? ? ?

Grab ahold of my hand!

There is only one…Sonic.

From now on…that's going to be both of us.

—

"Who am I…? How did I get here…? I was…somewhere else… Where was I? There was…fire… So hot… It should've burned him… Or…was it me…? I watched him…but I felt it… He felt it consume me. But then I saved him… He wanted something from him… He promised to do it for him. But who am I? I remember them. But who am I?

"Deep breath. Calm down. Do I breathe? Yes. Does that mean I'm…? No. Just figure out where you are. What do you feel? It's cold. I'm lying down. Can I move my arms? No. I do have arms, right…? Why can't I move? Calm down. Why is it cold? I'm lying on metal. It's hard. Stiff. There's metal above me, too. It's tight. It's making it hard to breathe. Stay calm.

"Analyze. It's steel. Polished and smooth. My body is titanium. Stronger. I can break free. Wait. Half my body. Has it always been that way? Don't be hasty. Keep analyzing. The air is stale. Definitely indoors. Possibly underground. A prison, perhaps? Or a lab. Check audio. I hear something. Could there be someone else here? Yes. Just me. The sound is mechanical. Constant. Computers, perhaps? Indicates a lab. Still no visual signal.

"There's something else. It's under my skin. I feel sick. It doesn't belong there. Can I get rid of it? No, I still can't move my arms. Stop wasting time. Open your eyes. What are you afraid of? Maybe everything. Maybe this is a dream. Maybe I don't exist at all. Maybe, if I don't open my eyes, I'll go back to…being someone else. Or being no one.

"Foolish. There could be danger. More information is needed. Just open your eyes. Open your eyes, and find yourself."

The cyborg hedgehog's eyes open—one emerald green pupil, and one crimson red light. He lies restrained to an angled table. The room is dim. He looks through the darkness with infrared. Not much to see. The room is empty. Now or never.

He begins to push against his restraints with his metal arm, bending them farther and farther until they snap, leaving him the room to slip out. When his feet meet the ground, he collapses.

"Focus. Stand up. It's not hard." Shakily, he pushes himself up to his feet.

An echoing voice booms through the room. "At last, he awakens! I was beginning to wonder if your brain could really process all that information you downloaded."

He answers more to himself than to the speaker, "That's…Doctor Eggman." Even the sound of his own voice seems to confuse him.

"What's the matter, Sonic? You don't quite sound like yourself anymore. Or should I be calling you…Metal Sonic?"

"Sonic…or Metal Sonic…?" He slowly looks up to the ceiling, where the voice is projected from. "I am…neither. Just a cyborg hedgehog."

"Cyber Sonic it is. Welcome to the Empire, Cyber Sonic. And Happy Birthday."

"I don't belong in the Empire."

"It's amusing that you think you have a choice. You'll do exactly as I say and be greatly rewarded, or you'll wish your new life had never started."

"I will not be controlled." Cyber Sonic's mechanical boots activate, rocketing him towards the nearest door. Halfway there, he is thrown to the floor, spasming with pain more excruciating than he ever thought to be possible.

Sonic the Hedgehog: The Chaos Project

Season 2, Episode 12

Deep Cut

Written by ChaosProjectAuthor

Daily log, July 4th, 1 A.E. This is Tails reporting.

Our new base will be better than anything we could've hoped for. Once I'm finished working on it, that is. Out here, we're unspottable. No one would ever think to look. We can travel without being noticed, and reach coastlines all over the world in similar amounts of time, once I modify the escape pods into transport vessels. We're fully sheltered from the elements and from peeping satellites, we have a food supply to last us a lifetime, and more space than we'll ever need, once we empty out some of the lower decks. And once I get it all up and running, we'll have electricity, running water, and access to a bunch of high-tech facilities that I still don't know the purpose of. Luxuries that most of us have been missing for a long time.

There's really just one problem. It's the Death Egg.

Eggman hasn't touched it since it crashed into the ocean six months ago. It's his usual habits, don't bother with recycling old parts when it's easier to build new ones. Not everyone's comfortable with the idea of living here, but they'll get used to it soon enough. Using Eggman's own work against him…it always made Sonic happy.

Wherever you are, Sonic…I'll find you. I'll always find you.

—–—

The Eggshelter — Rebel Camp Alpha

Under a bright midday sun, the two split halves of the decrepit Death Egg float far out in the vast blue ocean, one half having sunken slightly lower than the other, and fallen away at a slight angle. A few distant skyscrapers peek out over the horizon, but the surroundings are nothing but water as far as the eye can see. Light reflects in bright glares off of the calm blue waters, illuminating the interior chambers that have been exposed to the air.

Many of the rebels can be seen throughout these chambers, exploring the vast mechanical rooms or simply sitting down to enjoy the ocean air. Near the bottom, Rouge and Cream cheer as Cheese and Chadis leap out into the ocean, apparently engaged in a heated Chao Race. On the very top of the Death Egg's south shell, Big the Cat sits contently, his line already cast out into the water.

In one chamber, close to the surface of the water, Knuckles stares at Tails' feet, the rest of the boy hidden inside of an access space beneath what appears to be an absurdly large computer screen.

"Almost…got it!" The sound of something separating can be heard echoing out, and Tails starts to pull himself out of the narrow space.

Knuckles looks up to the blank screen in confusion. "It…doesn't look like anything happened."

Tails dusts himself off as he climbs back to his feet. "Nothing was supposed to happen. I just disconnected the computer core from the power grid. Now, once we get power back online, we won't have to worry about any of Eggman's security programs. The place will be all ours."

Knuckles shrugs. "Seems like a lot of hassle and a lot of risk to me. Wouldn't it be safer just to keep the power off?"

"Come on, Knuckles, think about it. Fully-stocked kitchen—refrigerators, stoves, ovens, everything. Indoor lighting. Hot showers. All the luxuries everyone's been missing."

Knuckles shrugs again. "I've never needed any of that stuff before."

"Oh…well, once you try it, I'm sure you'll love it. It's for morale, so we can all start feeling like…real people again. The camping life may be normal for you, but it's been wearing the rest of us down. This is what we all need right now. A taste of home."

"Sure, whatever. But don't you think it's a little odd that all this stuff is here? If Eggman was planning to crash this thing into the planet, what's with the showers and the 200 year supply of canned food?"

As she walks into the room, Amy responds, "I think I can answer that." Tails and Knuckles both wave to her in greeting as she continues, "Eggman builds fallout shelters into all of his big projects. And he doesn't do a halfway job of it either. You should've seen the Hot Shelter on the Egg Carrier, it had the biggest live aquarium I've ever seen."

Knuckles only grows more confused. "But…why?"

"Peace of mind, I guess. He doesn't know where he's going to be the next time he accidentally sets off a world-ending catastrophe, so he leaves himself plenty of places to go, the more the better."

"For himself? Sure, I buy that. But you could house a whole city in this place, who exactly was he expecting to live with?"

To this, Amy has no answer.

Tails proposes, "Maybe…future generations of…clones of himself?"

Knuckles and Amy ponder this for a moment, then agree, "Yep."

Knuckles continues, "So if you weren't getting anything done up here, why'd you call me out?"

"Well, now that we're ready to turn the power on, I need your help with something. Here, take a look." Tails picks up TAL and pulls up the original schematic of the Death Egg. Knuckles and Amy crowd around to look. "Right now, we're here. And the water level is about here." He draws a line with his finger not far below where they are. "And the primary generator unit is here." He points to a spot well below the water line. "Sixteen decks down."

"So how do you expect us to get power without the generator?"

"We can't. That's why I need you to swim down and start it back up."

"Whoa, wait wait wait." Knuckles backs off a few steps, waving his hands in objection. "I didn't sign up for a dive, why me?"

"Well, as far as I know, you're the strongest swimmer here. And you still have that Air Necklace, don't you?"

"Well, yeah, but…"

"Then there's no one better suited to this job. You'll do it for us, won't you, Knuckles?"

"I don't know…"

Tails claps his hands together and looks up at Knuckles with a sparkle in his eyes. "Pleeeeeease?"

"Huh– Wh–" Knuckles looks over at Amy with disbelief. "Are you seeing this right now? He's doing the cute thing. On me."

Amy shrugs, "Well is it working?"

"Do you honestly expect me to…?" He looks back into Tails' pleading eyes. "Fine, I'll do it, you manipulative little…"

Tails cheers, "Great! I knew you had it in you. This'll be no problem, don't you worry."

Knuckles shakes his head in disappointment. "I wouldn't count on using that cute act for much longer, you know. Pretty soon, your voice will drop, and then you'll start sounding like an ugly old man."

"You mean like you?"

Knuckles puts on his best old man impression. "Yes, exactly like me. Hah ha ha!"

Tails starts to laugh along with him. After a moment, he turns to Amy. "Oh, right, was there something you wanted, Amy?"

"Oh, I was just hoping to talk with you for a bit, Tails."

"Uhh… Yeah, sure. Let me just get Knuckles set up, and then we'll have plenty of time to talk."

Knuckles questions, "Plenty of time? How long do you expect this to take, exactly?"

Tails shrugs. "I don't know. An hour or two?"

"Two hours? Underwater? That can't be safe."

"You'll be fine, quit worrying! Now grab the Air Necklace and bring it back here, we should get started in the daylight while the waters are still warm."

Knuckles eyes Tails with suspicion as he exits.

—–—

Not long later, Knuckles stands on the precipice of the room, overlooking the still waters a distance below. A necklace with a thick front mouthpiece sits around his neck, and a communicator is attached to the side of his head.

Tails carefully secures a thin flashlight to the top of the communicator, flicking it on as he backs off. "It'll get darker the lower down you go, so you'll need this to see where you're going."

Knuckles nods. "Right." He pulls the Air Necklace up and puts it into his mouth, and it activates with a hiss of air.

"That necklace will keep you breathing normally for about three hours, so to be on the safe side, you should turn around if the job isn't done within an hour and fifteen minutes."

Knuckles nods in agreement.

"And you won't be able to talk with that thing in your mouth, so if you need to communicate, just tap your radio. Once for 'yes', twice for 'no', three times for 'I need help'."

Knuckles spits out the mouthpiece. "I thought you said there wouldn't be any trouble."

"Oh, I'm sorry, did you not want the safety precautions?"

Knuckles rolls his eyes and ignores the question, resuming his ready position.

"I'll walk you through everything you need to do once you're down there. It shouldn't be hard. And once you're done, you can celebrate with a nice, long, hot shower to clean off all that seawater. Sound good?"

Knuckles rolls his eyes again.

"I'll take that as a yes." Tails takes a few steps back. "Whenever you're ready."

Knuckles looks back down at the surface of the water. A few waves ripple gently through the channel between the two halves of the Death Egg. Knuckles takes a deep breath through his nose, and closes his eyes. Then he takes a dive into the mellow ocean, water splashing up behind him.

The shafts of light that reach beneath the surface grow ever thinner as Knuckles swims downwards through the tranquil water with conviction. "Let's just get this over with."

Each time Knuckles breathes out into the mouthpiece, a cluster of bubbles puffs out from the other side, flying in erratic paths upwards as if fleeing from whatever lies in the direction that he approaches. He stops his dive and glances upwards for a moment, watching the spheres of air that reflect like silver from the illumination of his flashlight as they stutter towards the shimmering surface above. The surface, already distorted by the volume of water that lies between him and it, reflects shimmering light even more brilliantly than the small pockets of air heading towards it, as if it were the largest bubble of all, waiting with open arms for its smaller brethren to rejoin it. Knuckles shakes the thought away as he resumes his descent. He watches as another stream of bubbles exits from the Air Necklace, creating the only sound that can be heard in the quiet space. "I wonder how this thing works… It can't hold three hours' worth of air in that tiny space, can it? Maybe it…recycles my breath somehow? I should've asked Tails before I left…"

A loud voice cuts in through the communicator. "Tails to Knuckles. Can you hear me?"

Knuckles reaches up to tap his communicator once. Yes.

"Good. Any problems down there?"

He taps twice. No.

"Perfect. My plan to get rid of you without any suspicion is going off without a hitch."

Knuckles resists the urge to laugh, and jokes back with three taps. I need help.

Tails' laughter responds back. After a moment, he adds, "Funny, but try to save that one for when you really do need help. You…are joking, right?"

Yes.

"Alright, I'll get out of your hair now. Just make sure you give us a 'yes' every time you pass a deck, okay?"

Yes.

"Wait, was that you passing a deck?"

Knuckles rolls his eyes in slight frustration. No.

"Understood. Don't respond to this one, save your next 'yes' for the progress report."

Knuckles looks to the side, turning the beam of light along with him to shine against the thick metal deck plating that he passes. He reaches up to give the communicator a tap.

"Acknowledged. Keep us updated."

He moves his sight back down to the abyss below. "One down. Fifteen to go."

—–—

Tails and Amy have taken opposing seats set up by the inoperative main computer console. Tails leans back into the seat with a sigh of contentment, allowing himself to relax. "So what did you want to talk about, Amy?"

"Well, I wanted to talk about you, mostly. How have you been doing, Tails?"

"Oh, you know." He gestures with his hands all around them. "Keeping busy. There's a lot to be done before we can start calling this base a home."

"Busy is good, but…it's not everything. Some people…like to bury their troubles behind a lot of work. I even noticed Sonic doing that, for a while."

"Are you saying that's what I'm doing?"

"I'm not saying anything. I just…want you to keep that in mind. Keeping busy is healthy, but overworking yourself isn't. You need to make sure you're taking some time to relax."

"Don't worry, I know my limits. I'm good to go for a while yet."

"Tails…you know I wouldn't be bringing this up if I didn't know that there was a problem."

"Problem? What problem?"

"Sonic. For just a few minutes, you…had him back. And then you lost him again. The first time he disappeared, you were crushed. But now you seem to be in pretty high spirits. That's an awfully big difference, and it makes me a little worried."

A beep sounds out of Tails' communicator. He takes a moment to respond, "Acknowledged." Then he looks back to Amy. "Last time, I…sort of felt like it was my fault, what happened to Sonic. I know it sounds kind of silly, but…I think that's what made it feel so…crushing. This time, though…I didn't really have much to do with it. It was his choice to stay behind, and I'm worried about him, but…I trust him to come through. He promised he'd catch up, and I know he will. Any day now."

"Tails…it's good to have hope, but…what happens if 'any day' becomes…weeks, or months? You can't just keep busy, waiting for him to come for the rest of your life."

"He will come!" Tails regrets the shout as soon as it escapes from him.

"It's okay, Tails. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset. We don't have to talk about this if you don't want to. But I think that talking about it is the healthiest thing you can do right now."

Tails looks down to the ground, thinking for a while. Another beep comes through his communicator. He answers solemnly, "Acknowledged."

After a while longer of silence, Amy begins, "Maybe…we can work on…figuring out what happened to him. Would you like that?"

Tails thinks for a few moments. "I don't really know what we could do from here. We don't have all the facts."

"Well, let's at least put our heads together. You saw some things that…the rest of us didn't. You said that Sonic looked…different."

The thought seems to leave Tails uncomfortable. Still, he answers, "Half of his body was…like Metal Sonic's. I don't know if it was just cosmetic, or…if it ran all the way through."

"Did Metal Sonic do that to him?"

"I…don't know. But it has to be, right? It was Metal Sonic who captured him, and there's no way he did it to himself."

"Do you know if it…hurt him?"

"He didn't look like he was in any pain. But then again…"

"What is it?"

"I don't know. Something Metal Sonic said to me back in that cave a few months ago. About…being able to detach pain from the emotional experience it should cause. Basically…being able to turn it off."

"Metal Sonic is a robot. He shouldn't feel pain at all."

"That's…not exactly true."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I…" Tails bites his lip as he considers his words carefully. "…I got to know a lot about…how Metal Sonic was constructed, when I was repairing him. He and Sonic…" He stops himself again. "He and Sonic aren't that different. Even less different, now."

Amy seems to think about something for a moment. But then she shakes it off. "Tails…why would he work with him? Metal Sonic, of all people?"

"I mean…once upon a time, it was my idea. Metal Sonic wanted to take down Eggman, that much was clear. So I thought…maybe he'd be more useful to us as an ally than an enemy. Sonic nearly threw me out for suggesting it. But…I don't know. I guess maybe he was convinced otherwise."

"After what Metal Sonic did…to you…I just find it so hard to believe."

"Yeah… And it makes me wonder…" Another communicator beep is met with another acknowledgement.

"Hey, Tails…have you talked with Shadow today?"

"Shadow? No, I heard he had a personal project he wanted to work on today. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I've seen how close the two of you are getting, and I think…he could use a talk with you right now. He may not show it, but with Sonic gone, he's going through some issues too, you know."

"Really? I always got the impression that he'd be happy to take the reins from Sonic."

"I'm sure he thought he would too. But after what happened with Camp Beta, his ideals were thrown into question. Now he's wondering if he's really qualified to fill Sonic's shoes, not to mention the regret over disagreeing with Sonic's decisions when he knows with his new perspective that Sonic was right about more than he realized. He could use an encouraging word or two, and I think it'd be the most meaningful coming from you."

"I…didn't realize."

"You didn't have to. Realizing what people are feeling is my job. For example, I'm getting the impression that you…" Amy looks closely at Tails for a few moments, intensely enough to make him glance away nervously. "…are still hiding something."

Tails chuckles awkwardly as he waves it off. "Well, I think I might go see if I can find Shadow right now, I still have some time." He starts to back away. "Thanks for the talk, Amy, I really do feel better now. Oh, and could you keep tabs on Knuckles' progress while I'm gone? Thanks, bye."

Tails has already disappeared through the door before Amy can say a word.

—–—

Knuckles pauses his dive for a few moments to scan across the newest cross-section of a room in his path. The fully-furnished living quarters include cabinets, tables, chairs, and a bed, all securely bolted to the floor beneath them. A thin stream of air bubbles escapes continuously from the corner of one of the cabinets, all pooling together in the highest corner of the room, remaining trapped by the tight welds of the steel ceiling. The area beyond the scope of the flashlight beam is partially lit by a dim green glow produced somewhere on the opposite side of an open doorway.

A strange movement just above the bed catches Knuckles' eye, and the beam of the flashlight turns sharply to center the mysterious entity. The loose-fitting bedsheets have lifted up, floating with neutral buoyancy in the center of the room, waving sporadically and reflecting the scattered beam of the flashlight with the ethereal appearance of a ghostly spirit.

"Ghosts… Just what I needed to be thinking about right now." Knuckles shakes off the thought and moves on, tapping his communicator as he crosses the boundary of the floor.

Amy's voice answers, "Acknowledged."

Knuckles ignores the change and proceeds with an ever so slightly increased urgency. A distant, formless shadow crosses through the water behind him, veering straight towards him.

—–—

Tails slides his hand along the steel railing that separates him from a wide open chamber of the Death Egg, looking many stories down on a wet but mostly above-water landing far below. Across the way, steel platforms just like the one he walks on are layered up from the bottom, each one stretching across the wall, passing the many doorways built in. A dim green emergency light is fastened periodically above every few doors, their light drowned out completely by distant sunlight. Tails stops in front of one such door on his own path.

"Hey, Shadow…you busy?" Tails peeks his head in through the open door.

Illuminated by the light that shines through the open door behind him, Shadow stares silently at the simple metal cabinet that has been placed in the corner of the dry living quarters. "I…suppose I'm not."

Tails steps the rest of the way in to join him. "Is this Sonic's room?"

"It will be. Once he gets here. I'm sorry, Tails. You were right. We should've gone back for him."

"No, of course I wasn't right about that. You said yourself, there was no chance of us finding him where we last saw him, and it would've been a stupid risk to take. And honestly, it's absurd that you would put my judgement above your own in a situation like that."

Shadow glances back at Tails with surprise. "Have you always been this blunt?"

"Only when I'm trying to talk sense into someone. So what exactly is it that you're doing, standing around in here?"

Shadow looks down at the cyan Chaos Emerald he holds in his hand. "Well…the plan was to store this Emerald in with the other two. Make the new count official. But…I couldn't bring myself to do it."

"Why not?"

"It just…doesn't feel right. It would be…celebrating a premature victory. We haven't really won this battle until we've found Sonic. He should be the one to do this."

"Shadow…I want to find Sonic too, more than anyone, but…you're missing the point by comparing yourself to his shadow. He made you his second in command for a reason, and there's no way that he'd want you to get yourself stuck up on what he would've done. He trusted you to be you, not to be a copy of him."

Shadow stares down at the Emerald in his hand for a while longer. "You're pretty smart for a kid, you know that?"

Tails smirks confidently. "So I've been told."

Shadow's eyes move back to Sonic's cabinet. "I just can't shake this feeling that…we're missing something. Some piece of the puzzle that should be easy to find, something that would help us understand what happened to him. I wonder…if it's possible that he left some sort of clue for us. Something to help us find out what happened. I already checked his logs, but…nothing out of the ordinary there. So…where else could he have left this information?"

"Are you saying that you want to dig through his stuff?"

"Yes. Uh, I mean–…"

"Given the circumstances, I don't think he'd mind. There's…always a chance that you're right." Tails moves up to the cabinet and pulls the middle drawer open. "Let's take a look."

Shadow once again appears surprised by Tails' forwardness, but after a moment of hesitation, he steps forward to see for himself.

"This all looks like memorabilia from his adventures over the years. Let's see here… Racing visor… Old air freshener… What in the world is this?" Carefully lifting it up by pinching its back between two fingers, Tails displays an old ragdoll clearly made to look like him. "I don't have a clue where this comes from, and I'm not sure whether I should be flattered or extremely creeped out."

Shadow shrugs. "Maybe both?"

Tails tosses the Tails doll aside and continues to rummage. "Now we're getting to the good stuff. Magic books—there's a story behind these." Tails shows off two books: Old and leatherbound, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, and even older, bound by seven colorful rings, One Thousand and One Nights. "Get it? Story? 'Cause they're storybooks?"

"Don't quit your dayjob."

Tails puts the books down and continues. "Here we have…a candle from last year's Birthday cake… And…right, I remember this." He pulls out a large round locket, covered by a cyan pattern of a perfect circle with a stout line coming out of the bottom. "Sonic told me that he got this locket from Silver after a run-in they had about a year before the war started. Funny thing is, he was explaining it as if I wouldn't have any idea who Silver was."

"When it comes to time travel, I try not to dwell on oddities like that."

"Yeah, same here." He puts the object aside and moves on. "Oh, hey, I wasn't even sure Sonic still had this one." He pulls out an ornate silver bracelet with a smooth green gem on top. "This bracelet belonged to Chip, an old friend of his. This was all that was left of him after he…disappeared into the Earth."

"Could that be a lead? Point us to whatever Sonic left before he disappeared?"

Tails shakes his head. "That's a stretch at best." He looks over the bracelet for a while longer. "I don't see what this thing could tell us anyways. This was a silly idea, there's not gonna be anything in here."

"Probably not. But if there's even a small chance that we can find something useful…"

Tails shrugs and moves on. "Next we have…a white feather? Man, Sonic holds on to some weird stuff. Anyways, then there's…oh, you'll recognize this one." He pulls out a shiny gold medal, engraved with the image of a falling ARK. Alongside it is a framed copy of a photograph, showing Sonic and Shadow posing in front of the Executive Office.

"It matches mine."

"Well then, I don't think we have anything to learn from it. Next is…oh, hey, check this out." He pulls out what appears to be a piece of paper folded in half. But as soon as he unfolds it, the image of Dr. Eggman beneath the printed words begins to move and speak.

"Mua ha ha ha ha ha ha! Guess what, Sonic Heroes? I've finally developed the ultimate weapon! In three days—"

Tails folds the paper closed to cut off the message.

"Eggman sent you that?"

"Actually, I think it was Metal Sonic." Realizing the potential connection, he opens it again.

"—I'll conquer the world! Think you can stop me? Ah ha ha ha ha!"

Tails stares at the animated letter for a while, as the message begins to repeat. "I…got nothing."

Shadow thinks on it as well. "Why do you think Metal Sonic sent this?"

"Just a taunt for Sonic, I guess. He needed a chance to copy his data, and then beat him with it."

"But this isn't addressed to Sonic. It's addressed to Sonic's whole team. Including you."

"Eggman said he copied all of our data. The more he got, the better for him. Why shouldn't he have taken as much as he could get?"

"Think about it. If he'd worded this letter right, he could've easily convinced Sonic to go after him solo. If all he wanted was a confrontation with Sonic, why go out of his way to invite the obstacles that would stand in the way of that? Why would he want you there?"

Tails glances downwards. "I…couldn't say."

Shadow closes his eyes with a sigh. "Is there anything else in there?"

Tails looks back into the drawer. "We've just about reached the bottom now. Grinding shoes… Fancy old ring… Bucket from the old Popcorn Shop… The…Tails doll again?" Tails looks over in confusion to the spot where he thought he had left the doll. With a shrug, he throws it over there anyways. "Nothing else really stands out."

"So what do you think?"

"What do I think? I already told you, nothing really…"

Shadow gives him a look.

Tails lets out a sigh. "This was never about looking through Sonic's stuff, was it?"

"You once asked me if I could tell what others were thinking by reading their expressions. You weren't wrong. I'm no mind reader, but it's easy enough for me to tell when someone's hiding something. And…if you know—"

"Metal Sonic is Sonic."

"W—… What?"

"Metal Sonic came from the Bad Future of the Little Planet, where Sonic lost, and Eggman turned him into Metal Sonic. He told me, and I didn't believe it at first, but he showed me the proof, and he remembered how we met. He was Sonic the entire time, and he wasn't being controlled, or taken over, it was him, making his own decisions, and I think the reason he always wanted me to be there was because he wanted to prove something to me, he wanted me to look up to him in his own twisted way, and—… And he almost succeeded…"

Shadow's expression has grown ever more dumbfounded. "Tails…"

"Sonic made me promise not to tell."

"Sonic knew?"

"Since the very beginning, I think. But he didn't…want anyone else to think less of him. He refused to accept Metal Sonic as anything but another villain. But…Metal Sonic convinced him otherwise. That's the only reasonable explanation. Metal Sonic convinced Sonic to accept him. And literally, he accepted having parts of Metal Sonic attached to himself. And I keep asking myself, why would Sonic accept that…unless Metal Sonic really was trying to do good? I mean, it looked like he was responsible for…what happened…but what if he wasn't? What if he was trying to help? What if—"

Shadow cuts him off with a hand on his shoulder. "Tails…it's good that you have hope. It's good that you always try to see the best in people. And I'm very glad that you've chosen to trust me with this information. But it doesn't do us any good to get caught up in the what-ifs. We need to focus on what we know, and how we can use it to find out more. If Metal Sonic is Sonic, what does that tell us about where Sonic could be right now?"

Tails forces himself to take a breath with a nod. "Focus. Right. This tells us why Sonic stayed behind to rescue Metal Sonic, but not necessarily what happened after. Then again…"

"Then again, what?"

"If Sonic truly did accept Metal Sonic as a part of himself, he would've done everything in his power to make sure that part isn't lost."

Shadow mutters quietly, "Two opposite selves, separated by time…accepting one another as a part of themselves…"

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Just a bit of déjà vu. Go on."

"Right, so Metal Sonic was hit hard, while at his weakest, he could've just as easily been torn apart. Certainly in no condition to run off afterwards. Which leads me to…three theories. One…Sonic couldn't get him out in time, and they both went down together. I don't want to believe it, but I can't ignore it as a possibility. Two…they made it out, and with Metal Sonic on the verge of shutdown, Sonic took him to the one person he thought might be able to save him."

Shadow finishes, "Eggman. That would certainly explain why we haven't seen Sonic since. What's your third theory?"

"It's a bit of an odd one. But if Metal Sonic was truly beyond repair, Sonic would've had one guaranteed option for preserving his life. He could've downloaded the contents of Metal Sonic's CPU straight into his own Metal implant."

"Implant?"

"Every mechanical part on Sonic's body was serving some sort of purpose, so there's no way the head module was just for show. There had to be some sort of computer involved, which means download space. The hardware was identical to Metal Sonic's, so the software should reasonably be able to hold Metal Sonic's data as well. Trust me, I know my machines."

"What would that mean for Sonic?"

"I…I don't know. Cyborg implants are still a pretty novel concept in the medical field, there certainly hasn't been any research done on what happens when you insert an extra consciousness into someone else's brain. It could be as simple as Sonic gaining access to all of Metal Sonic's memories and skills, or as complicated as…creating an entirely new person with aspects of both of them. In the middle, we have multiple personality disorder, or maybe just Sonic getting another voice in his head. It could be anywhere in that range."

"Now let's bring it all together. How can this help us find him?"

"Well…there's…umm…"

"Come on, Tails. There has to be something."

"I…don't know that there is. At best, we know he could be with Eggman, but we haven't exactly had luck finding him. If I had Metal Sonic here to study, there's a chance I could find something trackable about his technology that we could use to find Sonic's implants, but we don't have that either. We don't have anything. Just a lot of speculation."

Shadow turns away, hiding his disappointment. "Oh…"

Tails' eyes move to the ground. "I'm sorry…"

"No, no, don't be sorry! Tails, this isn't your fault. You know that, don't you?"

"That's…what I keep telling myself." Tails kneels down, collecting Sonic's things to return them to their proper place. "But does it really matter whose fault it is? I'm supposed to be the smartest, but…I guess I'm not smart enough to save my buddy."

"It has nothing to do with how smart you are, Tails. You said it yourself, we just don't have the information."

Tails takes a last look around to ensure that he hasn't missed anything. "I hate this." He closes the drawer. "This not knowing. The uncertainty, I can't—… I can't stand not being able to do anything."

"Take it from someone who once woke up knowing nothing at all. It sucks. And all you can do about it is keep looking for the answers. We may not know where Sonic is right now, but we will find out. And until that happens, we can't be wasting our time blaming ourselves for not knowing. Okay?"

Tails, still facing away, answers with a slow nod, "Okay. And you know what? This does give us something. We should take another look over the Oil Ocean site, see if Metal Sonic left any pieces behind that we can study."

Shadow nods. "We'll put together a search party. And…one other thing." Shadow steps up beside Tails, and holds the Chaos Emerald out to him. "I think you should hold onto this."

"The Chaos Emerald? What for?"

"Well, think of it like…our rebel camps. Putting them all in one place is just asking to have them all targeted at once. If we keep this one separated from the rest, then if something goes wrong, we'll still be able to hold on to at least one of the Emeralds. At least while things are still so…uncertain. And when you find Sonic, you can give it to him yourself. Sound good?"

Tails hesitantly takes the Emerald. "Yeah. Okay."

"And…about Sonic's secret…"

Both of them suddenly look up as the sound of frantic footsteps precedes Amy's appearance in the doorway. "Knuckles is in trouble!"

—–—

Knuckles barely manages to get three taps against his communicator before the dark figure collides with him. A great plume of air escapes from his mouth as the mouthpiece of the Air Necklace is dislodged while he is flung uncontrollably through the water. As he fumbles to put his air source back into place, he watches in horror as his light source, along with the communicator attached to it, tumbles end-over-end below him, sinking below his reach. Before it disappears, the sweeping flashlight beam crosses the attacking figure for only a moment, revealing the striking black and white patterns on the skin of the massive marine creature.

"It's an orca!" Knuckles hardly has time to think it before the orca charges through the darkness for him once again. Slightly more prepared, Knuckles guards and lets the blow push him through the water at an angle he can recover from. His eyes move to the only light source left—the dim green glow of emergency lights in the nearest open alcove of the Death Egg. He makes a desperate swim for it. But as the light grows closer, Knuckles takes a glance behind him, this time catching the hazy sight of the orca charging with its mouth wide open. He redoubles his efforts, flailing his limbs in an attempt to move faster, but the orca reaches its target.

The orca's jaws clamp down on Knuckles' leg, eliciting a cry of pain and a torrent of air bubbles from his mouth. The orca tosses its head around furiously, sending Knuckles flailing around like a ragdoll. In a desperate move, Knuckles throws a punch aimed for the orca's nose. The blow connects, and the killer whale releases its grip, letting out its own cry of pain that harshly resonates through the water.

As Knuckles scrambles back towards the light, he reaches towards his neck to put the breathing device back in place. But his fingers find nothing. This time, it is the Air Necklace that sinks down beneath him. Before he can even think to reach for it, the orca passes beneath him, blocking his route to it. A hand moves to cover his mouth, fighting the urge to gasp. His eyes instead move ahead. He's already made it inside of the flooded Death Egg chamber. The nearest emergency light glows over an open doorway not far away. Knuckles swims for it. The orca circles around and pursues him from behind. It draws closer and closer, once again opening its mouth wide. Knuckles slips through the doorway, and the orca's jaws snap behind him as the creature is stopped short by the too-small doorway. It backs out and tries again, ramming itself into the doorway hard enough to set the wall rumbling. But it can't fit through.

Knuckles looks around the room frantically, a hand at his throat to suppress the rapidly growing urge to inhale. Another sunken living quarters. And below its ceiling, a shimmering border between water and air.

Knuckles' head bursts out into the small pocket of breathable oxygen. He sucks in a lungful of air with intensity, coughing back out the splashing water that goes in along with it. But, with time and space to breathe as he swims to keep his head afloat, Knuckles finally manages to close his eyes and calm himself. The walls have stopped rumbling.

"I'm dead. This is the end for me. If I stay in here, I'm going to run out of air and suffocate. If I go out there, that orca is going to eat me. I'll drown long before I can ever hope to sneak around it. I have nowhere to go, no way to get there, and no one to ask for help. It's over. And for what? Hot showers? Nightlights? How could I have thrown my life away for stuff we don't even need? Tails, I am going to haunt you for the rest of my life over this." He stops as he hears the sound of his own words. "Uh, I mean…"

He shakes his head and takes another long breath. "Get ahold of yourself, Knuckles. You've made it through tighter spots than this. I think…" He takes another look around at the small breathable space he floats in. Nothing of note lies above the level of the water. His head nearly touches the flat metal ceiling. "All this steel and machinery… This isn't my element. Everyone else is happier here, but…I'm not. But that's okay. I am Knuckles. I fear no one. I'm tougher than the rest of them, I can adapt. And you know what is my element? Nature. Wild animals don't just attack people for no reason. And orcas are usually pretty gentle, when they aren't hunting. Could it be mistaking me for prey? Or maybe it really does need the food. If that's the case, I'll have a hard time getting away now that it's set its sights on me. Although…"

Struck by an idea, Knuckles takes a large breath in and dives back down into the water. He looks around at the inside of the living quarters, setting his sights on a wall mounted cabinet above what could be a mini kitchen. He struggles a bit to open the cabinet, finally releasing a sudden gurgle of air bubbles as water rushes into the previously sealed space. The rush of water spills over the contents inside, and one of the knocked over cans of food rolls right out into his outstretched hand. Satisfied, he returns to his air pocket above.

"This should do nicely." He jams one of his fist spikes into the top of the can, releasing a pop of air before effortlessly peeling off the tin lid. "If food is what this thing wants, it can have some." He covers the exposed food with a hand before diving right back down.

At the open doorway, Knuckles cautiously looks out as far as he can without exposing himself. The dim emergency light doesn't reach far enough to reveal anything of value. Convinced there's nothing more to see, Knuckles swims out into the doorway, and tosses the can out as far as he can manage with his sluggish underwater movements. Quickly swimming back a safe distance, he watches as the can tumbles down through the water, releasing much of its more buoyant contents as it goes. After a few moments, it drops out of sight beyond the railing outside. Knuckles cocks his head to the side in confusion at seeing no response. With curiosity, he begins to inch his way back towards the doorway.

The orca's face suddenly slams into the doorway once again, snapping and writhing just inches apart from Knuckles. Involuntarily letting out the remainder of his breath, Knuckles hurries back to his air pocket above as the orca backs off to attempt another ram.

The walls rumble as Knuckles hurriedly takes in his next breath of air. He's left panting as he listens to the long series of violent crashes caused by the determined orca, these even more rapid than its last attempts. "Okay. So maybe that wasn't my best idea." He winces at an especially intense vibration. He looks down at where the food pantry is. "There's a chance it might like one of the other cans better. Or more likely, it's not hungry." Through another labored breath, he concludes, "Air's already starting to get thin up here. No time to stick around here and experiment. Think, Knuckles. Think." He closes his eyes, managing to calm his breaths slightly in spite of the periodic vibration of the walls. "I'd already made it to the interior when I lost the Air Necklace. So it didn't sink into the open ocean. If I went straight for it, there's a good chance I could get to the floor where it landed before I drown. But that's assuming I can find it. Without light." The walls rumble again. "And without getting torn to shreds." He takes another look at his surroundings. "The next living quarters over would probably be closer, better chance at making it there in one piece, and I'll be able to wait it out longer. But even if the door's open, there's no guarantee it'd have an air pocket like this one. And even if it did, it'd be taking me in the opposite direction from the Air Necklace. Farther away from my one shot at getting back to the surface alive. I can't take that gamble. But what other choice do I have?" He looks down at another crash against the walls. "I don't have any choice at all while that thing's blocking the door. Come on, what're you doing? Get out of here!"

The next crash is accompanied by the orca's pain-filled cry, as if it were screaming in response to him.

"That poor creature is causing itself so much pain… If I could only understand why…" He waits for the next rumble. But it doesn't come. He looks down in confusion. "Was it something I said?"

Dimly lit and obscured by the surface of the water, a small, reflective object darts in through the doorway below, coming to a stop in the center of the floor. "Gah! What is that?" Knuckles swims himself back into the farthest corner in concern. After a moment, the object begins to rise to the surface.

Tails' orb-shaped RC drone splashes out of the water, lightly spraying Knuckles as its propellor picks up in speed to transition from water to air. Tails' voice transmits through it, "Chumming up the waters, Knuckles? If you're having a wild animal problem, that's a sure way to attract more of them."

Knuckles glares into the front camera of the drone with a growl. "Ooh, if I wasn't so happy to see you, I'd pop this little robot of yours right now. Do you have any idea what you're putting me through with this?"

"I can surmise. We can feel the whole place shaking from up here. What happened to your communicator?"

"Bottom of the ocean."

"And the Air Necklace?"

"Down on the lower landing. Didn't see exactly where, already lost my light by then."

"Well that's gonna be a problem…"

"You think?"

"My scans are showing that you don't have much breathable air in here, either. Here." The speaker on the side of the drone pops out slightly. "Put this back on your ear so you can hear us underwater. Stay close to the drone, I'll help you look for the Necklace."

"Look for it? Is that really our best option?"

"I could throw together an oxygen tank and some makeshift scuba gear to send down to you, but you don't have enough air to last you that long. My scans aren't showing any nearby air pockets close to this size. I think this is your only shot, and you're wasting precious oxygen by waiting here to think about it."

"Well what about the orca?"

"I got rid of it using a sonic frequency that its ears are highly susceptible to. It probably didn't go far, but it can't get near us while that sound is playing."

"Does that hurt it?"

"Yes, but I think we got past the issue of hurting it when it decided you were its next meal. Now get moving if you want to live."

Knuckles fastens the detachable communicator to his ear. He takes a deep breath. "Okay. No more time to waste." Taking in all the air he can manage, he dives back under.

Wasting no time with hesitation, Knuckles swims right for the door while the drone behind him activates a flashlight beam, far wider and brighter than the small one he used to carry.

"Point me to where you think it is."

As Knuckles passes over the railing beyond the door, he points down, slightly off in the direction of the open ocean. The drone's beam turns in the direction he points. It still doesn't reach quite far enough to illuminate the floor.

Knuckles takes a glance over his shoulder as he dives below the walkway. A dark shadow approaches. He quickly makes three taps to his communicator.

"Don't worry, I see her." The drone begins to emit an extremely high-pitched whine, and the pained cry of the orca responds almost immediately. It turns away into the darkness.

Knuckles sets his sights back downward. The landing below fades ever so slowly into view. But no sign of the Air Necklace. Knuckles makes a motion with his hand for the drone to see, pointing further out.

"Got it, looking father ahead. How you doing? Once for 'fine,' twice for 'I need to breathe'."

Knuckles taps once. His hand hesitates there for a moment as he considers adding a second tap. But he shakes his head and refocuses.

"We've gotta be getting close by now. Knuckles, you— No way! She's coming back!"

Knuckles looks back in surprise. The orca charges back towards them once again.

"That's not possible, it shouldn't be able to tolerate this frequency! I'm increasing the amplitude… Still no effect! Look out!"

Far too slow to evade, Knuckles braces himself against another impact from the charging whale. But the impact doesn't come. The ora instead chases after the drone that picks up its speed to flee.

Tails answers his thoughts. "Looks like it found a higher priority target than you. I'll keep it busy, you keep searching." The drone swerves upwards, keeping an evasive course.

Knuckles looks back to the ground. Even quite close to it, it's almost impossible to see without the added light of the drone. Knuckles dives the rest of the way down and reaches out with his hands, reduced to feeling around for the lost Necklace. One hand moves to cover his mouth and nose. Through his squinting eyes, blackness begins to edge around his vision. The countdown to his drowning begins once again.

I need help.

"I hear you. I'm trying to get you, but I'm a little tied up. Don't give up, okay? You can't give up now."

Amy's voice adds, "You can do it, Knuckles. Just hold out a little longer."

Even Shadow contributes, "You're strong enough. And we're counting on you to make it back."

Tails finishes, "I'm not losing another friend. Not today." The drone's beam suddenly sweeps back into view as it approaches Knuckles from behind, the orca just on its tail. And illuminated far ahead, just on the edge of the beam's light, is the Air Necklace, sitting stationary on the metal floor, periodically releasing a tiny stream of bubbles. "Hey, there it is!"

Knuckles tries to reach out for it. But all his strength seems sapped away. He can hardly move his arms.
"Heads up!" The drone sweeps around in front of him. And as it goes, it releases one large, sluggish bubble of air, before darting off in another direction to lead the orca away.

With the sight of air right in his face, Knuckles pushes himself the last inch he needs, sticking his face into the bubble and inhaling it in its entirety before it can rise away.

"That was a one-time deal. Grab the necklace and get out of here, you can leave the drone behind."

With fresh air back in his lungs, Knuckles makes a renewed swim at his top speed for the spot the Air Necklace was revealed. Reaching through the darkness with his hands, he scoops it up, wasting no time in securing it around his neck. He closes his eyes, taking a few long breaths through the mouthpiece.

The drone passes overhead, the orca following close behind. "What're you waiting for? Go!"

As the orca passes over Knuckles' head, something seems to catch his eye. He reaches for his communicator.

No.

"No? Whaddaya mean, no!?"

Knuckles swims up after the orca with determination.

"Knuckles, you–…" There's a long pause. "Do you have a plan?"

Yes.

"Should I lead her back to you?"

Yes.

"…Okay. I trust you." The distant drone makes a U-turn, heading back towards Knuckles. "I hope you know what you're doing."

Yes.

As the drone and the orca pass back over Knuckles' head, he grabs onto a fin, letting the orca pull him forward through the water. Its speed is high enough that he struggles to hang on against the drag. But as a green emergency light strobes past below, the object that Knuckles saw is illuminated once again. A large piece of metal shrapnel stuck into the orca's hide below the fin. Knuckles begins to reach for it.

The drone's light shines on Knuckles' target as it makes a sharp evasive turn. "I see it! That must be what's got her so angry. You're trying to help her? Should I shut off the signal, will that help?"

Yes.

The sound emitted by the drone shuts off. The orca's enraged pursuit instantly slows. Knuckles finally grabs onto the metallic object, and rips it out in one clean movement. The sound of relief in the orca's next cry is apparent. Until the high-pitched mechanical whine resumes.

Tails explains, "That's not just a piece of shrapnel, it's a sonar emitter! It's putting out the same frequency we were!"

Knuckles holds the device up to the light. Though cut off and faded, the printed letters 'GMAN' make the missing information clear. Knuckles wastes no more time in breaking the Eggman device, returning silence once and for all.

"I…I think that did it. It's calmed down completely."

The orca turns slowly to face Knuckles. Knuckles holds up the broken pieces of the device for it to see, before dropping it all, letting it sink down into the depths.

"I can hardly believe it… She's had the orca equivalent of nails on a chalkboard in her ears constantly, all this time. It's no wonder she was so upset…"

Knuckles' eyes meet those of the orca, and they share a silent communication. Knuckles cautiously reaches out with a hand. The orca happily meets him there, nuzzling into his open palm.

"Did you see how the wound was completely sealed up around it? I thought it might have been from the crash of this Death Egg, but that injury had to be years old, at least. Do you think it might've been from the original wreck?"

The orca lets out a grateful call as it turns to swim away into the darkness. Its soothing song echoes through the waters long after it has disappeared from sight.

"Is it possible that she…somehow knew that you were involved in that wreck? And Sonic? Could this be the same orca that Sonic's told me about?"

Yes.

"Seems like a stretch to me, but…it would certainly explain her unusual behavior. So, are you ready to head back to the surface now?"

No.

"No?"

For the camera to see, Knuckles points deeper into the Death Egg.

"You still want to go through with the generator? After all that?"

Yes.

There's a momentary pause. "We're all glad to hear it. I'll walk you through it, just like we talked about. And I get the feeling that, if anything else goes wrong…" The drone turns to look in the direction where the orca disappeared. "…you might just have another friend to watch your back."

—–—

Daily Log, July 4th addendum.

Some wounds run so deep that, even once they've appeared to heal on the outside, they can still tear someone apart on the inside. I don't think that things can ever truly go back to normal without Sonic. That's a cut that runs too deep. But every bit of normalcy we can eek out is one step closer to healing. On the outside, at least.

What I'm trying to say is, Knuckles did it. It nearly cost him his life, but he got the generator running. And made a new ally along the way. It all seems kinda silly in hindsight, taking such a risk for the sake of a few luxuries. But I really do think this'll make a world of difference for us. It'll close the wound. It'll still hurt on the inside. But it'll let us get back in the fight.

—–—

Knuckles is still dripping with seawater as the automatic door to the computer room rises in front of him. Despite the dark of night outside, the large room is quite well lit.

"Knuckles, look! It worked! You did it!"

Knuckles sets his sights on Tails, and marches right up to him, glaring daggers into his eyes. "Let's get one thing straight, kid. That fiasco was entirely your fault. The only reason you don't have a Knuckles Sandwich waiting for you right now is because you saved my life."

Tails only smiles wider. "You're welcome."

"Why I oughtta…" Knuckles manages to restrain himself at the last moment, choosing to turn around and begin marching back the way he came instead.

Tails' cheery expression finally falters. "Wait, wh-where are you going?"

Knuckles stops. "I'm going to take a hot shower." Before Tails can respond, he continues, "But…after that, I'm going back to the altar room."

"The chamber built over the shrine of the Master Emerald? But that's over in the north shell, your work only restored power here to the south shell."

"That's the idea."

"But…"

"You were right about one thing, Tails. A feeling of home…that's something worth fighting for. You all have your idea of what that means. And I have mine." Knuckles resumes his walk.

From across the room, Shadow calls out, "You might want to stick around another minute here. Take a look." Knuckles and Tails both look over.

The massive main viewscreen of the computer room, apparently hooked up directly to TAL, shows the EGG1 news channel, as a recorded fireworks display cuts to a view of Eggman himself, standing tall above the angled camera that captures him.

Eggman begins, "Greetings, citizens of the Eggman Empire. I've come to make an announcement. As another year of Eggman Empire Day festivities come to a close, we must all remember the trials and hardships it took to become the unified world we are today. Mere days ago, we faced yet another terrorist attack from the anarchist group that call themselves the Rebellion. Frightening though this attack may have been, the outcome might have been far worse, were it not for the actions of one…" He seems to struggle through the next few words. "…one brave hero. Though this man once called himself a Rebel, he refused to sit idly by as he witnessed the awful destruction wrought by his so-called allies. In this choice to fight for the side of peace, his actions to cease the razing of Westside Island, he sustained great injury. But his heroism did not go unnoticed. At his request, his scarred flesh became cybernetic enhancement. And this former Rebel emerged as something new. A hero of the Eggman Empire. And so, without further ado, I would like to introduce you, one and all, to the Empire's newest peacekeeper. It's a name you all know—starts with an 'S'." His grin grows ever wider. "It is my great pleasure to present, the new, Sonic the Hedgehog."

Eggman steps aside on the screen, as Cyber Sonic takes his place. His eyes raise slowly from the ground, until they just barely meet the camera. "I have just one message for the people responsible for this act. I'm coming for you."

To be continued…