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| - "Family Matters" - Part Two: In the stormy Northern Tundra, Rotor finds himself confronted by Silver the Hedgehog. Silver, addressing the walrus as Boomer, declares that he'll never be able to betray the Knothole Freedom Fighters now, adding that he's helpless as the nanite-powered battlesuit has been shorted out. Rotor angrily retorts that he'd never betray his friends and furthermore, the nanites can't be "shorted out" but merely knocked temporarily offline. He emphasizes his final point with a blast from the suit's gauntlets - no one calls him "Boomer" anymore. Silver, using his powers to clear snow and debris, hotly retorts that they call him Rotor because he's an imposter - only to find the walrus gone. Before Silver can get his bearings, Rotor tackles him from behind and catches him in a choke hold. He tells the hedgehog that he doesn't have time for this, as his friends and family have been enslaved by Dr. Eggman and he may not have another chance to rescue them. Silver uses his psychokinesis to lift Rotor away and suspend him in the air. "Other lives are at risk?" he asks, and Rotor informs him that the hundreds in the herd, as well as thousands of others in the region, are in danger. Silver considers a moment, and then releases Rotor, saying he'll help him save the others. Meanwhile, Sonic and the Arctic FF are about to begin their assault upon Eggman's base. Sonic asks for a rundown of the details, confirming that the base's tower is responsible for sending out an amplified signal that keeps the herd brainwashed. The tower, being partially submerged, needs to be attacked from the surface as well as below. Sonic spindashes on the ice, cutting a large hole in its surface, and Guntiver the Wolf tells Sealia that it'll be up to her and her team to handle the underwater portion. She salutes him and plunges into the hole in the ice, soon followed by Flip and Augustus. Sonic compliments their gung-ho attitude; Erma thinks they have no time for such niceties and wants to get to work. She, Sonic and Guntiver then charge into the midst of the aggressive walrus herd, which fights back with clubs and blades. Sonic remarks that it's hard to fight these innocent Mobians, and Guntiver replies that destroying the tower base will allow them to free the herd once and for all. Sonic replies that it's still difficult and suddenly finds himself confronted by Skeeter and Georgette Walrus - Rotor's brother and mother. As they bear down upon him, Sonic desperately tries to explain he's Rotor's friend, hoping to snap them out of it. Suddenly, the two walruses collapse unconscious, having been struck by an camouflaged Erma. As she becomes fully visible again, Sonic, impressed, remarks that she can do "that invisible thing." Erma bluntly replies that it's due to her being an ermine. Sonic, likely thinking of recent adventures, asks if that makes her a ninja. Erma returns to the battle, snapping that the hedgehog needs to focus on the mission or get out of the way. Sonic pauses to replace Skeeter's cap, hoping the other team is having an easier time. Underwater, Sealia, Flip and Augustus encounter Dark Egg Legion Orcas. Flip disorients one with his superior agility while Sealia lures one away, pretending to be a prone target. The orca is lead to a waiting Augustus, who attacks with a vicious punch. "Zut alors! Who let that polar bear loose?" Sealia giggles. She and Flip prepare to cover Augustus as he goes to the surface to get another breath of air, but the trio are suddenly struck by a painful psychic-sonar attack, courtesy of the local Grandmaster, Akhlut. Akhlut launches a focused blast, throwing Augustus to the surface through the ice. Sealia and Flip attempt to fight back but find themselves outmatched. Akhlut chides these Freedom Fighters for attempting to interfere; he explains that the orcas and walruses have been in conflict as far back as anyone can remember, and that the orcas used their sonar abilities to cause confusion and leave the walrus herd prone to Dr. Robotnik, explaining their past hypnosis. He explains that now, as part of the Dark Egg Legion, there is no going back; the Northern Sea will be his to rule and the herd his slaves forever. Flying, Silver and Rotor finally come across the battle. Silver calls the scene a riot and thinks it's likely people will get hurt; he wonders if he can use his powers to hold the entire herd at once. Rotor instead points out the tower base, thinking that since it's Robotnik's, it will be directly tied to the current problem. Silver is dubious but follows Rotor as he flies to the top of the tower and blasts a hole in its side. Entering the control room, Rotor observes the computer systems and notes that while he can likely hack it, he doesn't know how to use it to their advantage. Silver points out a device consisting of a strange helmet over a chair, asking if it's important, and Rotor hacks the system, pulling up its files; he excitedly realizes that the device is a kind of neural interface. Silver, confused, asks what he means, and Rotor explains that it would allow direct control over the herd. He adds that Robotnik's use of the device is sick, but still, the device will allow them to reach out to the herd all at once - and the fact that Silver's a psychic will only make things easier. Silver points out that he's more of a telekinetic than a telepath, saying that at most he can just give someone a headache. Rotor grabs the hedgehog by the shoulders and says that Robotnik's no psychic and could use the device, asking Silver if he wants to save the herd or not. Persuaded, Silver says he'll try for the herd's sake and puts on the helmet while Rotor uses the controls to set the signal to maximum. Once in the chair, Silver asks what exactly it is he's supposed to do, and Rotor suggests just thinking of a command, adding "You're the psychic!" Timidly, Silver makes his move. Outside, a massive psychic wave suddenly strikes both the herd and the Legion; some of Akhlut's cybernetics shatter as the walruses stagger on the ice. Sonic approaches a walrus, who groggily says he only remembers "ear-splitting whale songs." Suddenly, everyone is nearly knocked off their feet as an explosion shakes the ice; as Erma lunges in with a hug, Guntiver happily realizes that the rest of the team must have succeeded in destroying the underwater portion of the base. Sonic notes they might have had some help as he sees Rotor approach, holding a very disoriented Silver. Rotor greets Sonic, adding that he must already know Silver, and Sonic replies they've met, asking Rotor what happened to his earlier comment about staying back as part of the Council of Acorn. Rotor replies "Eh, long story" and asks that they keep it to themselves. Later, in Iceborough, Sonic, Rotor, Silver, the Arctic Freedom Fighters, and Rotor's family enjoy a meal together as Flip explains what happened underwater. He says that he'd thought they were finished when Ahklut suddenly went berserk, and he and the other orcas attempted to flee while severely disoriented. Rotor notes that with their sonar, enhanced by Eggman's cybernetics and amplified by their connection to the tower base, Silver's psychic attack must have hit them especially hard. Georgette tells her son that she's proud of him, being both a Freedom Fighter and a member of the Council of Acorn, adding that his father would have been proud as well. Skeeter excitedly asks if he could try the nanite battlesuit, addressing his older brother as "Boomer." Silver makes a small, disgusted noise, and Sonic says that "Boomer" was Rotor's childhood nickname. Annoyed and embarrassed, Silver replies that he knows that, as Rotor's mother had explained it repeatedly as they travelled to the city. Sonic says that Silver is really bent on finding "this imaginary traitor" among the Freedom Fighters. Silver admits that his research wasn't thorough, but he's still dedicated to saving his future. However, he adds that it wasn't all a waste, as when he was hooked up to the tower's device, he was linked directly with the minds of the entire herd; rather than just break the Legion's hold, he explains, he modified their minds to prevent any further attempts at brainwashing. Sonic compliments this and the two clink glasses. Rotor lifts Silver onto his shoulder, saying that if Silver can stand sitting across from Hamlin for a week, then he'll be impressed. As the Arctic Freedom Fighters celebrate, Silver wonders what "a hamlin" is supposed to be. Meanwhile, in New Mobotropolis, Amy Rose and Sally Acorn are eating at Chuck's Diner. Amy suddenly waves to Tails, Bunnie "Rabbot" D'Coolette and Antoine D'Coolette, who have returned from their vacation. Sally asks if their visit to Cocoa Island was fun, and Tails dryly implies that it was an adventure, saying he'll tell them about it later. Sally tells them to rest up quick, as she needs Bunnie and Sonic for a mission...
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