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Chapter Text

Sonic: Revival- The Broken

Chapter 1 of 8: Emeralds


“Alright, hold it steady for just a bit longer!”


Tails carefully steered the scanner drone around Emerl’s body, as she stood in the centre of the lab, her form tensed, wreathed in a golden aura. Shocks of Chaos arced around her form, and she let out a strained growl, optics focusing into a glare, aimed at the wall ahead of her.

“Alright, you’re clear!” The fox called out. Emerl let out a sigh of relief, her posture slacking as the aura flickered away as she sagged down, her arms hanging limp.

“Whew… How’d I do?” She pressed her hands against her knees, pushing herself up a little.

“The computer’s making the calculations, come on up,” Tails replied.

“Be right there!”


Emerl ambled slowly out of the testing chamber, feeling her energy starting to return. The days spent preparing the lab to measure a greater level of energy had given her ample time to be caught up on the various enemies she was likely to encounter as a member of the Freedom Fighters.

They had a substantially larger rogues’ gallery outside of just Eggman and the now deceased Naugus. An ancient Chaos mage with a front as a businessman, various teams of thieves, thugs, and mercenaries, all varying degrees of incompetent, a thuggish green Sonic from another world, and that was without mentioning the various regional villains that had aligned themselves with Eggman, similar in rank to Beauregard. 

Nicole’s explanations had been… comprehensive, but she found herself not minding. Sitting and listening to the AI talk for hours was nowhere near as dull as one would expect, and she’d refused to let the lynx just transfer the information necessary over to her, arguing that she probably wouldn’t read it if the onus was on her.

Really, getting the full explanation just meant spending more time with Nicole, which was fine by Emerl, and she wagered that the lynx was fine with it too. It wasn’t like her argument was remotely convincing, after all, but Nicole still humoured her, and had even volunteered to join the analysis for today’s experiment.

Emerl entered the control room, where Tails and Nicole leaned over the computer, joined by Rotor.

“So, did I pass?” She asked, leaning against the doorframe.

“It wasn’t that sort of test, Emerl…” Nicole smiled at her over her shoulder. “But you didn’t break anything, so we’ll call that a pass.”

“Nice. So, what’re the results?” She walked closer to the trio, folding her arms as she went. 


“Well, as predicted, switching the tests over to measure in terms of Super forms was the way to go, and we were also able to isolate your base power from that of the Emeralds,” Tails began. “It seems like, with just the synthetic Emerald that activated you, your power was roughly equivalent to Sonic’s, albeit you were capable of channeling it more freely, probably because you have an Emerald of some sort built into you.”

“Uh, in layman’s terms?” She asked, tilting her head in frustration.

“Most people with Chaos-derived powers are capable of using their entire arsenal at base form, but doing so without an Emerald to focus it is difficult. You seem to be able to do it freely because you have an Emerald built into your construction,” Rotor explained.

“Right, and with the Emeralds?”

“Well, you have two of a full set of seven, and, perhaps as should’ve been expected, you currently possess the power of 28.57 percent of a Super form, so just over a quarter,” The fox replied.

“Wait, so if I get all of them, I’ll be almost four times as strong as I am now?” She took a step forward, an excited gleam in her eye.

“Yes, but please be careful,” Nicole laid her hand on Emerl’s shoulder. The Gizoid slouched slightly at her touch, stance faltering. “You don’t want to absorb too much, it could be dangerous.”

“Although, the Emeralds are more stable when they’re all together…” Rotor mused. “Perhaps it would be best to get them all…”

“It would certainly be safer to have all seven contained within you instead of being up for grabs for anyone…” Tails added. “Definitely stay away from foreign energy types, though. That could spoil the whole mix. Especially Anarchy energy.”

“That’s the stuff that the ugly Sonic uses, right?” Emerl asked. Rotor’s eyes widened, Tails let out a ‘pffft’, and Nicole couldn’t stop herself from laughing.

“Yes, that’s the one,” The walrus confirmed, grinning.


Once Nicole calmed herself, she straightened, and turned back to the others.

“Very well, I shall bring up the idea of finding all of the Emeralds to Sally. Fortunately, that might not be a challenging task…”

“Want some company, for the journey, I mean?” Emerl volunteered. Nicole nodded, and the two left together.

“So… are they…?” Rotor asked.

“You see it too?” Tails raised an eyebrow. “I thought I was the only one.”


***

Soon, the Freedom Fighters had reconvened at their city-based headquarters, at the request of Sally. Bunnie and Antoine had arrived first, the latter rolling in a wheelchair, but otherwise looking remarkably healthy. Tails and Rotor followed, before the others began to filter in.

The squirrel herself arrived looking drained, tired, and a little frazzled, Nicole following beside her.

“You alright, Sal?” Sonic asked, zipping over to her side. He laid a hand on her shoulder, and she let out a breath she hadn’t realised she was holding, leaning against him.

“Fine. Just… dealing with the Council, with regards to our operation in the desert… isn’t going easily. They’re being obstinate on purpose again…” She sighed, frowning. Nicole’s avatar flickered, looking down as Emerl caught her gaze. “Probably because I gave them such a hard time over the Naugus thing…”

“They’re not gonna leave Uncle Beau out to dry, are they?” Bunnie asked, approaching nervously. Antoine rolled up beside her, holding her hand gently. Sally shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“No, but I can tell they’re trying to find some way to make this awkward…” She sighed again, then addressed the others. “Trying to negotiate it at the same time as a succession crisis isn’t helping, of course.”

“Succession crisis?” Sonic asked, tilting his head. “Surely they should just give Elias back the throne, since Naugus’ takeover doesn’t count now.”

“In theory, yes, but certain members of the council are now pushing for this as an opportunity to elect a new king or queen,” Sally sighed. Tails glanced over at her for a moment, before looking down. “Still, we should get on with the actual agenda for this meeting: Chaos Emeralds.”

“What about ‘em?”

Sally cleared her throat, and sat down at the table, as Nicole created holograms of the seven gems on it. They spread out, the grey one isolated, the blue and purple ones together, near to Sally, the green and red ones nearby, and finally, the yellow and light blue ones off to the side.

“Based on information provided by Tails and Rotor’s studies, I believe it might be a viable plan to acquire all seven of the Chaos Emeralds, and allow Emerl to absorb them,” The Princess began, gesturing to the Gizoid, who folded her arms smugly. “I know this might seem risky, but so far, Emerl has handled having two of them quite well. If we make sure she doesn’t get into a situation where she only has five or six of them, we shouldn’t see any side-effects or instability.”

“Alright then, sounds good to me.” Sonic nodded. “What’s the playing field like at the moment?”

“We currently have two of them, the blue and purple ones. The green and red ones are in the hands of GUN. While they’re technically our allies against Eggman, we should remember that they have their own agenda, and why they’ve taken to collecting the Emeralds is still unknown to us. I will try to negotiate, but if they aren’t willing to discuss the possibility, I’m not sure what we’ll do… I guess we’ll just have to cross that bridge if we come to it…”

“Better than the bad guys having them, I guess?” Amy ventured.

“Well, I dunno. If Eggman had ‘em we could just go beat him up and steal ‘em,” Bunnie shrugged.

“Yeah, true… This just makes it complicated,” The pink hedgehog sighed.


“What about the other three?” Emerl asked. “Can we retrieve them without so much trouble?”

“The grey one is in the hands of Mammoth Mogul, which is similarly complicated.” Sally sighed. “He’s managed to finagle himself a form of immunity. As long as we can’t prove that he’s doing anything wrong, we can’t touch him. Geoffrey might be our key there, but he wants a lighter sentence in exchange for the information.”

“That’s Geoff for ya. Always finding ways to make our lives difficult,” Sonic grumbled. 

“It does seem to be a habit of his…” Tails nodded. “Unfortunately, that might be our only option.”

“I don’t intend to treat Geoffrey’s case lightly, regardless of the situation,” Sally shook her head. “We’ll be looking into alternative sources.”

“So, that leaves these two…” Antoine pointed to the light blue and yellow stones. “Are they still in the hands of Feist?”

“To our knowledge, yes,” Sally confirmed. “However, we should be careful. Feist likely won’t be as generous as last time. He has few of the Emeralds left, and he’s given more difficult challenges since then. Communication with GUN notes that they failed to claim the red Emerald from him by victory, and instead stole it and had Omega shoot him repeatedly as a distraction.”

“I like these guys already,” Emerl laughed. 

“They’re an interesting bunch,” Rotor replied with a wry smirk. 

“Additionally, when Eggman claimed the blue Emerald, he took Snively with him, and Feist attempted to keep Snively behind in exchange for the Emerald. Taking an Emerald from him won’t be an easy task…”

“So, we can only send one person in, right?” Sonic suggested.

“Yes, and additionally, Feist can apparently stop powers working, as Shadow found out the hard way...”

“So, it has to be Emerl or Bunnie that goes, then?” Tails asked. “Sonic and I would struggle if he decided to depower us.”

“Yes, precisely,” Sally nodded. “You can decide between you if you have any preferences on that front.”


“Well, you wanna go, or leave it to me?” Bunnie asked, glancing at the Gizoid.

“I’d like to go myself, if it’s all the same,” Emerl shrugged. “I never say ‘no’ to a challenge, after all.”

“You’d probably do a better job than me anyway. Still getting used to the new limbs in terms of combat use,” She replied.

“Alright, it’s settled then…” Sally nodded. “Emerl will go into the Special Zone to recover the two Chaos Emeralds.”

“Doesn’t Feist only let you play for one?” Sonic asked.

“Not if she challenges him to Double-or-Nothing after getting the first one,” Nicole gave him a knowing smile.

“Oooh, nice. Sneaky. I like it!” He grinned. 

“One question: How do I get there?”

***

The answer to Emerl’s question arrived in the form of the Star Posts, back in the she’d been hidden near, the gate opening up with a portal forming in their midst.

“The portal won’t stay open after you’ve gone through. It’s a modification we made after the Suppression Squad invasion. Scourge decided to delay his entrance, and if the portal hadn’t stayed open, they would’ve been a lot easier to deal with,” Sally explained, standing beside her.

“So, how do I get home?” The gizoid asked.

“Either Feist will send you back, or you can teleport back by yourself,” Tails replied, making the final checks.“The Special Zone is… strange. You might find it disorienting at first, but your senses should adjust to it soon enough. Still, we’re good to go.”

“Right, understood,” Emerl nodded. “Any other advice?”

“Don’t try to fight Feist,” Sally replied, sternly.

“No promises are made.”

“I’m serious, Emerl. He’s basically a god. You’re powerful, but not that powerful.”

“Right, right, okay. I won’t fight him,” She groaned.

“Thank you. Other than that… just do everything you can to get those Emeralds, but don’t fret if it doesn’t work out,” She smiled. Emerl nodded back at her, flexing her body out, her optics doing their best to convey a smile.

“Two Chaos Emeralds, coming right up!”

“Good luck, Emerl,” Nicole smiled. “And stay as safe as you can.”

“Sure thing, Nicole!” She offered a mock salute, before backflipping into the portal.

***

Descending into the weirdness of the Special Zone was odd, especially for her. Her sensors weren’t prepared for the level of energy that assaulted them, and she found herself falling, uncontrollably toward the surface of one of the small planetoid, crashing down with a heavy crunch.

“Okay… this is new.” She groaned, clapping a hand against the side of her head an an effort to clear her vision. Gradually, her sensors adapted to the new dimension, and she sat up, shaking herself as she jumped back to her feet. She scanned her surroundings, taking note of the shifting skies and the strange floating orbs, and the large shadow falling over her. “Feist, I presume?”

“A bold one, I see…” The panda rumbled, smirking down at the newcomer. “Yes, you are in the presence of Feist. Who are you, and why have you intruded into my domain?”

“My name is Emerl, and I’m here for a Chaos Emerald!” She announced, hands on her hips. “I’ll take on any challenge you can set, no problem.”

“So, you seek my final Emerald…Very well...”

“Wait, final? I thought you had two left.” Emerl tilted her head.

“It was claimed a mere week ago, by someone, a Mobian, of your world, but not of your plane. Wreathed in his robe, carrying a staff, he came to seek a ‘Great Emerald’ and I provided…” Feist replied. Emerl frowned internally. A Mobian from another plane, taking an Emerald? That just made this hunt more complicated… Still, she could worry about that later. For now, there was still one Emerald left to take. “Nevertheless, if it is a challenge you seek, Feist shall again provide. I must question, however… you already have three, no, two Emeralds, and something else, similar but not the same… what need do you have with a third?”

“I want to get all seven, so I can use them to protect my friends and, hopefully, unlock some memories of mine,” She replied. “Why’s it matter?”

“Excellent… a selfless goal is hard to begrudge, and once the Emeralds have been used, they will return to me… so I shall endorse this quest of yours…”

Emerl was thankful for her lack of facial expressions, otherwise she would’ve struggled to not react to his assertion that the Emeralds would return to him… She was fairly sure that they wouldn’t be leaving her any time soon. Nevertheless, he wasn’t going to stop her, so she wasn’t going to question it.

“Alright then, let’s see what you’ve got!” She folded her arms, tapping her foot slightly. 


Just as Feist raised his hand, however, a golden flash opened behind him, a small green shape dropping out of it, landing on another planetoid.

“Hey, Feist!” The figure called out, clearly unaware of the entity’s presence. His voice sounded a lot like Sonic’s, but rougher, scratchier. “I’m here for an Emerald!”

Feist himself raised an eyebrow, looking down at Emerl, before a sly grin crossed his face, and he faded out of existence, reappearing nearer to the figure. As they conversed, the panda let out a loud, booming laugh, and then slowly reached over, grabbing the planet that Emerl stood on, drawing it level with the green figure’s.

“Well… this just got interesting,” Emerl punched her fist into her palm, rolling out her neck as she looked Scourge the Hedgehog up and down. She was reasonably certain that it was him, based on Nicole’s description.

“Who the hell are you supposed to be?” He frowned, looking back at her.

“You can call me Emerl, Scourge,” She replied, shifting to a ready stance. Given what she knew about Scourge, she was fairly certain that this would result in a fight, not that such a fight would be a bad thing. 

“So, you know my name?” He grinned. “My rep precedes me…”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t exactly be proud of that...” She shrugged, as her third optic ran over his form. Radiating a different type of energy, foul and wrong-feeling, along with a certain amount of Chaos, and otherwise seeming no different to Sonic. She turned back toward Feist, folding her arms again. “So, one Emerald and two challengers? Let me guess, this just became a contest?”

“Most astute… Now…”


Feist disappeared, reappearing significantly further away, behind another planetoid. He raised one hand, the golden glow of the yellow Chaos Emerald shining in his palm, before placing it down on the surface. Then, with a gesture, more of the spheres moved, forming a loose line between them and the Emerald.

With the course set, Feist reappeared beside them.

“First to reach the Emerald gets to claim it… and you are more than welcome to engage each other in combat during the challenge… disabling your opponent before they can reach the goal is just as valid a strategy as outrunning them and reaching the end first... but to make this more interesting…” He snapped his fingers, and both challengers jolted.

Thrusters: Jump Mode.
Chaos Drive: Battery Mode.
Scanner: Offline.
Self-Repair Systems: Offline.
Adaptive Armour: Offline.
Flight Stabilisers: Offline.
Chainblades: Offline.
Missile Launchers: Offline.
Nova Cannon: Offline.

“Hey, where the fuck are my powers!?” Scourge shouted, staggering. Evidently, he’d received a similar nerf to herself. “She’s a goddamn robot, how am I supposed to fight a metal opponent with regular fists!”

“In the interests of making this a fair contest for you… it will work better with you both depowered,” Feist replied, glancing at Emerl, who laughed quietly. Just a straight-up brawl, then. She could handle that. “Both of you have had your arms and armour limited, and gravity will be reduced during your challenge.”

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Emerl asked, lowering herself, legs primed to spring herself forward. She turned her head toward Scourge, her eyes narrowing. “Unless you wanna back out now, of course.”

The hedgehog bristled. He knew he was stronger than any machine, and he could crush the robot without issue. And yet, Feist thought tipping the scales the other way was a fair trade-off? He’d need to take advantage of the robot’s heavier weight to stay ahead of it… He was not going to lose.

“No way, that Emerald’s mine!” He growled, taking a similar stance. 


“Begin!”

Scourge launched himself forward first, springing toward the nearest planet, quicker off the mark, he realised, as he heard the robot’s body moving as it launched forward. Already ahead, he just had to keep it up.

Then he felt something snag his jacket, and he was wrenched off-course, less than a second to react before he was thrown into the surface of an opposing orb. Emerl stood over him, and he just managed to roll aside as her fist crashed down, denting the surface.

“Y’know, I always find myself questioning people that fight with loose, flappy bits of clothing. It’s so easy to grab hold of,” She said, letting him rise to his feet, slowly circling, putting herself between him and the Emerald. “Still, Feist’s got the right idea. If I just beat you up, I can take the Emerald at my leisure. And I’ve been wanting a good fight, too!”

Looking up, Scourge spotted another planetoid overhead, launching himself up toward it. Emerl followed, lining herself up before firing her jump-jets, closing the gap. Her hand grasped the back of his head, and she slammed him into the sphere, face-first.

“Aww, don’t run away. We’re just getting started!” She laughed, standing up, stepping back and allowing him the room to move again. He sprang back to his feet, wiping away a bloody nose with his sleeve, glaring daggers at her. “Unless you’re afraid?”

With a near-feral growl, Scourge lashed out, fist thudding against her chin. Almost off-guard, she rolled with it, only to receive his foot in her midsection. She doubled up, and for a moment, he grinned, moving in to bring his elbow down on her back. Only for her arm to sweep his legs from under him, knocking him down.

Emerl shook her head, folding her arms as she looked down at him.

“I can’t believe you fell for that feint. I mean really, a robot doubling up from an attack to the stomach? I’ve got no organs, there’s nothing in there except joints! And is that really it? Is this all you can do without powers?” She sighed. “I thought you’d at least be as good as Sonic, but from this performance I’m assuming that you’ve never trained a day in your life. This is just sad… You’re not half the fighter he is.”

“Shut up!” Scourge roared, shoulder-barging her, throwing his full weight into the attack, knocking her backwards. She staggered for a moment, as he delivered a string of punches to her face and chest, knuckles stinging every time.

“You call that punching? This is punching,” She stepped up, into his attack, her fist already drawn backwards. She twisted, pivoting her shoulder forward, driving her hand out and into his cheek, knocking him to the floor. 

He lunged at her again, hand outstretched, but she sidestepped, grasping his wrist and hurling him bodily past herself. Too late, she realised that she’d thrown him clear of the planet, and he aimed himself for the next one. “Gah, stupid low gravity!”

Jumping into the strange air herself, she angled herself forward, firing her jets to propel herself further along the course, past Scourge. As her momentum waned, she began to fall into the void, but her arm extended out, latching onto the nearest planetoid, reeling herself into it as she flipped, planting her feet on its surface, squarely in his path.

Scourge jumped across to the opposite side, sprinting along the line of orbs. Narrowing her eyes, she took aim with her arm, and fired the hand off again, the limb extending as it reached out and snagged Scourge’s ankle, pulling his feet from under him and sending him to the floor again. 

“Aw, come on!” He whined, as she dragged him along the ground, before pulling him away from the planet, bringing him straight back to herself. 

As he fell toward her, he curled up, spinning himself free of her grip. Without his powers, his quills would be useless, but he had other options. He uncurled, bringing the heel of his foot down heavily on Emerl’s crossed arms, the impact forcing her to bend her knees. Springing off, he launched himself back toward nearest planetoid.

Emerl lunged after him, her boosters slamming him out of the air and into the surface once again. Fiona’s stolen Warp Ring rolled out of his pocket, coming to rest in front of him, as Emerl’s shadow loomed over him.

“You know, I take back what I said about you as a fighter, because you’re not a fighter. You’re exactly what Nicole said you are: A bully, using your greater power to beat everyone else down, because you’re the strongest guy in the room, and you’ve got to prove it to the world. But now that the power’s gone, and you’re not the strongest guy in the room anymore, you’re pathetic. You’re a coward, running away from the fight.”


Emerl turned, stalking away from the hedgehog as she prepared her next jump. She shook her head as she tried to ignore the disappointment she felt from the fight, that a dark mirror of one of her strongest friends could turn out to be such a disappointment in terms of combat prowess, nothing at all like the trained and skilled Sonic she knew, and focused on the Emerald ahead of her.

Just in time to see a golden ring appear next to it, and Scourge step through the portal, grinning at her.

“No!” She leapt forward, desperately trying to close the gap, as he grabbed the stone, holding it up.

“Yeah.” He smirked,  as Feist looked down at him, frowning.

“You cheated.” He said, simply. Scourge’s grin only grew, as he gestured crudely at the panda.

“Ahhh, do one. You didn’t say I couldn’t use it, and you didn’t disable it either,” He shrugged, opening the ring that Finitevus had given him again, diving through it with another crass gesture at the panda.

As he left, Emerl felt another pulse, and her deactivated abilities came online once again, enabling her to fly the rest of the distance, landing before Feist.

“I’m going after him, bye,” She snapped, not waiting for a response as she grabbed hold of the closing Warp Ring and forced it open again, prizing it apart  as she threw herself into it.


She wasn’t going to lose it just yet.

Chapter Text

Sonic: Revival- The Broken

Chapter 2 of 8: Rage, Rage

Scourge stepped back through the portal, throwing and catching the Emerald in his hand, a satisfied grin on his face. The others were still milling about, and Fiona lay where he’d left her. They hadn’t tried to help her, which was good, as far as he cared.

“One Emerald, as promised,” He smirked, holding it up for his team to see before he shoved it into his pocket. He held up his hand return the Warp Ring, ready to reroute it to Finitevus’ lair. “Now let’s see what the Doc wants with it…” 

The ring didn’t close.


Scourge turned, and spotted the Warp Ring hovering, not closing. He growled, stalking back toward it. Was it on the fritz? Why? How could a magic ring be malfunctioning? He grabbed the ring, tried to force it closed, shook it, nothing. He cursed, punching the golden metal. This was just his luck! He’d scraped through a fight with a goddamn robot and now he was going to have to take the long way back to Finitevus! Normally not so bad, but with his comrades having nothing like his speed, and Fiona down for the count, it would be a slow journey. Not to mention that he was unsure whether it was possible to reach the echidna’s new base at all that way.

Then a metal fist crashed into his chin, and his back thudded against a tree.

He recoiled, swearing again as he realised he’d been punched clear across the clearing, and was now halfway up the trunk, before he fell forward, crashing down into the dirt. Wiping blood away from his split lip, he forced himself upright, rubbing at his throbbing jaw. The other Destructix had evidently tuned out during his rant at the Warp Ring, but were now shifting into ready stances, looking up at the figure that had launched itself fist-first from the portal.

“Sorry, but you’re not getting away from me that easily,” Emerl announced. Her fist slammed into her palm, her neck joints hissing as she rolled it out. 

“You think you’re a threat now that my powers are back?” Scourge growled. “Please, I smash up bots like you all the time!”

“There are no “bots” like me,” Emerl replied, smugly. “Besides, my powers are back too. And trust me, it’s not an even playing field. So hand over the Emerald, and maybe this doesn’t end with you in a full-body cast.”

“You’re gonna take me on at my best? With my team here too?” He smirked. Clearly, the advantage she’d had over him while he was just a Moebian and she was still a robot had gotten to her head. She had no idea what she was screwing with.

“Well, ‘take on’ is certainly a phrase for it. I prefer ‘Pulverise and take the Emerald’, personally,” She shrugged. The tone in her voice reminded him too much of Miles’, when they’d fought the other day. For a second, that gave him pause. Maybe she could back up her words… No, that was impossible. He was Scourge the Hedgehog, fastest thing alive, once and future conqueror of Moebius. There was no way this tin-can could beat him now.

“Bitch please. You and what army?” He jeered, stepping up. He wasn’t going to let her bluff him into second-guessing himself, no way. He strode up to join the rest of the Destructix, stretching his arms and legs out as he did so, only stopping for a moment when he heard the robot laugh.

“Army?” She repeated, before she slammed down into the ground, rock and dirt caving into a crater. Rising to her feet, she tensed her body, releasing a violent shockwave of golden Chaos, a thunderclap assaulting the ears of her opponents as the pressure pushed them back, shattering the Warp Ring with the same blast.. “I amthe army!”


His team looked over at him, as if seeking guidance. 

“What are you waiting for, hit her!” He snapped. As if they’d get thrown off by the robot’s posturing… 

Simian recovered first, charging forward with his metal arm drawn back, but Emerl was already somewhere else, her foot spearing into Lightning’s gut, and the lynx was gone, propelled even further than Scourge had been, disappearing into the treeline.

“Five…” She mused, her voice not sounding from where she’d been a second prior, sending Scourge reeling in an effort to spot her.

She was behind Predator, fist surging downwards, delivering a brutal kidney-punch that sent him sprawling across the ground, reeling. “Four…”

Frog’s tongue lashed out to snare her, but she was gone again, leaving him licking at empty air for a second before her elbow crashed down on his head, snapping his mouth shut on the slimy appendage. His eyes rolled back, and he crumpled beneath her. “Three…”

“What in the…” Simian mumbled, and for once, Scourge had been inclined to agree. To him, his comrades were ultimately cannon fodder, extra targets for his opponents to worry about, distractions to wear down tougher targets before he stepped in for the coup de grace. And yet, he still knew that each of them was a dangerous fighter in their own right. 

She’d knocked three of them out in one hit each. Even Miles hadn’t done that, though it wasn’t hard to determine that the fox had been holding himself back in the interests of prolonging their suffering...


“And then there were two,” Emerl turned back toward Scourge and Simian, the latter hurriedly bracing for an impact as Scourge prepared himself to dodge. “Y’know, an Emerald or two ago this might’ve been a challenge, but unfortunately we’re a long way from that now. Didn’t even have powers worth scanning. The only thing I’ve added since I got here was Simian, and that’s just to stack another multiplier on my strength enhancement.”

She launched toward the gorilla, mechanical fist striking mechanical fist, and for a moment they held firm, before Emerl flexed, adding Bunnie’s strength to her arm. Simian growled as he felt her begin to force him back, but before he could break off the attack, her fist snapped open, grasping his with an iron grip. He wrenched the arm upwards, but Emerl held firm, letting it take her airborne, before the arm came apart at the elbow in a flash of cyan, followed by a violent burst of dark Chaos as Finitevus’ binding energies were released.

Simian froze, feeling nothing from the severing of the prosthetic, but still stunned as Emerl landed gracefully, throwing the inert forearm aside as she folded her chainblade back into her right arm. She launched herself backwards, twisting around to crash her knee into the base of the ape’s skull, the heavy plating cracking into place just below his helmet, toppling the massive mercenary.

“One.”

“You gotta be shitting me…” Scourge mumbled.

“I mean, really, even you’re nothing special,” She walked back toward Scourge, lazily twirling Simian’s helmet on her finger as he glared hatefully back at her. “You’re a green Sonic with some bad teeth and some ugly scars, big deal. You’ve got nothing I couldn’t learn better from him.”

Emerl flipped the helmet into the air, striking it as it fell back down. Her blow launched it into Scourge’s face, knocking him off his feet. 

The hedgehog landed hard, and she was already on him, foot swinging back to punt him in the side. The kick lifted him from the ground, propelling him across the uneven terrain, before he rolled back to his feet, staying low.

“What the hell are you!?” He growled, eyes glowing purple as he funnelled as much Anarchy as possible into his body. She flashed, closing the gap between them in an instant. He threw a punch, vicious and powerful, but untamed and wild, then another, then another, to no avail. She sidestepped his frenzied attacks before slugging him square in the gut, feeling the air knocked out of his lungs.

“I’m a Gizoid,” She replied, watching him crumple against her arm. She let him fall to the ground, wheezing for breath on his knees, as it seemed the sustained beating she’d given him both here and in the Special Zone was finally starting to catch up with him. “That probably means nothing to you, but to put it in terms simple enough for you to understand, anything you can do, I can do better. If you want the full details, better consult your girlfriend. Where is she, anyway?”

Scourge looked up at her with a twisted smirk, and for a moment, the malice, the dark delight in his eyes gave her pause. He tried to say something, but only coughs and splutters came out, so he simply pointed to where Fiona lay.


Emerl looked up, following his gesture, clocking the vixen’s inert form.

‘Odd… she’s radiating the same anomalous energy that he is… The Anarchy stuff the others warned me to not go near… the others have small traces of it on them, but she’s flooded with the stuff…’ She tilted her head as she took a cautious step closer, freezing when she spotted the injuries.

Dropping all caution, she ran the last few metres, crouching down beside Fiona. The girl gave no reaction, and her third optic snapped open, running a quick scan over her, pupils shrinking to pinpricks as she read the bioscan details.

‘Bruises, cuts, burns, contusions, all located on her legs, front, upper back. All places her clothes would hide. Bruise on her cheek, looks like a fist left it, recent. Underfed. Marks on neck indicating strangulation.’

It didn’t take a scanner to see what had been done to her arms, though. They looked burnt, as if someone had forced them into a raging fire and held them there. And they were the source of the abnormally high radiation.


Emerl didn’t know much about Fiona Fox, her only reference was what little Nicole had told her so far, and the general drop in tone whenever the vixen had been mentioned as part of the other Freedom Fighters’ explanation as to where Emerl herself had come from. But she did know that Fiona, for whatever reason, loved the green hedgehog she’d just finished pummelling, and had gone to great lengths and intense personal cost to be with him. The same green hedgehog that looked uncomfortably smug when he pointed her unconscious form out to her. The same green hedgehog that was using the strange energy that radiated from Fiona’s injuries. The same energy getting closer to her back...


Emerl whirled, hand snapping out to grip Scourge’s throat before he could land a hit on her. She hoisted him off the ground, holding him at arm’s length as he tried to kick at her chest. Her arm extended, pushing him just out of reach.

“Did you do this?” She hissed, her voice developing a low, rumbling echo. He laughed, and she slammed him against the ground before pulling him up again. “Answer me!”

“Hey, it’s not my fault she didn’t do as I told her,” He replied, his voice mocking, smug despite the still-audible wheeze. Emerl tried to retort, but the hedgehog aimed his palm at her face, a blast of purple fire searing across her vision. She released him, stumbling back as her arm covered her optics. The third eye opened again, returning her sight to her, just in time to catch him boosting straight into her chestplate, fist first, driving her back, away from Fiona and toward the treeline. “She’d be fine if she just behaved!”

‘Some kind of explosive power… definitely hot and violent enough to cause those injuries… It was him.’

Emerl shifted, blazing red optics opening, planting her feet in the ground as she met his hand with one of her own. She threw all of her strength back against his charge, forcing him to a halt. For a moment, they strained against each other, before Scourge brought up his left hand again, already brimming with explosive energy. Faster than he could react, her free hand snapped out, grasping his and forcing the fingers closed just as he unleashed the blast. 

Scourge recoiled, screaming in agony as his own attack tore into him, the hand mangled and blackened by the explosion. He reeled back, clutching the damaged limb with his good one.

“Nothing to smirk about when you’re on the receiving end, is it, Scourge?” She rumbled, a burst of scarlet crossing his vision. He looked up to see the Gizoid looming over him, searing red chainblades matching the hellish glare in her eyes. “I should gut you for what you’ve done, you μπάσταρδος... But I suppose that’d be too quick for you… too easy.”

She shook her head, folding the weapons away again, stalking slowly toward him.

“No swords. Just fists.”


Scourge backed up for a moment, before turning and bolting away from her, sprinting toward Fiona’s fallen body. Emerl lunged after him, flipping herself over and bringing her heel down on his head. He staggered, legs buckling underneath him, as she twisted in the air, driving her fist into his side, launching him past the treeline.

“No shields, either.” She stormed after him.


Head pounding, breath short, Scourge pinned himself against a tree. He cursed inwardly, leaning carefully around the tree, spotting the Gizoid striding into the trees. He flattened himself again. How in the hell was this robot so powerful?

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of splintering wood, as she tore through the tree he was hiding behind, slamming down into the dirt where he had been less than a second before. He sprang backwards, launching himself into a neighbouring tree, balancing on the branch.

“You can’t hide from me. I can see your energy, no matter how far you run.” Emerl’s chest opened, a short blast from her cannon ripping the tree apart. Scourge launched himself away once more as his vantage point began to fall. 

His head clearing, Scourge focused on running. There had to be a limit to this thing’s power, right? All he had to do was stall it out until it ran dry…


Emerl appeared in front of him, mid-leap. With no means to divert, all he could do was boost forward and hope for the best. She responded in kind, her fist slipping through his guard, carving through the pressure wave and catching him square in the gut. Scourge spiralled out of the air, crashing back to the forest floor, landing in a heap.

“This… this is impossible…” He groaned, peeling himself off the ground. He knew Finitevus had told him that his boost from the Master Emerald was wearing off, but surely he couldn’t be losing this much already, right? 

Wait… the Emerald! Sure, getting to the Master Emerald would be impossible, but he did have the Emerald in his pocket…


Scourge gritted his teeth, growling in pain as the Emerald’s power flowed into his good hand. It hurt like nothing else he’d ever felt, hot, searing agony ripping into his body. But it was working. He felt strong, stronger than he had a long while. He looked up, spotting the Gizoid diving toward him, and leapt at her, yellow light burning in his eyes and pulsing in the veins of his arm. For a moment, she seemed to pause as she noticed the power he now wielded, and he homed in on her, crashing his spinning form against her. She halted, and he brought his foot down on her back, smashing her to the ground.

Landing atop a tree, he breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, he had evened the board…

“Using the Emerald… cute.” She spoke up, standing upright and dusting herself off. “Let’s match your single Emerald against all three of mine.”

Scourge’s relief died as Emerl tensed, and a crimson aura ignited around her, flaring wildly. He hurled himself down toward her, launching into a boost as she lifted off the ground, flying directly toward him.

Just as they drew near, however, she faded once more, and appeared directly beside him. Her leg shot out, and her heavy, armoured foot impacted his thigh with a sickening crunch. For a moment, it felt numb, no pain rising, but seconds later, agony pulsed through his nerves, and Scourge screamed. Her fist rammed through his own aura, extinguishing it as she made contact with his chest, another crack heralding a broken rib.

He hit the ground, hard. His head swimming, he fought to hold onto consciousness, spitting out a tooth as he rolled onto his back. Pain flared angrily within him, threatening to knock him out, but he fought it off. Still, with one good hand, a rib in danger of piercing his lung, and his leg out of commission, he was going nowhere fast.

“Easiest way to deal with a speedster: Remove a leg.” Emerl intoned coldly above him. He growled, finally clearing his head, thrusting his hand forward as red fire ran along the arm, stinging him as it went.

Sensing the energy, Emerl opened her chestplate, and both fired at the same time. Scourge roared in pain again, as his blast of explosive Chaos power met the beam Emerl had unleashed, both attacks pushing against each other for a moment, before the Gizoid’s split through his, rocketing down and engulfing his unmoving form.


The Gizoid watched from the skies as Scourge became visible again. He lay still, awake and functioning, but barely. The Emerald had removed itself from his body, now clutched loosely in his fingers. The skin on that arm had turned pale and withered, the sleeve of his jacket torn away. 

She dropped, bringing herself down on top of him, her heel stomping into his gut. He recoiled, and fell limp, offering no resistance as she reached down, snatching the Emerald from him. Once more, her chestplate opened, and once more, her vision went white as the stone flowed into its new home among the others. 


Fire met her armour, searing it away, exposing the jointless limbs of her last visions. She didn’t float above the city anymore, but instead stood among its streets, bodies in black armour scattered around her, lying inert.

She stumbled for a moment, her weight unfamiliar, feeling something stick onto the sole of her foot. Before she could take stock, she spotted something blue, streaking toward her. Without thinking, she stepped into the attack, throwing her hand forward, her arm clashing against an identically-shaped one, her eyes meeting a golden-orange stare.


Then, just as quickly, it was gone. She was once again in the forest, her form metallic, with three Chaos Emeralds burning bright in her chest, and Scourge at her feet.

She turned back toward the fallen hedgehog as her armour sealed itself once more, and felt the anger rising again. She had what she needed from him, but now there was something else that she wanted. The Gizoid unfolded her blade once again. “Might as well finish what I started…”

Just as she raised the weapon, however, a golden ring split open beneath him, and he fell into the portal. Emerl lunged, diving into a portal in pursuit of the green hedgehog for a second time that day. It was already starting to close, but she gripped the inside edge of the portal, and forced it apart, opening it wide enough for her to stumble through.


She landed in a darkened chamber, surrounded by the unconscious forms of her defeated opponents, dropped in a heap, but they were not alone in the room. Across from her stood a white-furred echidna, wrapped in a black cape. Behind her, the Warp Ring closed, and floated over to rejoin the others on his forearm. For a moment, he looked over his glasses at her, black eyes widening slightly, before he composed himself, and gave her a grin, showing his sharpened, fang-like teeth.

“Fascinating…” 

“Who are you?” Emerl demanded, pointing her sword at him. 

“Allow me to introduce myself,” His grin didn’t fade for a moment, and Emerl winced slightly. None of this felt right... “My name is Doctor Finitevus. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss…”

“Emerl,” She replied flatly, never lowering her weapon or letting her guard drop. 

“Miss Emerl, wonderful,” He offered a bow, only causing the Gizoid to narrow her eyes. 

“What do you want?” She demanded, as her scanners went to work on him. If she could keep him talking, she’d get results soon enough.

“Surely it should be I asked you that, since you jumped into my Warp Ring?” He shrugged, shaking his head. “Nevertheless, I shall tell you. I have a vested interest in allowing Scourge to live, at least a little while longer. I understand your desire to kill him, working with him is, shall we say, spiritually taxing, but for now, I have use of him, so I can’t allow you to end him just yet.”


The scan readings came back, and Emerl shifted slightly as she read off the details. Finitevus was strong, even by Adept standards he was dangerous, although his Chaos had become corrupted, somehow. Not the same energy as Scourge emitted, but still very wrong. However, he didn’t appear to be all that powerful physically, his strength mostly coming from Chaos augments. And that suited her just fine.

“You can’t stop me.” She replied, taking a slow step forward. He didn’t flinch.

“Oh, but I can,” He retorted, his smirking grin returning. Emerl growled, and lunged at him, drawing the sword back for another thrust, only for a Warp Ring to appear in front of her, too close and too fast for her to react to and stop her charge.


Emerl stumbled through the portal, and came to a halt next to Fiona, in the clearing where she had begun her assault, turning just in time to see the ring snap shut behind her, and disappear. She growled in frustration, as her aura and the red glow in her eyes faded, her sword retracting into her arm.

She glanced down at the vixen, and sighed. True, she hadn’t managed to kill Scourge… but she had secured the Emerald, and Fiona was safer now… Not a total loss.


“Come on, let’s get you home…” She said softly, picking up the former Freedom Fighter, shifting her light weight into a comfortable position, before taking off. Fiona shifted, groaning softly as she squirmed slightly, but she remained out, shuddering.

‘Emerl? Are you okay?’ Nicole’s voice echoed through her mind as she flew. ‘I felt you come back, but you were using a lot of power, and you felt angry, and then I lost you again for a moment… You scared me there.’

‘Sorry, things got a bit more... complicated… than I expected,’ Emerl replied. ‘I had competition in the Special Zone, that spilled over into this world, and now I have a passenger. Speaking of, I’m gonna need you to get the hospital ready, she’s not doing good. I think she’s going into shock.’

‘Shock!? Emerl, what happened! Did you-’ The lynx’s messages came in frantic, panicked.

‘No, no, it wasn’t me. It was him. He… I’m just gonna connect a visual link.’ She shook her head, feeling herself connecting to AI, a warmth filling her. She blinked as she felt Nicole’s presence, knowing the lynx would be able to see through her optics now.

‘Oh gods… Who did you say did this? Finitevus? The Suppression Squad?’ She asked, Emerl feeling her staring at Fiona’s arms.

‘Scourge.’ Emerl replied, an uncomfortable silence following as she continued her flight. Hate flared inside her, and she sensed a sickly feeling from Nicole’s end.

‘... Just get her back here. She’s not safe to teleport, but please, hurry. I’ll have the ward ready.’

‘Will do.’

Chapter Text

Sonic: Revival- The Broken

Chapter 3 of 8: Recovering One

When Emerl landed outside the hospital, the others were already waiting for her. She touched down at the entrance to the emergency room, already striding for the door.

“Emerl, what happened?” Tails asked, voice faintly but noticeably shaking. She glanced in his direction for a moment. Nicole had told her that Tails’ feelings regarding Fiona were “complex”, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out what she had meant by that. Especially not while looking at the smaller fox’s expression, a quiet anger in his eyes that melted into open concern as he looked at her, then unrestrained horror as he saw her arms.

“Not sure, but I have a theory. I’ll explain in a moment,” She replied, stepping inside the building.

“I got the room sorted, like you asked. Just let the receptionist know,” Nicole said, floating beside her.

“Right,” Emerl nodded, marching up to the desk. The receptionist, a raccoon, jumped slightly as she spotted the approaching Gizoid. People were still getting used to her appearance, as to be expected, and she paid it no mind. It would pass in time. “Pre-prepared room for Fiona Fox?”

“Yes, it’s all ready,” She nodded, pressing down on the buzzer. Moments later, two nurses rolled a stretcher through one of the doors, allowing Emerl to set Fiona down on it, gently releasing her. They wheeled it through the door, whisking the vixen out of sight.


“Is she going to be okay?” Tails asked, finally. Emerl turned, about to voice her lack of knowledge on that front, when she realised that he hadn’t been asking her, but Nicole.

“I… don’t know,” She sighed. “The damage is severe, and… We should prepare for the worst.”

Tails’ fists clenched, his ears folding back as he looked down, as Sonic put a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, c’mon. If they can’t help, then we’ll give it a shot,” He said, offering a reassuring smile. “A good Chaos Heal should pull her right back together again.”

“Yeah, I guess…” Tails nodded unconvincingly, and Emerl stepped forward.

“I’ll provide all the power you need,” She added, tapping her chestplate. 

“Yeah, four and a bit Chaos Emeralds should do the trick,” The hedgehog brightened, snapping his fingers.

“Three and a bit, actually,” Emerl corrected.

“Aw, he didn’t take the double-or-nothing?”

“No, he only had one left. Someone else had claimed the other before I got there. Feist said they were Mobian, but not from our plane, whatever that means…” Emerl replied.


“I think a full report of what happened is in order,” Sally cut in, walking over. “And this is no place for it. Let’s return to the HQ.”

“But Fi-” Tails protested, cut off as Sally gave his other shoulder a reassuring squeeze. 

“We won’t do her any good standing around here, talking about it, and we’re just crowding the entrance. Fiona will be fine, I promise,” The princess replied, before glancing at the receptionist. “You know how to get in contact with us. Give us a call when they make some progress…”

Or if they can’t. She didn’t say it, but the implication was there for all of them. 

***

Relocating to the headquarters, the team sat down around the central table, allowing Emerl to begin her report.

“Right, so, as I said, Feist had just the one Emerald left. Apparently the other one was taken by some guy in a cloak with a staff about a week ago. Mobian, but not from our world or something,” She began. “Anyway, he was willing to give the last one up because I said I’m gonna get all seven. He thinks that, when they get used, they’ll all go back to him, which, well, hopefully that won’t be happening.”

“Right, in theory they should remain within your core even after use,” Nicole nodded. “How did Scourge get involved, though?”

“Our paths crossed inside the Special Zone. He wanted the Emerald too, so Feist turned his challenge into a contest between us. Whoever got the Emerald first, without using powers, got to keep it. So I decided to fight Scourge and beat him up to slow him down. Unfortunately he mostly just ran away, and then used some portal-ring-thing to skip to the end when I knocked him down. I followed him back out, and met his team. Beat them up, and that’s when I saw her…”

“Fiona was already injured?” Sally asked, eyes widening as the implications dawned on her. “I had assumed she was either caught in the crossfire, or Scourge turned on her for trying to pull him out of a losing battle...”

“No, she was already out, all the injuries and everything. They… they weren’t trying to help her…” The Gizoid tensed. “The rest of the team, I mean. They were just sitting around and waiting, in decent-ish condition.”

“‘Decent-ish?’” Antoine questioned, tilting his head slightly.

“Well, they had bruises, but they didn’t look fresh. The ape guy, Simian? He had a metal arm, kinda funky-looking, gold with this weird black energy in it. Like Chaos, but… corrupted.”

“Finitevus…” Sonic frowned.

“He’s the only one we know with energy like that, and he has worked with Scourge and the Destructix in the past…” Rotor nodded.

“I suppose that answers how Scourge got out of zone jail?” Amy asked. “He must’ve sent Fiona and the Destructix to get the creep.”

“Probably…” Sally nodded.

“Wait, isn’t Fiona afraid of prisons?” Emerl paused, looking at the others. “Nicole told me that much…”

“Yeah, she is,” Bunnie replied, and for a moment, Emerl wanted to leave, and hunt down the green hedgehog with her swords at the ready. Apparently, Nicole sensed it, because her hand clasped the Gizoid’s own, and the rage faded.

“Every new detail just makes this worse…” She mumbled, before speaking up again. “Well, after I realised that he was the prime suspect and exactly what that meant, he went and confirmed it. He used this attack, like an explosion of power, and while I didn’t try to absorb it, I did get a scan, and yeah, it definitely would’ve been enough to cause those injuries. And then he blamed her.”

Emerl’s fists clenched, and she became aware of several other hands doing the same around her.

“What did he say, Emerl?” For a moment, she didn’t recognise Tails’ voice. She’d never heard him speaking with such venom, and as she looked at him, she spotted a faint red glow, the same that her own energy had burned with during the fight, shining in his eyes.

“He… he said she’d be fine ‘if she just behaved’, as if she’d made him do it...” Emerl replied, and the room got colder. For a moment she felt Tails’ aura spike, but it subsided just as quickly, rage giving way to an icy glare. He said nothing, but Emerl recognised the look. She didn’t know from where… But it was plain to see what his intentions were. “After that I kinda lost it.”

“Lost it?” Sally asked.

“I wanna say it was just my temper, but it wasn’t really. I just… I really wanted to hurt him. And I did. He tried to use the explosion attack on me again, and I forced his fingers shut so it blew up in his hand. Then the coward tried to use Fiona as a shield, and after I punched him clear of her, he just started running. He wasn’t getting away though. He tried to absorb the Emerald, but it did something messy to his good arm, and as for the attack, well…  one Emerald versus two and a half. He stood no chance. And then I broke his leg.”

“I’d wince, but my pity well is pretty much bottomed out,” Sonic frowned.

“I wanted to stop him, was in two minds about whether I should kill him or not, I know you guys don’t like it, but I think I just wanted to give her a shot at revenge and make sure he wasn’t going to be a problem in the meantime… But at the same time… finishing him off there and then seemed like a better option… Unfortunately, that’s when Finitevus got involved personally. He warped the Destructix, except Fiona, back to his lair, wherever that is. I don’t think it’s in our world. Wherever it is, Nicole couldn’t detect me.”

“Think he could be the guy that took the other Emerald?” Sonic asked.

“I didn’t see a staff on him…” Emerl replied.

“And besides, if he got the first one himself, why send a wild-card like Scourge after the second?” Sally added.

“Yeah, true… Probably not him, then,” He shrugged.

“But yeah, I followed Scourge through, met Finitevus, and man, is he a creep. Never met someone that could make a smile inherently unsettling before,” She shuddered. “We didn’t talk much, just exchanged names, and then he warped me back to where I’d been fighting Scourge when I tried to take a swing at him. I got the Emerald, and I brought Fiona back, and that’s about it.”

“I see… Well… Congratulations are in order, for your first successful solo mission,” Sally offered her a smile, before her face fell. “As for Fiona… her situation is complicated. Medically, I’ll ensure that everything that can be done for her is, but… We’ll have to discuss with her before we make any decisions regarding what will happen to her afterwards.”

“Thanks,” Emerl replied. “One step closer, I guess.”

***

The day wore on with little further news, and the group gradually dispersed. Night fell with no word, and as the organic members of the team retired, Emerl found herself with Nicole once more, perching on a roof again. 

“I really have to get myself sorted with a house…” Emerl sighed, sitting herself down. “I spent all last week training myself in the lab when you weren’t around.”

“Does that even do anything for you?” Nicole asked, tilting her head as she floated beside her.

“Kinda. No muscles to build up, but Chaos itself, that power, works like a muscle,” She replied, flexing her fingers as a green flame appeared in her palm. “Using it gradually raises your limits, and if you don’t use it, it atrophies. I need to give my abilities a bit of a workout frequently or I’ll start to get weaker. Basically: Use it or lose it.”

“Ah, I see. I don’t think my powers work like that… my mental ones, I mean. I think it’s tied more to my emotional state. They certainly got a lot stronger than normal when I thought Naugus had killed you,” Nicole mused, looking at her own hands. “However, I have more control when I’m calm… More finesse.”

“There’s something similar with Chaos…” Emerl nodded. “The emotional state of the user affects the way it manifests, and the powers that can be used.”


She looked up at Nicole, her eyes dulling for a moment as she replied her memories. Seeing the sun for the first time in so long. The elation of defeating Mecha Sonic and Naugus. The new friends she had found. The lynx standing before her, who had brought her into the world again, helping her find her new place. And, as her optics lit up again, the green fire condensed into a shining blue orb, pulsing softly.

“Positive Chaos… It’s warm, and bright, it heals and fuels us… It’s a lot more passive, more about making the user stronger rather than making big lasers or explosions or anything, mostly just shields and healing. Sonic has a lot of it, but I’m guessing he hasn’t practiced those actual powers or he’d probably be ready to try healing Fiona already,” She explained.

“Yes, that’s correct. Sonic uses his powers mostly to make his physical abilities stronger,” Nicole smiled. “He hasn’t practiced a whole lot with the energy-projection side of the scale.”

“Right, right… Well, there’s a negative side too…” Emerl replied, as her eyes blinked out again. She thought of Eggman, and Scourge, and the atrocities they had committed. Eggman’s childish egotism and desire to flip the board when he lost the game. Scourge’s cowardice in the face of a greater challenge. Her rage ignited, as her fist clenched, the orb exploding into a roaring scarlet fire, eyes matching in colour and intensity. 

For a moment, she just stared into the flame. Perhaps… perhaps she should find them both, and bury her blades in their hearts. It would be deserved, and she had the power to do it…


“Emerl!” Nicole’s voice cut through her trance, and she blinked, shaking her head as she focused back on the lynx, who was now much closer, hands on her shoulders, a fear in her eyes. The fireball around her fingers evaporated, and she felt her body relax. She hadn’t even realised that she’d tensed up again.

“Nicole?” She almost yelped, but managed to keep her voice in check. “What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong? You just started staring into that fire you’d made, you were rambling about ‘finding them’, and stabbing them with your swords. You were saying that they deserved it… I thought you were losing it...” She replied, releasing her grip on Emerl’s shoulders, backing up slightly.

Emerl froze. Had she been saying those things out loud? She must’ve terrified her… Maybe she was losing it...

“Sorry… Uh… I should go,” She mumbled, standing up, walking along the rooftop. Before she could reach the end and take flight, however, she felt a hand clasp her own, and she looked over her shoulder to see Nicole smiling slightly at her.  “Nicole?”

“It’s alright…” She spoke gently, her voice soft. It just managed to stop her from tugging her hand away.

“Is it?” She asked. “You said it yourself, you thought I was losing it.”

“I meant your temper, not your mind,” Nicole smiled, taking Emerl’s hand in both of her own. “There’s nothing actually wrong with that. It’s okay to feel angry. It’s natural, it’s normal, to get angry at the things you saw from Eggman and Scourge. We’re all angry about that. But you’re new to it, you don’t know how to cope with that yet. That doesn’t make you a bad person. It doesn’t make you crazy. It makes you alive.”

“Thanks… And, I’m sorry I spooked you there,” Emerl scratched the back of her head awkwardly. “It’s just… I really hate bullies. People who abuse their power. Prey on those that are helpless to stop them. I mean… I have all this power. Ever since you woke me up last week I’ve been able to do amazing things… I can fly, I can move faster than sound, I’m strong enough to take down opponents more than twice my size without effort. And that’s just my body, without even getting into the power-copying and the weapons and all that… But for all the might that I have, I… I can’t comprehend the idea of abusing it… of abusing others with it. Being strong doesn’t give me the right to do that, if anything it makes it my job to defend the defenceless!”

She paused for a moment, her free hand tightening into a fist, looking straight into Nicole’s jade eyes.

“I don’t know what happened in Eggman’s workshop, and I don’t want to. But the control he had over Sally, and what he did with that control… its monstrous. And the same with Scourge and Fiona. The more I understand about Fiona’s own situation, the lengths she went to for him, just to end up in an ICU because of him, and to then have him blame her for it… I can’t begin to understand them. I just want to make them pay for it…”

To her surprise, Nicole simply smiled back at her, gently squeezing her hand.

“You know, when I woke you up, you said I shouldn’t have done so… Well, you haven’t made me regret my decision yet, and I don’t think you will in the future either.”

“Oh, uh, thanks!” Emerl all but jumped, suddenly thankful that she had neither cheeks nor blood to rush to them. But as her processor tried to formulate an appropriate response, the lynx’s ear twitched, and she glanced off toward the darkened castle, releasing Emerl’s hand in the process.

“I need to go. Sally needs my assistance.” She said shortly. For a moment, her face darkened, and she looked at Emerl with a faint flicker of rage in her eyes. “I may want to discuss what you said about Eggman again soon, though.”

“Oh, sure,” Emerl nodded, her head quirking slightly at the same time. The lynx smiled, and wrapped her arms around her companion’s shoulders, leaning against the taller bot’s shoulder. Emerl froze.

“Thank you,” She sighed, barely louder than a whisper, and Emerl finally returned the hug, gently holding her much smaller friend.

“No problem, Nicole.”


Nicole released her grip on the Gizoid, and flickered away with a smile, leaving Emerl to slump back down on the roof. “I am so screwed.”

She slumped, sliding down the rooftop, leaning back against it. Her eyes settled on the castle, narrowing slightly. There was a light on in the tower, probably Sally’s. Not unexpected, all told. She had been made aware that the Princess would occasionally pull all-nighters, and was something of a workaholic. 

It hadn’t been on when she and Nicole were talking, though. 

If Sally were simply staying up late to work, the light would’ve been on already, it was far too dark for her to be able to see without it. She wasn’t staying up for work. She was either sleeping, or trying to sleep, and something had woken her up and caused her to summon Nicole’s immediate presence. It had also caused Nicole to become suddenly more intense (Something that Emerl herself admittedly found rather… interesting), and single out her own hatred of Eggman as something to discuss in future.

For the first time, Emerl felt something she could only describe as helplessness.

Chapter Text

Sonic: Revival: The Broken

Chapter 4 of 8: Not a Cure

Sally couldn’t move.

The lab was dark, red emergency lighting casting long shadows across it. Eggman loomed out of the shade, his coat still torn, his glasses broken, moustache even more dishevelled than usual. And yet, he was still working, striding toward her paralysed body with a hideous grin, his red eyes leering down at her.

She tried to force herself to move, to say anything, but her body refused to respond, as he pulled the goggles over his eyes and raised the blowtorch.

Fire seared into her skin.

***

She screamed, waking to find herself curled up in her own bed, fingernails biting into her upper arms as she held herself tightly, tears starting to roll down her cheeks. Reaching out, she grabbed her computer from the bedside, flipping it open.

“N-Nicole…” She whimpered, and within a second, a warm green light filled the room, shortly followed by the glow of the lamps. She felt the lynx’s arms wrap around her, pulling her into a gentle hug.

“I’m here…  It’s okay… Just let it out…” The lynx murmured. Twice before, she had been summoned to her friend’s room in the middle of the night, as she awoke, reliving everything Eggman had done to her. No relief, no sign of recovery. Nothing Nicole could do to help.

Well, not entirely true, she reminded herself. There was something she could do. For a moment, her eyes shone with numbing power. All she had to do was reach into Sally’s mind and erase the memory…

***

Nicole floated beside Sally, once again restored to control over her mind, all hints of Eggman’s corruption wiped away.

“Sally… you have…  a lot of repressed memories. Almost everything from the first few days of being Mecha Sally…” She mused. “Right now, being a robot makes it easy to just file that all away and not look at it. But… if we can find a way to turn you back to normal… they will come back. You… might not want that… But… I could erase them for you.”

Sally looked up at her, then lowered her eyes as her brow furrowed, arms folding, one hand reaching up to cup her own chin.

“No. No, you can’t,” She finally replied, looking up at her. “For your own sake.”

“For my sake?” Nicole frowned. “Sally, this is about your mental health!”

“Nicole…” Sally stood up, grabbing her friend’s shoulders. “You know what unleashing your telepathic abilities could lead to. Last time you were willing to use them, you ended up erasing yourself to protect us. I became Mecha Sally because I made a sacrifice to protect everyone that I care about. I won’t let you throw yourself away just to make me more comfortable.”

“It…” Nicole paused, and closed her eyes. ‘It should’ve been me… I shouldn’t have let her take that hit, I should’ve taken it for her… It’s my fault, I couldn’t break through Eggman’s defenses because of my own problems… I didn’t save her until three months had passed because I was distracted with the nonsense with Naugus-’

“Nicole?” Sally’s voice roused her from her trance. She blinked, shaking her head as she refocused on her.

“Sorry, I… Alright, I won’t use them. But I’ll be there when the memories come back,” She said, forcing a smile. “That, I can promise.”

“Thank you.”

***

Nicole shook her head again, the glow fading from her eyes as she hugged her friend again. 

‘I only used telepathy to spike Naugus’ minds… and already there’s this urge to break my promise… Maybe… maybe this shouldn’t be my role…’ She turned, looking at Sally. “Do you want me to wake Sonic?”

“No. Just stay.” 

“Alright…” Nicole sighed, dismissing a second avatar that had formed outside the hedgehog residence.

***


Emerl wasn’t the only one in the lab that night, upon arrival she found lights on inside, and walked in to see Tails standing in the centre of the training floor. Turning on her heel, she crept up to the observation room, leaning against the computer banks as she watched the fox warming himself up.

A swarm of holographic targets appeared around him, and he became a blur of motion, limbs and tails lashing out, jabbing and cutting through the targets as they moved, spiralling past his body.

The Gizoid’s third optic opened, her perception of his movements slowing down as she began to analyse them. He was fluid, a lot more than she’d previously expected. A punch here, a kick there, all practiced and strong, before a sweeping tail attack took out half of the targets in one go. Plainly, the most dangerous place to attack Tails was from behind, where his twin weapons had the most reach. 

After three cycles of the targets, Emerl warped herself onto the training floor, startling the fox, just as he was stretching out his knee for the next round. He let out a yelp, and overbalanced, dropping to the floor with a thump.

“Ow,” He groaned.

“Sorry about that,” She replied, holding out her hand for him to take, enabling her to pull him to his feet. “Can’t sleep?”

“Thanks. And yeah, tried, still awake after a couple of hours, came here to burn some energy and work off some frustrations,” He replied, returning to his stretches.

“That was my idea too. Just without the insomnia part,” Emerl nodded. “Room for a training buddy? Could even swap in for these targets, we can go a few rounds.”

“Sure, I guess,” Tails shrugged. “But I don’t think you’ll get a good match out of me. If you were able to one-shot most of the Destructix and single-handedly take down Scourge, I won’t stand much of a chance.”

“Eh, this isn’t about me. I gave my powers a workout yesterday, I don’t need another one today, I was just here for entertainment. It’s your training, so I can scale myself to the right level to help you improve,” She began to loosen up her limbs once more. “And besides, don’t sell yourself short. You’ve got more power than you give yourself credit for, I can see it.”

“I… haven’t really done a whole lot, power-wise… mostly low-level stuff…” Tails frowned, backing up to put some distance between himself and Emerl. “So, what’s the plan?”

“Well, let’s start with bringing that power back up, then,” Emerl flexed her fingers, jumping back as well. “As for how, anything that gets your blood pumping and your power up. I can even fight like him, if it helps.”

Tails raised an eyebrow as he caught the implication, eyes narrowing into a glare. 

“Let’s go with that.”


Emerl launched herself forward, curling into a tight ball as she took off. Tails jumped away from her spinning form, letting her crash against the floor. She turned, leaping up after him, but he flipped himself over, bringing his tails down on her spinning form, batting her back to the ground. 

“Not bad!” She called, unrolling herself. Tails remained airborne, hovering, giving her a small smirk, as if daring her to make the next move. “You’re not gonna want to hold still, though!”

She jumped toward him again, but as she spotted him moving to dodge, she released a boost, surging into the fox and plowing him into the ceiling. Both fell, Emerl rolling as she landed, Tails crashing down hard.

Despite the rough landing, Tails got up quickly, just in time to shield himself from a charge to his back, Emerl’s fist thudding against his natural weapons.

“Ah, thought so!” She beamed, blocking a swing with her other arm. 

“Thought what?” He frowned, tail snapping out to deflect another of her strikes.

“You’re really good at covering your six. With those tails it’s like the worst spot to attack you!” She threw another punch, but this time, her hand opened, and she caught the tails as they lashed out, throwing him aside. “But you can’t see what type of attack’s coming, right?”

“Yeah.. that’s right,” Tails nodded, rolling back to his feet. “Fortunately, most people don’t try grabbing them after they see what I can do. Scourge might be dumb enough, though…”

“Yeah, truth be told I’m just being Sonic, but dumber,” She replied, turning herself toward him. “His style wasn’t really worth scanning, and even if it was, I started too focused on getting the Emerald, and then on beating him down for what he did... “

“Yeah… can’t blame you for that…” The fox frowned, dodging as Emerl’s fist crashed down where he had stood just before. He twisted in the air, swiping is tails at her head.


“Speaking of, what’s the story with you and Fiona?” Emerl asked, her arm snapping up and blocking his attack. “Nicole only really told me about what she was like after she left, I don't have much about anything before that, but I’ve noticed that you were getting a little… spiky, let’s say, when she was brought up in regards to my origins. All I know is that she was one of us first, and then he came along.”

Tails landed, letting out a sigh as he looked down. 

“Fiona joined us when we were in a bad spot. Sonic had been thrown across space, and we thought he was dead, for a whole year. Sally had fallen into depression and Eggman had stopped playing around, so we were on the back foot. We were willing to take anyone, no background checks needed, and she had helped us during the attack where Sonic had been spaced, so we were willing to make exceptions,” Tails began, spinning headlong into Emerl, clashing against her forearms before she threw them wide, forcing him back.

“You say that like she was already bad,” She tilted her head.

“She wasn’t, but she had been,” He clarified, halting in the air. “She’d been a criminal beforehand, ran with a bad crowd. More from necessity, the way she told it. But her motivations for joining us were mostly noble.”

“Okay, bad start, but she made a change for the better only to relapse?” Emerl sprang toward him, spinning under him as he dodged upwards. 

“Essentially, mostly at Scourge’s prodding. She had… issues... with Sonic, Sally had issues with her hiding her past, and whatever he promised her, she seemed like she was happier with him, and… well, here we are. She helped him with some of his schemes, yeah, but… this is new.”

“When I saw her injuries, I gave her a scan… Saw a lot bruises in areas that her clothes would cover, sooo… probably not that new...” Emerl replied, and the fox scowled, a flicker of crimson in his eyes as he lunged, the Gizoid just managing to avoid his strike. “And that still doesn’t answer what the deal is with you and her.”


Tails froze as he landed, and shook his head, blocking Emerl’s fist with his namesakes, shoved backwards by the force of the blow. 

“Fiona… meant a lot to me. I liked her, as more than a friend… But that feeling wasn’t reciprocated,” His foot jabbed into her knee, knocking her leg backwards, forcing her to drop, steadying herself on one hand. “She wanted Sonic… at least until we found out that she just hoped he would take her mind off of Scourge, but he was the one she really wanted…”

“Oh, so it’s that kind of complicated,” Emerl planted her other hand, swinging her legs around to sweep his own, but he jumped over it, only to catch her feet in his chest as she launched herself back upwards. His back scraped against the floor, as he flipped back upright, both of them standing across from each other.

“Not quite. I mean, sure, I was upset when I found out, who wouldn’t be?” He moved back in, dodging past Emerl’s wild punches in the process. “Sonic is my closest friend, I felt like he was betraying me. Even his actual reason was stupid, but… I’m not really an angry or vengeful type, never have been, so I couldn’t really stay mad at him once I knew that he’d had better intentions. But really, it was Fiona’s choice. She wasn’t at all obligated to return my feelings, and both times, I decided to respect that. Her being happy was what mattered most.”

“Even with him?” Emerl brought her head forward, missing as Tails grabbed her crest and used it to flick himself around her body, slashing at her back. “Oh, nice!”

“Thanks. And yeah, even with him,” Tails’ eyes narrowed, as he met Emerl’s spin charge with his defensive wall again. “That was why I didn’t try to save her. I thought she’d made her choice, moreover, she’d chosen what made her happy, and if I really loved her, how could I tear something that made her smile apart, even if it hurt me?”

“Oof, guess you’re right there...” Emerl sidestepped, thrusting around his tails, only for one of them to club her straight in the midsection, knocking her back. “Except…”

The Gizoid closed back in, sliding under a tail strike to reach her opponent’s front, springing up just in time to see his eyes blazing an angry red, just like her own the day before. For a moment, it startled her, and she whiffed her punch, just as his arm thundered up.

“Except it ended up hurting her. Apparently it hurt her beforehand too, and I didn’t notice it. Someone I love went through hell, is in a coma, and might lose her arms, and I let it happen because I thought she was happy.” 


Tails’ fist struck Emerl’s cheek just as her rockets lifted her off the ground, hoping to dodge the strike. At the same moment, his body ignited with scarlet fire, his aura roaring into life for what felt like the first time in years, the pent-up energy sparking a violent blast, square in the Gizoid’s face.

Thrown badly off-course, her jets pushed her into a spiral, twisting as she impacted the ground, bouncing once as her metal form cracked the floor, before the second landing caused it to scrape into the ground, tearing it up before she crashed into the wall.

For a moment, Tails remained frozen in place, fists tightening to the point that he could feel his claws digging into the skin through the material of his gloves. Then, as the sound of Emerl’s crash finally registered, his aura extinguished, his body relaxed, and his eyes returned to their natural blue.


“Emerl!” He rushed over to the fallen robot’s side, as she pushed herself upright once again, rubbing her crumpled cheek. “I’m so sorry, I-”

“Hey, it’s okay,” She jumped up, raising her hands. “I probably shouldn’t have got us started on something that would rile you up so much in the middle of the match.”

“I still need to control myself better…” He looked down, shoulders sagging. Losing his grip like that wasn’t remotely acceptable! What if he’d been sparring with Sonic, or Bunnie, or any of the others and released that much of a blast? Sure, Emerl was mostly fine, but she was a lot sturdier than the rest of his friends. They could’ve been seriously hurt…

“Well, yeah. That much power is dangerous when you can’t control it,” Emerl nodded. He paused, looking up at the taller figure. “But there’s no harm done, and I’d be more than willing to help you get it mastered.”

“Well… if you’re sure about that…” The fox frowned. Truth be told, the amount on untapped power that he could access scared him. Often, he wished he didn’t have it, or that it could be taken away, but his unwanted gift from Chaos itself lingered. Even with the Great Harmony long passed, still it remained. “I just think it might be better if I didn’t use it at all.”


Emerl shook her head, putting her hand on his shoulder.

“Tails, if you’ve got that much pent-up energy that just throwing a punch while supremely ticked off can produce a blast like that, not using is a bad idea,” She winced slightly as her cheek pushed itself back into shape. “You might be too juiced up, or you might just naturally have a lot of it, but there’s going to be points in-future where you’re angry like that again, and you’ll have that problem again. And next time, it might not be me that takes the hit.”

“What should I do, then?” He asked, sullen. Her logic was hard to ignore. She’d even made some of the same points as his own internal ones. This wasn’t something he was going to be able to hide from.

“At the very least, you need to burn some more off, but the best thing to do would be to get some mastery of it, so you can control it and not blow things up every time you get a little too mad,” Emerl explained. “And that’s training I’m willing to provide!”

“Well… I think it might be best to take you up on that, then…” He said. “When should we start?”

“Right now, if you’re up for it?” Emerl cracked her fingers again. “I know I am!”

“You’re always up for a fight,” Tails half-frowned, half-smirked.  

“That may be accurate, but it doesn’t lessen the urgency of needing to vent more Chaos than just that one punch,” She folded her arms smugly, leaning forward as she did so. 


Before he could offer a response, however, Tails’ communicator beeped. Raising a finger to indicate a momentary pause, he answered it, and heard Quack’s voice at the other end. The duck sounded tired, as one would expect to in the middle of the night, his tone grave.

“I need you to come down to the hospital. It’s about Fiona.”


***

Tails and Emerl arrived in the reception in a flash of blue, where a nurse waited for them. Their sudden arrival started the poor cardinal, but he soon shook his head and led the pair of them into the hospital itself.

Tails had been expecting to be brought to Fiona’s bedside, but he realised quickly that they were not being taken toward the ICU, but instead toward the offices. His stomach began to knot itself, and he became distinctly aware of Emerl’s fists clenching beside him, her casual stroll quickly becoming an aggressive stride.

Soon, they arrived at Quack’s door, and were let in. 


Horatio Quack sat behind his desk, nursing a large mug of coffee. He looked up at the pair with his singular eye, and gestured toward two of the chairs in front of the desk. The cardinal excused himself as they sat down, Tails gripping the armrests tightly as Emerl folded her arms over her chest.

“Thank you for coming down at this late hour…” He said. If he had sounded tired on the phone, now he seemed outright lethargic. “Princess Sally asked that we be in touch if there was a development, and Nicole advised me that you were still awake, Mr. Prower.”

“Yeah. Couldn’t sleep,” He muttered. “What’s the news?”

“I… I don’t think we can save her arms,” The old duck finally admitted, and Tails’ fingers almost splintered the armrests, Emerl’s eyes narrowing as she glared at the doctor.

“What do you mean you can’t save them? Put her in a roboticizer and let her repair systems handle it, then turn her back!” She snapped. His eye turned toward her without flinching, and he let out a sigh.

“Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. The Roboticizer’s long-standing, and very recent use, as a weapon by both Robotniks as a tool of enslavement and oppression, means that it’s highly regulated. I can’t just wheel it out for everything. Additionally, Miss Fox went into shock, she has lost a large amount of blood, and the energy exposure to this… ‘Anarchy’, as it’s been termed, has severely weakened her,” He explained.

“So? I’m gonna need a bit more of an explanation, Doc. I’m not a medical person,” Emerl only continued to glare.

“Roboticization is not a stress-free process. In fact, it is extremely painful for the subject, and the stress brought on by the transformation can cause cardiac problems in later life, especially if someone is transformed and then transformed back in quick succession. The actual process of breaking down the molecular structure of internal organs and reconstituting them into metallic parts that serve similar but ultimately differing purposes is risky, and even when done safely, can cause a lot of long-term damage. With the damage that has already been done to her body, I don’t believe that she would survive a full roboticization.”

“And a partial won’t work because without converting the liver, she wouldn’t have the self-repair systems anyway…” Tails mused. “And, of course, outside parts will just stop her being turned back at all.”

“Precisely, being unable to do a full roboticization renders the entire dilemma moot,” Quack tented his fingers. “Unfortunately, I believe I will have to amputate, and do it soon. The flesh of her arms is already necrotizing, and that puts her at risk of septic shock. I’m sorry, but I don’t have other options.”

“What about a Chaos Heal?” Emerl jumped up, looking at Tails. “With the power you showed me back on the training floor, I bet you could muster up enough to heal her!”


Tails stared at his hands for a moment, and then shook his head.

“I can’t use Chaos Heal. I’ve only ever used my powers for my tails and for attacking… I don’t know how, and even if I did, I don’t think I could make it work with the current issues I’m having power-wise…” He sighed. “What about just doing the partial roboticization? Just roboticize her arms, and we can worry about healing at a later date?”

“That will work, and it’s an option we’ve considered. She’d face the same issues as Mrs. D'coolette did, but if we replace the limbs with some safe prosthetics and keep the originals in storage, then as long as a solution is found before she outgrows them, that will work. I’m sure you can modify a set of prosthetics to function in that respect?”

“Yes, I can,” Tails nodded, managing a smile.

“In that case, it’s just the red tape obstructing things,” He frowned.

“Red tape?” Emerl asked, flopping back down.

“Legal stuff,” The fox replied.

“Yes. As I said, the roboticizer isn’t something that can be freely used, it carries a lot of social stigmas. Especially since the percentage of the population that they still worked on was comparatively very low until Eggman made his new one, meaning that we couldn’t really do a lot of research with it. In order to clear the treatment, I’d have to get it in writing that either Fiona herself or a legal guardian has consented to having it used on her.”

“And therein lies the problem…” Tails’ face fell, and he slumped into his chair.

“Huh?” Emerl asked, turning toward him. “Why’s that?”

“Fiona’s obviously unable to do it herself, and… she doesn’t have parents. Whether they’re dead or they left her, I don’t know. Which she believes seems to change with her moods. But, at the very least, they’re not around anymore. There’s no-one to sign off on it.”

“Actually, not so,” Quack spoke up. “Miss Fox isn’t yet an adult, she’s only sixteen. If she were genuinely an orphan, or at least her parents weren’t anywhere to be found, she’d be considered ward of the state, in which case I could get the treatment sorted immediately. No, the complication lies in that Fiona’s records do provide a listed guardian and next-of-kin, but the name listed under both of those is Nicolette Weasel.”

“Who?”

“Mercenary-turned-treasure hunter-turned- bounty hunter, wanted for quite a few crimes in Acorn itself, but working south of the border at the moment,” Tails replied. “At least, as of last sighting. We tend to keep tabs on as many potential threats as possible, but she’s a slippery one. Even moreso since her brother started hunting her.”

“So basically our only shot at giving Fiona even a slim chance of getting her arms back is to go south, find an elusive criminal, convince her to come back here, and then sign something to say “Yes, you can shove my friend’s arms into a robot-maker”, and then hope that doesn’t cause even more problems?”

“Essentially, yes,” Quack nodded. “And you’ll have to do it quickly, too. I’ll have to perform the amputation soon, regardless of results.”

“How long do we have?” Tails stood up, hands fidgeting awkwardly for a moment before he let them drop, clenched tightly.

“Based on the current state of decay... and the rate at which it’s been progressing… three days before I have to start the operation.” Quack met his eyes. “That’s if you’re going through with this plan. If you aren’t, I’ll start after I’ve had some sleep.”

“We’ll have to clear it with Sally first…” The fox mused, folding his arms and stroking his chin. “And that won’t be until morning… so I’ll let you know as soon as we’re done with the meeting tomorrow as to what decision we come to.”

“Thank you. I’ll have someone show you out.”

***

The two Freedom Fighters left the hospital in relative silence, stopping as they stepped out into the cool night air. Tails took a deep breath, letting it out with a quiet sigh as he made a few trudging steps forward.

“You okay?” Emerl asked, stepping up beside him.

“No. Not really. I just… I wish there was something I could do, to help her right now. To fix the injuries,” He mumbled. A half-truth. It wasn’t just that he wished he could help her, it was more that he had the sinking feeling that, if he’d had his powers honed to the right level, he would’ve been able to heal her already.

“Hey, it’ll be alright. We’ll go south tomorrow and find Nicolette, and then we can roboticize her arms until we find a proper cure,” She put her hand on his shoulder, offering him what she could count as a smile for herself. He returned it, weakly, just as Nicole flickered into the space in front of them. “Hey, Nicole!”

“Hi.”

“Hello, both of you,” She smiled, before noticing her organic friend’s sullen expression, her own face falling. “How is she?”

“It’s bad. Quack says they’re probably going to have to amputate unless we can find Nic the Weasel and convince her to let us use the Roboticizer on her arms,” He replied, quietly.

“Oh… Well, I’ll certainly support you in that… I assume you’re going to be bringing it up with Sally tomorrow, yes?” 

“That’s the plan!” Emerl nodded, clapping Tails on the back. He stumbled, almost falling, but caught himself. “Sorry.”

“Well, at least it’s something... “ Nicole offered. 

“Yeah, I guess…” Tails nodded, before yawning. “Oof, you two don’t mind if I take off now, do you? After the workout and all the stuff with Fiona, I think I’m finally ready for some sleep.”

“Of course not, go get some rest,” Emerl replied. 

“Yes, it’s fine Tails. As-is, I’d like to talk to Emerl alone, anyway, if that’s alright?”

Tails’ eyebrow raised for a moment, and he looked at the both of them, before giving them what looked to both of them like a knowing grin, though what he meant by it, Emerl wasn’t sure.

“Oh, of course. Have fun!” He all-but smirked, taking off and flying back toward his home. 


“What was that face about?” Emerl asked, as she watched him disappear into the night. She had half an idea, thinking back to the rooftop just a few hours earlier, but that wasn’t something she wanted to be thinking about.

“I’m not certain…” Nicole replied, before she turned back toward the Gizoid, her face darkening. “This… isn’t easy for me to say, so… I might struggle a bit.”

“Oh? What’s wrong?” Emerl asked, shifting to fully face her. The lynx sounded nervous, but there was an underlying anger to her words, a rage bubbling within. She looked up at her friend for a moment, before glancing away, biting her lip in the process. She raised her hand for a second, before putting it down again. “Nicole, it’s okay. You can tell me anything.”

Nicole paced back and forth for a moment, fists clenching in frustration as she finally approached her again, reaching out and putting her hands on her shoulders, gripping her firmly yet gently as she looked into her eyes.


“Next time you get the chance, I want you to kill Eggman.”

Chapter Text

Sonic: Revival- The Broken

Chapter 5 of 8: Family Reunion

Emerl stared at Nicole, blinking for a moment before she found her voice.


“You want me to kill Eggman?” She asked, incredulous.

“I thought you wanted to kill him? Why the cold feet now?” The lynx frowned, folding her arms.

“I’m not saying I won’t do it, I’m just… shocked that you’d ask that…” Emerl replied, shaking her head. “You felt… worried… when I said I wanted to kill him before. What’s changed?”

“It’s… I… I can’t say.”

“It’s Sally, right?” She prodded. Nicole glanced up, opening her mouth, and closed it, looking away again. “Called it.”


Nicole grabbed Emerl’s shoulders, and leaned close, eyes narrowing.

“You can’t let anyone else know about this, and you can’t tell Sally that I told you. She swore me to secrecy, and I shouldn’t be talking about this at all.” She whispered.

“Okay, okay… My non-existent lips are sealed,” Emerl raised her hands, drawing one across her smooth faceplate, and Nicole’s face fell as she backed up, folding her arms behind her back awkwardly.

“Sorry… I… This isn’t normal for me… It’s just…”


Emerl stepped up, and gently pulled Nicole into a hug, which she quickly reciprocated, leaning against her shoulder. 

“It’s okay. You don’t need to apologise for being angry about someone hurting your friend. Heck, I’m angry about people hurting friends of my friends, or… whatever Fiona is to you guys, I dunno,” She offered as much as a reassuring expression as she could manage with just her eyes.  “In fact, let me tell you something…”

She pulled back, holding the hologram gently as she leaned close to her ear, her voice low and menacing.

“You didn’t need to ask me.”

“E-Emerl?”

“Honest!” She sounded happier and brighter again now. “I was gonna take a swing at the monster the moment I got the chance. I just wanna work out how I’m gonna do it…”

“Whatever you decide to do, if I can cover your tracks, I will,” Nicole nodded. “Sally made me promise to not use my powers to heal her… but I will not let what he did stand. Sally will be able to heal better knowing that he’s gone.”

“I don’t think she’ll approve,” Emerl mused, fingers stroking her chin.

“I don’t care. She’s hurt because he’s still here, long after he deserved to be gone, and as long as he stays, Sally won’t be the last,” She snarled, fists tightening. 

“Then it’s settled. Eggman dies.” She held out her hand, and Nicole shook it, both glancing toward Sally’s still-lit window.

***

The following morning, the team once again reconvened. Sally looked just as tired as the day before when she walked in, and Emerl just managed to avoid side-eyeing Nicole. Still, the Princess stood up, bidding them all welcome.

“What’s the news, Sal?” Sonic asked. “Geoff finally talk about Mogul?”


“No, no… Nothing so uplifting, I’m afraid,” Sally shook her head, taking her seat. “Doctor Quack doesn’t think he can save Fiona’s arms. And he can’t use some of the more experimental treatments without permission from a legal guardian.”

Sonic growled, and Bunnie clenched her metal fist, Rotor and Antoine exchanged glances, and even Amy looked down slightly. 

“But Fi don’t have a legal guardian, though,” The cyborg spoke up, brow furrowing.

“Actually, she does,” Tails spoke up. “According to Doctor Quack, she named Nic the Weasel as her guardian, and next of kin. And as long as Nic is alive, that will stand.”

“Is she alive?” Antoine asked, frowning. “I was under the impression that her brother had hunted her down.”

“He’s definitely trying,” Nicole nodded, bringing up the files on both twins. “Whether he has succeeded, I don’t know, but she was sighted alive in Starlight City, Soumerca just last week. Ideally, we can send a small team to bring her here and convince her to sign off on Fiona’s treatment.”

“There’s no way she’ll take that deal,” Rotor frowned. “She might’ve gone somewhere she can more easily slip away, but that doesn’t mean she’s not a criminal here. She’d think it’s a trap. You’ll need to take proof.”

“Indeed, that’s why I’m going,” Nicole smiled. 

“Yeah, we can bring her back in no time!” Emerl punched her fists together.


“You’re not going,” Sally replied, looking at Emerl.

“What?! Why?” The Gizoid whirled toward her.

“Scourge,” Sally replied. “There’s a chance he or Finitevus could decide that they want Fiona back after all, it wouldn’t be out of character for an abuser, and since you can take Scourge down single-handed, I want you to make sure that doesn’t happen. Added, you can get him out of the hospital without recourse if he shows up there.”

“How would they know to come here?” She asked. “Last I checked my arrival and association with you guys wasn’t immediately public.”

“It’s not, but the doctors found what I determined to be a tracker on her clothing when they were examining her,” Nicole replied. “It’s offline now, but this would be the first place they’d look, if they wanted her back.”

“Oh, right. Yeah, that’s fair,” Emerl nodded. 

“Besides, you wouldn’t get a good fight out of Nack’s gang anyway,” Sonic shrugged. “Even if you held back you could probably flatten them without much trouble.”

“Ah, fair enough then,” Emerl shrugged. “Who is going?”

“Sonic, Tails, and Bunnie, I think,” Sally replied. “We’ll need room in the Tornado to bring her back. Is that okay?”

“Sure thing, Sal!” Sonic grinned.

“Yeah, no problem,” Bunnie nodded.

“I think we can handle that,” Tails smiled.

“Alright then… good luck.”


***

The flight was uneventful, and soon they landed at the Starlight airport, heading out into the city itself.

“So, where are we headed?” Sonic folded his arms behind his head as they strolled down a street.

“Into one of the seedier districts, most likely. Starlight’s mostly a haven from the wars, but that neutral ground means that some unsavoury characters are drawn to it, mainly the ones that don’t want to work for the Eggman Empire,” Tails replied. 

“Like Nic, you mean?” Bunnie asked. 

“Yes. While she did accept work from him in the past, seems like Fiona talked her out of it at some point, for obvious reasons. Of course, Eggman doesn’t much like mercenaries that don’t work for him, so…”

“Yeah, they have to go somewhere he can’t reach them in the event that they get hired to run a job against him,” Sonic finished. “Let’s split up. We can cover more ground that way, and we’re all fast enough to regroup quickly when we find her, if need be.”

“That’ll work. Meet up back here in half-hour if we don’t find anything?” Tails suggested.

“Sure thing,” Bunnie agreed, and the group separated.

***

Nic ran.

She seemed to be doing a lot of that, lately. It was bad enough having cops and the Eggman Empire’s agents on her tail, but her own brother had joined the fight, bringing two of her former comrades with him as well. Apparently the lack of honour among thieves wasn’t just a figure of speech after all.

Unfortunately, the twins shared a very distinctive appearance, the result of their hybrid nature. Wolf and weasel were two species that rarely mixed, and never did so smoothly, and both had been born with a bizarre amalgamation of the traits of both. 

She’d made a small effort to change her look, a different hairstyle, finally getting that pesky oversized fang removed from her mouth, but anything else beyond a change of attire wasn’t open. She’d considered a dye job, but all she could find was an awful shade of pink that didn’t suit her at all, so she scrapped that idea.

This had all added up to making her a very easy person to track, and while she was confident that she could defeat him in combat and make her escape again, there was always a niggling thought that he only needed to get one lucky shot, while her refusal to kill her own blood left her with a far greater challenge, especially with him having allies now.

So she ran. Never settling in one place for long before she was on the roads again, lest he catch up to her. She slept odd hours and kept to herself, which made working in her chosen profession difficult, and several times she’d missed a mark because he chose that moment to attack her. As a result she’d moved away from sniping to a more short-range style of combat, one that required her to stay mobile and get close to make a kill, whenever she could manage it.


Today was going to be one of those days, she realised. Nack had caught her while she was separated from her bike, and now she ducked and weaved through the streets. A risk with Bean around, the last thing she needed was other denizens of the city getting caught in the blasts of his explosives, but it gave her a better chance of surviving than going up to the rooftops where Nack could snipe her without nearly as many obstacles.

“Still runnin’, you old hag?” His voice echoed in her ear. He’d found her personal frequency too, because of course he had.

“I’m an hour older than you at most, and we look nigh-identical,” She hissed back, glancing over her shoulder to see Bark’s large yellow form wading through the crowds, Nack beside him. 

She didn’t hear his response, shutting him off as another voice called out.


“Nic, over here!” The speaker was a feline of some sort, brown fur, wrapped in what looked like a toga, of all things. She was waving to her from an alley, and, sparing a glance for her assailants, to make sure their eyes weren’t on her at this exact second, Nic ducked low, rolling into the side-street.

But, as she looked up, she realised that her mysterious benefactor had disappeared. No sign of her remained in the alley, and as Nic prepared herself for a fight, a solid grip snagged her shoulder, and wrenched her upwards.

She managed to avoid crying out, her hand going for the large machete on her hip. Designed for a human, it was more like a sword in her hands, but just as she went to pull it out of the sheath, she drew level with the cheerful face of Bunnie Rabbot.


“Hey Nic, look like you’re in a tight spot,” The Freedom Fighter greeted her, setting her onto the rooftop as she let go. Nic stayed her hand for a moment, if only because getting into a fight with Bunnie wasn’t a physical challenge she was up for.

“Ugh, what do you guys want? I swear I haven’t done anything!” She protested, as another voice spoke up behind her.

“It’s not about what you’ve done,” The lynx from the alley appeared from nowhere, and Nic jumped back, pulling her blade out, pointing it at the newcomer. For her part, the lynx ignored her hostility, and even Bunnie didn’t seem concerned. “It’s about what you can do.”

“Can you handle this, Nicki?” Bunnie asked, glancing over her shoulder.

“Hey, don’t call me that!” Nic protested, and the lynx laughed.

“She means me. My name is Nicole,” She smiled. “And yes, I have this. You and the boys have fun.”

“Oh, don’t worry. We will,” Bunnie grinned, leaping off of the building. Nic watched her go, before turning back to Nicole.

“Okay, mind telling me what the hell is going on?” She demanded, not dropping her weapon. “Because you got ten seconds before I start stabbing.”


Nicole’s serene expression faltered, and for a moment, Nic wondered if she’d touched a nerve, before the lynx looked up at her.

“You may want to take a seat, this won’t be easy to hear about… Miss Weasel, I have some unfortunate news regarding your ward, Fiona Fox.”

***

Nack had been having such a good day. 

He’d finally caught up to Nic, and he’d managed to keep the more excitable of his two companions from blowing his cover before he got close enough to seal the deal. She was running, but she couldn’t outrun his guns, and he’d finally be rid of the last of his family.

Then, it had all gone to pieces in the space of a few seconds. 

First, he’d lost sight of Nic. Then, of all people, Bunnie Rabbot had dropped out of the sky and smashed foot-first into Bark. Right after that, Tails appeared and dragged Bean off the street, up to the rooftops. And, finally, for the coup-de-grace, Sonic the bloody Hedgehog arrived, tripping him as his high-speed arrival scattered the crowd.

“Hey Nack, how’s it going?” The hedgehog grinned.

***

Bunnie kicked off from Bark, flipping herself over as she landed on the street. Already, he was charging at her- No surprise, Bark had always been tougher than average- but she ducked under his fist, sidestepping as she swept his legs with her own, sending him skidding across the ground.

“Don’t suppose I can convince ya to back off of Nic? We need her to save Fiona,” She asked. Bark stood up, and for a moment, he seemed to consider it, before he rubbed his head where her feet had impacted, and charged her again. “Yeah, that’s fair.”

A rounded shield projected from her arm, blocking his fist, but the impact still lifted her off of her feet. He kept coming, but Bunnie’s engines carried her over him, and she opened fire on his back as he skidded to a halt. 

He staggered, but managed to stay upright, whirling as he threw a haymaker back at her. She met it with one of her own. Her feet dug into the dirt, but she held firm. As he tried to pull back, her arm extended, wrapping around his forearm, her fingers gripping his elbow. She dragged him to the floor, then hauled him up, overhead, and into the dirt once more. Her arm pulled back, and she brought her heel down on his head.


***

Tails threw Bean onto the rooftop, dodging the retaliatory explosive as he landed. He had to ask Nic or Fiona where exactly the duck was keeping them once this was over. He was reasonably certain that Bean was not an Adept of any kind, so no pocket-space, and he certainly didn’t have the technical backing for it, so unless it was some kind of magical artefact, he was drawing a blank.

Another blast jarred him from his thoughts, and he rushed toward Bean. Better to get in close where he was less likely to use another bomb- well, marginally.

“Hey, Propeller-butt!” Bean smiled, pulling out two more explosives as Tails curled up, dashing into him and causing him to drop both. He uncurled, striking him across the beak with his tails, knocking him to the floor. 

He had no desire to listen, or respond, to the duck’s usual inane wittering. That wasn’t abnormal for him, Bean’s voice sounded like brain cells dying, but he found his patience with the duck surprisingly short.

Perhaps it was just the desire to get Nic home and save Fiona, and Bean posing an obstacle to that, mixed with his frayed temper. He was their friend, though.

“Stay down, we need Nic to help Fiona,” He growled, almost surprised at the anger in his own voice.

“Fifi’s hurt? Well, you can have Nic after we blow her up,” Bean replied. Tails’ eyes narrowed, temper bubbling up. Fiona had told them that she and Nic had been friends with the two goons that now worked for the latter’s brother. Yet now they were helping Nack try to kill Nic.

“No.” He growled, a crimson pulse exploding from his fingertips. 


***

“Oh great, what are you doing here?” Nack growled, picking himself up.

“Eh, need Nic for something, can’t really let you, Strong-n-Silent, and the Mad Bomber kill her, can I?” Sonic shrugged. “Why do you want to kill her anyway? Me and Tails’ve had our arguments, but we’ve never wanted each other dead.”

“You actually just demonstrated why, hedgehog!” Nack snapped, aiming his revolver. “You came for her, for whatever job you need doing off the table, instead of me. I gotta get rid of the competition!”

Immediately, Sonic closed the gap, his fist snapping at a pressure point on Nack’s arm, causing him to drop the gun. He snatched the weapon out of the air, flicking the safety on before throwing it away. 

“Easy, unless Fi wrote your name on her files as well, Nic’s uniquely qualified for this one,” He turned, kicking Nack in the chest, sending him sprawling. He rolled, drawing another gun, but as he fired, Sonic sidestepped and snatched the bullet out of the air, flicking it back at Nack’s feet. The weasel sprang back on his tail, firing wildly, but the hedgehog dodged every shot, launching himself upwards. He flipped over, slamming his foot into Nack’s forehead, spearing him back into the dirt.


As he landed, Bunnie hauled Bark over, dropping him next to the unconscious sniper.

“What do we do with ‘em?” She asked, folding her arms.

“We can’t fit ‘em in the Tornado, and Starlight’s authorities will never hold ‘em… maybe get Emerl to warp ‘em back to Mobotropolis and put ‘em in jail?” Sonic shrugged.

“Works for me,” Bunnie shrugged. “Where’s Tails?”


As she asked, Bean dropped, slightly smoking, on top of Bark, and Tails landed beside them, a faint red glint in his eyes. Sonic paused as he looked over at his friend, concern etched on his face.

“Tails..? Are you okay?” He asked, and the fox’s shoulders sagged, a sigh escaping him.

“Not really… Let’s just get Nic and go home,” He mumbled, walking back toward the building they’d left the mercenary on the roof of. Sonic appeared in his path before he got too far, putting his hand on the fox’s shoulder.

“Tails… if you wanna talk, I’m here, okay?” He said, gently. Tails nodded, but didn’t look up.

“Let’s do that later.” He muttered.


***

“Where is Scourge?” Nic growled, glaring at the lynx. Nicole sighed, shaking her head.

“We don’t know. Fiona might be able to tell us, but…”

“She’s comatose.” She finished. “Well, no matter. I’ll find him, and when I do, I’ll kill him.”

“I understand your fury, Miss Weasel, but it is worth noting that, as a dark mirror of Sonic himself, you would struggle to defeat him.” 

“He’s gotta sleep sometime,” Nic replied darkly, folding her arms.

“Hm, fair point,” Nicole conceded with a shrug. “Still, I know some friends of mine will offer their assistance regardless, and one even tried already.”

“Well, I appreciate that,” She sighed. “And I also appreciate you comin’ out here to tell me, especially with the rescue. But what about my own… record? I notice that you guys don’t appear to have paper on you, so I’m guessing you want me to come back with you, and I wanna be sure that this doesn’t end with my tail behind bars. I mean, I’ll still come if it means saving Fi, but I’d like some insurance.”

“Sally has that under control, and you’ll be under the protection of a new friend of mine. She’s no fan of the Council, so if they try anything, she can get you out of trouble.”

“Is this the same ‘friend’ that rescued Fi from Scourge?” Nic asked, raising a knowing eyebrow.

“Yes, that’s her,” Nicole nodded, as Tails and Bunnie landed on the roof, Sonic running up the side to join them. “All clear?”

“Yeah, they’re done for. We’re gonna get Emerl to warp out here to bring ‘em back home,” Bunnie nodded. “What about y’all?”

“I’m coming with you,” Nic nodded. “Nicole and I are on the same page, but I woulda come back anyway. Fi’s… important to me. I’m not gonna let her go through this alone.”

“Well, good to hear that,” Tails managed a smile. “We should probably get going. I can take us straight to the hospital.”

“Lead on, kid,” Nic jumped up.


***

The flight back was just as uneventful as the journey out, and soon the Tornado was touching down outside the hospital. Sonic and Nicole headed off to inform Sally of their return, leaving Tails and Bunnie to escort Nic to Quack’s office.

Having left her weapons in the plane, the weasel received little more than some hard stares, and while Quack repeated the explanation she had received from Nicole, with some additional jargon thrown in. Nic signed, as she had said she would, and had little to say, beyond a single request.

“I want to see her.”

Seeing no harm in it, Quack led the trio down toward the room where the vixen had been placed. Tails realised as he followed the duck that he hadn’t seen Fiona since Emerl had brought her home. He frowned as he thought about it- He’d spent so much time focusing on his own anger at what had happened that he hadn’t even visited her. 


As they arrived outside the room, Nic froze, and pointed to the bronze figure that stood outside the door, leaning against the wall.

“Is that a Gizoid?” She asked, eyes widening, drawing the attention of the robot.

“Yeah, I am. Name’s Emerl. You must be Nic, right?” She greeted the mercenary as she stood upright, giving a friendly wave.

“Uh, yeah… You’re a lot… talkier that I would’ve thought a Gizoid to be. I mean, I only had carvings and accounts from people that didn’t have them to work with so I guess they could’ve been wrong and translating was really more Fiona’s thing and I am just rambling, aren’t I?” She stopped for breath, shoulders slumping. 

“It’s okay, it’s not the worst reaction I’ve gotten since I woke up,” She shrugged. 

“Fi used to ramble like that too,” Bunnie gave a nostalgic smile, which Nic returned.

“Hey, who do you think she got it from? Neither of us could keep a lid on it when we were startled. It’s not every day you see something that history teaches is a robotic monster just… chilling inside a hospital, being a friendly lady,” She explained. 

“Well, I’m not chilling. I’m standing guard. Sally was worried that Scourge might come back for Fiona, so she stationed me here to discourage that course of action. As-is, he hasn’t shown,” Emerl shrugged. “But now you’re back, I can go and stretch my legs a bit.”

“Sure. Actually, Sonic suggested that you could go to Starlight and recover Nack, Bean, and Bark, and bring them back here to put them back in jail,” Tails spoke up. “Nicole has the coordinates.”

“Sure, I’ll head over,” She began to walk out, stopping as she drew level with Nic. “Hey, when this has blown over, can we talk? You seem to know a fair bit about what I am, and I’d like to enquire about that.”

“Sure thing. I’m guessing you’re the one that Nicole told me about, the one that saved Fiona?” Nic replied. “I’ll happily help you with something in return.”

“Yeah, that was me. And thanks,” Emerl replied, before jogging out.

“She seems nice,” Nic shrugged.

“She’s a character, that’s for certain,” Bunnie smirked. “C’mon, we’re keepin’ the doc waitin’.”


Quack led them inside the room, where Fiona lay in a bed, her eyes closed, her arms bandaged. Her breathing was slow, but regular, and her heart rate appeared normal. Their entrance drew no response from the comatose girl, and as Tails and Bunnie quietly moved to her side, Nic stood in the door, staring at her former friend, her eyes watering. 

‘Oh Fiona… I promise you, that when I get my hands on him, I’ll tear him apart for daring to hurt you.’

Chapter Text

Sonic: Revival: The Broken

Chapter 6 of 8: Waking Up


Fiona felt cold. More specifically, her hands felt cold. So cold, in fact, that she couldn’t lift them to wipe the sleep from her eyes as she forced them open. The ground was rough and hard, the sky above her dark. Her team surrounded her, but she couldn’t make out their faces.

That was odd. They were close enough for her to see, but yet, no expression could be read.

She tried to push herself upright, but agony lanced through her arm the moment she pressed her weight against it, and she collapsed back. The Destructix continued to stand in silent sentinel, unmoving.

“Will one of you jerks help me up!?” She demanded, but none of the faceless figures responded. She growled, and opened her mouth to snap at them again, when heappeared.

Wreathed in hellish purple light, matching flames burning from his shoulders down to his clawed fingertips, pouring out of his fanged maw, leaking from his eyes, and blazing within the twin scars on his chest, the monster stalked toward her, twice his normal size, even taller than Simian. He grinned as he looked down at her, reaching down to grip her wrist. The pain stabbed her again, but he paid no attention to her screams, hauling her off the ground. As she dangled from his huge paw, she caught sight of the stinging arm for the first time.

Little more than bone and torn muscle, charred and scorched by the fire the monster had razed her with.

“Sorry yet?” He leered at her.

***

She woke with a shriek, surging upwards as she tried to spring from the bed, straight into a pair of warm, well-muscled arms, that wrapped tightly, but still gently, around her body. 

“It’s okay, it’s okay… I’m here… You’re safe… he can’t hurt you...” The voice was soft, barely above a whisper, but the tone and accent were familiar to her.

“N-Nic?” She stammered, returning the hug as best she could. Her arms still felt cold and numb, and she felt her oldest friend jolt as they touched her, but the weasel hybrid’s grip only grew stronger, and she pulled Fiona into an embrace that she hadn’t experienced in years. 

Her eyes flitted around the room, ears trying to blot out the frantic beeping of a heart monitor as it slowly calmed down from the nightmare she’d just escaped. It was definitely a hospital ward of some sort, but it was dark, both outside the window and within the room itself.  “Nic, w-what happened, where are we?”

“New Mobotropolis, Fi…  I…” She stopped, struggling with the words, but Fiona’s mind had just been distracted. New Mobotropolis? How did she get here? Had he dumped her here after he…

“Nic, what happened to my arms? The last thing I remember is…” She shook her head as her eyes watered, a faint sting rippling through her hands. Nic’s shoulder’s shook heavily, and she felt a dampness on her own.

“Fiona, I’m sorry, but… they had to… had to…” She struggled, and as the vixen removed one of her arms from the embrace, and brought it into her line of sight. Even in the gloom, it was easy to see the more angular shape, the separate parts, and the faint gleam of the low light against metal casing. A glance at the other limb told much the same story, and Fiona buried her face in Nic’s shoulder as the pair of them wept.


“I’m so sorry…” Nic mumbled, her hand cradling Fiona’s head. “I should’ve been there… I should’ve protected you… I should never have let you go off like that...”

***

Fiona wasn’t alone in her tribulations that night. Across the city, Nicole found herself holding a shaking Sally once more. It was a nightly occurrence by now. The Princess would turn in for the night, and within an hour, she’d be dragged back into consciousness by her memories of Eggman’s treatment of her. Nicole would appear, try to comfort her, mostly fail, contemplate taking drastic measures of her own, offer to summon Sonic, and be rebuffed.

This time, though, there was a change.

“Get Sonic,” Sally murmured weakly, and the lynx nodded.


To his credit, Sonic’s complaints at being woken up stopped as soon as she told him that Sally needed him, and he crossed the city as fast as he could manage without waking half of the city’s population with a sonic boom.  

Forgoing the use of doors or corridors, he scrambled up the side of the building and entered via a window, rushing over to Sally’s beside and pulling her into a warm hug. She sank into his arms, and to the hedgehog, he’d never known her to feel so small.

Neither of them spoke, Sonic just stayed motionless for once, letting Sally lean against him, her eyes wetting his shoulder as he hugged her.


“Do you need anything else?” Nicole asked, as the two settled down together, and Sonic shook his head.

“I think we’ll be alright,” Sonic replied, managing a faint smile as the lynx flickered out. As she left, though, his face fell and he turned his attention back to Sally, his hand resting gently on her back. “He’s not gonna get away with this, Sal. Promise.”

Her shoulders shook, and she pulled away enough to look up at him, trying to smile for just a moment, before she closed her eyes tightly, burying her face in his shoulder once more. He shifted slightly, repositioning himself for the comfort of them both. Sally’s grip tightened as he did so.

“Don’t go,” She murmured, and Sonic held her closer, curling protectively around her.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” He replied.

“I love you,” She yawned, as her eyes began to close, still watering.

“Love you too,” He kissed her cheek, then relaxed, carefully kicking off his shoes before he pulled the comforter over the pair of them.


Sally slept through the rest of the night.

***

Emerl dusted off her hands as a forcefield materialised between herself and Nack, glancing at the guard who had accompanied her.

“So, now what? Do they just stay in there?” She asked, prompting a shake of his head.

“No, they’ll stand trial for their various crimes. It’s not a certain thing, but I’m pretty sure they’ll be becoming long-term residents of this place,” He explained. “Thanks for bringing them in.”

“Hey, Sonic, Tails, and Bunnie deserve the real credit. They did the hard work, I’m just the delivery-bot,” She shrugged, turning to walk away. As she did so, she passed Geoffrey’s cell, and leaned closer, rapping her knuckles against the barrier.

The skunk glared out at her with one eye, keeping the other closed.

“What do you want? Some of us actually need to sleep, and you bringing in those oafs and chatting away with the guard isn’t helping,” He frowned.

“Oh, nothing much. Just a bit of a warning, really. Now that we’ve got those guys, plus the two ladies in the hospital, you miiiight wanna think about giving Sally that information she needs about the mammoth guy. Might be your last chance,” She jeered, her optics suggesting that she was somehow smirking.

“I’m sure the Princess would’ve been quite capable of telling me that herself. What do you really want?” Geoffrey glowered, sitting up. Emerl shrugged, leaning closer to the barrier, her eyes narrowing.

“Honestly? I kinda just wanted to make Sally’s job easier, and to see you squirm a little. She’s got a lot on her plate at the moment, and if I can sort some stuff out for her, I will. As for you… Well, after what you pulled with Naugus, I think you deserve it.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to comprehend why I took those actions, robot, but I had my reasons,” Geoffrey scowled, prompting the Gizoid to roll her eyes.

“Oh, I know about your excuses,” She folded her arms, foot tapping slightly. “They don’t mean σκατά to me. Great, you’ve got a motive, doesn’t change the fact that you did the bad stuff. Doesn’t erase the pain you caused Nicole, my friends, or the regular, innocent people that got their heads screwed with by Naugus because you brought him back. A lot of people got hurt because of your hangups, buddy. Comprehend that.”


“Miss Emerl, please don’t taunt the prisoners,” The guard’s voice cut in, and Emerl leaned away from the cell, looking immediately brighter.

“Sorry, I’ll be on my way now. See you ‘round!” She gave a cheerful wave, before strolling calmly out of the prison. As she got outside, Nicole’s avatar appeared beside her.


“I thought I might find you here,” She smiled. “Thank you for recovering those three. I know it was a little mundane, but we couldn’t exactly fit four mercenaries, let alone one as large as Bark, in the Tornado, and leaving them alone seemed like a bad idea.”

“It was my pleasure, Nicole. Nice to see another part of the world, really. Even if it wasn’t a long visit,” She shrugged. “How are a things with you?”

“Well… Sally had a nightmare again, but this time she actually asked me to get Sonic. They’re staying together now,” Nicole replied. 

“Well, that’s a relief. Not the nightmare, I mean, like, there’s progress, y’know?”

“Yes, indeed. And I’ve observed that sometimes, just having someone by your side can make a rough night easier. It brings a certain security, to have someone there,” The lynx mused. 

“Yeah, I get you. Well, in concept, at least. We’re not the sort that have dreams or nightmares or anything like that,” Emerl shrugged, pausing as she noticed Nicole stop, wrapping her arms around herself as she looked down. “Nicole?”

“I’ve had both,” She replied, quietly, as if she were confessing some dark secret. Emerl tilted her head quizzically, backing up to her side.

“You sleep? I didn’t know you could sleep,” She frowned, scratching her head.

“I… I can. I prefer not too, but sometimes I just need a break, and nobody else is around, so I set the city to run itself and just shut down for a while. Dreams are our brains trying to amuse themselves while inactive, like how you can get a song stuck in your head while doing something low-effort and menial. And my brain is no different, even if it’s circuitry instead of organic…”

“Yeah, I get that, but… Okay, so I know I’m old, physically, but I know for sure I was active before whatever happened that left me stuck in that casket in your old base. But I wasn’t unconscious during the time between whenever I crashed and when you woke me up. I wasn’t anything. I was just… off. And I think that’s the same with other bots too, right? And I know you’re not technically a robot but I hazard a guess that my brain and your brain are similar, albeit mine’s a lot… simpler? So… why did whoever made you make it so that you don’t shut off all the way when inactive?” Emerl asked. 

“I… I don’t know, Emerl. I don’t even know who made me, or how, or why. Sally just… found me, and that’s the first thing I can remember. I wasn’t even sentient until a while after that. I’m not even sure what I am sometimes…” She murmured, shaking her head.

“Hey,” Emerl put her hand on Nicole’s shoulder. “I’m not entirely sure what I am either. But Tails said we’re similar, enough that whatever was used to make you was probably based on whatever was used to make me. So I’m willing to bet that when we find the answer to one, we’ll find the answer to the other as well!”

“Thank you,” Nicole managed a smile, pulling her taller counterpart into a hug. Emerl froze for a second, before returning it. “I suppose we’d best keep recovering those Emeralds, then?”

“Yeah, definitely,” The Gizoid nodded. “Speaking of, I gave ol’ Geoff a bit of a sabre-rattle after I dropped those guys off in jail. Warned him that with them, plus Nic and Fiona, we might be able to get dirt on Mogul without his “help”, so he might wanna give Sally what she wants.”

“You didn’t have to do that, you know.”

“Nah, but I wanted to. He’s a smug, self-righteous jerk whose actions hurt a lot of people. Hurt you. He deserves everything that’s coming to him for that alone,” Emerl frowned. Nicole’s eyes widened for a second as she spoke, and her grip on the Gizoid’s frame tightened, but she seemed not to notice. “I sympathise with what he went through, and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, but γαμώ, way too many innocent people got hurt because of his pain.” 

“I see where you’re coming from, I guess I just don’t have it in me to be like that, even to people that deserve it,” Nicole shrugged. “I prefer to see the good in people, I suppose.”

“Well, that’s a good thing, I think. I solve my problems by punching them really hard, and I guess that makes me default to seeing things in a way that justifies that reaction…” Emerl sighed.

“‘When all you have is a hammer, everything starts to look a bit like a nail’,” The lynx mused. “It’s an old saying, but it seems applicable. Still, I don’t think you’re entirely wrong, nor am I entirely right. There’s a balance to be had, we just need to find it.”

“Maybe that why we go together so well,” Emerl beamed. “We balance each other out.”

“Maybe, maybe…” Nicole smiled.

***

The following morning, Sally’s eyes slowly opened, and she found herself still held close in Sonic’s arms. She yawned, but as her vision demisted, she realised that she felt well-rested, for the first time in over a week. 

“Mornin’, Sal,” Sonic smiled, kissing her cheek.

“Good morning, Sonic,” She let out a happy sigh, snuggling herself closer to him. “I didn’t keep you up too much, did I?”

“Nah, you went out like a light not long after I got here, and then I followed right after that,” He replied. “You sleep alright after that?”

“Yes, I did,” She nodded. “Better than I have in a long while, actually.”


Sonic’s brow furrowed, and he looked down at his partner, concern spreading across his face.

“‘A long while?’ Sal… how long has this been happening?” He asked. Sally froze, her face falling as she averted her gaze.

“Over a week… since just after we got home…” She admitted. “It didn’t start until I moved back into the palace… But… I haven’t slept properly since then, until last night.”

“Sal, I… why… I mean, it’s okay that you didn’t tell me, I guess… but, why didn’t you?” He asked, as her eyes began to water, and she leaned into his shoulder. 

“I… I didn’t want to worry you, or haul you up here in the night…” Sally murmured. “I know it’s stupid, but… Nicole was here. She was able to handle it until last night, but then I… I just couldn’t take it.”

“It’s okay. And please, Sal, don’t ever feel like you can’t tell me about stuff that’s hurting you. I said I’d slow down for you, and I mean that. Heck, I mean more than that. I’ll always be there if you need me, promise,” He hugged her tightly, pulling her into a gentle kiss. “You and me, every step of the way, right?”

“Right,” Sally nodded, smiling. “Thank you, Sonic.”

“No problem, Sal.”


***

Across the city, Fiona awoke slowly, the previous night’s events a blur in her mind, until the numbness in her arms brought it flooding back. She lifted a hand into her line of sight, eyes running over the silver metal. In the light, she was able to see that the limb was far more like a prosthetic than she’d expect a Robian’s arm to look.

Her fist clenched, and she slammed it down on the bed, denting the bar at the side as she struck it with a loud clank. The noise startled the figure beside her awake, and Nic jumped up, looking around, hands reaching for the weapons she’d left behind when she arrived. For a moment, her eyes darted around the room, before they settled on Fiona and the dented railing.

“Oh, it’s just you…  morning, Fi…” Nic sat back down, leaning over the bed.

“Nic, are you alright?” She asked. Her voice was hoarse, and Nic grabbed a plastic cup, filled with water, from the bedside, holding it out for her. She carefully took it, holding it in both hands as delicately as she could manage. Nic kept one hand below it, ready to catch it if Fiona lost her grip. “You looked kinda… scared for a moment there.”

“Sorry, I’ve been dealing with some crazy stuff lately. Nack’s been trying to kill me for some reason, I’m not even sure why, really. But because of that I’ve been on-edge a lot, especially when it comes to sleep…”

“Oh gods…” Fiona murmured. “I had no idea, Nic, I… I’m sorry…”

“Hey, it’s not your fault I got a terrible brother,” Nic shrugged. “And you didn’t know it was happening anyway.”

“But that’s the thing, I didn’t know! You’re the closest to any kind of family that I’ve ever had, and while you were in danger, I was… I was with… with…”

“Him?” Nic finished, frowning, fist clenching. Fiona looked down, eyes beginning to water.

“Yeah…” She murmured. Nic took the cup back, putting it down as she hugged her.

“It’s okay, Fi… He can’t hurt you anymore,” She said softly, only to feel Fiona tense, mechanical hands tightening.

“You don’t get it, Nic! He was supposed to be different! We were supposed to be in it together, just the two of us! I…  I loved him, Nic. But when I told him, when I tried to pull him back from whatever insanity it is that he’s falling into, he…”

“Fi, I do get it. Honest. Nicole told me everything. The whole dang story.  I know what he was to you. What he did to you, too. I’ve seen the bruises, and I saw you before you went into surgery. I’ve talked with your friends a little as well. I think I’ve got a good picture of it…”

“They’re not really my friends…” Fiona mumbled. “Not anymore.”

“Eh, I call it like I see it. And I saw a group of people that have gone out of their way to help you, even after everything that happened,” Nic pulled back, gently holding onto the fox’s shoulders. “Rotor made those arms for you, and he and Tails are working on some more refined ones. Sonic, Bunnie, Tails, and Nicole came to get me so that I could sign off on the surgery, and according to that last one, Princess Sally’s making arrangements to keep us both out of jail. And Emerl kicked Scourge’s teeth in after she found out what happened to you.”

“Who’s Emerl?” She asked, wincing slightly when the older woman said the green hedgehog’s name.

“Oh, they have a Gizoid now. She’s sentient, and friendly,” Nic shrugged. “Like, the last thing I ever expected to discover about a three millennium-old killing machine, but I like her.”

“They woke it up!?” Fiona yelped. “I told them not to do that!”

“Eh, apparently they’ve had a pretty bad few months lately, waking her up was like a last-resort thing that ended up paying off for ‘em,” The hybrid replied. “You’ll probably get to meet her later, when I got here she asked me to help her with figuring out some more of her origins, and you and I are gonna be sticking together for a fair while. But we’re getting off-topic. Point is, these people have done a lot for you over the past couple of days. I think the two of us are probably in good hands.”

“Well… I’ll trust you on that one…” The vixen mumbled. “I guess they did go out of their way for me… Even if I don’t deserve it.”

“Of course you deserve it,” Nic frowned. “Why wouldn’t you?”

“Did Nicole tell you all the things I did when I turned against them?” She asked.

“Yeah, she did. And believe me, we’re gonna have to have a talk about that at some point, but that doesn’t change my opinion. Though I’ll admit, I am a little biased on that front,” She grinned, and Fiona managed to return a weak smile of her own. “Still, no matter what happens, I’ll fight your corner.”

“Thanks, Nic,” She smiled.


The two sat and talked for a while after that, primarily Nic catching Fiona up on her own adventures, and Fiona sharing a few of her stories from before her encounter with Scourge. Quack appeared to check on them both, but otherwise they were left alone until there was a knock at the door, and Sally entered, Nicole floating by her side. 

“Hey, Princess,” Nic greeted, and Fiona fought the urge to smirk a little at the expression on the squirrel’s face.

“Nic, please. Just Sally will do fine,” She corrected, walking around to sit on the other side of Fiona’s bed.

“Right, right,” She nodded. “Still, good mornin’, and all that.”

“Yes, good morning to both of you,” Sally smiled slightly. “It’s good to see you awake, Fiona.”

“Uhh, thanks…” The vixen mumbled, looking away. “Look, you don’t have to pretend to be nice to me, okay?”

“Fi…” Nic spoke warningly, and Fiona looked up, expecting to see an angered, or at least stern glare from her once-rival, only to meet softened, saddened eyes.

“I wasn’t pretending. After all that you’ve been through, I have no intention of adding to that. In fact, I’m here to help,” She spoke solemnly, and the fox looked down again. “I’d rather like to let bygones be bygones.”

“Now you’ve gotta be messing with me!” Fiona growled. “After I slapped Tails, cheated on Sonic,  and betrayed you all, you wanna help me and just forget about it? No way, not after what happened in Chun-Nan!”

“Fi!” Nic half-shouted, but Sally held up her hand, keeping her gaze locked with Fiona’s.

“While I will admit that I was definitely angry with you back then, since we last met, our friends and I have experienced things that put your transgressions in a rather different perspective. Compared to what Eggman and the now-departed Naugus inflicted upon us, on myself and Nicole in particular, what you did is frankly quite minor in comparison. Neither Sonic nor Tails are holding any sort of grudge, and as far as I’m concerned, the blame for your treachery can be laid at the feet of Scourge instead.”

“What happened while I was gone?” Fiona asked. Given the anger that she had witnessed from Sally the last time they’d met, it was hard to believe that anything could make her let go of that… but if something had happened that completely erased her bitterness toward the fox, it must’ve been bad… so what was it?

“We’ll catch you up later, for now I’m here to talk about your situation going forward. The others are waiting, but the three of us have to talk business first,” She replied curtly, tenting her fingers. “And while I might be willing to consider your past water under the bridge, the same can’t be said of the Council. I want to assure you that I disagree with them on this matter, and a lot of matters, in fact. They’re far from my favourite people at this juncture. But they aren’t so willing to let you get off easily.”

“I’d hardly call this easy, Pr- Sally,” Nic frowned, gesturing toward Fiona’s hands. The princess nodded, sighing.

“Oh, I agree. But they don’t see it that way, and they won’t accept anything short of a punishment. So, I decided to sort it out myself.”

“If they know you want to be lenient, won’t they reject the idea?” Nic asked.

“A good question, and that’s why I made sure that they don’t know I intend to be lenient. I let them do all the talking, and played along,” Sally smirked, folding her arms.

“Sneaky, I like it,” The wolf-weasel grinned. “So what’s your plan?”


“Well, firstly, rather than going to prison, Fiona will be placed under a form of house arrest. A monitor is being integrated into one of the new arms, which Nicole will be following. Additionally, I’ve decided to hire you, Nic, to keep track of her during her recovery,” Sally explained, turning to Fiona. “Nicole will be looking out for you, but she’ll be pretty hands-off. As long as you stick to curfew, you should be able to move about as you please. Provided Nic keeps you out of trouble, of course.”

“Why are you trusting me like this?” Fiona asked, frowning. 

“Because I believe in second chances, Fiona. I believe that people can change. Sonic, Tails, Bunnie, Mighty, Ray, and Nic all tell me that you’re a good person at heart, and I trust them on that, so I’m giving you this chance,” Sally replied.  “Is this agreeable?”

“I… yeah. Okay,” She nodded slowly. 

“And you, Nic?”

“Works for me. I’ll keep a close eye on her, don’t worry,” She nodded, holding out her hand with a smirk. Sally shook it, returning the expression. “Pleasure doing business with you, Sally. I’d enquire about payment, but since I’ll be living with Fi and eating her food, I think I can do this one pro-bono.”

“Good to have you on board,” She said, turning her attention back to the vixen. “Now, the others are here, do you want to see them now, or would you rather get a little more rest?”

“I’m… not sure…” Fiona replied. “Which others are we talking about here?”

“All of them, actually,” She answered. “We were all here when Emerl brought you in, after all.”

“Wow… I…” The fox murmured. “Can I have a minute to think about it?”

“Of course,” Sally smiled. “Take all the time you need.”


As Fiona lay back into her bed, however, Nicole raised an eyebrow, and spoke up for the first time since she’d entered the room.

“Sally, I’m receiving a transmission from… Fiona’s old communicator,” She said quietly. Fiona held up her hands, shrugging.

“Don’t look at me. I haven’t seen that thing in years,” She replied. “I took it with me when I left, just in case, y’know? But I lost it shortly afterwards. I just assumed that I left it behind when we went to Moebius.”

“Is it calling you specifically, or all of us? I left mine at home this morning…” Sally asked. 

“It appears to be a wide broadcast. It’s contacting everyone in the city…” 

“Answer it, let’s see who found it,” Nic frowned.


Nicole did so, only for an image of Scourge’s face to project in their midst. He looked distinctly less battered than he had been after his encounter with Emerl. Sally narrowed her eyes, as Fiona flinched. Nic snarled, laying a protective hand on her shoulder, which the vixen quickly clasped with one of her own.


“Hey there, people of New Mobotropolis. The name’s Scourge. I’m sure you’ve probably heard of me by now. In that city of yours, you’ve got something of mine, and I want her back. Me and my team’ll be waiting at the south gate. You can either bring Fiona Fox there, and hand her over, or me and my guys’ll warp in, and take her by force. And for every minute you make me wait, I’ll kill someone. Clock’s tickin’, ladies and gents.

Chapter Text

Sonic: Revival- The Broken

Chapter 7 of 8: Face to Face


“Idiots!” Scourge roared, storming out of the Sanctuary’s infirmary, Finitevus ambling behind him, looking distinctly unamused. “What the fuck is the point of having a goon squad if they’re just gonna get one-shotted by a goddamn robot!”

“Calm yourself, Scourge,” The echidna spoke up. “This wasn’t a fight you or they had any hope of winning.”

“The hell are you talking about, it’s just a robot. If it hadn’t already gotten a free beatdown on me when Feist took our powers away, I would’ve kicked its ass no problem!” Scourge growled, whirling on the doctor.

“Unlikely. That was a Gizoid, specifically a highly-advanced one, if it was capable of the feats you and the others described. Beta, perhaps even Alpha-Series. Not to be trifled with. Come, I’ll show you what you were up against.”


Scourge grumbled, but followed nonetheless, as Finitevus led him back to the control room, where he brought up a screen, showing a robot similar to Emerl, but smaller, with three short points on its crest instead of the single long one.

“I was doing a little digging of my own, before you woke up. The Gizoids have always been of particular interest to me, but I never thought I would get to see one close-up…” He mused, gesturing to the images on his screen.

“Certainly looks like the bot I fought. What’s so special about ‘em?”

“Ah, a question with many answers, depending on your intentions. For a warrior facing one in battle, all you need know is that they’re a highly-advanced machine, capable of copying the abilities of their opponents and using them for their own,” He began.

“Okay, I get that. It was talking about absorbing our powers and such when I fought it,” Scourge nodded.

“Yes, indeed.  To someone like me, the Gizoids are fascinating because they are of my history. They were created by one of the ancestral Echidna tribes, the Nocturnus, over three millennia ago, as the ultimate weapons. A pinnacle that their pale imitators in the Dark Legion could never hope to replicate. But that is where the Gizoids become relevant to destroyers like us…”

“Really? ‘Cause it just sounds like boring historical crap to me,” Scourge grumbled. Finitevus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Bear with me for a moment, Scourge. This is all relevant. You see, the Nocturnus didn’t last. Their empire crumbled, in spite of, or rather, because of the Gizoids. While most Gizoids were simple drones, built for that purpose, the Alpha- through Epsilon-Series models were far more than that. They were made from people.”

“People? Like that roboticization thing?”

“Possibly. The Gizoids were thought lost to time, so nobody knows what’s inside one,” Finitevus explained. “Nevertheless, the higher-level Gizoids were thought to be made from prisoners of war, and the Nocturnus’ own criminals, particularly those that displayed powers, something that was a lot more common in those days. However…”

The echidna pressed a key, and the image changed to show an ancient carving, depicting a familiar figure. A Gizoid, taller than most, with its arms spread wide. Its crest had three long, sharpened points, and blades sprouted from its shoulders, elbows, and knees.  Long tendrils snaked from its back, and all three of its optics blazed a malevolent red. On its chest, surrounding the three circles emblem, was the symbol for “omega”, the serifs curving behind its back.

“They created the Omega-Series. The end, in both senses of the word, because it was the last of the Gizoids and their destroyer. You see, this one was made from a Chaos Adept, and in their rage at what had happened to them they stress-transformed. With their already-considerable power, channelled through a Gizoid body and amplified by their newfound Super state, they destroyed the city of Nocturne, and so the great Empire of the Night crumbled.”

“I’m starting to see why you want one of these things, Doc,” Scourge smirked.

“Alas, the Omega-Series was destroyed in the aftermath of the cataclysm, unable to withstand the extreme power it possessed, it self-destructed, and the other Gizoids were thought long-lost… until one stumbled right into my lair in an attempt to kill you,” Finitevus grinned. “From what I could tell, she was an Alpha-Series, but fascinatingly, she appears to be a Chaos Adept-based one too. Previously it was thought that only the Omega-Series was made from an Adept, but it looks as though the Nocturnus had already created a stable one before the Omega-Series… Additionally, she possessed three Chaos Emeralds, including the one she claimed from you, and something else, similar but weaker. It’s no surprise, nor embarrassment, that this “Emerl” was able to defeat you, Scourge. But that doesn’t mean we can’t work this to our advantage.”

“You planning on finding a way to make her go nuts like the Omega one did?” The hedgehog asked.

“Precisely, Scourge.”


Scourge allowed himself a grin of his own, but then folded his arms, scowling.

“Well, that solves one problem, but not my other one... “

“And what’s that?” The echidna asked.

“You left Fiona behind, jackass!” He grabbed his ostensible ally by the cape, roaring in his face. Finitevus simply brushed his hands off, rolling his eyes.

“Given what you did to her, I assumed that you were through with her,” He dusted off the cloak.

“Not a chance in hell, Doc. She belongs to me, just needed to learn her lesson is all. Last thing I need is her somehow getting a hold of the Freedom Fuckers and going back to them. I mean, she’d struggle, I’ve got her communicator, but still,” He grunted.

“Why do you have that?” He quirked an eyebrow at Scourge, who smirked.

“It was her way out. I convinced her to burn her bridges when she joined me, but you know the sort of bleeding heart bullshit those morons spew. Guarantee that one call to the pipsqueak and they would’ve come to take her back home with them. So I took it off her when she was asleep, and told her that I hadn’t seen it when she asked the next day,” He replied.  


“Devious, but futile,” Finitevus sighed. “She’ll be back with them already.”

“What!? How the hell do you know that!?” Scourge growled. 

“Simple logic, Scourge. Obviously, the two Emeralds that the Gizoid held within her body when you first encountered her were the ones formerly possessed by Doctor Eggman and Ixis Naugus. Two enemies of the Freedom Fighters that just suffered massive losses to them, with Naugus even being killed, within the Freedom Fighters’ own city, no less. Added, I believe you said that she mentioned Sonic during your battle with her? Obviously, she’s working for them. She more than likely took Fiona straight back to New Mobotropolis after the battle was over.”

“Damnit!” He snarled, punching the wall. “I need to get her back!”

“Calm yourself, Scourge. There are other vixens with issues out there. Plenty more fish, and all that. You can replace her,” He shrugged.

“You don’t get it, Doc. She’s mine. She belongs to me,” He growled, eyes burning purple. “That girl is my property, and I won’t have my hard work undone by her idiot friends. I’m going to take the team and get her back. You can’t stop me.”

“Perhaps not, but the Gizoid can,” He admonished. “You lost your previous encounter with her, and that was with two Emeralds, let alone the three she has now. No, Scourge… If you want her back, fine. But we will do this my way.”

“Well, Doc… I’m all ears.”


***

Fiona stared at the space where the hologram had been seconds before, eyes wide. She felt Nic’s arms curling around her, her faint voice telling her to breathe, that it was okay, that she was here. She leaned into the embrace, closing her eyes tightly.

The door opened, and Sonic stepped in, holding his own communicator.

“Sal, we’re gonna go stop ‘em, right?” He asked. Sally nodded, standing up from her chair and walking over to him.

“Yes. With all of us here, it shouldn’t be a problem. Emerl already beat them single-handed once, whatever has made them bold enough to challenge us here won’t be able to overcome us as well as our new friend.”

“He mentioned warping, think Finitevus will be helping?” Tails’ voice sounded from the doorway. 

“Potentially, and if he is we’ll have to watch ourselves. He could get tricky,” She mused quietly. “Still, I think we should be able to handle it. Let’s move. Nic, stay with Fiona, keep her safe.”

“The civvies aren’t gonna form some kinda mob to throw her out, are they?” The wolf-weasel asked, still holding Fiona close.

“I’ll take care of that, not to worry,” Nicole smiled.  “I’ll ensure everyone that Scourge’s threat won’t be coming to pass.”

“Thanks…” Nic replied, as the three Freedom Fighters headed for the door. Sonic paused, glancing over his shoulder.


“Hey, Fi? It’s gonna be okay. We’ll stop him,” He said, stepping outside, joining the rest of the group. “Alright Sal, what’s the gameplan?”

“Rotor and I will wait outside the hospital, while Nicole does what she can to counter Scourge’s message. Antoine, I want you to stay with Nic and Fiona. Let us know if we get flanked, Finitevus could be tricky like that. Sonic, I want you to take Tails, Bunnie, Amy, and Emerl to the south gate, to repel the Destructix. You should be able to handle them,” Sally explained, folding her arms behind her back.

“Sounds good to me,” Tails nodded. 

“Yeah, let’s go,” Amy beamed, drawing her hammer. 

“Good luck, everyone,” Antoine smiled. Bunnie leaned down and kissed his cheek, before he rolled himself into the ward.


“Bonjour, Mademoiselle Fiona, Mademoiselle Nic,” He greeted the duo, wheeling over to the bedside.

“Antoine? Oh gods, what happened to you?” Fiona asked. “I guess this is part of the rough time Nic and Sally mentioned you guys having…?”

“Oui, it is a long story, and my situation is only a small part of it, but to explain that, Eggman had one of his Metal Sonics detonate itself while I was trying to pull it away from King Elias. I was in a coma for three months.”

“Oh my… I’m so sorry…” She mumbled. “Are you gonna be okay?”

“In time, though my recovery has been slow so far,” He admitted. “And what are you apologizing for? You didn’t send the robot, nor blow it up.”

“Well, it’s just… if I’d been here, maybe I could’ve… y’know, stopped it? Or at least helped with the first aid…” She looked down, clenching her metal fingers.

“Nonsense, I doubt there was anything you could’ve done that wasn’t accomplished by Sonic rushing me back here. In that aspect, you are blameless. And you have my support in the other aspect too, for the record.”

“I do? I thought you’d hate me for turning against you all…” 

“I do have that pet peeve of mine, but I also knew that you were there for Bunnie when I was switched with Patch, and you helped her get through that tough time. Any friend of hers is a friend of mine, I can assure you,” Antoine waved off the concern. 


“Oh right, how are you two doing now, by the way?” Fiona asked. 

“Ah, I am glad you asked. We have finally gotten married,” The coyote puffed his chest out, smiling ear-to-ear.

“Oh wow, congratulations,” She managed a genuine smile for a moment, before her glum look returned. “Sorry I missed it…”

“It’s nothing to worry about,” He shook his head. Probably not the best idea to mention that he’d only been spurred into action because she left. “At the very least, we can show you the pictures later.”

“I’d… I’d like that,” She nodded, managing a weak grin,  as Nic nudged her shoulder.


“See, I told you they were your friends!” She smirked. 

“Yeah… I guess you were right…” The vixen sighed slightly.

“Of course I was, I’m always right,” Her smirk grew, prompting an eyeroll from the smaller girl.

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, really.”

“What about the first time we met Rouge, when you-” Fiona began smugly, before a red-faced Nic clapped her hand over her muzzle.

“You said you’d never tell anyone about that!” She pouted, as the fox grinned, and blew a raspberry into her palm. Nic jerked her hand back, looking daggers at her former partner, who laughed quietly in response. “You’re gross.”

“I learned from the best,” She winked, before turning back toward Antoine.  “Uhm, Ant… do you think you could fill us both in on what’s happened since I left?”

“Of course, of course…”


***

With the reunion with their wayward friend aborted, Sonic led his group to the gate, limbering up his body as they went. Yet, as they arrived outside the gate, they found the mercenary group’s numbers diminished.

Scourge wasn’t there.

“Missing someone already,” Sonic smirked slightly, as the group lined up. “Emerl, can you give us a scan?”

“Already doing that, no sign of him,” She rumbled. 

“What, is he trying to wait to make an entrance again?” Amy asked. “I don’t think that’ll work this time…”


“How quick did you beat these guys before, Emerl?” Bunnie asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Most of them went down in one solid hit, really,” She shrugged. “If Scourge intends to delay his arrival, I can just waste them all again, and we can all flatten him together.”

“That was my thinking too,” Sonic’s grin widened, turning back toward the Destructix. “Might wanna tell him to hurry up, or this is gonna be over real fast, not that I’d complain about that.”


“He’s already here!” Frog laughed, loping slightly forward. “Just not here-here!”

“Frog, can it!” Simian barked, as the Freedom Fighters glanced at each other.

“Can someone translate? I’ve learned North Mercian from Nicole, but I don’t speak Idiot,” Emerl tilted her head. 

“The hospital,” Tails snapped his fingers, eyes widening. “He’s going for the hospital!”


The fox turned on his heel and began to dash back toward the gate, only for Lightning to appear in his path, crouched with a knife in-hand.

“You’re not going anywhere,” He frowned, only to be tackled aside by Sonic.

“Behind you, buddy!” The hedgehog called, ramming Lightning away. Tails glanced over his shoulder, and his namesakes flicked up, blocking Predator’s claws. The hawk curled back, putting some distance between them both. 

“Hm, just like your counterpart…” He mused.

“You fought Miles?” Tails asked, revving up his namesakes and taking off, squaring up with the former Battlebird.

“It could charitably be called a fight, I suppose,” Predator frowned, flying forward again, lashing out at him. Tails dodged, cutting his flight for a moment to swipe at him, knocking him off-balance, before reengaging and flying higher.


Frog leapt up after him, spitting his tongue toward the fox, but as he left the ground, Amy’s hammer caught him in the stomach, batting him away. He landed in a crumpled heap, but flipped back onto his feet without any trouble.

Dashing toward him, Amy swung her hammer overhead, bringing it down on him, but he dodged to the side, springing over a wide swing and landing on top of her head before hopping off, hanging in the air above her.

“Ugh, why did I choose the weird one…” She grumbled, drawing her hammer back before hurling it bodily after Frog. It struck him on the chin, knocking him out of the air, but as he plummeted groundwards, his tongue lashed out and wrapped around the haft of her weapon.

“Catch!” He slurred, flinging it back at her. Amy ducked, rolling away from it as it flew past.

“How strong is that thing?” She mused aloud, holding out her hand as she stood up. The newly-sticky hammer reappeared in her grip, and she winced. “So glad I wear gloves…”


Bunnie launched toward Simian, opening fire with her cannon as she charged. His metal arm snapped up, deflecting the shots as he met her charge with one of his own. Their mechanical limbs clashed, straining against each other.

“You too, huh?” She raised her eyebrow, ducking away from his other hand. “What happened there?”

“None of your concern, Freedom Fighter,” He growled, blocking a powerful jab. “I would be more worried about your friend in the hospital, if I were you.”

Bunnie narrowed her eyes, biting her lip. It was true, Scourge was heading straight for Fiona, and all of their heavy-hitters were out here, engaged in combat with what was pretty clearly a distraction. Yes, Rotor was there, but she wasn’t sure of his chances against the green hedgehog. And Antoine was there too…


Gritting her teeth, she swung a hammer blow at the gorilla, but he blocked it once again, catching her shoulder with a blow from his own huge fist, knocking her into a spin. Her engines saved her before she hit the floor, and she blasted upwards, laser fire raining down on him. With a frame as massive as his, he couldn’t protect himself from every shot with just his arm, but the small beams were doing little to slow him. 

“Is this all you can manage?” He jeered. “It will be child’s play to keep you all here while the boss finishes his job.”


But, just as he spoke, Emerl vanished in a pulse of blue light, and Bunnie grinned, racing back toward the stunned ape.

“Forgot she could do that, didn’t ya?” She smirked, slugging him across the jaw. Before unloading her cannon into his face. Stunned and blinded, he toppled over with a heavy thud.


Nearby, Amy screeched to a halt just below where Frog was about to land, and swatted at him, clobbering him into the ground. He landed hard, but seemed to bounce back up nonetheless, springing away from her once more.

Sprinting after him, Amy struck the ground with her hammer, launching herself upwards until she drew level with him, smashing her weapon down onto him. They both fell, Amy keeping the head of the mallet on Frog until they both struck the ground. Fortunately, she landed on something, or rather, someone softer, though the same couldn’t be said for him.


Lightning dodged away from Sonic’s outstretched fist, buffed slightly by the pressure wave around the hedgehog. Landing, he flicked a barrage of kunai at him, but he dodged with almost practiced ease.

“Y’know, Lightning,” Sonic sprang up, curling into a tight ball before he slammed straight into the lynx, knocking him down. “Last time we fought, I kinda felt sorry for you. But given what you let happen to Fi, and we both know that you, out of all of your sorry teammates, could’ve knocked him out while he was distracted, I’m kinda struggling to find sympathy again.”

“Is that so?” Lightning snorted, kicking Sonic off of him as he flipped back up to his feet, rushing in close and slashing with his knives. “Make no mistake, Sonic. I may have taken her offer to rejoin this team, but I was under no illusions as to who was truly to blame for my exile.”

Once again, Sonic almost casually dodged Lightning’s attacks, pivoting on one foot to roundhouse his opponent in the jaw.

“Uh, Conquering Storm, for throwing you out after you lost one fight, against me, of all people? Because that seems real unreasonable to me, I mean, I’m me, that wasn’t one you were gonna win.”

“No, you moron,” Lightning rolled back to his feet, meeting Sonic head-on once again. “It was Fiona’s fault. She brought you there because she wanted to re-recruit me into the Destructix, and no other reason. Neither she nor any of the others could defeat me, so she needed to get you to be her patsy. She had no interest in your goal, she just used you to get what she wanted, and what she wanted was me, kicked out of my clan again!”

Sonic ducked under a swipe, the blade just skimming his quill before he rocked back onto his hands, jabbing both of his feet into Lightning’s gut. Winded, he crashed down, struggling to stand again.

“And for that, you decided to let her get… flayed by Scourge?” Sonic narrowed his eyes, looming over the wheezing ninja.

“She promised me revenge… It’s her own fault she didn’t realise that she was a target…  And after she ruined my life all over again, why shouldn’t I have let the same happen to her?” He gasped for air, as Sonic scowled, and stepped forward, flipping himself over and slamming his heel down on Lightning’s head. He crumpled awkwardly to the floor, twitching slightly.

“Trouble with “An eye for an eye”, Lightning, is that everybody ends up blind,” He turned, striding back toward the others.


High above them, Tails climbed further, glancing back to see Predator following, slowly closing the gap. Good.

“You’ll never escape me at that pace, fox,” The hawk’s voice called up from below. “It’s quite plain to see what you’re doing, after all. Trying to shake me so that you can rush to Fiona’s side, aren’t you?”

“Not quite…” He replied, turning back to face the bird, still flying backwards, a red glow lighting up his eyes. Predator stopped, and for a moment, the glow reminded him the purple glare he’d faced down just a few days prior.

Tails raised his hand, a crimson beam lancing from his fingertips. Predator twisted, trying to strafe away from the blast, but it caught his wing, blasting the feathers off of it. Immobilized, the hawk had no time to dodge the second blast, disabling his other wing as well.


He fought the urge to scream as he began to drop, from this height the fall would almost certainly kill him, when he felt the fox’s hand grab his ankle, jerking him to a halt. For a moment, they hovered, and Predator caught his breath enough to look up.  

He almost wished that he hadn’t.

Tails glared down at him, eyes still blazing scarlet, but the expression on his face looked strained. As if struggling with an immense weight. His fur was wild, as if charged, spiking upwards in places, as red electricity arced around his body, a matching aura flickering in and out of visibility. As he raised his hand, Predator swore he saw claws poking through the fingertips of his gloves. Then he leveled the hand at his opponent’s face, and fired a wide blast.


Tails released the unconscious hawk, and immediately grabbed at his own forehead, doubling up as the aura spiked violently around him for a moment, before it faded away, his fur returning to normal as his eyes flashed back to their natural blue.

“Oh no…” He gasped, and dove down, scanning for any sign of the falling Predator, and finally caught sight of a flash of light blue. He raced toward him, just in time to see him drop into a Warp Ring that had appeared below, before it snapped shut, flickering away. “What’s happening to me…?”


***

“They made Naugus king? Naugus!?” Fiona almost yelled, incredulous. “I get house arrest, but they give him the crown!?”

“Jealous, Fi?” Nic smirked.

“No, I just want some consistency. If he gets such nice treatment, when he’s a lot worse than I am, surely I can get a little better, right?” She pouted, folding her arms, flinching slightly as the metal made contact with her organic areas.

“I can’t argue that you’re being fairly treated in comparison,” Antoine gave a sarcastic smile. “Perhaps you should be honoured in a similar manner.”

“I’m sure we can at least arrange a parade, right?” Nic grinned, and Fiona fought the urge to throw a pillow at her. 

“Oui, oui, I believe so,” He nodded along. She let out an exasperated sigh, slumping forward. “Or at the very least, a medal.”

“To be fair, I would not say no to a medal,” Fiona lifted her head, ears perking up. 


But as the three friends descended into fresh laughter, they were interrupted by a flash of gold, a Warp Ring opening up in front of them. Fiona froze, dread gripping her as Scourge stepped through it, grinning down at her. 

“Hey, babe… did you miss me?”

Chapter Text

Sonic: Revival: The Broken

Chapter 8 of 8: Home



Immediately, Nic was on her feet, drawing a dagger from her boot as she lunged at Scourge. At the same time, Antoine began to fumble for his communicator, but as he did so, the hedgehog moved, kicking Nic’s discarded chair into him, knocking his wheelchair over.

In the same motion, he dodged her frenzied slashes, snap-kicking her in the gut. She crashed into the wall, but glared back at him, just as he rushed over and grabbed her by the throat. With her height advantage, she still had both feet on the floor, but his free hand caught her wrist as she swiped at him again, and he began to squeeze.

“Nice knife, I think I’ll take it,” Scourge smirked, snatching the blade as it slipped from Nic’s grasp, pocketing it before doubling his grip on her neck. Both of her hands tried to pry his away, but his grip was cast-iron.

“Nic!” Fiona cried out, finding her voice, struggling to force herself out of the bed. Scourge’s ear twitched, and a sick grin split across his face.

“Nic, huh?” He said, his voice lower. “Well, Fi… How about we make a deal? You come with me, and I won’t snap your friend’s neck. Fair?”

“D-don’t listen, Fi!” Nic wheezed, crying out as Scourge slammed his knee into her gut, tightening his grip.

“No!” She screamed, staggering out the bed. Her legs gave way immediately, but she hauled herself up, using the bed as support. 

“Wouldn’t advise trying to play hero, Nic,” He laughed coldly, fixing her with an icy stare. “Tends to get people killed around me.”

“R-r-rot in hell, monster…”

“After you,” He smirked, calling back to Fiona without taking his eyes off Nic. Her own eyes were starting to mist over already, and watching it would just be the capstone to the plan going off without a hitch. And if she died before Fiona got her act together? Well, that would be something else to hold over the vixen’s head. “We both know I can do it, babe. So if you don’t want me to twist her head off, you best get over here.”


He saw Nic’s eyes flicker toward where Fiona stood, widening in terror. He heard her unsteady footsteps getting closer. And, as he turned to meet his prize once more, he felt metal knuckles crack against his jaw.

“Let her go!” Fiona screamed, staggering on her unsteady legs as he stumbled back, more from surprise than the force of the blow. 

For a moment, he felt oddly calm, as he removed one hand from the gasping woman’s neck, raising it to his face. As a finger brushed his lip, he felt a twinge of pain, and moved his hand away to see a tiny streak of blood where it had made contact. 

Then the rage flared up once more.

“You just don’t learn your lesson, do you?” Scourge snarled quietly, as he clenched his fist. A backhand struck her cheek, sending the unsteady fox sprawling across the floor. 


Fiona scooted back, hyperventilating as she watched him drop Nic to the floor, and storm toward her. The purple light shone in his eyes again, and he looked hatefully down at her.

“I wouldn’t have to be doing this if you’d just learn to behave!” He roared, sparks rippling around his clenched fists. “But if this it what it takes, we will keep doing this fucking dance until you remember who you belong to, and what that means!”

“You leave them both alone, fiend…” Antoine growled from his toppled position.

“Stay outta this, legless. Another word and I’ll put my fist through your jaw. You got away with that hit for far too long, but I’m busy right now,” He growled, looming over Fiona. As he looked back down at her, he raised his hand, a horribly familiar fireball igniting in his palm. 

Her stomach dropped, and on instinct, she curled up, trying to shield herself with her arms again, earning a vicious laugh from the hedgehog.

“Nice new arms, babe. Let’s see if they’re any more durable than the real ones!”

“No!” Nic and Antoine both cried out, as he thrust his hand down toward the helpless vixen, and a blinding purple blast exploded out from him.


But, as the smoke cleared, it became clear that he hadn’t hit his target. Instead, his hand had stopped short against an altogether sturdier metal form, as Emerl crouched over the prone girl. The plating on her forearm was blackened by the heat, but otherwise, remained untouched.

“You!?” Scourge growled, as Emerl pushed upwards, forcing his arm back up as she rose to her full height, still standing over Fiona, but blocking her off from Scourge, as her third optic opened, and all three turned a hellish scarlet. Glaring hatefully at him, she finally spoke up, her voice reverberating with barely-contained power.

“You have no idea what kind of trouble you are in.”


Her fist struck him square in the chest, the force of the blow spearing him straight through the wall of the building, his back digging a furrow into the turf outside. 

Nic forced herself to stand, pulling an undersized pistol from her other boot, nodding to Emerl as she began to stalk forward. At the same moment, the door opened, and Sally and Rotor burst in.

“Sorry we’re late- Oh gods…” Sally stopped short. Rotor said nothing, rushing to Antoine’s side to help him upright.

“Help Antoine and Fiona. Scourge is mine.” The Gizoid growled, storming for the fresh exit hole she had just made, Nic staggering after her. As they moved, Sally helped Fiona up, not flinching as the vixen pulled her into a tight hug, instead returning the gesture as best she could. 

“Emerl? Nic?” She spoke up, causing both of them to halt, looking over their shoulders at her. Sally glanced around the room, from the damage that Scourge had done, to Antoine and Rotor, frantically checking the former’s body for any freshly-opened wounds, to the sobbing girl held in her own arms. “Weapons free. Do whatever you like with him.”

“Affirmative.”

***

Outside, Scourge struggled to stand, clutching at his chest as he fought the urge to heave his last meal into the grass, when a Warp Ring opened in front of him, Finitevus’ voice echoing through.

“Quick, this is already over. Get back here, now.”

He wanted to snap back, growl at the echidna that it wasn’t over until he said it was over, but even he could recognise that the fight had just become unwinnable. Grumbling, he rose to his feet, staggering toward the portal, only for a blazing red javelin to slam into the ring, blowing it apart.

Scourge turned, spotting Emerl striding toward him, rolling out her neck as she punched her fist into her palm, body wreathed in crimson. Nic followed behind her, aiming her tiny gun at him.

Rather than lunging forward, however, the Gizoid stopped, raising one hand toward him, green light shining about her fingers. He braced for another energy blast, but instead the attack came from the ground beneath him, the grass and dirt melting into liquid metal, wrapping around his body until only his head was exposed. He squirmed and struggled, but the nanite cocoon held firm.

“He’s all yours…” Emerl rumbled, looking at Nic, who smirked, levelling her gun at him.

“Only one shot in this thing… best make it count,” She steadied her hand, point it squarely between his eyes, and pulled the trigger.

Scourge flinched at the crack, but a second Warp Ring opened in front of him, the bullet disappearing into it. The exit opened up right beside Nic, but the shot squashed harmlessly against Emerl’s arm.

Nic blinked, stunned. The whole thing had happened in the space of less than a second, she hadn’t even seen the Gizoid move to defend her.

A black energy spear stabbed into Scourge’s prison, and Emerl winced as she felt her connection to the nanites severed, just as Finitevus appeared beside him. The hedgehog grinned, steadying himself, and took a step forward.

“I will admit, I didn’t see the attack on the Warp Ring coming… very clever, Miss Emerl,” Finitevus addressed the Gizoid, corrupted Chaos flaring up around his fingers. “I would’ve preferred not to get personally involved, but you have forced my hand…” 

“Think you can beat us both, boltbrain?” Scourge jeered.

“Can you beat all of us?” She asked in response, causing him to pause and frown.

“‘All?’ Whaddya mean, ‘all?’ It’s just you two, and she’s outta bullets! The Princess and the fat guy sure as shit aren’t gonna even the board, even if they weren’t busy helping the invalids in there!”

“I wasn’t talking about them.” 

“She was talking about us,” Emerl would’ve grinned if she were capable, as Nicole appeared beside her, and the rest of the away group ran in. At the same time, a cloud of nanites flew through the hole in the hospital wall, and moments later, Rotor emerged, clad in his armour. As they began to encircle the two, Silver and Shard touched down nearby, running over to join their allies.


“Pretty sneaky with the diversion, I’ll give you that. But if you thought those flunkies were going to be enough to slow us down, that’d be a nope,” Sonic grinned.

“If anything, I’m just glad that it means we all get a shot at him,” Amy added. 

“Couldn’ta said it better myself, Ames,” Bunnie aimed her cannon squarely at the green hedgehog.

“This won’t be anything like the last time, I can assure you,” Silver flared up with a cyan aura.

“That’s for sure, no Anarchy Beryl to run for now,” Tails almost growled, eyes glowing.

“Let’s just shoot him already, he’s giving us Sonic-copies a bad name just by existing,” Shard’s optics and gem turned scarlet.

“I quite agree. In Sally’s own words, ‘weapons free’, everyone.” Emerl drew her chainblades, scraping them against each other in a violent shower of sparks.


“Well played…” Finitevus slowly clapped, closing his eyes with a grin. “But this is far from the end… Chaos Control.

“No!” Tails and Emerl both lunged forward, but it was too late. Both Finitevus and Scourge were already gone. 

***

The two reappeared in the Black Sanctuary, Scourge staggering and coughing as Chaos ravaged his body.

“The hell was that!? I’ve beaten those Freedom Flunkies before, and all of the Suppression Squad, with just Fiona at my back! With the two of us we could’ve done the same, and we would’ve had a shot at killing that stupid robot!”

“Mm, I don’t think so. They had a distinct home field advantage, after all,” Finitevus waved off the hedgehog’s rage, already starting to walk away.

“Me and Fiona beat ‘em in their own damn base!”

“Yes, but their base is brick and mortar, is it not? New Mobotropolis is a nanite construct, the largest in the world, nanites that their AI, and apparently now the Gizoid too, are capable of manipulating. You would’ve found it distinctly harder to fight with the ground itself joining in the attack, and even I would be little match for four Chaos Adepts at once, one of them a Gizoid with three and a half Chaos Emeralds powering her, to say nothing of the more than considerable strength packed by their non-empowered comrades.”

“Ugh, fine. Next time we’ll get them while they’re outside the city or whatever,” He grumbled, folding his arms.

“There will not be a ‘Next time’, Scourge. You had your chance to reclaim Fiona, and you failed. If anything, your attempt to take her back, and her resisting you will have galvanised them behind her, and any further attempts on your part to take her back will result in the Gizoid appearing immediately. And that’s not counting the intense levels of negative Chaos radiating off of the fox child. His energy levels were spiking past yours, and Predator got a first-hand demonstration. No, we will leave Fiona alone, for now.”

“Fuck that noise, I’m not giving up on this!” Scourge snapped, striding forward. Finitevus turned toward him, narrowing his eyes.

“Remember who it is that’s providing those Chaos stims for you, Scourge, to keep your energy levels balanced. If you want to keep your power, you will follow my lead,” He warned.

“Fuck it, okay. What do we do now, then?” He scowled, folding his arms.

“Now? We wait.” Finitevus crossed his own behind his back.

“You’re shitting me, right?”

“No, I am not. You see, it is quite clear that the Gizoid has a close link with the Freedom Fighters, and she is actively searching for the Chaos Emeralds. And given what we both know an Adept with all seven can do to a world, and what happened when the Omega-Series transformed… I see no reason to stop this.”

“Oh, I see what you’re getting at…” Scourge began to smirk.

“Precisely. And as a bonus, it will mean that she takes Mogul off the board as well. The last thing I need is him deciding to try and get in our way,” Finitevus added. 

“What about the last one? You said Feist had two, but when I got there, he only had one. Who took it?” The hedgehog asked.

“Ah, very astute of you, Scourge,” Finitevus replied, leading Scourge out of the warp corridor. “Yes, the matter of the last Emerald’s location began to concern me when it became apparent that Feist didn’t have it, and nor was it on the Prime plane… But I followed a hunch, and I know precisely where it is. It  will either make its own way back to Mobius, or Knuckles and his comrades will encounter it when he attempts to save his people. Either way, Miss Emerl will be able to claim all seven, I assure you. Still… before I had to come to your aid, I was working on something… the next phase of my plan… Come, let me show you.”

“Alright then,” He shrugged. “Lead the way.”


The echidna slipped quietly from the room, weaving his way through the corridors of the Sanctuary, Scourge hot on his heels. The hedgehog glanced about as they went, attempting to learn more of the layout of the labyrinthine corridors, and soon they reached a small lab, glowing with a familiar, eerie black energy. Scourge shielded his eyes, but Finitevus stepped inside without pausing, waiting for him to follow.

There, in the centre of the room, stood a tall cylinder, six more flanking it. Within the thin column, a glass segment revealed the source of the glow: A small Emerald, about the size of a fist, shining with black Chaos.

“After determining what the fourth Emerald within the Gizoid was, I had a thought… if the Prower boy can create his own Chaos Emeralds… I shall do the same…”

***

The Freedom Fighters clustered into Fiona’s room, as Nicole pulled the wall back together, and Emerl slowly fixed up the damage Scourge had caused. Fiona and Nic huddled together on the bed, the latter holding an icepack to her friend’s cheek. Bunnie sat nearby with the thankfully uninjured Antoine, while Tails hovered awkwardly off to the side.

“That was way too close…” Emerl let out a tired sigh.

“Yeah… not the way I thought this reunion would be going down, that’s for sure,” Sonic frowned. “Fi, are you alright?”

“He didn’t hurt me too bad this time, relatively, I mean… Mostly just scared…” She answered, not looking up. 

“Oui, it is the same with me,” Antoine nodded. “Nic, what about you?”

“Neck’s gonna bruise, but I’ve had worse… But good gods, he’s terrifying. I knew he was a monster already, but seeing it in person… Ugh…” She replied. “Fi, hun, we really need to have a talk about your taste in men at some point.”

“He didn’t show what he was really like until I after I left with him… I started to regret it pretty quickly, but then it was already too late to turn back...” Fiona replied quietly. “By then I’d already burned every bridge that I had. I didn’t know where to find you, I’d hurt everyone else that I cared about, either emotionally or in some cases physically… And he wasn’t afraid of bringing that up whenever we fought… Whenever I felt like leaving, he always asked me where I was going to go, and I never had an answer, so I stayed…”

“Fi…” Nic hugged her tighter.

“We would’ve let you come back, Fiona…” Tails spoke up quietly, and she blinked, glancing over at him. He quickly averted his eyes, cheeks reddening. She smiled faintly.

“Thank you, Tails… But I don’t think you’d be the obstacle in that case.”


“Perhaps, but we always knew Scourge was a liar and a manipulator, Fiona,” Sally cut in. “You weren’t his only target, after all. If you had been able to escape, we wouldn’t have turned you away.”

“You say that like he was keeping me prisoner, but he wasn’t…” The vixen murmured sadly. “I chose that…”

“No, you didn’t,” The princess shook her head. “I haven’t been in a situation like yours, but I know abuse, Fiona. He took away your choices, made you feel like you had no way out, and then treated you horribly once you believed you had to stay with him.”

“He used Sonic’s identity to get you to trust him, and then started trying to make you doubt us, and yourself, right?” Amy asked. “That’s what he tried with me.”

“Me too,” Bunnie added.

“I… yeah… he did,” Fiona admitted. “It got worse when I actually got together with the real Sonic. He kept doing it, and I was never sure which of them I was talking to, until he turned green. I didn’t know the real Sonic that well, not like the rest of you, so I couldn’t tell… I still don’t know for sure what I told him and what I told the real Sonic…”

“The more I hear about this man, the more I hate him,” Nic snarled. 

“Join the club,” Emerl added. “If it weren’t for that blasted echidna I would’ve killed him twice over by now.”

“Yeah, tell me about it… Still, thanks for the save back there,” She smiled over at the robot.

“Yes, thank you…” Fiona added.” You saved me twice now.”

“You’re welcome,” She replied. “Well done for standing up to him. That takes a lot of courage.”

“He was gonna kill Nic… I couldn’t just let him…”


“No, but he gave you the option to surrender yourself in exchange for me,” Nic replied, hugging Fiona closer. “You could’ve taken that, but you didn’t. You slugged him in the face, and made him bleed! You make me proud, Ember.”

“Nic, I told you not to call me that!” Fiona’s cheeks turned as red as the rest of her face, making the wolf-weasel grin as the vixen tried to push her away.

“And I told you that I wasn’t going to stop, because it suits you, and it’s cute,” She smirked.

“Ugh, fine… but can you at least not do it in front of everyone?” Fiona gestured to their impromptu audience, who looked on with amused smiles.

“It’s too late now, we’ve seen everything.” Amy giggled.

“Not yet, you haven’t,” Nic grinned. “I have photos.”

“No she doesn’t!” Fiona yelped, before leaning closer to Nic and whispering as quietly as she could. “Do not show them.

“Heard that, Fi,” Bunnie chuckled, prompting a resigned groan. “Still, Nic’s right. You had another option, but even though you were scared, you stood up to that monster and got a good hit on him.”

“Thanks…” She relaxed. “Though I think I dented the knuckles a little…”


“That’s not really a surprise,” Rotor spoke up. “Those are just basic prosthetics, they’re not the most sturdy parts. The upgrades Tails and I are working on will be stronger.”

“We’ll include some weapons of some sort too, just in case something like this happens again. I’ve got some ideas that should really help on that front,” Tails added.

“I’m not sure if the Council will approve of you arming her,” Sally raised an eyebrow.

“Well, what they don’t know won’t hurt them,” He shrugged. “I won’t leave Fiona unable to protect herself from him just because they don’t trust her.”

“Thanks, Tails,” She said, and he smiled back at her, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

“It’s no problem, Fiona,” He beamed. 

“What’s going to happen now, though?” The vixen asked. “To me, I mean?”


“Well, with Scourge’s attempt, it will be pretty clear that you’re not on his side anymore, so in the long-run it may actually prove beneficial. And, owing to your own actions during the attack, I’m quite confident that I can trust you…” Sally replied, tenting her fingers. “Fiona, I’d like to invite you to rejoin the team, once you’re fully recovered.”

“Really!?” She gasped.

“Yes. Don’t feel that you have to say yes, after what you’ve been through, I fully understand if you’d prefer to stay out of further conflict, and regardless of your choice, you’ll always have a home with us. But if you still have that spark, you’re more than welcome to come back.”

“What about Nic?” Fiona asked. “Will she be able to stay too?”

“That’s up to her,” Sally replied, as both turned to the wolf-weasel, who shrugged, looking down at her younger friend.

“Well, you guys locking Nack up means I’m pretty much free to live without looking over my shoulder anymore, I could go anywhere… but I have my real family to take care of. I said last night that I never should’ve separated from you, Fi, and I sure as hell don’t intend to do it again now.”

“In that case, I’m sure I can extend your employment past Fiona’s recovery time,” Sally smiled. 

“Then I’m in,” Fiona answered. Sally held out her hand, and the vixen shook it.

“Welcome aboard, Fiona,” She greeted. “And welcome home.”

***

Far away, in the midst of the Great Wastes, a brilliant flash of white light heralded the arrival of a battered, haggard figure. It stumbled, silvery liquid dripping from its form, as it took a few unsteady steps forward.

One crimson optic flickered downwards, locking onto the pile of scrap parts that rested at its mangled feet. It crouched, picking through the exploded corpse of Metal Sonic v3.7. As it found what had once been part of the droid’s chest, the figure found within it a few tiny shards of green crystal.

“P-P-P-Power Gem shards lo-lo-located. Status: Destroyed. No energy pre-present. Commencing secondary ac-ac-acquisition,” It droned, its voice a harsh, stuttering monotone. 

As it spoke, the silvery puddle forming at its feet spread, growing larger, as the figure’s body began to melt into it. It spread over the debris field, flowing into every dent and scar in the fallen robot, dissolving them, before it pulled back in, merging with the molten form of the new arrival.

“Assimilation com-complete,” It announced to the empty plains, logging its first find in its memory banks.

M.Sv3.3- ACQUIRED
M.Sv3.7- ACQUIRED
M.Sv2.5- INACTIVE
M.Sv2.6- ACTIVE
M.Scv1.0- INACTIVE
Silver.Smk3- INACTIVE
Mecha.Smk1- INACTIVE
T.M.Sv2- INACTIVE

In another flash of white, it vanished.