Recursion Error
Episode 25- Dilemmas
Oddly enough, absorbing Chaos Emeralds was becoming less and less of a painful process. Ironic, really, seeing as they kept bringing Sorun closer and closer to death.
He'd noticed it as far back as the second Chaos Emerald. Its power had flooded into him much faster than the first one, and while it had still been painful, he'd been knocked out so quickly that time it didn't even compare to the first time. That first time where it had felt like he'd been struck by a lightning bolt.
The third time around he actually noticed that the energy surge didn't hurt nearly as much. He wasn't even sure he was knocked out that long; he'd gone under, that much was for certain, but when he began to blearily open his eyes he still saw faint wisps of smoke wafting off his body. Convenient enough, he supposed, but suffering less and less pain absorbing these things the further he went didn't really make him feel all that better seeing as he'd die shortly after the last one.
The one thing that did feel better, though? The back of his torso and head. Because his brilliant idea of cushioning his fall had paid dividends. He may still have been fried by the Emerald, but he was fried comfortably.
Small victories.
"Best idea ever," he thought to himself, blinking more and more to try and clear his vision as he offhandedly patted the couch cushions he landed on. As feeling began to return to his numb body, he noted a small amount of pressure resting on his chest. He made a low noise and rolled his eyes towards his chest, where he saw a blue shape with bits of yellow sitting directly on him.
"C-chao?" The noise that came out of Virgil was small and worried, and the Chao's eyes were widened in concern as he stared down at Sorun's face. He even went as far as to shuffle forwards and touch Sorun's face with one of his limbs, causing Sorun to snort in amusement. "Chao? Chao!?"
"Hey, Virgil," Sorun muttered as he lifted his right hand up to stroke the top of the Chao's head in an effort to calm him. "I'm okay. Little charring never hurt anyone."
The Chao tried smiling at the joke, but it was a wavering smile that did nothing to erase the concern in the Chao's eyes. A dry chuckle left Sorun, and he scooped the Chao up with his right hand only to place him down on the arm of the couch right behind him. With a small groan, he sat up and scooted backwards so that his back rested against the couch for support. He breathed out, and then lifted his head upwards.
Sonic and Shadow were, of course, still there. The shocked and confused expressions they'd had on their faces earlier had greatly diminished, though now they held unreadable, questioning looks on their faces. Tails had joined the group, too, and Sorun had a hard time pinning down a single emotion to read on the fox boy's face: relief, worry, surprise, and a whole lot of astonishment just to name a few he managed to see. And his eyes were so wide and his mouth was hanging so far open that Sorun couldn't help but chuckle.
"Tails... your face looks really funny right now," Sorun mumbled, lowly chuckling further as he pulled a knee up to sling an arm over it. "I really wish I had a camera right now. Too bad I dropped my phone in that store."
The younger Mobian tilted his head in confusion, and then he sputtered in outrage at Sorun's words while closing his mouth. "What the- Sorun! You can't- you can't just run off like that only to come back saying stuff like that!"
"Sure I can. I just did."
Another voice began chuckling. Sorun shifted his gaze towards Sonic, who was shaking his head while looking from Sorun to the Chao on the couch behind him. "It's great to see you haven't changed at all, Sorun, but can I ask you what the deal with the Chao is?" he asked. "And... what happened with its wing?"
"Oh, Virgil?" Sorun mumbled as he tilted his head up to look at the Chao in question. "I found him like that and decided to rescue him. He's mine now, I guess."
Sonic blinked in surprise, and then focused back on Virgil. "You went out of your way to rescue a Chao...?"
"Why do you sound so surprised?" Sorun asked, tilting his head back down to look at Sonic. "His Chao Garden got torched by a bunch of robots and he was the only survivor. I wasn't gonna leave Virgil to starve."
He saw Sonic flinch in dismay after Sorun mentioned the Chao Garden. The same expression was more pronounced on Tails' face, and even Shadow momentarily grimaced. "That's awful," Sonic said, "but... but you really went and named him and everything?"
"Do you seriously have that low of an opinion of me that you thought'd I'd just abandon him to death?" Sorun asked in a flat tone.
"N-no! I wasn't saying that at all!" Chuckling nervously, Sonic waved his hands out in front of him. "I'm just really surprised. Not that you'd rescue something in danger, of course you would, I just didn't think you'd, well... keep it," he said. "I saw the bandage, so you must have gotten him treated somewhere. Why'd you keep him?"
"'Cause I wanted to? I dunno. Just did." Sorun shrugged. "There isn't a rule against pets in the Freedom Fighters, is there? Because if there is I'm ignoring it."
The blue hedgehog remained silent at first, his gaze going from the Chao to Sorun. He gave the human a critical look, and then chuckled while shrugging his shoulder. "And what if there is? Don't tell me you're not so dedicated to the cause that you wouldn't follow every rule to the letter."
Sensing Sonic's sarcasm, Sorun breathed out a single chuckle and rubbed at his head. "Oh, so there is? Dang, guess I'll just leave again."
"Ah, come on, Sorun. You're not gonna leave again," Sonic said. "We all know you just came back 'cause you missed my mom's pancakes."
"Oh, as if!" Sorun rolled his eyes in an exaggerated movement before focusing back on the blue Mobian. "She's great, but she ain't that... alright, she is, but I came back for more than just that."
Both teenagers stared silently at each other for a few more moments, and then they both burst out in quiet laughter. "Ah, man. Called it," Sonic said through his chuckles. "Glad to have you back, Sorun."
"Yeah..." Sorun laughed as well for a few more moments, and then stopped as the mirthful smile fell off of his face. "Alright, let's get the obvious out of the way. I'm never going back to my zone again."
And just like that, the semi-light mood that had settled over the room plunged right into nervous awkwardness. The small smile that had been on Sonic's face fell off immediately. Tails had begun to wring his hands together, and Shadow's eyes became half-lidded as he looked towards Sorun.
Sonic was the first one to speak. "Sorun, you don't know-"
"Dude, come on. Read the situation," Sorun mumbled as he looked up at the ceiling. "I didn't even need Tails to tell me. I... had a feeling before even that, but when he did all that work and confirmed it for me, I just... I didn't want to believe it. I mean, who would? Seriously, who?" He let out a sigh as his eyes fell back on the trio. "I left for a lot of reasons. Denial over being stuck here in this world forever. Anger because I had to talk with the same people responsible every single day. Fear over dying fighting Eggman." He paused, looked to the side, and then looked back at the Mobians. "Let's be honest, you guys pretty much ruined my life. And I didn't really see the point in being a Freedom Fighter after all that. So I just left 'cause... well, it was all way too much.
"Buuuut... I rescued Virgil, and seeing him all hurt and seeing a field full of dead Chao made me realize I don't really wanna see people die because of, you know, the war. And then I did some heavy thinking and... thought about all of you." Sorun forced himself to look away from them as a tinge of embarrassment rose in him. "I know that you people would never willingly ruin somebody's life and drag them into a war they didn't want to fight in and that what happened with me was a horrible mistake made out of desperation. That doesn't make it better," he elaborated with a quick glance back at the three before looking away again, "but I understand. And... you're all pretty cool. You know, for putting so much on the line to save the planet and everything. And you're not the worst people to hang around." Sorun's eyes flicked to Shadow. "Most of you, anyways."
Shadow made a "tch" sound. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Kidding, man," Sorun mumbled. "Anyway, beyond all that... I figured, you know, since I'm stuck here forever and I got all these powers, I might as well help out so my new zone doesn't become a metal wasteland of suffering under Eggman. And honestly, I don't really have anything better to do. So I came back." He stopped, and then began drumming his fingers against his knee. "That's all I got."
Nobody said anything at first after his long-winded explanation, making the teen begin to grow more anxious over their reaction. He heard something shuffle towards him, causing Sorun to look back forwards. He wasn't that surprised to see Tails standing there in front of him, though the sight did still make him take a heavy breath in preparation for what was to come. The fox's two tails were dragging against the ground, and his ears were lowered to match the saddened look he had on his face.
Of all the conversations Sorun foresaw coming, this was one of the ones he dreaded the most.
"... Hey, Tails," Sorun began in a soft voice. "Sorry for throwing you."
The fox shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Sorun, it's fine. You didn't even throw me that hard." A beat passed, and his whole form seemed to deflate. "... I don't really know what to say," Tails mumbled out, eyes trained on the floor in an effort to avoid Sorun's gaze.
"I don't really think there is anything to say, Tails," Sorun said.
"Probably not," he agreed, "but... I know you lost your home-" Tails winced, "- and I know that's really horrible, but I don't think your life is ruined."
"That's debatable." Doubly so considering Sorun was going to die.
Tails' face grew a bit exhaustive at the statement. "Sorun, really, I mean it," he said. "You're still alive, and there's people here that care about you."
"Yeah, and you practically live here already," Sonic added as he stepped next to the fox. "It's not the greatest solution in the world, I get it, and it doesn't make up for what we did. I don't think anything ever will. But if we can't give you back your old home, the least we can do is give you a new home." He outstretched a hand out to Sorun, a hopeful smile on his face. "And... maybe a few friends to help you along the way?"
Sorun stared deeply at the offered hand, a blank expression on his face as he contemplated the pair's words. In truth, he would have loved to have taken that outstretched hand and accept that offer of friendship. To maybe build a new life around all these people and make the most of what had been given to him despite everything that had been taken. He could even see him doing it; he liked each and every one of them already, after all. It wouldn't be a terrible life. It'd be great, really.
But, unfortunately, he just couldn't. Not when he was going to die from all these Emeralds. And the last thing he wanted to do was give everybody even more grief because he'd gotten so attached to them all before dying. No matter what way he played it he doubted that it would be unavoidable, and Sorun himself wasn't even so sure how long he could keep the facade up after failing to distance himself the last time he tried this, but he still wanted to try nonetheless. If only to make his death as painless as possible for everybody else.
A deep sigh left Sorun, and he shook his head as he denied the offered hand and stood up to his feet. "Sorry, Sonic. It's not happening," he said, doing his best to ignore the disappointed look the hedgehog gave him. "Just because I understand why you all did what you did doesn't change that you still did it. It doesn't mean I'll never forgive you, if anything I already do, but... I can't do anything like that. Not just yet." He looked to the side at the wall. "If we actually manage to beat Eggman and you manage to give me this 'new home' you're talkin' about... then we'll talk. 'Til then, though, we're still just comrades."
Sonic's gloved hand lowered to his side as a deflated breath left him. A humorless smile soon found itself on his face as he shook his head. "Still, huh?" he muttered.
"Yeah. Still," Sorun confirmed with a nod. "Not forever, though."
"... I guess that's fair," Sonic conceded with a sigh. "The important thing is that you're back, though. No more issues with the Emeralds?"
It took all Sorun had not to sarcastically scoff at that. "Nah. It's sorted."
"Great, great. Glad to hear it." Sonic shot Sorun an inquisitive look. "So what snazzy new power did you get out of this one?"
"Huh? Oh!" In all this awkward conversation, Sorun had forgotten he'd even gotten a new power just a few minutes ago. He didn't even know what it was yet. "Yeah, no clue. Lemme just... try and feel it out or something." He slowly rose his right hand up, furrowing his brows as he concentrated. "I don't... really know what I'm looking for here. Usually they just kinda come out naturally." He closed his eyes and concentrated harder. "I'm feeling something here. Gimme a sec..."
It was an odd, foreign sensation he was feeling. A sensation not unlike the new sensation he felt when he gained his Summoned Swords and Bringer Claws. It was different and unique, though. A sensation that stood out from the other powers in the same way the other two powers stood out from each other so he could differentiate the two. He wasn't exactly sure how it felt different, either- it just was different.
Well, whatever the case, it was still a third, new sensation he felt inside of himself. So he reached in towards it and pulled on the sensation.
He got bonked on the head by something for his effort.
Sorun cried out, more in surprise than pain, after the hit on his head and stumbled back. At the same time he heard whatever had fallen on his head clatter on the ground in front of him, and then heard the other three Mobians step back. He reached up and rubbed the spot on his forehead he'd been struck, letting out an annoyed mumbled in the process, and then opened one eye as he looked down at the ground where he heard the clattering noise.
What he saw on the ground surprised him immensely, enough so that he lowered his hand and opened both of his eyes up. On the ground was an object. Not a transparent, spectral object like the Summoned Swords or Bringer Claws, but an actual, solid object. An object that gave Sorun much confusion until he looked closer, and then immediately recoiled upon seeing the shape.
"It's... a katana?" He'd seen enough in his previous life to know one when he saw one, though the three Mobians were looking down at the sword lying on the ground in confusion. It was what it was, though: a simple, ordinary-looking katana nestled in its scabbard lying flat on the ground. "Are you kidding me? The Chaos Emerald gave me a weeb stick?" Sorun angrily muttered as he bent down to pick up the sword. "Of all the... wait. Wait a minute... I know this sword..." Sorun's eyes widened dramatically in realization, and so shocked was he from the revelation that he almost dropped the sword back on the ground. "Oh, no way, it gave me this...!?"
There was absolutely no mistaking it; he recognized the design anywhere. The black, seemingly lacquered wood scabbard with the decorative, metal bit on its tip. The flat, dark blue cord tied near the bottom of the sheath with the two ends freely hanging off like ribbons, with faint gold dots seen in the blue material. The ornamental, hexagonal, dark blue guard just below the sword's gold neck, split in half by the sword passing through it and with more intricate gold designs along its faces and rim. A handle made from a strange blue material not unlike the scales of a reptile, diamond-wrapped in white cloth. More gold on the handle's flat pommel.
Of course there was no way for Sorun not to know this sword at a single glance. He'd seen it too much to ever not recognize it. It was practically burned into his memory.
It was Vergil's sword.
"This is... Yamato..." Sorun whispered in wonder, his voice so low it was barely even heard by his own ears. He gripped the sword's handle with his right hand, and with his left hand gripping the sword's scabbard he slowly unsheathed the sword. The soft, scraping sound of the metal blade being unsheathed was almost as quiet as the teen's own awed voice, and he didn't dare drop the scabbard as he gazed into the curved, silver blade of the sword, his own reflection distorted by the temper line running through the blade's length.
So amazed was he by the sword that the odd looks he was being given by the three Mobians and the Chao on the couch were completely unnoticed by Sorun. They'd all given each other looks, and after collectively shrugging Sonic took it upon himself to step forwards. "Wait, so... your new power is a... is that a sword?" he asked in an unsure voice. "Kind of a weird-looking sword, isn't it?"
"It's a katana," Sorun explained, voice not all there as he stared at the incredibly sharp-looking tip of the sword. "Its name is Yamato."
"... Tomato?"
Sorun's grip on the sword's handle tightened, and he sharply inhaled as he head snapped in Sonic's direction. "Gonna pretend you didn't say that," he muttered out as he lowered the sword. "It's Yamato," he reiterated. "And what do you mean it looks weird? Just because its blade is curved a bit? I never heard you complain about Antoine's sword being weird."
"That's 'cause his sword's a saber, and that thing... I mean, look at it," Sonic said as he pointed at Yamato's blade. "It's real long, sure, but doesn't it look kinda, I dunno, thin?"
"You've never seen a katana before, have you, Sonic?" Sorun turned his body fully towards the hedgehog, his eyes trained down at the sword. "Guess it's not surprising seeing as eastern culture got blown up along with everything else when the Xorda hit. Then again, a lot of things managed to survive that somehow." He looked up at Sonic. "The design is eastern in nature. They might have swords similar to this in Yurashia, but I don't know for sure. I've never been there." He held the unsheathed sword up, scabbard still held in his left hand. "That said, this isn't a normal katana. It's a power from the Chaos Emerald." He paused. "It's very special."
"Pfft. Special? I don't know, Sorun," Sonic replied. "I've seen a magic sword or two in my time, but that? I'm just not seein' it." The blue Mobian reached forwards. "Here, lemme see-"
Right as Sonic's gloved hand hovered just a few inches over the katana's blade, he stopped dead in his tracks. Sorun's eyes narrowed in confusion, and he looked from the hand towards Sonic's body to ask what the matter was when his voice caught in his throat. The hedgehog's entire body had gone stiff. His green irises shrunk down a fair amount, and even some of his blue quills were standing up on end.
He almost looked like he was incredibly disturbed by the object he was reaching out towards.
Before Sorun could question the hedgehog's reaction, Sonic quickly pulled his arm backwards while taking a few steps away. "W-wow, I take it back. Eh-heh, that thing's... really something." Sonic's voice almost sounded nervous as he rubbed at his arm, his eyes still trained on the sword. "Sorun, me and Chaos energy have always had a kind of funny relationship. I've been around a lot of the stuff, so it's real easy for me to get a feel for it. And that sword... Sorun, that sword is putting off a lot of Chaos energy. Like, a lot a lot."
The perplexed teen continued staring at Sonic as he sheathed the sword. "It did come from a Chaos Emerald," Sorun reminded the hedgehog. "One of the infinite sources of Chaos energy? Like all the rest of my powers?"
"Yeah, and I always felt something out of your other swords and arms, but not that much," Sonic said. "You're sure that thing is safe, right?"
Sorun blinked, and then looked down at Yamato. "It's just a sword, Sonic." An incredibly powerful sword. A sword with very special abilities he would have to explore later. The applications for this thing if he was right were mind-blowing...
"Alright. If you say so." Sonic loudly exhaled, almost as if he was attempting to calm himself down, and then stepped back towards Tails. "Well, we're gonna take off. I guess I'll, uh, see you back home, Sorun. I'll tell my folks you're coming back."
"Okay?" Head tilted in confusion, Sorun waved goodbye at the retreating hedgehog and fox. "Uh, bye then, guys."
"Bye, Sorun." This was said by Tails, who waved back at Sorun while turning his head towards a retreating Sonic. He seemed to be just as confused as the human teen, but then turned around to follow the other Mobian out of the HQ.
After the pair had left, only three were left inside of the HQ's living room: Sorun, his Chao, and Shadow, who had mostly been silent since entering and who continued even now to just stare at Sorun with his arms crossed. This did not go unnoticed by Sorun, who rolled back and forth on his feet before sighing and turning to face Shadow.
"Was there something else you wanted?" he asked, half nervous from the stare and half curious at what the dark hedgehog had to say.
"Nothing important," he said at last, uncrossing his arms as he stepped closer to the human. "I don't see why they were so surprised at your return. I knew you would come back."
"Did you, now?" Sorun dryly remarked. "You looked just about as surprised as Sonic was while I was beating up that dumb wasp mech. And you sure didn't sound like you wanted me to come back after everything you said right before I left."
Shadow winced at that, looking down at the ground briefly before looking back up at Sorun. "I may have overstepped my boundaries without thinking clearly," he admitted with a long sigh. "I was unaware that you were permanently situated here against your will. I failed to consider that, at the time, you may have been struggling heavily with this information. Evidently you were struggling, and me pushing for you to take the Emerald so hard may have been uncalled for." His red eyes flicked towards the HQ's entrance. "That being said, Chaos Emeralds are still Chaos Emeralds at the end of the day. Doctor Eggman would never admit it, but he knows the danger just one of those gems possesses. I don't doubt he somehow knows the power you gain from them as well. The fact his nephew went as far as to come here to try and reclaim it a single day after you retrieved it-"
"Yeah, they're dangerous to hold onto right now, I get it," Sorun finished. "Look, Shadow... don't worry about what happened back then. I wasn't in a good state of mind, you regret what you said, it was bad all around. But it's fine now. I'm back, and I plan on touching any other Emeralds we get our hands on as soon as we get them. So there's no problem anymore."
If he was being honest with himself, he was completely shocked that Shadow was going out of his way just to say all this. Knowing Shadow, Sorun had gone into this expecting snide remarks and maybe a bit of belittling on how his actions potentially put people in danger. He didn't expect a full-blown apology from the hedgehog. Especially when it looked like Shadow was just as uncomfortable doing this as Sorun was.
He did appreciate it, though. He had just as hard a time showing it as Shadow did making the apology, but he deeply appreciated it nonetheless. He just couldn't say it.
"Right. Of course," Shadow said as he nodded his head. "Well, regardless, I'm glad you managed to set your head on straight while you were out there. It seems some of my words actually managed to reach you after all."
"Huh? Oh, nah," Sorun denied with a shake of his head. "I wasn't thinking about you at all. I did all that on my own."
It was true for the most part, but this was mostly said by Sorun for the sake of playful spite. Shadow picked it up easily enough, as he'd huffed and turned to the side while crossing his arms again.
"Tch. I'm sure." He glanced to the side towards Sorun. "You've become very proficient with your Chaos abilities. I was surprised you managed to take down that wasp Badnik with so little effort."
"It was just one bee," Sorun said with a shrug. "It's not like I haven't been trying to learn how to survive out there with these powers. I'll kinda die if I don't."
"Hm." Shadow's eyes trailed down to the sheathed katana held in Sorun's left hand. "... The Faker is right about that sword," he said. "The amount of Chaos energy radiating from it is... concerning, to say the least. Are you sure you can handle that properly?"
"I can handle Yamato just fine," Sorun assured him as he held the sword up. "I just, y'know, gotta figure out how to use it is all. And see if it can do what I really think it can do."
At that, Shadow's eyes narrowed slightly. "There you go again. Acting almost familiar towards your new powers." A low hum left him as he turned back towards the human. "Are you absolutely sure there isn't an important detail regarding those powers you're neglecting to mention?"
Sorun tore his eyes from the Yamato towards Shadow. He opened his mouth to answer, but then quickly closed it as he thought to himself. He pondered Shadow's words over in his head, came to a conclusion, and then opened his mouth again.
"... Tell you what, Shadow. Later on we'll talk about my powers. Maybe when I try to figure out Yamato's abilities. When we're alone. You can call it training if you really have to." He closed his mouth as he finished his sentence, and then winced when a sudden wave of vertigo hit him. "But later. Later," he said as he held his right hand up to his forehead.
Shadow's eyes widened a bit in concern. "Are you feeling unwell?" he asked.
"No, I'm just... kinda dizzy, is all," Sorun answered as he lowered his hand. "Just, uh, tired I guess. Heh. It's been a long day."
The striped hedgehog continued looking towards Sorun, and then accepted the answer with a nod as he turned to leave. "Understandable. Get some rest if you're really feeling unwell. Until next time." With that, he fully turned around and left towards the stairs leading out of the HQ.
Sorun watched the hedgehog leave, and then breathed out a sigh of relief once he was out of sight. That hadn't gone horribly, at least. Not nearly as horrible as he expected the reunion between him and Sonic and Shadow to be. If anything he felt a slight bit better. Mentally, at least. Physically he was still a bit dizzy.
He suddenly felt something warm and wet drip down from his nose. He touched two fingers towards the spot, and when he pulled the hand back to examine it, he saw two dark red splotches on the tips of his fingers. He sighed, and then wiped the blood away from his nose. "A nap. Yeah, Shadow's right. I could use a nap."
Turning towards the couch, Sorun bent down and scooped the cushions up from the ground. He stepped forwards to set them down, and then stopped when he saw Virgil on the couch's arm looking up at him.
"Chao?" He still looked a bit concerned, and the dot above his head had turned into a question mark. A Bringer Claw momentarily manifested to give the Chao a reassuring rub atop its head as Sorun set the cushions back on the couch, but the upset look on Virgil's face remained. "Chao."
"What's got you so sour?" After finally setting the couch back to the way it was, Sorun tossed his body onto it and leaned his head back on the couch's arm. "Don't tell me you're upset over what I said to Sonic and the rest."
"Chao." Sorun gathered he was right on the money when, after the question mark turned back into a dot, Virgil nodded.
The pale teen sighed. "So what if I lied about not wanting to be friends with all of them? Doesn't really matter." Sorun interlaced his fingers behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. "Fighting for the freedom on the planet's dangerous, Virge. I might die. I'd rather not grow too close to them knowing there's a good chance I'll die just to try and spare them as much emotional harm as possible."
The answer didn't seem to satisfy the Chao, as he gave Sorun a stern frown. "Chao-chao."
"You think it's stupid?" A shake of the Chao's head. "Paranoid?" A nod. "Mm." He just barely managed to hold in a chuckle. "Yeah, probably," he airily replied, "but I've already made up my mind. And to tell you the truth, I don't really know how long I'm gonna be able to keep the act up." A sad smile placed itself on his face. "As much as I keep saying and denying it, I really do like all of them. That's why I don't want them to be too sad wh-if I die."
"Chao?"
"What's the point, then? Gotta try at least, Virgil," Sorun answered. "Even if it's in vain and I give up halfway, I wanna at least try. But maybe it'll be a different story once the war ends and I don't gotta worry about all this heavy 'dying' stuff," he said in an effort to appease the Chao.
A dissatisfied "chao" left Virgil's mouth, but he gave a small nod as he leaned back against the couch. Sorun breathed out a chuckle through his nose at the sight, and then closed his eyes.
Apparently he hadn't been as tired as he thought he had been, because try as he might, he couldn't catch any sleep. Either that or he was unconsciously resisting sleep as, a few minutes in, he realized he in no way, shape, or form was gonna make the mistake of sleeping on that couch again. Ten minutes in he gave up on tossing and turning, and decided to just open his eyes again and stare up at the HQ's ceiling while he thought to himself. Most of those thoughts had lead the teen to thinking back to Earth, putting him in a rather melancholic mood.
Now it was an hour in and, growing bored, Sorun had unsheathed Yamato once again so he could examine the sword's blade. "Of all the swords the Emerald could have given me, it gave me Vergil's," he thought with a bemused chuckle. "Of course it would. They already gave me Vergil's Summoned Swords. Why not his actual sword, too? And if this thing really is like the original... I'll need to experiment with it later." He angled the sword just right so he could see his distorted reflection in the blade. "Out of all the powers that Emerald could have given me... the ability to summon the Yamato isn't too shabby."
Oh, the things he could get up to if even just some of the powers from the games' version of the sword transferred to this Chaos-created version. He had high hopes some did, too, based on Sonic and Shadow's reaction towards the blade. The fact they seemed so nervous around it was nothing but encouraging for him. He really would have to see for himself just what was possible with it later on at some point.
He opened his mouth to examine his teeth in the blade's reflection, and then sighed and began to pick at the plaque on a tooth with a fingernail. "Where the hell did all this crap on my teeth come from? Consequence of skipping out on brushing, I guess."
His thoughts ended there when he heard a single set of footsteps descend the steps into Freedom HQ's living room, and then stop right at the end of the couch. Sorun ceased picking at his teeth and, too lazy to look up himself, angled the sword so he could see the reflection of whoever it was that had stopped at the couch.
There was no suppressing the sigh that left him when he saw Sally's distorted visage in the blade.
"Welp, no getting outta this one," he thought as he sheathed the sword and sat up on the couch. He looked forward to the meeting with her even less than he had with Sonic and Shadow. Mostly because of what Elias had said, about how she'd been mad at him leaving. He could see from her perspective why that would be, but he had to wonder how this conversation was gonna play out. How worried she was going to be over his well being versus how angry she was that he'd tried leaving the Freedom Fighters.
It wasn't going to be a pretty conversation regardless, and unfortunately for Sally, Sorun wasn't having it.
"Yeah?" he asked, sinking deeply into the couch after sitting upright. He saw out of the corner of his vision that Virgil was still asleep on the couch's arm. At least he didn't have to be awake to witness all this coming drama. Lucky him.
"That's all you have to say?" He could hear in Sally's voice that she sounded mad. He turned his head just enough so that one of his eyes could see her, and yes, he could see that she looked the same way she sounded. Narrowed eyes, tense posture, creased lips, the works. "You run out on the Freedom Fighters, come back a day later, and all you have to say in response is 'yeah'?"
"Yeah."
A sound somewhere between an exhausted sigh and an angered huff left Sally. "Why are you acting like this, Sorun?"
The teen turned his head in her direction. "Sally, I'm sad and tired. I don't wanna deal with you yelling at me." He turned his head back forwards. "Maybe tomorrow. Preferably never."
"I didn't come here to yell at you."
Sorun turned his head towards Sally again. The frustration in her eyes was clear, but now that he looked closer he saw that her expression looked more concerned than anything else. "Alright, then why'd you come?" he asked.
"I just wanted to check up on you," she answered as she stepped around the couch. "I... admittedly did have some choice words for you for running out on us, but I had a talk with Sonic, and he told me about some of the difficulties you've been having." She paused and looked Sorun in his eyes. "Why did you decide to come back, Sorun?"
"You talked to Sonic, didn't you?" Sorun asked back. "I already told him."
"Well, I wanted to hear it from you."
At that, Sorun sighed. He leaned forwards on the couch, placing the tip of the sheathed sword on the ground while folding his wrists over the bottom of the handle to use the sword as a cane. "Don't get me wrong, Sally. I didn't come crawling back to the Freedom Fighters just because I suddenly grew some backwards set of morality saying I should put my life on the line for everybody just 'cause it's the right thing to do. Maybe people like Sonic like to subscribe to the idea of 'with great power comes great responsibility', but I have to question how great that saying is when me getting powers automatically meant I had to go risk my life for a bunch of people in a world I don't even belong in. Kinda put the whole 'freedom' part of 'Freedom Fighters' in question for me."
"Then why did you bother coming back at all?" Sally questioned him.
"Because... as is stands, I live in this world now. And there are certain things here I want to protect," Sorun answered in a quiet voice. "Fighting alongside you all against my will is one thing, but fighting because I choose to is something else entirely. I can't protect anything if I don't fight, and if Eggman wins then it's game over for Mobius."
Sally nodded at Sorun's explanation, her features softening a bit. "And what did you decide you wanted to protect?"
Sorun rolled his head back with a groan. "Does it really matter? Look-" he rolled his head back forwards, "- Sally, you and me? We're in the same boat. You don't wanna see the world get wrecked by Eggman, and I don't wanna see everybody in the world suffer under him. I've already seen enough of that." His eyes briefly flicked to Virgil's sleeping form, and then went back to Sally. "If I'm gonna live in this world, I may as well make sure it's a happy one to live in. Besides, you people kind of need me anyways. Wasn't the whole reason you summoned me here to begin with was because you were all losing against Eggman? Nothing's really changed in that regard."
"I'm painfully aware of this." Sally continued looking at Sorun, and then silently moved forwards to sit next to him on the couch. Sorun had followed her with his eyes, but didn't make a move to stop her as he leaned back against the couch while resting Yamato on the couch's side. "I would have liked it if you would have talked to somebody at some point about your problems, but I'm happy that you made up your mind and returned to us. Because you're right- we really do need your help. And I saw the Badnik wreck outside of the HQ." She turned her head towards Sorun and gave him a small smile. "You've come a really long way since you first came here, huh?"
Meeting the chipmunk's gaze with his own, Sorun let out a small laugh. "The powers help," he said, "but yeah. I guess I've gotten kind of good."
"I'd say more than 'kind of', Sorun. And... your new ability is that sword, right?" She tilted her head in confusion. "What is it supposed to do?"
"Oh, Sally, this sword can do stuff you've probably never even dreamed of." Sorun reached to his side to take the sheathed sword in his hands, turning it over as he admired it. "At least, I think it can. I haven't really tried it out yet. But don't worry too much about the sword." Suddenly, and much to Sally's surprise, the Yamato collapsed in on itself, disintegrated in a shower of blue particles, and then disappeared entirely.
Sally stared at the empty air where the sword had been, and then chuckled while turning back towards Sorun. "Well, I'll take your word for it." Her smile lessened as the concern returned to her eyes. "And don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see you're trying to get stronger for everybody's sake, but you know I would have let you back into the Freedom Fighters even without your powers, right? Especially after everything you've done and gone through. You really do have a place here alongside everybody else."
"I know," Sorun replied with a small sigh.
"... You're doing okay, right, Sorun?" she asked him.
"No, Sally, I wouldn't call me being depressed 'okay'."
Sally allowed a few silent moments to pass between them before speaking again. "Do you want to talk about why you're so upset?"
Sorun's head rolled in her direction with an incredulous look on his face. "Sally, I literally just accepted the fact that I've lost my home planet and everything and everyone I ever knew on it forever. Why would I not be upset? What possible future did you envision where I was actually okay with this?" The fact he was going to be dying relatively soon was still heavily weighing on his mind, as well. More so than the fact his zone was lost to him forever, actually, though by now he didn't even know if he was more frustrated over him actually dying or over the fact he couldn't even talk to anybody about it.
But he could tell that his words were making Sally more and more worried from the way her face was falling more the further he spoke, so Sorun decided to try and dial his mood back a bit. "Look, I'm trying to get better, okay?" he tried. "It'll... it'll pass. I just need... gah, I don't know what I need..."
"I think some helpful words would be a good start," Sally told him. "I was in the same place you're in right now way back when all this started."
At hearing her words, Sorun very much wanted to rebuke her claim and tell her that no, she wasn't, because he really did doubt she knew how he was feeling right now. But both her face and her words seemed sincere, so he kept quiet and allowed the Mobian to continue.
"Robotnik had just overthrown the whole kingdom. Everybody lost everything when we were forced to retreat back here to Knothole to escape him. It's almost hard to believe how small it was back then compared to how it is now." A single, sad laugh escaped her as Sally looked down towards the floor. "I always tried to stay strong in front of everybody, they all had as many problems as I did, but more than that I was their leader. I never wanted anybody to see I was suffering just as bad on the inside as they all were." She looked back up at Sorun. "I know it feels awful. Losing everything, losing people and knowing you'll never see them again. It won't get better immediately, but over time it heals." She looked down again and smiled a bit. "Having others that you trust around you helps a lot, though."
Sorun nodded along, his expression still gloomy as he leaned back into the couch. "I think you're neglecting a very important difference between the two of us, Sally," he mumbled. "You got your kingdom back. You got your family back. I won't."
Sally flinched, and then slowly nodded. "I know, Sorun, but-" She stopped herself when he noticed the withering glare the human teen was sending her way. "I... I'm sorry if I made you upset."
"... You didn't make me upset," Sorun said, sighing through his nose as he leaned further into the couch. "But did you ever hold out at least some hope you'd get your family and kingdom back all the way back then?"
"Of course I did," Sally softly answered. "Half of the reason I lead the Freedom Fighters was to gain back everything we'd lost, or at least as much as possible. The other half was to stop Robotnik so he'd stop harming everybody in the planet. Most of what kept us going through all those years was the hope that, one day, we'd take it all back and return to living normal lives. The lives we had before all this."
"Well... I don't have that hope, Sally. Earth is already gone for me." Sorun's eyes tilted down to his lap. "What am I supposed to do with that?"
Sally reached out towards him and tried to answer him, but no words managed to come out of her mouth. Her hand lowered back to her side, and after frowning in contemplation she began reaching into her vest. "Sorun, listen, I have to go now. But I'm leaving Nicole here with you."
The pale teen's eyes snapped back up to Sally in slight panic. "Wow, Sally, really wish you woulda told me she was listening in on this conversation before I went and said all that stuff." He doubted he would have been able to hide it anyways, but if there was one person didn't want to know of his current mental state, it was her. And now she'd just heard him spill his guts out in front of Sally.
That death by Emeralds couldn't come quick enough for all the sudden embarrassment he was feeling.
She didn't say anything in response, instead choosing to simply take out the handheld computer and place it on the other end of the couch. She hesitated for a moment, and then reached back inside of her vest before pulling out a Power Ring. Sorun groaned at the sight and turned away while asking, "Why are you doing this?"
"Because maybe she can get through to you better than I can," she answered as she began inserting the Power Ring into the computer. "She told us herself that she's the only one you go out of your way to hang out with. And I'm not leaving you alone while you're like this." She finished slotting the Power Ring in, and then got up off of the couch. She walked to Sorun's side and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hang in there, Sorun. We're all there for you if you need it."
He didn't say a single word in response. Sorun just chose to keep facing away from both her and the end of the couch where Nicole's computer body was. Sally, seeing the sight, simply slid her hand off of Sorun's shoulder and proceeded to walk towards the stairs leading out of the HQ.
Once he heard the door leading outside faintly close in the distance, Sorun felt his body deflate as a breath left him. The presence of the computer laying on the couch near him alone was making him more and more nervous, and he felt his body tense up when he felt a sudden weight compress the couch even further. "Nicole, don't," he pleaded in a small voice.
"No." He felt another hand fall on his shoulder, and though his head was still facing away, he'd turned his eyes down enough to see the appendage. A black-furred hand connected to a brown-furred arm compressing down on his shoulder. "Sorun, please talk to me."
He practically wanted to shout at her and everybody else for not leaving him alone, but he couldn't. He couldn't bear to do something like that to her of all people, and deep down he truly was grateful everybody was going out of their way just to try and help him. It was that same friendly, helpful nature that had helped him decide that he was going to save them all.
So, with a heavy sigh, he obliged Nicole and turned his body in the opposite direction to face her. He almost felt worse when he saw her face looking almost as gloomy as his was. It reminded him of all the way back during the incident with Metal Sonic's head, back when she had a similar look on her face. Upon seeing that face, Sorun had briefly felt the desire to get that sad look off of her face overpower the more negative feelings weighing himself down.
"Sorun?" Nicole quietly called out his name while she slowly took her hand off his shoulder. "How are you feeling?"
"Mm... on a scale of one to ten, ten being the worst... I'm feelin' a solid fifteen here, Nicole." His words hung in the air a bit, and soon enough a low, bitter chuckle left Sorun. It caused the barest of smiles to form on Nicole, too, and though it was already wavering and faltering, Sorun felt better knowing he at least caused that much of a change. "Sorry, awful joke. I couldn't help it."
"No, no. It's fine," she assured him as she slid slightly closer to him. "I know how terrible this must feel for you, but if you want, we could..." Her eyes darted to the side almost desperately as she searched for something to take Sorun's mind off from his thoughts. Her eyes stopped on the TV. "We could play a game?" she suggested, turning back to Sorun with a forced and hopeful smile.
The teen glanced over towards the TV and game console, and while there was a slight sense of longing in him, he couldn't bring himself to acknowledge it. "I'm not in the mood," he said.
Nicole's forced smile dropped instantly, and she seemed almost disturbed by his claim. "That's okay," she said, a bit quickly. "We can do something else if you prefer-"
"Nicole," Sorun interrupted, eyes tired as he looked back at her. "What do you want?"
"... I just want to make you feel better," she answered. Her long, triangular ears had dipped down slightly with the answer, and she'd slid even closer towards him. "You're my friend. I can't bear to see you like this. I... I can't comprehend what it is you're feeling, I know, but I want to help so you stop feeling this."
Sorun felt a wave of gratitude wash through him, and then slowly breathed out as he sunk further into the couch. At the very least, he wasn't going to deny her the chance to at least try and make him feel better. He didn't want to risk making her feel even worse at his expense, and deep down, he really did want her company at the moment. "Then just talk," he told her. "If you want to help just stay here and talk with me."
She eagerly nodded in response, pulling herself even closer to Sorun while also pulling her legs up to rest on the couch behind her. "Of course I'll do that, Sorun. Just say whatever's on your mind."
"Mm." Sorun pulled his own legs up on the couch, pressing then to his knees as he kept an eye on Nicole from the corner of his vision. "You're not mad I left, are you?"
The lynx shook her head. "You came back. That's all that matters," she said. "Nobody can blame you for how you're reacting. I certainly do not. And I'm thankful that you've decided to come forwards to try and talk through your emotions. In the past you were rather... closed-off with your feelings, and it caused much vexation among some of the others. Sonic noticeably." A humorless smile found its way onto her face as she looked to the side. "You were always so quick to try and talk others out of their issues, like you'd done with me, and you never even considered yourself. It's a trait that I oddly admire about you, and yet at the same time it frustrates me."
"Well, nobody's perfect. Least of all me," Sorun muttered in response. "But I can only go so far before I have to admit I need help, Nicole. Otherwise Sonic might tie me to a chair or something until I start talking."
A single laugh left the lynx. "You joke, but from how much you've strained his patience, I would not put it past him. I'm happy that a chair wasn't necessary for you to finally open up."
Sorun turned his head towards her. "... Only because it's you." He looked back forwards, eyes still trained on Nicole. "Since... since we're friends." He mentally cursed himself at his weakness. Not even a day in an he'd already failed at never calling anybody a friend. "It's Nicole, though," he reasoned with himself. "I can make an exception for her, right? And I already kind of slipped and almost said her name in front of Elias, and Sally's already aware of it, so... so a single exception won't hurt, will it?" He sighed. "Why am I even bothering?"
Nicole's eyes widened just the barest amount, and her ears perked up slightly. "I'm very glad to hear you say that, Sorun," she said. "Is talking with you like this helping?"
"... It's helping," he honestly answered, feeling better when he saw another, more genuine smile begin to grow on Nicole's face. "I wonder what my mom is doing right now?" Sorun wondered.
The smile faltered for a bit, but Nicole managed to maintain well enough as she paused in thought. "I'm unsure. You've never talked about your mother before. I'm sure if she saw you now that she would be proud her son is putting so much effort in to try and free the planet."
An amused scoff escaped from Sorun. "You kidding? She'd flip out if she found out I was almost getting killed on a weekly basis here. She'd drag me all the way back to Earth if she could." He laughed a bit at the mental image of the sight, the last laugh exiting as a sigh. "Man. I really hope me disappearing like that didn't crush her too much," he murmured. "I mean, it probably did, but... she's never even going to know what happened to me. We didn't have any other family, either. I was literally all she had." He felt his shoulders slump. "I really hope she gets better eventually. That she moves on with her own life. It hurts knowing me up and vanishing like that is probably tearing her apart so much." He felt his body slump forwards. "I really am a terrible son."
"Don't say that. It isn't your fault." Nicole reached over and put a reassuring hand on Sorun's back. "I imagine any mother would be devastated to lose her child, but she will move on. If she is anything like you, I am sure of it." She began to slowly rub at Sorun's back in an effort to comfort him. "You had friends, too, did you not?"
"Yeah, but I wasn't nearly as close with them as my own mother. They'll get over me leaving. Probably won't even take a month for them to move on," he said. "Dave might take longer, he was my best friend, but he'll get over me, too. They all will. It's for the best, really, since I can never go back anyways."
Nicole tilted her head to the side with a small frown. "I'm not so sure you could call people like that friends if they would move on so quickly from your memory."
"Ah, don't hold it against them. We were all kind of cynical and pragmatic over there." The soothing rubbing on Sorun's back caused a bout of drowsiness to hit him, causing the teen to make a long, drawn-out yawn. "Thank you, Nicole. For staying with me for a bit." He gently removed her hand from his back and stood up from the couch. "But listen, it's, it's been a long day for me, and I think it's pretty late out anyways. I'm going back to Sonic's house to go to sleep." He looked the holographic lynx in the eyes. "But really, thank you. I... I needed this."
He wasn't back at a hundred percent, that was a foregone conclusion the moment he decided to go through with absorbing all the Emeralds, but it still helped him feel better. Having someone there to talk about at least some of his issues and to get some of this thoughts off his chest. And if it had to be with anyone, he was glad it was with Nicole. She was the only one he'd willingly admit to being friends with around others, even if it did make his resolve to distance himself from everybody else crumble that much faster. He didn't care. He needed at least one friend for his sanity's sake at this point.
But he was sure he made the right choice in at least allowing himself one friend. He did feel better. Enough that he felt confident that just maybe things would go back to normal starting tomorrow. It was just the refresher he needed before going back into this life, and he'd always be thankful to her for helping him. Enough that he was actually able to tell her how grateful he was despite how embarrassing it was to admit it.
And, strangely enough, even though he was too tired to now he wanted to keep talking about other things. Some of his doubts, about things left on Earth he never saw again, just... anything on his mind to help him further. It was hard for him to acknowledge, but he needed this. He wasn't sure how much further he could go without it at the moment.
Nicole herself, meanwhile, had pulled her hand back while shyly smiling in Sorun's direction. "It's no issue at all, Sorun. I'm just happy to be of help. I trust you'll be fine now?"
"Yeah, I'll be alright." The teen dipped his head down slightly to hide some of his face behind his hair. "But I mean, you know, I wouldn't mind doing this with you again. Maybe play a few more games when I'm feeling up to it. Just to... help with the therapeutic process. You get what I mean."
"Of course I do," she assured him with a nod. "I don't think that will be an issue at all." She glanced back to the handheld computer. "You're leaving right now, then?"
"I was planning on that," Sorun slowly answered as he followed her gaze to the computer. "Should I carry you back to Sally, or...?"
"No, do not worry about it. She's busying herself with royal affairs at the castle; she doesn't need the distraction at the moment," Nicole informed him with a shake of her head. "I'll simply remain here for the time being until she comes back to collect me tomorrow."
Sorun frowned at the answer. "You just wanna stay here all by yourself?"
"It's not a problem, Sorun. I'm used-"
"Nah, I'm not accepting that." He walked over and picked up the handheld computer, much to Nicole's surprise. "Look, I'll just take you back to Sonic's house with me and I'll bring you back later, alright? We can, eh... make it a sleepover or something, I dunno. It's gotta be better staying the night in this lonely place."
"I would hardly call this place lonely. But if you insist, I'll agree to it." After finishing, Nicole's body started to dissolve into a cloud of dark pixels right before Sorun's eyes. He could have sworn he saw a thankful smile grow over her features right before her head disappeared, but it had happened too quick for him to know for sure. Seconds after her body completely disappeared the green screen on the small computer lit up. "Shall we depart now?" she asked, her words appearing on the screen.
Sorun nodded. "Yeah. Lemme just grab Virgil real quick. Oh, Virgil's my new Chao by the way." He reached to the side of the couch and picked up the sleeping Chao's form, cradling his body in the crook of his elbow.
"You decided to take a pet?" Nicole asked him as he began walking towards the HQ's steps.
"Well, uh, yeah." He looked down at the sleeping Chao in one arm, the computer in his other hand, and then felt a smile grow on his face as he began ascending the steps. "I rescued him and he started following me around, so I thought why not, y'know? It's a long story, actually. See, after I left..."
