Other-M, "Echos of the Past"
issue #4, 21 pages
Review written by Matt Johnson, a.k.a. Tergonaut
Summary: After splitting up from the rest of the group on the way
back to base, Sonic and Fiona must hold out long enough to get
away.

Credits:
Cover: Rina Cat
Story: Ian Potto
Art: NoOman, pages 1-16; Lady Laguna, pages 17-21
Lettering: Ian Potto, pages 1-16; Lady Laguna, pages 17-21
Other-M logo design: Jeffrey "Z-Kara" Houston

Plot: Under fire by Legionaries on their way back to base, Bean,
Rotor, Fiona and Sonic have taken cover.  Bean gives the order to
split up and head back to base, and he and Rotor head in one
direction as Fiona leads Sonic in another.
     Suddenly, a grenade explodes, sending Sonic toppling on top
of Fiona.  Sonic forgets who the enemy is for a second and calls
them SWATbots, which gains a confused reaction from Fiona, who's
miffed at being toppled upon.  Sonic realizes his mistake and in
his rush to get moving to cover his embarrassment, he takes the
lead.  This turns into a critical mistake when a laser blast
severs a large mushroom, sending it falling right onto Sonic's
leg!
     Fiona, quickly silencing Sonic's cry of pain, begins to
reassure him, but Sonic's practical reply is obviously not what
she was expecting.  But before they can do anything else, an
echidna has found them and is aiming his laser gauntlet when
Sonic points him out as he shouts "Fiona!"  The echidna fires
and-
     Has a dismayed look on his face as he sees Fiona absorb the
blast directly into her roboticized arms.  She then redirects the
energy back at the echidna, silencing him forever.
     Sonic's reaction to his discovery of what her arms were for
is met by Fiona telling him that they were both upgraded at the
same time by...Eggman!?  But just before she can detail the
story, they are interrupted once again, this time by THREE
echidnas, all of whom fire their gauntlets at once.  Fiona
manages to catch two of them and send them back to hit two of the
echidnas, but the third shot grazes Sonic's head.
     Fiona, thinking that Sonic might be dead, loses herself in a
berserk fit as she kills the echidna.  Then, just as another
group of echidnas reach the top of the nearby hill, she grabs one
of the dead Legionary's grenade belts, takes off all of the pins
at once, and throws the belt right over the hill!
     Sonic loses consciousness only temporarily, but then awakens
to hear a sniffle.  He opens his eyes very slightly to see Fiona,
the fervor of battle gone from her, crying and hugging her legs. 
She then begins to talk to him, apparently not knowing that he
can still hear her, and we find out that Fiona has had a hidden
love for Sonic all of this time!
     But just then, there's the sound of a hover-cycle, and Duze
Remmington himself appears on the scene.  Fiona, tears still
rippling down her face, gets up to face Remmington as he takes in
the scene before him.  He then opens up a channel to report that
he has found two dead rebels, and then deliberately closes the
channel.  Fiona, who by this time has recovered her composure,
then asks him what exactly it is that he wants, because it's
obvious that he has just lied once again (check review #2 for the
last time).
     Fiona (and Sonic, who's still conscious) then learn that
Remmington wants them to win!  But his primary concern is for his
own life, and if the rebellion has to be crushed, then so be it.
     As Remmington speeds off on his hover-cycle, Fiona begins
talking to Sonic again, but just when she begins with the
waterworks once more, Bark's voice calls out for them!
     Sonic falls unconscious just as Bark is brought over to the
rescue, and reawakens to find Fiona watching over him.  Fiona
berates him for taking the lead when he wasn't supposed to, and
defiantly states that the only reason she was there was to keep
an eye on him while Bunnie was away.
     Sonic's next remark, "Who says I'd want Bunnie with me right
now?" prompts Fiona to treat it like a joke.  But when Sonic make
a come-hither gesture, she bends down close enough so that he can
whisper a reply, and then he kisses her on the cheek!  Then
Bunnie comes back in the room, and Fiona leaves feeling higher
than heaven.
     Bunnie begins to clean out Sonic's wound as he begins to
think of what he has just done.  He remembers his previous
reality, his love for Sally, and his true opponent, Eggman.  But
he has no idea of how to get back to that, and since there is no
physical evidence to prove he was ever in that existence, this
current reality is beginning to feel like home...

Analysis/Opinion: Finally we get to see more of Fiona's
personality, as she did not have much presence in the previous
issues.  And now we finally see why she has supported Sonic in
all of the small ways she has, because she loves him.  Romance
has always been an attention-getter for just about every form of
entertainment (movies, television, books, comics, etc.), and
we'll just have to wait and see if this one develops.
     Fiona was beginning to tell the story of how she and Sonic
got upgraded by Eggman, but was interrupted by the appearance of
a trio of echidnas.  We'll probably see that story finished in a
later issue.
     Now, for a brief interlude of immaturity:
     I LIKE EXPLOSIVES!  Fiona tossing that whole belt of
grenades like that...cool!  Not one, not two grenades, but a
whole belt load of 'em!  Gotta love that woman, she knows how to
lob with the best of them!
     Thank you for you patience.  And now, back to the rest of
Tergonaut's Analysis/Opinion:
     The revelation that a high-ranking official is not loyal to
the Guardian proves that not all of the Guardian's minions are
mindless, propaganda-driven soldiers bent on fulfilling his will. 
Perhaps there are others as well...
     Okay, lemme tell you a story.  When I read Fiona's first
statement on page 16, I started cracking up.  Yes, I know it
wasn't meant to be funny, and that I risk sounding insensitive by
saying this, but I mean she's just poured out her heart and soul
to the hedgehog she's had a secret desire to be with all this
time, and then after hearing Remmington's somewhat uncommitted
speech (which isn't really much of a morale booster), she starts
saying, "Well, I guess all in all, that can offset losing you,
Sonic."  If you don't continue on to her anguished cry down near
the bottom, her pose with that first sentence is downright
hilarious, as the suggestion that the hedgehog of her dreams is a
fair trade-off for Remmington's dubious support sinks in.
     The artist switch-over on page 17 seems appropriately timed,
as we leave the pressure of the battlefield to get to the more
light-hearted atmosphere of the infirmary back at base.  And the
exchange of dialogue between Sonic and Fiona, Fiona and Bunnie,
and then Sonic and Bunnie are done well.
     But after all is said, Sonic's thoughts become a shade
darker as he remembers his past, and feels guilt for what he has
just so easily done.  And the lack of power he has in this
situation begins to make him think of his current reality as
home...

Final Word: Fiona's character is now more defined, although I was
rather confused about her sudden swings in attitude the first
time I read it through, and now the complication of romance seems
to remind Sonic that he has memories of another woman in another
reality that he cares for.  And yet, those memories are just
that: memories.  He has no proof that he was tossed into an
interdimensional warp hole and cast into an alternate dimension. 
And the longer he stays in this new reality, the harder it is for
him to remember that he truly is from another world.
     Do not forget your past, Sonic!  For you are a hero born of
tragedy and conflict, and while things may seem suddenly darker,
you are a source of heroism and courage that all find the
brighter because of the darkness.