i lived, bitch
holy SHIT im so sorry this one took so long. life's been a trainwreck lately between some family issues and school starting up,,, it's junior year. im dying. please save me oh god
also: please excuse any typos / grammar errors haha. probably shouldve dedicated more time into editing but i was just rly anxious to finally post. lol enjoy, this one's long
XVII.
dread (dred)
[noun]
great fear or apprehension.
He couldn't sleep.
Which, really, was a strange concept to consider in itself because all he'd come to know lately was a dark cell and that constant, grating noise in the other room, and iron bars that taunted him endlessly. He didn't know at this point if it had only been a few hours or several days; just that he was stuck here for all of it, with nothing to do but drown in his own hurricane of bad thoughts and listen to the guttural screeches of Chaos, too far away for him to do anything to help it.
Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe, he thought, delirious with exhaustion and the ache in each bone that assembled his slumped body, all I've done is set myself up to be a martyr.
He came here as a hostage of the enemy, willingly, of his own volition, because at the time it seemed like the right thing to do. Infinite was going to take Chaos one way or another, and Knuckles didn't trust anybody else to go along but himself. He needed to ensure no harm or agitation would come to the god—not after what happened all those years ago, in Station Square. Plus, if it wasn't him, it would've been Sonic, and he didn't think he could bear the thought of losing his friend again, after he had just found freedom.
But Knuckles hadn't been doing what he came here to do. Infinite simply threw him into this cell, hooked up to some technology that severed his link to all the rest of the Chaos energy in the world, no access to the emeralds or any other Chaos users. All he had was this thin, weathered connection to Chaos, itself, just in the other room, being tortured like a lab rat. The only reason Knuckles still felt linked to it at all was probably due to their close proximity—and the wildly fluctuating energy it was emitting.
Chaos' screams were driving him mad. He'd given up yelling hours ago, after his throat felt too raw and his lips too dry. He had shaken the bars relentlessly, punched each wall till they were battered with dents, screamed at the badniks that scanned him over every ten minutes, all utterly impartial to his anguish.
"You're hurting it!" he had cried, pressing his face to the bars. "Stop! You don't know what the fuck you're doing!"
Infinite seemed not the least interested by his claims, though. He hadn't seen him since the jackal first discovered their hideout on Angel Island, and taken him captive in the first place. After so much ceaseless shouting, Knuckles just grew too tired.
(—except he still couldn't sleep. Chaos' screams were so loud, and they wouldn't stop, and it was so close to Knuckles that he could feel its pain, deep in his chest, ripping him apart piece by piece while Infinite ruthlessly toyed with it like this was all some sick game—)
He thought, for a brief, fleeting second, that he saw Amy. Just an insignificant flash of pink in his vision, with her bright green eyes and her tender touch, reaching out to him, desperately, trying to pull him out. His heart ached at the thought, as he slid further down against the cold metal wall pressed to his back.
He wished more than anything that she was here. Not to suffer alongside him, but just so he could tell her how sorry he was for being such an idiot. They just—they'd just kept dancing around this thing for months, years, and it hadn't led anywhere yet because they were too scared to let it happen. And maybe that was just Knuckles' fault, because he didn't know how to handle relationships, let alone romance, and he just didn't want to fuck it all up, but maybe now it was too late, and he was going to rot in this cell for the rest of his life, too cowardly to just talk to her like a normal person.
As he inhaled, his lungs burned, a deep, smoldering sensation deep inside of himself that he didn't think he'd ever be able to shake.
(So much time. All wasted. A fool. Too scared—too scared to do anything except hide on his island and push them all away, and now it was too late. Too late. Too late.)
"Echidna."
Knuckles gasped, shaking himself and righting his posture. The dark silhouette of long, flowing hair and dangerous claws loomed just outside his cell. He caught the terrible sight of that sickly, glowing yellow eye, glaring at him like he wanted to slaughter Knuckles right there.
The jackal crossed his arms, that calculating, distant expression ever present through his mask. "Chaos is… not taking very well to our treatment. I need you to placate it."
Knuckles sneered. "Maybe if you left it the hell alone, it wouldn't be so upset in the first place."
Talons curled around the bars abruptly, enough to rattle them and make the guardian jump from his position, sitting in the farthest corner of the cell. He didn't think he ever hated anybody as much as he did Infinite.
"Can you calm it down?" the tyrant hissed, each word drenched in a viscous venom. "Because if not, we can always continue our experiments as is. Don't think we haven't heard your pitiful cries."
Grimacing, Knuckles brought his hands to his temples. Chaos sounded less irritable now, its screeches reduced to low, pained groans, likely because its assailant was currently talking to Knuckles instead. But, regardless, he needed to get Infinite to back off before things got worse; before Chaos snapped.
"I can," he settled on, setting his jaw and attempting to swallow his own anger. He closed his eyes for a moment, imagining Amy by his side, holding his hand, telling him to take a deep breath. "I can, just take me to it."
"Excellent," Infinite leered, prying open the door. Knuckles basked in the instant reprieve from whatever technology they were using to muffle all Chaos activity inside the cell. It felt like a breath of fresh air. "Follow me, then."
Knothole lapsed into a few hours of disarray, which was expected, because a lot was going on. They were strategizing, and there were a lot of factors to consider, and the town was simply so overcrowded at this point, between its original inhabitants and the resistance-refugees, that it was impossible to find whoever was needed for anything.
A lot of it was calming people down, after Chaos' outburst and Infinite's two recent appearances. A lot of it was convincing people to actually volunteer to go scout for emeralds. They already planned on sending out their strongest fighters to tackle the two emeralds in the empire's possession, but that still left three more that were just out there, in the world, supposedly hidden from public eye.
After Sally made an announcement about this new mission in the communal area by the bonfire, the pavilion exploded with questions and people wriggling through the crowd to find their friends and family and discuss what they should do, if they should help or stay behind, because to be frank, doing anything seemed like a death sentence, after everything.
Silver was lucky enough to find someone he was hoping to find, as he squeezed around the perimeter and scanned for any telltale signs of his friends. He instantly grabbed his companion's shoulder and pulled him off to the side, where they could have some privacy.
Sonic frowned at him as they huddled around the side of one of the houses. "What's up? Something wrong?"
"I've just—" Silver leaned against the wall and screwed his eyes shut. "I've been doing some thinking. It's not adding up."
"What's not adding up?"
"The emerald." The psychic crossed his arms. "It's already been shattered, right? It's just a couple of gray shards now. The actual Chaos inside it has been released."
Sonic's frown deepened. "Yeah, sure."
"Except, that's not how it should've gone, right?" Silver pressed, and he felt so jumpy, so anxious, now that he was voicing this and it felt so much more real. "When—When I was in the future, and I saw the world completely wrecked by Infinite, and the Null was there, I had thought—I thought that was the Master Emerald. Like, that ruby-virus or whatever had forced the emerald to collapse and it created the Null from all that negative energy, right?"
Sonic furrowed his brows, bewilderment flickering through his eyes like he was finally catching his drift.
Silver waved his hands around frantically, regardless, because he was kind of very concerned. "So why hasn't that happened? Chaos broke out, sure, but there's no Null."
"Uh," he swallowed. "That… would be a very good question to ask the echidna expert, except, he isn't here."
The younger hedgehog started pacing, scratching his quills, contemplating. "I've been driving myself crazy thinking about it. Obviously, we were wrong. It's caused by something else. But—what? Chaos itself? The rest of the emeralds? The Phantom Ruby? But that wouldn't make sense because Infinite definitely still had the ruby when I saw him in the future, but I dunno, the other two are plausible I guess. Are the Chaos Emeralds strong enough to even cause that? How would Chaos be able to cause it? The ruby infection? I don't—"
"Silv," Sonic said, gripping his shoulders and halting his frantic pacing. "You gotta chill out, okay? We're gonna figure this out, one step at a time."
"We need to be really frickin' careful, Sonic. If we—if we mess up, if Infinite wins—"
"He's not gonna win," the speedster cut in, and he sounded so absolutely confident that it was kind of scary. Silver knew how arrogant he could get sometimes. He needed to understand the gravity of this situation.
"What if—what if it's inevitable?" Silver whispered, his eyes wide and grim. "The—The Null, and Infinite winning? What I saw, what if there's nothing we can do?"
Sonic raked his fingers through his quills, and he hesitated for a fleeting moment, his gaze foggy and unfixed, before he regained his composure. "You can't let yourself worry like this, man. We just need to do what we can. We'll get the emeralds, save Knux, and go all super on 'em before they even know what's hit 'em."
Silver chewed his lip. "I just think… we don't know what's going to cause it, you know? It could be anything. It could be something one of us accidently causes. It could be something they do if we're not fast enough. We just—we need to be careful."
"I know," Sonic told him, locking his jaw, and for once his guarded confidence wavered, his voice low and critical. "We will."
Tails found him in the workshop—or, the pseudo-workshop, which was really just the basement of the D'Coolettes' house, the same one he repaired Sonic's arm in.
Gadget was lost in thought, sitting on the stool by the counter as he gazed at the emerald tracker sitting idly atop it. He skimmed over some of the scribbled notes Tails had taken and fiddled with the antennae on the tablet for a few seconds, before the fox, himself, got close enough for him to notice, and he jumped out of his stupor.
They shared a long, heavy glance, filled with an unreasonable amount of tension that made Tails' chest ache. He supposed they were on good terms now, but that didn't erase their argument. It didn't erase the fact that he shut Gadget out, he yelled at him, he almost let him die because he was too preoccupied with being mad to notice Infinite had shown up until it was too late.
(And then they lost Ray, and then Mighty—and Gadget, he had looked so scared, so broken, as Infinite jeered at him and mocked him for ever thinking he was capable of love—)
"Do you think they hate me?"
Tails shuddered and blinked, squaring his shoulders as he locked eyes with the wolf. Gadget was slumped in his seat, and at a glance he seemed fine, but there was something hollow in his gaze if he squinted hard enough.
He licked his lips. "No. What do you mean?"
Gadget shook his head. "Don't tell me you couldn't feel the awkwardness in that room when I—when I told them. How they all… they looked at me like I was a stranger, and I know, I barely know any of you, but—but it's like I'm a liability now, isn't it? Whether they don't trust me at all, or whether they're gonna use me as bait for him, I don't know, but—"
"That's not it at all, Gadget," he said, firm, a large pit burrowing itself into his stomach. "I think—I think it probably threw a lot of people off guard to hear that you used to have a close relationship with him. But these guys—Sonic, Shadow, Amy, all of them, they would never cast you out. I swear."
Gadget didn't seem so sure. "But Amy, she looked so…"
"She's—going through a lot, right now," Tails said, grimacing. "Knuckles is important to all of us, but it's definitely hit her the hardest. But that's not about you, it's about Infinite. I mean," he smiled, this sort of fake, bitter thing, trying to do anything to lighten the mood because he was growing really sick of the sadness that followed him everywhere, like a thick layer of dust coating every wall. "Look at Shadow. He's engaged to Sonic, but when we first met him, all those years ago? He was trying to kill Sonic. And yet, today? I'd trust him with my life."
Something flashed in Gadget's eyes, like he was recalling those news reports of Prison Island and the ARK.
Tails studied him for a moment. "I don't—I don't necessarily mean to say Infinite will ever be redeemable, because we just don't really know what his deal is. If he was brainwashed or if he's doing this of his own free will—"
"He's not."
"I—I know, we just—we don't know, Gadget." He inhaled deeply. "But I believe you, I do; I'm sure he used to be a great guy. I'm just saying… Don't think we're all just gonna throw you out onto the street because you used to be his boyfriend. We've met worse people, trust me."
Gadget smiled, faintly, and he sniffed. "Thank you. And I'm—I'm sorry for, like, overwhelming you. I know Infinite has done horrible things, I was just so… desperate to get everyone to hear me out, you know?"
"I'm sorry I lashed out," Tails said. "It wasn't fair to you to load all of that guilt on your shoulders."
"It's okay, don't worry."
Tails hesitated, before smiling awkwardly and striding across the room to a countertop and lifting up a device. It looked like a simple metal bracelet, with a red sensor on the inside and a manual switch on the side. He brought it back over to the red wolf.
"So, I actually came down here to show this to you," he said, holding it out for Gadget to inspect it. "It's like a grappling hook. Here, it's pretty simple to use, just…" He helped clip it onto the cuff of his left glove, and demonstrated the controls. "I figured—it could come in handy, I guess. I dunno."
Gadget grinned widely and ran his fingers over the contraption. "I love it. Thanks."
A pause drifted between them, before Gadget slipped off the stool and started heading towards the stairs. He turned back to look at the teenager, pressing his lips together into a thin line as he gestured awkwardly over his shoulder.
"We should get going, right? We're gonna be leaving soon."
Tails nodded and went to grab the emerald tracker before heading after his friend. Gadget was already starting to head back up, but then Tails' heart strained a little, with guilt, worry, some deeply buried pain he still hadn't dug up yet since he was in a junkyard and Sonic's eyes glazed over and he was left helpless beneath the debris, unable to do anything but feel sorry for himself.
"Hey, Gadget," he called out, thoughtlessly, and he flinched when the wolf stopped and turned back around to look at him. "I, uh. I just wanted to, I guess…" There was too much stress floating around in his head, making his skull feel tight, and he didn't really know how to piece together what he wanted to say. Gadget watched him curiously.
After a few seconds of floundering for words, Tails just clamped his mouth shut because his eyes were starting to burn and he really didn't want to start crying. Instead, he decided to approach Gadget and meet him in a hug. The wolf faltered only briefly, before he felt warm arms wrap around him and pull him in, closer.
"Be safe, okay, kid?" Gadget murmured into his ear.
Tails nodded against his shoulder, gritting his teeth to force down the tidal wave of emotions surging up his throat. "Yeah. You too."
They could've broken away there, and headed back outside to meet with the others. But Tails didn't feel ready to do that yet, so he curled his fingers into Gadget's back and they held each other for just a little longer, until they were both able enough to catch their breaths.
Sonic didn't know if he knew the last time he'd felt pure delight like this. But as he grazed his organic fingers along the surface of the Tornado, his sneakers dusted with sand and the sea breeze tousling his quills, a bright smile stretched across his face and he rocked on his heels like an excited child.
"This is amazing," he murmured, enraptured in studying the fine red paint that beamed in the low sunlight, just like he last remembered it. He glanced over to his little brother, who gave him a small smile. "I thought—for sure she was wrecked, after… y'know."
Tails shrugged. "She's in pretty good condition. Perfect for flying."
Sonic's grin widened even more, as if that were possible. He turned back to the Tornado and patted its side like it was an old friend. "Cool. So let's figure out the plan."
Not too far away, Shadow held an emerald up, studying it absently. "I'll take a team of volunteers to the Chemical Plant to retrieve one of the Chaos Emeralds." He glanced up to scan the small crowd around him. "Preferably those who can be quiet, because we don't need to attract any attention to ourselves while we're there."
"I'll go," Amy said, her expression blank and dreary, like she was trying to wall off her feelings. Sonic frowned at the sight, but he could understand where she was coming from. Shortly after she volunteered, so did Antoine and Gadget.
Sonic glanced back to the Tornado. "I'm definitely taking this puppy wherever she's going."
"I was probably gonna fly it to Soleanna since it's the closest of all the locations," Tails said. "That way everyone else who wants to get the remaining emeralds that aren't in Eggman's possession can use the other one to easily warp there."
Vector cracked a toothy grin and bobbed his head. "I'll go with you two." There was a heavy beat that lingered after his words and settled uneasily with the others, because they all knew he felt somewhat down after everything with Espio—and Rouge, for that matter. Both of them were forced to sit this mission out and recover from their injuries from the city.
Bunnie nodded. "Me too."
"And I'll lead everyone else to Chun-nan, Red Mountain, and Seaside Hill with the other emerald," Silver said. "Hopefully we won't run into any badniks there."
"That'll be good," Shadow agreed. "Your powers will be useful for scavenging."
Anxious to go, Sonic was already hopping up to perch on the Tornado's wing. He reveled in its steady feel beneath his feet, grounding him. If he closed his eyes it was almost like he was just a kid again, about to fly her for the first time.
He sat down to swing his legs over the edge of the wing, and almost didn't notice a hand curl around his own. Shadow stood beside him, staring up at him intently.
"Be safe," he told him, simply, and Sonic smiled at him.
"Same to you, Faker," he jibed back, relishing in Shadow's eye roll.
Nonetheless, Shadow squeezed his hand and brought it to his lips to press a gentle kiss to his knuckles, ever the gentleman. Sonic rolled his eyes right back but his heart fluttered in his chest anyways, and he reciprocated the intimacy with a hand squeeze of his own.
Tails and Vector climbed into the pilot's and passenger's seats respectively, and Bunnie fired up the rocket boosters built into the bottoms of her cybernetic feet. Shadow parted from his fiancé to congregate with Amy, Antoine, and Gadget, wielding his emerald.
"Good luck, guys!" Sonic hollered over to them, just as the Tornado's engine fired to life and swallowed all of their voices. He earned some headstrong nods in response, before everybody warped away with their emeralds and his team was left alone, as the Tornado started mulling forward into liftoff.
Soon enough, Knothole's shore was nothing but a speck in the distance, and they were lost in a vast swath of pink clouds and endless navy skies.
The contrast between the warm serenity of Knothole and the smog-filled, dank Chemical Plant was palpable. Once the flash of Chaos energy died down and the four were able to drink in their surroundings again, they were all overwhelmed with how heavy and sour the air tasted as it ran down their throats, settling wrongly in their lungs. Shadow blinked a few times to adjust his vision to the sudden drop in lighting, wetting his lips.
Turning to the others, he saw Amy wheeze for a moment on the poisoned air, and Antoine struggle through a few staggered breaths before becoming as used to the disgusting atmosphere as one could.
Gadget, on the other hand, reacted much more radically. He initially seemed disoriented from the teleportation, barely exposed—if at all—to Chaos energy. He lost his footing and spun around dizzily, squeezing his eyes shut. And then he began to cough violently as a result of breathing in too much air from the adrenaline coursing through his veins, hugging his chest as he choked on the chemicals wafting around.
Panic spiked in Shadow's gut and he rushed forward, grabbing the wolf's shoulder to stabilize him and clamping a hand over his mouth to suppress his coughs. Gadget looked at him with shiny eyes.
"We need to be quiet," Shadow hissed, and he was scowling but it wasn't because of Gadget, it was more so a general contempt directed at the empire. "The Chemical Plant is one of the doctor's most powerful institutions; it's been running since before the war and nobody has been able to successfully take it down. It's swarmed with badniks and their constantly expanding it."
Amy wrinkled her nose. "It's horrible. The amount of fumes and carbon emissions is just—it's so horrible."
Gadget pulled away from Shadow as soon as his shoulders weren't shaking anymore from his violent coughing fit, and he cleared his throat. "Should we have brought more people then? If this place is so dangerous?"
Shadow shook his head. "We're not here to fight, we're here for the emerald. If we're careful, the badniks shouldn't be an issue." He paused, then muttered, more to himself than anything, "Although it would be smart for the resistance to take this place down for good, someday. The majority of the doctor's supplies come from here."
The group began ambling across the metal grating of the platform until they reach the edge. Over the hazard-yellow railing was a sea of murky purples and greens down below, goopy and bubbling and sizzling. Gadget frowned and glanced around, clearly put off from the disturbing sight—whether it was the height or the pollutants, he couldn't say, though.
"Uh, so where is the emerald, then?"
Shadow turned to lean against the railing, crossing his arms. "Tails took the emerald tracker, so we'll have to rely on our instincts. Rose, you can help me with that."
"Why don't we split up?" Amy suggested. "This place is huge from what I've heard, anyways. We'll cover more ground faster that way."
"Oh, I have this, uh…" Gadget fiddled with some strange metal cuff on his wrist, sticking his tongue out of the corner of his mouth in concentration. "It's a grappling hook. Tails made it for me. I can probably reach a higher vantage point with it."
Shadow nodded. "Rose, you go with him, then." He turned to Antoine, looking him up and down, because really didn't know these people that well aside from Amy. "You and I will stay low. There are several outpost stations, so maybe one of them will have information on the emerald."
Just then, as Gadget continued to fight the foreign technology, it finally seemed to work as a black rope catapulted straight out from his palm, firing hundreds of meters away before hooking onto a communications tower in the distance. He wavered in some sort of surprise for a moment, before holding out a hand for Amy. She reluctantly grabbed on before the two were flying through the smoky air like rockets.
Admittedly, Shadow felt somewhat guilty for pairing Amy up with Gadget. He could sense the rupture between them, the rumbling tension from when Gadget made that announcement at the meeting about Infinite. He knew she was still upset over Knuckles.
But desperate times called for desperate measures. The two strongest Chaos users of the party definitely needed to split up for the most efficient search, and it was best if Shadow stayed low because his experience from G.U.N. made him the best candidate in the case that they found a computer in one of the outposts that needed to be hacked into. So, there really wasn't any other choice.
Sonic would probably say it would be a good bonding exercise for the two, anyways, so Shadow decided he would go with that, too.
"Where to?" Antoine asked, pulling Shadow out of his thoughts.
The agent pondered, briefly, as he studied their immediate surroundings. The island of steel they were standing on was relatively isolated from other platforms, walled in on two sides, although he did notice a peculiar metal cylinder on the ground, with a diameter about five feet wide and almost as tall as himself. Shadow pointed to it, vaguely recalling what it probably was, based on stories Sonic had told him and the distant memory of visiting this place years ago.
"Through there."
He ran forwards and leapt into the air, homing into it with his spines fully erect. The metal shattered easily from the impact and Shadow found himself falling into a transparent plastic tube beneath it. He slid down for a while, catching glimpses of toxic sludge and bright blue and yellow scaffolding outside, but he was going too fast to get a good look. The tube spun around haphazardly and turned sharply when he least expected it, but he could imagine his fiancé and little brother having a blast in these things, back when they were just kids.
Finally, he was deposited onto a much smaller landing that overlooked a hidden section of the Chemical Plant. There was a small building right in the center, surrounding by patrolling badniks and glowing with the dim light of what must have been computers inside. Jackpot.
Shadow stepped away from the tube to peer over the balcony. He was a good ten feet above the outpost and robots, which meant they had yet to notice him. If he could just—
There was a muffled yelp behind him, before Antoine came tumbling out of the tube unceremoniously. He scrambled to his feet as soon as he regained his balance, looking flustered.
"That was not pleasant at all."
Shadow widened his eyes and shook his head vigorously, pressing a finger to his lips and gesturing to below—the universal signal for shut up, not now. The coyote paused before catching on, sealing his lips and jogging over to crouch beside him.
They watched the robots stalk around the small building for a while—which couldn't really be much larger than a camper. There were maybe three Egg Pawns circling around it, and there were possibly more inside, but again, it was rather small.
Antoine, seeming anxious, reached for his sword, strapped to his belt. Shadow eyed him uncertainly, before glancing back at the bots and then stopping him from withdrawing it.
The other man threw him a confused look. Shadow squared his jaw. "We can't afford to be messy here."
He received a mildly frustrated look, but Antoine abided regardless and tucked the sword back into place, gripping the edge of the balcony as he keenly studied each badnik. "What do you suggest we do, then?" he whispered.
"Just," Shadow huffed, pulling his emerald out from his quills, "let me deal with it."
If Antoine objected, he didn't notice, because he'd already warped down to the robots before he could hear it. He knocked the first one in the back of the head, lunged at the second before it could react, and then spindashed through the third just as it rounded the corner and caught sight of him.
He untucked from his ball and peered up at his comrade, whose eyes he saw peering just over the edge, wide in bewilderment. He beckoned for him to come down, and he did so, hesitantly.
"Help me take care of these," Shadow told him, as he started hefting up one of the dead bots by its bulky shoulders. Antoine swallowed thickly and grabbed its legs, and they walked it over to the edge of the platform, heaving it down below into the abyss of chemicals.
They did the same with the other two before making their way to the door of the outpost. There were only a few windows, tinted too darkly to see anything inside other than the silhouettes of more Egg Pawns and the fuzzy glows of computer screens. The door was solid steel, as was the rest of the building, and there was a code that needed to be entered into the keypad to open it. Shadow sighed.
"I guess we're doing this the old fashioned way."
He summoned some energy from the emerald to the palms of his hands and gripped the edge of the door. Power surging through his arms, he pried it open like it was nothing. He ignored the way Antoine watched him with a burning intensity.
The two badniks inside instantly turned their heads to the intruders, and Shadow was quick to tackle the first as soon as they did. He heard Antoine yank out his sword and slash through the other one, while Shadow punched in the metal skull of the first.
They both released a simultaneous breath, and Shadow stood up and turned to the computer console before him. The various monitors were filled with a accumulation of data transcripts and messages between other bases around the world and catalogues of shipments, and it took a moment for him to fixate on it from the overwhelming amount of information displayed.
Antoine sheathed his sword and Shadow started scrolling through the pages, particularly regarding the goods stockpile in the Chemical Plant and the list of shipments.
"I think I dealt with that perfectly well," the coyote muttered, from over Shadow's shoulder, a little indignantly.
Shadow failed to hide the smirk that spread across his face.
The flight to Soleanna was breathtaking. Sonic basked in the feeling of liberation, that familiar, feathery sensation in his chest that felt like he was running through the loop-de-loops in Green Hill. The skies were clear and pale and the winds brushed his face fondly, and if he closed his eyes and let his shoulders slacken, it almost felt like he was fifteen again, just him and Tails against the world, not a worry in sight.
He turned back to his brother who was piloting the Tornado at the thought. Tails' face was set in deep concentration, his eyes quickly flipping between the emerald tracker and the controls on the dashboard and their surroundings. He looked preoccupied. He looked—old, too old, and it had only been a couple of months since Sonic had last seen him.
It was hard to imagine that Tails was almost fifteen, now. That was around the age Sonic became world renowned as a hero. Some of his fondest memories stemmed from those years, when he was free to go where he pleased, do what he wanted, without responsibility. He did what he loved—helping people—and he was universally praised for it. There were some tough spots, sure, but he'd been having the time of his life.
Tails looked—less so. There were bags under his eyes, and he was always so quiet now. Always deep in thought, snapping at the wrong moments, slinking further down into his chair. It felt… wrong. Just over six months ago, before Infinite and this whole mess, Tails had been his same old self. Sonic would sometimes forget he was already well into his teenage years because he still felt like his ten-year-old little brother.
When he looked at Tails, now, he looked tired. Like—like someone who lost the most important person in their life right before their eyes, and had to grow up too fast, too soon.
Chaos. He was absolutely taking him out for some chilidogs once this was over.
(Because it would be over, soon. It had to. Sonic didn't know if he could take this much longer.)
"We're lookin' for a desert, right?!" Bunnie hollered over the fierce winds. She was flying beside the plane thanks to the trusty rockets attached to the bottoms of her feet, squinting ahead. "'Cause I think I finally see it!"
Tails glanced up and looked at where the rabbit pointed, nodding. "The tracker is acting up more. We're definitely getting close!"
"How much longer, do you think?" Vector asked.
"Not a lot. I don't think the desert is that big."
They continued their journey for another twenty minutes or so, before the tracker became so stimulated by nearby energy readings that even Sonic could hear it beeping over the combined roar of the plane engine and the winds. Tails notified Bunnie of this and they began their descent. Not too far away, Sonic noticed a sandstone structure—the only manmade object seen for miles, in the sea of beige and dust and the occasional oasis. He told this to the young pilot, so he made an effort to land close to it.
Once on solid ground, they all lingered for a few more minutes while the engine died down and they covered their faces against the clouds of sand the dwindling propeller kicked up. Sonic then hopped off the wing, stretching all of his limbs and surveying the area. He could already feel the dry heat of the afternoon burning against his bare skin.
"Chaos," Vector groaned, slipping out of his seat into the sand. "Should've brought more water."
"I've got some extra coolers in the storage compartment, if we really need it," Tails replied, absently, his eyes glued to the tablet as he slowly started towards the mysterious structure. "Shouldn't be here too long, though."
Bunnie landed and rubbed the back of her neck. "I thought this place was supposed to be swarmed with bad guys, or somethin'."
"Supposedly," Tails said. "But the real danger-zone is the city of Soleanna, which is a good five miles due west. This place seems abandoned, which is lucky for us."
Sonic narrowed his eyes as he and the other two began following the fox closer and closer to the building. "Sure, but something's fishy here. An emerald is only five miles away from one of Egghead's strongest bases and he hasn't nabbed it yet?"
Tails pressed his lips together. "Maybe you're right. We should stay on our guard."
They trudged through the sand for only a few seconds before that ugly, sleepy feeling of boredom started settling in Sonic's bones, fogging his mind in a haze of exhaustion and annoyance. He sighed, kicked a stray rock a few feet away, then swiveled around to face the others.
"I'm gonna speed this process up. I'll meet you guys there."
And with that he sped off, the sand dunes only a slight hinderance to his sprint. He was at the front doors of the building within half of a second. The others were still lagging behind, specks on the horizon. He eyed them briefly before turning back to the more interesting thing at hand.
It was pretty damn large, with a small rectangular building the size of a small house connected to a massive stone cylinder that looked like it could pass for a miniature baseball stadium. He whistled idly, looking it up and down, before deciding to head inside because his curiosity was killing him. Also, he could definitely sense some Chaos energy inside; the emerald had to be here.
Before he could, though, there was a resounding thump beside him as Tails suddenly landed. Sand exploded upwards and sprayed all over Sonic's legs, and he reared away, but his brother simply threw him a sour look before heading inside first. Bunnie and Vector quickly came rocketing by not a second after with her flight ability. Sonic licked his lips, feeling somewhat bad, before following after them.
The interior of the smaller structure was almost complete dark, not a single light in the vicinity and only mere slivers cut into the walls toward the ceiling to pass as pathetic excuses for windows. The air was musty and tasted like mold as Sonic breathed it in, promptly coughing up some dust.
To the left the wall was replaced with rusty iron bars, sunlight peeking through them from the cylindrical building that lacked a roof. Tails was already by it, examining the bars and seeing if they would budge. Sonic tried to make a scene of brushing all the sand off of his shins, but when Tails didn't notice, he simply took to stepping forwards and sliding the door open, allowing them entry.
Tails looked at him for a moment, his face blank as he frowned slightly, before the four headed into the stadium.
It was something Sonic could only attribute to a coliseum. The rows of stone seats circling the arena were completely abandoned, of course, because this thing must've been hundreds of years old. It would almost be eerie—if not for the strange, distant hum of energy across the stadium, then for the fact that Sonic half expected to see skeletons arranged up in the audience. But it was also kind of cool, from an archaeological standpoint, so he concentrated on that.
Tails remained focused by the emerald tracker in his hands, dragging his feet at the speed of molasses as he treaded along the smooth stone ground. He was following a ghost trail straight across the arena, towards the other side, which was nothing more than a gigantic stone square at least thirty feet tall, possibly some sort of door. It didn't seem like it would open any time soon, though.
Sonic decided to neglect the strange grudge wedging itself between them for the time being and let his brother do what he needed to do. He announced aloud, "Okay, everyone spread out. Look for like, secret trap doors and stuff."
He received a few thumbs-up's before he started walking along the perimeter, brushing his fingers against the rounded wall. Dust collected on his fingertips as he did so. He was struck with a weird sense of déjà vu with each step he took, but he disregarded it with a shake of the head.
For a place that a Chaos Emerald was most definitely hidden in, it was suspiciously inconspicuous. Especially for a place so close to Eggman's grasp. It made his stomach churn a bit, thinking about the implications of that. Was this a trap? Or was there something else going on here?
An off-putting creak groaned throughout the entire coliseum, originating from the very square of solid stone that Tails was slowly approaching. All four of them stopped what they were doing to look at it, a blanket of unease draping over them. Even Tails snapped out of his daze, freezing in place momentarily.
And then there was nothing. The harsh desert winds continued to whistle outside and the sun continued to sear them from above. It—It was nothing. This place was old; a relic. Just settling rocks.
But of course he had to speak too soon.
The entire stadium began rumbling violently, so much so that they all stumbled and lost their footing. The massive panel that Tails now stood before began to shift, rising up from some unseen mechanism that pulled it. Clouds of dust rolled out from the movement, masking the entire ground level of the arena, and once the door was finally pulled completely up they all found themselves staring into an empty black chasm. Tails took a few steps back, jittery.
"Hey, bud, you okay?!" Sonic called over, but it wasn't acknowledged because a much greater threat quickly emerged.
A giant fucking robot dog stepped into the light, over twenty feet tall, with a bulky, black body and limbs, and highlights of carmine hues. It's snout was long, steel fangs just barely peaking out, its paws twice the size of Sonic and hooked with dangerous claws on each toe. It lurched forwards mechanically, each step like an earthquake, swiveling its head around curiously.
Then a static noise filled the area, crackling to life like a begrudging awakening from a deep slumber, erupting from speakers somewhere on the metal behemoth's head. The voice that spoke to them sent a spear of disgust through Sonic's chest.
"Well, well, well," Eggman snarled. "Look what the cat dragged in—or should I say, dog? I should've known you pests would find this place soon enough."
"We're not here for games, Eggbreath!" Sonic retorted, crossing his arms. He looked around for any cameras they could be being watched through, but after finding nothing, he resorted to glaring at the colossal badnik.
Eggman, wherever he was, chortled. "That's too bad, because I really wanted to show off my new toy. Allow me to… reintroduce you to an old friend: the Egg Cerberus! It's stronger, faster, and better than ever—and it's the last thing you'll see in this pitiful life of yours!"
Sonic frowned, because that didn't make any sense, he'd never seen this thing in his life, but then the speakers cut out like Eggman had already lost interest, simply tossing his mutt some meat scraps before shutting it away in its kennel. He clicked his tongue in disdain, getting into a battle-ready stance as he waited for the Egg Cerberus to make its move.
It did nothing for a few seconds, which was even more disconcerting, until it crouched down like it was ready to pounce.
And then it charged directly towards Tails, who was still frozen right in front of it.
a lot is happening! knux isn't faring too well, tails and gadget kinda made amends but now tensions r rising Even More between sonic and tails oh no :( also thats right baby the egg cerberus is here. buckle up for some intense stuff next chapter. (i do wanna note tho: all the deva vu stuff & the 06 references are nothing more than references and easter eggs. i dont intend to rope that whole shitshow of a narrative into this universe, sorry haha)
hhhhhhhnnrgngnggg so hopefully i can resume monthly-ish updates now? idk we'll see. leave sum feedback or give a follow/fav if u enjoyed :)
