Chapter 1

-Gadget POV, Sunset Heights Park Avenue

'Finally' I thought as the sun rose over the ruins of Park Avenue, 'the war is over and we can rebuild. Or so everyone else can.' I was standing on the balcony outside of the 'Resistance' base, cold autumn air brushing my red fur to and fro as leaves tumbled in the sky. It was relaxing, staying out here and away from everyone else inside. I glanced at the landscape to see Mobians returning to rebuild their lives after...he...destroyed their homes. 'And now I'm about to look for the mad man himself. Infinite...' I looked to a bulge on my middle finger under my combat glove with a small tear in my eye.

"You heading off to?" A male voice said behind me causing me to jump a little. I turned to see the blue blur, Sonic, at the door to the base walking over to me. I gave a small nod to him, making sure my glasses didn't fall any when I did. "I was thinking the same thing." He said facing the sunrise and putting his hands on his hips. I didn't comment about it, not that I needed to before he turned to face me. "You stay out of trouble you hear?" I nod earning a smirk. His white gloves hand extended into a fist and I met him half way. "I'll see you around partner." A sad smile made it's way onto my face and he dashed off, waving bye as he went down a hilled cobblestone road.

I however turned back to the distance and rubbed my right hand over my grapple launcher. 'Well I guess better do this now instead of later.' My feet carried me to the edge where I jumped from the balcony, launched my hook into a stable blue cement wall, and swung just above the ground to the next building.

The people below waved and whooped as I swung, shouting praises and cheers to me, calling me their savior. I tried ignoring them, since all I really saw myself as was a person in the right place at the right time. I flashed them a fake smile in response to keep up the appearance of a happy hero on their way to another evil to face, hiding my inner turmoil.

It was conflicting, to see everyone happy that Infinite was gone, I however couldn't think that. I couldn't rest until I found him and made him remember the squad, "...make him remember me." I whispered quietly. To everyone else, Infinite was villan plain and simple. I bet Knuckles would lock me up for even looking for him, but to me he is more...was so much more. I needed to get back to our old hide out and figure out what happened, but first I needed to stop in Mystic Jungle. I never got to look for clues while I was there last.

Eventually my arm was tired from swinging and holding on for dear life as each swing threw me faster in the air that I decided to land on the nearest road and walk to the city limits. With a resounding whirl, the metal line retracted into my wrist launcher, and I tucked my body in to roll on the ground for a smoother landing. The stone was hard but the added protection and ease of movement made my landing as smooth as jumping from a 6ft ledge.

I dusted myself off from the sut that still layered on the ground as concrete debris was stacked to my left. 'The building must've collapsed when Ze-Infinite came and wrecked the town.' I mused as I kept walking. Egg-pawn parts also littered the street with a few dropped blasters with the G.U.N. insignia printed on them. 'Ah what a big help those idiots were...hiding in their bunkers while the world was being terrorized only to emerge in the final battle to claim credit.'

Anger flashed for a second before I calmed myself. 'Not here Gadget, save it for when you find out who killed the squad.' I replaced that anger with determination and resumed my trek at a jogging pace to Mystic Jungle. 'I just want to know who did it at least.' I monologued. 'Who made him who he became and who killed my family!'

"Hey it's the hero wolf!" A voice shouted towards me as I jogged on.

"I wonder where he's going." Another voice said.

"Is it true that he's mute?" A third voice rang in my ears. I sighed in annoyance at that last comment. No I wasn't mute, but after the thing that replaced my...friend...killed my second team I couldn't bring myself to speak, no speaking no leading right? I was contempt on continueing on, but a bunny child stopped my advance.

"Cwould I ave ur autograwf swir?" She asked, her buck teeth impailing her speach some as she held out a paper to me. I nodded with a smile and grabbed a pen from my belt. 'Always believe in yourself, Rookie.' Is what i wrote for her and she lit up like a christmas tree. "Tankyou swir!" She said happily before running off, probably to find her family. I glanced at the ground again with a sigh and tightened my gloved fist.

My thoughts wandered as I travelled as well as a mixture of many emmotions from fear to anger and then to sorrow. I came up to the edge of the city a few hours later and looked at the now desert hill that stood where green hill once was. 'Was it really worth it? Was it worth destroying the world for power?' I asked internally at no one in-particular. 'What drives anyone to do this? Green Hill is now like the Sava plains and Sunset Heights is it ruins.'

-Unknown location, ? POV

Cold, dark, and damp were the three things I could feel ever since Mystic Jungle who knows how long ago. My chest was throbbing from an artificial object seemingly implanted into it, hindering my breathing at first until my motor controls came back to me. "Mmphm..." I uttered, soon realizing something was jammed in my mouth, it felt like a large tube.

My eyes snapped open in a flash to see a blurry blue haze in my vision, bubbles rising from near my mouth, and loose restraints holding me in place. I struggled in my restraints but to no avail as all I was doing was just flailing in some form of tank. I ran out of stamina quickly and was forced to stop my struggle. 'Damn it, where am I? Was Shadow and his team responsible for this?' I thought as I tried to get a clearer picture of the world around me.

What my eyes were met with were misshapen and deformed black objects all around me with bright purple/pink gemstones in their chests. Hesitantly I looked to mine to see one in my chest as well but it was glowing brighter. 'Probably to signal I was alive.' Before I could muse more, my mind was pulled to a white light illuminating the ground outside my cage. Turning to the source, I was a shadow of a man whose torso was snapped like an egg, long legs, and a mustache no one could forget. 'Eggman'

A growl tried to escape my throat as the mad doctor walked into the room muttering mumbled words I couldn't understand until he reached my tank. "You caused this! You and your stupid memory! If you weren't so attached to that wolf that freed Sonic then none of this would've happened!" My mind was wrought with confusion as I let the words process before anger flared in me, causing me to press and prod at my restraints. 'If you so much as touched him or anyone else from the squad!' I screamed internally. "Hmm a fighter huh? Well if your clone was more like you then the world would've been mine! Now I have to scrap the entire project you weakling."

I struggled more in my chains, a bright light escaping my chest as I did but before anything more could happen, a large shock was sent into my tank. "Oh I don't think so. But since you have so much attraction to that friend of Sonic, I'll be sure he is the first I use in my new army!" Eggman taunted while laughing maniacally. The shock shot through every inch on my body, filling me with immense pain to the point of near blacking out. He smirked at my weak state and proceeded to begin typing on his computer.

Weakly I pounded on the glass to no avail, the gem glowing softly as it sat fused to my chest. 'You can lock me up Eggman but no one touches my squad! Especially not you!' I screamed again in my mind. 'Gadget and the others must be worried sick, how long was I out?' "Are you still awake? Hmm that shock should've rendered you unconcious, nothing another wont fix." With that more pain shot through my weakened frame. It felt like I was being burned alive from the inside out as it went. Bubbles from my respirator flew furriously as I screamed in agony before my vission faded away. 'I'll make you pay for this Eggman!'