Chapter Twelve: Dangerous Rendezvous

Sonic squirmed in the co-pilot's seat of their recently-stolen stealth unit. He leaned back and propped his legs on the dashboard, trying not to accidentally kick an important switch or nudge some secret ejector button as he crossed them. He didn't mind flying when something exciting was happening, like a dog fight or a thrilling escape, but just flying straight at cruising altitude seeing mostly thick grey clouds left and right and ahead with no sign of land… BORING.

"How much longer 'til we get to the Floating Island?" He knew he was being impatient, but it wasn't like Sonia was here to berate him for it. He frowned a little and sighed. He had been really hard on her, hadn't he?

Cyrus was, unfortunately, very used to Sonic's complaints. This wasn't the first time they had flown a long distance, though he secretly hoped someone else would get the honor next time around. He almost envied Trevor's group going to the sewers. Sonic was, however, his best friend. Sometimes you just have to put up with your best friend being a butthead.

"We're not any closer since the last time you asked," Cyrus said with a smirk. Cyrus was actually glad to hear him making his usual quips. It meant he wasn't thinking about the industrial roboticizer and the friends they lost. Hopefully, there would be time and space for that later, when everyone else was safe and this was just a bad memory.

An alarm blared suddenly, making Sonic jump a little. Cyrus glared at him, but thankfully he hadn't kicked anything. He reached over and switched on the main screen. A radar appeared between them, showing their tiny stealth unit as a green triangle. As the radar line swept around in a circle, they both gasped as a wave of hundreds of red dots began moving toward their position, gaining every few clicks.

"Better sit up and buckle up," Cyrus said, pointing to the literal armada coming towards them, "We've got company inbound."

"That many ships has to be Robotnik's fleet," Sonic said, complying with his friend's instructions without any further complaints, "Where do you think they going?"

"Let's find out," Cyrus said, "Gimme a sec." He began punching in a few codes into the radio panel, twisting the dial to tune out the interference. It took a few tries, but he finally found the right frequency and they both listened in silence, holding their breath.

Sleet's voice crackled, "-get the opportunity we'll of course shoot down the Queen."

"She already meddled in my plans once today and you won't let that happen again, do you hear me?" It was unmistakably Dr. Robotnik.

"Loud and clearly, sir."

"No, you're not listening! I want you to blast anything you see out of the sky!"

Dingo's voice chimed in, "But what if it's a bird or a paper airplane or-"

"I DON'T CARE IF IT'S A TINY FLY! BLAST IT OUT OF THE SKY!" The booming voice made the cockpit windows rattle.

Cyrus had heard enough and quickly switched it off.

"Quick question," Sonic started, "How long can this hunk of junk maintain stealth mode?"

"Not long enough to make it back to Robotropolis," Cyrus said as the fleet continued to edge closer.

"How long until they pick us up on their short-range sensors?"

Cryus quickly ran the calculations in his head, "I'd give us three minutes, tops."

Now it was Sonic's turn to do some calculations of his own. Outrunning them was a no-go, the fleet had bigger ships that could easily outrun a puny stealth-unit. Going around wouldn't work either - they didn't have the power or the time to get out of range. They couldn't fight an entire armada openly, so that left only one option...

"Cyrus," Sonic said, "I've got a great idea!"

The tiny stealth unit sat like a lady bug perched on a sailboat, as they attached onto the back of one of the large battleships that made up the center of the formation. As soon as they landed, and magnetically attached to the ship, Cyrus disengaged Stealth mode, bringing them back into view, but barely noticed among all the other units swarming around.

"You were right, Sonic, this was a great idea!"

"Thank you, thank you!" He gestured as if he was bowing at the end of a Shakespearian stage performance.

"So where do you think Robotnik's armada is heading?"

"Where else? Robotropolis."

Sonia and Knuckles finally emerged from the dark hangar, but ducked behind a refueling supply vehicle as another procession of SWATBots marched out of the hangar, flooding the streets.

"Where are they all going?" Knuckles asked, watching as another troop from an alley joined the long procession heading down the street and out of sight.

"I'm sure we'll find out," Sonia said, grasping his hand tighter, "But for now, we have to find Sonic."

"I'm completely out of my element here," Knuckles said, clearing his throat. "How do you even breathe this air?"

"I guess you just get so used to bad things that you don't notice them after a while," she replied, scanning the sky for anything that might be spying on them. The coast was clear.

"Hurry, this way!" Sonia said, dragging Knuckles behind her. They quickly ran across the open dirt field that served as the parking lot for Robotnik's troops. Apparently, he had run out of paving after he had built the gawdy hangar. Just a few more seconds and they'd be hidden in the safety of the towering buildings. Sonia climbed a chain-link fence and pulled Knuckles up with his good arm. They dropped down to the alley on the other side and quickly scurried into a dark shadow.

Sonia paused a moment to lean against the wall with Knuckles. He gazed back while she gazed forward, checking that they weren't followed.

"Where did you say Sonic was going again?"

"To the industrial roboticizer."

"That sounds bigger than the one he brought to the island..."

"Try bigger than a factory. When it's fully powered, it can roboticize up to 120 people per hour. We barely saved Sonic from it a few months ago..."

That one had been close. Manic had finally managed to shut it down just before the glass dome slammed down around Sonic. When they climbed up to the conveyor belt to free him from his shackles, he was curled tightly in a ball. He was crying and wouldn't unclench. Sonic wasn't the same since - anytime they mentioned it, he would get very quiet, as if he was experiencing it all over again. She teared up a little. Gosh, no wonder he was so adamant to save everyone! Of course he was, he had been imprisoned on the industrial roboticizer. He knew how scared they all were. He didn't want anyone else to suffer that fate.

A bright light blinded him for a second as a stealth unit closed in on their position.

"Look out!" Knuckles said, standing between Sonia and the ship as it towered over them.

"Knuckles! We have to run!"

"No! I'm done running!" He pounded his good arm against the wall, shattering the bricks as they crumbled apart.

"Besides, I'm itching to punch something in the face," he pulled it out and blew the dust off his glove.

Knuckles dashed forward as the door opened, his heart pounding. He had no idea if he could actually take on a few SWATbots, but it wasn't like they had a choice. He wound up his good arm for the strongest punch he could muster when a pair of hands held up in surrender.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Sonic exclaimed, waving him back, "Knux, it's me!"

Knuckles snapped out of his fighting stance and stumbled back as Sonia rushed past him.

"SONIC!" She cried, as he caught her in a tight hug, twirling her around, laughing with relief. The two of them stood there for a long moment, just holding each other as the ship landed and began powering down.

Knuckles realized he was staring at them and turned awkwardly away, when Sonic leaned over and yanked him into their hug.

"Come over here, Knucklehead! I thought you were toast," Sonic said, and Knuckles could hear genuine concern in his voice. He was used to having people worry about him. Knuckles winced a bit but managed a smirk and added his own arm to the hug. "Glad to see I was wrong."

"That's all thanks to your sister," Knuckles said, "She rescued me from Robotnik."

"Sonia!" Cyrus came running out and she pulled him into the growing group hug.

"Cyrus! Oh, there's so much I need to tell you guys..."

Sonic and Cyrus shared a sad look for a moment, which made Sonia's smile fade.

"Wait, where's Manic?"

"You haven't heard from him either?" Sonic said, already knowing the answer.

"No, but I was hoping you had. You two are so close."

Sonic shook his head, "But we've got a group looking for him. We'll find him, I promise."

"Anyway, I'm Cyrus. You must be Knuckles," Cyrus said quickly, holding out a hand, before sheepishly realizing that the arm Knuckles was holding against his chest was out of commission currently. He scratched the back of his head instead. "Sonic's told me a lot about you."

"Mostly good things," Sonic admitted with his trademark grin.

"I'll be the judge of that," Knuckles said. He glared in Sonic's direction but then nodded politely to Cyrus. "Nice to meet you. I wish it was under better circumstances."

"Likewise," Cyrus said, returning the nod.

"Look, I appreciate a happy reunion as much as the next guy," Sonic said, "But maybe we ought to take this conversation somewhere less... out in the open."

"Good idea. Let's see… Hey, one of our older safe houses isn't too far from here," Cyrus said.

"But what if it's been compromised?" Sonia asked.

"Don't worry, we haven't used it in ages," Cyrus said, "Besides, that building has been condemned for years, and Robotnik hasn't even bothered tearing it down.

"It's as good a place as any," Sonic said, "And if it is compromised, we'll just bail and find another hideout."

"Great. I'll call the others and tell them to meet us there. I can give you a lift if you hop aboard." Cyrus rushed back aboard the ship and in a few seconds it roared back to life, starting to hover off the ground.

"Knuckles, you go ahead, I need to talk to Sonic."

He nodded and leapt aboard, pausing for a moment more before she waved him inside.

Sonic folded his arms and tapped his foot impatiently. "Can't this wait until we're somewhere safe, Sis?"

"No, it can't." Sonic could tell by her face that this was a Serious Sister™ moment and his bravado faded away. Here it comes, he thought, another lecture.

"Well, what is it?" He tried not to sound too exasperated, but any anger faded when he saw the tears forming in her eyes.

"Sonic, I said some awful things to you. I wanted to apologize."

"Hey, I should be the one apologizing. I know how much you care about the Resistance-"

"-And I know how much you care about Knuckles." Sonia smiled a little, "Robotnik was just trying to divide us."

"Yeah, and he did one heck of a good job."

They both looked down away for a moment..

"I should have been there for you," they both said in unison. They suddenly laughed, relief flooding over them.

"Jinx! Owe me a chilidog!" Sonic pointed, leaping at the chance.

"If we get out of this one, I'll buy you a dozen footlongs," Sonia said.

"Deal," Sonic winked, "I'm holding you to it."

They hugged again, "I'm just so relieved," Sonia said, "I didn't want that to be our last words to each other."

"Same," Sonic replied, "Now, let's go find Manic. We owe him an apology too."

"Right," She said, taking hold of his hand as they leapt up onto the ship.

He squeezed her hand in return and they sat down next to each other in the cargo hold of the stealth unit. He leaned back against the metal wall and she leaned on his shoulder. He put an arm protectively around her. His sister was a lot of things, sometimes she was a royal pain in the butt, sometimes she was too haughty and uppity about her looks, but she was also kind and gentle, able to empathize with just about anyone. Most importantly, Sonia was his sister. He had grown up without her for the first 16 years of his life, but now he couldn't imagine his life without her.

I'll never let Robotnik divide us again, Sonic promised himself, his medallion glowing softly in the dim light. He closed his eyes and allowed himself a quick nap - one that was sorely needed.

Sonia noticed Sonic nodding off and smiled. That's my brother, she thought. Clearly, Sonic had more that he wanted to tell her, but she could feel him holding back, probably for her sake. She knew there would be time later, but she hoped he could find some small comfort by having her here now. Sonic always acted like he was braver and stronger than anyone else, but she knew most of that was a mask that he wore to hide his true feelings, to protect himself.

You never have to pretend around me, she thought, her medallion glowing softly as well. You can just be my brother.

Author's Note:

There's been some speculation about me finishing this fic. I know it's been a long time coming, but I'm absolutely going to finish this one. It might take me a bit, so bear with me if you're able. As for whether I'm going back to writing any more Sonic fiction beyond this - that's up in the air for the moment. I've been focused on my own original work, but every now and then I seem to follow a plot bunny back to Mobius. One-shots and shorts seem to fare better than any long epics like this one (and I know mine's not even long compared to some stories on this site) so you can probably expect more of those from me in the future.

If you've been patiently waiting for an update for so long, what else can I say, but thank you! I was hoping someone else was getting some enjoyment from this other than me. :)