Cf96: You'd be right! And seeing Omega as a psychologist would actually be pretty funny. xD
SonicSonic54321: There's at least two more Maria-flashbacks, but they're not nearly as depressing. And we're not quite done yet- we just reached the half-way point right now!
Chapter 16: The Pursuit of Dr. Eggman
~Revenge Upon the Doctor~
Lava Shelter-
As we headed deeper into the core of Eggman's base, it got increasingly hotter, just in time for me to regain my strength and the ability to walk by myself. Omega had actually offered to carry me for a bit longer, but I declined, as I didn't want him to overheat.
As we walked, he kept trying to assure me that Eggman was absolutely crazy, but within every crazy comment, every unstable utterance, every silly statement, and even every illogical lie…there was a seed of truth.
I just needed to figure out where Eggman had planted it.
His constant barrage of words insisting that I was an android buzzed around in my head, enough time to make me burst out chuckling at the mere concept of it.
"Hmmm hmm…hmm hmm!" I cackled under my breath, and it was off-handed enough to make Omega turned around questioningly.
Flashes of me trapped in that container took over my mind, along with the rows of Shadow Androids that had been secured on upper levels of the Iron Jungle…
…along with a vision of me in space, colored a blinding-white and charged with unspeakable power…and I was accompanied by…Sonic? We were reaching out toward something and chanting some nonsense…but what?
The last vision was brief, and was instantaneously followed by me plummeting from space and falling toward the world below…the same thing I had seen when I'd toppled from the flagship of the Sky Troops.
"…the pieces are coming together," I finally said after an unsettling silence, and Omega focused his attention on me once again. "This 'ultimate life form' you all keep referring to was that black hedgehog, and he…died! And I'm its copy! I must be the android Doctor Eggman created!"
I clenched my fist, smiled sickly, and looked onward.
"…then it's clear what must be done!"
"Agreed." Omega's robotic voice replied to me, right before he whacked me on the head and sent me to the ground. I gasped and fell once again, astonished that Omega had just performed such a feat.
Yet another backstabber…!
"It's because I'm an android, isn't it?! That's why you're attacking me now!" I cried, writhing on the ground and reaching forward, continuing my delirious ranting. "Doctor…you're going straight to the place you created me from! I'll make you wish you never created me!"
"No- I did it because you're an idiot," Omega rumbled, smacking me once again. I yelped from too much trauma to the head and groaned quietly. "Get a grip, Comrade Shadow. You are not an android. Do not let Eggman's words affect you in this way."
"Then what am I?" I demanded to know, unable to tame my rapidly racing thoughts. "If I'm not the original, and I'm not an android…then what am I?! Some inexplicable abomination?!"
"This heat must be getting to you," Omega deadpanned and ignoring my droning, picking me up and holding me at arm's length. "Listen to me. There is no way Eggman could have made near perfect copies of you with just notes alone…he would have needed the original as a reference at the very least."
I stared at him blankly.
"What're you getting at?"
"It's as I told Comrade Rouge- the original must exist somewhere."
"…are you really trying to say it's me?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow. Omega beeped back.
"Tell me, do you feel like a robot?"
"As opposed to what?" I deadpanned, sweat rolling down my fur. Omega stared long and hard at me. As a matter of fact, the closer I looked, the more I believed he felt legitimately concerned about me. Eventually he put me down, but never removed his gaze; almost as if he was afraid to do so.
"…are you sure you wish to continue?" he asked me, and I nodded curtly.
"I'll make Eggman pay! It's time he gets some comeuppance for his actions- get involved in places where he never should have dared to enter…"
I was tingling with the anticipation of revenge; filled with a dangerous ambition to bring an end to all that was Eggman…and admittedly, I was feeling a bit hot too, but it was just the fact that we were surrounded by tons of lava. Classic Eggman move, as far as I knew.
"…then we should be going," Omega declared, and I was just glad we were finally making progress.
. . .
The way in was via grind rails, and even though Omega quietly voiced his distaste initially, he made no further complaints, if only to keep me on the right path. I just sulked straight ahead, passing through the Eggman-shaped entrance…
Does everyone have such an ego these days?!
"Eggman is inside here…" Omega relayed to me, staying on one rail while I bounced and twisted back and forth on all three of them. "If you really have a need to confront him, then assist me in my search!"
"What did you think I was going to do?" I grumbled back. The grind rail zipped past a set of Egg Pawns, who only stared on incredulously at one of their own riding the rails.
They took twists and turns and doubled back often, and combined with the illustrious light of the lava, it was making me a bit dizzy. I was just surprised that Omega's gyroscope functions weren't making him feel the same.
We landed in a room on a lower level, filled with awaiting Egg Pawns. I threw myself at them instantly as Omega announced, "Secret door detected to the right."
"We'll take it after we take care of these things!" I called back, spinning around and kicking one of the Egg Pawns. Three more came stomping up to me, so I collapsed into ball form and rolled right into them via a spin dash. Omega was at my back, shooting up any that tried to sneak up on me.
"Quickly, to the exit while the way is clear!" Omega cried, and we quickly darted to the secret exit. However, just before I stumbled through it, something came down from above and cackled at me, blocking me from going forward.
Shadow Android.
"I hope you weren't planning on getting out of here alive," it taunted me, simpering impishly and folding its arms. "A rogue robot going against its creator is unfathomable…let alone two! You threats must be eliminated for the great Doctor to thrive!"
I really hoped I never sounded that passive-aggressive.
"Is that so?" I dared back, striking the exact same pose as this…impostor. "I believe that you're the threat that'll be eliminated!"
"Then let's take care of this issue swiftly, shall we?" the android asked, lunging at me quickly. I didn't have the time to dodge; I threw out my arms and proceeded to catch it, holding it away from me.
"Coward!" it barked, struggling in my grasp. "Take each and every blow like a man!"
I didn't reply- I was shocked at what I felt.
The Shadow Android…it had fur, and it didn't feel like I was hanging onto anything remotely metallic. I could see its chest rising and falling like it was breathing, and as my one hand griped its wrist, I could've sworn I'd felt a pulse.
"What ARE you…?" I whispered, eyes going wide as it squirmed in my grasp. It stopped struggling long enough to snicker at me.
"The same as you, I'd imagine."
I froze up again, just in time for the android to attempt a kick, but this was quickly brought to a halt when Omega's sharp hand stabbed straight through the android, revealing a mass of gears, wires, and other mechanical doodads. I finally dropped it, watching it twitch with malfunctions on the floor before finally stopping.
"It felt so…alive…" I trailed, completely dazed. Omega grabbed my arm and dragged me through the secret exit. "How could it possibly…?"
"Some things are better left unquestioned, Shadow."
I stared at the heap of lifeless metal until we disappeared into the next area.
. . .
The lava levels were growing increasingly higher for whatever reason, so I Triangle Jumped down some halls that had lost their floors to the molten rock. Omega stayed as close to me as he could, his sensors on high guard after the android ambush.
I light dashed along a row of rings afterward, with Omega keeping up by using a grind rail. The rings replenishing bits and pieces of my energy that I hadn't known I'd lost, and also effectively cooling me down. I glanced at Omega- he didn't seem as bothered by the heat as I was.
"GAH! Damn that GUN- they've completely surrounded my base!"
Omega and I stopped in our tracks, effectively topping off the grind rails and landing in a heap of boxes. I wasted no time in poking my head out and getting an earful of what Eggman was spewing.
"I'll have to activate my volcanic defense system in order to shield my base with my lava magma!"
"..aren't lava and magma the same thing?" I huffed under my breath.
"Negative," Omega intervened. "Magma is molten rock underneath the planet's surface- lava is what it becomes after breaching the surface through cracks in the planet's crust, or more commonly, erupting from volcanoes."
"I didn't ask for a geology lesson, Omega. We have to find Eggman before his lava defenses keep more than just GUN out of his lair…which direction is he in?"
Omega's eyes whirled around for a bit before an audible beep emerged from him. "I have scanned the transmittance of Eggman's video to his monitors…the signal is coming from up ahead!"
"All right then!" I exclaimed, leaping out of our hiding spot and forging onward. "Let's get moving!"
Omega and I rushed ahead, dodging Eggman's last resort defenses and plowing through his door into deeper areas. Another set of grind rails were available to us, but some of them had completely melted thanks to the heat radiating from the lava. And it wasn't just the rails- even some of the metallic floors had sunk into the lava, losing its strength to the heat…
"The whole base is experiencing a meltdown due to the activation of Eggman's volcanic defenses," Omega announced. "Proceeding could be treacherous. Have caution."
"Next you're going to tell me to be careful not to fall," I grumbled…only to nearly slide off the caved floor. Omega grabbed me and tossed me to the safest ground, with him thundering right after me. He gave me a look that I pretended not to notice. "…that didn't happen. Let's just keep moving."
. . .
In the following area, Omega and I were weaving our way around moving lasers and deepening puddles of lava. Eggman's voice was going ballistic over the intercom, showering his robots with demands and warnings and prominently just complaints about his base being infiltrated.
"…there's drones ahead, Omega," I warned, grabbing a slab of the metal floor and flipping it over. It crushed several robots that happened to be standing in the way. "Do your thing and attack them!"
"Must eliminate all Eggman robots!" Omega blared, leaping in front of me and setting his blasters to rapid fire. The Egg Pawns whirled around to retaliate, only to be blasted relentlessly by Omega. I watched carefully from behind Omega, observing their numbers drop rapidly one by one…
"Hey, what about those ones?" I asked, pointing out three drones juggling something. Omega locked onto them and silently took aim.
"They are juggling bombs. Suggest destroying the lower section first to neutralize it."
"Got it," I nodded, jumping out and curling into a ball. I targeted each of the robot's lower halves, then ricocheting into each of them with a homing attack. Omega then followed up by destroying the upper halves, which were unable to launch their bombs attacks thanks to me.
"Excellent execution, Shadow," Omega commented, rising from his vantage point. I just waved from where I was.
"Hmph, no problem."
When Omega caught up with me, I entered the next door, only to almost completely step off the edge. Omega joined me at the edge and examined it.
"We need to go down."
"Really?" I asked snidely, rolling my eyes. "And how do you propose we do that aside from taking a suicide jump?"
"There are bars reached from one side of the room to the other. Use those to work your way down."
I glanced down again, and sure enough there were a series of red bars waiting for me. Heeding Omega's advice, I leapt down and grabbed the first bar, then swung around and launched myself to the next lowest one. I gripped it with one hand, then sighed, realizing this would be a bit harder than I thought.
"It's a good thing I'm so incredibly acrobatic…"
Flipping backward this time, I launched myself to the wall, then threw myself at bar number three. I wasted no time in swinging off of this one and grabbing number four. Here, I simply let go and flipped upside down, griping number five and letting myself fall so I was straight up and down again. The floor wasn't too far away at this point, so I let go and alighted properly on my feet.
"Good work, Shadow," Omega stated behind me, and I jumped.
"How did you beat me down here-?"
"No time for questions. The lava is still rising as we speak."
He marched on, and I followed after him gawking slightly.
Well, it was like he said- some things were better left unquestioned.
. . .
"Ignore Eggman's security devices," Omega told me in the next room. A large red thing was sitting smack in the center, and I could tell just by looking at it that it fueled the doctor's volcanic defense system. I had started to go at it when Omega scolded me. "There is no time to tamper with them."
"It would be beneficial to us if we did though," I protested, but I still didn't bother with it. We were all set to simply walk around it, but three more Shadow Androids arrived to declare otherwise.
"So you're at it again, Shadow?" Eggman's voice reverberated, and I sneered. "Perhaps you just need a taste of your own medicine? Hah? Hah? Oh ho ho ho ho!"
I smacked my forehead as the three androids approached us, looking just as lifelike as the one we'd faced previously. However, they all suddenly kneeled down and produced guns from their arms, taking aim at Omega and I.
I was completely taken aback by this. "What the…?!"
"The Shadow Androids' standard armament includes some very relentless lock-on missiles!" Eggman exclaimed gleefully, his pleasure almost palpable. "See what you could do if you taped into all that unused potential?!"
The three androids sneered in my direction, launching a huge assault of missiles at me without an inch of mercy. They came flying in at all directions, so there was nowhere to escape from…until Omega stepped in front of me and completely shielded me from the barrage.
"Omega…?!"
"These androids are not the only relentless robots!" he yelled as the missiles thudded against him in several blows. "Annihilate! FIRE! FIRE!"
I just looked on as Omega accepted the onslaught, watching him fight back regardless. I saw one Shadow Android spontaneously combust after being struck between the eyes, and another fell back after taking a bullet to the chest.
"Confirmed presence of lock-on device. Beware of fake Shadow's missiles," Omega murmured, burn marks adorned all over his torso.
The final one scowled at Omega and let loose another missile, but before it could strike anything, I had jumped over Omega's shoulder, grabbed it, and hurled it right back at the android. It was caught completely off guard by this, the missile plowing right into it and exploding. The rest was needless to explain.
I landed back on the ground and panted, shaking my head at what I'd just accomplished. Eggman's voice retreated somewhere in the attack, although I know I heard him utter something about "The lava would most certainly get them" or something along those lines.
"Where did you gain the skills needed to pull that off?" Omega asked, almost sounding astonished. I just shrugged and trudged on.
"I learned that trick from an acquaintance, you could say," I explained, saying nothing more on the matter as I proceeded.
We passed more of Eggman's devices, which Omega never wasted a second to tell me to stay away from them.
"Do not turn on the devices! Proceed directly along the main path!"
"I am," I protested, trudging behind him begrudgingly. "Stop telling me what I can and can't do."
"I am just trying to give you precaution. Activating those devices will prevent us from reaching Eggman faster. His robots have already activated several of them- no need to activate more than necessary."
"Hmph, fine…"
The only way ahead was by using half-melted grind rails, so we exchanged a nod and decided to take the risk. As I kept up our speed and made sure we didn't accidentally plunge into any lava, Omega kept his guns raised, destroying any and all Egg Pawns that lined the edges of the path.
"Enemy drones successfully repelled."
"Keep it up, Omega; we're almost to our destination…" I trailed, narrowing my eyes with determination.
We pressed onward, the temperature rising with every passing second, and it was making me incredibly uncomfortable. I pushed the thoughts away, as we had finally reached the entrance to the very center of the Lava Shelter. Omega stepped off the rails and raised his gun, looking contemplatively at me.
"Last chance to turn back," he told me, glancing away after he said it. I, however, faced him and frowned.
"You sound like Rouge did! Why are you trying to chase me away from this?"
"I don't want you doing anything you'll regret."
"I'll be fine!" I insisted, and I could sense Omega tense up, if that was even possible. "It's time that the good doctor gets what he deserves…his interference will be punished, and his lies will be repented!"
I stepped up to the doors, the only thing separating the doctor from the punishment he so desperately asked for.
"Doctor, at last, I'll hear the truth from you…"
I pushed open the doors and forced my way in.
Next time...it turns out I forgot the second Egg Breaker battle, and since I like the Egg Breaker far more than the Egg Dealer, that'll be the boss chapter instead. No one's gonna miss the Egg Dealer, right? ;P
Now, for real next time... Shadow and Omega finally confront Eggman, and at long last, a good chunk of the truth Shadow was searching for finally surfaces...in more ways than one.