Sonic Legacy: Volume 2 (Status: Who tf knows)

Chapter 3: Escalation

A few hours later and Arnec had just arrived at Angel Island, the Vampyr's cargo bay door opening and the wolf stepping out. Knuckles came to greet Arnec, noticing that he seemed troubled
"Athena told me about what happened. She said you needed somewhere peaceful to stay while you try to figure out what's going on." Knuckles said, the wolf nodding
"Thank you, I still owe you for what Grendel did."
"You don't owe me anything. What were you supposed to do, let him win?" Knuckles said as they walked through a luscious jungle. Arnec smiled amusingly
"I know it's been a while since we last saw each other. How have you been?"
Knuckles shrugged
"Alright. Me and Rouge have been talking. Did you know that when we first met she was trying to steal the Master Emerald?"
"No."
"She was! Back when her and Shadow were working with Eggman."
Arnec looked perplexed
"They worked with Eggman?"
"A while back. Shadow was still going through his "I don't know who I'm meant to be!" phase and Rouge was undercover. She never did tell me who she was undercover for..." Knuckles explained before they left the jungle, a large ancient temple in front of them with a green energy beam flying into the sky. Arnec smiled a little
"Forgot how beautiful Angel Island is."
"Because you were only here for 5 minutes when you were here!" Knuckles said with a chuckle as he put his arm around Arnec
"There's some people you should meet." Knuckles said before they walked behind the temple were
"Tikal, Chaos, got someone for you two to meet!" Knuckles yelled. From the bushes came an orange female echidna in a tribal outfit and a being that Arnec had never seen before. It was made of pure water, two green orbs for eyes watching as it followed the echidna.
"Knuckles, you didn't tell me you had a sister." Arnec said, Knuckles sighing
"Why does everyone think that she's my sister!? We're not even related!" he grumbled, Arnec shrugging. Tikal and Chaos walked up to the two
"Alright, so this is Arnec. Arnec, meet Tikal and Chaos." the red Echinda said as he introduced them.
"It's nice to meet you, Chaos." Arnec said, Chaos just staring.
"And you too, Tikal." Arnec continued as him and Tikal shook hands. Arnec looked around and sighed
"I'll try and stay out of your way while I'm here. Sorry I had to disturb you."
Knuckles smirked before pointing at him
"Just keep your hands off my Emerald! My family's guarded it for generations and I ain't gonna be the first to lose it!"
"I won't mess with it. But where should I be staying?" Arnec asked. Knuckles smiled a little
"Got an old village near here that has some housing. I usually keep them clean in case Sonic comes over. Just clean up after yourself, Okay?"
Arnec nodded and Knuckles nodded back, him showing Arnec where the village was.
"Also, we never did clean up the crash site of the Sacred Promise. You find anything, keep it." Knuckles said, pointing over in a forest where Arnec could see the crashed ship. Arnec nodded before walking to the ship. In the three years since Operation Daredevil, nature had reclaimed the ship with vines and other flora covering it's exterior. Walking inside, the halls weren't much better as moss covered parts of the floor. He walked to each room, old weapons or valuables left behind by their old owners. The bodies were long gone, Silent Shadow had given them all a proper burial, but the crew had been left on the ship in another way, their belongings marking where they fell. He went to the bridge and could still see the piece of shrapnel that had pierced Commander Nero during Operation Daredevil, his blood stain having long since dried. Arnec kneeled down and shook his head before looking around the bridge.
"I'm trying Nero... I really am..." he whispered before getting a cold chill. Next he checked the captain's quarters where he saw a small box under the main desk. Opening it, he found a large data chip. The holographic display appeared over his forearm and he scanned the device with it.
"Audio recording found on device. Play?" appeared on the screen. Arnec pressed the play button before hearing a Demon's voice on his radio
"Tygrys, I'm sorry about Jagerin. It all happened so fast, I-"
"It's fine, Leonidas,"
Arnec's eyes narrowed as he heard his uncle's voice.
"Just get the Chimera ready for a refit." Tygrys continued.
"For what?"
"We told the Zeti multiple times to stay out of this and then they attack us out of nowhere and slaughter most of Mobius? That is an act of war and we are going to retaliate. We will kill each and every last one of them for what they have done to us and Mobius... The Chimera is to be refit into a Battlecruiser, you will be joining my personal fleet."
"Copy that. And what about Szakala, is your brother okay with this?"
"Jagerin meant a lot to him too. Not in a romantic way like me and her but he was the one who gave the order."
"Send me the coordinates and I will get the crew ready for warp."
"Coordinates sent. Good luck"
"You too."
Arnec sat down after the message ended, staying silent as he thought to himself about what he just heard
"Jagerin? Who was she? I'm asking Lucifer whenever I get back!"
He got up and headed for one of the ship's bedrooms, finding the very one him and Tangle had stayed in right before Operation Daredevil. Even the cassette player was still in there with the exact same tape as three years ago!
"The show must go on..." Arnec mumbled to himself, remembering the song that was inside. He checked a dresser and found his old outfit from before Operation Daredevil and had a small smile as he looked at the long dried blood. He pulled out Amaterasu and chuckled as the Damascus pattern reflected some of the natural lighting
"You know Grendel, I kinda have to thank you for jabbing me with the Deimos. Were it not for you doing that, I wouldn't have my new sword!" he said quietly before the Amaterasu disappeared behind his back again. He got on the radio and contacted Knuckles
"Hey, don't worry about me sleeping in the village. I'll stay in the Sacred Promise's crash site."
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
"Alright, tell me if something happens."
"I will."
Arnec laid down on the bed after dusting it off, remembering the nap he had taken and waking up to Tangle, then the briefing he gave everyone, him and Tangle getting flung out of the ship a short time afterwards. It gave him a weird sense of nostalgia, even though the world was at stake at the time. His eyes slowly closed and he fell asleep.