few moments ago, something about them is...off."

Having spotted the two, the Kukku creations swooped in to attack, being as agile as their size would suggest. Miles charged up a Spin Dash and blasted right through one of them. Rather than stay to fight, he kept on going, as did the younger Animal. The droids were quick to follow, chasing the boys down an open passage in one of the buildings that led to an open hallway. It had partly sunk into the lake, and so they had to watch their step to evade the flies.

The boys' zigzagging around the pillars in this place managed to trick one of the pursuers into flying right into the stone, breaking the robot apart. The others were not so easily deterred, keeping on the pair's trail as they came to the water’s edge. Miles considered diving in to lose them, but there were more of those metallic fish from before, and he didn’t want to chance tangling with them underwater while also dealing with a threat above. So instead, he took flight and crossed over the gap, eyes widening as the panel of the pillar just ahead opened up. The fox felt his heart jump as he dipped out of the way just in time for an arrow to pierce through another of the robots chasing him. He landed on a narrow strip of land, with Sonic touching down an instant later, before they took off again to the next outcropping. Miles grimaced at the sight of more flies ahead; it was clear they were going to have to fight if they wanted to get through this place.

'The doctor sure has been working fast,' the fox thought, 'but why do these designs seem so weird? Looking at them, it feels more like he copied them instead of devising them himself. Has the Empire started outsourcing, or has the old hoot become a plagiarist?'

Either way, these things had to be dealt with. Miles spun on his heel the moment he touched down on the next bit of ground, Roll Jumping up towards one of the robots and smashing it apart. Using this momentum, he slammed into another of the flies before gravity pulled him down again. Sonic dove beneath the overhead lunge of the first group’s final robot, leaping towards its backside and seizing it by its mechanical wings. It buzzed in protest at this, but was given no time to argue as the hedgehog chucked it into the water behind him, shorting it out. The kid yelled as pain shot up his left arm, one of the newer flies having closed in and chomped down on it. He swatted at it with his free hand, trying to pry it off, but it just clamped down harder, drawing trickles of blood and staining his skin.

The boy focused through the haze of hurt that caused his assaulted limb to tremble, trying to curl up. He managed to eke out a Spin Dash, subsequently crushing the fly and freeing up his arm once more. Seeing his companion hurt, Miles blasted off towards the remaining pair, launching himself up towards the ceiling of the decrepit hallway and bouncing off of it into the first fly, then the second. Letting out a breath of relief, the fox went over to examine Sonic's bite wound. It was no longer bleeding, but the muscles were still a little tender, and it seemed like they would be for a while.

"Let's at least get this covered up so it's not as susceptible to infection," he told the kid.

Miles reached down and tore the hem off of one of his socks to craft a makeshift bandage. He stretched it repeatedly until the material was a bit more lax, then wrapped it around Sonic's arm. He bundled it up and tied it off so that it was snug, but not too tight. The hedgehog gently bent and unbent his limb, then smiled up at him.

"Don't worry, I heal up pretty quick, too," he assured Miles. His expression became curious as he glanced down at the sock around his arm. "Where'd you learn how to do that anyway? I've never seen anyone else try it, but it seems pretty handy!"

The fox hummed and smiled fondly. "A couple of friends showed me how."

"Yeah? What're they like?" Sonic wondered.

"Hmm, I'll tell you later, when we're not dealing with robots and deadly traps in a half-sunken ancient city," Miles said in a compromise.

With that, they ran ahead, coming to a tall loop and moving back down towards the surface of the lake. Just before they touched the water, the two jumped towards a tiny patch of soil that was sticking out of the surface. From there, they leapt into the opening of a ruined building and out the other side onto a long, stable stretch of green. Miles and Sonic stopped after a few minutes of running, the former once again fetching his multitool and giving it another look. The signal was definitely stronger than when he had last checked. He couldn’t be one hundred percent certain, but the readings seemed to indicate that the Emerald was a fair way beneath them further ahead. Chances were, the two of them would have to get wet.

As there was only one way for them to find out, they pressed on, Miles keeping his device close and checking it every so often. They ran until they came to the edge of another cliff that overlooked a big portion of the lake. The pair could make out the shapes of more columns sticking out of the water, partly obscured by one of the falls. A passage that dipped into the depths was visible, and what Miles assumed to be the exit wasn't too far off. The remains of a rooftop were a fair distance from where they stood, and more ruins beyond that, but it seemed the safer of the two paths. He couldn't be sure it was the right way to what he was looking for, though.

Miles flew them across the gap to the crumbling rooftop, finding another trio of fly bots in their way. The fox destroyed one of them as he performed a Rolling Jump to the next structure, where he hopped down to a lower ledge. The outcropping above his position forced the robots to pursue him into a more controlled space, which the hedgehog made use of. Sonic leapt onto one of the flies from behind, his spherical attack breaking the other one apart. This allowed Miles to catch the last one in a roundabout strike, leaving them free to resume their trek on the upper level.

But, they were barely given a moment to get their bearings before three more of the same sorts of mechanical menaces dropped down from the trees above. Miles and Sonic blew past them and crossed to what appeared to be the upper part of half of a loop. They sprang to the top of the structure, nearly falling off and into the water below as the edge greeted them. The fox knew they needed more room to deal with the robotic pests, and so he grabbed Sonic and flew across another wide gap to the largest ruined building he’d yet seen. The robots relentlessly followed, even as the teen lured them into the most advantageous position for him. Just as they swooped in to strike, Miles felt around in Remi's space until he brought out a deep blue sphere and chucked it in their direction. It bounced off the one in the front, quickly flashed white, then burst into a strong explosion that took out the trio in one go.

After a short rest to take a few good breaths, he felt good enough to carry on. The robots here may have been easier to deal with than the ones at the plant, but there were more of them as well. He wasn’t sure what the ones in the water could do yet, either, but he had a few ideas. Defending himself wouldn’t be a big problem if he had to dive in to continue his search, though, for he had some contingencies in addition to his own skills.

The two trotted out onto the shell of an aqueduct, bereft of water despite the abundance around it. A short time later, they came to the top of another loop, this one being complete. Just before he and Sonic could make for another jump, however, the end of the path fell apart beneath their feet. Luckily, it was a short fall, one that Miles managed to break with his tails so that he escaped with no real injuries. As for Sonic, the kid's instinct to roll into his ball form had allowed him to come out relatively unscathed as well.

Miles looked up and noticed that after that, they were now about halfway down the height of the loop, onto a path he hadn’t noticed before. Passing through the hole in the center of it, the two entered into a long and dark hallway with light at the far end. The crashing of a waterfall above lent the place a constant, almost deafening ambiance. It was because of that, Miles wasn't aware of a familiar click coming from one of the walls nearby. A glint caught Sonic’s eye that reflected off of the light ahead of him, and he realized almost too late what it was.

"Watch out!" Sonic yelled.

Miles whipped his head to the side, burning pain spreading through his left cheek as the edge of an arrow slashed across it, but thankfully didn't go in any deeper. Miles wasn’t given time to process his wound before a pebble dropped down onto his head from above. He snapped his focus upward, where he saw cracks beginning to form in the ceiling, more light peering into the passage. Without any further prompting, the boys ran forward. Miles ignored the pain in his cheek as fear kicked in, going as fast as he could in such a space. He weaved out of the way of a collapsing column, only to have a different one rise up in front of him. Thinking only of helping his hero, Sonic demolished the pillar with a Spin Dash and then brought them close to the exit after a few more seconds.

The fox and hedgehog leapt as far as they could from the ledge they ended up on, traveling several tens of meters before gravity brought them back down. With a mighty splash, they sank beneath the surface of the water below, the sounds of the marsh drowned out by the fluid filling their ears. The teen was quick to head for air, using his two tails as a sort of outboard motor to propel himself up. Miles took in a deep breath once he surfaced, paddling towards the nearest outcropping he could find. He gazed back at the wreckage of the ruins and couldn't help laughing a little in spite of himself.

"Whew! That was like a scene out of one of those classic action movies," he said with a thrilled grin, "pretty sweet, huh, Sonic?"

Silence greeted him, which unnerved the fox. Miles scanned around, not seeing the hedgehog near him or anywhere around him.

"Sonic? Kid, this isn't funny!" he said in a more panicked tone, his eyes darting around, "I swear, if you're messing with me..."

He stopped when he noticed a cluster of bubbles breaking the surface. The fox tilted his head down, gasping at what he spotted in the clear waters. Sonic was flailing his limbs in an attempt to get to air, but it was getting him nowhere. If anything, he was sinking faster, which only served to make his movements more hurried and desperate. The bit of conversation from last night where the speedster had stopped short suddenly clicked into place for the teen.

'Oh dear gods, he can't swim,' he realized in horror, 'hang on, Sonic!'

Miles inhaled deeply, then dove in once more. His tails helped to propel him down to Sonic's depth, where he took hold of the hedgehog and flipped over in the water. His feet kicked off of the bed of sediment, four limbs working in tandem to bring them back up. The two soared out and above dry land, where the fox twisted them so that he fell with his back to the ground and Sonic on top. The boy pushed off of the teen, coughing and hacking up a bit of water as he hunched over.

Once he was certain the hedgehog was done, Miles got to his feet and went to kneel by him.

"I wish you'd told me before that you couldn't swim," he remarked with some admonishment.

Sonic meekly smiled and shrugged. "I thought you'd tease me if you knew."

True, he had thought of ribbing the boy back for all his talk up to then, but there was a time and a place. One did not make fun of someone's inability to swim, especially while traipsing through a swampy region. Heck, the fox knew a few folks back home that didn't know how, despite the relative necessity for it within the community. It was hardly anything new for him, and he could empathize with people like Sonic.

"Well, I won't," Miles said softly as he patted him on the back to help get out any excess fluids, "keeping you kicking is more important than giving you grief."

Sonic sputtered a little more, then wiped his lips dry. "That's really cool of you, big guy. And...thanks for saving my spines."

Miles was grateful his cheek fur could hide any blush he sported. He did enjoy praise and compliments that came his way, certainly. He could tell Sonic truly meant it, though, unlike most of the surface platitudes he got, and real gratitude was something that still made him feel a bit shy about receiving.

"Don't mention it," he told the hoglet, then gave him another once over, "you good to go?"

Sonic nodded up at him, then slowly got to his feet. Miles shifted his attention to the ping of his radar, now more frequent and louder than before. He pondered flying back up, but as he held his tool in that direction, the reading grew more distant. The fox turned around, noticing the only other means to proceed was an underwater tunnel, one that looked fairly cramped for his liking. The icon on his screen lit up more as he took a step towards it, the distance measured now becoming smaller with every successive movement towards that passage.

He put Remi down onto the ground and passed it his shades, then his gloves and shoes, letting Sonic see that his hands and feet were tawny just like his forearms and lower legs, with short and sharp black claws on the ends of his fingers in place of nails. He kept his multitool in one hand, then looked back at the hedgehog and made a waiting motion with the other.

"Stay here for a moment while I check this out," he declared.

When Sonic showed his understanding with the usual thumbs-up, Miles drew in as deep of a breath as he could and dove in, thankful his trusty gizmo was waterproof. Using his legs and tails together, he emerged from the other side of the submerged tunnel in short order, only to find himself nearly running into a pair of fish robots. They snapped their jaws as they moved nimbly through the water, intent on tearing into him. The fox sank himself down onto part of the ruins, and then used his feet to push himself off as hard as he could. While it wasn’t enough to propel him back to the surface, it was enough velocity that he managed to form a Rolling Jump. It came out just in time for the robots to chomp down onto something that ground their teeth to nubs instead, shortly after breaking them apart.

Two little beings that had been hiding nearby came out to thank him for dispatching the unnatural fish. They belonged to a seldom seen tropical penguin Critters that were referred to as Peckies, normally found in saltwater rather than fresh. The pair of flightless birds came to Miles’ side and helped tug him towards the surface in return for his aid.

Miles held his multitool out towards the section of the lake he was nearing. Like before, the signal weakened as he waded in that direction, so he tried going back into deeper water. As expected, the distance closed a little bit, meaning that it had to be further down. He stopped the Peckies before they could wander off, swimming over to them and offering a friendly smile.

“Thanks, you guys,” he said, nodding towards the depths, “but I was wondering if you could help me look for something?”

The two small penguins cheeped to one another for a moment, then turned back to Miles with a bob of their heads.

"Okay, I'll be right back," he promised.

He smiled at them and puffed out his chest with another deep breath. The teen plunged into the water, backtracked through the tunnel, then surfaced at the edge near where he left Sonic. He pulled himself up enough so that he could face his two companions, shaking the water from his bangs so they didn't droop over his face. The grin on his face told the younger boy that he was up to something.

"Hey, Sonic, want to help me search?" he offered in a playful tone.

The hedgehog cocked his head in confusion. "Uh, how? I can't swim, remember?"

"Don't worry, I have a solution," Miles announced, turning to his faithful robot, "Remi, engage Sea Fox transformation!"

Remi dashed forward and leapt towards the water, changing its shape in mid-air. Just before it touched down, the little automaton had become a sleek, yet also angular miniature submarine with a blue and orange color scheme. It had a one-person cockpit in the top of its hull, which was covered by a resilient and aquadynamic glass dome, and looked to be driven by a single propeller on its back. It also sported two tail planes on the top of its rear and one on the bottom, and a large drill that was mounted on the front of the craft. Remi's new form splashed down and buoyed itself almost immediately, then popped the top open.

Sonic let out an impressed whistle. "Nice!" He went to hop into the cockpit and put his hands on the steering yoke, taking a look around at the console. "It looks easy to work with, too."

"You'll get a handle on it," Miles said confidently.

Indeed, after a couple of minutes testing out the controls, the hedgehog acclimated well enough to get the Sea Fox to move around as he wanted. Afterwards, the two of them returned to the pair of Peckies and proceeded further into the depths. The blue tint of the underwater world made it difficult to see far for the teen, given he had no goggles or manner of corrective visual device. That said, he could still appreciate the sight of the immense underwater city around him. The lake must have gone tens of meters down, if not a hundred, for there to be so many massive ruins that reached as far up as they did. He’d like to come back and take a better look at some point when they weren’t dealing with the Empire.

The Sea Fox engaged a bright LED light as they went further down, which helped to light up much of the area around. One of the two Peckies dove ahead of the fox, skimming along the underside of one sunken structure. A moment later, it returned to him and gestured to follow, which Miles didn’t argue with. It had come across a hole just large enough for the fox to fit through. He gestured for Sonic to wait and then wasted no time in swimming on up after the Critters. After a few seconds, he was surprised to find his head out of water, able to draw in air thanks to a pocket within the ruins. The two Critters followed his lead, making sure their breaths were good and even before they went back down.

After rejoining the hedgehog, Miles and his companions passed by an underwater loop, the fox’s eyes fixed on his radar the whole way. They came into the chamber of a different structure within another minute, fortunate to find another air pocket they could rest. The reading kept growing stronger with every second, until Miles was certain he could spot it. One of the Peckies bumped into him and pointed with its flipper down near the bottom of the chamber they had entered only moments ago. Squinting with his eyes, the fox saw a shimmering, deep blue light coming from where the penguin had directed his attention.

He tried to speak, his words coming out a gurgling mess, but the Critters seemed to understand him anyway. The two birds darted through the waters and retrieved what he had pointed out. Miles squinted through his blurred vision and felt familiar energy flowing into him once he grasped the object. Yep, there was no doubt that this had to be the blue Chaos Emerald, which brought his gem count up to three.

Before he could celebrate, one of the Peckies pushed him back as another of the Kukku fish whipped his way. Bubbles came from the fox's mouth as he yelped, having lost some of his air with that act. He started to swim for the nearest air pocket, trying to propel himself as fast as he could with his tails. The robot had come back around and was ready to drag the fox away from the surface, only to be rammed by the two penguins. It didn't hurt the robot, but it did distract it long enough for Miles to draw breath and dive back in, ready to clobber the fish.

Sonic hadn’t seen the latter action, however, nor could he have known Miles’ plan beforehand. Thus, seeing the older boy in what he perceived to be significant danger, his hands went to the controls and pressed one of the buttons. Just as the fox was ready to crash into the robot, he spotted something streaming their way through the way. His eyes widened as he recognized it as one of the Sea Fox’s vulcan cannon projectiles and spun his tails to hurriedly weave out of the way. To Sonic’s luck, there had been another bot lying in wait, only to come out at exactly the wrong moment. The resulting blast sent the fox tumbling through the water, his vision a bit out of sorts for a brief moment.

He regained his bearings in time to avoid a bite from the robot, then shot higher up into the water. While the fish gave chase, Sonic tapped at another option. A pair of missiles fired away from two ports that had been hidden until he activated them, streaking towards the teen and his persistent pursuer. Miles let out another gurgled yelp as he narrowly dodged these as well, the explosions throwing him and the Kukku droid back down. He wasn’t certain Sonic could see him so well with the debris increasing the murkiness of the water, but he angrily gesticulated at him to cease what he was doing.

The kid misinterpreted his meaning and pressed his thumbs into the buttons at the top of the yoke. Upon realizing it was one of his torpedoes, Miles frantically put his tails to work to try and out-speed the robot. The projectile would thankfully home in on the fish, but he didn’t want to be in the area when it went off. He barreled up the air pocket once more and took flight, pressing himself against the ceiling of the cramped chamber. The fox was nearly knocked back into the water as the structure shuddered from the explosion being set off at the bottom of the tube. When it was clear enough to see through again, he found little more than the bits of scrap that were once a robot.

Relieved that the threat was dealt with, Miles took a little extra time getting his breath back, as well as calming his still trembling heart. Afterwards, the group slowly made their way back to where they came from, stopping every so often to grab some oxygen, more for the fox’s sake than anyone else’s. They broke the surface, the Peckies flipping through the air and landing neatly on the grass, while Miles pulled himself up from the edge of the shoreline, with Sonic hopping out of the Sea Fox at the same time. The fox shook off his whole body much like his feral Critter ancestors would, leaving him looking a little fluffier than before, much to the amusement of the others. The teen brushed it off, smoothed down his fur, then went over to the Critters.

“Thanks again for the help,” Miles said, giving each of the Peckies a pet on the head, “just be sure to watch out for more Kukku contraptions, okay? Take care!”

The two birds chirped happily at the fox, soon waddling over to water and diving in again, waving at the pair one last time before they swam off. Now that they were alone, Miles changed Remi back into his pack form, redressed himself, then hoisted the little robot onto his shoulders. He was about to place the blue Emerald into the storage space, but then remembered he hadn’t yet synchronized its energies with the other stones. If he put them together now, the reaction would be even more violent than the one from last night. So, like he had with the green one, he placed it in the fluff of his tails for the time being.

Following that, he refocused his attention on Sonic. Part of him was positively furious with the hedgehog for nearly maiming or killing him with what happened earlier. Even more, he thought that they had established that the kid would help him fight only when he asked for it. That same section of his mind wanted nothing more than to chastise him, ban him from using the Sea Fox, and otherwise tell him off for the help he attempted to provide. Hell, a part of him was tempted to make the boy go home, even if he would stubbornly refuse.

But, much as he wanted to offload that anger, he couldn’t hold it against the young speedster. Sonic had meant well by his actions so far, annoying as his quips could be; which had been rather low in number since they woke up, to be fair. And after having patched the kid up and saved him from drowning, was it really that surprising he would try to repay him for it? He knew he would do the same if their positions were switched.

Also, when he thought about it, he honestly should have given the hedgehog a brief tutorial on the weapons systems before they went Emerald hunting. That was on him for being in too much of a hurry to try and find the dang thing, but at least now he knew that Sonic didn’t pick up everything at the same speed as the Spin Dash. And despite those prior shenanigans, he was alive and in one piece; that was always nice. Even so, he wasn’t about to be all chummy about it. He’d been in real danger, after all.

“Let’s not use the Sea Fox again unless we have to,” he proposed, unable to hide a little snappiness. He really was trying to curtail his bitterness from being fired at, but as willing as he was to forgive Sonic, he was still a bit rattled from what happened. “Not that I believe you were trying to hit me, but you scared me back there, Sonic.”

Sonic chuckled guiltily and rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry about that, big guy, I was just trying to help. I promise I’ll be more careful!”

“Don’t worry about it,” Miles said, even if he wasn’t truly all that okay with it, “let’s just see where we have to go next, alright?”

The teen retrieved his multitool, wanting to remind himself of their objective and put the harrowing experience behind him. A few clicks brought up the next Emerald, which was still a ways out, but not horribly far from their position. They didn’t have to deter their path, and it didn’t seem like they’d have to go swimming, digging, or spelunking for this gem. However, when he tried to gain a more accurate reading, he found that he wasn’t able to pinpoint it beyond a general area. What could have been causing enough interference for that to be possible?

“Hey, Sonic?” Miles asked, the boy’s attention turning up to him. “You've been all over West Side Island, right?” When the hedgehog nodded, he continued with his inquiry. “What’s to the east of here? Something's messing with the radar on the Miles Electric.”

“Oh, I was hoping we’d get to go there!” the boy answered excitedly, “it’s one of the big cities on the island, and also one of the biggest entertainment parks in the archipelago! It’s called Casino Night!”

‘That has to be it, then,’ the fox concluded, ‘huge concentrations of ring energy are partially scrambling the signal.’

The golden rings that were occasionally found throughout the world were quite the enigma. They were clean and efficient enough to use as energy sources, yet also bountiful enough to act as currency. It was primarily an Animal convention, but the teen had heard that humans were beginning to at least adopt the technological aspect. Having studied them a bit himself, Miles found that their properties were similar to those of the Chaos Emeralds, even giving off a similar signal on his radar. Thus, it stood to reason that with a colossal enough number of them within a given area, they would be able to mask the presence of one of the gems. And Miles couldn’t think of any place where there would be more rings than an Animal city whose main attraction was gambling. Even with his fine-tuned functions on the multitool, an exorbitant enough amount would still provide some "static", as it were. It seemed that there was still more work to do in order to get it to properly separate the Emeralds from similar sources of power.

But, on the subject of gambling, he recalled reading about giant pinball machines for those that could use Rolling Attacks, where they bumped themselves high up to line slots and win big or lose it all. There were similar ones that used card holograms instead and gave a payout based on your poker hand, but perhaps he might have been thinking of a different place that had that model. In both cases, so long as you could stay on the board, you could keep accumulating rings. It sounded awfully fun, and the chance to stuff his coffers a little more was rather tempting. It wouldn’t hurt to have some extra funds either, would it?

“Then that’s where we’re headed,” the fox decided, putting away his gizmo and picking up the pace, already in a much better mood, “I just hope there isn’t an age restriction.”

“Nah, they keep all the adult stuff separate from the fun and games,” Sonic supplied as he matched the other male’s velocity.

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I haven’t had enough fun yet today,” the teen told the younger Animal, “so, maybe we can take a little time to do that while we're there? I’ll tell you all about the gems, the Empire, and whatever else we have time to talk about while we enjoy ourselves.”

Truthfully, Sonic wasn’t sure what to make of everything that had happened in the course of the past few hours, much less since yesterday. And he could tell that while Miles was a little sore about what happened just a few minutes ago, he was also oddly happy to get going. But, with the promise that he would get answers, he wasn’t about to spoil the mood. Besides, they were heading to one of the most happening places on the island, and he'd much rather have fun with a seemingly content fox than a definitely grumpy one.

Notes:

Dr. Fukurokov's "Conversion Therapy" isn't from anything in particular, it was made for this story. From this chapter onward, things will start to deviate some from what you may expect of Sonic 2. Nothing else to put here except that this will be the last chapter posted before the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 movie. I hope everyone that gets a chance to see it has a good time!

Chapter 4: Casino Callbacks

Summary:

As Miles and Sonic continue on into the Casino Night Zone, Dr. Fukurokov looks to make use of a new "asset" he's recently acquired. Things seem quiet for the moment, but could this be the calm before the storm?

Notes:

Compared to previous chapters, this one is a bit heavier on the dialogue, but you'll see why soon enough. Also, this is where the story really starts to deviate more and more from the familiar Sonic 2 beats, though the zone layout is still mostly based on the game.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

When it came to the mood of a certain elderly individual, Dr. Fukurokov’s could best be described as complicated. Yes, he was still shaken from the dressing down that His Majesty had given him last night regarding the loss of the Robo Kukkus and the Auto Arachnid, not to mention the fact that Miles Prower was there and now knew that they were, too. However, he’d been spared from severe punishment due to his haul from the abduction operation at the Chemical Plant Complex, as well as the leaps and bounds he’d made in other areas of production.

That latter point was precisely why he was feeling so grateful, if he were to be honest. Just as he had predicted, the effectiveness of his Conversion Therapy had been greatly amplified once he made use of the magenta Emerald. But, what no one else knew aside from himself was that he had created versions of the machine meant for non-avian subjects. After all, it would be such a waste for prospective bird soldiers to be reduced to gibbering messes or worse without having a chance to serve in the Empire. Better to test it on those land and sea dwellers they subjugated first, then work out any kinks from there.

And what a wonderful subject he’d obtained! A tall and somewhat burly, but also obese human with an egg-shaped torso and almost disproportionately long and thin arms and legs. He had peach-toned flesh with the exception of a lengthy, pointed pink nose, and was completely lacking in hair save for a bushy and unkempt mahogany mustache. He wore tinted and mirror pince-nez glasses that obscured his eyes, as well as a pair of green-lensed goggles atop his bald head. His clothing consisted of a simple pair of green overalls, a pink shirt, white cuffless gloves, and pink and green slippers.

Hardly the pinnacle of attractiveness, and his mind wasn’t all there to begin with. Dr. Fukurokov had found him on Christmas Island, toiling away on designs for robots to occupy a theme park he wished to build. Though the purpose of these creations was something that the owl was no fan of, and their design was assuredly bizarre, there was something...elegant and simple about them. The technology and coding was so foreign to him, it was almost nonsensical, like the babbling of a toddler yet to formulate real words. But, the important thing was that it all worked, and the speed at which this fellow could produce these units, even without automation, was simply astonishing.

Naturally, the bumbling fool had been reticent about lending his work towards a cause such as the Empire’s. The chief engineer would not abide him simply being crushed underfoot, though, and admittedly could not reliably replicate the human’s craftsmanship without the fellow himself around. There was a method to that madness in his creative genius that only he had the means of accessing. And so, after having unsuccessfully attempted to convince and coerce his prisoner into working with him, the old bird had gone the route of making him the first test subject of his human-model CT machine. Even then, he’d been remarkably stubborn, never giving himself over to their influence completely and refusing to modify his robots for more destructive purposes.

That had changed last night, when a dose of the Emerald’s power had been applied to a special “follow-up treatment”. The first thing early that morning, Dr. Fukurokov had been pleased to find many robots that bore the typical likeness of the man’s mark, only much fiercer than those he’d had in mind for his piddling amusement park, all ready for use. He’d been so eager to see them work, the old Animal had sent them out to be dropped in that marshland between those two cities in the west. The engineer had deduced one of the Chaos Emeralds being there based on what he’d learned of the local history, the ruins present, and the legends surrounding the gems in this part of the world. He’d been delighted when he was proven correct, one of the minerals his for the taking within the depths of that lake. It should have gone swimmingly, to pardon the pun.

But it didn’t, which is why Dr. Fukurokov furiously swept aside his papers and instruments on his desk and slammed his fists down on the surface. The blue Chaos Emerald had been in his sights, in his grasp, and then he had come around. That loathsome fox that had made a fool of him time and again, and sabotaged his greatness at seemingly every turn! The upset at the Chemical Plant Complex was one thing, but to have one of the gems right there, only to have it snatched from underneath his beak, that was downright audacious!

“Oh, how I hope you drown in that stagnant swamp, you abomination!” the owl seethed.

That was just wishful thinking, though. He knew that the teen could swim, very well at that, and that even if he were rendered unable, he had that blasted robot with him. Not only that, but there was some hedgehog boy following him around now, and from what Dr. Fukurokov had seen...he could be just as much of a problem as Miles, at least physically. He had super Animalistic speed, reflexes, possibly durability, and spines that could make for one nasty Rolling Attack even without the aforementioned traits. To be able to contend with two deadly threats to the Empire’s goals, he would need to up the ante himself, and he knew just what to do about that.

The doctor went over to the console tucked in the corner of his lab and entered a few commands. A panel in the center of his lab opened up, where a small lift with a simple control scheme rose up. Riding it down, the owl came into a room that brought back a rather bitter memory. It had once been a trap he’d laid for the fox, a chamber full of hazards from which there was no escape. Miles would have eventually given in and been done in by one of a few different methods, but the boy had been stubborn and resourceful. He’d figured out the ventilation connected to the owl’s lab, then used his robot companion to knock the doctor out and release him from the death trap. It had been here that Dr. Fukurokov’s first major personal defeat came at the hands of the fox, and it still left him feeling sore.

The owl had made it far less deadly and more accommodating for his subject, not to mention the perfect space to keep non-avian CT machines. It was here that he saw the heavyset man sitting at a desk and scribbling away on yet another blueprint, making occasional use of a protractor and other instruments. Noticing the doctor, the human turned around in the swivel chair he’d been provided, a curious and somewhat cheerful expression on his face.

“Why hello, Dr. Fukurokov!” he hailed the old bird, earning a sigh in return.

The owl did appreciate him being one of the few that could get his name right consistently, but he really could do without the attempts to be friendly. After everything that had happened, he wasn’t in the mood to be more cordial than necessary.

"Yes, greetings, Dr. Robotnik," he said politely enough, folding his hands behind his back, "It would appear that your efforts were not sufficient for His Majesty's liking."

The man chuckled deeply, his belly shaking as he did.

“Please, doctor, I’m Ovi the Tinkerer,” he replied with an insistent, but still amicable tone, “and I don’t believe I understand. Were my contributions to diversify the Reserve insufficient?”

Dr. Fukurokov furrowed his brow at that response. He would have wondered what the human was on about, but this was sounding exactly like something he would say prior to his treatment. It seemed that the control the Chaos Emerald had afforded him was not as long-lasting as he would have liked. While he had predicted a scenario like this, he hadn’t expected his subject to regress this quickly. He’d certainly have to make some adjustments to the machine the next time he made use of it, which would be very soon. Thankfully, it appeared that Ovi lacked any memory of prior treatment.

“Unfortunately,” the owl answered evenly, “so I have come to see if there are any...grander designs that we may be able to make use of.”

Ovi’s face fell a bit.

“W-well, they’re still in the theoretical phase,” he hesitated as he peered over at a handful of sheets on one corner of the desk, “and the amount of materials, not to mention the costs, are simply unfeasible at this time. I’m afraid they wouldn’t be of much use.”

Dr. Fukurokov snatched up the papers, ignoring the human’s protests as he pored over them. He stopped after leafing through a few of them, reaching up to rub his glasses clean to make sure he was seeing things right. There was a blueprint of a robot in Ovi’s likeness, but several meters tall and with significantly more bulk. From the mess of notes he could decipher, the doctor determined that it was meant to be some kind of welcoming attraction to his amusement park. However, with a few reallocations of resources, not to mention an obvious face lift, it could be converted into a mighty battle mech.

But that paled in comparison to the next project. An immense egg-shaped space station planned to have rides, resorts, restaurants, nature reserves, and residencies within. A veritable interstellar amusement park, if he was reading it correctly. Such a vessel could be repurposed into the greatest weapon the Empire could ever ask for, as well as the new seat of their power. His Majesty would be pleased with such a development. Their conquest would not be limited to the land, sky, and sea; it would be extended to the stars above, too!

“Don’t you worry about details like that, my fellow tinkerer,” Dr. Fukurokov assured him with a dark grin, “I am certain that we can find a way to make this dream of yours a reality. All I ask in return is that we work a little more...closely together.”

Another session with his machine would surely get the man to begin actual work on these designs posthaste. There was also that huge industrial city close to where the Battle Fortress had landed, which he believed was called “Metropolis” or something simple like that. Perhaps they would be able to help alleviate their need for materials...


"I can’t believe it’s already evening,” Miles grumbled as he and Sonic entered their next destination, “next time you want to ‘take a shortcut’ through the Wood Zone, how about letting me lead the way instead?”

Sonic smiled up at him and pointed out at the sight before them. “Eh, we got here at the best time. No one likes to come out here during the day.”

The fox and hedgehog peered out at the sprawling city of lights that was Casino Night. The ground was a dark gold with neon red and blue layers lighting up the edges. Similarly decorated palm trees were spread out across the strip, along with eye-catching signs and billboards. Gambling houses, restaurants, and more establishments could be seen further along, as well as huge blue and yellow tables with red zig zag borders. The latter attractions had large white and green pinball flippers, and the pair of Animals could see that there were three slot reels that were placed before a holding area that appeared to be made especially for those who could use the Rolling Attack. That must have been how one activated the machines.

“Well,” the fox said as he took it all in, his irritation subsiding somewhat, “it certainly is jaunty.” He brought out the Miles Electric and opened the Emerald Radar, fiddling around with the sensitivity as he tried to narrow down the location of the next gem. They were definitely closer, but how much closer was still undetermined. “Hmm, it doesn’t seem like the gem’s been moved, but I’m still unable to get a more accurate reading on its position. Let’s see if we can fix that.”

The hedgehog began to move on ahead, coming to a wide U-shaped gap with an orange and white vertical flipper in the middle of it.

“So, what are those stones, anyway?” he asked the teen, hopping into the hole and over the flipper.

Miles joined him on the other side, then the two ran at the slope in front of them before they both curled into a Rolling Attack. They descended back down briefly before the flipper bumped them forward and sent the Animals flying through the air, coming down on top of a high, slanted ledge. They jogged forward, coming to another, much deeper gap that sported a giant pinball table that they could ride if they wished, or continue on with a good jump to another balcony. They went with the latter option, crossing over and hopping atop a bulky blue block that served to get them to even higher places.

“They’re called the Chaos Emeralds,” Miles informed him while they rode the simple elevator, “there’s a number of different legends surrounding them, depending on which regional lore you’re looking into.”

He and Sonic bounced from a conveniently placed red spring up to another horizontal flipper, which flicked them to an outcropping high above. They had little time before they were directed towards a second flipper and flung upward once more, the amber and cobalt spheres hitting several red and blue bumpers with white stars. After ricocheting off of the cluster, they fell towards a few similarly colored triangular bounce plates, flipping their way over to another high ledge. Once they uncurled from their ball forms, the two took a moment to continue the conversation.

“Oh yeah, I’ve heard about them before!” Sonic claimed, his eyes lighting up in recognition, “the stories around here said that the ancients used them.”

The teen nodded at him, using his tails to fly them across yet another gap and over more bumpers, riding up another blue cube elevator to a narrow hall.

“Yes, it’s believed by many scholars that the Chaos Emeralds were what allowed the Last Great Civilization to enter their golden age,” Miles went on, his face turning grim, “but it’s also theorized that their abuse is what ultimately led to the people’s downfall and ruin.”

At the end of the path, there was a three-quarter pipe formation in front of them with a vertical flipper at the bottom. The pair’s eyes trailed up to the ceiling, where they saw how it curled down towards the walls more like an arch, rather than sporting sharp angles. As with the first gap, they propelled themselves using the provided prop, their Rolling Attacks following the curvature until they dropped back down past the gap. There was a much wider space in front of them, small neon green platforms acting as stepping stones to a distant ledge.

“One of my old books said they can grant wishes,” Sonic stated, alternating his feet as he hopped from block to block, looking back at Miles as he followed. "Is that true?"

The fox could just about step between the platforms with his longer legs, but chose to take after the hedgehog’s example, his tails helping to keep him balanced.

“Kind of,” he said to the younger boy, tilting one hand back and forth. He saw another pair of pinball boards beyond the outcropping they were headed for, both of them with slot reels. “It’s more that they transform thoughts into power.”

Miles let Sonic ride on his shoulders as he flew them over the distance, touched down on the other side for a moment, then leapt again. He boosted himself off of a long, hexagonal bumper, allowing him to reach an alcove above. The way ahead dead-ended, leaving only a gap between two green bumpers to offer a possible way forward. Seeing the colors of a board below, the two of them performed a Roll Jump and let themselves tumble down the pinball path. Sonic fell to the left while Miles went to the right, the spiny kid shooting down a slope and hopping over another bumper towards a lower floor. The teen ended up in one of the holding areas for the reels, spinning in place as the slots lined up. Three golden rings appeared in a row, then the fox was shuffled out of the machine towards the end of the board. He met back up with Sonic, who was standing next to a bowl at the bottom of the slope, a hundred poker chip-sized rings stacked up in it.

“Our thoughts are influenced by our emotions, our feelings,” Miles resumed, “which can be chaotic themselves. The Chaos Emeralds brought both good and ill fortune to the ancients because of that. They respond to the strongest feelings and desires that the wielder or wielders have while making use of them.

“Much like these rings,” he said as scooped his winnings into Remi with a pleased smirk, “the more Emeralds you have, the more energy you can use. With all seven together, it’s believed that you would gain the power to do pretty much anything. So, in that sense, they do grant wishes or make miracles.”

"Which is why the Kukkus are after them!" Sonic realized, "with the Emeralds, they could take over the world no problem!"

"Exactly."

Miles then led the two of them onto a narrow part of the strip that brought them to more attractions and places to eat. His cheeks flushed a little under his fur as his sharp ears picked up the sound of his stomach over the noises of the busy night life. It seemed that Sonic had also heard him, judging from the boyish giggle he let out.

“Why don’t we stop for a bite, big guy?” the hedgehog suggested, rubbing at his own belly, “I’m starving, and it sounds like you are, too!”

Miles chuckled and kept his eyes out for any joint that caught his attention. They soon settled on a modest bar and grill that was minor-friendly, the fox disguising his two tails as one before heading inside. The establishment was filled with black booths with red cushions, a simple hardwood floor, and a bar in the center, with the kitchen behind a couple of doors in the back, as well as a vent shutter in the rear of the bar. There was another, separate passage on the opposite side of the kitchen entrance, likely the office of the establishment. The smell of fresh, sizzling meat was enough to make the fox’s mouth start to water.

Manning the main area was a slim and athletic purple chameleon that stood roughly a head shorter than Miles. He possessed golden-yellow eyes that had subtle black accents along the rims, a yellow horn above his muzzle, a heart-shaped pattern on his chest that was fleshy like Sonic’s belly, a peach-tone muzzle, and a ridge of three black spikes that went down his spine to the base of a long, coiled tail. He wore dark purple shoes with black accents, metallic arm bracers, and white gloves with dark purple pads on the back. Around his wrists and ankles, he also sported bandage-wrapped cuffs with gold studs on the lower bands.

He dutifully rubbed down one of the glasses set around him, nodding his head towards the two animals that walked in. It seemed they were his only prospective customers at the moment.

“Welcome,” he greeted in a stoic, but polite baritone, “you’re free to seat yourselves wherever you wish.”

Miles waved at him in return and did just that, grabbing one of the stools at the bar while Sonic hopped up into one to the fox’s left. The chameleon set his glass down and rang a bell under the counter, the slam of one of the kitchen doors following a few seconds later.

Buzzing filled the room as a bee that was about half a head taller than Sonic flew in. He had a black and yellow striped body with matching antennae, translucent sky-blue wings, and honey-brown eyes. In addition, the insect boy had a tiny black nose, peach skin on his arms and muzzle, and a silver stinger at the end of his abdomen. His duds consisted of an orange vest with a yellow zipper and a bee emblem on the left breast, with a white collar similar to that on a polo shirt. He also had white and orange shoes with black ring bands and yellow zippers, white gloves with the same sort of decals, a black pilot’s helmet with pink and orange circuited trim, and orange and silver flight goggles with sky-blue lenses.

“Alright, customers!” he cheered in an optimistic tenor, weaving towards the pair, “it’s been kind of slow tonight, huh, Espio? I’ve been so bor–”

The bee stopped when he laid eyes on Miles, who stared back at him in equal shock. The fox stood up from his seat, getting a curious look from both the hedgehog and the reptile near him. A short silence hung in the air before the vulpine’s muzzle split into a grin, and the smile on the insect’s face widened even more.

“Miles!” the bee cried out in joy, diving towards the larger animal, arms outstretched for a hug.

Miles was nearly knocked off his feet as he was effectively tackled by the smaller Animal. He managed to keep his footing, though, and firmly returned the embrace, his two tails revealing themselves and wagging excitedly. Sonic peered over at the chameleon, who glanced at, but made no comment about the scene or the fact that the fox had an extra rear appendage. Either he knew already, or this was hardly the most bizarre thing he'd seen.

“Long time no see, Charmy!” Miles exclaimed happily, letting the bee go after a couple of moments, “this is wild, I didn't expect to run into you of all people! What’re you doing here?”

The smaller guy spread out his arms and pointed around the restaurant.

“I’m just helping run this place with Espio here,” he explained as he pointed out the chameleon, who nodded curtly, “we’re part of a detective agency!”

“One that’s still getting off the ground, as it were,” Espio clarified, “hence the need for additional income.”

If that was true, then perhaps they would be willing to help him search for the next Chaos Emerald, or at least point him in the right direction. But before he could ask about that, he heard Sonic impatiently drumming his fingers on the counter behind him. Right, they’d come to sate their stomachs before their curiosity about the gem or anything else. Miles felt a little bad about suddenly ignoring his companion.

“Well, we did originally come here to eat,” Miles replied, turning around to the hedgehog and clearing his throat before gesturing to Charmy. “Sonic, this is Charmy Bee, one of my oldest friends.” He then did the same in the hedgehog’s direction. “Charmy, this is Sonic the Hedgehog.”

The spiny boy held out his hand and smiled at the bee. “Nice to meet you!”

“Right back at you!” Charmy chirped, shaking the offered glove and then hovering up to slap the fox on the shoulder, “I used to live on Cocoa Island with this guy here.” He gave Miles a once over and folded his arms with a smirk. “He was a lot smaller, though, kinda like you!”

“And you used to be way more hyperactive and scatter-brained,” the tallest Animal fired back, though his tone was purely a playful one, “it's nice to see you've chilled out a little. The younger you would’ve never been able to hold down a job.”

The two shared a small bout of laughter, no feelings hurt at their jabs.

"I've missed you, buddy," Miles said as he bumped fists with his friend.

"I've missed you too, pal," Charmy agreed, returning the bump, "lemme get you guys some grub before we catch up. You know what you want?"

"You guys got chili dogs?" Sonic asked him.

Charmy stroked his chin for a moment, then nodded at the hedgehog. "Yeah, we could whip some up. How about you, Miles?"

"You know, that sounds nice," the fox mumbled, grinning at his friend knowingly, "I'll go for that, too. I could use a good, savory meal after what I've been through."

Though he couldn't see Sonic's face, Miles could sense an ever so slight feeling of resentment. Ah well, the kid would probably get over it once he had some food in him. It was a fact that folks tended to be less antsy on a full stomach.


Dr. Fukurokov was mesmerized by what he was witnessing.

After another session in the machine, Ovi was like an assembly line unto himself. The painstakingly careful tinkering he’d been engaging in before had become a blistering pace that sacrificed none of the finesse. The gleam in the human’s glasses had changed from one of simple joy to a sinister shine, and he’d even swapped out his wardrobe. His clothing now consisted of an elegant, red coat sporting two square metal buttons on both sides of the chest in gold, which had white straps that ran across the coat's sides to identical buttons on the back. It also had silver, zipper-like linings down the back, arms, and front, yellow cuffs, and two extensions on the front that have large silver buttons. In addition, he wore white cuffless gloves on his hands and a pair of black pants with matching boots seemingly attached to them, bearing circular plates on the both sides of the ankles and three square ones riding up the shin.

The difference between the man he’d been with before and after the second treatment was like night and day. It reminded the owl of an old story he’d read that the humans had written, about a man that had used a potion to separate the good and evil aspects of his personality. It had worked at first, but the darker side had eventually won out despite the fellow’s efforts to keep it at bay. Perhaps, with enough time and effort, he could permanently convert Ovi to this persona and their cause? It was certainly something to think about.

“Dmitri, I do believe you’ll appreciate this,” the man said in a much more menacing voice than he’d used earlier as he nodded over to a workbench.

Dr. Fukurokov waddled over to where his patient had been working and boosted himself up to see. The blueprint showed a modified version of the Mecha Golem line that the old bird had established. It still had the bulky dark purple body, the extendable right arm with its spherical joints, and the drill bit “nose” on its face, but that’s where the similarities to older designs ended. It now had a left arm that could stretch as well, with a much larger drill at the end of it in place of a hand. In fact, the hand on the right arm had also been changed out for the same thing. Its short and stubby legs had been done away with entirely, replaced by a trio of thrusters on the bottom and the back of the machine to allow it to hover. The slit made for vision had been converted to a viewing port that would better protect the pilot, as well as provide more accurate visual data during battle. He really didn't care for the mustache pattern and the grinning face the doctor had added, though.

When it came to work, the owl had always loathed when others made adjustments or revisions. Even when they actually did manage to improve his designs, he wouldn’t accept them, sooner throwing them into the brig. But the human was different. He was too efficient in what he did to sideline, and the fact that he could get things to work despite their bizarre construction was too valuable a skill to ignore. And, all in all, this new Mecha Golem did appear to be quite effective and intimidating.

"This should certainly serve us well, Ovi," he told the man.

The human growled in annoyance. "I've told you it's Ivo, you decrepit avian. Dr. Ivo Robotnik, and don't make me remind you again!"

"Remember that you're in my custody, Ivo," Dr. Fukurokov warned, lightly crumpling the paper in his hands, "don't cross me if you wish to keep playing with your toys. Also, rather than squabble, how about you allocate your remaining time towards resolving our fox problem?"

Ivo fixed him with a glare through those specs before he went back to assembling another unit.

"I still don't see how one Animal can give you so much trouble," he remarked, "it seems excessive to build all these."

The owl bristled.

"Much as I am loath to admit it," he said with utter contempt, "Miles Prower is a genius in his own right. Not only that, but he's far stronger and faster than any typical Animal. And to make matters worse, it isn't just him we have to contend with this time. If anything, supplementing our forces with these creations of yours is absolutely necessary."

Ivo chortled at that. "You won't have to worry once my newest Badniks are up and running. Why, I doubt you'll even need everything I'm willing to provide!"

"You can say that only because you've not matched wits with that troublesome teenager," Dr. Fukurokov commented, "so I say once again that you should spare no expense."

“Meh, if you say so,” Dr. Robotnik hummed dismissively and waved the chief engineer away, putting all his focus into his task.

The owl huffed and went back to the lift, seeing the human assemble and finish another robot from scratch just before he left the chamber. That guy really did have an ego on him when he was like that, not at all humble or cautious like his other self. The old bird found it quite vexing that no matter whether he was working with “Ovi” or “Ivo”, he was bound to develop a headache. If the chief engineer could just rein in that ego for a while, he’d be able to learn and replicate the secrets in the man’s head, he was sure of it. After that, Ovi, or Ivo, or whatever, could serve as a living factory to help boost the output of the creations that would follow such revelations.

Little did he realize that another source of frustration was waiting for him the moment his ride returned, one in the form of a certain prince.

“L-Lord Speedy!” Dr. Fukurokov exclaimed, his heart nearly leaping out of his chest when he found the Kukku heir waiting for him right next to the lift. After a moment, he composed himself and changed his tune to a more aggravated one. “I do not appreciate your recently developed habit of barging into my laboratory unannounced. I’ll have you know I’ve been quite busy ever since the previous night, and interruptions like these are hampering my progress!”

Speedy merely returned his bluster with a roll of the eyes.

“It isn’t unannounced,” he replied dryly, “Father attempted to contact you, but you didn’t respond, so he sent me down to meet with you personally. Not a good look for you, and honestly, a waste of my time.”

The owl bit back a snide remark, but only because this was apparently important. He was honestly growing tired of these intrusions, even if it was the prince. That attitude was really getting on his nerves, too.

“What does His Majesty need of me?” he inquired calmly.

“More of those new robots,” Speedy answered promptly, already turning and leaving as he spoke, “given how fast you make them, he’s expecting a company of them for tomorrow’s invasion of Metropolis. Also, he wants you to hurry up with the CT modifications, since he’s yet to see results from that.”

The ace didn’t even wait for an acknowledgment from Dr. Fukurokov before he was already out the door. It really did aggravate the elder with how that boy treated him, but that was the least of his worries now. He’d been so wrapped up with trying to get the human model of his Chaos-powered machine to work properly that he hadn’t started with the ones meant for birds. He was still hesitant about applying the new changes as well, given that he hadn’t gotten consistent results with the doctor. There was still a high possibility that things could go wrong, and he would hate to have prospective soldiers wasted.

However, if the GBK wanted Dr. Fukurokov to pick up the pace, there was little choice but to comply. He’d gotten lucky before with the news about Miles, and he had a feeling his leader wouldn’t be so generous a second time if he dragged his talons. But when it came to the additional forces, he could comply with that request easily enough. He just hoped that Dr. Robotnik didn’t get any ideas above his station; he wasn’t sure he’d be able to rein him in if he decided to turn his Badniks against the Empire.


“Okie-dokie, here’s your food, dudes!” Charmy announced as he set down plates in front of Miles and Sonic.

They each had two jumbo franks in a bun, topped with a meaty sauce, cheese, and spicy chili. On the side, they also had a good pile of potato wedges that were smothered in the same substance. As the scent wafted into the boys’ noses, they had to wipe a bit of drool from their mouths. Not only did it all smell good, but they hadn’t had anything substantial since the morning.

“Thanks, Charmy, this looks great!” Miles said gratefully, wasting no time in picking up a frank and taking a big bite. He let out a satisfied grunt as he chewed it all up and quickly swallowed. “Mmm, my compliments to the chef!”

The bee thumbed his nose. “He’s got the right attitude, but he’s a little bossy, and sometimes he’s just asking for a fight. Can't blame him too much, though, he's still just a kid. Good thing Espio’s here to help with that.”

“Watching you two is a full-time job in and of itself,” the chameleon remarked in a forthright tone.

Charmy chuckled and grinned sheepishly at Espio. The insect boy took a seat to the fox’s right and politely waited on him to have a few more bites. Sonic was already through one of his own chili dogs and a number of fries when he decided to speak up.

“So, you and the big guy grew up together?” he inquired of the other small Animal.

The bee gave the fox a playful punch in the shoulder. “Yep, we’ve known each other ever since we were five! Then there’s Gad and Giselle, who’re about five years older than us, but they’ve been friends with Miles for just as long. The four of us made a pretty good group!”

“We even formed and had a band for a while,” Miles added after taking a sip of water.

Sonic’s eyes lit up when he heard that. “Really? I’m a bit of a music guy myself. I can sing and play the violin!”

“Cool, I’d like to hear sometime!” Charmy said encouragingly as he leaned forward onto the bar, “but yeah, we had a band going back home! Miles played lead guitar, Giselle handled bass or rhythm depending on the song, Gad worked the synth and keys, and I was on the drums!”

The vulpine sighed nostalgically, his expression turning a bit more somber after a moment.

“Then Charmy left a little over four years ago,” he said, wolfing down the last bit of his second chili dog before turning to the bee, “and honestly, you got out at a good time. The Battle Kukku Empire attacked not long after that.”

Charmy’s hands flew up to his muzzle to suppress a gasp, while Espio stopped polishing his glass almost immediately.

“The Kukkus attacked Cocoa Island!?” the insect shouted, making Miles wince due to the proximity to his sensitive ears, “is everyone else okay? What happened, Miles!?”

The fox hummed and picked at his food for a few moments, then looked between the other three Animals, letting out another, more tired huff. Sonic tilted his head quizzically, an excited gleam in his eyes. It seemed like he was finally going to learn more about the villains the heroic fox fought against!

“The Empire came looking for the Chaos Emeralds in order to take over the world,” Miles told them, a flash of sadness showing in his features, “some civilians and Flickies were killed during the invasion, many more were captured, and most of Poroi Forest and Puru Puru Village were burned to the ground.”

Espio bowed his head sympathetically. “I am sorry to hear. The Battle Kukku Empire has taken so much from so many; humans, Animals, and Critters alike.”

“Yeah, they have,” the amber teen affirmed, his expression hardening as one of his hands balled into a fist, “but unlike all those other instances, they didn’t get away scot-free with Cocoa Island. I made sure of that.”

Charmy fully turned around in his seat and stared at him, gobsmacked. “You mean you beat the whole Kukku army by yourself?”

“Nah, I had Remi helping me,” Miles claimed, patting at his backpack, “and Gad and Giselle did what they could to keep the survivors safe. But, as far as the actual fighting, yeah, I did most of it on my own.”

“And then you used the Chaos Emeralds to make the island good as new, right?” Sonic butted in with his assumption.

The fox nodded softly. “I kept the cyan gem hidden, since the Empire seemed to believe that there were six Emeralds rather than seven. To be fair, some legends, like those back home and on South Island, do claim that, so that’s probably where they got their info.” His frown turned up into a smile. “But even with mine left behind, six was enough to grant my wish to restore Cocoa Island. Aside from the lives lost, it’s back to how it was before the Kukkus attacked.”

Charmy would’ve sat down if he wasn’t already doing so, thus he sunk further into his seat instead. Sonic rubbed the underside of his nose, proud that he managed to guess the rest of the short tale correctly. A ghost of a smile graced the chameleon’s lips, both at seeing the bee speechless, and that he sensed no deception in Miles’ words.

“That would explain why their activity has significantly decreased over the past few years,” the reptile commented, setting down the mug he’d been cleaning, “and here, many had thought that they’d grown complacent.”

Miles allowed himself a slightly bitter chuckle, then finished off the last of his meal. Charmy reached over the counter and grabbed a glass, holding it out to Espio. The reptile regarded him for a couple of seconds, then let out a quiet huff and brought up the water nozzle, filling the mug up most of the way.

“So, what brings you here, Miles?” the bee asked him, taking a big swig as he listened intently.

The fox opened his mouth to speak, but Sonic beat him to the punch. Not only that, but the energetic hedgehog also plucked the blue Emerald out of Miles’ tails, making the teen do a double take.

“He told me he was looking for the Chaos Emeralds!” the cobalt boy answered for the fox, holding up the azure mineral for all to see, “and then the Kukkus showed up, so we’re gonna stop them, too!”

Both Charmy and Espio fixed their gaze on the teen, one worried and the other stern. Miles groaned and face-palmed, snatching the gem from Sonic’s hand.

“First, don’t touch my tails without asking,” he growled, briefly eyeing the other Animals before looking back at the youngest one, “and second, I can speak for myself, thank you very much.”

He glanced over to his friend and saw that worried look in his eyes. Miles had been hoping not to involve them in this beyond inquiring about the location of the next Emerald. But no, Sonic had to go and open his big mouth about the Empire. Well, not much he could do now that the others knew the situation.

“Sonic’s right, though,” he admitted, nudging his plate away from his space, “the Kukkus are here on West Side Island, but it doesn’t seem like they’ve been here for long.” His brow furrowed a bit. “I only discovered them last night, and we’ve encountered a surprisingly small number of units, all of which have been robotic. I’m not sure if it’s because this place is much bigger than Cocoa Island, if they’re employing a stealthier approach, or some combination of the two, but it feels strange, like the calm before the storm. I hope that's not what it is...”

Espio shut his eyes in contemplation, humming as though reciting a sort of mantra. After a moment, he pushed open the small door on the side of the bar and made his way into the office, Charmy and the rest following him curiously. The sounds of rummaging through shelves and drawers met the fox’s ears, followed by a grunt of affirmation. The chameleon returned from the back, clutching something that he kept hidden with both hands until he got to the counter. Once there, he stopped in front of Miles and glanced down at his gloves before he brought them forward and opened them up.

The fox’s eyes widened when he discovered yet another Emerald in Espio’s grasp, this one red like a ruby. He knew that the gem was this close, but he hadn’t expected his old friend and associate to be the ones to have it. That said, he figured that since Charmy and Espio were trying to run one business and get another off the ground, that the reptile, at least, might want something for it. He didn’t mind helping out a friend though, and so, the teen reached into Remi’s storage, prepared to take out as many rings as he needed.

“How much do you want for it?” he offered.

It was the chameleon’s turn to be shocked, though he only let it show for the briefest instant. He shook his head humbly and extended his arms a little more.

“If things are as you say, you will need this more than we do,” Espio countered, looking over to the bee, “that, and I do not wish to attract unwanted attention to us. I work best out of sight of those that would do us harm.”

Charmy pouted at this decision, floating up off of his seat and hovering over to the reptile’s side with a pleading look.

“Aww, come on, Espio,” he begged, “he’s offering to pay us for it even though you’re willing to give it away for free!”

Espio narrowed his eyes at the insect. “Money will be the least of our problems if the Battle Kukku Empire arrives on our doorstep.” He just about shoved the red Emerald the teen’s way, causing the fox to lean back and keep the blue Emerald from getting too close. “And as brash as he is, I do think Vector would agree with me that helping others comes first.”

While Miles may have been hesitant to take the stone without properly compensating the chameleon, Sonic did not possess such reluctance. Seeing as Espio was so willing to give it away, he stood up in his seat and graciously took the offered item.

“Thanks, Espio, we’ll use it to stop those Kukkus!” the blue blur promised him, beaming as he practically pushed the red Emerald into the fox’s face. The proximity prompted a dull glow to form in the cores of the rocks, one that quickly grew brighter. “Isn’t this cool, big guy? We already have more than half of them!”

“Sonic, stop! Don’t let them get–”

All four Animals cried out as the restaurant was filled with a blinding light from the two stones reacting to one another’s close presence. Not only that, but the fox felt power surging across his back, no doubt from the other two Emeralds also getting in on the action. Rather than the cool, minty sensation he was used to, it was like desert heat was flowing through his veins, setting his nerves on fire, but without any pain. He’d never tried having this many Emeralds resonate with one another before, and now he could feel why it was a bad idea.

The sound of crumbling brick followed their yelling, Miles’ ears folding back as he imagined the damage that had been wrought. On the plus side, the injuries he and Sonic had accrued earlier had healed up, not that they were that serious. Once the light cleared and everyone could see again, Miles let his eyes wander up to the ceiling. The damage wasn't quite as bad as he'd imagined, but there was still a rather sizable hole in the roof, one big enough for him to fly through. The fox grimaced and plucked the red Emerald from a still-stunned Sonic.

"Sorry, I tried to tell you," he explained, placing both gems into Remi, now that all four were in tune, "if the Emeralds haven't been around one another for a while, they need to 're-sync' when brought back together. And as you can see, the results can be a bit violent."

Miles hummed nervously and reached into his storage for a huge sack of rings. He dropped it on the counter, unloaded a good amount of its contents, then pushed himself away and got to his feet.

"There's rings for the food, Emerald, and hopefully, enough to cover the damages,” he said as he turned to Epsio and bowed his head apologetically, “sorry about that." He nodded at his insect friend with a small smile. "It was nice to see you again, Charmy." He grunted and started to walk away, letting Sonic follow his lead. "Come on, kid, let's go before we cause any more trouble."

As the two made their way out of the restaurant, Charmy went to chase after them, but Espio held him back by grabbing his shoulder and shaking his head. When they got outside, Miles didn’t even wait to see if Sonic was ready before moving on, his expression sour.

“Your friend’s pretty cool,” the hedgehog commented, “it was nice meeting him and that Espio guy!”

“Yeah,” the fox replied in monotone frustration.

Miles went forward to a dip in the ground with a large red spring aimed towards a ramp, curling himself into a Rolling Attack so he could bounce off of it. He put his two tails to work a couple of seconds later, clearing the top of a small building attached to a ritzy loop. The teen flew from there to an even higher roof that overlooked a pinball board with slots, noticing Sonic below. With a “tch”, he moved on, passing up the game and coming to another table just beyond it, though this one lacked reels. The fox ignored this distraction as well, slipping into a small passage where he had to Roll in order to get through.

He leapt up to a ledge, where he found a circular blue elevator with green details. Sonic had just about caught up to him, and though he considered waiting, as there was room for two, Miles stepped onto the platform and let it carry him up. He was angry with the younger Animal, what with everything that had happened up to now. There were times before he felt like he was going to lose his patience with Sonic, but it was dangerously close at this point. One more incident like what had happened at the bar, and Miles wasn't sure he'd be able to keep his cool.

With a grunt, he continued his trek past some neon flora, then crossed over a gap using a handful of star bumpers. When given the choice between going below to another hall, or higher to another awning, Miles went with the latter, utilizing more of those small green platforms to get to it. He went on until he couldn’t go any higher, slipping past one of those large blue cubes from earlier and jumping down a funnel-shaped opening when left with no other path. He followed the only logical route and ended up at yet another slots game, ignoring it and dropping down past the flippers at the bottom. A Rolling Attack guided him along the curve of one dip, flinging him into the air and down another. He landed in a more open tunnel with a second elevator in the back, and he was ready to forge on before the sound of other shoes clattering on the gilded ground met his ears.

“Whew, I thought I lost you for a second, big guy!” Sonic remarked from behind him, catching up to the teen and joining him on the platform. “That’s okay, though, it wasn’t too hard to catch up.”

Miles merely hummed in response, showing that he’d at least heard the hedgehog. The two of them rode the lift to the top of the shaft, then proceeded to the edge of a balcony that overlooked one final game. The fox was prepared to walk on, but he stopped when the younger boy tapped him on the lower back. He sighed and slowly moved to face the kid, arms folded.

“What?” Miles asked grumpily.

“Can we at least play this one, big guy?” Sonic pleaded, “you said we could have fun earlier.”

The teen bit back a snarl, but only barely. Did this guy really not get what he did before, or was he just trying to ease the tension? Well, whatever the case, Miles wasn’t interested in joining him.

“You can, if you want,” he answered tersely, dropping a ring into Sonic’s hands, “I’m not in the mood anymore.”

Miles curled into a Rolling Attack and directed himself towards the path of least resistance. He passed the flippers at the bottom and stood there, tapping one foot as he waited on the hedgehog. Sonic made his own way down the table, bouncing off bumpers and soaring through the air into the holding space beneath the slots. For several seconds, the reels spun nearly too fast for anyone to see, only for one of them to suddenly stop with a loud click. The second one stopped soon after, and finally the third, which was succeeded by a loud blaring siren that couldn’t have meant anything good.

The fox peered up and he felt his face pale under his fur when he saw the results: three double-zeroes. He reached into his pack with trepidation and brought out his bag of rings. It was far lighter than before, even after taking into account what he’d given Espio and Charmy. He nervously opened the top and peered down inside, and after he got a good look, he let out a distressed whine and fell to his knees. Nearly all of his rings were gone after that big loss on Sonic’s part.

“I’d like today to be over now,” he moaned mournfully.

Notes:

I DID say that everyone's favorite rotund human doctor would appear again, although I hadn't quite planned it this way. His "normal" personality and general attire are both taken from his Mr. Tinker persona in the IDW comics, while his altered state is more like his canonical self. The idea of him being a kindly fellow that just wanted to build an amusement park was something I'd originally intended, and I'd simply thought of him being brainwashed by Dr. Fukurokov, who would then use his Badniks. However, given the chaotic nature of the Emeralds, as well as my fondness for certain classic stories, I went with a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde approach instead. The name Ovi comes from Fleetway's Sonic the Comic, where he was also a kindly scientist before being transformed into the nefarious Dr. Robotnik.

Miles and Charmy going way back and being in a band together is a reference to the scrapped concept in the first Sonic game where the hedgehog was part of a group that included Vector. The fox being the guitarist was an idea inspired from artwork that was featured in Sonic Jam, and Charmy being on the drums is based on the Chaotix Recital team blast from Sonic Heroes. Sonic's singing talent comes from the aforementioned Sonic 1 concept, while his ability to play the violin was a thing in the manga. Voices for each of the Chaotix members are basically as they are now, with pitch adjusted accordingly for age.

For those curious about ages, here they are, and "going on" means that their birthday hasn't yet happened during this "year" of the series:
Miles = 15 (going on 16)
Sonic = 8
Speedy = 19
Charmy = 16
Espio = 20 (going on 21)
Vector = 7
Gad & Giselle = 21 (going on 22)

As for who Gad and Giselle are, that'll be revealed very soon, though I've a feeling some readers can already guess. The Wood Zone mentioned early on in the chapter was a deleted level from the 16-bit version of Sonic 2, and much like the zone itself, it was a chapter I was going to write out in the first draft of the story, but decided to cut it in the end.

Anyway, it seems like the progress Miles and Sonic had made when it came bonding and befriending each other has taken a hit! Hopefully, they can push these problems aside and mend their relationship in the coming trials. Join our heroes next time as they head for the Hill Top Zone, while the Battle Kukku Empire engages their assault on Metropolis!

And lastly, a big thank you to everyone who's enjoyed the tale so far. I hope I continue to deliver!

Chapter 5: Hill Top Hazards

Summary:

Miles and Sonic traverse the Hill Top Zone, while trouble brews on the other side of the mountain range. The Battle Kukku Empire is ready to strike Metropolis, but their attempts to obtain the Chaos Emerald there are met with some unexpected resistance.

Notes:

And things only go further off the rails from here. At least the zone is mostly the same.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Considering how low and relatively flat the rest of West Side Island was, Miles hadn’t been expecting the Hill Top Peaks to be so tall. The cyan mountains stretched above the notably thick layer of clouds, as did a number of orange plateaus that featured high canyons. The soil was made from cyan stones with geometrical patterns, some of which were checkered, and it was topped with lime green grass and some wildflowers, just like back in Emerald Hill. And, as was befitting such a region, there were many towering pine trees strewn about, and the fox could also spot various lifts and pulleys that would allow visitors to more safely traverse the environment. What made the place more dangerous was the fact that there were open lava flows and earth that shifted accordingly, suggesting high tectonic activity.

However, the teen’s mind was occupied with several other things aside from the hazards and the scenery. There were the various troubles Sonic had caused him on this journey, though the biggest one was willingly putting himself in danger just from joining him. Not telling him that he couldn’t swim in a place it was needed was another misstep, though it was forgivable. The whole grabbing the Chaos Emerald and causing damage to Charmy and Espio’s bar? Even if he had put the blue Emerald out of reach, the other two would’ve still reacted due to Sonic getting up in his face. And then there was the loss of most of his rings, which, to be fair, was more his fault for indulging the hedgehog instead of calling it a night then and there. It still sucked, though!

He figured the only reasons he hadn’t blown his top yet had been due to the hedgehog’s capable and handy physical prowess, and their luck in finding the Chaos Emeralds. He would’ve attributed it to having saintly patience, too, but he knew he wouldn’t have been as tolerant if it wasn’t for the positives in their time together.

‘Just put it aside, Miles,’ he thought to himself, ‘focus on what lies ahead and take deep breaths, especially with the thinner air. Worry about the other stuff later...if everything works out, you might not even have to address it.’

He shook his head and retrieved the Miles Electric and switched to the Emerald Radar, as had been a habit for him up to this point. There was no longer a signal coming from Casino Night behind them, which was good to see. There were the four Remi had tucked away, and it looked like there was one much further on ahead, perhaps within the mountains. He clicked the rightmost large button a few times to zoom out, enough to get a good, if basic view of the rest of West Side Island’s eastern half. Sure enough, one of the Emeralds was even farther away, in the middle of a large framework that could’ve only been a city, which he confirmed after switching the view to satellite imagery. But, as for the seventh one...

‘It’s not even on the island itself,’ the teen pondered, ‘it’s off the coast, most likely underwater. I bet that’s where we’ll find the Battle Fortress, assuming Fifteenth doesn’t make a move first.’

“Hey, big guy?” Sonic called to him, getting his attention, “where are we headed next?”

Miles hummed and showed the boy both the spot where the fifth stone would be and its topographic view. That was another reason he couldn’t stay all mad at the cobalt kid: he was a good guide around the island, and aside from the time lost in the Wood Zone, he knew what was where.

“The fifth Chaos Emerald appears to be located inside the mountains further ahead,” he said, walking up a small incline and coming to a rope lift, “are there any major mining systems in that area?”

“Yep, that’d be the Mystic Cave Network,” Sonic affirmed, “it’s a bunch of tunnels built by miners and archaeologists to dig out gems and artifacts. Not many folks use it for more than travel now, though, since the mountains over there got pretty hollowed out.”

The two of them hopped into the gondola, riding it over the short gap to another cliff. There, they ran into a small, round robot that resembled a red kiwi bird with its thin beak and body shape, as well as its thin legs, but beyond that, it was rather different. It had a formidable spiked cone atop its head much like a whelk shell, angry looking black eyes, and each leg ended in some rather mean looking talons that kiwis weren’t known for sporting.

“Another one of those weird Kukku robots,” Sonic pointed out, “at least this one looks like a bird!”

Miles didn’t waste any time worrying about the small details and swiftly approached the synthetic avian. It tilted its head down and fired its cone like a rocket, though the fox had figured it would try something like that and dodged to the side. Left vulnerable without its main weapon, the teen struck the robot with a tail swipe and reduced it to scrap. Given that it had been the only one around for the moment, the mechanical prodigy sifted through its remains and found a gold ring. He picked it up in one hand and used the Miles Electric with his other to scan its signature, raising his brow at the results.

“Ring energy’s pretty common when it comes to powering machines,” he began, “but despite how clean and efficient it is, they can only last so long, especially when they’re used in more complex systems like those of attack robots.” He flipped the display of his multitool around to show what he’d discovered. “Yet, in the case of this new Kukku model, the ring’s reserves are barely tapped.” The fox put the ring in storage and then stroked his chin with a confused look. “Kinda weird how it wasn’t that way with the ones we saw at the Reserve. Maybe the doc hadn’t ironed the kinks out yet?”

Sonic chuckled a little bit at the older guy’s curiosity.

“Maybe you can get a better look after we send them packing,” he suggested.

Miles nodded and stowed his gadget away. Sonic was right, they had to keep moving. They continued on up the small hill in front of them, coming across another one of the robots they had just seen. Sonic revved up a Spin Dash and took it out without issue, uncurling and skidding to a halt inches from a short ledge that overlooked a lava pond.

“Watch your step!” he commented, “these flows are kinda common here. Sometimes, new ones will open up, or old ones will cool off and all that. The path through the mountains changes pretty often because of it.”

The teen took note of that and provided his companion a lift across the fiery pit, then leapt up the cliff that met them at the end of that stretch. Another, smaller pool of molten rock was close by, and beyond that was a cramped tunnel that the two had to Roll through in order to fit. The terrain ramped up once they came out the other end, sending them up onto one of the higher cliffs in that section. From there, Miles once again took flight, bringing them both a considerable distance to a second rope gondola.

After riding the lift, they came to a sheer cliff that had a loop up against it that seemed to lead into the ground. Sonic examined the soil around that area, tapping at it curiously with his shoes, then getting down to feel with one hand. After a few moments, he looked up to Miles and pointed down at the patch of grass.

“The ground’s loose around here,” he said, slamming one fist into his other open palm, “that means there’s a tunnel that goes through the mountain here. The entrance just got covered up, that’s all.”

The hedgehog knelt down and built up a Spin Dash for a couple of seconds, then followed the path of the loop straight into the spot he’d marked. The blue sphere tore up the dirt and burrowed for several feet before he let out a small cry of surprise. The fox went to take a peek at what happened, and was relieved to see that Sonic had safely landed. He dropped down after the younger Animal, finding himself in a sort of cavern that was lit up by the nearby glow of magma. Miles stored his shades for the moment, letting his vulpine eyes adjust to the low light.

Once he was good, he and warily made their way across a number of stepping stones in a large lava pool, arriving at yet another lift on the other side. The pair were spooked as a spike from a kiwi robot shot down from above, slashing right through one of the ropes holding up their ride. They spilled out of the gondola and tumbled down towards another fiery lake, where they also spotted a fourth carriage in their spinning vision. Sonic regained his bearings and reached out towards Miles, who grabbed at his hand and started to spin his tails. They had just enough time to soften their fall and redirect themselves so that they touched down in the lift with a thud, the both of them sprawled out as it carried them further down.

A bit more cautious after what happened, the fox and hedgehog avoided repeating that fiasco when they spotted one of the bird bots on the ceiling in front of them. Miles reached into Remi’s pack and pulled out one of the small explosives he’d used in the Aquatic Ruin. Fortunately for him, the spike did not protect it from the blast, and the rest of their short trip went by without issue. A red spring at the end of the path bounced them up a low cliff, which continued on into a long and narrow hall. Just as they came into another chamber with a magma pool, the ground started to rumble beneath their feet.

Not wanting to find out what would happen if they stuck around, the pair rushed through the remainder of the tunnel, discovering a space where they could Roll through. Left with no other option, they took the risk, spending several seconds barreling down a winding passage. And much like earlier, the slope curved upward into a ramp-like shape, their momentum carrying them high over a grassy loop. They soared through the air until they touched down in a modest meadow tucked away in a group of pine trees.

“Alright, we should be about halfway to Mystic Cave,” Sonic announced, taking a moment to brush himself off.

Miles did the same and was about to double-check his gadget when his ears perked up at another low rumble.

“Sheesh, Hill Top’s really active today,” the hedgehog commented, having also picked up on the commotion, “we better be careful.”

“No,” the teen disagreed, tilting his ears in the direction of the now-constant noise that was growing ever so slightly louder, “that’s something else. It sounds more distant, and the pattern doesn’t seem seismic, otherwise we’d be feeling it beneath our feet.”

The other boy scratched his chin and looked in the direction it was coming from. “What do you think it could be?”

“Hard to say,” Miles answered, his expression darkening, “but I have a feeling it’s nothing good...”


It was a beautiful day in the sprawling settlement of Metropolis, the capital and industrial center of West Side Island. The sun was shining, the Flickies were singing, and many Animals, as well as some humans, were following their routines. It appeared to be business as usual for the denizens of the great city, but it was not meant to be so. Off the eastern coast of the island, right next to Metropolis, the water around the inconspicuous islet that had shown up began to boil. Slowly, the small bit of green rose up, revealing not earth, but metal at its base. Though not everyone was familiar with the true identity of the behemoth craft making itself known, all of the birds in the area, both Animal and Critter, shook at the sight of it.

It was none other than the Battle Fortress, the flagship and strongest weapon in the Battle Kukku Empire’s arsenal.

From the immense flight deck on top, and scores of ports opening up on the main body, veritable swarms of robots and Kukku fighters descended upon the city. There were red and gray droids that appeared as a cross between birds and planes, sporting yellow beaks, eyes, and legs similar to eagles, but also possessing stabilizers on their tails, support wheels on their feet, and two rotors in the back. There were small blue aircrafts with yellow wings, propellers, and mounted guns that were piloted by Kukku combatants with orange helmets. There were egg-shaped metal shells with yellow propellers on top of their heads. two cartoony cyan eyes, orange arms and faces, white gloves, and a small cannon on the bottom of their bodies. There were mud dauber-esque robots that had colorations much like Japanese hornets, sporting red faces and black abdomens with jet thrusters attached, a thin metallic pole connecting to a black and yellow back end where a “stinger” gun was mounted.

As for the ground forces, there were Kukkus that toted laser rifles, and some that flew through the air under their own power to bring bombs down on hapless people. There were small blue and gray walkers with cannons on the front that got around on duck-like feet, silver and orange hover pods that spewed flames from narrow barrels, and detachments of Robo Kukkus to back them up. Joining them were red and white crab bots with white abdomens, two pairs of white legs, eye stalks with large yellow eyes, and two different-sized claws, the right one being larger and boasting three spikes adorning the upper joint. There were also green mantids with yellow eyes, metallic mandibles, wheels on the heels of their feet, and two razor-sharp claws on the ends of their hands. Last, but not least, there were tall and green, ostrich-like walker mechs that were piloted by two soldiers, each side containing a flamethrower, which they did not hesitate to use.

The peaceful scene of the city descended into chaos in no time flat. The batteries of guns on the Fortress opened fire on the biggest skyscrapers, blasting several of them into nothing more than debris, which caused further damage to smaller structures close by. Some civilians and Critters were dealt with lethally, while others were snatched up and taken back towards the flying ship. Those that weren’t cut down or taken hostage by the Empire fled as fast as they could, while law enforcement and the local defense force arrived to oppose the Kukkus. Unfortunately, their efforts did little more than slow the advancement of the numbers that continued to pour forth.

At the forefront of the attackers was Speedy himself, who was wearing a white exoskeleton suit with a white jetpack, a lime green helmet, and red and white gauntlets with huge metal claws on the ends. He effortlessly weaved his way through blaster fire and concussive bombardments, leaping atop a police cruiser and delivering a powerful punch into the hood, crumpling the engine like paper.

He engaged his thrusters and took to the air, soon finding a couple of helicopters on his tail. The claws on his right gauntlet lit up, and the Kukku prince briefly flipped around to swipe his arm. A curved blade of purple energy shot towards the rear rotor of one of the choppers, knocking it out of commission and forcing the pilots to make an emergency landing. Machine gun fire pinged off the edges of buildings that they passed, the relatively open airspace giving Speedy the maneuverability he needed to dodge. He returned fire with another blade, slicing clean through the craft’s tail and bringing it down, then continued on towards his target.

The visor of his helmet lit up, a white circle appearing in the left side while speakers in the ears let out a consistent beeping. The frequency of the noise increased as he proceeded ahead, increasing his altitude to get a better vantage and have less obstacles in his way. From there, the icon in his lenses fixated on a white marble building way out to the southwest of his current position. With his flight suit, however, such a distance was no trouble for Speedy, especially with the improvements the doctor had made. Another burst from his jetpack, and the prince was at the steps of the establishment within mere moments.

“Hmm, the ‘Metropolis Museum of Geology and Archaeology',” he read off the nearby sign, “how convenient that the Chaos Emerald is here. Almost too convenient.”

Speedy strolled up the stairs towards the large double oaken doors, power building up in one palm. He thrust his palm forward and fired a blue sphere of energy, reducing the doors to splinters and causing some of the entrance to collapse. The Kukku hopped over the rubble and watched as frightened Animals scattered before him, while a trio of security guards confronted him at the atrium. The heir to the Empire sighed in disappointment at the resistance. He was never a fan of unnecessary fighting, though he wouldn’t hesitate to hurt anyone that tried to oppose him with force.

The ace closed the distance to the first guy, a black bear, and slashed the gun in his hands to ribbons while avoiding the ursine’s limbs. The fellow was hardly given any time to react to his sudden disarming before he was thrown to the ground face-first and given a swift chop to the back of the head. A bald eagle managed to fire a taser, but Speedy sidestepped it and shook his head at the other avian. He grabbed the cables in one hand and tugged the guard his way, then delivered a harsh punch to the fellow’s diaphragm. That left the last one, a yellow lab, trembling at the sight of his two co-workers being taken down so easily. He gazed between them and Speedy, then dropped his weapon and backed away fearfully. The prince raised one gauntlet and fired what appeared to be a yellow arc of electricity that, upon striking the canine, shocked him for a few moments before rendering him unconscious.

“Coward,” the bird scoffed.

Speedy continued on, following the directions his radar gave him until he entered a spacious room with a display case roped off by red velvet. Within the glass was the object of his mission, the yellow Chaos Emerald, although, as he predicted, there was more resistance to be found in the chamber. What wasn’t anticipated, however, was who it was that stood before him.

There was a tall and athletic verdigris teal wolf with fiery orange eyes, a peach-tone fleshy muzzle, upward curving ears, a big black nose, and a moderately long and bushy tail. She had tufts of “hair” on the back of her head that were drawn into a short and low ponytail, and two of her upper canine teeth were visible despite her lips being shut. She was dressed in a sleeveless purple top, a pair of tight black jeans, royal purple gloves with silver patches on the palm and back, and matching combat boots with black soles, cuffs and ankle braces. She sported a pair of white-framed goggles with purple lenses atop her head, a capris blue utility belt with four pouches and a strap across her right shoulder, what appeared to be a black wristwatch on her left wrist, and a curious black bracelet with a raised portion on one side around her right wrist.

“This is unexpected,” Speedy mused, one fist clenching as his eyes narrowed in recognition, “I knew Miles was around, but I didn’t think you’d also be on West Side Island, Giselle.”

The lady lupine, nearly as tall as his father, flashed him a toothy grin that only her kind could manage.

“It’s nice to see you too, Speedy,” she remarked in a teasing contralto, “I had a feeling you or some other shady sort would come after the Chaos Emerald. Good thing I scoped the museum out beforehand and grabbed a little place nearby just in case this happened.”

The Kukku spat off to one side and raised both gauntlets in a fighting stance.

“How did you even know to search here?” he wondered aloud.

Giselle wagged a finger at him. “Trade secret between Gad, Miles, and I. But even if that wasn’t the case, come on, it’s a museum for minerals and artifacts. Seems like the first place you’d search, don’t you think?”

Speedy scoffed and started walking forward, his eyes scanning the room.

“You must be so proud of yourself,” he sneered, “though if you’re here, then your sniveling twin brother must be around as well.”

“Maybe he is, maybe he’s not,” the she-wolf said as she shrugged, not dropping her smirk, “either way, you’re not getting this rock. I didn’t come all the way out to West Side Island just so I could let you take it.” She giggled a little bit. “Actually, I wasn’t even here for this in the first place, but, you know, plans change.”

The prince clicked his beak and leaned towards her, the turbines in his jetpack whirring to life. He’d had enough of this small talk.

“Have it your way,” he conceded, “don’t say I didn’t give you a chance!”

He fired forward with his thrusters and slashed at the wolf, only for the young woman to drop to the ground. Speedy shot past her and nearly crashed into the wall, but flipped himself over and kicked off of it with his boots. He returned for another go ‘round, yet found the female pouncing just as he passed by, swiveling atop the Emerald’s case to face him. Before he could turn around, the Kukku felt a weight tug at one of his ankles that suddenly halted his trajectory, causing him to crash to the floor. He wasn’t hurt all that much due to his armor, but now he was getting annoyed. Speedy found the cause to be a grappling wire that was attached to that brace that Giselle had, which she quickly called back with a resounding snap.

‘What the hell is up with her?’ the bird thought angrily, ‘she wasn’t this well-prepared the last time I saw her!’

“Miles helped us build some new tools of our own,” the she-wolf explained as though reading his mind, keeping herself ready for the next move, “Gad and I have only been training with them up until now, so I’m glad I finally get to put ‘em to real use!”

Speedy jumped back to his feet and extended his exoskeleton suit’s claws.

“Seems like your agility’s gotten better, too,” he praised in a snide tone, “but your talents can only carry you so far. And by the way, I’ve gotten some upgrades of my own!”

With purple light in one hand and blue in another, Speedy hurled himself at his opponent. The she-wolf flipped down over the back of the case, just narrowly avoiding a head-on collision with the prince. The Kukku anticipated such a move and twisted about to redirect his momentum, throwing an energy ball and swiftly following up with a projectile blade. The latter severed the glass around the Emerald in a diagonal cut, which Giselle managed to dodge. However, she didn’t have enough time to react to get out of the way of the former shot completely as it struck the ground near her feet.

The canid was sent sprawling along the floor, giving Speedy an opportunity to try and grab the yellow Emerald. Just before he could reach it, however, a grappling wire nabbed the stone, making the prince turn over in the air and briefly engage his jetpack to halt his course. He growled in aggravation as he followed its path and realized that it wasn’t one that belonged to his current opponent.

It instead led to another big wolf with viridian red fur over his whole body, save for his muzzle and the insides of his upward curving ears, which both had peach-tone flesh. He had the same fiery orange eyes, tail, and black nose as Giselle, as well as four tufts that spread out from the back of his head on each side. When it came to clothes and gear, he wore military green gloves and boots, each of which had tan patches on the back, and a pair of rectangular glasses with sleek black frames that rested on the bridge of his muzzle. He also had a tan utility belt with a left shoulder strap and four pouches, an identical black bracelet with a grappler on his left wrist, and a black wristwatch on his right wrist.

“Good job, Gad!” Giselle cheered as she got back up, “now let’s scram!”

The red twin nodded firmly, reaching into one of his pouches and pulling out a tiny black sphere. Gad then clicked on the corner of his specs while his sister flipped her goggles down and pressed a hidden button on one of the frames. Before the prince could figure out what was going on, the male wolf chucked the ball at the ground as hard as he could. Speedy had reacted just in time to obscure his vision from a painfully blinding light, though his hearing was still affected by the flashbang’s blast. While he clutched his ringing ears, the teal twin slapped a disc onto his back, which sent a violent shock throughout his suit and caused him to crumple to the ground.

“Agh!” he cried out, his shock turning to rage as he realized his armor had been disabled, leaving him unable to fly or move as freely, “why you, you think you can just run off!?” He stumbled a little as he tried to get to his feet, catching himself on a wall with one hand as the other planted itself against the ground. The shock had been painful, enough to make him really feel the weight of his exosuit without its tech to help lighten it. “When my gear gets back online, you contemptible canines will be wishing you’d just handed the Emerald over!”

Gad and Giselle kept on running as they leapt out of the destroyed entrance of the museum, heading for the nearest car they could find. They happened across a blue sports convertible, the teal twin going for the driver’s side and pulling out a thin circuited strip of metal, using it to unlock the door as though it were a proper key. She unlocked the other side for her brother, then slotted the same tool into the car’s ignition and started the engine.

“I knew my vehicular skeleton key would come in handy someday,” Giselle said with a bit of self-satisfaction as she buckled up.

“Pat yourself on the back later, sis,” Gad told her while strapping himself in, “let’s get out of here before he has a chance to catch up!”

She didn’t need any further prompting, shifting the car into gear and putting the pedal to the metal. The tires screeched for a hot second, then they took off down the street, honking the horn as they made their way through traffic. As his sibling did her best to avoid crashing or flipping them over, Gad brought his wristwatch up and tapped at the buttons a few times. The image on the clock face changed to an amber-silhouetted image of Miles’ head with the word “Contacting...” underneath.

“Please pick up, please pick up,” the red wolf mumbled, glancing down at the yellow Emerald as if asking for its help.


“Hey, what’s that?” Sonic asked Miles as his ears picked up a different noise from the one they’d just heard, “it sounds like...a ringtone?”

The fox brought up the Miles Electric and saw that its screen was showing a red icon in the likeness of a familiar wolf, the words “Incoming Call...” blinking under it. Curious as to why his friend would be trying to reach him now of all times, he tapped one of the buttons below the display. He was greeted with the sight of the owner of said avatar, who appeared both panicked at something and relieved to see him.

“Miles!” came that recognizable light baritone he knew well, “thank the gods!”

“What’s up, Gad?” the teen inquired, “you sound like you’re in trouble.”

Sonic stood on his toes behind the bigger male to try and get a look at who he was talking to, though he couldn’t quite manage to get a good view.

“Trouble is right!” replied another voice he would’ve been glad to hear if it wasn’t tinged with fright.

“Giselle? What’s going on, you two?”

“Long story short, we wanted to surprise you, since you told us you were going to West Side Island,” the teal she-wolf told him.

“But now the Kukkus are invading Metropolis!” the red twin exclaimed, “they’ve busted out the Battle Fortress and who knows how many troops! Speedy joined the fray personally, and we just managed to get away from him with the yellow Chaos Emerald.” His ears folded back and he whined with uncertainty. “We shut down his suit with a targeted emitter, but we don’t know how long we've got until it’s up and running again. You’ve got to hurry up and get here!”

Miles clutched his bangs in his other hand and tugged at them nervously. Everything had just gotten more horribly complicated with these developments. He’d tried to keep one of his best friends out of the action, only for the other two to show up out of nowhere and join of their own accord. And now that they’d acquired one of the Emeralds and temporarily incapacitated Speedy, they definitely had cross hairs on their backs. The fox needed to get them out of that jam, and he was tempted to have Remi transform into the Sea Fox and engage its “Jet Mode” to get over there lickety-split.

He only stopped himself after considering that the Battle Fortress and other forces were at play. Miles knew he was a priority target, and the Sea Fox would most certainly stand out compared to other aircraft. If he went in trying to make a daring rescue, he’d only be drawing more attention and danger to the wolf twins. But he couldn’t just sit there and do nothing!

“I’ll figure something out!” he assured them, though it was more for himself than the two lupine siblings. He turned his attention to Sonic, a desperate look on his face. “Kid, is there any place in the Mystic Cave Network we could meet halfway?”

The hedgehog’s own visage became serious, seeing the hero tensing up like he was. He was being asked for help, and he wasn’t about to let the big guy down! He nodded and pointed for the fox to bend down so that they both could be in view of the communicator. Miles obliged, making sure that Gad could see the spiny speedster.

“Gad, Giselle, this is Sonic,” he introduced the hedgehog, “you can get to know each other later, but right now, he’ll be directing you where you need to go.”

The male wolf’s expression indicated that he had a lot of questions, but he merely nodded meekly and gazed attentively at his friend’s new companion. The female gave a more curt bob of the head, her attention on the road.

“Where are you guys?” he asked first.

Gad’s eyes darted up for a couple of seconds before he returned them to the communicator. “Um, Road 7, westbound.”

“Alright, you’re gonna wanna get off at the last exit before the end of the highway,” the kid directed, “that’ll take you to one of the ways into the MCN, but you gotta go on foot once you get inside. The tunnel there’s too narrow for cars and stuff, so it’ll be harder for the Kukkus to follow you.”

The red twin nodded. “Got it. What then?”

“There’s places the path will split up, and you’ll wanna stick to the low one when you can,” Sonic continued, “just watch out for pits and falling rocks.”

“Just keep moving, guys,” Miles told them determinedly, “we’ll meet up as soon as possible!”

“We’ll try not to keep you waiting, foxy,” Giselle called to him, the sound of burning rubber and a blaring horn following a couple of seconds later, making Gad yelp and nearly get flung against the passenger door. “Hey, do you not see the invaders or something, slowpokes!? Get the fu–”

The fox mercifully cut the call before the impressionable hedgehog could hear the rest of what the she-wolf had to say. He switched over to the Emerald Radar, and sure enough, the “middle” of the three that they’d yet to claim was slowly moving west. Now knowing for sure that his friends were on the move, Miles urged the two of them on.

Their course brought them onto a short hill that came to a lava flow, giving them the option of going through a Rolling tunnel or jumping to a higher cliff. They went with the latter choice, following the path to a grassy loop and riding it to another rise in the turf. Seeing quite a few rises in the geography, Miles snatched Sonic by the hands and carried the two of them higher and higher until they came to the first gondola they’d seen on this half of the range. While it drifted over the molten pool, they had to jump back near the edge to avoid being splashed as something rose up from the depths.

It appeared to be a light purple plesiosaur with light gray plating on the underside of its neck, which was made up of four spheres. Its main torso, which was halfway submerged in the lava, also had yellow details, and beneath its cartoonish black eyes was a fierce looking jaw. Instead of lunging to bite, however, it whipped its head and lobbed an energy ball at the two of them. While Miles drifted to one side, Sonic leapt over the projectile and struck the mechanical dinosaur right between the eyes, causing its head to crumple. He landed atop the thing’s body, puzzling the fox with how the laws of convection weren’t making him hop from foot to foot. Maybe the robot’s heat resistant plating was just that effective.

Regardless, he dipped one hand over the side and pulled the hedgehog back up, riding to the next cliff. A red spring at the foot of it propelled them just high enough to reach the top, where they found another hole in the ground like the one that led into the cavern they recently explored. This in turn brought them to another vertical shaft, which opened up into a narrow ledge along the outside. Miles and Sonic followed it into the next mountain, stopping at the edge of an outcropping that overlooked a magma flow several meters below. More rumbling greeted them not long after entering, only this time, they could plainly see the scorching, liquid stone steadily rising!

“Move it!” Sonic shouted, bouncing from one ledge in the wall to the next.

Miles had to go the extra distance in his case, as some of the footing the hedgehog had used broke away and crumbled into the lava. Several seconds passed, and the two were nearly home free, but then, the kid lost his balance when he reached the other end of the cavern due to the cliff side cracking from his weight. The fox was right there to catch him, thankfully, pulling him up and once again flying them to safety. They briefly reemerged outside, coasting down a handful of swoops in the slope before arriving at another cave.

A little ways in, the pair were forced to scale another wall, but they weren’t alone. They reached the top of it just in time to avoid a trio of spines launched at them from more of the strange kiwi bots. Sonic boosted himself from atop a nearby boulder to smash one, while Miles handled the other two with a bomb. Afterwards, the two peered down the shaft and spotted three separate rope lifts that descended into the depths towards a small lake of lava. The fox brought them both to the third gondola, his eyes on the ceiling ahead while the hedgehog kept watch on the fiery rock below.

Spotting a second plesiosaur and yet more of the kiwi robots, the Animals went to task. Miles flew up to the top of the rocky passage, whipping out his hammer from storage and smashing the first of the upside-down droids. Sonic unleashed a Spin Dash and bounced off the partly submerged mech’s head towards dry land, drawing the fire of two more spike cannons. He skipped and jumped up the ledges while the teen took out the now defenseless birds, taunting at another trio just ahead. Two more fell for the same bait, while the third one was dispatched before it could get a chance to fire off its weapon. Miles finished off the remaining pair, the first with his hammer, and the second one by going into Rolling Attack mid-flight.

They came out of what appeared to be the final tunnel before the range became impassable by normal means. Just ahead, they saw the only passage that went deeper into the mountains. Unlike the others, the air coming from further in felt more cool and humid than the others they’d traversed. The fox gave the Miles Electric one last once-over to make certain that they were on the right path. The signal coming from the Emerald that the twins had acquired was now notably closer, but moving at a slower and steadier pace than before.

“They must have made it inside from their end,” Miles posited, putting the device away and cracking his knuckles, “any Kukkus that come after them better be ready. Nobody messes with my friends or my family and gets away with it.”

Sonic perked his ears at the mention of family, but chose not to comment on it. Instead, he held out a fist to the older fellow.

“I won’t let anyone you care about get hurt, big guy,” he promised, “not as long as I can do something. Any buddies of yours are pals of mine, after all!”

“That’s...thanks, kid,” the fox said appreciatively, giving him the first genuine smile since they’d left Casino Night. He bumped his glove against the other boy’s, put his shades away, then steeled his nerves as he gazed at the entrance to their next major hurdle. “Enough standing around. Let’s go!”

They took off as fast as they could into the increasingly narrow space. Miles hoped that they’d be able to get to Gad and Giselle before Speedy or anyone else in the Empire caught up and overtook them.

Notes:

Yep, I went with the whole fandom's idea of the red and teal avatar wolves from Sonic Forces being twins, just with one of them being female rather than both being male. Also gave them actual names close to those often given to them (Gadget and Gizmo), which I'll probably still include as nicknames. As in the source game, they're not as physically impressive as the big heroes, but still quite capable in their own right, especially with their equipment at the ready. Just imagine how much growing up and being friends with a genius fox helped in that regard.

Suffice to say, the Empire isn't going to take this new interference lying down, and the next part will give a glimpse of that.

This chapter is shorter and out a little later than usual due to recovering from surgery for a fractured wrist. Not fishing for sympathy, just letting folks know what's up, and that getting these out will be slow going for a while. I still fully intend to continue working on it despite being mostly limited to one hand for several weeks. It's a good chance to get more proficient with my non-dominant hand anyway, so I'll come out the better for it.

Once again, thank you everyone who's enjoyed this so far, and I'll see you next time.

Chapter 6: Mystic Malice

Summary:

Miles and Sonic race though the Mystic Cave Zone to meet up with Gad and Giselle as they come from the opposite direction. Can the fox reunite with his friends before the Battle Kukku Empire catches up to them?

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“Emperor, incoming transmission from Lord Speedy!” one of the Kukku grunts in the command center announced.

The GBK stood up from his throne and calmly, but briskly strolled over to the center of the room. “Patch it through.”

There was a bit of static before the line cleared up, allowing everyone present to hear exasperated breathing coming from the other end.

“Speedy reporting, milord,” came the prince’s voice after a few seconds.

“Have you acquired the Chaos Emerald we detected within Metropolis?” his superior questioned.

Another pause, though briefer than the first. “Negative. Target was secured by yet more of Miles’ Prower’s friends, who temporarily disabled my exosuit before fleeing westward. I’m currently tracking the gem’s signal and am in pursuit.”

The news of additional allies on the fox’s side gave the big bird pause. Not to mention, they possessed tech that could trounce the defenses of their armor, and likely their other machines. If they were to meet up with that teenager and his new sidekick, it could potentially spell disaster, even more so if they combined their acquired Emeralds. He trusted Speedy to come through, though not enough to let him go without support.

“I’ll send reinforcements to your destination,” the GBK told him, “there, you can work together to bring back our rightful claim.”

“What? I can do this! I simply underestimated them, Fa–I mean, milord,” Speedy protested.

The Emperor growled through the transmission. “Are you questioning my methods, boy?”

“N-no, sir,” the prince backpedaled, letting a little fear creep into his voice, “I am headed towards this ‘Mystic Cave Network’, that’s where they ran off to. It’s one of the few places we haven’t scouted extensively, so there could be another Emerald there.”

“Excellent,” his leader claimed, “two stones in one go would be wonderful. I expect you to get them both, Speedy. Don’t call the command center again until you’ve procured them.”

A third bout of silence came and went before the heir replied.

“Yes, my liege,” Speedy acknowledged, “cutting transmission now.”

The GBK nodded at this and let his son get back to work. He then turned to the same soldier that had answered the call.

“Get me a line to Dr. Fukurokov,” he ordered, the grunt hopping to it without any need for further prompting.

The image of the elderly owl leaning back in his chair while taking a snooze appeared. The GBK clenched his crooked teeth and crowed into the microphone on his end. The effect was pretty much instantaneous. The doctor squawked in surprise and fell out of his reclining seat, then slowly got to his feet.

“Oh, Your Majesty,” he said as he adjusted his specs, “forgive me, I was just catching a nap after all the work made last night and this morning.”

The GBK clicked his beak. “Of course, Dmitri. I do appreciate the efforts, but we’ll need more. We have run into some unexpected resistance.”

“Miles Prower is already in Metropolis?” Dr. Fukurokov pondered aloud, his expression becoming more unsettled.

“No, but friends of his are. Or rather, they were until some minutes ago,” the Kukku head clarified, “they made off with the Chaos Emerald after disabling the suit you had specially crafted for my son!”

But, that couldn’t be right! That thing should’ve been insulated enough to protect it from anything like a localized electromagnetic pulse! Not only that, but the suit was made to withstand otherwise grievous injury and possibly fatal damage. How had anyone managed to shut it down?

He had a feeling his commander wouldn’t want to hear about any of that, though. Instead, he’d just have to figure something out.

“What can I do to rectify the situation?” he offered.

The GBK hmphed and crossed his arms. “They’re headed for a place known as the Mystic Cave Network, in the mountains west of our position. If you’ve any special creations made for such an environment, use them.”

With that, the call ended, the owl letting out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding in during the latter statement. So the fox and his associates were headed for a cave system, eh? Perhaps that new Mecha Golem of his would prove useful in this endeavor.

He activated the lift and went down into the space he had for Dr. Robotnik. When he got there, though, the man was back in his old garb, humming happily as he went to work on whatever his latest project was. Dr. Fukurokov was disappointed that his Conversion Therapy had worn off once again, especially since he didn’t really have the time to make Ovi go through another session. He’d simply have to make due and hope that certain projects had been completed before the effects of treatment had worn off.

“Hello, Ovi,” the owl greeted the nicer personality, “I was wondering if I could grab your ear for a moment.”

The human turned around in his chair and beamed at the small avian. “Why certainly, doctor.”

“Do you happen to know if the new Mecha Golem Mark VII was completed last night while you were...in the zone?”

Ovi’s face fell and he furrowed his brow.

“It was,” he said after a moment, “my...other self, managed to finish it before he went to bed.”

Well, this was different. Last time, the man had no memory of being subjected to CT. But now, he could recall that his personality had shifted after the most recent application. Not only that, but he apparently remembered what Ivo had been doing the previous night. Perhaps the energy from the Chaos Emerald was responsible for his greater lucidity? There would be time later to study the effects in more detail. For now, he just wanted the mech.

“We’re going to need it for some...underground pest control,” he said, carefully choosing his words, “if we don’t employ it soon, there could be a terrible collapse in the mines in the nearby mountains.”

“Oh my, that would be awful,” Ovi mumbled concernedly. He frowned at the thought and nodded to the chief engineer. “It should be up in the large vehicle bay, if I can recall correctly. I think it’s a bit much, but if that is what is needed, then don’t let me stop you. I would...rather not pilot it myself, if possible.”

The owl chuckled darkly. “Oh, don’t you worry that gifted little head of yours. I will be the one to drive. You just stay here and do what you do best.”


“Which way do we go, Sonic?” Miles asked his young companion.

They stopped at a crossroads where they could head further up into the cave or stay low along the path. They stood atop a blue and orange railway, with many lanterns hanging from ropes strung up between posts. The kid hadn’t been kidding about the place being hollowed out either. Purple stalactites and green stalagmites went on for quite a way, with other rail lines visible in the distance. The number of lights almost made it so his eyes didn’t have to adjust, not that it was a big problem.

“Let’s go low, since I told your friends to,” the hedgehog reasoned.

The fox nodded, and the two went with that, jumping and Rolling down a curved decline on the rails. They stopped themselves on a wooden landing, only to leap back when they felt it start to give way. The planks fell away, clattering into a pit of spikes a couple meters below. There also appeared to be a wall blocking the way forward, though Sonic wasn’t concerned.

“This place can be tricky,” he commented.

He bounced up and grabbed hold of a rather out-of-place vine. The wall in front of them fell over and covered the gap, revealing itself to be a bridge. The two then continued towards a slope with another of those shaky wooden platforms. This time, Miles and Sonic went for it, crossing to the next platform, where some rocks were moving up and down. Miles wasn’t sure how that was possible, but he did have a couple of theories. He’d have to mull over them later, as Sonic had decided to slip by and wait for him. He followed the hedgehog to a second vine, which dropped them down and separated another bridge.

At the bottom, the path was fairly straightforward aside from a gradual increase in elevation. This kept up until the teen had to fly them up to reach the next leg of the journey. After a short dip, the pair found more crushing rocks and a third pulley that worked much the same as the second. Along the low path, they found a few large crates filled with who knows what. Maybe they’re supplies left behind by the people that used to work in these tunnels. In any case, they forge onward to a steeper rise in the rails, using the Spin Dash to make it up and over more deadly stalagmites.

They got a little ways forward before they were accosted by a robot that poked out from the rocks. It had eight rounded dark blue body segments that ended in an ostrich head. It had yellow spikes on its form aside from there, and a radio antenna on its crown, with a couple of steel gray panels surrounding it. Ever fearless, even in the face of something spiny like him, Sonic weaved from side to side to avoid the things pecking. It seemed it could only stretch its “neck” so far, which Miles capitalized on. Just as his partner flipped back, the fox lunged forward and Rolled into its head, instantly causing the rest of its form to crumble.

The guys nodded to each other approvingly, then climbed the rails and platforms in front of them. A fourth vine brought down what would’ve been a bridge, though it seemed more of an outcropping. They jumped atop it, then Miles flew them up the rest of the ascent. Careful timing was needed to avoid a pair of stalagmites trying to crush them. From there, it was only a gradual slide, a hop over a gap, and then another flat area before they came to a stop.

Miles retrieved his multitool, checking on the distance between them and the wolves, as well as the Emerald that was hidden somewhere in these passages. The former signal was still moving, indicating that they hadn’t met any significant resistance on the way to meeting up with him and Sonic. As for the latter, it appeared to be much deeper underground than these rails seemed capable of reaching. Perhaps there was another way to get to it, maybe further in the cave.

With that consideration, he packed up the Miles Electric and was ready to continue. He didn’t get far before he felt a tap on his back; Sonic wanted something. Unlike the last time the hoglet had done that, Miles faced him with a more relaxed disposition.

“Yes?” he inquired politely.

“We’re at about the halfway point,” Sonic informed him, “we should definitely stick to the lower path if we want to meet up with your buddies.”

The teen hummed in acknowledgment. It wouldn’t do well to deviate from what they’d instructed Gad and Giselle. They could just miss each other, leaving the lupines lost while he and Sonic ended up confronting Kukku forces. They would have to do the latter anyway at some point, but he would like to ensure the safety of the others first.

“I’m kind of curious, Sonic,” Miles wondered aloud, “this doesn’t seem like a path most people coming and going through the range would take.”

The boy chuckled a little. “That’s because it isn’t. I mean, you saw what we had to deal with to get here, right?”

That was valid. Miles often had to remind himself that he was far outside the norm when it came to what Animals were capable of. The wolves were above average, but they could only get so far on their own efforts. Against someone like Speedy, without their tools, they probably wouldn’t stand much of a chance. Even with them, now that the prince was feasibly wise to their tricks, it would be rather difficult.

They had to hurry.


As Gad and Giselle made their way from the opposite direction, they turned back every so often to make sure the Kukkus hadn’t caught up to them. The twins ran along the track, leading them over a bump in the path and a few ledges at the end of it. They used their grapplers to pull themselves up a narrow shaft, but they were confronted by something at the top. It was a small robot that looked to be a cross between a firefly and a hummingbird. It had a small red head with two black eyes, a radio antenna, its upper body all black while the flat underside had a glowing bulb covering it.

“The doctor sure has been getting creative with his newest models,” Gad observed.

Giselle rolled her eyes. “Creatively lame, maybe.”

The teal twin attempted to nab it with her wire, only to receive a genuine shock when she tried doing so as the little construct lit up. Gad reached into one of his pouches and brought out another dark sphere like the one he’d used against Speedy, then tossed it at the thing. Rather than bright light and deafening noise, this one simply exploded on impact with the hybrid creation, taking it out in a snap. Once his sister had stopped convulsing, Gad led the two of them past some crushing stalactites, whereafter they found a fork in the passage. They decided to heed Sonic’s words and went down low, passing down a wide shaft that brought them in front of an even deeper one with spikes at the bottom.

They made their way over that and the next one, but a wall was in their way after that. When they got a closer look, they discovered that it was actually a simplistic drawbridge, likely over another set of traps.

“Okay, how do we get this down?” Gad wondered as he peered around.

“It wouldn’t matter if you did!”

The wolves spun around on their heels and there, not more than a few meters away, was Speedy.

‘Damn, he caught up faster than I expected,’ Giselle thought, ‘that suit must be strong if our emitters only slowed it down by as much as they did.’

“You two,” the ace bird said, “after what happened earlier, I should beat you both to a pulp.” His expression shifts to one of calm. “However, maybe I’ll let it slide if you hand over the Chaos Emerald.”

Giselle scoffed at the notion. “No sell. I’ll just do the same as I did back at the museum.”

“I’d love to see you try, now that I’m aware of your widgets,” Speedy declared, powering up his gauntlets.

Giselle went first, rushing at their foe with her grappler aimed at his head. Speedy ducked beneath the oncoming shot, only to notice that it hadn’t quite been directed at him. Rather, it lodged into the end of the previous part of the track they’d been on, which the teal wolf used to zip her way over to the bird and attempt a high kick. When Speedy dodged that as well, Giselle recalled the cable and bounced off the wall, redirecting herself and curling up into a Rolling Attack. The prince attempted to shoot her, but he was unable to get a hit before she crashed into him, forcing him back several steps. However, he held his balance, and just before she could uncurl, Speedy bent over backwards and threw her off of him.

Gad, who’d been trying to find a way to lower the bridge, tagged his sister out and tried his luck. He opted to sprint towards their foe rather than use his cable, reaching into one pouch to pull out another little black ball. Expecting a flashbang, Speedy shut his eyes and “deafened” the audio receptors to his suit, only to be surprised when a powerful concussive blast sent him soaring back. He engaged his jetpack to keep from hitting the wall behind him, then dive bombed at Gad while one hand built up power. The red wolf skipped back just as Speedy hit the ground, but just as soon as his boots touched the rails again, he was hit with a blue energy ball that knocked him on his back and sent him sliding.

The twins shared a glance at each other, then put on a stance as they prepared to fight him together. But before either of the two sides could continue duking it out, there came a loud rumble that caused the ground to shake. And from the ceiling came the new Mecha Golem, using its drill arms to carve through the rock. Speedy had heard that the old owl was working on something special, but this wasn’t what he expected. And judging from the reactions of the twins, they were definitely more stunned than he was.

“Lord Speedy, I’m here to assist you!” came the voice of Dr. Fukurokov, a bit sheepish, “primarily because His Majesty had ordered me to do so.”

The prince couldn’t help but feel insulted at his father’s seeming lack of faith in his abilities.

“I don’t need it,” he jeered, “take your toy elsewhere, doc. I’ve got this.”

“Toy!?” the chief engineer screeched through the built-in speakers, “I’ll have you know–”

“Look out.”

While the doctor was about to go on a rant, he failed to notice two grappling wires attached to the front of the Mecha Golem’s viewing window. Gad and Giselle pulled themselves towards the mech, then maneuvered their bodies so that they each kicked at the thing with their dominant legs. The Mecha Golem flipped in the air a couple of times from the impact, leaving the owl feeling rather woozy. The she-wolf was about to attack once again, but an energy blast, courtesy of Speedy, sent her flying away from the large machine.

Gad caught hold of his sister so that she didn’t take a nasty bump against the surrounding stone, then pushed her back to her feet. He glared at the Kukku, then went for his own assault. He had to stop on a dime due to one of the Mecha Golem’s arms planting itself just in front, missing him by mere centimeters. That distraction was enough for Speedy to swoop in, ball one gauntlet, and strike the red wolf in the gut. He discharged some of his suit’s energy right after that, not only causing the wolf to be blown off his feet, but also tearing his shoulder strap and waist pouches to pieces. On doing so, the yellow Emerald clinked onto the ground, and unlike last time, Speedy was quick to snatch it up and place it in his suit.

The power coursing through its systems bled over into his body, and the feeling was quite a rush. It was almost overwhelming, though the prince’s sheer will allowed him to move past these sensations and concentrate on the fight. He saw Giselle coming at him, though with the energy he now had, it was almost like watching in slow motion. He casually sidestepped the oncoming tackle, then did the same to her as he had her brother. He drove an energy ball into her torso and made all her equipment spill out from the ruined pouches. It also caused some clothing damage, but Speedy wouldn’t let that distract him.

Fortunately, she still had her grappler, which she used to constrict and tug one of the heir’s arms towards her. What wasn’t so fortunate was that because of the Emerald that Speedy was using, he was a lot stronger than a moment ago. He merely pulled back with that same arm, dragging Giselle to him, rather than the other way around like she’d intended. The she-wolf dug her boots into the ground, but that did nothing, and she could see that he was holding onto part of the line so that she couldn’t recall it to her.

Much as Gad wanted to help his sister, there was another foe to contend with. Nervous though he was, the viridian wolf sprinted at the Mecha Golem, dodging to the side with each attempt to drill him. He shot his wire at the faceplate, getting right up on the viewing window. Dr. Fukurokov just about leapt from his seat as Gad started trying to kick out the glass. He used one of his drills to try and skewer the young adult, but said Animal had been hoping for him to do that. He hopped and flipped over the Mecha Golem just as it struck itself in the face with its own weapon and once more sent him spinning, now with a broken viewing window.

The male twin turned his attention back to Giselle, firing his grappler to try and keep Speedy from moving around so easily. The prince chuckled and shook his head, then let out a battle cry as he whipped both wires into each other. This caused the two wolves to smack their heads together and fall over, only to be dragged ever closer by the bird’s Chaos-enhanced strength. Both got to their feet and pressed their heels into the ground again, attempting another shot at bringing him down. Speedy could tell that they were already rather winded from how much they were resisting, so he decided it was the right time to end it.

He released his grip, making the twins slide and fall from the sudden slacking in the lines. It seemed that despite their training, they were still pretty inexperienced in combat. The Kukku took the opportunity to swiftly fly over and use their own tools against them, binding them up together in the cables. The doc then tried to score a hit with his weapons, only for a pair of energy balls to knock them away. The Mecha Golem whirled around at Speedy, who had his arms folded.

“What is the meaning of this, Lord Speedy!?” Dr. Fukurokov demanded, “we could be rid of them once and for all!”

The ace shook his head. “We got what we came for.” A dark smirk crossed his face. “And besides, they’re better to us alive than dead. Miles wouldn’t hesitate to try and rescue them...he might even be willing to hand over the Chaos Emeralds he has just to guarantee their well-being.”

“I see!” the owl chortled, “that would be rather fortuitous! Pardon me, my prince, but I’m going to see if there might be another one of the gems in these mines.”

Speedy watched the big mech tunnel into the ground, then tapped at his visor to see if that was the case, only to find nothing out of the ordinary. That was strange. Maybe there wasn’t one here, or perhaps the signal was being blocked?

He shrugged and called for whatever troops had made it here with him and the chief engineer. Within a couple minutes, a small company of Kukku combatants arrived and took Gad and Giselle into custody. The prince followed after them, ripping the “watch” off of Gad’s arm and fiddling around with it for a moment. He eventually found the call feature, and seeing as the most recent one was a certain fox, that would make it all the easier to contact him.


“Hold up, Sonic,” Miles told the hoglet as he fetched his handy device, seeing Gad’s icon flashing on the screen as the “ringtone” went off, “Gad and Giselle are trying to reach me.”

But when he answered the comm, he found neither twin on the other side. Instead, it was the face of someone he hadn’t seen in quite some time.

“Hello, Miles,” Speedy greeted him, “it’s been a while.”

“Speedy!” the fox exclaimed, his expression turning into a furious one, “why do you have Gad’s comm? What have you done to them!?”

The Kukku tilted the view so that the teen vulpine could see behind him. He saw that the twins were tied up in their own cables, and that many combatants were dutifully watching over them. To rub it in his foe’s face, Speedy held up the yellow Chaos Emerald as he grinned.

“They’re in my custody,” the prince said, shaking the gem in his gauntlet, “they incurred some injuries, but nothing serious. If you hand over what Emeralds you have, I’ll agree to let them go without further harm.”

Sonic growled at that. “Don’t do it, big guy! It’s a trap!”

“Ho, is that the blue hedgehog the doctor told us about?” Speedy said with some amusement, “he sounds smarter than he looks.” He snickered as Sonic frowned. “That said, I’m not keen on the kind of approach he’s suggesting. I know I’m not exactly a paragon of virtue, but I’m 100% serious about this trade, Miles. And if you are too, you’ll find me near the exit to the other side.”

“I swear, if you so much as harm another strand of fur on my siblings’ hides...”

“Please, Miles, I’m not a brute,” Speedy replied as he rolled his eyes, “as I said before, Gad and Giselle shall be treated fairly so long as you give me what I want. I hope you end up making the right choice, my high-flying rival.”

The link was cut off after that, leaving the two to ruminate on what went down and what to do next.

“I don’t trust him,” Sonic said, “and why did he call you a rival? Aren’t you guys enemies?”

Miles clenched a fist, still looking down at the now empty screen. “We are, but Speedy isn’t all bad, unlike his father and Dr. Fukurokov. He’ll keep his word, though we should still be careful, just in case.”

Sonic nodded, glad that the fox didn’t dismiss his concern. He was, however, curious about something else.

“I also thought those guys were your friends,” he stated with some confusion, “but you called them siblings.”

Miles hummed as he put away his device. “We don’t have time for the full story, but to summarize...you remember when Charmy said that he and the twins grew up together with me?”

“Yeah, I wanted to hear more,” the hoglet said with a tinge of guilt, “sorry about before.”

“Don’t worry about it. But, anyway,” the fox went on, “long story short, they all found and befriended me a little more than ten years ago. Gad and Giselle began treating me like a younger brother, and before long, I started seeing them in a similar light.”

Sonic nodded, displaying that seldom seen serious face. “So this is extra personal for you.”

“Yeah,” the fox mumbled, turning his gaze back to the way forward to signal that he was done with this conversation for now.

The first step after the discussion was getting the bridge lowered, which was easily done with another vine. The two crossed over the structure, and just as they reached the other side, another ostrich bot whipped its head out from the rocks. It found no purchase, however, due to the pair’s reflexes, and Sonic summarily smashed its head with a Rolling Jump. After that, the fox and hedgehog dropped down into the lower area from their position, being mindful of spikes and stalactites.

The railing here directed them to a couple of wooden outcroppings above a deadly pit. Miles cautiously flew them up towards the next landing, his sharp eyes and ears detecting a pair of eyes in the low ceiling. He let Sonic off of his shoulders and fetched his hammer, taking a few steps to lure out what he assumed to be another robot. His guess was right on the mark as a third ostrich attempted to stab him with its beak, only for the teen to hop back and then lunge forward again, bringing down the hammer. Past an upward curving incline, the boys ran into a fourth one, which the fox was able to down by slicing through its “neck” with his two tails. A strange hummingbird and firefly unit awaited them beyond the next rise in terrain, and Sonic learned the hard way that when they’re lit up, you're in for a shock. Thankfully, he wasn’t hurt too badly, but the same couldn’t be said for the little contraption after taking a Spin Dash to the face.

Taking a lower route when given the choice, Miles and Sonic came across another collection of boxes, one of which was covering a hole in the rails. Moving it aside, they dipped down further and lowered a bridge that connected to a nearby platform. On the other side, the path below proceeded in the direction they’d come from, so they tucked into Rolling Attacks and let momentum carry them along the tracks. The line dipped and rose a few times, the Animals slipping under more of those deadly stalactites and ending up near another bed of spikes. They jumped up to the next set of tracks, narrowly avoiding being crushed by yet more treacherous rock. A trio of firefly bird bots were there to greet them, Sonic waiting until the first one stopped flashing before he knocked it out of the air. And rather than get close himself, Miles lobbed one of his bombs near the other two once they were bunched up, resulting in a shower of scrap metal.

They lowered the next bridge over a seemingly bottomless pit, and the sight that Miles found made his fur bristle. Just as he’d said, Speedy was waiting for them, and near him were the wolf twins. They didn’t look any worse for wear than they had a few minutes ago, which brought Miles a minor measure of relief, though that did little for his mood. Likewise, he could tell that while Gad and Giselle were happy to see him, the situation prevented them from showing it.

“Sorry, Miles,” the red twin said regretfully.

“We tried, but, well, you can see how that worked out,” the teal one joked, trying to hide her anxiety.

The Kukku heir ignored them and stepped forth, scanning over the two boys with his visor. The results were not what he expected, making him scowl.

“It seems you’ve got something that keeps the Emeralds hidden from my radar,” Speedy mused aloud, “but no matter, the deal hasn’t changed. Hand over what you have, then I’ll let the twins go free. Don’t try anything funny if you want them to stay in one piece.”

To emphasize the lattermost statement, the combatants jabbed their energy rifles into the two wolves, their fingers hovering near the triggers. Growling under his breath, Miles bade Sonic to stay back as he approached his rival, his hands digging through Remi’s storage until he found the gems. He had an idea, though, so his anger was partly for show. The yellow Emerald hadn’t been synced with the others yet, so bringing multiple gems into proximity with it...

He kept the cyan one hidden while he pulled out the red, green, and blue minerals. He stopped just a few meters away from Speedy. The bird was a tad perplexed.

“Let one of them go first,” Miles demanded, “then I’ll give them to you.”

Speedy sighed, but didn’t argue against it. He waved off the combatants surrounding Giselle, allowing her to untangle herself and walk over to join the vulpine’s side. With that, Miles closed the distance and placed the three gems into Speedy’s hands. Sonic and the twins realized what the fox intended to do and shut their eyes tightly.

As had happened in Casino Night, an overwhelming flash engulfed the area, blinding those who weren’t prepared for it and causing some of the ceiling to rain down. Thankfully, it hadn’t resulted in a cave-in, so while Speedy was incapacitated, Miles charged up a Spin Dash, and then barreled towards the bird. The prince had no way to see the attack coming before he was sent bouncing along the ground and into his troops. Not only did this scatter the smaller avians like bowling pins, but he also dropped all of the Chaos Emeralds that he had just been holding, including the one he’d slotted into his equipment! Miles swept up the green gem and tossed it to Sonic, while Giselle hooked the blue one with her cable. He nabbed the yellow as well, rushed over to Gad to unbind him, then handed the stone off to the wolf as he escorted him over to the others.

He went back and pounced for the red Emerald, but was unable to retrieve it before Speedy grabbed it and rolled out of the way, having recovered rather fast from the energy reaction. He snarled as he reoriented himself and clutched the Emerald tightly, a faint red aura emanating from his exosuit.

“You conniving sneak!” he yelled, crimson sparks crackling across his armor as he placed the stone into the slot that the yellow had previously occupied, “you knew something like that would happen, didn’t you!?” The whirring of his jetpack became near deafening as it was fed Chaos Energy that, in turn, was fueled by the bird’s anger. “You’re going to pay for your deception, Miles!”

Speedy flew at his slightly taller foe, intent on delivering one hell of a shoulder check. Miles answered with one of his own, cyan light coalescing around his form and his eyes an electric blue as he brought out and tapped into own stone. The two rivals clashed and struggled to overtake each other, but it became apparent that they were getting nowhere. They broke away to reposition for a better approach, the fox’s eyes glancing back at his friends for just a moment before returning them to his foe.

“You know, I’m disappointed in you, Speedy,” he told the Kukku, who was taken aback by the remark, “I thought you wanted to be your own Animal, free to live as you please. You could’ve left all of this behind.” He motioned to the troops and shook his head. “But here you are, participating in the same sorts of trouble you brought to my home!”

The prince clenched his teeth and rose a couple meters off the ground as he revved his jetpack. Miles started spinning his two tails, soon at the same elevation as his opponent. His friends looked on as the two confronted each other, and it seemed that the Kukku combatants were also doing the same. Whether it was because they respected their leader or feared their enemy was anyone’s guess.

“As if you could ever understand my position,” Speedy said with disdain, “your second chance amounted to nothing! I had no choice!”

He accelerated full throttle, letting loose a volley of blue energy balls as he rushed the fox. Miles dipped and bounded around the blasts, allowing them to just barely miss as he streaked through the air. The teen made to dive towards the ground, coaxing Speedy into trying to cut him off. The fox feinted upwards when the bird took the bait, curling up into a Drop Attack and slamming into his back. Speedy rolled from the hit, though he managed to avoid the rails and righted himself, whirling around and charging his other gauntlet. The fox descended sharply and transferred his momentum into a sprint the instant his feet touched down.

Speedy grunted as he brought his arm down in a chopping motion, the resulting blade projectile much larger than usual. Miles clutched the cyan Emerald tight as he skidded to a stop and swiped both tails at the oncoming projectile, the aura around his appendages growing brighter. They met the blade and dissipated it on contact, leaving him a clear path to the Kukku prince. A twirl of his tails provided the burst he needed to close the gap and go into a Rolling Attack. Speedy braced himself to try and catch the amber sphere, only to be stunned when Miles unfolded just a couple meters away, spun on his free hand as though he were break dancing, and thwacked him hard in the face with his tails. This was followed by two solid kicks to the chest, making him stumble back for a moment.

“You’re wrong, Speedy!” rebuked the fox, “you always had a choice! You’re just too afraid of your father to make a sensible one!”

The Kukku snarled and fired a blast at Miles, then propelled himself up the moment it hit the ground near the other Animal’s feet. As he’d predicted, the fox leapt high, to which he responded by jetting in close and delivering an energized punch to Miles’ face. The teen was sent hurtling back to the ground, but managed to stick a three-point landing and rolled to the side as Speedy shot at him with more energy balls. Miles once more bounded into the air, though when the ace closed in, a brief flick of his tails let him flip and hover just a tad higher, enough to avoid the oncoming blow. While in mid rotation, the fox brought out his hammer, then drove it hard into the jetpack.

Speedy yelled as he went crashing into the rails, coming to a stop near his combatants. Miles landed close by, causing the birds to recoil in fear. The sight was something that Sonic found both amusing and cool. Only a hero could make the bad guys that afraid without having to hurt them as well. That Speedy guy sure could take a beating, though, as he was back on his feet in a matter of moments. He also learned that even without his apparatus, the Kukku was still a capable flier and quite agile in spite of the suit’s bulk. He wondered how much the Emerald’s power was helping versus the avian’s own efforts as the two continued to clash.

The big guy was even more surprising, though. He hadn’t witnessed the fox making direct use of the Emeralds’ power before, so it was something else to finally see. The hedgehog glanced down at the green stone in his hands and pondered what he could do with it. Maybe Miles could give him a couple pointers, seeing as how he seemed to be very much in control of what he was working with.

Suddenly, the Mecha Golem burst from the ground and interrupted the showdown, causing the two to stop for the moment. One of its drill hands came in the direction of the twins and Sonic, though they realized it wasn’t aimed at them specifically. Miles caught on, though, and he used his tails to fly up and out of the way at the last second, leaving Speedy to take a terrible hit in the chest and once again go tumbling. To the fox’s relief, the point hadn’t penetrated the armor, though the suit had clearly taken severe damage. It was enough that Speedy was struggling to get it to do as he wanted, his movements strained and heavy.

“You bumbling old fool!” the prince berated the chief engineer, “look at what you’ve done! I can barely get my flight suit to function!”

A hoot of exasperation echoed from the mech’s speakers. “I would think, with all your training, that you’d be able to dodge such a thing, milord.” There was a brief pause. “Though it appears you’d already taken a fair amount of damage before that. Perhaps your reunion with the fox has dulled your senses?”

“Oh, shut your rusted beak!” Speedy fired back.

Miles gave an impressive whistle as he eyed up this new model mech. “This certainly is a step up for you, Fukurokov. How much of its design did you come up with?”

“All of it, of course!” the owl answered rather defensively.

The fox gave his friends a wink and almost imperceptibly motioned with his head, ears, and eyes to get ready to attack or run. Sonic wasn’t so familiar with canid body language, but Gad and Giselle understood, both because of their species and their familiarity with Miles.

“Oh really?” he challenged, shifting his body so that he could keep an eye on both the Mecha Golem and the crowd of Kukkus. To up the daring act, he slowly put his hammer away, but kept the Emerald out on display. “Then what’s with that face? You’ve never used such tacky decals before.”

A bit of grumbling came from the speakers.

“I’ll admit it’s a bit much,” Dr. Fukurokov conceded, “but he was just so insistent that–”

“Who’s ‘he’?” Miles interjected, jerking his head the mech’s way and hoping the others got the hint, “I thought you said this design was all your idea.”

“Nothing you need to know!” the old bird said quickly, “and why am I even entertaining a discussion with you? I should just crush you in this cave and let you be forgotten like the people that once lived on this island!” The Mecha Golem’s optics regarded the present soldiers. “And you should be helping instead of standing around! Attack!”

The combatants fumbled for the weapons and hastily fired at the fox, who went high and lobbed a canister from his pack into the crowd. A hiss rang through the air as gas spread out from the container, which the soldiers were ill-equipped to handle, being reduced to coughing fits within seconds. At the same time, the twins and the hoglet went at the Mecha Golem from different angles. Gad grappled the bases of the machine and went into a slide as he pulled himself towards it. Sonic dashed right under the thrusters, performing a 180 heel spin and curling up into a Spin Dash. And Giselle hooked into the stalactites above the mech, zipping over and preparing a flying kick.

“Time to get you back for before!” Dr. Fukurokov raved, launching a powerful explosive into the ceiling above.

The falling rock that the teal wolf’s wire had snagged altered her trajectory so rapidly that she lost her grip on the blue Emerald and was whipped towards the mech. The doctor repositioned himself just as suddenly, making Gad stumble and drop the yellow gem as he detached from the robot and went into a roll. The Mecha Golem thrusted one of its drills at the hapless lady lupine, only to be knocked aside by a cobalt sphere wrapped in green light. The hoglet gave her a small grin, which was rudely wiped off his face when the other arm smacked him with the blunt side, sending him careening towards the cavern walls.

“Sonic!” Miles cried out in alarm as he stowed the cyan gem and flew over to the young boy.

He caught him just before he could splat against the rocks, letting out a sigh of relief. The three Emeralds that they’d gathered up to now were in the Empire’s hands as the Mecha Golem hovered over them and used some manner of tractor beam to draw them into it.

“Hoo hoo hoo! All too easy!” the old owl bragged, “His Majesty will certainly recognize my genius and forgive me for my previous setbacks after this venture!”

Miles had to admit: things weren’t looking good. Sure, Speedy and his soldiers were effectively down for the count, but the others had little they could employ against the doctor. That was, until he noticed that the viewing window appeared to have some sort of hastily made barrier over it rather than proper glass. That could certainly be exploited. He reached into Remi and pulled out two of his bombs, handing one of the to Sonic. Miles then once again took hold of the cyan Emerald, set the little robot down so that it could assume its Critter state, and gave it the other explosive to hold in its mouth.

“Sonic, follow my lead,” he told the boy, “Remi, keep yourself scarce until I give the signal.”

He was met with a thumbs-up and a bark, which was all he needed to see and hear. The amber and blue duo raced side by side as they closed in on the Mecha Golem, the fox straying off to one direction while Sonic kept his course. Having only now stopped his crowing, Dr. Fukurokov fired a few explosives in their path, but the teen had anticipated he might try that, taking to the air. Seeing as he was the one most responsible for the engineer’s misery, not to mention holding an item of great importance, the owl’s focus narrowed on him, as did those deadly drill arms.

Miles had been counting on that, weaving out of the way of those spinning points and grabbing onto one of the arms as it retracted. Dr. Fukurokov screeched in surprise and, without thinking, brought down one of the limbs onto where the teen had clinged, only for the fox to flip out of the way at the last moment. He smirked with satisfaction as horrid crunching echoed through the tunnel due to one arm being totaled, furious squawks coming from the mech’s speakers. The embarrassment only deepened as Sonic sprinted up the torso of the Mecha Golem, bounced off the face, and chucked the bomb he was given at the viewing window, easily breaking the patchwork material apart.

He avoided a repeat of the earlier hit he took thanks to a cable wrapping around his waist and pulling him to safety. Sonic turned to see Giselle, thankful that she was okay.

“Sweet moves, spiny boy,” she praised, flashing him a grin and prepping her grappler for another go, “and thanks for the save earlier. Mind lending me some of that speed?”

Sonic returned her expression with a smirk of his own. The she-wolf wrapped the wire around his waist and braced her boots against the rock, then gave the kid a nod. She yipped as she nearly fell forward from the boy’s acceleration, just managing to take hold of the line as though she were water skiing. It really got her blood pumping, feeling the air whipping over her face, though she kept herself from indulging in the sensation for longer than a brief moment.

The Mecha Golem launched a few explosives their way as it hovered back to create some distance. Sonic used his quick feet and equally fast brain to run up one of the tunnel walls, which is where Giselle decided to separate from him. She recalled her wire as the momentum carried her upward, springing off the wall when she was a couple of meters below the ceiling. As the hedgehog taunted the remaining arm of the doctor’s machine, the teal wolf met the amber fox teen in mid-air, where he casually kept pace with her flight path.

“Now’s our chance to use that one move we practiced!” she called over to him.

It took Miles a moment to register what she meant, but when it came to him, he grinned excitedly. He flew ahead of the wolf and spun around, securing the Emerald in his jaw and opening his arms wide. Giselle curled up into a Rolling Attack and aimed for the fox, who adjusted his path accordingly. The teen flipped backwards a few times as he held onto the verdigris sphere, electric blue bolts arcing over them both. The instant he passed over his foe, Miles drew one leg back and let go of the spinning lupine ball.

“Thunder Shoot!” he shouted over the gem between his teeth, kicking Giselle with the full force that they’d built up.

The Chaos Energy he’d used shielded her from any harm on his part, and she went spiraling down at the Mecha Golem. The construct jolted backwards as the she-wolf crashed into it, forcing it to the ground. Sonic bolted up the machine and leapt from the top of it, catching Giselle, who was feeling a bit dizzy from the experience, but no less proud, if her smile said anything.

Miles caught sight of Gad grappling his way up to him, diving down to intercept. He grabbed hold of the viridian wolf’s arms and hoisted him up.

“Two for two?” he asked the fox sheepishly.

The teen smiled around the Emerald and chucked him in the air, giving the larger canid enough room to initiate his own Rolling Attack. Miles caught hold of him and began using his hands to make the red orb rotate faster and faster. Once Gad was covered in those same bolts of energy, the fox threw him up once more, then went into a free fall, letting himself drop head-first towards the ground. Just as the Mecha Golem rose up and prepared to attack, Miles used his tails to backflip and strike Gad with a kick that would make any pro soccer player proud.

Dr. Fukurokov struggled to get his bearings as he was once again sent sprawling from the damage his machine incurred. This wasn’t how things were supposed to be going! The fox was supposed to be done, as were all of his annoying friends! And even though he’d acquired three of the Chaos Emeralds, they were doing nothing by themselves.

‘I knew I should have considered slots for them like the one I made for the human CT machine,’ he thought begrudgingly, ‘but it shouldn’t matter as long as...what was that whistling? Why do I hear a miniature propeller?’

His eyes slowly went to the viewing window, where he saw Remi’s tiny form slip through and peer down at him. It barked and wagged its tail, as though happy to see the owl again. The old bird was anything but, however.

“No! Get away from me!” he chirped hysterically, the images of the defeat that the automaton brought him those few years ago coming back to haunt him.

Remi simply tilted its head, then shrugged and made a noise like it was spitting something up. The small black bomb it had been holding before fell neatly onto the Mecha Golem’s console, though it didn’t explode then and there. The doctor scrambled to find a specific button on the console while Remi barked and left the way it came. Once his trusty companion was clear of the target, Miles flew over and opened the panel on its back to retrieve his multitool. A low puff echoed off the cavernous walls as Dr. Fukurokov ejected from the head of his machine, right as the teen fox’s finger came down on one of the Miles Electric’s buttons.

The Mecha Golem went haywire as its main controls were blown to bits, its remaining arm thrashing about. Bombs rained down at random, some of them going high enough to blast the ceiling above. The shock caused more of the rock to destabilize, triggering a flood of stone that showed now signs of slowing down. The Kukku troops, now no longer stunned by the tear gas, attempted to hurry Speedy along, but backed off when he insisted he could handle himself. Dr, Fukurokov, on the other hand, was more than happy to take some assistance in getting his old bones moving. Several seconds later, the Mecha Golem Mark VII went up in a brilliant fireball, adding metal scraps and shrapnel to the shower of stone that started coming down even harder after that explosion.

“Let’s go!” Gad yelled, clear panic in his voice and his eyes, “we need to get out of here before we end up buried with the ancients!”

“No arguments here!” Giselle seconded, already running towards the bridge the fox had lowered earlier.

Sonic regarded the husk of the mech that they’d totaled. “But what about the Chaos Emeralds?”

“As long as we have one, the Empire can’t complete their plans!” Miles shouted over the commotion, “let’s cut our losses and fall back for the moment!”

The quartet dashed towards the crossing, the faster pair helping the twins along, only to stop as stalactites tore through the reinforced wood! Gad grappled a solid point on the other side, followed by Giselle, who both waved the fox and hedgehog over, beckoning them to hurry. Miles offered to carry Sonic across, but he insisted that he could make it with a proper running start. The teen had no doubts there, strapping Remi back over his shoulders and flying over the gap, maneuvering around the falling rock. The hoglet bolted backwards several meters, spun his feet in place, then shot forth, taking the leap of faith. A bit of mental math and observation told the fox that he would make it easily. And after this, he’d have to thank the kid for helping to save his friends, even if they weren’t in the best spot right now.

But just as it seemed Sonic was in the clear, he was struck from behind by a blue energy ball that killed his momentum and made him cry out in pain. The canid trio gazed over at the other side and saw Speedy holding up one gauntlet, a murderous scowl on his face as he watched the hedgehog plummet into the pit.

No! Sonic!” Miles screamed, nearly throwing himself down after him, only to have his arms held back by the wolf siblings. He squirmed and struggled against their grim trying to buck them off. “Let go of me! I have to save him!”

“I hate to say it, Miles, but it’s probably too late!” Gad told him with no amount of mirth.

“And we’re not about to let you throw your life away!” Giselle added, trying to tug him away from the void, “don’t do this, foxy!”

Miles growled and fought against their hold, moving his right arm in a position to elbow the viridian wolf in the gut. Gad released him and groaned as he clutched his aching stomach, leaving him free to round about and deliver a harsh slap across Giselle’s muzzle. She yelped and rubbed over the red and stinging mark on her flesh, giving the fox the room he needed to wrench free completely. Without hesitation, Miles plunged down into the darkness, ignoring the cries of the twins as they called after him. Once he was out of sight, Gad and Giselle despaired at what to do. It seemed that all they could do was hope for the best, that Miles would somehow make it through, and hopefully, Sonic too. With nothing else, they retreated back the way the fox and the hedgehog had come.

On the other side of the gap, Dr. Fukurokov was elated to have procured even more Emeralds than they’d hoped. Speedy, however, did not seem so pleased at this turn of events. He’d just done something that, despite all the atrocities he’d engaged in, he’d never dared to do. He’d purposefully shot down the hedgehog to get to Miles, to wound him emotionally and out of spite. He wasn't sure how to feel about it. He’d not taken such personal measures before, and he wondered how the fox would treat him the next time they saw each other. Oh yes, he wasn’t foolish, unlike many of the combatants that were cheering their fortune. He knew something like a catastrophic cave-in wouldn’t be enough to rid him of his arch-rival, especially so long as he had that Chaos Emerald.


Miles didn't know how long he'd been falling. The darkness around him was only broken by the occasional bits of luminescent fungi and the glimmer of quartz that reflected their light. His vulpine eyes adjusted enough that he could weave here and there to avoid any rocks jutting out, but he couldn’t see beyond a couple dozen meters. Thus, he was surprised when a large body of water basically snuck up on him, his tails going into overdrive to keep from smacking against the surface. He only paused for a moment when he concluded that Sonic had to have fallen in, and since the hedgehog couldn’t swim...

“Remi, Sea Fox mode, now!” he hurriedly ordered, tossing the robot off his back, “I need light!”

The little automaton transformed in record time, recognizing the urgency in its master’s voice. It followed Miles and dove into the depths of the pool, directing its LEDs around to scan over the environment. The water went down several meters, and there was little more than specks of trace minerals and unworked stone down there. And even through his thick fur, Miles felt chilled by the waters, but noticed that it wasn’t stinging at his eyes, thus it had to be fresh. Which meant that the kid had less elements to keep him from sinking like a rock.

After what seemed an eternity, even with his two tails propelling him, Miles came to the bottom of the seeming underground lake. His eyes widened upon spotting the unconscious form of Sonic, face-down on the rocky lake bed. The fox twirled his tails faster than he thought possible while underwater, took the hoglet in both arms, then doubled back to the Sea Fox. The canopy opened for him, and once he was inside and the glass shut, the systems drained the water so that he could breathe. He directed the craft back towards the surface as swiftly as he could, brought it over to the closest shoreline, then hopped out with the hoglet in his arms.

Miles laid Sonic down and put an ear to the boy’s chest. He didn’t hear breathing or a pulse, which made his own heart beat more rapidly in distress. He scooted himself up, drew in a deep breath, plugged the younger Animal’s nose, and then blew into the smaller muzzle. He repeated this twice more before putting his hands over the hoglet’s chest and compressing it as firmly as he could without causing internal damage.

“Come on, kid, don’t do this to me,” he murmured, his tone becoming shakier with each moment that went by, “don’t you dare die on me!”

The teen went back to giving more air to the kid, turning the speedster’s head to the side a couple times in case he started coughing. There was no such luck. Miles couldn’t register a pulse or a breath, no matter how many times he continued to apply CPR. The corners of his eyes stung with tears, but he refused to give up, even as his whole body felt weak from the aching in his heart.

“Wake up,” he begged, his voice cracking, “come on, Sonic!” Another few breaths were given to the cobalt kid, but to no avail. “I’m sorry for all the times I acted like a jerk, and the negative thoughts I had about you!” Those paws continued to fruitlessly try to massage the water out of those lungs. “Forget about what I said before! You can be my partner, no, you’ve been my partner this whole time!” He trembled as his short gasps between words turned into light sobs. “You can come along on my adventures and we can see the world together! You can help me in my workshop, too! Doesn’t that sound awesome?”

No matter what words he used to bargain with the powers that be, and regardless of the actions he took, his companion wouldn’t rouse. There was only one option left, and if that didn’t work, then his friend was truly gone.

“Remi, the Emerald!” he called over to the Sea Fox.

The minisub lobbed the gem out of its anti-air missile port, which Miles snatched out of the air. He knelt by Sonic’s side and placed one hand over the hedgehog’s chest while the other clenched the stone in a veritable death grip. Cyan light engulfed the vulpine’s body as he let his desire to save Sonic fuel the power that flowed into him.

“I’m not going to lose you, Nicky!” he promised, his proclamation echoing off the walls of the vast cavern, “we’re going to get through this together! So live, damn you, live!”

Miles yelled and drove the energy into Sonic like he was using a defibrillator, hoping against all odds that it would work...

Notes:

What a wild ride, huh? In the end, neither side's plans went accordingly, but the Empire has come out the better of the two. Where will Gad and Giselle go, now that they're short both a Chaos Emerald and a dear friend? And will Miles' efforts to revive Sonic with the cyan gem be enough, or is it already too late? Find out next time in the special Hidden Palace chapter!

Oh, and in case you missed it, the final chapter count has now been decided! We're halfway to the end, and things are only going to continue to pick up.

Despite the recovery I'm going through, I still wanted to write quite a chapter to make up for being slowed down. Turns out one hand can produce quite a lot when you're properly motivated. Anyway, thanks again for the kudos, followers, and the general time taken to read my story.

Chapter 7: Hidden Heroics

Summary:

The origins of our protagonist are revealed, along with details of his first big adventure, as well as hints towards other events he's been a part of.

Notes:

Lots and lots of talking, mostly on the part of our main fox. Some things also stay the same in spite of a nail.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Sonic’s body rose from the surge of energy that Miles had willed into him, pressing against his finger. The hedgehog stayed like that for a couple of seconds, then flopped back down onto his back. Nothing.

“No...please,” he whined, the streams from his eyes dripping onto his friend’s form.

He rubbed his eyes against his arm, then tried again with more vigor. As before, nothing came of it. The third time, he pleaded with the Emerald as he attempted to revive the boy...and his ears caught a sound. A low gurgling came from the kid’s chest, followed by a wet retching as his green eyes flew open and he bolted upright to expel quite a bit of water. The fox urged him onto his side to help so it didn’t flow back down as easily, patting him gently on the back with one hand while the other, still holding the cyan Emerald, rested against his chest. He bit his lip to stifle his whimpering, though it was harder to blink away the tears.

Once he was sure that the hoglet had gotten every last drop out, he laid the smaller Animal back down and knelt beside him.

“H-hey, Nick,” he sniffled, wiping his eyes, “you really scared me there, you know? For a moment, I honestly thought you were a goner.”

Sonic offered him a weak smile in return. “I’m sorry, Miles.”

Miles swept him up into a hug, resting the kid’s chin on his shoulder as he held him close. It felt a little awkward for Sonic, as he rarely received this much affection from anyone else. He didn’t fight it, though; he could tell the big guy really needed this. So instead, he just softly returned the embrace.

“I forgive you,” the teen whispered, letting him down after a few more moments, “and, I’m sorry for all those times I wasn’t cool to you.”

“Heh, I never held any of that against you, big guy,” Sonic replied just as softly, getting a warm smile from his older buddy.

The hedgehog tried to stand, but found himself unable to without feeling a bit disoriented. Miles called Remi over and handed off the Emerald to it, then hoisted Sonic up. He positioned the boy’s legs so that they hugged his sides and his arms were over his shoulders, both of his own arms supporting the other Animal’s weight while he was slumped against his back. The kid couldn’t help letting out a soft chuckle.

“I feel kinda embarrassed having you carry me like this,” he admitted.

The fox grunted and started walking, allowing Remi to help light up the way further beyond what his dark-vision could see.

“It’s only natural you’d still feel a bit weak,” Miles said glumly, “you did drown, after all.”

Sonic shuddered at that. He’d come closer to being claimed by water than any other time he’d fallen in. The hedgehog hadn’t been afraid of it before; he'd merely been wary of the fact that he couldn’t swim. After today, though, he was going to practice a lot more caution around large bodies, and make sure the big guy or someone else was around, just in case.

As Miles carried him down a brief decline of strangely smooth green beryl, Sonic pondered what to talk about to try and help get his mind off the fact that he’d truly almost died.

“Hey, Miles?” he asked, getting the fox to stop, “this might seem weird to ask now, but, can you tell me more about yourself?”

There was a long pause before the amber vulpine let out a gentle sigh.

“I guess there’s no better time, considering the situation,” he thought aloud, “alright, I’ll try to give you an abridged account of my life growing up, and my first big adventure, but it’s still kind of a long story. So help me if you fall asleep!”

Getting a boyish giggle as his only response, Miles cleared his throat.

“Over fifteen years ago, I was born here, on West Side Island,” he began.

Sonic tilted his head. “So you’re not from Cocoa Island?”

“Not originally, no. But, when I was still just a baby, my parents brought me there. I don’t know why, though I suspect it had something to do with the cyan Chaos Emerald. I’ve had it around as long as I can recall.”

As they went on, the two saw that the path appeared more and more as though it had been chiseled and manipulated. Miles hopped up a few high ledges made of some bronze alloy, standing out against the stones and raw minerals. Remi pointed out a platform high above, which the fox chose to fly him and the hedgehog up to. They had fallen quite a ways, so it made sense to try and get to higher ground when possible.

“I don’t remember my folks very well,” Miles admitted, a touch of longing in his tone, “neither do the other residents on Cocoa Island. They kept to themselves most of the time while raising me, only going into town when they had to. One day, they just...never came home.”

Sonic gave him a gentle squeeze around the shoulders as a show of sympathy. The teen was thankful for it, giving him a bit more strength to go on as he drifted higher into the reaches of this cavern they’d found themselves in.

“I’m still not sure whether they abandoned me, or if something else happened to them,” Miles continued as they crossed a bridge of jade, “but they left me their little cabin near Poroi Forest and everything in it, including the Chaos Emerald. I was about four years old when I was left to fend for myself, and I wouldn’t’ve managed without my developing keen mind. For a whole year, I didn’t wander very far beyond the forest, the beach near my house, or my side of Puru Puru Lake. I taught myself how to better read and write, though speech was a bit more challenging without another person around to talk to. I picked up survival skills and crafting, which you could say was where I first developed my passion for inventing.

“I also made friends with the local colony of Flickies, and in that time, I actually grew to understand them,” he said, furrowing his brow as he tried to think of how to explain, “hmm, the way they can communicate isn’t really like it is with you and I. It’s more that they talk about feelings and ideas of things rather than anything very specific. So, they called me ‘Tails’, and while I’d tried to get them to say it, there’s no ‘Miles’ in Tweet.” Sonic gave him a puzzled look at the last word, to which the fox was glad his cheek fur could hide any blush he had. “That’s, um, what I call the ‘language’ of the Flickies.”

“It’s cute,” the hedgehog commented.

The fox would’ve rubbed at his neck out of modesty, but he was too busy holding the kid and keeping close to Remi while they kept on ascending.

“Anyway,” he resumed, “one day, I met Charmy while he was exploring the woods, with Gad and Giselle acting as his reluctant babysitters. I’d been occasionally sighted by the other townsfolk, and had roused the bee’s curiosity enough that he wanted to find me himself.”

The two of them dropped down a ledge after giving the fox’s tails a moment to rest. From there, they traveled up a brief incline and jumped over a gap to another bridge, which took them to a long hallway that was mostly untouched, save for the eye-like decorations on the natural pillars.

“It was a bit awkward at first,” he reminisced, his expression drooping a little before brightening again, “but over time, they helped expand my speech and taught me what they could about society. Charmy became my best friend, mainly because we could both fly, but he had his own insights that opened my eyes on occasion. One important thing he taught me is that sometimes, the simplest and most obvious approach is the best one. Gad and Giselle came to treat me like a kid brother, as I told you before. Being the young and impressionable kit I was, both of them, as well as Charmy, to an extent, rubbed off on me. But my biggest influence, at least when it comes to my love of machines, was the twins’ father, Gobán.”

A couple more high steps brought them to what appeared to be a tube constructed of well-preserved glass and beryl. Miles was hesitant to go down with Sonic still so wiped out, so he sent Remi on ahead to investigate. Several seconds later, his robot companion flew back up the passage and gave a confident sounding woof.

“Alright, kid, can you do a Rolling Attack with me?” he asked his young charge, who nodded gently against him, “okay, just match my rotation.”

The fox took a few steps back from the opening, swiveled Sonic around so that he held the boy against his chest, then sprinted forward. The two of them curled up into a mostly amber sphere with a little blue in there, then slid into the chute. They tilted and turned a few times through the path until they came bursting out of a loose rock wall on the other side, uncurling in front of a significantly larger jewel crossing suspended over more water. Miles readjusted Sonic’s position back to what it was before, then reached back to give him a pat on the head. The boy playfully swatted his hand away, which got a soft titter out of them both.

“Back to the story,” the teen segued, “Gobán is the owner of the junkyard in Puru Puru Village, and for a while, he was also the only full-fledged mechanic on the island. He loved messing around with all that scrap, and he was already happy that both of his kids wanted to follow in his footsteps. But, when he saw how quickly I gained proficiency, just from shadowing him, I was taken on as an apprentice.” Miles allowed himself to sport a fond smile. “He fed my ravenous curiosity and encouraged my experimental tinkering, although he did put his foot down when it got a bit too risky. He and his mate, Guendolen, basically treated me like I was another one of their pups...which became a reality on my tenth birthday.”

As they went up a third set of giant steps and bounded up an incline, Sonic took the time to process that. Just as they squeezed through a narrow gap in a rock wall and happened upon a second tube, the hoglet made a sound of understanding.

“You mean, they adopted you?” he asked, getting a nod from the vulpine, “cool, then Gadget and Gizmo really are your siblings!”

Miles blinked and tilted his head around to try and look at the boy. “Come again?”

“They’re nicknames I came up with for Gad and Giselle,” Sonic explained, “since they like to build gadgets and gizmos just like you. Can’t really think of anything better!”

The fox rolled them around on his tongue and seemed genuinely impressed by how fitting, yet simple they were. He’d object that Gizmo was more appropriate for a boy, but he knew that Giselle wouldn’t mind. She was a bit of a wrench wench in the way she acted sometimes...her own words, not his.

“Huh, that’s pretty good, Sonic. I’m sure they’ll love them,” he told the hedgehog kindly, “but, yeah, Gob and Guen, as I call my adoptive folks, made me part of the Wolf family. They even added on to my name, just to make me feel more welcome.”

Sonic grinned a bit. “Oh yeah? So what’s your full name then, big guy?”

“Miles Gebhard Prower,” the fox proudly said as he puffed out his chest, “my middle name means something like ‘brave gift’, I believe is what they said.”

The two once again Rolled to get through the passage before them, traveling an inverted horseshoe curve and coming out the other end by steep decline that led to a jade loop. They shot down the slope and followed the bend to an upward curve, the momentum carrying them up a ways. Miles used his tails to slowly hover down as Remi directed him into another tunnel, this one descending more of the same sorts of stairs they’d been finding here. Another stretch of water awaited them, though there were lily pad-like platforms conveniently making a way to pass for those that couldn’t fly. Deciding to give his twin appendages a break, Miles skipped to each floating disc as Remi lit the way, coming to a solid beryl landing in the middle of the small lake.

“That’s neat,” Sonic said, his face scrunching up as he thought of another question. A moment went by and a slightly uncomfortable expression adorned his face. “Um, I noticed when you first got here, you hid your tails from the townsfolk and all. Was anyone mean to you because of ‘em?”

The teen shrugged. “Most people thought they were weird, though few of them actually gave me grief. It was rare they’d catch me alone, but never fun when they did. Thankfully, after a while, a lot of the villagers came around to seeing me as just another member of the community, if a bit of an eccentric one.”

“What about that band you guys had?” Sonic asked him, wishing to move on to a happier subject, “any pictures from when you were still playing?”

Miles set his partner down for the time being and sat back on his hands and feet. Remi strolled up beside him, getting a light pat on the head before the fox retrieved the Miles Electric from storage. The Emerald Radar was experiencing a lot of static that remained, regardless of how many settings he messed with. He tried the communications, only to have similar luck. Lastly, he accessed the internal storage, relieved to discover that at least that worked. The fox flipped through a few folders until he found what he was looking for, scooting over and sitting next to Sonic.

“We started out just after my tenth birthday,” he replied, tilting the screen down for the kid, “each of us had at least a little experience with our respective instruments, but we got way better after we started playing together.”

Sonic smiled as he saw a younger Miles in the picture, probably barely bigger than himself, and lacking the tawny brown markings he now had. The fox was holding a Flying V style guitar with a head in the shape and colors of his two tails, an amber and white neck, and seven strings, with the extra being on the lower end of the scale. To his left (Sonic’s right) was a teenage Giselle (or should he say Gizmo), who was dressed in the same sorts of colors that she had now, but sporting more punkish clothing than her current getup. She also appeared to be a lefty when it came to bass, with her royal purple and silvery gray instrument having a massive twelve strings instead of four, which were arranged in six pairs, rather than the more typical four sets of three. Behind her and to her left stood Gad(get), his fur shorter and a little scruffier, while his glasses were a bit larger and, in the hedgehog’s opinion, kind of dorky compared to his current set of specs. He had one heck of a two-tier setup when it came to a synth and keyboard combo, though, both decked out with more buttons, knobs, and sliders than the hedgehog could think to do with. And to the red wolf’s right was Charmy, who...wasn’t really that different from the guy Sonic met in Casino Night, aside from his size. He had a full professional drum set, one that he seemed all too ready to thrash on, given the grin he had in the photo.

“Wow, you guys look pretty rockin’,” the hoglet remarked, “what did you call yourselves?”

Miles chuckled softly. “We thought about it a lot, but we never came up with anything concrete. People around the village called us ‘Miles and Friends’ after several little gigs, so we just went with that.”

“I guess that works,” Sonic said, a little underwhelmed, “how long did you guys stay together?”

“A little over a year and a half. That was when Charmy left for greener pastures, so to speak.”

“And then you said the Kukkus attacked not long after that.”

The fox let his hands fall gently to his lap, quietly shutting off the Miles Electric. Sensing its maker’s distress, Remi padded up beside him and rubbed into one of his legs in a comforting manner with its head. Miles allowed himself a somber smile as he reached down to pet his companion and stroke under its chin.

“It happened a few months before my twelfth birthday,” he recalled, “I’d just finished Remi’s first body, intending to have him help my siblings and I explore the more treacherous parts of the island. While I was taking a midday nap, the Empire sent out an advance force to strike Puru Puru Village and burn Poroi Forest while they searched in other spots for the Chaos Emeralds.”

For the first time, Sonic saw real horror in Miles’ eyes. Not the sort that one showed because they expected something terrible, but the kind that made it evident he had already witnessed something awful. The fox’s hands trembled and dropped his multitool, and his breathing became uneven. It was chilling for the hoglet, made even worse by their surroundings being so dark and quiet.

“I still hear the Flickies in my nightmares,” Miles confessed, hugging his knees and curling his two tails closely around himself, “I’d known many for most of my life, and a lot of them had known me for all of theirs. ‘Help, Tails! Bad birds hurt family! Bad birds hurt home!’ I remember those heart wrenching cries as some were shot down or torched alive!” The fox trembled and hid his face. “I saw the...remains of the guys that had bullied me. I’d always wanted them to get some kind of comeuppance, but not like that! And they weren’t the only ones that I failed to save. Innocent Animals and Critters died because I wasn’t good enough...”

Remi whimpered and nudged at its maker, trying to calm him down.

‘I know you said lives were lost, but,’ Sonic thought, a worried look forming in his face as Miles started sniffling again, ‘I didn’t know it hit you this hard. No wonder you were upset or mushy most times I got hurt or had a close call.’

The hedgehog pulled himself to his hands and knees, then hugged the fox from the side as best he could. The teen’s breathing was still shaky, but he’d at least stopped his tears after feeling the smaller Animal embrace him.

“Deep breaths, big guy,” he told his partner. After a few moments, Miles took his advice, and soon, he slowly uncovered his face and revealed his reddened eyes. “Look, I know the cool stuff shows heroes as unstoppable and all that. Much as I love it, though, I know that in the real world, you can’t save everyone. It stinks that even your best isn’t enough sometimes, but that’s just how it is. All you can really do is keep moving forward.” He gave the fox a few pats on the back. “I can’t imagine how much it hurts, but...I’m here for you, okay?”

Miles slowly unfurled his tails and held out a hand to the hedgehog, which the boy squeezed reassuringly with both of his own.

“Thanks,” he murmured, blinking away some moisture as he looked down at the hoglet, “how the heck are you so wise and empathetic for your age, anyway? Seriously, it’s a little unsettling...but greatly appreciated.”

Sonic laughed. “Well, you pick up a lot when you mingle with different folks in different places. I had to grow up pretty fast, too.” A wistful smile briefly crossed the speedster’s peachy muzzle. “I’m not from around here either, actually. I’m from Christmas Island.”

“Huh, that’s a good way away,” Miles uttered, his mind pulled away from his traumatic memories for the moment, “how long have you been here?”

“A few years. It’s nice and all, but I’ve been thinking of moving on.”

“Hence why you were building the Tornado,” Miles concluded, earning a knowing smirk from his friend.

“Yep. Are you gonna be okay?” Sonic asked.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” the fox replied, slowly getting to his feet, “let’s move on.”

Although the cobalt kid was fine enough to get by on his own by this point, he still let the vulpine carry him as they crossed the rest of the water. An upward turn pointed them to a high platform, and then a bridge even further up. They ascended past it, followed the steps just beyond it, and came to a long and straight walkway composed of emeralds. Stone columns flanked the pair on each side as they walked, eventually coming to a huge structure that Remi’s eyes could only light a fraction of. In front of it was a dais with a square panel that bore a long, rectangular engraving. It was the perfect shape for...

Miles reached into Remi’s storage and brought out the cyan Emerald, glancing between it and the slot. After a few seconds of deliberating, he placed it in, and the dais suddenly lit up with light that matched the gem. And as though a giant light switch had been flipped, the whole cavern was flooded with light, allowing them to see the full scale of their environment for the first time.

Most of their attention was taken by the great marble structure in front of them, however. It was a great palatial building with columns like those seen in the Aquatic Ruins, only this was far better preserved. There were statues of bat Animals, primarily, some clearly great warriors, while others were depicted more diplomatically. An enormous set of stairs led into what was likely the main atrium or courtyard, the stone doors that once stood tall having crumbled away enough for them to squeeze through.

The fox removed his stone, pleased to see that doing so didn’t deactivate the power. They made their way over to the ancient palace, and once inside, they shuffled through a long hallway into what appeared to be the throne room. They were surprised to find that there was little else aside from a passage further in the back, a ruined throne, and a pedestal in the center. When they strode up to the latter, though, Miles couldn’t help but let out a gasp at what he found. There, in the middle of seven holes like the one from before, was a gem identical to his own, save for being translucent like a diamond.

“The white Chaos Emerald!” Sonic exclaimed, picking it up without much thought, “we found the last one!”

A rumbling followed his action, with the two boys afraid that they’d triggered some sort of trap. But instead, the walls of the chamber shifted, uncovering murals and symbols that hadn’t been there before. One of them depicted a group of Echidnas around what had to be all seven of the gems, each of the Animals bowed in prayer. The next showed their flourishing civilization, with plentiful food, water, wealth, and expansion of their lands. There was trade with the big cats and other early Animal peoples of the Emerald Archipelago, and scientific innovations in what was thought a relatively primitive culture that astounded even the teenage genius.

The following pictures weren’t so pretty. Mounting tensions between the Echidnas and their now-seeming former allies, which escalated into unrest. Violence and death brought about by conflict and attrition were shown, with the leaders of the monotremes considering using the Emeralds to bolster their war efforts. The next image was of a destroyed city, the wreckage engulfed by both fire and water as the silhouette of an island was outlined against the sky. The final one in the sequence showed that same island broken up, crashing back down into the sea as a colossal egg nearly the size of the landmass itself was beginning to hatch, the skies around it dark and filled with lightning.

“Big guy?” Sonic murmured just loud enough to hear, “what is all this?”

Miles went over to the slabs and held up a hand.

“Judging from the images, it’s the history of the last Great Civilization, and how the Chaos Emeralds led them to prosperity, but also destruction,” he breathed out, bowing his head solemnly to the departed, “it’s unfortunate that the Echidnas ultimately went extinct.” He traced his fingers over the last two murals. “Hmm, these seem to depict the legendary Floating Island.”

The hedgehog’s eyes shone with recognition. “Now there’s a story I haven’t heard in a while. That’s the one with the ‘Dragon’s Egg’, or something like that, right?”

“Yeah, that’s correct,” the fox confirmed, peering over at the final entry, “that must be what this picture here is trying to convey.” He put on a bit of a dark tone as he recited what he’d read about the old tale. “‘The Egg shall fall from the heavens, bringing ruin to the Floating Island. And when the Dragon of Chaos hatches, the world will end.’”

“You know, with all the stuff I thought was just myths and fairy tales turning out to be true,” Sonic commented uneasily, “I hope that one really is just a story.”

“I’m with you there,” Miles agreed, suppressing the urge to shiver.

The pair of them made their way to the passage at the back of the throne room. There, they found a tunnel that was just wide enough for the two of them, although it seemed to go on for quite a ways.

“So, at the start of my first tussle with the Empire,” Miles said as they began their trek, wanting to get back to his tale, “all I had was Remi and a supply of bombs that I normally used to get at metal ore. But, they were my only real weapons against their forces, and thanks to my knowledge of the forest, I was able to strategically strike back at them, as well as gather up some of their wrecked machines’ parts for my own purposes. I also found the red Chaos Emerald on the way to Padon Tunnel, which is an underground volcanic passage north of the village and east of Poroi Forest. It’s there I got my trusty Pikkon Hammer, which I’m convinced has some form of magical properties, given how strong and durable it is for its size, not to mention how it looks and feels like a toy. I still wonder where it could’ve come from.

“Anyway,” he excused himself, getting back on track, “I came across the green Emerald at the end of the Tunnel, where I emerged at the foot of Mt. Pori Pori. After contending with more Kukkus on the way up, I came to the final ascent, where I discovered both the magenta Emerald and Speedy, who’d beaten me to it.”

Sonic grinned and skipped ahead a little bit as he whistled a tune that the fox thought was vaguely familiar. “The first meeting of destined rivals!”

“Heh, sure,” Miles chuckled at the enthusiasm on display, fiddling with the white Emerald and getting a feel for its signature, “it was more of a test of survival than a proper battle. Speedy believed he could end me before we reached the peak, and I proved him wrong. I’m not really sure why he decided to give me the Emerald, but he did, then flew off back to base.

“After I returned, I found out Gad and Giselle had managed to get quite a few people into Gob’s bunker for safety. Thank goodness he’d always been a little paranoid in case something like an invasion happened. We used the Kukku tech I gathered to build the Sea Fox mode for Remi, which I used to traverse the Rocky Sea and head to Brocco Island, one of the two islets near Cocoa Island. I didn’t find a Chaos Emerald, but I did find a combatant piloting the Mecha Golem Mark V there.”

Sonic kicked at a few loose stones on the way, wondering how long the passage went on. “So, an earlier version of that thing we fought?”

“Much smaller and less impressive,” the fox remarked, “but after beating it, its parts worked well enough to help improve the Sea Fox. I put those upgrades to the test against a Kukku Cruiser that tried to sink me, showed them what for, and continued on to Guririn Island. There, I managed to sneak by a base camp the Empire had set up in the jungle, nabbed this guy...” He paused to briefly call attention to the white Emerald. “...And then got out before anyone knew I’d been around.”

Just as he was about to go on, Miles detected a change in the scents wafting through the air. The humid odor of mildew was slowly giving way to salt, and something much more crude. A second deep whiff confirmed what he’d been suspecting: oil. With renewed vigor, the fox sprinted towards the source of the pungent mixture, his robot and the hedgehog just behind him. After a couple of minutes of steady jogging, the Animals finally saw a light at the end of the tunnel.

When they reached it, they discovered that it was now the middle of sunset, the skies filled with powerful shades of orange that faded into white near the horizon. The opening led out onto a cliff path that pointed them in an interesting direction. There were tall and thin factory towers and other structures standing above the ocean, which was being fed copious amounts of oil by slides and funnels. The access ways around these buildings were more attractive than what was expected in such an industrial setting. Thin purple walkways adorned with gold piping, handrails, and green frameworks, some adorned with poles that had decorative spheres, or flashing lights, seemed to be the main means of getting around the place.

Even further out, the telltale skyline of a major city could be seen, as could the dull orange of buildings that were aflame, and the billowing clouds of smoke rising into the air.

“That’s Metropolis in the distance!” Sonic exclaimed, hope building in his voice, “and this is the Oil Ocean Refinery in front of us! We made it out to the other side of the mountains!”

Miles wasn’t quite ready to celebrate just yet. He grabbed his multitool from Remi’s panel and booted up the communication app first. When that showed that all signs were green, he switched to the Emerald Radar. Two signals were coming from them, while the other five were all bunched together northwest of their position. It seemed like everything was working again.

“I suppose that cavern we fell into caused interference due to the geology?” he theorized, “but then, why could I detect the white Emerald before we ended up there? Speedy wasn’t able to with his scanner. Then again, he couldn’t pick them up while Remi had them stowed away...”

Sonic held up a fist to the fox. “Does it matter? We know where they all are now!”

Miles regarded him for a moment, gazed down at the glove, then laughed and bumped his own against it.

“You’re right, Sonic,” he conceded, “our path is clear.”

They would have been ready to move on, but Miles didn’t want to leave his buddy on a cliffhanger.

“You want me to finish the story?” he asked the hedgehog, who nodded eagerly, “alright, bear with me a little while longer.

“There were a couple places left for me to search, which was the cave west of Mt. Pori Pori and up the river from Puru Puru Lake, and Karon Forest, which had miraculously escaped heavy fire damage. I first went for the latter, where I ended up finding the blue Emerald. The mountain cave wasn’t so bountiful. Some scrawlings left behind by people from long ago, however, did point me to a place where the yellow gem could be: a hidden passage in Padon Tunnel. Thanks to the improved explosives afforded to me by ‘borrowing’ Kukku weaponry, I uncovered this long-lost alternate route through the place.

“At the end of it, I found a more defunct Mecha Golem,” he revealed, “it couldn’t even move, but it still had guns and bombs, and its armor was nearly impervious. You can bet I made good use of all that after taking it down. With nowhere else left to go after that, I approached the Kukku stronghold, which they’d disguised as an inconspicuous green islet on the ocean’s surface; ‘Kukku Island’, you could say. I plunged into the depths, fighting elite soldiers and wrecking their defenses, before I ended up in Dr. Fukurokov’s lab, where he had a trap waiting for me. To be more precise, it was an entire room meant to kill me, with lasers, moving floors, and electrified spikes! There was no way for me to fly out, and no visible means of escape; it almost seemed hopeless.”

Miles took a gander at Sonic, who appeared to be quite invested in the story now. He smirked and lifted Remi up, nuzzling him between the ears and getting a happy woof for his trouble.

“This little wonder saved me,” he told the hedgehog proudly as he rubbed the robot’s chin, “Remi found a vent that connected to the main lab from the death chamber, one just big enough for him. He may not have any direct weapons in Critter mode, but thankfully, the doc had a lot of clutter in his workspace. It was pretty easy for my helper here to find something to push over onto his head and make him see stars for a while.”

The two boys had a good laugh at that. The image of the old owl conked out was rather amusing, and the fox especially still thought so after all these years.

“After he undid the locks and got me out of there, I helped myself to some of the doc’s items. And wouldn’t you know it? He had the final Emerald in his lab,” the fox continued, his expression darkening, “but, I also found these horrible machines that he’d been using to warp the minds of bird Animals and bring them over to the Empire’s cause. ‘Conversion Therapy’ was the label he used.” He clenched a fist tightly. “After dismantling them, I took the Emerald and retreated back to the mainland. At that point, the Great Battle Kukku was done playing. He unveiled the Battle Fortress, and he was ready to raze the rest of the island if I didn’t stop him.

“One final upgrade to the Sea Fox made it capable of flight,” he proclaimed, “and once I made sure I had everything, save for the cyan Emerald–”

“Which you left behind,” the hoglet supplied.

“I began my final assault,” Miles carried on without skipping a beat, “en route, I weaved through their air force and knocked out a good number of their cannon batteries. Once aboard, I hacked their systems, sabotaged their Robo Kukku production, sent their highest level combatants running, and directed all the captured villagers aboard to lifeboats and escape vessels. I made it to the bridge, where I had my second showdown with Speedy, who was sporting an exosuit. Not like the one you saw earlier; this was a prototype, but he still put up a serious fight. Speedy is better in open spaces, though, while I excel in more intimate quarters. With his movement limited, and the power of six Chaos Emeralds backing me, it didn’t take too long to gain the upper hand and come out on top.

“His armor was shorting out after all the damage I caused, and it would’ve exploded with Speedy still wearing it...”

The fox stopped. Even though he still believed what he’d done had been the right action, he still wondered how events would’ve turned out otherwise. Even more, he pondered how his life would be if he hadn’t been so merciful to the Empire. Would they have collapsed and faded into obscurity, or would the remnants have still sought him out for vengeance? Maybe less people would be getting hurt, but then again, perhaps another antagonistic force would have taken their place.

“I did my hardest not to kill, or let anyone die, when I could help it. Gob and Guen taught me that even the worst people deserve a second chance,” he uttered softly, “so, I gave Speedy that same courtesy.” He turned his eyes down to Sonic, meeting his own emerald green gaze. The kid saw a lot of uncertainty in those cyan-blue spheres. “Was I wrong to spare him? I mean, given everything that’s happened...”

The hedgehog frowned as he thought about it. Forgiveness and second chances being offered to even the ugliest sorts was never an easy discussion. He was firmly on the side of the fox’s adoptive parents, but he could understand where people on the other end came from better than they often assumed. Their point of view did win out sometimes, and maybe things turned out better in the long run. Yet, the spiny lad was sure that he wouldn’t be able to live with blood on his hands, and to imagine the big guy doing so disturbed him.

Yeah, he wasn’t the chillest Animal, and he could be kind of scary when he got mad. But, moments like the one they shared back down in that cave showed Sonic that, on the inside, Miles was a very kind and caring soul. While he had noticed some cracks in the fox’s shell prior to his near-death experience, that whole ordeal was just like taking a hammer to it, he liked to imagine. The teen had dived into what they’d assumed to be a bottomless pit to save him, after all. Absolutely insane, but totally something a big-hearted hero would do.

And if he could so readily do that for someone he’d only met a few days ago...what if he did kill? The worst thing about that, Sonic had heard, was that it became easier with every following instance. If Miles took the lives of his enemies instead of sparing them, he wouldn’t be the same fox that the boy had grown fond of. He didn’t want to think about that.

“No,” Sonic answered gently, “I think he just doesn’t know what to do.”

Miles hummed contemplatively. “Speedy’s always respected his father, though a lot of that respect comes from fear, rather than love or admiration. It’s the same for everyone under Fifteenth’s command. He’s afraid of what will happen if he ever abandons his ’destiny’, and honestly, I can’t entirely blame him. Unless his father’s taken into custody or otherwise kept away, there’s no way he’d sit on his tail-feathers if Speedy decided to cut and run. And trust me, he wouldn’t be any more hesitant to use extreme measures against his son than anyone else that incurs his wrath.”

“Even brainwashing his own kid?” the hedgehog inquired bitterly, bringing up the contraptions that had been mentioned before.

The fox frowned deeply. “It...wouldn’t surprise me.”

They were quiet for a short while, musing on what the GBK could and would do if Speedy went rogue. Miles decided to cut those thoughts short before they went places that he’d rather not consider.

“On the subject of the Great Battle Kukku, he was unlike anyone I’ve faced. He didn’t need a suit to be able to take a beating and dish one right back. As if that wasn’t enough, he had this weird ability that let him manifest bombs out of thin air. Even with the six Emeralds, I struggled against him, though they kept me in the fight.

“I eventually knocked him out,” Miles said, swinging a fist at the air, “and overrode the main controls of the Battle Fortress to force it into a sea-bound crash landing. Naturally, I gave myself and everyone else plenty of time to escape. When I got back to Cocoa Island, I saw that while the remaining people and Critters were happy that the Kukkus were beaten, they’d lost so much. I wanted our home to be how it was before, as did all the others. The Emeralds heeded our collective wish, restoring everything that had been wrecked and destroyed. They then scattered to parts unknown. After things calmed down and we went about business as usual for a while–as best we could anyway–I got the urge to explore beyond my modest abode. The chance to see what sort of technology I could find and study, as well as expand my knowledge in other areas of interest, was just too good to pass up! And who knew what other sorts of villains were around besides the Empire? Maybe I’d also meet others like me, I thought.

“So,” he concluded, “I’ve been globetrotting with Remi since I turned twelve, going back to Cocoa Island for a few days out of each month to check up on things and keep myself from getting homesick.”

Sonic nodded raptly. “Mm, and you’ve had the Emerald with you all that time, too?”

“Yeah,” Miles affirmed, “I figured out, at some point, that I’ve turned out the way I have due to almost constantly keeping it close by. Each day, I wake up just a tiny bit faster and stronger, presumably from passively absorbing trace amounts of Chaos Energy. Extrapolate that over the course of more than a decade, and even minuscule gains would add up to something beyond the typical upper limits of any Animal. That’s before factoring in regular exercise and a proper diet, by the way.”

The hedgehog glanced up at him with realization. “And the head honcho still gave you that much trouble, huh?”

“Yeah, the GBK was scarily powerful,” the older guy replied, “but I was also younger, smaller, and not as experienced as I am now. It won’t be the same the next time we face off!”

Smirking at his partner’s conviction, the younger boy gave him a thumbs-up. “I’ll be sure to get a front row seat.”

They shared another small bout of laughter, then gazed out at the destinations that awaited them.

“Hey, Miles?” Sonic inquired.

“Mm?”

“Did you come to West Side Island to try and find out anything about your parents?”

The fox bowed his head and smiled sadly at his friend. “I came here mainly because my radar picked up the Chaos Emeralds. But, yeah, a small part of me was hoping I’d dig up something about them. I guess I can still look after this is over.”

They let the silence hang for a little while, then Sonic piped up one last time.

“What’ll you do when you get all the Chaos Emeralds?”

The answer seemed simple enough: restoring his birthplace to how it was before this invasion. But, he didn’t need all seven to do that, as previous events had proven. Yet, if he did use every stone, he could potentially do anything. Perhaps he could bring back everything that the Empire had taken, even the lives that had been lost. Would it be right, though?

“I’d like to use them for something good, but,” he said hesitantly, then tapped that little, long black nose, “we’ll see, bud.”

The hedgehog let out a noise that suggested he wasn’t satisfied with the answer, but he didn’t push the subject.

“Can I hear another story sometime?” he decided to ask instead.

“Of course!” Miles agreed happily, “I’ll have to tell you about the time I made friends with another flier and his own tough little partner. Or when I faced off against this crazy witch with crystal powers, along with her three cronies. Oh, I bet you’d really like the one where I went to Never Lake and got to see Little Planet! I met a nice rabbit girl and her rascal of a friend.” He grinned at Sonic. “She’s a pink hedgehog that’s around your age.” All he got back was a disgruntled mumble, which made him snicker. “Ready to move on?”

It didn’t take long after that for the pair to shove off towards their next destination. After spending so much time trying to get back to the surface, they both had an idea of how much damage the Kukkus had caused, and that motivated them to pick up the pace in spite of all the energy they’d already spent.

Notes:

Well, managed to get another one out, eh? Another chapter where the perspective doesn't change, but for good reason. Also, the Hidden Palace isn't a big Zone, even going by the updated version in the 2013 (and presumably Origins) release of Sonic 2. That said, I'm satisfied with how this came out.

Tweet is the name of the Flicky "language" from Fleetway's Sonic the Comic, for those curious. Figured I'd include something from there, at least. Also, I like the Japanese names of Tails' Adventures levels/areas more than the U.S. ones, not only for the names, but better accuracy (seriously, "Lake Rocky"? It's a sea, dude).

Finally able to use both hands for typing and lighter tasks again, so hopefully, that will help with timely finishing up the rest of the story, and working towards other content beyond. Thank you so much for 500+ hits, and I'll get around to answering comments when I'm not working on more of this and rehabilitating my wrist. Until next time!

Chapter 8: Oil Operations

Summary:

As our heroic duo crosses the Oil Ocean Zone, Speedy is presented with an interesting opportunity. Meanwhile, the fox's friends consider what to do after the events at Mystic Cave.

Notes:

Apologies if this came a little later than folks expected. Having both hands work again also means going back to work, and thus less time spent overall on this. My mind's been in a bit of an odd place as well, and it may reflect in this chapter. It's better than all the other attempts I made in the last few days, though, so I'm okay with it.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“Any luck?” Giselle asked as she and Gad came down the trail from Hill Top, the limits of Casino Night coming into view.

The red twin shook his head, holding up his sister’s comm, which displayed an error message. “No, I can’t get through. Either something is causing interference, or the Miles Electric has been disabled in some capacity.” He sighed and glanced back in the direction they’d come from as he handed off the gadget to her. “I’m worried, sis.”

“Me too. But, there’s not a whole lot we can do right now aside from trying to find help,” she replied, her expression souring some, “Speedy wrecked all of our stuff aside from our grapplers, our specs, my comm, and my special key.” She let out a huff. “As for Miles, I know what I said in the moment back there, but he’s been through worse than that. I’m sure he’s fine.”

“Physically, maybe,” Gad remarked with some guilt, “but, given how he reacted, it seems he’s grown pretty attached to Sonic in the short time they’ve gotten to know each other. What if I was right, and he’s too late to save that kid?”

The she-wolf frowned sadly. She knew how much the losses back during the Cocoa Island incident affected everyone still around, especially Miles. In each adventure the fox had experienced since then, he’d shared that none of them ended with any casualties. He’d always seemed so proud and relieved to have pulled that off. There had already been some here, unfortunately, as she and her brother had seen for themselves. True, they wouldn’t be personal losses, but Miles would still feel bad that there were lives he couldn’t save. If Sonic was among them, however, it would become personal, as he’d made evident with his behavior.

“I know it’s not realistic,” the teal twin said, hesitating a moment, “but let’s hope he’s okay, too.” She returned her orange eyes forward. “And...if he’s not, don’t blame yourself.” She let her fangs flash a bit more openly as she growled angrily. “After all, you’re not the one that shot him.”

Gad felt his head heat up the more he thought about it. It had been one thing after another when it came to getting at Miles. The Empire was attacking his birthplace, and whether or not they were aware of that fact, the damage done was still awful. They’d used him and his sister as bargaining chips for the Chaos Emeralds, which they’d ultimately secured. And now, they’d possibly killed Miles’ new friend out of spite, as well as coaxed the fox into separating from them. But, for his little brother’s sake, he’d have some faith in the hedgehog.

“I know,” he told her, clenching his fists determinedly, “and let’s hope we can find someone that can help here.”

After several minutes, they entered Casino Night proper, noticing that the streets were relatively sparse compared to what they’d heard about the place. True, it wasn’t the liveliest part of the day yet, but they expected to see more people. Maybe news of what was going down in Metropolis had sent folks running for the hills? If that was the case, then at least they wouldn’t have to herd as many others to safety, but it would also be harder to find aid.

A little more time passed by before they came to a modest bar and grill establishment, and as if on cue, Gad’s stomach protested. Giselle looked over at him and crossed her arms while he shot her a sheepish look.

“Maybe we could stop for a bite?” he suggested with a shy smile, “we haven’t had anything since this morning.”

The teal twin held up a finger and opened her mouth to speak, only for a loud rumble to interrupt her. With flushed cheeks, she turned her attention to the joint and started walking towards the door. She didn’t have to see her brother’s face to know he was sporting one of his rare devious smirks as he followed along.

“Fine,” she conceded, her ears flicking in annoyance as she heard him snicker, “don’t you start.”

Gad hummed and folded his hands behind his head. “That wasn’t very ladylike.”

“Bite me,” Giselle barked while opening the door into the place.

The red twin chuckled, then grabbed the edge of it and let her proceed. “Love you, too.”

She sighed and rolled her eyes, peering around the little restaurant to see that it was mostly empty. There was a purple chameleon at the bar in the center, who regarded the two of them with a nod as they entered. There was also a green-skinned crocodile Animal with small and dull red spines from his back down his tail, goldenrod eyes, and his arms, belly, and muzzle were all a lighter verdant shade than the rest of him. He had a sort of S-shape to his body, one that started broad from his shoulders and chest, then got thinner towards his legs and tail, while his arms were thicker around the wrists than the rest. He wore white gloves, black wristbands with yellow stripes and gold buckles, black boots with yellow cuffs and white decals, small black shoulder pads, a pair of black and gray headphones, and a small gold neck chain. And while he was bulkier than the other reptile, the crocodile stood just above him in height, indicating he was still rather young.

He had been bussing the tables and booths around the establishment while blasting his music, when he also took notice of the new faces. The kid quit what he was doing and made his way over to the front, bobbing his head to the beat coming from his ‘phones. He slipped behind the host desk, grabbed a couple of menus, then waved to the wolves before pausing his tunes.

“Hey, guys,” the croc greeted them in a moderate tenor, “I bet you’re hungry. I know a song about that!”

He grinned proudly as Gad and Giselle both laughed at his music joke. Really, they were doing so more to be polite than because it was actually funny, but they appreciated a little levity after everything that went down. Satisfied at getting some genuine smiles, the boy gestured between the tables and the bar, to which the twins decided on the latter. They sat down on a couple of stools in front of the chameleon, who provided them both a fresh glass of water while the other Animal headed for what they presumed to be the kitchen. A couple of moments later, shouting came from that general area between the young reptile and a presumably older guy, though it was hard to tell.

“Come on, kid!” came the croc’s voice.

A more cheerful, and somewhat deeper tone answered. “That’s funny, Vector, calling me a kid when you’re less than half my age.”

“Yeah? Well, you’re less than half my size!” Vector retorted.

The other guy chuckled airily. “I’m actually about four-fifths your size, ‘boss’.”

“Whatever! Get out there and help Espio! We got people!” the younger Animal ordered.

“Oh! You should’ve said so in the first place!”

The twins glanced at one another simultaneously, while the chameleon, whom they now knew to be Espio, continued cleaning around his space without any care or concern shown for the bickering in the back.

“Did that other voice sound familiar to you at all, sis?” Gad murmured curiously.

“I was gonna ask you the same thing, bro,” Giselle muttered back, “not just the range, but the way he spoke, too. Do you think...?”

They both jerked their heads towards the kitchen door as it opened. Both of them stood up with a start as the one that came flying into the room was a bee they knew all too well. Yes, he was somewhat bigger than they remembered, and his outfit did have a few details that were different from the one he wore years ago. However, there was no mistaking that smile and those honey-brown eyes.

“Charmy!” the pair exclaimed at the same time, which managed to grab the stoic bartender’s attention.

The bee, who’d only been half-paying attention to where he was buzzing, stopped in mid-air. He looked over at where his name had been called and blinked a few times. After rubbing his eyes and seeing that the wolves were indeed real, he flipped for joy and shot right over to them. He nearly tackled Gad, only for the red wolf to step to the side and let Giselle intercept him, wrapping one arm around the much smaller male while her other glove noogied him between his antennae.

“Agh, hey!” Charmy protested, laughing and struggling against the teal lady lupine until she mercifully released him, “it’s awesome to see you guys again! You just missed Miles, though, if you’re here to surprise him too.”

The male twin coughed while the female rubbed the back of her head bashfully. Charmy had always been pretty good at figuring certain things out, even without anyone having to say anything.

“That was the plan,” Giselle admitted, her face becoming more serious once she’d shrugged off her slight embarrassment, “but things have gone from bad to worse.”

“I assume you mean the Kukkus’ attack on Metropolis,” Espio said as he paused his duties.

“Not only that,” Gad elaborated, leaning forward on the counter while sporting a worried expression, “but they’ve got most of the Chaos Emeralds now.”

Charmy blinked and whipped his head side to side in disbelief. “What? But, Miles had like, four of them, and he said there were seven! What happened!?”

“Well,” the red wolf pondered, thinking how to summarize it all.

After a few moments, he began relating everything that had gone down for him and his brother in the past day. How they’d intended to surprise Miles and, if he wanted, help him in his endeavors here. But then, they’d discovered the yellow Chaos Emerald in Metropolis, making the connection that the fox must have come seeking them out. Knowing that others would be after the mystical minerals as well, the two had kept close by, and were proven right when the Empire showed up. They’d managed to give Speedy the slip, secure the Emerald, then make their way to meet up with Miles and his new buddy.

They shared how Speedy had been more than true to his name and overtaken them, and though they’d tried fighting him, it became fruitless once he nabbed the Emerald back. Captured, the prince had set them up to be exchanged for the other Emeralds, though Miles had been clever in rescuing them. Despite that and the subsequent defeat of Dr. Fukurokov’s newest mech, most of the gems had still been lost to the Empire. Worst of all was that Miles and Sonic were currently MIA, having been separated from them during a cave-in. Any attempts to reach them had, so far, been unsuccessful.

“Our little bro is probably okay,” Giselle tried to assure Charmy, trailing off some as her thoughts turned to the other kid.

Gad picked up where she paused, frowning remorsefully. “But, there’s a good chance that his new friend might not be.”

Charmy hummed concernedly, drawing a look from Espio. The bee’s face scrunched and shifted as he weighed everything he’d heard, flitting about the bar in thought. The teen insect eventually sat down on a stool next to his old friends, swiveling around to stare up at them. He then jerked his seat again, slapped his hands on the counter, and smiled at Espio, who perked his brow in turn.

“I’ve gotta help Miles!” he chirped, meeting the steely gaze of his co-worker, “those birds will be here soon, anyway, from the sound of things. Can’t just sit around!”

Before the chameleon or anyone else could say anything, Giselle’s comm came alive and started blaring metal, startling everyone present. The she-wolf checked the display, and her peachy muzzle split into an elated grin when that amber, fox-faced icon she knew well blinked on the screen.

“Well, look who decided to join the chat,” she quipped as she moved to answer the call, “I guess whatever was keeping us from connecting isn’t an issue now.”


Miles kept his back pressed to the purple pole on one side of the pathway above the oily waters, looking over at Sonic, who was doing the same on the opposite side. He then glanced down at his multitool, wary of the flashing verdigris wolf symbol. The two boys peeked around the bend every so often, keeping their eyes on the movements of numerous Kukku forces. Unlike any they’d faced so far, these were mostly composed of non-avian Animals and a few humans, wearing the colors and wielding the weapons of the Empire. The fox growled, knowing well that the doctor’s machines were responsible for bringing in these types of troops.

A beep on the Miles Electric brought him out of his anger, and the face of Giselle greeted him as he lifted it up to see. She seemed just as displeased as he felt.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve hurting your brother and I, then jumping into a chasm to who-knows-where, during a cave-in! I swear,” she scolded him, before dropping the angry demeanor and letting out a sigh, “such a pain in the arse sometimes. Thank the gods you’re alright." She paused for a moment. "What about Sonic?”

“I got to him just in time,” the fox responded, briefly showing her the hedgehog, who gave her a wave. He smiled when he heard his siblings let out relieved sounds at the news. “We wound up traveling through an underground cavern where we found some...interesting things.”

An "ooh" of intrigue sounded out, and suddenly, Miles found himself face to face with his best bee buddy. He would’ve asked what Charmy was doing there, but he was more happy to see his friend, and that his siblings had gotten somewhere safe.

“Hey, Miles! Glad you and that cool little dude are okay!” he said in a chipper tone, swerving out of the way of a purple glove lunging at him, “so, you find anything neat? Something worth a lot of money, like treasure, maybe?”

Charmy was yanked out of the picture, the feed spinning around and falling until it went out for a moment. The call hadn’t dropped, though, as the view was soon uncovered and brought back into focus on Gad. He wore a timid smile as his sister chased the bee around the bar, griping at him about touching her things without asking. The fox scanned around the corner once more, then reached into Remi’s storage, now that he was back in pack form, and pulled out the white Emerald.

“I’ll explain in more detail later, but the important thing is we found the last Chaos Emerald,” he informed them, briefly showing it off, “and we managed to get back above ground and out of the caverns. We’re over at the Oil Ocean Refinery, where there’s a lot of Kukku forces. It looks like the doctor finally expanded his Conversion Therapy to non-avians...”

The red wolf covered his muzzle with the other glove to suppress a sound of shock. “The new robots were one thing, but...it sounds like they’re pulling out all the stops.“

“And whatever it is they’re planning with the Chaos Emeralds, we won’t let them have their way,” Miles decided firmly, “Gadget, I need you and Gizmo to meet up with us in Metropolis so we can take them down.”

“Wait, ‘Gadget’, ‘Gizmo’?” questioned the larger canid.

The fox chuckled and scratched at one ear shyly. “Oh, yeah, Sonic came up with nicknames for you guys. Don’t worry, he does that for everyone he likes.”

“I like it,” Giselle affirmed as she squeezed her face into the picture with her brother’s, “spiny boy’s got good taste!”

Having overheard the compliment, Sonic puffed out his chest proudly, which Miles snorted softly at.

“Anyway,” he said, getting back on track, “I’ll probably need your help too, Charmy, and if your other friends are able to join, I’d appreciate it.”

The insect flew above the wolves and plopped his chin right on top of their heads, one growling in annoyance while the other rolled his eyes.

“No need to ask, buddy, I was already gonna pitch in!” he declared, “and as for Espio and Vector, you won’t have to worry!”

Miles grinned graciously. “Glad I can count on you.” He then stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Hmm, it’ll be tough for you guys to catch up in a timely manner, unless there’s some other path to Metropolis from Casino Night.”

“Nah, just send Remi over,” the newly christened Gizmo suggested offhandedly as she took back the comm, “the Sea Fox’s jet mode should be able to get us all over safely. I’ll let ‘Gadget’ fly, but I’ll need his grappler to make this work.”

The vermilion wolf was puzzled as to why she’d need it, but after a few moments, he seemed to gain understanding. Gadget nodded, slipped the bracer-esque tool off of his left glove, and handed it over. In exchange, she passed her comm back to him while she put the grappler over her own left wrist. He could see for himself that Miles had also caught on to what Gizmo was scheming.

“Alright, I’ll send him over,” the amber teen informed him, “he should also have enough supplies in his storage to set you two up pretty well. I’ll be taking a few before that, though.”

“Of course. Take care, little bro, and we’ll see you when we get to the city. We’ll just search for where the most explosions are coming from.”

They shared a small laugh at that, then Miles terminated the call. With that, the fox knelt down and began digging through Remi’s storage. He brought out a utility belt with four pouches, a shoulder strap, and a holster, which he readily put on. Two of the pockets were filled with the Chaos Emeralds they had, the other two were used to contain the Miles Electric and a good helping of the small but powerful bombs he had been using during their adventure, and last, but not least, he slipped the Pikkon Hammer into the holster. He also pulled out what looked to be an oversized gold ring, then set his little companion down to shift into Critter form.

“Okay, Remi, you overheard the conversation?” he asked the robot, which dipped its head in the affirmative, “great, initiate Sea Fox form in jet mode.”

Remi did just that, shifting and expanding until he was in the familiar minisub shape that Sonic had seen before, only now with a jet thruster in place of the propeller. Miles briefly popped open the cockpit, tapped at the console for a few seconds, and closed it up again. He bent down and gave the vehicle a brief hug and a few fond pats.

“I’ll see you later, buddy,” he said to his creation.

As quickly and stealthily as it could, the Sea Fox rose into the air and made its way west towards its destination. Once it was out of sight, Miles went over to Sonic and handed him the large ring.

“This’ll be of more help to you than me here,” the fox told the hedgehog, “it’s the same weapon I used back when I fought that witch and her flunkies I mentioned earlier. I call it the Boomering.”

Sonic studied the object curiously. “So, it’s like a boomerang, but a ring?”

“That is its primary use, but that’s not all,” Miles claimed, wagging a finger chidingly, “not only can it strike things at a distance, but it can retrieve items and even other people, if you’re so inclined. Additionally, you can use it as a tether, either to draw yourself to something like a pole, or to drag something behind you.”

The cobalt kid pictured each way he could wield it, then gave it a casual toss. Like clockwork, it whipped forward, curved through the air, then returned to his hand without issue. He smirked and spun it around on a couple of fingers.

"Alright, I think I can handle it," Sonic declared, giving the fox a determined look, "you ready to go?"

"Yeah," Miles replied, casting one more glance towards the path before them, "I’d like it if we alerted as few of them as possible, but when we do fight, just be sure to hold back. Most of our foes here aren't robotic, as you saw. That said, hit them fast, not that you’ll have a problem with that."

The boys bumped their fists together, moved away from the cover of the poles, and rushed forward. They crossed a couple of golden bridges before running into a team of converted soldiers, which only noticed them after the fox and the hedgehog were right on top of them. Miles lunged forward, striking the base of the snout of a ram with the heel of his palm, and knocking the ungulate out. A hyena attempted a back attack, only to receive a hard elbow to his nose, causing him to drop to the ground with a dazed and goofy giggle before slumping entirely. Sonic slipped between the legs of a possum, and when the somewhat larger Animal turned to face him, the speedster kicked off the ground and slammed into where the guy’s Adam’s apple would be. The second his feet touched the metal again, the hedgehog launched the Boomering at a man just as he drew out his energy rifle, snatching the weapon from his grasp and then taking it once the projectile had returned with it. Sonic tossed the gun aside, and then knocked the human flat with a swift Rolling Jump to the nose.

Having dealt with that group, the two moved on before more attention could be attracted. They dashed up an incline to a platform on the next derrick, where they leapt to a towering pole atop the following structure. The hedgehog used the Boomering to hook onto the top and hang there with his feet planted against the shaft, while the fox simply flew to the very peak and perched atop it on all fours. There were more soldiers below and ahead of them, as well as yet more new robots. These were pink and heavily based on an octopus, though they possessed small corkscrew ears on their round heads, a snout below a pair of cyan eyes, and six mechanical tentacles that they were using like propellers to hover around.

While there were undoubtedly more forces further ahead, Miles elected to at least avoid these immediate ones, taking hold of the Boomering and nodding at Sonic. They flew to an outcropping about halfway along the oil platform, coasted down a gentle decline, and ended up on another ledge. Looking on, they saw yellow and white metallic seahorses with cyan eyes, orange back spikes, two sharp antennae, a spike on the end of its curled tail, and small wing fins. Miles scanned below their position, spotting a platform much closer to the oil that was beneath a slope carrying more of the substance down into the water. He brought Sonic and himself down to the purple and gold structure, where they found three arches composed of pipes sticking up out of the thick liquid, and a pathway further out.

After traversing these convenient stepping stones, the pair ascended through the next section of the facility thanks to a series of open elevators. Near the last shaft, they ran into one of the octopus robots, which immediately fired a small energy ball their way. The two dodged out of the way, Sonic retaliating with the Boomering to grapple, pull, and then kick the Badnik into the air, which Miles subsequently broke apart with his hammer. They continued on past the wrecked robot to a short downhill slope slickened with oil, precariously sliding until they came to a jump at the end. Using their momentum, the fox flew them both over to a distant platform that was below a fifth elevator, which they promptly made use of.

At the top, they encountered two seahorse Badniks, which instantly flew their way and started trying to bombard them with projectiles. The teen swerved around the shot that was sent his way, vaulting off the head of one robot and surprising the other as he came down with a solid Rolling Jump. Sonic used the moment of distraction to use the Boomering in a more traditional fashion, breaking apart the remaining Badnik with a quick toss of the weapon. They progressed over the top of the derrick they were on and floated their way down deeper into the refinery, courtesy of the vulpine’s flight. Navigating down more slopes, some with oil and others without, they descended two more elevator shafts before they went up another incline and came to the largest building they’d yet found in the place.

Unfortunately, their current spot was also where they were the most out in the open, and it didn’t take long for them to be noticed by passing patrols on parallel platforms. They hurried on ahead down the path and over a couple of bridges, facing down a pair of walkers and a hoverpod just before they reached the next elevator. Miles flipped over the cannon balls sent by the former two, whipping out his hammer once more and striking at the fragile joints of the machines. The birds piloting the walkers were stunned as their rides collapsed under them, and only had enough time to let out a small yelp before the fox whacked them both and sent them to dreamland. Sonic threw the Boomering and snatched the pilot of the hoverpod, letting the craft fall to the ground and then throwing the avian at the teen’s feet. Miles didn’t give him any room to get away before grabbing him and kneeing him in the base of the beak, dropping him back to the metal walkway once he was out.

The two took the lift up, where they saw four green metal plates lined up on the path before them. When they got close, the fox and hedgehog saw that they were lids keeping strange green flames contained, ones that popped into the air every few seconds. The boys moved their gaze up and saw a series of what appeared to be green and gold checkered cannons that were mounted throughout the facility. The fox peered towards the fourth lid and saw that it could lead them into one of the strange fixtures. Perhaps they were used for getting around, for whatever reason.

Deciding to give it a shot, especially with more soldiers looking to converge on them, Miles brought Sonic along, timing it so that the final top launched them up. They tucked themselves into spheres to fit into the barrel they flew towards, which readjusted its angle once the two entered the chamber. It fired them off into another, identical cannon, which propelled them to a walkway significantly higher up than where they’d been. Scaling a couple of ledges, they dispatched two more octopus Badniks, then crossed a large bridge towards a group of lifts that went down. It was four more in total before they could continue on, Roll Jumping into two more seahorses that had sought to ambush them.

Seeing more soldiers start to board the lifts above them, Miles grabbed Sonic and flew them over the pipes and slides that carried oil through the refinery. He squeezed them through the bottom of an elevator shaft and brought them to a high ledge that overlooked much of the rest of the place. They could go down towards the oil ocean, head for higher ground, or try and throw their pursuers off another way. The fox saw yet more of those cannons above, as well as an odd green structure beneath the outcropping he was on. It appeared to be some sort of tall vent cover, one that was positioned directly beneath the barrel of one of those things.

As carefully as he could, Miles aimed and tossed one of his bombs down at the object, blowing it apart without causing any flaming detritus. A violent rush of air whipped up from where the cover had once been, giving weight to the teen’s theory about its function. Hearing the shouts of combatants on their tails, the pair curl up and let themselves be carried by the blasting air into the cannon above its vent. They’re sent hurtling about four more times, ending up next to another bridge like the one they’d traversed just moments ago. This brought them to three declines that had all been previously used to transport oil, so they took care in getting down.

Another couple of minutes passed, and the two discovered the exit to the complex, the outskirts of Metropolis only a few hundred meters away. They crossed over a golden bridge, only to have it collapse just as they reached the other side, which made them both pause. They noticed there was a gap in the platforms in front of them, and the oily water there bubbled for a moment, then erupted. Once the greasy drizzle cleared, they were faced with a super-sized version of the octopus Badniks, which also sported a golden neck collar, a golden hatch on its head, and it seemed to have more numerous tentacles, which were composed of pink orbs rather than being singularly solid limbs. It certainly appeared more threatening than those they’d come across so far, as each tentacle was tipped with a different weapon, such as energy guns, claws, and bullet turrets.

Miles and Sonic were prepared to throw down, but were confused when the top opened up and three unremarkable Kukku combatants emerged. The duo glanced at one another, shrugged, then regarded the trio that was fixing an angry glare at the teen.

“It’s the fox!” one of them shouted, “Lord Speedy was right!”

“We mustn’t disappoint him, then!” a second piped up.

The third one thrust a fist into the air. “It’s time we finally get you back, Prower!”

Miles let his gaze sweep over each of the little birds that were once around his size, some years ago. He scratched his chin and tilted his head, mumbling in bewilderment.

“Um, who are you guys?” he couldn’t help asking.

The three birds wilted, as though they’d been shot upon hearing the vulpine’s words. After a few seconds to collect themselves, they snarled angrily at the teen.

“The nerve of this kid!” remarked the first one indignantly.

“You might not remember us, but we remember you!” the second claimed.

“We were the pilots of Mecha Golem Mark IV, V, and VI, respectively!” the third clarified.

Sonic looked expectantly towards Miles. The fox tapped at his ears as he rewound his memories, thinking back to his battles with those robots.

“Hm, the fourth one was in Padon Tunnel,” he recalled, “the fifth one was at the bottom of Brocco Island’s caverns, and the sixth one was encountered while escaping from the doctor’s island fort along with Ray and Mighty.” He peered up at the small gang of Kukkus. “They look like any other typical combatants I’ve seen, though.”

The hedgehog shot him a confident grin. “Shouldn’t be any trouble, then!”

“As long as we stay sharp,” the fox replied while wearing his own smirk, “let’s go, partner!”

Sonic stopped short just as he was about to break out into a run, giving Miles an incredulous face. “Partner? For real?”

“Yeah, we’ll talk about it later,” the older Animal assured him, nodding towards the Kukkus, “we’ve got a few guys that need me to teach them a lesson again.” He cracked his knuckles through his gloves and rolled his neck a little bit, then glared up at the pilots. “I’m not fond of repeating myself about things like this, but for folks like you, it’s the only way you’ll learn to stop antagonizing me!”

There was a moment of fear on the faces of the soldiers, but it was hastily brushed aside as they gave a cry of bravado, then retreated into the mech. The octopus dove beneath the oil, leaving the two heroes on alert, ears perked and eyes scanning over the waters. The sound of groaning metal reached them, spotting two tentacles tugging at the platform they were standing on. Miles and Sonic beat feet to the next one, jumping the gap just as their previous ground was yanked down into the depths. The robot came back up, the pilots checking around to see if their handiwork did the trick.

With their backs turned, Miles revved up a Spin Dash and tore off, bouncing off the edge at the last second to slam into the glass dome around their cockpit. A small crack appeared on the surface, but nothing that would spell trouble for the guys driving. Sonic followed up with his own Spin Dash, striking the thing between its beady eyes hard enough to make it rock backwards. The ends of one of the appendages sharpened into a spearpoint and fired towards the hedgehog like a missile, but the kid’s reflexes tipped him off. He threw the Boomering at the oncoming projectile, the tether effect pulling him along once it swirled around the sharp point. Sonic swung up onto the top side and dropped into a Rolling Jump, landing dead-on right into the top of the mech’s dome.

As the octopus went back under the oil, Miles swooped in and brought the both of them back to dry land. Two more limbs rose from the liquids, aiming a pair of cannons at them with almost pinpoint accuracy. Miles and Sonic doubled back to avoid the blasts that came their way, but the beams ignited trace amounts of oil on the platform all the same. Another tentacle rose up and smacked down, trying to slash at them with the claws on the end, its weight causing the fiery metal to sink a little. Miles knew that if that fire licked at the ocean beneath them, it wouldn’t be an explosion, but everything would go up in smoke pretty fast!

Fearing such an outcome, he grabbed the Boomering from Sonic, his other hand reaching into his utility belt and taking out the cyan Chaos Emerald. He hurtled the weapon hard at the tentacle, putting a sizable dent in it and forcing it to retreat. The fox caught the ring and touched it to the gem, then threw it once more so that it made a full revolution around the affected area, only it didn’t return right away. It unceasingly circled about in that same trajectory, creating a vortex that steadily sucked the oxygen out of that patch of terrain, soon killing the blue flames.

“Crazy birds,” he muttered as he tossed the Boomering back to Sonic and stored his Emerald, “we’ve got to disable that thing before we all end up flash-fried!”

The younger boy checked behind them and pointed with his free hand. “We’re pretty close to shore. Let’s make them think we’re trying to escape, then turn it around on them!”

Miles’ eyes darted between the tentacles and the looming buildings that were just over that way. To be fair, they could get over there before the Kukkus could have any time to catch up, but they couldn’t leave their fight unfinished. He nodded after a few seconds, and the two of them sprinted off at a relatively moderate pace. The octopus, predictably, surged through the oil after them, using two more of its tendrils to collapse one of the platforms in front of them, as well as another behind them. The boys split up, with the fox staying on the lone rise while Sonic bounded over to the raining path towards Metropolis.

The mech surfaced in the space between their positions, now bringing up two tendrils topped with round bullet turrets. They swiveled Sonic’s way, its shallow barrels lighting up and unleashing a hail of rounds. The hedgehog’s agility allowed him to stay a few steps ahead, though he made sure to never stray too close to the edges to make sure that the bullets didn’t fire into the oil. Miles pounced high in the air, then dove towards the dome over the cockpit, hammer in hand, though just before he reached it, a third tentacle surged forth from the oil and lashed out at him. He brought up his weapon in time to prevent a direct hit, but he was still sent into a disorienting spin, leaving him open to a second attack. The tentacle was suddenly whipped to one side as Miles saw the Boomering soaring in and smashing it close to the base of the limb, giving him time to right himself.

A burst of speed from his tails let the vulpine close the distance faster than his foes could retaliate, banging his hammer against the glass as he flew in circles around the main body. The chinks in the protective coating grew from the successive impacts, forming spiderwebs of cracks as the punishment went on. They submerged once more, and the turrets that had been focused on Sonic rounded on him, although Miles could see that the pilots were hesitant to try and riddle him with bullets. Instead, they attempted similar maneuvers as they had with the more melee-oriented attachments, but they obviously weren’t as suited.

Miles weaved between them and landed next to Sonic, drawing the attention to them both. Hedgehog and fox both dodged to the side as one tentacle slapped down, charged up a Spin Dash, then came at the orbs that made up its length from opposite sides. The double act severed the mount from the rest of it, then made their move on the second. Miles performed a Rolling Jump to knock the turret off-center, while Sonic tethered himself to the Boomering as he lobbed it at that same spot, curling up for his own attack. The result was much the same as the first, and the kid swiftly returned to safety using that method again, using the fox as a willing anchor.

Once again, the terrain beneath them quaked as the robot tried pulling them down, and the pair retreated further in the direction of the city. As expected, the combatants moved to cut off their escape, though this time, they crashed the octopus right through the platform in front of them. Two additional tentacle spears arched in a pincer trajectory, hoping to catch them off guard, but given they’d seen all of the machine’s tricks by this point, Miles and Sonic saw it coming. The latter entered his Rolling Attack state, which the former juggled into his arms and then took to the air. The blasters showed up again, freely taking shots at him as he flew above due to no fear of igniting the liquid below. Compared to Speedy and others he’d faced, Miles found their aim to be lacking, while he wouldn’t say the same for himself, now that he was at the perfect altitude to deliver a decisive blow to their canopy. He let the spiny blue ball drop, then wound up his leg as his eyes locked onto target.

“Thunder Shoot!” the fox shouted, giving his partner’s form a hearty kick.

Sonic came down right on the epicenter of the mess of cracked glass, giving it the last push it needed to completely shatter the barrier. The three Kukkus squawked in a panic as Miles then landed in the cockpit, taking each of them and tossing them in the air for his young partner to hurtle to the opposite platform. The teen only needed a handful of seconds to study the controls and enter the right commands, tapping his fingers at a choice few buttons and smiling in satisfaction as he heard the engine power down. To make certain that the birds wouldn’t be able to use it again, he used his hammer to pound a hole into the console, then tore out several wires and circuits under the key inputs.

He hopped out of the now inactive robot and traded a high-five with his little buddy, paying no mind to the Kukkus as they protested being left stranded.

“I told you it’d be easy!” Sonic bragged, grinning up to the fox.

Miles returned his expression and chuckled, already lightly jogging towards their next destination. “With two sharp guys like us, was there ever any doubt?”

“Hah, you’re a lot cooler when you talk more like that, big guy,” complimented the kid, catching up with very little effort.

The fox chose to modestly accept the praise, flashing a nervous smile and dipping his head. But, there were more important things to think about at the moment. He retrieved the Miles Electric and, as had become habit on this journey, brought up the Emerald Radar. Sure enough, the five that the Empire now possessed were straight east from them, just off that side of Metropolis. Glancing up, he didn’t see the Battle Fortress in the sky. Thus, he had to assume it had returned underwater or was parked on the surface, out of sight.

“We’re almost there, kid,” he told Sonic, his other hand clenching tightly, “not just to Metropolis, but the Kukku HQ, too.”

The boy nodded back at Miles. “Just a little further, and then all we gotta do is beat the bad guys!”

“Once the others arrive and meet up with us, we’ll make for the Battle Fortress,” the teen planned out loud, “but first, we need to cut off any supplies they could get, especially ones that would expand their robot army and add to their weapons.”

“Well, Metropolis is an industrial city, and the biggest manufacturer is Metropolitan Industries,” Sonic informed him, giggling when Miles gave him a deadpan look, “yeah, I know, not very original. But, they’ve got the biggest plant on the island, so if the Kukkus are looking for scraps, there’s no better place.”

“Then that’s where we’re headed,” Miles decided, picking up the pace, “just be ready for anything.”

The pair of them raced off, amber and blue blurs tearing through the city limits and down the wrecked streets towards a truly colossal factory on the east coast. Though he couldn’t see it, Miles had indeed been correct in his assumptions about where the Battle Fortress was, looming just behind the immense building on land, framed by the approaching darkness of night.


Speedy folded his arms behind his back as he gazed at what was before him. It was a large, egg-shaped module that rested with a metallic “nest” atop a deep blue-gray pedestal. Within the face of the egg were the five Chaos Emeralds that they had acquired. The red gem was arranged at the top, with the magenta one to its left and the yellow rock to its right, the green stone opposite of the former, and the blue mineral across from the latter. That left the one outer space available for the cyan, and reserved the center slot for the white. It would be quite a sight to see once all seven Emeralds were in place. At least, that’s what his father and the doctor said.

The rest of the immense chamber was cast in steel gray and circuit yellow, empty aside from the multiple levels of catwalks around the edges, and a positively massive viewing window that currently had the blast shield lowered. He’d elected to come alone, after both of the other major authority figures had elected to attend to other plans for the evening. He’d been troubled by a number of thoughts and had believed that coming here would help him sort them out. The magenta Emerald, in particular, stirred memories that he was already sick of revisiting.

And yet, when he turned his thoughts away from them, they just went to another source of stress.

‘The praise that miserable old owl received,’ he fumed, ‘as though he’d been the one to do all the heavy lifting! He barely helped when capturing the wolf twins, damaged my exosuit with his clumsiness, then got his new toy trashed! If he hadn’t brought back the Emeralds, Fukurokov would have nothing good for Father to say about him! He’d have been thrown in the brig for his screw-ups!’

Speedy slammed his fists onto the module, which buckled a bit from the force, only to harmlessly warp back into shape. The clatter of a tool came from the entrance of the vast room, prompting him to whirl around to face the source. It was a large, egg-shaped man in red, black, and gold, with blue pince-nez glasses and a bushy mustache that would get along well with Fukurokov’s beard.

“You there!” the heir shouted as he stormed over, one hand hovering above his other wrist, “you have ten seconds to identify yourself and state your intentions before the entirety of my military comes down on top of you!”

The burly and rotund fellow held up his hands defensively, but didn’t seem worried. “Easy there, Prince Battle Kukku XVI. The name is Dr. Ivo Robotnik, and I’m here to help dear old Dmitri put the finishing touches on this magnificent station before the day is done.”

That last bit, along with being addressed by his proper title, made Speedy stop himself from activating his comm. So, this was the mysterious benefactor that Miles had gotten the owl to slip up and mention? He’d been...well, he wasn’t really sure what he’d been expecting, but a human was not it.

“Is that right?” the Kukku inquired, leveling his gaze up at this rather tall fellow. He had at least a foot on his father, and probably a couple hundred pounds! “The doctor has been loath to have anyone working directly with him ever since a few incidents occurred some years ago. How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

Ivo grinned and tapped a few points on the palm of one glove with his spindly fingers. Within moments, a hornet Badnik entered the room and hovered at the doctor’s side, awaiting further instruction. Speedy let out a grunt and reluctantly withdrew his hand from over his comm.

“So, you’re the one that’s been supplying our forces with all of these contraptions,” he stated, briefly regarding the droid, “and redesigned machines like the doctor’s recurring mech. I wonder why we haven’t been properly introduced, given how much you’ve done for us.” He shook his head after he thought about it for another good moment. “No, I know why. Dr. F made it clear back in the caves that he didn’t want anyone else to find out about you.”

The man chuckled and waved away the robot. “My ‘better half’ may be willing to stay in his cage, but I prefer working where my brilliant touch is most needed. That’s pretty much everywhere, sadly.”

“What do you mean by that?” Speedy pressed him.

Ivo motioned for him to follow as he strolled over to the module in the center of the room. The prince rolled his eyes at the flippant audacity of this guy, telling him where to go. But, he chose to entertain this for now. Who knew when he’d get another chance like this?

“Ever since I was young and soft-boiled,” the man said, as though narrating some grand tale, “I’ve had to share this body with a contemptibly kind-hearted cad. Until recently, ‘Ovi the Tinkerer’ has been the dominant personality, even though my identity is the one that holds the true name!”

‘Leave it to the crazy old bird to find another head case to bring aboard,’ Speedy thought snarkily.

The human swept his arm over the Chaos Emeralds. “The power of these gemstones allowed me to come to the forefront, even if only temporarily. And with them, as well as the generous amounts of materials we’ve secured, I’ve made such advancements to projects that were once pipedreams!”

“Then why continue working with the doctor?” the prince couldn’t help wondering, “if this and everything else are anything to go by, you’re far superior to the old man.”

Ivo put up a hand in front of his mouth as he let out a loud and raucous bellow of a laugh. There was both condescension and a bit of pride in the chortling, which served to irritate Speedy further. It seemed that certain traits were shared between mad scientists regardless of species.

“While that may be true,” he said haughtily, “having readily available supplies and equipment to work with is quite wonderful.” He grunted in annoyance, his mustache drooping along with his smile. “I know that the owl plans to toss me aside once he’s gotten all he can from my designs. He thinks I’m not aware of his intentions, but you can’t fool someone who would do the same.” He traced one of his spindly fingers around the module he helped build, a wicked grin crossing his lips. “I think it would serve him right to have that teenage fox bring this all crashing down. The fool’s proven incompetent in handling what I’ve so generously given him.”

Speedy could scarcely believe what he’d just heard. Despite all the effort and production that had gone into this project, greater than anything the Empire had ever undertaken, this human was willing to let it fail out of spite? It seemed the sort of action a child would take, not some middle-aged man about to achieve an incredible feat of engineering. It reminded him too much of the owl.

“You ramble on just like him,” he said with a sneer, “and do you think it’s wise to say such tripe out loud? If you plan betrayal against us, my father will know.”

Ivo scoffed at the threat. “Oh please, I’ve already taken steps to ensure that you’d have no way of proving I’m even here. And besides, your father’s opinion of you is less than stellar at the moment, in no small part due to Dmitri’s recent string of ‘successes’. It must be frustrating to try and win Dear Old Dad’s respect, especially when you don’t even want the same thing as him.”

Speedy choked back a gasp. How could this man even know that, when they’d never met before today? Glancing back at Ivo, the prince felt unnerved by a gaze that he couldn’t see beyond the tinted lenses of those specs. It was like those hidden eyes were boring into his soul and laying it bare, reading his insecurities like a book. Just who was this guy?

“But, if it will make you feel better,” the human went on, his grin widening as he noticed the Kukku paying him greater attention, “I don’t plan on anything like sabotage. Rather, I have a method of insurance in place, should the Chaos Emeralds prove hazardous for the system.”

Ivo retrieved a small, black data drive from his coat and handed it over to Speedy. The bird turned it over in his fingers a few times, scrutinizing the plain-looking object.

“Once engaged, there will be a force field surrounding the module to keep the minerals in place while their energy is fed into the station,” the man explained, gesturing to the gems and then to the device he gave Speedy, “in an emergency, you need only insert that into one of the countless auxiliary ports around the complex. It will shut down the module and then divert power from the many generators I built in the event of such a scenario.” He chuckled amusedly. “Dmitri already has one of his own, but is unaware I’ve produced any more. Consider that your own form of insurance, for if he ever starts to gain aspirations above his station. Surely that will get you some respect from the Emperor, should that happen.”

The heir glared up at the man with his red eyes. “I don’t understand why you would do this. Why give this to me?”

“It makes things more interesting,” Ivo answered simply, “and just imagine how fun it must be to have a choice for once!”

Hearing that made the bird’s blood chill, his eyes drifting down to the drive. Speedy stared at it for a good while, not even bothering to respond as Ivo went to finish up his tasks. The man had essentially handed him a kill switch for the most important part of this new complex. True, he’d pointed out that the station didn’t technically need the Emeralds to operate, but their power would better assure victory. With the gems powering the onboard weapon batteries, they’d have firepower that would be unmatched anywhere in the world.

But then, that was the problem, wasn’t it? With five of the Emeralds, they could destroy a city like Metropolis, or possibly all of West Side Island, with its primary cannon. There wouldn’t be a need to use it on so many people, though Speedy had a feeling his father would justify it. He’d excused all the unnecessary pillaging and killing before now, so why wouldn’t he in this case? Not to mention, with them so close to their goal, and Miles drawing ever closer, the GBK could very well employ such a measure.

With what he held in his hand, Speedy could prevent that. But, could he do that to his father? The man that he respected and was loyal to?

You always had a choice!’ Miles’ voice played back in his mind, ‘you’re just too afraid of your father to make a sensible one!

The prince clutched the “insurance” tightly in a fist and stormed out of the chamber, leaving Ivo to his work.

“Is that why you’re so disappointed, Miles?” he snarled aloud as he stomped away, “because you think I’m a coward!?” His glove groaned in protest as he bunched up his fingers even more, though he was careful not to crush the gadget. “I’ll show you, you damn fox!”

Notes:

Having noted that Miles didn't really kill anyone on his previous adventures, I thought it would be silly for the pilots of the previous Mecha Golems to make a return here, controlling a Sonic Mania boss no less. Don't worry, though, they're not about to become a recurring gag trio like Team Rocket or anything like that. I had a bit of fun bringing in the Boomering as well, further cementing Tails' Skypatrol's place in this AU. As for Speedy, what will he do, now that Dr. Robotnik has given him the chance to make a choice and he's perceived a sleight about his character from his rival?

Many thanks again for the comments, views, and kudos. To answer at least one without spoiling anything, Dr. Fukurokov's given name of Dmitri was something I came up with on the spot. I have read the Archie Comics in depth, though, and have recently gotten around to them once again, so perhaps the name of Knuckles' nemesis and relative was on my subconscious. Anyway, I'll catch you all next time!

Chapter 9: Metropolis Meetup

Summary:

Miles and Sonic crash the "party" the Kukkus have started in Metropolis, and friends are on the way. Meanwhile, internal upsets and resentment brew within the ranks of the would-be conquerors.

Notes:

The biggest chapter by far, which is only fitting, given how large Metropolis Zone is. And despite the direction of the story, the layout and climax of this 'level' in particular is probably the most true to the games out of those that've been showcased so far. I'm a lot more confident with this chapter than the previous one, though I'll leave that to the readers to determine if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“There he is!” Gizmo called out as she spotted the familiar form of the Sea Fox descending towards the five of them.

To avoid attracting too much attention from other citizens, or the Empire, the group had moved to the small plain between Casino Night and Hill Top. The she-wolf then had Remi track her comm signal to home in on, and from there, it had been a matter of waiting.

Now that they were seeing the robot for the first time in another form, both Charmy and Espio were intrigued, though the latter kept his interest visibly more reserved. Vector, however, was focused on a different matter when he gave the Sea Fox a once over.

“How’re we gonna fit?” he asked as he pointed out the rather snug cockpit, “looks like you could barely get two in there!”

Espio was also concerned by how they would manage that feat, but then, he noticed that the twins weren’t worried. They first opened a panel on the side of the Sea Fox, where they dug out replacement belts for the ones they’d lost. The red wolf also swapped out his pair of gloves for another that was identical, except that they were fingerless, displaying the black claws he had at the end of his vermilion digits. The siblings loaded up each pouch with a different object, the amount of which struck him as odd. It was almost like the storage could hold more than would be possible for its size.

From there, Gadget hopped in the pilot’s seat and checked over the instruments, while Gizmo leapt atop the vehicle and took position near the right fin. Charmy, meanwhile, floated on over next to the red wolf and made to perch on the edge of his shoulder. Just before he did, there was a gentle poof of smoke, and the bee was suddenly a fraction of his normal size, no bigger than Gadget’s hand. The chameleon blinked, having been thrown for a loop as he watched the bespectacled canine glance over in the insect’s direction and smile amicably. The one wearing goggles couldn’t help laughing as she saw Vector’s jaw drop at the sight of the tiny bee.

“Three, actually, thanks to Charmy’s ‘flight mode’ there,” Gizmo answered, clicking the grapplers on her wrists.

The big young crocodile gawped at that, then scowled at the teen insect. “Since when could you do that!?”

“Since always,” Charmy replied in a much higher voice, still chipper as ever, “I just haven’t had to use it since I met you guys.”

Espio shook his head and allowed himself a slight smirk, contrasting the other reptile’s voluminous grumbling. Gadget chuckled softly, clearing his throat once he’d had his fill of amusement.

“In any case, one of you gets to ride with Charmy and I,” the wolf said, then peered up at his sister, “while the other one gets to surf on the roof with...Gizmo. It's going to take a bit to get used to that.”

Vector was about ready to throw his hand in the air, only to have Espio lightly slap it down midway. The larger Animal glared, but the smaller one paid it no mind.

“I will ride on the outside with her,” the chameleon volunteered calmly.

The purple lizard vanished out of sight for a blink, reappearing atop the Sea Fox with his head bowed and arms crossed, one foot braced against the left fin. The croc let out a puff of air as he reluctantly strolled over and climbed in behind the red wolf. A gleam showed in Vector’s eyes as he scanned over all the buttons, switches, and knobs, his hands twitching. Charmy appeared to be on the same wavelength, as he also felt the temptation to mess with the extensive console in front of them. But, to their disappointment, when their gloves pressed and moved a few of the controls, nothing happened.

“Miles made it so that, unless he overrides it, only those with genetic registration can have their input received,” Gadget remarked as he wiggled his bare fingers at them, “meaning him, my sister, and myself. It helps keep Remi out of enemy hands,” he paused as he gave the two younger Animals a knowing look, “and reckless ones.”

Vector withdrew and folded his arms, turning his head away and pretending he hadn’t just tried anything. Charmy stuck out his tongue and returned to his place on Gadget’s shoulder, humming and idly kicking his legs. The wolf tapped at a few more commands, closing the canopy and engaging the vertical thrusters. As the Sea Fox gradually rose into the air, Gizmo fired her right grappler so that the cable wrapped around the base of the fin, tugging her wrist to make sure it was good and tight. She watched as Espio knelt down and rested one hand on his own fin, the other one placed down against the surface with his palm flat.

“You might not be anchored enough there,” she warned him in a half-playful tone, “Remi here can get mighty fast.”

Her companion smiled politely and waved off her concern. “I will endure it, as I have other trials."

"Suit yourself," said the verdigris canid as she grinned, "I've got Gadget's grappler primed just in case you go flying."

With the flip of a switch and the pull of a lever, the jet engine on the back of the craft roared. The Sea Fox lurched forward, causing the two on top to buckle and nearly get thrown back by the force. Gizmo thanked the wire for keeping her steady, and was impressed to see that despite having no tether himself, Espio kept hold well enough. With how hard the wind was whipping, the she-wolf was forced to slide her goggles down, while the chameleon kept his eyes shut.

Inside the cramped cabin, Vector was pinned against the back of the dome, suddenly thankful he wasn’t the one riding on the outside. Charmy cheerfully resisted the g-forces acting on him by clinging to Gadget’s shoulder with one hand, the other pumped in an excited fist.

“Woo! Hang on, buddy, we’re coming!” the bee proclaimed, pointing determinedly at the steadily approaching skyline of Metropolis outlined against the fading daylight.


The GBK was in a rather good mood, all things considered. They’d laid an effective siege on the nearby city, brought home a slew of prospective soldiers (avian or not, numbers were numbers), and procured enough materials to finish the doctor’s latest and possibly greatest weapon ahead of schedule. Best of all, he’d expected two Emeralds to be delivered, only for twice as many to fall in his lap when Speedy and Fukurokov had returned. Only another pair remained, then the world would belong to the Empire.

There was the unfortunate damage to his son’s exosuit, as well as the loss of the latest Mecha Golem. It also irritated him that Speedy, great as he was, was also apparently lacking in battle. Not only did he let the fox get the upper hand, he allowed his guard to drop when the doctor came to aid him. It was utterly embarrassing that the successor bearing the family name had performed so poorly. Even that last hit he got in on one of the teen's allies meant little in the grand scheme. At this rate, even if they won, that boy wouldn't be ready to assume his rightful responsibilities.

On the other hand, while Dmitri had been the one to inflict the most harm on Speedy, the Emperor reserved his anger; the boy should've been able to dodge it anyway. Besides, the aging engineer had been the one to snatch three of the Emeralds, and unlike the prince, had forced Prower to team up with his friends. True, the owl still lost in the end, but at least the enemy hadn't managed to steal the gems back from him. That the frail old bird had done this much, nevermind his other contributions, was worthy of recognition. To show how...magnanimous he was, he'd done away with the punishments he'd planned for the doctor after their victory.

Speedy had been furious at that. The heir hadn't spoken out, but the GBK had seen the smoldering in his son's eyes. The boy had been off lately, ever since Miles came knocking around again. He'd been restless and yet contemplative, though reticent to share his thoughts. It also seemed he harbored greater resentment towards the doctor, especially following the most recent mission.

'He was insistent on seeing the progress of our new weapon, too,' the leader considered, 'though if he thinks he'll be along for the maiden voyage, then he's mistaken unless he makes up for his faults.'

His ruminations were interrupted by one of the combatants at communications standing up straight with start. The little bird spun around and stiffly saluted, sweat running down his brow.

"Milord, units in Metropolis requesting immediate support!" he reported succinctly.

The GBK peered his way and nodded at the monitor in the center of the command room. "Open visual channels. I want an idea of the resistance before sending reinforcements."

The operators did as ordered, retrieving the feed from the survey drones they sent out. The sight that met them made their commander grip at his armrest so firmly, his fingers started denting the metal. Several cameras were inactive, indicating that the drones had either been disabled or destroyed. And in many more shots, the GBK saw his soldiers in rather bad shape. Walkers and pods were utterly scrapped, troops were laid out or recuperating, and the ruined shells of Badniks littered the streets along with the Animals the Empire had slain. His eyes darted over to one video, where he saw the perpetrators responsible.

That amber fox and his new blue hedgehog ally were blitzing through the city in the direction of the factory in front of the Battle Fortress. The former was cloaked in cyan light, bouncing between Badniks, Robo Kukkus, and ground troops like a pinball. The latter picked up the rear, taking out any stragglers that the older Animal passed by with little trouble himself. Closer examinations revealed that, for the most part, their forces had been struck in their most vulnerable spots, whether physical or mechanical, minimizing the effort needed to take them down. It was a brutal efficiency that the Emperor could respect, though the fact that his greatest foe was the one employing it just made him all the more livid. And at their speed, those two would be at the manufacturing plant soon.

“Put Dr. Fukurokov on the line,” he ordered, taking in a few breaths while he lifted his specs and rubbed tiredly at his eyes.

A moment later, the engineer was on-screen, tapping away at his console. Upon seeing his leader, he snapped to attention.

“Is there something you need of me, Your Majesty?” he inquired.

“Prower has entered Metropolis and is currently heading east to our position,” the GBK informed the doctor, “he’ll be at the factory any minute.” He slammed a fist down on the edge of his throne, startling the old bird. “Use whatever is at your disposal to keep him from sabotaging our operations and reaching the Battle Fortress.” He grinned maliciously, something that sent shivers down the owl’s back and made him involuntarily gulp down a mouthful of air. “Don’t disappoint me as we near the last hurdle, Dmitri.”

Dr. Fukurokov wasn’t even given a chance to respond before the feed was cut. The old bird engaged the lift to Ovi’s chamber, hoping that the man had something good for him. He wasn’t ready to send out their bigger guns yet, especially as those were needed onboard the station. There were also more subjects that needed to be converted, so he couldn’t go out himself. And who knew where the prince was after he excused himself from the debriefing?

When he arrived, however, he found neither hide nor mustache hair of the human. The work table where he’d been drawing up blueprints was bereft of papers and instruments, save for a curious disc-shaped object and a note. The doctor waddled over and snatched up the latter, adjusting his spiral glasses as he examined.

“‘To my friend, Dmitri,’” he mumbled, “‘please accept this notice of my resignation’!?” His gnarled hands nearly tore at the edges of the paper from how they trembled. “‘I am thankful for being able to achieve some of my dream designs with your aid, though I regret that I cannot stick around to see them take off. You know how it is, places to go, weapons to make, people to peddle them off to. More lucrative than world domination, though not that different if you think big enough. Maybe I’ll build that theme park, too, once I can afford it. Anyway, I hope what you’ve gleaned from my work will help with your future endeavors. Sincerely, Dr. Ivo Robotnik.

“‘P.S. I have decided to keep one project we’d been working on as my personal intellectual property. And a significant number of your more useful tools and designs. Also a reasonable contingent of Badniks. Think of it as payment for my services in lieu of legal tender.’”

Dr. Fukurokov shredded the note, then hastily went back up the lift to his lab and bolted out the door as fast as his aching bones would allow. He made his way to the elevator, where a couple of grunts were in the car that arrived. They saluted and moved aside, giving him plenty of space.

“Take me to the main vehicle bay, now!” he growled at them.

The combatants knew better than to question their superiors when they were in a mood and subsequently brought the elevator to where he’d demanded. They escorted him through the gunmetal gray hold lined with all their forms of transport and combat, from the little walkers to large cruisers. When the doctor reached one particular corner of the bay, he was further incensed to see a bare spot that he was expecting to be filled.

“That bloated bastard took the prototype hoverpod!” he screeched, stamping one foot childishly, “I hadn’t finished getting all the specifications for it and he knew that! If I ever get my talons on him...”

The two combatants glanced at each other as their Number Three devolved into a tantrum. Today certainly was a mixed bag for one of their longest serving members.

“Scramble, damn you!” the owl commanded them, “His Majesty needs all available units to apprehend the fox!”


The front entrance of Metropolitan Industries was blown off its hinges as Miles plowed through the doors with a Chaos-powered Rolling Attack. To say that the open-air factory was massive was an understatement. It was like a town unto itself with its metallic green roads, towering brick and steel structures, tunnels composed of copper mesh cylinders, giant screws and lug nuts, and pipes of all shapes and sizes transporting all manners of materials. It was the sort of place that Miles would have loved, were it not being used for nefarious purposes.

"Slow down, big guy!" Sonic called after the fox, a bit surprised with himself, "man, I’ve never had to say that before."

The teen barely heard him, slamming into the knees of a walker with a Spin Dash and making it crumple.

“You’ve seen what they’ll do, Sonic!” he shouted, “we have to take them down before it gets worse!”

He jumped and rolled over two pistons, riding the centripetal force of a mesh cylinder and then grinding up an incline. He pounced up a gap and propelled himself off a makeshift spring, Rolling up into an Attack that dismantled another barrier. The fox was given little time before a crab Badnik launched its larger pincer his way, which he avoided easily enough. Still clutching the cyan Emerald, Miles flipped over a second strike meant for him and delivered a fearsome ax kick to the main body, scrapping it with ease.

A pair of presses slammed up and down a handful of meters away, seeming a hazardous obstacle. Miles contended with them by tossing a pair of bombs at the base of their structure, making them fall apart and allowing the two to pull through the now-vacant gap unabated. They dropped through two shutters before they came to a road that would lead them higher or lower into the facility, electing to take the former of the two options. One of the many mantid Badniks that they’d encountered along the way stood in their path, flinging its scythe-like forearms at the fox. He bounded over the projectiles as though they were in slow motion, then caved the robot’s head in with the Pikkon Hammer.

The two Rolled up and coasted down a steep decline that took them to a copper platform. It sank down once it registered their weight, bringing them into a hall where they passed through a second cylinder and found a floor switch. Shutters opened up, the pair dashing across a short stretch and dodging a second pair of giant pistons before coming to an odd groove in the terrain. Using momentum, the fox and hedgehog followed the curve and propelled themselves up a tall shaft lined with numerous yellow bumpers that served to bounce them to the top.

There, they encountered a team of four Robo Kukkus, all of which emerged from production pods, primed and ready. Their sights locked onto Miles and they opened their beaks, firing a volley of energy his way. The fox leapt over the blasts and whipped his tails to boost forward, Rolling up and smashing one of the machines to bits. The others scattered, repositioning themselves to try and gain an advantage over their foe. Sonic seized the opportunity, given that the Robo Kukkus weren’t paying him any mind, and threw the Boomering at one of them. The projectile latched onto the leg of the robot maneuvering behind Miles, dragging it back to him and delivering it into his arms. The hedgehog hurled it at the one to the fox’s left, causing both Robo Kukkus to fall to the ground at the same time the teen dismantled the third one with a quick and strong hammer blow. He holstered his melee weapon, then reached into one pouch and flung a bomb at the remaining two stunned robots, a shower of shrapnel following as the explosion consumed them both.

Miles didn’t wait to catch his breath before destroying the pods and moving on, momentarily leaving Sonic behind. But, the hoglet was by his side just as they came to another tunnel, scaling a half-pipe incline and bouncing off a few more bumpers to reach a higher point in the factory, where a huge lug nut rested at the bottom of a towering bolt. The boys leapt atop the huge hunk of metal and started to run, feeling the nut rotate beneath them and steadily ascend up the access shaft. Around the halfway mark, Sonic pointed out a pair of light yellow starfish machines with gray holes in their cores that contained red eyes, and each of their five points had gray spear tips. Just as both Animals noticed them, the robots seemingly self-destructed, firing their spines at their targets.

Miles grabbed Sonic with his free hand and hopped high in the air, handily avoiding the spear tips and then putting his two tails to work. Once at the top of the passage, the fox saw that they had yet further to climb, or they could take a detour. The hedgehog coaxed him on the former option, and to make the journey faster, he tapped into the Emerald’s power to increase his vertical speed. They passed and ascended another two nut and bolt towers, coming to a copper platform that moved on a track the moment they touched down. While thankful to rest his tails, Miles wasn’t given much time, as a large group of starfish Badniks exploded above them, sending down a rain of spikes. Sonic threw up the Boomering to try and swat some away, while Miles threw out a couple bombs to blow them off course.

While not all of them were redirected, dodging the remainder was relatively easy, even with the limited space. At the end of the track was another mantis Badnik, which was downed by the Boomering before it could throw out its blades. Crossing two gaps lined with more yellow bumpers, the boys felt the air rapidly heat up. After a dozen or so meters, they stopped in front of a pool of molten metal with two conveyor belts carrying tiny platforms up and down.

“That’s not very safety compliant,” Sonic quipped.

Miles nodded and crossed his arms. “Yeah, but it’s no problem for guys like us. You want to clear this in style?”

“Style is my middle name,” the hedgehog said cockily.

The fox smirked. “I thought it was ‘the’.”

“Ahah, let’s hear more talk like that. Folks like a wisecracking hero, after all!”

Miles rolled his eyes, but smiled all the same. "Come on, let's do this flashily."

The fox charged up a Spin Dash and took off, rolling down a brief slope and then jumping right at the edge. He soared over the expanse of bubbling fire and landed atop a platform on the further belt. Sonic was right behind him as he leapt to one of the bits of metal on the first belt, springing off of it on his hands. He flipped a few times in the air, then threw the Boomering so that it tethered to one of Miles' tails. The fox curled his rear limbs like a catcher's mitt, providing a cushiony landing for the incoming cobalt sphere. A few seconds later, when they reached the top of the belt, Miles used his tails like a catapult, hurtling Sonic through the air towards the other side. He went after the younger boy, performing a couple of tricks as he did so, like grabbing his heels with one hand and making a peace sign with the other. One after the other, they stuck a three-point landing, giving each other a thumbs-up.

After their short celebration, they came to an access point that, much like the ones in the Chemical Plant, forced them to Roll and shot them through the tube. Many yellow bumpers bounced them up the shaft on the other side, right into the path of a mantis and a pair of Kukku grenadiers. In tandem with the robot’s blades, the birds tossed their own bombs at the boys, reaching into their belts to grab more. The ceiling in this corridor was low, but just high enough for Miles to lift himself and Sonic out of harm’s way. He lobbed the younger Animal over the mantis, the blue boy Rolling into one of the grenadiers and knocking him flat. The other was about to retaliate with a second explosive, but Sonic reacted faster, snatching it out of the avian’s hand with the Boomering. He kicked the bomb towards the insect Badnik, which was summarily dispatched, while Miles closed the distance and, with a swift blow to the neck, sent the remaining Kukku to join his unconscious friend.

Now unimpeded, the duo descended down a corridor with two colossal cogs at work, followed by a small pool of molten metal with two copper platforms above it with cross-shaped patterns and holes in the center of each side. Right as they were going to jump, Miles and Sonic stopped upon seeing spear points shoot out of said holes. Erring on the side of caution, they simply took several steps back, then dashed and leapt over the gap to the other side. The boys hopped up a high ledge and used the lug nut they found to go up the bolt shaft. They spotted two more of the starfish Badniks, though they could make out a passage that was almost hidden in some nearby copper mesh. Just as the robots did their thing, they ducked into the opening and came out in a brief drop towards another lug nut.

Sonic and Miles found themselves over yet more hot metal, but there was a safe path for them close to the end of the bolt. The two took this route, jumping across a short gap and continuing on through an automatic door, nearly running right into another crab Badnik. Miles flew above its restrictive punching range and used a Drop Attack to make quick work of it, leading him and the hoglet to a large chamber. A moving platform, two huge cogs, a vertically moving platform, and another of those spear cubes filled the space, with two openings at the top. Boring though it may have been, the fox went with the practical approach, once more lifting himself and his partner towards one of the presumed exits.

They went through a mesh cylinder and up another half-pipe curve, and kept on rising through the facility. Two bolts awaited them to scale, along with three mantids that were easily dealt with, now that the boys were quite familiar with how they operated. Flying to the highest part of this next chamber, Miles and Sonic used another access point that put them in front of a sliding door. On the other side, they continued upwards, utilizing two sets of yellow bumpers to make it to the top of the next stretch. Two more conveyor belts with platforms were there, and thankfully not dipping into metallic magma. Miles gave his tails a breather and rode the makeshift lifts with his friend up to the outcropping at the end. They passed through yet another cylinder, used a moving platform to reach yet more bumpers, and finally came out to a more open part of the town-sized factory.

It was here, however, that there were also several assembly lines and production pods that were hastily putting together more simple walkers, hoverpods, and Robo Kukkus. The latter of these constructs already had a few rows that hadn’t been shipped out, all of which flickered to life the moment the two organic beings got close enough. The fox briskly counted their number, figuring them to be a few dozen strong, then pulled out the other Emerald and put the two gems into his tail fur for a moment as he tossed his utility belt to the hedgehog.

“We don’t have time for this! Every moment we’re delayed could mean more deaths and converts!” Miles growled, once more taking up the stones in his hands, “get out of my way, you defective rubbish!”

A cyan aura wrapped around his form, accentuated by small flashes and arcs of white lightning. His sclera seemed to glow along with the electric-blue shade and crackling his irises displayed, and his hair stood up as though it was charged with static. When the Robo Kukkus moved to engage, that’s when the chaos happened. Sonic flipped open the bomb pouch and scattered almost the entire remaining stockpile into the air around the massive area, letting them rain down on the crowd and the assembly lines. Miles, now wielding two Emeralds, revved up a Spin Dash and released a miniature sonic boom as he barreled into the horde of artificial birds, the shockwave knocking many down and into the path of the falling explosives. He ricocheted off several of the machines before he uncurled, aiming the cyan Emerald at few more and letting loose a volleyball-sized sphere that matched the mineral’s color. He would dodge and counter as needed, switching between Rolls, Jumps, and Spin Dashes as needed, using the gem’s power a tad more sparingly to attack from a distance and heal injuries he sustained.

One after another, Robo Kukkus fell to the fox’s onslaught and the hedgehog’s improvisation, not to mention the spiny kid’s own natural talents and use of the Pikkon Hammer. They eventually started dealing more damage to the production itself, and in the end, every last robot and vehicle, along with their means of creation, had been put out of commission. While the action had felt as though it dragged on, it had been a brief affair overall, though it still left the two panting a bit. Miles retrieved his belt and put the two Emeralds away, then took a moment to sit down.

“That might have saved us some time and effort, but I need a few moments,” the fox said as he panted, one hand rubbing his forehead, “it’s been a while since I’ve concurrently tapped into more than one Emerald.”

Sonic wore a worried frown at his partner’s winded state. “You haven’t stopped using one until now, ever since we saw those folks in the streets...I’m upset, too. But, don’t push yourself too hard, big guy. We’ve still got the final fight to deal with!”

“I’ll be alright, kid,” Miles attested, running a hand through his hair to smooth it down, “I just need to collect myself.”

It took a little longer than he would’ve liked, but the teen soon felt good enough to get going again. At the end of their path was a set of brown platforms that led them out to a structure being moved counterclockwise by two immense cogs. They used this to reach an access point that was guarded by one of the punching crab Badniks, handily taking care of it before entering and moving on. The boys cleared the second set of cogs they’d found in this part of the complex, timed a sprint across a couple large pistons, and came to a bend that put them at the base of a nut and bolt shaft. The fox’s ears perked up at the pop that he’d come to associate with the exploding starfish, grabbing his partner and diving beneath the lug nut to weather the rain of spear legs.

Once clear, Miles and Sonic worked together to get the nut to the next ledge, where they discovered a huge platform much like the one they encountered at the start of this area. The boys rode it up to a red spring, which they utilized to Roll up the wall and along the ceiling through an automatic door. The two balls of fur and spines kept up the pace to a half-pipe rise, leaping from the outcropping there to a higher ledge. A lengthy mesh cylinder exited out to an access tube that left the two in front of a steam press that frequently rose and fell. The pair hopped atop it, and at the apex, used the force beneath their feet to gain some extra air and reach lines of yellow bumpers further up the walls.

They ended up in a long corridor with three conveyor belts, a couple more steam presses, and a small pool of hot metal. The fox backed up the hedgehog once they cleared the final gap, propelling themselves up and landing in front of a mantis. The hoglet reacted quickly and Jumped at the thing just as it threw its sickles, crumpling it on impact. Miles made to avoid the blades, but moved more sluggish than he’d been expecting and took a hit to his left shoulder and one of his tails.

“Augh!” he cried out, dropping to his knees as he clutched his other arm and flipped his affected tail over his lap.

He’d lost some fur and was bleeding considerably, but it thankfully appeared to be nothing worse than moderate lacerations. With the same arm that had crimson dripping into the amber and tawny fluff, he reached into his belt and brought out the cyan Emerald. Through gritted teeth and icy hot pain, he mended the tears in his body back together, letting out a strained sigh once the energy faded.

“Easy, buddy,” Sonic said as he helped the fox back to his feet, “you’re getting sloppy. Maybe we should rest a bit more before we move on.”

Miles pocketed his gem and shook his head, resting a hand on the other boy’s shoulder. “No, I’m good. We just have a little further to go, right?”

The hedgehog said nothing after that, choosing to silently follow his partner up more yellow bumpers. With considerably more effort than he’d needed to expend prior, Miles carried them above and beyond a set of spear cubes and molten metal to a set of three cogs. Past the highest of these rotating parts was one more access port, though there were two mantids waiting on the other side, one on ground level and the other latched onto the ceiling. Not wanting his friend to suffer more of the same, Sonic hurled the Boomering at the upside down insect Badnik while using a Spin Dash to close in on the second. The weapon did its job on the first one, and the boy made sure the other focused its attention on him as it let loose. He Jumped over the blades at the last instant and brought down the second robot, catching the Boomering right after uncurling.

They ascended one nut and bolt shaft, then another right near the top of the first. Five successive pops sounded off, forcing the two to dodge and duck for cover under another volley of starfish spines. Afterwards, they spun the nut up the second bolt and bounded into yet another tube for them to be fired through. The path ended at a copper platform on a track that appeared to go over to the roof of an entirely separate building in the complex. But further east, about another kilometer or so away, was the shadow of the colossal Kukku craft that the fox knew all too well.

“There it is, Sonic,” Miles said grimly, “the Empire’s main base and greatest weapon: the Battle Fortress. Of course, it’s partly submerged at the moment, so that’s not its true size.” He scanned around the area, noting how open it was, then nodded towards the seeming end of their trek through Metropolitan Industries. “That roof over there would be a good open spot for the others to meet up with us. Then we can make a plan of attack that’ll allow us to get in, grab the Emeralds, and cripple the Battle Fortress, not to mention foil whatever else they’ve hatched up.”

With step one right in front of them, the fox and the hedgehog rode on the platform over the vast chasm between buildings. It was only when they looked down did they realize they were at dizzying heights, comparable to skyscrapers in other parts of the city. And upon arriving at the other side, they encountered a sight that neither had been expecting.

There was a rotund man sitting in a small, egg-shaped hovercraft with black and yellow hazard stripes on the sides. It had a black circular hemispherical underside, rocket engines on the rear for propulsion and a small circular lamp on the front. The cockpit itself had a comfortable driving seat, a small windshield, and a control system that would’ve confused most minds. Not the fellow that was driving it, though, for he was none other than the one that had designed it, as well as many other things the Empire had made use of.

“Wo-ohohohoho!” the big fellow chortled, peering down at the Animals through his pince-nez specs, “so this is the mighty Miles Prower and his little sidekick.” He frowned, leaning in to get a better look at the hedgehog. “Huh, you seem familiar, for some reason.”

Sonic’s eyes widened as he did the same, stroking under his chin and furrowing his brow. “No way. Is that you, Mr. Tinker?”

“Ugh, I hate that name,” the man grumbled, sitting up straighter in his seat, “my real name is Dr. Ivo Robotnik, you furry little freak! And I am an unrivaled scientific genius, one unlike any the world has ever seen!”

Miles ran a hand over his face and sighed. He already had enough on his plate dealing with one evil scientific engineer that proclaimed himself as an unmatched visionary. He was a bit curious about Sonic’s connection to the human, though that would have to wait. The fox had a bad feeling about where this strange sort-of reunion was going to go.

“And until recently, I had offered my services to the Battle Kukku Empire,” Ivo went on, sweeping his arms in a wide and grand gesture, “now that I’m freelancing again, I think I’ll set up shop in this wonderful little factory.” He growled as he pointed at Miles. Scores of Badniks filed in around and behind him, composed of all sorts of land and air-based creatures they’d seen up to this point, as well as some that they hadn’t yet fought. “So, away, before I make mincemeat out of you, fox boy!”

The fox cast his eyes the doctor’s way, then all around at the horde of robots to contend with. While he was reluctant to admit it, the frequent and extensive usage of the Emeralds was starting to take a toll. On top of all the events that had transpired since that morning after leaving Casino Night, he was really feeling the fatigue starting to set in. Engaging a foe he knew little about aside from his contributions to the Kukkus wasn’t the wisest move, even if he was familiar with how most of the Badniks operated. Retreating and recuperating before the storm to come would be the better move here.

‘I can’t just let someone else terrorize the people around here, though,’ he debated internally, ‘ooh, guess I’ll just have to grit my teeth and dig my heels in.’

Just as he was about to dig in, Miles’ sharp ears tilted in the direction of a far-off sound. It rapidly grew closer, becoming more clear and distinct, and after a few seconds, he recognized it as the roar of the Sea Fox’s jet engine. He turned his head and saw the flying form of his little robot diving from the orange and red skies towards their position.


(Some minutes ago...)

“Yo, captain,” Vector said as he leaned into the back of the pilot seat, “you seem kinda tense. Everything alright?”

Gadget kept his arms close and his form hunched over the console as he meticulously monitored and worked the controls. He wiped sweat off his brow with the back of his glove, glancing out at the city and the ominous form of the Battle Fortress.

“Today was the first time in a while sis and I’ve had to fight,” the red wolf told the young reptile, “and now we’re about to go for the main target itself.” He swallowed nervously. “I just...with what happened earlier, I’m afraid I might not be up to snuff.”

Charmy, who’d moved to the top of his friend’s head in the interim, gave him a pat between his curved ears.

“Well, Miles wouldn’t have asked you to help if he thought you’d get in the way, you know?” the bee reasoned in his ever optimistic way, “besides, we’ve got your back!”

Gadget smiled appreciatively. Miles was always supportive, and while Gizmo sometimes gave him a hard time, that was just part and parcel of being his sibling. Having another old friend here as well helped quell his doubts, as did the additional help that he brought with him.

But before he could get too lost in his thoughts, a loud and consistent series of beeps blared to his right. The wolf glanced over, noticing a blinking dot at the top of the craft’s radar, which lined up close to where the Battle Fortress was. It seemed to be coming from a sprawling industrial complex that was lit up even more than much of the rest of Metropolis. He figured that was the signal from the Miles Electric, and by extension, where Miles would be. And as they drew closer, a rapid succession of orange flashes lit up part of the factory, smoking soon billowing up from those spots.

“When I told Miles we’d look for the place with the most explosions, I didn’t think he’d take it to heart,” Gadget muttered, “I better hurry if he’s in trouble.”

He tilted forward on the throttle and leaned into the yoke, urging their ride to go into a fast and deep dive. Meanwhile, atop the Sea Fox, Gizmo had also caught sight of the distant blasts. The increased velocity made her tremble with anticipation, and she turned to Espio with a thrilled glint in her eyes.

“Hey!” she yelled over the turbulent winds, “looks like the fun’s already starting! Time for us to get in on it!”

Before the chameleon could ask her anything about it, the she-wolf grappled the other fin, thankfully without tying him up in the process. His mouth slightly gaped as Gizmo let the gusts blow her off of the Sea Fox, only for the cables to keep her from going further than a few meters. She wasn’t helpless, though, not from the way she extended her arms out in front of her and straightened her body. It appeared that she intended to make quite the entrance, and judging from the vehicle’s adjustments during flight, Gadget was on board with the plan, no doubt wise to his sister’s shenanigans. The few minutes it took for them to close in on their destination felt like a slow crawl until things started to come into view. There was a lone, but tall building on the edge of the facility, where amber and blue dots grew steadily bigger, as did a number of other shiny and colorful figures. Within a few more seconds, they were on top of the big group, Gadget yanking back hard on the yoke to pull up at the last moment.

“I’m gonna rock you, baby,” Gizmo sang out, narrowing her eyes on the most ideal target, “like a wrecking ball!”

The teal wolf used the wires and sudden change of direction to swing herself like what she’d described into the apparent ringleader of the gaggle of robots, curling up into a Rolling Attack to help complete the image. The hoverpod she slammed into went careening off to one side, with all the present Badniks looking on as their master struggled to right himself. She disconnected the cables, recalled them to her as she unfurled, and stuck a four-point landing just a few meters away from the fox and the hedgehog. A cloud of smoke burst next to her, clearing away to reveal a cool and collected Espio with a few throwing stars between his fingers as he stared down the enemy group. A few seconds later, the Sea Fox touched down as well, Gadget hopping out of the seat and pulling Vector to his feet, with Charmy buzzing out and returning to his full size. Once Gizmo tossed her brother his grappler back, the five arrivals gathered up around the fox and the hedgehog.

Miles let out a relieved puff through his nose. Now that everyone else was here, he could allow himself to relax a little. Or at least, he would have liked that, but the doctor didn’t appear the type to let that happen. Ivo flew back onto the scene, his face as red as the rest of his coat as he stared down the seven Animals.

“More miserable miscreants!” he cursed, grinding his teeth, “you all are trespassing on my property!”

Remi returned to its master’s side and went into pack form, whereupon it was returned to its rightful place over his shoulders. Once he put the utility belt into storage, the fox stepped to the front of the group along with his hedgehog partner.

“Really? Where’s your property deed?” Miles quipped, smirking when the man’s scowl grew. He flipped a hand through his bangs and let out an exaggerated sigh. “Look, doc, I’ll admit that your hoverpod looks way nicer than any of the Kukku models, and your robots are better put together.” He then frowned himself, mirroring the pointing gesture the human had used mere moments ago. “But given how much you’ve done for the Empire, I can’t just walk away and let you do what you want!”

Sonic mimicked his friend, though his expression was more confident. "I thought you were this cool guy I knew, but if you're not ol' Ovi, then you're just a faker! Better get ready, Eggman!"

"He kinda does look like an egg, doesn't he?" Charmy laughed.

His cheeriness infected the others and got them to join in with varying levels of amusement. The fox and the red wolf quietly chuckled, while the teal wolf and the croc were more open in their derision, and the chameleon settled for a wry smile. Predictably, the balding man was further infuriated by the unflattering nickname he'd been designated.

"Mock me, will you?" he growled, slamming his hands down on his console so hard, the pod rocked a bit, "I was nice enough to let you leave, but it seems Dmitri overestimated your intelligence, you mangy canine!”

“Vulpine,” Miles corrected him, “foxes are canids, but not canines like wolves, coyotes, and jackals are. You fail at taxonomy, genius.”

The grin left over from his little laugh widened as he spotted a noticeable bulging blood vessel in the man’s forehead. Good, he was easy to rile up, just like the old owl. And it was in that moment of unchecked anger that Ivo decided he’d had enough of being made a fool of.

“Badniks!” he bellowed as he pressed a few buttons. Seven mechanical orbs about a quarter the size of the hoverpod flew out and began revolving around it in myriad directions, but always maintaining a ring formation. “Dispose of this smart-ass and all the rest!”

The swarm of robots heeded their master’s orders and surged forth. Miles and Sonic both met the front line with a coordinated Spin Dash, breaking through a group of ladybug Badniks before splitting up. The fox focused on the big boss himself, whipping out the cyan Emerald and whipping his tails behind him to get a running start. Dr. Robotnik changed the course of his orbitals and aimed the lamp of his hoverpod at the fox, the light changing from yellow to hot white. Miles panted as he dodged around the energy blasts that came his way, but only just. Even with the gem’s power, it was getting harder to fight against the growing fatigue, and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep it up. Nevertheless, he managed to close in on Ivo and slam into the underside of his vehicle with a Rolling Jump, knocking the man back and away a fair bit. One of the pods around the doctor desynced from the others and transformed into what appeared to be an inflatable decoy of his. The fox’s curiosity as to what it could do was sated when Espio flung a shuriken he’d already drawn at it, which caused an explosion comparable to one of the Sea Fox’s torpedoes.

As Miles planned another angle of attack and contended with some of the rabble, Sonic leapt over his head and smashed into two hornet Badniks, then tossed the Boomering at one of the eagle robots circling above. It squawked in confusion as it found itself unwillingly giving a ride to the hoglet, rolling, diving, and rising to try and shake him off, but to no avail. The spiny boy jerked the machine’s head this way and that to alter its course, weaving through the other Badniks to get an opening on the doctor. The man brought up his defensive ring to try and knock the kid out of the air, but Sonic ejected just before the eagle crashed. With his own Jump, he caused a small spider web of cracks to form in the windshield, as well as a big dent in the metal beneath it. This released another bomb decoy, one that would have collided with him if he wasn't yanked back by a sudden tug around his waist. The hedgehog looked back to see that Gizmo had been the one to genuinely pull him out of danger.

"Keep it up, spiny boy!" the she-wolf said encouragingly after she caught him.

Gizmo then whirled him around and sent him soaring back into the fray before she detached her grappling wire. From there, she lashed the end of it against the decoy, triggering its payload and taking out a few Badniks that had been nearby. As she recalled the cable, she sifted through one pouch and brought out what appeared to be a compact beam pistol with royal purple and silver trim. She fired in quick succession at an oncoming trio of red and silver triceratops with wheels much like the ladybugs. They were replaced by yet more punching crabs, whose massive pinchers she rolled to one side to avoid. But before she could answer in kind, someone else jumped in to help.

It was Vector, who batted away one claw, then grabbed another when it was just short of socking him, swinging the Badnik into another unit and breaking them both. He went on to bite through the metal of a lady bug that tried to ram him, chucking it towards a couple more with a flick of his head. Gizmo had read that some Animals were very strong even when they're young, but seeing it in action was something else. Even more eye-opening was that the crocodile wheeled about to meet another oncoming mob and opened his jaws to unleash a gout of flame! While this slagged most of the wave, a crab managed to make it through and made a swing for the boy, but he was ready for it, stepping to the side and seizing its limb.

"You call that a punch?" he scoffed as he squeezed down on the oversized claw, "lemme show ya a real man’s punch!"

Vector yanked the Badnik his way and threw a powerful straight with his other fist, sending it flying...whereupon it smacked right into the side of Dr. Robotnik's hoverpod.

“Oh, come on!” Ivo griped as a third orbital came free and buoyed through the air in the direction of the crocodile, “that was a fluke!”

What wasn’t a chance shot was the follow-up star that Espio threw through the decoy, leaving the doctor with nearly half the orbs he started with. The chameleon darted around the rooftop, his agility so great that he appeared to be in multiple places at once. A swift kick here and a pinpoint chop there was applied to a weak point of each Badnik he met during his rush, taking them down and moving on before they could retaliate. There came a moment where he was surrounded, and though the doctor would assume the reptile to be trapped, it was far from the truth for Espio. He lunged for the nearest Badnik, a pink and gold caterpillar with spikes along its spine, extending his arms and then proceeding to rapidly spin his body around. The chameleon collided with the robot, dismantling it as one of his hands chopped through its head, and was soon bouncing off of others like a runaway top.

“Behold, ninja power!” Espio shouted as used his rotation to produce a small, but strong whirlwind to blow away a line of mantids and their blades, then suddenly vanished from sight.

Despite the mayhem, Charmy was having fun. He dipped down and punctured one of the ladybug Badniks, bringing it up as a sort of shield as he flew backwards. The impromptu cover protected him from the projectiles of the hornets, leaving him free to ram into them and use them to replace his backside coverage as needed. He lured eagles and fly bots over to Gadget, where the wolf reached into one pouch with his right hand, retrieving a tiny cocoon-like device as well as a black palm-sized disc. As soon as the bee ascended to shake off his pursuers, the canine threw the small object on the ground in front of him and pressed on the button in the center of the other device. A blue honeycomb barrier bubbled into existence just around him, shielding him from a huge surge of energy just in the nick of time. The clatter and crunching of crashing metal met his ears, and after a few seconds, he was greeted with the satisfying sight of shorted out Badniks; not just the ones that had been flying at him, but many around him as well.

‘Task for later: adjust payload of micro bolt bombs,’ the wolf mentally noted.

Just as that was going down, Miles whipped his tails in a broad, yet swift circle, slicing through a line of attackers. Coming out of the spin, he slipped his free hand into Remi and threw a cluster of bombs the doctor’s way. To his surprise, while the Badniks around him were engulfed by the explosion, Ivo’s pod and the makeshift ring around it was largely unaffected. Putting the consideration to upgrade his bombs aside for later, the fox made use of this newly made gap in the enemy’s numbers to close in on the human. As before, despite the doctor’s efforts to impede him, the teen got a clean hit on the craft, prompting another decoy to separate and attempt to track him, only for it to be “popped” by an octopus sent barreling into it.

Little by little, the Badnik forces were whittled down until they were only a fraction as strong as they started. The remaining numbers rallied around their master, and the Animals advanced in kind. Sonic tossed the Boomering up at one of the hornets, tethering and then bouncing off of it to gain some altitude. Like a stone skipping across water, the hedgehog used Badniks in his path to maintain forward momentum. Anticipating where he’d end up before reaching him, Ivo fired his front cannon in what he believed to be the perfect shot. Sonic, however, had reacted faster than calculated, bounding extra high off of the last robot he wrecked. He stuck out his tongue as he once more hurtled the Boomering, striking the doctor’s hoverpod and then the decoy on the return arc. Charmy was there to nab him just after he caught the weapon, beaming at the boy that wasn’t much smaller than himself while they flew to a less frantic spot.

“You’ve got some pretty cool tricks, Sonic!” the bee complimented him, laughing when the hedgehog stuck his nose up proudly, “I’m kinda jealous you and Miles get to have fun like this.”

The boy smirked. “I’m sure he’d love to have you and the other guys along on his next adventure!”

“Hah, that’d be nice, but we’ll see about that later. Gotta take care of these guys and the Kukkus first!”

The two returned to the fight below, splitting up to corral more of the machines away from their friends. Espio blinked back into view and used his long, prehensile tongue to grab a pink, spiky hermit crab and toss it into a few more of its kind. He saw Gadget getting backed into a corner, the wolf unable to use anything more than his grappler and his own limited combat experience due to his attackers not giving him a moment to switch up his tactics. The chameleon seemed to teleport as he moved to assist, flinging a few shuriken and going into a top spin to make room between himself and his ally. He showed himself just as capable of the “normal” Rolling Attack and Jump as the others, using them to great effect along with his acrobatics to evade and counter his enemies.

The opening Espio provided was all Gadget needed to grab what appeared to be a simple night stick, at least until he twisted the top and bottom halves in opposite directions. A meter-long blade of neon blue lightning erupted from the tip, which he promptly used to slash cleanly through a broad, red and yellow mole Badnik with a drill and treads in place of a nose and legs. He followed up with another twist around the shaft, the electrical "edge" bending like a whip, and then flicked his arm to swat a few hornets and fly bots out of the air. Seeing that, Espio drew a kunai and fought his way closer to the wolf.

"Follow my lead," he said once they had a moment.

Over on the other side, Vector stopped a triceratops in its tracks with one hand, gripped it by its center horn, lifted it up, and promptly used it as a club to swat a few hornets. He glanced over to see Gizmo backing his way, using her blaster to and grappler in tandem to both pull foes closer and keep some at a distance.

“Hey, Gizmo or whatever it was!” he called over to her, catching her attention.

“Yes, Vector or whatever it was?” she teased in return.

The young reptile grunted in annoyance. “Make me a wrecking ball, like you did when we got here!”

The teal wolf blinked at the proposition. After considering it for a hot second, she nodded and smirked. The image in her head was too amusing, and potentially awesome, to pass up.

“Alright, let’s do it!” she whooped, hyping herself up.

She aimed her grappler at the kid, who’d started to sprint to build up energy for the swing to come, and fired the moment he curled up into a Rolling Attack. With a hearty pull, Gizmo lifted Vector from the ground and whacked several Badniks out of the air with the green sphere, his red scales adding an outline that made him seem more like a razor-sharp yo-yo than a solid ball. The she-wolf applied similar principles to the toy, retracting him back her way, only to snap him in another direction and loosen the line as needed. Whether on land or in the air, any Badnik that crossed their path was bludgeoned with extreme prejudice, more and more parts and scraps littering the ground with each swing. In short order, they punched a gap in the doctor's defense, which Gizmo was quick to exploit by rotating herself and the "ball" at the end of her wire with ever increasing speed. As though doing the Olympic hammer toss, the wolf “let go” of the crocodile, sending him flying into the hoverpod, nearly knocking the man right out of it on top of deepening the damage the others had already done. Gizmo retrieved Vector with a quick pull, grunting when he smacked into her chest roughly, his eyes swirling a bit as he uncurled from his spherical state.

“Let’s go on the coaster again, Ma,” the young reptile slurred.

The sixth decoy was taken down with little pause, and just as Gizmo and Vector pulled back, Espio moved in. Still clutching the one kunai, he deflected the flying blades of a pair of mantids, then felled the robots with a pinpoint cut to their necks. The end of Gadget's grappling wire flew past him, hooking into an unflattering chameleon robot and drawing the red wolf to it. The lupine bounced into the air after kicking off the thing, fixing his aim at an eagle and doing much the same as he'd just done. Below, Espio flicked a few shuriken with his other hand to keep company away from Gadget, while he sprinted closer to the doctor. Once he felt he had a good range and angle, the reptile drew his kunai back and prepared to throw it at the hoverpod.

"Oh please," Dr. Robotnik jeered, "you think some primitive weapon's going to penetrate the armor on my–"

He yelped as the sound of breaking glass and deeply scarred metal scratched at his ears. The projectile had been hurtled so fast that he didn't see it until after it was stuck in the head lamp.

"Oh, right, that was made of lighter materials," he grumbled.

The noise made by yet another busted bot caught his attention, and the human’s eyes widened behind his specs as he saw that Gadget was a mere couple of meters away. Upon noticing the lightning whip in the wolf’s hands, he shouted in fright and scrambled to get his hoverpod moving. It was too late, though, as the red canine closed in and coiled the flexible current around the kunai sticking out of the broken light socket. While the ninja weapon might not have been enough to trigger the final decoy, the surge of electricity certainly was. Gadget swung from the kunai, looking back to see the doctor's hoverpod falter from the shock and unceremoniously thunk to the ground, the man’s head crashing into the controls.

Miles eliminated the last orb, then made a beeline for the downed hoverpod. He hovered near the unconscious Ivo and, much like he’d done with the giant octopus, smashed the machine’s inner workings beyond reasonable repair. The few Badniks that were left were mopped up without issue, now that their master couldn’t issue new commands at the moment. The fox smiled, watching both his old and new friends cheer at a job well done, his young partner bumping fists with everyone else before coming around to him.

“Whew, that was tight!” the hedgehog exclaimed, his glove meeting the older boy’s in a solid bump, “we showed that Eggman!”

Miles chuckled, though his expression became a more neutral and thoughtful one as he peered over at Ivo. “What do we do with him, though? We can’t just leave him, but I don’t want to miss the chance to get into the Battle Fortress while their guard’s somewhat lowered.”

“Don’t worry about that, buddy,” Charmy said, jabbing a thumb into his chest, “the guys and I will take care of this weirdo, then we’ll meet back up later!”

“Hey, yeah!” Vector agreed, “if we get in good with the fuzz here, then maybe they’ll let us help on cases!”

Espio sighed, but didn’t protest the decision of his two younger colleagues. He produced a length of rope and bound the man’s hands behind his back, then used the rest to secure them against his torso. Vector hefted most of Dr. Robotnik over his shoulders, while Charmy tugged some of the weight from above using the rope. The chameleon bowed to the others and escorted the bee and the crocodile as they made their way over to the lone door on the roof, likely the stairwell access. Once they’d left, Miles let out a tired puff of air and fell back onto his rump. He wanted to get back up, but his body felt so heavy, especially in all six of his limbs.

‘Ugh, I feel like I’m full of lead,’ he thought, ‘a short rest isn’t going to be enough to keep going. But...damn it, we’re so close!’

“Come on,” Gizmo told the fox as she came over and helped him to his feet. She bent down a little so he could sling one of his arms around her shoulders, then wrapped her left arm around his waist to keep him stable. “You and your friend have been through a lot today. Let’s see if that place Gad and I booked is still standing. I technically never checked out anyway...”

“But–”

“You know better than to argue with Sis when she gets like this,” Gadget chastised him, giving Sonic a piggyback on his shoulders. The hoglet was pretty tuckered out, too, if his slouched posture was anything to go by. “I’m with her on this one, too.”

Seeing as both his siblings were against him straining himself any further, Miles relented. Even if he wanted to go on, he was too wiped out to do much of anything, and aside from himself, everyone else would be going in blind.

“Fine,” he mumbled, “we haven’t come up with a solid plan of attack yet, anyway.”

The fox gave the Battle Fortress one last glare, silently promising that he would be back, before leaving with the twins and his partner.


The combatants in the command room screamed and dove to one side to avoid one of their leader’s bombs being chucked into the center of the room. The resulting blast didn’t damage anything important, but that wasn’t what they were afraid of.

In stark contrast to his earlier mood, the Great Battle Kukku was positively furious after receiving the latest intelligence regarding his vulpine nemesis. Many forces that had been stationed en route to Metropolitan Industries were beaten down, their weapons and mechs dismantled. The production lines they’d set up in the complex itself were entirely destroyed, and while that wouldn’t matter much in the long run, the loss of a steady source of materials was the bigger pain. And then, a huge number of those new robot types, Badniks he believed they were called, had been scrapped by Prower and his allies.

“So much good news and bad news in a single day,” he growled, a malicious smile showing in his crooked teeth, “I’ve grown tired of this whelp’s interference!” He tilted his head so quickly towards one underling that they heard the bones pop. “Open a line to the doctor and my second.”

The soldiers didn’t think to question him in this state, bringing up Dr. Fukurokov and Speedy in separate windows on the communications screen.

“Milord,” the prince greeted him politely, with a tense edge beneath the surface tone. His father didn’t seem to notice, though.

“Er, yes, good evening, Your Grace,” the owl stuttered, his index fingers tapping together nervously.

“Hardly good, Dmitri,” the Emperor snarled, causing the both of them to flinch, “we must move up our schedule. First thing tomorrow morning, we launch it!”

Dr. Fukurokov was about to argue, but the deathly glare he could sense through his lord’s glasses made him feel like he’d been dunked in ice water. The owl nodded his head rapidly, trying to clear his throat as he felt himself start to choke up.

“O-of course, Your Highness!” he managed to get out, wiping the sweat that was forming on his brow.

“And as for you, Speedy,” the GBK decided, “you’ll take command of the Battle Fortress in my absence. I’ll be aboard our new weapon with the doctor to oversee its operation.”

Speedy clenched his hands, keeping them behind his back to hide his resentment. So, this was how it was. Even now, when the old man had failed to stop Miles in Metropolis, his father still showed him more favor. The Kukku patriarch could dress it up as the heir’s responsibility as much as he wanted, but it wouldn’t rid him of these feelings. He knew that unless he stopped the fox tomorrow, or the doctor messed up worse in the event that he didn’t, the GBK’s opinion of him was probably shot. As far as the latter outcome...there was a way to make that happen.

‘Is this the sort of choice you say I’m too afraid to make, Miles?’ he contemplated, a big part of him dreading what the next day would bring.

Notes:

Well, that was quite a chapter, especially that fight at the end! I wanted to give everyone at least a little limelight, so I spent quite a bit of time agonizing over how to write that battle.

The abilities for the Chaotix were taken either from comics, in the case of Charmy's "flight mode", or the games, such as Espio's Leaf Swirl and Vector's fire breath. Gizmo's gun is based, in part, on the one from the Sonic 2 movie, while the fake rings she uses are basically the Dummy Rings from Sonic Heroes. Gadget's lightning whip/sword can be considered a prototypical Lightning Wispon, and the defensive device is a basic barrier projector. The micro bolt bombs, while made up for this story, are similar to graphite bombs in terms of appearance (not so much in use). Everything else is pretty much standard fare or more improvised for rule of cool.

No Joker Immunity for Eggman here, at least not when it comes to getting away. Also, I may not have mentioned in prior notes, but the Sea Fox was made bigger as Miles himself matured, hence why Gadget could fit Vector in there with him. Still a tight fit, though.

Anyway, thanks again for reading, and join the group next time as the first part of the final battle begins, with them taking the fight to the Kukkus!

Chapter 10: Chase and Challenge

Summary:

Our heroes are ready put a hasty plan into action that has them briefly chasing the Battle Fortress through the sky, before commencing the assault proper. However, they soon find that further complications have arisen.

Notes:

This chapter covers both the Sky Chase Zone and parts of what would be Wing Fortress, only replaced with the Battle Fortress.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Miles slowly blinked awake, rubbing blearily at his eyes. He looked over at the only window in the hotel room the twins had taken him and Sonic back to, the street lights creeping through the blinds. The hedgehog in question was curled up and facing away from him on one of the two beds, using his two tails as a makeshift blanket. Gadget and Gizmo were both on the other bed, their backs to each other as they slept soundly. Charmy and his associates had also joined them a bit later during the night, the bee sprawled out on the couch along with Vector. Espio used the two chairs set up near the small table as his own bed; it didn't look at all comfortable, but the chameleon didn't seem to mind.

The fox reached over to fetch the Miles Electric from the nearby nightstand and powered it on, keeping the light low as he checked the time.

'0345. Well, I got a decent amount of sleep,' he thought, 'it's still dark out, but not for too much longer. Better take advantage of it while we can.'

Much as he hated to disturb his friends and his siblings, Miles knew that they had little time before assaulting the Battle Fortress became all the more difficult. When he went to push himself to sit up, he felt a hard and familiar shape against his other palm. It was the cyan Chaos Emerald, which he'd apparently been holding onto since before he awakened.

'Weird, I don't recall going to bed with it,' the teen mused with some confusion.

He shrugged and put the matter aside for the time being. It wouldn't be the first time it ended up happening, anyway. He got up, frowning sympathetically as Sonic shivered when he moved his tails. The fox leaned over and gently shook his friend's shoulder.

"Hey, kid," Miles whispered, "get up."

The hoglet tossed and turned for a moment, then stretched out his arms and legs, letting out a loud yawn. The two pairs of wolf ears perked up at the boy's noise-making, and Miles soon saw orange eyes peering over at him.

"Mm, what time is it?" Gadget mumbled, feeling around for his glasses on the other nightstand.

"A little before oh-four-hundred," Gizmo replied just as sleepily while she checked her comm, "guess we're getting up. Better break out the breakfast bars."

Miles let them dig out the rations they'd purchased last night as he went to wake the others. Espio had apparently woken up shortly after the fox, and nearly startled him when those golden eyes opened so suddenly as he drew near. Charmy took a few pokes to get going, though the moment he was, his wings buzzed to life and lifted him into the air like always, even while still half-asleep. It was an ordeal to rouse Vector, though. Gentle words, light slaps and shrugs, and attempts to move him were all unsuccessful. In the end, both of his colleagues had plugged his snout and scared him awake from the temporary lack of air, something he obviously didn’t appreciate.

As the teal wolf had suggested, the lot of them snacked on dried food bars which, while not the most appetizing, would at least tide them over. At the same time, Miles brought his multitool over to Remi and fiddled behind the robot’s ears, flipping open a panel and drawing a wire out of it. He connected his two creations together, tapping at the Miles Electric a few times and causing the little robot’s optics to light up. It projected a 3D image into the center of the room, one large enough that everyone could clearly make out the details. From what the others could tell, it was some kind of map, and they had an idea of what exactly.

"That is the inside of the Battle Fortress?" Espio asked, voicing the question they'd all pondered.

Miles nodded affirmatively. "I'm not sure how much it's changed since I last infiltrated the place, if at all, but yes."

"Huh. It's not as big on the inside as it looks on the outside," Charmy observed, "must be all the armor plating and stuff."

The fox smirked after hearing that. Indeed, he'd been rather surprised at how compact the ship's interior was when he got hold of the schematics. It had only seemed huge when walking around due to the many layers of defense he'd had to get around and contend with. The fox had also been younger and smaller back then, and he didn't have the support for that mission that he did now.

"So, what's the plan, big guy?" Sonic inquired, ready to get down to brass tacks.

The teen tapped at the Miles Electric, snipping three portions of the map away from the whole. He then zoomed and enhanced the projected images, bits of data appearing to hover next to them.

“A bit more hastily thought up than I’d like,” he admitted, stifling another yawn, “but as things stand, we’re pressed for time, so it can’t be helped.” He gestured to the display trifecta he’d set up. “I’ll try and keep it short. We’ll split up into three teams, each with a different objective.”

The topmost of the images blew up larger than the others. It had a simplistic design that consisted of a few floors that decreased in size the further up they went, save for the one at the very peak. Out of the three schematics, it also appeared to have the smallest amount of ground to cover.

“Team 1 will be Sonic and I,” Miles continued, “our job is to get to the bridge, make our way to the command room, bring down Fifteenth, and then shut down the Battle Fortress. We’ll wait to make our final move until Teams 2 and 3 complete their own tasks.”

He cycled through to the next one, which was a series of access shafts that twisted down into the depths of the fortress. At the end of them, there was a compact room that contained an even more intimate space beneath it.

“Team 2 will consist of Espio, Gadget, and Remi,” the fox announced, “and what you’ll be doing is gathering all the information you can about what projects and plans the Empire has been working on. Anything meant only for Dr. Fukurokov's eyes would be especially useful, so your target is his personal console.”

The teen moved on to the last slide, which displayed a similar layout to the previous one, though with significantly less twists and turns. It was also further up than the doctor’s lab, and the target area had quite a number of rooms that were stationed along a few parallel hallways.

“And lastly, Charmy, Gizmo, and Vector will make up Team 3,” Miles decided, “which will be in charge of rescuing prisoners and getting them to safety. There should be some lifeboats and escape pods you can use in the lower decks, as well as the main hangar.”

With that, he returned the three images to the overall map, then highlighted two different sections. As he'd done with the previous projections, he snipped them out and increased the level of detail.

"There's a passage from the outer layer of the Battle Fortress that allows submarine access to a well-hidden entrance," Miles explained, pointing to a tiny spot, "the Sea Fox should be able to take Team 2 there. As for the rest of us..." He stroked his chin while bringing the second image into focus. "...Charmy and I should be able to carry everyone across to the top deck access. After that, we split up and do what we have to."

The fox turned the projection off and unhooked the Miles Electric from Remi. But just as he was about to ask if everyone understood the plan, a low and ominous rumble spread beneath their feet. As it filled their ears, Sonic, Miles, and the wolves all recognized the sound as one they'd heard before, less than a day ago.

"Are they launching already?" Gadget wondered, his eyes wide and his hands trembling anxiously, "it's barely even astronomical dawn!"

Instead of speculating, the group of eight rushed outside to see for themselves. Indeed, just as the red wolf had said, they could see in the east that the Battle Fortress was rising from its place in the bay. Were it not for the noise and the lights over the massive aircraft, it would have been invisible against the still dark sky. Miles cursed their timing, as it now rendered their initial plan to approach effectively useless. But the fox soon learned that that was the least of their worries as a shaking of even greater magnitude accompanied the first. And when the source revealed itself, almost everyone in the group could only stare in utter disbelief.

It was a gargantuan oblong spheroid, one that was a smidge taller than it was wide, giving it a slight egg shape. It was a dull metallic gray all over, save for a band of black and red near the center and around the bottom, along with numerous matching lights. The front of it was decorated with the white rooster skull of the Empire, the eye sockets concave and the comb and waddle a proud red. It far outclassed the Battle Fortress in terms of size. In fact, Miles surmised that it was so large, it was bigger than a significant chunk of West Side Island. And even more intimidating was the prospect that, if the Kukkus were true to their reputation, this colossal thing was armed to the teeth.

Unlike the Battle Fortress, which steadily drifted away from the island, the new problem the heroes faced continued to rise higher into the atmosphere. Miles concluded that such a move could only mean it was meant to be an orbital station. With the Chaos Emeralds powering it, and such an ideal position, the Kukkus could feasibly strike at any point on the planet. Things had just gotten even more complicated, and he was already feeling a headache coming on.

"Well, it's not often I'm blindsided like this, but here we are," the fox commented bitterly.

Sonic kept up his usual brave face, even when confronted with something of this magnitude. "Hey, don't worry, guys. It's just another giant egg for us to crack!"

"I wish I shared your confidence," Gizmo remarked, gesturing with two upturned palms at the giant object, "but the Kukkus have a combat-ready space station the size of an asteroid! How are we supposed to bring that bloody thing down!?"

Vector tilted his head up high as the Empire's new trump card continued to ascend to the heavens. "I just wonder how we're gonna get up there."

"Maybe there's a shuttle or something on the Battle Fortress?" Charmy theorized, "I mean, someone important is probably still there. They would know, right?"

Espio bowed his head and folded his arms, humming in thought. "We have a new dilemma, however, and I do not merely refer to the station."

After a moment of parsing, Miles caught on to what the chameleon was getting at. The Sea Fox could only accommodate so many, and he and Charmy only had so much stamina. At the pace the Battle Fortress was retreating, they wouldn't be able to catch up without another form of aerial transport to carry the remainder. The young hedgehog, reliable as he'd usually proven to be, was there to provide an answer.

"Miles, the Tornado!" he suggested, "she could catch up to that big old bird!"

The fox's eyes widened and he slapped one palm with his other fist. "You're right, Sonic! The approach may have changed, and a couple new steps may have been added, but the overall plan is intact!" He turned to his creation. "Remi, engage Sea Fox form in jet mode on the double!"

The little likeness of the teen did as instructed, and no sooner had he finished transforming than the vulpine hopped into the front seat. He pulled Sonic up behind his seat, then turned to the others.

"We'll be back as soon as possible," he told them, "we're going to get something special for this. We'll send Remi ahead of us once we grab it, which should give you enough time to form up with us for the attack."

He swiftly shut the dome over the cockpit and directed the Sea Fox into the air, turning them westward. With the flip of a switch and a few button presses, the flying minisub blasted off at full speed in the direction of the western coast. As the other Animals watched him go, Vector turned to the she-wolf.

“Where’s the fox off to?” he asked, a bit of a scowl on his face, “he better not be running away!”

Gizmo scoffed at that. “My little brother’s no coward.” She tilted her head thoughtfully, resting her chin in one hand. “I’m not sure what he’s up to, but I trust him. The last thing he’d do is leave us stranded.”

She couldn’t help but be nervous, though. And the wolf knew that despite the relatively calm and high spirits shown by her companions, they probably felt the same. What was going on right now was bigger than anything they had dealt with or could have foreseen. She hoped that they could pull this off.

Even at its maximum, it still took a considerable amount of the time for the Sea Fox to arrive in Emerald Hill. By the time they closed in, there was enough light in the sky that it, the sea, and land could now reasonably be discerned apart from each other. The fox and the hedgehog touched down as soon as they found a suitable clearing, hopping out of the craft without wasting any time. Like he’d done at the Refinery, Miles snagged his own utility belt, then punched in the commands for his companion to home in on his sister’s comm signal and engage the autopilot function until it met back up with the others. Once Remi was out of there and little more than a dot in the distance, he and Sonic sprinted across the familiar grounds they’d raced each other on only a few days prior.

With haste they hadn’t shown since they competed, the hero and his partner made their way to where the local forest met the southeastern beach. With Sonic leading the way, it only took them a couple of minutes to find the private airstrip and the hangar where the biplane was stored away. The runway had accumulated a bit of sand during the kid’s absence, but he cleared it away in a matter of seconds. They rushed into the hangar, where the hoglet hopped into the pilot’s seat while the fox opened the front door and pushed debris out of the aircraft’s way. Its propeller began to slowly spin faster and faster as the powerful engine roared to life, and after checking the instruments twice over, Sonic gently eased it out of its resting place. Once the Tornado taxied out onto the stretch proper, Miles leapt up onto the middle of the top wing, kneeling down and bracing his feet against the metal while he held up his fists at the ready.

“Aw yeah, that looks awesome!” Sonic said to him, “I’ve gotta try wing riding sometime, maybe when I let you have a turn at the yoke!”

The teen felt his heart momentarily flutter at the thought of flying the Tornado. He quickly shook it off and flashed a grin at the blue boy.

“Sure thing, kid,” he replied, thrusting one arm forward and pointing to where they’d come from, “now, let’s go and save the world!”

The young pilot didn’t need any more prompting than that. The Tornado steadily built up speed, pulling up before it reached the end of the runway and causing a few small waves as it soared just above the water. They climbed higher with each second, the boy directing his pride and joy to correct its course during the ascent. To his delight, Miles hadn’t felt the need to steady himself further with the use of his hands, maintaining a cool profile as he surfed atop the wing. He must have been used to it, perhaps by riding on the Sea Fox when one of his siblings was controlling it.

By the time they returned to Metropolis, the sun had risen enough that there was no longer any need for artificial light to engage in some outdoor activity. Even so, it was still below the horizon, and it had proven a faster trip than the initial one with the Sea Fox. Speaking of, the transformed Remi pulled up alongside their left before long, sporting the same arrangements in and out of the cockpit as last night.

“You weren’t kidding when you said something special!” Gizmo shouted over the wind, shaking her free hand excitedly while the other kept her still with the grappler, “I love your plane, Sonic!”

The hedgehog chuckled and rubbed the underside of his nose smugly. “Thanks! It’s her first flight, but we’re not dealing with guys who’ll be gentle! Let’s show ‘em what she’s made of!”


“Lord Speedy, our radar has detected the final two Chaos Emeralds on approach!” one of the combatants informed the Kukku heir.

The prince regarded the soldier, then turned his attention to the viewing screen. “Bring up visual confirmation on the signals.”

The screen lit up, showing white clouds and the fading darkness of the retreating night in the west. Two dots steadily grew larger in the feed, one red and the other blue, which Speedy ordered greater focus on. As he’d expected, there was Miles, standing on the wing of a red biplane, with that blue hedgehog at the controls. He spotted the two wolves in and on the other craft, as well as a couple of faces that he didn’t recognize. It seemed that the fox had found a few more allies in his fight against them.

“Our long-range cannons are primed, sir,” another of the grunts said, standing by patiently.

Speedy held up a hand. “Hold fire on those.”

“Milord?”

“We would just be wasting shots. Send out our aerial squadrons of Badniks and fighters to engage,” the young adult avian commanded, “ready the anti-air batteries in case they get close.”

The prince watched as his underlings went to work, and as Badniks flew out to meet his foes on a second monitor. He didn’t actually expect the robots and fighter pilots to take down his rival, but he would be keeping a close eye on the action all the same.

The first to meet the oncoming group was a flock of four eagles, all seeking to ram into the plane and the minisub. The Sea Fox launched a missile that knocked out one of the metal birds, then weaved to the side to avoid a second. Miles threw the Boomering at the passing bogey, scoring a clean hit. The Tornado let loose with the 7.7mm machine gun built into the tip of its power plant, tearing through both the third and fourth Badniks. The two vehicles ducked and dodged around the cannon fire of a few egg-shaped robots, giving them back just as much in kind.

These were followed up by a model that the group hadn’t yet encountered. It was technically two robots in one, both of which were modeled after turtles. The ones on the bottom had tired-looking expressions, possessing two jet engines instead of hind legs, as well as large green shells with yellow bellies and arrows stickers on both sides. They were controlled by smaller turtles that stood upright on two back feet that held onto a bar atop the bigger ones’ backs. Despite their powerful setup, they were still as slow as their land-based inspirations, which only threw the invaders off for a moment.

Miles leapt off the top wing as the Tornado dipped down, slamming through one of the tinier reptilian robots and handily landing back on the plane as it rose up again. Espio tossed one of his kunai at the next one and struck it through the head, then drew it back with a rope he’d attached so that he didn’t waste precious tools. Gizmo made to shoot an eagle with her firearm, though given the velocity of both her footing and the target, it was hard to get a bead. It just missed her with its own charge, but it was enough passing force that the she-wolf was knocked off her feet and made to tow behind the Sea Fox with her grappler. To the Kukkus’ chagrin, she was able to tug herself back to the ship after taking a moment to reorient herself.

A trio of fighters closed in seconds later, two of them splitting off to focus on and get behind the minisub. The Sea Fox cut its acceleration for a brief moment, allowing the pursuers to fly right past it and put them in its sights. A smaller pair of torpedoes launched from ports in the front, destroying the turbines of the Kukku jets. Sonic cut off the third before it could make a similar move, tearing holes into one of the smaller plane’s wings with its machine gun and causing it to spiral out of the air. Speedy wasn’t worried for his men, however. Their vehicles had emergency systems in place for all manners of crashes and unfortunate scenarios, ones that ensured the survival of their pilots unless everything failed, which was a rare occurrence.

As the dogfighting went on, the number of Badniks and monoplanes steadily dwindled. Even with how badly things were going for his forces, Speedy was under no illusion that they would’ve been able to contend with the fox and his friends. Miles alone had been enough to neutralize them in the past, and that had been despite his young age and experience in combat and warfare. But even so, the prince knew he couldn’t make things too easy for his rival.

‘If I’d simply let them waltz in here, that would’ve raised alarms and gotten back to my father,’ he thought, steepling his hands together and leaning forward in the commander’s seat, “but this way, I can say some effort was put in. I expect you to get up here soon, Miles...then we can settle things.’

Several more minutes went by, and the sudden boom of cannons made it apparent the Badnik and fighter squadrons had been routed. The Tornado and the Sea Fox split off and approached the Fortress from two angles, the former from above, and the latter below. A gauntlet of guns awaited the minisub, along with a few brave Kukku soldiers that risked their lives to attempt to drop bombs with their own two hands. It amounted to little more than a few scuffs and dents on the thick blue armor, though, and all they got in return were more destroyed mounts and fleeing troops.

As they neared the port that would allow them access into the Fortress, the Tornado came in for a rough landing. It skidded and slid along the top of the flight deck, haphazardly unloading its machine gun into any guns nearby. Surprisingly, it suffered no major damage of its own despite being in the heart of so much flak, even whipping around so that it faced the direction they’d come from, as though ready for a quick escape. Peering between the two screens, one with the five Animals and Remi, the other with the fox and the hedgehog, the heir stood up and raised a fist charismatically.

“All hands on deck, engage the intruders!” he shouted, “I don’t care how you handle the other pests, but bring the fox to me alive! Anyone who robs me of the chance to redeem myself through combat with my greatest foe will suffer a fate worse than anything the Emperor could devise!”

As the soldiers hurriedly filed out of the room to do as instructed, Speedy felt over the breast of his suit. His fingers brushed over the bump made by the device that Ivo had given him, making his thoughts turn towards the other possibility of his “destined” meeting with Miles.

‘If I should lose, it will be nigh impossible to win back Father’s respect,’ he reminded himself, 'in which case..."


"Alright, I've got the map in my comm," Gizmo said as she unhooked her device from Remi's console.

The robot morphed into its Critter form, which trotted to the end of one passage. It turned back to Gadget and Espio, barking and tilting its head to follow.

"Let us reconvene at the bridge with Miles after we accomplish our objectives," Espio offered, which everyone quietly agreed to.

The lupine twins gave each other a brief hug, then a firm bump to their dominant fists. The two younger members of the budding detective agency saluted the chameleon, who simply nodded with a small smile. From there, both groups sought passage deeper into the ship, one through direct means, and the other via more roundabout methods.

Espio and Gadget shuffled their way down a dark passage lined with dull gray and purple details, finding an electrical barrier at the end of it. With his keen eyes, the chameleon spotted a switch in the ground, and after pressing down on it, the obstacle was deactivated. No sooner did they step through than blaster fire came their way, forcing the two to duck. A few Kukku marksmen had taken up positions in small divots in the raised floor in front of them, giving them cover while they shot at the intruders. Espio signaled for the wolf to wait, then used his Chroma Camouflage to turn invisible, slowly creeping atop the platform in front of them. The moment the grunts popped their heads up and saw nothing, they cautiously moved to stand up, only for two to be smacked down to the ground by an unseen chop to the throat. Another pair fired in a panic, hoping to hit the reptile, but he easily avoided their blind fire and summarily knocked them out as well.

With the path clear, the two Animals and the robot lowered themselves down a shaft in the floor at the end of the current hall, climbing up a ledge in the next room to access a fork that went up or down. Remi led them on the former route, using its propeller to scale over the top of the wall and hover above the next path down. It let out a few chirps of alarm as Espio and Gadget were about to descend, scanning its eyes over the panels just below the entrance to the next hall and shaking its head.

“Floor traps,” the red wolf surmised, aiming his grappler at the opposite wall.

Espio used his species’ natural climbing ability to get down low, then expertly jumped over to what Remi was outlining as safe ground. Gadget used his wire to descend and swing onto the same patch, where the three then came to a second gap and another opening. The robot once again warned them of bad panels below, but nudged them in the direction just past them, where they found a high and very thin outcropping. Keeping cautious for any more traps, Gadget went first this time, using his cable to shoot right up onto the space where he found not one, but two additional electrical force fields barring the way below. Checking behind him, the wolf found another of those floor switches from before on a platform against the wall.

“Espio, there are a couple of barriers in the way,” he informed the chameleon, “the controls for one are right near me, but the other one’s somewhere else.”

“Perhaps the other way leads to it,” the other Animal remarked.

The reptile and Remi doubled back to the previous fork and chose to cross over the gap this time. He kicked off the walls up to the next outcropping, briefly jogging down a confined passage until the robot once again alerted him to traps. At the end, there was only a space that Espio couldn’t get through, even if he were to crawl on his belly. It was no problem for Remi, however, which hovered down and slipped in with little difficulty, soon dropping out of sight. The audible static coming from the barriers, which he could hear below his feet, lessened in intensity.

“Oh, you found it!” he heard Gadget call out at the same time Remi flew back up to rejoin him.

Espio went back and reunited with the wolf, and after disabling both barriers, they went down an even deeper access shaft. The three found the floor at the bottom was automated and pushed them away from the next ledge. Their tools and abilities allowed them to get past that complication, only to run into another one as they came into the proceeding room. There were several more Kukkus troops rushing into the space, as well as a few twin-barrel turrets mounted on the ceiling and the floor. And unlike the first place they’d encountered grunts like these, there was very little cover.

Gadget went for the rise in the floor and dropped so that his back and head were against it, fetching a shield projector from one pouch. Espio was quick to throw a flurry of shuriken, disarming each avian by either destroying their weapon or making them drop it. A few of them retreated, while the rest either fell back behind the guns or tried to retrieve what had been knocked out of their hands. The wolf tossed out the disc before the armaments could open fire, providing himself and his companions a wall that deflected the hail of rounds sent their way. The chameleon used the opportunity to once again fade from sight, dropping a few Kukkus before noticing the turrets turning on him. He was forced to roll and dodge as they came close to hitting him, seemingly locked onto his heat signature.

The wolf, knowing his protective device only had some charge after the punishment it took, vaulted over his cover and grappled the first bird he saw. Given the disparity in size, he easily tugged the grunt back his way, overpowering and knocking him out with the same fist that pulled him. As the remaining soldiers ran at him, Gadget brought out his lightning weapon and twisted it in the opposite direction from last night. The jagged electric “blade” became a solid beam of energy, making it more akin to a long club or a short staff. He stepped back away from a punch aimed at his waist, then brought down the lit-up end of his weapon down on the guy’s neck. The bird spasmed for a hot second before flopping to the floor, unconscious and just a tad cooked, though he was just as quickly replaced by the next soldier.

This distraction allowed Espio to go after the machines that were persistently dogging him. A top spin shredded through one of the turrets, and a pinpoint flick sent a kunai down the barrel of another, causing it to backfire and explode. With less pressure on him, the chameleon moved in to intercept a minion that sought to gang up on Gadget while he was preoccupied with another. He noted that the automated weapons held their fire when he ducked behind the Kukku, using that to his advantage by grabbing the fellow and holding him up as he charged the last couple of placements. This spooked the others, as they were seeing one of their comrades floating in midair and being forced towards their weapons systems. Capitalizing on the confusion, Gadget jabbed the first guy in the gut, then fired his grappler around the legs of the second one to drag him near the force field. Just as he tapped the grunt in the temple with his baton, Espio used a Rolling Jump to wreck one turret, then used the momentum from the bounce to bash into the other one.

With those forces dispatched, they continued on for a few more minutes until they came to an open elevator car. Remi projected the map of their route, showing them that it would take them where they needed to go, although there was still a bit more ground to cover.

"We're just about halfway there," Gadget said as he deactivated and stowed his baton, "let's hope I can crack the doctor's security and get at his notes."

Espio folded his arms and shut his eyes. "Mm, Miles seems confident that we can do so." He hung his head slightly in what the wolf perceived to be shame. "I am embarrassed to admit that I am...less competent than I would like to be in the matters of technology. So, I will be relying on you for the final step."

"No pressure, then,” the taller Animal mumbled with some uncertainty, “I wonder how the others are doing?”


The trio of the teal wolf, teenage bee, and kid crocodile trotted down a much more vibrantly garish gold and royal purple hallway. There were windows that allowed them to see the skies outside, but they weren’t given time to enjoy the view, as they had a mission to accomplish. Right off the bat, there was a conveyor belt that was moving in their direction, going too rapidly for any of them to cross over on foot. Near it was a purple and gold top-shaped device with red and yellow lights that stood low on three legs, the bottom of it hooked into the floor. Glancing between it and the walkway, Gizmo knelt down and fetched a spanner from her utility belt, eyeing up the two conspicuous attachments on top of the machine that she could use it for. After a few seconds of experimentally screwing the knobs, the conveyor belt reversed its course, allowing them access to the shaft at the end of the passage.

Dropping down, they found an electrical barrier blocking the way, as well as a second conveyor belt with a couple of platforms above it that ended at the other corner of the chamber. Vector scanned around the area, rubbing the underside of his snout with his eyes narrowed, searching out every little detail he could. A moment later, he pointed towards the ceiling as though struck with a revelation.

“Charmy, go look around for the switch!” he commanded his insectoid associate, gesturing to the other side of the room, “I bet it’s somewhere up in there!”

The bee gave a lazy salute. “Got it, ‘boss’, one flipped switch coming up!”

He didn’t stick around to listen to the reptile’s grumbling about him hearing the quotes being used in his title. Charmy flew up to the first platform, finding nothing of note. The second one had an identical machine to the one Gizmo messed with a couple minutes ago, but given his flight, there was no need to change the track below him. He came to a narrow shaft and flew upwards, where he spotted a peculiar blue switch at the end of the confined space, which he flew over to and pressed. The field dissipated soon after, and the bee rejoined the other two Animals, who gave him a thumbs-up.

“Good job, buddy,” Gizmo praised him as she vaulted up to the now-unguarded opening.

The young croc puffed out his chest and nodded sagely. “Nice going, Charmy. Of course, I knew where to send you because the answer was obvious.”

“You can say that again,” the wolf quipped, giggling a bit upon receiving a growl from the kid.

The three of them carried on over a couple of gaps to yet another belt with a second barrier on the other side. A quick gander showed them a more narrow shaft that went down, one that only the smallest member of their team could fit through. Charmy dutifully descended and navigated the short passage to an open area with a similar entrance opposite to his. However, there was also a Robo Kukku in the room with him, as well as a couple of blue bat robots with black eyes, small mouths with fangs, metallic gray wings, claws, and little engines on their backs.

“Aww, they’re kind of cute,” Charmy said, humming a bit as he brandished his stinger and his fists, “too bad I have to bust ‘em!”

The two Badniks were the first to fly out to meet him, intent on delivering a bite with their mechanical fangs. The bee simply listed out of the way, then lunged into the back of one of them with his stinger. The Robo Kukku let loose an energy blast from its beak, only to have it strike the other Badnik and dismantle it on impact. Charmy stuck out his tongue at the mishap, and he could’ve sworn he saw a flash of irritation in the machine’s features. It was just as quickly out of mind, though, as he closed in on his foe, rolling, flipping, and dipping around each shot it tried to hit him with. At the end of the day, all the robot earned for its troubles was a kick to the head and a subsequent stinger strike, putting it out of its misery.

"Well, that was easy," he chirped as he carried on to the other tunnel, "I can see how Miles was able to do this the first time!"

He buzzed down the passage and hit the switch at the end of it, opening the way forward. When he returned, Gizmo had altered the belt’s rotation and made it so they could ride to the next room without effort. From there, they found an access corridor so deep, the wolf and the chameleon had to make use of their respective tools and abilities to get down. Once they reached the bottom, the group moved through the short hallway they found there to a door that appeared to be well hidden, judging from how all but its handle was effectively camouflaged. Maybe this was meant to be some kind of hidden access point?

That seemed to be the case, as the moment the trio stepped out, they found themselves in a more wide and open space that was wholly bare, save for an elevator on one end and a set of three widely spaced hallways on the other. Gizmo squinted down at her comm as she checked the coordinates she copied from Remi’s memory, determining that those were the places they were looking for. Expecting resistance, the she-wolf drew her sidearm and turned down the intensity so that it wouldn’t be fatal for any organics she blasted, yet would still be able to pack a punch against anything mechanical.

“Well, there are three hallways and three of us,” she mentioned, a bit of concern making its way onto her face, “but going alone for each one might be too risky. At the same time, we do have ground to cover and people to save, so the less time spent, the better.”

Charmy knew what his old friend was getting at and gave her a cheeky smirk while bopping Vector on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, Gizmo. Either of us is more than enough for these guys, but I’ll keep an eye on the kid for you!”

“Who’re you calling a kid, pipsqueak!?” Vector said in an offended tone, holding up a meaty fist.

“Just the croc that’s less than half my age,” the bee answered smartly.

Gizmo rolled her eyes and left the two of them to it as she proceeded down the left hall. As expected, she found a number of Kukku guards that were stationed every few meters between golden doors etched into the purple walls. She got the drop on the first one, knocking him out with a quick zap to the torso, rendering his flak gear useless as he thudded to the floor. Alerted to her presence, the others laid down suppressive fire, forcing her to duck behind the frame of the hallway entrance and take potshots at the lot. A couple more troops were downed, leaving her with a good opening to kneel down into position. Like her vulpine sibling, she became a teal sphere that screeched against the metal below, revving up for a moment before careening into the group of grunts. The Spin Dash knocked down most in Gizmo's path, leaving a few to deal with her as she uncurled from the attack. The wolf grappled one bird and hurled him into another, then followed up with a zap to the third remaining Kukku, grinning as she heard the smack of its body against the floor. It felt good to get out some frustration after the embarrassing loss against Speedy the previous day.

In the adjacent hallway, one very unfortunate cadet was petrified at his predicament. Being faced down with a more physically intimidating foe was one thing, even if they were young. It was another entirely to be balled up in the jaws of said enemy and have deadly crocodilian teeth poking into you. He didn't want to imagine this was how he would go, but he was too afraid to move and find out. Mercifully, he was given his answer in the next moment as Vector reared his head back while facing down more of the combatant's comrades.

"Ptooey!" the croc spat, both figuratively and genuinely.

The soldier was sent sending the grunt sailing like a ball at a carnival game, knocking over others as though they were the bottles. Those left over attempted to shoot him and Charmy down, but the bee was too nimble for them to find purchase, and Vector's hide was thick, letting him shrug off most of the blasts. The former zoomed in to deliver one Drop Attack after another, while the latter showed off his muscle by seizing energy rifles and either snapping them like twigs or bending them like pretzels. The Robo Kukkus and Badniks sent to help didn't fare much better, reduced to piles of scrap thanks to a sharp sting here and a powerful punch there.

"You know what's weird?" Vector wondered as he decked another trooper, "I thought there'd be more guards here. Isn't this supposed to be their main base?"

The bee checked through the grates at the top of each door they came across when he wasn't dealing with a Kukku. His normally happy expression became more worrisome with every spot he searched.

"That's what all the stories say," he replied, "but maybe most of them got moved to that new space station deal? I haven't–"

"Guys!"

The two boys turned to see Gizmo sprinting in their direction. As she came to a stop in front of them, she began rapidly tapping at her comm. They could see she was just as concerned as Charmy was.

"What's wrong, Giz?" The smaller, but older of the two inquired.

"I went up and down the other halls twice over, but I couldn't find anyone in any of the cells!" She explained with a frantic tone, "please tell me you had better luck!" When Charmy shook his head in the negative, the she-wolf hung her head. "Then our part in this plan is a bust! We've got to let Miles and the others know right away!"


Miles drove the Pikkon Hammer into the joints of a Kukku Walker’s legs, causing it to double over. A Spin Dash into the back carriage courtesy of Sonic made it crumple to the ground, leaving its pair of pilots to tumble out. They didn't stop to knock them out before moving on, and there wasn't much need when they were willing to flee. A number of the smaller models and hoverpods laid in likewise broken states around the entrance to the bridge, some as a result of their rough landing. Just as the two moved inside the command structure, the fox heard the Miles Electric going off and answered it promptly.

“Team 1, this is Team 3,” Gizmo hailed, “we’ve got a big problem: the prisoner ward is empty!”

Miles growled and turned his gaze upward to the top of the bridge. “They must have been moved to the station. Regroup with Team 2, and then rendezvous with Sonic and I up on the bridge after we take care of things.” With them in mind, the fox remotely connected to Remi, using its own audio receptors and output as though it were a comm. “Come in, Team 2. What’s your status?”

“Whoa! Heh, I forgot he could do that,” came the slightly startled tone of his older lupine brother, “we just reached Dr. Fukurokov’s lab. Espio’s going to keep an eye out while I try my hand at his computer.”

The fox nodded. “See if you can dig up the prisoner logs. Team 3 said the cells are barren, so I need you to find out. Sorry for putting more on your plate.”

“I’ll do my best,” the red wolf replied, “okay, I’m booting it up now. I’ll call you when I’ve got an update on the info.”

They ended the call, leaving him with Sonic once more. The hedgehog looked eager and ready to go, though without the usual boyish spirit that seemed to fuel such gestures.

“Sounds like we’ve got to step it up and hurry,” the speedster said.

Miles agreed, wasting no more time on small talk. The two of them ran forward, the fox utilizing his multitool to direct them around a bend and nearly into an electric barrier. The problem was that the means to shut it off also appeared to be on the other side of it. Spotting a vent up above that his friend could fit through, Miles boosted Sonic up into it and had him crawl to the end of it. Sure enough, the teen saw him drop down on the other side of the force field and hit the switch, deactivating it and allowing them to join back up. They went up several meters further, riding along a couple of conveyor belts and coming to a confined area with only one clear way to go. Just as they reached the edge of it, the fox turned back around and inspected the floor less than half a meter below them. A brief touch with the tip of his glove caused it to fall away, then be just as quickly replaced by a “block” that seemingly materialized from nowhere.

“I remember these old floor traps,” Miles reminisced, “hang tight, Sonic.”

He hoisted the hoglet onto his shoulders and then put his two tails to use. They flew up a wall and came to a dead end, only for them to drop below a floor trap and start tumbling towards a bed of spikes. Miles had been anticipating this and stopped them well before they could be impaled, carrying the two of them over a couple of platforms. The pair continued high into this chamber, momentarily dipping beneath one low-hanging pipe and then rising over another platform to eventually land on an outcropping in the top corner. This tunnel brought them to a more open shaft, where Miles took them even further up, expecting to have to deal with another switch puzzle to get past the last barrier. Yet, there was nothing there, leaving them unhindered and free to access the imposing gold and orange elevator, lit up by the bright skies in the background viewing windows.

‘We haven’t encountered any combatants since we got inside the bridge,’ he mused with suspicion, ‘there are plenty of them outside and running around other levels, from the sound of it, but not in here. What are you playing at, Kukku?’

"Big guy?" Sonic asked as he prodded his side, "you okay?"

Miles shook himself out of his thoughts and frowned a bit. "I just have a weird feeling, kid. The last time I took this passage, it was crawling with elite troopers, Robo Kukkus, and gun placements. But now, it's like a ghost town, as though whoever is controlling this big bird wants us to go this way."

"So you think it could be a trap?" the young Animal postulated.

The fox moved his head from side to side. "A setup, maybe, but not necessarily a trap. It won't do us any good to sit here and speculate though, right?"

"Whatever they've got planned, we can take it!" the boy commented confidently.

Miles gave the hedgehog an equally assuring smile. It was different now than when he'd taken on the Empire at first. He had friends this time, one of which had helped him more than he'd initially believed. There had been some bumpy moments along the way, sure, but now they were in sync on what needed to be done. He found himself agreeing with the sheer confidence of his partner, despite his own reservations.

"Yeah, let's...do it to it!" he proclaimed with some hesitation, still holding reservations about the saying.

Thankfully, Sonic either didn't notice or didn't care about his relative lack of enthusiasm around the phrase. The both of them boarded the car and braced themselves as it whirred to life beneath their feet. Several seconds went by as the platform ascended and slowly came to a stop, an otherwise solid wall opening up before them. Contrary to Miles’ expectations, they found themselves in the command room itself, noting the lack of minions rushing about to maintain operations. In fact, the whole chamber was devoid of activity, save for a certain avian Animal sitting atop a throne nestled in the back of the place.

“Miles Prower, fox of the hour,” Speedy announced with something of a mocking lilt, “as expected, you made it here, just as you did during the incident at Cocoa Island.” He momentarily regarded Sonic and smirked. “How fortunate that your young friend survived our last confrontation.”

The teen snarled and stomped for a couple of steps before pointing angrily at the bird. “If anyone is lucky, it’s you, Speedy! If Sonic hadn’t pulled through after what you did, I’d be wringing your neck like a wet rag right now!”

“It's good for us both it worked out, then,” the heir retorted evenly, slowly getting up from his seat, “I wish to talk.”

Miles was perplexed, and a bit taken aback, by what he was hearing. "Talk?"

He'd repeated the word as though he hadn't heard correctly, gritting his teeth. The fox really wasn’t in the best mood, not after what this guy had participated in. He was prepared to remind Speedy full well what happened to those that messed with anyone he cared for. But just as he was about to make a move, the prince held up a hand, his face now lacking any prior mirth. Miles decided he would at least hear him out, if only to not come off as violent as his enemies.

"I've...given some thought to what you said the last time we met," the Kukku prince reluctantly told him, "about always having a choice."

Sonic confidently beamed at Miles and rubbed the underside of his nose. "You hear that, big guy? Sounds like you're getting through to him!"

"Quiet, you blue pincushion!" Speedy snapped, then took a moment to compose himself, "I brought it up because I want to present you with options, Prower."

Miles tilted his head curiously. "Choices for me?" His face quickly shifted to one that was unamused. "Let me guess, either I hand over the Chaos Emeralds, or we fight?"

"Got it in one," came the reply, along with a light chuckle, "although, it's a foregone conclusion which one you'll choose."

He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out the device he was given, then placed it in a compartment inside one of the throne’s armrests. Miles eyed it up for a moment, then turned his attention back to the bird.

"What's that you just put down?" inquired the fox.

"A kill switch device for the Battle Moon's Chaos Generator," Speedy answered curtly, frowning while folding his arms.

Sonic laughed boyishly. "Oh wow, you guessed the name right, big guy!"

Miles wasn't entirely sure whether to feel proud about that or not. It was a rather predictable moniker, considering who devised it. He was more interested in why the bird would bring something like that out.

"Why would you show that to me?" The teen asked precariously.

To his surprise, his rival's expression became more fiery, and his hands fell to his side, bunched into fists. Had he unknowingly hit a nerve?

“To make a point that I am no coward,” Speedy spat, letting out a sigh when the other Animal’s confusion remained apparent, “if I lose this fight to you...I hate to admit it, but I would effectively be cast aside. The Emperor would likely seek to sire a new heir in light of my failure.” He paused, a shakiness creeping into his voice. “I respect and honor him as a leader, and I love him as a father...I worked hard to gain his favor and prove myself a capable soldier in my own right.”

Miles saw pain fill those red eyes and heard the flight suit’s gloves groan from how hard the bird’s fingers were curling in on the palms. Even though Speedy had been party to many heinous things, including nearly killing his new friend, the fox still felt some sympathy for him.

“However, I am afraid of him,” the young adult went on, “of what he does to those that leave him wanting, of what else he may do if I fail...and honestly, what he will certainly do if he succeeds with this new weapon of ours.” He fixed his gaze intently on Miles. “But, unlike before, I refuse to let that fear control me any longer!”

He held out one of his fists and pointed at the fox.

“I offer you this proposition, Prower,” Speedy offered, “one last fight on even ground. No Chaos Emeralds, no exosuits, no tools, no weapons, no outside interference, no advantageous terrain. Just our natural-born abilities and the experience we’ve accumulated. If I win, I will take your Chaos Emeralds and give them to my father, for better or for worse.”

The fox found himself unable to hide a small grin. “Does that mean you’ll help me if I win?”

“I will give you the kill switch and provide you with a way to board the Battle Moon,” the prince elaborated, his scowl deepening a little, “I will not raise my hand against my father, the doctor, or our troops, however; you’re on your own with that.”

“Fair enough.”

Miles undid his utility belt and handed it off to Sonic, along with everything inside of them. Speedy did the same, stripping away the gauntlet and armor attachments on his suit, followed by his jetpack. The two crossed the room over to one another and gripped each others’ gloves firmly, nodding to one another in understanding as they gave a respectful shake. After a moment, they both leapt back and took up a stance, each of them prepared to make a move. Sonic stood off to the side, looking like he wished he had a tub of popcorn for this.

“Well then, let’s settle this, Battle Kukku the Sixteenth!” Miles declared, flexing and cracking his fingers.

“The feud between us will be decided here and now,” Speedy agreed, mimicking his opponent, “come at me with everything you can muster, Miles Prower!”

Notes:

And that was part 1 of 3 for the finale! Seems as though Speedy has made up his mind on what to do, and Miles is willing to take his possible aid. All they have to do is beat each other up a bit first!

No big notes for this chapter, so I'll just give thanks for everyone who's kept up with it to this point. Tune in next time for part 2 of the end-game, where you'll see Round 2 of Miles vs Speedy!

Chapter 11: Fortress Finale

Summary:

Miles faces off against Speedy, while the rest of the team rushes to figure out what to do about the Battle Moon and the prisoner situation. Meanwhile, the designs of the Empire are nearing completion, and it seems that the heroes may be too late to stop them. But, in the face of impending victory, there's always the chance that something can go wrong.

Notes:

This chapter covers some of the Wing Fortress and Death Egg portions, only replaced with the Battle Fortress and Battle Moon, respectively. It's another fairly lengthy chapter, but I hope the pacing doesn't make it feel too long! I also recommend listening to the final boss theme from Tails' Adventure during the fight between Miles and Speedy, or your favorite arrangement of it.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Gadget fought the urge to bite his claws while his hands glided over Dr. Fukurokov’s keyboard. The lines of code in the owl’s system were of a programming language he wasn’t greatly versed in, but he was managing. He’d made it past the initial security and gained access to files on the surface level, which mostly consisted of slated upgrades for exosuits, walkers, hoverpods, and general weapons. Remi was hooked up to the tower, copying over the information that the wolf browsed through. Soon, there was nothing more significant that they could glean from that layer.

“Time to mine for higher tier content,” he said aloud, bringing up the command window on the monitor once again as he clicked on a more restricted folder.

The code that came up was even stranger than what he’d seen thus far. Not only did it consist of the usual characters and symbols, but there were ones he wasn’t even sure how to replicate with a standard key layout. A lot of them seemed to resemble the Badniks and the face of that one fellow, Dr. Robotnik, interspersed with lines that, in any other case, would’ve made zero sense.

“So weird,” Gadget mumbled as he scratched his head, “all this gibberish, and yet it still compiles just fine. Let’s see...”

The vermilion wolf fiddled around with keys, seeing if any of the functions would alter the characters he typed. After a few minutes, he managed to roughly figure out the basic conversions and slowly, almost painfully, started to input an override. Two attempts failed, and it appeared as though the system was ready to lock him out if he messed up again. He gulped back his anxiety and gave it one last college try, a finger hovering over the return key before pressing it down. A beep of confirmation met his ears, and he let his shoulders sag as he let out a sigh of relief.

“Are you making good progress?” Espio asked him from right behind the chair.

The wolf nearly leapt out of his seat, as he hadn’t heard the chameleon walk up to him. “Agh, don’t do that!”

“My apologies, I did not mean to frighten you,” the reptile said as he offered a light bow of the head.

Gadget steadied his breathing, gently patting a hand against his chest over his heart. “I-it’s okay. Anyway, to answer your question, I just got past the second safeguard, and Remi's been storing every bit of data so far.”

Espio nodded and went back to watching the door. The bigger Animal opened up the folder that he tried to access before, having no issues now. In there, he found the blueprints to many of the numerous Badniks that he had seen and fought against alongside his friends, as well as more that hadn’t seen action. The wolf also came across the design for the now-scrapped Mecha Golem Mark VII, plastered with notes on how to improve it for the next version. Additional constructs included the vicious Auto Arachnid, the Mega Octus submarine mech, and the hovercraft that Dr. Robotnik had been using, dubbed the “Flying Egg”. All of this information would certainly be useful for coming up with countermeasures in the event of a future attack by the Empire.

However, there was another task that needed to be done. Just as Miles had instructed him, and once Remi was done copying the second set of data, Gadget began poring through the files for any details regarding the Kukkus' prisoners. Surely, the old owl would be privy to such a thing, considering the sorts of methods he was known to employ. But right as it seemed that the wolf found what he was looking for, the command window came up as he tried to open the contents. Almost all of the lines were flooded with that strange Badnik code, leaving him with more of a headache than before.

“Stupid nonsense code. This’ll take forever if I tackle it the way I did before,” he grumbled, casting a glance over at his robot companion, “Remi, have you made heads or tails of all of this?” Upon receiving a bark and a wag of that thin tail, the bespectacled canine allowed himself a smile. “Okay then, execute decryption protocol 092295.”

Remi’s eyes glowed an electric blue, the mess on screen slowly transforming into something legible. Once it was no longer hard on the wolf’s eyes, and had stopped irking what he knew about programming, he resumed his own efforts. It was much easier to figure out what needed to be input with the robot’s help, and within a couple of minutes, the two of them bypassed the third level of security.

That was when Gadget realized he hadn’t merely stumbled upon the prisoner logs. It was the schematics for the Battle Moon, as well as the original design it was based off of. Everything was noted, from its size, mass, the number of bodies that could be stationed there, the location of prison facilities, and the firepower. As he scanned over the lattermost of these, one detail made the wolf gasp in alarm and readjust his glasses to make sure he was reading it right.

“What’s wrong?” Espio asked, coming to the other’s side.

Gadget moved his head so that the chameleon could see for himself. “It’s this thing...”

It further worried the wolf when he saw the nearly constant stoic expression on the other male’s face morph into genuine shock and concern. As he looked back at the Battle Moon’s ultimate weapon, as well as the target that had been painted for it, a cold shiver ran down his back.


Speedy made the first move, jumping high into the air and diving at Miles in a flash, aiming to deliver a powerful kick. The fox leapt to the side and crouched down, revving up a Spin Dash and shooting forward. The prince raised both arms to shield his torso and face before he was sent flying back, managing to mitigate most of the potential damage. He flipped and caught himself against the wall behind him with his boots, boosting off of it and going for a superman punch. The amber teen ducked low, his two tails grabbing onto his opponent’s legs like fluffy tendrils as he passed overhead. He twirled them around so that he didn’t completely kill the other’s momentum, using the force to slam the heir into the ground on his back. He released the bird out of his appendages and lunged in to stomp him, but Speedy rolled out of the way and hopped to his feet.

Not wanting to give his foe breathing room, Miles closed in with a quick flick of his back limbs, swinging his own fist at the prince’s face. Speedy weaved his head so that the knuckles only brushed his cheek, using the opening to knee the fox in the gut, forcing the wind out of him. Miles stumbled back from the blow, one arm around his stomach while the other fended off a chop from the avian speedster. That moment was enough for him to recover and distance himself by taking flight, though he wasn’t alone in the air for long. Speedy followed him up, darting his way with his beak at the front and going into a spin, effectively becoming an aerial drill. The fox swerved, though not fast enough to entirely avoid the blow, feeling that keratin point cut him across his chest and drew some blood as it flew by. The moment he winced was enough for Speedy to come out of his twisting motion, using the built up force to kick his rival in the side above his waist.

Miles was whipped to one side from the strike, nearly falling back to the ground, but stopping himself before he could collide with it. The teen righted himself and touched down just in time to avoid an oncoming tackle from his nemesis. Speedy landed and spun around in a crouch, then sprinted full tilt at the fox, hands pressed to his sides. Once he was in range, he thrusted his palms forward with his fingers outstretched towards that amber neck. Miles answered in kind and laced the digits of his gloves with the other’s, holding tight and wrestling against the bird’s attempts to force him over. Given that he was both taller and more physically robust, the vulpine soon found himself pushing the prince back and down himself.

“D-damn your dense bones and muscles!” Speedy cursed.

He tried to wrench his hands away, but the bigger Animal’s grip was too strong. While preoccupied doing that, Miles growled down at him and reeled his head back. The heir’s eyes widened as he recognized too late what his foe intended to do, redoubling his efforts to free himself. They came to naught as the fox slammed the thickest part of his forehead into the thinnest section of Speedy’s, causing the latter to gawk from the pain as his pupils narrowed to pinpricks. Blood flew from his nostrils as his enemy took advantage of his off-kilter moment and suddenly let go, taking his head in both hands and driving home another hard headbutt.

“Stop making excuses!” Miles shot back, “you’re the one who wanted this fight!”

He released his grip, only to slide his tails up and grab Speedy by his wrists. He hefted him above his head and slammed him into the floor once more, the heir coughing up a bit of red as he felt his spine smack into the cold steel below. He shook off the momentary dizziness and kicked away from the fox, spitting to the side and gnashing his teeth. Seeing Miles give him the time he needed to regain his footing, he backed away and thought about his approach.

‘Size, reach, land speed, number of limbs, overall physical prowess,’ he listed off in his head, ‘he’s got me beat in every one of those categories. My only real chance at victory is maintaining a dogfight. This place is too confined to make full use of my flight, though.’

Speedy eyed up the viewing window on the front of the bridge, considering it for a moment. The fox was caught off-guard when the bird ran over to one of the consoles in the room and grabbed a microphone.

“Attention all troops, cease pursuit of the intruders!” he announced, “disable interior and exterior weapon systems! Do not disregard; this is a direct order from your prince!”

Miles was further taken aback when once more took flight, but rather than charging at him, he retreated and smashed through the glass of the windows. The prince allowed himself a smirk as the fox followed him out the hole he made, the two of them now fluttering high above the outer deck. Miles took the initiative that time, zooming through the whipping winds in a zig-zag pattern to try and throw his opponent off balance. Speedy wasn’t concerned as his red eyes easily followed along, ready to rise or dive at a moment’s notice. He watched as the fox rose above his head and went for a Drop Attack, backing up out of the way before the amber sphere could hit him. But, just as Miles was about level with where the bird’s head had just been, he uncurled and pointed both tails directly behind him, shooting forward at an even faster clip. Speedy realized too late that the Drop Attack, much like the earlier maneuvers, had also been a ploy.

“What!?” he just managed to get out before he was decked in the face by a mean hook from Miles.

He re-balanced himself and descended to avoid a second attack, then rose up and seized one of the fox’s legs, hurling him at the bridge. Speedy bolted after him, flipped forward, and brought out one leg in a dive kick, planting his boot right into Miles’ torso. He didn’t stop after the impact, continuing to drive his foe down in the direction of the solid steel some meters away. The fox flipped away before he could get pinned between the bird’s boot and the bridge, leaving his rival to make an enormous dent in the metal. Speedy himself was no worse for wear, jetting up after Miles once he wrenched his foot free from the plating.

Sonic watched intently as the two continued to exchange blows and attempt to knock one another out of the air. He kept calm as his partner sometimes took a hit, though he also refrained from cheering him on when he returned his foe’s strikes in kind. It was exciting to see a battle play out like the kinds he’d seen on TV and in comics, but he knew how serious the situation was, too. And, honestly, he wasn’t planning on sticking to the deal between them if Miles did end up losing, and he was pretty sure the fox was aware of that. He wouldn’t have agreed so readily if he wasn’t confident he could win, or that the kid could pick up the slack, right? The kid wasn't the one beholden to the proposition they'd made, anyway; he'd just silently decided not to get between them.

‘It’s weird, though,’ he thought as he looked on, seeing Miles block a straight from Speedy and break off, ‘I feel like I’m taking this more seriously than the big guy. Then again, he said something about the Emeralds making people stronger. After how much he used it yesterday, I wonder...’

Sonic was brought out of his musing by the familiar tone of the Miles Electric being hailed. He shuffled through the pockets of the fox’s utility belt until he found the multitool, seeing that it was indeed being contacted, specifically by Remi. Having seen his partner use it enough times, the hedgehog tapped on the button to accept, seeing a window pop up that indicated it was audio only.

“Team 1, this is Team 2,” came Gadget’s voice, sounding even more frantic than he did when the Battle Moon launched, “please respond!”

Sonic frowned at the clear fear he was hearing. Whatever it was, it couldn’t have been good, and considering they’d already gotten bad news from Team 3, he was starting to feel a little worried.

“What’s up, Team 2?” the hoglet asked, “the big guy’s fighting Speedy at the moment, so he can’t talk.”

“Miles assumed correctly about the captives being moved to the Battle Moon,” Espio answered.

The clatter of metallic feet and boots filled the background audio, indicating that the three were on the move. The hedgehog figured that they accomplished what they set out to do and were on the way to meet up with them.

“They’re going to be Converted en masse within the hour, but that’s not the worst part!” the red wolf went on.

A second window popped up on the screen of the Miles Electric, briefly disrupting the call. As he’d done with the first, Sonic let it through, being met with Gizmo’s face when he did.

“Team 1, this is Team 3,” the teal twin reported, “what the heck is going on? Why did the Kukkus stop trying to come after us?”

“I dunno why, but Speedy told them to,” Sonic replied, “anyway, I’ve got the others on the line here. What were you saying before, Gadget?”

There was a bit of a pause, eventually broken by a pointed clearing of the throat.

“The Battle Moon is being fed energy from the Chaos Emeralds the Empire obtained,” Espio continued for the wolf, sounding rather unnerved himself, “with five of them, its strongest weapon, dubbed the 'Grand Kukku Cannon', will have sufficient power to destroy a large island in its entirety." He hesitated, which drew curious and concerned looks from Charmy and Vector on the other display. "Your old home is slated to be its first target, Charmy."

“Are you serious!?” the bee shouted incredulously, “we’ve got to find a ride up there right away!”

A low whine came from Team 2’s end.

“Well, there is a way,” Gadget informed them with less enthusiasm than they’d hoped, “but the problem is that there’s only one craft onboard the Battle Fortress that’s capable of making the journey, and it only fits one person. It's a one-way trip, too, since it's more like a pod than a proper shuttle or anything like that. My guess is that it's specially made for the commander of the Fortress to travel, or escape, to the Moon.”

"That must've been what Speedy was talking about," Sonic deduced, his head turning to glance back at the throne in the command room, "I'll head down to the bottom of the bridge to meet you guys. Once Miles wins, we'll make for the space pod!"

Back in the air, Speedy growled as Miles fended off another swing of his, wincing as he felt the fox slam a fist into his navel. However, like all else he'd taken so far, there was something off about the hit. Given their physiological differences, not to mention the lack of proper armor, he'd expected to take more damage by now. Not only that, but it seemed his own attacks weren't winding his opponent as much as he thought.

Their previous fight back in the Mystic Cave Network came to mind. Miles had been more swift and efficient in combat, and had taken a few good hits in turn. Speedy had been on a similar level with the gem he’d had plugged into his suit. Or rather, he should’ve been technically superior, when other factors were brought into play. But, all things considered, he’d been beaten rather handily, even excluding the doctor’s blunder. The idea that his greatest rival would be pulling punches during their climactic battle made him seethe more than the prospect of losing. Whether or not he was being mocked, he'd been taught that fighting at less than your best was disrespectful to your adversary, and he wasn't about to take that lying down.

He shot forward and drove a double ax hand into the fox’s head, making him flip back several times before bracing against the roof of the bridge in a four-point landing. Miles rolled to the side as another dive kick came his way, puncturing a second hole in the metal. Speedy yelled and rushed again, hovering off the ground just enough to be at his foe’s height and living up to his name as he let loose a blurry string of punches. The teen put his tails between himself and the oncoming fists, the thumps against them making it sound more like the bird was striking a brick wall than soft fluff. With his arms to support his tails, Miles repelled the prince, stunning him just long enough to follow up with a Tail Swipe. That one packed a bit more punch, but not as much as Speedy had been expecting, which caused him to grit his teeth angrily. There was no mistaking what was going on now.

“You told me to stop making excuses, but what about you?” he yelled over the roaring gale. He went in for a spinning kick towards the left side of the fox’s head, only to have the mammal’s arm block it. “Why are you limiting yourself? Am I not a worthy enough opponent for you!?”

Miles didn’t seem entirely surprised at the presumption, going by the tense, but neutral expression he wore. Part of him had been hoping that the avian wouldn’t notice, though he knew he couldn’t fool someone as experienced as Speedy forever. Time to be straightforward.

"Every day, I've gotten stronger," he confessed, "most often, just by little bits. The Emerald I've had, that you didn't know about until yesterday, is the main reason. With how frequently and heavily I've used it and the others recently, the results have been much greater. I wanted to give you a fair fight, and to pace myself, since I don't know the extent of my current ability."

One of Speedy's eyes twitched, and he snapped his other leg at the fox, catching him near the ribs. Or at least, he thought he did, only to see one of those tails cushioning the blow. After pushing the boot aside, Miles and Speedy backed off a couple of meters from each other, the former maintaining a more defensive stance.

"So I was right?” the prince hissed, clearly not satisfied with the answer, “you're saying I'm not worth the effort to go all out on?”

Miles remained silent, though the stoic demeanor he was trying to maintain did shift to one that was more sympathetic.

“Don't you dare give me such a look!” Speedy shouted, “if you're so worried about being 'fair', let me ask you this: do you realize what will happen if you dawdle with me and don’t deal with that?" He pointed up to the distant shape of the Battle Moon to clarify. "Do you care about your friends and family as much as you say you do?" His scowl deepened as he lowered an accusatory finger and leveled it at the fox. "Or is your 'righteous' anger just for show? Are you going to fail them like the Animals and the Critters from your little home four years ago? Like how you almost let that hedgehog boy down?”

He knew he'd touched a nerve when his questions were met with a straight between the eyes. His head tilted back from the force, the sudden sharp pain making him clutch at his face. It'd had more power behind it than any punch Miles had thrown so far in this fight, but Speedy wasn’t given time to focus on it before finding himself being launched backwards by an even stronger smash. He opened his eyes to see an amber Spin Dash uncurling right in front of him, Miles flipping forward to spike the bird down with an overhead slam from both tails. No sooner had he hit the ground before he felt both the fox’s hands grab onto his wrists and pull them above his head, raising the heir to his level. When he looked up, he was met with an icy glare from those cyan-blue eyes that caused him to involuntarily shudder. He didn't think anyone aside from his father could manage that until now, but he wouldn't let that fear keep hold.

“Since you put it that way,” Miles told him in a cold tone that was barely audible above the wind around them, “why don't you save me the trouble, and just give up?”

The Kukku would've gawked at the suggestion if he wasn't so livid at the idea. Throwing in the towel wasn't an option; he had too much pride in himself to consider doing that. Besides, he wanted to know what the fox was capable of, if his words were indeed true.

“I refuse to yield before you show me how much you can really do, freak!" Speedy proclaimed, once again moving to attack, "I won't be satisfied until then, so stop holding back!"

Miles shook his head and sighed heavily. If there was no persuading him otherwise, then he may as well. He'd be lying if he said a big part of him didn't want to, anyway, after having such a sore point brought up.

"If you want that so badly, then fine," he said forebodingly while intensifying his grip, "don't say I didn't give you an out."

The Kukku snarled and fought against the hold, swinging his head to try and peck the other guy in the face. The fox moved his own head aside and let go, giving the bird the opportunity to go for a rising knee. Miles bent over backwards to avoid it, his left leg swinging up into a high kick that drove the ball of his shoe into Speedy’s abdomen. The ace gasped and coughed up a bit more crimson, but grinded his teeth through the pain and repositioned himself as he tried to make some distance. A deafening boom sounded through the sky as the flying fox closed the gap in a blink, both hands clutching at the cuff of his rival’s collar. Speedy let out a sharp cry as he was put on the receiving end of the same attack he tried to use just a moment ago, an unsettling crack reaching his ears. A fiery pain unlike any he’d felt spread through his gut, both arms nursing his ribs as he unsteadily tried to stay on his feet.

In spite of his pain, his reflexes allowed him to nimbly fly away from a second Tail Swipe, retreating many meters above the bridge. To his dismay, a second boom came from below, and an amber ball collided into the small of his back just above his green tail feathers. Speedy tumbled through the air several times until he managed to stop, wheeling around to face the fox, but finding nothing. Stars flooded his vision as the full force of a Drop Attack clocked him on the head, feeling the air rush up under him from his loss of balance and control on his flight. He fell for several seconds, managing to avoid the bridge during his spiral and regaining his bearings halfway above the deck.

He briefly gazed down, seeing the blue hedgehog and the twin wolves, along with the new faces he wasn’t familiar with. Some of his troops were scattered about, holding fast to their positions just as he’d ordered. The ace peered up at where the fox had been, his vision suddenly filled with the white of a glove. Speedy just narrowly dove out of the way of Miles' grapple attempt, but was unprepared for a rebounding uppercut that socked him right below the base of his beak. This time, he only hurtled upwards for a couple of seconds before feeling the fox's arms slip up under his own. The bigger Animal locked him into an aerial full nelson, leaning in close so his muzzle was near the Kukku's face.

"You know, despite everything you've done, directly or otherwise," Miles uttered with a tinge of pity beneath the overlying contempt, "I still don't want to kill you, Speedy. You never got a proper second chance, after all."

Miles' grip tightened more, straining the prince's shoulders and causing them to creak. The prince felt like they were about to be dislocated if the agitated vulpine put on any more pressure. He could scarcely believe the two-tailed tyke he'd once met atop Mt. Pori Pori could overpower him like he was now. It embarrassed him that Miles had been playing until now. But, that the fox deigned to use his utmost effort, however briefly, got a smirk out of him.

"This time, though," the fox said dangerously, "I need to make sure the message sinks in, like yours did with me."

Miles loosened his hold over Speedy, almost dropping him. At the last second, his hands yanked the Kukku back up and began rapidly spinning him around. The prince was coerced into a Rolling Attack, something he had never practically made use of before. It wasn't as refined as how he'd seen Miles team up with his friends, though. Those gloves were rough in the way they handled him, as though he were an amateur sculptor with his first major clay project. His feathers stood up as static ran through them, his eyes glued tight from the velocity of his form being tossed like pizza dough.

Speedy felt himself held in place even though he was spinning outside his control, a pit forming in his stomach as his nemesis just kept increasing his rotation. Or perhaps that was just the dizziness from being in a rolling motion for an extended duration, he wasn't certain. What he was sure of was that it was going to end soon. And the prince was proven right as he felt himself drop once again, both of the fox's legs coiling close to his body.

“Thunder Driver!” Miles bellowed, both shoes kicking down and out at the bird.

Speedy felt a shock travel through him, as though he'd been struck by the stunning shot from his exosuit. It was overshadowed by the sheer velocity of his form hurtling through the air, and the pain from his presumably broken ribs. He had no idea where he was headed, but he didn't have to wonder for long. Or rather, he was spared the suspense when he blacked out on impact with the steel of the bridge. Miles watched as Speedy caved the walls in where he ended up, his body spread eagle and unmoving in the center of the crater he'd formed.

The fox flew over and checked the vitals of his rival. He detected a slow, but steady pulse, and leaning in closer, his ears picked up faint breathing. Relieved that he hadn't gone too far, Miles gingerly lifted him out of the hole into a fireman's carry, then hovered down to meet the rest of the group. Sonic was the first to approach, flashing his usual thumbs-up.

"Good job, big guy!" he praised the teen. He glanced over at the unconscious ace and frowned at his beaten and bruised state. "A bit rough, though, don't ya think?"

Miles folded his arms and let out a puff of air through his nose. Maybe he did go a little overboard, but Speedy had asked for it. Still, he wasn't about to justify almost ending his arch-nemesis, even if unintentionally.

"Yeah," the fox said, not wanting to argue, "let's get him back on his feet."

Miles motioned to his utility belt that the hoglet still carried, who handed it over. He retrieved the cyan Emerald from its pouch and quickly healed over his relatively minor injuries, then held it over Speedy's chest. He closed his eyes and let his desire to mend the avian flow in concert with the energy. Aside from Sonic, he'd not attempted to try and fix up another with his gem before, but he was sure he could do it.

After a few seconds, Speedy's eyes opened and he started groaning. To his credit, he didn't attempt to strike Miles or thrash under him, but merely clenched his beak and fists as he rode out the process. The bitter look in his eyes told the fox that he knew trying anything untoward wouldn't be a wise move. He wasn't in the shape to do so anyway, not with the pain he was in and the fact that the fox had plenty of help. Not that he needed it, as he'd adequately demonstrated in the last several minutes.

Within a couple of minutes, Speedy was free of injury, although still a bit sore. Miles offered him a hand up, and the prince stared at it for a moment. It was the same gesture the fox had made after saving his life at the end of their first climactic battle aboard this Fortress. Back then, he'd refused it, going so far as to slap the glove away and walk on, barely muttering a thanks. This time, he reluctantly reached up and allowed his rival to help him to his feet. He pulled away the moment he was stable, which Miles didn't fight, though he did show a slight smile.

"Going to gloat now?" scoffed the prince.

"No, just hold you to our agreement," the teen replied cheekily.

Speedy rolled his eyes and gestured up at the top of the bridge. "You're free to grab the kill switch for yourself."

Miles shrugged and sprang upwards, flying to the broken viewing window. As he went in to grab the device, the Kukku was left in the company of the others. The chameleon had a keen eye fixed on him, but he was otherwise unreadable. The reptile's two companions plainly didn't care for him, although they had no personal beef. The same couldn't be said for the wolves, with Gadget keeping his baton in both hands while Gizmo had her gun pointed down, both of them glaring intensely at him. The only one showing any sense of amiability was the hedgehog, sporting a confident and empathetic smile.

It was all annoying, but Speedy chose not to comment on any of it, lest he get lip from one of the others. Fortunately for him, he didn't have to endure their scrutiny for long before Miles returned. The fox showed off the small black drive that would get the deed done, slipped it in his belt, then gave the ace his attention.

"Now, you said you had a way to get up to the Battle Moon," he said, reminding Speedy of the second part of their deal.

The green bird grumbled and folded his arms. "Yes, yes, I haven't forgotten about it. I'll escort you–"

"We don't need your help!" Gizmo interjected, both hands tightly squeezing her gun.

Gadget rested a glove on Remi's head as he scowled at the prince. "We already know where to find it, thanks. Sis is right, Miles, we don't need him, and honestly, we can’t trust him."

"But if we leave him here, he could call his goons or something!" Vector argued, "at least if he's with us, we can keep an eye on him!"

Espio hummed in thought as his eyes went between Speedy and the rest. "I cannot speak for his character, but I have concerns in either scenario."

"Well, I'm with Vector!" Charmy declared, giving the twins an apologetic look, "sorry, guys, I just think it's less risky to keep him close than to leave him be."

Miles weighed their words together. Two wanted Speedy to stay behind, two wanted to bring him along, and one was wary of both options, thus technically undecided. He turned to Sonic, who simply shrugged and smirked at him.

"Doesn't matter to me," he said honestly, "it's up to you, big guy."

Much as Miles wanted to consider and respect everyone's view, he didn't have the time. If Speedy was being earnest, they had to get to the Battle Moon as soon as they possibly could.

"Speedy knows this place by heart," he reasoned, "it'd be faster to just follow him, even if we have the coordinates."

The wolves didn't look at all happy with that decision, but they didn't try to argue. Everyone else went along just as quietly, leaving the fox to turn to the prince and motion for him to lead the way. Speedy grunted in affirmation and began sprinting into the bridge, everyone else closely following. Along the way, they updated Miles on the situation with the Battle Moon. They were also stopped a few times by soldiers that, reasonably, assumed their commander was hostage to the big group of non-avians. He waved them away and guided the others down a couple of twists and turns to the main elevator, where they all crammed in and rode down to the main hangar.

They passed by a number of walkers, hoverpods, and planes before coming to something that didn’t resemble any of those. It was a tall and thin, silvery egg-shaped vessel with a tiny circular window, locked into place by several steel prongs atop a raised platform. There was a tunnel above it that went up into the Fortress, which Miles presumed to be its launch tube. A chrome console stood nearby, which Speedy went over to without needing any prompting, his fingers clicking on the keys as the wolf twins watched him closely. The front of the pod opened, and just as Gadget had informed everyone, there really was only room for one inside, and as it was built more for someone like the Kukku prince, it would be a tight fit.

“Looks like I’ll have to hunch down to get in,” Miles remarked, stroking his chin as he looked over his group of friends, “I could get Remi in pack form and wear him on my front, and you could tag along in flight mode, Charmy.”

The bee chuckled and put his hands on Vector and Espio’s shoulders. “I’d love to, buddy, but I’ve gotta make sure these two get off this clunker in one piece. If anything happens to our ride, I'm the only one that can carry them the rest of the way!”

The chameleon slyly smiled while the crocodile grumbled at the insect boy’s implication that they needed his help. Remi came over and shifted into his storage state, which the fox lifted into both arms and shouldered over his chest. Sonic strolled up to him and held out a fist, which Miles bumped without even needing to ask why it was offered. It made him feel just that little bit more assured that the hoglet had such faith in him.

“Hey, Miles?” he asked, which made the teen perk his ears, “sorry I can’t be there with you and get that front row seat to Big Bird’s butt-kicking like I said.”

Miles laughed heartily and clapped a hand on the blue boy’s shoulder. “That’s okay, Sonic. I’ll be sure to get Remi to record it for you.”

“I’d be down to watch that on repeat,” Gizmo quipped, not caring that the prince glared at her for making such a statement, “go get him, little brother!”

“Be sure to get all those civilians back to safety, too!” Gadget amended.

The fox nodded to everyone and gave them the peace sign, then walked into the pod. He was right about it being a tight fit, as even bending down a few inches, he could just get himself into the blasted thing. It felt more like a steel coffin than a proper transport, if he were being honest. But just as he was about to let the door come down, Speedy pointed at him and narrowed his red eyes.

“Miles Prower!” he shouted, making the others tense up and prepare to make a move. Contrary to all their expectations, he gave his longtime rival and arch nemesis the traditional Battle Kukku Empire salute and nodded his head respectfully. “We will meet again, and I won't be content until I defeat you!”

Miles smirked and returned the gesture. "I look forward to another go, Speedy!"

He then ducked back into the pod and let the door come down. The prongs around the egg-like craft released themselves, the platform whirring loudly as it rose towards the tunnel above. Once it had been fully lodged into place, Speedy twisted another couple of knobs and then slammed a fist onto a big red button on the console. An immense BANG echoed throughout the hangar and the airspace around the Battle Fortress as a cannon port near the end of the upper deck blasted the pod straight up. While it screamed towards the Battle Moon, Miles steeled himself and watched the blue sky quickly darken and soon fade to black.

“You better be ready for Round 2, Fifteenth!” he proclaimed aloud, Remi barking in support.


Aboard the Battle Moon, the Great Battle Kukku peered over the blue marble that was their world. That is, the world that he believed rightfully belonged to the birds. Vast as it was, it appeared so much smaller from his current vantage point. His vision of an empire beyond this planet, one that extended to the stars, seemed all the more possible now. In it, Earth would be but another pearl in his eventual galactic crown. Best of all, that blasted fox would be out of his feathers for good, once everything was fully operational.

"Your Majesty!" reported a grunt as he rushed into the room and hastily saluted, "the preparations for your worldwide address have been completed! The doctor and the broadcasting crew await your presence!"

The big boss bird straightened his coat and put on his best winning smile. "Excellent. Let's not keep my new subjects waiting."

The GBK peered over at the Chaos Generator, taking in the powerful glow of the five stones. Very soon, he would get to see their new ultimate weapon in action, righting a wrong that had been plaguing them for years. Anyone else that dared to stand against the Empire would be presented with the same fate, but would mercifully be given a chance to rescind their foolish behavior. And once the remaining two Emeralds were in their grasp, there was no chance of anyone being able to assail this place. Perhaps then, they could extend their reach out to the stars.

But before that, the people of the world needed to know who was going to be in charge now. He followed the combatant down a gunmetal gray and gold hall adjacent to the main chamber. It took them less than a couple of minutes to come to a room that was wholly isolated, save for the one door leading in. Inside, there was a stage with a green screen behind it, and several cameras and lights set up. On the screens of the feed, he could see a wonderful view of Earth superimposed over the background, perfect for the contents of his speech.

"Wonderful," he murmured, stepping into the center and turning to face the lenses in him, "and Dmitri?"

"Present, Your Grace," Dr. Fukurokov called from a monitor opposite of him, hung up out of the way of the cameras, "preparations are underway for the first act of today's entertainment."

Things were going smoothly, but he knew not to get complacent this time. Yesterday had been a time where he’d let his good fortune go to his head, only to have various complications crop up. That was why he’d insisted on getting everything done as soon as possible for the final step. Last he’d heard, the fox had engaged and managed to board the Battle Fortress with his friends, which was disappointing news. But with the progress up to now, he felt he didn’t have to worry.

‘As long as Speedy keeps them busy, even if he ultimately loses, we shall win,’ he thought happily, ‘I shall be glad to be rid of the stress this plot has caused me. If he does well enough, I may even reconsider the severity of Speedy’s discipline following our victory. He won’t be entirely pardoned, but perhaps I’ve been a little too harsh on the boy.’

“My Emperor, we’re ready to go live whenever you are,” one of the troops told him as he and more of the smaller birds saluted him.

The Emperor adjusted his specs and gave the recording crew a glinting grin full of his crooked teeth. But just as they were about to go on, the chamber was cast in a crimson light and the alarm began blaring. His malicious smile audibly creaked into a strained one as his grunts secured the area and contacted other teams regarding the situation. Dr. Fukurokov appeared just as flustered, squawking orders at his own helpers while glancing back at his leader every so often with mounting trepidation.

“Status report!” the GBK demanded, about ready to storm over to his soldiers.

“There’s a mass break in the prison block!” one of them answered.

“Majority of non-avian converts have suddenly revolted and started freeing POWs!” another revealed, “they’re quickly outnumbering and outgunning our other forces!”

Their boss’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head, showing them to be a deep red like those of his son as his glasses tilted down his beak. He glared at the old owl engineer, who was just as baffled as he was, from what his face was showing.

“You assured me that you had perfected the Conversion Therapy process for other species!” roared the Emperor.

The elderly bird chirped indignantly. “My calculations are never wrong! This shouldn’t be happening, so clearly, this is some manner of sabotage!”

While his chief engineer went off into a rant about how this situation was an impossible one, the GBK stomped over to the console and grabbed one of the microphones.

“All hands on deck, execute these treasonous worms!” he thundered, “recapture all the prisoners and bring them to the Conversion Hall!”

Meanwhile, near the place where many had been recently contained, the mutinous chaos waged on, and one fellow was making his escape. Said fellow was a black and orange cross fox with deep brown eyes and rather interesting coat patterns. He was dressed in a gray collared shirt and a black pair of slacks, with a set of brown explorer’s boots to complete the look of an avid field researcher. He ducked into open cells as he dodged the view of rushing troops, moving on when he was sure nobody was coming from either direction.

‘Ah, the gods smile on me once again,’ he mused excitedly as he came near the end of the hall, ‘this is sure to make for another exuberant tale to add to my chronicles! And to think, just a couple of days prior, I was starting to get bored with how things were going! How many can say they’ve escaped from the warmongering descendants of the Babylonians?’ He paused his contemplations to hum softly. ‘Well, I suppose everyone that also manages to get out of here today.’

He waited until he heard the boot steps of Kukku grunts pass him by, then made a break for it. The cross fox bolted down the narrow hallway, trotting some distance to the containment cubicle at the end of the stretch and hiding once again. When certain it was safe to continue, he broke away to the right when he came to the first fork. His boots screeched against the floor from backpedaling the moment he realized this was unwise, as there was a trio of combatants right there! Lady Luck was kind to him when he opted to retreat in the other direction, as the soldiers apparently couldn’t aim worth a damn. He was a good might bigger than those birds, sure, but he wasn’t about to go at them with his claws and fangs when they had energy rifles!

As he hopped and skipped out of the way of stray shots, he eyed another split in the labyrinthine complex that was...wherever he’d been brought. His tall ears detected yet more footsteps to the right, so he headed left, his intuition proven sound when the hail of additional gunfire came his way from behind. Had he been more confident, he would’ve taunted their marksmanship, but all was going as well as it could have, so he didn’t deign to try. His longer legs and greater stamina afforded him the chance to put more meters between him and his pursuing party, but without a clear direction, it was only a matter of time until they cornered him in territory that they knew far better than he did.

It seemed exactly that case when he rounded what must have been the umpteenth corner when he ran into a real behemoth of a person. Specifically, it was a human male with olive toned flesh, ocean blue eyes, and curly, jet black hair that came down to his shoulders with lush, matching facial hair that dropped just as far. He had a powerful, but not overly muscular build that was hidden beneath blue and black Kukku fatigues that covered all but his neck up to his face. The fox couldn’t help gawking at his size; he must have easily stood over two meters tall, and probably weighed over 150 kilos. Such a figure was massive, and quite so even among humans, which already towered over and outweighed most Animals in general.

The man brought up one of the rifles that the Kukkus were toting, suggesting that he’d been Converted and was working with them to apprehend the escapees. Instinctively, the cross fox bowed low and hit the deck, waiting for the paralyzing shots to hit him from either direction. They came, but not in the way that he had been anticipating. The human unleashed several measured, evenly spaced blasts from his firearm, all of which sailed well over the vulpine’s head, and likely would have missed him even if he were still standing. Just as many cries rang out, followed by an equal number of thuds to the floor, which prompted the fox to check the situation. Every last one of the birds that had been chasing him were laid out, but still very much alive, scorch marks present in non-lethal areas over their bodies. He turned to the man, who signaled for him to get to his feet and follow. Wary though he was of this seeming ally, the Animal did as the other mammal suggested and soon joined him.

They sprinted down the passage ahead, only coming upon minimal resistance, which was promptly dealt with by the bigger of the pair. The two traveled through several more twists and turns until they came to an immense chamber dominated by more of the dull colorations that had been reserved for the floor. All around, there were immense, chrome egg-shaped transports connected to tunnels and shafts that went deeper into the Battle Moon. Many Animals and humans alike were filing into them, most wearing civilian clothing while the rest wore the uniforms of the Empire. The pods were equipped with many white with black straps and belts to keep passengers down, and a simple console near the doors presumably for operating them. Every few seconds, one of them sealed up and shot down a tube, leaving less and less vessels for those still around.

“Go,” the man told him in a deep and commanding, but also fatherly, bass voice, “all of the Children have nearly arrived.”

The fox wasn’t about to refuse the offer, but he couldn’t help wondering about his mysterious ally. “Thank you, good sir. If I may have your name before we part?” He held out one of his hands for a shake. “I’m a bit of a writer, you see, and I’d like to tell this story properly once I return. It’d be quite unjust not to include the man that helped me to freedom.”

The huge man regarded him for a moment, looking down at the offered paw. After a bit, the slightest ghost of a smile crossed his lips and he took the much smaller guy’s hand with a few of his fingers.

“Gil,” the fellow replied simply.

The cross fox let out a soft chuckle. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Gil. Most people know me as ‘J’.”

“Well then, safe journeys, J,” Gil bid him as he dropped the rifle he’d been using and went down a pathway opposite to the one they’d entered through.

J watched him disappear, then took up a position close to the console of a nearby pod. He waited until there was only one seat close to it left, then pulled a red lever, which quickly shut the doors. He ran over and strapped himself in tightly, just in time for the sensation of falling to overtake him, turning his stomach over a bit. The craft rocked and shook as it descended, though just as soon as it had started, the turbulence came to an end. The feeling of gravity, however, was still present, and when he peered outside the port window, J could scarcely believe what he was seeing.

‘We’re in space!’ he marveled internally, observing the stars as they dropped towards the blue marble they all came from, ‘I’ve always wanted to go see the stars up close! That’s one thing I can cross off my bucket list!’

After getting over his initial thrill, J found himself puzzled by a seemingly minor point, at least compared to all that he’d come across so far. What exactly had Gil meant when he used the word “Children” with that sort of emphasis? It sounded familiar to something he'd heard before, but he couldn't quite place where. Perhaps he could look into it once this was all said and done.

Back with the GBK, his temper only continued to soar to new heights as news came in regarding the catastrophe. Almost every POW had gotten away and hijacked most of the escape vessels meant for him and his troops! And as if that wasn’t bad enough, his forces on the planet had reported his son’s loss to the fox and his friends! But the absolute worst bit of information that came his way...he wasn’t just furious about it, he was absolutely appalled!

“My own flesh, feathers, and blood, providing aid to our worst enemy!” he screeched, kicking down the door to the studio that they’d set up and stomping back the way he came, “had he fought to the last or been taken hostage, that would be forgivable. But this!? I’ll show him what happens to those that turn against the Empire; after I skin that fox, of course!”

As he continued to rant and rave, a small crew followed with equipment they managed to scrounge before their leader dismantled all of it. Their plans to get the formal address out may have been dashed, but they planned to get footage out in spite of their setbacks. All the while, Dr. Fukurokov’s face jumped from display to display as he tried to keep up and get through to his leader. A couple of minutes went by before he was given the time of day, and the shadows on the Emperor’s face made him wish he had just left him well enough alone.

“Dmitri,” the big bird said with a dangerous calm, his enraged frown replaced with an eerie grin, “there is one thing I need you to get for me.”

The old owl was puzzled at first. However, once he recognized what the GBK was getting at, he slowly started sporting his own twisted smile. In the event that everything appeared to be crashing down around them, and the fox managed to make it aboard the Battle Moon, there was one final trump card they could bring out. Even if their nemesis did acquire all of the mystical minerals, the engineer was confident he still wouldn’t be able to contend with it.

“Of course, My Liege,” he replied eagerly, “it shall be ready for action, just in time for your destined showdown with Miles Prower!”


Miles felt the pod soon slow and lock into place, a similar interior to the Battle Fortress visible through the viewing window. The door to the craft hissed and swung open, showing him a chamber that was barren aside from the platform, a control console, and a single mechanical door. It also exposed his sensitive ears to the klaxon that had apparently been going off before he even arrived, and it was then that he also noticed the hazard lights flashing.

‘Either they already know I’m here, or something else is going on,’ Miles theorized, ‘it could also be both. Whatever the case, I’ve got to get to the Chaos Generator before they unleash that weapon on Cocoa Island! Once I stop it and the Emperor, I’ll focus on saving the captives, then find some way to bring this place down!’

Whipping out the Miles Electric, the fox overlaid the Emerald Radar atop the map of the Battle Moon that Remi downloaded, quickly determining where the other five stones were. What made him pause and not immediately run off to their location was the presence of an eighth signal aboard the station. Unlike the interference from the rings in Casino Night, this was a clear and concise reading, although physically larger than what the gems were giving off. Most peculiarly, it was moving in the direction of the gems from what the schematics labeled the prison ward. Had the Kukkus managed to create an artificial Emerald so that they wouldn’t need his in order to power the Generator?

Not wanting to find out the hard way, Miles rushed to intercept whatever it was before it reached its destination. He shrugged Remi off his shoulders and allowed him to change to his Critter form, the little robot immediately tucking in its legs and following behind with its propeller. Through the door, he found himself in a narrow corridor surrounded by light blue and golden brown walls, stars and other celestial objects whizzing past in a nearby window. Further down, he could see that magnificent blue spheroid that was his home world, as well as the many lands that dotted its surface. Even at an accelerated pace, it took a few minutes of traveling down nearly identical paths and passages before he started to close in on the location of the Chaos Generator. The fox had a bit of a sinking feeling as the aberrant signature he’d detected had planted itself in his direct path. Moreover, it had been sitting there, unmoving and in close proximity to the Emeralds, as though waiting for him at the end of this final stretch to his destination. There was a large room that was featureless aside from the next corridor, which led directly to the other five minerals, and a small silver shutter, presumably for viewing.

Immediately upon stepping into the chamber, it was plainly obvious that he wasn’t alone. Miles expected a new prototype machine to stand before him, maybe a combatant with a Chaos-powered firearm, or even the GBK himself wielding some strange power source slotted in an exosuit of his own. What he most certainly did not expect was a man that stood more than half again his height and probably weighed several times what he did. The human stood over what appeared to be a crude and, frankly, insulting mechanical replica of himself, reduced to little more than dismembered scraps scattered at the bigger mammal’s feet. Remi was rather calm around this figure, even though he should’ve been going crazy, by Miles’ estimates.

‘According to the Miles Electric, he is the source of the abnormal Chaos Energy reading,’ he concluded as he glanced between his creation and the figure, ‘what is he, a living Chaos Emerald?’

“Kitsune,” the man murmured in as much fascination as the Animal observing him, “or perhaps not? Regardless...beyond here lies the five brethren of the Chaos in your possession.”

While thankful that the man didn’t seem hostile, Miles was slightly annoyed by the obscurity of his words. He knew that “kitsune” was a word from the Japanese language, one that both meant “fox”, and also referred to the mystical beings from Shinto lore; foxes, like himself, with multiple tails. He knew what "the Chaos” meant without having anyone to spell it out for him, at least. Those aside, there remained the obvious question for the teenage Animal.

“Who are you?” he wondered. He waved the Miles Electric back and forth, seeing no change in the position of the signal he was getting.

The man bowed his head. “I am Gil, but that is unimportant right now. The Children are safe, so do not worry for them. Focus only on the descendant of Babylon’s king, who awaits you just past this door.” Before he could be questioned further, Gil waved a hand dismissively and walked past the amber fox. “We shall cross paths again in due time, kitsune. May you maintain your grasp in the trial to come, and stay true to yourself.”

Miles could do little more than blink as the unusual human disappeared down the halls, leaving him to digest what he’d heard.

‘Well,’ he concluded after some rumination, ‘that sounds ominous. I haven’t had that enigmatic of an encounter since the end of my ordeal on Little Planet. At least he gave me a little encouragement, whoever he was.’

Putting those thoughts aside, Miles and Remi proceeded past the shutters. It was yet another long hall with a view of space beside them, though unlike the rest, it wasn't lit up, leaving the pair illuminated only by the ambiance. At the end of it was a positively immense room with an equally large window that was divided by roughly cylindrical supports every couple of meters or so. The fox estimated the chamber to possibly be bigger than the whole of the Battle Fortress’ bridge, though he couldn’t tell from the low light. Opposite of the starry canvas was a sight that made him smile from ear to ear: the telltale glow of the other Chaos Emeralds. They were slotted in some sort of module that reminded him of the nests that the Flickies built back on Cocoa Island, something that gave him a rather mixed bag of feelings. More concerning, there was a prismatic energy barrier around the bed that contained the gems themselves, meaning he couldn’t just reach in and grab them.

‘Although, if the force field is also powered by the Chaos Generator,’ he surmised, ‘then the kill switch should deactivate that as well.’

The room was flooded with light before he could make a move, his hands moving to cover his eyes from the sudden stimulation. At the same time, the alarms finally died, and his ears perked up at a raucous, crowing bout of laughter. It was a distinctive cry he knew all too well.

“Welcome, Miles Prower!” greeted the Great Battle Kukku, dark mirth beneath the veneer of politeness. His voice sounded like it was coming from in front of him, albeit through some sort of speaker. “I’ve been waiting for you!”

Miles blinked a few times as he slowly parted his fingers and got a look at his surroundings. The walls and floor were all gold and silver, though not quite as vibrant or gaudy of tints as he’d come to expect, with deep red lights beaming down from the high and dark ceiling. He was inside a three-tiered green and gold cubic framework that covered much of the area, the top of it open while the four faces on the sides were sealed in with a light blue energy shield. The Chaos Generator was now on the other side of what would be the southern wall, if cardinal directions worked the same way they did in space.

With what stood before him, however, that was the least of his concerns. It was an enormous robot that was at least ten times his size, and likely hundreds, if not thousands, of times as heavy. It was modeled closely after the Great Battle Kukku himself, from his coat to his pants, his high-heeled shoes and his gauntlets; even his pince-nez had been figured in. Its tail feathers were razor sharp, however, and its bottom half had a much denser chassis compared to the actual fellow’s figure. The shoes appeared to have wheels installed under the toes and the spikes, its arms were bulkier and more proportionate to its giant fists than the bird’s, and it sported a silver jetpack consisting of two huge barrel-shaped thrusters.

Miles’ jaw just about dropped, and for the first time since he’d started his journey on West Side Island, he was genuinely uncertain about his chances. But, he knew that he couldn’t allow doubt to creep into his mind, not at such a critical time. He wordlessly commanded Remi to shift to his pack form and put him on, keeping him and all of his other tools close as he stared down his old enemy.

“I’ve got to hand it to you guys,” the fox remarked, raising his fists, “between that ugly thing and this space station, you’ve made some real mechanical marvels.”

Once more, that grating laugh rang out. “You’ve only seen what they look like, boy. But soon enough, you and everyone else shall see the power of the Battle Moon in action, as well as Dr. Fukurokov’s greatest combat machine: the Grand Kukku Mobile Suit!” There was a brief pause after more chortling, followed by the mech holding up a hand as though placing it near a non-existent ear. “By the way, Dmitri, how long until the Grand Kukku Cannon is ready to erase the brat’s home?”

“Just five more minutes, milord!” the owl announced, “I trust you’ve acclimated to the suit’s functionality?”

“Naturally! I am pleased with how intuitive you made the controls,” the Emperor praised him, “it feels like an extension of my own body. Yes, this shall make grinding the kit into dust all the more satisfying!”

Miles stiffened and showed his fangs as he growled, his fur bristling all over. He already knew about the plan to destroy Cocoa Island, but he didn’t realize he had so little time left before it was carried out!

“One more thing,” the GBK droned out with malicious glee, “this final confrontation of ours will be televised for a live audience, as well as key regions of the sky to make sure nobody misses a moment of the action! What better way to crush any hope of resistance against us than by disposing of the best chance against us for everyone to see?” The mobile suit creaked and bent down to gaze menacingly at the fox. The grin behind its sneering shell was all too easy to feel, even if it couldn’t be seen. “Now then, roll the cameras!”

Notes:

And that was part 2 of the finale! I hope folks weren't too disappointed by the fact that Miles was holding back for most of the fight. Considering how well he did during the Mystic Cave encounter, and how much faster he's grown compared to Speedy, especially when factoring in the Emeralds, it didn't seem fair to just have him curb-stomp the bird out of the gate. Being a lifelong fighter, though, the prince certainly would not appreciate such a gesture, and would rather get his butt handed to him than have his foe go easy on him. Even so, he's not going to give up on the possibility of one day beating the fox.

Speaking of foxes, "J" is a character I've had knocking around since earlier, scrapped iterations of this story idea. He had a much more pivotal role in the older drafts, and I decided that while I still wanted him to have some importance in the overall series, he would better serve as a minor character, rather than a secondary one. Even if it was an odd way to do so, I was glad to finally get him in here, and expect to see more of him from time to time in the future.

Gil is in the same boat as J when it comes to having been in my notes for quite some time. I can't really say anything more about him than that without spoiling anything, but like he indicated to Miles, he will be around.

The Grand Kukku Mobile Suit is based on the Death Egg Robot. More specifically, it takes inspiration from the Generations version, having a sturdier core, bulkier limbs, and its wheel and jetpack attachments. However, as it is based on the big bad bird himself, don't expect it to merely be a different skin of the same mean machine.

The tidbit about the Kukkus being descendants of the Babylonians, who were alluded to in the Riders spinoffs, was a plot point taken from the Archie comics. Protocol 092295 is just a geeky little reference to the original release date of Tails' Adventures (September 22, 1995). The pod and method of travel from the Battle Fortress to the Battle Moon is a bit of a nod to Metroid, as well as a few others that have done something similar. And lastly, while I haven't displayed it prominently up until now, Miles' tails are highly prehensile, as they are in just about every part of the Sonic franchise, so him using them like fluffy tentacles isn't anything new.

With this, the story is over 100k words now; a nice milestone for me, personally. As always, thanks for the hits and the kudos. I really do appreciate the interest people seem to have. And to make things a little more organized for those viewing the whole story, I gave each chapter a name now. It feels a little less plain, I suppose.

Anyway, the next chapter is the last one for this story, and I hope to make it a banger, or at least good enough to be considered a satisfying conclusion. I'll catch you all for the finale: Miles vs the Great Battle Kukku! Can he dismantle the Grand Kukku M.S. and prevent the Battle Moon from annihilating Cocoa Island?

Chapter 12: Destructive Duel

Summary:

All eyes are on Miles as he confronts the Great Battle Kukku piloting the Grand Kukku Mobile Suit. Simultaneously, he and his friends race against time to try and prevent the Battle Moon from firing on the planet.

Notes:

This is it, folks, the last part of the finale! As this contains the final battle and the ending, it only feels natural for this to be the longest chapter.

I suggest listening to your favorite version of the Death Egg Robot theme for the big fight, although I will personally recommend Jonny Atma/GaMetal's take on it; it aided me in putting the scenes in my head to paper. The solo, in particular, helped me picture the one big moment in the fight I've had in mind for a long time, and you'll know exactly which event that is when you reach it. And for what happens after, another personal one I suggest is the original "Sweet Dream" by Dreams Come True, the song that Sonic 2's ending theme is based on.

Anyway, enough rambling from me!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

All across the world, television screens, tablets, and all manner of video devices and streaming services had their signals, programs, and feeds interrupted.

In a quaint little village nestled in a relatively isolated forest region, noises of protest came from one of the scattered homes. They belonged to a young, pink hedgehog girl with emerald green eyes and peach skin on her arms, muzzle, and inner ears much like Sonic. She also had a few backward pointing quills, a single back spine, and a short tail. As for attire, she wore an orange pleated skirt, a green puffy-sleeved shirt with a white collar and cuff bands, white and lavender sneakers with orange shoelaces, white wrist-length gloves, and a red ribbon headband. The hoglet pouted and smacked at the side of the TV, which was displaying only the Battle Kukku Empire’s insignia and letting out the telltale whine of a device without a signal.

“Come on, you piece of junk!” the girl complained, “I wanna watch my favorite show!”

A larger hand came and grabbed hers just before she could give the screen a good sock. “Amy, please, I’d rather not have my mother scold us again.”

The second voice belonged to an older girl, a rabbit that was just barely in her teens. She had cream-colored fur with princeton orange markings around her cinnamon-brown eyes and on the ends of her long floppy ears that drooped all the way to her ankles. Additionally, she had a thick fringe of hair that was the same shade, a pair of cream-colored ponytails in the back, and a furry white muzzle with a small black nose. Her garb consisted of a short vermilion tank top with a white stripe around the collar and a gold star on the chest, a pair of matching athletic shorts with a white stripe on each leg, vermilion slip-on shoes with yellow accents and gray soles, and a pair of white gloves with golden cuff links.

“Cream, do something about the TV!” Amy demanded, about ready to slap it again as she yanked her glove away.

The rabbit raised her hands in a placating manner and giggled a little nervously. “Alright, Amy, just let me take a look."

The hedgehog puffed out her cheeks and stepped aside to let the older girl do her thing. Cream picked up the remote and experimented with each of the buttons she knew usually worked. When that failed to produce any result, she went over to the screen and fiddled around with the buttons on the bottom, coming up with much the same.

Just as she was about to go and call her mother for assistance, the image suddenly shifted to that of Dr. Fukurokov. The closeup of the old owl’s face and spiral glasses made both of the young ladies cry out in momentary panic. The dry cackle that sounded over the airwaves didn’t do much to help, either.

“Greetings and salutations, citizens of the world!” he proclaimed, “I am Dr. Fukurokov, chief engineer of the Battle Kukku Empire! Perhaps some of you noticed the new celestial object that now hangs in orbit?”

A good way south and to the west of where the action was, there was a small island with myriad geography, as well as two smaller islets to the northeast and northwest, the former of which was a rocky crag, while the latter was an untamed jungle. The main island had a small mountain range that covered the northern coast, a river that ran into a lake that took up much of the center and emptied into the sea, two prominent forests in the west, and a cozy seaside village in the southeast. Among these few dozens of buildings, there was a stadium-sized lot that served as the local junkyard. Items as small as metal filings to those as large as hollowed out vehicle frames dotted the joint, organized into loose categories to help keep a sense of order. A two-story red brick house was nestled in one corner of the clearing. It had several rectangular windows with cross frames, a white slanted roof, and a brown brick chimney on the west side.

Inside was the owner of the yard: a tall and athletic, emerald green wolf with yellow eyes, prominent upper canines, and a flesh-peach muzzle as well as inner ears. The fur on the back of his head was long like a mane, and branched out in numerous broad tufts, some hanging down, others fanning out. He wore a set of black welding goggles atop his head, brown hardy work gloves, and a pair of brown steel toe boots. He was joined by his mate: a fit lupine lady with royal blue fur and brown eyes, the tufts on her head shorter than those of her husband's, and her fangs not quite as obvious. For clothes, she wore a modest white top, black sweatpants with white vertical stripes down the legs, a pair of white fingerless gloves, and white tennis shoes with gray soles.

"It's them again," said the female as she stared at the feed of Dr. Fukurokov, pressing closer to her husband, "Gob, do you think Miles..."

Gobán wrapped an arm around her and nuzzled at one of her ears comfortingly. “Aye, Guen, our boyo is probably already on top of ‘em.”

“This is the Battle Moon space station,” explained the doctor as the screen switched over to an outside visual of the immense craft, “the Empire’s latest and greatest weapon! It comes equipped with a full arsenal suited for both defense and offense. In particular...”

The comb of the Empire’s insignia on the front of the Battle Moon began to unfold from the bottom up. After several seconds, it locked into place, leaving a gaping hole in the skull, only to reveal that it wasn’t so empty. A colossal gray cannon extended from the tunnel, growing progressively thinner after every several tens of meters. Eventually, it came to a stop, countless multicolored lights traveling up the barrel until it was fully, albeit dimly illuminated.

“The Grand Kukku Cannon contains enough destructive power, at this point in time,” Dr. Fukurokov added hastily as the picture returned to him, “to destroy a large island, although we’ve not yet seen if it can truly accomplish this.” He shook a talon knowingly and grinned. “But fret not, for we have found an adequate location to serve as its first test target: a humble little place in the south Pacific known as Cocoa Island!”

Guen let out a gasp while Gob’s free hand tightened into a fist. He cast a glance over to the door to the yard and thought about ushering them to the shelter he’d built. Perhaps, with all the precautions he'd made and how deep it went, he could get the other villagers to safety.

"If you're confident in your ability to flee tens of kilometers within a few minutes, go ahead and try," taunted the owl, "if not, don't bother."

The wolf patriarch growled helplessly. He did possess the means to get him and his mate out of there in time, but no one else would be able to join them. Gob knew that even if it doomed him, he couldn't just abandon the others. He had spent too many wonderful years on the island to leave his friends and neighbors to die. But, he knew that as dire as things were, that hope was not entirely lost.

"To help distract you from your impending obliteration," the doctor announced with a haughty hoot, "and to give others watching a good show, feast your eyes as the 'hero' that's come to stop us faces off against His Majesty Himself!"


Miles kept his hands at the side, ready to act while staring down the Grand Kukku Mobile Suit. The latter extended one fist towards the fox much like the Mecha Golem had, forcing the teen to jump high to avoid it. He reached into his pack and threw a few bombs at the outstretched limb, though the powerful blasts did little more than scuff the armor plating. He did notice a grunt of discomfort from the speakers, however. The mech recalled its arm and lifted its other hand, several missiles firing from its fingertips and streaking towards the fox. Miles tossed a handful of dummy rings to meet them, then dipped down below to throw off the stray couple that didn’t explode with the rest. He touched down and sprinted at the robot, Rolling out of the way of a stomp and sliding behind the massive thing. He hammered into the posterior with a Rolling Jump, causing the mobile suit to stagger forward a couple of steps before turning around to face him again.

“Agh, that actually hurt!” the GBK squawked, “why is this suit’s neural systems equipped with pain receptors, Dmitri!?”

“Pain helps to give the body context, My Liege,” the owl lectured him, “granted, it isn't to the same degree as if it were you yourself taking damage. That said, you should still fight with it as though it were your own body!”

The Emperor let out a huff as he recentered his attention on his foe, a grin spreading across his beak. That did get his blood pumping a little more.

Miles flew at the head of the mech, bringing out the Pikkon Hammer and rearing it back in one hand. The GBK attempted to intercept him with a swipe, but another burst of speed let the fox close the gap before he could get caught. The teen brought down his weapon on the bridge between the pince-nez windows, leaving a sizable dent in the metal. The Emperor growled as the robot whipped back from the hit, and Miles went to deliver another strike, noticing too late that one of the hands was heading for him. The fox shouted as he was slapped out of the air and into one of the several energy barriers around the battlefield, falling and managing to go into a Roll before he hit the ground. No sooner had he uncurled than he was once again set upon by the machine, part of its grin splitting open to spew fire in his direction.

Miles peeled out with a Spin Dash, dodging the gout of flame and once more maneuvering behind the GKMS. In response, it released a cluster of spiny projectiles from the cylinders of its jetpack, forcing the fox to back off before they could get stuck to him. It was a good call, too, for the spiked balls each blew up into several shards of shrapnel that sent their spines flying. Miles ducked behind one of the legs for cover before springing high once more, both hands reaching into Remi for a couple of choice items. He first brought out the Boomering, which he used to tether himself to the end of the mech’s beak just as it started to turn around. The other hand retrieved the Pikkon Hammer, which he drove into one of the specs windows, creating a large crack in the reinforced glass.

The GBK growled, one hand clutching his eye as the other held his palm up. Miles’ eyes widened as a cartoonish bomb roughly as big as he was popped into existence in the center of the mobile suit’s free hand. With a grunt, the huge explosive hurtled the fox’s way, the vulpine rising up to dodge out of the way, but it wasn’t good enough. He was caught on the edge of the resulting blast, parts of his fur singed and his gloves and shoes scuffed up as he was sent flying once again. Fortunately, he regained his senses and righted himself just in time to dive away from another stream from the flamethrower.

‘Great, he can use both built-in weapons as well as his bomb powers,’ the fox considered, ‘and this space is too confined to use my full speed. I’m not going to be able to beat him without a little extra help.’

He brought out the cyan Emerald and let its power course through his body, mending his wounds and feeling its cooling influence energize him. With his heightened senses, he pulled up just before one of the mech’s hands could seize him, balling up into a Drop Attack and grinding down the length of the arm. The other limb came down, but he pounced away and ricocheted off the opposite shoulder directly into the jaw of the GKMS. A pained and annoyed grunt came from the speakers as the Emperor shook off the blow, flexing his fingers and summoning a pair of bombs this time. He threw one high, making Miles retreat to the ground, where he tossed the second one, though the fox easily weaved out of the way and continued on with a Rolling Attack.

The GBK, however, had anticipated such a move. Pain erupted through Miles’ body as his spherical self was kicked like a soccer ball by one of the mech’s meaty feet, knocking him near the bomb he’d just avoided. The explosion sent him up into the air, only to be flicked right back down by a smack from the robot, making him skid and bounce across the floor. As he smacked into the barrier once more, the Emperor let out a crow of laughter.

"My, doesn't this feel familiar, boy?" taunted the bird, "I recall you struggling like this during our first clash."

Miles snarled through more burning pain as he healed himself up again. "Yeah, I remember how that went. I got roughed up pretty badly, but I kicked your ass in the end, and I'm gonna do it again today!"

"Then you better hurry,” his opponent jeered, “because in just a couple of minutes, you won’t have a home to go back to!"

The fox gritted his teeth. He knew that the GBK wouldn’t simply let him try and fly over the arena to the Chaos Generator, nor would he allow Remi the chance. His only choice was to somehow bring down the mobile suit, or at least cause enough damage to stun its pilot for an adequate enough duration. Only then would he or his creation have the opportunity to shut down the Grand Kukku Cannon and make a move for the other Emeralds.

For the moment, Miles brought out the white gem and placed it in the tip of one tail, the hairs grasping onto it tightly. He did the same with the cyan one, letting their collective power amp him up even further. The GKMS let out more flames, following the path its target made and then lobbing another bomb once an opening presented itself. Miles snatched the Boomering from his pack and used it to draw the immense thing into his hands, the weight momentarily pushing him back. With a grunt, he tilted back and then chucked the explosive where it came from, lighting up the robot’s chest with an impressive fireball. His tails flipped the Emeralds back into his hands as he slid his other weapon around one of his arms, charging up a Spin Dash with the added Chaos Energy and Jumping into the mech’s breastplate to knock it off balance.

It crashed onto its back, but only remained down for a few seconds as the thrusters in its jetpack and its powerful hydraulics in its legs pushed it back to its feet. Irritated, the GBK let loose another volley of missiles, then followed it up with a second round of spiked mines to cover both the air and the ground. With the increased reflexes afforded to him by the Emeralds, Miles bobbed and weaved through the storm of spines, subsequently causing many of the chasers to get pierced and detonate before they could reach him. He spun around to face the few that were still on him, narrowing his eyes as he concentrated and formed an arm cannon like he had last night. He fired off an electric blue ball that tore through the remaining missiles and went down the launch tube of a finger, causing it to blow apart into a shower of metal scraps.

The GBK roared and lunged forward, driving his undamaged fist towards the fox, but missing by a wide margin as the teen slipped through the robot’s legs. Before Miles could get the chance to strike it from behind, the mech activated its jetpack and rocketed up to the high ceiling in the chamber. It allowed gravity to bring it back down, and while it was easy for the Animal to avoid, the shock from all that weight hitting the floor propelled him into the air. Even so, he wasn't entirely helpless, putting his twin limbs into action to return upright and move away from another swinging fist. He angled himself down and waved his tails in a wide arc to boost himself to the ground, then dashed forward towards the GKMS’s left leg. He correctly predicted an attempt to crush him underfoot, narrowly evading the massive weight and slashing through the wheels with a Tail Attack.

The robot limped to the side as part of its suspension support gave out from the damage. It moved to retaliate with an additional mine cluster, but Miles cut him off by repeating the same with the other foot, causing the machine to hunch over. The Emperor snarled at the pain he felt by proxy, as though someone had taken a blade to his talons, but he wouldn’t be deterred. He picked himself up and swept across the ground around him with his flamethrower, preventing the fox from getting close a third time. The GBK then had his ride kneel down and flap its arms as though trying to lift a heavy object. Contrary to the expectations of those watching, he did not produce a truly colossal bomb, but instead, created handfuls of comparatively tinier ones, all of which he lobbed into the air. Miles used his tails to reach into his pack and sling as much of his own payload as he could while he tried to get around the ones he missed.

Eventually, he had no choice but to retreat to higher ground. He landed atop the arena wall and glanced back, seeing that the Chaos Generator was right over there behind him! All he had to do was get down there and...

That moment was all his foe needed to extend his undamaged fist and smash into Miles. The fox collided and rebounded off of the back wall above the Generator, and while it didn’t hurt as much as the last string of attacks, he lost his grip on the white Emerald and dropped it towards the rest. He barely had enough time to regain his bearings before he had to dive below a sweeping grasp. His now free hand shrugged the Boomering back down his arm so it was at the ready, keeping a close watch for the next opening. It came when the GBK brought down the damaged hand in a hammer blow, presenting him the opportunity to hurl his trusty item at the mech’s beak. But to his horror, the other limb passed in front of its path and caught it between a couple of fingers. With a grunt, the GBK willed his ride to crush the object between its digits, dusting them off and letting the now dull golden fragments scatter to the floor.

Furious at having one of his, at least in his opinion, best inventions destroyed, Miles burst forward and ran headlong at the robot. It made to press him into a pancake with one foot, but the fox dove to the side and nabbed a few dummy rings from storage. He waited for a second go at flattening him, squeezing through the GKMS’s legs and aiming at the exhaust ports of the jetpack. With tried and true accuracy, and a little faith in himself, Miles got the rings where he wanted, satisfied as they exploded a moment later.

With that, both those mines and its rocket jump should have been dealt with. If he could disable more of that thing's arsenal, its attacks would become more and more predictable, allowing him to better strike at its weak points. In the seconds he had before the bird recovered, he considered his options, then stopped as he recalled the scorching attachment it had. Yes, getting rid of that would be a boon, and he knew just how to get it done. He brazenly ran back out in front of the GKMS and stuck out his tongue as he made a couple of rather rude charades at its pilot.

Now raging himself, both from insult and injury, the GBK stomped and slapped at the fox, pushing him to take to the air, which is just what he wanted, moving to activate the barrel in the robot’s maw. What he didn’t realize was that Miles was one step ahead of him, already digging into his pack for a replacement weapon. The moment he saw those teeth part to bring out the flamethrower, the fox chucked a Triple Bomb down the nozzle, and he flew away to get clear. The GBK howled in pain and cradled his head as the explosion rocked the unit, leaving a smoking hole in the mobile suit’s grin that showed off its now totaled weapon. Seeking to capitalize on this, the teen shot down to the ground and revved up another Spin Dash. He held his position for a few seconds, then allowed acceleration to carry him forward, bouncing up into a Jump at the last second and slamming straight into the GKMS’s groin. The fox winced with sympathy as he heard his nemesis let out a most pained noise, the sheer force of his attack knocking the robot off its feet and onto its backside.

Thinking it the best time to try and deactivate the Chaos Generator, Miles made for the southern wall, removing Remi from his shoulders and digging through his contents with his free hand to try and find the kill switch. He didn’t get a chance to find it before he felt cold, hard steel close around him and make him drop his companion and the cyan Emerald. Miles cried out as the pressure started to increase and squeezed his body tighter, tilting his head to see that he was trapped in the grip of a massive fist. The GBK seethed through the speakers as he brought the fox before his vision, watching as he futilely tried to pry open the thing’s fingers.

“Killing you like this would be too quick, too easy, and not at all satisfying,” the Emperor snarled as he gave another hard clench, smirking as his foe once more screamed, “besides, it wouldn’t do to have you die before you taste despair. I’m going to make you watch as I wipe your pathetic, backwater island from the face of the planet! But first, let's have some more fun.”

With a wicked sneer, he opened his other palm and tossed the fox into it as though he were a ball, letting his back slam hard into the metal. He flipped Miles up onto his side and flicked him in the torso with one digit, sending him sailing into a barrier wall. The mech rotated one arm as though rolling a bowling ball, manifesting a few smaller bombs to do just that. They met Miles shortly after he hit the ground, blowing him across the floor and leaving him prone.

The fox coughed up a bit of blood onto his white chest, grimacing at the sight of his battered and partly burned form. With great effort, he pivoted to the side and dodged a downward punch from the robot, shakily getting back to his feet. From what he understood of anatomy, nothing felt broken, but damn if he wasn't hurting something fierce.

‘If it wasn't for the Emeralds, I'd've bitten the dust early on in the fight,’ he thought, letting out a worried sigh, ‘just like the last time I fought this guy. Except now, I don’t have any on me, and there’s no way he’ll let me try and make a break for them and Remi.’ He couldn’t help but laugh a little at his predicament. ‘I’ll just have to hold out until you save me again, boy. It's my own fault for being careless.’


“Come on, Miles!” Gizmo fretted, her eyes moving from the screen over to Speedy, “isn’t there anything we can do?”

The Kukku clenched his teeth and fists as he watched his rival struggle against his father on a different monitor. The group had relocated to the bridge to see if there was any way they could further help the fox. As things stood, however, all it had afforded them was a better view of what was going on, and it wasn’t good.

"No, the kill switch was all I had to give,” the prince informed her, “and even the Fortress’ longest ranged weapons can't reach that altitude."

"I should've gone up there with him!" Charmy said with some regret, looking on with worry, "he wouldn't be getting hurt like this if he had more help!"

Espio clasped the bee’s shoulder and bowed his head. “Do not blame yourself. None of us could have seen this coming; even the data Gadget managed to gather from the doctor’s computer did not mention such a machine.”

“Ya sure there’s nothing you can do, rookie?” Vector asked the red wolf in question.

Gadget really didn’t like how he was being put on the spot. He already had a good bit of pressure on him from earlier, so having to come up with a big solution wasn’t doing much good for his nerves. His little brother was in danger, though, as was his home and his parents, as well as many Animals and Critters. They were counting on him to wrack his brain and think of something to salvage the situation.

And that was when Sonic, straightforward as ever, brought up something that his over-analytical brain hadn’t considered.

“Miles was able to override Remi a couple of times,” the hedgehog pointed out, “doesn’t he have like, I dunno, a manual mode or something?”

Gizmo smacked one fist against the other palm and held her comm up high. “That’s it! Gad, we could connect to Remi and control him remotely!”

It sounded like a good idea, at least in theory. The problem, however, was that he wasn’t sure they’d be able to overcome the distance from them to the little robot. There was also the matter of the walls of the Fortress and the Moon, as they had no idea if any materials would interfere with the signal. And lastly, because Remi was more Miles’ creation than theirs, he’d put an extra layer of security in place to keep them from hijacking the bot when they pleased. Of course, he’d also provided them with a system to work through it, in case of emergencies, but it wasn’t foolproof.

Even if they could get past all that, what would be the best course of action to take first? Try and get one of the gems back to Miles, or perhaps find a way to deactivate the Chaos Generator? Dr. Fukurokov popped on screen once again to interrupt any plotting on their part, hooting with mirth.

“Just as a reminder, for those of you who haven't been keeping track,” the owl announced, “the charge for the Grand Kukku Cannon is nearly complete. Only sixty seconds remain between now and the end of Cocoa Island, should all go accordingly! I hope that those of you that could not get away have made your peace, and as for the rest of the world watching...I hope this convinces you of the futility of defying our power! Surrender peacefully, and you can guarantee that you shall be treated fairly and reasonably under the new regime to come!”

Gadget knew that he wasn't the bravest sort. Even after all the training he'd gone through with his brother and sister, not to mention past events with the Kukkus, he was still a bit skittish. Like Miles, there were times he doubted himself, only he had less deeds to assure himself otherwise. With how everything was framed right now, it seemed like a hopeless endeavor. At the same time, he knew that this was no time to hesitate. His adoptive brother was up there fighting for all of them, and he needed their help, however it could be provided. A shot in the dark was infinitely preferable to doing nothing at all. Didn't the saying go that that was all good men needed to do for evil to triumph?

Well, he wouldn't let the guy who threatened all he knew and loved to win! The red wolf rushed over to the console nearest Speedy and drew out a cable from his utility belt. He affixed one end of it into a port above the keys, then tossed the other end to Gizmo. The teal twin caught it handily and tapped away on the screen, her brother simultaneously doing so with the keyboard in front of him. With the Battle Fortress acting as a signal booster, then there was a chance that they could at least communicate with their mechanical friend. If they could manage that, then perhaps they could relieve their sibling of at least one pressing burden. Once that was off of his mind, then surely, he would be able to go all out without any qualms, right?

"Please work," the lupine prayed, "please, by the gods, let this work." He turned to his sister and all but shouted. "Hit it!"

She nodded resolutely and pressed a finger firmly into the display. "Roger, activating Override Program 101692; attempt one of three to assume direct control!"

With that, they launched their final gambit. They both knew better than anyone it was a long shot, at best, given that they would be locked out from Remi’s systems if their plan failed all three times. But, they refused to let things end like this!

"Thirty seconds until the Grand Kukku Cannon reaches full charge!" Dr. Fukurokov reminded all those listening, "I hope you've enjoyed the program so far! Be sure to stay tuned for the climax, and of course, the grand finale! Both are a sight you certainly would not want to miss!"

Speedy regarded the wolf twins and what they were doing to stop this madness, Vector looking on in fascination. If this last ditch effort of theirs managed to work, it would give the old fool a migraine like no other.


Miles panted as he stopped himself from eating another knuckle sandwich from the GKMS, skirting away with a quick shuffle of his feet. Normally, he would have still had a lot more to give, especially with what the Emeralds afforded him. But, absent of their influence, and having exerted quite a bit of energy up to this point, along with the damage he'd taken, it had all eaten into his stamina. And then there was the news he'd just heard about his home, which only added to the stress. He had to find a way to stop it before it was too late, but he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold out.

Even with all the odds stacked against him, though, he refused to give up. He couldn’t afford to, not when so many were relying on him.

‘I’ve been in similar tight spots,’ he reminded himself, psyching his waning confidence back up, ‘like when Wendy Witchcart crystallized half of my body. Or when Zero almost disemboweled me with that nasty scimitar of his. The only difference is I don’t have the luxury to take my time. But, I can do this! I will do this!’

“Twenty-five seconds remaining!” Dr. Fukurokov crowed tauntingly, “tick-tock, Prower!”

The fox pounced over the grasping reach of one of the mech’s fists and went into a Spin Dash, surging up its arm and smacking into the cracked lens of its specs one more time. The GBK shrieked as the glass shattered and the feedback jolted through his own eye, making him clutch at it with one hand while the other angrily swung at the teen. The half-blind and erratic thrashing of the giant robot managed to clip Miles in the side and whack him toward the barrier, but he flipped about and caught the edge of it with his feet. The fox sprang off the solid energy up onto the rim of the arena and hurriedly sprinted to one corner as he looked for the Chaos Generator. In response, the GBK extended the undamaged hand to grab onto the stretch in front of Miles, cutting him off as the other launched yet another salvo of missiles from its four functioning fingers.

"Twenty seconds left until the fireworks, boy!" the Emperor cackled.

Miles gritted his teeth and, rather than leaping around the limb or diving off the side, he ran straight at it. The hand propped itself up onto its side and made to block him, but the fox stopped on a dime and then vaulted over it just as its digits started closing. More pained cries rang out from the speakers as the missiles careened straight into the mech's fingers, though the fox hadn't anticipated the reaction that came from it. The GKMS back slapped him hard with the same freshly hurt hand, returning him to the confines of the arena. He curled up into a Roll and bounced off the floor, passing over a swipe by just a hair. He unwound himself and countered with a Tail Slash across the rear side of those fingers, hearing the GBK elicit a hiss in response.

“Gah, you little freak!” he swore, “it’s like getting a paper cut!”

“Bear through it just a few moments longer, Your Highness!” Dr. Fukurokov assured him, “only fifteen more seconds!”

Miles’ ears perked in panic, his eyes darting around to try and spy the Chaos Generator through the force walls. The GBK wouldn’t let up for even an instant, however, stamping his way over to the fox while flinging fistfuls of bombs, whooping with maniacal laughter all the while. A few clusters of them went low, but the rest were spread through the air, and without any of his own tools or explosives to disperse them, Miles knew he couldn’t avoid them all. In that split second, where everything felt like it’d slowed to a crawl, he whipped his tails and headed for the largest opening in the storm that he could deduce. His spherical form helped to reduce his overall area and slip through, but he was unable to keep from being pelted by a number of them.

Each blast inflicted a new searing burn on him, and the force from them slowed his ascent. It reached a crescendo when the explosions spread to other un-detonated projectiles, resulting in a firestorm that flung him into the Battle Moon's viewing window, leaving much of his coat charred and tattered. His ears rang from the soreness and the lingering tinnitus due to being at such a close range to the bombs.

"Ten!" proclaimed the owl.

The GKMS fired its more intact hand forward and snatched Miles up. Upon returning his cable, he snapped the wrist and let go of the fox, allowing him to crash into the wall high above the Chaos Generator. He brought up his other hand and aimed the missile ports in the general vicinity of his foe.

"Nine!"

Miles barely started falling before he felt the air heat up behind him. A group of missiles torched the wall behind him, some of the flames licking at his back and tails. The blast pushed him down back towards the mech, which met him with a balled fist. The punch didn't have much force behind it, but it didn't need to for Miles to hear and feel the crack of his ribs, accompanied by agony that nearly brought him to tears.

"Eight!"

The GBK flipped his nemesis into the air and caught him with his other fist, leaving only his head exposed as he squeezed down. Miles howled in pain, his already agitated wounds being further exacerbated with every horribly slow instant.

"And now, we watch!" cheered the bird, turning the fox to face the Earth below.

"Seven!"

"You put up an admirable fight, fox," the GBK praised him, his genuine tone stunning the teen, "I admit part of me will miss this."

"Six!"

"It's a shame, too," the Emperor went on, "we could've used your keen mind."

"Five!"

"But we're past that point now, aren't we?" he asked Miles.

"Four!"

"You've set back my dream for the last time, Miles Prower!" he thundered.

"Three!"

"Now watch as one of your dreams dies before it's your turn!"

"Two!"

Miles didn't want to look. It didn't matter if he wouldn't be able to see their faces. He couldn't bear the thought that the couple that had taken him in were about to be vaporized along with everything else on and around his home. And yet, this was the reality, as the GBK's victorious crowing emphasized. His friends and siblings would likely be hunted down as enemies of the Empire after he was disposed of. That is, if they didn't keep him alive to make him witness it.

The despair that had been clawing at him melted away as the sound of systems shutting down met his ears. He whirled around along with the GKMS, noticing that the force fields shaping the arena had fallen away, and that many lights were also flickering out. The Chaos Generator was no longer emanating any light from the Emeralds, which were now exposed. There, at the base of the module, was Remi, one of its cables wrapped around the end of the kill switch device, which was inserted in a port near the base of the "nest".

The GKMS dropped Miles from utter repudiation, not noticing him slowly getting up after a tense moment. "No..."

“Where did you get that!? How did you get that!?” Dr. Fukurokov was screaming in both outrage and terror, “there should only be one Emergency Shutoff Device, and it’s right here in my coat pocket! This. Isn’t. Happening!”

Remi’s speakers rang out with cheers and laughter, as well as a little bit of relieved crying. In spite of how much pain he was in, Miles found himself quietly joining in, wearing a broad and proud grin.

"Whew, barely made it!" came Sonic’s voice, "eat that, feather brains!"

The fox counted his lucky stars this time. The GBK was wholly focused on his companion, which gave him the chance to slip away the arena corner opposite of the deactivated Generator. He leaned into the metal, one arm holding him steady while the other cradled his ribs. He wouldn’t be able to go fast, but he knew he had to get over to those gems, and he hoped that the Kukku leader would stay distracted long enough for him to do so.

“Dmitri, what the hell is going on!?” shouted the boss bird, “this station does have backup power, doesn’t it!? Fire the Cannon!”

The owl spluttered and stammered. “The Grand Kukku Cannon has already lost more than half of its stored power, My Liege! We won’t be able to destroy Cocoa Island with only this much charge!”

Miles slowly lifted himself up with his two tails so that he was level with the first divider, his arms holding his torso to keep steady. All he had to do was proceed carefully and make certain to stay hidden.

“Well then,” the GBK said in a vicious growl, “target the Battle Fortress.”

The fox’s blood froze at that command. It was apparent to him now that he’d pushed the Fifteenth so far, the bird had well and truly snapped. The chief engineer seemed similarly stunned, as it took more than a moment for him to find words.

“Your Excellency, your son and many other combatants are still aboard the vessel!” he tried to argue with his leader, “and the Fortress has been our Empire’s home and stronghold for several generations! Please consider what it is you’re ordering!”

I have considered it!” the Emperor cried out in a shrill manner, “this station is to be our new headquarters, doctor! And if that boy of mine is worth anything of the family name, he will escape in time after hearing this. So long as you kill the brat’s friends, that’s all that matters!”

Miles decided to forgo the stealth and rush over to the Chaos Generator and Remi as quickly as his tails would allow. He made it about halfway before a stab of pain caused him to falter and dip back down to the ground. The mech took notice of this and turned its optics on him, lowering one fist and aiming at him as it stepped forward. But just before it could launch, a loud clang echoed throughout the chamber as the Pikkon Hammer fell straight onto the GKMS’s head, throwing off its aim and getting a squawk out of its pilot. Miles saw his little creation hovering high up near the ceiling, letting out a tinny growl.

“Even if he’s not built for battle himself,” the fox said aloud, “he can still make use of his capacity. Heh, I guess all the time he’s spent around me has taught him a little about fighting. I owe you again, little buddy.”

The robotic likeness of the teen zoomed around in seemingly random patterns as it goaded the GBK to try and snatch it out of the air. Seeing as it was a much smaller target than its maker, however, Remi was able to keep out of reach. All the while, Miles pulled himself back to his feet and began to sprint towards the Generator. His steps were wobbly and the burning in his body, particularly his abdomen, made his head throb and his vision lose focus a few times. Even without being able to see them, though, he could feel the presence of the Chaos Emeralds, having been exposed to their energy for such a long time.

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you!” the GBK yelled at him, rolling a bomb at the teen’s legs.

The blast just missed him, but being in the vicinity was enough to cause him to trip up and tumble, only serving to bang him up further. One hand extended over and flicked him right into the Chaos Generator he’d been trying so hard to get to. Miles held his head with one hand, his body feeling like it weighed far more than it actually did after that blow. The Emerald that he'd kept close for effectively his entire life was right there, yet as he strained to get it, he realized it was beyond his grasp. His legs felt like lead, and it was a chore to get him to even stretch his limb that far.

"Dmitri, do as I command," the GBK told the engineer with deadly calm.

There was a bit of silence before Dr. Fukurokov audibly gulped. "V-very well, Sire. It will take a minute or so to reposition and prime the reserve energy."

There was a grunt of affirmation, followed by the GKMS lifting one foot above the fox. He hovered it until its shadow was over the teen's legs, then let out a short and sinister cackle. He was going to cripple this pest, make him look on as his friends were annihilated, and then crush him like a grape!

That was when Remi dove in to save its master once again, ramming straight into the broken eye of the mech. The GBK snarled and grabbed at the robot, latching onto the little guy’s back legs. But Remi just dug in deeper, pushing past the shards of broken glass and anchored itself with its front legs and its muzzle, hooking into the circuitry there. Miles looked up and tried as best he could to see what his buddy was doing. That was when he saw Remi shaking as it pushed an explosive that was much too large for its compartment out of that space.

His memory came back to him of a weapon that he hadn't used in a long time: the simplistic, but aptly named Big Bomb. It was so powerful that it put even those being produced now by the GKMS to shame. The last instance of it being brought out was to open the long-sealed passage in Padon Tunnel, all those years ago. While there hadn't been a need for it since, Miles had kept a couple around just in case.

The one Remi was laboring to bring out was already armed, and the fox knew that the few Big Bombs he made had short fuses. It was then, in that moment, that he knew what it was the robot aimed to do. If the GBK managed to yank Remi out, it would be crushed without a second thought, and then the fox would be at the bird’s mercy. If it held fast, it’d deal critical damage to the giant mech, but there was no room for the small bot to escape the impending kaboom. In either case, this was the last hurrah of the friend that he’d made, doing everything it could to save him.

His heart sank and began to ache, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. Yes, he could rebuild Remi, but he hadn’t gotten a chance to upload all this new information to his server back home. The next iteration would have no memory of any of the events they had gone through here, and it likely wouldn’t have the same resolve as the friend he had now, at least not for some time. In that sense, he really was losing someone near and dear to him.

Remi released its jaws and swerved its head around to regard its master for the final time, its gray eyes shining electric blue with a brighter light than they ever had. It belted out a couple of barks that sounded encouraging, rather than like it was saying goodbye, before securing itself once more. Scintillating white flooded the GKMS’s broken socket, which was replaced the next instant by blazing orange and red. A truly blaring BOOM cascaded throughout the room and much of the station, along with a rightly miserable cry as a significant chunk of the giant robot’s face was reduced to scrap and bits. At the same time that it fell back and clutched its head with both hands, a charred and warped computer chip the size of one of the fox’s fingers clattered at his feet. He recognized it as the central piece of his likeness’ AI, and seeing it in this state, the water that had been threatening to spill finally rushed down his cheeks.

Remi!” Miles wailed in anguish.

His form shook from both emotion and injury as he tried willing himself to get up, to reach out to those gems. Yet he just couldn’t get to them, as though his body was well and truly out of energy. But, he knew that he didn’t have to maintain physical contact to call upon them, so he had to wonder why they weren’t responding to him. Why was nothing happening!? In his frustration, however, he didn’t notice the faint radiance slowly forming in the cores of the stones.

“My eye! My eye!” the GBK screeched with abject ire, his mech flailing around as it nursed its face, “damnation, hurry up with that Cannon and fire it, Dmitri!”

“O-of course, Sire!” the owl replied hastily, “just a little longer until the Grand Kukku Cannon is live again. Rest assured that this time, there’s nothing Prower or any of his friends can do to stop it!”

The view of Earth below was suddenly replaced by a zoomed satellite perspective of the Battle Fortress. Panic set in even more for Miles as he internally yelled at himself to get moving, managing to push himself on his side with his tails. With all the effort his battered body could muster, the tips of his fingers caught the edge of the cyan Emerald and tugged it ever so slightly closer to him.


“Go!” Speedy shouted to the others as he opened the back access to the command room. He then tossed his personal jetpack to the red wolf; it wasn’t like he needed it anymore, anyway. “This will take you straight to ground level!”

“What about you?” Gizmo asked, almost feeling dirty for being concerned about him.

The prince smirked. “Don’t worry about me, I’ve already got an exit.”

The group briefly looked on as the bird gave them one last Kukku salute, then dashed towards the broken viewing window. He leapt out, spread his arms, and expeditiously ascended out of sight. With Speedy now left to his own devices, the only thing that remained was for them to evacuate.

“Come on, we’ve gotta get to the Tornado!” Sonic shouted as he ran ahead of the group.

He dove from the platforms that were provided along the sides of the passage, while the wolf twins vaulted down with their cables, and Charmy descended with both Espio and Vector hanging onto him.

“How’re we all gonna fit on that thing?” Vector wondered, “can’t we just swipe another ride to split up?”

“We don’t have time!” Gadget interjected, recalling his grappling wire and breaking into a sprint the instant his boots hit the ground.

The six Animals broke through the bottom entry from the bridge and ran out onto the deck. Sonic gave himself a boost to get to the cockpit and start it up while the others made their way over to him, tractor screw spinning after a few seconds. Espio was the first to catch up, leaping into the space between the levels of the left wing and grabbing hold of the support poles. Charmy was right behind him, shrinking down to his flight mode and slinking into the cockpit next to the hedgehog. Gadget grappled up to the top of the left wing above the chameleon, while Gizmo took up position on the opposite, then used her own device to tug Vector up to the poles below her.

“Is everyone prepared?” the purple reptile asked.

The insect boy flashed a thumbs up from behind the windshield of the plane. “Ready!”

“We’re good up here!” the teal wolf replied as she and her brother braced themselves with their wires.

Nervous though he was about the idea, the crocodile clung tightly to the support poles and shot a glare at the plane’s owner. “I don’t wanna end up blackened, so just go! I can swim if I fall!”

Whether or not everyone was really ready, Sonic ramped up the acceleration as high as it would go. The Tornado rocketed down the flight deck, nearly peeling out and swerving off the path, but the speedster got it under control. Within a few seconds, they cleared the runway and made a U-turn, pointing them in the direction of West Side Island. They peered back and saw that many other Kukku fighter jets and planes also began taking off, albeit in a disorganized manner.

Unfortunately for most of them, they had chosen to escape too late. The Tornado was no more than a hundred meters away from the Battle Fortress when the sky shifted from an early morning blue to an irradiated green. The space above and around the colossal craft became white hot as a massive beam of light lanced straight through the middle of the hull and into the ocean below. A sound like a jet engine that was right next to their ears pierced the air, blocking out even the immense surge of seawater that the ray kicked up. It was succeeded by a cataclysmic KRAKOOM with the Fortress breaking apart and exploding into an impressive fireball, but the carnage didn’t stop there. A dome of energy the same color as the beam rapidly expanded outward, overtaking the crumbling aircraft and many of the fleeing Kukku troops.

The turbulence caused by the atmospheric disturbance and subsequent blast caused Sonic to lose control of the Tornado and send it into a tailspin. The wolves were both flung off the top of their wings, helplessly tugged along by their cables, while Vector lost his own grip on the support poles. He was saved by a timely ninja rope lasso courtesy of Espio, who struggled to hold on to his own anchor with his other hand. Charmy popped back into his normal size and straddled the front of the cockpit as he bent down and helped the hoglet fight the steering yoke. But, just as it seemed like they were about to get a handle on the thing again, everyone saw the light getting dangerously close.

“It’s going to hit us!” Gizmo shrieked.

“Use that barrier thing!” Vector shouted over at the red wolf.

“I can’t reach it!” Gadget hollered back as his free arm tried to fight against the wind.

“Everyone, hang on!” Sonic cried out over all of them, him and Charmy working to maneuver the plane so they could best brace for impact.


Miles stared at the blank white screen across from him, his breath caught in his throat, his form unmoving, and his fingers brushing over the cyan Emerald. How could he even begin to describe how he felt? He’d seen that small red dot that was the Tornado fleeing from the Battle Fortress, knowing that his friends had managed to jump ship. But then, the Cannon had hit its mark, and even with what was supposed to be minimal firepower, it had been devastating. Whoever was caught in the initial explosion was likely vaporized instantly, and he had no way of knowing himself if Speedy had managed to get out. He had seen hordes of Kukku vehicles swallowed up in the ensuing shockwave, and he was indeed sympathetic to the horrible loss of life.

But no loss was greater than his own, in that moment. He’d watched as the Tornado was rocked by the blast and spiraled down towards the sea. How it had regained control, but not fast enough to avoid the oncoming wall of energy and ultimately disappear into it. Perhaps it was best that he didn’t see their faces as they were consumed, but it did little, if anything, to lessen the pain. Not the aches in his body, no. It was the throbbing in his chest, as though someone had reached in and put his heart in a vice.

The fox felt himself choking while the full weight of the situation settled in. Everyone that had helped him get this far was gone. His brother and sister, his best friend and his two buddies, the boy that he would’ve gladly had as his partner in his endeavors, and possibly even his greatest rival. While he could beat the GBK and bring down the Battle Moon, there was little he had to go back to now. What would he tell Gob and Guen? Even if he won here, he’d failed, and it was his fault. Because he got careless, got cocky, and held back when he shouldn't have, it had cost him some of the most important people in his life.

But, he also knew that he wasn’t the only one to blame. The one most responsible for his misery, past and present, had gotten back to his feet. The GBK was crowing over this personal victory, not caring that he’d destroyed his former home to do so, or that he'd been potentially blinded in one eye. Seeing that brutality, that ruthlessness, and that utter disregard for the lives of anyone else aside from his own on full display hit Miles hard. It stirred something in him, something different from all the other times he'd seen and experienced loss.

“You...” the fox murmured venomously.

For a moment, the faint emanation from within his lucky stone pulsed more powerfully. The grief he felt for his fallen friends and family was compounded by a simmering anger that grew greater with each passing second. And then there was that terrible feeling that he’d experienced on only rare occasions, making itself known again after so long.

Hatred. That whirlwind of negative passion that convinced even the nicest people to commit horrible acts, primarily fueled by the other emotions he was feeling then. The very thing that had driven the leaders of the Battle Kukku Empire to seek vengeance against him. And in that moment, it was telling him that nothing was off the table at this point. The monster in front of him and the one hiding somewhere in this place had taken just about everything from him. Doing unto them as they had to those he loved and cared for...for the first time, it didn’t sound so unpalatable.

You...” Miles rumbled with mounting fury, tears streaming down his face with renewed volume.

Suddenly, his body didn’t feel heavy anymore, nor was his head spinning any longer. The fox slowly pushed himself to his feet, his fur puffed out and his fangs on full display to reflect his mood. His whole frame trembled and shook, air forcing itself through his tightened throat and clenched jaw as the enmity, the sorrow, and the rage within him kept growing. His habit of holding those feelings back for his sake, as well as the sake of others, didn’t interfere this time. No, now, he wished for nothing more than to have the power to thoroughly and completely dismantle that mobile suit and knock this space station out of orbit. To make the Emperor of the Kukkus feel the same misery that he was, and beat him within an inch of his life, if not go far enough to take it away entirely. All at once, the seven Chaos Emeralds hovered into the air around the fox, the lights within them intensifying and beginning to resonate.

“W-what’s happening?” Dr. Fukurokov demanded, “this didn’t occur when he used six of the Emeralds in your last battle, milord!”

That was when the GBK finally stopped laughing and started paying attention to what was actually happening. However, he still wasn’t concerned by the sight.

“You said this could defeat him even if he used all of them, Dmitri,” he stressed to the owl, “so, let him have his little tantrum. It’ll be all the better to break his spirit once he realizes that even then, it’s no use!”

Miles gradually levitated up off the floor, not even using his tails to do so, with the Emeralds following and keeping aligned with his waist. He stopped about half a meter in the air, where the stones started circling around him. His hands clutched at his head as all the negativity within him increased exponentially due to the influence of the gems, reaching depths he’d never known. His bangs rose up as though a current was blowing from below, and he instinctively began to curl his body into more of a ball shape, but without going into any of the Rolling techniques.

You'll pay!” Miles howled, his choking turning into unrestrained, livid sobbing.

The ring-shaped orbit of the Chaos Emeralds broke away as each color went off into its own trajectory, their light suddenly dulling and darkening their facets. Soon, they were revolving around Miles like electrons about an atomic nucleus, only in a far more tumultuous manner, and they were only getting faster with every lap. Arcs of deep green lightning heated the space around the fox, casting themselves off of both the Emeralds and him. The debris that had accumulated around the battlefield rattled and was blown away from the winds formed from this reaction, and the screens around the room glitched and flickered.

It all came to a climax when the Chaos Emeralds all slowed and shot outwards from the fox, then streaked towards his body like comets. After phasing into him without any resistance, Miles flung his limbs out, bent himself up and back, and tilted his head to the ceiling.

WAAAGH!!”

The GBK found himself unexpectedly bracing himself in his seat as the GKMS was pushed back by the howling gale that burst forth. A deep and unnatural darkness wrapped around the fox and encroached over much of the space near the deactivated Chaos Generator, obsidian bolts of power crackling and jumping in random directions. Panels and sections of the floor, walls, and ceiling were stripped away from the sheer might of the air currents, and the glass of the thick and immense window fractured. Dr. Fukurokov swiftly lowered the shielding so that his leader wouldn’t get sucked out in the unlikely outcome of his robot being destroyed, though it did nothing to assuage his rising concerns. His confidence in his greatest combat mech was wavering, yet it paled in comparison to the fear that was creeping through him the longer he looked on at the shroud.

When the winds calmed and the black fog dispersed, the elderly bird felt as though his soul had left him. All of Miles' fur had grown back, and his wounds were healed, but it didn't appear that way at first glance. His amber coat was now disheveled and unkempt, and it had changed color to a midnight blue-indigo, while the tawny markings were pitch black. His ears had lengthened slightly and become like knives at the tips, as had his two tails, and his teeth had turned into ones like his Critter "cousins" possessed. His gloves and shoes were in tatters, showing off his ebony claws, which had become marginally longer, but also significantly sharper. His watery eyes were void of their irises and pupils, leaving only a pair of burning whites that were clearly fixated on the GKMS. And last, but not least, there was a black, wispy aura that rose off of his form like smoke, making his altered and already shaded fur seem even darker.

“So, the brilliant fox is a lowly beast deep down, just like all lesser Animals,” the GBK sneered, holding up both palms and popping a whole mess of bombs into existence, “to your credit, you stayed tame until your pet sacrificed itself and your friends perished. Worry not though, boy, you’ll be joining them momentarily!”

He tossed every last explosive he had at his enemy, then replaced them with even more, the mech’s palms overflowing with bombs of all sizes. The GKMS hurtled cluster after cluster at the fox, interspersing every so often with missiles from its fingertips. Looking on, the doctor was thankful that they’d made the chamber as sturdy as it was, although the energy from Miles’ transformation had done more to it than his boss’s own attacks were at the moment. Even as the cloud of fire, smoke, and debris swelled and soon overtook much of the room, the owl couldn’t help the pit in his stomach from deepening. There was a solid minute of bombardment, in which the robot eventually and finally ran its missile reserves dry, and the GBK was left panting from having exerted his powers so strenuously. As the dust settled, his laborious breathing gave way to full-bellied laughter, certain beyond all doubt that not a shred of fur or material would be remaining after that onslaught.

His gloating was stopped short and the grin was wiped off of his beak when the smoke cleared entirely. Miles was standing there, looking no worse for wear, not even a single strand of fur out of place. The fox narrowed his eyes, blinking away some of the tears as he let out a guttural growl and started walking towards the mech. Not on two legs like a civilized Animal, but on all fours, tails flicking side to side as his claws scratched against the steel, glaring down the GKMS like giant, but wounded prey. Its pilot had never been one to know fear, even during his days as a budding commander under his father’s direction. But, right then, he was, at the very least, unsettled. The big mech took a step back, and that was all the provocation that his foe needed.

Miles cleared the distance in a blink, sinking his hands' claws into the other limb like the metal was made of soft putty, giving it a mighty pull. To the GBK’s shock, his mobile suit was yanked right off its feet and fell onto its back, where the fox proceeded to drag him against the floor in a loose circle. The already damaged jetpack was further worn away from the friction, though it didn’t last long as the enraged teen lifted the GKMS over his head and brought the front of it down into the floor like a hammer. The bird was barely given a moment to register the pain before he was swinging around again, this time being released just as he made a few rotations. He crashed through the arena they'd been fighting in, bringing down the supports and causing the corner columns to collapse, and slammed into the back wall.

"I'm not scared of you, runt!" spat the Emperor as he threw his arms wide, shrugging off the wreckage as he got back up, "take this!"

He extended one arm at maximum force, hurtling a punch directly at Miles. Without using his tails, the fox lifted off the ground and flew into the oncoming attack's path, drawing back one of his own arms. He let out a thundering roar as he brought his fist forward, bits of his aura coalescing around his hand as he did. The punch not only overcame the much larger object, but utterly dismantled it, bursting apart as explosions rocked up the arm all the way to the shoulder. The GBK screeched horrifically, but though he was seized by agonizing pain, he still made an effort to try and grab the super-powered fox with his remaining hand. Miles effortlessly dodged by flying over it, then speared his two tail tips into the wrist and, with a single twist of his body, tore that arm clean from its socket.

The Emperor clenched his teeth and both of his eyes shut as he rode out the throbbing from the feedback. It may have been true that the pain he felt was only a mitigated version of what the mech did, but his real arms felt just as useless as the ones the GKMS now lacked. Context be damned, Dmitri could have done without this; he'd done so with everything else he'd made! He would have crushed Prower before that point, if only–

His ruminations were interrupted by his neck nearly snapping from a surprise blow to the undamaged side of his head's likeness. While the GBK had been contemplating matters, Miles had zipped down, hauled up the dismembered mechanical arm, and used it to club him in the face. It left a massive dent that also cracked the remaining lens, while the limb exploded into a shower of shrapnel from the sheer strength of the strike. The Emperor fell onto his backside and was seeing stars after such a hit, so disoriented that he struggled to rise again. He couldn’t recall the last time he felt this helpless, perhaps because he never had been. As that realization hit him, and his vision came back into focus, allowing him to see a downright murderous look on his nemesis’s face, he was gripped with a most primal terror.

Miles repositioned himself far back near the opposite wall, and then proceeded to start up a Spin Dash in mid air. As the screeches of his form revving up power grew more shrill, the wispy darkness built up, and ebony lightning once more crackled around him. The GBK felt the ground and the very air itself tremble from the overwhelming energy, bits and pieces of the arena coming away as they had just moments ago. He wanted to run, but there was nowhere to go in his bulky mobile suit, and even if there was, his body refused to move. It was as though it knew trying to escape was futile.

GRAAAH!!”

With another howl, Miles unleashed his attack and blitzed across the battlefield faster than even the doctor's tech could track. He drilled through the center of the GKMS, causing all the rest of it to fall apart in shambles and pin the GBK beneath the rubble.

Dr. Fukurokov's head swiveled from screen to screen as the fox continued his rampage, the Super Spin Dash breaking through what he'd once considered impenetrable walls. Like a chaotic pinball, the blindingly fast midnight sphere pinged and ricocheted off of anything and everything in his path. CT machines were dusted, production facilities were destroyed, passageways between wards collapsed, and then, he reached the auxiliary generators. The entire station lurched as one after another, its precious power sources were smashed to bits, every alarm imaginable going off and automated messages ordering troops to evacuate. But there was no way out, not with the path of destruction that Prower had left, and even if there was, he couldn't abandon his leader...not like that boy did. He would find a way to survive this, though, just as he had when that troublesome teen wrecked his previous plans.

"You've not seen the last of us, Miles Prower," he swore, "we will be back, and we will find a power that surpasses that of the Chaos Emeralds, mark my words!"

After knocking out the last crucial components, Miles dove through the bottommost layer of the Battle Moon, the station above him listing and languidly falling into gravity's embrace. He felt the heat of atmospheric reentry wash over him, but like everything else thrown at him in this state, it didn't affect him at all. He wasn’t thinking about much of anything, least of all where he was going, or at least not consciously. There was something, however, that drew him down to the island that he’d been exploring and adventuring in the past few days.

Though the station had been hundreds of kilometers above his destination, Miles plummeted down the vast majority of the distance within mere seconds. He found himself drifting to the western half of the island, down to a familiar shoreline next to a forest, one with a private hangar and runway. The fox collided with the sand some ways away from the small building, leaving a crater several meters wide and a few deep, which quickly began to fill with seawater that rolled in from the waves. He floated above the tide and hovered over to the front of the Tornado’s former abode, letting one hand rest upon the shutters.

With a low whimper, Miles fell to his knees, his claws raking down the metal door as his legs thumped limply into the sand. Little mattered anymore, if he were to be truthful. His victory over the Empire had been a pyrrhic one; yes, he had brought down their ultimate weapon and prevented Cocoa Island’s annihilation, but he had lost everyone that helped him get there. Even with the support of his adoptive parents, and a few other friends that he wasn’t sure about where they lived, his confidence was shattered. How could he pick himself up to do something like this again, even if the Kukkus did come back? He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to.

"The signal is coming from over here!"

The dark fox's ears perked up, the tiny bit of sanity left finding familiarity in that distant voice. He wasn't just hearing things, was he? Did he dare have faith? Or was it simply a curious local coming to see what was going on?

"It's gotta be in the same spot where that light came down!" exclaimed another seemingly recognizable tone.

Miles gave in to the hopeful feeling welling within his chest and turned his head to look to the source of the clamoring as he got up. He felt his heart leap into his throat at what he found. There, in the clearing that led to this quiet place, was Sonic. The hoglet was pretty roughed up, and his shoes and gloves had seen better days, but...he was alive. The fox soon saw that his young partner wasn’t alone. His older brother and sister strode up behind him, looking just as beat up with their equipment and accessories, the red twin’s glasses sporting several cracks while the teal one’s goggles had snapped their strap and lost one of their lenses. His best friend zipped up next, along with his two partners, all of whom were scuffed up, but no worse for wear than the others were.

Miles rubbed at his eyes to make sure they weren't playing tricks on him. And when the sight of his family and friends remained, a fresh set of tears started pouring as he turned to face them fully. Most of them looked hesitant to approach, no doubt put off by the monstrous state he was in. But not Sonic. The blue blur walked up to him, calmly and coolly, sporting that ever confident smile, just as he had when they first met. He stopped in front of the fox and held out his hands, mimicking holding something. Miles tentatively let one of his own hands move between them, letting out a soft grunt when those fingers came in and closed around it.

This was real.

"Nicky..." he managed to get out in a gravelly voice.

"It's okay now, big guy," Sonic said soothingly, giving that larger paw a soft squeeze, "you're here, I'm here, and all our pals are here, too. We won."

That did it. The wispy, shadowy aura around Miles dissipated as his proportions returned to normal and his colors reverted to their original hues. His fur was still disheveled, but he was otherwise okay, physically speaking. The Chaos Emeralds left his body and fell to the ground, far more dull than he'd ever seen them, as though their energy had been utterly drained. He felt it was still there, but whatever he'd done, it left the gems very weak.

Not as weak as his legs felt, though, once more falling to his knees, both arms moving out to pull his friend in for a tight and close hug. Miles let everything out, openly bawling and coughing as his grief was overpowered by elation. Sonic returned the embrace just as strongly, petting over the fox's back in slow circles while blinking away a couple droplets of his own. He felt another pair of arms hug around his neck from behind, along with the buzzing of insectoid wings. The bee gave Miles a squeeze before moving back, letting two more sets of arms wrap around him. He felt his siblings nuzzling at him, their affection ensuring him that everything would be alright.

And Miles knew that as long as he had them all, things would turn out okay in the end.


“Knuckles!” came a goofy, booming bass voice, “Knuckles, come quick!”

The recipient of the shout let out an annoyed groan. He was a tall and strong echidna with violet eyes, red fur that covered most of his body, a black nose on a peach-skinned muzzle, and a white crescent-shaped patch of fur on his chest. He wore red and yellow shoes, each with green cuffs, light gray soles, and a gray, sextuple-bolted plate on top. He also had large, white, mitten-like gloves with sock-like cuffs and two spiked knuckles on each hand. He was sitting on turquoise steps that led up into a massive chamber with six purple flower-like crystal platforms surrounding a seventh one. Above the central platform was an even bigger green beryl outcropping, one with numerous matching minerals, but the most notable of all was a huge, brilliant-cut emerald that sat between all of them. It had a powerful light within its core that alternatively brightened and dimmed with each passing second.

To Knuckles’ right was a stitched mural that depicted an immense gold and purple bird of prey, one of its talons outstretched to take the same green diamond on the altar behind him. Across from it was what appeared to be a two-tailed fox that was surrounded by a powerful, vortex-shaped capris-blue aura. He didn’t quite understand the meaning of the image, as there was no text to accompany it. His best guess was that the two figures were fighting over the gem that he was charged with watching over, and that it was an event predicted to occur at some point. If it never came to pass, then he could be satisfied with that, but if it did, then he would do everything within his power to keep either of them from taking his charge.

As for the source of his frustration, it belonged to a very large and burly cat Animal that had pale yellow sclera and black eyes. The majority of his body fur was purple with dark violet stripes, with a striped pattern running up his arms and long tail. His feet were covered in dark violet fur up to his ankles as well as the outer tips of his triangular ears, while his upper legs, back, and sides were covered in purple fur. He had white fur on his chest, torso, muzzle, and inner ears, with most of it protruding outwards. The cat wore tan gloves and sandals, as well as a matching belt with a gold buckle, and had a black and yellow fishing rod slung over his shoulder with a green, fish-shaped lure dangling from the end.

“What is it, Big?” the echidna asked in a dry tone, not really in the mood to deal with whatever the feline was on about.

He had no idea how Big kept getting into the palace, either. No matter how many times he was turned away or how many passages Knuckles closed off, he always found a way. The bulky fellow never did anything bad or even unpleasant, really, aside from disturbing his peace. It was just a hassle having to deal with it every time, since no one else was supposed to even know about this place except for the echidna. Then again, he’d been around just as long and knew the island pretty much as well as him, so he supposed he just wasn’t doing a good enough job keeping him away.

“There’s a giant egg falling towards the island!” Big hollered, waving his arms around, “it’s just like that story you told me!”

Knuckles shot up from his seat. If this truly was the case...

“Are you absolutely certain, Big?” he inquired in perhaps the most serious voice the cat had ever heard him use.

The bigger Animal nodded his head in large bobs. “Yeah, Froggy and I saw it! It looks like it’s gonna–”

The ground quaked and tilted sharply, causing both the cat and echidna to slide down the polished floor. Knuckles extended one of his hands to grab Big’s belt, then slammed the other into the ground, the spiked knuckles piercing through the stone and anchoring them in place. There was a feeling of weightlessness that caused their stomachs to churn that lasted for a good few minutes. It came to an end with the ground shifting back into an upright position, although with a strange sensation of...buoyancy?

Wanting to investigate, Knuckles brought the two of them to a glass tripod that held a spherical red gem in its core. The pair jumped on top of it and were briefly surrounded by bright blue light. After a few seconds and an odd jerking motion that seemed to tug at their whole beings, the echidna and the cat found themselves on the rim of a massive volcano. From there, they could see the jungle on the western coast, the grassy highlands of the ruins, the sprawling mushroom forest, the desert further east that crossed into the base of the mountains, and of course, the magnificent lake near the center of–

Knuckles felt his blood run cold as he saw a titanic gray egg-shaped object in the center of the body of water. Not only that, but there was water surrounding the borders of the island itself, the ocean that he’d long looked down at. Above him, sure enough, there were more clouds than he was used to seeing, and the sky was a lighter blue as well.

‘It’s really happening,’ he thought with dread, ‘the Dragon’s Egg has fallen from the heavens and returned Angel Island to the surface. Just as my ancestors had prophesied...’


After some time, Miles had composed himself enough that he came down from his emotional roller-coaster. The group had all gone back to Casino Night and decided to hold a little private party at the Chaotix joint to celebrate having saved the world. The fox fiddled with his drink as he peered around the bar at his friends.

“I thought,” he hesitated, “I thought you all...”

Sonic chuckled a little uneasily. “Well, we almost did.”

“But the Chaos Energy shockwave that came after the Grand Kukku Cannon’s blast lost power as it expanded,” Gadget explained, letting out a sigh, “though it was still strong enough to total the Tornado and knock us out of the sky.”

Gizmo pointed out the jetpack slung over her brother’s back, which Miles thought looked familiar. “Charmy got both Espio and Vector before they could fall, while Gad grabbed me and Sonic.”

“And then we flew the rest of the way back to Emerald Hill,” Charmy finished, settling down on his feet and wiping his forehead, “we almost didn’t make the trip back, but we pulled through, buddy.”

Miles' smile faltered at that. "Yeah, but Remi..."

The gang bowed their heads. They had all seen what the little robot had done, and so gave him the customary moment of silence to honor his sacrifice. But, not wanting to bring down the atmosphere too much, the fox flashed everyone a warm smile.

“I’ll be okay,” he said, turning to Sonic, “I’ve just got to keep looking and moving forward, right?”

The hedgehog smirked and gave him a thumbs-up. “You’ve got it, big guy.”

“Ooh, speaking of that,” Charmy remarked, “what’re you gonna do next, Miles?”

It was a pretty good question. There was always the call for the next adventure, but the fox wasn’t ready for that yet. He would prefer to have a chance to relax first before he went on any more crazy quests.

“Well, I think I’ll hang around for a little while,” Miles decided, “I can help Sonic repair the Tornado, and try to figure out what happened to the Chaos Emeralds.” His eyes looked around at everyone else. “How about you guys?”

The twin wolves glanced at one another, then relaxed in their seats and took a swig of their own drinks.

“We’ll stay for a bit, too,” Gizmo said, grinning toothily at her adopted brother, “we never got to do that sightseeing and all with you, like we’d planned.”

“And if you want us to lend you a hand with anything else, you know we’d gladly help,” Gadget told him.

Espio hummed, his eyes cast down as he absentmindedly swirled his sake cup. “The police in Metropolis wanted to speak with us about that ‘Dr. Robotnik’ person. It seems they have run into complications with interrogation and need us present. They may ask for your cooperation as well.”

“Means we might have to close this place for a while,” the bee said, though he wasn’t concerned about the possibility.

“But if it means more work and money, I can't complain!” Vector chirped optimistically.

They celebrated for a while longer before deciding to end the party. The Chaotix trio bid the other four a good night, with the latter group returning to a pair of rooms that the older canids had rented out. Gadget and Gizmo chose to turn in for the evening, giving their vulpine sibling and his little friend a big hug, then shutting themselves away. Miles, meanwhile, flopped back onto his bed and let out a sigh, glad that he could finally rest after everything.

“Tomorrow’s a new day,” he breathed out.

Sonic giggled boyishly. “Yep. What do you wanna do first?”

“Heck if I know,” the fox replied with a soft laugh, “we can play it by ear. But, I think I’m going to try and get some sleep here.”

“Alright. Good night, big guy.”

Miles once again thought about his journey. How he’d raced this kid, helped finish his dream project, and inadvertently gotten him involved in this whole mess. There had been friction at first, but they’d grown to enjoy each other’s company before long. He’d learned valuable things from his young partner, the most important of which he’d brought up earlier. Maybe it was time to look forward in other ways, too.

“Hey, Sonic?” he called.

“Yeah?” the hoglet answered, just settling into bed himself.

The fox let the silence linger for a few moments, then sat up on the covers.

“I know you wanted to think about another nickname to give me,” he started, “but there’s no need.”

“Oh yeah?” Sonic asked, a knowing grin on his face, “so, what do I call ya, then?”

The teen held out a fist, smiling warmly when the other Animal bumped it back.

“Call me Tails.”

Notes:

It's over! Well, the story is over, but this is only part one in a series of adventures for the fox and his friends! However, like Miles and the gang, I intend to take a short break before we pick things back up again.

I was glad to finally get here, as the ending was one of the first things I'd put together when thinking of how to write this story. As for the fox's transformed state, you could consider it my interpretation of a "Dark Super Miles", at least in terms of his design and behavior. I also thought it would be more appropriate for him to be the one responsible for bringing down the Battle Moon, rather than Dr. Fukurokov installing a self-destruct sequence or anything like that. Likewise, I wanted to keep that part of the fight short, but brutal, as the GKMS had no real way of competing with that kind of power.

As should be expected, part of the ending sets up the next part of the saga, which will cover Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles. Why is Big also on Angel Island with Knuckles? You'll have to see, but just know that I don't feel having him around would change the echidna that much. Both are known for doing their own thing, after all.

It was fun bringing in the parents, as well as a swapped Cream and Amy, however briefly. They'll feature in future works, so don't think they were included just for the heck of it. And like with the last chapter, Protocol 101692 is another date reference, this one being for the Sega Master System version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (October 16th, 1992), which was technically Tails' debut in the series. It's also the birthday I'm going by for him in this continuity, for anyone curious.

One last thing. I intend to release a one-shot that takes place between this and the next story. Something a little more lighthearted and fun, to help the boy and the others unwind after all the hectic happenings. So, be on the lookout for that sometime between next Sunday and the 23rd, which is Sonic's birthday! Thank you so much, everyone. Stay tuned for the breather episode, and then be prepared for the next big adventure: the Dragon's Egg and the Floating Island!

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