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Reunions: Chapter 4 of 4: Answers

Alright, time for the final part of Arc 2.

Read on Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18573268/chapters/44028463

Chapter 4 of 4: Answers “Answers would be good, Geoff…” Sonic nodded for a moment. He took a step forward, but stumbled, pitching into Nicole and Emerl’s arms as his legs gave out. “On second thoughts… I think most of us are gonna need a rest before we do anything else…” “You should probably get that hand looked at as well,” Nicole added. “It doesn’t look healthy.” “You… have a very good point there…” *** With Emerl taking care of getting the rest of their teammates home, Nicole took on the task of escorting Geoffrey to the hospital, along with a pair of guards. Regardless of circumstance, the skunk had still killed the ruling monarch, and injury or no injury, going two for two on treason wasn’t something that tended to be taken lightly. He would almost certainly be under heavy guard for a long while after this. However, as she watched the skunk disappear into a solitary ward, a nurse approached her. The older-looking giraffe had been shadowing the group since they entered, and Nicole turned to face him with a quizzical look. “Can I help you?” She asked. It sounded more defensive than she intended, if the nurse’s slight recoil was anything to go by, and she cursed inwardly. Naugus had managed to put her on edge around regular civilians, and she inwardly thanked every god she could think of that someone had put him down for good, even if it was his own lackey. “Sorry Ma’am, it’s just that we saw the battle in the plaza, and realised that one of your team would probably be coming here, so I waited. It’s about your friend, Antoine.” *** “Welcome home, Sally,” Bernadette hugged the squirrel gently, Jules laying a hand on her shoulder. With the exact situation regarding who was the monarch in flux, Sally had decided to spend the night with Sonic and his family. “Thank you, Mrs. Hedgehog. It’s good to be back,” She smiled warmly. “Now, Sally, if you’re going to insist that we use your name, you can at least do the same for us,” Bernadette gave her a wry grin, which she returned. “Very well, Bernadette,” She nodded. “Uncle Chuck said he’ll be home late. Apparently having a fight to the death with the head of state right outside the Council Chambers creates a lot of paperwork. Especially when the king loses,” Sonic shrugged, leaning against the door. “He said that if we haven’t eaten by the time he gets back, he’ll cover that. Says Sal and I have gone too long without his cooking.” “Well, he’s not wrong,” Jules nodded. “That’s what I said,” Sonic grinned. *** Tails, Rotor, and Emerl stood outside the Prower residence, having paused to bid farewell to the fox. “When we’ve got all of today’s events sorted out with the council tomorrow, we should probably all head over to the lab and take a look at you, Emerl,” Tails suggested. “Hey, at least buy me dinner first!” She flicked one of her optics off, imitating a wink as he let out an exasperated groan. “Not like that…” He sighed. “I mean, seeing exactly what it is you can do. Power-copying is fairly obvious, but I want to know your limitations.” “That’s fair,” She nodded, folding her arms slightly. “We should also probably look into the whole “Chaos Emerald” situation,” Rotor added. “Counting the synthetic, you’ve got three of them in there, and, well, they’re not exactly stable when they’re brought together outside of a complete set. That’s a lot of power, and we should probably be sure you can contain it. I don’t want you to feel like we’re not trusting you-” “Nah, it’s cool. I don’t know a whole lot about them, save for them giving me a power boost and showing me what I think might be old memories. Last thing I want is to overdo it and cause problems by absorbing more of them,” She replied. “So I’d be glad to help you with that.” “Good to hear,” Tails smiled. “Anyway, I should probably go. I need to tell Dad that Mom’s gonna be home late.” “You also need to recover from the whole fight thing as well,” She added. “That goes for both of us,” Rotor sighed, rubbing his forehead. “That pain spell was nasty.” “Yeah. You’re lucky you didn’t have to deal with that, Emerl.” “I know, right?” She nodded. “Anyway, catch you later, Tails.” “Yeah, same to you.” “See you tomorrow.” *** “You know, you don’t have to do this, Ames,” Bunnie sighed as she let the pink hedgehog into her and Antoine’s house. “Maybe, but I want to,” She replied, glancing around the dusty hallway. “You’ve not been here since Antoine went into the hospital, coming back was always going to be difficult, especially alone. That’s why I’m here.” Bunnie smiled, and threw her arms around her, squeezing slightly. “Yer a good friend, y’know that?” “Bunnie, you’ve been supporting us ever since I joined the fight, and from what the others say, before that too. Supporting you when you need it is the least I can do,” Amy returned the hug. “Thanks.” As they stood there, Nicole flickered into the hallway, smiling broadly. “Bunnie, I have news!” She beamed, as they looked up at her. “Antoine’s showing signs of waking up. His brain activity has been on a steady increase over the last few days, and he should be coming out of the coma within a day or two.” Immediately, Bunnie pulled Nicole into the hug. *** The following morning brought a buzz of activity to the Council Building. The Freedom Fighters, along with Harvey’s secret team, and the new arrival of Emerl, all clustered inside the main chamber, with Geoffrey there, one arm bandaged, both cuffed behind his back. “It would appear that we’ve been kept in the dark here… You’ve clearly all been very busy lately,” Rosemary frowned. “I believe an explanation is in order.” “Where should we start?” Sally asked, standing amongst her team. Dylan opened his mouth to answer, but Isabella spoke up first. “Well, I think the first thing we should say is ‘Welcome home’ to all of you. Before we get into the heavy part, it’s a relief to see you all alive and well,” She said. “Thank you, Isabella,” Sally smiled. “But let’s get down to the reason we’re all here.” “Let’s start with the, uh, regicide?” Hamlin shrugged. “I was no supporter of Naugus, but Mister St. John murdering him raises some complications.” “I wouldn’t call it regicide,” Sally shook her head. “Nicole explained to me what happened with Naugus’ accession, and that was probably the least legitimate coronation in the entirety of history. The crown is important, yes, but the physical object is ultimately just a fancy hat. Removing it from one man’s head and putting it on another does not a new king make, regardless of the size of a cheering crowd.” “We’re here to represent the will of the peop-” “Yes. The will of the people. And that extends to all of Acorn, not just one city, and should be conveyed through due process, not a screaming mob.” Her eyes narrowed. “Additionally, given that Naugus was an escaped convict, responsible for not only multiple counts of attempted murder and trying to ignite a civil war between Mobians and Robians, but instigating the Great War, then I can only ask what in the name of Chaos were you thinking?!” The various members of the Council, with the exception of Isabella, were starting to look awkwardly at each other. “Given that this system was formed in response to my father’s own mistakes, which included trusting Naugus…, I can only refer to this as a resounding failure,” Sally almost growled. Sonic placed a hand on her shoulder, and she visibly relaxed. She took a deep breath, and sighed. “Given the circumstances… I believe we should disregard Naugus’ reign as legitimate.” The Council talked among each other for a moment, quietly, visibly cowed by the Princess’ anger, until they nodded slowly. “Motion carried.” “Thank you. Geoffrey is many things, but ‘kingslayer’ is not one of them,” Sally nodded. “Princess, you have my sincere thanks for-” The skunk spoke up, but stopped when she turned to face him. “Don’t mistake this for fondness, Geoffrey,” She snapped. “Naugus’ reign being illegitimate puts you in a poor position as his kingmaker, especially considering that his previous pardon of your betrayal has now been rendered null and void. I recognise that you’ve suffered more than many during this whole debacle, but that doesn’t excuse your actions.” “Of course…” He slumped back into his seat, Sally turning back toward the Council. “So, what’s next?” “I would like to ask about this… “Secret Freedom Fighter” team that appeared to guard us yesterday,” Penelope spoke up. “Where did they come from?” “The Secret Freedom Fighters were a creation of myself and King Elias,” Harvey spoke up. “They were formed as an underground resistance to Naugus’ rule. Understandably, the fewer people that knew about their existence, the better. They were successful in preventing him from gaining the ability to brainwash all of you in order to attain absolute power.” “I see… well, thank you for your service…” Dylan mumbled, not the only member of the Council looking unwell at the thought. “And King Elias? Where is he?” Isabella asked. “He was injured during our last mission, broke his leg, and is currently recovering in our hideout,” Silver replied. “We asked if he wanted to be here for this, and he and Sally seemed to agree that him returning before the dust settled on Naugus’ death would complicate things,” Harvey added. “Very well…” “What of Naugus’ other dealings?” Hamlin prompted, glancing at Geoffrey. We’re now aware of his ill-fated attempts to gain control of our minds, but what else was he up to, why was he hiding in Commander St. John’s body?” “Allow me to provide that information, as someone who witnessed it all first-hand,” The skunk replied, rising in his seat a little. “Get comfy, this might take a while.” “We’re all ears, Geoff,” Sonic shrugged. “Very well… my… former master’s power grab began the night of Mina Mongoose’s previous concert. We were present on a nearby rooftop, and when Miss Mongoose performed her rather on-the-nose song about Nicole-” “Something that she did apologise for, by the way,” Nicole cut in. Isabella smiled knowingly, and the rest of the time sighed with relief, while Emerl’s tense form relaxed. “Yes, well. As I was saying, when the song was performed, Naugus used his magic to amplify the feelings of the crowd, and it seems his level of control over the citizens of the city seemed to increase until he was outright dominating the crowd outside the Council Building during yesterday’s battle.” “So, the general populace aren’t afraid of Nicole?” Sally asked. “I didn’t say that. Naugus’ magic amplified fear that was already there, it didn’t create anything new.” “Why would anyone be afraid of Nicole?” Emerl asked, voice raising. Nicole put her hand on her shoulder, smiling sadly. “It’s alright. When I made this city, I thought only of the good I could do with my power. I knew that very little was capable of breaking into my processor, due to the way my code is written. I didn’t expect magic to be my weakness, and in that respect, I was overconfident. While Sally has protected me against future invasions of that sort, I do think that some level of limitation does need to put on my control over Mobotropolis,” She said. “We’ll discuss that soon, as we continue to deal with the fallout.” Charles nodded. “As you were. St. John.” “Thank you,” Geoffrey nodded. “In any case, while Naugus was able to gain control of the city that way, his health began to deteriorate. Whatever that white energy wave that came from the Death Egg was, it destabilised him.” “Destabilised?” Penelope asked. “He wasn’t one person, he was three previous wizards fused into a single being. It seems that their minds were reawakened, and they started trying to separate themselves. This resulted in his mutations, his magic becoming more chaotic, and his sanity slipping,” The skunk continued. “He had sanity?” Sonic smirked. “Well, relatively speaking,” He sighed. “Regardless, he was never sure how he reverted Mrs. D'coolette to normal, but he wanted to recreate it so that he could use Princess Sally’s condition to maintain his security. Unfortunately, with his condition deteriorating, he began to try and find a body to hijack. He visited the former king, and Jules Hedgehog, but both of them refused his offer of healing, and he ultimately settled for me.” Sonic and Sally both narrowed their eyes, hands clenching, but Geoffrey continued all the same. “Ultimately, he was driven out by your ploy with the Sword of Light, and for that I thank you, in spite of the damage to my hand,” He finished. “I see… Well, this information will be useful.” “And the robot?” Rosemary asked, glancing at Emerl, who looked up as the room’s attention focused on her. “Tails, is it one of yours?” “Not exactly. Emerl here was something of a group project for the Brain Trust when that was a thing. We discontinued the project when Fiona warned us that a single robot like her once wiped out the empire of their creator, and while we tried to ensure that she’d be safe to activate, we couldn’t guarantee it, so we didn’t wake her up,” Tails explained. “Sally and Nicole had the activation codes hidden away, to be used in a situation where the worst-case scenario of bringing her online couldn’t make things a whole lot worse.” “I took a risk, but it was a calculated one,” Nicole spoke up. “If Emerl hadn’t been stable, I could’ve deactivated her. Fortunately, she was stable, and I can’t say I have any regrets about the decision I took. Without her, we might not be standing here right now.” “Yeah, she pulled us out of the fire when Eggman pulled a fast one on us,” Sonic shrugged. “She and Nicole saved my life,” Sally added. “Emerl brought Nicole to Holoska, and while Nicole shut down the self-destruct bomb and released my mind from Eggman’s command, Emerl quite literally saved my heart. Eggman took out more core and used it to power one of his mechs, and he tried to destroy that too. Emerl extracted it and removed the EMP generator that it was wired to…” Those who hadn’t been present when Sally’s modifications were discovered turned pale, the room’s temperature dropping. “W-well, I can certainly promise that, in light of these revelations, we will be reviewing our approach to the war with Eggman, perhaps working toward a more… active route,” Rosemary muttered. “But, while your defences of your new comrade are touching, they are appeals to emotion, not fact.” Emerl sighed, and stepped away from the wall she was leaning on, folding her arms. “Can I say something for myself?” She asked, striding to the front of the party. “Go ahead.” “Look, I understand why you don’t trust me. You’ve had some bad experiences with purpose-built bots. You’ve been fighting a guy who makes bots that look a lot like me since some of you were children, and others among you were forced to be his slaves. And the two groups aren’t mutually exclusive,” Emerl slumped slightly. “I want you to understand that I’m here to help. Your protectors are my friends. They can say all they like about me saving them, but I’m just following in their footsteps. I won some fights because I don’t get tired and I don’t feel as much pain. That’s all. But y’know what? I’m good at that. And I like doing it. And I like them. So I’m going to keep doing it. And frankly, you can’t stop me.” Emerl straightened, folding her arms as she took a few more steps forward. “I don’t need your approval to be their friend. I don’t need your approval to be their ally. Heck, I don’t even need to live here, I’m a robot, and I have three chunks Beryl fused with near-limitless power fuelling me, I can go anywhere I like and just swing by when I’m needed. But it would be much easier for all of us if I didn’t have to do that.” “Well… You’re certainly… passionate in your approach,” Isabella blinked, looking down at her. “Yes, perhaps if you want to convince us, you should show the appropriate respect-” Hamlin began, stopping short as Emerl appeared in front of him, hovering to meet the height of his chair as she stared down at him. “I’ll give you respect when you earn it,” She replied, before flashing back to ground level. “If anything, I’m being too respectful. So far, all I know about you is that you put Naugus in charge and exiled Nicole without actual justification. I’m not exactly familiar with your laws, but I’m going to hazard a guess that justice isn’t a popularity contest.” “Emerl…” Nicole ventured. “As forceful as Emerl is being… I can’t disagree with her,” Sally shrugged. “Regardless of her origin, Nicole is a person, and you have a duty of care to all of your citizens, not just those of flesh and blood.” “We’ll, uh… strive to improve that in future…” Rosemary slouched into her seat, as Sally offered a dry smile, and Emerl folded her arms. “Make sure that you do,” The princess replied. “Despite the outrage on her part, I can speak for Emerl’s integrity,” Charles said. “We would like to have your capabilities on record, though.” “Well, I can do… basically anything that I observe and understand,” Emerl tapped the closed optic in her forehead. “I can scan the abilities of others, and then adapt them for my own use. I have currently gained powers from Nicole, Sonic, Tails, Bunnie, and Mecha Sonic. I have additionally acquired weapons from Bunnie, Amy, Rotor, Mecha Sally, Mecha Sonic, and the former Eggman-goons we fought at the oil foundry, along with standard combat training from all parties. I’m always willing to add more powers, too.” “And the Chaos Emeralds? Reportedly you absorbed the one that Naugus held.” “Yeah, it seems to happen automatically when I touch them. When I do, I get flashes. I think they’re memories. Then the Emerald gets absorbed into me, and I get stronger. That’s all I know. Tails and Rotor are going to run some tests, and once that’s done, I’ll have more of an answer for you,” Emerl replied. “Can you… uh… spit them out?” Penelope asked. “Not that I know of,” Emerl shrugged. “Sorry.” “While they may be safer in your possession… we did want to use an Emerald to try and heal King Maximilian,” Dylan frowned. “Well, I can still do that. I used the one from the Death Egg to help fix Mecha Sally, and I’m sure I can learn a Chaos Heal from someone else so I can patch up organics too,” She responded. “Well… alright then,” Rosemary sighed. “Miles, can you get these tests done, and make a report. Then we’ll make a decision on where we stand with your new friend.” “Sure, we’ll get right on that,” Tails nodded. *** The meeting didn’t last long after that. Geoffrey was escorted back to the hospital, remaining under guard. Sally remained with the Council to discuss the situation she had engineered in the desert, and most of the others went their separate ways. Tails, Rotor, and Emerl all went to the lab, where they began setting up the equipment for the Gizoid’s tests. “What is this, a lab or a gym?” Emerl asked, optics flickering over the various machines. “It’s both,” Tails replied, looking a little proud. “I wanted to create a facility here that we could use to determine how strong, tough, fast, etcetera, we all are, as well as tracking improvement. We’re going to test your speed, strength, and your inbuilt weapons. We’ll also hook you up to the computer and see if we can run a scan on your programming.” “Sounds good me, except that last part. I dunno why, but I feel like that’s a bad idea,” She replied. “But if you want to try it, sure.” “Alright then. We’ll start with strength…” The strength test didn’t last long. Emerl’s first punch tore the bag from its mounting, hurling it into the far wall, sand spilling out. Speed tests were similarly short-lived, and her chainblades were carving through everything short of the few scraps of armour they had left from the wreckage of the first Egg Beater. “She’s off the charts…” Tails sighed, watching as the Gizoid ambled out of the test chamber, heading up to join them. “I… it must be the Emeralds.” “The Emeralds? That’s your field of expertise, not mine.” Rotor frowned. “Normally we only use them when we have all seven, because they can be unstable without a control, but I’ve managed to determine that when he’s Super, Sonic receives a power multiplier of 700%,” The fox began. “One-hundred for every Emerald, in other words.” “So it could be that, with two Emeralds, Emerl is experiencing a boost of 200%?” “Precisely,” He nodded. “We’ll have to get this place set up for a Super-level subject…” Emerl walked into the room, stretching herself out, despite the lack of muscles to keep limber. It just felt right to her. “So, uh, did you get anything out of that? Because I feel like that didn’t go as planned,” She asked. “No, but we’re going to reset everything and get it set up for a higher level of combatant. We think the Emeralds are what’s pushing you over the current limits,” Tails replied. “Still, the fact that you’re stronger than we can measure is, in its own way, a measurement.” “I suppose,” She shrugged. “How long will it take to set up for a second attempt?” “Not sure. We’ve only measured aura before when it comes to Super modes. Getting something that can actually take a hit… Well, we'll work it out later. We can do the scan now, if you like?” “Sure, why not?” Emerl shrugged. “I already destroyed some of your equipment, what’s a computer on top of that?” “Oh, what’s the worst that could happen? It’s not like you’re going to melt it, right?” Rotor asked. “Well, okay then… Wait, I think Nicole’s coming, hang on,” She held up her hand, and sure enough, Nicole appeared in their midst, grinning ear-to-ear. “How did you know?” Rotor asked, raising an eyebrow at the Gizoid. “We’ve shared a head, I can kinda feel it,” She shrugged. “What’s up, Nicole?” “Sorry if I’m interrupting, but Antoine’s awake!” She beamed. Emerl didn’t know much about the coyote, other than what she had been told or was able to pick up from the conversations she’d been privy to, but the matching smiles on all three of her friends’ faces were all she needed to see. An impulse of thought, faster than any verbal conversation, invited the lynx into her head, and she gripped the two scientists’ shoulders, warping all four of them away. Nicole guided her to the correct room, and she landed outside it, releasing her friends. Tails pushed the door open, and they all stepped in together. Bunnie and Amy sat to one side of the bed, the former clutching Antoine’s hand tightly as she hugged him as carefully as she could manage. Sonic and Sally were at the other, Sally gently holding the coyote’s other hand. They looked up as the newcomers arrived, and clustered together around the bed. Finally, they were reunited. *** A world away from the turmoil of Mobius, cold blue eyes snapped open, a spark of purple rippling through them. A change in the air, a familiar aura, a presence he had hoped lost, but deep down, he always knew would return. Miles Prower rose to his feet, running a hand through his black hair. He stood at the centre of a peculiar pattern, three runes arranged in a triangle, connected and contained within concentric circles, more runes filling the space between them. The eldritch sigil had been seared into a ledge of rock, jutting from the side of a black mountain that rose from a frenzied ocean, grey waves slamming against the stone, and Miles had been sitting at its centre for the past three and a half days. He looked down at his hands, and found the same sigil now branded into the backs of them. Clenching his fist for a moment, violet light ignited within the the fine lines of the markings, both those in his skin, and in the stone at his feet. He grinned, and turned away from the precipice, picking up his coat from the rock where he had hung it half a week prior, wrapping it around his shoulders. Descending the rough-hewn steps into the bowels of the mountain once more, he called out to his sole companion. “Myrddin, where are you?” It was less a question than a demand, and his brow furrowed at the lack of response. The old wizard was becoming increasingly difficult to rely on lately, Miles had noticed. Still, he’d got what he needed from him, so that wasn’t really an issue any longer. If anything, it was most fortuitous that his journey had reached its end just as his perennial adversary returned from his exile.