Wayfinder of the Norted Variety

@genesis-quoi - Writer, Editor, Audio/Music

@nortedwayfinder - Storyboarder, Artist, Producer

@soulofebony - Storyboarder, Artist

@yesidoodles - Artist, Voice of Tails

Tails only took a few seconds to laugh at Coconuts before diving towards the cabinets and tools. It was only after he had found the keys and turned to face everyone else that he realized the room had fallen into complete and utter shock.

Over a dozen eyes were ready to burst out; the bear seemed to be silently muttering "what" over and over again.

Cream had stood up, mouth open, ears still swaying from her initial reaction. Gran-Gran held one of the cage bars in a death grip.

Tails shook himself, ignoring the way his hackles raised at the sight. Metal grooves dug into his hand as he rushed over to the closest cage—the other mammals—and began unlocking the door.

Footsteps ran up from behind him. He was a tad too focused to notice. One key-dud. Second--wouldn't even fit into the lock. Third--

"You can fly, too, Mr. Tails?"

This hands spasmed and the keys fell through his grip. He immediately went to pick them up again, doing his best to answer the surprise question. "Y-yeah, for a long time now. My tails were sore when Katella caught me, so I guess she didn't see it." He stood up, and tried another key. "I… I wanted to say something earlier, but I didn't know how. I've… never met someone else like me before."

His focus on the lock and not the other's reactions blinded him to those words knocking half the room out of their stupor.

The lock clicked, and the door swung open. Tails backed away, ready to sprint to the next one, when the Cream leaped to give him a hug from behind.

"Neither have I!" she said. "The only other people I've seen fly are birds and bugs!"

"Many of us haven't," the bear said in a soft, deep voice (well, deep for a teenager). They rose from their seated position and gently patted the two children as they passed.

The kit's shoulders quivered for a moment, before he steeled himself. He turned around and took Cream’s hand. "C'mon, let's free everyone else."

She nodded enthusiastically, and soon, everyone but the concussed robot were standing outside the cages.

"What now?" the duck asked.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd like to get these off." Gran-Gran lifted a wing to show off her silver band with a flourish

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The helicopter circled Robotnik's lair. Katella had already found a good landing pad, but at the moment, she was more concerned with the massive silver tent that had been set up at the bottom of the hill. It shone in the evening sun with glory.

She didn't understand why Robotnik would bother with such a display. For all his smooth and shiny modernity, he didn't seem the the type for such stereotypical extravagance. Just look at the golden  statue outside the layer—it was entirely his own image.

There were a few people and cars middling around near the tent, but she wasn't close enough to see any faces or logos.

With one eye on Sonic behind her, she landed in an open area near the tent, calling for the SSSSS Squad's assistance in chaining Sonic down with additional weights.

"HAHAHA—you're done for now, you spiny pincushion!" Scratch screamed in his face.

The pest ignored them and turned to her, concern written all over his face by a kindergartener. "I really don't know about this. I mean, you and Robotnik are in two totally different leagues. Miles and galaxies apart." The fake sincerity disappeared in an instant. "Because no one could survive a relationship with either of you."

Katella smirked. She bent down and knocked him under his chin with the back of her hand. "Exactly why we're perfect for each other."

The hedgehog hummed. "We'll see. If it makes you feel better, I can give a lovely eulogy for whoever keels over first."

"Out of everyone in my life in chains, you are the last one who I would want to speak of me or my future husband to a crowd."

He tries lifting his arms and failed, instead shifted to show-off his head quills. "I think I pull them off well, even if the wind is more my style. And I'll have you know, I am excellent public speaker. In fact, I think I should officiate."

Katella rolled her eyes. "Nice try." She waved a hand, gesturing for the robots to get him situated.

"Yes, ma'am!" Grounder saluted. They ran back up the hill to take him in.

Walking into the tent wiped the smirk off her face. The sight of its interior filled her with indescribable rage.

All for the simple fact that her parents were standing at the end of the aisle.

She tossed aside every single chair in her way, the curtains warping and billowing with each thrash. Her anger was a physical implosion. The entire hillside silenced, frozen in fear.

Her parents turned towards her, plastic smiles doing nothing to hide the desperation in their eyes.

"Kat!" Her mother greeted, throwing out her arms.

She ignored the butchering of her name, for now. "Who are you and why are you at my wedding?"

An over-acted expression of shock and hurt crossed their faces, as if they were once again in front of a camera crew.

"Sweetie, I know it's been a long time, but we hoped we could take this chance to reconnect. Isn't that why you invited us?" Her father stepped down and reached out a hand, which she slapped away.

"IVO!"

A long, long series of increasingly absurd noises grew louder as the future groom rolled into the room.

"Katella! I didn't think you would be back so soon!" With a large, nervous grin he tugged on her arm. "We need to talk, privately."

She wrested her arm out of his grip, grabbing his mustache and leading him out of the tent. The two passed the robot duo rolling an occupied cage over to a pile of presents.

Sonic leisurely leaned back on one of the weights, hands behind his head and legs as crossed as he could get them. The air of a king surrounded him, rather than a prisoner. He winked at Katella, and she tightened her grip on her fiancé's facial hair.

"What is going on?!" She threw him away from her once they were outside. "Why are they here?"

Robotnik straightened out his mustache and nervously tried to console her. "I don't know. They were invited, somehow!" He pulled out a handful of paper. She grabbed them. Every single one was an invitation to the wedding.

Katella stared at them, hands shaking in absolute fury. "Who-"

"One of the dumbots may be at fault, and it is technically possible they are lying. Still, I would put my money on Sonic. This sort of mischief is right up his alley."

Her grip tightened so hard that the invites were shredded to itty-bitty bits. Part of her was tempted to turn around and kill the little bastard, but the doctor reached out a hand.

"We can easily rid ourselves of them," he reassured. "The actual wedding can take place in the lair. I simply let them set up shop out here to keep them busy until you arrived." He reached into his coat and pulled out a scroll. It unraveled, the bottom rolling past both their feet. "This is a list of every task I asked of them, and they are around here." He pointed to a bullet about just over half-way down.

Katella snatched the list out of his hands. It was very detailed, centered around a traditional ceremony. She looked back and forth between the list and the tent.

The wildfire of range shrunk in size, but not intensity, until it was a white-hot, guiding star. The huntress rolled up the list.

"Leave them to it," she decided. "I know my parents, and they want power, not me. We can have the wedding here, taking everything they foolishly give in the hopes of gaining favor. The ceremony will be the last moment we spend as a family. When I officially become a Robotnik, all our ties will be severed, and I will get to witness their downfall. You can take them afterwards as test subjects or prisoners. Whatever you want, as long as I don't have to see them again."

Robotnik rubbed his hands together. "My pleasure… and before I forget—" he grabbed the hand not holding the scroll and kissed it—"Thank you for the wedding present."

Pride bloomed in her chest, dancing with her fury. "Of course, love. I expect another when the second arrives."

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Sonic leaned against the large chains, so, so bored. Watching Robotnik’s happiness was a tough endeavor, and he was close to ripping his eyes out as a distraction.

Scratch and Grounder were off helping with set-up, and Coconuts was nowhere to be seen. Thus, there was no easy entertainment or escape route. All he could really do was stare at the unreasonably gaudy and confusing decorations.

Nothing looked like it belonged at the same event. After Katella and Robotnik returned, they had a tearful conversation with the other humans—obviously fake on all sides—and things got weird. Someone came in with several buckets of paint to re-color the stage from blue to red, the chairs were in the process of getting replaced (the new ones have Robotnik's logo which isn't suspicious at all), and another person began re-doing the interior curtains of the tent with light gold sheets.

That color change complimented the sunflowers still strewn throughout the room, yet the potted plants were being switched out with roses, snapping dragons and various ferns. He wasn't sure what to make of the garlands and wreaths full of the golden blooms still draped across various tables, walls, and stands.

Sonic was only an interior decorator when necessary, but just looking at the inside of this circus of atrocities was enough to give him migraines for days.

It only took a few minutes—or years—for the answer of the Sunflower Quandry to present herself. A teenage girl was walking around with them draped across her arms, depositing them wherever she liked. Her orange-red hair and sharp facial features were extraordinarily similar to Katella's, though her overall demeanor was the opposite of harsh.

She glided over to Sonic and the other presents in a light summer dress, somehow not stained or caught on any flower parts. His eyes tracked her movement as she draped a garland around his cage.

"There you go!" She smiled was if she was reuniting with a long lost friend. Her voice was airy and unbearably cheerful.

She could see the chains, right?

"Thaaanks,"he replied dryly. "Really lightens up the whole place. It would be beyond cool if I could walk around to see it from every angle."

"Sorry," she said, failing to roll the "r". "But Mother told me we needed to listen to Cousin Kat, and I don't think she'd like it very much if I let you out."

Hmmm, but he was being given to Robotnik, wasn't he? Maybe, if he could—

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING WITH THOSE SUNFLOWERS!" the lady of the hour screamed. The yell somehow echoed off the tent's thin "walls". Impressive.

The teenager jumped. Her smile wobbled at the edges, and she began to immediately pick up the garlands.

Katella marched over to them.

"What, not a fan of trail mix?" Sonic greeted. "Do you guys even have any food, other than..." sniff, sniff... 

"EGGS?! What kind of wedding is this!?"

"Mine!" The huntress ripped the flower chain out of her cousin's hand, before violently stripping her of every bud and bloom adorning her figure. Strings, stems, and wire fell to the ground in clumps. Petals scattered around them in a disarray.

"Hey!" Sonic tried to interrupt. "Your just getting them everywhere! If you want to clean them up, grab a broom! Or better yet, a hairy groom!"

She ignored him. This is why he preferred Robotnik.

The carnage intensified when Katella found a large pouch on her little cousin's person and opened it. If possible, her fury increased.

She threw the bag into the air and shot it with a revolver she apparently had on her. More and more sunflower petals poured through the opening, but the huntress hit every single one before they touched the ground.

The shots left the entire hillside in a stupor.

The teenager's dress had gotten ripped in the attack, leaving her clutching at her sides and trying her best to cover the holes in her dress.

"Cousin Kat?" Her voice wavered with confused tears.

"What. Are. You. Doing?" The huntress said through gritted teeth.

"I-I'm the F-Flower Girl. I was ju—" Katella grabbed her by the hair to make her shut up. She did, with a small whimper.

Sonic rose in his cage, but he couldn't do anything from here besides grab a few loose leaves.

"WHOSE IDEA WAS IT TO MAKE THIS TEENAGE PIECE OF SHIT MY FLOWER GIRL? WHY IS SHE EVEN AT MY WEDDING?"

Katella's older relatives all flocked to their location, tiptoeing around black and white seeds.

Her mother or aunt or whatever, did her best to explain that they thought her cousin could be the Flower Girl since they didn't have any younger female relative or friend on hand. The wedding was already missing a Ring Bearer, so it would be nontraditional but simple to work around—.

Katella shoved her cousin to the ground, to make everyone quiet once again.

"There is certainly some roles that will go unfulfilled—I will have no bridesmaids, and Ivo will choose his own men. You can give us your labor and your attention. Nothing else. Especially not the child you chose to replace me with, for some unfathomable reason. This brat is too old, unseemly, and graceless to take on any role other than that of a poltergeist. I will have my own choice of Flower Girl." She pursed her lips, as if thinking. "And a Ring Bearer as well, if Ivo agrees."

Sonic wished they gave him a bucket, because he might need it sooner rather than later if this was going where he thought.

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"And I just need to—" click "—there!"

Tails pumped up his new little tool in victory, as the last metal link fell off Gran-Gran's wing.

She flapped it a few times and nodded in approval. "Nice job!"

The fox preened at the praise. Everyone else remaining in their little room hooted and hollered in excitement.

Except Coconuts. He was still trapped in Tails' and Cream's old cage. It was unlocked now, the white bear—Art, as it turned out—sat by the door. They turned out to be pretty strong, so they kept periodically throwing him into more walls to keep him knocked out. Damage from repeated concussions weren't a thing for robots, right?

It wasn't long before that stopped being even a small concern. While digging through the cabinets to find something to get the clasps off, they found a tiny taser that seemed to be doing the trick even better. Art was happy to keep watch.

Meanwhile, Tails, Cream, Gran-Gran, the duck (Felix), and a bee with boxing gloves all stayed in the room to figure out the clasp situation. It took a while to fully ransack the cabinets, but after some trial and error, they were able to find a tool that did the trick. The device was thin and only slightly longer than Tails' hand. On the end of the was a strange shape, resembling talons. Slotting those into some slots under the clasps and pushing in just the right way released them. Once the former captives figured it out, things started moving a whole lot quicker.

Everyone who wasn't involved in the silver bands or the Coconuts issue (along with the bee once he was released) went ahead to free all the other prisoners on the ship.

Just after getting the final clasp off, one of the chameleons came back with a massive smile on her face. "The mutiny is a success!"

Everyone cheered. Tails' namesakes wagged so hard they almost hit Cream. She jumped up and begun spinning in mid-air, large ears flapping like crazy.

"That was fast!" Gran-Gran commented.

"Turns out a lot of these guys have been planning for a breakout for a long while. You, young man—"she pointed at the hero-in-training "—set off a domino chain a light year long."

He blushed. "Uh, thanks, but what are we doing now? Are we heading back down to the surface?"

The chameleon rubbed her hands together. "Kind of. The ship is a bit too big to land without drawing attention. Taking out all the guards on board was one thing, but everyone would prefer to get out of here without the red-haired fiend storming the gates. Some people who know how these alien spaceships work are sending down anyone who wants to stay on Mobius in smaller pods. Everyone else is going on this big intergalactic road trip to return the rest to their home planets. With that wedding going on, there's probably enough time to get everything sorted, but we're still trying to be quick." She sighed dreamily. "Oh, with a story like this, going into writing will be a piece of cake. There's have to be some changes for narrative… sorry, off-topic."

Tails didn't know what she meant by that, and he didn't have time to ask. An all-too-familiar phone rang. Before anyone else had time to process it, he raced towards Coconuts, reaching through the bars of the cage to his chest plate. He gestured for everyone to be quiet. Gran-Gran put her wings on Cream and Felix's shoulders. Art tensed and held up the taser, while the chameleon creeped closer.

Taking a deep breath, the hero-in-training opened the panel and grabbed the vibrating telephone.

"COCONUTS! What took you so long!" Robotnik's voice rang out from the speakers. Continuing without pause, he said, "Nevermind that! I need you to bring the two-tailed brat and a little bunny girl down to the wedding, THIS INSTANT! Understood?"

The two-tailed brat in question froze solid.

The chameleon stole his decision of what to do. Leaning over his shoulder, she shouted back into the phone, in a perfect imitation of Coconuts' voice, "Okay, boss! But why do I need to bring the rabbit down? I thought it was just the fox!"

"She's going to be our Flower Girl! And my little sweetheart had the wonderful idea to make the brat our Ring Bearer! Oh, Sonic is going to hate this!" He cackled for a good minute, only to run out of breath and start coughing. "Bring-"cough "- them-"cough "-down now!"

"Sir yes sir!" The chameleon slammed the phone back down. "Well, sh—cheese."

"You've got the character voices and age ratings down already," Gran-Gran complimented.

Coconuts stirred at the sensation of the phone being returned. "Oh Oh Oh!" Art shocked him with the taser, again.

Tails was ready to rip his fur out. What was he gonna do! 

He was prepared to go down to the surface, but he hadn't fully considered anything after that. The kit would be on his own to rescue Sonic and stop the villains, on top of potentially dealing with the authorities asking questions they shouldn't. But now, if he AND Cream didn't go down to the wedding as prisoners, Katella and the Egghead might notice that something was up and ruin everything for everyone who just got free and he would lose his chance to save his big brother and—

Gran-Gran hugged him, shushing and rocking him a bit until he calmed down. He rubbed his eyes. Gosh, why was he being so stupid? He was the big kid here, the one who needed to be strong for his new, even littler friend. There was no time for this.

He took several deep breaths, willing his heart to not match Sonic's speed, for once.

Cream stared at him with wide eyes. He hoped that it wasn't disappointment behind them.

Gran-Gran rubbed his shoulder and addressed the chameleon. "Tell everyone that we need to hurry up with the escape plan. With luck, that wedding from hell will be chaotic enough to buy time. I'll go with the kids and get them somewhere safe."

"No!" Tails backed away, shaking his head furiously. "They have Sonic! They wouldn't be starting if they didn't! With him captured, Robotnik and Katella will take over Mobius!" He swallowed. "I have to save him! Even if that means watching those bully's be gross and mean."

Gran-Gran clicked her beak, sympathy in her eyes. "Tails, Robotnik will—"

"I know what you're gonna say, but I've beat him and his dumbots before! I just need the right tools!"

All the adults—and one teenaged bear—stared at him. Felix and the chameleon took half a step back each. A mad concoction of fear, surprise, and respect swirled in the space between them.

Cream showed much less shock and no fear at all.

Gran-Gran was the first to relent. "Okay, but I'm going with you. Just because you think you can handle it alone doesn't mean you should."

His shoulders slumped. "Thank you."

"I'm going too!"

Everyone turned to the three-year old bunny in shock. Tails nearly made a large "X" with his arms on instinct. "What? No!"

Cream pointed a demanding finger at him. It was clearly trembling a great deal. She made no move to take it back.

"If I'm not there, that-that pumpkin-head will know you're lying! And no one will be able to escape!"

"Well-" Felix tried to clarify that point with the chameleon, who cringed.

"I wanna be brave like you and Sonic! Please, let me go!"

Tails was not expecting to be on the other side of this interaction for once, and he could see why everyone else hated it.

"Cream, sweetheart," Gran-Gran said. "Think of your parents, would they want you to risk yourself like this?"

She finally lowered her finger, but the determination in the young rabbit's gaze only wavered for a millisecond. "No, but Mama wouldn't want me to be stolen away or scared for forever. And she always says I need to be be on my best behavie-or and help other people when I can. And-and I want to help everyone else get back to their Mamas!"

Tails swore he could see the sparkle of tears in her eyes. It was hard to say anything against that little speech.

Gran-Gran kneeled down to look Cream in the eyes. Hands on her shoulders she asked, more serious than anyone had seen her. "Are you absolutely sure?"

Defiantly, the rabbit nodded her head.

The old bird sighed. "Okay, here's the plan."

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Cream really didn't want to do this, but she did at the same time. It made her blood pump and her ears and tail twitch. She felt like she was flying higher than she ever had before. She probably was, but when she asked Tails and Gran-Gran, they said riding on a ship didn't count.

"Unless you're the one flying it," Tails added, "But that's different."

Cream definitely wasn't flying the ship, and it would be a while longer before she could lift herself again, too. They had to put her ear-thingies back on for the wedding.

Gran-Gran had the key, and she promised to use it on Cream as soon as she possibly could. The bunny believed her, but it still wasn't very fun.

Mx. Art did give her the taser though. They said she should only use it if she really, really needed to. To make sure she didn't hurt herself, they showed her how to turn the safety on and off and adjust the strength setting. They put it in her glove, at its lowest strength and with the safety on. Luckily, Mama buys her gloves from thrift stores and yard sales, so while nice, they were a bit big.

Mr. Chameleon and Felix left to go tell everyone the news and prepare the shuttles. Art grabbed Coconuts' sleeping body and carried him to their vessel, placing him in the co-pilot's seat.

Gran-Gran paused. "Hm. I can't fly a plane. Or whatever this is."

"Don't worry," Tails waved her off and got in the pilot's seat. "I got it."

So cool!

Gran-Gran took a second before finding a place in the backseat. That was probably smart since it would be easy to hide back there.

The plan was to get down to the wedding, and once Coconuts woke up, Tails would switch seats with him, and they would tell him that the escape was a strange dream. Of course everything was going according to plan and Coconuts was doing a great job! The two kids would wrap some rope around their hands to sell the trick (how much did it cost?).

Tails said he was stupid enough to believe it, especially if they made him feel real good about himself. After watching his earlier display, Cream trusted him on that front.

It felt like she blinked, and was suddenly standing in front of Katella, Coconuts, two other robots…

And Doctor Robotnik.

Her tail twitched even more at the sight of him.

Gran-Gran was back in the shuttle, Coconuts was smiling like he was on top of the world, and Katella was staring at her dress and swimsuit with a think-y look on her face. The mad doctor glanced at her curiously, but his attention was quickly stolen.

"If you make me watch you kiss, I'm throwing up all over your shoes!"

Robotnik scowled and scruffed the fox. "Watch your tone, brat! It's only because I want to torture Sonic that you're not in a cage right now."

Tails glared.

Cream still didn't quite understood how they knew each other, or how Tails being here would make the legendary Sonic the Hedgehog so upset. Whatever the reason for it was, the sight made her knees tremble.

Katella clicked her tongue, and pulled out yet another metal doo-hickey. This one looked like a remote.

"Pay attention, you two-tailed brat. I don't want to do this, but you both need to understand the consequences of your actions. If either of you misbehaves or tries to flee, this will be the result." She pressed a button.

Cream screamed.

OW OW OW OW OW MAMA!!!

Pain ripped through the little bunny's ears. It felt like something was trying to rip them apart; at static shock with painful force. She bent over, tears streaming down her face. She had never felt anything close to that amount of pain in her entire short life.

Suddenly it stopped. She trembled, covering her eyes, because she would prefer the dark.

A light, soft hand ran through her fur, massaging the ends of her ears. Katella picked her up, shushing her gently. "I know, I know. If both of you are good, I will not have to do that ever again. Just remember this warning."

Cream hung limply in her arms, hands still over her face. She peeked between her fingers to see Tails' horrified expression.

We have a plan, she reminded herself. It'll be okay. She summoned all the bravery in her heart and tried to give it to him with a small smile.

It looked like Tails received it. He nodded at her and crossed his arms. Turning his head towards Robotnik, he said. "Just get this over with."

"Eggcelent!" The doctor carried the hero off to a small tent outside the big shiny one. All three robots tripped over themselves to follow him.