Miles couldn't afford to have the Ultimate Lifeform attempt any sort of attack, so while the creature was still weak - he made sure to have him strapped down to the operating table with steel straps over his arms and legs.
"I believe I have found a way to eliminate your faults." Miles offered him happily, prideful of his breakthrough. He watched Project Shadow stare back at him, with the strongest glare he could manage at that time.
"Are you not happy? Nor grateful?" The fox asked.
He wanted to reply, but all that came out was a rasp. Miles was content with continuing. "Quite rude. Luckily for you I don't care too much about manners, I'm far more interested in the scientific breakthrough I'm-"
"What's your game?" The experiment finally asked, able to get out words from his scratchy throat.
"My game? All I aim to do with you Project Shadow is help you run more efficiently-"
"And if you do that, you make me stronger... Do you believe I'm here out of choice? If I had the strength you'd be DEAD, fox!" The sudden raising of his voice called him to lapse into a coughing fit.
It was certainly hard to feel threatened by a wheezing man. "It is true that in theory, yes - making you more powerful would make you harder to control - but" Miles leaned closer down to his face. "I'm confident in my methods."
The door had opened behind them.
"Chop chop chop!" Robotnik exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "We haven't got all day to chit-chat! My festival is fast approaching!"
"My apologies, Emperor." Miles turned around and gave him a bow. "I just... find this thing so fascinating." He admitted, turning back to Project Shadow and giving him a hard poke on the forehead. "Despite all of our attempts to break his will... his tenacity and fortitude have remained so strong... did Gerald somehow design this? Is it possible to manufacture great persistence and drive?"
"It wouldn't surprise me all that much." Robotnik spoke with a shrug, stepping forward and examining the hedgehog on the table. "He was a genius, after all. But it's more of an annoyance on our end..." He grumbled, crossing his arms. "Hardly matters though, since we managed to figure out the right serum."
"Of course!" Miles smiled, walking over to a tray and picking up a needle filled with a bright green, thick fluid. The hedgehog-alien squirmed as much as his restrained body would allow him to. "We'll never have to worry about letting him recharge again, our Empire battery will finally run continuously!" He grinned.
"I've been thinking about what you once said, Miles. About how Shadow's more useful to us as a weapon than a battery," Robotnik began, rubbing his chin in thought. "If we manage to truly control him as we hope, then I think I might just be willing to test him out on the field."
Miles blinked. "Then what about-?"
"A chaos emerald will do the trick, as you said."
"You said you didn't want ours to be separated in case any rebels got their hands on them."
"I did. But the likelihood of someone managing to sneak into the heart of the Empire to take it is low. And besides, they're basically useless unless you have all seven, and I'll still have two others close on my person. I think we can afford to take the risk."
"That makes sense." Miles spoke with a nod. "Good idea."
"You were the one who suggested that idea to me in the first place, Miles - do not forget. I'm simply choosing the time to implement it." The doctor went over to pat the young fox's shoulder fondly, and Miles gazed up at the man's face with awe. For his greatness to be acknowledged by the smartest man on the planet... it was a feeling that could only be described as euphoria!
"Yes, of course, my Emperor. It's always a pleasure to assist you in any way possible." Miles assured him.
"I know." Robotnik finally smiled and let go of the fox. "Now let's get a move on with this, shall we? I did want us to hurry."
"Absolutely!" The needle was prepped, but he realised Robotnik was about to talk to the experiment, so he withheld from inserting it just yet.
"Humiliating, isn't it?"
"You're the one that should be ashamed of yourself!" The hedgehog snapped back, he was clearly trying to push relentlessly against the straps and wriggle his way out, but his body was incapable of doing so.
"Come now, Shadow." The doctor sighed. "It's rude to yell at family."
Shadow let out something close to a cackle. "Family? I'd rather be dead than see you as family!"
Robotnik was dismissive, waving his hand. "Whatever. I don't particularly care for you either. In fact, I'm going to quite enjoy watching you suffer." The grin on his face grew terribly wide. "Because trust me, this will be much worse than death." Robotnik gave a nod.
Miles knew his cue, injecting the fluid into Project Shadow's shoulder and watching his eyes glow red.
What ensued was a blood-curdling yell that echoed down the halls.
The Day of The Festival - 9:00am
Slinger had been the marksman, he never missed. Whisper could not say comfortably that she was anywhere near as skilled with a gun.
Miraculously, she had managed to find a place on the rooftops that allowed her to observe the city below. It was rarely ever so crowded with everyone usually boxed within their factories. Today, they had different duties. They had to prepare for their Emperor.
Flags of the Empire's signature symbol were raised high, banners hung over the street reminding everyone of how long it had been since their freedom had been snatched away.
The Third Anniversary of Robotnik's Empire
Three whole years. It was a number that still didn't feel real. It somehow managed to feel like both the shortest and longest period of time in history.
One thing was clear though, it needed to end.
Whisper no longer had the assurance of Claire to tell her how likely a plan was going to succeed. She now had to traverse blindly forward to an invisible future.
Could she truly make this shot?
The world was crying out for change, to finally be set free of the chains Robotnik had tied them to. Someone had to do it, she told herself.
That's what Smithy always told her, right? Sitting around and waiting for things to change was ultimately pointless, if you wanted change - you had to bring it about yourself.
This is what they would have wanted her to do - to end the mission they had started, or die trying. They had fought against the Empire since its inception, and now with everything in place - if she didn't seize this opportunity, it'd be akin to spitting on their graves.
Whisper had to make this shot. For them.
She had a long day ahead of her, staying hidden from every pair of eyes until nightfall.
It began with Sonic falling through an endless sky.
He found it funny how after a while, his heart rate slowed and the adrenaline would just dissipate - and the experience became far more calming than it had any right to be.
Suddenly, the blue sky would fade to black - and Sonic would land down hard on some ground he couldn't even see. Thankfully it was a dream, and he couldn't feel a thing.
The hedgehog slowly stood up and surveyed his surroundings.
"Hi, Sonic."
Sonic gasped, turning to look behind him.
Tails was right there, smiling - Sonic couldn't help but smile too, rushing forward. "Tails!" He bent down to pick up the fox, twirling him into a hug. Sonic missed him, so so much.
"I wanted to thank you." Tails said, his tone even despite having been hoisted up into the air for an embrace. "For everything."
"What are you thanking me for, buddy?" Sonic asked with slight disbelief as he placed Tails down, wondering what he would even have to thank him for. Considering everything that happened... why would he be-?
Well, this was only a dream he supposed.
Tails didn't actually answer Sonic's question. "You ran away from the birthday party... when are you coming back?"
Ran away? The whole timeline was reset! Why did no one in his dreams understand that this wasn't his fault? None of it was!
Sonic sighed slowly. "I'll be coming back soon, bud. I promise you that." Sonic attempted to smile back in assurance.
Tails' face was blank, then he faded away.
As Sonic stared aimlessly ahead, he saw something unexpected. That blue portal! It had formed again just like in his previous dream. Sonic watched out for the silhouette of his friend as it had shown up last time.
"Silver?" Sonic called out.
The hedgehog actually jumped back as a head poked out of the swirling energy. His eyes widened - it actually was Silver! He appeared tired and drained, his spines all out of place. He was struggling to pull himself through the portal, grunting and straining. "Please-!" Silver gasped out. "Don't wake up again!"
What? Was this still a dream? Sonic rushed to help-
10:00am
"It's ten in the morning, silly! You gotta wake up!"
Sonic couldn't stop himself from letting out a groan. Tangle woke him up before he could- damnit. The hedgehog slowly sat up and began rubbing the sleep from his eyes, yet to acknowledge the lemur. The way Silver spoke to him compared to anyone else in his other dreams... it was more real. Was that actually Silver?
How was that even possible? Would it even be the Silver he knew, or this new timeline's variation? Already thinking about it was giving him a headache...
"Yoohoo!" Tangle called out, waving a hand in front of Sonic's eyes. "Ya there?"
"Wuh-? Uh yeah-" Sonic let out. "Sorry I just- my brain takes a while to wake up-" He said, rubbing his head.
"Heh, that's alright! I'm glad you got good sleep, I kept waking up in the night-" She admitted.
"Nervous?" Sonic asked.
"Yeah, just a little-" She laughed awkwardly. "The big day's really here! Felt like it would never come. I have faith in everyone's skills, don't get me wrong - a huge amount of faith! It's just- I don't want anyone getting hurt today - you know? I want things to go off without a hitch!"
His immediate instinct was to comfort her, but saying everything was going to be fine would feel like a lie. Sonic, more than anyone here, knew how ruthless and cunning Eggman truly was. The assassination attempt being thwarted was a very real and uncomfortable possibility.
"If things do go wrong, we've gotta have faith in ourselves - and in each other. I believe we're more than capable of overcoming any adversity, any hurdle sent our way." He grinned at her. "We've just gotta be confident."
"Confident." Tangle repeated. "Yeah... yeah that sounds right. We need confidence if we're going to pull this off!" She agreed.
"You're finally awake?" He heard Rouge question from the entrance. "I'm glad to see you got a good rest, because you certainly won't be sleeping tonight." She said with a small laugh.
There was an undoubtable aura of energy around her, an excited spark in her eyes. "Morning to you too, Rouge." Sonic said with his own small smile. "You seem oddly excited about this all."
"How could I not be?" Rouge asked. "I've been waiting for this opportunity for so long and it's finally here! It's like waiting for Christmas... but the wait was literal years. Ya feel me?"
Sonic just accepted it with an amused snort. "I guess."
"Now, get some breakfast, Blue." Rouge told him. "We're not going to the festival to eat the snacks."
"Awww, not even one?" Tangle pouted jokingly.
"You won't be able to stop me if I see a chilidog stand." Sonic added.
Rouge looked at him oddly before chuckling slightly. "What are they like- your favourite food? Weird taste..."
"There's nothing weird about them!" Sonic huffed indignantly. "What, can't handle spicy food?"
"I love spicy foods, but beef chili on my hot dog? I'd rather just have a hot dog at that point." Rouge said.
"I have to agree with Rouge here." Tangle spoke up with her views. "Classic hot dogs are," she made a chef's kiss gesture "simply superior."
"You two are just weak." Sonic could not stand for this chilidog slander.
"Nah, we're just right." Rouge corrected him. "Now stop talking about food and actually get something in your stomach, you need to be fully prepared for tonight. I don't want any fuck ups."
The conversation reminded Sonic of how much he missed the taste of a good chilidog, and his tummy grumbled just thinking of it. Oh well, he supposed he should be grateful for Angel Island's food in a world like this - and so he'd get out of bed and begin his pursuit of breakfast.
1:00pm
Knuckles sat listening to the whispers that filled his mind whenever he sat by the Master Emerald. He could never make out what they were actually saying, but it was strangely soothing all the same. It was the one note of familiarity in his life among all the chaos of the last few days.
Knowing that tonight he was going to be leaving the emerald while he went with Sonic to help pursue his goal, he couldn't help but feel a bit sick. He hadn't been able to bring himself to eat anything, almost feeling as though he didn't deserve it as he was leaving it behind.
Yet, this is what his people wanted right? They told him to help Sonic any means necessary! Then why was he beating himself up inside like this?
This was stupid, he needed something to distract himself with. Oh right, he had wanted to check out the treasury again... see if anything else had gone missing. Knuckles wasn't going to be very impressed if that was the case.
The journey to the treasure temple was short, thankfully. He really didn't want to have to kick anyone off the island, knowing how hellish the world was below - at least according to the word of his peers. He was sure that tonight would be an eye-opening experience.
At the entrance of the temple, Knuckles' eyes immediately lay upon a figure.
He wasn't all that surprised by who he saw.
"Put that down." Knuckles said firmly.
The bat dropped the long, glittering necklace she had been holding - right back into the pile of jewelry on the floor. She slowly turned around with a nonchalant expression, holding both her hands up to show they were empty. "Was I doing something wrong?" She asked lightly.
"Everything on this island is mine." Knuckles informed her simply, it couldn't be more clear for her to understand. "You don't have the right to take anything."
"Me?" Rouge gasped. "Take? Steal? I'd never!" She claimed.
"Since you arrived, several things from this place has gone missing. Don't lie to me." The echidna glared.
No longer being dramatic, Rouge held her gaze before responding with a smirk. "I had a debt to pay."
"Not my problem. Pay your debts with your own wealth." He warned her, quickly growing impatient. "This is your first and last warning, I'm not going to stand for this behaviour, so if you continue - I frankly don't care who you are, I will throw you off my island."
Somehow, his threats seemed to fly right over her head. "You know, I think that's the longest sentence I've ever heard you say since we met." She pointed out.
"That- has nothing to do with-" He didn't even know how to respond, and Rouge would end up cutting him off anyway, slowly approaching him, getting up close in his personal space.
"I do enjoy the strong and silent types." She remarked, reaching and using her finger to twirl one of his dreadlocks around it.
Knuckles immediately tensed, rigid as a brick - he could feel his cheeks practically burning. "I- uh-" He stuttered, almost certain his brain had somehow left his head entirely.
"We don't need our spend time arguing, it'd be such a waste." She sighed softly. "Let's just get back to the others and start sorting out everything before we leave tonight, okay? That'd be a much better use of our time, no?"
"Uhm-"
"Couldn't agree anymore." Rouge said, walking past him and exiting the temple. Knuckles eventually turned and stared after her in bewilderment. He had just caught her stealing from him... and somehow.. she had come out of their altercation on top?
It was cemented in his mind now - he didn't like Rouge very much.
He couldn't decide if her pretty face was a saving grace, or if it just made him dislike her more. Either way, he didn't quite understand what she had just done to him. Was she a witch? A demon? A combination of the two?
Knuckles shook his head, he'd be prepared for such tactics next time.
2:00pm
"Hey, Knuckles."
It seemed as though the echidna hadn't even realised that Sonic was sitting on the boundary step, as he was snapped out of his daze. "Oh, hi-"
"How ya doing?"
"Um-" Knuckles shifted his gaze to the side for a moment, as if he was deciding whether he should say something or not. "Can I be honest with you?"
"Sure." Sonic replied, sitting up with interest.
"I don't like this plan very much. Well, the plan itself is fine it's just- there's a lack of planning elsewhere."
Sonic rose a brow. "Go on."
"Well- the plan is to kill this Eggman person, what then? What happens after? These are important questions and not just a bridge we should cross when we get there. The world below is going to struggle when their leader is gone, they've gotten used to a tyrant - not thinking for themselves. It feels like we're about to bring utter chaos to the world here. The people won't know what to do with themselves, and I imagine there's a chain of command. You may be cutting the head off the snake, but at this rate I imagine the snake is just going to grow a new head. There has to be people that are going to take over, or at least fight for the leadership position. By getting rid of one problem... I feel like we're just creating more."
Knuckles was often unfairly labelled as the stupid one due to his ignorance of how things worked down on the surface, but that was only the result of his isolation. Looking beyond that, Knuckles understood battle strategies to an insane degree, and he learnt a lot of ancient war tactics from the documents left behind of his ancestors. He was well-informed in this area, and Sonic wasn't about to dismiss his concerns.
"Yeah, I think you're right." Sonic said. "But at the same time, who knows when we're ever going to have such a good opportunity to do this again? We might just have to seize it because there's no other choice."
"I understand that, but your leader- I think she's your leader? The bat woman, she should at least be thinking about these consequences but she refuses to."
Yet again it was very unusual behaviour compared to the Rouge he knew. In Sonic's old timeline, Rouge was always careful and thorough and would have absolutely considered all the consequences. Sonic could not say the same for this Rouge - who seemed quite... rash, if he was honest.
"And it's hard to get her to listen." Sonic agreed.
"Whatever way this goes, I wouldn't suggest following her lead anymore. She's ruthless, as a good leader should be. But her lack of planning is going to cause unnecessary harm."
"I get what you're saying, Knuckles. But still, I don't think she's a bad person, and definitely not stupid - we just need to work on our communication more, you know?" Sonic smiled at him. Sure, this Rouge was vastly different than the one he knew. His Rouge always had a warmth in her eyes and a glint of humour, and a bigger heart than she liked to admit to. While this Rouge had proven herself to be seemingly much colder, he hoped the Rouge he was more familiar with was somewhere inside.
"You have more patience than I do." Knuckles sighed.
"Me? Patient? Ha! Don't think I've ever heard that!" Sonic couldn't help but laugh. "It's not patience, Knux. I just believe in giving people chances."
"Well... it goes to show your compassion, I suppose. A true trait of a warrior."
"Heh, if you compliment me anymore I'm gonna blush." Sonic rubbed the top of his nose confidently. He always did enjoy a bit of praise. Sonic's eyes then widened. "Oh wait - I called you Knux, sorry- don't think we know each other enough for nicknames-"
"Oh..." Knuckles almost seemed disappointed, eyes looking downward. "I mean, I didn't mind it-"
"You didn't?" Sonic asked to make sure, after all it took a while for the old Knuckles to warm up to Sonic and he refused to allow them to 'get chummy' as it were. Perhaps this Knuckles was just desperate for friendship and connection. "Then I'll keep calling you Knux then."
Sonic felt his heart warm as he saw Knuckles grin. "Sure I don't mind that." The echidna said.
4:00pm
"Alright, you three. Tonight's the night!" Rouge announced. She had gathered the three of them up in their bedroom thing, whatever you wanted to call it - the stone that structure that vaguely resembled a room. Tangle and Sonic were sat on the bed looking up at Rouge and Knuckles stood a few paces away from everyone else, but was still listening.
She had everyone's attention. "I understand that this isn't exactly... easy for a lot of you, which is why I want us all to be here and have a pep talk now before our plan is underway. Tangle, I feel that you're nervous - but I assure you that you've got this girl. You haven't been on a big mission before like this and I imagine you're thinking of all these horrible scenarios that could happen. That's only gonna throw off you off your game, you gotta keep your eyes on the prize."
Tangle nodded with determination. "Yes, ma'am! I'll remember that."
"Knuckles, you must be nervous about what the world is like down below and working with us on a mission for the first time, but I assure you that we'll all be looking out for each other. We won't let you get lost and we certainly won't allow harm to come to each other. You've got this, you're an all powerful echidna god thing."
"Hm." Knuckles acknowledged. "Also I'm not a-"
"And Sonic," She interrupted him. "Chosen one status must mean you have a lot of pressure on you right now to do things right. But take it one step at a time, focus on executing each part of the plan as they come, and you're guaranteed success."
Sonic smirked. "Giving us pep talks, eh Rouge? What's got you to be so sweet all of a sudden?"
"I need you all on your A game." She told him. "That means you've gotta be both physically and mentally prepared. Because I swear to God if someone messes it up I will kill them-"
"Aaaaaand the nice moment's ruined." Tangle sighed with a weak smile.
"If we're going over the plan now..." Everyone turned to look at Knuckles, his face turning almost as red as his fur. "Can I ask... do I have to be one of the ones... dancing? Can I not swap places with Tangle?"
"I don't think you know how to drive, sweetheart. We need Tangle behind the wheel to steer the float." She pointed out.
Sonic couldn't help but think back to a simpler time when he and Tails had first taught him how to drive.
"Brakes." Tails had said.
The car kept moving forward. Tails leaned over and coughed to get his attention. "Knuckles... brakes."
"I'm... I'm trying-"
The fox took one glance out the front window and gasped when he saw how close a tree was. "Knuckles BRAKES! BRAKES, BRAKES, BRAKES-"
"I AM PRESSING THE BRAKES!" Knuckles snapped back.
Tails looked down at the echidna's feet. "Knuckles... THAT'S THE ACCELERATE!" He pointed at the right pedal. "BRAKES! THERE!"
Finally, Knuckles brought his foot down on the right pedal and the car grinded to a halt. Sonic, in the back seats of the vehicle, was heaving with laughter while Tails held his head in his hands.
"Ok now how do I..." Knuckles was attempting to move the car now and steer it away from the tree... but it resulted in a clunking nose as somehow the echidna managed to rip the steering wheel off the car. "Uh-"
Sonic and Tails stared at him with open mouths before Sonic began to wheeze, Tails tried to hold back his laughter with his hand but couldn't - snorting and giggling into it. "Knuckles... oh my God..."
Another glance at Knuckles' bewilderment sent the two into another fit of laughter. "Today's gonna be... a long day!" Tails managed to say.
Sonic loudly snorted at the memory and the others immediately looked at him. "Oh uh- don't mind me-" Sonic excused himself.
Knuckles frowned. "Well... you have a point. Fine... but I'm not a great dancer."
"Oh trust me, it'll be easy. You're not gonna be expected to dance like a professional." Rouge said. "And it'll all be worth our victory in the end, so what if we sacrifice a little dignity on the way?" She shrugged.
"Whatever-" He grumbled, not satisfied but going along with it any way.
"Our main priority is making sure Eggman is dead. If shit hits the fan and things do spiral out of control, killing Eggman is the only thing you guys should be worrying about. Nothing else matters. You guys got that?"
It sounded a little foreboding, but Sonic understood the sentiment. "Mhm." The other two voice their agreement as well.
Sonic caught sight of the lemur's downcast face and didn't think too much of it.
5:00pm
Last minute festival security meeting... oh, what a joy.
It had been the standard discussing of safety hazards and what not, if Robotnik didn't have Miles behind him - Amy was certain that risk assessments would simply not exist in any corner of the Empire.
"And of course, we must make sure our Emperor remains safe throughout this event. Unfortunately, we must look upon even our own with suspicion." She couldn't help but notice Miles glance towards her as he said that. "Betrayal could come from anyone of you, which is why I find it best that if one of you were perhaps thinking... of trying anything funny... you might just want to know the consequences of said actions."
Miles smiled as he went behind the curtain of the stage. Amy was confused, what was he even on about? She knew what lied ahead... the end of her life as she knew it.
Gasps and even a scream sounded out through the room. A few people jumped out of their chairs, including Amy. Miles had rolled in a cage. Inside? A sort of deformed, monstrous hedgehog. It had a long tail and the white's of its eyes were black, and its red irises glowed. It bared its sharp teeth and talon-like claws as it gripped hold of the bars of the cage. It hissed loudly and roared before moving sporadically on four legs like some sort of wild animal.
Yet, there was undeniably a mobian quality to it. Like they had taken a hedgehog and... turned it into something far more monstrous.
"Meet Project Shadow. Don't let the animalistic look fool you, he is a warrior with capabilities that far exceed anyone in this room." Miles explained. "We're... on a few test runs with him. We want to really see what he can do. So what perfect way to help with the testing process than to make use of what is no longer of use, traitors will be thrown his way and... well-"
Miles picked up the plush bear that had been placed on the stage, Amy having had no reason why until now. The young fox dropped the bear into the cage.
Project Shadow tore the bear to shreds, the stuffing inside spraying throughout the cage as he tore into the bear with his fangs and claws and tossed the thing around. It was relentless - sheer overkill.
"It will be a great learning experience for all." Miles concluded with a sadistic smirk.
7:00pm
It was time.
Sonic, Tangle, Rouge, and Knuckles stood upon the hill overlooking Station Square, the very one that Sonic had initially landed himself up on when he first entered the timeline. Thinking about it, he had come so far already - already gathering up some friends and figuring out how to set things right.
It felt as though things were coming full circle, and it allowed him to feel just a bit more at ease.
Knuckles' locks blew gracefully in the wind. The echidna had ditched the gold headpiece but was still wearing his toga. Even though his clothing was light, the harsh cold of the wind didn't seem to bother him. Tangle on the other hand had a jacket on and a bandana around her neck to keep her warm and she was still shivering. Rouge stood gazing at the city, unphased as her own long hair flowed behind her.
Needless to say, Sonic was very grateful for his jacket.
"This is it." Rouge said.
In the distance, they call all make out the hues of orange and yellow light that danced among the buildings. Even music could be heard faintly from their position.
"We all know what to do?" She asked.
Sonic, Tangle, and Knuckles all nodded.
"Alright..." The silence between them lingered as everyone gathered themselves.
"Let's do this."
Woooo aaah this chapter was fun to write! So much yet so little has happened lmao. Shadow has been transformed into a monster? Silver trying to get into Sonic's dreams? Knuckles and Rouge rivalry 2 electric boogaloo? More team bonding?
Also, was that Whisper? Hell yeah that was Whisper, queen is here.
Next chapter will be a big one - the start of the Empire Festival! I hope to see you all there :) I'm looking forward to it OOEGRPGRNPNB. Usual drill - I absolutely love hearing feedback so let me know how you're vibing with the story! I hope ya'll enjoyed this update!
