Time for the obligatory (as declared by me) massive author note dump because it's been a year and 17 days (and counting).

a/n 0: Oh, don't mind me, falling back to Earth once again.

a/n 1: Sorry abt that weird email, Turner. I can feel awkward for the silliest of reasons and then stumble over myself.

a/n 2: Also I'm having performance anxiety now. I'm getting so worried of people not liking how I planned things to go (I tend to simmer for a while before shit on the fan). I have a tendency to make important stuff sound unimportant and, urg, I worry. A.k.a. here's more conversational writing.

a/n 3: How does one one-up a pensive chapter with a dialogue chapter? Modern dialogue has such a different feel than the flow of a muse.

a/n 4: Yes, Espio's manner of speaking changes given who he's talking to and in what setting. :D Example being that internally Espio says 'mom' but around others he's more formal with 'mother' or 'my matron'. If he's truly alone, he will say 'mom'.

a/n 5: I wrote over a thousand words about people digging in the mud. :P

a/n 6: [redacted] ;}

a/n 7: Two Steps From Hell - Lord of Two Lands. If that isn't inspiration music for certain (eventual) scenes, I, the author, would not be of the living.

a/n 8: I totally didn't name him Noodles - nicknamed him, anyways.

a/n 9: I realized an error in the last chapter. I'm noting little errors here and there and aim to fix them to better the flow in the future. For future reference, Espio was given a day and the better part of a night to perform his task.

a/n 10: Chapter 8: A Test Commences

"This way!" Li Moon, excited, waved for the others to hurry as she deviated from the well-worn stone steps that would have continued around their present elevation, steps that would eventually dip across a ridge to ultimately a neighboring mountain peak. Less traffic had left the stone bricks of this side path slick with moss and peppered with sprouts and dipping branches. She rounded down behind a cluster of large boulders, Tails following a few steps behind.

"Miss Moon! Please stay within view!" A temple guard called down. The rabbit-mobian huffed, catching his breath before (carefully) trotting down the slope after the children. The two mobians behind them, however, kept their pace.

Tac glanced over at the other. "… You are not going after them as well?"

"Nah," Sonic threaded his fingers together behind his head, "Tails will give me a heads up if he needs help."

Tac's gaze drifted away, back down the side path in thought as they finally turned onto it themselves. "…You are very calm about someone so young going off on their own."

"Tails and me have been through a lot, together and not. He's more capable than you think." Sonic flashed a thumbs-up before relacing his fingers.

It seems to be a common gesture for him. "…" The autumn breeze blew leaves from the branches above in a light shower. "I take it that opponents are more open with their attacks in the Acorn Kingdom," Tac more asked than stated.

"Eeh." Sonic shrugged. "I get what you're getting at, I do, but we're not even a second away."

"Hedgehog Sonic," Tac warned, "if I may so suggest, you may want to focus on increasing your awareness of your surroundings, especially if you venture beyond this temple."

"Really! Don't worry! I have this," Sonic hand fanned loosely as he tried to find the words, "this thing. It's not anywhere near as powerful as when I'm Super Sonic but it's good for this range."

Super Sonic? Tac held his heavy sigh. "You will need to be alert," he redirected, "if you really plan on going further with any plans to reestablish contact with your comrade. Additionally, warrior to warrior, this initial 'plan' of simply entering the territory of the Shinobi Clan that Echidna Knuckles suggested could prove lethal. I doubt your friend holds a position that could secure you safe passage after entering without permission. They may see it as an invasion.

"Their lands, as well, are supposedly treacherous. According to traders who travel its borderlands, there are caves and ravines hidden by thick undergrowth. Rains produce flash flooding that washes away victims underground to never be recovered and allowed a proper burial."

"The plan's a work in progress anyways." A beat passed, "It sounds okay to folks who can walk on ceilings." Sonic chuckled. "Vector was telling how – he's one of the Chaotix – how Charmy – also part of the Chaotix – had somehow gotten some mess he was trying to cook unsupervised burned into the ceiling. They tried for nearly a week to remove the glop without just sawing a hole in the treehouse's ceiling. Vector still jokes about getting second-hand vertigo from remembering Espio standing on the ceiling and trying to scape it off with a shovel. It was hilarious, looking back at it now."

Tac gaze shifted towards Sonic with interest. "… How did Espio react to a fellow Chaotix ruining the ceiling?"

Sonic backtracked but he doubted that Tac noticed. "Well, everyone was rather pissed. A few degrees higher and the ceiling probably would have caught on fire." Easy there, me. You want to boost opinions. "Charmy knows he's not supposed to use the stove unsupervised but he has," Sonic dipped his head to the side in polite suggestion, "he has trouble sometimes, remembering and the like, so no one was angry-angry. We just have to remind him sometimes – and make sure he doesn't burn stuff down."

Tac admitted to himself that he didn't understand the gesture but believed he understood the gist of the other's words.

Past the last step, the stone bricks expanded for only a short way across a clearing before being replaced by dirt and mud. A small mobian figure was carved into the nearby cliff face bordering the clearing. Various bowls were placed at its feet atop a small stone table rising from the accumulated scree. Some ceramic. Some the pastel colors of corroded copper and brass. It's pupilless stone eyes implored the burning cobalt sky beyond its minimum shelter in the rock face with sadness. Small pools of water still lingered in its open palms.

"A shrine?" Sonic drifted closer.

"Yes. This river can be … temperamental." Tac searched, following the direction of the footprints in the mud, and found the top of the guard's helmet peeping out above the distant edge of the clearing where it sheared off until finally sloping more gently into a muddy riverbank. "Is everything alright?" he called down.

"All clear," the guard called back and began to clamber up the steepest part of the slope back towards them.

"Hey, Tails!" Sonic dashed to the edge of the slope, "you find anything good yet?"

The kit-mobian straightened and pulled one of his booted feet from the thick mud. "Mud." Tails followed Li Moon's example and scoured the riverbank with a thick stick. "Lots of mud."

"Isn't it fun!" Li Moon beamed. "I've found things like pieces of vases and old tools! I bring them to Grandfather to be preserved if they're really old. They're likely displaced from the river so we can't learn as much as I would like but it's still fascinating."

"Miss Li has taken a keen interest as of late in anthropology," the guard added. Finally at the top of the bank, he scrapped the mud from his boots against the rocks. "The Temple Keeper suggested that she enters one of the anthropology colleges in the cities if she still holds the passion when she's older."

"Yeah?" Sonic smiled. "So," he sat down on a nearby fallen tree, "what's the coolest thing you've found so far?"

"Um," Li Moon dug her own stick in, slowly drawing shapes in thought, "The orb was weird but coolest?" Her features brightened, "the crane candlestick! It was casted in the shape of a crane-mobini. The corrosion is fairly bad, but it must have been beautiful when it was created."

"Are you going to fix it up?"

"Some. For now, we're just trying to keep it from corroding further." She flipped out a larger rock from the mud with her stick.

The conversation lulled as she moved closer to the water's edge, her intense attention on the contours of the surface of the mud.

"I guess that means it's my turn now," Sonic turned to the other two, "the docs the others are studying are pretty old. Don't people know anything more recent about the clans?"

"Only the Gossamer Clan would be considered openly doing business and trade with outsiders." Tac supplied. "No one with honor would associate with the thieves and assassins of the Yagyu Clan, and the Raiju Clan's aggression has flared after merging into the Egg Army and hungrily absorbs territory. … The Shinobi Clan keeps to its territory and deals with only those it desires or has need to. Honestly, it does not come up in conversation often."

"I heard that the women of the Raiju Clan have no true husband and has children with whomever they deem worthy," the temple guard added.

"Eh," Sonic glanced over at the two youngest among them, "Not exactly what I was looking for but…"

The guard fought back against his own embarrassment and narrowed his gaze on the hedgehog-mobian. "I thought many peoples of the west were less conservative with marriage and love."

"In some respects. Uh, we're more open with public affection?" Sonic shrugged, not sure where to go with this line of conversation. The next few minutes of nothing but wind, bird-mobini, and mud proved … awkward.

Inhaling the strong scent, he pressed his palms together in one smooth motion. Hazy thick incense swirled around him and formed lazy curls with each controlled movement and breath. Few candles lit the most immediate space in front of him in this encroaching vastness, their weak light just barely flickering on the edges of forms sunken into the darkness.

A light knock on wood made Li Yuen's stomach drop slightly. Just another notch on a list of things that had him worrying more and more over his heart's strength as of late. Of course, it could be "merely" because of who sheltered in the temple. "Yes?"

"Old Man Fei is at the Temple's gates. He says he heard from Zhao's boy that one of the visitors was unusually strong. He's requesting his help with those boulders."

"The…" Li Yuen turned and met the guard's eyes, "I am not sure if we should bother our guests with village affairs."

"… It would be useful. The equipment loan from Emerald Bay City will not be available for another two to three weeks."

"Yes, it would." Li Yuen's attention fell to how the strong streaming light gleamed on the polished metal of the snuffer laying nearby among the candles. He sighed, adding, "let us see first how their studies are progressing," before he steadied his cane to reach for the snuffer.

"-I get the talking-off-the-shoes thing. It's the always-make-the-entryways-too-low thing I don't get."

The ruler the marmot-mobian held pointed again to the map sprawled across the table with a snap. "The peoples of the eastern coast," he started again, "believe all guests to establishments such as inns and restaurants should bow as they enter. After, of course, checking in all weapons."

"You can't take in weapons? But what if there's trouble?" Julie-su asked. The temple assistant motioned as if to answer but swallowed his words. A strange expression scrunched his features that was somewhere stuck between possible exasperation and maybe confusion.

"Correct," he replied as his features suddenly smoothed, "this would be a concern of yours. The trend tends to be that the wealthier the establishment, the more the patrons relay on either the city's guard or the establishment's own guards for protection while on their grounds. This includes protection from the other patrons. If you were to board in a little roadside inn along some obscured country road, you would be more likely to be able to keep all your weapons with you but that also would suggest someone must be on watch through the night. A covered shrine would be a far safer place. Many, even in this age, are still wary of the power of spirits."

Julie-su glanced towards Khan with Sally at another table down on the other side of the main stretch of the temple's library before her gaze returned to the temple assistant. "We don't have a lot of money so we wouldn't be able to go the more glamourous route anyways."

"I take it I should also bring out texts on local wild foods to supplement your diet if the need where to arise."

"We d-" Julie-su let her words slip away, replacing them quickly. "Thank you," she said instead.

The temple assistant bowed for just a moment before turning and drifting down one of the rows of bookshelves. As soon as his tail slipped behind the deeply stained wood, Julie-su turned to Knuckles. She slumped over the table, loosely slapping her paw over her bowed head. Her eyes caught his, sighing, conveying her fatigue. Knuckles agreed with a quick nod. "Want to go ask if the cook has any more of those egg buns?" she added quietly.

"Okay."

Once the library assistant had returned, they asked for a break. He fought against it mildly, saying they were guests, snacks and drinks could be easily brought to them, but he finally conceded when they persisted.

It wasn't far to the little building designated as the temple's kitchen. It still retained most of its old-fashioned stoves with a few more modern additions. The building was well upkept despite its age, its walls' paint unbroken and clean, its low boundary walls and floors repaired through the generations. They found the single cook of the temple in his domain at the large solid wood table where he stood pulling noodles between his two burly fists.

"So, what brings you to ol' Mian's neighborhood kitchen today, hmm?" The mass of noodles landed on the floured table with a solid thud before those paws folded them in half and pulled again.

"Hey, Mian. You have any more of those egg bun things?" Knuckles asked.

"Egg buns… Ah, yes! The last of the batches have already been packaged to be sent to Phoenix City. I could make another batch, but you'll need to wait until the Wangs donate more chicken-mobini eggs. Unless you want to donate the funds yourselves."

"No, that's alright, Mian," Julie-su took a seat at one of the tables, Knuckles following suit. "We'll wait 'til we have some proper currency for you. Maybe we'll pass by again after visiting Emerald Bay and their bank."

"That would be much appreciated, Miss," the panda-mobian scooped up another smaller portion of flour and sprinkled it over the noodles where the flour had thinned quicker.

"Hey, Mian," Knuckles started again, "do you know any recipes for melon bread?"

"Melon in bread?"

"Um… yeah? That's what our friend called it."

The noodles landed with another thud. "… Did he tell you what it is called?" The echidna-mobian stumbled. "Before translation," Mian clarified.

"I don't think so."

"Charmy may know, given how he can get about sweets," Julie-su supplied. "And his growing interest with Espio's, eh, other life," she added more softly.

"Probably," Knuckles agreed.

Mian thought for a moment. "So, it is a bread that is sweet. Is it packaged? What is its … (what is that word) … what is its te- texture?"

"He always brought them in a brown bag. There's never a label. It's fluffy in the middle, but there's a crunchy layer on top. … Um, it's round. A perfectly round loaf. It's about this big," Julie-su carved a small, round loaf from the air with her paws.

"Does it have hatch marks?"

"Yeah." Both echidna-mobians' face brightened with hope.

"Ah," Mian nodded before speaking in another tongue. "I am familiar with it. The crunchy top gives it away. It is a popular sweet bread along the coastline and the neighboring islands. I have yet to add its recipe to my, ah… … collection." A small smirk curved his mouth. "I have a proposition for you: if you learn a recipe for it, you come back here, and I will make us all a big batch. Hmm?"

"Heh," Knuckles chuckled, "sounds like a deal to me." Julie-su nodded her agreement.

"Then it is a deal!"

While not as warm and fluffy as fleshly baked breads, Mian had plenty of alternatives. A collection of fruits, nuts, and these spicy strips of something chewy were happily supplied. Mian wasn't quite sure of the right word but explain they weren't jerky as first suggested, but ultimately, it didn't matter.

On the way back they took a more winding path back to the library as hours of sitting made both equally fidgety and walking was one of the best things for such restless energy. They found that Li Yuen had joined the others' table when they finally returned, and not spying the library assistant for the moment, walked a little quicker to the trio before they could be caught and pulled back to their own.

"How's everything going, guys?"

"About as well as you think," Sally sighed deeply. "Eggman's 'Egg Clan' has been snapping up territory in parts of the northwest. They have two major cities out there. They seem to be in the process of being converted into extended factories."

"Like what happened with old Mobotropolis." Knuckles moved closer to the map, eyes glancing to each of the wooden pieces across it. "He's using the same tactics even all the way out here."

"Yeah," Sally said softly and simply as any further words would be vulnerable to betraying old sorrows. "Oh!" She turned to Li Yuen. "You said you were looking for Knuckles?"

"Ah, yes." He cleared his throat. "It is not a serious matter but, if you were requiring an extended break, there was a minor slide during the last storm and a few larger boulders slid into the edge of the southern fields. One of the villagers learned of your strength and have asked for your help."

"Okay."

Li Yuen hid any surprised well. "… You do not have to. You are our guest and the equipment to remove them will be sent soon."

Knuckles shrugged. "We'll see how big they are. I can easily pound them into smaller chunks for you guys." His fist pounded solidly into his open palm, the action actually creating a small breeze.

"Very well," Li Yuen motioned to the exist. "Old Man Fei should still be waiting at the western gate. The guards will introduce you."

"You want to come," Knuckles asked as he turned to Julie-su.

"Sure."

"I should warn you, though," Li Yuen interjected, "he can be a bit … ornery."

"-down from the northwest corner. … Your arms are sure twig-thin for someone supposedly so strong." The weathered features of the greying rabbit-mobian soured as his still keen eyes scrutinized Knuckles' form again.

Knuckles ignored him and forced a tight plastered smile, extending his paw in greeting, his body trembling just slightly as if he was trying not to laugh. He was confused when Julie-su forced his arm back down but quickly mimicked her, realizing his mistake, when she bowed.

"We'll be happy to help, Mr. Fei." Julie-su straightened, "Just lead the way."

"Alright then."

Once the older mobian had turned away, Julie-su nudged Knuckles forward with a jab from her shoulder. Knuckles' features scrunched together as he nodded before taking a few blind steps forward. The tension in his frame eased as they walked down the paths towards the farmlands that spotted up and down the mountainside around the town. Eventually they turned off into a field of hip-high crops instead of another path and their attention was immediately drawn to the still mostly dirt-bare crater left in a rocky slope that ringed around the fields on this side of the road.

Knuckles whistled, shielding his eyes as he looked up a the largest of the boulders that reached five, maybe six of his height. "You guys are lucky this didn't keep rolling down to some of the lower farms."

"Pfft!" Old Man Fei stamped his cane, "The hazards of a farmer's life."

"Uh, okay." Was something always biting his tail?

"Hey," Julie-su slipped in as she drifted to Knuckles' side, "can you break those bigger ones down without the debris raining on the nearby farmsteads?"

Knuckles smirked, "Easy. Just try to get him to take cover and then I'll pound them to dust."

"Right. You may need to take it easy on those larger ones," she called back, "We don't want trouble."

"I've got it. I've got it~" Knuckles worked one shoulder in circles then the other.

The old rabbit had already turned back, working his way towards the road as she came closer. They headed towards the towering boulders that supported the stone archway which marked the way that eventually lead to a main road in the town. Together, they stood there against the chilled, weathered stone, listening to the thundering pounding. Hit after hit was accompanied by the sound of sharp cracking and cascading gravel.

"You think this's good enough?" Knuckles eventually called out.

The three of them stood there, staring down at the pile of rubble. He earned the fabled 'good enough' before the old rabbit started down the path with a renewed purpose.

"This way, young'uns!" Old Man Fei motioned for them to follow.

Knuckles cocked an eyebrow. "Are there more boulders?"

"No. Just some drinks and cherry cakes."

"You don't have-"

The rabbit-mobian stopped abruptly, giving them an eye before adding, "Rule six of life, hatchling," he turned back to the road, "don't turn down a gift unless you know it is going to twist its neck to bite your ankle like a viper-mobini."

"We-" Knuckles stopped before turning to Julie-su and shrugging.

"Yeah. Might as well." They weren't going to need lunch at this rate.

In barely five minutes they arrived at a modest cabin nestled against old thick trees. Possibly oak, few of their leaves had fallen with the chilling air. It could do with some fresh paint, but it was warmer, perhaps warmer than the occupant. They followed him in. The cabin was mainly one room sort of divided between a kitchen and a larger living area. There was a small loft, perhaps used for sleeping at one time, but both independently wondered if the old rabbit had been even able to get up there in recent years.

Old Man Fei shuffled over with a simple basket. "I have a great niece down south that sends me packages constantly," his voice was the strongest it had been while talking to them. "Doesn't mean, though, that I can eat everything she sends." He sat the basket down. "You can have what you want from the basket."

Julie-su looked up again to see just as Old Man Fei's paw grasped the handle on the front door. "Mr. Fei, where are you going?"

He partially turned back. "Just giving you three room to talk."

"Wha-"

"Hey, guys."

Both scrambled up, Knuckles choking down a bite as both stared up into the open loft. Somehow, Espio of all mobians stood up there, leaning against the railing. He raised a paw in greeting while the door quietly opened and closed behind the two echidna-mobian.

"…"

"…"

"…" Espio cocked an eyebrow.

"WHAT THE SHIT!?"

"It's nice to see you too, Knuckles. Julie-su."

a/n Grand Finale: Besides the time error, did I make the ending part of the last chapter clear on what she ordered? Theories folks?