There we go.

I’m here to fully and deeply apologize to Wave the swallow on Sonic riders. It was not her fault, but it was mine due to a thing called a skill issue. I am sorry wave. - Goose

Any second now...

You can't expect an amateur to hold a candle to pros like us. It's just common sense, really.

This is why my job is so easy.

Renault suddenly chokes on his drink, coughing and quickly putting a welding mask over his face to hide his luminescent blush. Once again, his crush on and fear of Wave collide.

"And what if it is? As much distaste as I have for Eggman's work, business is still business. For the right price, anyone could become an ally." "Knowing that, would you still be willing to let me simply...walk away from here?"

"Again, excuse me for not believing you right away. Besides, telling me that you're an enemy to Eggman doesn't suddenly make you our ally." "You could just as easily take offense to our own operations. And what then, hmm?"

I know some, but I don't spend too much time chasing their rumors. A lot of it is merely speculative and not worth following, but there are some things that have proven true in this strange little world of ours.

You need to keep in mind who you're talking to.

Sorry, but basic Zoology and Ethology facts aren't going to stump me.

Tell me something I don't know.

Not to brag, but working on heavy machinery day after day is good exercise. You need a lot of core strength to wield a thirty kilogram cast iron wrench, after all.

"Perhaps, but excuse me if I don't immediately trusting anything you say about yourself." "If you want the gullible one, that's Storm."

"It would be foolish not to. I don't know you, therefore you're potentially volatile and a threat." "And for your information, I've earned my right to be confident. My work speaks for itself, after all." "Unfortunately, what it says is clearly too complex for someone such as yourself."

Wave seems unphased by the threats, arms folded over her chest. "Tch, no wonder no one can match my engineering. I point out some flaws in the foxboy's designs and some of you get so offended that you'd rather threaten me than actually pay attention." "Poorly, might I add."

"And the way you've been speaking to me so far makes me want to spite you further." "Do yourself a favor and find a ladder to help you get over yourself."

"Oh yes, because I should clearly drop every project I'm working on now to satisfy your childish whims." "I know I could do it and I have no desire to. That's all I need. Your opinion, as much as it may hurt you to realize it, doesn't matter." "Now go away."

That was...enlightening, I suppose? Maybe I'm just trying to convince myself the last hour was worth my time.

Yes yes, and you're doing a great job of trying to convince yourself of this, sweetie. No one's forcing you to talk to me, you know. Just like no one's forcing you to gang up on Jet when you think the rest of us aren't around to have his back.

(( I am so sorry if I have Wave be EXTRA mean. )) (( Whereas Jet's mocking is competitive and at least sporting to an extent...)) (( Wave just goes for the goddamn throat. She's mean. She's very mean. ))

Hit a nerve, hmmm? Tell me something, what do YOU do to do your part...personally? Because my understanding is that you just get in the way. Do you even want to help, or do you simply want to tell yourself you're being helpful? Does Sonic and his team even need you?

I have been going quite stir-crazy in the workshop. I just felt I could use a little time out, mocking my lessers.

Hush, Jet. This one's funny.

Mmmhmmm, I'm sure I can believe you with how delirious you've proven to be up to this point. You even believe yourself to be a good person. That's interesting. Very interesting. It does check out. Most who brag about their good deeds are rather terrible, deep down...often lacking introspection.

And desperate, too. That would explain how you end up in so many one-sided relationships. Maybe you crave affection so badly you have to manufacture it? I'll need to study this further.

Dodging the question? Expected. Disappointing but expected. Most likely ashamed you were caught in a mistake and not willing to own up to it. Matches the profile of a hopeless fangirl such as yourself. See how interesting you are to study? It's like a marine biologist taking to a new microbe.

You...do realize that something not being a bother to me but still being funny to me can both be true, right? I want to know if you're pretending to be stupid, or if you're actually this stupid.

"Obviously." "Do I have better things to do with my time like maintaining and upgrading a literal anti-gravity airship?" "Also obviously."

"Seems like the latter. It'd explain why he's so stuck in the past, connected at the hip to such an outdated and functionally useless design."

I said it wasn't my problem, not that I didn't find it amusing. If your memory's so bad that you can't remember what I said six seconds ago then you must be stupider than I thought. I might have to study you a bit, hmm?

"An invention? Oho, don't tell me you think that twerp invented the biplane!" "You must be new to this 'thinking' thing. Don't worry. I'm sure it'll stop hurting for you, eventually."

Thank you for proving my point. Perhaps if you didn't have stars in your eyes all the time you'd actually be able to see what's happening for once. Not like it's my problem.

"THAT sounds entertaining, actually." "Maybe I will dissect it a little before I blow it to pieces."

"Funny, a little birdie told me that craft was first built without landing gear." "As I said earlier. Rookie mistakes for a rookie engineer. It's nothing surprising, though it is disappointing."

"There's nothing of value to scrap. We'd be doing the world a favor."

Imagine being this delirious.

"Then we send a message. Steal what's worth taking, then leave a bomb or two on that mis-designed showpiece and reduce it to cinders."

"Why? There's far more valuable things to nab."

"That's debatable, looking at some of the designs he tries to pass off as...functional."

But what do I know? I'm ONLY the world's leading expert on EX gear design. Feel free to argue amongst yourselves as to why your little friend's mediocracy is perfectly fine so he doesn't cry or whatever the little runt does. I have better things to do with my time.

To be perfectly honest, though... Tails' designs are sub-par at best. Recreation or no, the Blue Star II was flawed from its conception. The design, itself, is the problem. No amount of changes to the internals would ever truly fix that.

Noise cancelling headphones. I don't trouble myself with imbeciles. If they're not worth my time, then I let them know it. By ignoring them.

Jet. There is no point arguing with idiots. All they do is drag you down to their level and beat you with experience. Let them be stupid and move on.

-SMACK- And with a wrench no less She's just wagging her finger like a scolding parent now.

(( I have now decided this is the kind of thing Wave does as a hobby. )) (( You cannot change my mind. )) www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDuQ...

Thankfully, they were all minor collisions, set out across busy, yet low-speed streets. Wave was mean, but she wasn't cruel, after all. While all the fuss was going on a few blocks away, Wave was setting up a homemade EMP, a little something to cut off cell phone and radio comms in the area.

If this thing breaks down, I'm NOT fixing it.

Wave is perched at a park bench, casually tapping away at the keys of a somewhat bulky laptop, reaching for a steaming cup of coffee in a foam cup as her free hand continues to pluck away seamlessly at the computer. ...