The hum of a plane's engine, the wind in your hair. It's all terrifying for one person to hang onto a plane, but Sonic was already used to it. The danger fills his wonder, excitement, and makes any adventure fun! "Hey Tails!" Sonic shouted, "How much longer?" Looking at his dear friend, a brother to him really, wondering if he was heard. Tails looked at the plane's GPS, before looking towards Sonic. "We're almost there!" The fox responded, "The coordinates said they'd be near here, but we should land before we get spotted just in case!" The blue hedgehog threw a thumbs up, confirming he liked the idea. And just when the plane was ready to land, CLUNK!

"Huh!?" The duo shouted, wondering what caused the sudden turbulence and noise. Sonic Turned around from the top of the Tornado's top wing, and his fears calmed as he saw a Red Echidna hold on to the plane for dear life. "Hey Knux!" Sonic giggled, "Enjoying Economy seating I see." Sonic's laughter finally broke, as Knuckles began to yell. However Knuckles threat's fell on literal deaf ears, as not only was he being slammed by the wind pressure but also too far for Sonic to hear. "Well, thanks to Knuckles, we'll have to go for a rough landing, y'all ready?" Tails asked, knowing the answers already were yes. However, before they could even prepare, another CLUNK sounded after a familiar noise of energy. "Shadow!?" Both Tails and Sonic shouted, the broody black hedgehog refused to respond. However, the Tornado reached max sudden capacity, as Tails lost control fully. Realizing what happened, Shadow braced for impact. Knuckles dropped off to glide below, and Tails ejected.

Sonic was unfortunately going to eat dirt alongside with his precious Tornado.

A loud crash was heard throughout the town. Whirs of gears aimed towards the direction of the sound. "Jeez" stated a Newton, amongst the murmurs of various Badniks wondering what caused such a noise. Chirps from the local animals showed a genuine curiosity. Waiting to see for smoke to confirm what it was, then going back to their new daily life. Amongst flat metals, scraps and make shift supports that they called buildings and homes. However, the Curiosity of one Flicky stood still. It could've sworn it saw something else fall slowly where the crash were, in fact it could see a red shape... no... it couldn't have been! This was the town's biggest worry... Eggman returned, and was going to ruin everything!

The blue bird flung itself as fast as it could towards Mayor Egg Pawn #443's home, before slowing down when a motobug drove by. The Flicky felt like it wouldn't be fast enough, or strong enough- No! No time for those thoughts! The Mayor must know about the upcoming danger! -THUNK- However the blue Flicky bumped into someone, upon looking up it was a fancy dressed Egg Pawn wearing Eggman's old tuxedo that was left in Scrap Brain Zone's rubble. Wait, a tuxedo? "Mayor!" It Chirped in the language of the animals, "Mayor bad news!" The fancy Egg Pawn looked around in three hundred sixty degrees before scanning the Flicky chirping at him. "-Query- Hello Felix," The Pawn whirred, "What is the problem?" The Flicky cringed at being called Felix, but was unsure why, it then chirped what it had seen. "-Statement- Oh Dear, are you sure it was Eggman?" It stated, "-Query- If it were a red shape, then perhaps it would be Knuckles. -Resolution- Oh dear..." The Mayor realized as soon as he stated the Echidna's name, that a snowball of events were to come. He waddled as fast as he could to City hall to warn everyone about what's to come...

The groans of a blue Hedgehog amused Shadow, as he watched both Knuckles and Tails dig him out. "This must be the worst Face plant he's ever had." Mocked Shadow. Knuckles stared at him, with a grin that said 'Yeah I know right?'. Tails was not amused at the current situation. These two appearing out of nowhere, causing his plane to wreck and his best friend to plummet into the ground. Tails knew whatever words he stated would make Shadow even more obnoxious. "You know it's your faults right?" He still stated. Shadow merely grunted, before Knuckles sheepishly laughed. The Awkward silence that was occurring was merely enough to anger Tails. The yellow Fox was never easily angered, but now? His patience wore thin, considering that Shadow doesn't do these things at all. Knuckles? On the Occasion. He was already used to Sonic's sudden appearances, and Knuckles' rare encounters. Shadow? Never once came to Tails' lab, never once appeared on the Tornado.

Finally, the red and yellow duo finally unearthed Sonic. "Thanks Shadow!" He snarked after getting a breath of fresh air. Shadow merely grinned in response. "You're very welcome, Sonic." He Smirked, "I would like to let you all know, I'm here on unofficial G.U.N. business. They don't find this town a threat." Sonic smiled, as if to comment. However Tails would beat him to the punch. "So GUN's lapdog is off the leash for once?" He countered, Sonic smiled as Tails's comeback was Sonic Approved. Shadow's smirk died in those words.
Knuckles looked at them all, before stating "I'm merely here because I thought Sonic was going on a new adventure, what's actually going on?" Sonic's ears perked up upon hearing that, Tails' too. "An adventure, with us?" smiled the Blue Hedgehog, "Well, that aside I'm glad you left your floating rock. We're here because people began to spot rogue Badniks around here. And Tails' T-Satellite found a make shift town around here. Tails can fill you both in on his thoughts." Sonic the nudged the fox, letting him know to continue.
"Oh, uh, right!" Tails spoke, "We assumed Eggman was up to something, but then video footage showed that Animals began to live alongside these Badniks. I personally think they're just deserters, like Gemerl or Omega. Or Gamma, or that one motobug that hangs out with Belle... but Sonic thinks there's something up. I don't blame him, they're badniks after all."

The invasive duo looked and nodded. "G.U.N. said they weren't causing trouble," spoke Shadow, "but we have no clue how easy it would be for Eggman to recruit them." The name was what everyone was really worried about. South Island, this very Island, was no stranger for Eggman. Sonic's home was attacked before, and it might get attacked again. Even if the Badniks were unarmed, they could still become a threat due to Eggman's intentions.

The four of them all stood still in silence. Before walking towards the town.

Snores filled the dead, metallic halls of the Egg Carrier. They were loud, bestial in a way that made them mechanical. A young holographic girl carefully walked through the halls, followed by the infamous faker Metal Sonic. Sage's steps where silent, almost non-existent. Metal Sonic's feet clanked quietly. Both hand in hand, Metal was carrying a tray covered with a steel cover. They both stopped infront of a red door with Eggman's very logo on it. It parted, letting the brother and sister in. "Father..." Sage hummed, as the snores were too loud for anyone to think. Metal walked forward with the platter in hand. Sage hovered alongside, before trying again. "Father..." she stated a bit louder. "Father. Father!" She then took a big breath, which was unnecessary as she was merely a hologram of an AI. "FATHER!" She shouted through the speakers in the room. The snoring stopped as a large man jumped up in his bed, flailing wildly. "WOAHOAOAHAOA!" Eggman flailed. When he landed back down from the surprise awakening, Metal placed the platter onto his Father's lap. Sage handed him his glasses, to wear over his red and black eyes. He grumbled something inaudible, the duo took it as a sign of being let go. Despite that, he smiled.

His smile was over when a spherical red robot, and a yellowish cube robot waltzed in. "Hello Sir!" They stated. Orbot, Cubot, or as Eggman called them 'The Shapes of constant anger', began to 'aid' with the morning routine. Once fully dressed, an alert played on his Alternate Reality glasses. It came from South Island, which could easily be ignored. Scrap Brain's destruction was always being scoured like it were ancient ruins. The notification stated "South Island Base, Explosion noted. Intruders Sighted. Badniks retreating." He was about to give it no mind, until he read the last bit. "Badniks Retreating." He knew there were no Badniks there, or atleast last few notifications. Another one popped up, "Animals Captured: 15". Wait, why were they capturing Animals? What's going on. His curiosity got to the better of him, ruining plans for scheming up a new plan to dominate the world.

"Sage, fire up the engines, We're heading to South Island!" He demanded. Everyone near him were shocked, but in no state to object as Sage started the engines.

If those badniks were still running, it meant he had spare fire power for once...

Movement through the forest above Labyrinth Zone felt nice. Like a nice hike Sonic would often go on. The fresh air of the green hills of South Island brought back nostalgic memories for the blue blur. He looked towards the cliffs above, and remembered when he first got to Springyard Zone before dismantling what Eggman created. He saw parts of it still there, and realized the part of the fight he had there led right into the skylights of Labyrinth Zone. He began to remember the smells of gasoline that fueled Star Light zone, his memories were stopped when Tails stated "We're here." Scrap Brain Zone, the very remnants of where the final fight first started... now changed vastly. Outside the broken halls stood a make shift town. A metal sign with spraypaint called it "Goodnik Town". Goodnik... how easy that could be changed from one maniacal egg. "It's deserted," Shadow sighed.

An obvious statement, either Eggman was already here, or the Goodniks went further in to hide from the four. Careful steps carried them. Tails and Knuckles took the high route, flying and gliding towards each corner. Shadow teleported around, from roof top to roof top careful to not fall through the frail metal sheets and scrap. Sonic didn't run around, instead taking in everything. His speed couldn't be used too well in this town. Scrap was everywhere, loose metal sheets that made some walls could fly off from the wind pressure. If he was here to investigate, he just wanted that. A look around, no destruction. Then, a white feather caught his eye. It belonged to a Clucky, obviously, however it led further back. It confirmed to him that Animals did live alongside them. But his worries were confirmed.

Animals lived here, in the very zone where Eggman started the fight. The very zone that was a factory of Badniks.

From the rooftops, Shadow's eyes quickly zoomed around. He spotted Sonic, standing still. He ignored it, he knew Sonic well enough to know his issues would resolve easily. A deep breath, before teleporting to the next roof top. Using his hover shoes to carefully land so his weight didn't cause a cave in. He didn't want to anger the others if he could help. Besides, being careful allowed him to understand the exact situation the Goodniks lived in. Each Rooftop having feathers, fur, scratches, tire marks and even bits of oil dried on the flooring. They lived here, had fun, loved perhaps. His mind turned towards his time on the ARK.
It'd been so long since he thought his time on the ARK, and yet he was reminded of the few times he and the robotniks spent together. Gerald with his stories of his youth on earth, filling Maria and Shadow with various ideas. How they would do fun little science experiments, basic in terms of anything but a good way to have fun. These memories were probably similar to what the people of Goodnik had. Stories of the past, games they played, love and family they shared. His eyes looking at the memories of the roof top led him to seeing a folded swan hidden in a makeshift chair's back. He had heard of stories of origami swans. How a thousand of them could grant a wish. He went to reach for it, before realizing words written in English peaked from the neck. Carefully unfolding it so he could remember how to do it in reverse. The note was written by a Flicky, perferebly a blue bird Flicky. It was a note to Tails, and didn't read as it was for Tails. A wish to be granted, Shadow was sure Tails could do.

Tails was starting to get tired, landing carefully on what he assumed was the sturdiest building's rooftop. No signs of... robotic life. The young fox could see Shadow's progress began to plateau. His hero, Sonic, carefully walking around making him the slowest for once. He wasn't sure about Knuckles, but if he had no progress who's to say Knuckles had any at all. "Ugh!" The Fox groaned, "It's obvious they're deeper in Scrap Brain, why aren't we all just..." Tails' words fell through, he knew why they were all taking their time. They didn't wanna cause trouble when it wasn't needed. Even if the Goodniks could be reprogrammed, and the animals could be roboticized, it was a better bet. If some of those Goodniks still had parts of the program that made them aggressive towards them, then an unnecessary fight would occur. The words Tails heard from the Diamond Cutters, specifically Lanolin, hit him hard. "No need to rush forward when you don't know the situation!" Her words echoed. The only scolding the young Fox ever got from the Sheep, and for a random table top game! Shadow warped next to Tails, suddenly holding a piece of paper. "Someone here wrote this for you. I didn't peak, your eyes only." stated the Hedgehog before teleporting away. Another sigh came from the fox, before he began to read what was written...

The red Echidna's arms began to get tired. He wanted to land, be he didn't want to destroy anything. The only way he could land without damaging the make-shift buildings was to aim towards a tree and cling towards it. But that was so far out and he'd have to rush back. But then the Factory's walls were there too. But he didn't want the others to think he was rushing things. However he didn't have much longer before his arms gave out, sending him falling towards the roof of a shop. Thankfully, the building didn't fall but the tarp that covered the shop's items was torn. "Ugh..." Groaned Knuckles. He laid for a moment, letting his body get some energy back from the constant gliding. He looked around in case Sonic or Shadow saw. However, a shining bolt caught his eye. Curiosity took over, and he walked to see what the sign on the Shop sold. It was written small, in scratches. Somewhat hard to read, but he was able to read 'Empire Chip Removal Twenty Rings'. Empire Chip? What was that? He looked into the shop's wares, and he saw some intricate tools along side various computer chips with Eggman's logo. He didn't understand what they were used for, but from seeing various weapons form Buzz Bomber guns to Newton bombs he realized that they were being disarmed here. "Should take this to Tails, he'd be able to figure out what the chip's for." He said to himself.

The quartet rejoined together, with Sonic being the last one due to his carefulness. "So, what'd we find?" The Blue Blur asked. Knuckles walked forwards first, opening his fist to reveal a computer chip with Eggman's logo on it. "I found this thing in a shop I fell in, something called an 'empire chip'. The shop had tons of weapons, but looked like they were removed and dismantled." The Red Echidna spoke. He handed it to Tails, who took it without much statement. Shadow was up next, "They live in harmony, rooftops had games, parties, and even chilling out written all over them. Might've been long time since they started." His quick yet blunt statement was enough to confirm they weren't interested in going back to their old ways. When Tails was finished fiddling with the computer chip, he sheepishly stepped forward whilst eye the black Hedgehog.
"Shadow found this, but I read a note written by a Flicky... who I think is feeling dysphoric, and wants to become a badnik or atleast go through some sort of euphoric changes." Tails' words felt heavy, especially for Sonic.
"I guess we've got alot to do. Let's start heading towards the factory, okay?" Smiled the Blue hedgehog. The other three followed suit, a smile on Tails due to the relief. Shadow was more curious to see how they lived here, what they did. Knuckles felt like he was being intrusive, but with Sonic here he felt like he wasn't being too intrusive.

The silence of the cold factory walls were broken with footsteps and whirling of fur. Sonic and Gang were here, finally. The Mayor, despite not needing to, took a deep breath. Ready for the inevitable snowball effect to occur. The Blue Flicky cautiously stepped forward, hiding behind the mayor. The various bots stayed in the shadows. Some were kept in Capsules, as they were newer and didn't get their Empire chips removed. The footsteps fell louder, before stopping.

The light that once stood between the hallway and the Mayor were now replaced with the silhouette of a certain blue hedgehog. Silence deafened the hallways once more, before the blue hedgehog spoke. "Hey, no need for alarm," He calmly stated, "We're just here to find out what's going on. Peacefully." The words echoed, before the silence became deafening once more. Then clanging from the capsules sounded, ravenous and angered. Before anyone could do anything, one began to tilt over ready to crush a caterkiller and a Pocky. Before anyone could say anything a blue and red blur flung forwards, Knuckles and Sonic had caught the capsule before it fully fell over. The clanging only got worse, the banging angled itself towards Sonic. Knuckles gathered all his strength, and tossed the capsule forward letting it stand back up.

Sonic and Knuckles then ran and grabbed anyone near the capsules to give them a good distance. "Everyone okay?" asked Sonic. Mummers from the Goodniks and Animals began to relief Sonic. "Maybe we should talk outside?" Tails asked the Mayor. The Egg Pawn merely nodded, "Yes let's!" he responded.

Unaware that doing so would help Eggman's search for the deserters...