Brief note:

I realised while writing this chapter that I've made a serious cock-up regarding the timeline in this story. They are as follows:

- Sonic and Tails have spent FOUR years in Duruga at the time of their induction into the Kitsune Enclave, not five.

- Sonic and Tails' reunion and subsequent induction into the Kitsune Enclave takes place ONE year before Christof's murder, not two.

- When Sonic and Tails reunite in Duruga, Sonic has been on his own for TWO years, not three.

Future chapters will adhere to this timeline, and past chapters will be corrected soon. Hopefully it hasn't been too confusing!

There's also the slight matter of the delay in posting this chapter. I blame Skyrim. Normally when I say I'll do stuff in 'a few' months, 'a few' doesn't usually mean 'nearly fifteen'. I swear! It would appear I'm posting chapters according to 'Valve Time' - and then there was that whole thing about saying future chapters would be shorter too... uh, yeah. I guess I kinda suck at this whole punctuality and brevity thing. Sorry about that! Enjoy, anyway.

-= Breaking The Broken =-

I. Smiles and Daggers

Lupe stood outside the door to the sick bay, just around the corner where she wouldn't be seen. She knew the routes now. Nicole would change back into her royal attire and go her way. The office of the War Minister was the other way down the hall.

As soon as she heard the clacking of Nicole's shoes against the cold linoleum she pressed her back hard against the wall. Peeking out for just a second, she watched her queen trudging slowly away, and around the corner. She waited for Griff to follow, but he didn't.

She waited a while longer. "Griff?"

There was no answer.

She'd planned to spring him, to find out what they'd been talking about - she'd picked up on the rumour mill that Nicole and Griff had been having secret little meetings here and there, just when they could catch up. All too quickly Lupe had found herself getting a grasp on how things worked around here in the castle. There were always wheels turning beneath the surface, and as one of Nicole's top advisers she was starting to feel more than a little left out of the proceedings. Something was up, and she wanted to know what.

Checking down the hall to make sure Nicole was out of sight, she quietly re-entered the room. Griff was leaning against the wall, arms folded, looking wistfully out the window. The smoke from the energy node that had exploded before was still wafting past, in big fluffy clouds of black, sizzling with electricity.

"Griff," she said.

The goat sniffed, and turned his head to look at her only for a moment. As soon as their eyes met, his stare shifted down to his Mobotropolis Army-issue boots. "Was there something you needed?"

"Nicole and yourself have been... very private lately," Lupe observed.

"Heh," Griff smirked, shaking his head. "Yeah, yeah. It's not what you think, Lupe."

"I wasn't thinking that." She watched him for a moment. She wasn't fond of these kinds of confrontations, but her worry had been mounting steadily to a point now that she could no longer ignore it. "I just want to know what's going on here. Nicole is planning something, and she's not telling anyone but you. Why?"

"Well..." Griff started, reaching out to idly pick up one of the cups that sat on the table near him, with a fistful of clear-pink lollipops sticking out of the top. He plucked one out and held it up to the light, watching the light reflecting and refracting through it. Cute.

"Well?"

"I've been given an order to start up the old SWATbot factory, and deploy some of the reprogrammed bots we have in reserve. They'll hopefully get some crowd control going on out the front of the castle without causing too much hurt on either side."

Lupe's eyes went wide. "It didn't occur to either of you that such a move would be political suicide?"

"Our army's too small in numbers to be diverted inwards, when we're also possibly looking at a full-scale incursion coming in from the North. It's practical."

"And how do you think the people out there will react when they see SWATbots trundling through the streets?" Lupe said, shaking her head. "Seven years may have passed, but the war's still fresh as ever in their minds, Griff. They're practically walking symbols for oppression!"

"Then you'll need to be quick about coming up with some good spin so they'll see it our way!" he snapped at her, but caught himself. "Oh, no. I'm sorry, Lupe." His shiny black eyes darted over to her, and away again.

Lupe turned around and quietly shut the door behind her. "Tell me what's going on, Griff. You're more on edge than ever. And I don't think I've ever seen Nicole looking so stressed in all her time in the throne."

Griff nodded slowly. "In confidence?"

"Of course."

"Things are looking bad, Lupe. Very, very bad. Nicole's got two more cards to play, but the clamour out on the streets is getting worse by the hour. The news hasn't even been confirmed yet and everybody's calling Nicole a murderer, an opportunist, a warmonger. We were all aware that when Sonic had nominated Nicole as our stand-in queen all those years ago, opinion was divided on having an android on the throne, let alone one that'd been partially created by Snively, and had not an ounce of royal blood in her. Frankly, I don't know how long this will be able to continue."

"So, what are these last two cards?" Lupe asked.

Griff leaned back, stroking his beard nervously. "We're sending Bunnie and Antoine into Trema to do some investigating. With any luck, they might find something that will explain Christof's murder and clear Nicole's name. Nicole swears blind that it was a murder-suicide carried out by both of Christof's aides. If there was a conspiracy behind it, it would've gone through the Brotherhood Sanctuary."

It'd be nice if they could turn up anything, Lupe thought. There were still so many things that didn't add up here. If Nicole's original testimony was the truth, then what would the Brotherhood, or at least certain interested parties within it, stand to gain by killing their own leader? And there was still the question of Tails; he'd shown his face for the first time in five years, at the moment of Christof's murder, and vanished again without a trace.

"And the last option?" Lupe asked.

He looked at her. "I'm... not at liberty to say, at the moment. I gave our queen my word."

Lupe studied him for a long time - the look on his face said it anyway.

"I understand," she said.

Night fell once again.

There was no shortage of noise on the streets, but it had at least moved away from the Castle. The Royal Guard, both first and second, were performing their duties well despite their constant butting of heads (mostly as a result of Viktor's jealousy of Antoine's position, and the slander he was prone to spreading as a result). For now, at least, the area looked safe.

"So... you are okay with the first guard being led by yourself in my absence?" Antoine asked as he walked slowly, looking up at the stars. A thin veil of clouds moved quietly under the moon, casting their silvery shadows across the landscape.

"I can't see it being a problem," Nicole said from under her hood, clutching her cloak tightly to her chest. "After all, you said it was working like a 'well-oiled machine' - isn't that right?"

"Oui," Antoine said.

They'd arrived at a hot dog stand, not unlike the ones Sonic had been so acutely fond of in his youth. Antoine, Bunnie and Nicole pulled up a stool each, and turned around to look at the lawns that made up the façade of Castle Acorn. The sprinklers were turned on - it was a fairly hot summer, so the night was balmy and there was no better time than once the sun had set to keep the gardens hydrated.

"Can I get you folks something?" the cook, a pig, asked brusquely.

Nicole held up three fingers. "With the lot."

"No worries, friend. Aren't you a little hot, all rugged up like that?"

The queen smiled at him, being careful not to show her face too clearly in the dim light. "I'm running a bit of a fever, it seems. I'm putting out heat like a radiator but it feels like I'm freezing to death."

"I know the feeling," the pig said, turning back to his pot where three greasy frankfurters were stewing in a thick Mobotropolis syrup.

"Is that what you tell everyone when you're goin' incognito, hon?" Bunnie jibed.

Nicole shrugged. "I alternate between excuses. It's nice though, you know. Being able to just walk around sometimes in your own streets, just pretending you're nobody. It seems no one in this city will let me see things the way they do. When they know there's... royalty, getting about, they change their tone. I understand it, though."

"Well, you ain't like us regular folk. Suppose that goes with the job."

"Well, I like to think I'm pretty normal, these days. There was a long time ago, when I thought I was really something special and different. I have to wonder now, what on Mobius I was thinking."

"You were a computer hangin' off of Sally's shoe!" Bunnie laughed. "That ain't exactly the norm."

"Heh," Nicole chuckled awkwardly. "I suppose not..." That's not really what I meant, she thought.

"So..." Antoine leaned back, resting his elbows on the counter. "We are to depart in the morning, and meet with Ari as soon as we arrive in Trema, no?"

"That's the one," Nicole nodded. "I've chosen you two because you're both easy to get along with and you do well with representing what we're like as a government and as a people, I think."

"Knuckles might be someone to send too, would you not say?" Antoine suggested. "He has met Ari with you and established a rapport."

"Not exactly," Nicole chuckled. "Last time was a bit of a disaster. Bless his heart, but Knuckles has a bad habit of speaking his mind. Plus, Ari knows you better. I don't think his time with the Freedom Fighters during the war with Robotnik would've left him with anything but respect for you two."

Bunnie shrugged. "Ah... I don't think he's gonna let his own sentiment get in the way of how he handles us."

"You'd be surprised how powerful a thing sentimentality can be," Nicole told her. "Most of the population here would've quite readily accepted Sonic as a king seven years ago, based just on what they'd heard about him. It's a good thing to have on your side, and it helps in ways that aren't always obvious."

"And who will be in charge of the First Guard while I am away?" Antoine asked. "Do we go up the line, or is Viktor to cover both guards?"

"We go up the line," Nicole said. "That's the standard procedure. And... well, something's been bothering me about Viktor lately. I don't know how trustworthy he is now. Am I paranoid in thinking he might actually be hoping something happens to me?"

Antoine frowned. "Non, your highness. But his connections are numerous. A shakedown might look suspicious at a time like this."

"I know," Nicole said. "That's the only reason I haven't done just that."

Bunnie watched Antoine, watching Nicole. Behind them, she could see a squad of three SWATbots marching along the road, weapons holstered. The world was getting stranger with the day.

"It's a good thing that you have your suspicions about him," Antoine said.

"Mm." Nicole nodded, then stood up. "But enough of this. We've all got a busy day ahead of us tomorrow, and I need to get some sleep."

"Sure thing," Bunnie said, stretching. "Hey, Nicole."

Nicole turned. "Yes?"

"I think we should all go get us a drink before we call it quits tonight. You want?"

She smiled. "Like you wouldn't believe, darling."

It was ten in the morning, in the Office of the Grandmaster of the Brotherhood of Thamael.

The thing about Mobotropilan mead wasn't really the hangovers. It wasn't the strongest drink but there was something about the spices the bartenders added on top that gave off this lasting burning sensation, one that seemed to last for days. Bunnie's guts were still churning, and it'd been nearly a full twelve hours since she'd shared her last drink with Nicole the night before. Antoine was still wincing beside her; evidently, he hadn't fared any better.

They were both sitting in the antechamber of Ari's office, and Bunnie was growing more uncomfortable every time one of the Brotherhood followers passed.

"Nicole had said her greeting was a warm one when she and Knuckles were last visiting here," Antoine murmured.

"Christof had just died last time," Bunnie shrugged. "'spose they hadn't had time to let it sink in. They've had plenty now."

"Bunnie, Antoine," a voice called out from Ari's door. Marr was now standing in it, a wan smile on her face. "How've you been?"

"Hey!" Bunnie grinned, standing up to give her a tight squeeze. "Can't complain over here. Din't expect to see you here, sugah!" She pulled back, checking her over. The look on her face seemed to suggest the sentiment was mutual.

"Suppose not," Marr chuckled. "Ari's just dealing with something, he'll be ready to see you both momentarily."

"Sure thing," Bunnie said, clapping her on the back. "How long ya been back 'ere?"

"Uh, almost a year..." she said, pursing her lips.

"I don't suppose... Tails is 'ere too, then?" Bunnie asked.

Marr shook her head, her earrings jingling with the motion. "He was still in Duruga, the last I saw. I had to leave without him." Bunnie noted that Marr didn't elaborate with why, but chose not to pursue, for the moment.

"We think that he showed himself at tze Castle Acorn on the night of Christof's murder..." Antoine said, still leaning back in one of the chairs.

"Yes, I've read the reports from our two emissaries," she answered, then paused thoughtfully. "You don't think... he wouldn't..."

"Nah, he wouldn't." Bunnie got in quickly. "Nicole thinks he was tryin' to help, but he got in too late. What I'm wonderin' is, where he is now, and how he knew what was gonna go down."

Marr nodded quietly. "What about Sonic?"

"No clue."

"Mm." Marr looked down at her feet pensively. "I see."

Bunnie moved closer, lowering her voice. "So... what happened between you two?"

Marr and Bunnie's eyes met for a second, before deflecting like magnets. "He'd become convinced that the Kitsune enclave was his home... I'd become convinced that I'd left my home behind, here in the North. I couldn't wait for him to change his mind anymore."

Bunnie nodded. "You still love 'im, don't ya?"

Marr turned to Antoine, and asked, "How's your head?" The turn in the subject was so obvious and evasive that it almost bordered on rude to Bunnie, but then again, it was Marr's personal life she'd been asking about, when the purpose of their visit was about Christof's death. Though, she had something of a feeling that the two topics would be intersecting soon, now with Tails being part of both pictures.

"I am fine now, Marr. Thank you for your concern." Antoine smiled awkwardly.

Marr gave the most polite nod to his response that she was capable of, and disappeared inside Ari's office again, gently closing the door behind her.

"Bunnie," Antoine spoke quietly.

"Yeah, hon?"

"I love you," he said.

"Where did that come from?" she laughed, walking over to him, folding her arms.

The coyote shrugged, looking up at her. "It has been a while since we have had any time alone together, mon amour. But I did not wish for you to forget."

"Yeah..." Bunnie said wistfully. "It's been pretty hard on everyone lately, huh? But I ain't gonna forget something like that, no matter what happens." She rested her fingers gently on his cheek, giving a small pinch. "I love you too. Ya goofball."

Both were thinking of Amelie Depardieu, their little girl back in Knothole - but Antoine knew better than to mention it. She was well cared for back in Knothole, but Bunnie was always fretting whenever she had to leave Amelie's side, and it had been a while since they were there last.

"Don't worry," Antoine said to her, taking her by her flesh arm to pull her gently to kneel in front of him, so they were eye level. "Rosie wouldn't let Amelie out of her sight."

"Yeah..." Bunnie smiled, looking into his eyes. "I know, I shouldn't worry."

"And besides," Antoine began, a sly look crossing his face. "Here we are at least, for some days, away from our regular duties, a beautiful Northern suite all to ourselves..."

"Ant!" Bunnie leaned back and slapped him on the chest, feigning shock.

"Whaaaat?" Antoine said nonchalantly, putting on a grin truly befitting of a coyote.

The door to Ari's office opened again a crack, and Marr poked her head through. "Ari will see you now."

Antoine's first thought when he saw Ari, brooding behind his desk, was how much the ram reminded him of Nicole's state just the night before. It was obvious that neither one was having an easy time. How easy should it be then, he thought, for the two to just say, 'I'm sorry this happened' and continue on their way?

"Good morning," Ari said, standing up to extend his hand in Bunnie's direction. "It's been too long."

The truth was, if it were not for the needs and opinions of thousands of people that stood on either side of the Great Unknown, it probably could've been that simple. What would King Max have done?

"Ya should be callin' in down South a bit more, then!" Bunnie said in her trademark drawl, taking Ari's hand gingerly. She surprised Antoine though, by going one step further and giving him a tight hug. "I'm so sorry for everything that's happened, Ari."

Now that Antoine thought about it, King Max had already demonstrated his chosen course of action - a full-scale, unprovoked invasion. The Great War. Which had in many ways been the thing that had led to this entire situation that Mobotropolis and Trema were now facing each other in. No, as much as he respected Maximillian Acorn, he was no shining example of good diplomacy. Not when he'd had a man like Julian Kintobor in his ear.

For a brief moment, Antoine found himself zoning out, his mind going back to images of Sally, Max's daughter. The one he'd been infatuated with for his entire childhood, until he finally confronted her about it. She'd shot him down in flames on the spot. Then she'd died in the same year.

It was an old scar by now, and it didn't hurt anymore, but Antoine still couldn't resist running a finger over it in his mind every now and again, and remembering the pain he'd gone through to earn it.

"Antoine," Bunnie whispered. He looked up and saw Ari and Bunnie were both staring at him.

"Desole," he said. "The blow on my head the other day has slightly hindered my ability to think straight."

"It's alright, Antoine," Ari nodded. "It's good to see you again."

"And to you," Antoine said. "How is tze morale here in Trema?"

"What do you think?" Ari said. "Everyone is teetering on a knife edge. My brothers and sisters here in the Sanctuary, and the commoners on the surface are both still reeling. The immediate call is for us to retaliate, and launch a full-scale incursion on Mobotropolis. Christof was well loved, and people are looking for payback."

"Are you plannin' on acting on that?" Bunnie asked.

Ari gave her a reserved, stone cold stare. "It would be my last choice. Yourselves and I may have been friends during the coup, but Christof has been my mentor, and Trema my family, for my whole life. Now my friend, and our leader, was found dead at your queen's feet."

I cannot believe what I'm hearing, Antoine thought. "Tze eyewitnesses seem awfully quick to describe the scene of Nicole standing over two corpses. Has there been no reports of my own self being bound and gagged on the floor just outside?"

"There has, of course," Ari said, "and most simply surmise that Nicole rendered you unconscious herself to prevent you from running off to scream for help. If it hadn't been for the sound of the window smashing, nobody would've been any the wiser until long after the meeting was over, and Nicole would've had plenty of time to dispose of the bodies."

"What the hoo-hah?" Bunnie groaned, feeling her insides curl up with disgust. "Are you even listenin' to yerself? What on Mobius would our queen hope to achieve by killin' your leader during the signin' of a peace treaty?"

"Well, I wouldn't rule out a malfunction in that robot brain of hers," Ari said, "she is one of a kind, after all. Not to mention she is, in essence, a holdover of the technology in place during King Max's rule. Your old King, who burned this city to the ground and slaughtered our people en masse during the Great War. Did the possibility of a prime directive, some sort of royal failsafe, ever cross your mind? Even if it was an action taken against her will, Nicole is a machine in the end."

Bunnie took a long, deep breath, staring at the ceiling. Alright, girl, remain composed. You swore to yourself, no punch-ons with the Grandmaster.

Antoine opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't grasp the words to articulate his thoughts. He thanked Marr silently when she chose this moment to weigh in herself: "With all due respect, Grandmaster, that's only conjecture for the moment. Right now, we need to focus on examining the situation at hand and look for any potential links that might hint at foul play."

Ari sighed, giving her a look that seemed one part resignation and two parts stubborn contempt. "Yes, you're right..." He turned to Bunnie. "I know you consider your... Queen, to be a friend. I hope you're clear that I mean no disrespect to her character or her leadership. But we must consider every possibility."

"I understand, Ari." Bunnie stared down at her mechanical hand as she spoke, absently fiddling with a maintenance panel in her forearm that had recently started to come loose. "Just eager to get started with our investigation." The words rang hollow in her head.

"We are most appreciative of your hospitalisation," Antoine said, taking a bow.

"Credit where it is due," Ari said. "If Nicole is willing to work openly, then so am I." Bunnie noted that Ari had chosen not to correct Antoine's linguistic blunder. "Marr, why don't you show these two to their quarters, and then we'll allow them some time to make a report to Castle Acorn. I'm sure Nicole is eager to hear that you've made it here safe and sound," he said, looking in Antoine and Bunnie's direction.

Marr gave a reserved curtsy. "As you like, Grandmaster."

Bunnie found herself almost mesmerised by the intricacy of the Brotherhood Sanctuary's interior. Everything was red and black marble, polished to a mirror shine and lined with hand-crafted, gold-trimmed carpeting. Gas lanterns burned at either side of the great hall with no sign of weathering; it was obvious that they ran a tight ship down here.

"Wouldn't it make more sense to run the city from... y'know, in the city?" Bunnie pondered aloud as they walked, her metallic feet clomping noisily over the shuffle of the others that were scampering back and forth along the hall. "Instead of down in 'ere underground?"

"Trema is not so different from your Mobotropolis," Marr explained. "On the mend. We don't have a nice big castle or parliament house, and the Brotherhood of Thamael has always been at the centre of Trema politics even in its glory days. If it's important, it will come to the Brotherhood to pass on to Trema's political parties. Not the other way around." Twitching her nose, she added, "The guest quarters aren't far now. Just around the corner."

"Miss Marr," Antoine said, picking up his pace to fall in at her side. "Can you be making any guess as to why Tails would be returning to Mobius now? Any at all?"

"No," she responded curtly. "All he had on his mind was discovering his kin. That's it. Miles was driven. By the time the Brotherhood's ship had come to take us both back, that was the only thing on his mind. Everything else - the cartography mission, Sonic, me... he didn't care. It's like he became this other person."

"That don't sound like the Tails I remember at all..." Bunnie pondered.

Marr turned to her slowly. "It doesn't to me, either."

"And that leaves no word about Sonic in this time, either..." Antoine said.

"When was the last time you saw him?" Bunnie asked.

Marr shrugged. "Years ago. Sonic went his way long before I did. He and Miles had been butting heads from the moment we left. Then one day, we woke up, and he'd gone. Taken all his things with him."

Bunnie looked at her, incredulous. "What? Sonic left because he couldn't stand Tails? They were best friends!"

"Not by the end," the lynx said. Lowering her head, she added, "I may have had a part in that. He'd have not been happy as a third wheel."

Antoine looked at Bunnie, frowning. Bunnie frowned back. After a short while, Marr stopped at one of the doors, and pulled a key from her pocket to unlock it.

"Well," Marr said with a sigh, pushing the door open and stepping aside to let Antoine and Bunnie through. "These are your quarters. I hope you'll find them adequate - we take a great deal of pride in making our guests comfortable."

Bunnie put a hand on Marr's shoulder. "As do we, darlin'."

"I know." Marr smiled, remembering the times she'd had in Knothole in the days after the battle of Adramalech... seemed an age ago, now.

"This..." Antoine started, looking around the room in awe, "this is for us? This is just... magnifique..." He ran his hands over the back of the leather couch, eyeing the old gold-trimmed paintings, the polished oak desk, a ship in a bottle sitting atop it, the carved stone fireplace, the black fur rug. "Pardon me, Marr, my friend, but how could you have not mentioned your society's exquisite taste for interior design? Such finesse, subtlety..."

Marr and Bunnie looked at each other. "Er..." they both hummed, in unison.

Antoine stopped cold at one of the glass cabinets, carefully opening the door to extract one of the hand-crafted teacups. "And is this..." he gasped in wonder, "genuine Francois handmold? Be still, my beating heart..."

"Is he alright?" Marr whispered, leaning towards Bunnie's ear.

"Just let 'im go," Bunnie said back. "He kinda has this thing for antique decor. Got it from his dad in the old days, I think."

"Ah." Marr led Bunnie to the desk, upon which sat an antiquated holographic terminal. "You can use this to make calls back home when you need to. I'm guessing you should get onto it right away, let your queen know you're okay."

It was one of the types she'd remembered Rotor using a fair amount during the early days of the coup. It had to be one of the pre-Great War type computers; the user interface was basic at best, which suited Bunnie just fine - she hadn't learned to come to grips with the newer style computers Rotor and Chuck were using these days, that they'd liberated from Robotnik's many decommissioned bases. "Appreciate it," Bunnie said. "Reckon she'll look forward to that. Nicole's a pretty motherly type."

Marr smiled again. "You don't need to tell me that."

"She did love to dote on you and Tails for some reason," Antoine said, coming up behind.

Bunnie giggled at him. "Finished fawnin' over the furniture now, are we Ant?"

Antoine turned up his nose in mock disgust: "One day, my little sunflower, you too will be learning to appreciate tze beauty in old-world decor."

Marr began to quietly turn to the door. "I should be letting you two go, now."

"Stay for a bit, Marr." Bunnie switched the terminal on, and began inputting the dial-in code for Castle Acorn. "Nicole's missed you, hon. She'll be glad to hear from you again."

"But I..." the lynx started, but Bunnie took her by the wrist and dragged her over. "Alright..."

Lupe's face flickered into the air, glowing in bright fluorescent blue: "Hello?"

"Lupe, it's us!" Bunnie said. "Can't ya see us? We got Marr here, too."

The wolf shook her head. "I'm getting voice, but no video. Don't worry about it though. How are things up there?"

"The mood's a bit tense, but we didn't get harassed or nothin'. We're good. Don't suppose Her Majesty is hangin' about by any chance?"

Lupe shook her head. "She's going over something with Rotor and Chuck, now. Getting ready to make an announcement. Things have gotten worse over the last day, Bunnie."

"Worse, you say?" Antoine gulped. "How much so? Is tze guard coping?"

"Yes, they're okay for now," Lupe explained, "but they're on twenty-four hour watch and the Second Guard has reported some injuries, and a squad's gone AWOL. We had a problem last night, Antoine. A crowd of rioters tried to storm the castle. Nicole ordered the SWATbots to deploy tear gas at the front gates. It's the only thing that's kept anyone from literally storming the place."

The room fell quiet.

"Oh, my stars..." Bunnie breathed quietly. "That ain't good. Ain't good at all..."

Antoine's response was more succinct: "Merde."

"Things are at a fever pitch now," Lupe continued, "Some very vocal critics of Nicole's rule are coming out of the woodwork, and a lot of people are listening. They think she's become power-drunk, that she's a conspirator, that there's some kind of hidden sabotage program that Robotnik or Snively installed in her programming that's surfacing now..."

"What is she planning to do now?" Marr asked, her voice quivering. Her tone was one of genuine worry; hopefully, Bunnie thought, she'd at least go someway to being representative of her compatriots here in the North.

Lupe took a deep breath, and shut her eyes tightly for a while. The fuzzy reception had made it hard to see before, but Bunnie now became acutely aware that Lupe was on the verge of tears. "I don't know," the wolf said. "Griff's told me that if things don't improve during tonight, she'll have one last card to play. She hasn't told anyone except him, and he's given his word to keep it a secret."

"No, no, no..." Antoine groaned, rubbing his temples. "This cannot be right. Why? Why would she want to keep anything from us at a time such as this?"

"I can only surmise is that her next move will be drastic, and her intention is to protect us," Lupe said quietly. Then she leaned forward, looking right into the camera: "Bunnie, Antoine..."

"We're here..." Bunnie said.

"I am praying to the spirits of my kin for you now. I am imploring them to help you uncover the truth behind this conspiracy before we lose our queen. I think... our last hope may lie with you."

"We will do our best, Lupe," Antoine said, looking Lupe in the eye despite his awareness that he wasn't visible on her end. "But we cannot promise a miracle. I hope your spirits will do their job, but you must stay strong, my friend."

She nodded, smiling as she choked out a sob. "I will, Antoine. If I see Nicole, I'll let her know that you are alright." She pressed her fingers to her temples, trying to regain her composure. "I-"

The sudden sound of a door slamming came through the computer's speakers. Lupe jumped in her seat, turning sharply away from the camera to someone behind her. "Knuckles? Who is-"

"Macska, this is Lupe." Knuckles' voice came from behind. "Lupe is one of the queen's royal advisers, and like all of them, she has been suffering every day since all of this began. Do you see, you idiot? All of this suffering is being inflicted by you and your bloody friends. You!"

"It's not my fault!" Another voice, male.

"Then who? Whose fault is it?"

Lupe stood up, hands on her hips. "Knuckles, who is this?" The terminal's projector now only showed her back, the rest of her body now out of the camera's field of vision.

"What on Mobius?" Marr scowled, looking at Bunnie. Bunnie only shrugged at her, and turned back to the computer. They all leaned forward, listening intently.

"Knuckles, I'm in the middle of a call!" Lupe shouted.

"Is that Bunnie and Ant on the line?" Knuckles' voice came from beyond. "I need to speak with them."

"Fine," Lupe hissed, her body moving out of the camera's view. "Speak, then. By the gods..."

Knuckles' face appeared on the projector. "Hi."

"'Hi'!?" Bunnie screamed. "Knuckles, has anyone told you lately that you are a certified, genuine, grade-A asshole?"

"Many times today, in fact," Knuckles said quickly. "But this is important. I've been trying to reach everyone from Knothole in the last day and I haven't been able to pin down anyone."

"Then what is it?" Bunnie spat.

"This camera working?" Knuckles asked, looking around. "I don't see any video feed on this end."

Bunnie rolled her eyes, running her hand over her face. "Yes, the freakin' camera's working!"

"Good," Knuckles said. "Do you know this guy? Because I caught him doing a little casual housebreaking back in Knothole, and he's told me that he knows you."

He dragged the feline into view of the camera.

"Cat!?" Bunnie and Antoine both gasped simultaneously.

He scowled, folding his arms. "Yeah, it's me."

"What happened to you?" Antoine said, his face contorting with shock. "Where have you been all these years? We thought you had been roboticised for sure!"

"You said your name was Macska," Knuckle's voice came from behind.

"But no one thought to check if I was roboticised, did they?" Cat growled into the camera.

"Sonic came back for you!" Bunnie snapped.

Knuckles poked his face into the camera for a moment: "Let's adjourn the happy huggy reunion for a while, shall we?" He turned to his feline 'friend'. "Now... tell them, Cat, what you were doing in Knothole, breaking into Lupe's hut."

Bunnie frowned. "Cat?"

He sighed. "I was just searching her Wolfpack codex. That's all."

"For?" Knuckles probed, poking him in the shoulder with one of his barbs.

"Information on the Antithesis," Cat sighed.

"You must be kidding." Lupe's voice came from the background. Evidently, she hadn't left the room.

Knuckles jabbed him again. "For whom?"

"The Cult of Xul," Cat said, staring at the desk in front of him.

"He must be kidding," Marr said, shaking her head.

Bunnie took a step back. "Suddenly, I'm gettin' the feelin' that everyone here knows more n' I do."

"The Antithesis is a myth," Lupe explained. "Either it's a place, or a thing, none of the explanations are really consistent. In all likelihood, it's neither. For gods' sakes, Cat, if you wanted to know about that, all you had to do was ask!"

"And what about this... cult?" Antoine asked, turning to Marr.

"Supposedly a hidden organisation of conspirators dedicated to advocating the rise of the inter-dimensional being Xul, better known to you, as the Void."

"Right..." Bunnie nodded. She'd remembered Tails telling her about this. That the Void was not so much a place that existed on its own, but a dimension that was sustained in the thoughts of a strange ancient being, one that had no real form. He'd also told her that Sonic and Marr had managed to kill it when it had tried to assimilate him. "Were they helpin' Naugus out all those years ago?"

"Not that any one of us has ever been aware of," Marr said. "And trust me, we've gone down that path before. Either they've managed to elude us at every single turn, or, far more likely, they don't exist at all."

Knuckles turned to Cat. "Did this cult ever take you into their headquarters?"

"Yes!" Cat said, staring at him with wide eyes. "They're out in the desert! The Great Unknown!"

"Then you'll show us how to get there?"

"They..." Cat slumped his shoulders, shaking his head. "They blindfolded me. Told me I was never to know how I got there. I know it's out in the desert, underground, somewhere. I never saw a landmark. Never even saw daylight."

A flash of Lupe's hip came up on the hologram, where she'd walked into the camera. "Well, is there anything you can give us? A name? A face? Anything?"

Cat shook his head, saying nothing.

Everyone looked at Marr.

"I know the stories of the cult," Marr said. "But I'm warning you, they are stories, and nothing more. They date back for generations, beyond any that still live today. That they intend to invoke the wrath of Xul and bring about some type of great cataclysm - I'm sure you've got your spook stories in the South, as well."

A sudden, vivid memory of Sonic's dreaded campfire tales entered Antoine's mind, making him shudder.

Knuckles gave the parting shot. "I suppose there's only one question left, Cat: why were you even with this crowd? Doing their bidding?"

"Because... I... hated everyone in this blasted city!" he groaned. "I wanted all the help I could get to bring this sham of a so-called monarchy down, and get a real government in place!"

"Did your contacts seem to echo your concerns?" Lupe asked.

"Of course they did..." Cat said, burying his head in his hands. "Why else would they have offered their help?"

"Could this be the crowd behind Christof's murder?" Bunnie proposed.

"That's a stretch," Lupe said, still out of shot. "Though the timing would be convenient, I suppose. Let's not forget, however, that we're talking about Cat supposedly being enlisted by a mythical organisation, to help them find a mythical object. It's more likely that someone's just pulling his tail."

"Probably," Bunnie said. "But listen, Lupe, can you let Nicole know about this? She has the entire royal archive written into her head. She might know something about these things that we don't, and if there's a connection, we gotta get onto this. We ain't got much time."

Lupe sat down in front of the camera and smiled. "I will make it so, Bunnie."

For a moment, Bunnie saw Knuckles' hand resting on Lupe's shoulder, and he pulled her aside to say something quietly in her ear. Then he was gone.

Lupe turned back to the camera. "We'd better go, now. Take care. All of you."

"We will," Antoine said. The transmission went silent.

The rabbit, coyote and lynx sat there for a few moments, looking at each other quietly.

"Guess we at least know a few questions we can ask around 'ere," Bunnie said, flopping onto the queen-size bed, staring at the hand-painted patterns on the ceiling with her hands behind her head. "But who do we ask?"

"I've a few ideas," Marr said. "We should report the summary of this conversation to Ari, before we do anything. Then I'd suggest we start with the critics here of the South."

Bunnie looked at her, propping her body up with her shoulders. "We're gonna have trouble with that, being southerners ourselves. If they ain't on our side, they ain't gonna be too forthcoming with us. How well do folks know you, Marr?"

"Uh..." Marr pursed her lips, thinking. "Not too well, really. I'm more of a bookish sort, I kind of keep to myself."

"Perfect!" Bunnie smiled. "You know any particular critics here you could start with?"

Marr shrugged. "Everyone?"

II. One...?

Duruga - one month before Christof's assassination.

There couldn't have been a better night for a raid.

Tails looked over at Sonic, who was still shivering despite the cover, and despite the thick rags the Kitsune had outfitted him with. The winds had picked up to a ferocious howl tonight, and they carried with them a harsh chill from the ocean. Tails could only just feel it through his armour and fur, but he had to imagine that Sonic's exposed arms and thin spines did little to shrug off the cold.

"So..." he started, regarding the structure below. "Picking off the weakest links in the opposition, bit of infiltration and theft. Just like old times, eh?"

Sonic gave him a laboured look. "No. It ain't."

They were laying prone under the thick underbrush, gazing over a mining village. The place looked militaristic though primitive at the same time; a crude set of fences had been erected out of wood branches and razor wire to form a perimeter, and within were a handful of dirty-looking miners gathering around an open fire. There were three armed guards patrolling the outside, but one of them wasn't moving - judging by his posture, he seemed to have nodded off on his feet, despite the tempest he was standing in. Just inside the fence a light was visible from inside a small building - evidently, that was the way in.

"We're not going to hurt anyone, Sonic. Just get in, grab their stash of power crystals and get out."

"I still ain't buying this crap," Sonic said, his voice low. "Raids on 'Buttnik's turf were a different ball-game. They were robots. These are people, and they don't seem like all bad sorts either."

"You didn't see the looks I've been getting these past few years, as I've gotten closer to this place," Tails said. "They hate Kitsune. They fear my kind. I was walking on eggshells wherever I went..."

"Not hard to see why..." Sonic frowned.

Tails turned away from him, bearing his canines. He could feel his Kitsune blood boiling, but his mind knew that Sonic had a point. But it couldn't be, that the Kitsunes' ultimate goal was conquest... surely? Everything Fiona had been telling him hitherto was of union with nature, with the land they lived in... if their neighbours were only willing to show contempt for them, it stood to reason that they would do whatever they needed to do in order to survive.

But still.

"We should go," Tails finally said, looking up above at a higher ridge. "We're on the clock, after all." He could still see Fiona's silhouette against the silvery clouds through the bustling foliage. He had no doubt that she was watching every move they were making, judging their performance every step.

"Okay," Sonic said. "By the numbers. We circle around, stick to the bushes, slip into the rock quarry and bust out before anyone even knows we're here. When you're ready, big fella."

Tails slithered out of the undergrowth, on his hands and feet, and rolled down the side of the incline, and came to rest gracefully on his belly under another thick cover of foliage. Sonic came down just as easily, going into a quick sub-sonic spin that sliced through a few branches on the way down. Peeking through the brush, they could see no evidence that they'd been noticed. Without doubt, the wind was doing wonders to hide any noise they were making.

Sonic hopped up to a low crouch, tapping Tails on the shoulder. "We'll go for the one who's asleep. Should be able to sneak on right past without him even wakin' up."

Tails nodded. "Agreed. Let's hustle."

They burst from the foliage in single file, and scurried along to the safety of the building where they were out of sight. The next task was a simpler one: tiptoe around the snoozing sentry and duck around the other side to enter the mine shaft. As soon as they got into the doorway, their shadows would be a problem - but if they were quick, they'd make it in before anyone took it as anything terribly suspicious.

Sonic poked his head around the corner for just long enough to spot the guard. He was brandishing some kind of musket, with a bayonet attached, but it was hanging limply at his side, a finger dangerously resting inside the trigger guard.

He ducked back near Tails, and said as quietly as possible, "Still snoozin'."

"You take the point, bro," Tails said, looking the other way for a moment. "Let's be quick before anyone sees us when we get in the light."

Sonic rolled forward, right in front of the sleeping guard, and came to rest at his side. When he saw Tails coming, he braced to duck around the corner again. When he felt Tails' tap on his shoulder, he went for it.

The next sequence of events happened within the space of a quarter of a second:

Tails moved out of cover and was half way across the guard's front when still in his sleep, he sneezed, apparently allergic. When he jumped into wakefulness, his finger brushed the trigger. The musket fired a round straight into his foot, the din of the shot echoing around the valley.

"Aaagh!" the guard fell over, still half-asleep, clutching his bleeding foot, his musket falling at his side. "Szakur! Szakuuur!"

Another of the guards came running, shouting something in Durugan. When he rounded the corner, he came face to face with Tails.

They looked at each other for a moment like concerned old friends. Then Tails slugged him in the face as hard as he could, sending him flying into the barbed fence. When he struck the wire, he hung there upright, limp and unconscious, like a rag doll.

Within seconds, everyone in the vicinity had took their arms and formed a circle around Sonic and Tails.

"Moocha lein!" one of them screamed at the top of his voice, aiming down the sights of his weapon straight at Sonic's sternum. The blade of his bayonet glistened in the light of the fire.

"I thought the idea was to not get noticed," Sonic said, raising his hands slowly.

"It wasn't me!" Tails stammered, annoyed. After noticing he had three rifles trained upon him as well, he began raising his hands.

On the ridge of the valley, Fiona looked on, an amused smirk on her face. Any normal Kitsune in the Enclave would have already slaughtered every living thing on the surface before heading underground, and had no second thoughts about it. Sonic and Tails had both insisted on going in alone, and taking the non-violent approach. Now they'd not even made it to the front door and they'd already screwed up.

"So, my friends..." she whispered to herself, "Will you end their lives for this?"

"So, my friend..." Sonic said to Tails. "What's next? We go quietly?"

Tails looked at him. "Nope."

They both ducked together, and lashed out. Tails' long leg went out, catching three Durugans in the back of the knees. Sonic went into a spin, bursting through the rabble - two of them fired, but both shots just went straight into the dirt.

Tails rolled through the stumbling guards, knocking them over like bowling pins, and brought his elbows down hard on two of them. Then, gracefully ducking under a razor-sharp blade, he came up with his fist to meet one of them in the jaw. He winced inwardly at the sound of shattering bone as his knuckle made contact with the Durugan's fleshy face, and he quickly followed through with a foot to the back of the skull to finish the job.

He turned around and found three bayonets pressed to his throat. Sonic was nowhere to be seen.

"Uh, hey..." he said, raising his hands above his head. "We can talk this over, can't we?"

One of them opened his mouth to speak, when Tails saw a finger extend from the dark to tap him on the shoulder. As soon as he turned his head, Sonic's fist smashed him in the face, and then his spin attack had leveled the rest of them.

They both surveyed the area, back to back. They now stood alone in a field, surrounded by prone, unconscious bodies.

"Mmmph," one of them gurgled, staring up at Tails through one swollen eye and reaching for his rifle that lay a few feet away. Tails casually knelt down, grabbed him by the collar and headbutted him hard enough to form a small crater in the dirt.

"Well," Sonic said, looking at his partner. "That didn't go so well."

"At least we didn't raise any alarms," Tails shrugged. "And we didn't kill anyone."

Sonic pursed his lips, looking down at one that Tails had smote under the chin, blood dribbling out of his mouth. "We sure hurt 'em though. This better not turn into a habit, Big Guy. I really don't feel right about this."

"We'll try not to," Tails said, heading for the heavy oak door into the building. He was greeted by a long, dimly lit shaft that ran deep into the bowels of the earth, a winch and cable at the side. Leaning over and listening out carefully, he could hear nothing. Evidently, the only actual miners here were among the vanquished behind him. "Looks deserted. You ready?"

He was surprised when he turned around and saw Sonic still staring at their foes, his eyes wide and skin pale with shock.

"Hey..." Tails said, resting a hand on his shoulder. "You okay?"

Sonic's eyes darted up to meet his. "This ain't right, man. These guys didn't ask for this. How is what we're doing here, good?"

"It's..." Tails started, then stopped. "I guess it isn't good." It was a bitter thing to say, but in Duruga, there was no black and white.

The hedgehog gave him a look that befitted his modern-day self - resigned. "Well, it's too late to second-guess ourselves now. Let's just get these stupid gems and get outta here. This sucks."

Tails reached for the winch to raise the lift up to the ground level, and began to churn it with one arm. He felt his hands shaking even through the vibrations of the handle. He'd wanted to tell Sonic that he felt the same way, but there was something else bothering him more.

He felt great.

By about two in the morning, Tails lay in his bunk, staring into the dark. They'd done their job and they'd done it pretty well in his opinion. There'd been no casualties, which was a good sight more that he could've said than if someone else from the Enclave had attempted the task.

The hard canvas of his bunk was irritating him through his fur, and the cool air wafting through the room was too damp for him to slink into a comfortable position to sleep. He tossed over again in the darkness, shoving an arm under his pillow.

"Maybe you should go for a run or something, dude." It was Sonic's voice coming from the bunk below him.

"Sorry if I woke you," Tails said, leaning over the edge to make out his friend's outline in the gloom.

"I was only dozing man. Somethin' bothering you?"

"It's been bothering me all night now. One of the sentries we took out back over at the quarry."

"What about 'em?"

Tails swallowed hard before he spoke, momentarily weary of how Sonic might take what he said next. Maybe he'd finally twig, that his little buddy was maybe less himself these days than what he let on. "Fiona gave me her hook blade tonight. I told her I wouldn't need it, but she insisted I have it, even if I don't use it." He swallowed. "But I almost used it."

He could hear Sonic leaning out to look up at him, too dark to make eye contact but still just as confronting. "You would've killed one of those poor geezers just for a handful of rocks? What for?"

"Why do Kitsune kill at all?" Tails asked back. "It was instinct. My blood told me to do it. I took one of them down with my leg and my first thought was to just drive the blade right into the back of his skull. I'm starting to feel more like I'm sinking into this whole Kitsune way of living, but..."

"You don't wanna fit here."

"No chance, dude," he admitted.

"Me neither."

They'd started on this discussion before, but danced around the topic of their future here every time. Not this time.

Sonic cast the first stone. "We should be getting back to Mobius, bro. It's been a fun couple o' years and we've seen a lot I reckon. Never thought I'd say this though, but I miss being bored and lazy around Knothole."

"Then we need to get back," Tails said.

"How?"

"Haven't the foggiest, old friend. Our last ship sailed. Short of swimming, I think we're boned."

They were both quiet for a moment.

"Did Angie ever tell you what exactly his 'grand expedition' was supposed to be for?" Sonic asked. "Reckon he might be planning a trip to Mobius?"

"The thought occurred," Tails nodded. "Fiona told me that's how my family ended up on Mobius in the first place. An expedition from the Enclave, almost like an exchange program, I guess. A bit more one-sided than one of those, though."

"Yeah..." Sonic murmured. "We'd both better ask him about this tomorrow. Before you kill someone."

"Hah. Don't worry, I can keep myself in control." How long for, though, he had no idea.

"So..." Sonic whistled in the darkness. "How about her, huh?"

"Who?"

"Fiona."

"What about her?"

"You into her?" Sonic asked. Tails' ears pricked up slightly. Sonic had done his best to make the question sound playful, amused. But Sonic wasn't feeling either right now - he was worried.

"She's an ice queen. But I'm starting to find there may be more layers to her than we thought. She knew my father..." Tails said.

"Huh," Sonic huffed, settling back into his bunk, the rusty old mattress springs groaning as he moved. "So it's true then. This really is where you came from. Kinda hard to swallow."

"Yeah..." Tails mumbled. "There's something funny about this, Sonic. All of this."

"It took you this long to figure that out?"

"Why have they preserved this place so well? Why are we in here?" Tails grumbled, to himself mostly. "They know our spoken language. This is a crashed research vessel, way too unstable to be a first choice for lodging. The reactor, when I fixed it..." he paused, for a minute, thinking, and continued, "there were references in its computer to redundancy systems..."

Gods. What if...?

From somewhere in the ship's twisted hull, the sound of grinding metal echoed through the halls.

Tails leaped from his bunk and onto the cold steel tiles. "Come on. There's something we should be checking out, Sonic."

The corridors gave their bloody rustic shade up for a dull steel as they neared the core of the ship. Every step they took was swallowed up by the vibrations of the reactor, churning away in its bowels.

It was strange, Sonic thought, being the follower these days. Tails seemed more in control than anyone Sonic had seen now in the last several years, since they'd left Mobius to begin with. He supposed it'd be natural, since this was his expedition. Though some part of his personality resented being the one running in second place, another, more logical part, supposed it was probably a good thing.

The days of Robotnik were simple. The Kitsune were maddening - Angiris had been speaking with Sonic every day in a frank, almost fatherly, manner. And yet at the same time there was something so frustratingly opaque about the Kitsune leader. He was different from the others. It seemed the custom for a Kitsune to wear his feelings on his sleeve, almost like a badge of honour. Angiris seemed to have no trouble upholding that tradition, but something about his sentiments seemed ingenuine. Like they'd been rehearsed.

Whatever it was, Sonic was just glad to be taking action again. Real action, towards... what now, the truth? Was that what he'd been deprived of for so long? Perhaps. The din of the reactor was too thick, drowning out his thoughts. Everything felt wrong here.

"So, the reactor's log referenced three backup generators that should've been hooked up to the main power circuit in the ship," Tails was saying.

Sonic shrugged. "Okay..."

"Well, I looked at the time, and they weren't connected. At first I figured they'd just have to have been destroyed when this ship came down. But now that I've thought about it, I thought I would've seen at least some reference in the main power matrix to a subspace communication system."

"Eh, in Mobian, please?" Sonic asked, ducking under a loose cable. The halls were getting narrower.

"I've never exactly seen a starship before," Tails began. "But surely any ship that's going to leave a planet is gonna need some way of sending messages back and forth with their people, right? Why would a system like that not even come up in a list of ship features? Even after I got the main reactor going?"

Sonic scratched his head. "You think there's a radio on this ship, and it's been sabotaged?"

Tails turned around to him for a moment, shaking his head. "More like, subverted. I think there might be backup generators on this ship that aren't just working now, they've been working the whole damn time. Isolated from the rest of the ship. Angiris and Fiona know Mobian. Why?"

"Ol' pal Morris back in town knew it too," Sonic said. "And he even said it was the Kitsune language."

"Seems he got that part wrong - unless it's a deprecated language here or something." Or unless he was lying, of course. He'd need to ask Fiona about it.

A lone guard was standing outside of one of the doors in the hall here, a faint green light glowing from under the frame. As soon as Sonic rounded the corner and saw him, he pulled back, pressing his back to the cold steel wall.

"See someone?" Tails whispered.

"A sentry," Sonic said. "I think you're onto something here. We've gotta find out what he's guarding."

Tails peeked around just enough to get eyes on the Kitsune guard, leaning against the door. He looked relaxed, but still alert. "Can you create a distraction?"

Sonic gave Tails a smirk that seemed straight out of his youth. "Watch the master at work."

Strolling out openly into the hall, Sonic shot a smile at the guard, whistling an old Mobian tune.

"You're out late, ghu-rah. Return to your cot."

"Can't sleep," Sonic said. "And I don't want to be in the same room as Tails anyway right now. The kid drives me nuts these days, especially with what he's doing with Fiona."

The guard didn't budge, but raised an eyebrow.

It wasn't much of an opening, but Sonic had already made the first move, and there wasn't much choice but to push on forward. "You know, the hot little -"

"Yes," the sentry said. "What of it?"

"I'll level with you, dude. I think they might be... bonding. Right now. Back in my bunk. And they left the door open."

"I don't care. Get out of my sight, ghu-rah."

"She's a bit of a looker, huh?" Sonic said, now grasping at straws. "I mean, I've seen the way you gawk at her when you cross paths." Never mind that he'd never met this particular Kitsune before.

The guard looked at him, his eyes narrow as slits. "She is a... looker. As you say, ghu-rah."

Score.

Around the corner, Tails' ears folded back, and he found himself swearing under his breath. "Going to kill that hedgehog..."

"I think I might, uh... sneak a peek, if you know what I mean." Sonic suggested. "You wanna come?"

"I am guarding this door," the sentry said.

"Against what? Me? Him? I'm right here, and Tails is back in my quarters getting down. I ain't trying to fool you, bro. Contrary to popular belief, I actually like it here, and you're not a bad bunch."

"Mph," the sentry snorted. "Fine. We will see. Lead on, ghu-rah. But I'm only doing this because then, I know you are not causing mischief elsewhere."

As soon as they were gone, Tails crept out into the hall, sick to his stomach. He tried the handle, and mercifully, found it unlocked.

What he found inside took his breath away.

He'd wanted so badly to be wrong. But here it was, three monitors, live and active, a saved frequency dialled in and ready to connect. Feeling his gut tighten up further and further, he approached the keyboard.

Last used freq. 128 321 312 42a. Reuse?

admin mag13:$ yes

admin mag13:$ set mode "VOICEONLY"

Done.

admin mag13:$ connect

The terminal in front of him went dark and the one to his left lit up, with the word "CONNECTING" flashing on the screen. A moment later, it changed to "CALLING".

Then someone picked up.

"Hello?" The voice said. Mobian accent.

"Uh..." Tails' throat seized up, like he words had formed into stones from inside him and gotten stuck there. "Hello. Who am I speaking to?"

"Back at ya, friend," the voice came back. So familiar, that deep masculine drawl... Tails couldn't put his finger on who it might be.

"Wait..." Tails said, stalling for time.

"What on Mobius is this crap? Shut yer yap and get Angiris on the line."

"It's me, Miles. Do you know who I am?" Tails tried.

"Miles?" The voice went quiet for a moment, and Tails heard some muttering in the background. "Like, Miles Prower? The three-tailed kid?"

"Yes, Miles Prower. Who have I got here...?"

More murmuring in the background.

Then it hit him. That voice, all the way back to the early days of the reformation of the Acorn monarchy. "Is that you, Viktor?"

The line went dead, and the screen flashed in green phosphorous: "CONNECTION TERMINATED".

Tails backed up, taking long deep breaths, feeling his head growing heavier with each one. He slammed the door shut behind him, and began sprinting for his quarters.

Gods, a mole in Castle Acorn, speaking to Angiris. Just what kind of expedition was this going to be?

Meanwhile, Sonic had run out of excuses for stalling. "So, uh... how is you guys manage to understand me? Don't you have a language of your own?"

"You speak in the old tongue," the sentry told him. "You know so little, meat."

"Cut us a break, bro. I'm learning, at least." Sonic's heart was pounding - he hadn't really thought ahead far enough to explain away why they'd get back to his quarters to find nobody there.

The signs were not looking good - down the wide hall, he could see the light in their quarters was off, just the way he and Tails had left it.

"Maybe they're through already," Sonic murmured. "That's not much of an innings of ol' Tails."

"Or maybe Fiona has slit his throat," the sentry said, growing ever more displeased, and suspicious.

They stopped at the door. Sonic slowly reached for the switch. When the light came on, Sonic's eyes widened with surprise.

The sentry looked down at him. "What is this, hedgehog?"

Tails sat up in his bunk, rubbing his eyes, putting on his best yawn. "Uh... something wrong, guys?"

The sentry turned around and pushed Sonic aside, striding back to his post. "Waste of my time! Stupid ghu-rah..."

Sonic hit the light again, and slipped back into his bunk. "That's gotta be the quickest fling in recent history."

Tails grunted. "You're an ass, Sonic."

"Didn't say I ain't grateful for it," Sonic chuckled. "It's a good thing you got back before I did, otherwise that guy back there would've had questions I didn't have answers for. So did you find out anything?"

The fox swallowed hard. The nausea wasn't going away. "Better shut the door."