Chapter .SmilerStartup
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smile always.
The Smiler area of the park had been cleared as a crime scene. Amy tried to answer any question the police had.
"Listen, two of our friends have been kidnapped, you have to help us!" Amy pleaded to deaf ears.
Tails carefully examined the area, looking for any clues. Witnesses said they didn't notice anything, and security cameras didn't pick up any suspicious activity near the entrance/exit, which made the fox think Josh was still in the park.
Knuckles stared blankly up at the large façade that contained the Smiler. He felt an overwhelming sense of guilt and responsibility for what happened.
"Our priority is Josh now." Knuckles thought to himself. "Sonic can take care of himself... Josh can't..."
...
wakeup. 096
smilealways. 096
...
Josh awoke with a start. He looked around in a frenzy. He was in a red room with concrete all around him! Was the room covered in blood?! Josh calmed when he saw the red tinted lights above him. A million thoughts crosses his mind. One stuck out above all.
"Where am I?"
He looked down to notice that he was in a hospital gown, laying down on a soft gurney. A few blankets lay folded down near his feet, not that he needed them. The room was rather warm, almost to the point of being hot.
"What happened to me?"
Josh carefully swung his legs over the side of the gurney. He felt a little weak, but felt like trying to stand. He slowly lowered his feet to the ground. The hard concrete felt shockingly cold. Josh managed to stand, but still felt a bit wobbly. He tried to grab hold of the gurney, but didn't have much strength in his arms either. He rolled up one of the sleeves on the gown.
Around his forearm was a small, thin scar, that wrapped all the way around the arm, like a rubber band. Josh found another on his other forearm, and one on each of his thighs, all of them practically identical, mirror images of the other arm or leg.
"What happened?"
Josh tried to think back, but he came up blank. He remembered going to Music Park with his friends to look for... Someone. Who was he looking for? Josh thought hard for a moment. He couldn't remember... It was someone important to him... But why?
Come to think of it, who were his friends? Josh couldn't remember their names... And he could only make out details of what they looked like... A spiked glove... A dress... Yellow maybe?
One thing he could remember was the Smiler.
The Smiler.
The thought of the machine brought a Smile to his face. All other thoughts slowly started to fade.
The Smiler! Oh, what a perfect name! What a perfect machine!
The new face of Mobius would be complete thanks to the Smiler!
Then he and all of his little friends would be one in mind!
Josh started to hum a small victory tune, The Smiler's anthem!
Oh what a glorious song!
What a glorious machine!
Josh happily bellowed the song at the top of his lungs!
"HA HA HA!" Josh bellowed! "HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"
What a merry time!
Soon the Smiler would rule over all!
And he and Sonic would be happy together!
Josh stopped laughing for a moment.
Sonic?
smilealways. 096
What's a Sonic?
"No, keep singing!" A voice inside his head told him. But Josh had to stop and think.
Who was Sonic?
Sonic was...
A friend.
smilealways. 096
No, more than that...
He...
Was...
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a brother.
"Sonic!"
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Memories came flooding back in a torrent! The fight, the tv show, everything!
Josh staggered back a bit.
What had just happened? It was like something else took over... Josh shivered. He knew The Smiler had something to do with the events surrounding what was going on. But Josh had no idea what it was trying to accomplish.
"I have to get out of here!" Josh thought to himself. "Now I know that The Smiler did something to Sonic!"
...
2 hours earlier
...
Josh took the piece of paper out of the employee Brian's hand. He quickly unfolded it.
His eyes went wide.
He looked up at the hedgehog with hope and fear.
The paper fell out of his hands.
This certificate certifies that Sonic the Hedgehog is hereby appointed as legal adopted guardian of Joshua Corey, who shall forever now be known as Josh the Hedgehog.
"Sonic?" Josh squeaked. His voice trembled. He looked looked up and saw emerald green eyes looking back down at him from beneath the hat.
"Hey buddy..." Sonic replied quietly. Josh began to cry as he flung himself at his brother. He wrapped his arms around the hedgehog's neck and squeezed, a gesture that Sonic gently returned.
"I thought I'd never se-GAH!" Josh suddenly choked and arched backwards as he felt something sharp plunge into the back of his neck. Josh went wide eyed as he started to gasp for air. Sonic continued to smile as he pulled the needle out from the back of Josh's neck. Josh staggered forward.
"Wh...What-" Josh wheezed, but soon fell to his hands and knees, coughing and gagging. A small splotch of blood fell out of his mouth and splashed on the ground. He began to foam profusely at the mouth and blinked in and out of consciousness. He felt Sonic roughly grab him and drag him towards the building before going completely black.
...
Present time
...
Josh searched the concrete room more and more frantically. He had found nothing! No latch, no handle, no window, there was no indication of a door!
That is until he heard a knock on a wall.
Josh quickly ran over.
"Are you awake 096?" A British voice called out, muffled by the concrete.
"Wh-Who are you?!" Josh called back, pressing his ear against the wall.
"We're bringing you your clothes 096, please move away from the wall."
"What have you done to me?"
"Please move away from the wall."
Josh finally did as he instructed. He heard four faint blips before the wall slid open. A bluebird stood in front of him in a suit, with two smiling guards with guns standing behind him, blocking the exit. The bird seemed normal though, that is, he didn't have that crazed smile that Sonic, Watch, or the guards had... He walked forward and handed Josh a bundle of clothes, all of it a bright yellow.
"Put these on quickly." The bird said in the British accent Josh heard earlier.
"Who are you?" Josh asked.
"I don't have all day." The bird replied, reaching back to one of the guards and grabbing a tablet, which he began to type on. Josh had a moment of recognition.
"I saw you in the forest when you made the zombies attack!" Josh exclaimed.
"Do I have to punish you 096?" The bird asked distractedly, not looking up from his tablet. The two guards cocked their guns and pointed them at Josh. Josh backed up a bit.
"...Just... Tell me you-"
"Fire."
Josh ducked as he felt the bullets whizz past his face, the sound echoing loudly around the room. Josh quickly tore off the hospital gown and yanked on his new clothes, bright neon sweats and a t-shirt. He put his hands up.
"Now will someone please tell me what's going on?!" Josh pleaded. The bird looked up briefly before turning and leaving. "Wait!" Josh quickly dashed after him, but the wall closed back up again. Josh pounded on the door. "LET ME OUT!" He begged, "I HAVE TO HELP MY BROTHER! PLEASE!" Josh kicked the wall and tried all he could to break it down... But he knew it was pointless. He softly cried as he sunk to his knees, hands still on the wall.
"I'm sorry Sonic..." He whispered, his body starting to heave with sobs.
"Be quiet!" A voice quietly hissed. Josh quickly turned in fear, but found nobody in the room.
"H-hello?" Josh called out.
"Shh!" The voice hissed again. "I'm in the cell next to you!" Josh scrambled over to the wall the voice was coming from.
"Did they get you too?" Josh asked quietly.
"What do you think?" The voice replied, annoyed.
"Who are you?"
"Sh!" He voice suddenly went quiet. "...one second..."
Josh heard nothing for a moment, then heard two thuds, a cry of alarm, and one more thud.
"What was that?!" Josh whispered. But there came no response. "Hello?" Josh tried a little louder.
"Keep your head down kid!" The voice called out, this time from the door, "You'll make it out fine!"
"W-wait, aren't you gonna help me?!" Josh cried, scrambling to the wall.
"I've got to get out of here!" The voice replied.
"And shut this place down right?" Josh said hopefully.
"This isn't my problem, I have bigger worries."
"You're kidding." Josh replied in disbelief. "What if there are other people trapped here?!"
"Not my problem."
"Okay listen you!" Josh screamed, banging the door. "I will scream and make a ton of noise, and alert everyone in the facility you've escaped!"
"You'll pay!"
"What are you gonna do to me?" Josh started to scream and bang on the door.
"SHUT UP!" The voice yelled. "Your door is locked with a four digit code, I don't know it!" It almost sounded apologetic! Josh thought for a moment.
"Is it on a touch screen?"
"What?"
"The keypad," Josh enunciated, "Is it a touch screen?"
"...yeah?" The voice sounded a bit confused. Josh silently celebrated in his cell, there was still hope!
"You should be able to see smudges from where the gloves touch the screen, duck down and try and let a light shine over it!" Josh waited for a moment.
"I see it, but it still doesn't tell is what order the numbers are!"
"Read them out." Another pause.
"2...5, 6...8" The voice was annoyed. "Now what?"
"Hang on." Josh called out. He thought back to when the door was being opened. He remembered hearing four beeps, each one a different pitch.
Second highest, highest, second lowest, lowest. If each beep got higher pitched as the numbers got higher, like it does when you dial a number on a phone, then...
"Try 6852." Josh called out. He listened close.
Second highest, highest, second lowest, lowest.
He got it right! Josh jumped into the air, cheering.
"I'm coming Sonic!" Josh yelled into the air.
"You know Sonic?" The voice asked from the door. Josh turned to see the body it belonged to. His mouth fell open.
"Shadow?!"
...
Location: Outside The Smiler
...
"It doesn't belong to a Mobian." Tails remarked as the scan of a small splotch of blood he found on the ground came up with nothing. He blinked a few times, clearing away the screens only he could see. "It's gotta be Josh's!"
"I hope he's ok..." Amy worried. "We have to find him, and Sonic too!"
"Sonic's fine..." Knuckles grumbled. "We need to focus on Josh." Tails and Amy both looked at him sadly.
"You can't blame yourself Knuckles... This isn't your fault." Amy said tenderly.
"We were all duped." Tails said bitterly. "And whoever's behind this is going to be in a lot of trouble." Tails examined a small vial filled with a neon yellow segment of what looked like brain. "Whoever did this to Watch is clever... I'll give them that."
...
Earlier
...
The group watched in horror as Watch brought the gun to his head.
Knuckles immediately lunged at the weasel.
"Welcome to Joy!" The crazed man screamed before pulling the trigger. Luckily, Knuckles hit the gun up just in time... Almost. The bullet glanced his head, leaving a hole in his skin and skull, but leaving the brain unharmed. Amy and Tails rushed over to the now comatose Watch.
"What is that?" Knuckles asked, pointing to something inside the weasel's head. Tails walked closer and examined the brain. One small segment, only about and inch long and half of that wide, was glowing a neon yellow, like a highlighter!
"Call an ambulance!" Tails ordered Amy, who nodded and ran off. Tails made quick work, pulling a small, flat tool out of his glove. He pressed a button. "Scalpel." Tails stated into the machine. A small, thin blade popped out the end. Tails carefully cut into the brain, removing the glowing part. Almost immediately as he did, Mr. Watch's eyes snapped open.
"Wh-what's going on?!" Watch writhed in pain.
"Mr. Watch?" Tails asked slightly nervous.
"Who are you people?!" The weasel screamed again.
"I think he's going into shock!" Knuckles exclaimed.
"An ambulance is on its way!" Amy called out.
...
Present
...
"How is he?" Amy asked.
"Doctor's say if the bullet were any lower, he'd be dead." Tails replied, flicking the vial.
"Any idea what that did to him?" Amy squinted at the brain matter.
"I don't even know what it is!" Tails exclaimed. "I can't get a scan on it, something in it messes up the program, and I have no idea how or why.
"Can we just focus on Josh please?!" Knuckles yelled in frustration.
"Knuckles, quit feeling sorry for yourself! Both Sonic and Josh are in danger!" Amy chided.
"But Sonic's alive, and I think he'll stay that way." Knuckles turned to Amy. "I can't say the same for the weak little human."
"Don't call him that!" Amy yelled.
"But the people who took him probably are." Knuckles said slowly. Amy realized what Knuckles was saying. "I'm afraid Josh is running out of time." Knuckles stood up. "Josh first. Then we go after Sonic."
...
Location: Unknown
...
"How do you know my name?!" Shadow demanded, taking a threatening step towards Josh.
"I-it's a long story." Josh stuttered, slowly backing up.
"How did you get here?" Shadow took another step forward.
"I was kidnap-"
"No!" Shadow cut Josh off. "How did you get on Mobius human?!"
"E-Eggman!" Josh quickly replied. "He kidnapped me and my little brother and got us here."
"How do you know the Faker?" Shadow crossed his arms. Josh noted Shadow was in the same clothes as him, but he was barefoot and without his gloves, just like Josh.
"Faker?" Josh asked cautiously. Shadow rolled his eyes.
"Sonic, how do you know Sonic?!" Shadow yelled impatiently.
"He's my adoptive brother!" Josh blurted out. An amused smile crossed Shadow's face.
"Brother?" Shadow asked, chuckling cruelly. Josh glared and walked forward.
"Are we getting out of here or what?" Josh asked quietly. He shoved the black hedgehog out of the way and started walking down a hallway.
"And where do you think you're going?" Shadow called from behind him.
"I'm going to find Sonic!" Josh called back.
"Unprotected?" Shadow asked, with the obvious intent of making fun of Josh. Josh stopped and looked at Shadow with annoyance.
"I don't really have a choice do I? Does it look like I'm carrying a weapon?"
Shadow walked over to a guard that had been "mysteriously" knocked out, along with the bluebird. He pulled the two guns off the guards and threw one to Josh.
"You do now." Shadow replied. Josh looked down at the gun. Haunting memories of his parent's murder came to him.
"...I...I don't use guns, I don't believe in them." Josh replied quietly. Shadow looked irritated.
"Do you think the other guards will care whether or not you believe in guns?" Shadow growled. "They'll shoo-"
"Down there!"
Josh and Shadow both turned as a new voice rang down the halls. A swarm of guards came running towards them.
"Shoot d*** it, shoot!" Shadow yelled at Josh. Josh fumbled with the gun before managing to cock it. The awkward two handed gun was a bit too large for his tastes, and was very difficult to aim quickly. Josh did the best he could, as he and Shadow fired at the guards. When Josh killed his first, he put the gun down, mortified.
"I can't do it!" Josh cried.
"Shoot for the legs!" Shadow yelled back, continuing to fire. Josh nodded and picked the gun back up, firing lower now. He watched as the smiling guards fell, one by one, not moving. Finally, all went quiet. Josh timidly walked up to a guard and checked his pulse. Josh sighed in relief when he found it.
"Why won't you kill them?" Shadow asked in anger. Josh turned and looked at him.
"Because I don't think they wanted to do this. I think they're victims in this as much as we are." Josh picked up a pistol from one of the guards and stuck the clip onto the waist band of his sweats. "Whatever happened to Sonic happened to these guys."
"What happened to the faker?" Shadow asked, reloading his gun.
"...Some kind of brain washing I think..." Josh mused, recalling the strange worshiping of The Smiler he performed when he first woke up. "That new roller coaster, The Smiler, has something to do with it." Josh looked back at the bluebird before grabbing his tablet. After a few taps, he opened up a menu. "Maybe this can tell me where Sonic is..."
Shadow yanked the tablet from Josh.
"Hey!"
"I need to look for my shoes." Shadow stated as he flicked through menus.
"...'Cause you can't run as fast as Sonic without them." Josh realized, sneering. Shadow shot him a cold look before returning to the tablet.
"...094 possessions stored in surveillance room." Shadow read aloud. He pulled up a map and began walking. Shadow looked behind him in annoyance when he realized he had a tail.
"I can check out the security feed and see where they have Sonic." Josh explained. Shadow closed his eyes and sighed.
"Just don't get in my way." Shadow grumbled. He startled a bit when he heard a gunshot. A guard in front of him had a bullet hole in his thigh. He fell in front of Shadow. The hedgehog turned to see Josh, still holding his gun out. Shadow looked a bit impressed.
"I don't think that'll be a problem." Josh replied seriously. "Let's just hurry."
The duo began to sprint down the hall, being careful to look around corners for guards. Josh preferred to evade any more confrontations, much to Shadow's disappointment.
"So how did you wind up here?" Josh asked Shadow.
"That's none of your concern." Shadow replied quietly, checking the tablet. He looked around a corner and quickly ran down the hall, Josh following close behind. Even without his jet shoes, Shadow was still very fast, making it challenging for Josh to keep up.
"Did they trick you?" Josh asked again. "Did they use someone you liked?" Shadow was quiet. "Was it Maria?"
"How do you know Maria?!" Shadow growled, stopping and turning.
"I know a lot about you." Josh replied.
"...Then you would know Maria's dead."
"But you didn't believe that when you saw her." Josh continued.
"...She was right there..." Shadow continued, amazed he was telling this human something this personal. He felt he could trust the innocent looking kid somehow.
"But it was just her corpse..." Josh finished. "A puppet controlled by electricity." A tear ran down Shadow's cheek. Josh decided not to notice. "These people will stop at nothing to get you, to get everyone!"
"...I just want to get out of here." Shadow turned back around.
"So did those guards we just took out before they went all... Smiley!" Josh insisted, running up next to the black hedgehog. "Do you remember how you felt when you realized Maria wasn't really alive?" The black hedgehog shut his eyes and grit his teeth, holding back tears. "Everyone here felt those same things! Don't you want to stop that?"
Shadow didn't say anything for a while.
"What can we do?" Shadow finally said. A small smile played on Josh's face.
"Help me! If we can bring Sonic out of his... Smiley-ness, for lack of a better word, he can help us take this place down, and we'll have figured out how to un-Smile everyone!"
Shadow looked down at Josh, standing about a head taller than the teen. The hedgehog sneered.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Shadow asked. "Let's go find that faker."
...
Josh and Shadow stood behind a corner, listening intently. The surveillance room was right around the corner, but it was, of course, password protected.
"How do you know so much about me?" Shadow whispered after they had been there for a while.
"I'm from an Earth that's different than the one you guys were sent to." Josh explained. "On my Earth, you guys are famous! Video games, comic books, a ton of TV series, we know everything about you guys! We thought you were fictional... But that didn't stop all the fangirl fantasies about you." Shadow smirked.
"Fangirls?" He asked, almost allowing himself to laugh.
"Everybody likes a bad boy."
"Good taste."
Josh smiled and peeked abound the corner before flying back.
"Get ready." Josh whispered. "Someone's coming."
Josh closed his eyes, ready to listen, while Shadow readied his pistol in case the guard continued past the room.
Highest, lowest, second lowest, second highest.
They waited for the door to close.
Josh then pulled the tablet from Shadow and typed on it. They'd discovered that they could call certain employees in certain rooms to other places in the facility by using the small device. He tapped the surveillance room and drew a line to a place on the other side of the facility. He pressed submit, and shortly after, the door opened again. Once the footsteps faded away, Josh and Shadow flew to the door. Josh ducked down and let the light play off the screen. There were smudge marks on the 1,2,5, and 9. Josh quickly recalled the pitches of the beeps and entered in 9125 The door unlocked. The two quietly slipped in as the door locked behind them. Josh found a wall full of video screens and ran towards it. His eyes darted from screen to screen as Shadow searched the room for his belongings. He found a filing cabinet and dug through it.
"What's your prisoner number?" Shadow asked from across the room.
"I have no clue." Josh replied distractedly. "What is that?"
"Did they call you a number when they gave you those clothes?"
"...Yeah, 096." Josh replied slowly. He ran over to a keyboard and began to type. "Which must mean Sonic is 095, unless you were taken this morning."
"A week ago." Shadow stated. Josh stopped his typing and looked over at Shadow. He slowly walked over and put a hand on the hedgehog's shoulder. Shadow was taken off guard a bit and looked down to see the teen really did feel regret for Shadow's captivity. Shadow shrugged Josh off. "Nothing I can't handle..." He pulled out a large, manilla envelope and handed it to Josh. "Hurry and change."
Josh opened the folder and found his clothes compressed in a vacuum sealed bag. He pulled the plastic bag out and saw the rest of his belongings at the bottom of the envelope. Josh quickly ripped open the vacuum bag and put on his normal clothes. He grabbed his wallet, iPod, and earbuds, and put them in his pockets, and was about to throw the envelope to the side when he found something else. The necklace Pandora gave him on his first day. He pulled out the thin leather cord and looked at the small, green jewel. Shadow sneered when he found his gloves and shoes and put them on. Josh ran back to the monitors, hit a few more keys on the computer, and hit "enter." All of the screens changed to show one giant image.
"He's here!" Josh said excitedly. Shadow crossed the room to stand next to Josh. While coated in brown fur, it was easy to see it was Sonic now that the hat he wore earlier was off. The hedgehog sat cross-legged in the middle of the room, staring wild-eyed at the wall, constantly smiling. Shadow pointed to a lower screen.
"Cell block D, Cell 12." Shadow read aloud. He grabbed the tablet and checked the map.
"It's far..." Josh mused. "...Which is why you need to go get him."
"Why me?" Shadow asked, not bothering to mask his annoyance with helping Sonic.
"I'm not strong enough to carry him, you are." Josh explained. He grabbed the tablet from Shadow and tapped a few more buttons. "I can lock myself in here and try and see if anything on this tablet can explain what's going on. And how we can reverse it."
"The guards-"
"Will be nowhere near you, I'll redirect them from Sonic's cell." Josh showed Shadow a map, which showed four red circles leaving the cell entrance.
"He'll try and attack me." Shadow pointed to Sonic's still smiling face.
"They knock themselves out whenever thy get in too much pain..." Josh mused. Shadow smirked and cocked his gun. Josh put a hand on it and lowered the barrel, eyeing something on the computer. "Easy tiger..." Josh walked over to the computer and clicked "room control." "These things must be done delicately..." Josh said in a British accent. Out of nowhere, a ceiling panel fell and hit Sonic in the head. The brown/blue hedgehog fell face first to the ground. Josh looked triumphantly at Shadow. "Any more complaints?"
Shadow looked a bit dumbstruck. He snapped back into focus and nodded.
"I'll come back as soon as I can." Shadow said.
"Wait!" Josh ran over and grabbed his necklace. He hung it around Shadow's neck. "For protection." Shadow examined the jewel.
"Thank you." Shadow looked up at Josh, lost in thought for a moment before turning.
"Don't get caught!" Josh called out as Shadow walked to the door. Shadow turned back to look at Josh.
"Not a problem." Shadow smirked. Josh heard a whir, like a small jet engine starting before the black hedgehog took off down the hall, aided by his re-attained jet shoes. Josh jumped up and quietly closed the door before locking it. He walked over to a far wall and sat down, leaning against it, keeping an eye on the screens. He began to tap through the menus on the tablet in the hope of finding something... anything...
He found a search bar!
"Sonic..." Josh muttered as he entered in the name. A file came up labeled "095." Josh grew uneasy, not sure who else his captors had tricked into coming here. Josh typed in another name, "Amy."
No results found
"Knuckles."
No results found
"Tails."
No results found
Josh sighed in relief. His other friends were at least safe...
And probably worried sick... Josh's thoughts flicked to his iPod. Sonic said Tails had messed with it... Could he have possibly done MORE than just make it play music? Josh quickly pulled out his iPod and looked at the new layout. Sure enough, he found a messaging icon. He tapped it, bringing up a small text box and a keyboard. He tapped the contacts bar and was pleased to find Sonic's, Tails', Knuckles', and Amy's numbers already entered in. He sent a message to Tails, Amy, and Knuckles.
...
Knuckles sat on the bench, glaring at Amy and Tails.
"How can you be so calm?" He growled.
"Keeping a level head will help us focus..." Tails replied, examining what little evidence they had. "If we freak out, our chance's of finding Josh become slim to none." Amy nodded in agreement, refocusing her attention on Tails' laptop, trying to find an image of Josh on park security cameras. All three Comms went off at once. Amy was the first to look at the message. She almost dropped the glass.
Josh: Are you there?
"Are you seeing this?!" Knuckles almost yelled. He typed into his Comm:
Knux: Are you okay?!
Josh: I'm fine Knuckles, don't worry about me!
Amy: Where are you?
Josh: I don't know exactly, but I was right! The Smiler is behind all of this!
Amy: Tails is locking onto your location!
Josh: Don't come in yet! Shadow is bringing Sonic out right now, I'm trying to find a way to reverse what they did to him.
Tails: They got Shadow?
Josh: I think they have a lot more than Shadow. He's prisoner 094, I'm 096.
Knux: Stay put, we're coming as soon as we can to help! Are you alone?!
Josh: I told Shad to lock the door behind him, I'm safe.
"I think I've found him!" Tails exclaimed. He made a flicking motion, and a screen popped up on the laptop shortly afterwords. Knuckles jumped up and ran over to the laptop. Tails squeezed in past Knuckles and pointed to a cluster of numbers. "Those are his coordinates."
Amy opened up a map program and copied the numbers into it. After a second, a map appeared with a small pushpin pressed into the middle of it.
"But that's The Smiler!" Knuckles exclaimed. "How could he be in there?! You saw the place, it's empty!"
"He's not." Tails replied, pointing to another number. "He's 50 feet underground."
...
Shadow quietly snuck down the hall. After a brief run in with guards earlier, he decided super speed was not the best way to go quite yet if he wanted to avoid attention.
"The Faker first, then I'll blast out of here." Shadow thought to himself. He grimaced. He didn't like helping this kid. He was, after all, the ultimate life form. Weren't his needs more important than the needs of some naïve teenager?
Yet Shadow couldn't help but feel a sense of obligation... The way that kid looked at him, that intensity... It reminded him of Maria.
Shadow cursed and shook his head, refocusing on the next hallway. Sonic was in a cell right around the corner. Shadow stopped and slowly peeked around the wall. Just as Josh promised, the coast was clear. He ran up to the closed door and a moment of panic set in.
He had no idea what the code was.
The smudges on the keypad were useless if he didn't hear the tones that revealed the order of the numbers. Shadow grimaced. He didn't want it to come to this, but there was one other way to get in. He spread his feet to an athletic stance and held his hands out in front of him. He shut his eyes and focused. A strong energy crackled through the hallway, as Shadow's quills flared out.
"Chaos Control!"
A bright red flash and Shadow was no longer in the hallway, but on the other side of the door. He froze, listening for the sound of footsteps.
Shadow was a master of Chaos Energy, but if he couldn't pull it directly from a Chaos Emerald, he had to pull from Chaos Energy floating around in the universe, which was, unfortunately, extremely noticeable, especially when performing a powerful move such as Chaos Control.
Shadow sighed when he heard no one come. He looked back to the middle of the room. Sonic was still out like a light, a sight that made Shadow chuckle. He threw the hedgehog over his shoulder in a fireman's carry, leaving him a free hand in case his gun was needed.
...
Josh flicked through file after file.
Log 001
First experiment unsuccessful. Patron dead. Remedy: +0.55 cc Hecotriton.
Log 002
First experiment unsuccessful. Patron dead. Remedy: +0.55 cc Hecotriton.
The logs continued like this for a while. A long while. Various remedies were suggested, but none worked. Josh was still confused as to the point of it all. What were these people trying to accomplish? What was the experiment? Why was it killing people? It seemed like, instead of finding answers, Josh just found more questions. What was Hecotriton? Who was behind this?
Finally, Josh found a file that seemed important.
Log 052
First experiment successful. Hecotriton has taken hold in subject's mind after injection directly into back of neck.
Josh flashed back to when Sonic kidnapped him. That needle Sonic stuck him with must have been full of that Hecotriton crap. But... What did it do? Josh noticed that, this time, the word "Hecotriton" was highlighted in blue. Josh gave it a tap. A complex molecular model appeared, along with a lengthy and wordy description. Josh couldn't make heads or tails of it.
"Need some help?" Ilo asked brightly.
"Where have you guys been?" Josh grumbled.
"Resting." Viha replied. "You used us rather quickly last night, so we needed some time to rest." Josh still had questions, but saved them for later.
"Can one of you guys read this and give it to me in layman's terms?" Josh asked.
"I can certainly try." Suru replied with a sigh. "I cannot promise anything though."
"Better than what I can do." Josh assured. There was a brief moment of silence.
"This compound is very complex... It seems to be an element of its own kind," Suru slowly began. "It seems to be part organic material, part inorganic. Upon entering the bloodstream, the chemical is intelligent enough to traverse towards the brain, even if it means going against the flow of blood."
"Why?" Josh asked.
"It deactivates quickly unless it finds the brain."
"Deactivates? Like a machine?"
"It is part inorganic, so very much like a machine. Once it latches on to a certain part of the host's brain, it shuts it down briefly. It makes the brain more able to accept something called a 'brain crimp.'"
"What's a brain crimp?"
"I do not know." Suru replied. "There is nothing about it in this article."
"Anything else?"
"Side effects include coughing up blood, dizziness, vomiting, and foaming at the mouth."
"Right..." Josh shuddered, recalling the painful experience once more. A small chime rang from his iPod.
Tails: You're under The Smiler!
While this was news to Josh, it wasn't particularly surprising.
Knux: We're coming to bust you out!
...
Josh: No! Stay outside and wait for Shadow! Get backup, the police, the army, as many as you can get!
Josh: You have no clue who you're dealing with!
Josh: Stay with Sonic, if I find something that will help, I'll txt you!
Knuckles looked nervously at Amy and Tails.
"We gotta go in there!" He urged.
"You heard Josh, we need to get help!" Amy replied.
"Then you guys go," Knuckles said, "I'll find a way in and try to find Josh."
"Would you STOP IT!" Amy shouted angrily. "I don't care if you don't agree with us, the way you're acting-"
"I'm not disagreeing." Knuckles replied calmly. Amy was caught a bit off guard. She looked at Knuckles. He wasn't angry, he was... Scared. "You guys go get backup, we'll need it... But Josh is all alone in there. If something happened to him, I don't want to say I didn't at least try to help him." Amy was quiet for a moment.
"I'm coming with you." Amy nodded with assurance. "And don't try and talk me out of it. You know you can't."
"What about Sonic?" Knuckles asked.
"We'll see him when we get Josh. If Sonic's with Shadow, he's fine." Knuckles nodded to Amy in agreement. He looked over at Tails.
"Call for help, get paramedics, army, everyone, got it?" Knuckles called out. Tails nodded.
"Already on it." Tails pointed to a police officer who was busily chatting on his phone. Knuckles looked back at the building, as Tails joined them.
"Hey, I think I may have an entrance point..." Tails announced. He walked over to a part of the façade and knocked on the grey stone. He smiled and waved Knuckles and Amy over. Once they joined the fox, he pointed to the wall. "I think it's an elevator shaft." Knuckles and Amy looked at each other, getting the same idea. Amy reached into Hammer Space and pulled out a hammer. She and Knuckles reared back and slammed their hammer and fist into the wall, decimating it.
...
"It's too quiet..." Shadow thought as he glided down the hallways. He stole wary glances down the other halls, but he hadn't seen more than 3 guards in more than five minutes. "Where is everyone...?"
He got his answer around the next corner.
Armed guards were lined up in front of the elevator that led to his escape. Shadow stood still for a moment, still not quite believing how cliché the whole thing was. I mean, come on, a final wave right before you leave?
"Like I'm in the plot of a stupid book." Shadow grumbled. He pointed his gun forward and readied himself to fire.
...
Knuckles quietly climbed down a cable to the grounded elevator, helping Amy down as she joined him. He slowly removed a panel from the roof of the elevator, and dropped down. He held his hands up to help Amy down as he looked out the open door. The sight stopped him cold in his tracks. As Amy jumped down, she froze in shock as well.
At least 20 people in yellow overalls blocked their way, their backs to the heroes. Amy gave Knuckles a "What do we do" look; Knuckles shrugged.
Gunshots rang through the air, startling the two. They got ready to fight until they realized the people were scattering!
"Now, come on!" Amy yelled, grabbing Knuckles' wrist and dragging him through the confusion. They sprinted down a hall to their left, away from the gunfire.
...
Shadow walked purposefully through the guards, glaring at all of them. As a guard tried to advance, the hedgehog shot a few warning shots at their feet, keeping them at bay until he got to the elevator.
"Weak." Shadow grumbled. "Not much of a fight." Shadow didn't feel satisfied. As the doors closed, he fired a few shots into the crowd. He watched a group of guards fall unconscious. He smirked. Much better. Lucky the kid wasn't here, he certainly wouldn't approve.
Shadow grew a bit concerned as his thoughts turned to the teen. What was his name anyway, he never learned it... The hedgehog leaned his gun against the elevator wall and fingered the necklace the kid gave him. He looked over at Sonic and leaned him against the wall. He removed the necklace and put it on Sonic.
"He'd want you to have it." Shadow mumbled to himself. He pressed the "up" button, and closed his eyes as the elevator jolted to life.
Sonic's eyes snapped open as he let out a scream.
...
Log 052.2
Subject responded well to second experiment. Full Marmalization achieved.
"Marmalization?" Josh muttered.
"I take it this has nothing to do with a low-fat spread for toast." Ilo mused.
"Not a good time for puns Ilo." Josh replied flatly.
"Is there a definition?" Suru asked. Josh shook his head.
"Not yet... There is a video though..." Josh added, eyeing the bottom of the screen. He tapped the grey "play" button. The screen went dark, and Josh turned the tablet on its side. The video quickly loaded. A weasel in a white t-shirt sat behind a metal desk.
"Log number 052," An offscreen voice stated. "What is your name?"
"Mortalo Watch." The weasel replied
"Mr. Watch?!" Josh gasped. Watch sounded nothing like when they first met. This Watch sounded calm, less confident, and... Well, sane.
"And why did you come here?" The offscreen voice asked. Josh had never heard this voice before, but it was a very proper British, like the bird Shadow had knocked out earlier.
"I'm... I guess here to help society somehow?" Watch sounded a bit confused. "Your people weren't very specific."
"No, you are exactly right!" The voice exclaimed. "You are the next step in one of the biggest social movements ever devised. You will help usher in an era of world peace."
"Uh... W-wow, um... That's wonderful." Watch looked a bit floored. "Um, sorry, how long will this take?"
"About a week I would imagine..." The voice replied. The sound of a pen scratching paper could be heard. "We've told your secretary. Oh by the way, that's quite the charming little park you've built."
"Th-Thank you sir." Watch blushed a bit. The voice laughed warmly. "When do we begin?" Watch asked.
"About half-past the hour. Is that okay with you?"
"Half-past..." Watch looked up at what Josh assumed was a clock on the wall. "12:30 sounds good to me."
The video cut to a high shot, a camera mounted to a wall. Watch was strapped to a steel table, looking more than a bit nervous. A man in a white lab coat walked into the room, with a syringe in his hand. The glowing yellow liquid inside was noticeable almost immediately.
"Administering Hecotriton." The man in the coat recited. It was a different man than before. He walked over to Watch and lifted the weasel's head off the table. The poor man's eyes anxiously examined the needle as it drew closer and closer. It made the plunge into the back of the victim's neck. Watch gripped the edges of the table, his knuckles turning white under the strain, seeming to draining the color from his fur. The syringe was removed as Watch began to thrash. The video cut again, this time showing Watch sitting in a cell, swaying in a circle. He looked dazed, but, happy... The British voice spoke in a voice over.
"Experiment one is a success, Marmalization to begin."
...
Tails was working furiously, trying to get vital readings on Sonic while Shadow struggled to hold the hedgehog down. Sonic was flailing in what seemed to be a mix of anguish, pain, and fury.
"His pulse is off the charts, we need to get him calmed down!" Tails exclaimed! He ran over to a nearby ambulance and returned shortly with a needle full of some clear liquid.
"Where'd you get that?" Shadow questioned, his voice remaining steady despite the thrashing demon jerking him up and down.
"I borrowed it." Tails stated as he quickly stabbed Sonic's arm and injected the medicine into Sonic. After only a few minutes, Sonic stopped thrashing, and his eyes slowly closed. Tails was impressed by the disguise Sonic had, every part of him, including the eyelids, had been dyed brown. The fox could barely recognize his friend without his trademark blue color. No wonder they couldn't find him! He was right under their noses the whole time.
"I don't know how long this will last." Tails explained. "We need to treat him, ASAP."
"I've never seen the faker stay still for this long." Shadow smirked. Tails rolled his eyes before opening a new window on his Comm. He blinked, and a keyboard appeared in his vision.
Tails: Josh, have you found anything?
Josh: Can you make any sense of this?
A molecular diagram popped up next to Josh's message. Tails enlarged it.
Josh: It's called Hecotriton.
Tails was baffled. He had never seen anything like the compound before.
Josh: This stuff is really touchy. It's killed at least 51 people, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was more.
Tails quickly uploaded the molecule into a program.
Tails: How is it administered?
Josh: Injected into back of neck, into blood stream.
Tails typed the information into a little bar. The program began to run simulations.
Tails: What does it do?
Josh: Shuts down the brain and makes it easier for a "brain crimp" to be installed?
The results came back. What was a jumble of words and numbers for the average person made the intelligent kitsune shudder.
Too little of this stuff and the brain just shut down, never to wake up.
Too much, and the brain would wake up in overdrive, which caused pressure to build in the skull from the activity. The pressure would build and build until the skull couldn't handle it. It was like a balloon. Put in too much air, and the balloon would pop.
Josh: I was injected with this stuff, I think everyone who's gone in there has!
Tails: Shadow too?
Josh: I think so...
Tails: Then why aren't you two acting like Sonic?
Josh: I think there's more, some kind of process called "Marmalization."
"What did they do to you in there Shadow?" Tails asked. Shadow scoffed.
"Some kind of immature brain washing." Shadow sounded offended. "They thought it would work. Infantile attempts... I am-"
"Don't launch into that again." Tails interupted. Now was not the time for another Ultimate Lifeform spiel. Shadow glared at him, but Tails was focused on Sonic. He went back to his messages.
Tails: See if Marmalization has anything to do with brain washing.
Josh: Will do.
...
Amy adjusted the grip on her hammer.
"Any idea where we should go?" She asked, gazing down a hallway for any indication of where to go next. Knuckles shook his head.
"Just keep looking. It's not like we have much more we can see." Knuckles walked down the hall confidently, trying to hide the growing sense of unease he felt. What if they were too late? What if Josh was taken away from here, or worse, what if he was dead?!
"Focus Knuckles." The echidna mentally berated himself. Josh was still here, he had to be if Tails was able to track his location.
It could be a trap.
"I don't care! We have to try!"
"Knuckles!"
The echidna refocused on looked at Amy. She was stopped in front of a heavy door, labeled "Marmalization Chamber."
"What is that? Marmalization?" Knuckles tried his best to read it. What a weird word...
"I just asked Tails, he wants us to go in and see!" Amy replied, showing her Comm to Knuckles.
"What about Josh?" Knuckles crossed his arms, clearly feeling uneasy. His mood was reflected in Amy's eyes.
"Josh wants us to go see too..." Amy replied quietly. "I don't like this either, but they're saying that this could help explain what happened to Sonic."
"Amy-"
"Please Knuckles..." Amy felt guilty for asking, but she was worried about Sonic almost as much, if not more, as she was worried about Josh. Knuckles sighed before pulling out his Comm.
Knux: We're hurrying Josh.
Josh: Thanks Knux, I'm fine! :)
Knuckles didn't feel reassured, but nodded to Amy. She pressed a few buttons on her Comm, which shortly started to play a live stream of Tails on his laptop.
"Wait, let me bring Josh up!" Knuckles started to call Josh.
"No, if they're tracking our Comm activity, it'll alert them to where Josh is!" Tails crackled on the other end. The reception wasn't fantastic in the underground complex, the image freezing and jumping.
"And we've been texting him?!" Knuckles growled.
"The texts can't be traced, it doesn't take much data to send one. A call would give him away immediately!"
"So they know we're here?" Amy asked, getting a better grip on her hammer again, a nervous tic she had developed.
"That's why you need to hurry, now bust in there!" Tails urged. Knuckles took that as his cue and punched, blasting the door away.
