a/n: Overt. #herewego
Revolutionary Operation, Type Zero
Kinetic Sky
08. The Phantom Pain
"The scale of my operations decreased some time ago, as you know. It was as simple as that. At one point or another, I was offered a deal by G.U.N and the United Nations. This was shortly before the incident with Metal Sonic. If I worked for them, I would avoid the punishments waiting for me 'when I was caught', they said. I suppose they assumed that I was going to try and walk off into the sunset, and I didn't convince them otherwise. I took their deal, the handsome sum that came along with it, and an office. This was…two years ago, at the most," Eggman said.
"No wonder," Sonic muttered. "So that was the reason for the lull. What'd they have you do?"
"Applications, experiments. Terribly mundane things to do with robotics."
"For you, anyways," Sonic said.
"Naturally."
"You said that it was 'you all along'. What did you mean by that? If you've been working with the military, then how could you end up doing this?" Tails asked.
"No…I know what he means," Amy said. "He means to say...all of this came out of his work. But it wasn't by his hand. The government used the technology you created for their own purposes. Isn't that right, Doctor?"
"The original use was for cyber formation and preservation of material. The mechanics were fairly simple. Land would be cyberformed and coated with a layer of malleable metal. The process involved time-space manipulation in order to change the composition of the land…but it was limited in time and scope. The cyberforming would only last as long as the energy used to fuel it did."
"Chaos Energy for conversion," Tails said.
"Yes, precisely. A slight spatial shift, something temporary in its design. This kind of thing could also be powered by conventional fuels, eventually."
"But something changed."
Eggman gave Sonic a nod. "Many things did. This was meant specifically to be a tool of war. A major advance in total battlefield control, and most importantly an opportunity to eliminate the viability of guerrilla warfare. But they asked for more, and I delivered. I completed a system that used the properties of Chaos Control to remove substance from existence. It targeted life energy…the form of Chaos Control created a dragnet that would contact all sources of life and pull them into a centralized area. Again, for temporary storage."
"And the black barriers?"
"Not my idea."
"It reacts to a very high specific energy," Tails said. "We managed to remove it from my arm earlier. What you said about the dragnet…"
"The energy was to be released into the atmosphere in order to return to the life cycle. And the magnitude of the energy removal could be easily controlled."
"Flash famines," Sonic said. "Resource control. Armies can't eat bullets and they can't drink gas. Combine that with the landscaping there, and you've got yourself a winning strategy. But I'm guessing that these things weren't ever meant to be used at the same time."
"But they were," Amy said. "Doctor…why did you rebuild Metal Sonic?"
"I didn't."
"The hell you didn't," Sonic said. "Who else could have built him?"
"Metal Sonic…the schematics for his designs were handed over to the military as part of my deal. They wanted to have a look at them. I figured that there was no possibility of them being able to reproduce the specifications. And I was right. The most they could manage was a functioning shell a few months ago. Barely any comparison to the original," he said with a scoff.
"So what changed?" Tails asked.
"They sent one of their best agents to retrieve something from the small island where Metal Sonic made his final appearance. A robot named E-123 Omega," he said gruffly. "And he retrieved a miraculously undamaged ROM chip. One of many stashed inside of Metal Sonic's frame."
Amy shook her head. "But that…that means that…"
"Amy? What's wrong?"
"No, you don't understand…that's why I could feel it. That's why I could feel him, why he seemed the same. A phantom…not just an illusion, but for real. The longer he stays here, the longer he continues to exist…"
"Amy, cool it," Sonic said. "It's not-"
"You're wrong! You're wrong, you're not getting it!" she yelled fearfully.
"What made him go rogue in the first place…"
Amy stepped towards Eggman as he spoke. "You understand…"
"It is said that…a lust for revenge can bring the fallen back to life."
"Yes, that's right…souls are volatile. They're unstable. Influenced by so many different things."
"You believe that Metal Sonic had a soul?" he asked her.
"…yes. I do believe it. I felt it, that day…when he almost took everything from me. That amount of hatred can only come from someone who had a soul to store it inside of."
Tails folded his arms. "So…the ROM chip. The permanent data that survived. It was used to try and complete Metal Sonic. And that lingering will took hold…allowing Metal to complete himself. He used the cyberforming to complete his body…to change the planet. The erosion of life. Complete devastation. All of his own mission." He looked at Eggman. "All for revenge."
"…"
"And the more power he gets, the more he becomes complete. No longer becoming just a shade with fragmented memories. But…returning to reality again. Unless you destroy the soul completely, there's nothing that can be done."
"If the world becomes wrapped in darkness, then everything will be lost," Eggman said.
"Is there a way to stop this? To reverse it?" Tails asked.
Eggman paused in thought. "The characteristics of the technology have changed. Whatever was done by Metal Sonic, it improved the potency and the permanence of each stage. In short, they are now working on a simultaneous level as opposed to being two steps of a program. The strength of the current technology will only increase as Metal Sonic continues to exist and upgrade himself."
"And I'm guessing G.U.N is paralyzed," Sonic said.
"The main arms are, but…I know for a fact that there are some who were conspicuously absent when these events began. They will likely be observing from on high," Eggman said.
"That sounds about right. Can't have yourselves getting in danger so soon, yeah?"
"A touch cynical today."
"I get like that sometimes," Sonic replied sarcastically. "So what's your brilliant plan, Doc?"
"Disrupting the activation of Chaos Control in each of the silos. That…may be the actual form of the black barriers you encountered earlier."
"It didn't seem like it…it seemed a lot more sinister. And souls, too…maybe it's that also," Amy said.
"What is?"
"The negative…yin. The power of Chaos has a light and dark half. The light half gives energy, and the dark half form. That might explain the darkness…the manipulation of form to entrap souls."
"Hm. I must say, it's refreshing to see that there are matters even beyond my intellect," Eggman said.
"That's an interesting thought," Amy said with a smile.
"Guess we're teaming up," Sonic said. "Can you do your thing here, Eggman?"
"No. I do not have the necessary equipment here."
"The most advanced facility on the mainland, is…er…" Tails scratched his head as he thought. "But those are probably no good. And to be honest, I'm not sure if Wanderer has what you need."
"What about ARK?" Sonic asked.
"Rudimentary for our times…"
"But it'll do," Sonic finished.
"I can only give you a real estimate once I start my research. But based on the original plans…I will need a week at the least."
"You gotta be kidding me. A week?"
"This isn't exactly a walk in the park," Tails reminded Sonic. "And a week is pretty darn good. I could maybe speed it up a little by helping, but I've got a feeling that you'll need some technical help down here on Earth."
"Fine. What do you think, Amy?"
"I think this is good, Sonic. Good luck, Doctor. And…thank you."
"For what, pray tell?"
"I think you know the answer to that. Please be safe," she said with a smile. Eggman gave her a curious look.
"We'll have to take care of bolt-brain again, too. Probably armed with a whole bunch of freaky crap…"
"We've done it before. Eggman, I think you have the recording of the specific instance of energy needed. It's six tails," Tails said.
"At the peak?"
"Yeah, just about there."
Eggman nodded. "Understood. I have one functioning launch site remaining. I will use that to ascend to ARK."
"Alright. Like Amy said, take care of yourself, Doctor."
"You do the same."
"We'll try," Sonic said. "Catch you on the flip side. Transmission code's the same as earlier."
"Alright."
Amy and Tails placed their hands on his shoulders, and Sonic focused before warping out of the plane and back into the Wanderer. The Tornado released its electromagnets and flew on autopilot back to its mother ship.
She started to walk away before he called out.
"Amy."
"Yes?"
"Do you remember?"
"No…I forgot. I forgot a long time ago," she said, turning to him. "That's why…I've been so afraid to face the dark lately. That's why…I…"
"When the time comes, just give me your hand. I'll always be with you. I promised, Amy."
"I know, and I-"
"It's not your fault. You're allowed to be scared. You're allowed to cry. He was right."
"Sonic…"
"I can't protect you."
She hung her head.
"But…when the time comes…I will save you. Not just because you're my wife."
She raised her head, staring into his eyes.
"More than that. You're my home on Earth. The most precious person that I've ever known."
The airship punched through the black clouds. The light filtered past them through the windows as they stared at each other.
"I will be a place that you can always come home to," she said. "I promised on this soul of mine."
He placed a hand on her shoulder, smiling.
"You always have been, Amy Rose. Thank you."
She placed her hand on top of his and nodded.
"Together, Sonic. Let's bring light back to the world. Just as we decided that day," she said, her eyes glowing bright.
"Yeah. We will."
The aircraft descended below the black clouds once more, into the ever growing darkness.