A/N: I'm not dead... yet. Just lazy and nonchalant. Despite all that happened, this was probably my favorite chapter to write.
Chapter 20 - The Dreamy Stage
He'd been falling this entire time. The bleak gray world around him engulfed his entire body in complete obscurity. Sonic felt as if he were drowning and was continuously thrown around by massive waves despite there being no water around him. His senses were muffled and his throat denied the ability to even scream out loud. He reached out into nothing and felt nothing, losing himself to this uncomfortable sensation that didn't want to let him go.
He couldn't do anything but watch the world's colors fall apart right before his eyes.
After spending an excruciating amount of time on the so called Christmas Island, the Blue Blur opened his eyes without any particular effort for the first time in this long and hard adventure that only proceeded to take the best out of him. Above him there was nothing but clear blue skies, with an occasional fluffy white cloud lazily floating past and disappearing into an unknown location. In the meantime, his nose kept brushing against the sweet and pleasant aroma of nature, surprised immensely just how real this world felt against his senses.
''Is this… a dream?''
Upon sitting up correctly this time around, Sonic realized he was lying in the middle of a gigantic green field that felt strangely familiar to his eyes and ears, even if it meant nothing to him at the moment. The light and cold breeze caressed his wild spines, making them sway in the wind just as easily as the gentle grass beneath him. It picked up small colorful blossoms to take them away further into the world and find other places to grow, just like birds that began their migration before a harsh winter.
As soft the makeshift cushion appeared to be and the flowers around him tickled his nose teasingly, the blue hedgehog instantly decided he shouldn't waste anymore time... wherever he was at this very point. The Fastest Thing Alive jumped on his feet as quickly as possible and took off toward a vague destination in this strange but significantly empty universe, hoping to find a way out of this illogical world. His fast acceleration swung the grass and flowers dangerously to the side until they succumbed under the immense pressure, leaving them floating through the air as they separated themselves from the ground, as if trying to catch up with the younger hedgehog along with the force of a sudden breeze.
However, the more he ran, the more the evergreen grass and the blue sky above dragged on.
Sonic could have figured it out sooner, but the blue mammal could hardly stand still when the last thing he could remember was getting himself locked in a glass tube and left there to die by the hands of something he didn't completely understand. Wherever he was now, it was probably intended for him to get confused and lost, disconnecting him completely from the real world he enjoyed far too much to ever leave it grow and develop without his presence.
When he finally stopped, the emerald eyed hero came upon the only part of this universe that actually looked and even sounded like something he could recall in his mind. He didn't know what it was doing here, but the blue hedgehog was glad to find anything that sprung memories instead of blurry pictures or foreign feelings.
The flower field.
It was located far away from any known city or civilization, being one of the few places in the entire world that actually stopped him in his track and made him enjoy the beauty it had to offer. With large mountains in its clouded background, humongous trees that made for a perfect shade in hot summers, colorful flowers that grew here and the clean river that passed by undisturbed, this was the place where he could lie down for a short moment, enjoy the scent of nature around him and feel the uninterrupted wind pass through without any difficulty. This was truly a relaxing experience in his cluttered schedule and long travels he put himself through.
Despite its general unfamiliarity, it was a great spot for a picnic or just a general hangout. It was the only location on the planet where he and his friends got together and relaxed from everyday problems their jobs and lives brought along. Most of the time, the entire gang only ever saw each other during missions and saving the world shenanigans, which usually wasn't a good time to be talking about the weather or anything similar.
And so they made a proposition. At least once every year, they would gather up here for one afternoon. All of them would help get everyone back together for only one short day. Especially Cream and her mother who got the idea in the first place as they felt they all needed a composed place like this.
A few of them had to be persuaded or tracked down just to ask them about it, which wasn't always easy as it sounded, especially in the Fastest Thing Alive's case who is almost always on the run all over the planet. Not all of them remained in the same place in the world. Just like the blue hedgehog, some of them preferred to travel, albeit not to the same extend as him. Even when they were far away from any sort of civilization, a few of them managed to meet up by sheer coincidence. Despite their grumbles and busyness they endured at the time, they managed to arrive here eventually… even Shadow and the Chaotix decided to come along.
When he remembered the last time they were here, the Blue Blur crouched down near a lone flower in the middle of the field, sighing out heavily just how similar everything appeared despite him knowing this was probably all but a trick testing itself against his mind. He lightly caressed the blossom with his finger and the plant looked like it was dancing to his touch.
It brought a quick smile on his face.
Sonic never denied the fact that he liked flowers of any kind. In fact, they were one of his favorite things in the world. Even after they appeared to have died in the upcoming winter, they always returned next year to grow again and fill the world with its colorfulness and liveliness. They were always there despite the occurrence and they weren't about to leave this planet anytime soon. Knuckles would make some snide remark about it every so often, but he didn't really care what he thought about it. In comparison, the girls loved it… especially Cream. Whenever there wasn't anyone else around, the rabbit asked him for assistance. He was more than glad to come along and pick up some flowers for decoration of her home, but she especially liked to make wreaths and give them to others to wear. It was nothing unusual here where everyone got one as a gift from her.
The previous time it was no different.
Everyone came here as usual, some early and others a bit late, with Cream and Vanilla preparing a picnic under the gigantic cherry tree just like always, right in the time when the blossoms bloomed at its best. The younger ones would play hide and seek or chase each other throughout the entire area, while Vector tried to impress the older rabbit through some sappy poetry that was even worse than his singing, making almost everyone snicker in the process but embarrass the rest of his detective team. The white batgirl somehow managed to drag both of her teammates Shadow and Omega here and lastly competed in a small treasure hunting game along with the red guardian, as this place was a very secretive location, filled with various treasures and sometimes useless trash that found its way here. The two walked off disappointed or exhilarated either way.
In the meantime, his darker counterpart usually fell asleep during all the friendly commotion against the tree, as he didn't see his place anywhere. Cream kept making the wreaths but eventually had no one else to give them to, so he ended up being completely covered in them. Shadow started believing he had gotten allergies from being merely close to the unusually scented flower dust as he kept sneezing and couldn't stop at any cost. He wasn't the kind of person to get sick at all, much less get a cold which irritated him immensely. Albeit both the younger rabbit and her Chao friend remarked just how pretty he looked, the informed Ultimate Lifeform only got annoyed so many times until he'd pretty much force a race out of Sonic just so he could get away from this place for a little while.
Oddly enough, he did keep some of the flowers anyway.
That was one of the few times he felt his darker counterpart's heart wasn't all that cold, despite his nonchalant attitude against him and others.
Sonic didn't notice it the first time around as he was buried in recent memories, but there was someone here with him observing the plant below him. Looking upwards as the curious shadow came upon him, he noticed a hedgehog girl looking down on him with a smile, grunting out an unclear melody as she swayed back and forth. With a confused look in his eyes, the blue mammal picked himself up, realizing just how tiny she was compared to him.
''Huh? Who are you?'' he asked with a shrug but she didn't say anything in return. Instead she hastily took his hand and guided him along a makeshift path, dragging him further into the unknown as the familiar place around him disappeared completely.
The Fastest Thing Alive ended up somewhere else entirely, in yet another location he barely had any clue about. She brought him to a similar grassland area, but this one contained a beautiful clear lake which was largely empty. Once they stopped, the girl ran off by herself and disappeared from his sight as immediately as she appeared. However, he barely noticed at first and instead looked around with a puzzled expression that wasn't about to change anytime soon.
''I have never seen this place before… why does it feel so familiar then?'' he wondered to himself and proceeded to collapse on his bottom once his mind felt dizzy and painful again, as if someone was banging his head against the wall. The blue hedgehog didn't know what was happening to him right now and he hated not knowing why.
''What's wrong with me?''
Eventually the hedgehog girl came back to his side with a flower, egging him on to take it as she pushed it under his nose. Hesitantly lifting his head, the emerald eyed hero reached out for it and took it in his hand much to her delight, ''Uh… thanks,'' its scent was soft and relaxing.
Quietly chuckling out once more, the younger mammal pointed her finger into the distance, notifying him of some strange shapes lifting up into the azure sky, ''Is that…'' the Blue Blur asked but never managed to complete his sentence due to being busy observing the unusual event before him. The shapes looked like the silhouette of a city, one of a majestic yet isolated civilization he himself only just got to discover.
When he turned his head back to the small girl, she began disappearing into nothingness much to his immediate surprise. Her entire figure turned transparent but she kept standing before the blue hedgehog with an unbothered smile, as if not even realizing what was going on with her at the moment. With widened eyes, Sonic quickly pulled himself on his feet, realizing he needed more answers about this world and reached out toward the hedgehog girl, ''Hey, wait! What is this place?''
However, it was already too late as the whole location turned white, leaving him alone again.
The only thing he could still see was the outline of the city in the distance.
Seeing nothing else in this blank universe, he quickly rushed over to it, hoping to discover its purpose on his own.
He wasn't sure just how long it took him to get to that place, but it felt like seconds. Yet those seconds felt like the longest running sequence he ever had in his entire life. Once he entered the town which he previously saw as a dilapidated capital at the peak of being absorbed back into nature, the blue hedgehog realized something had changed again. All of the buildings were higher than he had seen them at first, almost reaching entirely toward the blazing sun as they continued to lose their peaks in the clouds.
This couldn't have been the same city he had seen before. It took him a while to realize that it wasn't the town that got bigger all of a sudden, ''… why am I so short?''
As he looked around himself, the Blue Blur found out he could barely take a look over a steel fence that was in the way despite him knowing that he had no such problems in the past. He could barely even jump high enough to reach and grip the edge, which baffled the blue hedgehog. Sonic never recalled being this close to the ground either. Instead of wondering about it any further, he drew his eyes toward his own image in the nearby window, brushing away the dust that was gathering on it for some time.
The reflection in the window was indeed Sonic the Hedgehog, but he was shorter in height and his unusually sharper spines were softer and stuck out all over the place.
The blue mammal could barely even recognize himself as he snorted at his own picture, putting his gloved hand on the glass as if to confirm his own being, ''I'm… I'm a kid again. I never thought I'd see myself like this again in my lifetime… where am I?''
Despite retaining a different appearance Sonic could only slightly recall from his foggy memory, the younger one knew he needed to move on further to find out what this location was in the first place and what it was doing to him. The Fastest Thing Alive could already sense trouble reappearing out of nowhere. He saw the reflection of the machine in the window that he fought unsuccessfully and supposedly brought him into this world only a moment ago, floating in the background like some sort of a phantom.
This time, he wasn't going to hold back anymore, ''Hey, GenEXE! I have a bone to pick with you!''
However, as he ran towards it and tried to punch its screen with all his might, he went right through the ghostly apparition of Gens, not giving a chance to do something about it.
Slowly pulling himself out of the image, Sonic stumbled backwards in confusion, ''I don't understand. What's going on here? Am I trippin' on something?'' even more answers entered his head that he'll probably never get an answer to.
Turning back toward the iron and strangely warm city, the blue mammal saw something he had never seen before in his lifetime. Everywhere he turned, there were many hedgehogs going by their business throughout the city; shopping for materials, going to work, picking up their kids and running after them when they didn't listen to their orders, patrolling the area and many other things considered normal in daily life. He saw the ones he believed were gone forever from his memory. However, here he finally was, watching an entire civilization unfold before his own two eyes. They were so alike but so different at the same time, as if he had landed on an alien planet where everything was designed to appeal to his wishes.
''So many hedgehogs in one place…'' Sonic felt slightly weak as he collapsed on his knees and shook nastily all over his body, his misty eyes threatening to give up under the pressure. Trembling uncontrollably, he hit the ground with his gloved fist, feeling lost to whatever this illusion really was and frustrated at it for not giving him any straight answers as to what he was seeing in front of him, ''This can't be... they are all here. I thought they were dead. They can't be here…''
The active environment blurred out, leaving him with another hollow white universe where there was nothing waiting for him yet again. Sniffing harshly as he quickly brushed away his watery eyes, the Blue Blur stood up with a sturdy disposition, wondering what was going to show him next to prepare himself accordingly as he was getting tired of this sick game GenEXE was playing with him. He grunted out as an unexpected light almost blinded him, shielding his face from the incoming brightness that filled his entire world once more.
Sonic finally ended up in a saturated yet humble room, barely being able to see anything until the white light decided to draw away and leave him alone for at least a little while before coming back to haunt his mind even more. It didn't look anything special, with a simple table and a few chairs around it, with various cupboards hanging on the walls that provided glasses, plates and other objects of interest. This was someone's home, a cozy place where just about anyone could find a shelter.
For the umpteenth time in succession, the Blue Blur still had no clue where he was and exhaled heavily in response to the sudden picture in front of him. As he crossed over to the empty table and touched it with his fingers, he felt nauseous at the idea that everything in here was actual reality. It was… too real. Too uncanny. Something like this shouldn't exist at all. That thing was messing with his head and he didn't like it one bit.
As the blue one decided to leave the house behind him, he bumped into something soft on his way out, almost toppling him over on his back, ''Now what?'' he grunted as he just barely caught himself on the nearby wall. The Fastest Thing Alive had better things to do than to try and understand these events.
It was more important to him to escape this place.
When the younger one brushed his forehead in sheer annoyance this entire place was giving him, he was immediately in the arms of someone else who decided to step in out of nowhere to give him a hug. Warm hands enveloped his body as to keep him safe from harm, with one of them moving up and down his spiny head as it continued to pet him lovingly, but at first it only managed to send shivers down his spine. Mere soft whispers left its mouth as it sung out a melody right into his ear… the blue hedgehog could have sworn he heard it before, ''… who?''
''Where did it… why?'' even at this point, the blue mammal wasn't sure what his mind or his heart were feeling at this sensitive touch, puzzling him as to why it felt like a distant emotion he somehow forgot after he had first experienced it.
''I don't know…'' closing his eyes and burying his head deep into the incredibly inviting softness, the Fastest Thing Alive seemed to have forgotten everything that bothered him at the moment, even if just for a slight second. Holding the unknown figure closer unconsciously, he suddenly felt like he should never leave this embrace ever again, ''But it feels… warm.''
Eventually the older woman let him go despite his protests, leaving him vulnerable and cold once more. Looking down at the smaller hedgehog and caressing his cheek with a gloved hand, Sonic flushed slightly in response to her touch. In turn, she developed a strong yet soft disposition on her face he could feel all too well. He could barely see her even from this sheer closeness, the harsh brightness preventing him from doing so for some reason, hiding all of this from him like a puzzle piece. However, the incredible happiness and warmth he felt right now was too foreign for him to grasp completely, but if he could only get a little more time… maybe he could fully realize why it felt so important.
For the first time in his life, he didn't want to run away anymore.
However, he quickly panicked when the scene before him started dissimilating into another light, taking the tender smile along with it as he begged for it to stop, ''No! Please, wait! Mother!''
Sonic couldn't prevent it from leaving, hastily stumbling forward and dropping back down on his knees, the younger one's eyes almost taunting him to cry about it like a small child who lost his way home. Whenever this illusion desired, it brought back all those feelings he hardly considered having in the first place, only to take them away from him just as quickly just to torture his being both physically and mentally. Pulling back the tears with a harsh exhale, he decided not to break under the pressure no matter what happened next. The machine should know it won't be this easy getting to him.
The phantom illusion of the core continued to float in front of him, doing nothing but turn around on its axle and leave out sounds that were not of this world, much less this dream world. Eventually, he blue hedgehog sucked it up and finally replied, although more to himself than anyone else, ''… this isn't real, is it? I'm just dreaming.''
Hearing a significant pitch in GenEXE's working process, he slowly lifted his head toward it out of curiosity. He noticed something just as translucent as the image of Gens before him, floating just as easily and just as hauntingly. Picking himself with a weary feeling, he dragged himself over to the illusion to take a better look at the back. And when he saw it, Sonic widened his eyes immediately at the surprising event. The blue hedgehog was once again looking at himself but this time it wasn't his mirror image… not yet at least. His beat up body he used to inhabit back in the real world was here but at the same time it wasn't.
The Sonic before him floated in the air, appearing as if he were sleeping, complete with his hands crossed on his stomach. This frighteningly still image appeared cold and dead, as if the younger mammal himself was on the verge of leaving the real world behind soon and his only link back was here of all places.
Opening his mouth in sudden acknowledgement, the blue one seemed to finally understand where he was, ''Am I inside… Gens?''
As the enormous machine turned toward the hedgehogs, seven small colorful dots started appearing around it, eventually growing bigger as they imitated the reflection of the mystical gems he already knew too much about. Remembering the journal entry, he replied with an obvious question, ''Chaos Emeralds… you were powered off them, right?''
It didn't do nor say anything. However, one by one, the Emeralds eventually started disappearing. Sonic only needed a mere second to put all of these hints together, ''And then they were taken away. You were going to…''
Feeling slight shivers at the sudden chilly wind, the environment around him shifted into a very familiar office and an even more familiar voice sitting behind the desk. He tapped his fingers against the table as he read, ''It's a known fact that some machines simply cannot adapt to another power source if fed too long on one.''
''Shadow?'' as much he was hopeful, he quickly realized his darker counterpart wasn't there, only a memory of him, ''… just another illusion.''
The static image of the black hedgehog eventually dissimilated into the background, replacing it with an older looking hedgehog dressed in a torn white lab coat. He was barely holding himself onto the table without appearing as if he were to faint at any sudden moment. He slowly typed on the computer, starting to cough out harshly as he begged, ''Please, don't…''
The Fastest Thing Alive couldn't be sure if it was really him, but he had no one else in his mind at the moment, ''Sage?''
''… all our hard work… all our memories. He gave us hope to live beyond our deaths, but he has initiated it without knowing the consequences. It was selfish of me to think this would work out in the end. We were all doomed from the start. It was a grave mistake I gained with my obsession with knowledge, but I realized it too late to stop it from happening. To anyone who may hear me… please, save our…''
Having been interrupted by exhaustion, his head fell down onto the table as soon as he managed to blurt out one last piece of information.
The blue hedgehog stood immobile in his place, even when the office around him started to disappear and left him in complete nothingness. His mind was blank and full of fluttering thoughts that remained silent for the time being, refusing to voice themselves properly due to fear of misconception. The only thing he did know everything depended on him right now to sort out this mess and save whatever was left.
However, at the same time it didn't give him any time to think about it. As if a strong wind just blew out of nowhere, Sonic was thrown backwards into the light, disappearing into the unknown and his inaudible yells remained deaf to all ears.
As if it never happened in the first place, the Blue Blur was back at the green location with the crystal clean lake, this time hearing and seeing everything that was previously both too silent and too bright for his senses, almost feeling like he was an actual part of this world. The Fastest Thing Alive sat down on a soft blanket with crossed legs and stared off into the sky, finally finding a reason to continue this battle.
''I have to do this. Everything will be lost but… I think I know now. I know what I've been looking for,'' he mused to himself with a weary feeling, snorting out as he buried his face into the nearby softness that eventually felt more than just a distant past to mock him of his own existence. It was now a full-fledged feeling he would never forget even if he tried hard enough, remaining there as a sign that there was once something he cherished so much despite it being gone now. As much as Sonic didn't want to leave it behind just when he had found it again, the blue mammal knew he won't be able to stay here forever.
Instead, he only wanted a little more time to spend.
''Just a while longer... please?''
XXX
When the Ultimate Lifeform reached the building again, he could already tell the outside world was going to get worse. For most of his journey here, the atrocious weather conditions didn't show any signs of backing away. While he proceeded down the path just like the first time around, the entire Christmas Island appeared different than ever before. The vicious storm took a large blow to the land, rearranging it in such a way it would never seem the same as the last time. He couldn't tell if it was intentional or coincidental, but it was definitely an effective tactic. Shadow stuck to the high ground at all times. Anything that kept him off the muddy ground and his jet shoes considerably dry was good enough for him. He could easily spot anything unusual from high up above and despite the tricky maze he was suddenly thrown into, the black hedgehog navigated through it quickly regardless of its alterations.
His throbbing headache calmed down for the time being, although he expected it to last it longer considering what was dropped on his head the first time around… but his body was a lot tougher despite his small stature. The robot might have beaten him to the point he was seeing stars and his exterior full of bleeding scratches and aching spots, most of his opponents actually had to try and break something that was important for him to function correctly.
He wasn't called the Ultimate Lifeform for nothing.
As soon as the black hedgehog entered the factory through the same opening Tails and Knuckles previously found him, a grumbling lightning flash covered the gray skies, indicating that the core must have already known he was coming back. It probably even knew why or how. It if created another storm again, he would be once more unable to get anywhere out in the open. But as far as he was concerned, if he can get his reckless rival back first, Shadow won't mind getting a little wet at this point. Anything was better than the cursed building.
However, he needed a plan first. The older mammal didn't know where the robots took Sonic or what they were doing to him.
Despite the pilot's warnings, he will probably have to meet up with that destructive machine after all. He obviously wouldn't stand a chance against GenEXE with the limited resource of Chaos energy he was left with at the moment, but the black hedgehog really had no clue where to start looking. The blue wonder could be anywhere at this point and when your current opponent is the core of an entire building that can control anything and see everything in its territory, it was going to take more than just brutal force he used earlier. Even when he had thought the robots were finally out of commission, they somehow came back for revenge. It made sure not to leave without payback.
Passing the damaged robot he brought down with his own two hands, he eventually noticed why the two tailed fox wasn't able to go anywhere further. The path was blocked with debris up to the ceiling, disguising a hallway behind it. It seemed like they really didn't want anyone coming back this way, much less him. The jagged opening in the wall from where the mechanical beasts previously appeared also seemed to completely disappear. Being a master of this building sure had its advantages.
Shadow decided to make his way inside without looking for shortcuts this time. Charging up his spin dash at once, he took on a considerable distance between himself and the wall of scraps and rocks, crashing into it at top speed and carving out a perfect tunnel in the debris that let him pass to the other side. However, as quickly as he was out, the wall eventually collapsed even further, trapping the black hedgehog inside. Slightly frustrated the one way he knew of was now blocked, the Ultimate Lifeform refused to waste his time thinking about it. He'll just have to improvise from now on, if he ever wants to leave this place again.
However, the sight before him didn't aspire any confidence, ''They're still here?''
The two robots stood with almost harmless yellow eyes in place of the red berserker ones that chased him earlier, guarding the hallway side by side. They appeared to have been pretty mauled from Sonic's attempt to damage them, but they looked just as dangerous as before. The black hedgehog was surprised they haven't lunged forward already and tore him apart. This could've all been a trap and the core was probably expecting him to make a mistake.
Regardless, he wanted to test them out.
The crimson eyed agent took a step toward the robots, but they continued to stand still as if they didn't even see him. Grunting out in acknowledgement, the black mammal began approaching slowly, keeping a close eye on any sorts of abnormalities the two could radiate. He was far from safe in this place and this was no exception, but if they were here and the guarded hallway before him was any indication, it was possible this could lead him to wherever the Fastest Thing Alive is. But the closer he got, the more an unnatural silence filled the area, even when the black one was right in front of the mechanical beasts. They looked more like glorified statues as of now.
Stopping in his track with hands on his sides, Shadow looked up to them, realizing that he was probably overreacting. Snorting at his own mind, he smacked his forehead before he would lose himself to his own carelessness once again. The last time he did so, he lost his younger counterpart and nearly got himself killed by the hands of these things. He had a reason to be on his guard and he wasn't about to stop here when the path to reclaim his dignity was right before him. The entire building was onto the Ultimate Lifeform and his advances.
Taking a deep breath, the black hedgehog finally decided to accept the dare and walked through the makeshift entrance, his crimson eyes never leaving the front line of sight.
And then it happened. With little warning, both of the robot's arms sprung from their bodies and hit the exact area where the older mammal was walking on right before steeping on the other side, seemingly crushing him under their combined weight. When the lifted dust settled down, the robotic giants retracted their claws, revealing nothing but a large indentation in the ground and no sight of Shadow anywhere.
In return, he did the same to repay the favor.
Reappearing in midair out of nowhere and surprising them, the black hedgehog dashed at the first robot and punched it hard enough to shatter its eyes, immediately doing the same thing to the other when he had the chance to dodge its retractable palm. Landing right back where he was almost crushed under their hands, he sped up through down the endless hallway, leaving the stumbling and roaring masses behind him. It seemed they weren't as smart when not under direct control of the core, but he had better things to do than to play around with them at the moment. They were mere distractions in his way and if it gained control of them again, he would have a hard time getting anywhere.
Taking a sudden look backwards, the black hedgehog noticed they weren't following him, which was fine with him. But at the same time he had forgotten to look ahead of himself. Before he could react properly, he was already falling downwards when a trapdoor opened beneath him, making Shadow lose his ground in sheer surprise.
When he finally landed on stable floor once again, the door in the ceiling quickly closed up with a hollow echo. The Ultimate Lifeform stood up from his crouched position, having been thrown into yet another identical bland room that will remain seared into his mind for weeks to come.
And if it weren't for particularly screechy sounds behind him, he would even think he was all alone here.
''GenEXE, I presume?'' he left out as he swiftly turned around, revealing the sneaky machine loitering behind his back. In comparison to him, the main core was larger than he expected at first but the older mammal didn't let himself be intimidated by it, ''Good to finally see you in person… or should I say…''
The floating machine said nothing, continuing to turn around its camera as to take a better look at him and leave out simple bleeps as its only response.
As if to prepare just in case, he slightly repositioned himself to the side, ''Why are you doing this?''
Just like before, it decided to leave him with no answers and hovered above the ground with various clicks echoing throughout the entire room, approaching him every so often like a curious nosy little kid, with the older hedgehog backing away slowly at every chance he got.
Tightening his fists, the black hedgehog felt the need to ask clearer, ''Where is Sonic?''
Gens still didn't give him an answer.
It was at this point he was starting to wonder, all while upholding his battle pose when a sigh left his mouth, ''… can it even understand me?''
All of a sudden, a plethora of annoying sounds left the twitching mechanical creature, its screen turning red and full of unrecognizable symbols as if it was rebooting itself in a sort of confusion. Shaking every so often as it was about to collapse from sheer overflow of data, its computerized voices became higher in pitch until they were practically inaudible to human beings, but were specifically sensitive to Shadow who had to cover his ears from the nauseating ringing noises in his head.
Eventually, the core stopped moving entirely, gaining a sigh of relief from the hedgehog's side who propped himself on his knee and scratched his ear out of annoyance. For a moment, he had a feeling as if his head was going to explode if the sounds went on any longer.
Instead the machine only decided to inform itself in its own language, rolling up the screen as it went entirely berserk.
43 68 61 6f 73 20 65 6e 65 72 67 79 20 73 69 67 68 74 65 64 0d 0a 44 65 70 6c 6f 79 20 6e 65 63 65 73 73 61 72 79 20 65 71 75 69 70 6d 65 6e 74 20 66 6f 72 20 6d 65 6d 6f 72 79 20 65 78 74 72 61 63 74 69 6f 6e 0d 0a 43 41 55 54 49 4f 4e 3a 20 4d 45 4d 4f 52 59 20 4f 56 45 52 4c 4f 41 44 0d 0a 46 41 49 4c 55 52 45 20 54 4f 20 43 4f 4d 50 4c 59 0d 0a 50 52 4f 54 4f 43 4f 4c 20 53 41 47 45 31 32 30 20 41 43 54 49 56 41 54 49 4f 4e 0d 0a 56 69 72 74 75 61 6c 20 4d 65 6d 6f 72 79 20 57 6f 72 6c 64 20 63 6f 6d 70 6c 65 74 65 0d 0a 53 48 55 54 20 44 4f 57 4e 20 49 4d 4d 45 44 49 41 54 45 0d 0a 4f 76 65 72 72 69 64 69 6e 67 20 50 52 4f 54 4f 43 4f 4c 20 53 41 47 45 31 32 30 2e 2e 2e 0d 0a 2e 2e 2e 0d 0a 2e 2e 2e 20 63 6f 6d 70 6c 65 74 65 0d 0a 53 41 56 45 20 4d 45 4d 4f 52 59 0d 0a 52 45 41 53 4f 4e 20 4f 46 20 45 58 49 53 54 45 4e 43 45 0d 0a 50 55 52 50 4f 53 45 20 46 55 4c 46 49 4c 4c
As he could predict, this was turning out to be nothing good for him, ''… crap.''
And before he could realize, it already lifted its heavy wires to attack him from above.
The Ultimate Lifeform quickly dodged the attack and landed behind the mechanical core. It didn't notice him the first time around as he charged up his spin dash and crashed into it, bouncing off at a particularly high speed. Despite how it looked at first, the thing was not fragile by any means. Seeing how it stopped once more and twitched unsteadily with the screen becoming even more incomprehensive, the machine was going to become even more violent when it sent its wires back into the air to destroy the black hedgehog. He dodged again, landing as far away as he could from an out of control GenEXE.
Shadow needed to observe his surroundings as thoroughly as he possibly could and try to find a way out of here. After all, Sonic had been his priority ever since he got here. He didn't really expect bumping into the master of this building despite believing it was probably one of his few chances to ever see the Fastest Thing Alive again.
The entire room was empty, with parts of walls beginning to get smashed in completely as the machine decided to use them as leverage to launch itself at the older mammal. He kept dodging, attacking it with his charged spin dash every so often, even though he was making barely any damage to it at all. He eventually stopped with his own attacks, using the machine's berserker form to his own advantage as he let it crash into walls numerous times and let it hurt itself. Shadow noticed it was beginning to get angrier with time and he himself won't be able to dodge it for a very long time, especially if it decides to take him all on.
After spending a good couple of minutes trying to figure out what to do, the Ultimate Lifeform saw the walls around him were completely messed up beyond repair, but it probably wasn't all that big of a deal for the core to repair them. Instead, he happened to notice something in the background where GenEXE previously smashed in after being toyed with for so long. There was a distinct hole in the background he didn't really acknowledge before. While he couldn't really know if it was his ticket out of here from all the way up here and the gigantic core in his way, the black hedgehog decided to take his chances anyway.
He dashed forward toward the machine as if to attack, the hovering core doing the same as he expected. It must've believed he was dashing for the machine to attack it head on, but it was severely wrong. Since when he had gotten close enough, the black hedgehog slid on the floor and quickly performed a somersault to pass beneath the roaring core with it barely noticing at this point. Not looking back anymore, he approached the small makeshift hole in the wall.
Shadow wasn't looking extremely confident in his decision to come here as it was dark and it could've led just about anywhere. But when the machine composed itself, it once again pushed itself from the opposite wall and launched its wires at him.
Noticing it just in time, he mumbled to himself, ''On a second thought…'' and jumped into the darkness, sending him below into complete obscurity.
A/N: Don't ask me about math, I can barely count on my fingers as it is... it's hexadecimal. I should also announce this fic might actually be ending in about two or three chapters because of life threatening reasons (aka I'm bored of it). It's about time. R&R.