Shadow groaned beneath his breath and resisted the urge to rub at his head. The Resistance HQ command centre was a busy space, the walls lined by blinking computers and radio chatter filling the air. Running a war was not a quiet business, and Shadow's senses where more sensitive than most. The noise and activity bothered him, made him moody and irritable.

Still. A good flask of coffee always set him straight.

Rouge grimaced, screwing her nose as her teammate tipped the flask to his mouth. "I have no idea how you can drink that."

Shadow shrugged. "It's just coffee. You drink it too."

"There's like a whole jar in there."

"It keeps me going."

"How are you alive"

"I actually died years ago. The excess caffeine just keeps my body moving." Rouge gave the hedgehog a suspicious look. Shadow allowed a smirk.

Rouge maintained eye contact with Shadow, before snickering herself. "Shadow, I don't know if I'm ever going to get used to you telling jokes."

"You're the one who told me to, and I quote, 'lighten up'."

"Are you finished?"

Both mobians' ears perked as a gruff voice caught their attention, Shadow and Rouge looking to see an unamused Knuckles glowering at them from the head of the briefing table.

"Just having a little banter is all, Knuckie..." Rouge offered the Echidna a sly wink as Shadow adjusted himself in his chair. She smirked as Knuckles' fur bristled.

"We're ready, Knuckles." Shadow replied, having returned to his usual serious demeanour.

"Good," The Echidna grumbled, taking his spot and appraising the Resistance members sat around the table. Coloured faces of all kinds looked back at him, old friends all. "Okay. Now to business. We have reports of Robotnik activity in several of our territories. Looks like the good Doctor is getting ready for another push."

"Confirmed reports of Badniks spotted around Marble, Oil Ocean, and Ice Cap zones." Amy said, accompanying Knuckles at the head of the table and gesturing to a flickering screen projected in the wall. "Scouts most likely."

"Scouts likely..." Espio, stealth agent of team Chaotix, spoke up. "The good doctor must be poking around for holes he can exploit."

"Well the good doctor's gonna learn to to stick his nose where the sun don't shine!" Vector, Espio's larger and blunter teammate, grumbled.

"Plan of action?" Shadow enquired, arms folded across his chest fluff.

"We're sending in teams. We'll split up, head a platoon of troopers each, and go see what's going on out there. If anybody knows how to take care of a few uninvited Badniks, is us." Knuckles set his fists on his hips and surveyed his friends. "Rouge, me you and Omega will check out the Marble zone. Chaotix? Oil Ocean. Shadow? I want you and Tails to investigate Ice Cap."

"You... want me to team up with Shadow?" Tails looked as though he was about to faint. Shadow offered a serious nod in response.

"It makes enough sense," the black-and-red hedgehog said, "with Sonic being off the field..."

There was an uncomfortable silence at the mention of their friend, brought so recently back from the dead. Missions hadn't been the same without the blue hero around.

"That settles it," Knuckles said, preparing to finish up the briefing. "We're moving out asap, people. I want you all ready to rock within the hour." The echidna smirked, eyes scanning over his friends. It had been a long war, but they could handle themselves. "We'll meet back tonight for a victory dinner-"

"Sir! You can't go in there!"

"The hell I can't, move aside."

"Sir the command staff are in a brief- sir!"

SLAM.

The double metal doors to the briefing room smacked open, shoved aside by a very strong blue individual who now filled the space with their metal bulk.

"Sonic?" Knuckles' called across the room as his friend glowered at the occupants with glowing optics. The former hedgehog took once step, before losing his balance and smacking into the doorframe. "Sonic!"

"Easy! Easy, big fella!" Vector reached out to help steady his friend, yellow eyes inspecting the cyborg as Sonic allowed the giant crocodile to set him back on his feet. The Chaotix team leader exchanged a glance with Espio, the two reptiles until now not yet having laid eyes on their revived friend. "There ya go! Take it steady!"

Sonic wobbled in place before his balance returned and he pointedly avoided his friends' eyes, optics instead locking on Knuckles as the red echidna approached. "What's up, Knuckles? You guys having a party without me?"

"Sonic, what are you doing here?" Tails scampered over, hurriedly checking Sonic's frame and inspecting his life-readings, "you're supposed to be resting!"

"I've done enough resting," Sonic said, "I'm ready to get back to work."

"We appreciate the spirit, Big Blue..." Rouge said, eyeing the cyborg with interest. "But if you can't stand up properly on your own you might not be good for a trip to enemy territory."

"I'm FINE, Rouge." Sonic's head whirred as he glared sharply at the bat, Rouge setting one hand on a hip and pouting. Sonic's optics scanned over the faces of his friends, each and every one of them so unconvinced in his assertion. "... none of you trust me, do you? Nobody here trusts that maybe I can take care of myself."

"Sonic..." Knuckles's voice rumbled, the echidna moving close and gently setting a massive paw on Sonic's shoulder-guard. "Of course we trust you. But face it... you've been through a Hell of a lot. More than most people could ever survive. I know you want to get back to work but... you're just not ready."

Sonic's head tilted side-to-side. "Will I ever be, Knux?" Sonic's face lowered and he stared at his feet. "Knuckles... look at me. Look at what that evil... look at what Robotnik did to me. I can't sit it out any more. I need to get back out there, Knuckles. Just waiting around being useless. It's the only thing I have left."

Knuckles looked his old friend up and down. Sonic's body was gone, destroyed and replaced by this mechanical contraption that looked so much like the Metal Units of the enemy. But it was Sonic, and Knuckles knew that the blue hero couldn't be expected to sit around forever. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his muzzle. "Shadow? Take him with you."

Shadow frowned, red eyes screwing shut with confusion. "Seriously? Sonic, you're not exactly in the best-"

"It's okay!" Tails piped up, namesakes swishing with sudden excitement at the prospect of going on-mission with his older brother, "I can take care of him! Let's face it, I'm the best person to do so right?"

Shadow shrugged, glancing at Sonic. "Don't do anything stupid." The black-and-red hedgehog said plainly.

"You stay on the shuttle," Knuckles lightly jabbed a finger into Sonic's chest, taking care not to accidentally push the cyborg over. "And be careful."

"Wow, how exciting..." Sonic replied. Knuckles merely fixed him with a stern gaze and Sonic nodded in compliance. "Fine, I'll behave myself... thanks Knux."

Knuckles gave a serious nod before turning to address the others in the room. "Okay people, let's get this show on the road. We have a rotten egg to scramble."

...

Normally, Sonic would have been unable to sit still for this long. He was a being constantly in motion, always tapping his feet, fidgeting with his gloves, running a finger under his nose in that way that he always had. The old Sonic would not have been able to spend an entire hour-long shuttle flight strapped into the seat.

The new Sonic... didn't have much of a choice.

Sonic had begrudgingly allowed himself to be strapped tight into the dropship seat, his bulky metallic frame tightly secured. Nearby, Resistance troopers occupied the far end of the shuttle, checking weapons and preparing for action.

Shadow stalked the shuttle interior before him, offering Sonic a raised eyebrow. "You good?"

"Wonderful," Sonic replied, synthetic vocals unenthusiastic.

"Remember," Shadow grunted, "you stay on the ship. Miles and I will scout ahead."

"Yes mom."

"I'm not kidding around Sonic," Shadow almost growled, "we put you back together once before. I don't want to be picking up your pieces again because you won't listen to orders."

"Stop holding my freaking hand Shadow," Sonic replied, glaring into the tri-clawed prosthetics that had entirely replaced blue fur and tan paws, "not like I could feel it anyway."

Shadow shook his head and headed for the cockpit to check on their progress, leaving Sonic to rock in his seat with the motion of the shuttle. The nearby troopers cast curious glances his way, no doubt fascinated by the living machine that had replaced their hero. Sonic ignored them, green optics glowering ahead.

"Okay folks!" Tails' voice crackled through the ship's intercom, catching his passengers' attention. "We're nearing our objective, eta five minutes!"

Sonic attempted to free himself from his harness, frustration building as hi big dumb robot hands patted uselessly at the straps. The hands were composed of three large claws, modelled directly after a standard Metal Unit's. They were not built for precise work. Ultimately Sonic gave up and allowed his arms to clatter lamely against his legs, the former hedgehog lacking the willpower to perform something as difficult as unfastening a seatbelt.

The shuttle rocked as it slowed, and the boarding ramp began to lower with the whine of hydraulics and a sudden gale of frigid wind. A snowy landscape outside rose to meet them, and soon enough the ship was settled in the snow.

Sonic watched, feeling quite useless as Shadow led the troopers off of the dropship. The black-and-red hedgehog directed the soldiers, the experienced field agent accustomed to giving orders these days.

"Alpha squad will accompany me and Prower," the hedgehog boomed, raising his already deep voice to be heard over the wind. "Delta, I want you on ship security detail. I'll inform you if we need backup."

the troopers complied, wispons at the ready as Tails emerged from the cockpit of the ship. "Thanks for flying with Prower Airways!" the fox grinned, approaching Sonic excitedly.

"Yeah yeah," Sonic replied, gesturing at his harness, "you want to help me out of this thing? I'd do it myself but these things don't work so well."

Tails' grin faultered as Sonic raised both hands, the mechanical limbs moving stiffly and robotically. The fox reached out and began to unstrap Sonic's harness, stepping back as the straps fell away. He offered a hand to help Sonic up, the cyborg waving it away as he struggled to leave his seat. He tried once. Twice. And then gave up.

"Come here..." Tails said, gritting his teeth an preparing to take the weight as Sonic took his hand. Sonic's frame was heavy - Tails assisted the former hedgehog to his feet, making a mental note to use more lightweight materials in any future refits. Sonic would need his parts updating to prevent wear and tear after all. "How you holding up?"

"How do you think?" Sonic said, his synthetic vocals sharper than normal. The green optics scanned down to the floor. "Sorry Tails. I'm fine. Really."

Tails cleared his throat, the two brothers awkwardly stood facing one another. The fox shoved his hands into the pockets of his arctic coat. "Well... I'd better... I'd better..."

"Go on," Sonic said, stiffly nodding toward the boarding ramp and the waiting squad, "go join Shadow. I'll watch house."

Tails nodded, giving his brother one last look before turning and descending the ramp. Sonic watched him join Shadow and Alpha squad, a pair of red eyes casting a stern glance into the shuttle to lock onto the blue cyborg occupying the troop bay.

"Alright, let's move out."

With that, the Resistance scouting party turned and left, soon vanishing into the snowy wastes. Leaving Sonic alone in the ship... and in his frame.

...

Sonic was bored. It hadn't taken long for him to ignore his orders of staying on the shuttle, but hey - he figured a little walk just outside the aircraft wouldn't be no big deal. Behind him the troopers of Delta squad mingled around the ship, smoking and shivering and bantering with one another.

"This sucks man... never known cold like this."

"You think this is bad? You wanna spend three months in a Holoskan winter. Cold enough to freeze yer tail off."

"Hey, ain't nothing freezing any parts o' me off, no sir."

The soldiers shared a cackle, before they went momentarily silent. When next they spoke it was in far more hushed tones.

"You think... he can feel it?"

"Who?"

A pause. Probably a gesture toward him.

"I dunno man... why don'cha go ask?"

"Screw that!"

"Can you believe that's... him?"

"Freaky man. I've fought Metal Units before and I'm tellin' ya, that is a dead ringer for a Metal Unit."

"Poor sonovabitch... heard there wasn't much left."

"Hey, can it dipshit, he might hear you!"

Sonic had, indeed, heard the entire conversation. His new ears were more sensitive, and could make out the troopers' discussion even over the wind. Sonic decided he didn't want to deal with the soldiers and began to march slowly away, metal feet trudging through the snow.

He stopped and raised a metal hand, palm stiffly facing up, watching snowflakes settle into the blue steel. He couldn't feel it. Couldn't feel the harsh and bitter wind, could only feel a vague sense of where his robotic limbs were and the pulse of his remaining organs. And even then... not much.

He tried to remember what being able to feel was like. What it was like to just touch something, eat and drink. What it was like to smile and hug his friends.

It was getting harder by the day.

"Sir? Sir!"

Sonic bowed his head, the crunch of combat boots in snow sounding from behind. One of the troopers, a brown cat-mobian, frowned as he cautiously approached. "Sir? The... Commanders said we have to stay close to the ship, sir..."

"So he did," Sonic said lightly, watching snow melt in the palm of his metal hand. The cat cocked his head, awkwardly hovering behind the cyborg.

"You feeling okay sir?"

Sonic turned stiffly to face the trooper, green optics locking on the cat's eyes. The man shrunk into his cold-weather gear, big eyes blinking nervously. "I can't feel anything, Private. If you and your buddies really want to know."

The soldier's mouth flapped open. Back near the shuttle the other troopers watched the exchange with curious eyes. "Uh... Sir?"

"Forget it." Sonic tilted his head side-to-side, the motion a replacement for shoulders that couldn't shrug. He would have sighed if he could, but his lungs continued their automatic function. "Let's go back to the ship..."

Sonic's vocals trailed off as his audio processors detected something. There was a hiss. The whoosh of something moving at high velocity.

Sonic's vision was overloaded and the cyborg became airborne as something very fast and very very explosive lanced into the dropship, and everything went dark.