"We are a family. We won't back down."

"You've already said too much." Someone said.

Pompom turned around to see a large man standing behind everyone. He was tall and buff, his physique barely contained by the snow white suit he wore. It didn't take much for Pomona to realize this was the 'large man' that Nikku was so frightened by. He wasn't human or anthro either, instead a being seemingly made out of clouds.

Next to the cloud man stood an equally perplexing individual. He stood as tall as the cloud man but not as wide. His species was hidden behind a golden mask he wore. Even in the late night it shimmered under the moon. Gold in colour and further obscured by a hood Pompom couldn't see any eyes behind it.

The two were surrounded by several people clad in black tactical armour, all wielding machine guns. By the lack of reaction none of them recognized the crew. Some wielded flashlights though none were aiming directly at them. They could all see each other clearly.

Nikku stepped back, hitting a vine. Zardy still hadn't retracted them, not intending to let Nikku get away so easily.

Like Nikku, their presence also frightened Huggy. He put a hand on Static, ready for anything. Zardy relinquished the brute and cablecrow from his grasp. He had the same feelings as everyone else. He wasn't even sure how they got onto the farm without detection. It worried him.

These men meant business. The clouded man stepped forward first, a stern expression on his face.

"Ahem." He cleared his throat. "I apologize for the intrusion but it seems something that belongs to me and my associates ended up here." He spoke calmly with a firm and deep voice. To Pompom, it was almost hypnotizing.

He took another step as he surveyed the group.

"With your cooperation-" He paused, eyes settling on Static.

Even his small black eyes were enough to make Static tremble. He didn't recognize him in the slightest but something in him warned to stay quiet.

The cloud man grinned. "My my~ It seems like IRIS already beat me to it."

"You see. This changes things." He let loose a wicked smile. He took another step forward, this time towards Static. "Do you intend to report this little incident?"

"I don't know what you're t-talking about. I don't know you."

"Sure you don't~ You agents...always so bad at lying. Tsk."

Huggy sensed something was extremely wrong. As a dog would its newborn, he grabbed Static, pulling him closer. Huggy hissed at the man.

The cloud man just let out a small chuckle, surveying the rest of the group. "It's like I've stumbled upon a whole circus. So many...impossible creatures. So many that need to be studied and contained."

"Hmm?" The masked man spoke and looked behind him, a few soldiers turning that way. "If you're planning on making some grand appearance I recommend you do it now." He said to the grass nearby. He had some kind of accent Pompom couldn't place. It almost sounded like the other farmers she knew.

In an instant, something materialized next to Pompom. It happened so fast the group flinched, aiming guns at them. The clouded man and masked man were the only ones who did not move.

Through the act of teleportation Amelia and Ronan appeared. Ronan was armed with a shotgun. She had picked up on what was going on earlier, noticing several unmarked vehicles pull up onto the farmstead.

"Mom!" Pompom said, relieved. She would have given her a hug but things were already too tense.

Amelia's face shone otherwise but she was worried now too. How did they detect her? She and Ronan had teleported nearby, watching the scene closely.

"Get off my property." Amelia said. She had her hands ready to cast.

"Oh? Reinforcements?" The cloud man spoke. "Let's say you hand us the girl and maybe we leave you all in peace. Leave your little 'circus' alone." He said aloud.

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Pompom looked back to Nikku. There was genuine fear in her eyes. Pompom, emboldened by her mother's appearance responded.

"You're not taking her."

"Hmph. I'm not in the interest of negotiating with children. Especially abominable children."

Zardy spoke up next. Much as he didn't like Nikku, he felt the show of force in front of him was far more alarming. They had invaded his farm.

"She's right. You are not taking her."

"And I don't negotiate with demons. You creatures don't even understand morality." The man glared at Zardy.

"Grrr. I'm not a demon you-" Zardy began to speak but the intruder just ignored him.

Amelia glanced back to see Nikku, shrivelled up practically clinging to the vine.

"Are you perchance the owner of this property, madam?" The intruder said, unfazed by Amelia's glowing hands.

"She and I are." Ronan said, raising the shotgun. "Now I suggest you get off my property or else." Ronan said.

"Hmph. I don't intend to leave until I get her and her ship back."

"You aren't police? You got a warrant?" Ronan asked.

"We are not police and no. We don't need one to collect what belongs to us." The masked man said.

Amelia's hands started glowing. She was ready for combat.

"You'd still wish to fight even though you're outnumbered?" The cloud man said, a hint of surprise in his voice.

With a cock of the handle, Ronan loaded a shell.

Pomona, seeing that her parents were being serious and got ready.

Zardy could tell the numbers. They were outnumbered but he knew what Amelia was capable of. With them unified he saw it fit to help. He readied the hoe, mentally controlling vines unseen underground.

Mackie growled.

Huggy also understood the mood, getting ready to lunge if need be.

Static, caught in the middle of this saw no other option but to get ready as well.

The whole farm had assembled, a family united.

Zardy, Amelia, Pomona, Ronan, Mackie, Static, Huggy and Zardy's people were ready.

But despite the show of unity, their commanders seemed unfazed.

"We are a family. We won't back down." Pompom said.

"Hmph. Even if I leave now how will I know that little agent there won't take her for their own purposes?"

"I won't dude. I swear. Honest." Static said. He held a hand up.

"How can I be so sure?"

"I-i don't know. I'm not an agent. I swear."

"Hmmm."

The commander weighed his options. A potential IRIS agent, two magicians, farmer with a shotgun, some demonic scarecrow, his cronies, a dog thing and an abomination; and they were all the same page.

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The commander raised his hand and the soldiers behind him lowered all their guns.

"This isn't over. You people don't know what she's capable of...but no matter. I'll leave you to her for now. She should be harmless in the state she's in. "

He took a step back. "But whatever happens next, is on all of you."

He looked to Static. "If I hear anything about that girl ending up in IRIS' hands. I will personally pay you a visit."

Static, though expressionless shivered a bit in fear. He nodded.

Before the commander could leave, the masked man stopped him, whispering something to the clouded man. The commander responded. "It's fine."

As they all walked away, Pompom turned to Static. She whispered. "What was that all about?"

"I-I don't know."

"Maybe he got you confused with Displo?"

The clouded man froze. He turned around, all his soldiers following to. His expression had grown stern, just as before but he looked angry now.

"Displo? Did you just say Displo?" He stepped forward.

"This changes everything. Deal's off." He raised his hands up and in an instant the standoff resumed. "Too good to be true." The masked man said, bemused.

"You know Displo? What is the nature of this relationship?" The cloud man asked, anger trickling in his voice.

Pompom felt compelled to answer, figuring the whole thing a misunderstanding. "Y-yeah. We're part of-" She stopped only after being jabbed by Amelia. She had already told Pomona once to keep the team a secret.

It was enough as the commander grinned.

"You're employed by that tin can aren't you?" He said.

"We aren-" Zardy began to say but was cut off. "No need to lie. I can read it on your faces. You're part of that 'group' Displo's been assembling. To think he'd employ a child." The commander grimaced. "Pathetic."

"Indeed." The masked man said. He put a hand on the clouded man's shoulder and whispered something else to him. "Hmm. I do like the sound of that."

Again the commander raised his hand, causing all the guns to lower.

"I'm willing to overlook your... paranormal infractions." He said, motioning to Huggy, Zardy and Mackie. "And even keep the girl. On one condition."

"What's that?" Zardy asked annoyed he was being singled out.

"Nothing that concerns you currently. I'll be in touch with Displo. You'll all know exactly what tomorrow. You have my word I will not make any moves against the girl...or you..for now."

He turned again. "May you all have a good night." He said, looking back with a wicked grin on his face.

Amelia quietly cast a mute spell on Pompom, just in case she tried to say something and jeopardize the situation again.

And just as fast as they entered the crash site they were gone. They all waited and extra minute just to make sure they were out of earshot. Satisfied everyone dropped their poses. The threat had vanished.

Ronan turned back to see Nikku. She had collapsed during the standoff and passed out.

"Let's get back home." Ronan said, patting Amelia on the back. "And you two have a lot of explaining to do." He said sternly to Pomona and Static. Pompom tried to protest but was unable to, instead glaring at him.

As Ronan went to pick Nikku up, Amelia spoke to all. "Good job everyone. That was really impressive."

Zardy relaxed too, dropping his shoulders. "You really have no idea who that was?" He asked Static.

"Honest. I don't know him." He said.

"You're some kind of agent?"

Static shook his head. "No! They said I'm too young to be one."

"Well he knew you were."

"I'm not sure. He probably knows my uncle." Static said. Pompom tried to mouth something instead nodding in agreement.

Pompom and Mackie stepped back to go inspect the wreckage. The spell was wearing off; Pompom could feel her voice returning.

The ship was still partly buried in the soil. Its lights had long faded and the ship powered down. Looking inside Pompom saw a variety of buttons, many of which had paper taped to them, noting various things. There were all sorts tools scattered inside, screwdrivers, clipboards, hammers and the like. Whoever had captured her had been analyzing the ship as well.

"What should we do about the ship?" Pompom asked.

"Zardy, can you conceal it for the time being?" Amelia asked.

"Sure."

With his two henchmen, Zardy got to work on allowing the vines to overtake the ship, pulling it into the ground.

The rest of the group started to make their way back to the house.

"So are you gonna keep her?" Static asked.

"No." Ronan said. "But we're certainly not gonna let them take her either."

"Maybe Displo can take her in?" Static asked.

"I doubt that; he made it very clear he wanted you to stay away from her." Amelia said.

"But that was before he found out how Displo though. What was he talking about? What are you guys doing with my uncle?"

"I-uh don't think we can tell you." Pompom said, now having learned her lesson.

"Hmm alright. Maybe someone in your team could take her in." Static said, rather unhelpfully.

"Perhaps, but that'll be for me to figure out. You two should go back to bed." Amelia said.

Huggy and Mackie trailed alone behind the group. In just the few days spent together they had begun to learn to communicate with each other. Huggy lagged behind because he was so enamoured by the stars. He had looked out at the sky back at the factory but saw nothing but empty blackness.

Light pollution in the area blotted out the stars there too. To finally see it now was mesmerizing for him, even after having looked it for a few nights already.

"Why? I want to stay by her, make sure she's okay." Pompom said.

"No and that's final. It's a school night too."

"Aww, please?"

"You heard your mom. It's bed time. For the both of you." Ronan added.

Static shrugged. He didn't really have any opposition. He was just curious about the team.

"I'm gonna leave early tomorrow morning if that's okay. I want to talk to my uncle. He's gonna wanna know what happened."

"Oh! We could teleport you there!" Pompom said, instantly abandoning her mission to help the unconscious girl.

"Really? Is it safe?"

The two new friends continued to talk, trying to figure out what the mysterious man meant and how he knew Displo.

Back home, morning came after a quiet night. The alarm rang though you had been long up before then.

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Song: Hangover Blues

It was at first your phone dinging a few times, text messages coming in. Then S appeared and begun to rouse you, not shouting but being as annoying as he could be, spouting all sorts of things.

Opening your eyes slowly, you see sunlight seeping through the blinds. It lit your room in a cool white glow.

"Hey! Hey! Are you up now? That butler is freaking out." S demanded. He spoke from your phone, computer and some machines in the rest of the house. It was like an intercom.

"Mhmhhm? What's he want?" You ask groggily.

"I'm not quite sure actually. But from the looks of it; guy's ang-er-ryy!."

You turn over and grab your phone, eyes weary from sleep. Displo had indeed sent a bunch of messages. As you scroll through there's a lot you skim what was going on.

Mostly texts about you needing to come in, to call him asap, to come in, that the team is screwed, to come in and to call him asap. There was one message noting that "we never should have let a child in." and how "this is all that goat's fault!"

"What happened with Pomona?" You ask S.

"Beats me. Haven't heard anything from her recently. We were auguring about who was faster the other day. See I was..." S said, starting to trail off.

You send Displo a message you'd be there soon. Checking the phone's clock it was just past 6:00AM, about a hour earlier than your alarm.

Stepping up you get ready for the day.

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?" S shouted as you walked away from your phone.

"Yeah, yeah. Any idea what Displo wanted?"

"Pfft. I already said I'm not your secretary."

You just ignore him and continue on.

You check the living room. Still in disarray from Huggy. His pillow fort stood tall, occupying an entire corner of the room. Huggy was nowhere to be found. You do a double take, still groggy. Oh yeah, he was at Pomona's. Better just wash up.

Your phone rang off again. "Displo?" You ask in between some teeth brushing.

Though he still denied it, S had become your assistant. It was a position he begrudgingly accepted in exchange for storage space for his growing collection of 'videos from Mobius'. You gave him some privacy but the last time you glanced at the folder's thumbnail it was a bunch of pictures of the real Sonic.

"Not that bag o' bolts! It's your boyfriend."

"Huh?"

"Oh, is he not?" S laughed. You ignore him.

Spitting out the mouth wash you check. It was from Tabi.

"I'm going to be in the area today. Would you like to get lunch?" The message read.

And then hastily, he added. "my treat."

You tell him you'd love that and to see him around then.

You don't add that Displo would probably just comp the meal anyways or that you could pay it. You knew he was strapped for money.

Tabi had been messaging you more than the others. Mostly conversations about the team and stuff but slowly he'd been asking about your day, and how things were going on at the restaurant. It wasn't the least bit annoying, and you started to find yourself enjoying those messages more and more.

"Am I wrong?" S asked again, tauntingly.

"Well...I don't know."

"Ha! Lovebird. Just admit it."

You just about make some snide remark about S not loving anyone but stop. You already knew is answer and the lecture that would follow. It was a strange obsession that he had. Better not to open that can of worms.

"You coming to Displo's?" You ask while getting dressed.

"Ehn, sure. Why not? Bit curious to see what's got him so riled up!"

You grab your phone as you get ready to head out the door.

"So what's going on with Mobius today?" You ask. You knew even if you didn't he was still going to tell you. It had become a bit of a morning routine. Sad to say but you had become more knowledgeable in Mobian politics than Newgrounds City. Nah, you knew the cities politics. Corruption and that blasted Family.

"Well since you asked. Let me see." You put the phone on the holder. S was on screen, now picturing himself in a news studio, holding a newspaper in hand.

In the days spent you found he always loved putting on a show, even if nobody was watching. He was like a cartoon character, if they were also an eldritch, possibly ageless being.

"Not much today. Eggman is still missing, the now titled Starline Wars are still raging across Mobius. Most recently, his empire has become engaged in a brutal struggle for the Green Hill Zone..." S said, pretending to speak like a reporter.

Eventually S had finished reading the morning news and left, off to go do whatever he did during the day. You tried not to concern yourself with it, telling S that as long as he stays out of trouble and doesn't bring attention to the crew or you didn't care.

You knew S had at least been building a rep for himself. You nearly spat out your drink when you read a post talking about a cursed Sonic appearing in VR.

S said he wasn't hurting anyone but it didn't stop the worry. You just kept reminding yourself to 1. Never go in a VR set again and 2. That He was on your side...for now.

Pulling into Displo's you get out. For the early morning the lot was abandoned, only a few cars present. Probably the prep cooks, you think.

In the time you had worked here you started to realize how good of a spot it was. The area had little crime, it was one of a kind, a real bistro amongst fast food restaurants and it was near an industrial park so it always had hungry people coming by during lunchtime and dinner.

You wondered if Displo or IRIS chose the spot. Either way you had grown to like the place.

Approaching the front door you see Displo...and a smaller Displo? You have to double-check. You open the door for them.

Displo looked in a hurry, the small Displo following close.

"Morning (Y/N). I'm sorry but I must go and drop him off." He said quickly.

"I-"

"I'm sorry, this is, uh, Static. He's, my, uh, I mentioned him before. I'll explain when I get back." He said before waiving off and getting into a car.

You just shrug and head inside.

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The next chapter will be called A Daring Challenge.