Was the topic description angsty enough? :D

Anyway, keep in mind that the signups are still open. And now, to start the RP off...


Soleanna City

Didymus stepped out of the hotel, onto the mildly crowded street. The city was decorated with all kinds of apple colors, reds, yellows, greens, brae burn, and was filled with both Soleannan citizens and tourists from around the world. Indeed, tomorrow was the Soleannan Festival of Apples!

Didymus closed his eyes for a moment and took it in. The sound of the crowd’s chatter about this and that, the mildly sea-smelling, but nonetheless clean air, and, more than those two things, the feel. The feel of being surrounded by people who weren’t pondering the global geopolitical situation, or how to stop this terrorist group or that one. The peaceful, lighthearted feel.

Indeed, Didymus told himself, he had picked a good place to spend some of his R&R time. Maybe not the best place to do so, but a good one, at least.

He still wasn’t trying to forget completely about the fact that he was a soldier, however. Before going to Soleanna, he was briefed on reports of growing terrorist activity in the region, and was told to “take care of himself”. He was wearing a light bulletproof vest under his shirt, and was carrying his standard-issue pistol concealed under his jacket.

He opened his eyes and looked around. The sun was setting, and he was hungry. “Hmm…” he thought. “I wonder if they have a good steakhouse around here somewhere?” He had a general idea of where the best dining in town was, but he also wanted to see some of the city, so he began to walk, taking in the sensations of the city while searching for a place he could get a good piece of beef served medium-rare.


Edit: Once we get enough posts, I'll move the story along. Yes, I do have an idea of a story to tell.

Soleannan Jungle

The place was peaceful for only a few seconds. Suddenly, the animals alerted and started to chirp, fleeing the tiny cleared-out space, surrounded by 3 heavy trees that have fallen in a strange, triangular formation years ago. The animals fled, birds flying up and abandoning their perches and various critters hid amongst the trees around the cleared space, afraid of whatever might happen in this location.

Though they didn't need to be afraid. In a flash of light, the air ripped open above the triangular clearing and a pod dropped to the ground, thudding dully into the center and hissing as the rip in the continuum closed. Everything was calm for a few seconds, before the pod suddenly split in half with a hiss, and the lid popped off, propelled by compressed air that circulated through the outer shell. Inside, the steam began to clear and the cold air dissipated.

And the being inside woke up, blinked a few times, yawned... And was forcefully chucked out of the pod perfectly into the soft padding of the other half.

"... I'm never going to get used to that..."

It was a mobian. A very strange mobian. Instead of having the elongated nose of a hedgehog, he had the spot-nose of a cat mobian, and his ears and longer tail supported that theory... But strangely enough, he had 3 long spinesheading down his back, the telltale of a hedgehog, along with the body shape similar to that of Sonic himself. The strange cross between hedgehog and cat slowly started to rub life into his deeply-frozen limbs, recovering from cold sleep.

It didn't take long. The atmosphere was warm and the thaw finished perfectly, though how he was capable of breathing life back into limbs frozen into cold cryo-sleep was unknown. With a yawn, a stretch and a few experimental flexes, he clicked on his watch, and up went a holographically-projected touch pad. He clicked a few buttons on it, and the holo screen split into four different ones, the central becoming a screen, which displayed a message in red: "Connecting".

The creature cursed when it could not connect, and canceled the screens. Then, he went back to the pod, and flipped open a small compartment at the very bottom. From the compartment, he took out a utility belt with a large "N" for a buckle. Once he clipped it on, the buckle briefly flashed green and then settled into glowing as a steady blue.

Once done with that, Nite flipped open one of the pouches on the belt and took out a tiny, drill-like object.

"Now, to find where to shove THIS little thing... That Nova better pay for this..."

Pressing a button on the pod, he walked off. The pod beeped a few times, and the lit magnetically attracted back to the pod, settling perfectly back into position. Then, the pod drilled deep into the ground, burrowing out of sight and smoothing the ground above.

With no traces left of his arrival, the creature ran off into the jungle...

(Since the RP is new and no one is supposed to know Nite or Nite know anyone, I started with a full intro.)

-Deep Below Soleanna-

An ancient and long gone laboratory beneath the peaceful watery city seemed old, decrepit, abandoned.

A pile of junk was in the corner, collecting dust, or so it seemed.

Two red glows erupted from the debris, and a blue robotic hedgehog stepped out from it, holding out his clawed hand, something, smaller then the normal eye could see, landed in it.

Metal Sonic seemed to stand there silently, processing the new information coming towards him.

“Project Ultimate Life Form Mach II is to far along to incorporate any new DNA,” Metal Sonic finally decided, “But this new information is useful…”

Metal Sonic waved his hand, and the metal junk behind him shifted, working on a remote controlled device to hide the special room within his lair.

Making his way through the hallway, a pod filled with a strange liquid glowed there, the green Chaos Emerald inside the machine by it, running the power for the pod.

A figure floated in the pod, and Metal watched it.

“Soon…Soon…”

-Soleanna Streets-

“Alright Chaotix!” Vector shouted, turning towards Charmy and Espio, “We have a case! We’re suppose to meet our employeer at ‘The Water Born Café’ here in Soleanna!”

“Yay!” Charmy grinned, buzzing around, “Let’s go, alright!”

FAST on the way to Soleanna City

The strange creature wasted no time, it seems. Somehow, over the course of only 2 hours, he, for it WAS a male, was already out of the jungles and on the side roads, has SOMEHOW obtained an unbelievably fast, rocket-powered speeder bike and was pulling 200 MPH by the side of the road towards Soleanna City.

As he sped along, there was a small vibration and ring from the watch he wore. It only took him a second, but he managed to dead-halt the bike in 4 seconds, and answer the "call". Pressing a few buttons, a small antenna spouted from the watch and a few holo-screens opened. It was the same setup as was seen before, but now, a mysterious man appeared on the screen, a strange human with weird, black goggles, blonde hair that shot to every side in the strangest hairdo possible and an incredibly wide, demented-looking smile.

"I see you have started it, Nite. What's the news?"

The creature sighed and gave the image a very hard, long, annoyed look. "What do you think, professor? Do you REALLY think I decided to stop by a cafe to pick up some coffee?"

"I see you managed to do that already, Nite, but that is not what I called about. Has the probe survived transition?"

Nite nodded. "Phase transfer was a-okay. The probe is active and monitoring. It just requires placement for the startup of nanite building sequence. Where do you want the probe placed, professor?"

The strange human looked thoughtful and ate a spoonful of something. Then, he brought the spoon up as though it was his forefinger and grinned. "As close to Soleanna City as you can get it. Preferably under the waters and underneath the sewers."

The creature named Nite smirked. "I'll do it. Will GUN forces pose a problem?"

The human shook his head. "Not unless you are loud and obnoxious."

Nite nodded. "I'll do it then. Expect monitoring data within the next 6 hours."

The human smirked. "I'm counting on you, Nite."

"Yeah, yeah..." Nite cut connection, closed the screens and clicked a few buttons on the watch. Then he tapped the pouch on his side to make sure it was still there, got back on the bike and started it up again. The bike lifted to a height of few heads over human and shot off again, accelerating quickly, and heading towards Soleanna city, leaving a dust cloud behind.

Soleanna Waterfront

Didymus stood in front of an inviting café on the street overlooking the beach. The Water Born Café, hmm? He thought. Alright, I’ll give it a try.

With that, he causally stepped inside the café and was greeted with a smile by a cute young waitress. “Table for you, sir?” she said, and quickly, before he even responded, added, “Right this way.” and led him to a window side table with a nice view of the street and the beach, handed him a menu, and promised to return with some water momentarily.

The whole place had a semiformal feel to it, and was somewhat dimly lit, but Didymus nonetheless began to study the menu in his hands optimistically, unaware that a certain detective agency would be arriving in the café an minute now…

(Yes, I know, short post. )

-Soleanna Jungle-

What was that noise?

Mighty the Armadillo wondered what the loud noise and cloud of smoke off in the distance of the jungle was, pausing as he leaned against the tree.

“…It better not be one of those loggers again. Those guys really piss me off,” Mighty growled, then stepped forward, planting his feet into the ground, then jumped back, bouncing against the tree behind him, pushing with his might, then jumping forward, giving him a powerful burst in speed.

Moving fast, though not as fast as Sonic, Mighty sped towards a certain cathog and his motorcycle.

“I’m going to be late, but I need to make sure it’s not something bad…” Mighty muttered

-The Water Born Café-

“Alright!” Charmy grinned, buzzing into the café, pumping the air with his fists, “I want a soda!”

“Calm down Charmy! We’re suppose to meet out employeer here!” Vector shouted, walking in as well.

(Heh, if Mighty and Nite did see each other, it would be interesting. One gifted in the mind and the other of the body…)

(Post length doesn't matter. ^^ The quality is more important.)

Emerald Hill Zone -- Several, Several Miles from Soleanna City

The vast, sprawling hills of green unfolded across the horizon next to a vast blue body of water that sparkled dazzlingly in the sun. The birds were chirping and all the small and furry forest animals moved about the hills lazily enjoying the sun. Yes, every resident of Emerald Hill Zone was enjoying a nice, relaxing, peacefully slow day.

"This place is lame! I'm out of here!"

Well, not every resident. There was one who could not stand the peaceful or the slow. Covered in blue spines and wearing specialized shoes that protected his feet from intense heat and friction, there stood a hedgehog.

No... not just 'a hedgehog'...

"Alright! It's time to buzz!" The Hedgehog began to run -- which was saying quite a bit. As he ran, he became nothing more than a blue blur that sped across the hills of green and up and down the conveniently placed loop-the-loops. He made a wild jump across a deep gully and over to another hill. By now, he had reached a desert that was far from Emerald Hill Zone.

Finally, after what was merely minutes, the Hedgehog arrived at Soleanna City. He blinked and raised an eyebrow, looking around the city. It seemed like there was something going on; with the crowds of people and decorations. Sonic grinned to himself and crossed his arms.

"Aw, yeah! This could be fun!"

Water Born Café

Unbeknownst to Charmy, he had accidentally knocked a piece of art hanging on one of the café’s walls to the floor as he buzzed in, and he and Vector’s shouting could be heard throughout the building. Waiter approached them, looking none too happy. “Sirs,” he addressed them in a harsh voice, “If you sirs are going to cause so much commotion, I’m going to have to ask you to leave!”

Didymus noticed this scene, and decided to lend a hand. He walked over to them. “I’m sorry.” He said to the waiter. “Please excuse these gentlemen.” He continued, gesturing toward the Chaotix and handing the waiter some money. After he helped hang the art back up, looked at the Chaotix as if to say, “Let me get you out of this mess.” And actually said, cordially, “Would you gentlemen care to sit down at my table?"

(Irony, this is a chance to create a bit of humor. The Chaotix could mistake Didymus for thier employer, and, well, things could go from there. Again, remember that Didymus is human, and a G.U.N. soldier, so maybe the Chaotix saw him on the news or something and think that he's trying to give them a military contract. An idea. Let me know if you want me to "erase" the events in this post, though.)

Road to Soleanna

The road, to say the least, was scenic. Nite, having exited the jungle, had to dive right back in to reach Soleanna, his true target, and was currently leaving yet another police car in the dust. Really, they could not arrest him: He was flying too high above the road to be counted by road rules, but he had a hover vehicle, which did not limit his speed in the air. Shooting like a rocket past lone cars that drove to and from Soleanna, Nite was on a direct course towards the city.

He, himself, sometimes took the time to enjoy the scenery as well. His favorite climate being tropical jungles, he could truly appreciate the beauty of this place. The jetbike was speeding along, a nice limit of 220 MPH, testing the limits of aerial resistance versus magnetic fielding around the vehicle. The path was mostly automated as well, a complex computer system, driving the bike without Nite's hands on the handles.

Unbeknown to him, however, an armadillo was heading on a direct intercept course... But he did not have to worry too much. After all, when wasn't a mercenary ready to defend himself?

-The Water Born Café-

“Hey,” Vector muttered, elbowing Espio, “I think this must be our employer.”

Espio only nodded, not saying a word.

“Thanks!” Vector went on now, loud enough for Didymus to hear now, “That would be great!”

Charmy buzzed over to the booth happily and sat on the table, being small enough to do so. Vector then sat down, but Espio remained by the door.

“I’d rather stand…” he said simply.

-Road to Soleanna-

“Not a logger…But still…” Mighty muttered, as he came close enough to the hover bike to tell it wasn’t a logging machine, but still something strange.

He gritted his teeth and sped up, bringing up enough speed for a leap, heading high into the air, then beginning to land, right where the bike would be if Nite or the machine itself changed direction!

Road to Soleanna

There are a few laws about high-speed vehicles that should always be kept track of. One, at that kind of speed, no matter how good the swerving power is, your reaction time is incredibly low. Two, Nite was a mercenary with a gift. Three...

That gift was NOT enough to make him react fast enough.

It only took him a millisecond to register that something has just jumped out of the trees at his bike. It took another millisecond for him to realize that this something or someone was suddenly on the back seat of the bike. It took him another millisecond to realize that he was in danger.

THAT is when he swerved and hit the brakes, sending the bike into a spin that still landed them perfectly on the grass of the forest floor, but sent him and the guy/girl/thing that jumped at him flying into the air. Of course, Nite had fast enough reflexes to ball up and roll, coming to a perfect stop, legs set and his face quite annoyed.

"...The hell???"

-Road to Soleanna-

A tan orb bounded off the tree tops, coming down like a cannon ball unto the forest floor, sending dirt and dust up.

Uncurling, Mighty survived the crash unscathed, and paused, looking towards Nite.

“Hey!” He shouted, pointing towards the bike, “What were you doing? At speeds like that, you could have hit a bird or your engines might have started a fire if they backfired!”

Road to Soleanna

Nite relaxed as he saw this stranger in front of him with THAT kind of comment, and stood up fully, relaxing the tense and ready position which he assumed if he ever had to fight. Now, he knew that this guy wasn't a threat at the moment... And that he needed to explain some things to this guy before things got a bit too nasty around here.

"It's nice to see that there are those that concern themselves with ecology around these parts. However, there are some logical things that I would like to point out. One, unless birds are REALLY stupid, they would not fly so low, especially above the road. They naturally avoid any loud sound. And as you heard, this thing's engine isn't the loudest, but not the quietest either."

He smirked. "On the other hand, an engine backfires only when it is old and has not been cleaned out. This one REQUIRES constant maintenance, because it runs off of a small, compact reactor. Without maintenance, that baby can blow like a thermonuke, and leave even less than one in the resulting crater. Therefore, there is a constant circulation of small machines that automatically calibrate, repair and clean whatever parts become damaged. All of my screens were in green: It was as unlikely to backfire or explode as you are."

He cocked his head to one side, thinking about something for a second... And snickered. "Backfire... Hehe..." He calmed down immediately though, and gave as friendly of a look as he could manage at the moment. "However, I am happy to see one of my kind out here. It would get too shabby with only humans in the ecosystem, no?"

-Road to Soleanna-

Mighty paused, frowning. It seemed this guy wasn’t any immediate threat, but he didn’t let his guard down.

"However, I am happy to see one of my kind out here. It would get too shabby with only humans in the ecosystem, no?"

“Your kind? You mean Mobians? Well, I’m really the only Mobian here. The nearest city is Soleanna,” the armadillo said, pointing towards the city, “But yah, humans are there too.”

He paused, then frowned, looking up towards the sky.

“I’m late!” he growled suddenly, then glanced back towards Nite and the motorbike.

“Maybe…” he thought to himself…

“Hey, are you heading to Soleanna? If so, could you give me a lift? I need to meet some old friends there. By the way, the name’s Mighty,” the armadillo then asked, hoping he wouldn’t have to run there…It had been hard enough to set up the meeting, but he didn’t know how long they would wait, especially since they didn’t know it was him they were meeting…

Water Born Café
Didymus was made a bit uneasy by the eager, expectant look Vector gave him, but he was a soldier. He knew how to keep his wits about him and pull through in combat situations where he stared the possibility of passing on in the face. Doing the same while starring a grinning, anthropomorphic crocodile in the face was easy for him.

After the waitress took Vector and Charmy’s drink orders (if any) and walked off, Didymus smiled cordially, and spoke. “Ah, Soleanna! Finely-crafted city, don’t you think? So much to see, so much to do here.”

Of course, he meant recreational things, but for his business-minded tablemates, something else may have come to mind. Nonetheless, the soldier continued talking, “And I hear that Elise III often goes out and meets the public, chatting personally with anyone who may happen to cross her path! Rather sweet of her, don’t you think?” Suddenly, he remembered something. “Oh, I’m sorry!” he said. “I forgot to introduce myself! I’m Didymus.” He said, holding out his hand to Vector, who seemed to be paying more attention to him than Charmy.

Road to Soleanna

"Need a lift, huh? Well, I got an extra seat, so as long as you don't fall off, I'm fine with getting you there. I'm on my way to Soleanna as well, so it's no big deal. You'll have to be quick though: I like to drive very fast and veer very sharp."

Nite smirked and ran over to where his bike has righted itself and set down, shutting off. A quick turn of the key, a small glance at some strange dial and a small press of a circular, clear button started up the engines, which whined slowly into motion, almost soundless. It WAS indeed the wind that was producing the sound of whipping around the bike, not the engine itself.

Once he got on, he waited until Mighty could sit himself down, the bike hovering just inches off the ground.

"And since you have my name, I might give mine as well. Name's Nite."

-Water Born Café-

“Vector,” the crocodile said, who seemed a little surprise the soldier hadn’t gotten down to business. Perhaps this whole thing was suppose to be hush-hush…That would be real money there!

He shook Didymus’ hand eagerly, smiling a toothy smile.

Didymus had mentioned Princess Elise III…Perhaps bodyguard work?

“So…” Vector began, craftily, “You work for G.U.N., huh? Protect things and all that?”

Espio leaned by the door, a waitress trying to shoo him away, but he simply just walked away and then used his abilities to disappear, then retook his station, now invisible.

-Road to Soleanna-

“Thanks,” Mighty said, jumping into the seat behind Nite, “What brings you to Soleanna anyways?”

Nite’s earlier talking bothered him, almost as though he hadn’t actually seen the world…But all this technology had to mean something…

“No…it couldn’t be,” he thought suddenly, “He can’t be an Eggman robot…Did Eggman get actual Mobians to work for him?”

Mighty had assumed this technology had come from the only genius he know, Doctor Eggman…

Now, for as far as he knew, he was riding with a traitor to the planet…

Road to Soleanna

Nite clicked another button, and a shimmering field encased both the bike and the rider and passenger. Once the shimmer went away, Nite punched the gas, and the bike accelerated in no time flat... With only a little air whipping at the riders. It's as though they were not going faster than 50, but Mighty could see the speedometer was reaching two hundred again.

Nite himself could not be even more smug as he was at this moment. The moment Mighty came in contact with the cathog, Nite's ability automatically kicked in... And he shook his head.

"Let's get ONE thing clear, Mighty. I am not mechanical, except for the tools I carry, and I know of no Eggman. As for why I'm in Soleanna... I'm on a mission for my boss at this moment."

Even if he was turned away, one could sense that Nite had a VERY smug look on his face right now. VERY smug. Almost TOO smug.

(Nite can read surface thoughts automatically, without concentration, when in physical contact. It only takes a second, too. A tiny amount of concentration is needed to read at a distance. The farther he delves into the conscious or subconscious thought or the farther the target is, the more he needs to concentrate. If a thought is "loud" enough, Nite can read that too without physical contact, such as one of those sixth sense thoughts or mental screams of warning. Depending on the distance, that thought can be picked up automatically as well.)

-Road to Soleanna-

(I was actually hoping Nite would read Mighty’s mind.)

“Wait! How did you know what I was thinking?” Mighty demanded, “And not know of Eggman? How could you not! Have you been living in some alternate dimension or something?”

Note: Didymus isn't walking around in uniform (now), so we'll say that the Chaotix knew him from another source.

Water Born Café
Vector’s grin was becoming even more unnerving, but it wasn’t anything Didymus couldn’t handle. However, he was beginning to get concerned about the whole ordeal. “How did you know I’m a G.U.N. soldier?” he asked, then, it came to him: The Station Square Times.

During the Black Arms invasion, he was instrumental in driving the invaders out of Station Square, both maneuvering troops with skill and tactical keenness, and leading heroically from the front. In addition to receiving a prestigious medal and a promotion from captain to major, the local newspaper ran a front-page article on him, thus making him somewhat famous, in that area, at least.

“Oh,” Didymus said. “It must’ve been that report in the Station Square Times. They were really nice about that. But yeah, we do what we can to protect global geopolitical stability, hunt down terrorists, and things like that, and we…wait a minute.” More recognition occurred in Didymus’s head. His tablemates…weren’t they the Chaotix? Weren’t they wanted for trespassing aboard the ARK, and for attempted theft of top-secret information from Prison Island? No. They were guilty of both charges, but the fact that they provided aid to G.U.N. forces on Prison Island during their attempted theft, and that their trespassing on the ARK had no negative consequences, they had been let off with a warning. Still, now Didymus knew who he was talking to.

“Apologies about that pause there. But yeah, again, I work for G.U.N.," he said, “but now I’ve got some R&R, but enough about me. What about-“ just then, a waitress arrived with their orders, and set it on the table in front of them. He thanked her and she looked toward Vector and Charmy, who had only ordered drinks. "Any food for you two?” she asked. Didymus, seeing a lull in the conversation, quickly said a silent prayer, as the waitress stared intently at the detectives, intent on getting an answer.


(Note: This will be my last post tonight, I have to hit the sack.)

-The Water Born Café-

“Got any cake miss?” Charmy asked eagerly, buzzing towards the waitress, eyes gleaming with hope.

As Charmy ordered his cake and the waitress left, Vector turned back to the soldier.

“Well…” Vector began, looking around to make sure no one was listening in, “We’ve got a job, and we’re suppose to meet our employer here. Wouldn’t tell us what the job was exactly. All hush-hush.”

He then would have to wait. The ball was in Didymus’ court now.

-Beneath Soleanna-

“Sonic…” Metal spat, with as much hatred in his robotic voice as it could synthesize. “He’s here, in Soleanna…”

Metal glanced towards the pod, “Still a while till completion. I can’t risk showing myself yet…”

He flexed his clawed hands slowly, just wishing to tear into the creature he was designed after, the one his programming, to his very core, told him to destroy.

“Soon Sonic…Soon…”

(4,000th POST! BOOYAH!)

Rooftop of Soleanna Museum of History & Culture

Having already evaded top-notch security like it was a casual thing, Rouge held up a sapphire egg - a "prize" she had sneakily acquired from the very building she sat on.

"Soon, Crown of Ruby Hearts, you'll be in my possession!" The white bat plotted excitedly, looking in the direction of Soleanna Palace. She suddenly heard a lot of footsteps at once coming from the very place she was plotting against. It seems as though more of the guards have been informed about the theft and are already on the prowl for her.

Actually, JOHA, the Festival of Apples is TOMMORROW, in the RP. About now would be sunset on the day before. Just edit that part about celebration in the streets, and you should be fine. Good to see you've started, though. Anyway...

Water Born Café

“All hush-hush, is it?" Didymus said, somewhat concerned. “Well, if it has anything to do with…” his voice trailed off.

Still more recognition occurred in his mind. The expectant looks Vector gave him, the excited tone he spoke in, his eagerness to sit down with him…they thought he was going to hire them!

Amusing as the mix-up was, he spoke frankly, “Well, if G.U.N. has a job for you, I don’t know, that’s not why I’m here, anyway, but if your job involves anything…suspicious,” he said, his voice getting more earnest in tone. “Then I ask you to be…good citizens. Let us know.”

His voice changed to a more friendly and inviting tone. "But feel free to share the table with me until your employer comes, or at least, until I’m done here. I’ve got a few stories I could tell, anyway." With that, he picked up his utensils and gestured toward his food. “You don’t mind, do you?” he asked.

Soleanna Palace

Elise looked out over the city from her castle's balcony. It was quite a view, with the sun slowly setting casting a beautiful orange-pink hue over a town already adorned in the colors of apples. She sighed. Tommorow, she would go out among them, and meet people face-to-face, sample apples, and otherwise simplpy try to enjoy the Festival of Apples. She loved her country. How peaceful it was. How happy here citizens always seemed to be. How low the crime rate was-

"Miss Elise!"

"Huh?" she said, being shaken from her thoughts, Elise turned to face who she was being addressed by. It was, of course, one of her attendants, but she had a sad, but urgent look on her face.

"Oh, miss Elise! It's horrible! Terrible! To think it could have occured in our fair city!"

"Calm down, Anya." Elise spoke, in a calm, reassuring tone. "Tell me. What happened?"

The attendant took a deep breath and, hesitantly, continued. "We've just received a call from the history and culture museum. “The...the sapphire that was held in the Soleannan Knight's Crest from the 11th century is...gone! Missing! Stolen! No traces of the culprit whatsoever!"

Elise was distressed by this news, and it visibly showed on her expression. Regardless, she maintained a calm composure. “Are you sure?”

“Yes!” came her attendant’s saddened cry.

“Very well.” Elise said. She considered making an announcement about this news, but decided against it, as would possibly disrupt the peace her country enjoyed so much. Instead, she decided on a more direct approach. “Ensure guards are posted literally next to the remaining artifacts at all times of the day, and all times of the night. As for my family heirlooms…well, I know that the Knights already literally stand by them all day, and all night, and will defend them with their lives. If the culprit is captured, however, bring him-or her-to me.”

“Yes, miss Elise.” With a bow, the attendant was off.

Elise turned back toward the city, and sighed a depressed sigh. Why would somebody do such a thing? she thought.


(Again, if somebody else wants Elise, they can have her, but if not, I guess I've got her.)

Outside Soleanna City Limits

"Goodbye forever, Shadow the Hedgehog..."

Another being was outside the city of Soleanna. It was after all the city of water, and he didn't like water too much. He could swim just fine, but not only was the water a problem, but there were people there.

A LOT of people. And he wasn't the most popular guy around. The Mobian began to walk slowly, just thinking. It was one of the things he was best at. His past behind him, Shadow the Hedgehog had only the future to think about.

However, Shadow was the Ultimate Lifeform, meaning it was near impossible to kill him. He had a long future ahead of him. His last encounter with the Black Comet had confirmed this. After destroying Black Doom and his minions, Shadow had completed his primary purpose.

Now a days Shadow roamed around the country, helping someone in need once in a while. But don't get him wrong, he was not a hero. But again he was not like the Doctor either, for he wasn't the bad guy. Many people thought he was, which was why he was hesitant to go into the City of Water.

But he had business to attend there. And nothing was going to get in his way. NOTHING.

"I'm coming...Maria." Shadow said to himself, as he entered into the city.

*Insert evil laughter here.*

-The Water Born Café-

“Oh…” Vector said, looking downcast, “Well, don’t worry about us doing anything like that! We’d never aid anyone evil!”

“What about that time when Egg-” Charmy began, quickly being silenced by Vector’s hand to his mouth, smiling sheepishly.

“Kids, ain’t they adorable? And sure, we’d love to hear your stories!” Vector chuckled, shooting a glare towards the bee, who huffed and went quiet for now.

-Outside Soleanna City Limits-

“Who are you kidding Shadow? You are a weapon, designed to merely serve and kill. Why do you continue to try and play the hero?” a voice, from seemingly nowhere asked Shadow, the gruff voice eerily familiar to the Ultimate Life Form.

“You lost Maria, you let her die, you were powerless to save her,” the voice continued, “Give in Shadow…Give in!”

Then, a cold laughter seemed to swell in Shadow’s head…

“Give in to me, Shadow…”

"Sunset already? Must've been caught up of this day dream." She confessed, still fantasizing about the Crown of Ruby Hearts. Rouge swiftly drifted to the streets and began walking casually to the Water Born Cafe avoiding guards. Only taking a few seconds to look around, the thief snatched a mocha latte from an unsuspecting waitress and continued walking along towards the waterfront.

The sound of rolling waves was definitely soothing and created a calm atmosphere for the always-on-the-move rogue.

"After all this work, I definitely deserve to relax." Rouge said before taking a sip of her mocha latte, enjoying the last few moments of daylight on a stranded beach chair.

(Teehee. I love the beach ;[ Not sure if it's Rouge's thing, BUT I'M IN CONTROL OF HER XD w/ limits of course. Edited last post btw.)

-Soleanna Beach-

“I believe you just stole my boss’s drink…” a voice from behind Rouge suddenly said, quiet.

Espio stood behind Rouge, though remained invisible and silent, all ninja-like.

Soleanna Waterfront

(Not sure of Rouge's relationship w/ Espio but here I go XD)

Rouge quickly turned around while still keeping her calm attitude. She saw no one but knew without a doubt that someone was there. The voice was familiar but didn't want to jump to any conclusions.

"And?" Rouge rudely took another sip of the stolen drink. "What are you gonna do about it, hero?"

-Soleanna Beach-

A kunai was thrown from the shadows, embedding itself softly in sand, having passed by Rouge’s ear within a millmeter.

“Not miss the next time, for one,” he answered. Of course, he wouldn’t actually attack her with a kunai…Espio didn’t do that.

He, of course, had other skills he could utilize.

Water Born Café

Helped Eggman? I’ll have to look into that. Didymus thought.

He then began to eat, and, between mouthfuls, told one of his many stories of his previous missions.

“Alright, so it’s my first assignment. I’m a second lieutenant, and I’ve deployed to Serbia. You know, that whole area has been unstable ever since they started that whole “ethnic cleansing” business there in the 1990’s. Thing is, though, most of the actual fighting there was stopped when we first went in, but tensions remain, so I guess G.U.N. figures it’s a good place to send green officers who need to get some command experience in before serving in the real hot spots in the world. Anyway, so it’s my first mission, my unit’s on a routine forest patrol, ”Eyes open for land mines.” I told them, “And for “animal mines” as well. I don’t want our boots getting smellier than they have to be. Anyway, the land mines were nasty little things, they don’t actually go off until a person steps on them, then steps off them. I’ve made sure the unit knows to look out for them, and various “animal mines” that can get one’s boots rather smelly. Anyway, so we’re out in the woods, and suddenly, I hear a man off to my right gasp, and when I turn to look at him, I can see that there’s real fear in his eyes. I get worried and begin to wonder, did he just hit a mine? He looks at me and his eyes get all watery, and says “I’m…I’m sorry sir! Please don’t hate me! I didn’t mean to!” I’m really worried, and feel kind of flattered that the guy isn’t panicking, but apologizing. “Don’t worry, soldier! Just don’t move! We might be able to get an engineer to disarm that thing and get you outta here safely.” I tell him. “It-It’s not that kind of mine, sir.” he replies. “It’s just, I-I know you didn’t want us to step on any animal mines, sir, and I’m sorry, I should’ve paid more attention!” He lifts up his boot, and sure enough, he’s stepped in animal scat.”

Didymus chuckled a bit as he concluded that story. “The man got me all worked up for a piece of animal scat!”

He finished eating, and, after paying his check, looked toward the Chaotix. “Well, I hope your next job is honest and well-paying.” He handed Vector a little money to (help) cover the Chaotix’s café costs. “See you around.”

With that, Didymus walked outside the café. He headed for the waterfront.

Soleanna Waterfront

When he arrived, he noticed a familiar-looking, anthropomorphic bat, reclining on a beach chair, with a drink. Well, well, well. He thought. Rouge the Bat. I wonder what she’s doing here. He then noticed a kunai embedded in the sand next to her. And that she seemed to be talking, it appeared to herself. Maybe something I should check out. Rouge doesn't normally travel with a kunai. With that, he made his way over to Rouge and the camoflauged Espio.

Road to Soleanna

Now if there was something about Nite that set him apart from others, was that besides being a good guy, he knew how to be a very BAD guy, and with that territory came the ability to weasel himself out of situations, bribes, blackmail, extortion... He was a mercenary, he worked AND killed for hire. In this case, his sharp mind shot him the answer that he needed. In this case, he was supposed to be undercover, his power a secret...

"Heh, so my guess was right, huh? I have been asked whether I work with this Eggman guy several times already, and by passerbys less friendly than you are. So, I decided if it was the typical stereotype around here, I gotta break it. I don't work for this Eggman guy, whoever he is."

He shrugged. "As for where I'm from... Let's just say, I'm from a very remote corner of the world. So remote that I never have seen even traces of the Sonic fellow, and that is a feat in and of itself, I have heard."

As they spoke, the bike shot out of the Jungles and headed across the fields towards the city in the distance. That distance was flying by quickly, however, and the bike was closing in on the suburbs of the city within minutes of exiting the jungle. Nite never slowed down, taking the main road and flying higher than car level for as long as he could... Until the bridges started. THEN he switched to manual control and went low to the road, swerving in traffic and passing everything and everybody. He was heading for the waterfront of Soleanna city.

However, as he continued flying, he couldn't help but ask."Is there some sort of celebration here? The city's in decor, so what's going on?"

Soleanna Waterfront

The thrown kunai did indeed surprise Rouge, but she was not threatened at all. She finished the mocha latte then set it on top of a small table next to the beach chair.

"All this over a silly latte? I would call that an over-reaction." She still questioned exactly who intruded her "relaxing time" but this is when she noticed another silhouette walking towards her.

(I'm guessing they're acquainted due to the fact that Didymus is with G.U.N.)

After figuring out who it was, Rouge raised an eyebrow.

'A G.U.N. soldier in Soleanna? I must be missing something.'

(Yes, at least, Didymus knows Rouge, has read up on her profile, etc., as for Rouge knowing Didymus...well, maybe they've worked together before, or something, maybe she's somehow picked up info on him without his knowledge.)

Soleanna Waterfront

As he approached the beach chair, Didymus saw Rouge glancing over at him with a sort of curiosity, and, upon looking hard enough, noticed Espio's camouflaged form, staring Rouge down, (probably giving her a stern look for finishing Vector's drink). "Good evening!" he said. "Beautiful sunset, isn't it?" he asked, gesturing toward the sun-which had now all but disappeared behind the horizon. he then turned to the ninja. "And Mr. Chameleon, as I'm guessing that's who you are, it turns out that I am not your employer, so you may wish to return to the café and await your real employer. But what business do you have with Rouge?” He asked, as he had not witnessed the stolen mocha incident.

Soleanna Waterfront

"Sure is something." Rouge answered taking a glance at the horizon. Knowing that now wouldn't be the best time to ask Didymus about his business, she turned her attention back towards the still invisible Espio.

"Well? Tell him how you so rudely interrupted my 'me' time."

-Road to Soleanna-

“That’s really surprising, especially with this technology you have,” Mighty sighed. He resigned himself simply to see what would happen. If Nite was going to kill him later, he’d deal with it then. If was telling the truth, then no worries.

“And I believe it’s the Festival of Apples, starting tomorrow. I’m not to sure what’s suppose to happen then, but it’s a pretty big thing around here,” Mighty answered, “Ah! There we go!”

He pointed down towards the beach, near a certain café. “Drop me off here, would you?”

-Soleanna Beach-

“We’re short enough on funds as it is,” Espio stated simply, letting himself appear for now, “And Vector can deal with our employer, whenever he or she shows up.”

Espio then returned his attention to Rouge, “Payment for that stolen drink would do nicely. You have plenty of funds to purchase one. One should not steal unless one must.”

The chameleon was an honorable ninja…

Soleanna Beach

Annoyed, Rouge pulled out a ten from her heart-shaped chest plate. It's true, she didn't need all this money although it was nice to have some just incase. Rouge then walked over to the purple chameleon and handed him the money.

"Keep the change. Think of it as a payment for leaving me alone from now on." Then walked down the beach, keeping close to the incoming waves. Night on a beach was far more breath-taking than she imagined and couldn't find herself to leave just yet.

Soleanna Beach

“Petty thievery, Rouge? Come now. Can’t you keep your hands off of other people’s drinks?” Didymus said, somewhat playfully/mockingly, coming up behind Rouge. Soleanna suffered from little pollution, and as such, as night fell, the stars began to come out, and the moon slowly began rising, moonlight beginning to play off the beach and the ocean. “I'm on R&R, myself, but what’s someone like you doing in Soleanna at a time like the Festival of Apples, anyway? I suppose," he added with a grin, “getting a brae burn to share with someone is out of the question, despite that heart on your attire.” He had his suspicions about what the thief was up to, but decided to shoot the breeze with her anyway, because he wanted to, and because it may help lower Rouge’s suspicions towards him.

Soleanna Beach

"A thief's gotta do what a thief's gotta do." Rouge shrugged not feeling guilty. The cool breeze felt nice and helped her stay calm. The subject of the 'brae burn' came up. This was Rouge's first time in Soleanna but overheard about this brae burn every once in a while.

"The brae burn? You honestly think that I'm here for that?" She laughed a bit. "Soleanna is a quiet town. Thought I'd liven it up, you know? The timing is a coincidence." She quickly turned everything around, preventing Didymus from questioning her intentions.

"So a G.U.N. soldier here? On R&R? A bit shady, but I'll buy it for now."

Soleanna Beach
What? Didymus thought. A thief, accusing a soldier of shadiness? And now, she’s trying to turn the tables on me!

“Well, for starters,” he spoke up “of course I didn’t think you were here for the brae burn. I said I supposed it was out of the question, didn’t I? And how is my spending some rest and recreation time in Soleanna, “shady” anyway? Like you said, it’s a quiet town.”

He paused for a moment, looking back at the city. Then he looked at the stars, and how the moonlight played across the water. True, there were reports of terrorist activity in the Soleannan area, and Rouge may well have hacked into G.U.N.’s network (again) and read those reports, but the city was, for now, at least, nice and peaceful, and he really was there on R&R, whether Rouge believed him or otherwise.

“That’s why I like it.” The soldier finally said. “So much more relaxing than, well, you can probably imagine that being a G.U.N. officer isn’t the easiest or most relaxing job in the world. When you spend enough time in a global hot spot, knowing that the lives of men besides yourself depend on you, and, well, the other…aspects of combat taken into consideration, well, it makes you really appreciate some peace and quiet, I’ll say that.”

He chuckled a bit. “Of course, with you around to “liven up” the city, I may need to keep on my toes. But enough about that.” His tone changed to something a bit more casual. “Have you tried some of the dining here? I hear Soleannan seafood cusine is rather nice. I’ve not tried it myself, but I intend to. They’re rather proud of their seafood dishes, you know that? “A bite of Soleanna”, they call ‘em.” Sure, small talk may not get him any closer to retrieving any stolen goods Rouge may have had on her, but he went ahead with some nonetheless.

Soleanna Beach

"A little jumpy there eh?" She laughed a bit. "Just calm down kid. Like you said, R&R right?" He was a bit more casual than Rouge had imagined then listened to information about the dining here. On cue, her stomach grumbled.

"Well, I have time. And if you have the money, let's take this R&R up a notch, kick back, and feast!" Rouge exclaimed, not worried about the guards still roaming the city. Even if she were spotted, she could flee the second before action was enforced on herself.

Crown of Ruby Hearts can wait for one more evening.