A/N- Oh, this site sometimes...
So here's what happened. If you couldn't read last chapter and kept getting an error message, it's because apparently for a few days now the fanfic site's been affected by a bug that wouldn't allow new chapters to show up on the browser version. Apparently it was affecting a lot of other authors attempting to post and it was real bad, though the app version reportedly worked alright. As of now it looks like the boys behind the curtain managed to fix things, hopefully, don't know if the emails are even working right now, a bit ago the story updated and showed chapter 35 so I assumed all is good. Fiddled around with some things, even went and deleted and reposted it, and for all intents and purposes it looks good. So if you didn't read it 'cause of the bug go back and read 35.
Anyways, this chapter wasn't really planned. In fact it only exists because I wanted something short to post to make sure that the site's working again. So yeah, here ya go. I turned a bug test into some plot.
Recursion Error
Episode 36- A little help
There'd been a big hope by Sorun that after the one-part successful mission to destroy the giant factory and the one-part utter botching of his personal mission, all he needed to do was sleep it off. Emotions had been tense, mostly his, everybody else had been doing great, and he... well, he just hadn't been in a good place. So he figured he'd sleep it off, recuperate his physical and mental strength overnight, and in the morning he'd feel better.
He didn't.
He felt worse, actually.
The entire hedgehog household had been avoided by Sorun that morning. He couldn't stand to be in the same room as Sonic or his family members that resembled him. Couldn't even talk to him since just being in his presence dug up all those emotions from yesterday he wanted to forget. The envy and resentment and shame.
So he left. Specifically through the window. And then he made a portal to Freedom HQ. Somewhere he could just go to be away for a bit. And perhaps with someone if his hunch was right, which he hoped it was.
Thankfully she had been there as he'd hoped. Plugged into the lab's computer, doing something. He didn't even know what happened between him finding her and him just sitting down in the chair and talking with Nicole. He vaguely recalled words of greeting being exchanged between the two, but before he'd known it he'd just started laying out everything right in front of her. The whole mission, what had happened, his feelings. Everything.
It was strange. Strange the way Sorun felt all his troubles just... melt away whenever he was with her. Less strange was the reason why he always sought her out, he knew the reason and he cursed himself for it every day, but at the same time he just couldn't help himself. She was one of the only people he allowed himself to confide these things in, to be vulnerable around, and it was nice to get this out.
"And I just... I just lost, Nicole. I lost super hard." He was leaning so far back in the chair in front of the lab's computer that his body was practically parallel with the ground. He could still see the computer monitors, though, just from the bottom of his vision. And just barely he could make out Nicole's head icon on the screen looking at him. "And it doesn't feel great."
"I was lead to believe your mission against that factory was a success." Nicole had been quiet throughout most of the story Sorun had told. The most she ever did was stop and ask questions, particularly around Sorun's process of making portals with his sword. She'd been unusually inquisitive over that, especially over the scientific aspect of it. Any other time and he would have seen it as cute in a way, but right now he wasn't feeling it at all. "Your battle with Dr. Robotnik... it truly went that terribly?"
Softly groaning, Sorun ran a hand over his face. "In a manner of speaking, yeah." He sat further up in the chair so that he was facing the computer. "It's not even that I was getting smacked around by a wrecking ball-" Nicole's icon glitched and disappeared for a single microsecond, too fast for Sorun to notice, "-, it's... he said some things." With a sigh, Sorun manifested Yamato in his left hand. He wasted no time in pulling the sheath off the sword, and then nonchalantly tossed the scabbard over his shoulder. The sound of wood clattering against the ground behind him barely even reached his ears as he inspected the katana's blade. "... I don't know. Maybe he's right. I have a lot of doubts about myself all the time. He was just saying what I'm thinking."
"Must you put yourself down so much?"
Sorun's eyes flicked up briefly when he saw Nicole's form manifest into reality from besides him. He regarded her for a moment and stared back down at his blade. "What am I without this thing?" he mumbled, more to himself than Nicole. "What am I without my powers? These abilities I can barely call my own? How many mission successes can I attribute solely to them?" He held the blade up over his head, squinting at his reflection. "I'm a worthless nobody without these things, Nicole. Anybody from Earth could have wound up in my position and done this. And they probably would have been able to do it better, too. You guys could have gotten some special forces guy, a Navy SEAL or someone like that, but instead you got me. And I'm not really good for anything."
"I do not know how seals pertain to this conversation. I thought your zone did not have Mobians?"
He felt a headache begin to come on. "It's things like this that make it not fun to live here, Nicole."
She briefly paused. "Regardless, what you say about yourself is simply not true."
Sorun would have scoffed at that if it weren't for the fact that Nicole stepped in front of the chair and grabbed both its arms with her hands, startling him. Even more startling was when she forcibly spun the chair so he was directly facing her. Most startling of all was how upset she looked. Not the sad kind of upset, either, but the more mad kind of upset. The same kind of upset look she'd had on her face when she'd ambushed him during that other factory mission.
"What's with that look?" Sorun asked, lowering the sword back into his lap as he looked up at Nicole's eyes.
"I do not like it when you talk about yourself like this," she said. When Sorun grew uncomfortable enough he tried to use his feet to push away from her. To his dismay, she held firm on the chair. "You're not worthless. You're Sorun."
At that, Sorun scoffed. "And what's so great about that guy?" he asked.
"Plenty." She dragged the chair back so that Sorun was closer to her. "Even without powers you are somebody everybody within the Freedom Fighters admires."
"I don't believe that for a second," Sorun denied, turning his head away from Nicole. "Nobody likes me."
"That's false," she assured him. "Whenever I am being carried around by Sally I hear things whenever she talks with others. Bunnie and Antoine both seem quite fond of you, Antoine in particular."
"Antoine just likes having someone he can beat in sword fights."
"Antoine likes having somebody with a common interest he can spend time with." Sorun blinked in surprise at Nicole's words, which prompted the lynx to continue. "Sally admires the dedication you put into the Freedom Fighters. Tails looks up to you as someone who does the right thing, even if you sometimes act like you don't like it. Which is just that; an act."
The more she spoke, the more Sorun found himself shrinking further back into his seat while quietly breathing out in quiet acceptance, his eyes still down on his own reflection. He hadn't known. He knew all along they wanted to befriend him, but he'd always assumed that was for their own reasons. Because they were polite like that. He hadn't realized there were qualities to him that the all actually liked. Qualities that didn't involve his powers...
"Rotor's warmed up to you," she continued, "Knuckles has commended you in your ability to show little hesitation during fights, Sonic-"
"Don't bring him up." Those wounds were still too fresh for him to be hearing about the blue hedgehog. At the same time, part of him couldn't help but admit he was curious as to what Sonic had to say about him.
"Sonic," Nicole repeated, outright ignoring Sorun's request, "is under the impression you act so aloof around the others because you think it makes you look cooler, and somewhat deplores this aspect of you, but at the same time he greatly admires that you choose to do the right thing for the sake of others despite it going against this act of yours." She smiled a bit and looked to the side. "And he's also said that he enjoys that you give him such a challenge at video games, and has vowed to get better and one day beat you at one behind your back."
"Pfft. That's never gonna happen. He's worse than Shadow." A beat passed. "Wait." Now that he thought about it there was one thing that he had over Sonic. Video games. It wasn't really practical in any sense of the word, but goddamn, it was something he could call his. All the speed in the world didn't help him when he couldn't control how fast the electrical signals from pressed buttons travelled. And even with his reflexes he'd yet to beat Sorun at a single game.
It brought a small smile to his face. It was something. Something to call his.
Nicole seemed the see the change in Sorun's demeanor, and in turn began to smile so earnestly at him. "And," she finished off, "I like that you spend so much time with me and give me many enjoyable memories to look back on."
"You make it so hard for me to stay upset..." A light, breathy chuckle left Sorun. He couldn't deny it, and he sure as hell didn't know how Nicole managed to pull it off, but he felt better. Still a bit sore over what Eggman had done to him, metaphorically and literally speaking, but... but what she said helped. Helped a great deal.
He found himself looking back down at Yamato. He saw his own reflection to the left side of the wavy temper line that ran down the center of the blade. He saw Nicole's reflection on the right side, her image upside-down and right next to Sorun's image. Even if both images were slightly wavy and distorted due to the imperfect reflection, it was still an image he couldn't help but admire. He liked the picture.
Sometimes he really wished he had more time.
"None of this really covers people like Sonic being stronger than me, but Sally already gave me that lecture... I get what you mean." He noted that the area around him had gotten darker, like a shadow had been cast over him. He looked up, and then pressed his back so far into the seat in surprise he heard the chair's frame squeak. Nicole was still gripping onto the chair's arms, only now she was leaning over him. That smile was still on her face. "Could you stop doing that and let me up...?" he nervously asked.
Nicole blinked in response, and then looked down as if Sorun's words caused something to register in her. "Oh. Right. Of course." She immediately let go of the chair and stepped back, holding her hands behind her back while unblinkingly staring towards Sorun. The human used his legs to push the chair back a bit, and then stood up off the chair with his sword still in hand.
"Anyways..." Sorun sighed out, running a hand through his hair, "I, um... thanks, Nicole. For this. I really needed it." He exhaled through his nose and turned his head to the side. "Don't know what I'd do without you sometimes."
"It's no trouble at all, Sorun," Nicole assured him. "I'm happy to see that you're-"
She was cut off when her image began to distort and briefly flicker. Sorun's eyes snapped back to her, slightly widened in surprise, while at the same time the smile on Nicole's face lowered by a substantial margin. She looked down at her right hand as her image stabilized, her shoulders slumping a bit as she looked back towards Sorun.
"The power reserves," she explained.
"Ah." Nodding in understanding, Sorun began to awkwardly rub at the back of his neck. "It's fine, I understand. I can still stick around to talk if you-?"
"No. I... actually did have some work that needed doing, Sorun." Nicole glanced back towards the lab's computer, a small, frustrated frown set on her blank face. Her form flickered again, and with hands still clasped behind her back she turned to Sorun. "I trust you'll be well now?"
"Better than I was coming in here. Again, thank-"
Nicole's form completely disappeared. Her icon reappeared on one of the monitors, and at the same time Sorun saw a little black hand giving a thumbs-up appear next to the icon. Sorun gave the computer a sad smile, and then turned his back to it. Two slashes were made in the air, and a moment later a portal was created in front of him. Without a moment's hesitation Sorun stepped through the portal, making a few steps through the blue void and appeared through the other side.
"Must be rough for her. I always feel bad she's gotta live like that," Sorun thought to himself as he slashed the portal behind him closed. He sighed afterwards, and then looked up at the house he'd stepped out of the portal in front of. Sonic's house. "As much as I'd like to avoid the guy forever, I don't think I could pull that trick off. Ugh, man..."
He stepped up to the front door and reached forwards to open it. He never even made it that far, as the door swung open before he made contact with the handle. Sorun's hand as a result froze mid-grab, his eyes slightly widened and locked onto the blue form that was on the other side. Sonic, who was in much the same position Sorun was for a good moment, blinked and slowly lowered his hand away from the door as Sorun did the same.
"Oh, uh, hey. Sorun." The greeting by Sonic was about as stilted and awkward as Sorun felt right about now, and he imagined that Sonic felt the same. He couldn't quite blame him. "You're back."
"Yeah, I... needed some time alone to think," Sorun said, slowly pocketing his hands as he continued to stare towards Sonic. Sally's words from yesterday still rang in his head. Nicole's rang about a hundred times louder, and he found them a thousand times more comfort in them. At the very least, they helped quell the feelings of envy he felt inside. Enough that he could stand to look at Sonic and think rational thoughts.
"You really needed to go through the window?"
"... I do what I want."
"Right, right." A small, amused grin found itself on Sonic's face, his overall demeanor looking extraordinarily relaxed. Like he was relieved of something. "It's still early," he said, moving aside to allow Sorun an entranceway into the house. "Mom's up making breakfast. You down for having some with us?"
"..." Sorun hummed in thought, looking down at his feet. It was a strange thing. He didn't want to say yes, but at the same time he felt more strongly that he didn't want to say no. The feelings of hunger he had outright denied him from just walking away from potential food.
"And you are certainly no Sonic."
He felt his hands tighten inside of his pockets. How he hated that man and how right he was. But... he supposed there was no helping it. At least not the way he was now, anyways. Maybe in the future when he had more Chaos Emeralds that could change. For now he'd settle for being second fiddle. Or whatever line of fiddle he was compared to everybody else.
If nothing else, he still had mastery of games over Sonic. He took a bit of solace in that.
Nodding to himself, Sorun finally made up his mind and looked back up at Sonic. "Sure, let's go."
