"The Destructix!" Sally shouted, looking angry to see them as well as Y/N.

"Now that we have your attention, there's something we would like to discuss." Fiona said, looking rather oddly calm.

But they didn't want to listen to her as Sonic, Y/N and Kirby, and Tails charged them.

"You've got more than my attention! Let's take 'em, Tails and Y/N!"

"You got it!"

"On it!"

As everyone started fighting, Y/N decided to help Sally as she punched Fiona straight into her cheek. Fiona fell to the ground with a grunt. Fiona got up and smirked.

"How's life going?"

Y/N said nothing and just glared at her with hatred. It's clear that she's still hurt and angry that Fiona, who thought she could trust, would betray her as a friend. Now she'll never forgive her, and yet she still cares for her. Fiona, though regretting it, still wants her back by asking her to join Destructix which she refused. Fiona really wanted Y/N to be her friend again and to be something more because she still loves her even if Y/N doesn't see it, she won't give up.

"Not talking to me, huh? Still have second thoughts about joining me?"

"In.Your.Dreams."

Kirby growled at Fiona who's unamused.

"Worth a try."

Sally had enough and went to kick Fiona when she kicked her back as their legs are crossed.

"Think you can handle me, princess?"

"I was saving you for myself!"

"Yeah, right! The only time we see you jokers is when you want to give me a black eye." Sonic scoffed, rubbing Frog's head with his knuckles.

"Stop! Desist! Yield! No more noogie-boogie-woogie!"

"If you're not here to cause trouble, then what do you want?" Sally asked, glaring at Fiona.

"I mean it! Fun time's over, boys! Pack it in!"

Fiona snapped her fingers and the boys regrouped.

"Oh, we're here to cause trouble, but when we got word that you guys were in the area we came to recruit you into the fun."

"Word travels fast around here." Sally mumbled, crossing her arms.

"Of course there would be..." Y/N sighed.

"Speaking of fast, how the heck did you go all the way out here so quick?" Sonic asked.

"It wasn't about you at first, but it was about your sister, but let's start from the beginning. Remember when you managed to sucker the Suppression Squad into turning on Scourge? I got out while everyone was fighting in the lab. I... had my own plans after that. I needed some muscle, so I went looking for the Destructix." Fiona continued. "What I found, though, was the team's miserable remains."

~FLASHBACK~

"What do you want?" Sleuth Dawg asked, leaning against the chair he's sitting on.

"I want the Destructix."

"You can have them. Drago went back to the Eggman Empire, the idiot. Lightning left saying something about 'honor restored'. Since he left, the others haven't been the same."

"Yeah, well, work is work and money is money, how much do you want?" Fiona asked, crossing her arms.

"When I said you could have them, I meant it. I'm done."

Sleuth headed out of the bar.

"I've saved enough to take care of myself, and I've seen enough to know now's a good time to disappear and preserve my hide. Good luck, lady. You won't see me again."

~FLASHBACK ENDS~

"And so they let you take command. Just like that?" Sally asked.

"No, I had to promise our first order of business would be to get Lightning back on the team."

Y/N winced to hear that name, still not forgetting him giving her a bad eye.

"Since when did you guys care so much about each other?" Sonic asked, looking unconvinced.

"He was one of the original four. He's been with us from the beginning." Predator said.

"Mogul, Kodos, Snively, Sleuth... Leaders come and go. He is our comrade. We know he is being used." Sergeant said sadly, removing his helmet.

"Outcasts! Downcasts! No class! Heh hee hee hoo ha hee hoo!" Flying Frog exclaimed wobbily.

"Wow, I'm impressed. That's a lot of loyalty being thrown around while Fiona's involved." Sonic grinned teasingly, making Fiona glare at him.

"Hmph." Fiona turned to Y/N. "Aw, can't you talk some sense into them?"

Y/N raised her eyebrow in confusion.

"Why?"

"You know me better than anyone else, right? You said so yourself. You know I'm good on the inside. It would mean so much to me if you'd step in and--"

Y/N had enough of hearing her nonsense and stomped over to her before Sally could and kneed Fiona in the gut.

"--WOOPF!"

Ken and Tails were shocked that she just kneed Fiona and how angry she looked. Sally smirked in satisfaction that she deserved it as Sonic grinned at his sister with proudness.

"Leave me out of this! You've already betrayed me long enough. If you want a deal from us, then deal."

"Still feisty... as ever..." Fiona grunted.

"We want Lightning returned." Sergeant said, getting to the point.

"We want his clan to renounce the Iron Queen." Ken said.

"Then the terms are agreed upon."

"I'm game if you guys are. I know you're enemies, but..."

"I'm flexible, but how do we get a fuzz-head to leave the people he wants to be with? Nevermind the whole army of ninja lynxes." Sonic said.

Fiona slowly stood up, holding her belly.

"And this is why I'm in charge and brought us all together. I have a plan."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The Iron Fortress-- the former home of the Iron King and Queen. It has meter-thick armored walls. It has two heavily reinforced doorways that can only be opened from the inside. But from there it's a straight shot to the throne room and the raiju clan's bride." Fiona explained as everyone gathered together in front of the fortress.

"Man, this place is uglier than I remembered." Sonic said.

"Then the doors will just have to go, won't they?" Khan asked.

"Well, then--" Sonic started.

"Shall we invite ourselves in?" Y/N finished with a smirk.

"Remember the plan..." Sergeant reminded them. "We do not have the time to break down both gates, so Team A will fly Team B over the outer walls. Expect heavy defensive measures. Team A will them move to engage the initial wave of ninja while Team B disengages the inner gate. Team C will deal with the outer gate."

Everything is going according to the plan as Team B: Frog, Predator, Fiona, Tails, Sally, and Y/N and Kirby jumped over the fortress, dodging the arrows coming their way and crashed the ninja lynxes. Y/N, Kirby, Sally, and Fiona run off as fast as they can as the boys distract them. Sally and Fiona started rolling the control to open the gate while Y/N and Kirby were on a lookout for any sign of the ninjas.

"Heh-- Just like old times when I was a Freedom Fighter, huh, princess?"

"You may have been on the team, but you were never a Freedom Fighter."

Fiona looked back at Y/N who's still on the lookout. Sally noticed this and sighed.

"If you're trying to talk to Y/N, don't. She's still mad at you. And I know you like her. Or as in you love her."

"So what? I'm still going to get her to join whether you like it or not."

"Yet, you still care for her even if you betray her. You pretty much have been fighting for her."

"Shut up. Just you wait, she'll talk to me again."

"I highly doubt it. As a friend, you should never turn your back on them."

Kirby, who's listening to this, gave Fiona a glare before sticking his tongue out with raspberry sound. Y/N who was secretly listening too sighed. She may not want to talk to her, but her actions show that she still sees her as a friend even just a little. She won't forgive her until Fiona realizes her mistake. Just someday. Just then, the door was destroyed with a loud boom, creating a dust and causing the girls to cover their eyes. Sergeant, Sonic, and Ken walked out of the smoke.

"That was awesome! I'm glad we don't have to do it twice, tho'."

Everyone gathered together once again as they ran inside through the hall.

"The throne room should be straight ahead!" Fiona said.

They later stopped to see the army of ninja lynxes. Next to the two thrones are Lightning and a female orange lynx with black hair, and she originally had orange eyes. Her tufted ears end in black and are pushed down by her straw conical hat; the left ear has a nick in it. Her black bangs are visible beneath her hat and hang over her face, and she wears purple eyeshadow. She wears a purple gi-like outfit trimmed in gold and belted at the waist. She also wears heavy gloves and boots with metal reinforcements. She's Conquering Storm, Bride of the Raiju Clan.

"So the King of the Free People has raised himself a little army. That's fine by me! Only fools declare all-out war on the Raiju Clan!" Conquering said.

"Which is why we haven't come for war! We came to talk!" Ken said, taking a step towards her.

"By invading my-- ahem-- by invading the fortress entrusted to me by my masters?"

"Would you have listened to us otherwise?"

"No. State your case, and do it quickly."

"Break away from the Iron Dominion! As King of the Free People, on my word of honor, I promise to uphold your right to your lands. I'll let you keep the Iron Fortress too."

"You'll 'let us' keep it? Bold words." Conquering scoffed with a smirk. "But we cannot be bought like the lowly Yagyu. We are the mighty Raiju! Only through one's strength-- through actions-- do you earn anything!"

"Then I propose a wager upon a duel of honor." Ken said, looking over at Sonic. "Should your champion win, we will surrender to you. We'd be prime prisoners for the Iron Queen. And if ours is victorious, you renounce the Iron Dominion."

"Either way, I win. Agreed."

Conquering turned to Lightning.

"Lightning! You will fight to prove your continued worth to your clan." she ordered.

"Y-Yes! Of course! Thank you!" he stuttered.

Ken bowed to Sonic dramatically.

"The King of the Free People humbly asks the hero of Mobius to duel--"

"I'll go."

They turned to see Y/N as she put her weapons down and removed the amulet from her neck and gave it to Tails. Then, she gave Kirby to Sonic.

"Sis??" Sonic questioned.

"Pooteetah?"

"Y/N?" Ken, Tails, Sally, Fiona, and Predator questioned her action.

"It would be a little too easy for my bro to win, so let's give him some chances to fight like a real man." she said, ignoring their surprised expression as she walked over to Lightning who's just as surprised as everyone else.

"You? Without your weapons? Not even your amulet magic?"

"You think I only use weapons and powers? Please! I can fight without it. Let's get real." Y/N said, cracking her knuckles and neck. "This is also for giving me a bad eye."

"He what?!" Fiona and Predator exclaimed in shock.

"I have come this far, so I'll thank you for that." Lightning smirked. "You're a fool. You don't know what I'm capable of. And I'm sorry about that."

"We shall see. You're forgiven since you apologized."

Y/N got into her fighting stance as Lightning got into his pouncing stance. They stay there waiting for their move. He then charges her and throws punches at her. She ducked and literally smacked him in the cheek, making him fly and fall to the ground almost close to the spears the ninjas are holding that are surrounding them in a circle.

"You can do better than that. But don't you think it's a waste of time impressing Conquering? You know she's just using you."

"Liar!!"

Lightning got up and went to kick her, but Y/N blocked his leg and grabbed his arm when he was about to punch her again and smacked him in the face with his own hand a few times, pushing him back. Lightning held his cheek in pain, glaring at her.

"Why would I lie? Plus, she doesn't even care about you. Why did you think she brought you back?"

"For honor!"

"And?"

"I..."

"Face it. She only wants you as part of her subject or her puppet."

"No! I've come too far for this!" he yelled and managed to punch her, making her fly back.

Y/N quickly backflipped and landed on their spears, surprising the ninja lynxes and jumped over towards Lightning who jumped as well. They both send each other a kick as their legs are crossed.

"She took me back! After all these years, I'm home again!"

"Is it truly your home? Does she even want you out of pure heart or just for someone with great skills?? It seems to me she doesn't even care for your feelings as well."

Lightning looked at her in shock.

"Why did we come all this way here? The Destructix wants you back and they care about you more than she does! They see you as if you're part of their family. They're your home! You have a choice to make, not letting others make a decision for you."

He stood there for a moment, looking back at the Destructix then at Conquering who looks like she doesn't care and wants this to get this battle over with it.

"What are you standing around here for? Finish her."

Lightning looked back at Y/N who's standing there waiting for him to come at her. She really wanted him to fight for his own and to prove himself. He charges her once again and goes to kick and punch her who later dodged them all and roundhouse kicked him, pushing him back again. He fell to the ground again and quickly got up and charged her again in speed with blue lightning coming out from his hands, making her get ready. She dodged every rapid punches he threw and managed to cartwheel him by wrapping her leg around his leg before throwing him over.

Lightning got up once again and tackled her as they wrestled. Y/N grabbed his arms and placed her feet on his stomach and flipped him over onto his back. She rolled backward and pinned his arms and placed her foot on his chest. They stayed there panting as the others watched on with their breaths hitched until they finally breathed out as they had no idea how long they had been holding. Lightning gazed up at her shock. He truly thought he could prove his love for Conquering when everything was a waste of time and he had his own life to depend on. Lightning then smirked at her, starting to like Y/N even more than Conquering.

"I give up. You win..."

Y/N looked at him in shock as well as everyone else. Conquering scoffed in anger.

"That was pathetic. Lightning is henceforth Raiju no more. Again."

"Tch. I don't care. I have friends who are there for me."

Y/N released him and brought her hand out for him as he gladly took it and she helped him up. Lightning gave her a nod with a grateful smile and walked over to the Destructix.

"Wow, Y/N. I never knew you had this side of you to actually help an enemy." Fiona said with a smirk, placing her finger on Y/N's cheek.

Y/N smacked her hand away.

"Don't get the wrong idea. I did that because I care. But we're still enemies and we always will be."

"Hmph. Alright." she chuckled, walking away with the Destructix not without them saying their thanks and goodbyes to Y/N surprisingly for the help.

"Whatever..." Y/N said, rolling her eyes with a small smile.

"The Raiju have lost, but by my word of honor I renounce our ties to the Iron Dominion. But that does not make us allies. Leave." Conquering said.

"You don't have to tell us twice." Y/N shrugged and grabbed Kirby from Sonic and her amulet from Tails and walked away with her brother and her friends following her as they had no words to say.

As they walked out of the castle, Tails looked around.

"It looks like Fiona and the Destructix didn't stick around to say good-bye."

"No? Such a pity. Really." Sonic said.

"That was very impressive of you to convince Lightning like that. You're amazing." Ken said, looking at her.

"I did what I had to. I just feel bad because I saw how hard he was trying to prove himself worthy. I thought of giving him a chance."

"You did good, Y/N." Sally smiled.

"Yeah, sis. You rock." Sonic smiled.

"Heh heh."

"Um... Y/N. About earlier." Tails said, looking at Y/N shyly with a blush.

"About what?" Y/N asked, looking at Tails and making him blush even more with his heart beating loudly.

"About... about stopping Fiona. You're really cool."

Y/N smiled and patted his head.

"Thanks. I did it because I couldn't stand it for how much she hurted me and I don't want to feel that ever again. Though I would have knocked her out if I wasn't so angry. It would make me look bad."

"Well, I say it was kind of hot. Even the way you fought Lightning." Ken said.

"Whoa, there, buddy. That's my sister. Be careful." Sonic said with a warning glare.

Sally rolled her eyes and linked her arm around Sonic's arm.

"Relax, Sonic."

"I have to agree with you there, Khan!" Tails grinned as he and Ken high fived each other while Sonic, Sally, and Y/N and Kirby playfully rolled their eyes.

"I'm surrounded by a bunch of weirdos..." Y/N mumbled with a smile.

"Pooteetah."

Kirby couldn't agree more.

"Seriously, though. We're three-for-three with the ninja clans. Who's next?" Sonic asked, changing the subject.

"The Shinobi Clan." Khan answered.

"Cool! Where are they?"

"I have no idea."

"Lame, Monkey-Boy."

"I'm serious! They're known for their secrets. All I know is that they're chameleons. Everything else is rumors and legends."

"Maybe if we could get to Angel Island and borrow Knuckles. He knows how to spot them." Sonic suggested.

"No, he's busy safe-guarding Angel Island." Sally said. "Besides, we can't have him examine every inch of the Dragon Kingdom."

"How do you find invisible people who don't want to be found?" Tails asked.

Y/N's eyes widened when she heard Tails' words and blurted out.

"Espio!!"

"Huh? Espio?"

"She's right. You'll need a guide..."

They turned to see a figure turned visible from the invisibility to reveal Espio.

"...and a friend you can trust."