Thunder rumbled in between the dark clouds hanging in the sky as rain came down heavily on the cracked sidewalk. This area of the town had the unfortunate dreary stench to it of faded cigarettes and abandoned, tucked away pie shops that no one had really heard of or were willing to touch.

Robotnik had to wonder what an orphanage was doing in a place like this. There were much nicer areas in town, arguably closer to the typical things he had heard were involved in a typical childhood - like parks and schools.

Even if you were to factor out the weather, he was sure it wouldn't make a difference to how miserable the place was.

The orphanage itself was old-fashioned, but it blended in with every other building along the street. There was abundance of windows, all of them dirty - the rain was likely the only sort of a clean they'd get.

Unimpressed by everything, Robotnik grabbed hold of the ring on the door (now a musky brown rather than the gold it should be), and knocked.

"What you want?"

When the door opened, he was greeted with a woman - mid-late twenties if he had to guess, she was a sheep mobian - all of her other features being drowned out by the abnormal excess of red lipstick she wore on her lips. Even if you were to try, it was hard to look away from - as she chewed on a piece of chewing gum loudly.

With an open mouth.

"I'm... looking to adopt." Robotnik forced himself to smile.

The lady looked him up and down a few times. "Huh." She chewed some more. "Thought you were going to a funeral. Come in I guess-"

He was grateful to get out of the rain and didn't a waste a second to hop inside, closing up his umbrella as he did so. Robotnik had adorned himself in a long black coat - factoring in the rain and making sure it was a formal looking piece - after all, formal wear gave off a good impression - did it not? In hindsight, the lack of colour anywhere in his clothes did give the funeral impression.

Removing the coat, he hung it up on one of the hooks available at the entrance along with his umbrella. Following the woman, she lead him through a door labelled 'Office' in faded and scratched lettering.

"We don't get many people around here - how'd ya hear about us?" She said, taking a seat behind the desk in the room.

He assumed that was his cue to sit down as well on the available chair; it creaked beneath his weight.

"Oh, well - a friend brought it up, we were talking about the local orphanages." Robotnik lied.

"Uh-huh." She spoke dismissively. "What kind of kid you after?"

He was surprised they were getting straight to business already, he had been certain that there'd be more questioning. At least it was more convenient for him this way. "I've always been interested in having a son, you see." Trying to sound compassionate took a considerable amount of effort, he could even taste the bile at the back of his throat. "In my life I was never able to have one, and before I get too old - I thought now was a better time than any." He explained.

With the way her eyelashes futtered, it looked like a half-hearted attempt to stay awake. "You married or...?"

"Oh, no - single."

"Makes sense." Rude. "We don't get a lot of single people wanting kids though."

"I see." The woman wasn't writing any of this information down anywhere - did they even have a records system? This felt very illegal right now - not that Robotonik cared too much.

She stood up from her chair, simultaneously spitting her chewing gum in the bin next to her desk - which he couldn't help but notice was full of the stuff. Promptly, she put another piece of chewing gum in her mouth from a packet on her desk. "I guess you wanna take a look at the kids then." Her mouth squelched with every chew. "Just a heads up - a lot of them are rascals."

Children always were.

She lead him out the office doors and into a common living area - and he immediately couldn't help but notice the absolute state the room was in. The wallpaper was scratched thoroughly, pillows and rugs hapharzardly scattered over the furniture and floor. Toys were littered as far as the eye could see - and half of those were broken or torn. Upon further inspection, there were crude drawings on some of the far wells in a bright red pen.

"Sorry for the mess." The sheep said, interrupting his thought process. "We don't get enough money from the council to fund repairs."

No surprise there - but he did wonder how the place was even still open.

There was a loud crashing noise from down the hall - and then the repeated slapping of metal - as if someone were clapping a set of pots and pans together.

"Ah shit," The lady let out, but she didn't seem to care at all. "They got into the kitchen again."

Children were truly loud, abhorrent creatures - he dreaded the years he had ahead of him. He had made sure to make preperations though.


3 months earlier...

"Welcome to Parenting: 101!" Orbot announced. "A class made by yours truly - comprising of knowledge learnt from a very reliable source - the internet!"

Robotnik already knew it was going to going to be a trainwreck. The only reason he didn't disregard the idea entirely was due to sheer desperation.

"Today, it will be a multiple choice, practical quiz - where you get to apply what you learn on Cubot - who will act as our 'child' today."

"Goo-goo, ga-ga!" Cubot cried out.

"Cubot - you are imitating the wrong age range. Robotnik is looking to adopt a five year old, specifically."

"Oops, my bad!"

"Although I do have to say - it is still quite bizzarre how the doctor insists on looking for a child as his assistant, rather than just opening up job applications..."

"I'm right here, you know." Robotnik said, unimpressed. "You're supposed to do as I say, not question my methods."

"Sorry, boss!" The two bots apologised immediately.

How did he manage to make them both idiots... the second time around?

"Let's move this along then, shall we?" Orbot quickly said. "Today we shall get a difficult topic out of the way - children's tantrums."

Robotnik shuddered.

"Cubot, like we rehearsed-"

Cubot, from the opposite side of the kitchen - stared at Robotnik for an empty few seconds.

"I WANT CANDY FOR DINNER!" Cubot cried out.

"No." Robotnik told him bluntly.

Another stare.

"I SAID... I WANT CANDY FOR DINNER!" Cubot somehow imitated loud crying sounds despite not being able to let out tears, and began to float up and ravage the kitchen cabinets - chucking out every box and container he could out onto the floor - resulting in spillages of flour and cracked eggs leaking on every surface.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU DEFECTIVE-?"

"Now, now-" Orbot interrupted the start of his yelling tirade. "I have not given you your options yet." He pointed out. "I have three potential answers for you - and all you have to do is pick one- Do you A.) Yell aggressively at the child, B.) Hold your ground and talk down the child in a calm manner or C.) Give the child what it wants?"

"D.) Put it down." Robotnik answered, reaching into his coat pocket and then pointing a laser pistol at Cubot.

"Incorrect!" Orbot quickly cut in while lowering the doctor's arm. "The answer is B! It's B! You have a very long way to go..."


At the end of it all, Robotnik had gotten the hang of things for the most part, it was all very time consuming though. There had to be more efficient methods...

"Welp, here's some of the kids." The lady said.

Robotnik had been so distracted by everything else in the room that the didn't actually notice there were actually some children here - there were three of them, huddled together in front of something that the doctor couldn't quite make out.

"What a freak!" A girl giggled.

"I wonder how many more body parts he's gonna get extra of!" A gruff sounding boy added smugly.

"What if he gets two heads?!" The other asked.

"Two butts!" The girl said - and the three of them cackled.

"It's so funny how he's pretending not hear us." The boy spoke up again before aggressively leaning down. He had a notebook in his hand now, holding it far above his head. "What is this stuff, anyway?"

The kid gasped in surprise as he felt the notebook slip out of his hand, as it was taken by someone behind him - all of the children turned their attention around.

"Quadratic equations." Robotnik remarked, quickly glancing over what was written. "High school homework. Impressive for a kid your age..." Robotnik smiled encouragingly at the child - surprisingly not being much of an act. "But I think you could do better."

The conversation had already clued him in to who the bully target was, but his suspicions had been confirmed when he got closer and saw a yellow, very young, two-tailed fox, trying to sink into his chair away from the world.

Now though, his head lifted up a little at Robotnik - curiosity sparked in his eyes.

"Excuse me." Robotnik turned to the sheep who was leaning against the wall, quickly typing out text messages on her phone. "Yeah?"

"Can you tell me about this one?"

"Which?" She looked over. "On the chair? Miles Prower I think? 5 years old - his teachers keep saying he's really smart or something." She shrugged.

"Hello, Miles." Robotnik smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you."


Miles Prower: Age 7

Following what was a very illegal adoption process in which he only had to sign a paper, and not a single home inspection was involved - Miles entetered the Robotnik household - or perhaps fortress was more appropriate.

It took a while for the kid to settle in, being very quiet and looking for excuses to shelter himself away as he was unsure of his new dad. Robotnik didn't mind this too much, after all - the last thing he really wanted was a child running around while he worked on his machinery.

Rather, it was Orbot and Cubot who would be the ones to bring Miles out of his shell - offering him kindness and support, and being the social interaction that children were supposed to have. They were his only friends after Robotnik had immediately pulled Miles out of school - in absolutely no circumstance would he have Miles' wonderful brain be tainted by those mind prisons.

Robotnik himself was the far superior teacher, and they ended up eventually bonding over their love of robotics and engineering. Miles gazed up at Robotnik with neverending awe as he introduced him to the basics first - building cars and planes, and they were quickly able to move onto greater projects - weapons and artificial intelligence.

The fox never questioned the ethical side of things, after all as far as he knew - this was just innocent experimentation carried out through by a pair of inquisitive minds.

"What are we working on today, Dad?"

"I want to show you something." Robotnik said. Miles had clung to his hand, and knowing he had to play the role of the loving father - he didn't pull his hand away, as much as he wanted to. "A very unique, complicated process of robotic creation - but opens up so many possibilities..."

"Wow, wow! That sounds so cool!" Miles exclaimed, skipping at his side.

"It will be even cooler once you see it with your own eyes."

The doctor bent down to the little screen on the side of the door. It emitted a green laser that hovered over Eggman's eyes for a few seconds before displaying a tick. "AUTHORISED ENTRY." It announced - and the doors slid open.

The room was small, but when the fortress would expand - this would definitely change. Much more space would be needed here in the future. A large pod stood in the centre of the room right near a control panel - wires and cords leading up to the ceiling.

Miles' eyes widened. "Dad... what's a flicky doing in there? Is it okay?"

"Oh, don't worry about that!" The doctor waved his hand to disregard the question. "Whether it's happy or not, doesn't matter when science is involved."

Miles rose a brow, but his eyes were wide with intrigue.

"This is a process I have dubbed 'robotization' - something I have perfected over many years." He explained to his son as he walked over to the control panel. "Instead of construting artificial intelligence through raw materials... instead it is possible to convert living tissue into machinery."

Temporarily, Miles seemed confused - until realization dawned. "H-huh...?" He spoke weakly, stunned.

The bird was flying around the cage helplessly, ramming itself against the glass despite the pain it must be in - desperate for a way out.

"Let's give you a demonstration." The doctor grinned, pressing a finger down on a large, red button.

"NOO-!" Miles called out - watching the pod fill with a blinding white light, reaching his hand out helplessly. The blue bird's screeching however ended up overpowering even the fox's cries.

The light would eventually die down, and Miles gasped in horror when he no longer saw a bird - but an oversized robotic wasp, hovering in the pod with a pair of glaring red eyes, buzzing loudly enough to be heard from outside the glass.

"I have other designs but I like to call this standard badnik a buzz bomber-"

He heard sniffling, and rolled his eyes - glaring down at Miles. Tears were flowing from his eyes as his shoulders jerked with each sob. "That poor birdie!"

Hardly the adoration he had expected.

"Come now, Miles. Now's not a time for tears-"

"YOU HURT THAT BIRDIE!" He yelled through his tears. "DOES IT EVEN HAVE FREE WILL ANYMORE?!"

"Well, no-"

This only made the crying worse. "YOU KILLED IT! YOU KILLED THE BIRDIE!"

"I did nothing of the sort." Robotnik scoffed. "You have picked up all my lessons quickly, and I hope your understanding of this one shall be no different." Going down on his knee to reach Miles' height, he placed a hand on his shoulder gently. "The process of robotization was painful for the creature, yes - for a brief moment. However, I implore you to look at it this way - Robotization is no different than undergoing a surgery - you suffer through pain while doctors fix your injuries, and make you better than what you were before." He explained.

He turned his head to the Buzz Bomber. "Think of all the improvements that have been made - that bird no longer requires food or water to survive, it can live in any condition, it is more equipped to defend itself, its lifespan is drastically expanded! It has been enhanced in every single way! That is the beauty of robotics!" He grinned.

Miles still did not seem convinced, so the doctor sighed. "Listen here. The type of sobbing you're engaging in right now - this sentimentality, has halted scientific progress for generations! If people weren't so hung up on the insignificant details - we would have had the cure to far more diseases! We would have made advanced superweapons - we could become a perfected, galactic society! Don't you understand, Miles? Emotions make us weak. Empathy and sympathy are only there to hold us back from reaching our full potential... which is why we, as people, need to cast those feelings away! You want to know why robots work so effieciently? Because there are no emotions! No empathy! No free will! It's just perfection!"

Realising his enthusiastic rant had made him forget to breathe, he caught up on it now - before breaking his lips into a smirk. "Don't you understand. Miles?"

The fox didn't reply immediately, slowly wiping away the tears on his face. "I mean... purely logistically-" He choked out.

"Logic is the only thing that matters, my son. Logic, and intuition. You're a good mechanic now, Miles - but once you learn this fundamental truth - you will grow from a measly mechanic to a pioneer of the future! You'll be just like me! That's what you told me you wanted to be, right?"

Miles slowly nodded.

"I'm proud of you, son. I understand... it's not easy to cast your emotions away. But I have an effective method - the more you practise, the more desensitized you will become - and then your mind, just like a robot, will be running at maximum efficiency."

He grinned widely. "I want to see you operate the machine, Miles. I have plenty more Flickies to go through."


Miles Prower: Age 9

"Nerd!"

"Weirdo!"

"Shitface!"

Miles was shoved to the ground, papers and books falling out of his hands and scattering on the ground and getting soaked in the puddles. The fox cursed to himself, why did he think going to the library was a good idea? There was a reason Robotnik kept him limited to the fortress - they were safe from idiots there.

These teens had to be at least 5 years older than him, proving further just how pathetic they were. Miles gritted his teeth.

"What are you gonna do about it, huh? Gonna stand up for yourself, wuss?"

With a glare, the young fox reached into his inside coat pocket - producing a laser pistol, one of the first things his father had taught him to make. He immediately fired at one of the bullies.

"What the hell-?!" Unfortunately, they managed to quickly dive to the side.

"We gotta get out of here!"

"He's got a weapon! We need to call the police!"

They all ran with their tails between their legs, and Miles watched them go with a huff - standing up and dusting himself off.

...

"Ugh, I'm so annoyed it didn't hit him!"

"Sounds like you need better target practise."

"You're right, dad. After dinner, I'm writing up a strict training regiment!" Miles said with conviction, bringing his fist down on the dinner table.

Oh wow, Robotnik thought... how far he had come. The doctor was sure now that his plan had succeeded - Miles was far beyond the Tails of the old timeline - this Miles saw the light, knew his place in the world, and had a ruthless philosophy.

Robotnik knew Sonic would inevitably return, but when he did - Miles was going to be unsalvageable. It gave Robotnik pure ecstacy to imagine the look of terror and grief on his face when he laid eyes on his old, dear friend.

"I never understood it." The fox said as he was cutting up his steak. "The point in making fun of me for my appearance or intelligence."

"Appearance is easy - people are pathetic and need to feel better about themselves." Robotnik answered. "Why people make fun of intelligence is a much more interesting question... and I'll tell you right now, people hate intelligence."

"What reason would they have to? Why don't they praise the ones with the knowledge or value them? The intelligent are the ones that make the true developments in our society!"

"Couldn't agree more. But it all comes back to the many faults of man - people are afraid of power, in any form. Everyone wants to be in control, and if humanity percieve something to be powerful, they immediately wish to shut it down." The doctor explained. "The superior form of power? Intelligence. You could have all the physical capabilities in existence but it is no use if a smart individual knows how to counter your every move. People know this - they know they'll never be better than people like us, so they shun us... have I spoken of my grandfather to you, Miles?"

"Not much."

"Then allow me to indulge. My grandfather was a genius - Gerald Robotnik - he created a project aboard a spacecraft-"

"Spacecraft?" Miles piped up. "How have I never heard of-?"

"Ssssssh! I'm telling a story!" Robotnik snapped. "Anyway, this project was an immortal creature - and by using its blood, they were going to be able to find a cure to all incurable diseases. However, this project would end up scaring the military - they feared its capabilities, they feared what it might do to them - and then they feared Gerald and what he was capable of creating. Their solution? Kill everyone aboard the spacecraft. The project ended up escaping and Gerald was kept alive so he could be taken down to Mobius for further experimentation on the project - but under the close supervision of GUN. Eventually they grew paranoid even still as they monitored his every move - finally shooting Gerald and locking the project away for good."

"I... had no idea." Miles said, blinking in shock. "Gerald was only trying to help everyone... yet they threw it back in his face because they didn't lile the fact it made them feel weak!" The story had clearly angered him. Good. "Ordinary people fear the unknown, while we scientists face up to it - we explore it - we dive headfirst into the unknown and make discoveries they never could! They have no right to shun us!"

"Which is exactly why I told you I plan to take over it all, with you by my side. The intelligent deserve a place at the top of the world, leading society to a grand future - we will not stand for anything less."

"Yes, we will claim whats ours." Miles smiled enthusiastically. "The day our takeover comes - they won't know what hit them!"

Robotnik couldn't stop smiling - knowing he already had one victory over Sonic, and there was nothing that rodent could do about it.


Miles Prower: Age 14 (Present Day)

"I don't understand!" Miles exclaimed. "I told you I had reason to suspect that Amy was working with outside mercaneries to get her work done! I told you I'd find an excuse for us to execute her! Yet you're turning around and giving her a holiday?"

"You shouldn't be questioning me as though I don't know what I'm doing!" Robotnik snapped back - picking up his walking pace down the hall, but so did Miles. "There are two ways to get people to be loyal to you - intimidation and respect. I'm trying the latter method! Giving Amy a reward so she's less likely to turn on us."

"I don't see why you're bothering to go through so much trouble to keep her-"

"Miles." Robotnik sighed, stopping in his tracks and turning back to the fox. "There is a method to my madness, there always is. There's a reason I want Amy on our side more han ever now, and it is one that I will tell you in due time!"

"Whatever it is, I assure you I can handle it-"

"I'll decide when you can handle it or not."

Miles hung his head down slightly. "Yes, my Emperor..."

"Now, where's that Starline-?"

"Right here, sir!" The platypus announced with a smile as he opened one of the doors. "Was just finishing packing up my things for a week's stay in the... delightful Station Square."

"I am entrusting the Ultimate Lifeform to you, a decision I have not taken lightly - but since you're insistent that the rebels are likely to attack and my agreement with that evaluation - I will allow you to have him for the week.

"Of course, sir. I will look after the creature... thing. The power it holds is immense, I wouldn't dream of letting it fall into enemy hands." Miles tapped his foot impatiently, there was something about Starline's smug attitude that he despised.

"Good - you're dead otherwise. Orbot and Cubot have the creature ready in room S1, along with the fequency controller - look after that box unless you want Shadow to kill you."

"U-understood, sir." The stutter was oh, so satisfying. "Shadow... didn't know it had a name. Alright. I assure you, no harm will come to Station Square as long as I am looking after it."

"Good."

"Enjoy your trip to the stars, Doctor."

"Hm."

Miles grinned to himself as the platypus was left in their wake.


Last night...

Rouge knocked on the window to no avail. Was it wise to knock again?

Oh hell, what else could go wrong at this point?

She tried again, and this time - the window would actually open upon her request.

"What the hell happened?" Jet growled, glaring at her as she hovered in the air outside. "How did such a simple fucking plan go wrong?!"

"It is stupid, I know! One of the key players in the plan backed out-"

"Then it's your poor leadership! Why should I waste my time with you further? Why should my team have their times wasted by your antics?"

"But-"

"Nope! Nuh-uh." Jet interrupted her. "I know your games, I know your tricks - I'm not giving you the chance to speak here. You're going to listen to me." Jet pointed a finger at her. "We aren't going to entertain your revenge fantasies stemming from your personal problems! If you're going to waste our time like that, we have no reason to be allies. Wave has no reason to keep working on your arm! So you can forget that too!"

Rouge's eyes widened with worry, but Jet wasn't finished. "We don't want Robotnik gone for the same reason you do - you know what we're after, so the only way you're getting our cooperation is by getting us what we want."

"I-"

"Good. Night." Jet closed the window, leaving Rouge in the cold night air and a burning stomach wound. Perhaps leaving her bed hadn't been a great idea after all...

Subconciously, she grabbed hold of her right shoulder - she could feel how icy the metal was, even underneath her clothing. Her remaining organic hand wouldn't stop shaking.


"You're lucky I'm nice." Knuckles spoke through gritted teeth. "You disobeyed my simple instruction yet here I am, still choosing to heal you."

"I preferred you when you were more nervous..." Rouge groaned.

"Then don't make me annoyed." Knuckles replied as he hovered his hands over Rouge's injury, healing it further. "Because you opened up the wound further in the night, I need another day to heal it now."

"Whatever, it's not like I need to go anywhere anymore." Rouge shrugged off.

"It is it really that hard to say thank you-?"

"Hello!" Tangle called from the entrance of their stone room.

"Sup?" Sonic added with a small grin.

Rouge immediately narrowed her eyes as her gaze settled on the hedgehog's, Knuckles however observed him carefully before smiling a little himself - seeing the hedgehog was now looking a lot better.

Sonic then made eye contact with Rouge, and his ears fell slightly. "So I wanted to have a group meeting but - I think I just wanna talk to you Rouge, first. Settle some things. After Knux is done healing you, of course!" The hedgehog quickly added.

"I'll be out of your fur in no time." Knuckles informed him.

"Oh! Yep, we'll give you two privacy!"

Rouge let out a "Hmph.", looking away as she did so. It was bizzarre in many ways to Sonic that Rouge's aggressive and dismissive tendencies she was showing here were exactly the kinds of things she'd be telling off her teammates for doing.

Knuckles was replacing the bandage before Sonic could give it too much thought, and Tangle cut in. "Knuckles and I will be hanging out in the camp, so come and find us when you're ready."

"I'm going back to the shrine..."

"Oh come on, Knuckles! Their conversation will be like- two minutes! Five max!"

Knuckles didn't look thrilled at the thought of spending time with all those people, but he grimaced and nodded. "Fine..." He stood up now that Rouge's wound had recieved its treatment.

Tangle was bounding out of the foor excitedly and Knuckles slowly followed. Before leaving, the echidna gave a small nod to the hedgehog before disappearing out into the camp.

Now, there was nothing but a bat and a hedgehog. There was nothing to do but get on with it.

"Look Rouge, I'm sorry about - calling off the plan abruptly, it really did end up screwing everyone over - but I assure you, there is a reason why I backed out. I just... I didn't know how to explain it at the time, and I'm going to explain it after I apologise to you and the others come back. I just- yeah it looks really bad that I suddenly backed out the way I did."

Rouge bit her lip. "I don't get why you're apologising, Sonic. We can't change the past - we lost our chance, and we never know when a good one like that will arise again. I'll only forgive you when I know what your reason for backing out was - if its justifiable, I'll be less mad."

"You won't completely forgive me though."

"No, because of you I've lost some very useful allies, and now I have no one to repair my arm when it wears down."

There were far worse knock-on effects than Sonic had even imagined, he looked down and sighed. "I'm sorry, Rouge. I really am. I didn't want this to happen. I didn't mean for this to happen."

"Just hurry up and get the others in here, all I want to hear is that explanation." Sonic took one last glance at Rouge, noticing how her left arm was very visibly trembling at her side.

"You sure you're okay-?"

"I told you to hurry up, didn't I?"

"Yeah... right."

Sonic stepped out into camp again and looked for the two of his friends. Things might not be... perfect right now, but things were finally about to get back on track. At this current moment in time, Sonic was happy to cherish each individual step of progress.


MILES BACKSTORY. MILES BACKSTORY. HOPE YOU ENJOYEEEED :)

So many things I enjoyed writing in that - their initial meeting, the Orbot and Cubot gag scene (yes, they're here too!), Miles' descent to a darker peronality throughout the years. Hope ya'll enjoyed the answers there!

Aside from backstory - we now have Starline as the temporary Egg Boss of Station Square, but he isn't alone - because monster boi Shadow will be right alongside him. After the failures of the assassination plot - Rouge has lost the Babylon Rogues as allies - but Sonic is here and trying to set everything right.

Next time! Sonic finally tries to convince some bitches that a treasure hunt is a viable option to save the world by abusing his chosen one status. We get another check in with our favourite time traveler, more team bonding, and new plans begin to form - juicy, juicy buildup.

Reviews are always appreciated! I love reading them! Share your thoughts and critiques! Speaking of - I got a review saying they weren't a fan of the swearing - I know this is generally more of an opinion type of deal so I'm not going to take out the use of swearing because of one or two people's opinions - but if there is a significant number of readers who think the swearing isn't vibing with the story - I'm happy to remove it! Let me know your thoughts :) - but for now, see ya later!