But it's not home anymore…is it?

Sally Acorn, Brave New World

Homecoming

Even now, it was easier to simply empty her mind when she was in Robotnik's control room. It made it easier to filter out the pain.

Metal, metal, and more metal…Everything around her was made of metal. There was nothing wrong with metal in itself, but metal was usually created through a synthesis of elements. Bronze, copper…Mobius had had those ages. But Robotnik destroyed for his metal. He replaced what there once was. Any trace of the old castle was gone. Mobotropolis was in ruins but the castle…her home…might as well have never existed.

Poetic justice then, Sally thought, that Robotnik had been wiped out of existence also.

Silently, the princess walked over to one of the windows. A broken one, mirroring her heart. She looked out over Mobotropolis, reflecting that it had yet to earn its old name back. That even after the madman who had renamed it had been defeated, he'd left an enduring legacy. There'd been gardens here once, Sally thought. Streams. Fountains. Air that wasn't clogged with smog. Even if the city was rebuilt, even if his HQ was somehow made…home…again…nothing would grow around it again. Nothing could. Subconsciously she reached for the glass, wondering what it would be like to tear some of it off the rest of the shattered pane. To spill blood…probably the first blood that had been spilt here in the last ten years. Maybe blood could make things grow again…maybe…

"Yo Sal? You alright?"

Or maybe she had to throw masochism out the window and turn to face Sonic.

"Fine…" Sally murmured. "Fine."

"You didn't look fine the last time I saw you."

"That's in the past."

"Ten minutes ago…that's recent. And not just by my standards."

Silently, Sally turned away from her friend. She didn't want to be with him right now. Not Sonic, not Geoffrey, not any one of the Freedom Fighters, royal guard or even Knothole citizens that were already flocking back into Mobotropolis, hoping that their old homes would be as they left them, and complaining to their ruler when that wasn't the case.

"Rotor was right," Sally murmured.

"Huh?" Sonic asked, walking up beside her and gazing at her rather than the view.

"This," the chipmunk said, gesturing out over the city and hoping the hedgehog would follow those gestures. "All those missions into Robotropolis…did we never think that we might win?"

"Oh, I did," Sonic interrupted. "Still, I tried not to. Where's the fun now that Robuttnik's gone?"

"Oh, you'll have fun," Sally murmured. "I'll have you and Tails on recon before you know it."

"Um…good?"

"You sound unsure."

"I'm unsure because you're unsure," Sonic said, laying a hand on Sally's shoulder.

Sally remained silent. She appreciated the gesture. She appreciated the words. She appreciated Sonic's mere presence. But…but…

Screw it.

Silently, she tore off part of the glass. Silently, she threw it out into the air. Silently, she watched her pitiful throw result in a few feet of airtime followed by dozens of feet worth of gravity in action.

"Nice throw," Sonic lied.

Sally sighed. She was tired. Doctor Quack had told her that it was a side effect of being in stasis-she'd nearly died not too long ago, and while she was physically healed, her body had yet to fully catch up, so to speak. Still silent, she gazed at Sonic. He'd never had to catch up to anything or anyone. Or if he had, he'd get there in so-called sonic speed.

"I hate this place," Sally said eventually.

Sonic smirked. "Don't we all?"

"No…" the princess mused, picking off another piece of glass and toying with it in her hands. "I really…really…hate it."

"Well, get used to it Sal, because this is home."

"No. It isn't. Knothole was our home. It was our home for the last few years. It…" She threw another piece of glass out into the air, getting more airtime than before. "Damn it Sonic, why are we even here? We have everything we need in Knothole. I know it's not Mobotropolis but why forsake what we have for the sake of trying to reclaim the past."

"We spent ten years trying to reclaim it," Sonic said. "Course, they were a fun ten years, but-…"

"You don't care, do you?" Sally snapped, turning to face her friend. "Defeating Robotnik, that's all you cared about. You never cared that we'd have to pick up the pieces afterwards!"

The princess immediately regretted that. She was under pressure, and not just from a near-death experience. But Sonic had gone through much more in the same period of time. Had defeated Robotnik and saved Knothole (heck, all of Mobius) while she'd been sleeping. And while the hedgehog remained impassive, she could still see the hurt flicker briefly in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," Sally murmured, turning her gaze back to the city. "I shouldn't have said that."

"Hey, no biggie."

"No, it is a biggie," Sally said. "Robotropolis is still Robotropolis. People want it to be Mobotropolis. It's not home, and I don't know if it can be, and instead of thanking you for at least giving us the chance to make it so again, I-…"

"Sal?" interrupted. "You remember when we lost it? When we arrived in Knothole? When you stopped me from running back there a few days later?"

Sally smirked, despite her mood. She remembered alright. Remembered losing the city and all the events leading up to Sonic declaring in Knothole that he'd take it back single-handedly, that he'd rescue Chuck, Muttski and restore truth, justice and all the chili dog stands to the Kingdom of Acorn. Not necessarily in that order.

"Yeah, I remember," she said, the smile lingering. "I remember barely being able to stop you."

"Right…" Sonic said. "Course, I could have gone anyway, but there was something you said. Something that stopped me. You said-…"

"Home is where the heart is," Sally said.

Sonic stared at her.

"What? I've got a good memory?"

"And?" Sonic asked. "Was it the truth? Or were you afraid that I'd finish our job too quickly?"

"Oh, you know me…" Sally mused. "I wouldn't want to deprive you of all your…fun…with Robuttnik."

"Yeah, I know you," Sonic said, putting his hand on her shoulder again. I know you're going to get us through this. I know that you're going to make this city Mobotropolis again. I know…you're going to find home again."

"Sonic…"

"And I also know that you're going to give me and Tails that recon assignment right now or else I'm going to start wishing Robuttnik was back."

Sally laughed, surprising herself. Surprised that she could, and how good it felt to do so.

She was also surprised as she walked over to the terminal to retrieve the maps and routes she'd prepared, as to how much like home the place was starting to look like.