Sonic The Hedgehog: Dark-Bright

[ UNIVERSE CENTRE ARC ] Chapter 82: Bandit who duels

It looked like Sonic, Dijon, and Knuckles had encountered the bandits, and there was a hint of their leader. However, not much was known about them. Then Tails, the fox, walked further into the main area of the town. He noticed two figures, both echidnas, which surprised him given the town's architectural design.

A random man approached him. "Say, kid... you seem more interested in those two statues, eh?"

"Well, it's my first time visiting here, so I don't know much," Tails replied.

"I'm one of the few people who know. These two statues represent two individual legends that once reigned supreme alongside the Uni-Balancers. However, one day, their supremacy vanished. Yet, these two individuals changed the whole landscape of what it means to be a warrior."

"So, they were echidnas. Interesting. Well, it makes sense; there are a lot of echidnas in the Universe Centre, or so it seems."

"They do, but they tend to isolate themselves, believing only in what's happening within the Centre."

"Ah, I see. Damaris is such an interesting town. I can't wait to learn more about it!" As Tails heard the tale, he got excited about the things he might encounter in the Universe Centre.

"Now, live well, my child," the man said as he walked away, waving, and so did Tails.

As Tails observed more of the town's architecture, a familiar pink head approached him. "Tails... so, is that what you've been doing this whole time?"

The fox spun his head around in response. "Ah... Amy! Man, I didn't find anything on the clues. No one even told me how we're going to get inside the Balancer's hideout."

"I'm in the same boat. We're out of luck... darn it."

"What about the others? Have you seen them?" Tails questioned her. 

"No... they're probably still out there looking for answers. What are we doing in this town anyway?"

"Well, even if we didn't, it was nice to find out how vast this realm is compared to our world."

"I guess so, but we'd better regroup everyone and think of a new plan because this one isn't working."

"Yeah!" Tails agreed.

Then another voice interrupted them. "Hey there, guys!"

As they turned, Sonic goofily waved at them, while Knuckles and Dijon stood beside him, both cherished for their reunion.

"Sonic!" Amy waved.

"Ah, there you are, guys. We finally got caught up, I guess," Tails spoke.

"So, did you find anything on our current objective? No?" Amy asked Sonic, waiting for the answer.

"I did find someone who could lend us some help-" Suddenly, a chanting voice interrupted them again.

"We finally found them!" Then, out of the blue, an entire group of bandits surrounded them in the center district. They were in massive numbers, making escape impossible.

Tails looked down. "How many times are we going to be interrupted?"

Knuckles shrugged. "Them again? Lame that they decided to show up when we gathered all in numbers."

With their presence and sheer numbers, the whole townfolk felt scared, and the entire crowd ran away. For some reason, the bandit group allowed them to escape, strangely.