Welcome to the official website for the Sonic AU by ChaosControl VA.Here you can read the AU's many chapters, learn more about its characters, and look into what goes on behind the scenes.

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! WARNING !

This Sonic AU contains several elements that may not be suitable for children, such as Adult Themes, Violence, and Sexual References.Viewer Discretion is advised.Also, in terms of glitches, understand that Carrd can only handle so much; if parts of this website aren't loading in soon enough or are loaded in wrong, feel free to scroll and/or refresh.

The Creators of the Rookie Chronicles

From the AU's creators to outside contributors, meet the creative forces behind the Rookie Chronicles, who all come from many different corners of the Sonic fandom.

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The Story of the Rookie Chronicles

Creation and Purpose

What initially started out as a fun hobby for ChaosControl VA (collecting and writing backstories for his own Sonic OCs) has since turned into a passion project, full of rich lore and compelling storytelling that has gone far beyond most people's expectations.With this AU and its overarching storyline, ChaosControl VA hopes to achieve many different goals besides having fun with it, namely:

The Au Itself

"After the war between the Resistance and the Eggman Empire, the rookie veteran Spectrum The Hedgehog, and his ever-growing band of friends and allies, set out for new adventures. As this new generation of heroes rises up to defend their world though, a new generation of villains rises up too, and "Team Spectrum" soon enters into a deadly rivalry with a daring cult that might decide the fate of the known cosmos itself."The Rookie Chronicles is largely about overcoming trauma and trying to find (or even re-find) one’s self. More often than not though, the characters search for what could make them whole in the wrong places (or some of them might not even be looking at all), and it’s all never enough for them. It will only be at the very end that the Rookie Chronicles' cast discovers what they’ve truly been missing: a connection to the divine.

With such an overarching story, this AU has tons of characters to get acquainted to, even spanning across different timelines.

Explore Our Original Characters

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Earth F1718-2"The Ruined Universe"

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Mobian News Network

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International Rock Climbing League

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International Boxing League

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The Chaos Emerald Guardian Spirits

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To keep the overall plotline organized and easy to follow, the Rookie Chronicles has been split into 3 total Sagas, each with their own list of Arcs to read and view through.

The "New Generation" Saga

The "Other Worlds" Saga

"The Beginning's War" Saga

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Happy Halloween from Team Spectrum (or maybe from someone else...)!
(10/30/24)

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Contact Us

We'd love to see your feedback on our AU and this website, as well as any possible questions you may have for either.

Frequently-Asked Questions

Before you send us any of your questions, feel free to look over this list of basic questions that we've already answered!

Q: "How is this AU separate from the official Sonic canon?"
A: Mainly, this AU's story takes place in universes/timelines that are separate and different from the main Sonic (game) universe; aside from that though (at least in terms of this AU's main universe), the IDW comics and their in-universe events are not canon here, though certain elements from said comics remain (i.e. Whisper The Wolf, the Warp Topaz, etc.).Q: "How many timelines does this AU have?"
A: Not enough!Q: "Does this AU have its own versions of the canon Sonic characters?"
A: Not really, aside from their future variants and Dreadful West (alternate timeline) counterparts.Q: "Is there any special form of magic/witchcraft in this AU?"
A: Aside from the "High Ancient Magic" on the Sonic and the Black Knight side of things, Lamia does have her own magic "system," and Amy's tarot cards do sort of work. However, don't expect any details to be shared on any of them (including the aforementioned High Ancient Magic), and understand that any and all forms of magic in this AU are rooted in evil origins...Q: "What do the original characters in this AU do in their spare time (in-between arcs)?"
A: Nothing of significant substance. Mainly in regards to the protagonists, they tend to mostly (among other things) play games, rest, and go out to have some fun at various establishments.Q: "Do ya like jazz?"
A: It depends on who you ask in our team (in real life), but Lamia The Constrictor certainly likes jazz in-universe (for whatever reason)!

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Overview

"Sonic and his friends have disappeared, having been last seen on the Starfall Islands; Team Spectrum is joining the search, but once they enter Cyber Space, they'll soon encounter a deadly new foe..."

Arc Characters

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Chapter 1: "Nightmare"

Spectrum and some of his friends hide behind cover in Sunset City, being under heavy fire as the city crumbles and burns around them. As his friends fire upon an unseen force from behind their debris covers, Spectrum starts to lose his grip and shake uncontrollably as he curls up into a ball and hides behind his cover. Audrey rushes over to him, demanding to know what’s going on, but Spectrum is too afraid to utter a word. Suddenly, a large laser blast sweeps across and strikes all of Spectrum’s friends (including Audrey, who is still right in front of Spectrum) in one fell swoop, sending them flying back and hitting the ground as they are all now unconscious (seemingly dead to Spectrum’s eyes). As one of their Wispons lands in front of him, Spectrum winces in horror as his eyes open to see his fallen friends lying on the ground a few feet in front of him, as he assumes the worst for his companions in terms of their fate, before his attention is grabbed by the Wispon now lying at his feet.Spectrum quickly stands up and attempts to grab the weapon before he finally hears his attacker speak, calling Spectrum a child as he says he can taste his “delicious” fear and anxiety, causing Spectrum to look behind and see a menacing dark figure hovering above the ground in the distance. Keeping his eyes on the figure, Spectrum stumbles around in an attempt to grab the Wispon before finally grabbing and taking aim at the figure, unable to keep himself steady as the figure fires a bolt from his hand that knocks Spectrum back on his behind. The attacker then tells Spectrum to give into his fear and run away so that he may be spared, and after staring at the figure, Spectrum eventually does just that. Before Spectrum can gain some distance though, the lifeless bodies of his friends suddenly appear in front of him in a floating cluster of flesh, their mouths and eyes oozing out a black goo. The black goo forms into Infinite, but his face distorts into several horrifying images as he lunges at Spectrum and swiftly grabs him, saying that Spectrum can never really run away as his size expands to the point where he can hold Spectrum in one hand (like an action figure). Infinite’s mask then splits apart to reveal a dark gaping hole before he lifts Spectrum above it and drops him, sending Spectrum into an eternal freefall as his screams echo into the void that is Infinite’s mouth.As Spectrum descends, he is abruptly awoken by his friends (Berri, Tumult, Ginger, and Audrey) onboard his battleship, explaining that he looked like he was having a nightmare and asking if he was alright. Spectrum takes a few deep breaths before (half-heartedly) confirming that he is alright, and his friends express their thankfulness for that before telling him that they’ve arrived; as they say this, Spectrum’s Battleship slowly descends upon the Starfall Islands.

Chapter 2: "Landing on the Starfall Islands"

In the bridge, Team Spectrum (including Spectrum, who is now dressed and prepared for his upcoming mission with the rest of his friends) stares out the window as Marina Rose pilots the ship through the clouds. As she does this, Marina briefs the group on the situation, explaining that Sonic, Tails, Amy Rose, and even Knuckles have gone missing on the islands with no calls for assistance.Everyone dissipates afterwards to prepare for the search once they land, with Spectrum staring out the window by himself as he thinks about his nightmare from earlier. Berri sees this and leaves Ginger to talk with Spectrum about it (causing Ginger to go talk with Marina), asking if he’s thinking about his dream (and what that dream was if he was indeed thinking about it). For an unspecified reason, Spectrum decides to keep his lingering traumas over what happened during the war to himself for the time being, much to Berri’s confusion. Attempting to change the subject, Spectrum notices Tumult and Audrey speaking to each other across the room and mentions it, with Berri even teasing Spectrum about it. On a similar note, Spectrum then asks Berri how she and Rebel are doing, causing Berri to sigh in exhaustion as she explains how Rebel seems to be getting more hostile (verbally) when it comes to Berri’s new “hobby.” Berri expresses how she wishes Rebel could understand what she felt when Cream was Robotomized and how she sees that manipulation in everything they had been doing beforehand, and Spectrum tries his best to be understanding; Spectrum even teases her about hooking up with Ginger if things don’t work out with Rebel, considering how close they’ve gotten recently (as best friends), which only makes Berri annoyed as she nudges him, much to their chuckles.While Spectrum and Berri continue to talk, Tumult and Audrey continue to talk to each other about they know Spectrum and Berri are talking about them, and they giggle in amusement. Tumult then mentions how the energy on the islands feels familiar to him, reminding him of an age-old past, which Audrey curiously asks about. Tumult doesn’t really want to explain much, bringing up the time when the Beginning trapped him in his own Emerald for an eternity and how that made him feel. Audrey tries to be sympathetic with Tumult, suddenly grabbing his hand and tenderly explaining how she might understand what he’s going through, referencing how Dr. Gerald Robotnik wiped her memory before he died and essentially left her to be trapped on Prison Island for a time before she reactivated. Tumult is slightly shocked by Audrey’s advance and Audrey soon follows suit, both of them widening their eyes and blushing before letting go of each other’s hands and nervously chuckling as they try to keep their eyes off of each other; to move past the awkwardness, Audrey asks how Tumult and Tangle are doing, and Tumult nervously responds by saying that they’re still figuring things out.As both pairs continue talking to each other, Marina yells for them all to get ready as they are about to make landfall. After the Battleship finally rests atop the mountains of Kronos Island, the doors lower to reveal Spectrum and Berri and Tumult ready to roll, with Vi following Spectrum close behind as Marina and Ginger are there to watch them leave. As they walk down the ramp, Audrey suddenly walks after them, ready to join them in their search, which Spectrum immediately protests to; Spectrum argues that Audrey will need to stay behind and protect the Battleship, referencing what happened to it the first time they met Lamia, which Marina does not wish to remember… Audrey reluctantly agrees, walking back into the ship with Ginger as Spectrum is about to join his teammates on the ground. Before he can leave though, Marina remarks on how ironic it is that Amy needs to be rescued now before pleading with Spectrum to find out what happened to her sister no matter what, which Spectrum naturally promises to do. With that, Spectrum finally catches up with his colleagues as they finally and fully venture out into the island’s landscape, saying that they’ll be back at the Battleship by nightfall.

Chapter 3: "Into Cyber Space"

Team Spectrum descends down the mountain range, sliding and bouncing off the rocky surfaces as they go. Once they reach the ground level, Tumult suddenly senses that familiar energy again, noticing an ethereal trail of energy that only he can see. After hearing Tumult explain this, the others think that what he sees might be a clue as to the whereabouts of Sonic and his friends, and they agree to let Tumult take the lead. Tumult leads his teammates into a small ravine, with the energy trail leading him to a massive throne-like structure with a gear inserted near the bottom; The team isn’t sure what to make of this discovery, coming to the conclusion that Sonic and his friends must have done something with this structure. Spectrum (with Vi close behind) instinctively and curiously gets onto its seat-like platform and places his hand on the gear to feel it, unwittingly activating the structure as red lines descend from above and connect to the gear. Spectrum panics as he cannot remove his hand, suddenly fading away in a glitchy red flash, much to Berri and Tumult's shock as they jump in after him and disappear too.Team Spectrum soon reappears in a glitchy pocket dimension, unsure of what just happened and bracing themselves for any possible danger as the terrain forms around them. They soon find themselves in a weird recreation of Sunset City during the war (which they point out), with the buildings crumbling into rumble and fires blazing throughout, but most of it feels uncanny as parts of it are consumed by glitchy masses and the fact that the path ahead is floating above a massive void is quickly noticed. They cautiously decide to walk down the nostalgic pathway to see where it leads, as Tumult still sees the energy trail as it weaves its way through the path. As they walk, they discuss how the dimension they are in looks (seemingly to them) like it’s trying to replicate a place they’ve been in before during a specific time, but Spectrum nervously doesn’t comment on that (due to the pathway reminding him of his nightmare); Tumult mentions how much everything feels like a computer to him, pointing out the random glitch-like masses taking up spaces that buildings should be in, similar masses moving along the path (seemingly with some form of intelligent purpose), and the occasional grid-like lasers that pass by above them. Taking this in, Spectrum surmises that they might be in a pocket dimension that’s meant to act like a database of sorts, but for what purpose is still unclear to him.The team continues walking for a bit until they seemingly see the end of the path, with a floating metal ring that has a light glow enveloping its center. After questioning what it is, with Tumult noticing how the energy trail continues into the ring, the team assumes that it must be an exit portal and they start walking towards it. As they walk towards the portal though, the (seemingly) autonomous glitches they mentioned before start to move past them in droves, causing them to look behind and see the path starting to disappear. Realizing the danger of falling into the void, the team panics and starts to rush to the portal, doing their best to avoid bumping into any of the glitchy masses they pass. Spectrum is almost able to touch the portal when a random glitch slams into him from the side and envelopes him completely, causing Spectrum to scream and contort from within while his teammates react in shock, all before they try to free him as the collapsing path closes in. As Spectrum writhes in pain from within the glitch, memories of his traumatic moments during the war flash rapidly in his mind, not just including his first encounter with Infinite (like in his nightmare), but also everything else. Eventually, Berri is able to safely grab Spectrum’s hand and pull him out of the glitch with the help of Tumult (and Vi), and they jump through the portal with him almost immediately afterwards and disappear with a white flash; the glitch stays in the exact same spot as the path and portal fully and finally disappear, leaving it floating above the void as its mass slowly turns red in color.

Chapter 4: "Kronos Island"

Back on Kronos Island, another throne-like structure with a gear lights up as Team Spectrum flies out from it in a red flash and (roughly) lands on the ground in front of it, with the structure seemingly powering down as they slowly get back up. Berri and Tumult immediately rush to Spectrum’s side and ask if he’s alright, to which he says yes to, as he slowly rises from the ground with the help of his friends. As he rises up, he quickly sees the rest of Kronos Island before him as he gasps in surprise, and his teammates soon join him, with them all realizing that they landed in a different spot on the island than before. They look back at the structure and determine that it is also some form of a portal too, specifically designed to transport people into and out of that pocket dimension, but the reason why is still unknown to them. Tumult sees the trail again and the group decides to continue following it, but Spectrum stays behind for a moment as the rest of the team continues on, resolving to himself to not tell the others what he just saw before quickly catching up with them.

As they walk across the fields of Kronos Island, Team Spectrum looks at the greenery around them and they take note of how the flora seems to be recovering from some kind of event, with Tumult even pointing out massive scorch marks strung about the place that he seems to recognize more yet decides to keep to himself. The team also takes note of how there isn’t any form of native life on the island at all, aside from the occasional seagull or two, which only makes them feel worse when they see what they assume to be the remains of buildings (that have weird architectural designs). Later on, the trail leads them to a weird smaller structure with three large spires facing the sky, with the trail collecting in a mass in the center of it (specifically in a spherical empty space where something could be contained, albeit while floating) before continuing its journey across the island. After seeing this, Tumult starts to have suspicions on whose trail they have actually been following this whole time, but he also keeps this to himself as he can’t be sure of it, much to the rest of the team’s confusion as they trek on. Despite everything the Team sees and what they come to assume, they keep moving, trying their best not to disturb the area too much.As they continue through the landscape, Berri strikes up a conversation with Spectrum, asking about what happened during that glitch’s attack (seemingly to them) as she questions him on what he felt or thought. Spectrum nervously doesn’t tell Berri anything, which only rubs her off the wrong way, now thinking something is indeed wrong with him. Berri tells Spectrum that he can tell his friends anything that he’s going through and that they are there to support him, much like how (as Berri references) he helped them through their own struggles during the war. Before Spectrum can respond, Tumult announces that they found another portal, questioning whether or not they should go back into that pocket dimension through it. The team tries to have a brief discussion on what to do, noting how the trail leads into the portal like before, but also bringing up how the reminiscent path nearly disappeared under their feet. As they weigh their options, the portal suddenly activates on its own, much to the team’s surprise as it suddenly creates a powerful wind vacuum from within that threatens to suck them back into the pocket dimension. Team Spectrum tries to keep their grip steady (or, for Tumult, to fly away), but their efforts are proven in vain as they are pulled into the portal and disappear in another red flash.

Chapter 5: "Agony Appears"

Team Spectrum reappears back in the pocket dimension but the landscape is different this time, with it not resembling any place from any of the team members’ pasts at all but instead being a new and chaotic landscape with floating chunks of land everywhere. As the team braces themselves for any possible dangers, the glitch that seemingly attacked Spectrum before floats in front of them, confusing them as to what is going on further. As they try to understand what’s happening, the glitch suddenly and seemingly becomes partially solid, falling to the ground as a gooey substance.

The team’s confusion then turns to shock and horror as some sort of form rises from the goo, resembling that of a corrupted Spectrum as it comes into being (which Berri and Tumult are quick to notice and point out). Before they can respond further, this new figure suddenly morphs its hand into some sort of blade and lunges at Spectrum with a freighting speed, grabbing and flying him into the floating rocks as it slashes at him with its hand-blade; Berri and Tumult yell for Spectrum as they watch the fight unfold, unable to full process what is happening before they start trying to catch up with them.As the being continues to drive Spectrum through the floating masses, Spectrum manages to break free and land a few hits on it to send it back a distance, giving him space to pull out his Wispon. The fight continues as the two land blow after blow on each other, running across the landscape at speeds Spectrum never thought he would need to run at before, all while the attacker seemed to manipulate their surroundings to its advantage. Every once in a while when the two could lock blows, the figure would get Spectrum to look into its eyes and he would start to envision traumatic memories from his past, feeling more and more uneasy as the fight continues on. Eventually, Spectrum manages to land a few good hits to seemingly injure the attacker greatly, with Spectrum actually being just as battered, and the two simply stare at each other before the figure disappears and seemingly flees (much to Spectrum’s confusion). Berri and Tumult finally show up and ask what happened, and Spectrum explains to them that he doesn’t know, only recognizing the agonizing feeling the attacker gave him (but neglecting to mention why); after saying that, feeling as though it fits, Spectrum decides to give the attacker a name based off of that feeling: “Agony.” Spectrum also mentions how it was extremely fast and strong, along with how it could seemingly control the pocket dimension’s environment, leading the group to the conclusion that this Agony could be one of their most dangerous foes yet.After talking, they look around and quickly see another exit portal, quickly rushing to it as they don’t want to run into Agony again. Once Spectrum reaches the portal and reaches his hand out to it though, the portal shocks him. Confused, Spectrum tries to push himself through but he can’t, and he is eventually thrown backward with a massive shock. The team quickly realizes that they can’t leave and they attempt to call Marina for help via their communicators, but that fails too as they only receive static on the other end. As the team questions why they can’t leave now, Spectrum realizes something and reiterates to his teammates how Agony could control the pocket dimension, suggesting that he maybe could be preventing their escape too… With that possibility in mind, everyone starts to feel agony rising within them as they wonder if there’s another way out, as well as wonder what Agony really is…

Chapter 6: "Searching for Team Spectrum"

Back in the real world, Spectrum’s Battleship has been flying over the Starfall Islands (now flying over Ares Island) in search of Team Spectrum, with its spotlights scanning the environments for any clues as to their current whereabouts. Inside, Audrey is very frustrated with the fact that they’ve been looking for their friends for days without any trace of them, not understanding how they even lose their tracking signals in the first place. Ginger tries her best to keep Audrey calm, while also expressing how she hopes everyone is okay; Marina, on the other hand, explains that they shouldn’t even still be on the islands anymore, as Sonic and his friends have finally made contact after leaving the islands before Team Spectrum even arrived to search for them in the first place. Ginger and Audrey urge Marina to keep searching for their friends so that they all can finally return home, and Marina does just that as she pilots the Battleship over to the next island.

Chapter 7: "Another Encounter"

Meanwhile, Team Spectrum treks through the landscapes of the dimension they’re in, having been walking for days as Spectrum’s injuries are bruising over. Everyone is very tense as Spectrum’s teammates complain about losing track of time while they continue to walk for seemingly no reason, but Spectrum counters that argument by reminding them about and pointing towards a mountain in the distance that has something glowing with a blinding light at its peak, believing that glow to belong to either another exit portal or something else that can help them escape. As they continue to walk, Tumult remarks how lucky they are to have some sort of landmark to guide them, bringing up how he can no longer see the energy trail anymore. Remaining on that subject, the group starts questioning what that energy trail that Tumult saw really was aloud, and Tumult finally gives his word on the matter as he reveals his self-made conclusion: it was indeed Sonic’s trail, but also the Chaos Emeralds’ trail. Tumult explains that energy from the Chaos Emeralds must have rubbed off on Sonic during his adventures, and he’s finally been able to pick up on it now. When asked why that is, Tumult says he believes that the Chaos Emeralds may have a deeper connection with the Starfall Islands than they initially realized, and the Chaos Energy that the islands have seemingly been absorbing must have heightened his senses for the time being. On that note, Tumult also mentions that he’s picked up on how every structure they had come across on the islands were built with the Emeralds in mind, making him think about a particular race of beings that the Beginning cherished above all others. Spectrum and Berri then ask Tumult who he’s referring to out of curiosity, but he doesn’t elaborate any further and simply continues walking, only saying that he doesn’t wish to speak for the dead, with Spectrum and Berri catching up with him after shrugging it off in confusion.As they continue to walk, Berri strikes up another conversation with Spectrum, asking him if he’s alright again. Spectrum once again refuses to answer her question, but Berri starts to get ticked off at this point, thanks in part to the group’s current situation. Berri expresses how she feels like Spectrum doesn’t trust his best friends with his problems, and she gets more flustered as Spectrum tries to deny this.

Before their argument escalates any further though, the environment around them suddenly becomes tense with a red aura, causing the entire group to brace themselves for another attack. As they predicted, Agony appears a few feet away from them and immediately lunges for Spectrum as he carries him away, separating Spectrum from his teammates once again. As Spectrum’s friends try to catch up, he does his best to shake off Agony, but his grip has become harder to break away from as he continues to project Spectrum’s traumatic memories into his mind. After Agony pummels him through more debris for a while, Spectrum finally gets away from him and pulls his Wispon out as he starts running away at high speeds, but Agony soon catches up with his own speed.The violent chase continues for a while, with them avoiding attacks from each other as they run at high velocities, until Agony finally manages to grab onto Spectrum, forcing the both of them into close-quarters combat, with Agony even trying to send the floating pieces of the environment crashing into Spectrum. Spectrum manages to dodge all of the incoming debris as well as gain some distance at the same time, firing at Agony to maintain that distance. While that’s happening, Berri and Tumult finally catch up and descend onto Agony, but not before he manipulates the dimension to create a makeshift wall to block their attack, ensuring that they cannot help Spectrum; this action allows Spectrum to land a good shot on a now distracted Agony however, sending him flying backward as Spectrum powers up and fires one final blast in an attempt to finish him while he is discombobulated. With Agony being completely enveloped in the massive Wispon blast, he attempts to walk his way through it to reach Spectrum, only able to struggle doing so before he is eventually blown back even further. With that, Agony decides to retreat again as he disappears, finally allowing Spectrum to catch his breath.With Agony gone once again, the barriers he created dissipate and finally allow Berri and Tumult to reach Spectrum. Berri is now livid as she explains how that was his fifth attack so far, and how she and Tumult haven’t been able to land a finger on him as he’s been keeping them away from Spectrum; Tumult agrees with this, pointing out how this glitch is very coordinated in its attacks, seemingly having a grudge against Spectrum for some unknown reason. Upon hearing this, Spectrum remembers how Agony has been showing him his traumatic memories, and so he decides to nervously shrug it off and suggest heading for the mountain again. Berri notices this and decides that enough is enough, angrily asking Spectrum to tell them what’s wrong, saying that it’s not fair for him to not trust his friends with what’s going on with him. Berri continues to press Spectrum until he eventually snaps and yells back, finally telling her (and Tumult) how he has still not gotten over what he went through during the war, and that Agony has been (seemingly telepathically) showing him those moments in battle.Berri and Tumult are initially shocked by this sudden outburst and revelation, but as everyone calms down, Berri and Tumult’s shock turns to sympathy while Spectrum starts to feel sorry over his sudden burst of anger and embarrassed over what he just revealed. Tumult explains how he had no idea this was going on with Spectrum and apologizes for not seeing it until now, but Berri instead asks why he didn’t tell them sooner, again as they are some of his best friends. Spectrum sits down and somberly explains that he thought he would be weak if he got help from those who loved him and didn’t work these issues out on his own, especially now that he’s started to become a more renowned hero like Sonic who has so many responsibilities to juggle and standards to uphold on his own already… Berri and Tumult become even more sympathetic towards Spectrum after hearing this explanation, kneeling down in front of him as they express how he’s not weak for asking for help, referencing how he helped them (as well as his other friends) through their own traumas and thus helped form them into the people they are today; they offer to help Spectrum through his struggles as he did with them, but only if he wants that.

Chapter 8: "“Therapy Sessions”"

Before Spectrum can respond to this, looking upon his friends as he’s initially unable to take in their loyalty, the ground suddenly opens up beneath them and they all fall into a deep and dark hole, being individually separated from each other as they fall further into the black darkness. All three of them eventually hit some kind of floor, still separated and surrounded by darkness as they painfully pull themselves up off the ground. On his end, Spectrum sees a bright light that’s quite a distance ahead of him, and he cautiously starts walking towards it (not seeing any other exits).While Spectrum is walking towards the light, Berri and Tumult are simultaneously visited by Agony as he telepathically communicates to them with voices they know (with Cream’s voice for Berri, and the Beginning’s voice for Tumult); Agony even appears to them physically, much to their shock, taking the shapes of the people he’s verbally impersonating via Hologram Form (however, Agony’s Beginning form is obscured in the shadows for Tumult). With Berri and Tumult in such a confused state, Agony takes the opportunity to taunt and remind them of their traumas (with Cream’s Robotomization and Rebel’s disregard for Berri’s personal mission, and the Beginning sealing the Emerald Guardians away) as he reads their minds and telepathically projects it into their view. As Berri and Tumult relive those painful memories, they fall to their knees as Agony lowers his hand-blade above their heads (as if he’s about to kill them) and continues to taunt them (saying that the world is against Berri for her mission and that she has no need to go on with it, and that the Beginning is a liar who's new evildoings disavow everything that Tumult has stood for in His name).Despite all of this, Berri and Tumult suddenly and slowly rise up and gain a new determination as they start to remember how Spectrum helped them through their traumas and was always there for them in general (with Berri saying how it doesn’t matter if anyone’s with her or not if she continues to do the right thing, and with Tumult saying that he may not know what is going on with the Beginning but what He taught him is still true), showing how they have truly moved on from their doubts and became better as they reinforce what they told Spectrum earlier. As Berri and Tumult start waking away while exclaiming how they are going to help Spectrum through his troubles just like how he helped them, Agony stops them and says how they can’t help him as he will die alone with his pain, only to disappear as they start to attack him in response. After this, and after Berri and Tumult receive a feeling of euphoria, a bright light suddenly shines in the distance for each of them and they start running to them, hoping to find Spectrum on the other side.

Chapter 9: "Finding the Truth in the Grid"

Meanwhile, Spectrum finally reaches the end of the tunnel, finding himself in an open area with pillars surrounding a small module. Spectrum cautiously places his hands on the module and it suddenly responds by glowing a light blue with his eyes doing the same, as holographic-like screens appear in-between the pillars. The screens reveal to Spectrum (by playing specific memories from others) that this area is called “the Grid,” and that it was one of many outposts made by a race of beings called “the Ancients,” being commissioned and overseen by a leader of theirs called the “Master King,” to access the data from within the dimension that Team Spectrum is currently trapped in, known as “Cyber Space.” Now curious, Spectrum decides to dig a little deeper as he figures out how to access more and more data, all of which plays on the screens as well. The screens reveal how the Ancients were one of the Beginning’s most beloved creations before showing how the Chaos Emeralds arrived on their home planet, with the Ancients using them to fight back against the End once it arrived, before eventually and unfortunately using them to escape the End as it destroyed their world (and after it had wiped out four of their five subraces)...The showcase continues with how the Ancients arrived on Earth and how their greatest pilots sacrificed themselves to seal the End in Cyber Space before the rest of their race left the Starfall Islands and devolved. Seeing this, Spectrum feels sadness and sympathy for the Ancients, but he decides to dig even deeper as he looks for any sign of Sonic’s presence on the Starfall Islands and in Cyber Space. Eventually, the screens display the events that took place on the Starfall Islands and in Cyber Space before Spectrum and his friends arrived, starting from Eggman reactivating Cyber Space and ending with Sonic defeating the End (who had been released from Cyber Space), with everyone leaving the Islands afterwards. After seeing all of that, Spectrum feels relieved that Sonic and his friends are alright, but also annoyed that they’ve been on a wild goose chase this whole time.

Chapter 10: "Final Battle with Agony"

Spectrum now turns his attention to finding a way out of Cyber Space, but before he can use the module for that, it shocks his hand off (with it now glowing red, and with Spectrum’s eyes returning to their normal color) as the screens start playing Spectrum’s traumatic memories on a continuous glitchy loop. Spectrum is initially confused by this, but then starts to put the pieces together as he remembers how Agony would project those same memories into his mind during their fights, realizing that Agony has something to do with those events somehow. Spectrum then turns around to see Agony standing behind him, and he braces himself as Agony starts to (or struggles to) speak with his own voice, remarking on how horrible Spectrum’s past was and how he needs to be put out of his misery before forming his weapons. Initially stunned, Spectrum’s expressions turn to determination as he pulls out his Wispon again, ready for one last fight. After staring each other down, they lunge at each other and the final confrontation begins.Spectrum tries to hold his own throughout the entire fight but Agony still has the upper hand, easily getting a hold of Spectrum to pummel him in close-quarters, leading near fatal blows against Spectrum with his weapons, and even manipulating Cyber Space again to fling obstacles at Spectrum that he narrowly manages to escape. Throughout the fight, Agony doesn’t project Spectrum’s memories back into his mind again like before, instead pointing out the looping screens whenever they take a moment to catch their breath (or whenever Spectrum alone catches his breath). Eventually, Spectrum loses his edge and Agony finally strikes him down, sending him to the ground in a bloody pulp... Agony then walks up to and stands over Spectrum as he lies there while struggling to breathe, saying that there’s hope for him as he prepares to drive his blade through him…Spectrum nervously embraces the end as Agony brings his blade down, but it’s suddenly stopped by Berri and Tumult, having arrived just in the nick of time to grab Agony’s blade and push him away. Berri and Tumult quickly pull Spectrum up, who is confused as to what’s happening. Berri and Tumult remind Spectrum that they’ll be there for him through his traumas no matter what, just like how he helped them through theirs, all of which brings tears to his eyes. After a quick hug, Team Spectrum then braces themselves for their final fight with Agony together, with Agony himself seemingly looking nervous over their unity with Spectrum himself. After staring each other down again, they finally attack each other, and the real final fight begins.

Throughout the fight, Agony desperately tries to separate Spectrum from his friends again (mostly through manipulating Cyber Space again), but they now easily break through his obstacles, doing their best to stay close to Spectrum for support as they fight Agony with him. Together, they easily have a greater advantage over Agony, with the glitchy doppelganger unable to land so many hits on them as they pummel him with ease, even sometimes combining their attacks together to deal massive amounts of damage to him. Eventually, Team Spectrum has completely overwhelmed Agony, and they land one final blow together that sends him flying to the ground, twisted and mangled.Team Spectrum walks over to and stands over Agony as they admire their work, with Agony struggling to say (even more so than before) how he only wanted to bring Spectrum peace. After taking a deep breath, Spectrum argues against this by saying how it’s better to work through one’s pain with those you love rather than succumbing to that pain by yourself, explaining how Agony’s way of “helping” Spectrum was just bringing him more of that pain. With that, Spectrum takes Agony’s severed hand-blade and drives it through his chest, causing the doppelganger to disappear for the final time…

Chapter 11: "Returning Home"

After that, Spectrum thanks Berri and Tumult for being there for him and apologizing for not trusting them with his lingering traumas before, saying that he still has some issues to work on as his friends promise to always be there for him. Suddenly, the module stops glowing red and instead glows a light blue again with a spark, catching Team Spectrum’s attention as it slowly blinks. Spectrum walks over to the module and places his hand on it again, looking back to his friends with a smile as he uses it to allow their escape from Cyber Space, with them all disappearing a red flash once again.Team Spectrum reappears back on the Starfall Islands in another red flash, finding themselves in the middle of a massive crater on another island. Everyone exclaims how relieved they are to finally be out of Cyber Space, with Berri especially happy as she hopes aloud to never come back to this place again.

As they all walk out of the crater, Spectrum spots a little stone creature he recognizes to be a “Koco” as he hides behind the trees, giving him a quick wink and a smile as he acknowledges his history. As they finally leave the crater and make their way out the foliage, they see a tall temple-like structure and multiple black towers in the distance as Spectrum’s Battleship suddenly hovers above them with its spotlight shining down on them, with Ginger and Audrey and Marina exclaiming with joy from within the ship (having finally found their friends).

THE END

Overview

"Lamia has stolen the Warp Topaz and run off with it to a new universe, but Berri is on the case and in hot pursuit. In this new world, Berri and Lamia will meet new allies and enemies, both of which will test their understandings of trust."

Arc Characters

• The Rookie Chronicles Wiki
• Sonic Fanon Wiki
• Toyhou.se

Chapter 1: "Jailbreak"

Deep within the confines of a G.U.N. super prison, Lamia is suspended by her bindings as she is held in one of the facility’s cells, a dark air surrounding her as she patiently waits. Suddenly, alarms are heard in the distance, catching Lamia’s attention before the wall in front of her explodes, with the Order of Genesis stepping into the room as the dust settles. As the Order approaches Lamia and starts freeing her from her bounds, Lamia expresses how happy she is to see them, while also giving another witty remark on how embarrassing it is for her to be saved by men (seeing as how only male members were present there), but still suggesting that they actually do care enough about her; once Lamia is finally released and allowed to stand on the ground again though, Uploaded Romulus says that her gratitude and sense of appreciation from them is misplaced, explaining that they only freed her now because they need her to break into Spectrum’s Battleship again (having found out that she only got imprisoned here after successfully breaking into that flying fortress before). As Uploaded Romulus starts explaining her new mission, Lamia’s face twists into one of silent anger and resentment…

Chapter 2: "Escape to Route 99"

Later, on Spectrum’s Battleship, Spectrum himself and Berri check in on the Artifact Room, within which the Warp Topaz is being held; they both express how lucky they are that the Order of Genesis hasn’t gotten their hands on the Warp Topaz yet, despite their close calls with them and their own adventures with it. That last part, though, reminds Berri of her (and Ginger’s) previous adventure in the Zenithverse, where she stole the Warp Topaz from under Spectrum’s nose and got lost in another universe as a result, and so she gets slightly yet visibly depressed all of a sudden. Spectrum quickly picks up on this sudden change in demeanor from Berri and asks her about it, getting a response from her about how she still feels guilty over taking the Warp Topaz before… Now fully understanding the situation, Spectrum does his best to reassure Berri, reminding her (again) that he already forgave her for that and telling her that he still trusts her (as his sidekick and best friend); Berri is certainly touched by this gesture and thus regains a little bit of her composure, though she does log that last part away for the time being.Almost immediately afterwards though, Spectrum and Berri are startled by loud noises coming from outside, as if something big or just strong was banging against the side of the ship. Assuming this might be an attack of some kind, Spectrum and Berri brace themselves defensively, and after a brief moment of steady intensity, a hole in the wall of the Artifact Room is suddenly torn open, allowing the air to whip around inside the Battleship. Lamia enters the Battleship through the hole (having torn her way through with her tail), much to Spectrum and Berri’s remaining shock, quickly grabbing the Warp Topaz in their state of hesitancy. Before Lamia can leave with the Warp Topaz though, Spectrum and Berri (who are no longer shocked) address her before starting a fight with her, trying their best to snatch the Topaz back while avoiding Lamia’s tail as it’s being whipped around. Eventually, Spectrum and Berri have Lamia cornered with her back up against the (destroyed) wall, thinking that she wouldn’t dare jump, but to their surprise, she does jump; Lamia suddenly leaps out of the hole that she made, descending through the air before using the Warp Topaz to open a portal to a random world, falling through it as she makes her escape. Berri becomes distressed about Lamia getting away, running towards the hole to chase after her before Spectrum stops her, telling her that it would be too dangerous for her to go after Lamia in a possibly uncharted universe without backup; Berri argues back that she can indeed handle this, reminding Spectrum that he trusts her, causing him to get embarrassed with his own forgetful inconsistency before letting Berri go. Before Berri can actually leave though, Spectrum tosses her a pair of reflective glasses, revealing that he (recently) developed them as a way of counteracting Lamia’s hypnosis, though Berri sarcastically remarks on how she could have gotten them sooner (much to Spectrum’s embarrassed agreement). With that, Berri finally leaps off the Battleship and falls straight into the portal, making it through just before it closes. A few moments after Berri has left, Spectrum looks upon the hole in his Battleship, regrettably remarking on how he has to pay for the repairs…On the other end of the portal, Berri shoots out of it and lands in the middle of a desert, with no sign of Lamia anywhere. Still, Berri understands the dangers of being in a new world, so she tensely starts walking until she finds a road; while walking along that road, Berri eventually finds a sign that reads “Route 99,” a sign of civilization that relieves her a little. That peace is soon broken, however, when she sees a gang of bikers riding down the road in the mirage-consumed distance. Believing this gang to be natural trouble-makers and criminals, Berri walks onto the road and stands in their path, bracing herself for a fight. When the gang finally closes in on Berri, they circle around her, coming to a complete stop before pulling out Wispons and chains, believing her to be a trouble-maker who’s looking to start a fight too. Eventually, one of the bikers pipes up and asks Berri to state her business, much to her confusion, though she does answer and explain how she’s tracking down a villain from her home universe (albeit tensely, still expecting a brawl to break out any minute); after a few moments of tense silence following Berri’s explanation, and after the biker from before takes what was said into account, she tells her men to stand down. The surprised gang members reluctantly put their weapons away, much to Berri’s surprise, as the biker dismounts and approaches Berri, removing her helmet and introducing herself as Shira (the leader of the “Chained Leash” gang).Berri reluctantly introduces herself too, followed by an apology from the both of them for being initially hostile towards each other, having believed the other to be no good. Shira remarks on how it’s not everyday that they get a visitor from another world, but she also sympathizes with Berri because of her current mission; to make up for her previous aggression, Shira offers to let Berri stay with her gang while she completes her mission in this universe. Berri is surprised again by this gesture, asking Shira why she would be willing to trust her so easily, only for Shira to respond by saying how their world is crazy enough already. Feeling more at ease after receiving such a simple answer, Berri accepts the offer, prompting Shira to command her followers to return to base. As the gang prepares to ride again though, Berri notices one of the other bikers staring at her, seemingly in disapproval, but she can’t be entirely sure of that (due to their helmet hiding their face). Eventually, the Chained Leash rides off towards the neighboring city, with Berri holding onto Shira as they ride together; to pass the time on their drive, Shira asks Berri about the criminal she’s chasing, prompting Berri to give a brief descriptor on Lamia. After hearing that, Shira remarks on another snake villainess she knows that somewhat fits the same description, a revelation that surprises and troubles Berri greatly…

Chapter 3: "Noxia"

Meanwhile, having already landed in this universe moments before Berri did, Lamia slithers through the streets of Checker City, drawing the attention of every bystander she passes by (though she could care less). As Lamia admires the metropolis around her (while everyone else is still staring at her), her eye gets caught on the sight of another snake, whose tail is briefly spotted as they quickly retreat from view, much to Lamia’s interest.Shortly thereafter, Lamia is climbing up the side of the “Johnsonian Museum,” where she finds and spies on the other snake from earlier (having tracked her there), who is now setting up some equipment. Lamia continues to watch this snake do her work, only for her to eventually notice Lamia’s presence, slowly getting up before lunging at her with poison-coated claws. Lamia easily dodges this as a fight between them breaks out on the roof, with the defending snake pulling out smoke bombs to cover her retaliating surprise attack, only for Lamia to swing her tail around and slam her into one of the museum’s chimneys. As the snake picks herself back up, she also beats herself up (internally) over getting spotted earlier, thus causing this situation now; after Lamia leaps forward and attempts to slam her tail down on the other snake, only for her to roll out of the way in the nick of time, Lamia notices how distracted her opponent is (due to her still beating herself up over being spotted) and comments on it, flustering her further. The snake then charges at Lamia, only to be caught and constricted by large plants that Lamia summons, allowing her a chance to hypnotize the snake.

As she starts to feel her mind slipping in Lamia’s alluring eyes, the snake uses her tail to grab her glass cutter gadget from underneath her black sash, slicing away the large vines and freeing herself so that she can kick Lamia back, thus preventing her enslavement. In retaliation while Lamia is recovering, the snake throws a bola at her, wrapping around Lamia’s arms tightly and swiftly in the hopes of preventing her from using her magic, though that is quickly disproven when Lamia suddenly summons another large plant that swiftly sends the snake flying backward. Lamia then slips her tail through the bola and breaks it apart with her strength, only to quickly lunge at the other snake and wrap her up in her tail, using this as another opportunity to attempt hypnotizing her; the other snake, however, quickly wraps her own tail around Lamia, pushing them apart and keeping her at a distance as they engage in this new strangling match. After a few moments of them constricting each other, the other snake rolls them both off the roof of the museum, sending them falling into the alleyway below.In the alleyway, two police officers are in the middle of conducting a welfare check when the two snakes crash down, hitting a dumpster before finally landing on the ground. Being startled by this, the two officers approach Lamia and the other snake, ready to arrest them both for disorderly conduct and possible assault (on each other); the other snake gets up and looks at the officers, getting annoyed at their sudden appearance while also realizing how bad this situation has become, thinking that she could possibly be caught for the first time here, only for Lamia to get in front of her and blow the officers back with her magic. Instinctively, the officers draw their weapons and prepare to fire, prompting Lamia to look at the other snake and silently suggest working together to take them out, which she (also silently) agrees to. As the officers then fire upon Lamia and the other snake, they both dodge and weave in order to get close enough to retaliate; the other snake takes on the male officer, evading his gunfire and getting close enough to bite him on the neck and inject him with her venom (paralyzing him), while Lamia summons more plants to constrict the female officer, allowing Lamia to (successfully) hypnotize her after that.Once the dust settles, Lamia takes the opportunity to compliment the other snake’s abilities, noting how they’re so similar to her own, but the other snake tries not to respond much as she starts walking away. After a few steps though, Lamia stops the other snake in her tracks, trying to ask her about what she was doing up on that museum roof, only for her to try walking away again without much of a response; this time, Lamia stops the other snake again by saying that she was obviously gonna rob the place, making her freeze before turning around and asking Lamia to keep it to herself or else. Lamia instead suggests that she can help the other snake, noting how well they worked together just moments before when they were fighting the cops, saying how much greater their opportunities will be once their power doubles. The other snake actually ponders this request, taking both their previous fight and their short team-up into consideration alongside Lamia’s words, eventually deciding to accept the proposal with reasonable caution; with a partnership having been formed, Lamia and the other snake finally introduce themselves to each other, with the latter revealing herself to be known as “Noxia The Viper.” After that, Noxia suggests they return to the museum’s rooftop and break in stealthily (a method that she was actually preparing before Lamia interrupted her), but Lamia proposes a different strategy, saying that they can go all out and make a scene out of it…

Chapter 4: "Interrogation at the Iron Tap"

Meanwhile, at a bar called the Iron Tap, the Chained Leash gang members are dispersed about the building, playing pool and buying drinks and listening to the radio. As all of that is happening, Shira is giving Berri a tour of the place (as this bar is the gang’s headquarters), ending it off by showing Berri the garage (where they maintain their motorcycles); Berri is surprised that this gang is actually a force for good, with Shira clarifying that, after the war between the Resistance and the Eggman Empire (something that Berri is very familiar with (in her world), she decided to turn things around and make a difference with the following she had gathered. After showing Berri the garages (as they reenter the actual bar), Shira allows her to settle in while they wait for any word on Lamia’s whereabouts, leaving her right there. Before Berri can do anything else though, she spots the mysterious disapproving biker from before entering a smaller room within the bar, prompting Berri to follow them and see what their beef is with her.Berri enters the small room, confusingly finding it to be (seemingly) empty; after a few moments of awkward silence though, Berri is suddenly pinned to the wall by the biker, who had been waiting for Berri within the shadows. The biker removes her helmet and reveals herself to be Rudy The Mutt, who aggressively asks Berri to explain her motives, much to the shock and surprise of Berri herself; Rudy explains that she doesn’t trust Berri, not buying her story about tracking an enemy from another universe, and so she’s interrogating Berri now to make sure Shira didn’t let some spy into the gang (or something else along those lines). Rudy starts by asking Berri who she is and what her purpose is in this world, but Berri is confused by such questions as she already explained all of that to the gang beforehand… Rudy then asks about Lamia, with Berri explaining how she’s an evil witch who can hypnotize people and hates children. Finally, Rudy asks Berri why she wants to stand up to Lamia in the first place, and Berri explains that Lamia hates her for her personal crusade to protect the innocence of children; Rudy is confused and slightly shocked by this answer, and so she asks Berri to explain what she means by that (her mission to protect childhood), prompting Berri to divulge her reasoning with a sigh.Berri goes into her backstory for Rudy, explaining that she and her family were captured by Eggman during the war (in her world), with her niece Cream being robotomized by him before she was rescued; this revelation leaves Rudy silently shocked… Berri continues, explaining that, even though Cream was eventually rescued and revived during her time with the Resistance, she could still only see what Eggman did to Cream in what she had allowed to happen to countless other children like her before; Berri concludes by saying that her backstory is the reason why she does what she does (and why Lamia hates her), that being to ensure that other children don’t go through what her niece Cream endured (in whatever form such abuse will take). Berri’s story leaves Rudy completely stunned as she unpins Berri from the wall, quickly apologizing for not trusting her sooner and sympathizing with her past after a brief moment of reflective silence. Berri is just as quick to forgive Rudy for her aggressive interrogation, being able to understand her reasons, though she also takes a mental note of Rudy’s trust issues; Rudy feels better about things upon being forgiven, promising Berri that she’ll do whatever she can to help her take down Lamia, a gesture that Berri appreciates greatly. After that, Berri and Rudy walk back out into the bar together, with Rudy questioning Berri further out of a newfound curiosity, asking her how she was ever a Resistance soldier when she’s so cute-looking (a question that makes Berri flustered in a friendly manner).Before Berri can actually answer Rudy’s question though, they are interrupted by the sight of everyone huddled around the radio, with Shira beckoning Berri and Rudy over to take a listen as well. Once Berri and Rudy join in, they hear a live news broadcast about an (assumed) EMP blast that just went off at the Johnsonian Museum, one so big that it not only took out the museum’s electrical systems, but it also took out those of the surrounding buildings and the cars outside; the news broadcast also mentions reports of gunfire being heard from within the museum, much to the Chained Leash’s (and Berri’s) concern… Rudy is concerned and confused on what would cause such a blast, with Berri almost immediately assuming this to be Lamia’s doing (with the EMP possibly being one of her spells), though Shira doesn’t want to jump to conclusions yet; still, Shira understands that they can’t just ignore or take this lightly, so she gets Rudy and two other Chained Leash members to join her and Berri in checking the scene out. With that taken care of, all five of them head for the garages and ride for the Johnsonian Museum on their motorcycles.

Chapter 5: "Attack at the Museum"

Meanwhile, at the Johnsonian Museum, several security guards have already been laid out across the floor, having either been hypnotized by both Lamia and Noxia or just simply knocked out; the remaining guards are slowly and cautiously sweeping through one of the museum’s halls, forming up into a tight group as their firearms are at the ready, being noticeably fearful at the sight of their fallen brethren. The tense silence, however, is suddenly broken when Noxia throws one of her smoke bombs from around a corner, catching the guards off-guard and enveloping them with said smoke, allowing Lamia and Noxia the chance to take them down and brainwash them too. As the smoke clears, Noxia is quick to comment on how this is going better than she thought it would, with Lamia taking out the security systems with her EMP spell prior (though Noxia is still surprised by how Lamia is a witch), and with the both of them now mesmerizing any resisting parties along the way; Lamia agrees with Noxia’s statement, bragging that her previously-proposed partnership is beneficial to them after all. With that said, Lamia and Noxia raise the hypnotized guards from the floor like zombies, commanding them to keep anyone from getting past the entrance while they continue their work, which they set out to do as they stumble their way to the lobby. Once the guards leave, Lamia and Noxia finally approach their prize: an exhibit housing twin diamonds, with each one being large and transparent; Noxia easily breaks into the exhibit’s glass casings while the security systems are still down, grabbing and holding onto both diamonds at once. Lamia is fine with Noxia taking both diamonds, but before they can start making their escape, Noxia decides to hand one of them over to Lamia. Naturally, Lamia is confused by this gesture, though Noxia explains that she merely feels like they should split the bounty (unadmittedly wanting to show her appreciation for their new and successful partnership), as well as feeling like Lamia should be compensated for their earlier fight; Lamia chuckles at that last part as she gladly accepts the diamond from Noxia, who then playfully winks at Lamia and makes her blush slightly. Before they can do anything else though, the two snakes are suddenly startled by the sounds of a brawl erupting from the lobby.At the museum’s front entrance, the Chained Leash and Berri have finally arrived on the scene and are now engaging with the hypnotized guards; as Berri and the Chained Leash fight the guards, they are quick to notice the latter’s unusual behavior, that being how they seem uncoordinated and almost zombie-like. Berri is the first to mention this out loud, as well as the first to bring up how uncomfortable she is with fighting cops in general; Shira agrees with both of Berri’s points, noting that the Chained Leash already has a strained relationship with the police force to begin with… They all quickly determine that something else is going on (with Berri having a pretty good idea on what that exact something is too), so Shira orders Rudy and the other two gang members to stay behind and take care of the hordes, giving her and Berri the breathing room to go deeper into the museum together and try to find the possible source of this chaos. With all of that being said, the group splits up and gets to work.Further into the museum, Berri and Shira round the corner to find Lamia and Noxia still hanging around the twin diamonds exhibit, being surprised to find the two snakes working together. While Shira admits to Berri that her previous suspicions (about this attack on the museum being of Lamia’s doing) were correct, Berri herself is quick to question Lamia’s taste in partners, wittingly asking if she has had enough of being a “twin flame” yet; Lamia is confident in her response, however, saying that two heads are better than one, especially if the other head is a lot like her own already (that last statement confuses Noxia though). Before any further retorts can be said between the two rivals, Shira gets the attention of both parties, reminding them what they are doing here to begin with; with everyone’s focus regained, both pairs finally engage in a fight. Shira takes on Noxia, pulling out her custom-made Billiard Stick and swinging it around to keep Noxia at a distance, hoping to avoid being bitten and infected with her venom; once Noxia pulls out her bola though, Shira decides to fight fire with fire, putting her billiard stick away and switching to her chains, whipping them around and tangling them up with Noxia’s bola occasionally. Meanwhile, Berri takes on Lamia, instead hoping to get up-close and personal as she fights with her signature hand-to-hand combat, all while Lamia herself whips her tail about and tries to (vainly) coil Berri within it. During the overall scuffle, Shira manages to wrap her chains around Noxia’s sash and rip it off, sending the gadgets that were around her waist tumbling to the ground, thus stripping her of her arsenal; Lamia, however, takes this opportunity to be flirty, being quick to comment on Noxia’s “nice curves,” much to the embarrassment of Noxia herself.Eventually, Lamia and Noxia are alerted to the sounds of police cars rolling up outside with their sirens, prompting them to bring an end to this fight and make their escape before they lose further ground. With that in mind, they each manage to bind their opponents by unexpectedly swapping them at the last moment, with Noxia entrapping Berri with her bola, and with Lamia encasing Shira in some more summoned plants; before they actually leave though, Lamia and Noxia take the time to gloat, with Lamia taunting Berri about what she has in store for this new universe, and with Noxia teasing Shira about how the police will love this… With all of that being said, Lamia and Noxia finally back up and grasp each other, bracing themselves as Lamia teleports them both away with another spell. As Berri and Shira are left alone to struggle against their constraints, Shira starts beating herself up over letting Noxia and Lamia escape, prompting Berri to try and reassure her… This falls on deaf ears though, as Shira feels like she’s no longer worthy of Berri’s trust in this hunt of hers… After Berri silently and briefly reflects on this, and just as she’s about to respond, Rudy and the other two Chained Leash members show up, having finally dealt with the hordes of hypnotized guards as they rush over and try to break Berri and Shira loose, hoping to escape as the cops are closing in.Meanwhile, back in the alleyway next to the Johnsonian Museum, Lamia and Noxia reappear after teleporting, not wanting to waste anymore time as they shift their thoughts to hiding out. Noxia quickly suggests that they head for her penthouse, but before they can actually make a break for it, Lamia stops them to snap her fingers, saying that she wants to make things harder for their pursuers… Back in the museum, as Berri and Shira are finally freed from their bindings, the security systems reactivate, thanks to Lamia undoing her EMP spell just then, and the police suddenly enter the room and surround them… The police commissioner, Knox The German Shepherd, pushes his way to the front, only to become confused by the appearance of Shira at the scene of the crime; the police are ready to either apprehend the Chained Leash or open fire, believing them to be the ones behind this museum attack, but Knox tries to stop them, saying that there must be a more reasonable explanation as to why the gang is at the crime scene… Before things can get ugly, Berri spots one of Noxia’s smoke bombs on the floor (with it being one of many other gadgets that were left behind after Shira ripped them off of Noxia), deciding to quickly grab and activate it to allow an escape. As the smoke quickly fills the room, the police open fire, creating enough chaos for Berri and the Chained Leash to escape unscathed and undetected; as the clouds dissipate, the assumed culprits are nowhere to be seen, leaving Knox confused, but also now concerned…After getting a good distance away from the Johnsonian Museum on their bikes, the group stops to catch their breath, with Shira being more frustrated than ever… When asked about it, Shira vents about how the police now think they attacked the museum instead of Lamia and Noxia, feeling as though all her hard work to repair the reputation of her gang just went down the drain… Rudy tries her best to comfort Shira, saying that she is equally upset about all of this, but that they will still find Lamia and Noxia and make things right, a sentiment that Berri agrees with upon chiming in. Shira appreciates this support, but she mostly keeps it to herself as she tells them all to move out, not wanting to get more emotional than she already is… As they get back on their bikes, Berri (wanting to give Shira some space) rides with Rudy, who thanks Berri for her quick thinking with the smoke bomb; as the Chained Leash rides back to the Iron Tap in defeat, Berri takes Rudy’s compliment into account, recognizing that she has truly and fully won her trust (ever since Rudy’s interrogation earlier), all while Shira still feels like she just lost the trust of many others instead…

Chapter 6: "Behind Closed Doors…"

Later, at Noxia’s penthouse, Lamia and Noxia herself enter, still feeling energized from their successful heist; Noxia especially feels good about the day’s events, feeling the need to invite Lamia to stay with her if she plans on continuing their partnership, an offer that Lamia accepts (albeit with her usual witty tone). As Noxia goes into her kitchen to prepare some celebratory drinks, Lamia takes a moment to look over some of Noxia’s belongings, trying to get a sense of who Noxia really is before looking back with a smirk, ready to make a move. As Noxia walks over to Lamia with the finished drinks, she looks up and gets startled by Lamia suddenly being right up in her face, while also discarding the drinks with her tail and taking Noxia’s (now free) hands in her own, causing her to blush profusely. After explaining that she’s craving something else, Lamia closes the distance between them and kisses Noxia, an action that she is initially surprised by, but one that she eventually melts into and goes along with… Things only escalate once both parties participate, with both Lamia and (especially) Noxia realizing how much they wanted this as they embrace each other with their tails, grasping onto each other tightly as they stumble into Noxia’s chambers, and letting everything else fade away as they give into each other… Later on, Lamia and Noxia both lie in each other's embrace, reeling from what they had just done… Noxia, in particular, is still coming to grips with what she is now feeling and whether or not it is actually love, having never done anything like this with anyone else before… Before Noxia can say anything, Lamia breaks the silence first, saying how she could get used to this, especially with her; this makes Noxia naively blush and smile, prompting her to lovingly cuddle with Lamia further and say that she made the right decision to trust her. Lamia holds Noxia close in return and smiles devilishly, for while she does have an affection for Noxia, she cares more about getting her into her back pocket…Meanwhile, at the site of an abandoned Gimme Shelter, someone watches a news report on the attack at the Johnsonian Museum, seeing how the media is already blaming the Chained Leash gang for the event (using their appearance on the rebooted security footage as evidence). The person watching the broadcast states how all of that isn’t Shira’s style, revealing that they know her personally, concluding that someone else is behind the attack and that Shira is innocent; with that in mind, the figure stands up and reveals herself to be Fera The Akita, who calls upon a lurking Valerie The Kangal to gather their own gang together, saying how she doesn’t intend on being outdone by some newbie…