Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Dani sips on the sweet tea that Dale bought for her. She turns away from Dale to look at Ares. “Soooo...what’s it like living with War? Is she and Renny doing okay?” 

He chuckles. “Like living with someone you can’t murder, but want to.”

Dani wonders whether he’s joking or not, but doesn’t ask. She notices the army camo and changes the subject. “I must’ve been daydreaming too much, are you in the army?”

“Not quite, but I’m working towards it. Besides, I’ve been wearing this for the past day, and you’re just now noticing it?” Ares quirks an eyebrow up and smirks at Dani.

Dale squints and stops playing Sonic Dash on his phone. “What were you daydreaming about to make you not pay attention? That outfit is sweet bruh.”

She blushes in embarrassment. “I was daydreaming about winning the talent show.” 

Dale smirks, “And what else?” 

Dani tries to not say anything but is quickly overwhelmed. “And then Sonic characters appear to say ‘The prize is a trip to Mobius’ and then we all leave and live happily ever after.” 

Both Ares and Dale start laughing. “Yeah, like that's gonna happen. You’ve been wishing that for years now, and nothing happened.” Dale comments.

Dani knows he’s right but still pouts. “It could still happen.” She mumbles and sips loudly.

Athea pokes Dani’s back. “Hey guys!” 

Dani yelps in fear. “Don’t scare me like that! I thought you were a Sonic character! Jeez.”

“A Sonic character huh? And they’re just coming at you in the middle of an airport?” Athea shakes her head with a smile on her face. 

“Uh, bitch? Have you forgotten about me? Your favorite asshole? Platonic love of your life?” Ares glares at Athea and crosses his arms. 

“Of course not dude.” Athea’s smile tightens and she lightly nudges him. 

“Sure. Now, time to die.” Ares turns in his seat and starts punching Athea’s shoulder.

“Oh yeah, I am dead. You have slain me.” Athea says sarcastically. Ares backs away and looks at her calculatingly.

“I-I’m gonna use the bathroom.” Dani gets up. 

Dale notices and frowns. “Did you drink the chocolate milk in the fridge at home?”

Dani weakly smiles. “Yep. Gotta run! Be right back!” She heads off holding her stomach.

“What?” Athea asks defensively. “What are you thinking now?” Her eyes track Dani across the airport.

Ares snaps his fingers in front of her face. “Hey! Hey! Hey! Eyes on me! We’ve been apart a couple days! Pay attention to me! Your best friend, platonic love of your life! Don’t make me gut you!”

Athea shakes her head. “Yes, yes, I know. You’re my clingy best friend.” She awkwardly pats Ares’ shoulder. 

Ares opens his mouth to say something, but Dani returns from the bathroom. She grabs her bag. “Whew! Well, now that we all are introduced and met and ect, it's time to go get ready for my audition.” 

Dale jingles his keys. “Now that I got my new car, we can just drive to the audition in styyyyle.” Dani smirks. Sure.  

Dale’s car was a black, Ford Model T from the 20’s. It had no built in seat belts as it was a very old car. Dani was surprised he found one, seeing that it had been a hundred years since the car was invented. She takes in the breeze and listens to Dale’s music, nineties gangster rap.

Athea looks around. “You call this style huh?” 

Dale smirks and chuckles. “Yeah man. It may be old and used but it’s my first car and it has nice mileage. I don’t see anyone here that can afford a new model car do you?” 

“Guess not.” Athea shrugs.

Dani laughs from the front seat. As much as Athea wanted her to sit in the back with her and Ares, she felt like she'd be the third wheel to Ares and her if she did that. 

“So Dani, when you were talking about Sonic characters earlier, which one did you have in mind?” Athea asks out of the blue.

Dani remembers the jump scare and shrugs. “I dunno. Now that I think of it, the back of my seat’s height was too tall for them shorties anyways.” Dani giggles.

Dale chuckles. “Says the shortest person in the car. Five foot since fourth grade.” 

“Well at least I’m short enough to hide better, Mr. Almost six feet.” Dani smiles. 

Dale chuckles as he pulls into the parking lot. 

Dani gets out and looks up at the big entrance. A line is waiting for security to open the doors, and there’s another, much shorter line next to a door reading “Auditioners and VIP entrance”. Dani fidgets excitedly as the others grab their things and get out of the car. She notices that Athea is the only one empty-handed. Wait, did Athea bring a suitcase with her during the flight? Did we forget her luggage?

Before she can ask, she notices Simon and the judges walking into the building and forgets about it. “Oh my gosh, Simon looks older than I thought he looked.”

“Well he is in his sixties.” Dale shrugs. 

Dani stares in shock. “He should be retired by now!”

Ares and Athea joins them. Ares eyeballs Athea as he swings his army pack on his back. 

Dani shows off hers like a school kid. “Look at mine, it’s Legend of Zelda and glows in the dark.” 

“Cute.” Ares grins as he nods. “How many pockets does it have?”

“Six pockets. I got my switch to play with while I wait, some lyrics I wrote, and some drinks and snacks.” Dani says.

Dale smirks. “What's the song about?”

Dani smiles mischievously. “It’s a surprise.”

They all walk to the VIP entrance. Security stops them. “Proof of VIP or audition?”

Everyone shows their badges and Dani hands her golden ticket to the security guard. 

“You can head on in.” They clear a path as one opens the door for the group of friends. They walk in and see a buffet. 

“Well now I wish I didn't bring my snacks. If I knew they’d have a feast I would have just left the snacks at home.” Dani gawks at the delicious, high-priced free food.

“You can still eat the free food.” Athea points out. “This doesn’t really change anything.”

Dani nods. “True. Imma sneak some food in.” She hesitates before walking over. “Ares do you wanna join me?”

“Yeah, I need to make sure it’s not poisoned.” Ares walks straight over to the table and piles a little of everything on a paper plate. 

Dani chuckles. Dale waves. “I’m gonna find us a seat.” And leaves.

“Poison?” Athea echoes. She shakes her head. “I’m going with Dale.” She says casually. “I want to make sure we get front row seats.”

Ares gasps and turns around dramatically. “The audacity of some bitches! Going to get seats, without ME?”

Dani starts shoveling brownies and shrimp on a plate, eating like she hasn't in days.

Ares doesn't comment, but other auditioners notice and a cliche-looking blondie walks up to Dani. “You're singing right? You shouldn’t be eating something that would dry up your vocal cords.” 

Dani thinks on this. “You're actually right. Thanks for telling me.” 

The girl hands her some lemon water. “This should help clear that up.” 

Dani smiles. “Thank you. What's your name?” 

The girl smiles. “Oh my gosh, you don’t recognize me and my bow? I’m Jojo Siwa. I’m the secret guest judging the show.”

Dani looks at the bow, then at the bright clothing. “Oh! I’m so sorry! I probably looked like a dweeb huh?” 

Jojo giggles. “Oh no you're fine. I’ve seen people shovel food from the buffet before. I heard you wrote a parody of a song. So I had to stop you before you ruined your voice. I wanna hear your true voice and the lyrics you made.” She hears something in her earpiece. “Well! Bye!” She waves and skips off. 

Ares crosses her arms. “I thought she was gonna bully you for a moment.” 

Dani shrugs. “Nah. Though she does look like every Disney Channel bully ever, from what I heard, she’s really nice.”

“Looks like it.” He grunts.

The lights dim. “All VIPs should return to their seats.” Ares salutes Dani and leaves. 

An interviewer with a camera confronts Dani. “This is for the live broadcast. What made you come here today?”

“Well I was raised in foster care and never really felt like I had purpose. They made me feel empty and alone and would ridicule me for my talents and beliefs, so I came not to win, but to bring awareness to foster children and make them believe they aren’t nothing by showing up on stage and just having fun.” Dani smiles shyly.

The interviewer smiles. “Well then have fun out there.” She moves onto the next person.

Nick Cannon shows up. “I announced your name girl! Come on!” Dani grabs her lyrics from her book bag and quickly puts it behind her back as Nick leads the way.

She gets up on stage and hears the crowd, overwhelming her with its noise. I need to pee. She thinks. 

The audience goes quiet. Simon puts his face to the microphone. “Hi.”

Dani awkwardly smiles. “Hi. You look older in person.” Dani facepalms herself in horror. Oh gods, he’s gonna X me before I even start.

The rest of the judges chuckle as Simon smirks. He goes up to the microphone again. “How old dear?”

Dani shuffles her feet. “40. But on TV you looked 20.”

Simon smiles as the audience claps a bit. He dramatically gets close to the microphone. “I am 61 years old darling. That's a compliment.” 

“Wow. You don't look that old.” Dani says out loud. 

“What's your talent and why are you on stage?” Simon continues.

Dani smiles. “My talent is singing and I’m here to bring hope to my fellow orphans and foster children, to show that even if you don't get adopted, you are still someone and you are valued.”

The judges tear up and Jojo smiles. “That’s a great thing to be on stage for. Now sing your heart out!”

The music starts and Dani says before singing. “This is a Parody of Dandelion by Gabbie Hanna. Hope you like it!” She takes a breath, and starts singing.

“When I was a little girl my momma said to me, What's your favorite belief darling, I’ll get you the key.

I said Mobius, Mobius, that one's amazing.

She said darling that one's not a religion, that one's just a tale. 

Oh what a shame.

Reality don't look the same.

Guess it don’t look the same. 

Pyrotechnics come on and she throws her hands out pulling her outfit off to show a golden dress.

OH what a shame!

The crowd goes wild.

Call me what you want!

Demon Child! Demon Child! 

You can't stop my hope from growing. 

Hold me from the dark! 

Demon child! Demon Child! 

No you can't stop this longing!

Oh oh wa uh oh!

Oh oh wa uh oh!

I still love that very world on to this day. 

What they say about the longing inside of me. 

They took that hope away from me and said it was just a game. 

So I took a breath and made a wish and made it all real.

Dale and Ares watch the show as  Athea walks away from her seat. “Need to use the restroom. Be right back.”

Before Dale and Ares can say anything, she’s already gone. Before long, she returns.

Ares smirks. “Had fun in the bathroom?”

Athea smiles. “Just business.”

Back on stage, Dani is smiling as she sings her heart out.

So I took a breath and made a wish and made it all real.

She opens her eyes and the crowd goes wild. Simon is just about to speak when the crowd suddenly starts whispering, some gasping. 

“What? Is there something wrong?” Dani asks, starting to look worried.

The judges point. Dani looks up to see a portal open. 

Dale looks up. "What in the fuuuuck??? Hey, a special effects guy wasn't in the budget right???" He darts towards the stage. Ares doesn't hesitate and does as well. Athea yells after them. “Wait, it's probably just some tech work!” 

Dale frowns. “Well if it is, I don't want something falling on Dani! Are you coming or not?”

Athea gives up on trying to persuade them and follows.

Dani on stage backs up slowly as the portal gets bigger and bigger until an anthropomorphic jackal with a red gem on his chest appears out of it. 

Dale pauses. "PFFFTTT okay, very funny guys, nice prank, now take the costume off that midget and let's go get ice cream."

Dani should be worried as she knows who this is. She’s seen him in the videogame Sonic Forces and knows what he is capable of, but all she does is smile as she says, “Wow! You’re Infinite! Mobius is real! I knew it!” Dani starts moon walking and pointing towards the nearest camera. “I told you all it was FUCKING REAL! See, there's your proof! Now everyone in CPS owes me big time! And I better not hear a single one of my family members say it was fucking staged!” 

Simon and the judges stand. He holds his microphone. “Wow, like we haven't seen copyrighted tech before.” Infinite shoots a beam at the table he was sitting at, burning it. 

Dale winces "Oof, I bet all the auditioners he's pissed off loved that part".

“As much as I would love to see people screaming in fear and running to hide as I pursue them, I have an objective I must carry out.” Infinite says and stares directly at Dani. 

Dani goes pale. “Was it because I started Mephinite by mentioning it online a couple times, or that comment I made on Discord where I wanted to steal your phantom ruby? Cause trust me, I was 17 when I made Mephinite and I regret it, and I had no idea the phantom ruby was basically part of your body and not just a shiny thing that powers you like another villain I researched.”

Infinite holds his mask covering where his scar should be. “The only discord I know is the one I am causing. Do you truly have no memory of your last adventure?”

Dani crosses her arms. “I didn't have an adventure. If I did I wouldn’t be here, I would’ve stayed in your world. Trust me.”

Infinite’s voice changes to amusement. “So the blue pest and his friends did take your memories. They left you vulnerable, Dani The Light.”

Dani sees her friends running towards her aid. I should stall him. Maybe my friends can help.

“Really, you think I’m Dani. Ha! Dani is in the bathroom. I’m Athea, her understanding and responsible friend.”

Dale gets to the stage first. “Dani, you okay?”

Dani goes pale. “I dunno a Dani. Who’s Dani? I’m Athea.”

Dale looks up and sees Infinite. “You really think he’s that dumb? Didn't you tell me earlier he’s clever?”

“Do you want me to fucking die Dale, cause he’s looking for a Dani and I’m the only Dani here! And he just almost blasted an elderly person!”

Ares and Athea run up the stage and stand beside Dale. 

“Are we fighting him?! I wanna fight him!” Ares yells, putting his fist up.

Infinite shakes his head and chuckles evilly. “I’ve not been instructed to kill Dani. Only escorting her to my mentor as he desires. But if you want to challenge me, you're welcome to try. Though pain is all you’ll feel before the silence.”

Dale takes Dani’s wrist and they run. ”Dale!?”

As he's almost off stage with her, Infinite appears in front of them. The crowd gasps. Dale stands in front of Dani, holding her close and away from the once unreal character. Infinite is floating to keep an intimidating eye to eye. “Hand her over or you will perish.”

Dani feels Dale's grip tighten on her so the jackal can't grab her. 

“No. If you take her you're gonna have to take me too.” Dale bravely says.

Dani mutters, “Dale he’s an otherworldly being with powers, we are human. What are you gonna do?”

Dale smirks. “Imma punch his ass.” Dale goes to swing a punch, letting Dani go. Infinite takes that chance and goes behind them both, grabbing Dani by the waist while kicking Dale’s back. Dale falls.

“Dale!” Dani reaches out as he struggles to get up. 

I know this is part of his character, but Dale is human and that wasn't playing fair!  Dani starts kicking and wriggling, trying to get him to let go. Infinite doesn’t even react. Dani sees her opportunity. His tail is gonna be pulled and that's on him for hurting my best friend!

Dani reaches for his tail until she feels a strike on the back of her neck. Her eyes blur and she goes limp. Gotta keep fighting… 

Dale watches Infinite strike Dani. “Dani!” Dale yells. He gets up and starts running towards Infinite. “You bastard! Give her back and fight me!” Ares and Athea catch up with him, but Infinite ignores them. Before a new portal opens, Infinite smirks. “It would be a waste of time. But if you want a rematch as desired-” He stops for a minute before he shakes his head. “You're not even a challenge. Say goodbye to your friend.” Infinite goes through the portal with an unconscious Dani. Dale runs and jumps in with Ares unhesitatingly following. Athea goes in last and looks back at the audience. “You overlanders are all cowards.” She jumps in and the portal closes.

“Wow. Such great acting. Like we haven’t already seen someone do it. Disqualified for copyright infringement. NEXT!” Simon sarcastically comments.

Chapter Text

Dale lands on the ground first and stumbles, disorientated. Why are the trees so big? He looks up at the sky taking in the scenery. 

The air has a faint hint of rain and sweetness he can't put his finger on. His eyes trail to himself making sure he isn't injured before noticing his hands have bronze colored fur on them. He looks around himself in a daze, and when he notices a floofy bronze tail with black tufts of fur his heartbeat fastens. 

“Of course. I wouldn’t be a badass wolf or something. I had to be a cute floofy fox.” Dale comments out loud. 

Ares looks around. Seeing Dale, he smirks. “What’s up Shortstack?”

Dale looks up at the still-human Ares. “What's up G.I Joe?”

“Much as I appreciate the compliment, we should probably figure out where the hell we are.” Ares points out casually.

“Excellent point.” Athea nods. “We should start by heading over to those lights.” She gestures towards the trees in front of them, haloed by glaring lights.

Dale smirks. “Then let’s do this, and find out where Dani is. Dunno why or how this world exists, but knowing how Dani can be and knowing by the rants she said about him, whatever is about to happen can’t be good.” 

“No shit Sherlock.” Ares says, marching through the jungle.

Athea hangs around in the back quietly following them. They get to an opening and find flashing lights illuminating buildings. The building entrances contain red carpeting. The smell of popcorn and funnel cake makes Dale’s stomach growl.

“Damn, I need some of that popcorn. Right now.” Ares pulls to a stop right in front of a popcorn stand. He looks at the stand, suspicion and hunger warring in his eyes.

Dale heads towards one of the buildings. “With what money?” Dale says, pointing at a sign that reads “5 rings = 1 bag of buttery popcorn”.

Next to it is another stand selling funnel cake for 10 rings a cake. Behind the stands are familiar robots. A yellow cubic shaped robot sells the popcorn. The red orb-like robot sells funnel cake.

Dale smirks. “Cubot and Orbot selling food. This will be a piece of funnel cake.”

Ares smirks back. “I’ll go for the popcorn.” 

“Are you guys going to steal the food?” Athea asks, looking confused. And these people are friendly with that do-gooder Sonic?     

“Unless you have money you’re not sharing with us.” Ares shrugs.

Athea shrugs. “Suit yourself.”

Dale walks up the booths. “We are the official officers of the law, if you don’t have a permit I’m afraid we are gonna have to confiscate your carts.”

“Well the boss told us we can do it!” Cubot says.

“Well I am your boss. Eggman put us as his second in command while you were away.” Dale trails his voice dramatically.

Orbot gasps. “But the boss said we would always be second in command.”

“Sorry guys, but you have been demoted.” Dale takes Orbots funnel cake cart while Ares takes Cubots popcorn cart.

“We will make sure to leave you a funnel cake back at the office.” Dale smirks and walks off, leaving Cubot and Orbot in pure gullible shock.

When they are far away from the robots, Dale and Ares laugh at their scheme. “Haha! Suckers!” Dale says. 

High off their blatant robbery, Ares grins, looking around their crazy, light-spinning surroundings. “Saaaay…since we don’t know where Dani is, why don’t we just…explore? Maybe we’ll pick something up along the way.”

Dale eyes a nearby bar. “Like a drink?”

Athea trails behind. Are these really Dani’s loyal friends?

“Well, well, well. Long time no see. Haven’t seen you since headquarters. What are you doing back here Dale?”

Dale turns around to see an attractive bat. “I don’t know who you are but I wouldn’t mind getting to-” He leans on the cart but falls over as the cart rolls away. 

“My, I see you really don’t remember anything. Where’s Dani?” She looks at the humans with him.

“I’m not telling you anything ‘til you buy me a drink.” Dale says.

“I can see you’ve had a rough night. Fine, drinks are on me. I could go for one myself.” Rouge says, leading Dale and his friends to a bar down the street.

The moment the bar tender sees Rouge enter, he starts making drinks, shaking the contents. Rouge sits down, followed by Dale and the rest. “So what happened to Dani?” Rouge asks. 

Dale downs a shot before he replies. “You wouldn’t believe me if I toldja, get this. We were just watching Dani do her little performance on stage and stuff, and then she was snatched up by a gothic cat with a perm!” He downs another shot. “Now how about you answer a question for me?”

Rouge looks at him. “Ask away. I’m sure you want to know what happened the first time you came here.”  

“Do you come here often?” 

Ares makes a gagging noise as he gulps down his fourth shot. 

Rouge laughs. “A romantic type huh? Settle down there soldier.” She takes her own shot. “Did this gothic cat with a perm give you a name?” She bats her eyelids. 

“Aw shit, do I know his name…? Actually, I’m more concerned about YOUR name?” He reaches for another shot. No one stops him.

“The name’s Rouge.”

“Roooouge, I like it.” Dale nods. “Think you can show a newcomer a good time?”

She laughs again. “I think I can do something like that.”

With a groan of disgust, Ares downs his seventh shot and stumbles out of the bar. Slipping on the uneven pavement, he sits on the ground and blearily notices a single ring. Pocketing it, he continues to walk around until he comes to the biggest, shiniest building of them all. He walks inside without a look back.

Inside, Ares sees a long row of casino lottery machines, lined up like arcade games. Laughing at their silly sounds, he puts his single ring into one and presses down on the lever. With a shuttering, rolling sound, the pictures flash before his eyes. “Six bags?” Ares questions. And then the rings begin to fall. “I’m rich!” He cries as he starts shoving rings into his multiple pockets and backpack.

Back in the bar, Rouge stirs her drink. “Sooo, you do remember you have powers, right?”

“Powers? No shit, you mean like Superman or Batman? Oh wait, Batman doesn’t have powers… Like the Flash?”

“Nothing that flashy, just a little bit of a lightning ability.” Rouge grins.

“How about you refresh my memory?” Dale asks, leaning forward. 

“I know the perfect place.” Rouge takes ahold of his wrist, leading him out of the bar. “Just put the drinks on my tab hon.” She calls back.

“Oho, so where is this going?” Dale asks, trying not to sound too eager. 

As they walk into a building, Rouge leads him to a slot machine and leans forward, placing her hand behind his. “Aim and focus. I’m sure it’ll come to you.” 

Dale looks at the machine, imagining rings pouring out of it. “Just a little shock huh?” He feels his ears pop as lightning arcs through the air, obliterating the machine. “Oops.” He says as rings rain down over their heads. 

“What a spark that was! We should go out more often.” Rouge says cheekily as she plucks a few rings from the air.

“Well, there was a lot more where that came from.” Dale smirks.

“Mmhm, I’m sure.” Rouge winks. 

After picking up all the rings, the two start to wander around the gambling circuit, blowing up more machines and getting richer and richer. As they make their way back to a bar, Dale gets up on a table. “Hey everyone! Drinks on me!” He cheers. After doing that at a few more places, there’s an entire line of people following him around as he parties on.

Rouge happily slips through the crowd, stealing a ring here and a necklace there. Dale’s self-appointed bodyguards pretend not to notice this as they lift the drunk fox on their shoulders. “Hand me a cigar! Sunglasses! Girls!” Dale shouts, spraying the crowd with rings. All are given to him. As they parade into the final gambling hall, he sees a familiar figure at a gambling table. “Ares! Ares my maaan, where did you get that kinda scratch?” Dale asks as he sees the stack beside the human, and the bulging backpack next to him. 

“I’d ask you the same thing.” Ares’ clothes are clearly soiled, with mud, gunk, and the occasional spilled drink. He looks homeless, even with the massive pile of rings beside him. 

“Well it’s a dog eat dog world buddy, ya know?”

“Is that so?”

“We got our winners, we got our losers, and I just so happen to be a winner tonight. What are you?”

“Why don’t you come down here and find out? Put your money where your mouth is.”

Dale laughs. “Well allllright then! Looks like we got ourselves a game here folks! Come on men, lower me. Let’s see what this guy can put on the table.” As the men do so, one of the girls starts to massage his shoulders as he kicks his feet up.

“Few rings and you suddenly think you’re all that, huh?”

“Money is power baby, and it just so happens I have all the power in the room.”

Ares reaches down, grabs a handful of rings and tosses it on the table. “Your bet.”

“All in.” Dale says as he slaps ten pounds worth of rings on the table. 

“Let’s start the game.” Ares says grimly. 

The dealer shuffles the cards, handing two to each player and placing four on the table. 

Dale doesn’t even look at his cards as he says, “Call!”

Ares checks his cards and throws the rest of his rings on the table to match Dale’s bet. “Check.”

The dealer flips a card, and the game moves on…and ends with the last card flipped. “Four of a kind!” Dale crows.

Ares looks at his cards with a frown, and then he smiles, a devilish smile, as he places his cards down on the table. “Oh look at that, I’ve got a straight flush. Now give me all your rings.”

The whole room gasps. Dale sits there, awestruck, before he slams his hand on the table. “Double or nothing!” He shouts.

“That willing to lose again?”

“Look buddy, if I win this one, then you’ll be the one owing me money.”

“Alright, you can place the bet first.” Ares shrugs as he grabs the money pool. 

Dale plops the rest of his rings on the table, and Ares matches it. 

The cards are dealt again and Dale tries not to whistle appreciatively at his. Two pair, a decent enough hand. He watches Ares closely, and sees that same smile from earlier on his face, just for a moment. 

“All in.” Ares says as he puts every last ring of his on the table. The casino is so quiet, you can hear a pin drop. 

No fucking way, he’s bluffing…and if it turns out he’s not bluffing? Dale shuffles his two cards around as he considers the deck in front of him.

“The real question isn’t if I’m bluffing or not.” Ares says casually. “It’s, do you feel lucky, punk?”

“Luck is for losers. All I’ve been doing is winning, let’s try to keep this streak going.”

Ares laughs. “I already broke your streak, remember?”

“This isn’t Snapchat, buddy.” Dale snarks. “Let’s just keep playing.”

“Well then let’s go, what are we waiting for?”

Dale drops his cards on the table. “Two pair with a high Jack. Beat that!”

“How about three kings with a high ace?” Ares says as he drops his own cards. 

Dale’s jaw drops to the floor. “Awwww SHIT! That’s it. It’s over.” The girl stops massaging his shoulders and with sighs of disappointment, his entourage breaks away and everyone abandons him. 

“Such is the fickleness of fame.” Ares says, nodding his head. He takes Dale’s former rings. 

“What a night.” Rouge says as she sits down next to Dale. She has several pieces of new jewelry hanging on her, which she doesn’t comment on. “I should take you out more often.” She grins as she kisses Dale on the cheek.

“Well at least one good thing came out of this night.” Dale says. He glances at Ares and all his bags of rings. “We’re rich!”

“No, I’m rich. You chose romance over getting rich!”

“Why can’t I have both? Break bread with your brothers man!”

“You literally just tried to take everything I have!”

“Come on, ten percent! I’m the one who put the moves on Rouge and got us drinks!”

Ares thinks about it. “You can have one percent and you won’t be in debt.”

“ONE PERCENT-“

Chapter Text

Two days ago...

"Yeah, no, it's just me. Ares decided to go on an earlier flight to ‘scope out the area’, and my parents are out getting a boat. It's in Alabama though, they'll stay the night in a hotel and then come home tomorrow. My flight isn't until tomorrow morning." Athea pays for her milk and butter, smiling politely at the cashier. "That's why I'm calling you, we've got absolutely NO leftovers in the house and I really don't like just having a sandwich for dinner. I need you to give me some ideas for what I can cook." She exits the store, still absorbed in her conversation. A pause and she rolls her eyes, laughing. "No, I'm not gonna make myself a grilled cheese sandwich! I just toldja I'm not in the mood for a sandwich!"

Athea reaches her car and unlocks it, setting her groceries down in the passenger seat. "Okaaay, that sounds doable...also obvious. I really shoulda thought of that sooner. Alright, I'll get the meat out and put it in water when I get home, it shouldn't take too long for it to defrost. Hey, I'm leaving the store now so I'm checking out. Talk to you later! Bye!" Athea hangs up, setting her phone down into the cup holder. Her foot presses down on the brakes and she presses a button. The car rumbles to life, automatically playing her, "Best of Sonic" CD right where she left it, halfway through the first song.

"Live and leeearn, hanging on the edge of tomorrooow." Athea sings along to the song as she starts on the road to her house. Tomorrow I'll get to see Dani! For the first time ever! The thought brings her happiness, but it also brings her feelings of guilt, strangely. Why? It's been two years since this feeling started showing up and I still don't know what I've done to wrong her. I even apologized to Dani and she didn't remember! Still the feeling pestered her. She'd be having a conversation with Dani and then all of a sudden WHAM! The guilt would start to drown her. 

Enough of this! I'm gonna get home, make myself a nice meal, and enjoy having the house to myself. Athea tells herself firmly as she pulls into the driveway. Funnily enough, the second song ends just as she does this. "Nice." She hums as she opens the door. It’ll play Escape From the City next time I drive somewhere. She grabs her groceries.

SMASH!

A metal fist slams through Athea's windows, wrapping around her throat. "Wha...what?!" Athea gasps in surprise as she finds herself face to face with someone she'd never expect to see. Clutch smiles at her.

"Found you."

"You-you're-what? What? WHAT?" Athea flinches as pain lances through her brain, as if someone has stuck a hot poker in it. I know him! The thought runs through her mind with absolute certainty. I know him, I know him!

Yeah, he's Clutch from the Sonic comics.

No, I know him!

Clutch laughs at Athea's confusion. "Really? Did our fight mean so little that you even forgot me?" 

"I...I don't...know." Athea tightens her grip on her groceries. "You." She throws the bag at him and Clutch lets go as the plastic carton splatters open on him, releasing the milk inside. Quickly, she slips back inside the car, throws it into reverse, and peels right out of the driveway, putting the car back into drive after she barely clears the bush. 

Get to the highway, get to the highway, then the interstate, there's no red lights on the interstate! Athea speeds around the neighborhood, taking the shortest route to the highway. Frantically, her hand scrambles for the seatbelt, struggling to pull it across her body before securing it with a small click.

BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM!

Athea glances in the rearview mirror and shrieks as she sees an Eggman mech running straight for her. "Why the hell do you have thaaaat?" She wails as she turns the corner. Distantly, she can see a car put on its brakes as she pulls out right in front of it, but it's a distant foot note as the mech doesn't stop, running right onto the highway in plain view. 

"Why the hell are you coming after me?!" Athea shouts as she slams her foot on the gas pedal. 

Forty.

Fifty.

Sixty. 

Seventy.

The speedometers needle steadily climbs upward as Athea puts a bit of distance between herself and the mech. "Ha! And that's why Sonic has such an easy time dealing with those guys!" It's a short-lived victory for her however as the mech stays doggedly on her tail. 

She takes the turn for the interstate. Athea weaves around the traffic, determined not to slow down for anything. I don't know why Clutch is after me, but he's not going to win! Athea's entire focus lies on the road in front of her. Just have to get away. Get away, put some distance, and then figure this out!

She doesn't even see the grenade coming until it's too late. 

The world spins around Athea, her head snaps back, her ears ring. My mouth is gaping like a fish. A thought that annoys her before the world turns black...

"-super Sonic racing! Gotta keep your feet right onnn the groooound! When you're super Sonic raciiiiiing, there's no time! To look aarooooound!" The fifth song on the playlist continues to play, even as the voices interrupt it. 

"-the order was to take her alive!" A voice shouts.

"She wasn't supposed to run like that!" Oh hey, that's Clutch. Athea observes. Why's he so scared?

"We........t to do any....." A third voice grumbles.

Athea's head rolls to the side. Why's the world upside down? That's a lot of glass...shoot, I bet the windshields out. Mom's gonna kill me for wrecking her car. Sensation begins to come back to her and Athea groans as she notices her head is pounding with pain. The back of her head feels wet, and Athea decides not to look. Her arms are dangling by her head, but Athea slowly pulls them back. There's some luck for ya, they're not broken. She fumbles for her seatbelt, but freezes.

"If she's dead, it's on your head." The first voice says, closer than before. The car door is torn off with a resounding shriek and Athea is face to face with another familiar figure. 

"Infinite." She whispers in horror. Behind him, she can see Clutch wheezing on the ground, Rough and Tumble standing on both sides of him, looking sulky.

"Glad to see I've made an impression." Infinite nearly purrs. He reaches over to her and yanks the seatbelt away. Athea tumbles to the bottom of the car and gasps as she feels the thousand needles of glass pricking into her. Red drops fall to the ground. That's my blood. Infinite grabs her shoulder and pulls her out of the car. 

Athea grabs his hand, but it's useless. She's not strong enough. "What...what do you want from me?" She coughs. 

"Well it'd be awfully inconvenient if you walked in on us while I was with Dani." A new voice chuckles. Athea glances behind her, just in time to see Mimic change. He grows taller, pinker, his eyes change to an otherworldly off-blue, he mimics her right down to the clothes she's wearing. 

"What was it you told your friend earlier? Your plane leaves in the morning?" Clutch grabs her purse from the car and idly flicks through it. "You even have your plane ticket with you! You've been very helpful already my dear." He hands it to Mimic. 

Understanding dawns on her. "Dani. You want Dani. Why?" She tightens her grip on Infinite's hands. "Tell me!" Instantly, she realizes her mistake. 

"Perhaps the one who hired us will see fit to answer your questions. If he doesn't kill you himself." Infinite slams Athea's head into the car and for the second time that day, she loses consciousness. 

~~~~~~

When Athea wakes up again, the first thing she sees is her hands, gloved with blue fur peeking out from under bandages. With a gasp, she realizes the fur covers her from to toe, and she can feel her tail, tucked beside her leg. What the heck? Am I…a Mobian? She also notices the headache she’d felt earlier is all but gone. How long was I asleep?

After finally dragging her eyes away from her own body, the sight that greets Athea is like none she's ever seen...and simultaneously terrifying with its familiarity. The glitching red, purple, and black walls are bad enough. She can only be in Null Space. No, it's something far worse that really sends a thrill of fear through her. "Mephiles." Her voice rasps. 

"Hello again, Athea." 

She shakes her head. "Why...what? Why would...I mean...Dani..."

"As much as I would love to answer your questions, I only needed you awake so you would not drown.” 

“Drown…? Why would you care if I died?” Athea demands to know. 

“You offer poor leverage to me dead, but you might yet prove useful to me alive.” Mephiles says simply. Athea opens her mouth to ask more questions, but the questions are lost as the ground disappears beneath Athea and she falls through Null Space.

”Ahhhhhh!!!” Athea screams as she falls into a world of blue. Blue ocean, blue sky, and not even a speck of a cloud to be seen. 

SPLASH! She hits the ocean’s surface and sinks. For a moment, Athea does nothing, too stunned to even move. Her survival instinct kicks in however, and with only a few strokes, she reaches the surface, gasping for breath. “You son of a-“ A salty wave splashes into her mouth and she breaks off coughing. She kicks her shoes off before they can weigh her down too much. The salt water soaks through her bandages, making her wounds sting like crazy.

”So not cool!” She looks around, terror in her heart. Where am I? She looks desperately around her for something, anything she could use to get to safety. In the distance, she sees the outline of a ship in the distance. "He-Hey! Over here!" She coughs as another wave hits her face. She waves her hand in the air, still struggling to stay afloat. "I'm right here!"

She sees the ship turn, slowly coming towards her. “Yes! Yes! I’m-“ Another wave hits her and she goes under briefly.

When she surfaces again, the ship is much closer to her, pulling alongside her. She coughs, bewildered. How did it get here so fast? A rope hits the water and she doesn’t question it anymore, grabbing on and just hoping for salvation. 

Distantly, she can see a shape on the deck waving, and a moment later the rope pulls her along. She tangles her legs in it and holds on tight. Water streams off her in waves as she exits the water, the sudden weight nearly causing her to let go. She closes her eyes. I won’t let go, I CAN’T let go. Mephiles is after Dani, she needs me! Her head bumps into the railing and strong arms pull her over. She hits the deck with a thud and muffles a groan.

”Lessee here…” A cold hand grabs Athea’s face, turning it. She opens her eyes and gasps as she looks into the face of Captain Whisker. “Blue cat, purple eyes, I think we’ve found our treasure, eh maties?” The captain laughs, and his crew do the same. “Put her in the brig for now, while we figure out how best to use our new treasure.” He commands with a wave of his hand. 

Athea can say nothing, mute with shock. How is this possible? He’s fictional! All of this is supposed to be fictional! Somehow, even as she wonders this, she doesn’t feel surprised. Shocked, confused, but not surprised. A couple of his crew grab both of her arms and she’s dragged below decks. They leave her in a cold cell, chortling to themselves about their find. 

She waits until they’re gone. “I have got to get out of here.” She whispers. “There’s too many questions, and I’m never going to find the answers in this cell.” She puts her face in her hands. But how am I going to do that…?

Chapter Text

Dani wanders around carelessly in the black mist. She hears whispers in the distance and follows them for what feels like an hour, only to freeze abruptly in her tracks. The sky ignites with a familiar light. She walks up to it only for the light to disappear. No, not gone, only moved. The light illuminates Dani herself. She raises her hand, mesmerized by the light. She sees movement in the darkness and looks up.

Terrified, Dani stumbles backward. "Mephiles! Hell no! Byeee!" Dani shouts, throwing her hands in front of her as she sits. Mephiles looks away from her and says nothing. Curious, Dani follows his gaze. Where she once stood, she sees some sort of phoenix symbol. Three circles align in the middle. Mephiles starts to melt into ash. 

Why have you forsaken us?  You should have joined me and fused. You have left us to fall into Oblivion. How could you forgive the mortals for what they have done to us?

Dani's eyes blur as the light forms into something. She can't process what she is seeing. She can't process anything. The light fades and everything becomes dark and silent.

Keeping her eyes closed, Dani wakes up. She tries to stretch but she can't move. She can feel ropes restraining her arms and legs, trapping her in a chair. Before she can open her eyes, she hears a nearby conversation. 

"I am more than capable of guarding the hedgehog by myself." Someone with an accent speaks. "I can do that and accomplish our other goals as well, but leaving Infinite here will merely distract me from my tasks."

Male, but I can't tell if that's a British accent or Austrian... Might as well analyze my surrounding before I let my captors know I'm awake. This dude sounds more anxious than dutiful or annoyed. Probably a henchman. Wait- did that dude refer to me as a hedgehog? Nah, my brain must be hearing things...right?  Dani's thoughts race as she analyzes everything she hears. 

"Doctor Starline is correct. She is weak enough that he can watch the damsel in distress by himself. I have my own plans as well, like taking care of an old nuisance." A voice that sounds like it's under a voice changer speaks.

Dani can feel her cheeks redden with anger. Damsel in distress?! Excuse me?! Dani stays as still as possible as she struggles to contain her anger. I'll show you damsel in distress when I- Oh wait did they just say Doctor Starline- wait so that dude that's talking like he has a voice changer is- and the dude that sorta sounded like Dan Green....Wait didn't Dan Green voice Mephiles... Fear replaces anger. Plan B, not opening my eyes at all. I can just pretend to be knocked out till hopefully sirens are rung and Sonic- wait no actually Shadow might be better fit for this. Wait no- Not by himself.  

Mephiles continues. "I see. And I presume that old nuisance is Sonic or Shadow..."

Okay, now this is just patronizing. They couldn't have planned who guards the hostage before hand? I'm tied to a chair. If I'm gonna escape by myself, literally Starline could do the job himself since he has super speed, flight, and strength. Wait- why am I even correcting their mistakes when I'm the hostage? To be honest though, Starline against any major hero or gang might be his weak point. So Mephiles might actually be right with having Infinite here. Welp! In my favor, let's hope Infinites superiority complex finally kicks in to where he stops obeying people.

"Yes." Infinite states.

"That is precisely why I am having you guard her. You want revenge. Starline wants to keep to his studies. Sonic and Shadow both will one way or another come here to save her. You can have your revenge." Mephiles says with a subtle tone of amusement. 

"And what is it that you want? For someone who used to be a God, why is it that this girl, a former human is so important?" Starline asks. 

I don't think he's gonna tell you that. Good question though. You would have earned brownie points if you were just on a screen. Wait, if you’re skeptical about your alliance with this dude, then why are you even an ally?

"She's awake." Mephiles speaks. 

Dani opens her eyes. The first thing she sees is a giant glass window next to a door. Beside the door, she sees a security alarm and key pad. Outside of the glass window, she can see her captors. Wanting confirmation, she looks down to see her shoulders, feet, and hips are bound with rope to the chair. Her wrists are bound behind her, the only bindings not tied to the chair. She tries to twist her wrist to test the strength of the binding only to feel the rope burn as soon as she moves. Even though she can't really see her body, her pony tail is long enough to notice that her hair is too thick and dark to be human. Are those...quills? She notices her book bag is gone.

She looks at her captors. "Hello."

"We will resume our conversation another time." Mephiles tells them. He disappears from view, only to materialize in the cell with her. "We meet again, Dani. Hopefully your stay will be longer than it was previously."

Dani's mouth is dry with fear as she stares at him, frozen. She's helpless and she knows it. 

"I do apologize for the restraints, but after last time, well. I couldn't have you escape back to your normal life again."

Dani starts to tug on her restraints, but she still can't speak. 

Mephiles looks her up and down and shakes his head. "No words of defiance this time?"

It's just a dream, he's not real! It's just a dream! I hope it-well, maybe...no, it's just a dream, just like any other dream! I'll wake up in bed and be bummed, it's fine. It's just a dream.

"Then I will get straight to the point. You know something Dani, about Iblis. You know where he is, and you will tell me. If you don't, your friends will pay the price." Mephiles waves his hand in the air, and an image appears. She can see Ares snoring on a couch, a bronze fox with black dreads collapsed on an armchair next to him, and standing at the window is Athea. Her arms are crossed and her eyes are closed, but it's her. 

"They look fine to me, I don't know where Iblis is." Dani chokes out. 

"Looks can be deceiving. We all know this to be true, right Mimic?"

"Right." The Athea at the window opens her eyes, showing them to be a deep, otherworldly blue.

"How'd you get Mimic to join your discount league of villains?" Dani asks.

"Never mind that, if you don't tell me where Iblis is, I will command Mimic to kill Dale and Ares." Mephiles says. 

Dani looks at the image again and sees a familiar logo on the wall. "Go ahead, try it. I dare you. I actually dare you to try and off my friends in SONIC'S base...how'd they get there anyways? And where's the real Athea, you leave her at home or something?"

Mephiles waves his hand again and another image appears. "No, but she been taken care of." The image shows a blue cat sitting in a room. The outline of bars falls over her as the image gently moves from side to side. "She can be disposed of at any time."

Nervously, Dani says, "Iblis doesn't exist anymore?"

"Dani, Dani, Dani. You think that just because I cannot find Iblis, I have no way of knowing that he lives? I know you know where. Tell me, or you'll never see Athea alive again. The next time you see her, I'll be showing you her dead body."

"I-I'm sure Athea will be fine."

"You know I'm capable of murder."

"If you're so capable, then why won't you just kill me then, because I'm not telling you."

"On your head then. Captain Whiskers? Kill your captive and the Sol Emerald is yours."

"It's a deal then!" An ominous shadow appears in the image, and Athea turns around.

"Wait! Hold up, wait! I mean, if I'm not going to tell you at all, you might as well keep Athea, because Athea knows too! Why kill her when you can have insurance if I don't spill the beans?"

Mephiles seems to think this over for a moment. "Then I'll just have Dale and Ares killed. Mimic?"

"On it." Mimic pulls a knife from his sleeve and begins to walk towards the fox. 

"If I give you a hint, then will you leave them alone?" Dani asks desperately. 

"Stop." Mimic puts the knife back and returns to his spot by the window. "A hint will buy you a half hour. If you don't tell me where he is by then, Mimic will strike."

"Flames of lilac, sun without sun, too fierce to cry, unless the moon arise." Dani says quickly. 

"That just sounds like gibberish!" Infinite says. "She babbles to buy herself time, kill one of the pests and get on with it!"

"Actually, it's pretty standard for a riddle. It makes no sense on a surface level...I believe this form of riddle is a 'what am I?' riddle. Presumably, solving it will give us our answer." Starline says, obviously pleased. 

On one hand Dani is thankful that Starline understands, but on the other hand, he might figure it out and that wouldn’t be good.

"Then I'll leave answering this riddle up to you, Doctor." The image in the air disappears as Mephiles turns away. "I have other business to attend too."

 "Is the riddle enough to where my friends can live?" Dani asks, feeling a pit of guilt for giving him a hint.

Mephiles stops and turns to her. "Why worry about your friends when you should worry about yourself?" Mephiles melts into the shades and disappears.

Chapter Text

Meanwhile, far away on Mobius, near New Mobotropolis, Sonic and co are about to have a friendly race. Sonic and Tails stand on one side of the track. A quiet wolf and an energetic lemur stand beside them on a separate line. 

"Hey Whisper! Tangle! Have fun racing!" Amy Rose waves to the wolf and lemur. 

"Should we take it easy on them?" Tails whispers to Sonic.

Sonic winks. "We're just doing this for fun." 

Tangle the Lemur shouts with a giggle. "You won’t be the blue blur anymore after you eat our dust!" 

"Heh..." Whisper smiles.

"Yeah, that's not happening. You're up against the magnificent duo that is, Sonic and Tails!" Sonic cheers. "No one can beat the two of us when we team up!"

Amy skips to the center of the track and raises a flag. "On your marks! Get set! Go Sonic!" She drops the flag.

Sonic's already running before the flag even touches the ground, pulling Tails along behind him. He looks back to notice that Whisper and Tangle aren't trailing behind him. Instead, he sees Rouge flying above them. Sonic runs back to greet her. "Hey Rouge! Long time no see!" Sonic says with a chipper voice. 

Rouge lands in front of him. "As for you Blue. Sorry to skip the formalities, but there is something you need to know."

Sonic smirks. "Okay!" He takes her to the side of the racing trail. "What's up, how's Shadow's search going?" Sonic asks with a care free tone. 

Rouge frowns slightly. "No sign of that Mephiles since we sent the overlanders home. Speaking of which, those overlanders have returned, and I had quite the fun time with Dale and Ares in Casino Night Zone."

"Where are they now?" Sonic says readying his super speed. 

"Soleanna Freedom Headquarters. I left them to rest and came as soon as I could to let you know." Rouge replies.

Sonic takes off without a second thought. Amy on the the bleachers calls out, "Where are you running off to?!" 

Tangle yells to reassure her. "It'll be okay! How about we race with you instead?!" 

Amy looks in the distance with a frown before she looks at Tangle with a smile. "Okay!"

~Meanwhile in Soleanna Freedom Headquarters~
 

Ares tosses and turns in his restless sleep. He had trouble sleeping in even the best of circumstances, and these were far from it. Worse, every time he dozed awake, something struck him that was wrong, something that should not have been, but was. But before he could think of it, he'd fall back under. 

They'd had fun, for a few short hours, so much fun that Ares had lost track of himself almost. Almost. He'd drank too much, but all it'd seemed to do was lock him in with his demons. 

Ares opens his eyes as the answer finally strikes him. Athea would never have let us drink so much, not with our friend missing, and not even if everything was okay. He sits up and takes stock of his surroundings. He can see Dale sound asleep on a nearby chair, a table and TV. The walls around them are a dusty brown with gray trim. There's a weird symbol painted on the walls. Finally, next to the window he can see Athea. She's standing there, arms crossed.

Ares gets up and moves towards her. "This is all pretty crazy, huh?" He asks. Start with some small talk...

"Yeah, pretty insane. I never thought I'd see something like that happen." Athea says. 

"I remember you telling me about this world though. You remember that?" Ares asks, keeping his eyes trained on the window.

"Of course I do." Athea says. "I could hardly stop talking about it. Doesn't mean I ever thought I'd come here."

"Ehhh, when you were talking about it, I never believed it existed. That I would come here. Dani always believed though."

"Yeah, she did." Athea says noncommittedly.

"Nice night out, good time for a run." Ares playfully nudges her with his elbow.

Athea laughs. "Yeah, I don't think so."

"Why not? It'd be fun. A couple miles here, a couple miles back. You know. Run with me." Ares grins. 

"No. I'm staying right here."

"Ah, fair enough. Suppose I'll stay with you." Ares shrugs. She nods and resettles against the window. "I remember the first time I met Dani. We were at the park, it was a beautiful day with perfect running weather."

"You've known Dani for awhile now." Athea agrees. 

He stiffens. "The real Athea would have corrected me. I first met Dani online." Ares turns and full on decks Athea across the face.

Athea staggers back, and looks at Ares. "Big mistake." The voice isn't Athea's. 

"Okay, I don't know who you are, but you're going to get your ass beat until you tell me where my friend is." Ares throws another punch, but the fake isn't where she used to be. "Come out and fight me!"

"Okay." The voice comes from behind him. 

Ares whirls around, only to be met with a punch to the nose. Crunch. He staggers back, his eyes watering with pain. He can taste his own blood in his mouth. There's a tug on his foot and he crashes to the ground, tipping over a lamp. Something slick and flexible wraps around his neck. A weight settles on his midsection.

Ares eyes clear and he sees his attacker is a silver octopus Mobian. Struggling to breathe, he shoves his hand underneath the tentacle, trying to pull it off his neck, but the suckers make it impossible to pry off by himself. With a grunt, Ares rolls over, squashing the octopus. The tentacles loosen, he takes a breath and lunges off of the octopus. This time, he makes sure to keep it in his sight.   

The silver octopus changes his form into Sonic. Using Sonic speed, Mimic rushes towards Ares. Ares tries to grab the octopus to throw him, but to no avail. The octopus latches onto Ares arm, turning back into Mimic, and flinging the human right onto Dale.

Dale wakes up to see Ares dangling in the air from a translucent blue tentacle. "Hey, watch where the fuck you’re throwing him! Trying to get some sleep over here. Jeez." Dale says tiredly.

"Sorry me getting my ass kicked woke you up!" Ares snaps back before Mimic throws him into a wall. He groans with pain as stars dance around his vision.

"Yeah, could you get your ass kicked a little quieter please?"

"Why don't you wake up more and HELP ME?" Ares demands as he tries to hit Mimic, but the octopus casually slips to the slide, tripping him again.

"Ah jeez man, that sounds like a lotta work. I don't know."

"Can't you see I'm getting my butt kicked?!" Mimic grabs Ares by his hair and slams his head into a nearby stand. 

"I can barely see anything with this splitting headache. What the hell's going on?"

"YOU'VE GOT A SPLITTING HEADACHE-!" Ares yelps as Mimic throws him through the window. Glass shatters around him, sprinkling the lawn outside with it.

"Well stick and move buddy, if you need me I'll be nursing this hangover." Dale gets up and trudges over to their stolen popcorn cart. 

"Get out here and help me dude!" Seeing the octopus reach for him, Ares rolls away, wincing as little shards of glass pierce his skin.

"Ehh, I don't know man. Seems like your battle."

"What do you want to get out here and help me?!" Ares shouts as he tries to stay out of Mimic’s reach. A silver glint flashes through the air and with a sinking heart, Ares sees the octopus is holding a knife now. “Where the fuck did he get a knife from?!”

"How about forty percent of my winnings back?"

"Uh, no. Absolutely not. You can have five percent back."

"Five percent? What am I gonna do with five percent?"

"I don't know, figure something out and get out here and help me!" The last word is almost a shriek as Mimic nearly pierces him with the knife, only barely dodging the blow.

"You're gonna get five percent of your ass kicked if you don't raise the price a bit."

"Ten percent!" Ares picks up a stick and manages to deflect another knife blow. Mimic drops the knife to another tentacle and tries again, this time leaving a shallow scratch on his right arm.

"Well, looks like negotiations are over. Bob and weave my guy!" 

"Fifteen percent! Take it or leave it, please help me!" Ares backs up, struggling to defend himself with the stick, barely dodging and deflecting the knife blows.

"Hmm...fifteen percent...Ehhh, twenty."

"Fifteen percent, and any time you help me out with a life threatening situation you get another five percent!"

"Forever?"

"For as long as I have rings!"

"Alriiight, looks like we got a deal!"

"Then get out here and fry this calamari!" Ares throws the stick at the octopus and runs back towards the window. He feels more than senses the knife whirling towards his unprotected back and slides on the ground just in time. The knife sticks in the building, quivering, right where he had been a moment before.

Dale hops out the window, just in time to see Mimic turn into Dani. "Oh wow, this guy just turned into Dani. Could you do Spider-man too?" He raises his hands in the form of finger guns. "Pew pew." Lightning arcs through the air, striking the octopus who immediately falls over, unconscious. 

"Okay, first of all, cool. Second of all, OW!"

"Walk it off, you'll be fine."

"I hate you."

Chapter Text

Dani sits, watching Starline from the glass panel of her cell. "Ya know, tying me to a chair is overkill. Just saying."  The platypus ignores her as he types away, pressing on his mouse pad quietly.

"If you're googling the riddle, good luck with that." Dani says smugly. "I made that riddle up to purposely frustrate the one who wants to solve that riddle." 

Starline adjusts his glasses. "You have little faith in my expertise in solving riddles. I already think I have an idea. Now be quiet. I’m studying the doctors old blueprints. "

"Oooo! Can I see, I've never seen Eggman's blue prints before?!" Dani smiles as she lies at her own enthusiasm. Yes, I'm gonna bait him. Dani thinks.

Starline clicks away at his computer. "No. You might figure out my own plans."

Damn. How do I get him to untie me or open the door.... Dani continues thinking.

She struggles against the binding, but it doesn't loosen. Maybe if I make myself sweat enough, I can loosen the rope on my wrist.

She looks at Starline. The only way I'm gonna sweat though is by fear. And Starline isn't spooky enough. The dude has toothpaste looking hair and I've been calling him Duckface for who knows how long...Wait, where is Infinite? He's spooky and an easy ticking bomb. 

"Hey Duckface! Where's Zero?" Dani asks, hiding an uncomfortable smile. 

"Zero? I don't know a Zero." Doctor Starline responds as he concentrates on his work. 

Dani looks smug for a moment before she remasters her expression. Oooo! Even better! "Yes you do. It's the Jackals "real" name. He named himself Infinite 'cause he got his ass beat by Shadow." Dani says. 

Starlines eyes flicker with intrigue and he stops typing.

"And when Zero became Infinite he thought that putting on that mask and shiny gem would make him the most powerful being, only to be beaten by someone who's weaker than Shadow. A Rookie nonetheless." Dani looks around, trying to see if Infinite was hearing this. 

If he could hear classic Sonic and Tails behind a rock miles away, he will definitely hear this. "Wow! A Rookie! Not a secret agent who's had training for years. That's honestly sad. Looks like he became-" Dani stops as Infinite phases into the cell. Damn, that was fast. Dani thinks.

Infinite grabs her by the throat and lifts her up, chair and all.

Actually, ya know what-this was a bad idea. I should've just baited Starline into acting scary. Now I'm dead. I'm so dead. 

Dani gasps for air struggling against the binding so she can pull his hands from her throat. But the ropes are too tight, she decides to finally go limp. Ya know what, at least Mephiles plans might fail if I'm dead. I can accept this if it means saving Mobius.

She hears Starline in the background. "Zero Sleep!" 

Infinite suddenly falls, losing his grip on Dani. Dani falls on her side gasping for air and coughing. When she gets her bearings she looks over to see what happened. Starline walks over Infinite's unconscious body over to her. He pulls the chair back up for her.

"Ah, that's why it didn't work before. Infinite wasn't his name after all. I should've known. I should thank you for the service you've done me." Doctor Starline says adjusting his glove.

Dani's thoughts race as she tugs on the bindings again. I didn't sweat enough to slip from the bindings! Wait, I'm a Mobian, so I should have powers. Think think think....Oh! That dream I had! It had light in it. Then that might have to do with my abilities. Hm? Oh ok, I have an idea!

The rope is looser, but now that Infinite is knocked out, she realizes that Starline is more of a threat than she'd thought. She has to do something to get out fast. 

"I know more things than you can even realize. If you untie me, I'll let you know other things as long as it has nothing to do with the riddle I gave you." Dani says as she stalls for time. Her wrists are loose enough to move her hands a little so she does, pointing her finger at the ropes. She focuses her hope, channeling her aura through her finger aiming at the rope that binds her. 

"That sounds fascinating! But I can't. I may be able to subdue Infinite, but the mind of Solaris is something much more difficult. I wouldn't dare defy him at this point in time." Starline says as he begins to open the door to leave her. 

As he opens it, Dani makes a precise blast on the rope. Now free, she quietly stands up and aims at Starline. Aura emits from her. "You think the mind of Solaris is threatening? You just took down a war criminal. A mercenary with the ability to weave reality to his will, just by knowing his name. That's threatening." That's a compliment, not an insult. Wow, even when I'm ready to fight I can't muster a single insult. Maybe Sonic or Shadow can help me think of some later.

Before Starline can comment, Dani summons a weakened version of a light orb and throws it. The orb hits the back of his neck, knocking him unconscious. 

It worked?? Dani looks at the two unconscious villains and shakes in fear of herself, looking at her palms. She takes a deep breathe. "If Shadow and Sonic can fight them without fearing their powers, so can I. I just gotta relax." 

Even though she says this, she still checks for Starline's pulse, smiling as she feels his heart beat. Just in case, she also checks Infinite's pulse. She sighs in relief.

Now that I know they aren't dead, I should probably carry Infinite away from Starline. He works for Mephiles, and even though I am mad at him for choking me, I taunted him. Least I can do is lessen his suffering by getting him far enough away from Starline. 

Dani tries to pick Infinite up, but she can barely carry him. "Damn, you’re heavy! Most of your weight is in muscle and you have the gall to get upset when people call you weak?! Holy crap! Do you not have any self worth at all to realize how far you’ve come?" 

Dani realizes he probably can’t hear her. "I'm dumb." She begins to drag him when she notices Starline's office chair has wheels. Bingo!

Dani takes the office chair and weakly lifts Infinite onto it. She pushes the chair out of her cell and closes the cell behind her, leaving Starline in it. She hums to herself to distract her guilt for leaving Starline like that. As she ventures out of the base, she finds her book bag near the entrance. "That's a weird place to leave my stuff." She puts her book bag on. 

Once outside, Dani takes in a deep breath. "Whew!" She looks at Infinite, who still wears his mask. "Now to take you as far as I can away from here so you aren't working for another weirdo." Dani grabs hold of the chair and starts to run. 

She runs and walks for what feels like miles until she comes to a field with a singular tree. "And this is where I will leave you, before you wake up and try to kill me again." With a hint of fear in her voice, she sets him down by the tree.

Dani looks at the mask he is wearing. "And I'm taking that, so you can see your own self worth, 'cause you need it. You can thank me later." Dani gently removes his mask and puts it in her book bag. She looks at him for a moment, and seeing the scar on his face, she frowns. She grabs a piece of paper out of her bag and writes a note and puts it in his hand. 

"A word of encouragement for when you wake up. See ya you edgy weirdo." Dani smiles and heads down the hill. Into the woods she goes.

Chapter Text

Athea gently taps another floorboard, but hears no difference in sound. She sighs. “So much for the trapdoor option.”

”It’s a deal then!” Athea hears her cell door open as a shadow falls over her. She turns around, eyes wide with fear as she sees Captain Whiskers, and his sword is drawn.

The captain slams her against the wall of the ship and raises his cutlass. For a moment, Athea can see her own, frightened reflection in it. She raises her hands, but there’s nothing to defend herself with. The cutlass falls…and stops just before her head. “Ye got lucky this time, cat.” In a smooth and practiced motion, he draws the cutlass against her cheek, slams her against the wall one more time, and leaves.

Athea slides to the ground, hand touching her cheek. She pulls her hand away to look at it and sees her own blood. Her hands begin to shake. He was really about to kill me. With her other hand, she clutches her wrist as she takes in deep, gasping breaths. Stop it, stop shaking! Damn it, stop shaking! She can feel it in her legs now, coming up her entire body in waves. She can’t. Stop. Shaking. How am I going to help Dani if I’m shaking so bad I can’t stand up? She despairs.

She closes her eyes as she tries to regain control over herself. "Because you're bigger...a-and better...and braver than that..." She sings softly between each shuddering gasp. It’s only a snippet of a song she’s repeating, but she can already feel herself settling down. The shaking slowly stops and she stands up again. "I am NOT going to be here when he comes back." She says, narrowing her eyes. She walks over to her cell door and starts to examine it. 

"I don't know how to pick locks, but there's gotta be a way around this door...what about the hinges? Can I get them off?” She walks to the side of the door and starts picking at the hinges. After a few seconds she sighs in exasperation and walks away. “No way I can get my fingers in that without a tool, and there’s nothing in this cell. Come on ‘Thea, don’t be useless! Your friend needs you!” 

She glares at the door, anger at her own helplessness and worry for her friend only growing. “I won’t let you win. I won’t. I won’t. I won’t!” On the last word she charges the door, slamming into it with her shoulder. It doesn’t break and she falls, briefly stunned. She growls and gets back up to her feet. 

Grabbing the bars, she pushes and pulls on the door. “Just break already!” It’s useless, I know it is, but dammit I can’t just stay trapped in here the whole time! I can’t! I won’t! I. WON’T! Fire bursts from her hands and Athea yelps as she falls backwards. It quickly extinguishes itself on the metal, but Athea doesn’t notice as she looks at her hands. Did I do that? Well it wasn’t the air, genius. 

Athea stands up and grabs the bars again. She reaches for that feeling she’d had a moment ago, the anger, the need to escape. Fire flickers to life between her hands, Athea grabs the lock on the door, but can already tell the flame is too weak to really hurt it. I guess that means I’m not angry enough? That’s sorta how Zuko used his powers for two seasons...It wasn’t a good long-term solution, but I don’t have time for the other. Short and cheap’ll do for now. Athea flexes her fingers and wraps them around the bars again.

The first thing she thinks of is her current situation. Trapped in the Sol Dimension, her life hanging by a thread, how helpless she’d been to protect herself a moment ago. Then, further back. Seeing Mephiles, the pain Infinite caused her when the car crashed, then there was Clutch, implying that they’d met before. She ought to remember that, but she doesn’t, which means someone stole her memories. Someone stole my memories, they left me vulnerable! If I’d known I was in danger I could have done something, joined a dojo, got into shape, I could have been more than a panicked human driving through red lights! Athea’s grip tightens on the bars, the fire getting hotter and hotter. More comes to mind, slights handed to her, every razor word thrown by her stepfather, how her mother never defended her- The lock hits the floor and splatters, liquid metal sizzling on the floor before it drops through. 

Athea watches impassively as the metal falls straight through the boat and into the water below. She steps over the hole and pushes open the door. Fire eats away at the boards around her, following in her wake. There’re shouts up top as the crew realizes something’s wrong.

”It’s the princess! She’s set fire to the ship!” Someone screams. 

No, but you’re gonna wish it was her by the time I’m done with this ship! Athea starts to climb a ladder to reach the top deck, when a sudden impact throws her to the side. 

“Man the cannons! We’re under attack!” Someone else, Captain Whisker?

Stunned, Athea stares at the ceiling, her rage from moments ago leaking out of her. What was I about to do? The ship tilts sharply again, and Athea screeches as she nearly tumbles down the stairs, only saved by grabbing the ladder. 

The flames she’d controlled moments ago feed on the wood, growing bigger, spreading further, the heat and smoke drives her up the ladder. 

Chaos reigns on the deck as the pirates try to launch a counterattack on the nearing ship. Another cannonball crashes through the deck. The ship is still too far away to read the name, but Athea doesn’t need too. “The Ocean Tornado…” She whispers.

”You! How didja get out of yer cell!?” Captain Whiskers shouts. Athea takes one look at him and runs the other way. “Git back here!”

”No thanks!” Athea nears the edge of the ship and turns along it. “Don’t you have bigger problems right now?”

The pirate curses, but she’s right. “Come on ye scallywags, let’s rid ourselves of the princess once and fer all!” He gives her a nasty look. “And then ye’ll be goin’ back to yer cell.”

”Aye aye, Captain!” 

For a single instant, Athea’s almost afraid that they’ll win. And then a blaze of light shoots from the Ocean Tornado. Another cannonball? Instead of crashing into the ship however, the light lands. 

Princess Blaze of the Sol Dimension stands. “Surrender, or I’ll destroy your ship.” She holds her hands out and twin fireballs grow in size.

”Never!”

”On your own head be it.” Athea watches in awe as the princess’s fire burns through half the ship in a single second. For a moment, it’s as if the ship itself doesn’t realize what happened to it, and then with a shudder and groan, it pulls itself apart. 

The ground drops beneath her feet, Athea screams, and then a hand grabs her. She looks up to see Blaze, holding onto her with one hand, the fence of the ship with the other. “Hold on!” The princess commands. 

“No need to worry about that!” Athea screams back. Their ship half falls on it’s side, hoisting the two into the air for a moment, before the water rushes in, soaking the wood until it begins to sink. 

By the time the last of the ship sinks, the Ocean Tornado arrives. Blaze and Athea are hoisted out of the water and the princess immediately takes charge, overseeing the rescue and imprisonment of the pirates.

Athea watches, never moving from her spot on deck. Eventually, all the pirates except Captain Whisker are recovered. “He’s escaped us, again!” The princess says, frustrated. She finally looks at Athea again. “You’re no pirate.” She says kindly, walking over. 

“No, they…they took me captive.” Athea says. 

Blaze looks at Athea’s smoke-stained gloves. “I see. Well, we will of course be happy to take you to your village. What island do you live on?”

She winces and shakes her head. “That’s sorta the thing ma’am, I’m not from this dimension.”

”They took you from Mobius?” Blaze asks, clearly confused. 

“No…Infinite took me from my home, Earth. Another, another dimension. I was a human, but I turned into a Mobian when I came here somehow.” Athea says slowly. She looks up. ”Blaze- Princess- Your Highness?”

”Please, just call me Blaze.” The cat says with a dismissive flick of her wrist.

”Blaze. Please, I need you to send me to Sonic’s world. I know it’s not my world, but the villain who sent me here is from there and I think he might be going after my friend! If she hasn’t been taken there already, I have no doubt he’s going to do it soon.” Athea says in a rush. Her hands tremble. “Please, my friend is in danger.”

Blaze’s eyes soften. “I understand, but I can not do this for you. I fought with Nega a few days ago and was forced to use my Burning Blaze form. The Sol Emeralds scattered. I was searching for them when I found Whisker’s ship, and you on it.”

”I…I see.” Athea looks down at her hands, knowing that one world away, her friend is in danger. She clenches them and looks up. “Please, let me help you in your search then. I know I’m not much, but I can’t sit back and do nothing. Give me a job, anything, and I will do it.”

Blaze looks at her for a long moment, her gaze unreadable, until her eyes soften. “Your job right now, is to rest and heal. You mean well, I can see this, but you’ve just been through a terrible experience. You should heal your own wounds while I search for the Emeralds.”

Athea shakes her head. “I won’t rest, CAN’T rest Blaze. Could you? If you knew your friend was in danger and you were stuck an entire world away? Please, you have to let me help.” She stands up to look the princess in the eye. Blaze hesitates, wavering, and Athea makes her final push. “Even if you dropped me off on some island, I would make my own raft if I have too. I HAVE to go help my friend.”

Blaze sighs with a rueful shake her head. “This is going to be a habit with you, isn’t it? Alright. You can help.”

Chapter Text

Trigger warning: Gore and Graphic violence.

Mimic lies sprawled on the ground, twitching from the electricity. "Calamari sounds really good right now." Dale says jokingly.

Before the two can do anything else to the octopus, Sonic runs and stops beside Dale. He glances at the defeated Mimic and frowns in disappointment. "Looks like I missed a party."

"A PARTY, is NOT how I'd put it." Ares says thickly, holding the bridge of his broken nose. He walks over to the wall where the knife is still stuck and yanks the knife out. "I'm taking this."

"Party doesn't start until I get some food in me I'll be right back I think I saw some leftover chili dogs in the fridge" says Dale as he slowly exits the room.

"Wait a second those are min--"

"Finders keeepperrs" says Dale, interrupting Sonics protest. 

Sonic races to the kitchen at sonic speed, blocking Dale before he can reach the fridge. "More like buyers eaters buddy, I don't play when it comes to chili dogs." 

"Oh c'moooon aren't you guys supposed to be ‘hERoes’ or something??? Cause after last night and fighting some chapped lipped squid, my stomach is in desperate need of saving.”

"Yo, what are we doing with the octopus fuck?!" Ares shouts. "Can I gut him?"

"No, we're not going to kill him. We need to talk to him." Sonic says.

"Wait, we're not killing him?" Dale asks, confused.

"Then if we can't kill him, get me a fucking medic!" The human says, pointing at his nose. 

"Man rich people always do the most complaining." Says Dale.

"I know just who to call. Give me a sonic second." The blue blur zips around the room, grabbing Mimic and disappearing from the room. He returns a few seconds later with a phone in hand. One phone number later, Vanilla answers the call. Sonic gives her a quick rundown of the night's events.

"That sounds quite serious! Please, bring him down, I'll see to his injuries." Vanilla agrees immediately.

Sonic jogs back to Ares. “It’s just a quick run over, it won’t take long for Vanilla to patch you up.” He offers his hand to Ares.

Ares stares distrustfully at the hand, his thoughts warring in his head. The pain of all his injuries wins the brief mental battle. Ares reaches forward and takes Sonic’s outstretched hand and just simply nods. 

Sonic shows no strain at holding onto the human. He holds on tightly and runs to Vanilla’s house, skidding to a stop outside her door. He knocks and the door is quickly opened by Vanilla herself. “Cream is still asleep.” She explains, waving them inside. She closes the door behind them and leads them to her living room. 

Ares follows behind them. The pain from all the little cuts and the broken nose was starting to be more prominent as the adrenaline wore off. “Can we hurry this up?” He asks gruffly. 

“I’ll work as fast as I can.” Vanilla promises. “Please, sit. You’re just a little bit taller than me dear and I need to treat that nose of yours.”

Ares grunts as he sits stiffly on the too small couch. “Just hurry this up.” He growls in pain. “And it’s not just my nose, I’ve got cuts littered all on my body with glass in them.” He adds. 

“I can see that dear, but your nose is the worst.” Vanilla says patiently as she examines it. She starts to clean the blood off, careful not to press too hard.

“So can you tell me what happened with Mimic now? How’d he get in the base?” Sonic asks.

“That thing was pretending to be my best friend. Athea. Not sure where she is now, but I’m going to get her back if it is the last thing I do.” Ares explains with gritted teeth. 

“Wait, Athea’s missing too?” Sonic straightens up and frowns. “Yeah, Mimic’s got some answering to do now when he wakes up.”

With a soft crunch, Vanilla pushes Ares’ nose back into place, sending another hot gush of blood down his face. She quickly bandages it together.

Ares yells and grips any part of the couch he can reach. “God Damn! That hurts!” He mutters to himself. 

“But it’s over now.” Vanilla says. “Just don’t hurt your nose on anything else for awhile and it should be fine.” She starts to clean his little cuts, taking notes of which ones might need stitches and which were fine with a bandage.

“How bad are the cuts?” Ares asks curiously, looking at the cuts with her. 

“Not as bad as I’ve seen, but we’ll play it safe.” Vanilla finishes stitching and bandaging Ares up. “Come back if you rebreak that nose dear. I’m sorry I couldn’t be a better host for you.” She says, stretching.

“We’ll come back during the day next time.” Sonic grins at her, shuffling his feet. “Right now, we have some hero stuff to do though.” He offers his hand to Ares again as he walks outside.

Ares takes his hand. “I need sleep. It was interrupted by me getting my ass beat.” 

“YOU can go sleep. I was on the other side of the world twenty minutes ago, and I have some poking around to do.” Sonic cracks his knuckles and breaks into a run, dropping Ares back off at the base. “I’ll let you know if I find Athea.”

“Yeah, you won’t need too.” Ares chuckles evilly as Sonic races out of sight. He walks into the base and pulls lemons, a dropper, salt, and a juicer out of his bag. He plugs in the juicer, and starts cutting up the lemons. Methodically, he juices each lemon dry into a cup and walks deeper into the base. 

Finding the prisoner cells wasn't that hard, he just walked down every stair until he found the rows of bars. The octopus was easy to spot from there. Walking up to the bars, he looks down on the octopus. "You awake?"

Mimic opens an eye to glare at him, and closes it again.

"Silent treatment huh? That's alright. You won't stay silent for long." He walks inside the cell and sits down on the bed. "So I have YOUR knife, and lemons. I have juiced them into lemon juice. Have you ever had a cut and then got lemon juice on it? It hurts, quite a bit. Unless you want to feel the oncoming pain, I would suggest you tell me where my friend is."

Mimic says nothing.

"So what's it going to be? Pain, or take the easy way out and tell me what I want to know?"

"Easy there, there's no need to get rough. I know exactly where your friend is. We stuck the both of them in the mountains north of here." He says.

"Now, see, I would believe you...but I don't. Because why would you tell me what I want to know? Other than to save your own skin." Ares asks in a pleasant voice.

"Saving my own skin has always been my motivation."

"If saving your own skin is your only motivation, then how do I know you're telling the truth?"

"By that logic, we can go around and around all night, you'll never know if I'm lying to you or telling the truth. Even if you're torturing me." Mimic points out.

"Well let's say I don't believe you and we'll just carry out my original plan of torture. Soon, you'll tell me what I want to know, without the lies." Ares takes his knife out of its sheath. "Recognize this?"

"And what if I'm telling the truth now?" 

"Then your answer won't change when I'm finished, will it?"

Mimic straightens up in realization. "You just want an excuse to torture me, don't you?"

"Considering you have my best friend? Yeah, I do."

"Where are your morals?" He looks around for someone, anyone who can stop this madness. 

"You kidnapped them." Ares draws his knife across Mimic's forehead, shallow but long. He grabs the dropper, draws the lemon juice in and places a drop in the middle of the cut.

Mimic hisses in pain, but says nothing. 

Ares repeats the process, cutting into Mimic's face and each tentacle, one by one. After every cut, a drop of lemon juice. He's methodical, slow even, and inevitable. By the time he's finished, Mimic is panting with pain, but hasn't said another word.

Ares steps back, nods to himself, and brings out the salt. Mimic's eyes widen. "Oh, sorry, didn't I tell you about this?" He raises the salt over Mimic's head and starts tapping the side of the jar, releasing salt onto the octopus. 

Mimic screeches with the first wave of pain. "Alright, fine, I lied! I lied!"

Ares chuckles evilly. "Well obviously you lied, so why don't you tell me the truth now? Or would you like another round of salt? Or maybe I should start the dismemberment." 

"Infinite took her! You want to know where he put her, I'd start with Null Space!" He answers quickly. 

"Hmm..." Ares taps more salt out, enjoying Mimic's whimpers. "Oh, that is music to my ears. Here, have the rest." He opens the bottle and releases the rest of the salt.

Mimic gives one last screech as Ares leaves the cell, whistling. "If this Infinite doesn't tell me where Athea is, I'll be back with more salt and your knife." He calls back. He takes his sweet time returning. 

"What is that NOISE?" Dale complains as Ares walks back into the room. 

"That, is the sound of answers. You're welcome to go down and ask about Dani, I already did mine." Ares says as he settles back down on the couch. "Ahh, listen to those screams of pain. Aren't they music?"

“DUuuddee why strum a guitar when you can play a whole symphony, pass me the salt. I'll show you how it's done." Dale says eagerly. He runs to the room and immediately dropkicks Mimic to the ground. He stands over his body raising a bag full of salt in his left hand. 

"Alllrright here buddy now you’re gonna listen here and you're gonna listen gOoD……I'm Not here to play gameS Brody." He peels back Mimics right eyelid. "You better think loooNg and hard ……..hehehehe long and hard…." He shakes his head, regaining his train of thought. "AhEm sorry about that….but you better think long and hard about this next question I'm about to ask you. I've had a long ass week filled with seductive bats, an evil octopus, and chili dogs and my friends are still MISSING!!!" Dale pauses dramatically. "SO TELL ME ………….what's Eggman's debit card number?".

Mimic looks puzzled but doesn’t show any fear. He has gotten used to the pain. Or so he thinks. “What is this so-called debit card?”  

"DONT PLAY GAMES WITH ME……..Can you at least tell me who he bank's with?? He seems like a chase bank sorta guy…or maybe Keybank??"

“Chase bank? Keybank? We have no such terms here… I don't even work for Dr. Eggman. I highly doubt he would keep his riches someplace accessible, even if a bank would allow him to do business with them.” Mimic considers stalling for time. It's only a matter of time before someone notices my absence…I’ll play nice for now, let them think I am broken…

"WHAAAT??!!..............No, you’re right, Chase banks interest fees are way too high…not to mention their ATM fees. If you established a line of credit with those guys you'd be bankrupt in a week…" Dale sits there and ponders his next question….."Uuuuhhh, hmmmm, well….uh ……WHAT’S 24875 TIMES 6222?!??"

Mimic smirks in disbelief. “Are you just here to mess with me until the blue nuisance returns? The answer to that question is 154,772,250.”

"WRONG ANSWEEER!!" Dale spreads his right eyelid open and begins to pour the salt onto his pupil.
Mimic screams in pain. “BUT THAT'S THE RIGHT ANSWER YOU ANTI HEROIC MORON!”

"HEY….uh…..DONT CALL ME A MORON!" He follows up the salt by beginning to pour lemon juice into the same eye.

For once in his rogue mercenary career, Mimic wishes that the blue pest was here to stop the fox. “How are YOU friends with that HEDGEHOG?!” He screams.

"Wait is that really the right answer…? Hey, Ares you got a calculator?" Dale calls out the room.

Ares rummages through his bag and pulls out a calculator. He opens the door and notices how red and swollen the octopus’ eyes are. He hands it to Dale, snapping his fingers and winking at them both with finger guns.

“Nice!” He goes back to standing guard, ready to distract Sonic until Dale finishes. Better to do that than sit and wait I guess. Ares thinks.

Dale plugs the numbers into the calculator finding out the right answer. "HOLY shit, this guy’s some kind of genius …uh….sorry about that, hmmmm, next question..." Dale sits and ponders it for a bit. "Oh right!! Tell me where DANI iiiisssss." He spreads his left eyelids open. "Unless you wanna be completely blind??" 

Seeing how having no sight would be problematic, Mimic cracks. “Okay, I lied! Just stop!”

"Well alright then, spill it." Dale says impatiently.

“Dani is being held in an abandoned laboratory base, located near the tropical jungles. It's not too far from this city! Aaaand the other one, Athea, the blue feline! She was sent to Null Space, but only because it’s easier to go somewhere else from there, some other dimension? I don’t know where!” Mimic cracks and practically pleads with Dale.“Now for the LOVE of CHAOS-”

“Ah! Athea’s gotta be in the Sol dimension then! I have a few pals from there!” Sonic zooms in, interrupting the not so pg scene being enacted by Dale and Ares.

"WoaH what The fuCk???" Dale flinches, scattering salt into Sonic's direction. "Dude, don't scare me like that".

Sonic wipes his eyes, squinting. “Looks like I caught you both in the nick of time. Now how about you sit in the living room while I turn Mimic in.” Sonic says just a little TOO pleasantly. He grabs Mimic and heads off. By the time Dale sits on the couch with Ares, Sonic’s already returned to dig into a chili dog. Mid-bite, Sonic looks at the two and sighs in disappointment. “I get that you want to save your friends but torture is just no good. It’s wrong. Us freedom fighters are supposed to protect everyone.”

"Hey man, sometimes you gotta get down and dirty." Dale says.

“If he was here, Shadow would agree with you. Give me two seconds to finish my dog and we’ll go.”

Before anyone can respond, alarms start beeping.

“WHERE IS SHE?! I WILL MAKE HER SUFFER AND TAKE MY MASK FROM HER CARCASS IF I HAVE TO!”

Chapter Text

 Shadow walks aimlessly in the woods, he has grown irritable in the search for Mephiles. The jungle trees sway quietly as the sun sets. He stops as he hears a faint whoosh. He takes cover behind a tree and watches Mephiles form up from the shades. Mephiles wobbles and steadies himself. He walks and then begins to pace. 

"Flames of Lilac..." He mumbles. Mephiles looks up at the trees where purple flowers bloom. "Lilacs, a delicate purple flower that will one day wilt as meaninglessly as it once bloomed before."

Shadow walks out from where he took cover. Before Shadow can speak, Mephiles turns around. "Ah Shadow. I suspected that one day we would meet again." He bows mockingly. 

"Hopefully for the last time." Shadow says. 

Mephiles chuckles evilly. "Do you really think this is the last you will be seeing me? No..." He walks up to Shadow slowly as he wields a dark orb. "Oh no.. This will not be the last of what I have planned. This is just the beginning. The final curtain call has yet to arise. As for you Shadow The Hedgehog...It's time to make sure you do not trail near where I am going." Before Shadow can retaliate Mephiles expands the orb and he is knocked unconscious.

Shadow drops and lands on his feet. In the distance, he can see a candle in a device that looks to have been burnt out. Where am I? He sees something blue leave out of the corner of his eye, but instead of following it he has an urge to stay put. He watches the candle.

Just then, the candle somehow ignites once more, brighter than last time. The  candle turns into an orb and floats out of the device. Shadow begins to follow it into the darkness. He can see a room but before he can discover what's in it he hears Rouge's voice. 

"Shadow? Shadow!"

Shadow opens his eyes, seeing Rouge hovering over him. Shadow steadily gets up. "Where is he?" He says, annoyed at what happened.

Rouge shrugs. "Beats me. You're talking about Mephiles?" 

Shadow crosses his arms. "It seems he has left without leaving anything to track him down." 

Rouge nods. "Seems so. I didn't expect to find you like this... Something's come up that I think you should know."

Shadow frowns, slightly annoyed. "What?"

"You remember those former overlanders that you sent home? They've returned, and their friend Dani is missing again." Rouge says.

Shadow huffs and shakes his head. "Again...where are the rest?" 

Rouge smirks with slight mischief. "Soleanna Freedom HQ." 

Irritated, Shadow tries chaos controlling there. But its too far. He decides to chaos control to the tropical jungle instead.
-----

Dani stumbles through the woods, feeling herself get weaker and weaker. It's been an entire day since she's eaten and she sure feels like it. Worse, she recognizes none of her surroundings. She is totally lost. On Mobius. 

Good thing it's Mobius and not Moebius. Or else I'd be screwed. She laughs nervously. Does that world even exist anymore? Am I even on Mobius? Mephiles can time travel, he could probably dimensional travel if he practiced enough... 

Dani looks around some more as her eyes start to blur. Her vision starts fading in and out. Yikes. I really don't like this, especially after I just escaped my captors, one that has warp abilities, another who can meld into the shades, and the last being one that can fly faster than Sonic can run to the nearest chilidog stand. 

Dani gulps. Welp this was a bad idea. Where the heck do I even head towards, I could pass out any second and who knows when I'll wake up?

Her legs give in and she falls, her eyes start to close and her body goes limp, urging her to fall into a deep slumber. No… so tired… Can't go further...

Finally everything goes black, she snores peacefully despite the stress she went through.

When she wakes up she can see Shadow with his hands crossed glaring at her. At first she thinks it’s out of irritation but after processing it, it’s more a glare of concern. 

"I can explain, I was kidnapped, it’s not my fault, I swear." Dani says while getting up. As she dusts herself off she notices the ground where she laid is barren. 

Shadow's ear twitches and he grabs her and chaos controls away from a blast. Shadow let's go and spin dashes a buzz bomber to pieces. He lands on his feet and looks at her. "Rouge has already informed me that your friends were at the headquarters and that you were kidnapped."

Dani pulls out Infinites mask from her backpack. "Yep. And I got a souvenir. I beat Starline and Infinite. I don't think we'll be seeing Starline for a while..." Dani's tone turns shy at the end.

"Starline, I could believe. But you, beat Infinite?" Shadow shakes his head and extends a hand towards her. "Let's go."

"Okie dokie!" Dani takes his hand. In the blink of an eye, the forest around them changes and a smoking building comes into view. 

"WHERE'S MY MASK?!" Infinite shouts as he sends missiles at Sonic. 

"Wwooooohhh you get 'em guys!!! C'mon Sonic defense, defense, defense!!" A bronze fox chants from the doorway.

"You know a little help would be nice." Says Sonic as he dodges the missiles.

"Eeeh, I'm more of a coach not a player....besides, me and Big the Cat over here are in the middle of binging Sonic X." Dale turns into the room where Big is relaxing on the couch "Hey Big, pause it for me, I don't wanna miss the fight ......and DON'T EAT ALL THE SNACKS." 

Dani quietly puts the mask back in her backpack.

Shadow turns to her. "Defeated Infinite, huh?"

"I didn't say he was dead...just knocked out. And left by a tree." Dani says, looking at the ground.

Shadow turns back towards the fight, raises his hand and shouts, "Chaos spear!" He releases a spear of light that hits Infinite, knocking the jackal to the ground. 

Infinite raises his head, narrowing his eyes at Shadow and Dani. "You..." He glares. Infinite stands up, scanning the clearing. He starts to rise into the air.

"Where you going? You're just in time for breakfast!" Sonic spin dashes Infinite.

Shadow rushes in, delivering a strong kick, sending Infinite into a tree. "You won't escape us that easily."

Infinite holds his hands out, summoning more illusions, but Sonic and Shadow easily destroy them. 

Dani runs towards the fox. "Who are you? I don't remember seeing you in any of the comics...or the games...who are you?"

"Just your friendly neighborhood spider-man." The fox says. 

"DALE?!" Dani screams.

"Umm, are you one of the hot ladies from Casino Night Zone?" Dale asks blankly. 

"Hot girls?!" Dani shouts. She pulls out Infinite's mask. "I was tied to a chair, by Starline, Infinite, AND MEPHILES, and you're hanging out with some GIRLS instead of rescuing me? What the fuck?!"

"Ahhh, Daniii, did you get shorter? That's weird. Heey, uh, cool mask. You mind if I try that on?"

Dani holds the mask away from Dale protectively. "The dude's already angry enough that I took it, I'm not letting you wear it."

"Oh come on, there's no way he wants this old thing. He'd look like a failed Pokémon design."

The still human Ares walks through the door. "Who's the new hedgehog?"

"Oh I think she's one of the ladies from Casino Night Zone." Dale says.

"It's Dani! Dani the Light! Your best friend was kidnapped and apparently has to rescue herself! I guess I'll always have to rescue myself 'cause you guys apparently didn't wanna rescue me!" 

"Well if you wanted a tip, you could have just said that, but unfortunately, I lost all my money last night." Dale drawls. 

"It's nice to see you Dale. Ares." Dani says sourly. She turns around and stomps back towards the fight. Dani looks at Infinite. Why would Mephiles keep me alive...let's test this. "If you want this mask, then come and take it."

If this was a cartoon, steam would be coming from Infinite's ears as the jackal rushes across the clearing towards Dani. 

"Hey Dani! I'm open! OVer here!" Dale shouts.

"Don't break it!" Dani shouts as she throws it to him. 

Dale catches it and puts it on. He starts running. Clean line drive to Dale. He makes a break for the thirty-two yard line. He leaps over his first enemy, stiff-arms the next one. He monologues as he knocks Sonic to the ground.

"If that's how you wanna play it." Sonic jumps back to his feet, runs, and jumps over Dale, grabbing the mask off his face. "It's mine now!" 

"Damn, hey Ares, it's been intercepted! Go long!" Dale complains as the super-sonic hedgehog runs away.

"A swoosh, aaaaand a flick!" Sonic says as he throws the mask to Ares. 

Ares fumbles the mask, but manages to catch it before it hits the ground. He runs in the opposite direction. The twenty, the ten, almooost there! SMACK! 

Ares is tackled by Infinite, who wrenches the mask from his hands. "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!?!?!" Ares screams in frustration. 

"Oooh, a nasty tackle at the one yard line, will this player ever recover?" Dale jokes. 

Infinite has no time for the weak, he turns back around, ready to finish their fight. 

Ares, still on the ground, clenches his fists with anger. First that wannabe calamarie, now this white asshole. I'm sick of this! I'm sick of being weak, where's my badass Mobian form?!

"Hey man, give me some more rings, I'll be happy to help out." Dale calls over. 

That arrogant jerk! "Fuck off Dale! All of you can FUCK OFF!" Ares shouts.

Dani runs over. "Are you okay Ares?" She holds her hand out to him and he slaps it away.

"I'm fucking fine, thanks. I can get up by my own damn self!" He snaps. His eyes refocus on Infinite, who is fighting Sonic and Shadow again. I'm not going to let him get away with this. Nobody gets to diss me like that! 

Dani looks at her hand for injuries before she looks back at Infinite. "I'm the one who stole the mask, he should be fighting me..." She glances at Ares, who is standing now. He's looking at Infinite with fire in his eyes. "Oh-wait, Ares, I'm sorry-"

It's too late, Ares is running towards Infinite now, charging him.

"Aw damnit, peer pressure!" Dale complains as he runs after Ares. 

Ares throws himself at Infinite, using his greater weight to throw the jackal off his feet. Although briefly surprised, Infinite quickly recovers. He slips out of Ares' grip and grabs his arm, pulling it behind Ares. A gun forms in his hand and he holds it to Ares' back. 

"Oh no noT the strAap!!" Dale says, shocked by sudden progression of the fight. 

Ares tenses up and looks over at Sonic. He jerks his head towards his back.

The hedgehog narrows his eyes. "What are you holding a gun to him for? Your fight's with me!"

"Weak human, you're not even worth my time and you choose to fight me." Infinite pulls the trigger. Ares yanks himself to the side, but is unable to escape the shot.

"NO!" Dani screams. "If only he wasn't human! Why couldn't he be a Mobian like us? I wish Ares was a Mobian so he can save himself!"

Before Ares hits the ground, a golden light bursts around him, blinding everyone. For almost an entire minute, the light glows brighter and brighter, until it suddenly vanishes. 

A black Mobian wolf with a green stripe sits on the ground in Ares' place.

"Is that...you, Ares?" Sonic asks in shock. 

"What the fuck. Everyone else is fighting with energy blasts and lightning and chaos control, and this guy pulls out a gun? Of all things? That is ridiculous." Dale says.

"What the actual fuck just happened?!" Ares screams as he looks at his nonexistent injury.

Did my wish just come true? Dani wonders. Do I have wish abilities like jirachi?

"You...how are you still alive?" Infinite's gun disappears into red squares. Shadow is the first to act, throwing another chaos spear at the jackal. Infinite staggers back, looks at him and scowls. "This is not over, Shadow the Hedgehog." He takes off into the air, quickly disappearing from sight.

Chapter Text

"So you get to be the sexy, badass wolf and I'm stuck as the skinny, cute fox?" Dale complains. "I mean, I guess I look pretty cool, but I'd look even cooler as a WOLF."

"Obviously, it's because I'm cooler than you." Ares grins.

"In your dreams, I can still kick your ass up and down main street." Dale retorts. 

Dani is sitting at the table, staring at her hands. Am I a living phantom ruby? What the fuck? Did I do that? 

"It's time to send you home again." Shadow announces suddenly.

"I ain't going back without my best friend! So if you want to send me back, you'll have a fight on your hands!" Ares growls through bared teeth. 

"Not without a fight! I got badass lightning powers here man!" Dale says.

"I just rescued myself from being kidnapped and now you're saying it's time to go home? I don't think so!" Dani says as she drops her hands and looks at Shadow in defiance. 

Sonic moves in front of Shadow. "They've already been taken here twice. If we send them back home, they'll just be kidnapped again. They'll stay with me while we find the chaos emeralds."

Shadow crosses his arms as he thinks this over. He teleports behind Dani and grabs her arm. "Then Dani is coming with me. She will be much safer than with you and her insolent friends-" He looks pointedly at Dale before turning back to Sonic. "You can't keep watch on all three of them. She will be safer with me."

"Well, you're obviously taking us all with. I don't go anywhere without my group.” Ares grunts and crosses his arms as he continues, “And I know next to nothing about you, so how can I guarantee she will be safer with you than with Dale and I?”

Dale forms a blade of lightning and aims it at Shadow. "Not so fast buddy, I still haven't tipped her yet."  

Shadow ignores Ares and glares daggers at Dale before teleporting behind him. He aims a kick at Dale's head, but Dale is ready for it and moves.

"And who you calling insolent?" Dale retorts.

While the two fight, Dani starts to freeze up. Her thoughts run back over what's happened since her escape. Her breathing comes faster, her heart rate speeds up. 

What's wrong with me? Even kidnapped, I couldn't get the courage to fight my way out... even though they are villains that Sonic and his friends...and even Shadow has a hard time with... Me, not fighting and my desire for the villains to turn good has lead to trouble... even Infinite, I took him too lightly and felt the way for him to change was to take his mask... which lead to Ares almost getting killed, which wouldn't have happened if I just left him with Starline... Every time I am kind and try to lend a hand, it ends badly.... and now Dale and Shadow are fighting to see who can protect me better? I don't need protecting! I could have done so myself if it weren't for the fact I'm too attached...what-

Dani feels a hand on her shoulder as she starts crying golden tears. The air smells sweet, like ripe apples on a tree. She looks over. Sonic gives her an encouraging smile and a thumbs up, reassuring her that it's gonna be okay.

Ares gets up and walks over. “Dani, can you hear me? If you can, take my hand.” Ares holds out his hand in front of her. 'Okay, wow, her tears are golden. That’s weird, but then again, so was getting attacked by an octopus pretending to be my best friend.'

Dani grabs hold of Ares' hand, expecting him to lead her somewhere, but he does nothing else. She looks at Sonic in gratitude, but his gesture doesn't help. She starts to quickly wipe her tears away, only to realize that they're golden. The shock of it settles her somewhat.

“Okay Dani, good. Now, look around, name 5 things you see. Except the stupid fight.” Ares raises his voice to carry around the room.

Dani looks around, trying her best to ignore the fight. "I see...Sonic's blue quills." She looks up at the ceiling. "The fan." She looks around the room. "I see the water." Dani begins to calm as she continues to name objects around HQ. She starts to notice things that can only be of Mobian design. The objects calm her as it finally settles in that she's not on Earth anymore.

“Good, very good. Now, what caused the panic?” Ares asks as he leans against the wall, still holding her hand and watching the fight with a smirk.

"The fact that I feel useless...because all this time I've been a pacifist and not fighting. And I just feel useless and like I don't need to be protected. And I feel like I'm just a burden to everyone around me because I keep thinking the villains are going to change, but they don't. And they choose not too, and I don't wanna fight them. And then I feel useless, I put people in danger, I almost got you killed. And now they're fighting over who ends up protecting me because I can't fight." Dani says in one quick breath.

“Dale is fighting because he has a frail ego. And when he needs help, I will help. You are capable. You just need the right motivation.” Ares says gently.

"The right motivation... got it." Dani takes a deep breath, finally stilling.

“Exactly. Now,” Ares turns and watches the fight. “Need any help or are you getting your ass kicked for fun?”

"I wouldn't pay you to help me, unlike you." Dale shouts back.

"Well...If you do need my help, I am gonna need some compensation. Ya know? The rings you stole from me." Ares says slyly. 

Dale doesn't hesitate. "Ya ain't getting jack shit."

"Well then it looks like you're getting your ass kicked." Ares smirks and continues watching.

"Never needed your help to begin with. Just sit there and watch." Dale says while blocking Shadow's physical attacks.

Dani stands up, but Sonic beats her to it. Sonic gets in front of them both, pushing them both back. "Alright, break it up!" Sonic yells. 

Dale sticks his tongue out mockingly at Shadow. Shadow rolls his eyes.

"Oooo! I'm Shadow! I can teleport. That's not so hard! I can do that easily." Dale continues mocking and zooms over to Shadow before Sonic can continue blocking. Dale smacks Shadow's shoulder and disappears, reappearing behind Sonic.

Hiding his own shock, Dale nudges Sonic, yelling jokingly "Hold me back Sonic! Hold me back!"

Shadow, frustrated by Dale's immaturity, walks away. He grabs ahold of Dani's arm again and walks towards the door. Dani yanks her hand back. Shadow glares at her and Dani looks at the floor timidly.

"I'm sorry for how my friend acted... but without me, I think Ares and Dale will just get carried away... I want to stay for now. I understand what you are trying to do though..."

“She’s right. Without Athea, I’ll go off the rail. And Dani holds Dale back,” Ares brushes his shirt off, pushes off the wall, walks over to Dani, and pulls her back from Shadow with a glare.

Shadow looks at her and stares her down. "You realize by doing this, Mephiles will have an easier time succeeding in his goal. We cannot have that happen."

Dani hugs Shadow in reassurance, surprising the brooding hedgehog. "I won't let that happen. I will try my best to fight back from now on." Dani lets go and starts walking towards Dale.

Shadow watches her leave with a carefully neutral expression. He lets the silence drag on as he considers their argument. "Keep your promise or I'll be back." With that, Shadow leaves. Sonic looks at them apologetically before he follows.

Ares heads back to his bag and starts rooting through it. “Dani, I’m putting a tracker on your body because I want to make sure you stay safe, do you agree?” Ares asks without looking up. 

"WHERE DID YOU GET A TRACKING DEVICE? Is that bag descended from Marry Poppins?" Dani asks in shock.

“It’s just a simple bag, relax Dani.” Ares says as he stands up with a tracking anklet and turns towards Dani. “Do you agree to the tracking device?” Ares asks again.

Dani hesitates. "Does it work though? If so, then yes, I think it'd be smart considering the situations I'm usually in."

“Yes, the device works and it connects to this.” Ares holds up a phone looking device. Ares leans down and attaches the anklet.

Dani moves around with it and shakes her ankle a bit to make sure its not gonna hinder any activities, then gives a happy thumbs up. It's a struggle for her to keep her embarrassment off her face, but she manages.

"Damn officer Ares, couldn't you have given her something less prison looking? Welcome to probation."

“You want one? I might have a third one. Athea is definitely getting one when we get her dumb ass back.” Ares threatens as he heads back towards his bag.

"Eh, I'm not big on being the damsel in distress. If I'm ever MIA, assume I'm kicking ass and keep it moving." Dale drawls.

"I don't mean to be one...I just am too attached because of the comics. But I will learn how to fight more. I don't want to be a burden anymore, or have Mephiles win..." Dani finishes in a bitter tone.

"You were never a burden Dani, that's ridiculous." Dale says. "You're just...popular."

Dani giggles. "That's one word to use."

"We'll find out what you're really capable of after these weirdos give back the memories they stole." Dale says confidently.

“Find your reason to fight. You have no reason to be bitter.” Ares says as he starts to sharpen his stolen knife.

"IS THAT MIMIC'S KNIFE?" Dani asks, recognizing it from the comics and starts looming over Ares gushing. "Wow! So cool!"

"Yeah, you'll never guess how we got it." Dale says. "We can take you down to see the man himself if you want."

Dani thinks about it and shakes her had. "I think I've had enough of villains for the day."

“Yeah. I stole it after we beat him. Dale, we just finished torturing him. She does not want to see.” Ares says as he examines the knife.

"Well there's leftover Calamari in the fridge if you want any." Dale shrugs.

"You...tortured him?!" Dani asks in worry and disbelief. 

“Yeah. And got answers. It was quite satisfying.” Ares says with an evil chuckle.

"Yeah, it was fun. We should keep him around in case we're given math homework during our training sessions." Dale laughs.

Dani looks at them both in shock. "I feel like that's gonna backfire later... but what answers were you guys looking for anyways?"

"Well we discovered where you were even though that's not really necessary at this point."

“I was looking for Athea. Dale was looking for you.” Ares answers at the same time.

"Yeeeeaaahh, seee, I pUT iN woRk."

Dani smiles warmly. "So you guys did intend on rescuing me. I'm so happy! It was terrifying. They tied me to a chair." Dani's hedgehog ears go down.

"Yeah, I definitely think you got the short of the stick here." Dale says. He pats Dani's head. "But it's alright now. We can protect you way better then that edgelord can."

"Mephiles said he was gonna order you guys or Athea killed if I didn't tell him where Iblis is." Dani huffs out. The memory begins to panic her again. "Maybe Shadow would be better at protecting me, he's had training, but also I want you guys to be safe too... I don't want Mephiles to hurt you guys cause he can't get to me."

"Shadow's just an emo kid with Mommy issues, wE GOT thiiisss." Dale insists.

"He doesn't have a mom." Dani facepalms.

Ignoring her, Dale relaxes on the ground next to them and breathes a sigh of relief. "But man that was a close one, that guy could've killed me."

Dani giggles. "Of course he could've! He's Shadow! The fact you picked a fight with him-" Dani is interrupted by her own giggles. "That was the dumbest thing ever. But at least I know if Mephiles shows up, you'll be ready for him... now to figure out how I can not be such a burden." Dani says dryly, looking at her hands.

Sonic zooms back in. "I can help train ya. But first, I think we need to get you two back your memories of our last adventure."

"I hope it wasn't anything too traumatizing." Dale says.

Chapter Text

Athea watches over the Ocean Tornados' railing as the island comes into view. Blaze's island. From Sonic Rush Adventure. The ridiculousness of it nearly makes her laugh again. How could she be here? In the Sol Dimension? It wasn't supposed to exist! She'd often daydreamed about this sort of thing happening, imagining being drawn into Sonic's world and fighting evil beside him. 

She'd never thought about her friends getting mixed up in it. She'd never planned on being stuck a world away while one of her friends was in danger... 'And what about Ares and Dale? Neither one of them would just stand by if someone came after Dani!' Athea starts pacing across the deck.

As they approach the dock, the ship slows down thanks to the efforts of its koala crew. Someone throws a line out to waiting koalas as the ship is guided into place. Eventually, a gangplank is lowered and people begin to descend. Not everyone, Athea notices, but most of the crew and Blaze herself walk down it. She follows, catching up to the princess. 

"The jeep is waiting for you, princess." One of the koalas says once their feet hit the dock. 

"Thank you Setter." Blaze says. 

Athea spots the jeep quickly. It's waiting on a dirt road right in front of them, and another koala sits in the drivers seat. Blaze walks towards the passenger side door. Athea follows and opens another door. Her legs lock up. 

She stares at the interior of the jeep. 'Just get in. Just get in like you've done hundreds, no, thousands of times before. What's the matter with you? Just get in the car!' Her feet refuse to respond, her knees wobble, Athea grips the car door tighter to stop herself from falling over. 

"Tabby, I think I will walk back instead." Blaze suddenly announces. "Athea, would you like to join me? It would give you an opportunity to see the island."

"Oh-yeah-um-sure. That sounds good." Athea stiffly closes the door. Blaze gently tugs on her, pulling her away from the jeep. 

"You got it Blaze! I'll see ya back at the castle!" The koala, presumably named Tabby, says. Another couple of koalas get in instead. The jeep starts moving and Athea watches it go. 

Unbeknownst to her, Blaze watches the girl carefully. 'Some sort of anxiety attack perhaps? There's no doubt the girl has been through an ordeal today. What she needs to do is rest and allow herself the chance to recuperate. No chance of that happening. Unless I want to lock her in a prison...but no. That would have the opposite effect. I'll just have to keep an eye on her and try to stop her from overdoing it.' Aloud, "Well? Shall we go?"

Athea nods and makes an agreeable noise. Blaze starts walking, Athea a half step behind.

Entering Blaze’s castle town for the first time, Athea thinks of Disneyland. The colonial houses, red brick pavement, and the smiling faces all around her are just like it. If it wasn’t for the distinct lack of a crowd and the obvious age of the buildings, Athea would have been convinced that’s where she was. She takes a deep breath, almost expecting to smell vanilla. Instead, she is struck by the smell of salt and baking bread, smoke and fish.

The smoke sets Athea’s fur on edge. She remembers what happened on the ship and starts sneaking glances at Blaze. ‘Should I ask her…? She controls fire too, and she clearly knows what she’s doing…’ Athea takes a deep breath. “Blaze? Uh, back on the ship how did you-how do you? I mean, how do you-“

”Stay in control?” Blaze finishes for her.

Athea’s eyes widen as she stares at Blaze. “How…?”

”The ship was already on fire when I arrived. I could tell the cause of the fire was unnatural because the flames were radiating rage. A natural fire does not speak of emotion.” Blaze looks Athea up and down. “Your hands, I see, are burned. That only happens when the wielder has lost control. When the fire has stopped listening.”

”I see…” Athea hesitates for a moment before speaking up again. “Something else happened too, right after I melted through the bars, I… I just lost control, I was so angry and…and…”

Blaze pulls up short. “You MELTED through the bars?”

”Um. Yeah?”

”Of course the fire possessed you. You fed it a rage potent enough to melt through steel, that is no trivial power.” Blaze says, nodding as if everything suddenly makes sense.

Athea was not so sure. “Possessed? Me? Huh?”

”Never mind.” Blaze starts walking again. “There is much to be done, we will have to continue this conversation at another time. Until then, please refrain from using your ability.”

”Ah- but! Why not-?” Athea sighs. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense.” She grumbles.

The road leads them around a hill, and that is when she gets her first good look at Blaze’s castle. The surrounding wall is triangular, with a tower at each corner. Inside the wall, Athea can see the castle reaching up into the sky, stretching further and further. It almost looks like the castle is going to take off any minute. There are balconies and terraces, spires and arches. Outside every window, she can see a simple tapestry, decorated only with an image resembling fire. 

The gates open automatically at Blaze’s approach, and the princess is soon mobbed by all sorts of people. Advisors, servants, she can see the koala crew from earlier waving at the edges.

Blaze gestures to one of the servants, a stately-looking dog with silver hair. “Give my guest a room close to my own, see that her needs are taken care of.” She tilts her head towards Athea. 

The dog bows his head. “Right away your highness.” He walks over to Athea. “If you would kindly follow me, ma’am?”

”Uh, yeah, sure.” She nods awkwardly and walks after him. She spares a backwards glance at Blaze, but the princess is already at work, smoothly giving orders as she looks over a paper handed to her.

The doors close and Athea has to hurry after the dog, who’s almost left her behind because of her lingering. Paintings, sculptures, and suits of armor catch her attention. She can hardly take her eyes off of the many works of art that decorate the walls.

The dog stops outside a door and opens it for her. “This should do for your room. I trust you are satisfied?”

Athea walks in and her mouth drops open. She would have been more than satisfied if the room had just had a bed and a window to look out of. A little room to walk around perhaps. 

But the room she sees is almost as big as her own house! Never mind the huge bed, she can see an actual balcony looking out onto the sea. “What a gorgeous view.” She mumbles. 

She can see more furniture in the room. A couch looking onto the balcony. A wardrobe across from the bed, and next to that is a desk with an attached mirror. What really clinches the room for her though, are the- “Books!” Athea runs towards the bookshelf, eagerly drinking in the sight of them. The titles, their covers. She picks one up and flips through the pages, breathing in the smell of the book. Realizing the servant is still here, she clears her throat and puts the book back. “What time do they serve dinner around here?” She asks, having not eaten since…well. She had a lunch back on her own world, didn’t she? The pirates threw a biscuit at her at one point, but it was cold and hard as stone so she hadn’t been able to eat it.

“The palace chefs have been preparing dinner since her highnesses return was announced. I believe it will be finished in the next half hour. I shall send someone for you at that time.” He answers. “May I take my leave of you?”

”Sounds good! Works for me.” Athea says. The dog bows his head and leaves, closing the door behind him.

Athea grabs a book off the shelf and collapses onto her bed, excitedly flipping open the cover, but stops after only reading a few words. Dani... She winces and lets the book fall by her side. Her eyes start to roam around the room, following the blue trim. How am I going to find you...? 

Chapter Text

Silver floats around Soleanna's orchards, still mesmerized by how different Sonic's timeline is compared to his own. Ripe, golden apples grow from strong branches of trees. Silver plucks one and begins eating. The apple is sweet. A memory leaves a bitter taste though and he begins to look at the apple with a frown. 

I have my memories, all of them. Where it started...Does Blaze remember too? Silver steadies himself and starts flying, concentrating on dodging trees.

"Get off me, you metal freaks!" A voice suddenly shouts.

Without hesitation, Silver flies straight for the voice. When he arrives, he sees an Eggman robot holding a red dog in the air. The kid can't be more than eight years old. Silver blasts the robot and catches the kid. 

"Take that!" The kid shouts and waves a hand. A nearby tree whips around, hitting the robot and finishing the job. 

"Whoa! That's a pretty powerful gift. How did the bot get the advantage over you in a forest?" Silver asks. 

"It got the drop on me." The boy mutters as Silver sets him down. "I'm Micheal."

"Nice to meet you Micheal! I'm Silver the Hedgehog."

"Silver huh... so you're a hero around these parts?" Micheal asks. 

"Well, something like that. I'm from the future, but something's happened to destroy it, so I've come to the past to find out what happened." Silver explains. 

"Seriously? Like, time travel? That's pretty cool. How do you know the problem happens here though? Why not some other time?" Micheal has a serious look on his face as he stares at Silver. This is clearly important to him. 

"Well...part of it is research I do. Even after an apocalypse, there's usually something left behind. So I find out where the timeline stopped. There's also the fact that this time is really unstable, it's always getting messed up. Every time I get the future straightened out, something happens and it gets wrecked again. So far, there's only been a couple other times where the damage started somewhere else."

"When was those times?" Micheal asks. 

"Way in the future, but not my future. Well, except the one time it was kinda my future too, which was weird...anyways, don't worry about it. I've fixed it every time before, and I'll fix whatever happens now." Silver puffs his chest out, pointing at himself with his thumb. "So just leave it to me!"

Micheal laughs sarcastically. "That's nice, but there's something I have to do too."

"Hey..." Silver bends down so they're at eye level. "You're a kid. Your job is to go have fun, okay? No little kid should be fighting world-ending evils like me and my friends do."

Micheal looks away from him, shouldering his backpack. "If only it was that easy..." He says softly. "Thanks for the info Silver. I'll say hi if I ever see you again."

"Well, hold on. Where do you live? I can walk you back to your family." Silver offers. 

"Mind your own business." He snaps back, fur suddenly rising in anger. 

Silver blinks, unable to hide the hurt in his eyes. "I was just..."

"Whatever." Micheal turns away from him and soon disappears into the forest. 

Silver watches until Micheal is out of sight before he sighs and turns away. "I guess it's back to my mission then...but that kid. Right at the end there, he got really upset. Was it something I said? Is he an orphan maybe?" Before he knows it, Silver is flying through the trees again until he catches up to Micheal. He hovers back, only watching the kid. He doesn't want to upset Micheal any more than he already has, but he has to know that the kid is going to be safe. 

Even if he is an orphan, he should still have someone to come back to. Someone to watch out for him. 

There are a lot of memories in him, of different lifetimes he could have lived, lifetimes he did live. At some point, he started remembering them all, even after returning to his own lifetime. 

Silver remembers what it's like to be a young child, all alone, with no one to take care of him. He could never stand by and watch another child go through the same thing.

Micheal walks through the orchard until a dilapidated shack comes into view. The shack, which is leaning so hard it's supported by a nearby tree, is filthy. A door hangs off its hinges, and broken glass sprinkles the grass beneath the windows. Micheal sits down in the entryway and begins to pull apples out of his backpack. 

Silver lands in a tree and watches. Please let someone show up. Let this just be the home of a very poor, but loving family. He hangs around for the entire day, spying, but no one ever shows up. Around dinner time, Micheal takes more apples from his backpack and sits glumly down in the same spot. 

"I'm so tired of apples." He grumbles.

Silver’s hands tighten around the branch he’s holding onto. After watching Micheal all day, he’s forced to admit it. There is no family coming for him. 

He'd always thought this time period was more peaceful than his own, better and brighter. Sure, Eggman was always attacking, but Sonic always handled it. Maybe with a little help from him. He'd figured there were orphans, but he always thought they were placed in stable places. Not forced to scrounge around an orchard for apples. 

His decision was made before he even thought it through. I'm sorry Dani, but I'm putting off the search for Mephiles. I have to help this kid out first.

The kid looks up from his apple with a frown. "How long are you going to keep spying on me?" He shouts. The tree beneath him shudders, dumping Silver out of its branches. 

Silver catches himself before he can hit the ground. "Whoa! Easy there, Micheal!" He sets himself down. 

"You've been watching me ALL day, it's annoying." The dog scowls. 

"Sorry, I didn't realize you knew I was there. Otherwise I would have just come out." Silver says. 

"Hm. So why were you watching me?"

"I got worried about you. I had a feeling you were by yourself so I followed you to make sure you were okay." Silver didn't bother pointing out that he was right. He didn't need too. The darkness that appears on Micheal's face tells him the kid's already noticed it. 

"So now what? Are you going to try and shove me into foster care or something?" Micheal's neck fur starts to bristle with anger as he crosses his arms. 

"If that worked out for you, you wouldn't be sitting in a shed eating apples." Silver points out. 

"Then what?"

Silver reaches into his glove and pulls out some rings, the currency of this time. "Would you like to go out for a real dinner?"

The excitement in Micheal's widening eyes is more than enough repayment. "Anything but apples."

He smiles. "May I use my ability so we can get to the nearest town quickly then?" After Micheal nods, Silver activates his power, raising the both of them into the air. They fly through the sky until they land in Downtown Soleanna. Just a short walk from the Castle Town, Downtown was built long after it, and it shows. Most of the buildings are slick skyscrapers, and its dock is a lot bigger and more populated. 

Silver leads the kid to a restaurant where they sit down at a booth. After putting in their order, Silver leans back in his chair. "So, how'd you find yourself in that shed anyways?" He asks. 

Micheal swirls his straw through his water without answering. 

"You can tell me a little bit, right? I can understand not wanting to tell me the whole thing. I AM basically a stranger to you. But I can't help you if you don't talk to me." Silver tries to persuade him.

Micheal sighs and takes another sip. "I'm there because I'm looking for the truth." He finally says. 

"The truth about what?" Silver leans forward, but Micheal only shakes his head. 

"If I don't figure it out for myself, it doesn't count." He lets go of the straw and leans back with his arms crossed. "Too many people have lied to me, and I need to know who wasn't. That's all. I can't get the answers from other people because I don't know if they'll know what happened AND won't lie about it."

"I see... this truth you're looking for, does that have something to do with why you don't have any... guardians?"

Micheal clenches his jaw, and after several minutes of silence, nods. 

Their food arrives at that moment. In unanimous agreement, both boys drop the subject so they can dig into their food. While they eat, Silver starts thinking about how to provide Micheal with a home and food. If nothing else, he knows that one meal won't be enough to make sure Micheal is safe. He only feels a little bit of guilt for leaving his mission unfinished.

"I don't suppose you'd want to live at Freedom Fighter HQ?" Silver asks eventually.

"No way!" Micheal shakes his head.

"Why not? We've got one of the best information networks on the planet." 

"Because I can't trust you either!" Micheal looks up from his food, fur bristling again. "For all I know, this is just some trap to make me trust you so you can put me in a cage or something!"

"What?" Silver stares at Micheal, a little bit offended and a LOT confused. "Why would I do that?"

"It happens." He forks the rest of his food into his mouth before he stands up. "Thanks for the meal, but don't follow me again." 

Silver watches him go, appetite gone. What happened to this child?

Chapter Text

“Last time, Silver used a chaos emerald to place a block on your guys’ memories. It should only take one chaos emerald to reverse that.” Sonic says. “Luckily for you guys, we’ve already put together six of them. Shadow, Silver, and I are each holding one, and the other three are put away for safekeeping.” He pulls a dark blue emerald from his glove. “You first Dani.”

"Um... It's not gonna hurt or give me a bad or embarrassing memory, will it?" Dani panics a little. 

"It won't hurt, but without your memories, you could get yourself in more trouble." Sonic says. 

Dani nods and squeezes her eyes shut. Maybe I'll gain a memory where I wasn't a burden...

Sonic places the emerald against Dani’s head and closes his eyes. The emerald begins to glow and Dani feels warm as the light washes through her, clearing away the fog. Memories rush into her mind.

"Oh... So even with the experiences I faced... I was still a burden. I got Athea almost hurt, and now Athea is missing somewhere because of me." Dani responds, feeling depressed and disappointed in herself. She walks away. "I'm going to my room... Leave me alone for now."  

Sonic runs in front of her blocking her way. "No. I'm not gonna allow you to feel upset about something that's out of anybody's control. Mephiles is one of the toughest foes we've ever faced. Beating yourself up because you weren't able to defeat him is too harsh. Besides that, you helped us a lot! You and Athea defeated Rough and Tumble and saved a town! I know you can stand up to Mephiles and follow your heart." 

Dani doesn't stop frowning. "Yeah, I guess you're right..." She lies on the couch. "Let me know when it's time to eat..." 

Ares looks at her with concern before walking over. "Wanna talk about it?" He asks.

Dani mutters. "I just don't want my friends hurt. It's me he's after, and I don't understand why he would bring you guys who are my best friends. It seems out of character considering that you guys are way stronger than me. I couldn't even attack Infinite to save you...What if you died?..." 

Ares nods his head in agreement. "Well yes, I could have died. But I didn't and instead you saved me. AND I got to become a cool ass wolf. So don't really... Don't beat yourself up. You have your failures but look what became of your failures?"

Dani thinks about this for a moment. "I'm just worried. Why did he allow you guys to come here? You guys aren't holding me back and it seems you all can hold your own. How do I begin to grow what others consider a backbone and actually attack those who hurt us even when I know they are just hurting too...?" 

Ares takes a moment to pause and reflect on that. "What you need to do is learn to just not care. Pick and choose who you pick a fight with. If an opponent is stronger than you, then walk away. If they are of equal strength, neither will win. If they have lesser strength than you, then you can easily defeat them." Ares takes a breath. "Without Athea, I have no morals. So everyone I see is of lesser strength because I don't care. What you need to do is find where your morals are and where to draw the line on who is stronger than you."

Dani thinks on this. "Then it looks like I will be the morale until we get Athea back. Also, I think it's funny and brave that you took on Infinite... even if it almost got you killed. I will try my best to use the lore I know to help us while I train and learn to not let my heart become a weakness. That way when my friends are in danger, I won't let the backstory take hold of me."

Dani begins to sit up and sees a fading light. Sonic lowers his emerald from Dale's head. 

"Ayyyye, that shit was intense." Dale says. He flops onto the couch next to Dani. "What's with the mood over here? You all're dark as hell right now."

"Dani thinks she's nothing but a burden." Ares responds. 

"WHAT?! Yo Dani, did you space on freeing me from that quack doctors weird-ass mind control or something?!"

"Yeah, you're right." Dani agrees, but inside, she still feels guilty, still believing she's the group's weakest link.

"I just had the best idea to make you feel better!" Ares says with a fist pump. "Why don't we go attack the assholes who locked you up?"

"No, let's NOT do that!" Dani objects.

"NOW we're talking!" Dale says, and it's clear neither of the Chaos Duo are listening to her. Both turn towards the door.

Dani grabs Dale and Ares' hands and tries to stop them from walking. "Did you guys forget that Mephiles killed Sonic in Sonic '06? Did you guys forget the fact that Mephiles is able to withstand a full-on fight with Shadow the Hedgehog while holding his own? Or how about this, did you guys forget that Infinite is working WITH Mephiles? Meaning that Mephiles is able to manipulate a mercenary that works with Eggman to work with HIM, and that he has a hatred for Shadow and Sonic?"

"All the more reason to do it! Gotta get my revenge on that white punk!" Ares says as he and Dale pull Dani along behind them.

"For once, you're speaking my language." Dale nods approvingly. 

"You know we're gonna get ourselves in trouble by not only Sonic, but Shadow too if we do this!" Dani says desperately as she pulls back.

Sonic looks up. "Have fun you three. Don't be late coming home." He says cheerfully. 'I'll just follow behind them to make sure they don't get hurt.'

"We will!" The Chaos Duo say together. 

Dani looks at him as if he's betrayed her. 'I'm gonna die, they're gonna die, we're all gonna die. Those villains are not to be messed with!' She wails inside her mind.

"Alright, your choice Dani. Are you gonna tell us where the base is, or are we gonna wander around yelling until Infinite finds us?" Dale says with a smirk.

Dani nervously laughs. "Can we choose none?"

"Nope!" The Chaos Duo answers.

"I vote the second option!" Ares says brightly.

Dani laughs nervously. "You know what? Let me just tell you where the base is, 'cause Infinite would kill us slowly and painfully, and that doesn't sound up my alley at all. At least with Starline we have a fighting chance."

"I could take Infinite any day, but let's go Dani." Ares says.

She starts walking, but stops and turns around abruptly. "Only if Sonic comes as well!" She quickly adds. 

"Aww, that's lame!" Dale complains. 

"No sweat, I was going to follow you guys there anyways." Sonic says as he suddenly appears beside them.

"Oh fuck!" Ares starts and out of pure instinct, punches towards Sonic, but the hedgehog easily dodges. 

Dani smiles a little bit. "Yaaay, Sonic's coming with us so if we die we won't die in vain."

"Who says I'm dying? Until Athea gets back, I'm immortal." Ares says confidently.

"Oh." Dani mumbles. "Or I get captured again..."

"Come on Dani, where's the base? Fess up." Dale says.

She starts walking. "Follow me. If we survive this, you guys owe me ice cream."

"Ice cream sounds great." Ares says cheerfully.

Several hours of walking later, they arrive at the base just as the sun begins to set. 

"This is it." Dani says, trying not to shiver at her former prison. Her legs begin to shake so she takes a deep breath as she walks up to the doors she escaped from. 

Sonic hangs back at the tree line. "This is your guy's mission, not mine. I'm right here if you need me."

"Oh, maybe you're not as lame as I thought." Dale says with a laugh.

"Jerk." Sonic tosses out before disappearing.

"We need to wait a bit before we attack. Until the sun goes down all the way. Best time to attack." Ares says in an informational tone.

"Cool story dude." Dale charges at the doors, and just before he reaches them, lightning bursts from his hands, blowing the doors wide open. 

An alarm begins to blare and Dani facepalms. "Might as well just say, 'I'm a four course dinner.' Fucking hell you guys."

Ares looks towards the sky before shaking his head and with a casual 'fuck it' attitude, draws his knife and runs in after Dale. "Get out here you whiny-ass punk!" He shouts. "I need to pay you back for almost killing me earlier!"

Dale uses his lightning powers to propel himself through random walls, ceilings and floors. Ares stabs the nearest mech, cackling with unbridled glee. 

Dani looks around, noticing that no villains have showed up yet. 'That's weird...Someone should have shown up by now.' 

As if on cue, Starline appears in the hallway. "Well if it isn't my failed experiments. Come to destroy my base again?" He asks. 

"This is payback for earlier!" Dale shouts as he rushes towards Starline, who turns and flees. 

Dani freezes as a comic issue flashes through her mind. "DALE NO!"

The explosion knocks her off her feet, sending both her and Ares flying. "DALE!" She screeches as she stumbles back to her feet. 'Ohnonononononononononononononono.' 

Chapter Text

Starline watches his base burn to the ground and quietly curses. Most of his resources, gone. His Chaos Emerald, confiscated by Mephiles. 'Speaking of that demon, where is he? This never would have happened if he'd been here! Doesn't he care about my contributions at all? What was the point in this alliance?' Starline scowls as he thinks back to where this all started. 

He'd only just stolen his first base from Eggman when the figure had risen from the floor. "Who are you? One of Sonic's friends? Shadow?" He'd shouted as he'd backed away. 

"Fool. I may look like Shadow, but he and I are far different creatures. The resemblance is only-" At this, the figure had suddenly appeared behind him and placed his hand around Starline's neck. "Skin-deep. I am in need of assistance only you can provide."

"And what is-" Starline coughed. "-In it for me?" If only he had a few moments to put together a wireless transmitter! He could have had the mechs launch a surprise attack! 

"My name is Mephiles, Mephiles the Dark. I want you to run a little experiment for me. Do it, and you shall have a Chaos Emerald for your reward."

"I'm...interested." He'd answered. It was an intriguing proposition, and he'd still believed he could betray this 'Mephiles' at any time should he decide to use his talents elsewhere. 

That was when the strange portal appeared around them, completely changing their environment. He found out much later that this place was known as Null Space, but at the time, he'd had no idea where he was. He simply found himself in a strange, glitching environment. He was fascinated until he saw the boy. 

He was human, young, and fast asleep. On a planet with so few humans, he was a rarity. Where could Mephiles have found him?

"Tell me Doctor, do you think you can use a Chaos Emerald's power to change his form?"

"Change his form? Into what?" He was bewildered. 'Why would anyone care about that? Humans are notoriously weak, any Mobian with a decent amount of strength could easily subdue one. I could too with my poison. This Mephiles creature can clearly do so as well.' 

"Into a Mobian." The figure slowly walked towards the boy, radiating a sinister energy. Starline couldn't help but shiver. The way this creature moved, like a walking corpse. If it wasn't for the creature's eyes, Starline wouldn't have been able to believe the creature was alive. But those eyes were bright, vibrant, with anger or hatred, he did not know. 

"A Chaos Emerald contains unlimited power. Of course I can use it to do this. But why would you want too?" He asked.

"As your patron, that is only my concern. Your only job is to do as I say." 

Oh, how those words burned! But he'd done it, he'd done the seemingly impossible. The only catch...it didn't work every time. How many perished in his tests? He'd lost track. In the end, he was only able to convert four, FOUR humans into Mobians. As much as he hated the reason for the tests, the fact that he couldn't do it consistently bothered him more than anything else. What was the secret? Why couldn't he turn any human as he pleased? Why did one become a cat, another a hedgehog? 

The child was successfully transformed, but the experiment was somehow lost. After that, he tried to keep quiet about how his experiments were going, but Mephiles seemed to have eyes and ears everywhere. He always seemed to know what Starline had done that day. As if that weren't bad enough, curses upon curses, his experiments had escaped, wreaked havoc on him, and even that wretch Sonic got involved! Now they were back, wreaking havoc once again. With Mephiles nowhere to be seen. "Well, we'll see who has the last laugh. I turned against the doctor, my own personal hero. Do you really think I won't turn against you?" He sulks into the background as he heads for Soleanna. He clearly had some research to do about his new foe. 

Starline treks across the orchard, thinking deeply about his next steps from here. There were so many he needed to destroy, but how to go about doing it? Mephiles would have to be top priority for now. His strength was still such an unknown, but Starline could already figure out that Mephiles was a uniting threat, even for Sonic and Dr. Eggman. He would need something very strong to defeat him. 

Starline freezes as he sees a child in a nearby tree, picking apples to eat. The child...is a dog. His eyes widen in recognition. The first experiment! A tingle of excitement runs through him. He watches as the boy uses his powers on the trees. If he believed in fate, he might have thought it was at work. A plan came to mind, bold and daring, and if he played his cards right, he could possibly rid himself not just of Mephiles...but all of his enemies. He can likely sense me already, I should approach him and earn his trust. 

"Evening. I've never seen you around here my canine friend." Starline says with a smile as he exits the bushes. 

The boy stares at him for a moment before shaking his head. "You're clearly creepy. I don't want to talk to you." The tree leans over, allowing the boy to easily step onto the ground. "Don't follow me." He says as he retreats through the trees.

"Why you- creepy?!" Starline mutters to himself, offended. Yes, he had some ulterior motives, but he'd only smiled and greeted the boy! He glares after the direction the boy went. I won't give up that easily. As much as he wanted to chase after the boy, kidnap him, and brainwash him, his plan wouldn't work if he did that. None of my enemies are so weak as to fall to a hypnotized child, no matter how powerful. And there's always the risk of him awakening during combat. No, I need him to be a willing follower...nice and malleable. He melts back into the shadows as he decides to return tomorrow, and the next day if need be. He would devote time every day to this objective until the boy was his. Of course, he wasn't about to waste the day. 

I'll start be breaking into Soleanna Castle. There must be records there of Mephiles, some hint that could lead me to his identity. 

When Starline reaches the castle town, he takes the long way around to reach the castle. He wants to be as unnoticed as possible. Should Sonic and gang find out his new whereabouts, he knew his time would be short. Using his gadget, he employs sonic speed to sneak past the guards and into the castle. From there, he only had to find the library. 

The first thing he did, of course, was look up the castle blueprints. He needed to be able to get in and out consistently, not just a couple times. Knowing the layout would be a great help. Naturally, the blueprints didn't have everywhere in the castle noted, but he spotted several prime positions to place secret doors. He would investigate those soon. But for today, Starline crept around the library, searching for anything related to 'shadows', 'the mind', and research done over the abilities Mobians have. Of course he looked up Mephiles directly, but nothing could be found. It was possible he was known under another name, but without knowing his personal history, there was little for Starline to go on. 

Just wait. I'll find what I need soon. He swears to himself. As a scientist, he was no stranger to taking things slow. He wasn't about to sabotage himself by trying to rush. Besides, he'd long figured out that hedgehogs little riddle. Even Mephiles would have trouble accomplishing THAT. 

Starline picks up the first book and begins to read.

Chapter Text

Athea wakes up to the sound of someone knocking on her door. For a moment, the unfamiliar room baffles her, until reality catches up. She remembers arriving at the island yesterday, being given this beautiful room, and eating dinner. Afterwards, she'd gone straight to sleep.

She stretches and rolls off the bed, landing lightly on her feet. "What is it?" She asks as she walks towards the door. 

"Breakfast is soon to be served. Afterwards, the princess has requested you join her in her study." The voice presumably belongs to a servant. Athea doesn't know which one yet. 

"Alright, I'll be down there soon." Athea pulls her oversized human shirt off as she opens the wardrobe door. Inside, she finds a small collection of outfits. She spares only a moment to wonder when they were placed here, before she pulls out a light green shirt and black shorts with matching green stripes. On a nearby desk, she spots a small collection of jewelry, but decides to ignore it. It's just breakfast anyways. 

She pulls a comb through her hair, not that it helps much, before finally declaring herself presentable. She walks outside her door less than five minutes after the servant left. 

As soon as she walks through the door, she's ambushed. "Oh gosh! You must be Athea! HI! I'm Marine!" The whirlwind of energy throws herself at Athea, hugging her. "The princess says you're going to be living here with all of us now! It's so great to meet you!" She's speaking in a thick, Australian accent, but Athea has no trouble understanding the girl.

"I-um-well-nice to meet you...too?" Athea stammers, not sure how to handle someone with so much energy. Someone who's not her brother. How old is Marine again?

"We're gonna be best friends!" Marine cheers before pulling the girl over to the table. She chatters through the whole meal, barely stopping to eat herself.

Athea focuses on eating, making the occasional noise of agreement to show she's listening. ‘Marine is a lot like Dani.’ She notes with slight amusement. ‘Both of them love to chatter. Why do so many people find Marine annoying? She’s just a kid. With a lot of energy and questions. Maybe a little less sense than preferred, but how many kids have a ton of sense? I know I didn’t.’

Athea finishes her food and leans back in her chair, waiting for Marine to reach the end of her tale. The tale, she notices, never made it into a comic or video game. Come to think of it, there were few stories about daily life in the Sol Dimension. ‘What does Blaze do when she’s not helping Sonic anyways?’

”Excuse me miss, but if you would follow me…?” The butler from yesterday is suddenly standing beside her, holding his arm out.

”Oh! Right! You gotta go see the princess right? I’ll come with ya!” Marine says, standing up.

”That won’t be necessary. Her Highness has requested you watch the sea for invaders while she discusses yesterday’s events with Athea.” The butler says.

Athea spooks a little at the sound of her name. When did the butler learn it? Come to think of it...how did they know my clothing sizes? The staff at this castle are starting to scare her a bit. Even so, she stands up. “It was nice chatting with you Marine.” She says. “I’ll see ya later.”

”Yeah! We can defeat pirates together!” Marine says. Athea’s not sure at all if the kid is joking or not. She just smiles before turning around and following the butler to Blaze’s study. 

As he did at every door, the butler opens the door to the study and Athea steps inside. The walls, she notices, are a warm yellow. Bookshelves line the walls, and sitting at a desk, quietly scribbling, is Blaze herself. The open curtains let the sunlight fall onto her, turning her dark purple fur a much lighter color. ‘Her fur is actually multi-colored.’ Athea realizes. ‘It’s redder at the base and turns purple at the end…she’s like my cat. Only. Not. Obviously.’

”Good morning Athea. I trust you slept well?” Blaze asks as she sets her pen down. She leans against the desk, watching her with measured eyes as she sets her chin on her hands. 

“It’s the nicest bed I’ve ever been in.” Athea answers honestly. She doesn’t say that it didn’t matter, she’d hardly slept a wink before the wake-up knocks came.

Blaze hums, but doesn’t challenge her statement. “I thought you could show me your control over your fire today. I need to know if I can trust you in combat before I let you travel with me.”

A look of surprise crosses Athea’s face. “What about Marine?” She can’t help asking. “She’s only a kid, she can’t do that much fighting, can she?” Truth be told, Athea doesn’t want to use her power at all. The memory of how she lost it and was about to burn the whole boat to the ground, take no prisoners…it’s still fresh in her mind. 

“Marine is supposed to remain on this island, for her own safety. But unfortunately, she is also an expert at stowing away. I’ve learned to compensate for this, and, I know that if we are attacked, Marine can keep herself safe. Neither is true for you, not as long as I don’t know the extent of your ability.”

Any resistance she can put up falters and crumbles. ‘Time to cowgirl up.’ She nods. “Where should we do this then?”

Blaze stands up and leads Athea away. After a nearly ten minute walk away from the castle, they arrive at a nearby training yard. “This is the place given to me when I first manifested my flames. It is lined with stone to deny the fire fuel, placed far away from others to prevent injuries, and most importantly…” She steps on a differently colored panel, releasing a stream of water that she quickly dodges. “An underground river provides all the insurance we need in the event of an accident.” Straightening her dress, Blaze walks to the edge and sits on a boulder. “Begin.”

Athea hesitates and stares at her hands. The fact that this place is designed to handle a mad fire user reassures her, but she still feels dread towards the objective. ‘What if I lose control and Blaze locks me up so I can’t hurt anyone? Or just to bench me? No, no, I can't think like that. I can't get any better if I don't practice and I can't help Dani if I'm useless.’

The princess sighs as she resists the urge to rise and approach. "Athea. I understand your reservations, but unless you can prove to me that you can fight, I will not endanger your life by bringing you with me."

"You're right, you're right. That's the only responsible decision you can make." Athea nods and shifts her feet. She takes a deep breath and raises her hands. "Okay. I'm ready. I can do this."

"Aim carefully at the red targets. The blue ones are noncombatants." Blaze says mildly as she presses a button.

Three red targets spring up from the cracks between stones. "Oh! Uh, okay, just...attack the red targets." Athea aims her hands carefully as she tries to make herself angry again. She's too slow and yelps as a bolt of electricity zaps her. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?"

"Any target that is not quickly defeated will attack you." Blaze responds from her position. 

Athea growls, but the lightning's done its job, she's mad enough to feed the flames. The three targets fall away and a blue one begins to zig-zag across the yard. Five more red targets pop up and Athea launches a fire ball at them, accidentally singing the blue target. "OW!"

"Hardly compares to the sting of harming innocents." Comes Blaze's cool commentary. 

Athea growls louder this time as she attacks the red targets with renewed frenzy, but somehow, something keeps going wrong! She misses the targets, she hits the blue one, targets pop up in her blind spot and zap her before she realizes it's there- and all the while, her rage grows with every sting. "ENOUGH!" She shouts, sending a wave of fire across the entire yard, devastating all targets, including the blue ones. "OW!!!"

For a moment, she stands there, breathing hard, fire blazing, destroying everything around her, and then-

SPLASH.

The cold water shocks her senses as it douses the entire yard, including Athea. 

"You rely too much on your emotions to fan your flames." Blaze says. "When you feed the fire too much of yourself, your own strength weakens. Whatever you put into the fire will affect how the fire responds. By feeding it your anger, you create a fire of destruction that only grows larger."

"What am I supposed to do then?" Athea asks as she rubs the water from her eyes.

Blaze begins to leave, delicately placing one foot before the other. "Find a different fuel. I can't take someone who is just as much of a danger to her allies as to her enemies." 

Athea runs after the princess. "Then what am I supposed to do?" She repeats, desperate for some hint.

"Hm...Why don't you watch Marine for me? With you watching her, she won't be able to stowaway and cause trouble like she normally does. I'm sure you'll find a way to manage her." Blaze purposefully misunderstands.

"I mean...I guess I can do that. I've babysat my younger brother a lot at least. It can't be much more difficult." Athea says doubtfully. A part of her feels disappointed at being left on babysitting duty, but after losing control of herself twice now, she just can't trust herself to keep her friends safe. 'What if I burned Dani while trying to help her? What if I lost control and killed someone? I could never forgive myself if I hurt my own friends! Why did I get stuck with a fire power of all things? I'm nothing like fire!' She rubs her eyes and huffs at the water clinging to her fur. 

Blaze looks back at her and smiles just slightly. "There will be towels waiting at the castle. They will be much more effective than your hands." Athea nods at this, looking at her feet only. She's rough around the edges, she has far to go before she can be an effective fighter, but...there's something. I saw it in her eyes on the boat, but can she find it for herself? For both their sakes, and for the sake of her friends on Mobius, she hoped the girl would.

Chapter Text

"DALE!" Dani screeches as she stumbles back to her feet. Hot air makes her quills flick in the wind. Her breath is shaky as she holds back glowing tears from her grey eyes. She falls to her knees.  'Ohnonononononononononononononono.'

Dani hears nothing as she tries to collect her thoughts. The world is dead to her, and at this point she doesn't even care if it's making her vulnerable. 

'I warned him. We shouldn't have come here. I told them that it was a bad idea. Why doesn't anyone ever listen to me? I'm such a burden that I make everyone endanger themselves and throw their lives away for my sake. I'm selfish... and now-' Dani can feel someone shaking her shoulders. Her solemn eyes look up at the bronze fox, his dreads somewhat messy from the debris, as is his leather jacket. His brown eyes show hints of worry over a smirk. 

Dani slaps Dales chest and before he can react she hugs him tightly. "You scared the shit outta me! I thought you were dead!"

Sonic kneels beside Dani and Dale, secretly checking for any injuries. He gives Dani a warm smile as she looks at him. She can see Sonic's skid marks from the large hole in the explosion and mouths a 'Thank you' at Sonic. Sonic nods. 

Dale pats her back while avoiding her protruding quills. "See? Told ya we just needed to shake her a bit. She's fine!" He says with a laugh and gets up.

Sonic stays beside her until she can get back on her feet. He isn't quite used to playing the support role which is making him a bit antsy. 'I know that this is a good experience, but man I wanna join the fun!'

As they look towards the smoldering remains of the base, they see an open hole inside. Dani examines the hole. 'Did the explosion take down that wall or Sonic? I'm not sure, but either way I'm grateful he saved Dale.'

"Nice, I've always wanted to explore an exploded base!" Ares says as he pokes his head in the hole.

Dani follows him as she takes a closer look at the hole. Dale follows behind her. 

"Let's go! Maybe we can find that quack for a rematch!" Dale says, more than a little angry about the attempt on his life. 

"Hold on, have we learned nothing from this?!" Dani raises her arms in the air in exasperation. "I thought you were DEAD!" 

"And I'm not, so let's go!" Dale responds.

"It'll be fiiiine." Ares says, rubbing his hands together in excitement.

"One second guys, Tails made just the invention for exploring unstable ruins." Sonic says, disappearing without waiting for a response. Before anyone can say anything else, Sonic comes back holding a DS like object. "Just point and click. It'll tell you the structural integrity of everything in front of you." He says, handing it to Dani.

Dani panics a little bit. Dale, seeing this, takes the object from her. Seeing Sonic's confused look, she explains. "I'm not really good with technology, even if it's something I'm familiar with. Dale is better with technology than I am."

"Maybe, but you're not part of the chaos duo." Sonic says dryly. 

"Maybe, but he won't break it." Dani promises.

Dale nods mischievously as he starts pressing buttons. "I promise I won't break Tails' doo-hicky thing."

Sonic shrugs. "It's your mission. I'll be waiting out here, just shout if you need me."

Dani nods. "We will! Or at least, I will!"

Ares shifts his feet impatiently. "Come on, let's gooooo!" He whines as he paces in front of the hall.

"We're coming!" Dani says, before realizing Dale has already disappeared. "I'm coming!" She says as she hurries after them. Ares jumps into the hole as soon as Dani arrives. Dani jumps behind them and looks around. 

The hallway they stand in is slanted sideways, leaving no solid ground to walk on. Wires spark from the ceiling. Dale whistles. "Wow, this place is crumbly."

Beep.

"It's awesome." Ares says.

Beep.

Dani is looking at the extremely fragile structure. "Also it's very, very, dangerous. I don't even think Starline would be around here, he's probably long gone by now."

Beep, beep.

”Won’t know until we find him!” Ares says as he confidently walks forward.

Dale, not one to be a follower, cuts in front of Ares. "I'll lead, I got the thingamajig!" He says. 

"No way, I'm not following behind your ass!" Ares retorts.

The two continue to bicker, each speeding up to keep a few steps in front of the other.

Beep beep beep beepbeepbeep.

”Guys…?” Dani hesitantly tries to break in as she follows behind them. Neither hear her. She hesitates for a few seconds but…

Beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep.

”Guys!” Dani says louder.

”What?” They turn to look at her and Dani mutely points at Dale’s loud, beeping device. 

As they look at it, a rumble shakes the hallway. The three look at each other. 

“Run?” Dani asks.

”Run.” Dale and Ares agree. 

The three take off down the hall as cracks begin to spread.

"I told you guys this was a bad idea!" Dani grumbles as they run.

"Less talk, more running." Ares says, infuriatingly cheerful.

Chunks of ceiling begin to fall while wires spark inches from their faces. Dust rises in the air, obscuring their view and making it hard to breathe. Dani gulps at the air as she struggles to fill her lungs. She turns her head this way and that, desperately searching for safety. There!

"Over there!" Dani points to the left where a square darkness indicates a doorway. 

Without wasting a second, the three dive into the room just as a rumbling crash fills the air, sending a wave of dust, dirt, and debris into the air, prompting the three to cough. Dani pulls her shirt over her face and gestures for the other two to do the same. Trusting her, they both do. As the dust begins to settle, they see the doorway is blocked by a mountain of rubble.

Dani removes the shirt, and her compatriots follow suit.

"And here you are-" Dale pants. "-always acting like you're useless, but-" He coughs. "-you just saved our lives."

Dani can't help but blush at the compliment. "It's just a survival instinct...nothing more..."

"So?" Ares says. "You didn't see us pointing out the room, did you? Who cares how you saved our lives? You did it."

"True... but we're not quite out of this yet. Let's figure a way out." Dani says, rising from the floor and dusting her hands off. 

As she looks around the room, she notices rusted cans on shelves. She figures it's a storage unit of some kind. 

"Let's look around and see if there's anything useful." Dale suggests. The three split up among the aisles and begin to explore the room.

As Dani walks through the aisles, scanning the cans, she finds a stack of papers on the ground. She flips through them and sees they are all blank. She sighs and puts them in her bag, disappointed at finding no lore or background for Starline, but figuring she can color on them later.

Dale picks up a can so rusted you can't even tell what it is anymore. "Hey Ares, dare you to eat this." He says, tossing it towards the wolf.

"Hmm." Ares considers the can as a smile rises to his face.

"Are you serious right now? We almost died from a crumbling building! How embarrassing would that be? To DIE from a crumbling BUILDING?! There's so many ways to die in this world, and we were this close to suffocating, being crushed to death, at least choose a different way to die if you guys want to die so badly! At least wait until we rescue Athea before you guys get us killed!" Dani shouts as tears fill her eyes, both from her anger and her fear. Her cheeks redden as she fights to stop herself from sobbing.

"Oh please, I'm immortal." Ares says while picking up some cans to inspect.

"How long will it take you before you realize, you need to listen to me?! When I say that this is dangerous, I mean that this is dangerous!" Dani shouts as she rounds on the two. Both freeze as they finally see her tears.

"Hey Dani, if I start taking it serious, I will break down. My best friend, practically my sister, was taken." Ares says, putting the can on the floor and walking closer to her.

Dani looks down, guiltily. "I was...also kidnapped, so I know how you might feel..." She looks up. "We will find her. I'll make sure of it, even if the heroes decide not to help us, I will do everything in my power to help you find Athea. She's my friend too."

"I'll find her myself if I have to. She is my better half. Platonic love of my life." Ares says as he clenches his fists, holding back tears himself.

Dani throws her hands out, offering Ares a hug. "It's alright. I'm sure that Athea is okay. If anything, one of Sonic's friends could have already found her. Plus, we would know otherwise if there was anything more. The villains are quite boastful." She offers optimistically.

Ares lets himself hug her quickly before pulling back and grabbing the can Dale threw to him. "Well, YOLO." He opens the can and tips it back into his mouth.

"Ha! Dumbass actually did it!" Dale starts cackling. 

Dani tries not to gag. "What does it taste like?" She asks shakily.

Ares stands there for a second, trying to process the questionable taste in his mouth before he spits it out and gags. "That tastes like fucking ass!" He says between gagging.

A smell begins to permeate the air from the can, making the room smell worse than dog shit. She starts to gag. "Oooooh, why'd you do that?" She whines as she puts the cloth of her shirt back over her face. "Now we really need to find a way out of here!" 

"For real." Dale coughs, backing away. "That shits about to kill me!" 

"The collapsing building from earlier didn't upset you at all, but the smell does. Good to know." Dani jokes.

Ares backs away from the can, still gagging, and bumps into the wall...and through it.

Dani gasps and closes her eyes, panicking. "Oh no! Mephiles took Ares!" She cries. 

Chapter Text

"Hohohoho! Perfect timing, rodent!" Eggman chortles as he flies up in the eggmobile. He's hard to make out in the darkening sky, but Sonic's nighttime vision is able to make up for it. 

"Oh great. Go away Eggbelly, I don't have time for this!" Sonic says, casting a quick glance at the newly refurbished base. He needed to be ready in case something happened. 

"Oh but it's just in time for me! You're just in time to test out my latest invention!" 

"Not now!" Sonic jumps off a tree to attack the doctor's machine, but halfway there, something attaches to his foot and slams him into the ground. He grunts and gets back up. "Anyone get the number of the bus that just hit me?" He jokes. He looks at his foot and sees it's covered in a white, thread-like substance. "Ugh, what is this?" He complains as he starts to drag his foot across the ground. 

"Egg Spider, destroy Sonic the Hedgehog!" Eggman laughs, flying a greater distance away. "So long rodent!" 

Sonic growls as the threads stubbornly stick to his feet. "Well if you won't come off, I guess I'll just go to you!" He says, running along the length of the web. 

The ground rumbles and explodes upwards with the snap of fangs. Too slow to catch Sonic, but more than enough to destabilize the ground. The exploded building begins to collapse in on itself. 

"DANI! DALE! ARES!" Sonic shouts, making a run for the building, but the webbing pulls him back, preventing him from getting there. "Grrrr!" He turns and looks at the new enemy. 

The Egg Spider is a bright red with black highlights and yellow screens for its eyes. It's shaped similar to a spider, but its huge size resembles a house. 

"My friends had better be alive in there." He growls in anger and grief. 'I should have made sure the entire area was safe before letting them go inside!' He goes into a roll, spin dashing into the bots face. "How do you like that?!" He shouts as the bot reals backwards. 

"Aww, but that was just the greeting! Egg Spider, go fish!" Eggman orders. 

Immediately, the string attached to his foot begins to drag the hedgehog towards the robot. "Hey, I am not a fish!" Sonic complains. "I'm a hedgehog!" He revs up and blasts towards the robot once again. Going faster than the robot can reel, he easily cuts in close enough to give it an uppercut to the jaw.

The head flies off of the robot and Sonic lands right next to it. He watches the body collapse before turning to Eggman. "Aww, sorry about breaking your new toy." He says in a mocking voice. 

"Oh, don't worry. I have plenty more where that came from." Eggman grins, settling back into his chair. 

"Huh?" Sonic stares at him in confusion before a strange, tapping noise causes him to whirl back towards the bot. 

Millions of tiny spider bots pour out of the downed bot, all shaped like their mother, but hundreds of times smaller, and all coming at him. "Gross!" He rushes to meet them, easily stomping some to bits. "No sweat, I'll get rid of the rest!" 

But they. Keep. Coming. The more he smashes, the more that appear. Soon, they begin to crawl up his legs, his stomach, inching upwards as he begins to slap at himself, trying to get them off. "Agh!" He shouts as one of them bites him. Instantly, he feels his foot freeze up and refuse to move. Then another bite, another limb frozen. One gets a lucky nip as he tries to bat it off and his arm locks up. The more they bite him, the more paralyzed he becomes, until he finds himself completely frozen, standing as the hardly touched army of spiders rise over him. 

"Whoa, where did all of these fucking spiders come from?!" Ares suddenly exclaims from nowhere. When Sonic moves his eyes over to look, he can see Ares standing in the shadow of the collapsed building. 

"Ares!" Sonic manages to say with his frozen mouth. If he was capable of relaxing, he would have fallen to the ground. "Is e'eryone okay?" He asks, unable to form the 'v' sound without his lips. Somewhere above him, he can hear Eggman complaining about the intruder, but he ignores him.

"Yeah, everyone's good. They're probably freaking out 'cause I disappeared, but they're okay. Hey, what's with the fat guy in the floating basket?" Ares asks. 

" 'At's Egg'an." 

"Ohhh, that's like, your main bad guy right? What happened to you? You look like someone paused a cartoon at a bad time." He chuckles. 

"Don't wanna talk a'out it." Sonic breathes a sigh of embarrassment. " 'Lease hel'. Get Tails." 

"Sure, sure. I'll take care of these pests for you." Ares grins, excited at the prospect of battle.

"No! Get Tails!" 

Ares cracks his knuckles and confidently strides towards them.

'e care-fol! S'iders 'ite!" Sonic warns, realizing that Ares isn't going to listen to him.

"So what? I've been WAITING for this." Ares grabs his knife from his pocket and pulls it out of its sheath. "Come at me!" He raises both hands in the air and grins wider.

" 'Ite 'aralyzes!" Sonic says.

"No shit. So that's why you look weird. Man, I wish I had a camera. Athea would be so mad if I took a picture." He laughs but stops walking towards the spider army. 'So how to destroy all of this without getting myself bitten? Man, this is so unfair. Everyone else gets these super awesome powers and they know how to use them. Then there's me, who doesn't have any. Just a lovely, stolen knife. Wait- how did I get out here?' 

"Oh yeah. I didn't exactly walk out, did I?" He muses aloud. He'd been backing away, his life flashing before his eyes, a life spent doing the opposite of what he wanted to do. And then he was suddenly here, confronted with a battle he'd so desperately been wanting. Maybe he'd searched it out in that strange moment between here and then. 'I moved from that dark room to here...to this shadow. Maybe I use the shadows to move?' He grins. "My turn." He melts into the shadows around him. 

Ares pops up as close as he can to a spider and stabs it before traveling back to his original position. 'Just keep them guessing. No longer than 30 seconds at a location.' He eyes the remaining spiders and looks at Eggman. "Hey you, egg-looking bitch. The fuck you want with Sonic?" He yells to get him monologuing and distracted. 

"Isn't it obvious?! I want him dead! No, roboticized under my control! I want to have him burn down his friends' houses before I take him apart piece by piece!" Eggman says, rising to the bait. He starts to go on, really extrapolating on exactly what he wants to do to Sonic. 

The hedgehog rolls his eyes and wishes he was eating a chilidog.

Ares grins as he melts back into the shadows, killing more spiders before dropping back into his original position. "And what makes you think you will ever win Egg Fuck?"

"Bwah-! Because! Sonic might have won thus far, but he won't win forever! The Eggman Empire will not be stopped by the likes of HIM. Egg Spiders! Attack the intruder!" He shouts, raising a hand with a dramatic flourish.

The spiders turn from Sonic and begin to tip-tap towards Ares. Their numbers have hardly thinned at all.

Ares rolls his eyes in fake boredom. 'Oh well, the element of surprise is gone. Time to show him why I'm the one he should fear.' He drops into the shadow and reappears by the forest. "Where are you going? I'm over here!" He taunts the spiders.

Eggman curses as the spiders reroute towards the forest. The two can easily go back and forth all night. Stupid spider bots. "Split into groups." He snarls. "One group stay near the old base and the other group attack the forest."

Ares runs straight into a shadow and heads deeper into the forest. 'Small, manageable group Ares. Don't lose your head. Eyes on the goal.' He reminds himself as he travels deep into the darkness. 

While one group of spiders remains by the building, the others take to the forest. The march through, swarming around the trees. However, with Ares out of sight, the spiders begin to break into groups to look for him. 

Ares pauses and then begins his hunt. He starts picking off the groups, one by one with a methodical approach. 'This is for Athea.' He thinks with each spider destroyed.

"AAAARGH? Why are all of my spiders being destroyed!?" Eggman shouts. 

Sonic rolls his eyes. 'Well gee Eggman. It couldn't be because you split them up and made them super weak just to track Ares down, could it?' The thought was far too long to try and actually voice, especially with his frozen lips. 

Ares strolls out of the shadows of the forest after finishing off the spiders in it. "Hey Egg Fuck, that the best you got?" He asks as he raises a spider in his hand. He's covered in dirt, but relatively unharmed. 

"You little- fine! I'll take care of you myself! Spiders, corner him!" He commands the remaining spiders, the ones who had been sticking close to the base. At the same time, he presses a button on his control pad and shoots a laser beam at Ares. PEW.

Ares drops in a shadow and reappears by a different tree. "Are you that dull, Egg Bitch? I have an alternative mode of moving." He leans against the tree in fake boredom and plays with his knife. 

"Arrrgh, stay still dog!" Eggman says, shooting more lasers at him. PEW!

Ares uses the shadows to play wack-a-mole. "Missed me." PEW. "Try harder next time." PEW. "Owwww- missed me again." PEWPEW. "This is boring." With a smirk, he melts into the shadows and reappears directly beneath the Eggmobile. He stabs the machine with his knife and pulls himself along the side of it. 

"GET OFF!" Eggman roars in frustration. He grabs the wheel and jerks it to the side, sending them into a steep turn.

Ares grits his teeth and grips the knife harder. "You understand now why I'm the one you should fear?" He growls. 

"Ha! So you can teleport, so what? Shadow does it all the time." Eggman sneers.

"I'm no regular wolf. I'm different. I have no moral code." Ares growls deeply as he continues to climb up. 

"Oh well in THAT case..." Eggman grumbles. "Would you want to work for me? I'm in the market for competent lackeys."

"I'll consider it, if you do me a favor first." Ares replies, a plan forming in his mind. 

"Oh? You would ask a favor of THE Dr. Eggman? This had better be good." The man crosses his arms and regards Ares with a superior look. 

"I'll definitely join you if you ensure my friends in there-" Ares gestures to the destroyed building, "-get out safely."

"Oh, you're bargaining for friends." Eggman sneers. "Never mind, I don't need a lackey weak enough to need friends." With a twist of his hand, the eggmobile speeds up and corkscrews through the air. 

Ares growls as he clings onto the embedded knife. "Stop! Let me explain, dickwad!" He yells. 

Eggman slows down and flies straight. "Talk fast pup, I'm getting bored."

"Those guys are just slowing me down. But if they die, Infinite or some stupid idiot will get mad. Save them, then you get me for whatever you want. I'll pledge loyalty." Ares smirks. 

"Hmm, while that does explain why you want them, I don't think it explains why I should go to all that effort. You have teleportation powers, why don't you get them?" Eggman drawls lazily. 

"Cause then I'll lose my chance with you. Cause what's to stop you from just disappearing and never coming back to get me?" Ares asks with a tilt of his head. 

"Ohhoooo, you want to work for me that badly, hm? But what will YOU give ME?"

"A wolf with teleportation and no morals. And an inside with Sonic and Co." Ares says with a laugh.

“Now that is tempting… alright, last question then, dog. I have Sonic helpless down there. Why do I need an inside man when I can just capture that rodent now?” Eggman asks seriously. If the wolf can’t answer this, then he’s not nearly as competent as he wants in a new lackey. But if he can…

“Because obviously he won’t tell you jackshit. He’s too much on the path of light.” Ares says flippantly.

"But you will lead me right to their main base of operations?" Eggman leans forward, staring intently at him.

“Bitch, I’ll stay by your side and do your bidding. But save my friends first, then we can go.” Ares says. 

"Hmph. Childs play." Eggman leans back in his seat and presses a button. His burrowing bots activate and seek out the heat signatures below the ground. They dig through the abandoned base like knives through butter, easily clearing dangerous obstacles out of the way. "Better put on a good show for the rodent then... AAAAAARGH! CURSE YOU, DOG!" He suddenly shouts, pressing another button that causes the eggmobile to shake and emit smoke. "I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!" With the smoke blocking Sonic's gaze, Eggman leans forward and clips a metallic cylinder, about the same size as a quarter, to Ares' watch. "I'll be listening. You know what will happen if you betray me, don't you?" He grins.

“TAKE THAT BITCH!” Ares yells. “Yeah, boss, I know what happens if I betray you.” Ares takes his knife out and drops to the ground. He rolls with the impact and walks over to Sonic with a shit-eating grin, “Told ya I’d handle it.”

"Good jo'! Now how to sa'e e'eryone else..."

Chapter Text

Athea feels frustrated. How could she not? Her best friend was out there, in danger of Mephiles of all people. She was a Mobian cat and even had powers like Blaze, but she had no idea how to safely use them. The whole thing makes her limbs feel heavy with dread and fear.

She keeps thinking of her earlier training session with Blaze. How she lost control and damn near torched the place. She couldn't do that if she wanted to rescue her friend! But she'd failed once already. How could she handle failing again? 'Can I just curl up in bed and never think of anything again? Just disappear?' Athea sighs. 

Still, she isn't the type of person to give up so quickly. 

She walks into the library and after a quick conversation with the librarian, walks over to the shelves concerning Mobian powers. She gathers up a small pile of useful looking books concerning the usage of elemental powers and marches herself over to the closest, comfy-looking chair. She picks up the first book, a basic guide to the elemental powers, and opens it to the first page. This is, she realizes, a book taken from Sonic's world. She can tell because the table of contents gives no indication of the Sol Emeralds. What it does have, is a chapter on Chaos. Curious, she flips ahead to that chapter.

Many people say that there are only four elements a Mobian may be gifted with: earth, air, fire, and water. They say this because when a Mobian has an elemental power, it is almost always one of these four. However, this is patently untrue. There are, in fact, five elements. The fifth one, however, defies definition. Chaos. 

"Why do so many things always have there being five elements?" Athea wonders as she settles deeper into her chair. "Ya'll are trying to make the five-pointed star important..."

Research has been done into the nature of chaos power since time immemorial. Chaos power is uncovered, research is done, the power is used and a great catastrophe destroys civilization as we know it. This is a pattern that has been repeated over the centuries. The tragedy of the Knuckles clan who wanted to use the mysterious Master Emerald for war purposes are but one example. 

Athea startles in her seat at the familiar name. "Sonic Adventure One..." She mutters. Despite the fact that she picked this book up to learn about her own element, she finds herself reading deeper into chaos instead. 

With Eggman's frequent abuse of chaos power and Sonic's balancing force as a champion of light, we can only wait and see if our own civilization will be subject to the same catastrophe. In the meantime, we study chaos abilities to the best our resources can tell. It is through this research that it was discovered some individuals are born with the ability to manipulate chaos. To what degree, is difficult to determine. For some, this manifests in light-based abilities such as lightning or healing. For others, it manifests in dark-based abilities such as an ability to use shadows or even to steal life force. Chaos power, as we have found, is determined by the heart. For example, those with lightning abilities tend to be chaotic individuals who enjoy fighting and have a 'leap before they look' mentality. 

Other individuals are able to harness chaos abilities. Sonic of course, is the prime example of this. Many witnesses attest that when he does so, he turns into a golden, sparkling individual. Fitting for one who fights for good. 

"Huh..." Athea stares at the bottom of the page, wanting more than anything to turn it and continue learning about chaos power, but also realizing that she's procrastinating. "Okay, okay, to the fire element pages." She mutters. 

To a certain degree, all abilities have a basis in the heart and what it desires. That said, no one element is feared for sheer destructive power more than fire. Despite the flexibility with which fire can be used, it is feared primarily as a destructive force. Many forget that the same wildfire that destroys the forest is the same fire that allows new life to grow. The same fire that takes and destroys is the same fire that warms and heals. Fire is not just destruction, but also purification. 

"ATHEA! GUESS WHAT!" Marine's voice blares right in her ears.

"What?" Athea responds, cringing at the sudden noise. She puts down the book and covers the title with her hands.

"Blaze says you and I are gonna hang out and I get to show you the ropes!" She cheers. 

"Uhhh, what ropes?" Athea tilts her head. 

"The boats of course! C'mon!" Marine tugs on Athea's hand and pulls her out of her chair. 

"Okay, okay, hold on a sec." Athea smiles at the girl's enthusiasm and gathers up her books. "Let me take these to my room first, aright?"

"Aw, just let Kaleb take them to your room. Here!" Marine grabs the books from Athea's arms and rushes over to the nearest servant. "Hey Kaleb, can you take these to Athea's room? I wanna show her around the docks!"

"Of course." The servant bows and takes the books. "I'll leave them on your desk." He tells Athea politely and leaves. 

"I feel a bit bad having him do that..." Athea frowns. 

"It's okay, this is literally Kaleb's job. He gets the books and delivers them for everyone." Marine assures her. She grabs Athea's hand and starts to skip out of the castle. 

One trip through town later, they arrive at the docks. Athea watches Marine with amusement as the younger girl pauses to think. "Which boat should I show you first?" Marine wonders aloud. 

"How about something small?" Athea suggests. "Since it's just the two of us, we should not be getting on a huge sailing boat like the Ocean Tornado ya know."

"Yeah! Okay, I'll show you the Aqua Blast first!" Marine skips down the docks and Athea follows, trying to remember which boat that was in Sonic Rush Adventure. 

Not the jet ski. I think that was the 'wave' ... something. One of them was a submarine right? I think that one started with 'deep' though. So that leaves...Ah!

Marine proudly pulls to a stop in front of a light green and yellow boat. "This, is the Aqua Blast!" She announces. 

"It's a hovercraft!" Athea steps up to the boat and touches the puffed up, rubber raft bottom of the boat. She'd seen the Ocean Tornado just yesterday, but here, in front of her, was a one-of-a-kind invention, built by Tails' hands. She feels absolutely giddy. "Can I drive it?" She asks eagerly. 

"I dunnooo.... I guess, but are you sure you can handle it?" Marine asks. 

“I mean. I should be okay, I’ve driven a boat and a car before, so I have a good idea how to drive stuff.” Athea steps onto the hovercraft and freezes. She can see the steering wheel, the accelerator, and the safety key. She can read the gas gauge, and if the speedometer has a few too many zeros, well, that’s the boat’s business, not hers. No, what surprises her is the veritable SEA of buttons. The boat her stepdad had so proudly bought only had six or so, but Athea has no trouble estimating at least a hundred buttons. And she was confused by the numbers in her own car. “Uhh… Marine? What are… these?”

“Oh yeah! Tails really went all out building this thing!” Marine shouts as she hops aboard. “Lookit! This one here, it’s an eject button, so don’t press it!” Marine points to a red button Athea soon loses track of as Marine points and explains each. And every. Single. Button. 

“Wow. You really know your stuff Marine.” She says once the lecture is over. 

“Mmm-hm! Tails spent weeks teaching me about all the buttons while we were looking for the Sol Emeralds that one time.” 

“Sure was nice of him to spend weeks teaching you.” Athea says dryly. 

The sarcasm flies over Marine’s head as she nods. “Sure was!”

Athea tentatively sits in the driver’s seat while Marine sits next to her. There are no seat belts, which she finds extremely concerning. Still, there isn’t anything to it but to do it right? She turns the hovercraft on.

“Wait, it’s on right? I can’t hear anything.” She frowns.

“Right?! Tails built it so you can’t hear the motor at all unless you’re up to speed! But lookit this!” Marine presses her hand on the dashboard and Athea follows suit. “You can really feel it right? Right?”

She dutifully nods. It is vibrating, but only as much as a video game controller warning of danger. Athea takes a deep breath, pulls the boat out of the dock, and-

“Aren’t you gonna turn on the map?” Marine asks expectantly. 

“O-oh yeah. The map. Yes. I definitely was…I meant to start it up, yeah. Yep. M-hm.” She looks over the buttons before spotting one near the screen with the power symbol on it. She presses it and tries not to sigh in relief when it works. 

Surprisingly, it’s not a touch screen. Dials on the side move a dot up and down, with a center button being the ‘select’ button. “Why the dials?” She asks aloud.

“Tails said touch screens aren’t really reliable.” Marine says, leaning back in her chair. "He said a touch screen would only work until the first big jolt threw off the calculations and stuff, and that he never makes anything that can't outlive the people he gives it too."

"Ahhh. Makes sense." Athea starts to drive the boat. With no exact destination, she decides to circle the island and get a handle on the controls. Although, even taking it slow, the boat drives faster than a car, and Athea soon finds herself driving in bigger and bigger circles so she doesn't get bored or run into anything. 

By the time the hovercraft is almost out of fuel, Athea's mind is far from the earlier training. She relaxes and almost feels hopeful. Sure, she didn't know how to use her power, and yes, she was still crazy worried about Dani and needed to get going as soon as possible, but she no longer felt like a failure for it. She was just herself, and she'd figure the rest of it out later. 

Athea docks the hovercraft and steps out. "Thanks Marine, I... really needed to get out of there." 

"No problem! Hey, how about tomorrow I show you the submarine?!" Marine skips in the air with a wide grin on her face. 

"That sounds great." Athea smiles. 

When Athea and Marine walked into the castle, both girls noticed everyone’s high spirits. 

“What happened?” Marine asked. 

“The Princess has recovered a Sol Emerald!”

Chapter Text

Dani gasps and closes her eyes, panicking. "Oh no! Mephiles took Ares!" She cries. 

"Huh? I didn't see him." Dale says, much more calmly. 

"But Mephiles has the power of shade travel and Ares so far from what we know, doesn't have any powers!" She starts pacing around the room. 

"Everyone else got powers, why wouldn't Ares?" Dale asks. 

"But he wouldn't have umbrakinesis! That's Mephiles' ability! ...Although Athea has pyrokinesis and Blaze does so I guess there can be copies of others abilities...But Ares doesn't seem like someone with umbrakinesis or the ability to shade travel!" Dani says. 

"I don't know about that." Dale says before walking over to where Ares disappeared. "Maybe there's a secret exit like in Scooby-Doo!" He starts pressing on random wall tiles. 

"Nooo, he clearly phased-"

"Look!" The wall in front of Dale slides open to reveal an empty passageway.

"I could've sworn Ares phased through the floor..." Dani murmurs. 

Dale confidently strolls through the doorway. "Hurry up Dani! I'm leavin' ya behind!"

"Hey, wait!" Dani rushes after him. As she steps inside the corridor, the wall slides closed behind her. Dani holds out her palm and summons a light orb in her hand. 

The corridor is bleak and gray. It slants downwards, further into the earth. Dale marches confidently forwards, without fear. Dani hesitates behind him before grabbing onto the back of his shirt.

"What gives?" Dale asks. 

"I don't like this." Dani answers. "Why would there be a secret corridor in a storage room? A small one for no matter? And most of it being full of old, canned food?"

"I don't know." Dale shrugs. "Parking?" 

Dani sighs. "I doubt there would be parking in some place like this."

"Ehhh, maybe. But who cares? What else are we going to do? Wait around hoping the air doesn't run out?" Dale shrugs.

"Oh. Right..." Dani starts to walk again, but her steps are tentative and every few steps she looks back over her shoulder. 

The air gets colder as they venture downwards, until the corridor suddenly opens up into a room. The room they find themselves in is small, but still larger than the storage room they were in before. A single row of computers takes up the back wall. Dale walks forward and presses the power button. 

"Don't do that!" Dani yells, too late. 

The computers turn on with a hum, but no other sign of damage. The blue screens flicker on and off, before stabilizing into images. As Dani and Dale take in these images, the two have very different reactions. 

Dale stiffens and curses, before turning to Dani and trying to block her view. But it's too late, Dani has seen the bodies. 

Each screen has a different human on it, with one word beside their picture: Failed. Some of the bodies had been mangled grotesquely, with animal features peeking out of their faces. Others were untouched, but still clearly dead, with wide eyes that stare at nothing. 

'That could have been us. That could have been Dale, that could have been Athea, and it would have been my fault.' Her head spins and she feels like vomiting. 'That is my fault. Mephiles wanted me. He didn't want Dale or Athea or anyone else. He just wants me. Why he wants me, I don't know, but...I also don't want to lose my friends. Not like that.'

CRASH! 

Dani blinks her eyes and see's Dale has heel-kicked the nearest monitor. CRASH! Another. CRASH! Another. Dale goes down the line, destroying each monitor. On the last one, he punches it instead, causing multiple cuts to break open his skin. "I am breaking all of Starline's shit." Dale seethes.

"It's all my fault..." Dani mumbles. 

"No, it's not! This is not your fault! It's those psychos who did this, NOT you!" Dale says furiously, rounding on her. He tries to lead Dani out of the room, back into the corridor, but her feet refuse to move. She stumbles with the force and Dale is forced to pick her up.

"Tell me how this is not my fault when he wanted me." Golden tears prick at the corners of her eyes. 

"Because, you didn't ask for Mephiles to chase after you, you never wanted him to do this! He could have done anything at all, and he chose to do this! Fuck- next time I see those motherfuckers, I'm going to kick their asses!" Dale nearly shouts in his fury while he carries her through the corridor. 

Dani gives him a weary smile, completely unconvinced, but wanting to make Dale feel better still. "Thanks Dale, I appreciate that." 

Dale scoffs. "Don't pull that shit on me, how long have we known eachother? This is not your fault, and I'll kick anyone's ass who says so." 

Dani looks away from him before focusing on his hands. She watches his blood dribble onto the floor. "Dale, you're hurt!"

"Who gives a shit?"

"I do! You could get an infection!" Dani protests. She holds his hand and closes her eyes. A faint white glow envelopes her palm, healing his wounds.

"Thanks." Dale huffs.

"You're....welcome..." Dani's eyes close and she passes out at the sudden wave of weakness that takes hold of her body. 

"Dani? Dani!" Dale stops and puts her down so he can take her pulse. After a moment of looking, he finds it and breathes a sigh of relief. "Don't scare me like that." He scolds the unconscious girl. 

Suddenly, to the left of him, the wall bulges and comes apart as two bots suddenly enter the corridor. "You guys sure picked the wroooong time to come after us!" Dale stands, holds his arms out, and gives one last quip, "Get electrocuted you buckets of bolts." Before zapping them with the full might of his ability. He pants to catch his breath over their smoldering remains. "That'll teach you...to come after us..." 

Ares follows the bots in and looks at the remains with an unimpressive look. “You fried my help.” He says as he looks around.

"And where the hell were you?!" Dale snaps back. 

“Getting some help, taking on, and defeating Eggman single handedly.” Ares says while unconsciously fidgeting with his watch.

"Good for you." Dale grumbles, somewhat appeased by knowing Ares hadn't been lounging around on a beach somewhere. He turns back to Dani and picks her up. "How'd you get out of here anyways? I thought I'd find you in this secret passageway, but you were gone." 

“Oh that’s easy to answer, I can use the shadows to travel.” Ares replies with a smug grin on his face. “We can head back this way,” He gestures towards the tunnel he came from. “Sonic is probably worried.”

"And Dani thought you couldn't do that." Dale notes as he walks into the tunnel. In the darkness, he starts to send out little shoots of electricity to provide some light for himself, but otherwise focuses on carrying Dani. 

Ares falls through a shadow, arriving at the top of the tunnel. “Hey Sonic, I got them both and they are unharmed. And you were worried.” Ares smirks before looking around for any signs of Eggman.

"Glad to know that. Almost as glad as I am to know that this 'paralysis' thing isn't permanent." Sonic says as he forces his fingers to move. 

Ares nods his head and then asks, “Any sign of the egg-looking idiot?” He doesn’t know if Eggman would like the name calling but he doesn’t quite care.

”Not that I can tell. I haven’t heard his eggmobile anyways. It’s nice! Very peaceful!” Sonic tries not to let on how bothered he is by his inability to move.”

“Good. I scared him off. That’ll teach him to mess with me. I’m not gonna let some freak like that scare me.” Ares says. “When can you move?” He asks.

”At this rate?” Sonic groans. “In another hour or so.”

“Well, I’m gonna go look around. You can talk to Dale while I do that.” Ares says as he falls into a shadow on the ground.

“What? Don’t leave me like this!” Sonic groans as the boredom begins to plague him.

It takes ten excruciating minutes before Dale exits the tunnel with Dani in tow. He trudges over to where Sonic is frozen. Dale carefully sets Dani on the ground and straightens her out before taking a seat on the ground and staring moodily at the trashed base. 

Sonic, who'd been driving himself crazy this whole time, can't feel more relieved at the sight of another person. He can only barely move his hands and feet now. His relief is replaced with concern as he sees that Dani is unconscious. "What happened? Is she okay?"

"Dunno. She fainted after healing my hands." Dale says, taking her pulse for the umpteenth time. "It looks like she's just sleeping."

"Why'd she have to heal your hands?" Sonic asks, relieved that Dani isn't hurt.

Dale clenches his fists at the question and crosses his arms. "It was my stupid fault. I got all excited about a Scooby-Doo Trap door, walked down the passageway with Dani, and then turned on the computers we found like an idiot. They... the rest of Starline's experiments. There were images of them. I started kicking the monitors, punching them. I was so mad! What kinda psycho does something like that to people?" He stands up and starts pacing. "Then Dani started blaming herself like it's HER fault those mother fucking bastards are after her."

Even Sonic can't remain happy-go-lucky as he watches Dale. This is a fury he's well familiar with. It's the same fury that caused him to go after Eggman even though he knew Tails needed his speed data to cure the metal-virus. It's an act he'll never forgive himself for. Maybe things wouldn't have gotten half as bad if he'd just ran in the other direction. "What do you want to do about it then?" He asks. 

Dale stops and looks down at his hands. What DID he want to do? He clenches them as lightning sparks around him. "Chaos." He says in a growl. "I want to bring down chaos all over Mephiles and Starline's plans. "

Chapter Text

Ares pops up from a shadow and looks around. “Now where in the fresh fuck am I?” He asks to no one in particular.

"Why won't you guys leave me alone?!" A young voice shouts from somewhere nearby.

Ares flicks his ears and starts walking towards the voice while pulling his knife out of its sheath. “Hello?” He calls out.

"Help! Get this psycho off of me!" The voice shouts, closer this time. 

When Ares arrives at the voice, he sees it belongs to a red, dog Mobian. Going off of his size, the Mobian can only be a child. He hovers in the air, struggling, as if someone invisible has taken ahold of him and is dragging him away. “What exactly is going on here?” Ares asks, confused.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm getting kidnapped!" The dog snaps, kicking his legs in the air. 

“By who?” Ares asks while walking a bit closer.

"HOW SHOULD I KNOW?!" The dog yelps as his head jerks to the side like someone hit him. He moves through the air, getting further away from Ares. 

Ares springs forward and slashes his knife at whatever is holding the dog. He feels his knife catch on something and run through it. The dog jerks in the air and becomes lopsided. With one of his arms freed, he waves his hand and a nearby tree swings its branches towards his other side. The dog drops to the ground as electricity sparks through the air. 

The enemy is finally revealed to be a thinner, tall robot type with camouflage plating. As it becomes visible, the robot stacks in on itself until it becomes a short, but sturdy bot. It raises its fists.

Ares grins as he falls into a well-practiced fighting stance. “Little dog, get behind me, I can handle this,” Ares says.

"LITTLE?!" The dog looks at Ares, offended, and does not budge. "Just because I'm a kid doesn't mean I need to be protected!" He argues. He waves another hand and a tree branch slams on the bot. 

The bot stumbles with the force, but does not fall. It raises its arms again, and this time, it shoots its hands out like a cartoon boxing glove attack.

Ares jumps in between the gloves and the dog. He grunts as he gets hit. “You are a child, therefore you need protection.” Ares slashes the knife at the bot.

"I'm older than I look." The dog grumbles but falls back somewhat. "I'm not scared." He says. "I'm just doing this because you took that hit for me."

Ares rolls his eyes, “How old are you anyway dog?” Ares moves forward and continues to slash at the robot. “Hope you're not one of Egghead’s.” He mutters more for himself. The bot tries to defend itself, but it's too slow and Ares easily dodges its attack before dispatching it. 

"That's complicated." The dog says, looking to the side with a huff. "What was that about an egghead?"

“Egghead is my boss kid.” Ares says as he watches the bot in front of him.

The dog blinks at him several times. "And you're just going to admit that?" He asks curiously. "Isn't Eggman the bad guy?"

“And who are you gonna tell little guy?” Ares asks with a smirk. “I’m the only one you know right now.”

"Wow. I'd love to know how you figure that, but I'm gonna go now instead. Thanks for dealing with the robot." The dog says with a decidedly unimpressed look on his face.

“Bye Kid.” Ares says as he walks off, not knowing where he is going. ‘If I’m right, he’ll follow me. If I’m wrong oh well.’ He thinks before saying aloud, “Where the hell am I?”

The kid makes it only a few more steps before he sighs and turns back around. "You're in Soleanna. The city is that way-" He points in the direction of the rising moon. "You can catch a train there going anywhere." He turns back around and keeps walking. 'No way am I trusting THAT guy. I'd rather talk to that Silver guy.' 

“Thanks kid, I’ll head there now.” Ares says as he turns on his heel and walks towards the moon. As he steps into the shadows, he tries to go back to where he left Sonic, but his power refuses to activate. "The fuck...?" He mutters quietly. Preoccupied, he doesn't notice Starline watching him with anger only a few trees away.

As Ares walks, he fidgets with his watch and thinks back on the past few days. He taps the watch unconsciously. ‘The fucking octopus was pretending to be my friend, I should have seen it before. The weirdness at the airport. But now that I've joined Eggman, I can find her myself, my own way.’ 

Ares looks up as a deeper shadow falls over him. He's arrived at a strange-looking city that appears to be an amalgamation of various time periods and styles, but all of them old. There's no sign of a train station that he can see. But the air is heavy with the smell of salt.

‘Okay Ares, let’s just take it slow and steady. Sweep the streets and look not lost.’ Ares thinks as he starts walking down the streets. He walks purposefully through the streets, as if he knows where he is going. Many of the late-night passerby's are fooled, others not so much, but they leave him alone anyways. Eventually, he finds himself at a bell tower where an old man carrying several bags falls to the ground, spilling his stuff.

"Oh dear, oh dear..." He fusses as he starts to pick things up.

Ares jogs over and starts to help him. “Are you okay Sir?” Ares asks.

"Oh- oh yes, thank you, young man." The old man says gratefully. As he stands up with his bags, he reaches into his pocket and retrieves a piece of paper. "Here, have this, as thanks for the help. It's a map of the city, my own personal one. You can go anywhere on this map, except the old Soleanna Castle here." He gestures to a spot on the map.

“Why can’t I go to that castle?” Ares asks while tilting his head, mind already forming the shortest route there.

"Oh, that's easy. The royal family has forbidden the entrance to the place since....around fifty years ago? Hm. It's been a long time since anyone's been around there." The old man says with a hum.

“Forbidden?” Ares says with a hum. He shakes the hand of the man and walks away, going right for the castle.

The old man watches the wolf go with a smile on his face. "I've done my best, my lady. I can only hope it will be enough." He disappears into thin air. 

Following the map, Ares exits the city and finds himself on a grassland surrounded by cliffs. He approaches a balcony with crumbling statues on it and gets his first look at the old, Soleanna castle. Despite being a wreck, the castle is still magnificent, with huge arches, spires, and the castle itself looks large enough to be a city all on its own. 

“Well, time to find out why this place has been forbidden.” Ares slides down the wall, landing in the valley with a splash. He wades to the nearest walkway and ventures further into the castle while humming a tune under his breath.

The valley is half-flooded around him, water everywhere. As Ares continues to explore the ruins, he sees many stained-glass windows and towers. He climbs up and down many of them as he goes. It's not until he's almost halfway through the valley that he finds something very interesting: An abandoned library. 

“Ooooo old books. Let’s go check them out.” Ares says as he walks in the library and picks up a book off the table. The moldy book comes apart easily, so Ares handles it as gently as he can. He squints at the title. "The farmer's guide to food production- Lame." He puts the book back down and starts to track through the shelves, looking for an interesting title. As he walks, he finds a number of strange books, but there's one he sees with a strange, golden glow.

“Oh? Glowing book. Looks in semi-good condition. That's gotta be plot relevant.” Ares picks it up and examines it closely.

The title of the book is ‘Solaris: Our Sun God’. It’s hard to make out however, as it appears someone has tried to burn the book. When Ares flips through the book, he can see most of it is just as burnt as the cover. The middle pages of the book are only slightly browned however and are still readable. Ares sits on the ground and starts reading these pages. Through the browned pages, Ares catches snippets of phrases.

"Our sun god, Solaris, is a mysterious being..."

"As a god, he of course contains multitudes..."

"Just as the sun creates light, so too does it create the dark..."

"Among Solaris's powers, it's believed one of them is time travel..."

Ares continues to flip through the pages. ‘This book is obviously important.’ He thinks as he glances at his watch.

"A god is made of three parts..."

"-no proof, but it is said the Royal Family of Soleanna..."

"Are we blessed or are we cursed? Such is the whim of Solaris..."

"Breaking apart a god is a dangerous..."

"DO NOT attempt this, or the might of Solaris will..."

"-Scepter of Darkness was created just in case..."

Ares hums to himself and wishes he had a notebook to take notes.

"-of Iblis, the mind of Mephiles, the..."

"If separated, the three will be drawn..."

"Who can say? If such an event ever occurs, it is unlikely..."

"If Iblis is fire and Mephiles is fuel, then.... can only be...."

"Incredible power, monstrous might. We must never...."

"...we can only wonder after...blown out."

Ares begins to grow concerned but he continues reading. ‘This information could be valuable to Egghead and Dani and Sonic.’ He reminds himself. However, when Ares turns to the next page, the book has become too burned to continue reading. “Well, shit. What now?” Ares sets the book on the table close to him and grabs another one gently. He searches the rest of the library, but does not find a single book that could explain the glowing one from before. He does notice that one is the only one that's burned however. "Why?" He mutters as he picks the book up and places it in his pocket. 

He walks out of the library, surveying the valley. "Damn, looks like once you're in, you can't get out." He mutters to himself.  "Well this could be a problem." Ares says, sighing. He walks along the wall and tries climbing a few places, but falls back down each time. 

“Okay, think Ares. No way out, no help. Those are good odds.” He wades through the water. His foot slips on a rock but just before he hits the water, something pulls him up. “What the hell?” Ares asks the air behind him. The back of his shirt, he realizes, is suddenly soaked. ‘Wait did the water stop my fall?’ He thinks as he looks down. ‘I wonder what else it can do.’ Ares imagines the water knocking a wall down, but the water only churns in response. He clenches his fists with effort as he tries to push the water into doing it. 'Blast the wall!' He commands.

Water shoots up, but instead of blasting the wall, it curves around and hits him in the face. The force of the water knocks him down, leaving him sitting on the ground, now completely soaked. Ares spits out the water and stands up. “What the hell?” He glares at the water. The water, naturally, does not answer him.

“So smashing the wall gets me blasted.” Ares says disappointedly. 'The same probably goes for people.' Ares wonders if the water can lift him up and set him down on the top then. Once again, the water only churns in response to the thought. It resists being molded by his will. Planting his feet into the ground, he raises his hands and concentrates. He envisions the water pulling him up. 

Slowly, painstakingly, the water obeys. He feels his feet touch the top of the wall as the water obeys gravity with a splash. Ares laughs and starts again, molding the water to form a slide down to the ground which he rides down gleefully.

"Okay, this is fucking awesome.” Ares laughs as he stands up and releases the water. “Now what should I do?” He asks. The water does not answer, but a glimmer of light has him looking up and realizing the sun is starting to rise. He'd been out all night. 

“Should probably try to get back. But how?” Ares asks curiously. He tries to go through the shadows again, but it doesn't work. "Great....Oh!" Ares grins and raises his wrist, “Egghead, I’m in a bit of a situation and need help.” He says as a way of greeting.

“I’m sorry, the boss is handling urgent business right now. Perhaps I can be of assistance?” The cool and polite voice of Orbot comes from the watch.

“Uhhhhh, sure. I seem to have gotten myself lost. And I have no idea how to traverse this world or even where places are. So I need to get from where I am now to where I used to be.” Ares explains as he walks.

“I see. Well, looking at your travel history, it seems you have traveled only about fifty miles from where you were before. You can take the train at Soleanna Station all the way to Orchardville." 

“Is that close to my previous location?” Ares asks as he starts walking back towards the town.

“Of course, that’s why I recommended it.” Orbot answers.

“Cool, so what exactly is Egghead doing?” Ares asks as he walks.

“I don’t think I’m allowed to tell you that yet.” Orbot answers. “I am hanging up now if that is all you needed.”

“Yeah. Thanks or whatever.” Ares arrives in town and pulls out his map. Following Orbot's instructions, he throws a ring at a station attendant and gets on the train. He settles in to watch the show, remembering how he'd done the same just a few years ago. When he first met the love of his life, and then received the second. He feels a pang in his heart at the fierce stroke of longing he feels to return. "I'll be back soon James... As soon as I find your godmother."

Chapter Text

Micheal looks around the place he'd been calling home these past few months. It's not much to look at, really. Just a dilapidated shack he thought would keep him safe. But he'd been attacked, twice, in the past couple days and that Silver guy knows where he's living. And he thought living among trees would make him MORE powerful. He sighs. "But instead, I keep having to be saved from stuff. For being an earthbender, I sure haven't been proving myself much. And I haven't found ANY answers either. This is..." He grits his teeth and clenches his fist. 

Instead of finishing his sentence, Micheal picks up his backpack and starts packing up. He doesn't have much, just a few supplies, and his only souvenir from Earth: a picture of him and all his siblings. He steps outside, holds his backpack under a nearby apple tree, and commands the apples to fall into his bag. 

Satisfied, Micheal treks through the orchard. He observes the trees around him, the light dappling through their leaves, the ripening and ripe apples. The quiet and peace, it was one thing he'd gotten to enjoy while staying here. I am definitely going to miss it. 

"HELP! OH HELP! SOMEONE SAVE ME!" A voice shouts in the distance. 

Micheal hesitates for only a moment, wondering if this is a trap, before he runs towards the source. "What is the deal with all of these robots?!" Micheal complains as he arrives. 

A motobug drives circles around a tree, where he sees some guy clinging to a branch. There's something familiar about him... "Psh, even I can handle this." Micheal grins at the opportunity to take his frustrations out on something. With a flick of his hand, a nearby tree leans over and whacks the motobug, easily demolishing it. "Are you okay, old guy?" He asks, using his ability to have the tree lower the Mobian to the ground. 

"Oh yes! I'm quite well now that you have rescued me! Please, you have my eternal gratitude. Is there anything I could possibly do to repay you?" The Mobian asks with a flourishing bow. 

Micheal blinks and takes a step back in surprise. "Uhhh...raincheck?" He says uneasily. 

"Hm...well, if needs must. But please, if you ever need assistance, know that I will be at your side in an instant if you only ask." The Mobian straightens up and runs a hand through his hair. 

This...might not be too bad. Maybe this guy could help me? Micheal hesitates as he watches the Mobian walk away before making a decision. "Hey, mister. How do I find you if I need your help though?" 

"Oh that's easy!" He turns back around. "My name is- Everstar. I'm a scientist and have my own lab. You see that hill over there?" He points behind Micheal, who turns and nods. "I live just behind it in my personal lab. It's also a small practicing clinic for the rare visitors I receive. Come up any time, I'll be more than happy to help you."

"Alright, thanks I guess." As Micheal turns around, it hits him what he's missing. "Oh! You're the guy I saw the other day. Sorry I called you a creep, that was pretty rude of me." 

Everstar forces a smile on his face and closes his eyes to hide his rage. "Oh no, it was my fault for being too forward. By the way, what is your name?"

"Micheal... well, I might take you up on that offer. But not right now." Micheal backs off and starts to resume his journey. 

"By all means! I'll be waiting." Everstar calls after him. Traveling as he does, Micheal doesn't see the sinister smile that appears on his face, nor does he realize that Everstar is only an alias for Starline. He journeys on, unaware of what he is being drawn into. 

After climbing a hill, Micheal surveys the land around him. He can see ocean, mountains, and the city of Soleanna. Not wanting to be too far from the city, but also not wanting to live so close to people, he makes for the mountains. As the land around him becomes rocky and steep, Micheal looks for chances to venture from the path. 

"Look at that! Is that really the old Soleanna Castle?" A young voice says excitedly. 

Micheal glances over at a couple of tourists, a kid and a woman, who are standing by some balcony. He steps closer to listen in on their conversation. 

"That's right! It's far too dangerous to be around though. That's why the Royal Family has forbidden access to it." A woman, likely the kids mom, responds. 

"But what's so dangerous about it? It looks like fun!" The kid says with shining eyes.

"That's easy! It's falling apart sweetie, and it's completely flooded. You could get swept away by water or crushed by rocks if you went down there. That's why we're only allowed to see if from afar." 

I've heard enough. Micheal walks away from them. A place I can stay without worrying about anyone walking in on me? And practically a guarantee that anyone who does is up to no good? This place is perfect! I just need to find a dry place that doesn't look like it's going to fall apart in two seconds. He grins mischievously. 

"What are you doing here?"

"Ahh!" Micheal turns around and sees Silver of all people. "What are you doing here?" He crosses his arms and takes a step back. 

"I'm off to the jungle! There are some strange ruins there I wanted to investigate... hey, wanna come with me? You said you wanted to find the truth about things. Maybe you can find some answers in the past?" Silver offers. 

Micheal deliberates over this, casting glances at the forbidden castle behind him. 'Could it be a trap? ...no, that doesn't make sense. With his power, he can catch me easily without any tricks. It might be a genuine offer and if it isn't...well, there's plenty for me to manipulate in a jungle.' He nods. "Lead the way I guess." 

Silver walks back down the path and leads him to a lake, all black water and huge lily pads. In the center of the lake, there's a giant mirror shimmering with greenery on top of an island. 

"Just through there. Boy, that thing really makes things convenient." Silver smiles. 

"Yeaaaah... you first."

"Hm? Well, sure, if you want." Without hesitation, Silver hops in the mirror, moving through it as if it's air. 

After waiting to see if something bad happens, Micheal follows him. 

The jungle they land in is clearly full of ruins. Giant, square towers and walkways fill the air, and wooden contraptions provide obstacles. "What is this place?" Micheal asks. 

"I don't know. Even Knuckles doesn't know much about this area, and he's always walking around in ruins." Silver shrugs. "But I do recall there being a temple further up ahead. I didn't go inside last time, but that's why I came back."

"Came back? You've been here before?" Micheal asks while following Silver. 

"Mm...yeah. I did, didn't I? It's a little hazy, but I was definitely here." Silver looks up at the sky in contemplation. 

"Riiiight. Race you there!" Micheal summons a vine and uses it to fling himself through the jungle. He hears a whoosh behind him as Silver gives chase. The two race through the jungle, jumping between towers, under walkways, and over water. Until finally, the two land on the temple's front steps. 

"Whoa..." Micheal and Silver stare in awe at the impressive structure. Covered in vines as it is, it is clear great attention to detail had been paid to building this structure. Intricate carvings and statues guard the entrance to the place.

"Let's go!" Silver says cheerfully, walking in the front door. 

"Aren't you worried about-" A boulder falls from the ceiling that Silver easily catches. "...traps?" Micheal blinks several times as the hedgehog looks back at him with a smile. 

"Don't worry, I know exactly what to do!" He places the rock on the ground in front of them. Then he hits it with his psychic power and says, "Hah!" The boulder rolls forward, triggering several traps that fruitlessly attack the boulder, until it falls into a pit of some sort. Silver looks back at Micheal. "Let's go!" He grins.

The two Mobians travel through the temple without fear using their abilities. Micheal can’t help but feel excited, despite the danger. What could be in this temple that needed to be protected? 

When the two get to the center of the temple, the only thing they find is a massive sunstone directly in the center of the room. The two give each other confused looks and looks around. But all they can see are several gems scattered around the room, and the sunstone on the pedestal. 

Silver floats up to the ceiling. "Hey! Look at this!" He says. When Micheal looks up, all he sees is a strange divot in the ceiling. 

"What am I looking at?" He asks. 

In response, Silver flies into the divot. Piles of vines fall from the ceiling, until a single ray of light falls onto the sunstone, illuminating the gem. Silver keeps going, tearing out more vines and plants, until the rays of the sun fall onto the gem, completely lighting up the chamber. As Micheal stares at the rays, he is surprised to see that the rays have changed colors. One is purple, another red, and a third is a bright yellow. Each ray lands directly on similar colored materials. With a low rumble, three doors appear by the rays. 

Silver lands beside Micheal and the two look at the doors. "What do you think? Which one should we go down first?" Silver asks a little nervously. 

"I'm going to check out the yellow one. You check out one of the others." Micheal decides. "It would be faster if we split up after all."

"But what if there are more traps? You sure you wanna handle it by yourself?" Silver asks. 

Micheal nods. "I'm fine. You check out one of the other paths." Micheal picks up several vines to use as weapons. Silver walks down the red path, and Micheal walks down the yellow. 

As Micheal walks, he keeps an eye on the walls around him. No more traps spring out at him so he has all the time in the world to really look at things. He traces figures on the walls, examines the ancient script. “Who did you worship?” He whispers, as if the people of old are around to answer. 

As he walks, he finds himself in a section that seems newer than the rest. It isn’t as clogged with dead plants and the script on the walls have changed. In some places, he can almost make out the word. He recognizes ‘healing light’ and ‘draining darkness’. 

Micheal reaches the end of the tunnel to see the biggest mural yet. He sees the image of a balancing scale. On one end, he sees a fiery, red mass that seems to scream power and strength. The other end holds a purple cloud-like figure. The way it writhes in itself makes him think it is complicated, and obscure.

The mural doesn’t stop there though. Above the scale, right smack in the middle, stands a figure that looks like a Mobian. He isn’t sure what species, but it is definitely a Mobian. In one hand, it holds light, and in the other, it holds darkness. He can see the faintest scratches of flaming wings around it. He reads the script. “Solaris…?”

Micheal reaches over and presses on the wall. With a small ‘click’, the Mobian figure sinks into the wall. Dust flies into the air, making Micheal cough. The tunnel rumbles around him. The ceiling above him opens up, releasing bright streams of light into the tunnel.

He has to stop observing to rub the dust from his eyes, but when he is finally done coughing and can open his eyes, he sees something he hadn’t expected. A mirror. It is simple and plain seeming, but as he looks at himself in it, he gasps. 

A human face looks back at him. It is older looking, but he knows instinctively, if he became human again, this is the face he would have. The face he would have grown up with if everything had gone as it should have.

“Micheal!” 

He hears Silver’s voice coming from the tunnel behind him and makes a snap decision. This mirror is HIS now. Micheal grabs the mirror from the alcove and shoves it into his backpack. 

Silver zooms out of the tunnel, his cyan light fading. “Are you okay? The whole place shook!”

”I’m fine.” Micheal says dismissively. “But look at that! The ceiling opened up for us, we can get out of here, easy.”

Silver hesitates for a few moments before shrugging and nodding. “I’m glad you’re alright! Let’s get going then if you’re okay.” 

The two float out of the temple and go their separate ways. Neither knowing what answers the other had received…or what further questions.

Chapter Text

When Dani opens her eyes, she is greeted by familiar surroundings, familiar, but only ever seen in the pages of a comic book. As she sits up, she looks around. "...How did I end up in the Resistance HQ...?"

As if waiting for this moment, Dale dramatically enters the room. "Wassup Dani? How ya feeling?"  In a daze, Dani stares at Dale and repeats her question. "Sonic brought us here after he regained his limbs." He answers. 

"Wait-did Sonic lose limbs?!" Dani nearly screeches in horror.

Dale bursts into laughter and shakes his head. "Naw, naw. Some spider bot tech that Egghead had, put him into a paralyzed mode. Took him ages to be useful again, and you 'n me were stuck there the whole time."

Dani nods slowly before a thought occurs to her. "Where did Ares go then?" 

"Who knows? As soon as the dude got rid of Breakfast Man, he disappeared. Did you know he's got some freaky shadow traveling ability? Definitely stealing it for a joyride sometime." 

"Isn't that Mephiles' ability? Why does Ares have a similar ability to Mephiles?" Dani says nervously. 

"Hell if I know." Dale shrugs. "I don't even get how he suddenly turned into a Mobian in the first place."

"I theorize the chaos emeralds are a part of this, but I have no proof of that. I don't know, it's just a theory. Ares gets the cool powers, it's cool, I'm just happy that he's safe." Dani rambles. 

"Safe and shorter than me." Dale responds smugly.

"Well I'm shorter than all of you." Dani complains jokingly. "You'd think that in Mobian version I'd at least by taller than SOMEone. But oh well, I like being short."

"Said no short person ever..." Dale grins. 

"Hey, I actually like being short!" Dani responds. "I can crawl in tiny spaces and hide when I need to, AND people go out of their way to protect me!" 

Dale chuckled a little at his friend's reasoning but accepted it. 

The communicator on Dani's wrist buzzes and she accepts the call. Ares's voice comes through. "Eh yo, I’m lost as hell at a train station. I need to get picked up, preferably yesterday.”

"We'll come pick you up! I have a feeling I know what station it is. Be right there!" Dani says cheerfully. She hangs up, walks out the door, and Dale follows her. The two travel to Soleanna's train station, but as they arrive, Dani sees that Ares isn't here. 

"Huh? I was sure he'd be here! Mephiles is involved after all..." Dani frowns. "I don't know of any other train station- oh wait, there's one in Central City and another train station in Sunset City...gosh, there are a lot of train stations, I did not think this through." She trails off a little as she starts to think of more train stations. 

Dale laughs as he shoves his hands in his pockets and backs up. "Hey, I gotta go somewhere real quick. I'll be right back." He turns and practically flees to the nearest building. 

"Okay!" Dani starts to wander as she starts to think. "Maybe we can get Tails to track him and see what station he's at...or maybe Team Dark..." She mumbles her thoughts aloud as she tries to figure out how to find the train station. As her thoughts wander, so does her feet, until she's walked straight into the rail depot along the tracks. "Oh, I know this place!" Dani says excitedly, her concentration broken. "This is where Shadow kicked Silver in the back of the head!" 

"And the place where they journeyed to find a version of the truth." 

Dani whirls around to see it's Mephiles, of course. Dani stares at him before saying, "Oh." She starts to back away from him. 

"You needn't be so concerned. I'm only here to talk."

"Yeah, and I don't wanna talk. I'd rather find my friends so I'm just going to, uh-" Dani turns around, ready to run.

"Even if those friends have betrayed you?" 

Dani stops for a moment. "You know, the last time someone believed in your foretellings, the future almost got completely erased and that was because you planned it all out to be like that and all Silver had to do was assume the worst. I know how you work and how you deceive others. You don't have to lie, you just reveal only part of the truth. So I'm not going to believe you and I'm going to run away." Dani says.

She only makes it a few steps before she hears Mephiles' response. "I don't need to lie, because this is true. Ares has brokered a pact with Eggman."

Dani froze. "What kind of deal?"

"Oh, but you can't believe me, right? So go. Go and discover the truth for yourself and know that it was I who told you the truth first."

Dani stammers as she tries to figure out what she wants to say. "Well now I'm curious because the only reason Ares would make a deal with Eggman or some other douchebag is because someone is in danger, so PLEASE, shed some light. 'Cause now I wanna help my friend." 

Mephiles laughs as he starts to disappear. "It is not yet the time."

Dani stares at the puddle of disappearing darkness in disappointment. "It was the pun, wasn't it?" There is no response. Dani shrugs and goes back to the train station, where Dale is waiting. 

"Oh there you are." He says mildly. 

Dani stops. "You know, usually when people disappear on Mobius, it's because they get kidnapped or something happened. Weren't you a little bit concerned?" 

"Naw, you wander a lot, it's fine." Dale shrugs.

"Okay, so what if I were to tell you that I just saw Mephiles?"

"Oh! Where's the bastard now?" Dale looks around with a hard look in his eyes. 

"Oh he faded into the shades. I didn't even get any answers from him. But apparently he wants to manipulate me into thinking Ares made some really bad deal that could betray me, so maybe we should find Ares really quickly. Like, now." Dani lifts her communicator and speaks into it. "Does anyone have the ability to track down a wolf boy? Ares is stuck in some train station and he might be in trouble." 

The first response comes from Knuckles. It reads, 'Have you tried asking the train people if they saw him?'

"We're actually in a train station and I doubt he was here...but we'll go ask. But I doubt he's here, otherwise he woulda been here." Dani casts a pleading look at Dale because she doesn't wanna talk to a stranger. 

Dale shrugs and walks up to a pretty station attendant. "Excuse me ma'am, but have you seen a short, not very handsome, wolf mobian come through here?"

"Oh! Well, now that you mention it, one did come through here. I noticed because he had a green stripe in his fur. He got a ticket to Orchardville I believe." The attendant responds with a blush. 

"Aright, thanks! By the way, what's your phone number?"

"Okay, thanks for the info!" Dani loudly interrupts as she drags Dale away. Dale shrugs in response and the two quickly go to Orchardville. 

As they approach the train station, Dani spots Ares and ducks behind a bush to observe him for a few moments. It looks like Ares is talking to someone through the watch. Still suspicious, Dani creeps closer to listen in. 

"-you're lost?! What kind of spy are you!?" Dani clearly hears Eggman's voice. 

“Of course I’m lost, I’ve never been around here eggdude.” Comes Ares's response. 

"Don't ever call me 'eggdude' again! I'm EggMAN! And if you want to keep working for me, you better remember it!" The tyrant responds. 

“Whatever EggMan.” Ares says sarcastically. “I’m waiting to be picked up now. And maybe you need some chill pills, you got a temper.”

"Hmph!" The watch clicks as Eggman hangs up without deigning that with a response.

Dani closes her eyes as she thinks, So as I assumed Mephiles technically is right, but he didn't tell me the reason behind why. Mephiles underestimates my morals. I don't see things in black and white. There is always an origin to why and I've learned from my last adventure that when a friend looks like they are deceiving me, I'm just looking at a part of a bigger picture...right?' 

Before Dani can decide what to do, Dale storms out and confronts Ares. "Damn, you were gonna work for the other side without telling ME? I wanna work for them! Shit, how much you getting paid?"

“Dude, what the hell are you talking about?” Ares says questioningly.

"Don't lie, we heard the whole thing! You're spying for Eggman!"

"But I'm sure there's a good reason! Right?" Dani turns hopeful eyes on Ares.

"I’m not a spy for anyone. I’m still the same old Ares you know.” Ares says as he covers his wrist.

"Okay, I believe you. But if you're ever in trouble or if you're in trouble, it'd probably be best if you told us now rather than later. Eggman may sound like the goofy, typical villain, but the whole reason why Infinite's a villain in the first place is somewhat because of him." Dani says.

Ares raises an eyebrow. “Whom the fuck is Infinite?” He askes.

Dani giggles. "You know...the dude you turned into a Mobian around. The dude who tried to rooty and tooty and shooty you." Dale snorts with laughter.

“Oh, white asshole guy?” Ares asks as he picks up his bag and slings it over his shoulder.

"Yeah! That guy!" Dani nods.

"I’m still firmly on the side of good. Now can we go back to the base? I’m tired.” Ares says yawning.

"Alrighty...as long as you don't plot anything that sets our demise. I won't tell Sonic or anybody about this. Just make sure your calls are actually private. We could literally hear that yards away. You need to learn how to be more sneaky, and that's coming from someone who's an open book."

“I’ll take that advice. Now you have food? I’m so hungry.” Ares says as his stomach rumbles.

Dani brings out her backpack and pulls out chocolate muffins. She offers one to Ares who takes it without hesitation and gobbles it down. "It's getting late, we should probably make camp instead." Dani says.

"Uh, no. We're in a town, let's get a hotel room." Dale interrupts. 

"With what money?" Dani frowns.

Both boys get a shifty grin on their faces. "Oh we got the cash." Dale chuckles "We gots the rings for it. Let's go!" 

Chapter Text

When Athea wakes up the next morning, she goes back to the training court, a place she is rapidly coming to dislike immensely. She spends two hours there before leaving with a sense of defeat. Her nerves feel frazzled and her hair is sticking out from the electricity. She's soaked to the bone. 

She walks through the door of the castle and finds Blaze waiting for her in her room. "How was your training today? I regret that I could not join you."

Athea takes a towel to her hair and thinks about how to answer that. "Oh, it was...it was fine. Yeah."

"It was no better than yesterday." Blaze nods. "Were you using your anger to fuel your fire again?"

"Well...I mean. Yeah. Kinda-sorta." Athea puts the towel over her face as she tries to avoid looking at Blaze. "It's just that anger is the only emotion that seems to trigger my fire!” Athea responds as she starts rubbing the towel across her fur.

”Then let me ask you. Are you truly allowing yourself to feel everything? Or do you frequently push your emotions to the side and say, ‘not now’?”

Athea opens and closes her mouth several times in defiance, but not a word escapes her mouth. 

Blaze nods to herself. "You're a caretaker kind of person as well, aren't you? Going out of your way to help others, and never speaking up for your own feelings." 

"Please don't keep psychoanalyzing me..." Athea answers, her shoulders slumping. 

That makes Blaze laugh, an almost surprised sound, before going back to the lesson. "The one thing that applies to most elemental powers, is that they are honest. Even if you're not. It's easy to say fire is all about your anger, but it's not true. Your fire is YOU." 

Athea contemplates this, wondering what it means. What does it say about her personality that fire is the element that chose her? She doesn't know the answer to that, but she isn't willing to keep bothering Blaze about it either. The princess had a lot to deal with, simply trying to find the Sol Emeralds. If Athea wanted to get back to Dani as soon as possible, she didn't dare get in the way of that. In the end, it's Marine she ends up talking to.

"I think I've been going about this all wrong." Athea tells the girl one afternoon. 

"Huh? Whatcha mean?" Marine tilts her head.

"Well here's the thing. I've been trying to learn how to apply my power to combat and all, but shouldn't I be starting much smaller? Like, lighting candles. A smaller fire is a much more controlled fire after all." 

"Huh. Makes sense! Anyways, wanna go take the Wave Cyclone out for a spin? It's a perfect day so I wanna ride the S.S. Super-Marine!" The distraction gets Athea out of the house for a bit. She'd never ridden a jet ski before, but she only overturned the Cyclone a few times.

The next morning, instead of going to the courtyard, Athea walks around the castle, lighting and extinguishing every candle. Afterwards, she hits the books until Marine comes to pick her up. 

"I did it Marine! I focused my power on just lighting candles and it was WAY easier to manifest my flames! I didn't lose control at all." Athea beams at the girl. 

"That's great! Oooh, we should go camping and you can light the campfire!"

"Sounds like fun! And it's a good next step in my training." Athea and Marine quickly pack a tent, two sleeping bags, and their overnight clothes. Athea packs sandwiches for their dinner and the two set off. Marine leads Athea to the other end of the island where they set up their tent and gather up firewood. 

She learns a lot on this camping trip. Marine shows her how to properly put together a campfire, how to identify edible plants common to the area, and even gives her a carving lesson on a spare branch. 'It was...' Athea would later reflect, 'surprising honestly. Marine in the games was always shown to be a silly kid who got in the way and made poor choices. They never showed her competency, what she was good at.' Marine's lessons don't end there. Every evening Marine takes Athea out and shows her something new. Eventually she gains proficiency with all of the boats Tails built, learns how to navigate without the tools on the boats, knots, even about sailing. 

Before Athea knows it, she's spent an entire summer in the Sol Dimension. Blaze has found most all of the emeralds, and she's become genuinely fond of Marine in a way she never felt while playing Sonic Rush Adventure. It's been fun! It's been frustrating! She feels her guilt at not being by Dani's side grow every day.

"Just one more, huh?" Athea stares at the emerald in front of her. It's only about the size of her hand. It gleams and glistens. Yet without anyone calling for its power, it doesn't look nearly so impressive as it's drawn.

"Yes." Blaze grabs the emerald from where she'd set it down and crosses the room. "How is your training coming along?"

"Slowly. I've been able to do some controlled fires, but...nothing impressive." Athea admits. "I still can't control it when I'm doing the combat training." 

"Hm...do you have an idea of why that might be?" Blaze asks. 

Athea heaves a sigh. "I don't know. I mean, I've been trying to be honest about what I'm feeling, I've been trying to focus on using my fire to protect people. It's just....it never works. I always end up mad and frustrated, and nothing makes sense anymore and I just want to-" She bites the words off, not quite able to finish. Her ears flick back against her head. 

Blaze tilts her head, eyes coolly looking her over. "Honest? Can you truly say you have been admitting to EVERY part of yourself? Without guilt or shame?"

Athea's mouth dries up. "Y-yyeeessss?"

Blaze hums a disbelieving sound and walks past her. "I believe you and Marine are planning on going on an overnight trip soon, no?"

"What?" Athea blinks a few times, swallows, and tugs on her gloves. "Oh, yes. Marine's gonna drag me out in the morning. We're going out in the hovercraft, just for a night or so. It's the only boat we can comfortably lay down in, and Marine wanted to start showing me around to a few islands."

"I hope you'll remember to bring spare fuel. It wouldn't do to be stranded out there." Blaze cautions. 

Athea nods in response. "Of course! I tend to pack the most stuff when Marine is gonna take me out for the night. You'll see, we'll be back on time, no distress to be seen." She smiles a little. 

"Then I'll leave it to you." Blaze opens the door and pauses. "I really am grateful for how you've been watching out for Marine. That girl worries me. She wants to come along, wants to help, but she's still young. I'm loathe to endanger her."

"I can understand that." Athea blinks in sympathy. "She knows a lot, honestly she does, but Marine really does act like a child for the most part."

Blaze nods, once. Then she walks out of the room, leaving Athea to her own thoughts. 

"...Every part of myself...with no shame or guilt..." Athea laughs bitterly. "But if I could speak of that, I'd have no one at all." The words spoken in the empty room don't echo, nor are they heard. The girl turns and walks out of the room. 

Athea wakes up the next morning and wastes no time in getting ready for the day. She knows Marine is likely already at the docks, waiting for her. Probably has been for an hour already. "Best not keep the girl waiting." Athea claps her hands together, grabs her backpack, and walks down to the docks. 

By now, she's a familiar sight to the townsfolk, who greet her as she passes by. What had once been an intimidating, people-filled sight, had grown familiar to her at some point. She'd never been in a place where the people were so active, always walking around to get some place. Back home, it was all cars parked right where they needed to be. Here, it's like everyone is enjoying themselves. She likes it. She likes it a lot, honestly. So when someone calls out to her, she always smiles and waves back. 

As she walks through the town, calling out her greetings, the distance between the castle and the docks seem to shrink. Soon, she's standing in front of the Aqua Blast. 

"There you are! I been waiting for hours, let's go, let's go!" Marine jumps up and down, vibrating with excitement.

Athea laughs. "Yes, alright, alright. Are we all packed then? Extra fuel and everything?"

"Yes, yes, I took care of everything!" Marine runs up to the hovercraft and opens the door. "I've already mapped out where we'll go too!" She says triumphantly. 

"Sounds great. I'm driving right?" Athea walks up to the door and follows Marine inside.

"For now. I'll take a turn later, when we're closer to the first island." Marine nods. 

"Alright, makes sense." She gets into the driver's seat, attaches the safety key to her wrist, and starts the engine. She still doesn't know all of the buttons like the back of her hand, but she's at least figured out the important ones so Athea counts it as a win. Unless Marine catches her about to make a mistake. Then it feels like she was caught with her hand in a cookie jar. Marine always gets so sad and starts thinking Athea had ignored her. 

With Marine acting as navigator, Athea began the slow drive towards Machine Labyrinth, where they would stock up in order to make it to Coral Cave. 

But they would never make it there.

Chapter Text

        The hotel room the boys rented last night is simple and small, just a couple of beds, a dresser, and a chair. In the dark of the night, with the sunrise still a half hour away, Dale and Dani sleep in separate beds. Ares however, has been awake for some time now. He sits in the chair, observing his friends sleep. His head rests on his hand, his legs are crossed. He doesn't even twitch but for his breathing, and inside his mind, memories play out like a movie.

        He thinks of the last time he saw his best friend, REALLY saw her. Two years ago, when he was eighteen, just joining the army.

        “Athea, I’m gonna be fine. It’s just bootcamp, it’s not like I’m going right to a battlefield.” Ares rolls his eyes fondly at his best friend.

        "Sure, it's bootcamp NOW, but after that-!" Athea frowns and crosses her arms. "You don't go to the army for peace ya know." She looks away from her friend, blinking back tears.

        “After that, I can come back for a few days. Then I get shipped out for more training. It will be closer to a year before I see any battle.” Ares smiles bitterly as he tugs her into him for a hug.

        Athea is stiff for a moment, before she relaxes. "You...don't die. Don't you dare die. Okay? I'll never forgive you if you die!" She tries to sound fierce, but her words come off much sadder.

        “They need to find me first. I’m gonna be a sniper.” Ares then smiles, “How about this, if I do die, you can slap my ghost.”

        "Slap? Oh I'll do more than slap." She laughs. "I'll kick your ass straight to Heaven, and then I'll figure out how to bring you back to life." She sobers up a little. "Don't get cocky, Ares. Just because you wanna be a sniper...doesn't mean you'll never be shot at. Keep your head down."

        “I still have like half the day before I have my flight, do you want to go get food or go to a park?” Ares asks with a small smile.

        Athea grins. "Sounds great, let's go to the park. We used to chill there a lot, didn't we? Until you decided to start torturing me with exercise that is."

        “Keeping you fit is not torture ya big baby.” Ares says as he starts walking towards the park.

        “It is to me!” Athea complains with a smile on her face.

        “Only because you can’t keep up with me.” Ares says in response.

        “Who says I was trying?” Athea retorts.

        “Hey, I just thought of something.” Ares says turning around to face Athea.

        Athea stops and warily eyes Ares. “Whaaat is it….?”

        “How many fights did you stop me from getting into during high school?” Ares questions with a tilt of his head.

        Athea laughs, a short bark of a sound. “Who can keep track?”

        “What is it that you said each time after I calmed down and was able to think rationally?” Ares says with a grin.

        Athea closes her eyes and starts ticking off her fingers. “Let’s see… they’re not worth it, orange isn’t your color, if you’re gonna punch someone’s face in, do it where there are no witnesses, there are more important things to fight for…oh, and, something like, ‘who cares what this asshole thinks? You don’t need strangers when you have friends’… am I hitting what you’re thinking of yet?”

        “You are my morals.” Ares says with a proud smirk. “You stop me from going off the deep end.”

        Athea nods several times. “And I’m back to worry again. 'Cause you’re leaving. Where are you gonna find your morals when you can’t talk to me every day?”

        Ares opens his eyes. “Who needs morals in this world.” He whispers into the semi-dark room.

        Dani wakes up, stretching like a cat. "Everyone does." She yawns.

        Ares shakes himself out of the past and looks around the room. “Hey Dani, how’d you sleep?” He asks casually.

        Dani smiles warmly. "It's the best I had in quite a while. You?"

        “I got a solid 6 hours of sleep. I’ve been up for a few hours. Went for a run and then just watched over the room until you woke up.” Ares says by way of an explanation.

        "You didn't see any villains nearby while you walked right?" Dani asks in concern. She stands up to grab her switch from her bookbag.

        “Nah, and it was more of a brisk jog than anything.” Ares says as he watches Dani.

        Dani seems somewhat relieved. She starts turning on her switch and plays super smash ultimate. "We need to figure out how to save Athea from the Sol dimension. I wonder if anyone in the resistance has contact with Blaze...? She can probably take us to her dimension to rescue her." The brown hedgehogs voice trails off as she plays the game.

        Ares starts pacing the room as he thinks. “First, we have to get back to the resistance, then contact this Blaze person, rescue Athea, run from said rescued Athea, get back to the real world. That’s our list of things to do.” Ares ticks the list off on his fingers.

        "Run from said rescued Athea?" Dani stares at Ares with confusion.

        “Ummmm, yes! She won’t be happy once she finds out what I’ve done to get her back. The torture, the morally questionable actions I’ve taken.” Ares says with a shrug.

        "Torture?" She asks, trying to recall when that happened. "If anything, she'll probably be happy you're here with us to save her."

        “Yeah, I tortured the octopus who had impersonated Athea. And I hope she is happy but most likely, she will be scarier than my Drill Instructors and Sergeants. Combined!” Ares says with a shudder.

        Dani's face goes wide-eyed. "You mean Mimic?"

        “That’s his name? Oh, then yeah, him.” Ares says with a shrug.

        Dani looks at him in horror and giggles nervously. "What?" She squeaks in a high pitched tone.

        “Oh yeah. Tortured him for your and Athea’s information. Sang like a pretty bird.” Ares says with a dangerous grin.

        "What the fuck..." Dani whispers, horrified. "He's gonna fucking come back for revenge. Please tell me he didn't escape..."

        “Honestly, I’m not even sure if he did.” Ares says, looking down at his claws.

        Dani's cheeks go completely pale. "Awwww we're so screwed!"

        “Oh we are fine. I kicked his ass.” Ares lies, hoping to calm Dani down.

        Dani starts to panic, her breathing coming faster and faster. "H-he can shapeshift Ares! The fucker has tentacles that can grab your ass so fast you wouldn't be able to scream in time before he slits your throat." Tears start to swell. "I already have to deal with Mephiles and Infinite and Doctor Starline."

        “And?” Ares asks, not seeing a problem. “I’m more of a threat than his slimy-looking ass is.” Ares says confidently. “Dani, relax. I’m here and I won’t let the fucker hurt you.” Ares pulls her into a hug.

        Dani buries her face in his chest and sobs until she starts to calm down. The stress from the past few days starts to melt away, but it's still there. A weight in her chest.

        “Dani, I’m a highly trained member of the military. The only two people I fear are God and Athea. I can handle everyone else. You are safe with me around.” Ares smiles reassuringly down at her.

        Dani nods still somewhat sobbing. "O-okay." Despite being older than her friend, she feels much younger as he comforts her. 

        “I’m a protector. I will always make sure you're safe.” Ares says truthfully.

        Dani sniffles. "Okay...I just don't want anyone else hurt."

        “Relax, no one else will get hurt” Ares says with a soft smile.

        The brown hedgehog takes a deep breath. She relaxes. "Welp, now I'm hungry."

        “Should we wake the snoring log in the other bed?” Ares asks.

        Dani looks at Dale and giggles. "Let's grab him a plate in case he wakes up cranky."

        “Let’s head down and get food, then wake up the chainsaw in the bed.” Ares says as he slips into his combat boots.

        Dani giggles again and gets up to get dressed. She hesitates as she really looks at her gray clothes, covered in mud, sweat, and tears. 

        "Here Dani, this'll tide you over." Ares digs through his bag and pulls out a sunflower dress. "This should fit you." He says as he hands it over. 

        "It looks nice!" Dani says, quickly putting it on. She keeps her black and white tennis shoes on and puts her quills in a ponytail before following Ares out.

        Ares holds the door open like a gentleman. “Ladies first.” Dani smiles and nods elegantly before walking out. Ares protectively follows close behind.

        Dani walks towards the stairs, her mind wandering back to Mimic. "Oh, also Ares, if there ever is a moment where something is off about me, just know I never take the elevator. If I ever do, it's not me."

        “Okay Dani, I’ll keep that in mind.” Ares says fondly.

        She smiles warmly. Her earlier panic fades away with each step down the stairs. After gathering breakfast, the duo returns upstairs. Dani picks up a piece of bacon and waves it in front of Dale's nose. 

        Without opening his eyes, Dale grabs a pillow and smacks Dani with it. Dani grabs a pillow to defend, and the two keep smacking each other with the pillows, but Dale does not open his eyes. He does, however, jump into the air, flipping, and landing on the floor. He flails the pillow around, hitting both Ares and Dani. 

        "Oh, it's on!" Ares shouts, grabbing his own pillow to hit him with. 

        Dani uses her pillow as a sword, jabbing at Dale with it. The three exchange mighty blows, but Dale gets the worst of it because he does not wake up throughout the fight. Eventually, all three collapse, exhausted. 

        Dale cracks his eyes open. "Who trashed the place?" 

        "Okay...who wants breakfast and then we gotta clean this all up." Dani says. 

        "I'm not cleaning shit! I didn't do any of this! What? This was all ya'll." Dale says. 

        “Hey, don’t go blaming me. I learned how to clean up after myself in the military.” Ares says in an annoyed tone.

        Dani sits down and starts eating her bacon as she watches the chaos duo at play.

        "Well alright soldier, demonstrate your discipline." Dale snipes back. "If you need me, I'll be downstairs, getting more breakfast, and then making an even bigger mess eating on the bed."

        Ares rolls his eyes as he starts straightening up the room muttering curses under his breath.

        "I already made you a plate though..." Dani says in disappointment as she eats more bacon.

        “Eat the food Dale or it’s going out the window.” Ares threatens.

        "Touch my food and you're going out the window." Dale retorts.

        "Noooo I'll eat it! That's a waste of food..." Dani whines. She grabs Dale's plate and holds it protectively. 

        “Dale, eat the food that Dani has then start cleaning up your mess you created. I ain’t your nanny.” Ares growls out in warning.

        Dani perks up. "I'll help you."

        Dale doesn't bother to respond, marching straight out the door. 

        "Eat it fast Dani. 'Cause that dude is NOT getting his plate back from you. I WILL throw it out the window." Ares grumbles, still straightening things up. He purposefully leaves Dale's bed alone. 

Chapter Text

      Micheal examines the mirror, tilting it this way and that. He can still see his face in it, his human one that is. It's hard to put it down. Eventually, he does, because sitting here and staring at a mirror isn't exactly how he wants to live the rest of his life. He sighs, then looks at the mirror as an idea occurs to him. "Maybe it can answer my questions!" 

        He picks the mirror up again. "Show me Earth!" He commands. 

        The mirror does nothing. 

        "Shitty, magic mirror." Micheal scowls as he puts the mirror down. "Do you do ANYthing useful?"

        The mirror does not respond. 

        Micheal leans against a castle wall and stares at the sky, bored silly. His feet scrape against each other, his hands pick at the hair on his arms. "I miss talking to people." He mutters. "Mephiles wasn't fun, but at least he kept the boredom off. And I don't trust Silver and Everline, but at least they were nice." His knee comes up as he leans against it. It only takes five minutes for him to break. 

        "Wonder what Everline is up to anyways." He stands up and exits the valley, following Everline's instructions to the lab. 

        As he enters, he sees Dr. Everline giving a young Mobian a check up. "Thank you!" The kid sucks on a lollipop as it leaves the lab. 

        "Not a problem, young one." Everline says, giving a fond look towards the kids retreating back. He turns around to see Micheal. "Ah, it's you! What can I do for you?" He asks, leaning against the patient bed. 

        "Oh, nothing much. Thought I'd check in and see how your place is. So you really do run a clinic?" Micheal asks as he sits on a different bed.

        "Of course! Did you doubt me?" The doctor tilts his head with a small smile on his face. 

        "A little bit, I guess." Micheal admits. He looks around. "It's a nice place."

        "Well, I do try. Anything to keep the orphans relaxed." Everline says. 

        "Orphans?"

        "Oh yes. There's an orphanage in Soleanna, I provide free check-ups to the children there." Everline says calmly. 

        "Really? That's nice of you." Micheal smiles. "Not a lot of people take care of orphans like that." He says, his voice wistful. His thoughts as always, were not far from the family he had back on Earth. When he first thought that maybe the world didn't end when he was a child, hope had sprung to life in him. Yet at the same time, doubt. Who to believe, who to fear? Someone lied to him. He didn't want to think it was the only guy who'd taken care of him these past few years, but... something about that brown hedgehog had felt so familiar to him. 

        "Hm. Yes, it's such a shame more is not done to care for those who cannot care for themselves." Everline nods. "What about you, Micheal? What do you want to do with your life?" 

        "I-well-" Micheal shuts up as he considers the question. Of course, he wanted to find the truth. He wanted to learn about this world. Did he want to go back to Earth though? If it turns out that Earth is okay, would he even want to go back? "I don't know." He admits in a small voice. 

        "Such a troubled face....well, that's okay. You're young, you have the time to figure it out." Everline pats Micheal on the head. 

        Micheal feels his lungs freeze and tears come to his eyes. It had been so long since anyone had touched him like, had cared for him like this. Yes, that was partly his fault for driving people away, but he'd never realized how touch starved he was until just this moment. "Can I stick around?" He blurts out. "Just for a few days? I could help you, maybe?" He avoids looking at Everline, not wanting to give away how much he hoped for a 'yes'. 

        The platypus's victory smile was short and cruel. It disappears quickly. "Of course. I have plenty of room. Would you like to learn about medicine while you're here?" 

        "I-uh- well, I don't know about that." Micheal says shyly. "But I'd like to go to a library or something. If Soleanna has one." 

        "Yes, of course. Or you could ask me. I have all of the answers you could ever want." Everline says, patting Micheal once more before retreating. "This way, I'll show you to a room you can use." He says. 

        Micheal plucks at the hair on his arm as he hesitates. Perhaps this had been an impulsive decision on his part. But as Micheal watches Everline walk away, he realizes that he was tired of being alone. He wanted to be with people, wanted to feel useful. He wanted to find the truth, but wasn't there more to life than old castles and mysteries? "I'm coming!" He hops down and follows the scientist to his new room. 

        The room Everline shows him is neat and tidy. There's a bed and a dresser, and nothing else. 

        "I use this room for long-term patient care, but it seems I don't have any to worry about at this time, so you can use it." Everline says. 

        Micheal sits on the bed, feeling its springiness. He looks up and smiles. "It's perfect." He lets himself fall back onto the bed, sighing in relief. It had been months since he'd last slept in a real bed, he was more than happy to do so now. He lets out a big yawn. 

        "Hm. Tired, are we? Rest now. I'll wake you for dinner." Everline says as he closes the door. 

        "Sounds...good..." Micheal murmurs, his eyes fluttering closed. 

        Micheal's dreams are short and scattered, yet oddly vivid. He dreams of looking into the mirror again, but something changes. The mirror glows and suddenly, he finds himself somewhere else. 

        He sees the temple from before, but now it's restored to its original state. It stands proudly in the jungle, and every inch of it gleams. Then the temple shakes, and the top of it opens up. He can see an altar of some sort and then-

        The dream changes again. He sees a purple cat with golden eyes and fire leaping to do her will. He sees a blue one and her eyes are so sad as her fire rushes to devour-

        It's her again. The hedgehog from before. She sobs and sobs, as if the entire world has ended. There's the shadow of something below her, but what? 

        And then it's him. Mephiles. He laughs and laughs, and the shiver that goes down Micheal's spine sends him crashing back to reality. 

        "What...was that...?" Micheal whispers. He lunges for his backpack, opening it to look at the mirror again. He can just see its glow fading. "Did you show me all of that...?" He wonders. He'd already figured the mirror showed a person the truth, but did it show him glimpses of the future too? 

        He swallows and puts the mirror back. Whatever this thing does, he doesn't want anyone to find out about it. Even he can see what would happen if people found out about a mysterious mirror that can reveal the future....and the truth! 

        "Micheal! Dinner is ready!" Everline shouts from somewhere in the building. 

        "Coming!" Micheal stands up and walks out the door, leaving the backpack and the mirror behind. His mind whirs as he considers the best way to use the mirror for his own ends. He tries not to think about his earlier worries though. "I need to find the truth before I can think about what I'll do with it." He mutters. 

        "What was that?" Everline asks as Micheal enters the room.

        "Nothing, nothing! So, what's on the menu?" Micheal asks as he sits at the table.

        "I kept things simple since I don't know what you like. Spaghetti." Everline says as he dishes some up for the both of them. The doctor takes a seat, and both begin to eat their dinner. 

        "Hey, Everline....what made you decide to take care of orphans?" Micheal asks. 

        "If I don't, who will?" Comes the simple reason. 

        "Huh..." Micheal looks down and focuses on his food. 

        Across from him, the platypus allows a small smirk to cross his face. Things are going well for him. The boy is already relying on him for shelter and food. Before too long, he'll look to the platypus for guidance as well, and then...well, he wasn't going to lose next time. No more relying on hypnotism to keep his subjects under control, no more taking chances on untested technology. Just some good old fashioned, manipulation. 

        And all it took was making a few robots that 'look' like normal Mobians. He hadn't even finished building them all, and the boy was already taken in by the sight of one. His lab was nothing more than a giant honey trap to keep Micheal happy. Happy, and willing to obey. That was all he needed to work his magic. 

        After dinner, the two part ways again. He goes back to building his machines, and the boy returns to his room. 

        Everything is going exactly to plan. 

Chapter Text

   Dale returns with his own plate, piled high with food. He starts to dig into it while Dani relaxes in a chair. Quietly, Dani reaches over and begins to shove several of her leftover chocolate chip muffins into Ares's bag. She looks around conspicuously, hoping Ares doesn't see what she's doing. As she puts the last muffin in the bag, she notices a machete. 

        Meanwhile, Ares slowly counts pushups under his breath, as he lowers himself to the floor and rises again. "Dani, has it been two minutes yet?" He asks evenly. 

        "Uhm.... Time blindness go brr, but I think so. How many pushups have you done?" Dani asks curiously. Seeing him not mention the muffins, she starts to slowly pack miscellaneous items into the bag, such as a blanket. 

        "75 at the moment. I'm switching to sit ups. Two minutes again, okay?" Ares quickly turns over and starts doing sit-ups while facing the door.

        "Well then, I challenge you to aim for 100." Dani smirks, not stopping.

        "Don't be a coward, do 200." Dale says.

        "Challenge accepted." Ares mutters before speeding up.

        Dale finishes his meal and gives a sigh of contentment as he leans back in his chair. "So, what's the plan Dan?"

        "I'm just helping us prep. I started to theorize something before I slept and remembered this morning that Sonic has a few friends in other areas besides Mobius." Dani states.

        "Oh? We finally ditching the guy? Great! Where we heading?" Dale asks eagerly.

        "Dani, time?" Ares says with a smile.

        "Well, thats just it. I would have to ask Sonic or someone if they ever communicate with those friends. Perhaps we can ask him to talk to Blaze to help us on the side with our search for Athea. I'm...worried about her. I hope she's okay..." Dani says softly, her face in a worried frown. She finishes packing and walks over to her own book bag. "If you got to a hundred, I'd say you're good." Dani smiles.

        "I'm at 125." Ares jumps up and claps his hands. "You said something about Blaze being able to help us out Dani." He prompts, not wanting Dani to lose her train of thought.

        "If you're worried, then we should stop wasting time!" Dale gets up. "Instead of worrying over what Sonic can and can't do, we should be running around, looking for Infinite!" He says.

        "You really think picking another fight with Infinite is a great idea?" Dani then sighs. "Ya know what, since you're good with general coding and stuff how about we go to one of the abandoned warehouses Eggman has left to rust. We can hack in and see if there's any information and what not. Shouldn't be too hard if Mimic could navigate it in the comics." Dani theorizes.

        "BoooRING. Who are we gonna fight in an abandoned warehouse?" Dale retorts. "G-g-g....G-g-ghost?" Dale stutters like a 90's cartoon.

        "Just a minute Dale. I'm not here for Infinite. I'm here to get my best friend." Ares says with his arms crossed.

        "I'm not exactly wanting a second game of damsel in distress either. I haven't even had enough time to train my powers to help defend myself." Dani admits. "If we're lucky though, there might still be some badniks that are online if that plugs your outlet." Dani smirks.

        "Ba-dum TSH!" Dale mimics banging on a drum. "Training, training, you're always talking about that. Do you think you're going to learn fast enough to help Athea by sitting at home, going out whenever Sonic has time for us?" Dale asks.

        "Well, I also don't want to be underprepared either, but I guess you all have a point. Plus we haven't really done anything fun since I was rescued." Dani admits. "What do you think Ares?"

        Ares slings his bag up onto his shoulder. "Then lets get going. Dale, Sonic knows this area better than we do. We are going back to HQ, regroup and then we will start punching people." Ares says in a militaristic tone of voice.

        Dani giggles, but Dale is clearly unsatisfied. He huffs and leans back in his chair. "If Sonic knew what he was doing, then this whole thing would already be over." He scoffs.

        "Dani, finish packing and let's get moving. Dale, move your ass!" Ares barks channeling his inner drill instructor. "Dani, I'll take my watch back, please. We are regrouping. Then we will hit things." Dani nods, shoving some flashlights and batteries into the pack before putting her backpack on.

        "Easy there, sergeant, I outrank you. Drop and give me another ten before you start barking orders." Dale mocks, getting more comfortable. "Dani, you too."

        "I don't know how to do a push-up!" Dani lies, not wanting to do exercise in the morning.

        "Well you're about to learn. TEN HUT!" Dale laughs. "Down, one!" 

        Dani crumples to her knees and tries to lift her little form up. 

        "Straighten your bark! Bend the elbows! Lower!" Dale 'encourages'. "Ares, I don't see you doing shit." 

        Ares drops to the floor and starts pushing up and down easily. "How's this? Asshole." Ares says loudly.

        "I think I've seen better push-ups from my grandmother!" Dale says.

        Ares rolls his eyes and stands up hardly out of breath. "What now, oh wise commander?" Ares says as sarcastically has he can.

        Dani groans and collapses, letting her legs move up and down instead. 

        "That's enough there, cadet. Up and at'em! Hup two, three, four, march!" 

        As Dani gets up, she starts giggling as she marches in place. Her quills begin to glow as for the first time since she got here, Dani finally relaxes. She notices the glowing and stares. "Huh? Cool, I'm glowing! What does this mean?"

        "Man, I don't know. Looks like you leveled up in a RPG game. Those push-ups must have really done the trick, I don't know." Dale says. 

        Ares glances over and raises an eyebrow. "Not sure what it means, but are you in pain?" Ares questions.

        "You're going to be in pain if you don't straighten up that back soldier! Feet forward, shoulders square, hands to your hips!" Dale says.

        "Fuck off Dale." Ares snaps.

        "That just earned you a demotion. Dani, you've been promoted. You are now a sergeant." Dale says. "You better calm down before I put you in the hole sir, you're on thin ice mister." 

        "It doesn't even feel like anything, I just feel super happy and giggly." Dani says, still examining the glow with a smile on her face.

        Ares rolls his eyes and stalks out the door holding his tongue. "Follow if you want, but I'm gone." Ares says over his shoulder as he walks down the hall.

        "Uh, okay! I don't want you to go alone so...yeah. Come on Dale! We're going on an adventure!" Dani says, beginning to walk out the door as well.

        "Yeah, adventure time. Whoo!" Dale says, following Dani. 

        As they exit the room, Ares is already gone from view. The two walk towards the lobby, singing the Adventure Time theme song together. 

        Ares steps outside the hotel, still fuming, when he suddenly feels a metallic claw grab onto him. Ares shouts and tries to look around. "Who the FUCK are you?" He yells in almost a panic. 

        Hearing the wolf shout, the two run out of the hotel to see Ares being lifted in the air by a giant, humanoid robot with claws that rises into the air on rocket thrusters. 

        "This is why I said to straighten your shoulders." Dale says deadpan.

        Dani's face goes pale, her glow disappearing. "Let Ares go!" She shouts at the Eggman mech. Her palms begin to glow a light yellow as her powers charge up. 

        The mech obviously doesn't respond and simply flies away. 

        "You see that cadet? This is why I'm in charge." Dale says, just as deadpan as before. He turns to Dani. "Alright, let's get serious and rescue him." He rubs his hands together. "Alright, I'm gonna get a fat check for this one."

        "A fat check....what are you, a mercenary? That's our friend!"

        "I know, I know, I know that's our friend and all, but you knoooow... If I can save our friend and get paid in the process, then it's a win-win ya know?" Dale grins mischievously, still pissed at Ares over cleaning him out of his rings. "Could have been kidnapped at a mansion, but nooooo, had to get kidnapped at a random, shitty hotel. Some people just don't deserve to have money. Breakfast wasn't even that good! Coulda been kidnapped having a five-star continental breakfast, instead he gets kidnapped over subpar pancakes."

        "The chocolate muffins were nice though, and the bed was comfy." Dani says optimistically.

        "We could have been eating muffins made completely out of chocolate and sleeping on pillows stuffed with goose feathers!" Dale says. 

        "Yeah, but like, is it like solid chocolate or ganache on the inside 'cause like-SHIT! You distracted me with food! Ares is still being kidnapped, let's go!" Dani turns around and picks up Ares's discarded backpack. 

        "Alright, but next time, I pick the hotel."

        "Fair enough."

        "Especially after I get paid for rescuing him, again." Dale says smugly. "Follow that robot!"

Chapter Text

Athea hums happily as she steers the Aqua Blast around a rock. The hovercraft truly is a wonderful work. With it, she skims over the water and easily dodges every obstacle. "Tails really outdid himself when he made all of these, huh?"

"He sure did! They're so fun to drive around too!" Marine agrees as she swivels in her chair. "Oooh, why don't you put us in a spin?" She suggests eagerly.

Athea shakes her head. "Naw, I might have a hard time getting control back if I spin us. Remember what happened last time? We went bouncing around like a pinball!"

"Aww, but that's part of the fun! I LIKED bouncing around in here!" Marine objects, plopping herself further back in her seat.

"I didn't!" Athea laughs.

"Ahhh, you're no fun!" The raccoon teases back.

"No fun? No fun? I'll show you no fun-"

There's a loud whistle, a splash! The hovercraft suddenly jostles heavily, almost knocking Athea from her seat. "Whoa, what was that?!" Athea looks at the sonar machine and sees a fast-approaching dot.

Next to her, Marine darts over to the window. "It's Captain Whisker's ship! He's shooting at us!" She shouts, then runs back to her seat. "Quick, get the laser out!" She says.

"The laser- wait, I remember that. The laser wasn't powerful enough to take down a big ship though!"

"Shoot it at them or they're gonna tip us-"

Another whistle and splash sends the hovercraft in a tailspin.

"Agh! Stupid...Pirates..." Athea clings to the dashboard as she searches it for the laser button. "There!" She pounds on it. At the same time, the hood of the hovercraft opens up, releasing the weapon and prepping it for use. As the spinning starts to slow down, Athea works to get the vehicle back under control. "I won't let you have your own way!" She growls.

Athea aims the laser, eyes raking over the ship for a weak point, some place to target that will get the ship off of her back. "There it is..."

She lines up the shot, she presses the button. The laser smashes through the ship's windows and blasts through the floor of the ship. Athea smirks at the perfect shot.

A third whistle, but this time it isn't followed by a splash but a crash.

Several things happen in rapid succession. The hovercraft tips into the air, going vertical. Athea lunges for Marine, pinning her to the seat. The safety key disengages, stopping the motor.

Later, Athea would learn that her own actions were exactly the wrong thing to do. If Athea had stayed in her seat, trusted in the machine, the hovercraft would have corrected itself and returned to normal position. Tails truly had thought of everything. But in that moment, instinct took over, and the machine could no longer do its job as it lost power.

The hovercraft comes back down on its back. Athea and Marine are sent tumbling to the new floor and for Athea, the world goes black.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Athea wakes up to a pounding headache and a ship that is still upside down. "Owww..." She groans. She blinks several times, but the ship continues to look blurry to her.

"Oh good, you're not dead!" Marine's voice is like a sledgehammer, pounding into Athea's skull as the girl begins to sob.

"Isss okay, I'm okay." Athea says, sounding decidedly not okay.

"We crashed. We really, really crashed." Marine whimpers.

"Yeah....yeah....but is okay. Blaze will find usss." Athea pulls herself up to a sitting position, wincing at the fresh wave of pain.

Marine shakes her head. "The communications are down. Blaze won't be able to track us down with it."

Even to her concussed mind, that raises some alarm bells. "...she knows...where we going though, yes?"

"I didn't tell her...did you?" Marine asks.

Athea tries to think back to yesterday's conversation. "....don' think so....but aqua....can't go far...she find us, yes?"

"Maybe. But she has a whole ocean to explore first. She might get lucky, but what if she starts looking in the wrong direction? We could be out here for days!" Marine says.

"Heyyyy, hey, no panicking. Not allowed. I'm za one...with the headache...anyone gets to panic...me first." Athea mutters, leaning back against the side of the craft. "How...how you okay?"

Marine brightens up, just a little bit. "I think it was because of you! When we went crashing to the floor, this cool, green shield popped up around me! It kept me safe while we were falling!"

"Ssssshield? Don' have a...shield..." Athea frowns.

"Well it wasn't me. And the Aqua Blast doesn't have a thing like that. So it must have been you. I wonder why the shield didn't protect you?" Marine wonders aloud.

"Lousy shield...lousy fire...none a' it....doesss wha'supposed to..." Athea's eyes start to close.

"Don't go to sleep!" Marine suddenly shouts.

"Owww...." Athea whines in response.

"Sorry, but I think you're concussed. You can't go to sleep. You might not wake up!" Marine insists.

"Zzzz...fine. Noo sssleep then." Athea forces her eyes open. "Where...?"

"Where are we?" Marine guesses. Athea just nods, then regrets nodding. "Best I can guess, the tide is taking us south. We're gonna miss Machine Labyrinth. I don't know where we'll land instead." Marine says.

"....Joy." Athea says flatly.

The next few hours are quiet ones. Marine makes Athea stay sitting while the raccoon cleans up. Occasionally, she asks Athea questions to keep the cat awake, but for the most part, the place is silent and still as the two continue to drift further and further away from their past location.

Eventually, everything has found its place and Marine takes a seat next to Athea. "Do you really think Blaze will find us?" She asks, her voice quiet and small.

Athea blinks as her thoughts return to the present. "Kid...I think Blaze will never stop looking until she does." Athea puts an arm around Marine and the raccoon girl immediately cuddles into her side. Athea's thoughts run back to her own little brother. She wonders how he's doing. She wonders what he thinks about her disappearance. She wonders if her mom is mad about the car.

Athea sighs and lets her head rest against the side of the craft. Hopefully, this will all be over soon....

~~~~~~~~~~~

Back and forth. Up and down. The ship continues to rock as the waves carry it further and further. Until eventually, it stops. Everything....stops. Onboard the hovercraft, it's the raccoon who realizes what has happened first. That against all odds, they've somehow made it to an island. To the older cat next to her, nothing has changed because the world continues to dip and swim around her. Even so, she does not doubt it when the raccoon tells her they've stopped.

The two girls stand up, one decidedly more unsteady than the other, as they open the door and take their first steps onto the new island.

They are greeted not by sand, but by metal. Metal towers that scrape the sky, metal paths that echo with their footsteps. Metal pipes that let out steam once in awhile.

"Is this Machine Labyrinth?" Athea asks, taking a moment to lean against the hovercraft.

"Well...it looks like it. But this isn't it." Marine shakes her head. "It's similar, but not the same."

"So...it's one of the secret islands?" Athea guesses. She doesn't try to figure out which one, she never did get to finish the Sonic Rush Adventure map.

"Secret? Well, I guess it was secret!" Marine nods. "But now, we've discovered it! Come on, we should-" Marine stops as she realizes Athea is in no shape to travel around. "We should...make camp somewhere and wait for Blaze to find us." She amends.

"Sounds good." Athea smiles thinly and turns back to go inside the craft.

"I'll do it! I'll get the tent and stuff! You sit here and watch, okay? Let me know if there are any robots!" Marine ducks inside the craft, leaving Athea on her own.

The cat does not object as she sits down and leans back against the craft. She sighs and closes her eyes. It makes her head feel better, if only for a few moments.

Marine exits the craft, carrying their camping supplies. She walks further up the island, footsteps echoing metallically with every step. Even without dirt to sink the stakes in, Marine easily manages to set up the tents and get their campsite ready.

"Hey...Marine....what are we gonna do about food?" Athea asks with a yawn. It's been a struggle to not fall asleep this entire time.

"We'll just have to catch fish!" Marine says cheerfully. It's a good enough response for Athea, who says nothing in reply. She simply walks over and takes a seat in a camping chair.

"And now....we wait, huh?" Athea guesses.

"Yep! Blaze will find us eventually! I'm sure she will!" Marine says with a grin.

Athea nods in response. "In the meanwhile...let's have our picnic, eh?"

"Right!" Marine digs around in their supplies before coming back with two pre-packed sandwiches. She hands one to Athea and starts eating the other.

The idea of eating makes Athea feel a little sick, but she tries anyways. Food is a necessity for life after all. Marine is finished with her sandwich long before Athea though. After she finishes, she looks back at the island in front of her.

"Hey, Marine...think we can find stuff to fix the communications here?"

Marine brightens up. "I think we can!" She jumps up, excitement written all over her face. "I think I can whip something up no problem with all of this material!" She says.

Athea smiles. "That's great. We should go and get some."

"No way!" Marine immediately rejects the idea. "You're still concussed, you need to lie down and not do anything until you feel better.

"Aww, it's only a little concussion...I'll be fine." Athea says as she tries to stand. She sways in place. "See?"

"No way! You sit back down!" Marine huffs at Athea, pulling at the cat's arms.

"Fine, fine, fine..." Athea grumbles as she gives in, although secretly she feels relieved at Marine's insistence. Her head still doesn't feel up to such a journey.

Marine nods firmly and sits back down. "Good." She says.

The two sit by the fire, talking about nothing important, for hours more.

Chapter Text

The mech drops Ares to the floor of the base. As Ares stands, he looks around and sees Eggman, sitting in a chair and tapping his foot. "What the fuck do you want!?" He exclaims.

"What's taking you so long?" Eggman snaps.

"I told you, I got lost and needed rescuing. So obviously I don't have any information." Ares says as he brushes the dirt off his clothes.

"I sent you to uncover the Freedom Fighter's hideout over a day ago, and you still haven't done it! I'm beginning to wonder how useful you actually are." Eggman's eyes narrow.

"I've gotten closer than any of your other 'minions' have. Fucker." Ares snaps at him.

"Oh really? Then why don't I have the coordinates? I'm beginning to think you're stalling." Eggman says coldly. "Tell me, what use do I have for a minion that wastes time squabbling?"

Ares takes a deep breath, calming himself down. "Look, Sir. I spent most of the first day lost. I just got found and spent the night in a motel. I'll do anything to prove my loyalty to you." Ares says calmly.

Eggman looks Ares up and down. "Hm. That's much better. Why couldn't you have this attitude earlier?" He spins around in his chair. "Bah, I don't have time for this. That damn league of villains is causing mayhem to my network...oh!" He turns around. "I've just had the perfect idea for how you can prove your loyalty to me." He hums, an evil smile spreading on his face.

"What do you wish me to do to prove myself to you Sir?" Ares says while bowing a bit.

"Eager hm? Here." Eggman types rapidly, pulling up the pictures of several Mobians. "This is the League of Villains. Some recent alliance with a few small time villains. Hardly any firepower outside of Infinite." He sneers. "But together, they're troublesome. They've been quite busy from what I can tell. Of course, you have their attempts at grabbing Chaos Emeralds, how they've been hacking into my robots-They apparently kidnapped some girl from another world recently and sent her to the Sol Dimension. I wonder what that was about?" As Eggman talks about each deed, he quickly highlights the responsible villains. "If you can break up the alliance, I don't care how you do it, I'll forgive your tardiness."

Behind Eggman's back, Ares narrows his eyes. He knows exactly who this 'girl' is. He memorizes the faces of the ones responsible, two of whom he'd already encountered. "Who's the possum-looking dude? What's his name?" Ares asks as casually as he can manage.

"Who, him? That's Clutch. Some old scam artist or something. He ran some chao races recently. Well? Are you going to do it?" Eggman leans forward to stare at Ares.

"Yes Sir, I will do it to prove my loyalty to you. Now, what shall I do?" Ares asks, already plotting in his head.

"I don't know, but you better think of it fast. Your friends are coming straight here to rescue you, and they better not find out about this." Eggman snaps as he stands up, muttering to himself as he evacuates.

"Hey, before you leave. Tie me up. Restrain me." Ares quickly comes up with a plan. "You need to tie me up then beat me around a bit then run."

"Done. Take him to the prison cells." Eggman waves a hand and a robot moves forward, grabbing Ares and dragging him out of the room. The claws dig into Ares's wrist.

Ares struggles lightly not actually trying to get lose. "I won't let you down Sir." Ares vows.

As the doors begin to close, Eggman looks back. "You better not." His voice is flat and menacing. The doors close.

Outside of the base, Dale and Dani catch their breath after the chase.

Dani pants. "Dale...how the fuck...does Sonic run so damn fast...without...wheezing!"

"First of all...stop moaning at me. Second of all... that guy's got. Bionic legs or something. I don't know....maybe he did a LOT of squats. That's my guess." Dale grumbles.

"Maybe he eats radioactive chilidogs and that's how he runs so fast." Dani wheezes.

"Without my powers, I think my lungs would explode after like. Three seconds." Dale says.

"You're telling me. Damn you should have carried me half of the way, I'm surprised I could keep up with you. I don't even have super speed." Dani complains.

"Welp. After running that far. Let me just sit here....and take a nap right here... by this rock real quick." Dale collapses against a boulder.

"But...we need to save Ares." Dani insists. "After we save Ares, we can take a nap."

Dale starts snoring. "You realize that if we don't save Ares in time, none of us get those rings." Dani says.

Dale jolts up at sonic speed. "Welp, as a guy whose name I don't remember, 'Gotta go fast'."

Dani giggles. "Why did you steal his catch phrase? Nooo, get your own lightning boy."

"Should I say, 'Gotta go quick'?"

"That's WORSE!"

Dale chuckles. "That is WAY worse."

Dani scans around the building, looking for their way in and enemies. Seeing none, she decides to go through the vents. "We're going inside of Eggman's vents to save Ares. I vote for we go through the vents."

"Oh hell yeah, hard core." Dale nods.

As the two enter the vents, Dani hums the Mission Impossible theme. Dale joins in, somersaulting through the vents, making a loud Ka-Thunk noise.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Dani says in a loud whisper.

"What was that?" Cubot's voice calls out from below the vents.

"Don't worry about it, we're on cleaning duty." Dale says in a robotic voice. "Resume occupation."

"Oh, well, carry on then." Orbot says.

"Oh my god, that's so good..." Dani whispers, fighting back giggles.

"It's a good thing they're stupid." Dale says. The two resume crawling through the vents until they find the cell Ares is in. Inside, Ares is tied up and heavily bruised.

"They beat him uuupp...we gotta help him!" Dani says, pulling a hammer out of Ares's backpack. She starts trying to pry the screws up.

"This is the worst rescue mission ever." Dale says. "That's not gonna work. Gimme that!" He starts hitting the nails with the hammer.

Ares looks up. "Assholes, just use a screwdriver!" He says.

"What's a screwdriver? Fuck is he talking about?" Dale says.

"Oh, you mean from Doctor Who? The Sonic Screwdriver?" Dani says, looking through his pack. She pulls out a blowtorch. "Is this it?" She presses a button and a flame comes out, melting the edges of the screws. "Ooh, pretty fire."

"Do either one of you idiots know what a fucking screwdriver looks like?" Ares asks with as much patience as he can gather.

As the screws melt into little sticks, she stops pressing the button. "I'm gonna use this as a weapon later." She says.

"You gonna melt Eggman's face off? A little brutal." Dale comments.

"Nooo, but I might give Infinite another scar to match the one Shadow gave him..."

"That's not gonna be a scar. That's gonna- that's gonna- that's a blowtorch, that's gonna melt his face off. If it was a lazer, maybe there'd be a scar, but a blowtorch? Basically a concentrated flamethrower?"

Dani's eyes dilate. "Yeah!"

"WOULD SOMEBODY GET ME OUT OF THESE CHAINS ALREADY!?!? God damn." Ares shouts.

Dani and Dale get out of the vent. Dani lands on her ass, and Dale, after attempting a flip, lands on his face. "Parkour." Dale says through the floor. He stands up.

"You are both Dumbasses. Now, get up, and get me out of these fucking chains." Ares says exasperated. He side-eyes Dale. "For your information, I'm ten times the leader you will ever hope to be."

"Do you know where the key is so we can unlock your shackles?" Dani asks.

"You're talking a lot of shit for someone who's in shackles right now. Maybe we should just leave you here right now. You are in no position to be making demands sir." Dale says. "While you're over here complaining, I'll be applying for a job. I hear they pay seventeen an hour here."

"Noo, we're not gonna team up with the villains! Did you forget they tried to kidnap me?" Dani says. "We still don't know why they want me in the first place!"

"Isn't that what Ares is already doing?"

"Well not any-fucking-more!" Ares says as he jangles his chains pointedly. He feels a little bad about the lie, but pushes the guilt away.

"DO you know where the key is?" Dani asks.

"No." Ares says.

Dani sighs with frustration. "Guess I'll have to use the blowtorch again!" She smiles innocently.

"I agree. I guess there's no other choice than to use the blowtorch." Dale nods.

"YOU ARE NOT PUTTING THAT THING ANYWHERE NEAR MY HANDS!"

"I pwomise I won't burn youuuuu!" Dani says in an uwu voice, already pressing the button.

"It's either that or I use a muffin." Dale throws in.

"A muffin wouldn't do shit!" Ares groans frustratedly.

Dale grabs a muffin from Ares's bag and throws it at Ares's head.

"OW!"

"Well it's either the muffin or the blowtorch, because I don't feel like getting out of this cell and finding the key cause I will definitely get caught." Dani says, turning on the torch again.

"I'll use the muffin if you up it to ten percent." Dale says.

"FUCK YOU!" Ares hits his head on the wall several times.

"Don't worry Ares, I can just heal you if you get hurt." Dani says.

"Still sounds severely painful though, my guy. It's gonna hurt." Dale says, not letting go of the prospect of more rings.

"I left my arm on an oven door while it was on for fifteen seconds 'cause I zoned out. I think Ares will be fine." Dani says.

"Either way, Ares is walking out of this with some sort of first- or second-degree burn." Dale says.

"But if I heal him, he won't."

"Or maybe, when we're releasing the chains, we'll say, 'Oh shit he's on fire' and grab a fire extinguisher."

"Dani, blow torch me." Ares says, setting his jaw and glaring at the wall. "Anything to get out of conversation."

Dani does so, zeroing in on the flame. "Hehe, I'm keeping this." When she finishes, Ares still has shackles around his wrist, but he's no longer attached to the wall. "Cool permanent bracelets." Dani says cheerily.

"It's almost like you're a Shadow knock-off ya know? I could see Shadow wearing some shackles on his wrist for no apparent reason." Dale says.

"That sounds like something an Anti-Shadow would do if that exists."

"Wouldn't anti-Shadow be the opposite of edgy? Like, wouldn't Anti-Shadow be Sonic and Anti-Sonic be Shadow?"

"Are we getting out of here or not?" Ares asks, crossing his arms and tapping his foot.

"Okay! Back to the vents before we get caught!" Dani says.

"We don't have robots that clean the vents!" Orbot suddenly shouts from somewhere else in the base. Robots begin to march into the prison.

"Aw shit! Wait, how do you guys clean the vents then?" Dani pauses.

"We do not." The robot informs her. "Get them."

"Ohhhh, okay. So, we just crawled into a vent that WASN'T clean. I'm surprised we didn't get really dirty. Or there wasn't any spiders."

"Good job dumbasses." Ares says.

"RUN!" Dani says, and all three run away, with the robots right behind them.

"Zoinks! Jinkies! Looks like we need to get out of here, gang!" Dale jokes.

"Stop with the Scooby-Doo jokes, they don't even know what Scooby-Doo is!" Dani shouts.

"Rani?" Dale says in a Scooby-Doo voice.

"Don't ever fucking call me that, I will kill you." Dani references.

"Shut up and run!" Ares says, rolling his eyes at these dumbasses.

A robot stands in a hallway. He's in need of repairs, but it hasn't been flagged yet, so he can only stand and watch. In front of him, he sees the Mobians run through one door, with other robots behind them. Then he sees them run out of another door, still being chased. Then he sees the robots run by, with the Mobians chasing. He watches as the groups begin to get confused. Here, one Mobian runs while surrounded by robots. There, the remaining two run by themselves. Then he watches as the groups further splinter apart, and did that one group run through a door, only to come back through the same door?

"There's the exit!" Ares shouts as the group meets back up. "Let's blow this popsicle stand!"

"FREEDOM!"

Chapter Text

More dreams come to him as he sleeps. They're a jumble of images, and only some of them are familiar. He sees the same image of that brown hedgehog crying, the same vision of fire, so much fire. He sees more than that. He sees a city, devastated by monsters and fire. He sees a dark cloud in a lab, what is that? He sees a strange scepter that shatters in a burst of purple energy.

He sees a new temple, this one in a desert. At first, it's buried by sand, then time flows backwards and the temple rises from the ground. The golden sand, the repeating bird imagery, and the sun. The sun shines on the temple with a fierceness that makes him thirsty, even though he can't feel the heat at all.

When Micheal opens his eyes, it's to a fading light as the mirror once again stops. "Was that the future or the past?" He wonders aloud. Then he gets up.

The golden mirror fascinates Micheal as usual, but today he has other plans in mind than sitting on his bed and looking at himself. Today, he is going to find out just what this mirror does. He places the mirror inside his backpack and pads it with a small blanket to keep it safe. Then he shoulders the backpack and walks out of his room.

"Morning." He greets Everstar as he darts into the kitchen. He grabs a bowl and pours a bunch of cereal into it.

"Oh, good morning Mi-"

"Be back later!" Micheal doesn't bother with the milk as he rushes out of the kitchen, cereal in hand.

"....What...?"

Micheal heads for Soleanna, munching away on dry cereal. "So much better than another apple." He mutters. Once he finishes, he puts the bowl inside his backpack and forgets about it.

Soleanna is surprisingly quiet for a city. He sees people, and plenty of them. But they're quiet, going about their business. The sidewalks never feel crowded either. He appreciates that, it's a more relaxing air.

Feeling thirsty, Micheal walks into a cafe. There's a sign telling him to seat himself, so he does. Once sitting, he brings the mirror out and starts to fiddle with it, carefully turning it around the cafe to see if anything will stick out as different. Nothing does, so he sighs and lets the mirror lie flat on the table.

"Welcome to Sun Cafe! My name is Mindy, I'm here to serve. What can I get you?" The rabbit's ears are perked up as she smiles at him.

"I'd like a vanilla milkshake." Micheal says without glancing at the menu.

"Alright, I'll put that right in. That's an interesting mirror by the way!" Mindy looks in it and tilts her head. "It looks pretty classy. You don't see too many people carrying around hand held mirrors like this." She comments.

"I guess not." Micheal shrugs. "I don't usually carry mirrors around either." He adds.

"Really? Then why are you carrying this?" Mindy asks, tilting her head. She picks the mirror up and turns it around in her hands.

"I found it and I'm keeping an eye out for the owner." Micheal lies.

"That's nice." Mindy hums, still examining the mirror.

"Yeah..." After trailing off, Micheal throws out a filler question. "How's your day been?"

"It's been horrible!" Mindy admits. "I've had some real, horrible customers today and- oh, I shouldn't be telling you this, you're a customer." Mindy chuckles nervously and sets the mirror down. She steps back. "I should go and...get your order ready, yes." Mindy walks away, looking as if she can't move fast enough.

Micheal turns the mirror back on himself. "So that's what you do. If I have someone reflected in the mirror, they have to tell the truth." He mutters. "And you can see through illusions to boot. Very...useful." Micheal grins.

Just think, with this, I'll always know when I'm being lied to! No one can trick me ever again! When Mindy returns with his shake, Micheal takes it to go and leaves the shop.

Micheal walks along the seaboard, sipping his milkshake. Now that he finally has a way to discover the truth, he wants to get his head on straight. What questions does he have? Who does he want to ask?

He wants to know if the Earth had really been destroyed or if it had been a trick all along.

He wants to know if that hedgehog he'd met had really been an older Dani.

He wants to know if Mephiles was actually a bad guy. If so, why had the strange being taken him to Null Space and allowed him to grow up there? What did Mephiles want from him?

And why was he a Mobian anyways?

...Could he trust Silver? And Everstar? They were the only people who'd stuck around since he met them. They really seemed to care about him too. Why was that? Were they just kind-hearted people wanting to help out a little kid? Not that he actually is a little kid, he just looks like it because he couldn't grow in Null Space.

"Micheal!" Silver's voice breaks him out of his head. He turns around to see the hedgehog using his ability to fly over to him.

"Hey Silver." Micheal responds as he fidgets with the mirror. All he has to do is turn it around and ask his questions, but he feels shy now that the opportunity has come.

"I don't usually see you in the city. Are you okay? Nothing bad happened, right?" Silver asks, putting a hand on Micheal's shoulder and bending down to look him in the face.

Micheal shakes his head. "I got a little money so I bought myself a drink." He waves the milkshake briefly.

"That's good!" Silver says with a relieved look on his face. "I tried finding you back at your shed, but there wasn't anything there."

"Oh. Yeah. I moved." Micheal says hesitantly. Should I tell him where I went? Should I use the mirror first?

"Somewhere better than the shed right? It has a roof, right? I don't want you catching a cold." Silver asks as he straightens up.

Micheal swallows and comes to a decision. He flips the mirror around. "Do you really care about me?" He asks.

"Absolutely!" Comes Silver's unhesitating reply, and Micheal could have burst into tears right then and there. "I worry about you a lot actually. I'm supposed to be fulfilling a promise to someone...a promise to find someone. But I can't really focus on it when I know you're alone like that." Silver blinks in confusion. "Why did I tell you about that....?"

Micheal casually lets the mirror drop to his side. "I guess you just...really wanted to convince me." He mutters guiltily. He doesn't want to admit that he used the mirror to make sure Silver was telling the truth. "Well, I promise, you don't need to worry about me anymore. Actually, I...I found someone who's taken me in. He made spaghetti for dinner last night and... he seems nice."

"Really? That's great! I'm glad you have a home now." Silver smiles warmly and ruffles the fur on top of Micheal's head.

"Hey, hey, watch the hair!" Micheal playfully responds, lightly hitting Silver's hand.

Silver laughs and lets his hand drop. "All the same, I'll come by and check on you every once in awhile, okay? Just to make sure you're doing alright."

"That's okay." Micheal says. He debates for a moment about whether he should tell Silver how to find Everstar's clinic, then gives up. He has no idea how addresses work here and saying, 'that one building behind a hill' isn't exact enough. "If you're ever looking around for me, you might find me here by the docks or the library." Micheal offers.

"I'll be sure to check those places then." Silver says brightly.

Micheal gives him a small smile in return.

Silver stretches and looks out over the ocean. There's a peaceful expression on his face as he breathes in and out. It makes Micheal feel calm just watching him, now that he knew Silver really was this expressive and kind, not hiding anything at all.

Micheal turns away. "I'd better be getting back home anyways. I told him I'd help out around the place because of how he's helping me. Good-bye!"

"That sounds nice. See you later, Micheal!" Silver waves.

Micheal nods and then goes on his way. Now that he's talked to Silver, now that he knows Silver's intentions, he feels a lot lighter. He's glad to know that at least one of the friends he's made is true. It makes him more optimistic that maybe Everstar is the same way. Maybe not everyone lies to him.

Chapter Text

        The three humans turned Mobians run out of the base and don't stop until they get to the safety of the woods. As all three take a moment to recover from the earlier chaos.

        "Mission accomplished. Sorta." Dale says when he gets his breath back. "You still need to pay me by the way."

        "Yeah, yeah, I will." Ares grumbles as he begins to calculate the rings he owes Dale. 

        "Looks like drinks are on me tonight." Dale says as he smugly accepts the rings.

        Dani collapses on the ground with her exhaustion. "Can I have...some rings? Where'd you guys...get those...? Did Sonic give them to you?" 

        "It's a looong story. No idea." Dale nods wisely. 

        Ares looks at the ground for a few moments before taking a deep breath. "So, guys, I found out some information while I was in Eggman's base." 

        "Ohhh reeeally." Dale says, squinting suspiciously.

        "What'd you learn?" Dani asks innocently.

        Ares once again feels a pang of guilt after hearing Dani's innocence. "Apparently the platypus guy is part of some team. The discount League of Villains."

        "Oh, so like My Hero Academia shit?" Dani asks.

        "You would be a part of that fandom." Dale shakes his head teasingly. He looks at Ares as he says this, but it's Dani who responds.

        "I AM part of that fandom!" Dani says defensively, despite not having a reason to need to defend herself.

        "Exactly!" Ares nods, happy that Dani also like My Hero Academia. "Anyways, I only saw the pictures in passing, but I can describe them to you. Sonic was never really my thing, it was Athea's."

        "Oh, I know a lot about Sonic!" Says the walking Sonic encyclopedia. 

        "Alright, so besides the platypus bastard and Mimic, there was this green guy with a scaly tail-"

        "Clutch." Dani answers automatically, not even having to think about it.

        "A blue skunk-looking guy and a taller white guy."

        "Way to be specific." Dale says.

        "Rough and Tumble." Dani says at the same time. 

        "That's just crazy." Dale says flatly. "Tall white guy and bam, you know who it is?" 

        Dani looks guilty. "I...I was...it...heheheh...I was lonely okay?! Sonic comics was my comfort!" 

        "And that Infinite bastard who tried to kill me was also on the list." Ares finishes. 

        "I'm looking forward to that fight. Another reround with Infinite." Dale cracks his knuckles, remembering his first fight with Infinite.

        Dani hums. "We've done really good so far...without Sonic." She admits. 

        "Yeah, who needs Sonic?" Ares shrugs. "Let's go beat up the discount League of Villains." 

        "Do we even know where they are?" Dani points out.

        "No, but how hard can it be to find them?" Ares asks.

        "It's actually a lot harder than you think." Dani says gently. 

        "Aren't we on a completely different planet, Ares? They could be anywhere." Dale points out.

        "Sure, but they're going to be causing trouble right? So just follow the screams." Ares shrugs. 

        "Is it gonna be that simple?" Dale says.

        Both boys turn and look at Dani as she hums again. She starts to mutter to herself. "...comics...might know where they are....maybe? No....finding Infinite is gonna be hard.... Clutch will be the easiest...he has a base in the sewers and he also uses old warehouses as places to inhabit...or whatever the word is.... Could probably lure Rough and Tumble, it'd be easy..."

        "Do we know what their motive is? What exactly are they teaming up for?" Dale wonders aloud. "What's it all about?"

        "Well they kidnapped Dani, maybe they're after her for something." Ares suggests.

        "Yeah, but we can't just wait for them, you know, to come to US." Dale says. "Why exactly would they want Dani...?"

        "I have an idea." Dani says calmly. Both boys shut up and look at her. "So, um, we all know that they want me. Why not we use that to our advantage? To lure them?" 

        "Got it, we stick you on the highest point of the city and we just tape you to a building and we wait for them to come to you." Dale jokes.

        "Nonono, that's not what I mean!" Dani rushes to say. 

        "Maybe we shine like a Dani beacon into the sky? Like the Batman symbol." Dale continues to joke. 

        "No, no. What we're gonna do, we're probably gonna have to split up." 

        "I call Clutch." Ares says immediately.

        "I guess I call the mullet brothers." Dale says.

        "Why don't I help you with them. Since there's two of them." She adds. 

        "Yeah, that makes sense." Dale nods.

        "Oh, just a warning, those two work together in harmony. They have like, this stink mechanic where they can knock us out with their stench basically."

        "Ew."

        "Yeah, we're gonna need to get something for that."

        "Yeah, like a mask or something." Dale says. "Or maybe we don't shower for a month and we beat them with our stench!"

        "No!" Dani starts to laugh, unable to stop for a minute. 

        "Great! Now where do I find Clutch?" Ares interrupts when she slows down. 

        "Why don't we ask the Chaotix? They're detectives." Dani suggests. 

        "We don't know where Rough and Tumble are either, do we?" Dale asks. 

        "I can lure them." Dani says confidently. "They like places where it's easier to rob and has things to rob, and they're also suckers for food." 

        "That can be anywhere, right?" Dale points out. "We have no idea where these guys are. We can't ask the base and all that cause then Sonic will be hip to what we're doing and he'll try to stop us."

        "Yeah, let's just handle this ourselves." Ares says in a rare moment of agreement with Dale. 

        "Gods, I wish Athea was here...she would probably know. If I don't know something, she would know something." Dani sighs. 

        "Me too." Ares frowns and looks in the distance.

        "Is splitting up and looking for clues really the best option? Usually it's the worst option." Dale says.

        "I think we should go to Central City and ask the Chaotix if they know something about them." Dani says. 

        "Sounds great!" Ares says. "Which way to Central City?" 

        "Let's ride a train there!" Dani says and gets up. 

        Ares sulks, knowing that the last time he was on a train, he got lost, but he doesn't argue. He follows Dani and Dale back to the town they were in. Once there, Dale waves Ares forward to pay for the train tickets. Ares rolls his eyes, but doesn't argue as he does have a lot of rings. "Three tickets to Central City." He tells the ticket-teller.

        "Here you go! Two adult tickets and one kid ticket to Central City." The ticket-teller hands them over. "Aww, how old is your daughter?" She asks Dale. 

        "Wait, I'm not-" Ares covers Dani's mouth and smiles pleasantly.

        "Oh, she's twelve. She loves the pastries on this train. Do you guys have any toys?" Dale chatters while Dani looks mortified at the mix-up. 

        "I'm afraid we don't sir. But you and your husband have a great time anyways!" The ticket-teller beams. 

        Now it's Ares who looks outraged, but Dale doesn't even blink. "Thanks, you too!" He says. He holds in his laughter until the three of them board the train. Dale laughs so hard, his knees go weak and he almost falls to the floor.

        "Just so you know, I have a partner and he's WAY better than you." Ares says, sulking again. 

        "Relax man, even if I was gay, you definitely wouldn't be my type." Dale chuckles.

        Dani's pulls at Ares' hand, reminding him that he hasn't let her go yet. He does. "Sorry Dani." He quickly apologizes. 

        "It's alright. At least you're not the villains..." Dani says. "...also I'm not a child! Why did you guys make them believe that I'm a child!?"

        Dale stops a passing waiter. "Can we get lactose intolerant milk please, for our daughter? And can you add just a little bit of chocolate syrup, she is very picky." He says pleasantly. "And let me get two glasses of wine for me and my husband." 

        "Right away, sir!" The waiter says and leaves. 

        "...okay, but chocolate milk does sound good right now..." Dani sighs. 

        Dale starts laughing again. After a moment, even Ares joins in. Then he stops. "Hey! Stop telling people we're married!" He objects. 

        "I'm sorry! It's too funny!" Dale laughs. "What's wrong, you want chardonnay instead?" 

        "Try whiskey instead. Dear." Ares says, rubbing his forehead.

        Dale starts to laugh again, but quickly sobers up as the waiter returns. He accepts the drinks with a completely straight face. "My husband would also like a shot of whiskey...better make it two." He adds. 

        "Yes sir." The waiter turns and leaves again. Dale hands the milk and other wine glass out. 

        Dani smiles. "At least you guys know that I don't like alcohol." 

        "You will when you get older." Dale snickers. "Alright, I'm done."

        "Dalllle, I'm 21!" She protests.

        "And you're a few months older than me too." Dale starts to laugh again. 

        Ares drinks his wine like he's not 20 years old. 

        The three of them sit down, while Dani happily drinks her milk. Soon, the waiter returns with their shots. 

        "So drinks on you, huh?" Ares says. 

        "Every single time." Dale grins. He throws his shot back. 

        Not to be outdone, Ares drinks his too. 

        "Oh waiter? Another round, please? Keep them coming." Dale says in a cartoony voice. 

        A few patrons look disapprovingly and mutter about irresponsible parents, but no one interferes. 

        "Oh lighten up! In fact, drinks for the whole car, on me!" Dale cheers. 

        A few of the patrons lighten up and start ordering their own drinks. 

        Ares shakes his head. "You never learn, do you?" He asks as he accepts a new drink.

        "Learning is boring! Ya gotta live a little!" Dale cheers.

        "Dale, I didn't marry you 'cause you were responsible." Ares says cheekily.

        Dale spots a couple of cute girls at the other end of the bar. "Excuse me for a moment husband, I'm feeling a bit...polyamorous." He winks as he gets up and walks over to the girls. 

        Ares just holds up his middle finger and continues his shots.

        "Him and Scourge would either be the bestest of friends or the worst of enemies." Dani mutters. She gets up. "I'm gonna go get some fresh air, I'll be back soon." She tells Ares. 

        "See ya later then." Ares says. 

        Dani walks back through the cars until she gets the caboose. She walks through the door, not noticing the 'don't open while train is in motion' sign. She closes the door behind her and leans against the railing, appreciating the view of the land running by. She feels a presence to her right and sighs as she realizes she is no longer alone. 

        "Devoid of heroes, I see." Mephiles notes. 

        "To be fair, none of my friends wants to meet the Sonic characters. I WOULD be able to hang out with the heroes if Athea was here." Dani says pointedly. "But no, you took Athea away, didn't you?" 

        "And what if I promised to give you a way to her?" Mephiles asks. 

        "Hm. Tempting. But I-but I know your tricks." Dani remembers how alone she felt when Mephiles locked her in Null Space and told her that her friends did not care about her.

        "Have I ever gone back on a deal?" Mephiles points out. 

        "...technically no. But you do withhold information." Dani says. "Silver lost a childhood friend because of you. He did save his future, but then a new path came about. Let alone, you also said that Sonic was the reason Crisis City happened." 

        "And if he had rescued the princess on time, it would not have happened, is that not so?" Mephiles points out. 

        "That still didn't save Silver's future!" Dani argues. "You killed Sonic in the end! And then you fused with Iblis, for what? Don't you realize that your individuality might be worth more? What's the point in becoming whole if you can't even be yourself anymore?" 

        "Because when we are whole, we ARE ourselves." Mephiles responds. "When we are not whole, we are missing parts of ourselves, we are not full people. We can only be what we are when we are complete. Take Iblis, he has no mind to speak of without me."

        "But isn't he slumbering somewhere? Or for all we know, he doesn't exist anymore." Dani retorts. "Let alone, what are you missing? You can talk, you can think on your own, and you can also make really, REALLY spot-on plans? What's in it for you when you become Solaris?" 

        Mephiles laughs. "Make no mistake, my brother lives. I know it, and I believe you know it too. As for what I gain by becoming Solaris..." He looks away, out at the scenery. "Without becoming whole, there will be no retribution."

        "Look, I know how it feels. I was abandoned when I was younger, I understand how it feels to have that emptiness that never seems to go away. However, I don't think there's a way you CAN become whole. You can find a new purpose." Dani urges. 

        "Oh child, there is much you do not know of gods. I can become whole again. This time, it will work." Mephiles looks back at her intensely. "This time there will be no mistakes."

        "Don't you be calling me a child too!" Dani glares. 

        "You are naive like one, more so than Silver once was." Mephiles notes. 

        "So how does that involve me, anyways? I'm not a part of Solaris, there's only two parts. At least, canonically." Dani says. 

        Mephiles begins to chuckle and disappear. "All will be revealed eventually...but it's not the right time." He fades away into shadows again. 

        Dani sighs. "Well the right time for you leads to death's door..." She turns and heads back inside. 

        As Dani walks back into the car, she sees that it has devolved into chaos, with drunk couples everywhere and somehow, there's a new pile of rings next to Ares as multiple people challenge him to cards. 

        "I know better than to do that again." Dale mutters as he continues to drink on the opposite side of the car. 

        "You guys shouldn't drink so much." Dani warns. "You never know what will happen."

        "Ohhh, don't be so ominous and fore-shadow-y." Dale hiccups, clearly drunk.

        BOOM.

Chapter Text

When the sun rises again, Athea feels a lot better. She still has a minor headache, but she no longer feels like the world is spinning around her. Although her mouth also feels super dry and a little swollen. Like she's trying to swallow cotton. Her back aches too, since she ended up sitting against the hoverboat all night. Neither her nor Marine used the tent. Athea glances to her side to look at Marine, fast asleep after staying up almost all night with her. Marine's head is resting on Athea's shoulder. She's quiet now, the only sound Athea can hear is her breathing. 

"I'll take care of you now." Athea promises. "I'm the older one here, so don't worry about a thing. I'll protect you as much as I can." 

Carefully, Athea supports Marine's head as she gently lays the girl to rest on the sand. Then she gets up and grabs a water bottle from their picnic supplies. The plan had been to spend a couple nights at Coral Cave, so they at least have the supplies to last another three, maybe four if they were careful, days. 

Without any idea of when Blaze will find them, Athea intends to be careful. She grabs a notebook and starts to take inventory of their supplies, making charts of what they should expect for their meals. Following this, the water bottle she's already half-finished is all she can have for the rest of the day. 

Resolutely, she puts the lid back on it and goes back to work. Since the camp is already almost set up, it doesn't take Athea long to finish the job, securing both food and water supplies before inspecting their fishing kit. 

"Shit." Athea mutters. "We forgot to bring worms. I knew it. There's always SOMETHING that gets forgotten when you go on a trip. And people wonder why I pack everything but the kitchen sink." She rubs her head, muttering angrily at herself for her stupidity. Even if they hadn't been planning on doing a lot of fishing, she still should have made sure they had everything they needed for it. Moreover, the metallic ground clearly isn't going to yield any worms.

After thinking about it for a bit, Athea returns to her food chart and revises it. Perhaps the leftover ham might entice a fish or two? They only needed to get one fish, and then they would have fish guts for bait after all. 

"Alright. If we stick to this, we'll have four days to secure a food and water supply." Athea says as she puts the notebook down. "I can work with that. There might be something on this island we can use at least." 

Marine mumbles and turns over in her sleep, so Athea shuts up and watches the girl for a moment. Marine stretches and sighs, her eyes opening. "We're still here?" She says with disappointment.

"Afraid so." Athea answers. "I'll make us some breakfast, so just rest a moment. You were up pretty late last night, kid." 

Marine makes some incoherent, grumbling noises, but stays put. Soon, the simple and slightly too small breakfast is finished. Athea hands a portion of oatmeal to Marine and eats some dry cereal for herself. 

Once finished, the girls get up and Athea explains the chart she's come up with. "Now that we know what we already have, we just need to look over the island to see what else it can offer. If there's a river or something, we can survive for way longer out here." Athea finishes. 

Marine perks up, the sleep disappearing from her face. "So we're going to explore today?" She asks, bouncing on her toes. 

Athea smiles. "Yeah. Carefully though, we don't know what's out there after all." 

"Yippee!" Marine jumps into the air, then starts to run around the clearing again. 

Athea chuckles at the girl's enthusiasm. While Marine continues to run and act excited, Athea quickly packs a light lunch for later in the day. Then she grabs some of the survival gear she packed, such as rope, harnesses, and a knife. There's no way of knowing what they'll find out there after all. Even if they'd planned for a different environment, Athea is sure that what they brought might still be useful. After sorting the backpacks out, she hands one to Marine and the girls turn to the metallic jungle. 

"Let's do this." Athea says with a small grin. 

"Yeah!"

The metallic jungle they walk through is like nothing Athea has ever seen. Everything is made of metal, moving parts, and steam bursts through pipes every few minutes. It's like a steampunk fantasy with rusty gears and delicate, bronze leaves. The two girls, in their search for food and water, drop through pipes and climb over metal walls. Yet all they find is metal, steam, and oil. 

"It really is a machine paradise, huh?" Athea mutters as she runs a hand through an oil pool.

"Yeah, metal islands don't usually have a lot of plant stuff." Marine nods. 

"It's too bad, but I gotta admit, the sight is amaz-AHhhh!" Athea's words are cut off into a scream as the ground violently heaves her into the air. She rises, falls, but when she lands it's not on hard ground, but another spring that sends her tumbling to yet another spring, and another, and another. Finally, she finds herself splayed out on the ground, chest heaving as she tries to regain her breath. 

"So I guess-" She chokes. "-those are-" She finally drags in a decent breath of air. "-the drums from the game." Athea pulls herself into a sitting position and looks around. 

It doesn't do her much good, she still has no idea where she is now. All she can recognize is more metal pipes, gears, and metal sculptures.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" A scream alerts her and she looks up just in time to see Marine falling straight towards her! 

Athea gasps, her hands come out, wanting to catch the girl. A green shield flickers to life, catching and cradling the racoon and protecting her from the fall. "I really can make a shield..." Athea mutters, surprised, but glad that she was able to prevent Marine from getting hurt.

The shield disappears, but Marine only drops another foot, straight into Athea's arms. Athea is quick to set Marine down. "You alright?"

"That was RIPPER! I wanna do it again!" Marine laughs. 

"Please no, that was incredibly stressful." Athea sighs. 

"Awww..."

Athea chuckles and ruffles the top of Marine's head. "Come on, let's get-" A clanging sound rings through the air and both girls shut up, looking around for the source of it. Marine grabs Athea's hand and drags the girl behind a metal box. This island's equivalent of a bush, probably. 

There are more clanging sounds, footsteps, Athea realizes. She holds her breath, waiting to see who will show up. 

"Keep an eye out maties! The tide would have carried those two over here. We have to find them before that goodie-goodie princess!" A familiar voice snarls. Athea pokes her head out from their hiding spot. Sunlight glints off the captain's sword.

Athea feels a shiver run down her spine. Her hands shake. She closes her eyes, taking deep breaths, but she just can't get enough air. Captain Whisker is here. He's looking for us. He's looking for me. 

Marine grabs Athea's hand. Athea takes a shuddering breath and refocuses on Marine. She rubs her thumb over Marine's gloves and distracts herself by contemplating the material of the glove. Surely a normal one would be wrecked by now? She picks out colors, she smells the oil in the air. Eventually, slowly, she calms down again. By now, Captain Whisker has left. Athea takes a deep breath.

"Sorry about that...I was a little useless there, huh?" Athea says, sheepishly.

"It's okay, it happens." Marine shrugs it off. She turns back towards where the pirates had just left to. "Why don't we follow them?" She suggests. 

"They're looking for us, why would we follow them?" Athea asks, rubbing her head like she's just remembered her headache. 

"So we can find out what they're up to!" Marine says simply. "They might have an evil plan they need us for. Maybe they're building a machine and want to use us as hostages to get the Sol Emeralds from Blaze! We gotta find out!" 

Athea sighs and looks at the ground between her feet. Personally, she'd much rather turn and go the opposite direction. Pack up their camp before the pirates find it, then find a hidey-hole on this island until Blaze finds them. However, she's also pretty sure that's a bad idea. If Blaze can't see the hovercraft, she won't know where they are, and the pirates are sure to wreck the hovercraft once they find it. Sitting around, hiding, and waiting for rescue just won't work. 

"Okay. We'll follow them, try to figure out what they're up to. But no attacking, got it Marine? We're way too outnumbered to go picking a fight with robot pirates." Athea says, looking Marine straight in the eye and frowning. 

"Okey-dokey!" Marine nods. 

Athea sighs. "I hope I don't regret this...let's go."

Chapter Text

        Everyone stumbles as the explosion racks the car. Several passengers fall on their backs, scrambling to get away from the gaping hole that has appeared. As Dani watches, she sees two familiar silhouettes. 

        "Put your hands in the air,"

        "Better cry and tremble,"

        "Cause you're about to be robbed,"

        "By Rough and Tumble!" The two's voices join together for the final lyric. Rough and Tumble step into the train, bearing grins and fists. 

        Dani looks at the two as she opens a door to the neighboring car. "Ohhh, shit." The more coherent Mobians run out the open door, but there is still a gaggle of other Mobians too drunk to get what's going on. 

        Ares whips his head around at Dani’s voice and stands up shakily.

        "Musical entertainment, yeah! Now it's a real party!" Dale nods, clearly drunk and not understanding what is happening. 

        "This is not the time for that!" Dani says. She sighs. "And I thought we were gonna have a peaceful train trip..."

        "Give us all your cash!" Rough says. Tumble picks up the nearest Mobian and starts shaking them. 

        Dale grabs his pile of rings and throws them at the two. "Take it off! Yessss!" A few drunk Mobians join in.

        "I’m prepared to fight youuuu and alllllll your siiiibliiiiings.” Ares says, seeing double. He stands up, raises his fists, then stumbles back into his seat. 

        Dale points at Ares and laughs. "Lightweight. Hey you two, give my husband a lap dance!" 

        "I shouldn't have let you two drink." Dani grumbles.

        "We do not do lap dances!" Rough shouts. 

        “I haaaad more driiiinks than yourrrr ass Hubby.” Ares says, flipping him off from his seat.

        Dani summons a light orb and throws it near Rough and Tumble to get their attention. "Hey, um, actually...uhhh...how does Sonic come up with shit, dammit! Anyways, hi! I'm the only one sober here!"

        "Wait a minute, I recognize you! You and your blue cat friend beat us up! Well, we'll see who's tougher now!" Rough says as he storms over to her.

        "Oh shit."

        "Hell yeah, dance battle!" Dale jumps inbetween them and starts breakdancing.

        "Before you kick my ass, do you really want these two bozos getting in your way? 'Cause I can knock them out for you. Let me knock them out first." Dani offers. 

        "Wait, what was that?" Dale stops and blearily stares at Dani.

        “I have a tranq gun in my bag. Knock Dale out and I’ll help!” Ares says helpfully.

        Dani goes into Ares' bag guiltily. She finds the tranq gun and aims at Dale first. "I'm sorry, but I can't have you in the way, you're gonna make shit worse!" She apologizes as she pulls the trigger. 

        The dart hits Dale. "Ow. Wait, hold on, that's actually some good shit. Hey Ares, you should try this!" Dale pulls the dart out and then collapses to the ground. 

        Dani steps over Dale apologetically. She walks over to Ares. 

        “Nice shot kid, next time work on your aim, now let’s fuck some shit up.” Ares says without understanding.

        Dani looks at him, still feeling guilty. "I can't....I would...but...you can barely stand. I'm sorry, have a nice nap!" She raises the gun and shoots Ares.

        “Fuck that shits hurts like a bitch.” Ares says, then collapses over the table and starts snoring.

        "Damn, these tranqs work a lot faster than on Earth..." Dani mutters. 

        "No more stalling," Rough says.

        "It's time to rumble," Tumble says.

        "You'll regret fighting against," Rough continues.

        "Rough and Tumble!" Both finish. They barrel towards Dani. Tumble picks up Rough and throws the skunk at her. 

        Dani clumsily dodges to the side. 

        Rough lands on the ground and turns back to Dani. He backhands Dani across the train. 

        "Oof!" Dani groans as she hits the wall. She slides to the ground. Through dizzy eyes, she can see Rough and Tumble charging at her again. She holds her head. "So much for being the innocent one..." She summons a light orb and throws it at them. 

        Both skunks dodge to the side and then come at Dani in a pincer move. Dani ducks and slides under their fists. The skunks end up punching each other, reeling backwards in pain. 

        "Sorry boys! I'm on a mission! Mission: you're about to be- uh. I'm not good with improv, goddammit!" She summons two more light orbs and throws them at their backs, hitting them. 

        "Argh, that tears it! I'm gonna get you!" Tumble says. He turns around to glare at her. "Let's do this, Rough!" 

        "You got it, Tumble!" Rough says as Tumble throws him again. This time, he releases a stink bomb as he gets close to Dani, so even though she dodges, she is stunned by the smell. 

        "Bleck! Why does it smell- this smells more gross than wet trash! Blegh!" Dani wails. The remainder of the drunk Mobians flee from the car. With Dani temporarily stunned, Tumble catches up, grabbing her and tossing her out the hole in the side of the car. "Whoa!" Dani screams as she feels herself fall. 

        Dani tumbles into air. She sees a giant bridge, water running below her at least a mile down. At this height, even landing on water will be the same as if it were concrete. "I can't swim!" She wails before her brain catches up with the fact that she'll be a pancake anyways. She falls towards the water.

        Then a glittering light surrounds her form. She feels herself slow, then lift up into the air. She looks down. "Oh. I can fly? Oh, this takes my fear of heights away for sure!" She says, voice oddly high. She giggles. "Aww, this'll be sweeeet. Yay!" She turns towards the rapidly disappearing train and chases it down. "I gotta stop Rough and Tumble before they do anymore damage!" She says. 

        Dani catches up with the train and spots the hole she was thrown from. So we're in the last car...before Rough and Tumble can get to the other cars, they're probably gonna rob the one they just broke into. Pretty sure Dale and Ares are the only ones in that car now. So it'll probably be a safe bet just to unlatch the car from the train. 

        Decision made, Dani flies over to the train latch and uses her light abilities to cut through the metal. The latch disintegrates under her power, and the train car immediately slows down. Dani kicks the caboose to further slow it down. The train leaves them behind. She loops over to the hole and peers in. 

        Rough is shaking out Ares's bag. As Dani watches, an anchor, a tent, a lamp, and a variety of tools fall out. "Where is this guy's rings?" Rough complains as he kicks the lamp out of the car.

        Dani sighs. "Uh, hey guys? Did you miss me?" 

        "Ahh! Ghost!" Tumble screams. 

        "Don't be stupid, she's flying, not dead." Rough scolds. 

        "Hedgehogs can fly?!" Tumble says. 

        "Well Sonic can! Why not others?" Rough points out. 

        "Oh yeah, I guess he does." Tumble nods, calming down. 

        "Sonic can't fly without the Chaos Emeralds." Dani points out. "Tell you what, if you can figure out why I can fly, I'll let you guys rob the entire cart! Better yet, you guys could tell me why you're working for Mephiles, and then I'll let you rob this entire train." She lies. 

        "Cause Mephiles is gonna give us a whole country to rule over!" Tumble answers. 

        "And what makes you think Mephiles has that type of authority? Have you even seen him, is he famous? You just met him and you guys think he is going to give you an entire country?" Dani questions.

        "Hey, the boss might not be known YET, but when he is, he's gonna rule the world! There ain't a person in the world who can stop him!" Rough says. 

        Dani frowns at them. "That's not his goal. Sorry to break it to you guys." She sounds genuinely sorry at bursting their bubble. "You think he's there to rule, huh? Oh, how naive you guys can be, I'm sorry..." 

        "Ahh, what do you know?" Rough says dismissively. 

        "I know way more than I probably should." Dani says flatly. "But hey, tell you guys what, I would say that leaving him would be an option but that might not be the case. You're already too far in aren't ya?" 

        "And we don't wanna leave, not without that country! So shut up and give us all your rings!" Tumble says. 

        Dani sighs. "He wants to destroy the world, not rule it." 

        "Like we'd listen to you!" Rough rolls his eyes. 

        "Welp, I tried to warn ya." Dani says. She flies inside the car. "You're about to be enlightened, the car's going to glow, you're about to ignite by Dani the light!" 

        "Hey, that's our thing!" Rough and Tumble protest at the same time. 

        Dani puts her hands out as a ray of light forms. "Ascend in radiance." She blasts them, shooting them out the other side of the train car. Now there are two holes, but there are two less villains, so she calls it a win. 

        Dani sighs tiredly. "Ugh. That was a lot of energy. Are they knocked out?" She pokes her head out of the car and sees both villains knocked out on the ground. "I guess I have to tie them up so they don't go anywhere or do anything stupid..." 

        She gets a rope from Ares' bag, and ties them to the back of the train car. "Sorry boys." She says with a smirk. 

        She goes back into the car and checks on the sleeping Dale and Ares. Seeing that they are fine and still sleeping, she returns to the outside. "If only them two were awake so they could help me... I'm surprised I took those two down, I thought I was a goner." Dani places her hands on the train car, then pushes it forward. "At least it isn't too heavy..."

        She continues to push it until she gets to the nearest train station that can deal with the detached car. After returning it, she gives Rough and Tumble to the police. With some help, she gets Ares and Dale to the nearest hotel to sleep off the rest of the tranqs. 

Chapter Text

        Following the pirates isn't an easy task. The metallic ground makes it hard to keep their footsteps silent, and there's not always enough cover. Several times, Athea and Marine have nearly lost the pirates because they had to wait for all of the pirates to cross a broad, empty space before they can follow. 

        More than that though, Athea has a hard time staying present as she keeps close behind Marine. Her mind keeps wandering back to the ship, when Whiskers held a sword to her throat. She remembers the moment after he left, before she realized she was still alive. 

        So much has happened this summer. My car crashed, I met a bunch of villains. Got sent to another dimension. Now here I am and it's happening again. I crashed the Aqua Blast, now there are villains showing up again... Athea clenches her fists and narrows her eyes. This time will be different. 

        Her fear doesn't disappear, far from it. But Athea doesn't want to hang back and be afraid, not again. So she clenches her fists and she keeps following the pirates. 

        "Captain! We found their floating ship! It's on the beach, on the east side of the island!" A pirate runs up to Whiskers to report. 

        "Arrr, good work! Any sign of our prey?" Captain Whiskers asks. 

        "They've set up camp on the beach, but no one is there right now!" The pirate answers. 

        "Then they must be somewhere on this island. We'll find them lads! Until then, leave a small group by the ship in case they come back. We'll ambush them!" 

        "YARR!" The pirates roar in response, before four peel off from the group to do so. 

        As they watch the pirates leave, Marine taps Athea on the arm and gestures for Athea to follow her a distance away. Athea nods and follows her. Once they're some distance away from the pirates, Marine starts to whisper. 

        "What are we going to do now? I don't have a weapon to fight the pirates with, but they have our camp now." 

        "Yeah...and I'm not exactly busting out the best fire control right now either." Athea whispers back with a frown. "We're outnumbered and we still don't know when backup is coming." 

        "And now we can't even get to our supplies." Marine finishes. 

        Athea lets herself sit on the ground, places her head in her hand, and starts tapping the side of her face. The situation truly is bad. 'How am I going to protect Marine in all this?' She sighs. "It's too bad this isn't a proper jungle. We could avoid them for ages, just living off bananas and stuff. But there aren't any resources we can use besides metal..."

        Marine suddenly smiles, upbeat again. "Maybe I can build something? Like a hideout! They'll never find it!" 

        Athea smiles gently. "We don't have the tools for it though, and the sound might lead them straight to us. But it's a good thought, we definitely need a hideout." She hopes that by combining both positive and negative critique, she won't dampen the girl's spirits too much. 

        Her fingers cease their tapping as an idea comes to mind. It's reckless and it might not work, but with no sign of rescue, it might be their only chance....if Athea can stomach it. "We have to give ourselves up." 

        "What? No!" Marine whispers furiously. "We can't let them capture us!" 

        "You're right. I mean, I have to give MYSELF up. You're staying here." Athea says softly. 

        "That's even worse!" Marine objects. 

        "No, listen, it's not. Those pirates out there...they don't want me dead. Just captured. I can feed them a sob story about how you died in the crash, they'll fall for it, and take me prisoner. MEANWHILE-" Athea has to pause and stare down the mutinous looking Marine. "You'll stay here and use the scrap metal from this island to fix the communications array. You can contact Blaze and let her know what happened."

        Marine opens and closes her mouth as she thinks it over. "...I don't like it." 

        "Neither do I. But if we're going to get out of here, BOTH of us, then I think this is our only option. Just think of it this way, I'm the distraction and you're going to bring the cavalry to save me, right?" Athea's lips crack into a small smile. 

        "Oh I don't think that be possible." A voice chortles above them. 

        Athea and Marine whirl around to see Captain Whiskers himself, standing above them. 

        "HRAH!" "AYE!" "RIGHTY-O CAPTAIN!" More pirates leap out, surrounding them. 

        "Shit." Athea curses. 

        "Ah, don't be too hard on yerself. After all, yer plan is half right!" Whiskers laughs. "We'll be taking you prisoner now! As for the brat...get rid of her." 

        "No!" Athea's hands flew out and a green, bubble-like shield appeared around them. The pirates' attack bounces off with no effect. Athea blinks in surprise. "I did it again?" 

        "Arrrgh, you might think you've stopped us lass, but you haven't done a thing!" Whiskers shouts. "All we have to do is wait until your strength runs out and we'll still be here." 

        Athea bites her lip, knowing he's right. The shield would only work for as long as she had the strength, and because they left all of their supplies at camp, she wouldn't last long at all. Only a day or two before she collapsed. Would Blaze find them before then? 'No, I can't rely on that. For all I know, Blaze is searching in the completely opposite direction.'  Her mind races as she tries to figure out a new plan, tries to figure out how she can protect Marine now. 

        "That's what you all think!" Marine says. "But my friend can keep going for a long time and Blaze is gonna find us soon!" 

        "Hah! Hahahah!" The pirates laugh, unaffected by her bravado. 

        "The sea be a might big place, especially if you don't know where to look." Whiskers chuckles. 

        Athea clenches her hands. Her mind stills. She turns back to Marine. "I'm going to take the shield down. When I do, run. Don't look back." 

        Marine blinks and looks at Athea. "What? No, don't! We can fight them together!" 

        Athea shakes her head. "We need to escape first to do that." 

        The pirates laugh again. "Discussing yer plans right in front of us? How do you think that'll work?" Whiskers laughs. 

        "Because it doesn't matter what you hear. I won't let a single one of you run after her." Athea says simply. She puts a hand down, maintaining the shield with the other. 'Three...two....one...' The shield comes down, Athea focuses and-

        No fire comes out. Marine makes it two steps before a pirate catches her. The little racoon struggles fiercely, but she can't get free. Another pirate grabs Athea's hands. 

        "What was that you were saying?" The pirates burst into nearly helpless laughter as Athea struggles to pull away, burning with humiliation and a growing rage. 

        One of the pirates recovers from their laughter and raises a cutlass. The shadow sweeps over Marine's head and something inside Athea snaps. She stops. 

        "Get away from her." The words are spoken almost calmly. But the pirate only laughs again, unheeding of the warning. He clenches his hand to lower the sword and slice Marine apart. 

        He never gets the chance. 

        Fire explodes into the clearing, blasting everyone back. Even Marine is sent flying by the blast, landing with a skid on the ground. Only Athea is unaffected, calmly standing at the center. Sparks snap off in the air around her, and her purple eyes change into a bright, vivid red. She bares her teeth in a feral grin. 

        "How fucking dare you?" Her hands slowly rise. The sparks turn into a wildfire, softening the metal around her. There is nothing to burn, no fuel to survive on, but Athea feeds them strength and energy in her fury. Fire pours from her hands, landing on the metal around her, melting it into a glowing goo. 

        The pirates begin to recover and quickly scramble backwards in their fear. Metal as they are, they can see that Athea's fire is a real threat to them. They've never seen such fierce flames. Blaze controls fire as well, but she's never threatened to outright melt them with hers. 

        Athea's grin changes from one of fury to delight as she stalks the pirates. She wants to burn them, destroy them, make it so they can never threaten her or her friends again. Why spare such monsters who'd kill a little girl? She sees no reason to spare them, none at all. 

        As the pirates begin to get to their feet, Athea walks up to Captain Whiskers and pins him with a foot. "What was that you were saying?" She mocks their own words. She brings her flaming hands closer and closer to the struggling captain. It's strange, despite his metallic strength he seems helpless before her now. She's gained so much strength just from not holding back anymore. Her grin widens grotesquely as the metal of Whiskers' face begins to soften. 

        "....Athea?" A young, horrified voice whispers. 

        Cold reality slams into Athea at a hundred miles per hour. Her flames go out. She steps away and watches the pirates run. She stares at the space where the last of them disappears as the inside of her mind vanishes. 

        Without her fire heating the air, everything is so cold. 

Chapter Text

        "Ugh, my head. I feel like my mind temporarily transcended this 3-dimensional realm, wandering about the halls of infinity where each door leads to another door. So, what's for breakfast?" Dale yawns as he wakes up. 

        Ares groans as he sits up and blinks, looking around. “Where are we?” He grumbles, rubbing his head where a headache is starting to form.

        "You guys got drunk and fell asleep. I needed to get help carrying you guys to the hotel." Dani lies while she eats an ice cream cone. "At least we got to Central City."

        "Are you sure we only got drunk? I feel like we got high too." Dale asks.

        “Fuck, I got drunk? Athea is going to kill me slowly!” Ares says with a growing sense of doom.

        "Ha! What is she, your mom? Can't get drunk without your mommy's permission?" Dale taunts. 

        “She is much worse than my mother. She is worse than my drill instructor.” Ares says as he looks through his backpack for meds for his headache.

        Dani looks at them in concern. "It's alright, I took care of you guys while you guys were asleep." She assures them. "I feel like that would be the least of Athea's worries, considering you two tortured Mimic..."

        "I almost forgot about doing that. Holy shit, that's a big callback." Dale comments. 

        “True, I might end up running back to Earth in fear after we free her.” Ares whispers under his breath before popping pills for his headache.

        "Death is but an inevitability in this realm." Dale says, sagely nodding.

        "Okay Rick Sanchez." Dani giggles.

        "Oh no, I need a few more drinks before I turn into that guy." Dale laughs. 

        "You need NO more drinks, I don't want you guys getting drunk again and leaving me. No more drinks when we're on a mission!" Dani cries.

        "We weren't even on a mission! Last thing I remember, we were just on a train!" Dale protests.

        "When we get to the hotels, then you can drink." Dani scolds. 

        "Oh come on, only in the hotels?" Dale complains.

        "Yeah, you never know what can happen." Dani says seriously.

        "Also, why's this the same hotel? Didn't we talk about getting a better hotel? The muffins Dani, the muffins!" Dale urges.

        The two dissolve into giggles and laughter. 

        "Did you check the hotel for bad guys? Or make sure that the area was clear?" Ares questions Dani seriously.

        Dani nods. "The only one who can be watching us now is if Mephiles phased through the floor or something." 

        "There is no such thing as good or bad, right or wrong, everything in this world is an artificial construct." Dale says.

        "That's why I wear a gray hoodie." Dani smiles. 

        "Hell yeah, hoodie season." Dale grins. "I think I might still be high off that tranquilizer..."

        "What tranquilizer?" Dani says guiltily.

        "Wait, you're right. What tranquilizer?" Dale frowns. "Did we do tranquilizers last night?"

        Ares stands up and stretches, "Okay, I have some business to attend to, bad guys to find, I'll be downstairs if you need me."

        "Sounds good, let's hit the town!" Dale says as he gets off the bed. "You wanna come with us, Dani?" 

        "Uhh, I think I'm gonna head over to Sonic's HQ. I need to update him on what's going on anyways." Dani says. She grabs her own bag.

        Ares nods his head at Dani and says, "Good idea. Send me the coordinates when you get to the base so I know where to send Dale when he gets hurt like a bitch."

        "Aren't you a wolf? You're basically halfway there, you can't call me a bitch." Dale banters back. 

        "Be careful you two." Dani quickly hugs the chaos duo before leaving the hotel. 

        "Let's go then Dale, we are going on patrol. Like a military man." Ares says, shouldering his bag and walking out the door slyly.

        "Yeah, we're on a real good military streak lately." Dale says sarcastically. 

        Dale and Ares leave the hotel and start wandering around. Ares looks for any sign of Clutch, while Dale has a much different goal in mind. And then, in front of them, appears another casino. A fancy one that clearly doubles as a hotel for the rich. 

        "Can't believe we were this close to this fancy-ass hotel and instead we went to the other one." Dale complains. 

        Ares rolls his eyes and tosses a bag of rings to Dale. "Go have your fun." Ares says before walking up to the front desk.

        "Ooh-hoo, I'm gonna have way more fun with these." Dale says as he spots an attractive turquoise hedgehog in a red suit. 

        While Dale begins to flirt with the hedgehog, Ares starts to walk around, looking for people to bribe for information. 

        "Where's Clutch?" Ares asks the bartender. He hands over a few rings, but does not ask for a drink. 

~~~~

        "Hey, I've got bad news for you. Your money's no good here." Dale says and orders four vodka cranberries. 

~~~~

        "Hey, who sells weapons around here?" Ares asks a janitor. He hands over a couple rings. 

~~~~

        "This is my hotel, I suppose I can cut you a deal." Breezy crosses her legs and tilts her head. 

~~~~

        "I'm looking for a green possum with an ugly mug." Ares asks a patron of the casino. He puts a ring in the machine for the patron. 

~~~~

        "Well since it's your hotel, you've gotta be allowed to have fun on the job, right?" Dale smirks. 

~~~~

        "I hear an arms dealer is hanging around, where can I find him?" Ares puts rings on the casino machine. 

~~~~

        "Why don't you come up to my penthouse and we can talk about it more?" Breezy suggests. The two walk to the elevators. 

~~~~

        "Green possum, sells weapons. Think you can tell me where he is?" Ares spins a ring on his finger. He sets it down on the table. The waiter quietly pockets it. 

        "I hear Breezy gave him an apartment, top floor. Not the penthouse of course, that's hers, but the floor right below it." The waiter quietly whispers. 

        "Thanks man." Ares claps the waiter on the shoulder and stands up. His smile turns feral as he walks towards the stairs and starts up. He takes the stairs two at a time until he reaches the top floor, taking a moment to examine it.

        He sees only one door, besides an elevator, meaning Clutch has the floor to himself. As Ares walks up to it, he finds it locked.

        Ares smirks and knocks on the door. "House Keeping." He doesn't bother disguising his voice. His target wouldn’t know who he is after all.
There is no answer, until an Eggman mech’s arm bursts through the door, socking Ares in the face.

        “My dear boy, shouldn’t you have at least found out if I allow housekeepers up here?” Clutch scoffs at his sloppiness. He sits on a chair, nearly a throne, and Ares can see the place is filthy with random junk and low lighting.

        Ares glares at him as he stands up wiping his mouth. "I wanted to ask you something, Clutch." Ares spits out his name with as much venom as he can.

        “Oh? I’m all ears for potential heroes.” Clutch tilts his head as he wonders how to turn this to his advantage.

        "Does the name Athea ring a bell in your head?" Ares asks in an even tone as he crosses his arms.

        “Not at all.” Clutch lies, as easy as breathing.

        "Mhm," Ares hums. "Wrong answer, you kidnapped my best friend, and now, I'm here for revenge. Do you want a head start?" Ares asks with a tilted head.

        “Why should I be afraid? You walked into my den.” Clutch presses a button and the mounds of robots begin to get up, shambling towards Ares like zombies.

        Ares backs away into the hallway. "You can't kill me. I'm Eggman's right hand wolf." He says smugly.

        “That’s okay, it won’t be me doing the killing. Have fun.” The opossum grins at Ares as he takes a step back.

        Ares smiles gleefully as the mechs start attacking. He falls into the shadows, only to land right on top of another mech. Clutch has practically given him the perfect battleground with the low lighting.

        For the wolf, it’s a slaughter as the mechs are completely incapable of even touching him, whereas he appears with impunity to rip a limb or two off. 

        As Clutch watches the brutality the wolf uses to dismantle the machines, he realizes that perhaps he is not in as good a position as he first thought. In fact, it’s beginning to look to him as if the wolf intends to take him apart as well. While normally, he welcomes a challenge from heroes, they make him feel young again, he didn’t like it when they came without needing anything. He has nothing to barter, nothing to stop this tide of violence. So he does the smart thing, and walks out the door while Ares is busy.

        Ares smiles as he sees Clutch leaving. He slams the last two mechs together and drops the metal bodies on the floor. "Clutchy, where you going?" Ares sing-songs as he stalks toward the doorway. "Leaving so soon? The fun is just getting started."

        Clutch updates his opinion on Ares from ‘problematic’ to ‘somewhat psychotic’. Which is the worst kind of customer honestly, so obsessive! “Frankly my boy, I was getting bored.” He says airily as he begins to rapidly press the elevator button.

        "Oh, you're bored? My bad, didn't mean to be a bad host." Ares says as he stalks toward Clutch. "Elevators are soooo slow aren't they?" Ares asks sarcastically.

        “Ah well, I suppose I can forgive you your poor manners this time.” Clutch banters back. The elevator doors open to reveal Dale, casually leaning against the wall. He's sweating a little bit.

        “Going down?” He asks with a little smirk.

        Clutch considers which crazy person he would rather deal with before walking into the elevator. “First floor please.”

        “Sure!” Dale reaches over and presses the number ‘1’ button. The doors begin to close.

        “Dale you ass-!” Ares snarls as the doors close and he bolts towards the stairs, taking them two or three at a time as he rushes down as fast as he can. The voices of his drill instructors echo in his ears as he sprints down the stairs.

        Quiet elevator music plays. Clutch stares straight at the front of the elevator. Meanwhile, Dale begins to babble.

        "Soooooo, how's your day been? Watch any sports? I heard uh...Lebron James renewed his contract.....That guys like 38....No excuses for us huh???" He laughs awkwardly at Clutch's continued silence. "How old are you again?"

        "Too old for this." Clutch sighs. 

        "Ah. Okay. Where do you get your suits?....I'm more of a black jacket guy myself....Is the food here good? ....Anything's an upgrade from that hotel we were in... almost broke my teeth trying to eat their muffins... You wanna try it? Here, you can have it." Dale takes a stale, rock hard muffin from his pockets and shoves it in Clutch's face. "Go ahead, take it!" He urges. 

        Inwardly, Clutch groans and wonders if he should have picked the other psycho. The elevator doors open on the first floor and Clutch sweeps from the elevator, escaping into the city.

        Ares pauses a few seconds on the 2nd floor to catch his breath before he continues to run. “Almost there. Keep moving Ares. Move your feet!” Ares mutters as he runs.

        Ares slams open the door to catch sight of Clutch running out the doors. Cussing under his breath, Ares takes off after him. “You’re mine you son of a bitch.” Ares growls lowly.

        Clutch hops into his illegally parked car and peels out of there.

        "Shit!" Ares yells as he watches his revenge drive out of sight.

        "Hey, did you see Clutch here?" Dale asks. "He seems to be doing good."

        Ares glares at Dale, furious. Never before had he been angrier at Dale than right this moment. He slaps the muffin out of Dale's hands and storms back inside the hotel. 

        "You just wasted a perfectly good muffin!" Dale shouts after Ares. 

        "Athea, forgive me for what I am going to do." Ares says once inside.

        Ares’s eyes and body simmer with rage, he lifts his wrist up and says in a low growl into the communicator, "We need to talk Eggman. Meet me at this location." Then he pauses and adds on, "Please."

Chapter Text

        Two days later, Blaze arrives at the island. As the purple cat sails to the island on the Blue Tornado, she sees both Marine and Athea on the beach, unharmed. Marine is running back and forth, shouting, waving her hands, as if they'll somehow miss the giant Aqua Blast. Athea on the other hand, seems to have no reaction which worries Blaze. She gets on a rowboat with several koalas, and they row the last few hundred feet to reach the island. 

        "Are you two-" Blaze is unable to finish her question as Marine launches herself at the princess, clutching her into a hug. Blaze hesitates for a moment before resting her hand on Marine's back. She smiles. "I missed you too." 

        "We can go home now, right?" Marine says, her voice shaking despite her forced cheerfulness. 

        "Yes, of course. We just have to get the Aqua Blast to the ship so we can repair it." Blaze motions to the koalas, who nod and get to work, turning the Aqua Blast so it's right-side up again. While they work on that, Blaze takes Marine away from the beach for a quick, private conversation. 

        "Are you alright?" Blaze asks her young friend. 

        "'M okay." Marine mumbles. "I was a little scared. But only a little!" She hastens to add. 

        Blaze smiles. "I'm sure you were very brave. Can you tell me what happened?" 

        Marine spills the whole story about the pirate attack, washing up on this island, only to be confronted by pirates once again. "But Athea stopped them." Marine concludes.

        Blaze frowns. "Her ability isn't ready for combat yet. How did she stop them?" 

        Marine shuffles her feet. "It...it was scary." She whispers and shivers. 

        Blaze pulls Marine into another hug, rubbing her hands up and down Marine's arms. "It's okay Marine. You can tell me when you're ready." Blaze says. 

        Marine shakes her head but starts to cry. She clutches at Blaze's dress and seems to lose all strength in her legs. Blaze gently lowers them to the ground and pats Marine on the back. "It's okay...you're okay now..." She whispers, somewhat bewildered. Marine had no trouble explaining everything so far, and Marine had always faced battle bravely with them before. What on Sol happened? 

        It took about ten minutes, but eventually Marine manages to calm down enough to describe how Athea had driven the pirates off. "But after she did it...it's like she just stopped. She moves when I ask her too, does what I say, but she hasn't spoken a word since. She just stares. I don't think she's really eaten either." Marine fidgets with her hands. "Her body's here, but I don't know where her mind went." 

        Blaze frowns. "I see. I'll do what I can for her Marine but...it sounds like you both went through quite a shock." 

        Marine nods and gives Blaze another hug. They hug for a few minutes more until a Koala approaches them. 

        "Princess? We've attached the Aqua Blast to the Ocean Tornado so we can tow it home now." Sam reports. 

        "Thank you. I'll be there in a moment." Blaze dismisses him. Once he leaves, she looks Marine over. "Are you sure you're alright?" 

        The young girl jumps up with a grin. "It'll take a lot more than that to take down the great, Captain Marine!" She flashes a thumbs up. 

        The two rejoin the koalas and Athea. As they walk, Marine hurries ahead. Blaze watches Marine nudge Athea into the rowboat. Marine was right. She's completely catatonic. Something about that battle seems to have snapped her mind. It might take some time for her to recover.... The group returns to the Ocean Tornado and Blaze has Athea led to the infirmary. They set sail for home, sails flapping in the breeze. 

_____________________________________________

        Below in the infirmary, Athea is lying down on a bed, her mind engulfed in smoke. Distantly, she can recognize the movement of people. She knows a koala in a white, doctors coat is examining her, testing her bodies reactions, putting an IV drip in. But not even the pain of the needle going in is enough to get her to move of her own will. 

        Deep in her mind, she replays the moment she attacked the pirates, remembers their fear and her joy, her utter delight at getting to take revenge on them. She remembers the fear on Marine's face as she takes it too far. 

        Monster. Don't act so surprised. You knew what it meant as soon as you manifested your flames. You're a monster, and always have been. You destroy everything you touch, and that's why you can use fire.

        No, no, I'm not! I'm not evil! 

        But oh, that voice is so small as she sees Marine's face once again. 

        Please. You know you've always enjoyed delivering pain. You finally have the power to make those you hate to suffer, and what's the first thing you do? Prove exactly why you shouldn't have it. 

        The blows keep coming, leaving Athea lost in a sea of fire and smoke. She knows now why she was never able to control her fire, why it always burns so hot and out of control. Because there's no way someone like her could ever keep them under control. No way to use her flames unless she's so furious she stops caring about people's lives. 

        What if Marine had died because of you? What if your fire hurt her? 

        Please stop...just stop....I can't-

        She sees a vision of herself, holding a charred body she instinctively knows is Marine's, and feels a fresh pain rip through her heart. 

        Because you're thoughtless and cruel. No wonder no one can stand you. As soon as they see you for what you are, they all leave you. You feel nothing for them, and they can sense it. They know you're not putting all your energy in, they know you don't actually care.

        No, you're wrong, I do care! 

        Do you? If you cared so much, then why didn't you protect Marine? 

        I tried! 

        You failed. You became her monster instead. Even now, you're failing her. Look at you. Sitting here, feeling sorry for yourself, moping. Like you have any right to. You traumatized her, and now you've abandoned her.

        ....You're right. I left her. I...

        Athea stares at the fire in front of her and wishes she could feel it. Wishes someone would shackle her here and punish her. Wishes someone would just stab her already. Shoot her dead for what she's done. Countless instants of evidence rush through her mind. Moments where she hurt her friends, moments where she saw them text and ignored it, moments where she was just too demanding. How dare she burden her friends more than they already are? She's the only one without problems, she should know better. 

        Ha. Because someone with NO problems would definitely be sitting here, wishing she was in pain, huh? The snarky response to her own thoughts stirs her for just a moment. 

        I'm fine. I'm always fine.

        Quit fucking lying to yourself. How long have you been in here? Enough of the self-pity party. You remember what those pirates were going to do right? 

        Of course I do! The very memory makes the fires around her burn brighter. 

        You were protecting Marine.

        I abandoned her. Stop trying to justify myself! 

        I'm not justifying anything. But you need to stop punishing yourself here. You think you're doing any good, sitting in here, letting your guilt consume you? 

        I-well-no-shut up! 

        Your mistake wasn't in protecting Marine. Maybe you went overboard, maybe you should pay for that, but that moment isn't your mistake. 

        Then what is? Oh please tell me, I'm on the edge of my seat here. 

        Your mistake was to let this bring you down here. You've spent the past two days raking yourself over the coals and worrying Marine half to death. You think if you suffer enough you'll be a saint or something? Fuck off. All you're doing is stewing in guilt and misery and calling it deserved. That's the REAL selfish thing you're doing here. THAT'S your mistake. 

        You fuck off, I didn't ask to be brought here! 

        You sure aren't trying to get out of here though, are you? This is just you being self-indulgent at this point. And while we're at this, why don't we discuss the REAL reason you want to sit here and suffer?

        What?

        Because you're afraid of what Marine is going to say. You don't want to have that conversation because you feel guilty and ashamed of what you did. So instead of facing your fear, you're leaning into your shame and letting it burn you because you think that'll hurt you less. Fucking psycho. What kinda logic is that? Avoid pain by dealing pain? 

        Athea stares at the fires in front of her and watches as they go down. The smoke thins. "You're right." She admits. "I let everyone down, I let Marine down, and I don't want to face that."

        You do know you're letting her down even more by staying here, right? 

        Athea's shoulders slump. "Yeah. You're right about that too...I just...everything feels like it's so far out of my control. Everything I do hurts someone. I don't....I don't want to hurt anyone..." 

        Another Athea manifests, but this one looks like her normal human form. She sits down by Mobian Athea and sighs. "I know. And you know that too. When it comes to your friends, you'd do anything to protect them. That's why you have a shield."

        Athea looks down at her hands. "A shield that doesn't protect myself..."

        "Well. That's easy. Your shield doesn't protect you because you hate yourself." Other Athea says calmly. 

        Athea laughs, a short, bark of a sound. "Why would I do that? I'm not someone awful like Hitler or something."

        "Oh good job, you can recognize you're not Hitler." Other Athea says mockingly. "That doesn't mean you look in the mirror and see someone worthwhile, idiot."

        Athea's eyes drop back to her hands. "What's there to like? I'm weak. I have a temper. Sometimes I don't have enough energy to do what I should be doing, and sometimes I outright forget. Sometimes I leave my friends on read. And I'm not exactly winning any beauty prizes. I wasted years of my life hating my older sister-you can stop me you know. Any moment now." 

        Other Athea smirks and looks up at the sky. "Yeah. You're all of that. There's no denying. But you know what else you are?" 

        "What?" 

        "Someone who holds doors open for strangers. Someone who'd stop and ask a crying woman on the sidewalk if she's okay. Someone who adores her little brother and is practically raising him as a third parent. Someone who always answers a call when she sees her friends are asking for help. You sing too loud in the shower. You kept all of your stuffed animals on your bed, even though that almost pushed you off of it, because you were worried they'd feel bad if you left one of them OFF your bed. You see a stray dog and your instinct is to find their owner and get them to safety. You are a LOT of things Athea. But you don't need to be a saint to be worthwhile." 

        Athea feels something slide down her cheek. She lifts a hand to it and distantly realizes it's a tear. 

        Other Athea puts a hand on top of Athea's head. "So wake up. Apologize. Face the music. And keep being you, okay? 'Cause you're not an evil or bad person. You're just a person. There's no shame in that." 

        "But what if I do it again? What if I lose control of my fire and someone really gets hurt because of it!" Athea asks. 

        "That's why you have a shield. Remember to use it next time." Other Athea sighs. "So much you have to remember honestly...but you'll get to that eventually." 

        "Huh?" 

        Athea blinks her eyes and the fire fades away. It's just her, in a ship infirmary. Alone. 

Chapter Text

        Knowing that Dani said she was going to Resistance HQ, Dale hurries towards the thick of activity to search for her. After asking around for a minute, he's directed to a nearby hill. He approaches and sees Dani sitting on the ground and crying. 

        "Holy shit, what the fuck happened here?" Dale asks as he rushes towards her. 

        "Oh...nothing." Dani says, a weak attempt at false cheer in her voice. She hides the knife behind her back. 

        "Wha-nothing? Does this look like nothing to you?" Dale says, disbelievingly. 

        "Oh, you know, the usual...Eggman...trying to find Sonic and then couldn't find Sonic. And I had to fuck him up. And it backfired." Dani says.

        "Isn't this supposed to be a secret headquarters? How did he even find the place? And what the fuck is that behind your back?" 

        "Nothing." 

        "Dani. What's that behind your back?" 

        "A muffin." Dani lies. "Just a regular muffin." 

        "Holy shit, I'm starving. Can I have a piece?"

        "No." 

        Dale walks towards her. "Come on, give me a piece. I just went through an epic boss fight." 

        Dani throws the knife off the hill.

        Dale uses his lightning ability to quickly chase the knife down and grab it before it hits the dirt. He looks at it and recognizes it as Ares's knife. 

        "Okay, I know it looks bad-" Dani starts to say. 

        Dale looks at the knife. His eyes light up blue and the ground begins to shake with the force of thunder. "Dani. What happened?" Dale asks flatly. 

        "So...so uh...." Dani shuffles her feet. "Ares got kidnapped...? And...we need to help him...because Eggman is using him..." She says in a high pitched voice. 

        "Why are you talking in a high piitch? Like thaaat? And why are you pausing between every wooord?" Dale says, mimicking her tone. 

        "Cause I don't wanna tell you the truth 'cause then you'll beat him up." Dani says, shoulders slumping.

        "Beat who up? Who deserves to be beat up?" Dale asks. 

        "Well...not just Eggman..."

        "Go on." 

        "Uhhhhhhhhhh....starts with an 'A', ends with an 'S'." Dani says weakly. 

        Dale looks at the knife. "No fucking way...he didn't...did he?" 

        "He also insulted me." Dani admits. 

        "When I get my hands on him, Infinite won't be the one I'm torturing." Dale curses.

        "Infinite is here?" 

        "Yeah, I just dropped him off." 

        "Oooh, can I do the interrogating this time?" Dani asks excitedly. 

        "Dani, that can wait! We've got a rat to trap!" Dale says. 

        "Awww, but I want to slam his head against a table!" Dani whines with stifled laughter. 

        "Well you'll be able to do the same to Ares." 

        "I don't wanna do it to Ares, I wanna do it to the Jackal." 

        "Well his actions gotta have some sort of consequence." 

        "I still think that Ares just needs saving. He's doing this for Athea." Dani says with some compassion. 

        "Do you really think Athea would be okay with all this?" 

        "No, I think as soon as she hears what you guys did to Mimic, she's gonna freak." Dani says.

        "She's gonna freak out even more about this." Dale points out.

        "Not if Ares gets roboticized-"

        "Come on, we need to gather an army. We need to invade that base right now!" Dale interrupts.

        "I don't think we need an army. We just need each other." Dani says optimistically. "You have lightning, and I have light. What better team?" 

        "Yeah, let's hope it's enough to knock some sense into him." Dale says. 

        "Let's fry an egg! Shall we?" Dani grins. 

        "Yeah, let's do it!" Dale starts to run, then stops at the bottom of the hill. "Wait, hold on, where are we going?" He asks. 

        "I mean. We could ask....we could ask...G.U.N.? We could ask Team Dark for help?" Dani suggests. 

        "These are good guys right? These don't sound like the names of good guys." 

        "It's, it's Rouge's team." Dani says, not mentioning Shadow on purpose. 

        "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Yeah, me and her never finished our talk." Dale grins. 

        "Then it's settled! We go find Team Dark!" Dani smirks mischievously, knowing she's going to see Shadow. Fucking finally, we get to meet with the main crew again. It feels like it's been twenty-two chapters since we talked.

        "Yeah, let's go find Rouge! I mean-uh-ah-Ares. That guy. Yeah." Dale tosses Ares's knife. Fuck that thing. 

        Dani grabs the knife anyways and puts it in her hoodie. "I guess we should go to G.U.N. because Team Dark works for them." Dani reasons. "Of course, in the comics, it says that G.U.N. was taken down during the war, but I heard people talking about them so they must still be around."

        "Let's get down to business." Dale says. 

        Dani starts to hum, "Leeet's get down, to businessss, to defeat, the Eggman." 

        "Why'd they send me hedgehogs...when I asked..."

        "For bots!" Dani finishes.

        "He's the fattest man I've ever seeeen." 

        "But you can bet, he cooks real gooood!" 

        "Mister IIIIII'll, fry an eeeegg, out of yooooou."

        The first Resistance soldier they asked gave them directions to G.U.N., so Dani and Dale quickly went there. Two hours later, Dani vibrates with excitement as they stand in front of the newly-rebuilt base. 

        "Eeeee, we're here!" 

        "Eh, it's alright." Dale says. 

        "I get to see Shaaadoooow. I get to see Shaaadoooow." Dani sings and bounces.

        "Mmmm...marshmallows..." With that cryptic saying, Dale walks into the base. 

        "Oooh, marshmallows? I want some!" Dani follows him. 

        Inside the base, they can see various soldiers wandering around, apparently going somewhere very quickly. The place is dull and gray and boring, but it's a hive of activity. 

        "This place is depressing. What the fuck." Dale says.

        "You think this is the reason why Shadow doesn't smile?"

        "I'm sure he'll crack right up when he sees you." 

        "Hm. Ha ha. Very funny."

        "You two, what are you doing here?" A soldier asks, stopping in front of them. 

        "We're Team Soul!" 

        "Wait, when did we agree on that name?" Dale asks. 

        "When Athea wasn't here and I was the one making decisions." Dani says. 

        "Well since Ares isn't around to veto, I'm making the decision to challenge this name." 

        "Okay, do you have a better name then?" 

        "Team Asseat- wait hold on. Ummm...Team Swallow....wait no...."

        "Who exactly do you work for?" The soldier demands. 

        Dani steps in front of Dale. "I'm so sorry for my degenerate friend and myself. My name is Dani! I'm actually here to see Team Dark." 

        "Do you have authorization to be here?" The soldier asks. 

        "Tell 'em we have that pizza they ordered." Dale whispers in a normal volume.

        "So the Resistance HQ ended up exploding because of Eggman and one of my friends ended up going missing and it's really important that I talk to Team Dark about this because it could jeopardize a lot of things." Dani says.

        "Yeah, what she said." 

        The soldier softens a little bit. "I see. If you wait out here, I'll send a message to them. Perhaps they'll answer." 

        "Tell them that Dani the Light is here." 

        "Tell them their Uber Eats is here." 

        The soldier ignores them as they devolve into a conversation about what restaurants are present in the Sonic world. He delivers the message and goes on with his day. 

        Dani and Dale discuss the importance of coffee, but the thumps of footfalls causes them to look up to see Shadow. 

        "You're here." Shadow says flatly. "What happened?" 

        "Hi!" Dani says, while Dale curses at the lack of Rouge. "So we need to find our friend, Ares. He got mixed up with Eggman and I'm afraid he'll get hurt if we don't do something." 

        "Screw him, I've got better things to find." Dale mutters. 

        Shadow gives Dale a dismissive glance and refocuses on Dani. "What do you mean, mixed up with Eggman?" He asks. 

        "So as you know, our friend Athea ended up missing...we found out that some villains were responsible for it...and as a result, Ares decided to team up with Eggman in order to find Athea because he felt that Sonic wasn't doing enough." 

        "Don't make any excuses for him." Dale cuts in. 

        "For once, I agree with your friend. If he's decided to side with Eggman, he's made his choice." Shadow says, with no sympathy. 

        Dani frowns. "Is there any way we can help him though?"

        "Not without beating the shit out of him." Dale says dryly. 

        Shadow rubs his eyes, feeling ann oncoming headache, and sighs. "Look, what exactly are you asking from me? I'm not going to say he'll come back from Eggman's side, many don't. I'm not going to say it's a lost cause because many do. But you called for my team, so what exactly are you hoping for us to do?" He asked. 

        "We need to find him. And...umm...and...not to sound creepy but I know you guys are really good at tracking people down. And things." 

        "We're paying you to stalk somebody." 

        "No, we're not!" Dani lightly smacks his arm. "Anyways...we could really use your guys' help. And I don't wanna ask Sonic for help because you guys are quicker and more reliable." 

        "Quicker than Sonic?" Dale gasps. 

        Shadow briefly smirks before returning to his neutral expression. "We can keep an eye out, I suppose."

        Suddenly, a red light begins to flash through the base as an alarm goes off. Shadow checks his communicator and his face turns grim. 

        "What's going on?" Dani asks. 

        "Central City is under attack. By Eggman's army, led by a black wolf." Shadow answers.

        "I told you to stop making excuses for him." Dale says.