Infinite sipped at his sports drink as he hid from the sun under a coffee tree. The Ikezuré sun roasted black-furred Mobians into pulled pork- to think he used to live, work, thrive under this blaze... and sweltering jungles of Ramara...easily adapting from those to the windy highlands of Rakhurem... wherever there was pay.
The ancient ones would follow the food... moving their homes and rebuilding them with each season...
His ear flicked at the recounting specter, the other picking up on a revving engine approaching from behind. The jackal watched a Motobug, saddlebags full of small red fruit, speed past to a tarp in front of him. Once the bags were emptied onto the tarp, a Grabber crawled onto it, inspecting each coffee cherry harvested, using its spindly arms to turn over and move questionable fruits. Once the bad fruits were kicked off the tarp, the Grabber would tie the corners together as a Valkeen would swoop in and carry it off to the temple-styled processing plant a few minutes away. The Grabber would roll out a new tarp and wait for the next Motobug to come.
Infinite hummed, wondering if these Badniks didn't know how ridiculously sad they looked- weapons, farming coffee... Did it burn at their insides- how long would it take before their gears ground at the vapid tasks assigned to them, he wondered, and would they have the willpower to rebel against their orders?
The leaves above him began to rustle- he glanced up to catch the orange blur of a Coconuts hopping from fruit cluster to fruit cluster, searching for the ripe ones. Maybe they were just happy for the work, he huffed. At least they were doing something...
A distinctive whirr of a jet engine slowing down announced a mechanical voice, "Everything seems to be going smoothly. We should have enough for tests by next month."
Infinite rested his chin on his knees. Metal beeped, "You doing okay?"
"Just feeling like a tabula rasa."
The robot's hydraulics hissed as he sat down next to him. "Nothing's come back to you since you woke up?"
"There's a voice... talking about an ancient nomadic people," he admitted. "But I don't think that's enough."
Clicks. Whirrs. "Interesting."
Infinite raised a brow- "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I think you're talking about the ancient jackal tribes." He pointed to the processing plant, "the ones that eventually made temples like that. They were nomadic, but they'd always return to a particular spot near Kũrage. They eventually developed into the rather mysterious civilization that built those impressive pyramids."
"Kũrage..." he echoed, squinting at the pyramids in the distance. "So... that's why..."
"I used to study them. You know, us black jackals are said to be descendants of Anubis- the ancient king..."
"Really, papa? We're related to that big jackal statue?"
Infinite's nose snuffed. "I suppose that took an incredible amount of time..." he mumbled, glancing up at the tree, the Coconuts finished harvesting. "No doubt they needed a lot of manpower..."
"Apparently not," Metal buzzed. "Their manuscripts cite an ancient power their king wielded- one that made him a god in their eyes."
The jackal hummed, stomach beginning to gnaw. "I suppose we could reminisce over the old jackals over lunch," he stood up, "whatever that ends up being."
"It's whatever you want; you're the one who's going to eat it."
He glanced over towards Kũrage, nose twitching.
"One medium lamb koshari," the weasel vendor handed off the steaming paper bowl off to Infinite. "Thanks, enjoy!"
Metal followed Infinite as he stepped away from the street cart, looking less like Metal and more like a dusty Sonic. "A bit risky, don't you think?" he buzzed- still sounded like Metal. They stood along a wall, out of the din of Kũrage's marketplace."You're not really hiding out."
"Which works perfectly if they have no idea what's under a mask," he hummed, sticking a plastic fork into the street dish. "I just needed to wear a jacket."
"Even if you weren't presumed dead, don't you have enemies from your mercenary days? They'll recognize you."
The jackal hummed, savoring the spiced tomato sauce and tender lamb. Hopefully, he'd recognize them... get some memories back into his empty skull. Though, by the time he recognized them, it would be too late... hopefully Metal would react faster.
He crunched on a fried onion, glancing around the bustling street. "J-Squad never worked around Kũrage," he reasoned. "Do you hear about an abundance of military activity around here?"
The whirring quieted. "Chatter has been quiet around here. But, everything's been a bit weird since the war- you never know who's going to start trouble," the bot warned.
Infinite's ear flicked as he scanned around the marketplace- but everything stayed murky for him. Well... it had been a little more than fifteen years since he'd been here, right? When even was his birthday? November?
"Hey... did the doctor ever dig anything up after he hired us?" he wondered.
The hedgehog beside him rubbed his nose. "We were able to find information about every other member in Jackal Squad... but you?" His disguise flickered- "Just one arrest record in Marnebu."
He snuffed- of course he knew. His blue eye twitched and iron filled his mouth. "No luck finding anything else, huh?" the jackal hummed, spreading the tomato sauce around the bowl.
"He thought it was too much work for..." Metal hesitated.
Infinite's yellow eye rested on the brown-gray shape next to him. "Cannon fodder?" The Badnik shrugged his shoulders as if distancing himself from his creator's opinion. The jackal shook his head, the eye spasms tapering off. His sternum began to ache...
"What on earth-?! How is the prototype assimilating so well?!"
"Vitals stabilizing- sir!"
"Hmm... looks like the dog has some fight in him," a synthesized, unfamiliar voice buzzed. That wasn't... when the others happened. "Is that why you're keeping him?"
"You're scrawny for battery," someone jeered. "Let's call you Tiny!"
Infinite rubbed his temple above his blue eye. Metal clicked a little, "You all right? What's bothering you?"
The jackal grumbled, shoveling more koshari into his mouth. "This tomato sauce's cold," he lied through a mouthful of pasta-rice. The hedgehog stepped closer as if challenging him. "And he skimped on the onions. Cheapskates irritate me."
A hum, but no response. "From the arrest record, I was able to find hospital records matching the described injuries, and follow-up detainment records spanning six months afterward- so I know a little bit more about you than he does."
"Such as?"
"Blood type O negative. Estimated birthday in early November- still having a little trouble finding a birth record. After you were released from the hospital, you were transferred and processed into a juvenile detention facility in Eltemeen- probably because they weren't sure where you were from. Got in a few scraps... mostly defensive- ooh. You're an escapee."
Infinite snuffed as Metal continued, "Looks like they stopped looking for you after a month. Lucky break." The jackal shrugged, nose twitching. "That's all of the official documents I have- besides your employment records. That leaves a substantial seven year gap, and it's only surface information."
"And that's all you need," an orange-scarfed jackal puffed from a memory. "His name is Boss; end of discussion."
"Well... right now, all I have is surface information," Infinite admitted, scooping up the last of the koshari. He squinted- the same niqāb- rather, the same sliver of face behind the niqāb- had passed by at least four times during the conversation. What exactly was she doing?
His fur relaxed as he shook the paranoia out of his head. She's just scatterbrained and keeps forgetting where she's supposed to go and what she needs to buy. I haven't been here in fifteen years... and no one knows I'm alive.
"Well, thank you for lunch," he sighed. "And the fresh air." His nose twitched as it picked up a familiar sweet scent. They had them here, too? He craned his head towards the scent- a couple of uniformed children raced by. Infinite stepped into the crowd and followed the stream of navy. They turned around a corner and lined up in front of a couple of stands. Timing the cooking time with the end of school? Clever...
He waded in with the sea of children, Metal beeping behind him. Despite fifty or so kids, the vendors dealt with them in a timely manner, sending them on their way with golden brown pastries topped with sugar or chocolate. In a different part of Ikezuré, they were called puff-puffs...
"Would you like some, too?" the cook asked. Infinite glanced at the toppings- chocolate, sugar, cinnamon and honey... he decided on the honey and sugar combination as Metal paid for them. Eight or nine golf ball-sized balls of dough fell into the hot oil, turning into a golden brown. Once they were fished out of the fryer, the vendor drizzled some honey onto them before showering them in sugar. "There you are!"
"So you have a sweet tooth, too," Metal buzzed as they shuffled out of the children's way. Infinite picked up one of the pastries, some of the powdered sugar falling onto his black gloves. His nose twitched as he stared at the little puff. "Bet you scarfed down a lot of these as a kid."
Crrummch. Hm- some sort of spice in the dough tickled his nose as he chewed through the light insides of the sweet.
"Do you honestly think a vagrant jackal pup could afford to scarf these down every day?" he mumbled, picking up another. He glanced at the disguised Badnik-
Again- that same orange and peach face, hiding behind a niqāb.
She's following us.
His ribcage constricted as he bit into the fried dough. If they retreated too soon, she'd know where their hiding place was... but if they stayed in Kũrage too long, maybe she'd have a little ambush waiting for them...
Metal buzzed. "What is it?"
Infinite swallowed- "We're being followed," he whispered.
The bot's disguised flickered for a moment- "You're sure?" He nodded, boring into the paper tray full of powdered puff-puffs. Faces. Try to remember faces- orange and peach... no, he couldn't-
I have to get out of here.
"Our options are limited," Metal whispered. "If we run, we'll draw more attention to ourselves. If we try to get back to the base, they'll follow us... and if we fight, we'll be found out by everyone."
I'll die if I stay here.
Infinite began quaking- voices started pointing and teasing. His chest tightened, bones bruising his thumping heart.
"Hey- are you okay?"
Get me out of here!
The air cooled. The market clamor vanished. His chest burned and prickled- Metal clicked and whirred, but Infinite fell forward onto the cold tile of the hideout.
Shade blinked- she'd been tailing them since they had landed in Kũrage, careful not to let them leave her sight- Metal Sonic couldn't have moved that fast without causing wind gusts or a sonic boom. The packed marketplace bustled along, as oblivious to their sudden absence as it had been to their presence.
Shade stepped over carefully to where they had been standing, scanning for hiding places- no... they had been up against this wall, flanked by vendors and children. Impossible to escape without causing a disturbance.
If she had been wearing her helmet, she might have been able to confirm her suspicions... perhaps Infinite had done this. If he had used the Phantom Ruby- but was it possible with such trace amounts? Or had Metal Sonic managed to synthesize a replacement prototype?
Then... perhaps she should pass this information on...
Shade pushed the thought away- GUN wouldn't heed a warning from an anonymous source... and if they found out who she was, there was no doubt she would be imprisoned. And if she gave this information to Sonic... then he would tell Knuckles. GUN might do the same... considering the near-extinct status of echidnas.
If the extinction of echidnas concerns you, she argued, then help me free them. You'll have plenty of breeding pairs then.
But the Nocturnus were criminals- evil beings bent on taking over the world. They would never agree to helping them escape their prison. Shade knew this the moment she stepped onto the Cyclone and they sped away from her crumbling home.
There must be a way to return them to this world... her fist clenched. And she would be sure it was still here for them.
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