— Woofa’s Apartment (Downtown District) —

  Yawns…

  The black porcupine slowly stirs up from the floor, stretching his legs before he pops his joints, giving himself the need to satisfy his entire body before he eventually wakes up. “Morning, Tricky.” Knuckles says as he watches the TV, seemingly bored with his morning, while eating his grapes.

  “I think work has gotten the best out of you.” Sonic says, also watching the TV. “You’re the last person to wake up, unsurprisingly. Like, what did your job do to make you that tired?”

  “Man, I don’t know, bro.” Tricky tirelessly chuckles, almost like he takes his job as a joke. “You either gotta ask my brother or his dog, because they seem to have a better understanding of our work conditions compared to me. I’m there either working or messing around.” They both snicker it off, trying to contain their laughter, but they continue to make fun of it.

  “You’re way different from Solid. He… has a mixture of your personality; at the same time, he feels more honest and mature. Meanwhile, you’re like… 100% messing around.” He can’t help but enjoy the porcupine more than the orange hedgehog. He’s balanced when it comes to relationships, as he tends not to bias one friend over another. Yet, their conversation is smooth, directly proportional to how their relationship has been so far.

  “Anyways, I need to use the bathroom. I’ll see you when I-” Rattling. Rattling. “Wha…?” Rattling. Rattling. “Come on! I’m trying to use the bathroom here!”

  “Ladies first, Tricky!” Amy shouts out, enjoying her time in there while she continues to hum to herself, enjoying the morning mood.

  “Hmph. I guess some coffee would start my day off.” He mutters to himself, going to the kitchen where Tails eats some fruits for breakfast. He watches him eat before grabbing a cup to prepare a coffee, setting one down on the small island, before he realizes something. “Where’s Solid?”

  “I don’t know.” Sonic shrugs while his gaze is focused on the TV. “I heard some footsteps early in the morning, but-”

  “Let me guess, he hung out with his precious dog.”

  “Spot on!” Tails points a fruit at him before digesting his healthy breakfast. “They’re trying not to wake us up with their conversation, but they failed to. I woke up and heard what they’re saying. I think it was like… “We can go out right now to show me your fighting skills.” That’s what he said to her, I believe.” He proceeds to consume yet another fruit.

  “Huh…” Tricky finishes brewing his coffee and takes a light sip from it, making him slightly awake and a bit more functional. “Early in the morning, too… Eh, they’re best friends, so… as expected.”

  The bathroom door opens, and Amy confidently blurts out her own opinions. “Wouldn’t that indicate love?” She walks out and appears in the small living room, sitting down on the couch. “I mean, the chemistry is there between the two supposed best friends, and seeing them together is like a movie scene! Oh… I can’t wait to see her after her shift!” She smiles contentedly as she closes her eyes, imagining the romantic situation while sitting beside Sonic.

  “... I think you’ll be the first Mobian to get scolded by him.” The blue blur lets out a light scoff, giving out an early joke. “No, but for real, where is he? Don’t we need him right now to start our investigation?”

  “That’s right… and even if he left with Woofa, he’d already be home right around this time.” Tails stops eating his fruits, concerned about the situation they’re in with their missing hedgehog.

  “Tch. Might as well call him.” He pulls out the phone and calls his brother, leaving everyone silent to hear their conversation.

  Buzz.

  Buzz.

  “Come on… I have no time for your games…” He silently mutters to himself, rapidly tapping his foot on the floor, now concerned as well. The thing about the brothers is that Solid always answers whenever the porcupine is calling him; a rare instance of him not answering leaves so much to be desired for the team.

  Buzz-

  Solid: “What’s up. What’s up. Sorry about that introduction… I’m either with my phone or not. Either ignore you or not. Either sleeping or not. Whatever matters. Have a nice day, tho.”

  “What are you doing, Solid…?” The porcupine instantly tries to call him again. But the same results once more.

  Solid: “What’s up. What’s up.-”

  The last time, he put his phone down, sighing in disappointment. This leaves the team in major concern. “This isn’t him. He wouldn’t ghost us… like ever.” He puts both hands on the counter, now leaning and looking down. “We need to find him. I fear he’s been captured by Eggman and his recruiters.”

  “That asshole…” Knuckles turns off the TV, clenching his fist before standing up. “The young warrior had a tough fight without our support, and now he’s captured.” A state of silence is heard loudly throughout the area, somewhat mourning his situation.

  “This is pathetic… like…” Tricky seems to lose hope, “I don’t know what to do now…”

  “Tricky… don’t give up.” Tails approaches him with a pat on the back, trying to comfort the now concerned step-brother. “We’ll find him, do not worry too much.” He gives a reassuring smile, watching the porcupine coping with this situation.

  Though they need a plan to find Solid. From the beginning of their question, how would they start this out? The first indication is to track him by using the device that Tails used earlier, which was also coincidentally on the orange hedgehog. But they couldn’t find any orange fur that had been dropped on the floor, now leaving them desperate for more ideas.

  “... How about meeting up with Woofa? If she’s the last person that she had talked to with him, might as well strike up a conversation with her.” Sonic once again saved the day; a good plan to start their rescue mission. And with a unanimous agreement, they all start their day off outside, now investigating the whereabouts of the orange hedgehog.

  — Haven City Finances (Downtown District) —

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  “So that’s where you three work?” Amy questions with such astonishment, seeing the Haven City Finance building at its grand scale for the first time.

  “Obviously, what do you expect?” The porcupine lets out a light scoff, being casual about her question. “It’s not THAT spectacular, but it’s the same thing I see almost every damn day.” When they enter the lobby, they instantly see the brown dog in the distance, working as a receptionist. Before the team approaches her, Tricky instead stops them, giving them a warning. “I swear, when I say that, she’ll react with such concern, I mean it. The problem is… if she had heard about this news, she would volunteer to risk her life to save him. So… I’m not going to tell her; one of you guys must tell.”

  Confused by what he said, looking at the porcupine with a side-eye. “And why’s that?” Sonic skeptically asks him while crossing his arms.

  “If I say that the recruiters have captured her orange furball without any evidence, she would definitely not believe me. She takes me as a joke. Compared to one of you guys, she would be on board.” He raises his arms defensively before sitting down on the couch, lounging in the lobby. “I know one of you can say it to her, trust the process.”

  With Tricky disqualifying himself from being chosen to speak to Woofa, it’s now up to the Mobians, where they don’t have much of a choice, either. They all look at each other, eyeing their presence to find the best candidate to tell her about this situation. Ultimately, they decide to make a decision.

  “Amy, you got this.” Sonic says while the rest fall behind, leaving her alone in the middle of the lobby, where she doesn’t have much of a choice either. It didn’t matter whether the team was to sell their souls away and rely on a pink hedgehog for their last-ditch effort. If it meant saving the world, might as well bring the energy, no matter the potential consequences.

  She approaches the brown dog, already feeling guilty of her future speech, expecting mostly negative outcomes, but she gives it her all, as they finally meet once more. “Amy?” Woofa’s surprised face tells how shocked she is when she sees her friend visiting her. “What are you doing here- unless you’re stopping by to see how I cope with this environment?”

  An honest answer, Amy shakes her head, instead taking a deep breath to tell her the following. “Woofa, I’m sorry for saying this to you, but…”

  “... But, what?”

  “Remember when you and Solid left the house earlier?”

  The dog’s heart has been struck by lightning, sensing something severely wrong with the conversation and where it’s leading. She slowly stands up, leaning her hands on the table while giving her an anxious look. “... Yeah…? We went to his home to show off why I joined this team before we separated to start my shift…” But the worst goes into her heart, trying to let her stop, “Amy… please don’t tell me…”

  “Unfortunately… he’s been… captured by them…”

  And as expected, they all get to experience the worst outcome. Woofa slowly looks down at the desk, where she tries to contain her tears, but it’s too late. She cries, thinking it’s the last time hanging out with her beloved best friend. All she remembers is telling him to have a “great day”. Envisioning his face creates more pain, too, letting her sink the emotions deep.

  “Don’t cry, Woofa.” Amy goes around the desk before she hugs her, trying to comfort her. “He’s been captured, but that doesn’t mean he’s dead. I’m sure that he’s alive, no doubt about it. Don’t think about his status being presumed dead; we don’t know if he is. Otherwise, we need to stay strong and find him. Remember, without your best friend, are you still strong by yourself?”

  The brown dog’s crying is heard dying down, transitioning into sporadic sniffs. She slowly looks up at her and gives a reassuring nod. “I… am… I am strong…”

  “Good.” She pats her back before she gives her more motivation. “Now, tell me what you’re going to do now that he’s captured.”

  “I’ll save him… I’ll save my best friend.” She wipes her tears away, now regaining her confidence as she pulls out the same framed photo of them when they were younger. She stares at the picture for about a moment, letting Amy take her space and time to do what she has to do. “I’ll save you, Solid. You’re not going to die under my watch.” She shoves the photo in her pocket, now determined to do what she feels is important. “I’m taking a week off. I don’t care what the CEO says.” She stands up and picks up her belongings, now watching her coworkers, shocked that she’s leaving. “Good luck, you two; you should probably call someone to sub me in.” She gives the pink hedgehog a nod, accepting her decision while they approach the team.

  “I knew you got it.” Sonic’s words cause Amy’s heart to flutter from his intrinsic motivation. “God, this made the team even better at being motivated!” He exclaims while they all form in a circle. “Now that you’re here, Woofa… what’s next to finding him?”

  Although it seems like they’re in a dead-end, Tails has another idea, something that finally brings the spark to the team’s mission. “If we don’t know where he went after, then…” He slowly digs down inside his backpack, where he slowly unveils the same device. “I don’t know what to name this plan, sadly… but I do know the trick!” He says while setting the device on the table, where the team watches him hack with some configurations. “I’m hacking through some CCTV footage around this area. That way, we’ll be able to track where he went during the time span from when Woofa started working until when we were finally aware of his absence.” He guesses an approximate timespan, determining when he was away. “From 8 A.M. to 10 A.M., that’s when Solid started to become missing.” He configures some footage during those time frames, allowing the team to contribute to this plan.

  After multiple pieces of footage are displayed on the screen, Knuckles spots something remarkable. “Hold up! Hold up! Go to 8:34 A.M. at Market Street.” Tails plays the footage once more, where the same orange hedgehog is seen, casually walking around the sidewalk.

  “Bingo!” Tails gives high-fives to everyone, also patting himself on the back for his brilliant and game-changing plan. “Some Market Street footage around the times 8:34 to 8:40…” Reviewing footage from several cameras from multiple angles, before they witness the moment when the hedgehog accidentally bumps into a random gecko, and finally knowing the last location before entering the unnamed building that they can’t read due to the camera angle. But it did open up opportunities to investigate the place, and that’s their next plan.

  To investigate further.

  “This is where my brother went?” They look back at the porcupine, whom they had almost forgotten was part of this team; he inspects the hedgehog further, watching his reaction to the gecko. Initially uninterested until becoming interested in the gecko’s motive. “That child… he’s luring him to something.”

  Knuckles sideeyes at the porcupine, almost understanding from what he’s saying. “Are you saying that the child is a part of Eggman?”

  “He’s assuming that he is a part of Egghead, not truly saying that he is.” Sonic crosses his arms, still watching the still frame of the footage. “If this is where Solid went, might as well investigate there otherwise.” He puts his right hand in a V-shape, not in victory, but rather pointing at the two Haveners. “You two. Can you take us to this known location in Market Street?”

  With a look at the two long-time friends, who have a long-term trust with Solid, both nod at each other before they approach the entrance. “Let’s do this for Solid.”

  — The Grand Good ol’ Maze (Downtown District) —

  Based on some evidence from where the footage was taken, with the help of the two Haveners and Tails, they all stop at the last location where Solid was last standing outside. They glance at the building before they spot its sign. “Grand Good ol’ Maze?” Amy lets a confused look from seeing the title. “What kind of maze would be given a title like this?”

  “Probably someone random- but that’s not the point. I’ve never heard of this place until now.” Tricky extends his arms to show how shocked he is. “I’ve walked around Market Street a few times, and I’ve never heard one damn thing about it, even on the internet.” He says before thinking about what he said. “I’ve been here a few times… bro, what am I saying?”

  Woofa lets out a slight scoff, “Dummy…” Causing the porcupine to dart his eye at her, but she quickly recomposes herself, turning back to seriousness. “I haven’t heard about this place until now. Solid and I have walked here about a dozen times during the weekends, yet I’ve never stumbled across this while sightseeing the new and trendy stores around here.” She continues staring at the place, sensing the menacing atmosphere, despite not being inside.

  “Whatever happens inside, we’re not gonna waste time otherwise. We need a friend to rescue.” Sonic finally takes a step and approaches the building, where he looks at the sign behind the glass door. “... Closed? It’s literally been an hour since Solid went inside, and now it’s closed?” He glances back at the team before he finally understands the situation. “... Tricky is right. This place is a hoax. That kid must’ve worked for Eggman this entire time.” He smashes the glass, shattering it into pieces to reveal an opening, surprising the team and pedestrians passing by. “I have a bad feeling about this place. I suggest sticking together as a team.”

  Inside the place, it’s eerily quiet, an ambiance that represents an abandoned playhouse. Although it is a sunny day outside, the darkness of the place consumes everything thereafter. “Here, guys.” Tails grabs three flashlights out of his backpack, now directing the team to something. “We’re definitely going to split up into two. So… who’s going with who-”

  “My hero for sure!” Amy grabs the blue blur’s wrist, not letting go of him anytime soon.

  “We got a first.” He tosses the flashlight to his best friend, giving the blue hedgehog a smirk. “I think the Haveners will get along through a reunion.” He tosses the flashlight to them, watching both friends immediately fight for it like brother and sister. “And… you and I, Knuckles… let’s do this.”

  The combination of three pathways that go deep into the closed building contains three signs. One to the maze itself; one to the staff members; and lastly, one to the store, which literally leads to the maze’s exit. A perfect situation where they’re split into three. “Alright. Alright. I think Amy and I will go into the maze itself, because why not?” Sonic instantly rushes there while Amy follows in pursuit, leaving the other two Mobians and the Haveners.

  “That was quick.” Knuckles amusingly says while gesturing his head to the staff room for Tails, whom he knows he can control the control panels for the entire place. “You wanna go right now?” His friend nods before they settle in the staff room, where, despite it being locked, the echidna punches the door with ease, letting them in.

  This eventually leaves the Haveners alone, where they look at each other awkwardly. “I do a better job with the flashlight anyway.” Tricky snatches the flashlight from Woofa, causing her to growl, but the porcupine is tired of fighting; he would much rather tease her. “Aww… boo-hoo to the dog, sad for her beloved, dear best friend being missing. I wonder where the orange furball is now that he got you worried-”

  SLAP!

  In shock, the brown dog slaps the porcupine on his cheek, unexpectedly. “Shut up!” Woofa is definitely upset from his teasing, tired from him, while focused on finding Solid. “That’s your damn brother! Get a grip!” Based on this instance, there should be no jokes about the orange hedgehog’s status between them during the situation.

  “Geez… sensitive…” The porcupine’s flashlight points ahead, where they eventually follow the path to the maze’s exit. “I was trying to make ourselves comfortable…!” His voice is heard with a sense of disappointment, while echoing throughout the area. “Woofa…! Woofa!”