While Silver's telekinesis was powerful, it wasn't enough to catch the fastest thing alive. No matter how hard he tried, he just never seemed able to close the humongous gap between them.
"SONIC!" Silver called, straining his lungs in an attempt to be heard.
"SONIC, GREAT HERO! LISTEN TO OUR PLEAS AND HALT!" Tikal joined in, Silver found something a little amusing about the way she spoke, but he had to focus.
To his surprise, the blue hedgehog seemed to suddenly stop in his tracks, and before Silver could truly register this fact - Sonic changed direction completely, heading straight back towards Silver and Tikal.
As the distance between them grew smaller, Silver's eyes shrunk with panic.
"Sorry, Tikal!" Silver apologised to her, flailing his arms and sending her flying with the might of his abilities - unfortunately, this created the perfect window.
A cold, metal fist punched him in the face - hurtling him backwards.
He landed on his back in a mound of snow, thankfully cushioning the fall - but there was little to celebrate before Silver felt another fierce punch dig into his stomach. Silver gasped loudly in pain, unprepared for yet another blow to his face.
The metallic taste of blood whirled on his tongue.
Silver wasn't getting a moment to breathe any time soon, he had to make a move now.
With a yell, he lifted up his hands and managed to seize his opponent in his telekinetic grasp - finally throwing him away so Silver could rush to his feet. "How-?" Silver questioned in disbelief as his thoughts finally began to make sense. "How are you here-?"
Metal Sonic glared with his red, heartless eyes.
"Oh right, you can't talk-"
The metal hedgehog dashed forward - thrusting a kick into Silver's chest. Before Silver could fall down again, the robot gripped him by the throat, dangling Silver's body above the ground. Metal Sonic had yet to tighten his hold, allowing Silver to breathe - but that didn't stop the hedgehog feeling his muscles lock in place as the sharp tips of the robot's claws threatened to pierce through his skin at the slightest movement.
"Cease this at once!"
Silver's eyes widened as Tikal ran up behind the robot, her voice pleading. "You have nothing to gain from such violence - unhand him!"
"Tikal, get back!" Silver warned her desperately, but it was too late - Metal Sonic decided to switch targets. Letting Silver drop to the floor, the robot turned around and immediately launched towards Tikal. She was unprepared - in less than a second finding herself locked in a chokehold, barely able to squirm against the robot's superior strength.
"Let go of her!" Silver shouted, enraged as he stood once again - hands glowing with cyan energy, ready to get the psychotic robot away from his new companion.
Something made him stop.
Metal Sonic wasn't even attempting to harm the echidna, and come to think of it - Metal Sonic had no reason not to strangle Silver when he had him in his grasp earlier - the robot's goal... it wasn't to kill them. The robot had Tikal restrained... no doubt an attempt to blackmail him into doing something - lest his echidna companion get hurt.
Even upon this revelation, Silver did not relax his fighting stance - but he would withold from making a move. "What do you want, Metal?" The hedgehog questioned with anger, gritting his teeth as a fuse within him had been sparked by their altercation.
There was a pause, before Metal then decided to respond in a stream of discordant, glitchy sound effects that were harsh to the ears.
"Um-" Silver stuttered a little. "You- I don't speak beep language-!"
The robot did nothing in response, causing Silver to scoff in annoyance. "Huh! You come in and attack us and you can't even explain why!" Perhaps that was unfair to say to a robot that literally couldn't talk - but Silver was still mad at the fact they had been hurt in the first place, and he put Tikal in danger. "This just fun for you?" Silver asked aggressively.
There was still nothing from the metal hedgehog, and that infuriated the hedgehog more.
"We're already stranded in this... who-knows-where... weird timeline thing! The last thing we need is you causing problems!" Silver tagged on.
Metal Sonic beeped again, louder this time - still not moving an inch. Tikal's anxious expression somewhat eased as the conversation went on, despite her situation, and her gaze flitted between the two.
"Eggman isn't here, you know! Neither is Sonic! Your master is gone, you've got no one to take orders from! And your main objective? The guy you're supposed to kill? He isn't even here! Not in this timeline! So why are you-?"
Suddenly, Metal dropped Tikal onto the floor. She grunted in shock as she landed to her knees - and Metal Sonic stared at Silver once more. So that's what the robot wanted to know, huh?
It appeared as though the robot wanted more details. "Look, we're still trying to figure it out ourselves." Silver sighed. "But Eggman created some kind of alternate timeline, one where Sonic didn't even exist - and he actually managed to succeed. Us? This place? This is what remains of the old timeline, the one we've lived in." Silver finally explained as Tikal got back up, walking to him and standing close behind.
The robot looked off to the side, placing a hand on his hip.
"There's no other way of putting it, Metal. Eggman saw an opportunity for success, and the minute he did - you were tossed aside like a piece of junk." Silver narrowed his eyes.
Metal folded his arms, refusing to look in Silver's direction.
"At the very least - if there's no Eggman to follow, no Sonic to kill - then maybe you have no reason to hurt us, yeah?" Silver asked, although it was more of a request - trying to get the robot to make a good decision.
"WIPING CURRENT OBJECTIVES."
His red eyes suddenly disappeared - leaving just empty black screens before the robot collapsed onto the snow like a lifeless corpse.
"Oh, my!" Tikal exclaimed with worry, placing a hand over her mouth.
Silver's anger vanished from his veins and was replaced with concern. "Oh no... did I-? Did I do that-?" He held out a hand uselessly, jogging up towards the robotic hedgehog. Bending down, Silver tried to turn the robot over so that he could take a look at his face - but before he could - a gentle, beeping melody began to play - and just as suddenly, Metal Sonic was standing up again.
Silver stood himself up to meet his eyes, blinking in confusion.
"AWAITING OBJECTIVES." The robot suddenly announced.
"... Huh-?" Silver let out. "You can talk now-? And what do you mean, what objectives?"
Silence.
The hedgehog and echidna exchanged puzzled glances, but eventually, Silver managed to catch on to the opportunity that had arisen. He honestly felt awful for what he was about to do.
"Your... objective is to follow Tikal and I... and help us in figuring all this out, and restoring the timeline to what it was before. And no more trying to kill us or attacking us either!" He tagged on as a precautionary measure. He felt his stomach twist sickeningly - the last thing he wanted to do was become like Eggman - ordering Metal Sonic around like a mindless lackey... but if he wanted to keep himself and Tikal alive, and have an ally on their side - what else could he do?"
"OBJECTIVES PROCESSED. RECITING..."
Silver held his breath.
"PRIORITY 1: AID TIKAL AND SILVER IN RESTORING THE TIMELINE. PRIORITY 2: DO NOT ATTACK OR KILL TIKAL AND SILVER."
Well... it seemed to have work, Silver let his breath free.
Silver wondered what was with Metal collapsing earlier as though he had shut down - was this... some sort of a reboot? He supposed he had bigger questions to prioritise for now, and turned his attention to Tikal. "Do you know of Metal?"
"I know all of you." She replied softly.
"Right, you said-" Silver mentioned with slight embarrassment. "How is he here? I get this is like... the remains of the old timeline, is it because he doesn't exist in the new one? Well, at least I'm assuming he doesn't but maybe he does-?"
Tikal cut him off before he could second-guess himself further. "I'm... starting to doubt my own understanding of the situation." Tikal admitted. "But in turn I'm beginning to recongise what I'm interpreting wrong. If my theory is correct, the rest of your friends - just as you know them - are currently alive and well in this realm."
A flicker of hope and happiness sparked within him. "That's... that's great news!" Silver grinned at the thought of seeing them again. "That gives us a place to start! The more heads we've got working together, the better right?"
"Your statement rings true." Tikal nodded. "I think I'm understanding more about the relationship between the two timelines."
"Oh?" Silver tilted his head.
"We stand in the original timeline just as it was; the new timeline is a copy, a mimic of the original - but with curated alterations." She explained her ideas. "In this process, due to the lack of forethought and knowledge possessed by our villains, the original version of the timeline has transformed into a chaotic environment - one where the fish can fly, and the snow isn't cold... and even I am able to walk freely." She placed a hand to her chest.
"So... one version of the timeline is the original, what it's meant to be - it's just been turned into a wacky mess during Eggman's meddling - and the other version is an attempt at copying the old timeline and altering it.. meaning these two timelines are existing alongside each other somehow... Eggman's gotta know about this, right?" Silver asked with concern. "And if he does know that the original versions of us are lingering around out there - don't you think it might be possible he's looking to destroy this timeline?!"
Despite Silver beginning to get anstsy, fiddling with his hands - Tikal shook her head slowly and responded in a calm, almost somber manner. "I... doubt he is looking to destroy this realm."
"Can you say that for sure?" She could easily tell by his tone that he was skeptical.
"Not with certainty..." She closed her eyes. "But with my thousands of years of collected knowledge... I am fairly confident in my assumption. This timeline-" She bit her lip suddenly, as if holding something back. "It may hold many secrets."
"I guess..." Silver shrugged begrudginly, still hesitant to put complete faith into her prediction that this timeline would remain untouched. Hs eyes met Metal once again, who had stood without a single contribution - not even a beep.
"Now we know what we're looking for, and we've got a new traveling buddy - we should get moving again." Silver offered up, forcing energy into his voice to bring in a more light hearted atmposphre amidst all the confusion. Tikal agreed with a hum, and Silver looked toward Metal.
The robot was back to being silent.
"... I suppose you don't have a say in the matter either way." Silver admitted awkwardly. "Let's go-"
"It's funny, I feel like I've already made more progress during a single day with you than I did during the years with those idiots." Rouge said with a mild chuckle.
"Hm." While it was barely achknowledgement, Shadow's hum was drowned out by the loud rumbles of the engine.
"Not really much of a talker, are you?" She asked him lightly.
"Never have been."
"That's alright." She excused him, even though it was something he wouldn't bother to apologise for. Even back on the ARK, Shadow always found that speaking only when necessary was the optimal way to function.
"You know, I think I prefer quieter people like you. They tend to be good listeners."
Shadow didn't care for her preferences. He just... didn't know what to make of the woman. She was knowledgeable, and had been easy to work with, and was actively seeking to destory the oppressive force currently dominating the world. Such a cause was noble, wasn't it? Yet there was something about her that he noticed whenever he looked into her eyes, or when she opened her mouth - there was an ice cold malice lingering in her soul, a level of hubris that soared above the clouds - it made his fur stand on end.
"I see." Shadow focused his attention on the road ahead. When Rouge had described the state of the motorways, he had been skeptical - but they really were as eery as she spoke of them. There were plenty of vehicles - but all of the same design - monotounous steel greys, with blackened windows that prevented from seeing inside. The cover of night only served to make the surroundings even more bleak.
Rouge said those behind the wheels were Egg Pawns, robots, and he had no other choice but to take her word for it. They only served one function - that was to drive, transporting whatever needed to be moved. Thus, they did nothing as a motorbike sped past them all.
"Rouge? Can I ask a question?"
"Go ahead."
"Why did you split off from your old team?"
Rouge pouted in deep thought. "Ideological differences I guess." She didn't sound too bothered. "They wanna save the world like we're living a fantasy novel. They're convinved by finding the seven miracle gems - or whatever they're called, they can take down the Empire for good and just... magically snap things back to normal. Even though even five-year-olds know that the world doesn't work that way."
"Are your goals not the same though? You both seek to destroy the doctor and his Empire."
"Only one of those things is true." She informed him. "I want the man at the top of it all dead, that's all I want - nothing more, nothing less. I know that by cutting the head off of the snake won't matter in the long run, it will just grow another head, the Empire will live on whether he's alive or not - and that doesn't matter to me. I just want Robotnik to pay for what he did." She stated with a venemous growl.
"It's personal, then." He observed.
"Guess you could say that. He stole something... a part of me."
"Your arm." Shadow assumed. It soon appeared as though he was correct.
"Yeah, my arm... my-" She abruptly silenced herself, purposefully witholding something. "Nevermind, no need to pour out my whole life story on to ya." She said with some degree of amusement. "I was surprised you didn't point it out immediately when you felt it."
"Would there have been any point?" He asked. The bat's metal hand as well as her organic one were securely holding onto Shadow's waist. Of course he had felt the difference, but it seemed unnecessary to mention.
"Nope." She replied. "Heh, I wish other people thought like you did. They always feel the need to say something, reminding me about how... I'm not the same as them. That I'm different now."
"The only way to heal your wounds is through revenge." Shadow said. "And you're content to let the world burn thereafter?"
"It's not my place to take down an Empire, while my old team are likely debating over the perfect name and branding of their rebel group as we speak - they just can't see what fighting the Empire really means. It means heading into fights they can't win... ones that they'll just lose their lives in. Yet, blinded by naivety, they go ahead anyway - might as well be walking straight into their coffins... but I guess the war has fucked up everyone in the head, really. Don't think there's a man left that's truly sane."
"Then, once you succeed in killing the doctor - what's left for you?"
"Just gotta try and get by. I'm too stubborn to surrender at this point, so I'll just - keep going, live life how I want until I'm eventulally caught and slaughtered - all I can do really - and that's fine with me."
He realised now that Rouge's cause was only noble on the surface, but the truth of the matter was that she only cared about her own retribution, everything else be damned. It was selfishness. Vaguely, he wondered what the ulterior motives of Rouge's old teammates were - because of there was anything he was learning quickly, is that mobians... humans... they only cared about meeting their own ends, not for looking after each other.
Shadow had been warned - all the living beings on this planet were corrupt.
They needed to be destroyed. Everything needed to meet its end.
"It sounds as though you know what you want out of your life." It took a considerable amount of effort to keep his tone neutral, to conceal his disgust.
"Believe me, I've had a lot of time to mull it over. You've come right when I needed you, you know. I've needed to get myself back on track for the longest time now. I had an ally, she scooped up any random person she could find and brought them back to me - thinking I was some sort of refugee camp. Looking after them has prevented me from making progress... but I'm back to what matters now." She spoke with determination.
"And I will help you achieve those aims, no matter what it may take."
Confirming his loyalties, uttering these lies - he felt rotten to his core. The last thing he wanted to do was bend to the will of a greedy fool, but there was no other choice. If he wanted to win, he had to play their game.
It would only be for a while.
He did something wrong - according to them, anyway.
Shadow didn't move when the timer began.
"Project Shadow." A voice he didn't recognise echoed throughout the training chamber. "Your combat session has begun."
"I know." Shadow stated, he didn't want them to think otherwise. "I just... I'm struggling to understand."
"There is nothing to understand. Do as you have been instructed."
Shadow tilted his head upwards to stare down the head of the oversized robot. It towered over him in comparison, making him look like a mere, tiny mouse. The hedgehog was aware, however, that no matter the size of his enemy, or the expanse of the arsenal it possessed - Shadow would always triumph. Such was the power of the ultimate lifeform. And yet...
"Why?" Shadow dared to question.
Silent seconds passed uncomfortably.
"Why are you asking? Your job is to listen and obey."
"Because... I don't want to." Shadow said finally, with a totally calm manner. "I would rather be... with Maria right now. She's sick."
He heard the shuffling of papers and audbible murmerers through the speakers, before a much more commforting voice decided to speak up, in turn queting down the stir that had been worked up. "I-It's alright, Shadow! This will only be a short while! We have some guests over who came here to see your performance in action for some important data keeping - so give them your best shot, eh? Then you'll be free to gp and do as you wish!" Gerald explained kindly.
Shadow looked the robot up and down, and slowly nodded. "Understood, Gerald... could you start the timer again?"
"Of course, Shadow."
Gerald rapidly twisted his head, looking both ways down the halls to ensure no oe was heading in their direction. Once satisfied, the old man shut the door to his office, and heaved out a sigh. "Shadow... oh my boy, first of all I wish to preface that I am so, so glad you're asking more questions. The growth in your independent thinking and initiative is astounding! You should be proud!" The scientist walked over, bending down on a knee to place a hand on Shadow's shoulder and meet him as close to eye level as he could.
"Thank you." Shadow didn't know what else to say.
"But - and this is... an unfortunate result of a lot of things... but I ask that in future situations you know you are being observed by a government authority, that you... refrain from asking questions, and do as you're told. It's not something I'm proud of telling you right now but... there are just some people in the world not ready to accept you as an independent, living creature..." The professor gazed at him with sympathy under his glasses.
Shadow blinked. "Am I... being watched by them now?"
Gerald seemed confused by the question, but answered it regardless- removing his hand from Shadow's shoulder. "No, my boy. No. It's just us."
"Then I can ask a question?"
"Of course you can." The human replied with a voice that cracked slightly.
"Why...?" He struggled to find the words, pausing for a moment. "Why do they not like it when I... try to ask certain questions?"
"Because..." Gerald halted himself mid sentence. "Humans, mobians - they are ultimately feeble creatures that all fear the unknown." He began to explain. "Nothing like you has ever been made before so naturally, they fear it a little. Especially with the power you possess, I mean - it's just a case of their fragile egos being threatened, really! You have nothing to worry about-"
The last part of what Gerald said seemed to have just bounced off Shadow as the hedgehog's ears drooped. "So... I'm scary to them?"
"... Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear-" Gerald wasted no time in reaching his arms out and wrapping the dark hedgehog into a warm embrace, Shadow - still unused to the gesture - didn't return it, but it was comforting, safe - he didn't want it to end any time soon. "Don't talk about yourself like that, okay?" Gerald said softly. "You're not some kind of scary monster. Maria and I love you, Shadow. We'll always be there for you, through the toughest of times."
Shadow knew that already, but it didn't make it any less impactful to hear. "And... do you think... other people will come to like me too?"
"Unfortunately, I doubt they will overcome their insecurities... they cling to power, and seeing how much you possess... it's threatening to them - but... that hardly matters when you have Maria and I here." The man assured him, pulling out of the hug but remaining kneeled. "For now, do as you must to keep yourself safe - play their games by their rules. Listen, obey. And eventually they'll learn that you're capable of so much more."
Wordlessly, Shadow raised his hand and stared at his own palm. With barely a concious thought, Shadow could tap into a power of unlimited potential - and as Gerald told him, that was what made him unstoppable.
"I don't want to hurt anyone." Shadow said.
The scientist chuckled softly. "You have much to learn, Shadow. But you'll understand in time... what your powers can do, and how can they be used to... take care of our broken world."
"Hello-? Oi!" Rouge was calling loudly, poking the back of his head.
She could wait.
Shadow furrowed his brows deeper, not able to understand why the scenes in his head were so murky - as though he were glaring through a thick layer of fog. All the words too - they sounded more like echoes. Was it because it had been so long now? Was he struggling to remember?
He'd cling onto his memories for as long as he could, but even as they became distorted and faded... he knew the promise he had to made to them... made to her, and he was never, ever going to forget it.
"Yes?" Shadow finally asked after a particularly aggressive poke.
"I- Whatever, I was just kind of worried about the fact you completely blanked on me there - I was talking, but you weren't responding to anything..."
Even if he had heard her, he doubted he would have wanted to anyway.
"I thought you might be about to pass out - which would be more than inconvenient right about now." She stated dryly.
"I'm awake." Shadow said, staring ahead.
"Nice to know." Rouge finally remarked with sarcasm, holding onto him again. "Just try not to crash, yeah?"
"Of course I won't."
Taking just a mere glance around him, he could see the planet was already dying - enduring a slow, agonizing demise. The bushes along the edge of the road didn't even contain leaves, the fields beyond were more dirt and marsh than grass.
"Hang on." Rouge whispered, snapping Shadow's attention back to her. "I hear buzzing."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning we have pursuers, sounds like Buzz Bombers - a swarm of 'em." She concluded. "Flying robots." She added for clarification, due to Shadow knowing little about the Empire's machines.
"Can you handle them?" Shadow asked.
"Obviously." She smirked.
Rouge didn't need to wait for any further cue - she flew from the bike and soared into the air - ready to face down her opponents. Shadow didn't look back, not yet any way - he made sure the path was clear up ahead for now. It seemed to be.
He heard the sound of metal being smashed to pieces - bolts and screws slamming on the roofs of the cars below. Turning his head back to observe the bat's combat - he found himself mildly impressed. She was tearing through the wasp-esque bots with flurries of kicks - without so much as a grunt of effort. She must possess a lot of strength within her legs - perhaps it was her ability.
Narrowing his eyes he could take note of the little details - sometimes she wasn't paying enough attention to what was behind her, and golden energy orbs threatened to impact her back, but more often than not she dodged just in time. Overall, her fighting needed some... fine-tuning, more discipline - but she turned out to be far more skilled than he had expected of her.
Shadow had his own problems to deal with now as the same golden orbs were being fired towards him and the bike... well, 'problems' wasn't exactly the correct word in the scenario - 'mild annoyances' suited it much better. Effortlessly, he avoided the lasers - weaving and twisting the bike betwen them.
Soon, the lasers ceased as the number of them reduced.
"Large mech up ahead." Shadow calmly stated. Despite Rouge being a way behind him, she managed to hear his remark.
"Wait, wha-?"
He gazed up at an oversized mecha - it stomped on the cars below, without mercy - crushing them like ants on its path towards him and causing the ground to shake. Shadow began to accelerate the bike.
"Robotnik has announced he wants you dead, hedgehog!" A scratchy, female voice from within the mech announced with fury, sounding out across the road over loud speakers. "And I shall be the one to fulfill his request, and bring glory to the Empire!"
Hm, so there was a person in there.
Removing one of his hands off of the bike handle, he fired off a beam of chaos energy aimed at one of the robotic arms. It made impact - leaving a small dent from what he could see, but it didn't seem to affect the mech's performance.
"Tch." Shadow let out once the distance between them had closed. He suddenly swung himself off the bike, running alongside it on the road as he still held onto the handles.
"Puny runt! You're a fool for making your way towards me!" She was practically spitting onto whatever microphone she was yelling into. The mech suddenly began to bring its hands down towards the ground - in an attempt to swipe the hedgehog.
Unphased, he suddenly lifted the bike into the air and over his head - taking a massive leap into the air, he proceeded to bring down the bike and slam it on top of the robotic hand - and watched as the appendage came clean off.
"N-NO! HOW COULD THIS BE?!"
He then landed on the ground, calculating his next move. He frowned when he saw the bike now missing one of its wheels as the result of using it as a weapon. He tossed it into a bush, annoyed that it was broken so soon after initially getting their hands on it.
He was ready to channel that frustration into the fight.
"H-Hold on-!" The lady seemed to have suddenly realised something. "You look a lot like that beast Robotnik had! That... no, that doesn't matter! What matters is that I stop you,and finally get the recognition I deserve!"
Shadow rose a brow as a large red beam came down onto the road. It came down at a sluggish pace, with Shadow effortlessly dashing out of the way.
"Let me help you out there, Shadow!" Rouge shouted out for him as she landed by his side - now facing the mech alongside him. "I can give that rolling attack of yours a boost!"
If his assumptions about her skillset were correct, Shadow knew where this was going. "Aim for the knee joints! We can stop it moving!" Shadow commanded immediately, before tucking into a ball again.
"Got it!" With a yell, she kicked Shadow towards the left knee joint, and with her added strength - he absolutely tore through the leg of the machine, leaving it with just a single leg to balance on. Shadow landed on the other side of the bot and turned to admire the damage done with a small grin.
"YOU!" The woman spat. "Rebel Rouge the Bat, you're... working with him! I'll have to kill you BOTH MYSELF!"
"Good luck with that!" The bat scoffed smugly, aggrevating the machine's pilot as they let out a vicious snarl.
The hedgehog activated his rocket shoes and boosted up - helping him to summon a spear of chaos energy and then it pierce through the plate of metal on the machine's back. The move left a deep hole, one that revealed the inner circuitry of the entire mech.
He took a glance at what the mech was doing, and smirked - it was being kept busy because in front, Rouge was flipping around to avoid the fist of the robot that kept poundng the ground in a fruitless attempt to squash pound her into the concrete. She eventually broke off her evasive strategy, catching her opponent off guard as she flew into the air and drilled a kick into the robot's arm that still had a hand.
It was the perfect distraction.
Shadow reached into the hole and grabbed hold of the wires, grunting as he tugged at them - causing the wires to snap.
"No... no!" The lady's voice cried. "It... the mech.. it won't move!"
He almost felt bad as her voice cracked with desperation... almost. Satisfyingly, the mech's limbs went slack, causing it to slowly crumple down. It gave Rouge and himself plenty of time to get out of the way before it graudally came down - landing on the road with a heavy thud that left large cracks in the ground below.
Rouge voiced what he was thinking.
"Ha! Too easy." She smiled at their handy work. "Like... so damn easy."
"Embarrassingly so." Shadow frowned, his hands on his hips. "Is this really the best of what the Empire has to offer?" He questioned, not being able to help but feel a little insulted - these were the type of machines that had been used to conquer the whole planet?
"This attack was hastily planned, put together on impulse." Rouge observed. "Generally, Robotnik has much better tools at his disposal, but anyway - what's more concerning however is that they're clearly after you..."
"I'm not concerned." Shadow dismissed. "Anything he can throw at me, I will triumph over. I can guarantee that."
Rouge rollled her eyes. "Sure, just don't let that confidence kill ya." She said, before narrowing her eyes - gaze flitting around the area. "Shit... the bike's broken." She pointed out.
"Annoying, but not the end of the world. There are other vehicles." Shadow tilted his head towards the cars on the other side of the road that were still driving, as though a battle had never even took place here.
A smile crept onto the bat's face. "You... have a point there, Shadow. If we can get into an Empire car, we're less likely to be chased too-"
The two suddenly became on alert - ears pirked and fists readied as the rubble began to move. "YOU-!" It was the lady's voice from the mech as her face finally became revealed to them. It was a yellow chinchilla, and she was - quite frankly - tiny - her image did not match her screechy voice. "YOU FIENDS! YOU ARE MAKING A MOCKERY OF THE GLORIOUS EM-!"
Shadow blinked as Rouge brought out a white bomb with a pink heart on it, chucking it at the head of the chinchilla. It didn't even detonate, landing with an unceremonious bonk - but it did the job to knock her unconcious.
"Gremlin-looking ass..." She grinned, finding something funny about it all. "Now that's taken care of, let's steal a car-"
As Rouge turned away from him, he allowed himself to scowl at her. Play their game... He told himself. Listen, obey.
"Ray?"
The squirrel froze in place, then quickly whipped himself around. "Oh, haha! Hey, Cream! What ya doing out here so late?" He placed his hands behind his head, obviously trying to appear casual and innocent when that was far from the truth.
"You're not trying to sneak away, are you?" Cream asked with a soft sigh and saddened eyes.
"Wha-? Me? No, no - you've got me all wrong-" His lies were obvious, that much he knew... so he just decided to change course. "Come on, Cream. You know what Sonic said - we're supposed to be going after emeralds!"
"They're supposed to be going after the emeralds!" She corrected him. The moonlight illuminated her face, showing her desperation plainly. "We're supposed to be where it's safe..."
"And what use is sitting around doing nothing, huh?" Ray argued back. "If we want the world to get back to normal, we have to find them! Why shouldn't I do a little searching on my own?"
"Because it's dangerous." She was trying to get through to him. "You... don't even know where to start, you'll get hurt-!"
"And-"
"And I don't want you to get hurt!" He could tell by her glassy eyes that she was holding back tears.
Darn it, how could you ignore pleas coming from her of all people? You would have to have the cruellest heart in the world. "Cream..." He have her a look of sympathy. "I... don't you understand we can be heroes too, here? By getting these emeralds we can start to help people!"
"By interfering, all you'll do is cause trouble!" Despite the fact the conversation was upsetting her, she held her ground - and even changed up her tune to sound more assertive. "You aren't going anywhere, Ray! Not on my watch!" She pouted, folding her arms.
Ray pursed his lips, looked around him, then smirked. "Then... don't watch."
"Huh-? What-?! That's not how that works-!"
"You two."
Double darn it, there was no getting out of this now. "H-hey, Miss Vanilla-" He greeted the mother rabbit with a forced, wide smile. Cream meanwhile looked horrified at the fact her mother had caught her out so late.
Vanilla gazed at them sternly. "We do not play in the forest without supervision, let alone at night." She told them. "You could seriously hurt yourselves, and we still don't truly know what might be lurking in these woods." The rabbit explained. "So come now, back to camp. I don't want to have this conversation with you again."
"Yes, mama-" Cream hung her head down meekly, following right behind her mother. Ray didn't move right away, how could he? The thought of adventure continued to tug at him - the thought of being a hero, being able to save lives and bring them some sort of joy in this world - why did that dream always have to be so out of reach?
Or rather, why had it been so out of reach ever since... he was gone?
"Yikes... what's up with him?" Cubot asked with worry. The two assistant bots were gazing upon Miles with pity as the fox was sobbing into his pillow.
"I'm not sure." Orbot admitted. "Miles ran into his room crying, threw himself on his bed and then the waterworks came-"
"Huh. I'm willing to bet Robotnik did somethin'."
"When does he not...?" Orbot sighed.
"I'll get cookies and milk!" Cubot offered up eagerly. "That should cheer him up!"
He was already floating away as Orbot called after him. "Make sure they're the mint ones!"
"You got it!" Cubot called back, already down the hall - leaving Miles and Orbot alone in the bedroom together. Hesitantly, the robot made his way towards the bed - and spoke gently. "Hello Miles, is there anything we can do to help-?"
"I'm a FAILURE!" Miles abruptly spat, lifting his head from the pillow and revealing his red, puffy eyes. He sat up quickly and began to ramble "I disappointed dad by screwing up again, and now he's mad- and- I don't know what he's going to-! And now I'm crying about it like a pathetic-!"
Orbot placed a hand on Miles' shoulder. "Please, do not believe such a thing. You are an incredibly skilled scientist, young Prower. You are a pioneer of the Empire-!"
"Then why did Project Shadow break free? Why did my DNA manipulation reverse?" He asked him through his tears. "Explain that one to me!"
"I... cannot say why." Orbot said truthfully. "But I know this mistake shouldn't define you. You have done an incredible job so far, Miles. You've come so far since you were first adopted into our household." He assured him - if he could better convey a smile, he would. "Whatever anger Robotnik is feeling towards you will blow over before you know it."
"Oh yeah!" Cubot exclaimed in agreement upon his return. "Usually when Robotnik is mad at me, he'll throw me against a wall a few times and then forget about it!"
This information caused Miles to whimper, and Orbot to glare at his companion. "Not... helping."
"Whoops- I-I mean I'm sure he won't throw you anywhere! Probably just a me thing-" Cubot tried to insist, placing a tray of cookies and a glass of milk on Miles' work desk.
The fox was gazing at the two robots desperately. "I can't keep failing him like this! He's done so much for me... the least I can do is actually be of some use!" Miles explained. "What if he abandons me...?" His voice quivered.
"Robotnik would do no such thing. I'm sure of it." Orbot's voice was firm. "He can be... a lot.. sometimes. But he wouldn't have adopted you if he didn't care about you. You aren't someone he'd just toss away." The robot tried to explain as best he could, although he didn't believe his own words - Robotnik was a terrible father, and didn't care about his own son despite the great lengths he went to obtain one. Orbot couldn't help but feel a bitterness, an emotion potent enough for him to recongise it despire his robotuc nature.
"I just... I have to make it up to him." Miles hugged his knees closer to him.
Orbot could easily sympathise with his plight, Robotnik was a downright terrifying man sometimes. "If I may... allow me to teach you a trick, Miles." Orbot began. "When you want to stay in the doctor's good graces - what you want to do is observe him carefully, figure out what he wants at the moment... and then give it to him, despite the fact he never asked you to give it."
"What... are you going on about?" Miles' brow furrowed as he wiped away a tear.
"I'm saying that... well, I'll give you an example. I've learn to pick up on the way Robotnik's moustache twitches when he's craving a coffee, when I see that - I will go and make a coffee and bring it to him, despite the fact he never requested for one. This is simply the reason why I am the favourite between myself and Cubot. No offense-" He added to his friend.
"Nah, you're right." Cubot wasn't bothered and shrugged it off.
"So that's what I suggest Miles - figure out something that Robotnik wants, and go do it before he even tells you so - he'll immediately start to look upon you favourably again." Not that Miles should have to worry about that. Despite the fact he was trying to help him, giving this advice still felt wrong somehow.
Miles took the time to consider what Orbot had said, though his eyes were still downcast - he nodded. "I... yeah, I get your point. I'm freaking out over nothing- I can please him again, easily-" His voice sounded stronger again, more certain.
Orbot didn't have much power in the Empire at all, but if there was one thing he could do - he could at least look out for the young fox. Robotnik may be his father... but he and Cubot had spent more time raising him than that man had ever done.
Yet, all Miles seemed to care about... was serving Robotnik.
A/N - Bada bing bada boom, this chapter came late due to technical difficulties, aaaaaaaaa.
But I hope you enjoyed parting from our usual POVs to focus on some other souls! Silver and Tikal have encountered Metal Sonic in the In-Between and are on the hunt for the familiar versions of our favourite friends. Sorry all the people who thought it was Classic :( - Good guess though, I'll say that much! We also got a heap load of Shadow POV - introducing you to the 'Shadow's memories were fucked up by Gerald so who fucking knows what flashbacks are real' saga. We got to see Ray for the first time who's getting a bit impulsive, and we got to see Miles coping very poorly 0 but thankfully he has Orbot and Cubot at his side.
Some Archie fans might have recognised that yellow chinchilla piloting that mech - and yes, it's who you think it is - it's Thunderbolt. BUT - just because she's here, I'm afraid Archie characters like Sally, Bunnie etc. are not making an appearance in this fic I'm afraid - I'm just using some villain characters from those comics to fill out our villain roster, and they won't be entirely accurate to the source material! Just a clarification on that!
NEXT TIME - we're back to our heroes beginning their chaos emerald hunting journey! Shadow and Rouge continue their journey to Apotos while Amy continues her vacation in Empire City, and the Chaotix and Hooligans have some important decisions to make... that and more next time on DRAGON BALL-
Anime references aside, I've got a busy upcoming week with a trip to London so the next update will, hopefully at latest, be coming out Saturday 12th - but if I can get it out earlier this week, I will :)
SO! FRONTIERS BABY! HOLY DANG IT'S ALMOST HERE - I'M SO EXCITED XD I hope ya'll are hyped too! I feel like a child waiting for Christmas lmao. I keep on listening to 'I'm Here' over and over again lol, resisting the urge to peak at the leaked full version - just one more day man
As usual though - let me know what you thought of this update in a review! Did you like switching things up to glance away from our heroes for a bit? I hope so! But for now my darlings, I'll see you later! On the other side - in a world post Frontiers release ;)