Author's Note: Yes... I started to entirely rework this thing, because apparently, I hate myself. At least, now I can look at it again without my eyes bleeding. Hope you'll enjoy the updated version too!


I'll honesty say… I have never expected anything like this to happen, but sometimes fate seems to hide the weirdest surprises. Although, I assume… afterwards, it's not as strange as initially thought… Hm? Oh. You seem confused. I suppose, you don´t actually know what I'm talking about, correct? Very well… In this case, let me tell you a story of what I've experienced. A tale you may find hilarious or downright idiotic by the end of it. However, before you judge, let me inform you, that the events I am about to tell never laid in my hands. Occasionally, destiny just appeared to love taking paths no one would have ever seen coming…

XXX

"Argh! Why can´t you leave me alone already, you little pests?!" Dr. Eggman shouted angrily from his Eggmobile, giving full throttle in a hopeless effort to get rid of the three mobians chasing him.

"Aww, but where would be the fun in that?" Sonic retorted with a cocky grin, not breaking a sweat as he easily kept up with the flying vehicle. It was rather obvious how much entertainment he took out of this pursuit. Watching the human turn progressively more frustrated from being unable to lose them, gave the blue hedgehog a kind of satisfaction he just couldn´t resist. He was almost glad Eggman was out of jumping reach for once. Otherwise, he would have no reason to draw this out just a little longer.

A sentiment better not shared with one of the two other people participating. Shadow and Knuckles were right at his heels. Each for their own reasons and each in vastly different emotionally states regarding the situation. Shadow was his usual calm self, solely joining as a means to get back the Chaos Emerald, the doctor snatched from under his nose some time ago, when he wasn´t looking. Knuckles on the other hand… did his main motivation to join really need an explanation? Of course, Eggman had the brilliant idea to steal the Master Emerald. Again. Damages and death caused by his fallen island be damned. Wreaking havoc had always been one of the human's favourite hobbies, no matter who had to suffer the consequences. No need to mention, but Knuckles was not pleased whatsoever.

Even though a chase, like the current one, was nothing new to either of them, there was heavy, very heavy, tension in the air. Surprisingly, it did not mainly originate from the mad human's foolish actions. Nor was it out of fear of being unable to get the emeralds back. No… it rooted in the presence of the Ultimate Lifeform and the Guardian of the Master Emerald in the same place, at the same time. The two were not on good terms. Comically far from it, in fact. Whenever they met, the surrounding air got heavy. Upcoming danger could almost be touched. None, but them, knew the foundation for their blank hate towards each other. Neither gave away even a single word, no matter how persistent their friends were.

It didn´t help how they used to be something akin to friends themselves. When their attitude abruptly changed from one day to the other, without any form of warning, it was only natural for confusion to spread quickly. Their once respectful behaviour vanished completely, merely to be replaced by a verbal war, that all too often led to physical violence between the chaos benders. And once a fight enraged, everyone around them better brought themselves to safety, because the second they began, neither cared who or what stood in their path of destruction.

"Just give me back my emerald, Eggman! Or I'll make you regret ever crossing my path!" an understandably angry Knuckles yelled, baring his sharp fangs in a further display of anger.

Unsurprisingly, Eggman's only answer was to add more speed, which did nothing, but increase the rage Knuckles already felt. "Dammit!" the echidna growled as he attempted to step up his pace as well. The sound was loud enough to be perceived by the hedgehogs. While one decided to ignore it, the leading other turned around mid-run without the loss of any tempo, just to smile at him. Sonic sure had some nerve to show off right now, running backwards like this. If his expression was supposed to be reassuring, he did a bad job at bringing it across. To the echidna, it was close to taunting or amusement at his expense. Needless to say, but his annoyance drastically grew. Then again, he was in no emotional state to properly judge his rival's body language. He had seen that harmless smile countless of times before, but interpretation was hard through a veil of irritation.

"Alright, guys," Sonic began, his tone light-hearted, as if their enemy currently did not have a hold of the most powerful item in the world. Which could become a problem, should he get away. "This is getting boring. Let's get him now."

"What?" Knuckles panted, his eyes wide. Did he just call their quest, to get the Master Emerald back, boring?! The guardian's temper sure as hell did not appreciate this specific choice of words. "Can´t you be serious for once, Sonic?!" he wanted to snarl, but because the blue hero zoomed off before he got the chance, it died halfway down his throat.

Now frustration rapidly rose as well and found its way out in form of various words of profanity. Knuckles really tried to make himself go faster, to keep and catch up. But he simply couldn´t, having reached his limit. Slowly his stamina was nearing its end too. Darn it! Why did it have to be running?! His stamina wasn´t bad by any means, mind you. Quite the opposite, since his reserves were rather admirable. It's just that he wasn´t built to run like Sonic and the other hedgehog next to him. Especially this fast, over a longer period of time. It gradually started to get the better of him.

Shadow, who stayed quiet for most of their objective, kept an eye on the echidna since he joined the pursuit. Observing and analysing. It didn´t take a lot to see how much the guardian was struggling. Now, the Ultimate Lifeform wasn´t one for cracking jokes. Especially at inappropriate moments. However, if there was one thing, he could call himself, it was being brutally honesty. Particularly to those he wasn´t fond of. The echidna happened to be one of those unfortunate souls.

To tell the truth, it was Shadow who brought most of the animosity into their relationship. At its core, he was the one to initiate its decline in the first place. Stubborn and prideful as Knuckles was known to be, he would not ignore nor take insults thrown at his head, no matter how puzzled he may have been initially. Backing down was out of question for the guardian too. If Shadow wanted war, that's exactly what he got, until all that's left between them was pure, blank hate.

"Shouldn´t have joined if you can´t keep up, echidna," Shadow commented, his voice devoid of emotions. The hateful glare he received right after, was blatantly ignored.

"Shut up! This is about MY emerald! I refuse to stand on the side and do nothing!"

A huff. "You talk as if I care about your problems concerning this idiotic rock," the hedgehog replied, once again paying no attention to the way Knuckles hissed at him. He was pushing it, he knew, but it's not his fault the truth tended to hurt.

For that very reason, Knuckles was close to jump at his throat. The keyword being 'close', considering the high velocities they presently performed. The red mobian was aware of how bad an idea it was. Shadow would literally have no trouble dodging him, should he go for an attack. Knuckles was not provoked to this extend yet. For now, he was still able to bite it down and take it. However, that didn´t mean, he can´t get revenge at some later point in time. Insults had to do as an outlet in the meanwhile.

While the echidna was busy in attempting to calm himself, Shadow's ears perked at a familiar sound high up in the air. Upon further investigation, it was Tails' biplane steadily approaching from behind. No doubt he would soon pass them. At the sight, a taunting thought crept into Shadow's mind. Crimson eyes made their way back to the taller echidna, who continuously called him all sorts of offending names.

"In case you're done," Shadow suddenly spat, catching Knuckles off guard and effectively disrupting his focus and speech of insults. "Some words of advice, guardian. Since you're seconds away from collapsing, I suggest it would be beneficial for you to join your friend in his plane. Broken down you're more useless than you already are."

Knuckles stared at the hedgehog with widened eyes. When his locked with those piercing reds, it's almost like everything else ceased to exist. Like it was only them in a desolate void. This… hedgehog had some fucking nerve!

That's it. That's the final straw that broke the camel's back. A sudden rush of adrenaline and detest shot through the red mobian's body. In a split-second Knuckles changed directions completely to charge at Shadow, pure rage clear in his expression and fists ready to pummel the hedgehog into the dirt. Shadow was quick to react, and he can call himself lucky his reflexes were as good as they were. Any later and he might have been unable to dodge the strike. Fortunately for him, he did and a massive stone of granite fell victim to the guardian's assault instead. Thousands of little pieces shattered across the ground and when Knuckles realised it was not the Ultimate Lifeform he tore apart, a furious snarl came out of his mouth.

Taking advantage of the mishap, Shadow used it to bring distance between himself and the other. Glancing back, he appeared to stay unimpressed by the display of sheer physical strength. A well-crafted disguise to mask the little respect he possessed after all. For that kind of power, at least. He knew better than to truly underestimate the echidna. Had that hit landed, he was positive there would have been more to deal with than a couple broken bones. Despite what it looked like, an actual confrontation was the last thing Shadow was interested in. He came here for the Chaos Emerald and the Chaos Emerald alone. Pissing of the other mobian in the process was not part of the plan, but bound to happen by default. He had wasted enough time, however. So, he redirected his attention back to his original goal and took off for good.

Meanwhile, Knuckles recovered from his burst of overwhelming fury. His head swung around, just to catch a glimpse of the dark hedgehog disappearing into the distance. An angry hiss managed to escape into the air. There was no way to catch up anymore. Shadow was too fast and too far gone by now. Knuckles was so close to losing the little that was left of his remaining self-control, manifested in the way his body shook in anger. Unfortunately, rage mode wouldn´t do him any favours. Would not assist him in fulfilling the reason he was here. To return the Master Emerald to its rightful place, on top of Angel Island's shrine. Taking a deep breath, Knuckles forced himself to calm down and focus, no matter how hard it was. Once achieved, he resumed the chase, but not without muttering one last insulting phrase towards the Ultimate Lifeform.

If Shadow really thought, Knuckles would give up and falter so easily, he was going to smash his believes into shards. No way he was going to shout up to Tails to pick him up. No way he would prove Shadow correct. No way he would throw away his pride like this. He was going to demonstrate the will to bite through his struggles. No matter how badly his lungs burned and screamed for air. No matter how much his legs longed for a break.

Was it all truly for the purpose of proving something to the dark hedgehog, though? Or only to himself? To bring his body to the edge of its limits. It's ironic, isn´t it? For someone who always claimed not to care about Shadow's opinion, it was quite evident how the recent events were a direct result of said person's poisonous words. Knuckles refused to admit it. Even to himself. Never would he allow himself to show weakness to that damned pincushion. Present or otherwise. Clenching his jaw hard enough to be visible, Knuckles compelled himself to go faster to catch up with the others sooner, rather than later.

Even so, it took him several more minutes before they finally got in sight again. Much to his dismay, the fight with Eggman had already reached its end. The oddly shaped man wasn´t even around anymore. All that's left was the Egg-O-Matic smashed down and lying utterly broken on the ground. Knuckles began to slow down, as soon as he realised, he was too late to be of any assistance. Stumbling the last few steps out of exhaustion, he eventually fell to his knees and inhaled as much air into his lungs as possible. Pant-like breaths transformed into coughs. Thick saliva dripped out of his mouth; his throat too dry to swallow. Sonic was instantly by his side, his expression worried as he tried to give him support.

From a couple of feet away, Shadow silently watched the scene. Since he had obtained what he came for, he had no real reason to still stick around. In fact, he was about to leave when the echidna arrived. Curiosity was what made him decide to stay. If only to see how this plays out. He may not like him, but Shadow had to give it to the guardian. His stubbornness was unparalleled, even if it was at the expense of his health. That miserable look was a dead giveaway. "Pathetic," the dark hedgehog thought without the slightest amount of pity. After all, he gave him advice of how to avoid this exact outcome. It was Knuckles' own fault for not taking it.

At the same time, Sonic had asked the panting echidna if he was okay and put a hand on his shoulder in an additional sign of sympathy. The annoyed glare he promptly received, was answer enough. Clearly, it was the wrong thing to say.

"Do I look alright to you?!" Knuckles snapped, causing Sonic to pretty much recoil from the volume and harsh tone.

It wasn´t the usual irritation the blue blur knew of his rival. This was the sound of hostility. Cold as ice and hard as solid steel. Whatever happened, after the hero ran off, must have pissed the echidna off bad. And Sonic just might have a feeling what it could be. Green eyes moved over to Shadow for any sort of reaction. Of which there was none. The attitude had to be thanks to him, tough. Sonic was sure of it. With a sigh he then turned back to his angered friend. "Well, I'm sorry for asking. Was just a question. Forgive me for worrying. At least, you got your emerald back."

A strong huff came out of Knuckles' nose. Slowly he stood up on shaking legs, which were barely able to hold his own weight. When the blue mobian tried to give him some assistance, he was quickly shoved off, resulting in an exchange of glares where the winner was already set. Knuckles had been pushed to a point where he would not hesitate to let his anger out violently on the next best person. And by the looks of it, chances were high it could land on Sonic, despite not being the one he was vexed with. Good thing said hedgehog was smart enough to spot the signs. Knuckles would unmistakably not take his commentary lightly. So, he simply kept it to himself. Especially, since he was not exactly eager to be the outlet to his red rival's wrath. Sonic knew the magnitude of his capabilities better than most.

Once fully standing, Knuckles created another harsh sound in his throat and finally made his way over to the Master Emerald. He ignored the ache in his legs. Checking the gem for any damage possibly done, took priority.

Sonic watched the echidna go, an annoyed look now gracing his face as well. As he crossed his arms, he noted how he didn´t even get a single 'thank you'. How rude! A thought swiftly forgotten when his fuzzy ears picked up the familiar sound of twin tails drawing closer. Usually something that put a smile on his lips.

When Tails landed next to him, he had his blue eyes fixed on their friend in confusion. Of course, he noticed the echidna's mood. It didn´t take a genius to do so. However, he had no clue where it came from. Yes, he was technically present, but between the noise of his plane and the wing blocking sight, he was neither eye- nor ear witness. Here's to hope his best friend could bring some light into the dark. "Is Knuckles okay? What happened?"

"If only I knew, bud. I'm starting to get the feeling that's his normal."

A warning growl was directed at him for the remark. Upon hearing it, Sonic put his hands up and opted to better not challenge his luck further. Knuckles made it sufficiently clear he wasn´t going to put up with anyone's crap for much longer. The string holding together his self-control was already thin enough as it was.

Tails frowned but took it as a sign not to press. After all, he wanted to avoid more conflict if he could help it. Instead, he let his view wander over the field, until it landed on the second hedgehog nearby. Shadow looked at them too, so when their eyes met, Tails flashed him a grateful smile. "Thanks for your help by the way, Shadow! It was nice of you!"

"Don´t take it for granted, Tails," the dark one replied before anyone else could mutter a single word, turning to face the younger fox to fully address him. "The reason I joined, was to get my emerald back. Nothing more."

Initially, Knuckles didn´t want to chime in, still tending to his emerald. The irritation he felt earlier didn´t necessarily subside yet, but so far, he had a well enough grip on himself to keep it under control. Then Shadow opened his mouth and his restrain was straight out of the window. "Excuse me… Your emerald?" Knuckles questioned, turning around and capturing the group's attention. Slowly he walked over to them, his heavy stare fixated on Shadow alone. Sonic and Tails might as well not exist. "Don´t you dare refer to it as such! It is not yours!"

The dark hedgehog was unaffected by the taller mobian's close to menacing approach. "Is that so?" he challenged, merely tilting his head, once the echidna was practically in his face. "Well, certainly it isn´t yours either. But do show me, if it does have your name on it. I can´t seem to find it."

"You know damn well there is no need for it! Master Emerald or Chaos Emerald, it doesn´t matter! All of them are under my protection!" Knuckles countered, his glare increasing at the lack of respect in the hedgehog's demeanour. To his own misfortune, this was not the best comeback he could have come up with. It exposed an incredibly vulnerable spot. One Shadow was not shy of using to his advantage.

"In this case, you're doing an awful job."

Deafening silence took over. Knuckles stared at the person in front of him with wide eyes, stunned by the insult. Sonic and Tails also wore expressions of shock. Both knew how much of a sore spot it was for their teammate. Knuckles wasn´t incompetent by any means. People were just inclined to be total jerks. Too many took his failures and made them all he is. So, for Shadow to rub salt into this specific wound, was an unbelievable low blow. And it was sure to hit Knuckles where it hurt.

And hurt it did, its impact immediate. Hands clenched into fists. Scarlet quills bristled dangerously. And newborn rage caused Knuckles' body to visibly shake. "WHY YOU?!" he yelled, swinging one of his namesakes back in preparation to punch the loudmouth, preferable, to another planet.

It was inevitable. Shadow knew and was prepared. He saw the signs long before the other sprang into action and was ready to battle the furious echidna to the ground. If it wasn´t for the blue blur to rush between them and stop the imminent fight dead in its tracks. Both were caught off guard when their faces were covered by gloved hands, followed by being pushed apart through surprising strength.

"Cut it out, you two!" Sonic scolded, standing between them in good measures to keep them from tearing each other to shreds. "We aren´t getting anywhere with this! Besides, we're all friends!"

"I'm not friends with him!" both his rivals declared simultaneously, though with vastly different tones. Regardless, the urge to facepalm rose to perilous heights.

"At least, you're on the same page for once in your lives," Sonic sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. Honesty, the blue hero was at the end of his wits with them. It was downright impossible to have them around without this sort of collision. They saw each other as enemies. Technically being on the same side didn´t matter. At this rate, Sonic simply hoped, it'll settle between them sooner rather than later. He tried to help, but since either refused to tell him what went wrong, there was only so much he could do.

"Uh… S-Sorry. I know it's off topic, but I can´t help but wonder what Eggman wanted with the Master Emerald this time…" the youngest of the group suddenly voiced, drawing the attention to him. Despite being an interesting question to speculate about, Tails didn´t actually feel the need to ponder. It couldn´t be much different from all the other occasions the human wanted to get his greedy hands on the gem. However, after falling witness to a near escalation among his friends, he seized the opportunity for a distraction.

"Stealing its power, probably. For whatever dumb plan he came up with now."

"I don´t doubt that, Sonic. It's just… usually he'd go for the Chaos Emeralds…"

"Maybe he needed more power?" Sonic shrugged. "I mean… sure. The Chaos Emeralds together are already a force to be reckoned with, but the M.E. is still on a different level entirely."

Tails frowned, unconvinced. Yes, the possibility was there, but… "Why would Eggman go through all this trouble? Whatever he wanted, I'm sure the Chaos Emeralds would have been enough."

Sonic had no answer. He could only assume what the scientist's true intention was. Knuckles, on the other hand, couldn´t care less why the doctor wanted his emerald in particular. All he was concerned about, was getting it back. Which they achieved, alas not through his own abilities. Besides, he was too agitated to view the scenario objectively anyway.

Unlike a certain dark coated hedgehog listening to their guesses. "Perhaps, because it's easier to steal the Master Emerald from this fool, than gather all the Chaos Emeralds. If she wanted to, Rouge could likely steal this thing once a week."

Green and blue eyes widened in shock at the unprompted verbal assault. The brother pair stared at Shadow utterly speechless. If this wasn´t Knuckles' breaking point, who knew what would be. Their eyes drifted to their friend to see his reaction, the older hero preparing to jump in between once more, if needed. Knuckles was tense. Fists were clenching hard once again and so was his jaw. Purple eyes pinned the hedgehog down in a glare, promising bloody murder. All in all, he looked like he was going to explode from the overwhelming anger flooding his veins.

So, when Knuckles suddenly turned around to pick up the Master Emerald and take his leave without a single word, he left everyone surprised. Candidly, there was no use in staying any longer. He already tried to attack Shadow twice and he had what he came for. He wouldn´t even bother to make a third attempt. That and the echidna didn´t want any of them to see, how much the statement truly dug into his soul.

As soon as he was out of sight, a highly annoyed blue hedgehog turned towards the striped one with a glare of his own. The insult was nothing but uncalled for! It was unprompted and unprovoked! It was plain malice on Shadow's part for the sake of it! When the offender finally noticed the dirty look, he merely rose a brow at the azure mobian. "What?"

"Are you serious?!" Sonic hissed, his exasperation growing. "Could you quit antagonizing him already?! One of these days you'll get yourself killed!"

"I know."

"Huh?"

"I know what the echidna is capable of, but killing me? Don´t make me laugh. He may be strong, but I'm still the Ultimate Lifeform."

Sonic's urge to roll his eyes was strong in this one. He was almost proud for not instantly giving into it. "Say that again when he eventually gets you and breaks your legs. He will, believe me," he informed, a sigh in his undertone. "You know, this could so easily be resolved, if you'd just spit out what happened between you two! You weren´t like this in the past, so why does it have to be like it now?"

A huff. "How about you accept it's none of your business?"

"Everything is my business, buddy," Sonic sneered, obviously not pleased by the informationless answer and lack of cooperation.

Shadow rolled his eyes far less subtly than his rival did, which added to the displeasure directed at him. Nevertheless, the dark hedgehog had no desire to go deeper into this topic. Especially with Sonic of all people. He made it obvious enough, but if his rival refused to stop here, he'll simply take his leave too. Sonic shouted after him, demanding to know where he was going. However, before he could do much else, Shadow pulled out his Chaos Emerald and told a brief "Somewhere", followed by teleporting away the very next second.

It left behind a pretty dumbfounded blue hedgehog and an equally worried yellow fox. A frown dominated Sonic's expression. How was this problem supposed to get better? His rivals clearly didn´t want to send it out of the world. It's a recipe for disaster. A ticking bomb, doomed to end with one of them severely injured. Depending on how far Shadow, as the main enabler, was willing to take his provocation, chances were high it was him to fall victim to such fate first. A hand found its way onto the blue hedgehog's face, a long, tired sigh passing his lips. He really resented the feeling of being unable to do a damn thing...

XxXxX

Doctor Eggman returned to base in a less than jolly mood. Upon enter, various curses left his mouth. Another mission failed because of those little rats! Why can´t they stay out of his plans for once! Would make his job a lot easier! Of course, they had to make it more complicated than it needed to be! At least, he could calm himself with knowing that losing this fight didn´t matter in the grand scheme of things. Not with the plan waiting to unfold behind the scenes. If he had to play the waiting game in order to achieve it, then so be it. Even if it was reluctantly.

"Oh, back so soon, Boss?" a robotic voice chimed, barely after the doctor stepped a foot into his laboratory.

"Obviously, Orbot," Eggman replied, but didn´t spare a glance to his crimson sidekick, aiming straight for his desk.

Moments later a second, higher pitched voice rose from the background, steadily rising in volume when his other, cube-shaped companion approached. "Did you get the big green shiny rock?"

"No… I haven´t, Cubot…" Eggman lowkey growled, loathing to be reminded of it so quickly.

"How very unfortunate. But I'm sure, you must have been super close this time."

Eggman shot Orbot a glare of annoyance, perfectly aware how the little machine used his overly polite demeanour to cover up the sarcasm. Of course, he knew Orbot expected him to fail. Just like the round bot knew his creator was conscious of his opinion. But… as long as he didn´t outright say it, the doctor would have no reason to dismantle him. …right? Too bad the third party present was occasionally a tad too honest for his own good.

"Wait… didn´t you tell me this would happen?"

Orbot's cameras widened at the awful sincerity his buddy displayed, looking at him in shock while the yellow one scratched his metallic head in confusion. Hesitatingly, the little red machine's attention shifted back to the human, who peered down at him in an extremely unamused manner. An awkward chuckled ringed from those loudspeakers, closely followed by a nervous shrug. Every excuse Orbot could come up with, he instantly disregarded. None of them would be of use, because Eggman would see through all of them anyway. Since that's the case, he rather just prepared to be kicked into a bin. To his luck, the doctor refrained from his most common punishment, instead opting to visibly roll his eyes. Which was quite impressive, considering he wore glasses.

Relief spread through the crimson robot's system when Eggman picked up where he left off. However, it didn´t stop him from shooting his equal a scolding scowl for unnecessarily exposing him. One of these days, he was sure to meet his end through Cubot's lacking ability to hold a secret. For his most recent spill, the yellow bot received a thwack on top of his head.

"Ow! Hey!"

"I told you not to say it out loud!"

"You don´t have to hit me for it! I'm sorry! I'll remember next time! Promise!" Cubot replied in a pout, rubbing his head like he was able to actually feel the pain.

Something akin to a sigh came out of the red one's speakers. He'd love to believe his friend, but he knew the promise held no real weight. Otherwise, it wouldn´t happen time and time again. Cubot was, frankly, too open, talkative and often too oblivious to read the room correctly. The easiest solution was probably to simply accept his crucial flaws. They can´t be changed anyway. Attempts had been made in the past. Still, it didn´t mean Orbot had to be keen on it possibly leading to his downfall.

During their dispute, Eggman paid them no mind, to accustomed to his sidekicks' antics to be bothered. Besides, he had a far bigger priority at the moment. Which took the form of blueprints laid out in front of him. Blueprints holding the plans for a device he required Knuckles' precious emerald for. Whilst he was occupied overflying everything, his companions ended their quarrel and joined him a couple seconds later. Both levitated onto the desk and settled down next to the tall human. Orbot did so far more gracefully than Cubot, making the former facepalm and their creator bark at him to be more careful.

After an unacknowledged apology from the yellow robot, the room proceeded to fall into silence. While Eggman's full focus was put into his work, four curious cameras couldn´t help but watch in awe. Though, they were never allowed to help the human with his plans, they were mesmerized by his determination. Even Orbot had to admit, the amount of passion, the scientist put into them, was admirable. He really must love what he's doing, considering his schemes were crushing failures all the time. How the doctor didn´t become too frustrated to continue, was beyond them. No sane person could prevail in the face of so much defeat. Then again, the doctor was no sane man, and it was questionable if he ever was.

"…Boss?" Orbot began, pulling the scientist's attention away from his task just enough to be acknowledged.

"Hm?"

"You tried to get the Master Emerald, right? But what for exactly? You haven´t told us yet."

Eggman contemplated the question for a moment. "For a machine," he revealed and started to roll up his draft. Orbot tilted his head and blinked in confusion. That's… not precisely what he expected. Well… it was bound to be mechanical, so that's not what he was referring to. It was the vague response that puzzled him. Usually, the man was prone to entire monologues. Quite strange and uncharacteristic for him to abstain from it. As if the man could spot the question marks manifesting above his creation's heads, he added with an evil, confident grin "Don´t you worry! You'll find out soon enough! Once that dumb echidna's emerald is in my hands, I can finish my masterpiece! And then… No one can stop me!"

Wicked laughter filled the room, like that mysterious plan of his had already been a booming success. At first, the two small robots were looking at each other, both unsure what to make of the given information, but one clearly more accepting of it regardless. It's weird, nonetheless. Normally, Eggman told them plenty about what he's working on. Orbot, for his part, didn´t understand why this one was supposedly different. He really wanted to know the reason, but since he held no power over the man and couldn´t force him to tell more, he had no other choice than to stay patient. Whatever he wanted to or not.

At least Cubot shared the doctor's enthusiasm, clapping his hands for him and actively participating in it. He clearly wasn´t bothered by not being adequately briefed. Heck, he didn´t ask one single question or viewed the scenario with a grain of salt. Oh, the life of a simple minded must be wonderful. Orbot, on the other hand, tilted his head and rose a metaphorical eyebrow. This was going to be an interesting progress to observe, he can tell. Eggman had always been excessively confident in himself, but the current moment was undoubtedly somewhere close to the top.

Orbot hummed, the sound being greatly overshadowed by the still ongoing laughter. Taking the chance to release some of the sass waiting below his painted surface, he nudged his friend. "Out of curiosity… how often did he say 'no one can stop me' since he built us?"

Unrelated and out of the blue, yes, but it was one of the many habits the doctor had. Eggman stated this after every idea he finished or was about to finish. The red one didn´t bother to keep count. The other, however…

"Uhh… 1735 times. Why?"

"Ah… let's update it to 1736 times then, shall we?"

Cubot rolled his head to the side, a tad confused what this had to do with anything or why it was significant. Ultimately, he shrugged it off and let himself get distracted by their creator's energetic display once again. It was too contagious to be ignored. As the yellow robot rejoined and served to encourage Eggman's behaviour even stronger, Orbot slipped into the background, preferring to stay out of the turmoil. As he observed and analysed for a couple more minutes, he eventually concluded, that, yes…

The upcoming events are going to be fascinating indeed.