2. Where Were You...
.w.
M7, control center
September 8th, 3236
About an hour later
"...will never happen again!"
Sonic took it as a signal to emerge from the faraway world his mind had been in during the rant. He looked up, trying to muster an apologetic look. "I've already told ya I got the point, Sal. No need to stress it so much."
The chipmunk across the table from him, wearing a blue vest and having her auburn hair combed carefully in a usual manner despite a sleepless night she had to have, crossed her arms in front of her chest. The narrow-eyed look she was giving him told everyone in the room how she was neither convinced nor amused. "You weren't even listening, were you?"
She sighed and put her palms onto small round metal table, lowering her head tiredly. "I thought it was so obvious that we are not allowed to make any mistakes now. Even despite that, I personally asked you to be careful for a change. And you responded with breaking my order and nearly getting yourself captured! What on Mobius were you thinking..?"
Feeling just slightly guilty to fit the situation, the hero tried to shrug it off. "Look, I'm here now and I'm fine, right?"
"Only because Shadow made it there in time and could save you!" The Princess' blue eyes were glaring a hole in Sonic's fur again. "What are you trying to tell me? That you feel fine about being the one in distress?"
"Pff, please." Sorrow was gone in a blink, now replaced with a look of annoyance as Sonic copied their leader's former stance by crossing his arms stubbornly. "That was just one sleazy SWATbot. I could get away from it in no time all by myself, even without my sneakers. Shadow just overreacted as always."
Said black and red colored hedgehog, who had been wordlessly leaning against a metal contraption on Sonic's right all the time, shot him a furious glare. Needless to say, he was far from happy about both his lookalike's actions and attitude, yet he had just enough dignity to keep all possible comebacks to himself at the moment.
The Princess, being the one the most responsible, couldn't afford that. "Would you please remind me how fast you can run all by yourself, without sneakers saving your feet from the friction?"
Sonic was the first one to avert his gaze.
He spent the awkward pause looking over the room they occupied. The systems were running in the energy-saving mode, so the HEP lamps tucked in the ceiling were barely enough for them to make out their surroundings. Not that the control center had much to look at for him: Tails and Sally were the only ones who could put the machinery to use, and Sonic's only source of amusement for the past two months displayed on the familiar monitor was currently asleep.
Across the round metal table from the hedgehog, Sally was rubbing her right temple tiredly. The place was getting on her enough as it was, and Sonic did everything he could to make matters worse... On his left, Tails' head was barely visible above the metal surface. Quarrels like this one was something he couldn't stand, but what could a kid do to stop aunt Sally from yelling at his idol? The blue hedgehog tried to smile at him, which made made the fox sink deeper under the table.
Finally, Sonic didn't even need to look at Shadow to know that the other hedgehog was again indifferent on the outside, staring motionlessly at the floor.
The four of them. All remaining members of Knothole Freedom Fighters. All inhabitants of this cursed station.
Actually... okay, almost all.
"Well, at least now we know what SWATbots are looking for up there," Sonic said in a calming manner. "Us. Bi-ig surprise."
Sally glanced at him, unsure whether she should feel relieved at the change of the topic. "Only us? Are you sure there's nothing else?"
"Like what?" Sonic shrugged, seeing how Sally referred to their old argument. "They know we're in one of those Robotnik's secret bases, now they only have to find it. They know we're underground, so they brought that digging machine to get to the base, and sent several groups of to search for the entrance. Simple."
The chipmunk cast a questioning look at Shadow, and he nodded. "We saw a machine guarded by many SWATbots that seemed to be drilling through the ground," he said. "And there were more SWATbots in the forest around it. Sonic ran into a group of them."
Blue eyelids narrowed dangerously. What was that? Sally didn't believe his words now, needing that freak to prove him right? The implication stung more than all of her loud reproaches altogether.
The Princess didn't seem immediately satisfied, though. "That would only make sense if they didn't know where exactly the entrance was," she said, looking at Sonic again. "Which as well means they don't know everything Robotnik knew."
"Look, I just know it's a trap. SWATbots digging randomly so far away from us must be a part of some bigger plan. Come on, don't you know the way Ro-butt-nik thinks, Sal?"
Tails' gaze danced from Sonic to Sally and back while its owner trembled helplessly. It had to stop... he had to make it stop! All he had to do was jump up and say that arguing like this was horribly wrong. That wise aunt Sally could eventually figure the whole picture out if she just stopped trying to play as stubborn as Sonic. That Robotnik was very evil and, sadly, very smart, and Tails, just like Sonic, wasn't going to believe his single word or action...
"There was something else," Shadow suddenly said, in a voice coarse from the lack of exercise.
Everyone in the room stared at him as he continued. "Apparently, SWATbots were using the machine to search for something underground, but they never touched the forest surrounding it. Sally, remember how you told me Robotnik used to burn parts of the Great Forest down in attempts to find Knothole? Now SWATbots could do it with nobody being there to stop them, but they didn't."
Sonic knit his brow, bringing the memories back. Now that Shadow mentioned it... save for a weird five-meter-tall metal contraption installed on a meadow and a battalion of robots around it, that particular section of the Great Forest looked exactly like any other one. That was so unlike the old times, when SWATbots marked the areas they visited with ashes and empty ground that would take ages to heal. Back then, Sonic had to show up quickly every time to save the forest from being destroyed and their hidden village from being uncovered.
Too bad that today he was too busy sneaking away from Shadow and then playing tag with the robots to pay much attention to such details.
"Well, it's not like they have to look for Knothole anymore," he said darkly.
"But they have to look for the entrance leading to this base," Shadow continued the thought. "I find it strange that they refuse to use their old techniques."
"Yeah, that's strange-" Sonic's eyes went wide. "Unless they already know how to get here, and sent that machine to distract us!"
The idea was so brilliant he didn't even mind suddenly finding Shadow on his side. He looked at Sally triumphantly and was pleased to notice how she for once appeared deep in thought instead of annoyed.
"In fact," the chipmunk said slowly, staring at a dark corner absently, "This theory makes sense... somewhat. If only I could do a bit of research..."
Her hand slid down to the pocket of her blue vest, reaching for her most reliable advisor and her best friend, supercomputer Nicole... and stopped.
"Um, Sally?" The hero asked, worried about the look on her face.
"...I'm fine." She snapped back to reality, arms crossed against her chest again. "You and Shadow go have some rest. Me and Tails will be on duty tonight."
"I'm not tired!" Sonic was so excited he jumped off his chair.
"Same here," Shadow straightened up. "Plus, it's the two of you who need a rest now. You didn't sleep at all last night."
Both hedgehog eyed each other cautiously, weighting the perspective of spending the night in each other's company. Sonic didn't know about his dark lookalike, but he knew very well that he personally was going to have trouble bearing the uneasy silence. Jeez, just who on Mobius asked that stripy idiot to rush and warp Sonic away from the SWATbot he was about to beat...
The Princess wasn't about to back down, though. "Go, both of you. I need to do some calculations with the computers here, and Tails wanted to inspect what remained of Sonic's sneakers."
The remark about sneakers made the hero's cheeks burn a little, and he turned away sharply. "Fine, fine. Have fun here, and wake me up when it's my turn."
Sonic was the first to leave the control center, but his previous words weren't entirely dishonest: he was way too excited to just lay down and fall asleep. He pretended to examine his wounded feet while waiting for Shadow to walk past him and enter the living quarters on his right. Knowing very well that the other hedgehog wouldn't be missing him, he crossed the dark passage and grabbed the rungs of the ladder. The elevator would create too much noise and most certainly attract Sally's attention, so the ladder was exactly what he needed.
Within seconds, he made it to the higher level of the base. The energy saving could be aborted from the control center only, so the hedgehog ended up being alone in almost complete darkness of the main loading dock. Sonic stared at the blackness around him, frowning. The grey-ish glow emitted by the floor lights was enough to tell where approximately the floor itself was, but not enough to effectively avoid all the boxes taking the place. He couldn't run here without fears of hurting a toe or snapping his nose.
As if he could run at all...
He made it further away from the ladder and sat onto a metal box, swinging his legs a little. Metal floor felt cold against his bare feet, but he'd gotten pretty used to it over the weeks. His flesh didn't hurt much by now and promised to heal within several days... unlike his ego. Sonic was surprised to discover that he was capable of despising his state even more than before his last mission. But having Shadow save him from Robotnik's pathetic minions, and then seeing disappointment written across Sally's face... that was almost too much to bear.
'Where were you when the brains were handed out?'
Those words now echoing in his head had never been uttered by Sally in reality, but it didn't stop them from returning to him again and again in his old nightmare. The vision of the Princess, caught and already roboticized, all because of him being too weak to prevent the disaster. Too stupid to obey a simple order.
Sonic sighed and shook his head. In any case, he knew it wasn't Sally's fault he had failed so hard earlier that day. All of them were still doing what they had to do mostly thanks to her efforts, not despite them. He would have to apologize for his tone later...
But Sally was not the first one he got a chance to talk to in private.
"Here you are, Sonic!"
The hero looked back and saw Tails emerge from the hatch in the floor. He smiled, sincerely this time. "Yo, Big Guy. What's up?"
"I-" The fox stopped several feet away from him, suddenly starting to shift uncomfortably and eyeing the floor in embarrassment. He had never spoken up himself during Sally's speech, and it was clear now exactly how guilty he felt all the time. With the darkness still engulfing them, Sonic could barely see the kid's cheeks burn. "I'm sorry you had to go through this. This is all my fault that your sneakers failed you. Had I made them more stable, you-"
Sonic stood up and covered the distance between them quickly. He lowered himself to one knee and put his palms onto his younger brother's shoulders, looking firmly into the blue eyes full of sorrow. "Listen, Tails. I hate to admit it, but Sal was kinda right. This was all my fault, not yours. Had I been more cool about our mission, nothing bad would have happened at all."
"That's not right." The tiny fox's frown looked more cute than accusing. "The sneakers would still be flawed. They would have just malfunctioned sometime else."
"Well, think that I tested them, and found the bug as soon as I could," Sonic chuckled a bit. "My bad making the whole testing thing so big and loud, but you see that all's well in the end."
He couldn't tell whether his comforting worked as Tails hugged him abruptly. "I promise I will build you better ones, Sonic," he mumbled into the blue fur and quills.
"I know." The kid's hero hugged him back, moved by this show of emotions. "I know you're doing your best, Tails. You always do."
The hug broke as Tails stepped back, rubbing his eyes slightly. Now that the most important promise was made, he clearly felt uncomfortable staying around Sonic who wanted to be alone. "Um, thanks. Sally was right: I will look at the previous model to see what went wrong, and start making a new pair as soon as I can."
"Right now? Look, I really can be on duty with Sally today, no problem. If you're tired, just tell me."
"N-no way!" The fox nearly jumped and stepped back towards the hatch quickly. "I mean, it's fine, I can make it. You should rest, really. Oh, and maybe you want me to turn the lights on properly?" he gestured at the dark hall around them.
"Nah, it's fine. I was gonna go back down in a few minutes anyway."
Tails wished him good night and disappeared in the hatch, returning to the first level of the base. The hedgehog watched the lighter oval on the floor, feeling the smile disappear from his face slowly.
His brother seemed to have taken some of Sonic's inner warmth with him.
Sonic sat there motionlessly for many minutes, resembling Shadow so much in the dim light. His gaze eventually traveled up and to his right where stood the huge gate leading to the underground tunnel, sealed shut at the moment. Two meters of metal and kilometers of a dark and moist passage separating them from the forest. Above the gate, tilted red letters glowed brightly, so unlike the lights embedded in the floor.
Magnacore Complex. Station M7.
The hedgehog stared at those familiar letters for a while. In the end he got down to his knees and hit the metal floor with both fists, unable to fight the despair eating him up inside.
This morning...
For seconds... for mere several seconds... he believed everything was back to normal again...