Honesty is the Best Policy {Comic Edition}

Chapter 48: The Return

(Originally Published February 13th, 2023)

This is kind of a long chapter, but I have a lot to write about and I thought I would get started on it all here.
---

Scourge watched Honest disappear and the warp ring close and fall to the ground with a clink. He bent down to collect it and return it to Zonest at her desk. When he dropped it in Honest's twin's outstretched hand, he looked up and noticed her expression. She was smiling from ear-to-ear. "What is it?" he asked.
"The great king of nothingness and empty space, Scourge the Hedgehog," the Zone officer said, closing her hand slowly around the ring.
"That's my name, yeah," Scourge confirmed, lowering his brows in a cautious glare. "Though, there's no way I can be 'great' if I rule over nothing," he pointed out. It felt redundant to say it now, after he had been ignored so much by Honest whenever he had pointed it out in the past, especially to say it to her twin Zonest, who, based on what had been brought up earlier, apparently felt the same way she did.
"Fair point," Zonest said, following it up with a "hmph" of phony nonchalance as she tossed the ring back in her drawer. Exactly what he had suspected. Zonest also thought Scourge was selling himself short. She just didn't want to argue with him right now, but that didn't excuse the fact that she didn't agree with him. "Anyway, don't you think you should head home now?" That sounded like she was in a hurry to make him leave, but perhaps he was just imagining that. "It's around 8 PM in your world... er, Honest's world."
"Where's Hearts at?" he asked. "Zonic took her away to talk with her."
"He probably wants to send her back to Moebius. He doesn't know about the 900, so don't worry about it." Zonest picked up a pen and tapped it to her chin before jotting something down on a small notepad she had handy. "I need to talk to the Warden." She picked up the notepad and arose from her desk. She left the room and Scourge behind, rushing through the door and leaving it to close softly behind her.
---

"Silver, you ready?" Honest shouted. She was standing at the front door to Snow's house, waiting for the troop to assemble. Shadow was standing beside her, resembling his namesake pretty well as he just kind of hung there and melted away into the shadow of the door.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" the timetraveling hedgy exclaimed, running in slow motion towards them. Was that slowdown?
"Do you have your homework?" Shadow asked.
"No, no, no!" Silver exclaimed, turning around and running in slow motion in the opposite direction.
"We're gonna be late," Honest told Shadow, huffing in annoyance.
"How did Blaze ever get him to school on time?" Shadow asked. He was genuinely confused. What sort of superpower did Blaze possess that they didn't? Other than, you know, fire powers.
"I'm going ahead," Honest announced, picking up her yellow and white polka-dotted backpack and slinging it over her shoulder. "I'll wave down a bus or something."
Shadow sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine." He cupped his hands over his mouth. "Silver, if you don't hurry, I'll... take away your PS3!"
Suddenly, Silver shot across the room in a light blue flash and the three started out the door.
Once at the school, the three found that no one was standing around outside, so they assumed the first bell had already rung and began to hurry. Silver ran, still with awful slowdown, down the hallway. Shadow already had his binder for English since he had homework from before the Derby to complete. However, Honest needed to get her folder for Business Management, so she skidded to a stop in front of her locker. It was the top locker and had light spilling out from the slats... wait. That wasn't right.
"Um, Shadow? Why is my locker glowing?" Honest asked in an apprehensive tone.
"Why is it 'growing'?" Shadow asked, stopping beside her.
"No, glow-"
Bump, bump. Two bumps appeared in the middle of the door. Bam! The door swung open and out flew two familiar faces. Shadow caught the person flying at him as if he had prepared for it. At the same time, the person flying at Honest just kind of engulfed her, and they both fell to the ground in a heap.
"Hearts? Why are you here?" Shadow asked his catch.
"Put me down and I'll tell you," she growled.
Honest opened her eyes to see who had fallen on her. "Infy! Long time no see!"
"Not long enough," Infinite said, pushing himself up from the linoleum and straightening his mask.
Once Hearts was back on the ground, she did a twirl resembling the one Mephiles did in Sonic '06, the green and white striped backpack behind her swinging in slow-motion.