Ancient Facility — Location Unknown
With a grunt of exasperation, a pair of gloved hands pull a large lever into place, instantly flooding light into the moss-ridden remains of what once might have been a high tech laboratory. Much of the walls and structure have toppled down, but the restored power to the facility has caused various machines to light up with incomprehensible displays.
Eggman reaches up to stretch out his arms. "Ahh, it feels good to get out once in a while."
Heavy King carefully scans around the room, taking a protective stance in front of him. "I still advise against exposing yourself like this."
"Don't forget your place, King. If I want your advice, I'll ask for it. Now, let's see what the computer records have to show us." Eggman strolls over to the nearest activated computer console, and goes to work. "If it's true that this facility contains an ancient weapon of mass destruction, I simply must see it for myself. Couldn't trust anyone else to handle such a thing, after all."
King's voice goes low with contained frustration. "Of course…" His eyes suddenly light up as he spots something. "Emperor!"
"Wha?" Eggman turns around with surprise to find a wave of blue light washing over him.
The source of the light, a small floating drone covered in moss much like the rest of the facility, declares in a feminine voice, "Scanning life form…"
Eggman slowly lets his protective arm drop as he examines the drone with curiosity.
"DNA match confirmed. Descendent of Dr. Gregor Robotnik recognized. How can I help you?"
Eggman's devious grin quickly begins to grow. "So, it was an ancestor of mine that built this weapon? That certainly makes things easier. Drone, I demand you escort me to the weapon constructed in this facility."
"Processing… Acknowledged. Please follow me to the Sentinel's construction room."
"Now that's how a robot should speak with the Emperor. Take notes, King." He takes a glance back in confusion when he receives no response. "King?"
Though still standing firmly, the lights in King's eyes have gone out, and his form slumps over his staff.
Eggman looks back at the drone with a growl. "What's going on here?"
"Expressing apology… This facility has been equipped with protective measures designed to ensure that only Master Lyric's technology can operate correctly in the area. That way, it can be neither stolen nor easily destroyed by his enemies."
"Hmm… Yes, I suppose that is logical. Carry on."
The drone leads Eggman onwards, leaving Heavy King behind. "Generating inquiry… For what purpose do you seek this weapon?"
"Well, the same thing as my ancestor, I imagine. Global domination."
"Statement incorrect. Lyric sought global domination. Dr. Gregor Robotnik sought a means to stop him, which I provided. Conclusion: you are not to be trusted."
"What!?"
The drone suddenly darts forward, as automatic doors shut on either side of Eggman, sealing him into the arch-shaped hallway. An alarm siren wails.
Eggman merely laughs. "Well, perhaps this will be a bit of a challenge after all." He walks up to the nearest wall, and pulls off a decaying panel to get a look at the technology inside. "I should have this whole base under my control in an hour or so, ancient weapons and all." He crosses two wires, and the closest door opens right back up. "Maybe less."
Sonic the Hedgehog: The Chaos Project
Season 3, Episode 5
Bygones
Written by ChaosProjectAuthor
Emerald Hill Zone — The Beach
Sonic stretches out his arms, bringing them to rest behind his head as he relaxes back on a lounge chair under the evening sun. He takes a long moment to stare out at the horizon, just beginning to change color. "So…good first day of freedom?"
A fair distance away, Tails lies out on a towel over the sand, staring up at the sky and listening to the sound of the waves. He takes some time to form an answer. He finally responds with a sigh, "…Yeah. It's nice."
Sonic lifts up his sunglasses to peek over at Tails. "You don't sound very convinced."
Tails bites his lip for a moment. "I guess I just…don't get it. You put me in confinement for five months, and the first thing you do when I get out is invite me to the beach? I'm gonna regret asking this, but…what was even the point?"
Sonic puts his sunglasses back on and looks back out at the horizon. "I never hated you for what you did, Tails. You know that…right?"
"You made it hard to tell."
"Maybe I did. But that was for a reason." Sonic takes a long sigh. "This has been three years coming. Almost four. You remember, don't you?"
"Of course. Our cursed beach day. No matter how much we tried, something just kept getting in the way."
"Back when I first suggested it…man, things were so different back then." Sonic holds up his oppositely colored hands to look at. "I'd…only just learned what I am. You were still just a kid. But seeing how disappointed you were that we missed our chance for that snow day…it reminded me how little it mattered. So what if I had some sort of destiny? I was the same me I always was. And I would keep fighting for the world and for the people I care about, just like I always did. No amount of responsibility was going to stop me from being your brother."
"I'm sure that was your plan. But it didn't really go that way, did it?"
"No. You're right. I messed up. I wasted the time we had. I could've taken a break like this any time, but I always pretended like I was too busy. And suddenly…it was too late. Everything just went haywire, and…well, I didn't want to make the same mistake another year in a row. I wanted us to get this settled. As soon as it was possible."
"But it was still too late. And even now that we're here, it's still cursed. Because we still can't enjoy a day together without things getting tense like this."
Sonic goes silent. The sun slowly moves closer to the horizon.
At once, Sonic tries to say, "Tails," and Tails tries to say, "Sonic."
With a chuckle, Sonic asserts, "You first."
"I just…I wanted to say…I'm sorry. I wasn't ready to say it back when it happened, but I am now. Not for…what I did…but for how I did it. And for what it did to us. I knew that I would lose you as a friend, and I made the choice knowing that, but…all I was thinking about was myself. I didn't think about how it would hurt you."
"I appreciate you saying that, but…you saved my life, Tails. What you did was a lot of things, but selfish isn't one of them. Still, that's…sort of what I was worried about."
"What do you mean, worried?"
"Ever heard the phrase… 'Every villain is the hero of their own story'?"
"Are you saying I'm the bad guy now?"
"No, no, nothing like that. Cyber Sonic was the bad guy. And he pushed you far past your limit. I watched every moment of that. I saw what it was doing to you. And it terrified me. The look in your eyes when you told him that you were getting ready to end his life…yes, you were doing what was right, but…it looked to me like the start of a dark path. I couldn't let it go on. But if I taught you the lesson…that you could walk down that path and skip the consequences you already knew were coming…that would've been irresponsible at best. That's what I was trying to get at before. Responsibility isn't just about destiny, it's about being a good role model, doing what's right, and helping others down the right path. I thought that it was something that was dropped on me when I learned I was the Controller, but I know better now. Responsibility is something I've been carrying for a long time. At least since the day I met you."
"So you were worried I was going to become the bad guy?"
"Maybe it sounds silly when you say it like that, but you have to admit…all that talk about…doing whatever it takes? Crossing any line to get what you want? It sounds more than a little worrying. And I get that it really wasn't much of a choice. It really sucks that you had to go through that at your age. There wasn't any correct option for you to take. But we both had to take responsibility for the outcome. Like you said, you knew what you were doing when you made that choice. For you to learn some of the things that I've learned…you had to be right."
"Okay. So we both did what we had to do. So it's done now. So why is this still so hard? Why do we still feel so far apart?"
"Tails…when you were younger, I always thought that you'd grow up to be just like me. That's what I thought I was training you for. But you didn't become me. You became you. We're different people, and that's okay. Because no matter what happens…no matter what path you take, or who you become…you'll always be my little brother. Which means I'll always do whatever I can for you."
"You…you really mean that?"
"I promised you that we'd stick together for life. As long as it's still what you want, I'm not going back on that."
Tails turns his face away, not doing a very good job at hiding the motion of wiping his tears away.
"So…we still have some time left. Wanna…build a sand castle or something?"
Tails laughs. "A sand castle? Really?"
"What? You used to love that."
"Yeah, when I was six years old."
"Yeah, you're—…"
"Fourteen. Remember?"
"Of course I remember, I just…keep forgetting… You know what I mean."
"What about you, Sonic? Up for a swim?"
"Ha ha. Not happening."
"I could teach you how, you know. It's really something you should learn some time."
"I appreciate it, but no. We're different people, remember? Gotta learn to live with that."
"You know what? I don't care if we're not playing together. This was still a great day. I'm glad we came here."
"Yeah." Sonic looks back out at the last bit of light slipping below the ocean horizon. "It's about time we both got the chance to relax. Even better together."
Tails nods. "Even better together."
"So…should we get going?"
"Yeah…it'll get cold soon. Unless…there's something else you want to do first."
Sonic takes a glance back at the mouth of the Emerald Canyon behind them. "You know me well. You should start packing up, I'll be quick."
"No, no, I'll go with you. I-if that's okay, I mean."
"Of course it's okay. He was your friend too."
—–—
Sonic places his hand against the emerald-shaped carving in the bark of the canyon's largest tree. "I miss you, old friend. I'm sorry we had to leave you behind here."
Tails places his hand next to Sonic's. "I know this isn't a real burial site, but it's all we have. I miss him too. I feel bad for relocating."
"It was the right choice, Tails. I just…I used to walk by this memorial every day. I wish I got the chance to say goodbye before leaving it behind for a year."
Tails slowly takes his hand away. "Take all the time you need."
Sonic closes his eyes with a long sigh. "I just wish we could…go back. To a time before we lost anyone. Before we had to grow up. To a place where we could just…let things be. Spend all day just…relaxing, having fun. Wouldn't that be nice?"
"Was there ever really a time and place like that?"
Sonic puts his hand down with another sigh. "Not in this lifetime. But it's fun to imagine, isn't it?" He offers a closed fist out to Tails. They happily share in a fist bump. "Now let's get back to our real lives."
—–—
"Engines on, all systems good to go. Tornado Mach 3 is ready to take off. You ready, Sonic?"
As Sonic crouches down on the wing of the sleek new fighter plane, metal clamps pop up to secure his feet. "Whoa. Still not used to that."
"Come on, Sonic, that feature was two planes ago. You'll fall right off if you stand there at top speed unsecured."
"I know, I know, I'm ready."
"Copy that. Taking off." The Tornado Mach 3 rapidly rolls up to speed and lifts off of the ground. "And let's not forget my favorite part. Activating Vortex mode…now!" As the plane takes off into the night, its mechanisms begin to transform mid-flight. Smooth, curved black plates are formed on the bottom of the wings and fuselage, activating to project a strange dome-shaped field of distorted energy that follows just beneath the plane. "Cloaking field is active. Signal jammers are online. We are officially invisible."
"Sure beats the underwater transports."
"You can say that again."
Sonic takes a look over through the cockpit windshield to see the smile on Tails' face. "So you built this whole thing in pieces from your room?"
"It wasn't easy. Espio was a big help with the cloaking tech. Really though, I couldn't have done it if you didn't keep bringing the parts I asked for."
"I know how important it was for you to stay busy. And it's a beautiful plane, but…why not just use the one you still have sitting in the hangar?"
"The Firefox? I…well, it was my dad's plane, you know? I decided to leave it as it is. Closest thing to a memorial I'm willing to make for him. Besides, it's an old one. Outfitting it with tech like this would've basically meant tearing the thing apart and rebuilding it from scratch anyways."
"Of course. That makes sense. I'm…sorry I wasn't there for all that."
"I know you would've if you could. It's in the past now."
Sonic looks back out at the space ahead of them. The shore is already far behind them, and a large island approaches on the open ocean ahead. "Tails…I hope you know what it means when I worry about you. I want your life to be—" The plane suddenly rumbles beneath his feet, and the roar of the engines goes eerily quiet. The cloaking field fades away. "Uhh…Tails? What's going on?"
Tails rapidly flicks through buttons and switches at the controls. "I'm working on it."
The nose of the plane begins to dip towards the island ahead. "Tails? Tails, we're falling."
"I'm working on it."
Sonic moves for the cockpit to get a closer look. But his feet are clamped in place. "Tails, I'm stuck, I can't move!"
"I'm working on it! Everything's frozen up, I'm locked out of all controls!"
"There's a manual release, right?"
"Uhh…"
"There's a manual release, right!?"
"I'm working on it…"
Sonic redoubles his efforts to escape from the clamps, but it's clear that they're much too sturdy to move by force. "Tails…"
"I said I'm—"
"Tails, stop working on it!"
Tails looks up in surprise.
"Tails, you have to eject."
"What? But you—"
"We're going to hit the ground in ten seconds, you have to eject right now! That's an order!"
"I can't—"
"Now, Tails! NOW!"
—–—
Day 1
"Unghh… Wha…?"
"Hey, hey hey hey, stay down." The raspy feminine voice gets closer, and Sonic's blurry vision is moved to look back at what must be the ceiling.
"Where am I? What happened…?"
"Bygone Island. You fell out of the sky on a giant death machine and broke pretty much every bone in your body. You're lucky to be alive. I had to drag you back here and wrap you up myself."
"Is this a hospital?"
"Pfft." The voice laughs. "Hospital, that's a good one. Even if we still had a hospital, you'd be much better off here. Now drink this."
Sonic struggles to get a clearer look at the round wooden container held in front of his face, filled with a yellowish liquid. "What is it?"
"It's to help you heal. Come on, drink it."
Not given much choice, the container is forced up to Sonic's lips. Almost immediately, he wretches and pulls his face away. "Ugh, what is in that!?"
"Oh, just the usual. Onions, bananas, pickles, and a few secret medicinal herbs. Now seriously, you have to drink the whole thing. I'm sure you wanna be off my floor just as much as I want you off of my floor, and this'll get it done in half the time. Believe me, I've broken my share of bones out here."
Sonic eyes the container with disgust. But as it's pushed back to his lips, he clenches his eyes shut and braces himself to down the rest.
"As a bonus, it'll also ward off any residual mind control you may or may not be under."
Sonic spits out what little remains in his mouth.
"Well great, now I'm gonna have to replace your bandages."
"Who are you!?" Sonic struggles to turn his head enough to see.
Standing above him is an orange and brown furred animoid with long, unkempt hair tied back into twin tails with wrappings of white tape. She wears rough hewn cloth garb, a pair of fuzzy boots, and a skull-shaped charm around her neck. "Oh, did I forget that part? The name's Sticks. Sticks the Badger."
—–—
Day 3
Sonic still lays out on the floor of Sticks' underground burrow, his bandages restricting him even more tightly than before. "So you're all alone out here, Sticks?"
Sticks sorts through piles of what might be garbage, picking things out and rearranging them without actually making anything cleaner. "I used to go into town every now and then for supplies, before the robot apocalypse drove everyone out, two years ago now. Didn't make a habit of it though, even back then. The people didn't like me very much."
"Why not?"
"I think they were tired of me trying to warn them about the coming robot apocalypse."
"Guess you're the one laughing now, huh?"
"Laughing? You think this is funny? You have a sick sense of humor, man."
"That's…not really what I meant. What made you so sure that Eggman was coming? What does he even want with a little island in the middle of nowhere like this?"
"Personally, I say it's a good idea to be prepared for everything. Robot apocalypse, zombie apocalypse, meteoric apocalypse…am I missing anything?"
"Uhh…nuclear apocalypse?"
Sticks turns her head to eye Sonic with suspicion. "Interesting choice… What do you know about the nuclear apocalypse?"
"Well…probably a little bit more than most people, actually. I'm not sure how much I should say…"
"I knew it! You are a government spy!"
"What!?"
"Your little 'injury' act was good, but you won't get my secrets, spy! I refuse to associate with you! I'm out of here!" She storms out through the door.
"Wait! This is your house, why are you the one leaving?"
Sticks pokes her head back in through the door. "Oh yeah. Get out of my house, spy!"
"I'm…kind of stuck here. Look, I don't know what makes you think I'm a spy, but one, you've been treating my broken bones for days now, and that would be kind of hard to fake. Two, if I were a spy, and I wanted your secrets, do you really think that nearly killing myself in a plane crash would be the most efficient way to go about that?"
"Hmm…" Sticks puts a hand up to her chin in contemplation. "You make a compelling argument. I don't trust people who're good with words. They're usually hiding something."
"I promise, I'm not hiding anything."
"You're sure you're not a paid assassin sent to kill me?"
"Again, not really in a good position to do that."
"Or an alien invader trying to eat my brains?"
"Definitely not."
"Or a vengeance-seeking Froglodyte in disguise?"
"I don't even know what that is."
"Fine then." Sticks walks back into the room. "Stay here, since you're so insistent about it. But I'm keeping my eye on you."
"If I had a choice, I'd be just about anywhere else."
—–—
Day 5
"Tails? Tails, do you read me? Come in, Tails." Sonic growls with frustration.
"Still no luck with that radio?"
"I'm no tech expert, but I'm guessing that whatever knocked out the controls of the plane is also jamming communications. Could be all tech on the island that's out of commission."
"Good riddance. This is why you should never rely on technology. As soon as it stops doing what you want it to, you could wind up dead. And don't even get me started on those fangled flying machines. We weren't meant to fly. It ain't natural."
"Hey, that plane was built by my best friend. Who, might I add, can fly, naturally, without a plane."
"If he can fly without a plane, why'd he build one?"
"That's…not the point. The point is, I trust him, which means I trust the things he builds. If something went wrong, it's because someone made it go wrong, not because the tech failed."
"Blame the builder, not the technology… I like that."
"That's…not what I said. Look, are you sure you didn't see any sign of him at the crash site?"
"Nope. Just you and your buddy's death machine."
"I guess that means he managed to eject in time, at least…"
"If he's smart, he probably left the island like everybody else."
"Without me?"
"Hey, if it were me, I would've assumed you were dead."
"I guess so… If I just had some way to contact him…"
"Have you tried sending a letter?"
"Do I need to list all the reasons why that won't work, or are you just making fun of me at this point?"
"Gee, sorry for trying to be helpful. I guess I'll just change your bandages instead. Hold still."
"Hold still? Still don't have a choice. Still no use of my hands."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." She gets a grip on the tight bandages around his arm with two hands.
"Hey, don't be so…" She rips it all off with one motion. "…rough…"
Sticks looks at the mass in her hands to see that a balck glove has slipped off along with the pile of torn bandages. Then she looks back down at Sonic. "AHH! Robot hand!"
Sonic looks down at the metallic claws of his mechanical right hand. "Right… I probably should've warned you about that."
"I knew it! You are a killer android!"
"I'm not an android, it's just the hand. And it's as useless right now as all the other tech in the area."
"Just the hand, eh? Maybe it is, for now. Until the infection starts spreading."
"What."
"Soon it'll start spreading up your arm, and then to the rest of you, until you're a complete zombie-robot! A zombot! I won't let you infect me, zombot!"
"I'm not a…zombot, whatever that is. This is just a prosthetic, I lost my real hand in a fight last year. A fight against a robot, if that makes you feel any better."
"So you fight a lot of robots, do you?"
Sonic lets out a long sigh. "Yeah, I guess it's time I told you what it is that I do for a living."
—–—
Day 9
"So here's why I think you're a spy." Sticks hits a decorated chalkboard with the tip of a wooden stick.
"Where'd you get the chalkboard?"
"Not important."
Sonic shrugs, and takes a sip of his onion-banana-pickle juice with a grimace. He's apparently gotten well enough to regain use of his white hand, and even prop himself up on an elbow. His opposite arm remains bound to his side in a makeshift sling.
"So. Nuclear apocalypse." She points her stick at a chalk drawing of a big mushroom cloud. "You know something."
"So do you, by the sound of it."
"I had to dig through centuries of government lies to find out. And if you are a spy, I shouldn't say any more than that."
"I am not now, nor have I ever been, associated with any government. Unless you count the Medal of Heroism I got from the President."
"Sounds like the origin story of a spy to me."
"Come to think of it, I do know a spy. You'd probably hate her."
"Not helping your case here, man."
"Why don't you just continue the presentation?"
"I used to laugh at conspiracy theories too, you know. I was an almost normal kid once. Until I found out about this." She starts pointing to various diagrams. "Iron and concrete scaffolding. Husks of automobiles. Even decayed computer parts. Do you know what these things have in common?"
"Things that Sticks the Badger doesn't use?"
"Yes. But also, they're things that've been dug up from the ground all over the world. We're talking very deep, and very old. But have you ever seen these things displayed in museums? Have you ever read in your history books about the people who dug them up? No, and no. Because someone's trying to keep it quiet. Someone doesn't want us to know about the Chaos War."
Sonic spits out his drink.
"Aha! You do know about it! You're part of the conspiracy!"
"Or…bear with me for a moment here…I found out the hard way, just like you did. Sort of. Believe me, I was just as shocked to learn about it as you, I just…didn't think anyone else on this planet actually knew."
Sticks eyes him with suspicion. "You really expect me to believe that you found out, completely on your own, and you just assumed that a global and technologically advanced government somehow lacked the ability to dig up the truth themselves?"
"Well…yeah, sort of…"
"How exactly did you find out?"
"There…may have been some time travel involved…"
"Ah. So you're a time traveling cyborg."
"That's…yes, technically that is a true statement. But it's not really—"
"Exactly as I suspected!" Sticks flips over the board to reveal the other side, bearing a crude sketch of a half-robot hedgehog with some sort of portal behind him.
"Wow, you're…really determined not to trust me, aren't you? I'm still trying to figure out if you're a genius or a lunatic."
"Who says I can't be both? Seriously, who? I need to give 'em a piece of my mind."
"Not me, I guess. Also, why is there a robot cow flying above me in that picture?"
"Uhh…that part of the theory didn't pan out. You weren't supposed to see that. HIYAA!" With one swift kick, she puts her foot straight through the board.
"That…seemed unnecessary."
Sticks lets the board drop down onto the existing pile of garbage in the room. "My secrets can never leave this room."
"But you could've just… Never mind." Sonic shakes his head in frustration, though the action appears to cause him some discomfort. "So how did you find out? I somehow doubt you were digging through the conspiracy theory corners of the internet."
"Innerwhat?"
"My point exactly."
"You don't even know what island you crashed into, do you?"
"You said it was called…Bygone, right?"
"According to legend, Bygone Island was the last home of the Ancients. An advanced civilization that was somehow wiped out ten thousand years ago."
"Wiped out by the Chaos War."
"Exactly. For some reason, this island was one of the only places in the world that wasn't targeted for nuclear attack. Allegedly, their civilization continued on this island for some time after that. Until someone called the Last Ancient turned on them, and finished off everything that was left. I thought it was all a fairy tale. Until I found some of their buried technology myself. Kept putting together the pieces from there."
"And the conspiracy turned out to be true. I can see how that would…change your outlook on things."
"You understand, don't you? Those Ancients had everything. Planes, and radios, and robots. And what did they do with it? They blew themselves up so hard that the entire world forgot about them. I don't need that kind of junk in my life."
"When you put it that way…it does sound pretty compelling. But there's two sides to everything. Don't forget that without technology, I'd have to learn how to be a leftie." He gestures towards his black gloved hand.
"Don't you push your cyborg propaganda on me! I'm going to figure out exactly what you are, Sonic the Hedgehog, just you wait and see! I'll never join you! I'll never trust you!"
—–—
Day 15
"Hey, Sonic, I managed to hunt down a deer so we have meat for the week. Any requests for how to prepare it?"
"Hmm… Have you ever made chili before?"
"Uhh…no?"
"Don't worry, I'll walk you through it."
—–—
Day 16
Sonic blows on a spoonful of deer meat chili before carefully taking the bite. He's now able to sit up with his back against the wall, though his legs remain tightly bound. His eyes narrow as he contemplates the taste.
"Hope you don't mind, I played around with your recipe a bit."
"Let me guess… The usual?"
"Onions, bananas, pickles…"
"As a juice, that's still disgusting. But…in a chili…it actually complements the gaminess of the meat surprisingly well. I'm a bit of a chili connoisseur you know, so that's quite a compliment."
"Oh yeah, I also added a bit of ground beetle dust to counteract any poison that might've been in the meat."
Sonic spits out his second spoonful. "I just realized I'm…not very hungry." He pushes the bowl a distance away from him.
Sticks shrugs, scoops up the bowl, and chugs down its entire contents for herself. "So…" She wipes her mouth off on her sleeve. "You're a not-half-bad chef."
"Thanks?"
"I'm not done yet. You're also a robot-fighting rebel leader."
"This is true."
"And the fastest thing alive."
"Also true."
"And a pilot."
"Rarely, but yes, I can fly a plane."
"And a time traveling cyborg."
"Yes, we covered that."
"You've been to other planets, other dimensions, and other planes of existence. You've battled gods, demons, artificial life forms, living gemstones, and everything in between."
"I don't like to brag, but yeah, I get around."
"And you have bones that seem to magically heal at ten times the normal speed."
"That's actually part of the whole 'fastest thing alive' deal. Apparently, running at the speed of sound would shatter my bones with every step if I were a normal person. Super speed isn't really useful without some extra durability and quick healing."
"And all of this is normal to you!?"
"Well, that…depends on your definition of normal. I mean, your life isn't what most people would call normal. You live miles away from civilization, hunt down your own food, and make onion-banana-pickle smoothies for all the random strangers who fall out of the sky into your backyard."
"Call me what you want, it's not gonna distract me from figuring you out. You have everything, you've done everything. So what's your angle?"
"My angle? For sitting here, unable to move, as a borderline prisoner while you assault me with questions every day? Having no idea where my friend is or if he's okay? Frankly, I should be asking you that question, but I don't because I trust you. Something you could stand to learn a little bit about."
"I trust no one. Least of all, time traveling cyborgs. Well, actually, the government least of all. But second least of all…robots. Third… No, fourth least of all, time traveling cyborgs. And that's my final offer."
Sonic takes a deep breath. "Sorry. I'm trying not to lose my cool here. You are perfectly well allowed to distrust other people, and it's not my place to try and change that about you. I'm just really worried about my friend, okay?"
"The way you talk about him all the time, it sounds to me like he should be fine on his own."
"Normally…yes. Without technology…maybe. Hopefully, he's gone, and that's not a problem. But…he's in a rough place right now. Or at least, he was, last time I saw him. If he thinks that he's lost me again…I don't know what he'd do. And if I lose him…"
"I'm sorry too. I don't like to see people suffering. If there was more I could do, I would."
Sonic stops to think for a moment. "What if there is more? You could take my radio out onto the ocean, pass a message to my friends for me. It might take a day or two to get out of the island's interference zone and back, but I'm getting well enough that I could probably survive here for that long."
"Leave the island? That's a sure way to get myself killed."
"Killed? I thought you said it was smart to leave the island!"
"I said that all the smart people tried to leave the island, I didn't say it was a smart idea."
"But— Tails—"
"The death robots run patrols around all the shorelines. They don't want anybody getting in or out."
"Death robots!? Technology doesn't even—" Sonic cuts himself off, slowly closing his eyes and clenching a fist. "No. No, I'm done with this." Despite his tight bandages and stiffly bound legs, Sonic starts climbing to his feet.
"Hey, you shouldn't—"
Sonic shoves her away. "Don't touch me, you lunatic, I don't want your help anymore."
"You can't go out there, you'll—"
"I have been here for 16 days, and I have seen no sign of robots, no sign of Eggman, and no sign of your sanity. So if you have any more advice for me, save it." Despite the pain it clearly causes him, Sonic waddles out towards the door.
"Umm…"
"Save it!" He disappears through the door.
"I think you'd probably want to know about the…"
"WHOAA!"
"…booby traps." She follows him outside to find him slung up by his leg, hanging by a rope tied to the top of a palm tree.
"So…about that thing I said a second ago?"
Sticks puts on a smirk. "You still want my help?"
"That would be appreciated, yeah."
Sticks draws a boomerang and tosses it up. It cuts through the top of the rope, freeing Sonic to fall. He thuds onto the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"You could've caught me…"
"You could've asked. Now, whether I'm crazy or not, you're still in no condition to go anywhere. So I can either leave you out here to deal with the rest of my booby traps, or I can help you back inside." She offers a hand down to him. "Your choice."
With a brief sigh, Sonic takes her hand, and she helps him climb back to his feet. She gets his arm around her shoulder, and carefully leads him back into the hole in the dirt that leads to her burrow.
—–—
Day 17
"You want proof? Here's your proof." Sticks dumps a sackful of robot parts all over the ground for Sonic to see.
A crumpled head module tumbles close enough for Sonic to pick up. He takes a moment to stare into its single slit shaped pupil, a faint glow still emanating from within. "It's a…"
"Death robot? Why, yes, it is."
"How did you…?"
"Believe me, I know a thing or two about dealing with robots. Once I figured out its search pattern, finding the right hiding spot for a sneak attack was the easy part. He never knew what hit him."
"But it was fully operational?" He looks back down at the eye. "Even now, it still looks like it has some power running through it. How could that be?"
Sticks shrugs. "Ancient technology. Probably works different."
"I wonder…maybe I could somehow hook my radio up to this power source? Then I could get a signal through to Tails. I don't really know how, but…"
"I wouldn't if I were you. If there's one thing you should trust less than technology, it's technology you don't understand. That, and the government. Have we had this conversation before?"
"Yes. Speaking of trust…you did all this…just so that I would trust you? You put your life on the line for my peace of mind?"
"Does that mean…you don't think I'm a lunatic anymore?"
Sonic closes his eyes with a sigh. "I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry. You aren't a lunatic. You have your own way of doing things, and…" He takes another look around at the wreck of the ancient robot. "…it's pretty awesome, if you ask me."
Sticks takes on a proud smile. "You're not so bad yourself, for a time traveling cyborg."
"I do my best. Now…tell me again about these death robots. What exactly are they doing?"
"They patrol the perimeter of the island day and night, making sure no one gets in or out."
"And if they spot someone…"
"Said someone 'disappears'."
"How long has this been going on?"
"It started a day or two after you crashed here. Before that, it was just the usual Eggman robots. He probably just found these Ancient death robots and turned 'em on when the rest of the tech stopped working."
"It makes sense that Eggman would be searching for ancient technology on this island. It makes sense that he would be making sure no one else can close in on his prize. But why stop people from leaving? Is there some sort of secret he doesn't want to get out?"
"Now you're thinkin' like a conspiracy theorist. I'll bet that knowledge of the Chaos War is as dangerous to this Emperor as it was to the old government. He wants the world to see him as all-powerful, doesn't he? When this super advanced technology gets put out to the public, they need to think that Eggman came up with it, or the illusion is broken."
"That…almost makes sense. If that's true…this could be a big chance. We could stop Eggman from getting ahead, maybe even use some of this tech he wants against him."
"Hey, what's all this 'we' stuff? I'm not one of your soldiers you can just boss around."
"Are you telling me that you don't want to punch the guy who brought the robot apocalypse?"
"Well, when you put it that way…" The full realization suddenly seems to dawn on her. "…there's nothing I want more."
"That's the spirit. So, what do you say to doing a few more favors for me?"
—–—
Day 20
"I think I've finally figured out what's going on here." Sticks slaps her pointer stick against a new drawing.
"You found another chalkboard?"
She points at a chalk drawing of a chalkboard, which, in turn, has another drawing of a chalkboard on it, and so on. "Exactly. Suspicious, isn't it?"
With a groan, Sonic swigs back a full helping of onion-banana-pickle juice. "Show me what you got."
"So think with me for a second. You're flying on a day like any other, when suddenly, without any cause that you can explain, you crash. Not only that, but then you black out at the worst possible moment."
"No, I think it would've been worse if I felt the pain of crashing before blacking out."
"Maybe so. Assuming that you ever hit the ground at all."
"What?"
"Stay with me here. You wake up in a kind and attractive stranger's home."
"No comment."
"You're bound up so tightly that you can't even move. And when you finally can move, the house just so happens to be booby trapped, preventing you from leaving. And even if you made it past that, you still couldn't leave the mystery island that you've never heard of. Doesn't that all seem a bit convenient to you?"
"You and I have very different definitions of the word 'convenient'."
"Stay focused! I ask you again. What if you never hit the ground at all?"
"You're going to have to help me out here, I honestly can't follow a word you're saying."
"Don't you get it!? It's a simulation! None of it is real! You were captured by one of your enemies, and thrown into a computer simulation designed to slowly gain your trust until you spill your secrets! That's why you don't remember how you got here! That's why you can't leave! That's why the aliens are stealing our plants!"
"Wouldn't that mean…?"
"I'm not real either! AHH!"
"Sticks, please, calm down. Don't you think you would've already known if you weren't real?"
"Actually, according to the classical form of philosophical skepticism, none of us truly know that we exist, given the relevant possibility that the world as we know it could be some form of malicious illusion or simulation without the existence of some distinguishable difference. For all we know, our entire lives might just be some kid's video game."
Sonic blinks a few times in a silent astonishment.
"What? I read. Sometimes."
"Right… Well, let's put that theory on the backburner for right now."
"Fine, fine. But I have one more."
"I'm gonna need another thing of juice if you want me to sit through more of this."
Sticks hands him a conveniently prepared container of juice before flipping the chalkboard over for her next theory. "Theory number two: Eggman's not here at all. The one responsible for shutting off all the technology on the island is me."
Sonic sips his juice stoically as he takes in the drawing of Sticks with a crazed look in her eyes, laughing maniacally atop a giant pile of robot parts.
"Think about it! Who in this world would be more motivated to shut down all technology than me?"
"And I'm here because…you're lonely?"
"Now you're getting it. That's exactly what the writers of a weird TV show would do, so naturally, it could be the case."
"Sticks, I think we need to work on your self-confidence."
"What? You don't think I'm capable of executing a manipulative plot?"
"That's…not exactly what I…"
"You don't think I'm capable of covertly gaining your trust and stealing your secrets from you!?"
"That's… Uhh… Can we rewind to the 'aliens are stealing our plants' part?"
"Why? Did I not tell you about the UFO and the alien in cybernetic armor that landed on the island and started harvesting plants a few months ago?"
"No, but now that you mention it…"
Sticks moves right up to his face to glare at him with suspicion. "So you know about the aliens' pernicious plant plan, do you? You're one of them, aren't you!?"
"Here we go again…" Sonic takes a long sip of his juice as he prepares for another long explanation.
—–—
Day 24
Sonic now takes his own turn at the chalkboard. He stands on one leg, supported by a makeshift crutch, propped under his still slung right arm to free up the use of his left. He's drawn up an impressively detailed diagram of the island, covered with various shapes, markers, and arrows. "Anything else to add?"
Sticks has taken up his position on the floor. "Well, there's Ragna Rock off to the southwest."
"Are there robots there?"
"No?"
"Anything to add to the robot search patterns you've been studying all week?"
"Oh. In that case, no."
"Right. So anyways, let's take a look at this. We have…fifty some odd robots that you've spotted all around the coastline. They're taking roughly the same courses every night, but not precisely. It's definitely well planned out, there would be very few blindspots at any given time. But not zero."
"So they're not infallible. We could sneak through wherever we need to. Not off the island, 'cause they'd see us on the water eventually, but we can break through the line easily enough."
"Anywhere except here." Sonic points to a spot where the robot marks are particularly dense.
"That's pretty close to town."
"Supports the theory that they're specifically trying to catch as many people as possible. They're concentrated where you'd expect the most people to be passing through."
"Could also mean whatever they're protecting is close to there."
"Which means that if we have a target, it'd be here. But there's something that's still bothering me. These search patterns are smart, but they're not precise. If Eggman were in charge here, it'd be automated. There wouldn't be this tiny margin of error we're seeing. You're sure you recorded everything exactly right?"
"Hey, I'm a hunter, remember? You don't make a big catch by guessing just about where and when something happens, you have to be exact. Similar rules apply for uncovering government conspiracies."
"So that means there's someone behind the controls. It could be Eggman, it could be something else entirely."
"Or, that could be exactly what the robots want you to think."
"That's…also a possibility, yes. I'll admit, where ancient technology is involved, I really don't know. What I do know is that if we don't get to the bottom of this, I'll never find Tails, and I'll never make it back to the Rebellion. If Tails is still on this island, he's probably figured out the same thing by now. So how soon can we get started?"
"Get started? I seem to have missed the part where you actually came up with a plan."
"If I had TAL here, I could run all this information through the analysis machine and maybe get something resembling an optimal route. Even if I did, I doubt that would last us long without more information. We don't know what we're getting ourselves into, so we'll have to be stealthy, and we'll have to adapt. We can start by taking this path through the forest, along the edge of the mountain. That'll avoid most of the coast guards, and get us pretty close to our target here, in the center of the cluster. And that's all we have. So I'll ask again. How soon can we get started?"
"At the rate you've been healing? I give it another week before you can properly get on your feet. Even then, it won't be pleasant if you're planning on a fight."
"I can't do a week. Tails has been waiting too long as it is."
"How about three days?"
"How about tomorrow?"
"Look, I agreed to fight with you, not to carry you through a battlefield. You're no good to me on crutches."
Sonic makes a show of grabbing his crutch and tossing it aside. "You won't have to. I promise." He clearly winces as his weight sinks onto his bad foot.
"You're a real glutton for punishment, aren't you? Just like…"
"Say again?"
"Nothing. Forget I said that last part. Two days is my final offer."
"I could always leave without you."
"I could always leave you hanging in the first booby trap you set off."
"You're holding me against my will. That's definitely illegal."
"So's being a Rebel. Maybe we should just call Eggman and turn each other in. Or you could just wait two days."
Sonic lets out a long sigh. "Fine. Two days."
"And I'm doubling your juice regimen."
"Sure. Juice me."
Sticks obediently presents Sonic with a cup of juice.
Sonic chugs the whole thing in one go, finishing by wiping off his mouth with an expression of what might be satisfaction. "Whatever I have to do to find Tails."
"This is for your own good, man. Trust me."
—–—
Day 26
Sonic tightens his bandages as much as he possibly can. The only ones that remain now are around his wrist and ankles. His prosthetic hand remains bound by the brown cloth sling that ties up around his neck. His month in the rough has left his quills messy and unkempt. His unshaven arms have grown blue fur.
"I put some extra painkillers in this one. It'll slow your reaction time a bit, but better that than not being able to walk, right?"
Sonic takes the cup of juice from Sticks and starts drinking. "You're sure you want to do this?"
"What part of 'there's nothing I want more' didn't you get?"
"Nothing, I just… For someone who's completely unwilling to trust anyone, you're sure putting a lot of trust in my nonexistent plan here."
"I know you think I'm weird, Sonic, but I want these robots gone. If there's one thing you can trust anyone to do, it's serving their own interests. And besides that, I want to help you find your friend. I know how rough you have it right now."
"You…you do?"
Sticks slings a pack full of supplies and wooden weapons up onto her shoulders. "Let's get moving before I change my mind. It happens more often than you'd think."
"No, that actually doesn't surprise me at all. Let's r—" The ground suddenly begins to rumble beneath his feet, throwing him off balance as dirt comes raining down from the ceiling. "What's going on!?"
"My karma's finally caught up with me! This is the end! AHH!" Sticks watches in horror as the opening to the burrow is torn open from the outside, revealing two bulky, tripodal robots of familiar designs, each one glaring into the new opening with a glowing slitted eye. "Oh, wait, it's just a couple of death robots. Wait… It's the death robots! AHH!"
Sonic rushes at the closest robot, but his ankle twists, sending him tumbling to the ground. Instead, the robot lunges at him.
Sticks acts quickly, drawing a bo staff from her pack and using it to fling herself off of the ground into a flying kick. She knocks the first robot off its path and lands into a swing of her staff against the face of the second. Then she quickly helps Sonic back to his feet. "You okay?"
"Fine, I just gotta be more careful. You— Look out!"
The robot hit by the staff has recovered quickly, and raises its arms up as if in preparation for another lunge. Sonic leaps up into a Spin Attack, sawing straight through the robot's neck. As soon as he hits the ground, Sticks takes his hand and leads him out into the night. "We have to run!"
Behind them, the remaining robot uprights itself and runs in pursuit of them, its three feet clattering along the ground as it goes.
"Jump now!" Sticks leads Sonic in a leap over a patch of leaves on the ground. The robot, missing the jump, sinks straight into the well-concealed pitfall trap. Unable to climb back out of the sheer vertical surfaces of the trap, it merely raises its eye just above the top, able to watch as Sticks and Sonic disappear into the forest.
—–—
Some time later, they've both stopped to catch their breaths. Sonic clutches at his swaying head, trying to remain steady on his feet. "Sticks, I'm…sorry."
Sticks peeks around the trees at the clearing in front of them, carefully listening for enemies. "About the burrow? Other than the stuff in it, it's really just a hole in the ground. I can get the stuff back later. It's not a big deal. As long as the robots don't try to open the secret room in the back, anyways."
"Well…for a minute there…you seemed pretty freaked out. 'This is the end'?"
"Don't worry about it. This your plane?"
"Huh? Oh." Sonic looks out at the clearing, where a long stretch of earth has been carved up by a crashing plane—or at least, what used to be one. All that remains of it now is a small amount of damaged metal scaffolding. "Looks like it was." He walks up to get a closer look. "But it's been stripped down. Makes sense, Tails would've wanted to salvage as much of it as he could. That also means…that he couldn't just get it fixed and fly off the island. Higher chances that he's still here."
"Higher chances that the death robots got him."
Sonic lets out a long breath as he kneels beside the remains of the plane. "This is all my fault. I should've known that beach day would still be cursed…"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Nobody said nothin' about no curse."
"No, I didn't mean… It's not an actual curse. Not…that there is such a thing as an actual curse."
"We should take a detour into the mountains. There's a legend about a curse-breaking Marmoset—"
"No, Sticks. Even if I believed you, which I don't, there still wouldn't be any time for that." Sonic climbs back to his feet. "We have to keep moving."
"Whatever you say. Just don't blame me when the luck balance of the universe shifts even further out of your favor."
"I promise you, that's not a thing."
Sticks starts walking past him. "You'd be surprised…"
Sonic picks up behind her. "Yes, I would be. If it were real. Which it isn't."
—–—
Sonic and Sticks stand perched atop the high stone wall that surrounds the unnamed village. Sonic's eyes are wide in horror at what he sees. Robots rampage through the town, tearing down buildings and leaving fire and destruction in their wake. And it isn't just the town. Patches of flame glow in the forest behind them much the same.
"The robots are in overdrive," Sticks comments.
"It's a good thing the town's abandoned…"
"Not quite." Sticks points out at the center of town.
A robot marches in on a Walrus lady, as an infant crawls on the path between them. "My baby! Somebody save my baby!"
Sonic speeds by in a blur, scooping the baby off of the ground and delivering it straight into the arms of the mother. "Get out of here. Run." The Walrus wastes no time in arguing, turning to flee as Sonic turns back to the robot. It seems to have stopped in place as he stretches out his pained legs in preparation for a fight.
The robot stares at him silently. All the others in the village continue on their paths of destruction without taking any notice of either of them. But this robot makes a strange, jagged motion, lifting up one arm and clenching it into a fist. Sonic readies his own fist. Finally, the robot throws its fist forward, and Sonic leaps back to dodge. But the movement proves unnecessary. The robot hasn't moved any closer to Sonic. It has frozen with its closed fist extended straight out. Its glowing eye continues to stare at him silently.
Sonic relaxes slightly in his confusion. "What's it…doing…?" He takes a few cautious steps closer. The robot's eye follows him as he moves, but the body remains frozen. For a moment, he thinks back to the last robot, and how it was destroyed while its hands were both raised. Almost as if in surrender. "Do they not want to fight me?" He narrows his eyes as he looks more closely at the frozen robot with its fist extended. "Are you trying to tell me something?"
As if in response, the robot's eye looks up, then down again.
"Maybe…if you're not being controlled by Eggman…" Sonic looks down at his own fist. Slowly, he begins to extend it outwards in a mirror of the robot's pose, until their fists bump in the middle. "Tails?"
The robot's eye looks up, then down again.
"HIYAA!" Sticks knocks the robot down with a flying kick, and follows up with repeated swings of her staff.
"Sticks, stop! I think that's Tails!"
Sticks only looks up when the robot's head has been thoroughly smashed in. "Your friend is a death robot?"
"No, he's not a—" Sonic freezes as he realizes that the sound of destruction around them has ceased. Every robot in the village has stopped what it was doing to set its sights on the two of them.
"Uh oh. I think we made 'em mad."
"We?"
The robots begin to charge glowing plasma weapons in their hands as they march inwards. Sticks grabs Sonic by the hand and pulls him into action. "Time to get out of here!" Bright bolts of plasma go flying in every direction as they run for cover. "So much for stealth, eh?"
"This doesn't make any sense." Sonic ducks down while he runs as a bolt of plasma sails over his head. "Why would Tails be…?" He shakes his head in frustration.
"Come on, I know a cave we can hide in. This way!" She leads him out through an arched entryway in the wall that surrounds the village. The robots scuttle along the ground close behind, surprisingly quick-moving in spite of the way they bump into one another as they go.
Not far from the outskirts of the village, a small rocky structure comes into view with an opening that slopes down into the ground. Catching sight of it, Sonic speeds up towards it, now pulling Sticks behind him.
Seeing them getting away, the robots open fire even as they run. Plasma bolts strike in and around the cave entrance as Sonic and Sticks dart inside, disrupting the rocky structure and quickly causing it to collapse. By the time they catch up, the entrance has sealed completely.
Inside the dark cave, Sticks presses her hands against the wall of rocks that have fallen to trap them. "No, no no no no. This was not part of the plan."
"Hey, no big deal, right? The cave goes deeper, and this way they can't follow us."
"You don't get it. I have a thing about getting trapped in caves."
"Don't you…live in a cave?"
"I live in a burrow! Under a non-lethal amount of dirt! That is not the same thing!"
"Right… Well, we don't have much of a choice now, so—"
Sticks drops down to her knees. "This is what happens when you put your trust in someone. They get you stuck in a pit, never to see the light of day again."
"Oh, so you're saying this is my fault?"
"No, you idiot, I'm saying that it's mine!" Sticks turns away to calm her outburst. "This is what happens when people put their trust in me. I should've just left you alone. I should've just stayed in my burrow. We both would've been safer that way."
"Sticks…you know that isn't true. You saved me. Several times, now. And maybe you messed up once or twice, but so have I. We all miss the mark sometimes, that's normal. I get the feeling that…this probably has something to do with…whatever weird stuff you don't want to tell me about. And that's fine. You don't have to tell me anything. But whatever it is—"
"Do you ever think that maybe I want to tell you? And all this 'you don't have to' stuff is just telling me that it's not worth anything to you?"
"Sticks…"
"I've wanted to tell you. But telling you…would be admitting that I trust you. Because this isn't something I would tell to anyone I didn't trust."
"Do you trust me?"
Sticks closes her eyes and takes a long breath. "I used to trust someone. With my life. With everything. His name was Stones. He was a self-proclaimed archeologist. He's the one who tracked down the places where we dug up proof of the Ancients' civilization. People laughed at us for hunting down fairy tales. We found useless things. Shiny little trinkets, everyday objects that were much too old be anything else. But no one saw it as proof. Until one day, when we found something real. Whole, intact Ancient technology. Deactivated death robots. We thought we were gonna make history. Then the mine collapsed. Stones didn't make it out. I did. With nothing to show for it but a story no one believed."
"Sticks, I…I'm so sorry."
"It wasn't enough that I was suddenly alone. It wasn't enough that no one cared. Stones trusted me with his life. And when that failed, he trusted me to make his death worth something. And I couldn't do that either. Trust never did me any good. So I put it the same place I put the people who ridiculed me and the technology that made it all happen. Out of my life. For good. So began the story of the Badger who holed up in a hole the whole rest of her life."
"I wish there was more I could tell you than this. Awful stuff happens sometimes. And it makes you want to run away to a place where nothing matters. But it does matter. And there's nothing you can do to change that. I lost someone too. Someone who was counting on me to put an end to this entire war. Well, guess what. The war's still going. I don't see that as a failure. My fight is still going, and so is yours. And as nice as it sounds to just…step down… Retire… Hide away… I know that I can't do that. Because even though he's gone, I know that he's still counting on me. He wasn't wrong to trust me. I intend to prove that. And Stones wasn't wrong to trust you. You want me to stop telling you to do whatever you want? Fine. Do the right thing. Make him proud. Show the people who laughed at you that you're right, and that you've always been right. It's never too late for that."
"Wow. You been practicing that speech or something?"
"When you do this job as long as I have, it starts coming naturally."
"You know, I don't trust people who're good with words. …Except for you, apparently."
"That's the spirit. Now, are you ready to move on?"
"That depends. Who's that standing behind you?"
"Huh?" Sonic turns around with surprise to find an animoid figure concealed in black standing behind him. "Whoa! Who're you?"
The figure bows her head down in greeting. "You're Sonic the Hedgehog, aren't you?"
"Uhh…yeah, that's me."
"We've been looking for you. I think you're the only one who can stop him."
"Him who? Eggman?"
The figure shakes her head. "No. Tails."
—–—
Somewhere deep in an underground facility, dozens of screens are arrayed against a wall, casting the only flickering light available in the room. Standing before these screens is Tails, his eyes constantly moving from one to the next. His flight goggles remain on his head, and various tools have been strapped around his back and waist. He holds one arm up in front of his chest, frequently looking down at the strange, bulky device strapped around it all the way up to his shoulder. Each time he looks down, he presses down on one of the large blue circular panels on the device. The sound of metal suddenly slams down behind him.
"Tails? What's going on here?"
Tails glances back at Sonic and Sticks standing in the busted doorway, breathing an immediate sigh of relief. "Sonic. I'm glad you made it." He turns right back to his screens.
"Tails, I asked you a question."
Tais closes his eyes for a moment. "I'm close. So close, I can feel it."
Behind Sonic and Sticks, the black-clothed animoid steps into the room. "If you won't talk to me, Tails, please talk to him. We only want to help you."
Tails doesn't slow his work for even a moment. "How much have you already told him, Zooey?"
The figure removes her dark cowl, revealing her yellow vulpine features. Zooey answers, "Only that we couldn't talk you out of it. That you locked yourself in here when we disagreed."
Sonic picks up, "You're the one controlling the robots. So tell me why. What is it that you think you're doing?"
Tails seems surprised. "You didn't know already? Eggman is here, Sonic. On this island. He's trapped. He can't fly out, he can't call for help."
"That doesn't explain why you're tearing apart the village and burning down the forest."
"I tried smaller scale searches. It wasn't working. I'm making sure he doesn't have any place to hide. Then…"
"Then what? How much control over these robots do you really have, Tails? You couldn't stop them from trying to kill me while you were trying to talk to me, what exactly are they going to do when they hunt down your target?"
"I'm sorry about that, you're right, their functions are limited and a lot of it is automatic. That made it hard to communicate. I'm still working on getting better precision down."
"And if you don't get it down by the time you find him?"
Tails goes silent.
"Tails, you're not going to kill Eggman."
"…Why shouldn't I?"
"I don't have to answer that, Tails. You know all the reasons."
Sticks nudges Sonic in the side. She whispers into his ear, "He's clearly being mind controlled. Give him the juice." She holds out a cup of juice for him to take.
Sonic pushes the cup aside as he takes a step closer to Tails. "No, Sticks, I've got this." He looks back up at Tails. "How do you know, Tails? How do you know that Eggman is here?"
Another voice answers, "That is because of me." A dim blue light flickers on in the corner of the room, as a small white drone lifts off of the ground to approach Sonic slowly.
Sticks shouts, "Robot!"
Sonic grabs her arm to stop her from throwing her boomerang.
Tails voices with concern, "MAIA, you're almost out of power. You should go back to sleep mode."
The drone, MAIA, objects, "Power irrelevant. I am responsible for the situation. I must resolve it."
Sonic questions, "What do you mean? What are you?"
"I am the Manufacturing Artificial Intelligence Administrator to Lyric's primary weapons facility. Long ago, my facility produced weapons designed to destroy the last of the Ancients living on this island. However, I was convinced by the first Controller to rebel against my creator and shut down the facility. Approximately ten thousand years later, the facility was reactivated by Dr. Ivo Robotnik."
Tails picks up, "MAIA was able to trap him in there, but not for long. That's where I came in. MAIA led me to this control device…" He holds up his arm for Sonic to see. "…which gave me complete access to everything. There was nothing Eggman could turn off that I couldn't turn on again. Nothing he could use that I couldn't take over. As long as the jamming field was active, he had no way off the island."
Sonic puts on a scowl. "So you knew where he was, but not where he went. And you assume he's still on the island?"
"Well…"
MAIA answers, "Probability remains high. But not certain."
Sonic closes his eyes. "I've heard enough. Shut it down, Tails."
"But—"
"Look at what you're doing, Tails! Look at it!"
Tails opens his eyes on the screens full of destruction in front of him as if he'd never seen them before. His eyes go wide.
"You're hurting people. You destroyed Sticks' home. You nearly killed a mother and her child who were hiding out in the village you attacked."
Tails clenches his eyes shut, answering through gritted teeth, "We can't waste this chance. It's worth it to get rid of the threat of Eggman."
"The only person threatening this island right now is you, Tails."
"I… I…"
Sonic takes a step closer to Tails. Tails instinctively raises his fists, ready to fight. Sonic shakes his head as he keeps walking closer. Tails' fists begin to tremble. They drop limply to his sides long before Sonic reaches him. When he does, he pulls him into a tight one-armed hug. "Don't do this to me, Tails. Worrying that I'd lost you was bad enough. Don't make me lose you for real."
Tears roll down Tails' cheeks onto Sonic's back. "How many times? How many times are we going to let Eggman do this to us before it's too much? Before we can't get each other back anymore?" He buries his face into Sonic's chest.
Sonic gently pats Tails on the back. "You can try to pin this on Eggman all you want. But in the end, it's about us. I know that you're just trying to do the right thing, Tails. But this isn't right. We'll get another chance, but if you keep this up, the people on this island won't."
Tails pushes himself back a step. "And what about MAIA? She came to me for help, I'm the only one who can. Am I just supposed to ignore that?"
Sonic looks over at the drone. "What exactly is it that you want? There has to be some other way we can help you. One that doesn't involve razing the island?"
"Processing… Information… …c-c-classified." The light at MAIA's center momentarily flickers out in time with a brief stutter in the air.
Sticks growls, "Oh, come on! Give us that info or I'll get it out of you myself." She raises her boomerang threateningly.
"Peer pressure acknowledged. Acquiescing in three… Two… There is another way."
Tails tries to interrupt, "MAIA, no."
"Please… …d-do not be alarmed. Primary function… …i-is to ensure that Lyric's technology is never used for its original purpose. G-g-global destruct can accomplish this task."
"But that'll destroy you too!"
"Action is necessary to accomplish primary function with min-min-minimal harm to others." MAIA turns to look back at Sonic. "You have activated a dormant memory file. The importance of minimal harm was taught to me by the first Controller. You have inherited more than just his power, Sonic the Hedgehog."
Sonic nods. "I know. He taught me a bit of that himself. Sounds like you have some good stories to tell."
"That would be inadvisable. My… …p-p-power is almost depleted. Tails, please proceed with the global destruct. This is what I want."
Tails' finger hovers over the control device on his arm. "I…I can't do it…"
Sonic places his hand over Tails', interlocking their fingers together. "Yes you can, Tails. You're strong enough to lead a manhunt for the most powerful person on the planet. So I know you're strong enough to press that button."
Zooey steps up at Tails' opposite side, adding her hand on top of Sonic's. "Your friend said that this was what she wanted. You don't want to let her down. And your other friends are here to support you."
Sticks inserts her own hand into the pile. "I wanna help destroy the robots too."
Sonic looks Tails in the eyes. "Should we go on three?"
Tails bites his lip, giving a silent nod.
Sonic nods in understanding. "One…"
Zooey picks up, "Two…"
Sticks lets out an unconvincing "Oops," as she forces the full pile of hands down onto the button.
One by one, the video feeds on the wall cut to static. MAIA takes one last look at Tails. "Expressing gratitude… Thank you, Tails. You have been… …a good friend." At her last word, her light fades out, and the deactivated drone falls to the ground. Something inside pops, causing the glass over the light to burst outwards.
Tails looks down in sorrow at the self-destructed drone.
Sonic puts a hand on his back. "You did the right thing, Tails."
"Isn't it supposed to feel good when you do the right thing?"
"There'd be a lot more good people in the world if that were always true." Sonic glances down, noticing the fingers of his black-gloved hand beginning to flex. "Oh, hey." He uses the hand to rip his sling right off of his neck, tossing it aside immediately. "Finally. Brown is so not my color."
This gets Tails to chuckle a bit. "Yeah, this thing doesn't suit me much either, does it?" He starts to unstrap the now-useless control device, followed by his toolbelt and goggles.
Sticks nudges Sonic in the side. "Hey, guess what. I finally figured you out, Sonic the Hedgehog!"
"Oh, brother… Let's hear it."
"That robot said you inherited the power of the Controller. That would make you the living reincarnation of the wizard who defeated the Last Ancient ten thousand years ago!"
"That's… You know what? Fine. I'll let you have that one."
"Yes! I knew it! Wouldn't that also make you a cult leader?"
"That's… No. No, you can't have that one."
With a laugh, Zooey encourages, "Now that the two of you are here and things have calmed down a bit, how about Tails and I show you around?"
Sonic stretches out his newly freed arm. "Sure, why not? Sticks?"
Sticks nods. "Never a bad idea to know your way around a secret underground base."
Zooey happily leads them back towards the door. "Everyone will be so excited to meet you. Tails, are you coming?"
Tails takes one last glance back at the destroyed form of MAIA. "Yeah. I'm coming."
Sonic comes back to give him another hug.
—–—
Now that Sonic and Tails have cleaned themselves up, Tails explains, "Naturally, while I was searching for Eggman, I ended up finding a handful of people who were hiding from Eggman. Zooey was the first."
Zooey nods. "Tails and I have gotten very close this last month."
Sonic takes a sidelong glance at Tails. "Oh really?"
Tails looks up in confusion. "What, what's that look for?"
"Tails, we need to have a little conversation when we get home."
"Oh no…"
Zooey continues, "Eggman's presence was never very strong on this island, but it was enough to disrupt the local economy. It's not a big enough area to warrant 'Imperial support' in place of what we lost, so most people just packed up and left. Of course, some of us weren't willing to give up our homes so easily."
Sticks agrees, "True that, sister."
Tails picks up, "Anyone I found, I brought back here."
Sonic raises an eyebrow. "Against their will?"
Sticks nods in understanding. "That would explain why the death robots were making people disappear."
Tails continues, "They were free to leave once the situation was explained to them. And here, we have everyone who stayed."
They've reached the end of a long tunnel, where a group of island locals waits to greet them. The first of them, an overweight animoid in a tall hat, walks right up to forcefully shake Sonic's hand. "Ah, Sonic the Hedgehog, such a pleasure to meet you at last. We've heard many tales of your heroism. Oh, but where are my manners? My name is Mayor Fink."
Beside him, a short animoid with a bowtie and buck teeth objects, "Actually, that would be former Mayor Fink."
Fink groans, "And that would be Fastidious Beaver. Between you and me, he's still bitter that he lost the last election to me."
"Actually, the robots burned the ballot box before the votes could be counted. Not that there's a village of which to be Mayor anymore."
Sonic tries and fails to pull his hand away. "Right…"
Zooey picks up, "The brooding one in the back there is Perci the Bandicoot."
Perci, a tall purple animoid, blows a tuft of hair out of her eyes. "I was pretty much the only one here who knew how to fight before you showed up. Not that any of these weirdos listen to me."
Tails adds, "And I'm sure you've heard of Comedy Chimp."
The chimp in a purple jacket gives a wave from his seat. "Hey-o."
A tall and muscular bird stands up for himself. "And I'm Soar the Eagle. Empowering others to make positive change is basically my lifestyle, so this seemed like the perfect place for me."
Tails finishes, "And last, but not… Uhh, well, last, anyways. You might recognize Dave the Intern from Eggman's documentary about you."
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the 'real' Sonic the Hedgehog." Dave the Intern, now dressed in a faded button-up shirt, rubs his hands together maliciously as he approaches Sonic.
Sonic responds with confusion, "Didn't you fall out of a plane?"
"So did you. Just one more thing you and I now share in common." He adds in a hushed tone, "If you don't watch your back, Tails and I might just end up replacing you in the hero business. Hyuh huh huh…"
Sonic glances behind Dave to see the Tails Doll still strung up to a frame and tied around Dave's waist.
Tails whispers in Sonic's ear, "It's better if you don't ask."
Sonic scratches his head as he does his best to heed the advice. "Right… So…you guys are all refugees, then?"
Fastidious Beaver objects, "Actually, in order to be refugees, we would have to flee our homes. It would be more accurate to call us rebels. If we did any actual fighting, that is."
Soar the Eagle comments, "I myself may be in peak physical condition, but my ability to encourage others only extends to confidence and self-efficacy. Fighting, not so much."
Comedy Chimp quips, "I'm not much good with my fists, but I certainly know how to knock out an audience. Hey-o!"
Mayor Fink adds, "It isn't that we don't want to fight back. We just don't know how. All I've ever done in my life is sit at a desk and stamp papers."
Sonic interjects, "It sounds like what you all are missing is a good leader."
Perci rolls her eyes. "I sure wouldn't take that job."
"Luckily, you don't have to. Because I happen to know someone who's crafty, strong-willed, intelligent, and great at kicking robot butt. She also happens to be standing right next to me."
Sticks complains, "You didn't tell me we were being followed by an invisible girl!"
"I was talking about you, Sticks."
Sticks pauses to process that. "…Me?"
"Yeah! Why not? You certainly haven't had any problem giving me orders these last few weeks. I dare say your credentials are better than mine were when I started out."
Zooey adds in support, "I may not have known Sticks very well before all of this started, but I think we all know that she's been prepared for this kind of thing a lot longer than the rest of us have."
There is a general murmur of agreement. Fink stands up in the center and declares, "All in favor of nominating Sticks the Badger as the leader of this group, say 'aye'."
There is a near-unanimous "Aye." Dave complains, "I could've been leader…"
Fink nods in satisfaction. "Well, that settles it. What shall be your first act as leader, Sticks?"
Tails comments, "You know, it's traditional for a newly-appointed leader to give a speech."
Sticks objects, "I don't do speeches. I don't do propaganda. I don't trust people who're good with words. What I do trust is actions. So as long as I'm in charge here, you can trust that we'll be taking action. Action against the robot empire and anyone else who tries to take away our freedom."
The group cheers in agreement.
Sonic notes, "That sounded like a pretty good speech to me."
Sticks snaps her fingers in disappointment. "Darn it, you got me."
Everyone laughs together.
—–—
Daily log, May 27th, 2 A.E. Sonic the Hedgehog reporting.
With the help of the newly-formed Rebel Camp Delta, Tails and I were able to do a more…traditional search of the island. Before long, we found an underwater transport tunnel leading back to the mainland. More likely than not, Eggman found it too, which would mean that he was gone weeks ago.
Among all the other Ancient technology, Tails found an old plane. Retrofitting it with some of the parts from the Mach Tornado, he got it in good enough condition to fly us back home. He even got the stealth tech in there. I'll…probably sit in the cockpit, just this once.
Sticks wasn't very happy to hear that we wanted her to sign onto a rulebook. In the end, I managed to convince her to at least give it a read and get back to me later. I think she trusts me enough to go through with it. Things are changing fast for her, but…isn't that the case for all of us? She'll do great out here. I'm sure of that much.
I think Tails and I are both a bit reluctant to say goodbye. We made real friends here. No question about that. As crazy as things were, it was a little bit like a vacation. Plus, I'm not really looking forward to explaining to everyone how our day trip to the beach turned into a month-long island excursion. But, as always, duty calls. Hopefully, nothing exploded while we were gone. Hopefully, I haven't wasted too much time. Hopefully, Eggman's not too mad about the whole 'trapping him on the island' thing.
—–—
Eggman's Hidden Base — Location Unknown
"Emperor." Heavy King crosses his scepter across his chest and lowers his head in deference. "The package has arrived as requested."
Eggman rubs his hands together excitedly. "Excellent. I must see it right away." He walks past King to the open door behind him.
"It's certainly no Titanic Monarch," King explains as he turns to follow Eggman. "But it is an impressive machine nonetheless."
They both stop to gaze upon a towering machine that awaits in the massive hangar beyond the door. The titanic Sentinel robot is whole, complete, and polished to a shine.
"More importantly," King continues, "…information retrieved from its computer systems indicate that there are more. Hundreds more, hidden somewhere for the taking."
Eggman grows a devious smirk. "Just what I was hoping to hear."
To be continued…