Recursion Error

Episode 50- Final affairs


"You know... I don't think there's been a single stormy day since we all arrived in New Mobotropolis."

Was the weather on Mobius always perfect as far as Sorun observed? No, of course not. It wasn't always clear skies and sunny days, though they did make up more than a fair amount. There'd been cloudy days. Windy days. Rainy days. But when he and everybody else had started living in New Mobotropolis every single day had been a clear, sunny day.

How long had it been since they came here? Two weeks or thereabouts by Sorun's estimate. He found it hard to believe how much had changed in that amount of time, all that had happened, but maybe all of that was just normal by this world's standards. So he didn't think too hard about it. He just sat there on the park bench he'd happened by, staring up into the midday sun as it hung in the sky.

Since it was one of his last.


The Freedom HQ was still technically a viable command center the Freedom Fighters used, but ever since the kingdom's - now republic - relocation it was a bit more of a trek just to get there. Technically just close enough to be accessible by foot, but that was by Mobian standards. If one were to measure the distance in human standards it'd be the kind of distance that needed to be traversed by vehicle.

For Sorun it was possible to get there via the simple use of a portal, but at the moment it seemed it wasn't necessary. He'd been ready to transfer himself there and even went as far as to summon Yamato before he was stopped by the messenger sent out to speak with him. One of the republic's guards. A - in Sorun's opinion, anyway - overly buff dog Mobian, who'd only found him just to tell him Sally requested his presence. Hence him getting ready to teleport over to the HQ before the guard corrected him and stated his presence was needed at the castle, as that was where she was.

He'd quickly thanked the guard before opening a portal anyways.

It'd taken some directions from some of the castle guards due to how complex the layout was for Sorun, but with their help he eventually found where Sally was. It was in a small little room that looked like a boardroom; even had a long, rounded table. At the head of the table were a bunch of drawn-on maps, and standing in front of the table were two Mobians. He recognized one as Sally. The other one he didn't know. A black and white Mobian. Sorun couldn't rightly guess the species from appearance alone, but the long, bushy had him think of a skunk. So he decided to just go with that.

The unnamed Mobian and Sally exchanged some final words, and then he left her side to make it to the exit. Sorun assumed that he'd come in just as they'd finished up, and they really only crossed paths after they walked past each other going opposite directions. Eyes had met, with Sorun taking some note of the skunk Mobian's blue, sunken eyes. He decided to initiate a greeting.

"Hey."

"Hey."

And that had been it. The Mobian left, softly closing the door behind him, while Sorun made his way to Sally's side. He'd found himself looking back towards the door the black and white Mobian had exited from, and then looked towards Sally.

"That guy seemed a little intense," he'd commented.

The chipmunk had cast a sad look towards the now-closed door. "That was Geoffrey. He's a member of the Secret Service." Her blue eyes drifted over to Sorun. "Hershey was his wife," she informed him in a quiet voice.

"Oh." One of the Mobian casualties from when the gray Chaos Emerald was taken from Castle Acorn in Knothole. Went to explain that look he saw in the Mobian's eyes. "Poor guy," Sorun mumbled out in a bit of a sympathetic tone.

"I know. It's terrible." They spent a few moments in silence, and then Sally softly sighed before speaking again. "I'm glad you could make it. Something big's come up."

"That so?" Leaning to the side with his spectral arm propped on the table, Sorun glanced down at the maps spread out on the table. "Would it have anything to do with all this stuff?" he asked.

She nodded. "Ever since the near-destruction of New Megaopolis, Eggman's security and defenses have been severely lacking. We decided to take advantage of this and have been a lot more proactive in our actions against him. Scouting groups, recon missions, and the like. Intelligence gathering. Geoffrey was part of them," she explained. "We've just gotten word that Eggman's up to something. One of the ships in his Egg Fleet survived Enerjak, and as far as we can tell he's piling up a majority of his surviving mechanical forces on the ship."

"What, is he planning a full-out assault on the city?" Sorun asked. "Not exactly the best plan. Nicole got the defenses back up, and even then it's just one ship. Ship full of robots, maybe, but it ain't exactly numbers we haven't dealt with before."

"I don't know. Maybe he's desperate. Might be a last-ditch attempt at overthrowing us using what little of his forces he has left, might be a play at trying to distract us long enough for him to cook up a new plan. It's almost impossible trying to predict his plays with the way he thinks," Sally muttered out with a shake of her head. "Anyways, we're doing our best to prepare. The council signed off on us all mobilizing, so all that's left to do is prepare. All the Freedom Fighters are present and accounted for, the Chaotix up on Angel Island agreed to lend a hand, even Team Dark is here, so... all in all, we're in pretty good shape."

"The whole band back together again," Sorun quietly stated. Come to think of it that was every single person present when he first came into this world, back on that day in the Freedom HQ. He couldn't even remember if there was a time they were all in one place together like that after that time. The closest may have been that party, but Shadow hadn't been there. "So why am I here?" Sorun asked Sally. "I assume you're gonna brief everybody on this later?"

The princess nodded. "Yes, I am, but something else came up that might be of interest to you." She leaned forwards a bit and tapped a finger against one of the maps. "This is one of Eggman's off-site storage facilities we keep tabs on. It's a few miles out from New Megaopolis. Recently... we got some interesting readings from there. Readings that match that of a Chaos Emerald." Sorun had stilled just the barest amount, while Sally looked up at him with a grin. "So I was thinking maybe while we all go meet Eggman and his ship head-on to fight off the invading force you could go get that, get your last power, and then just teleport to the ship to link back up with us and join in on the fight." Sally leaned down to the table, resting one arm on it while the other propped its elbow on the table. She rested her head in her hand and gave Sorun a smile. "Pretty good, huh?"

"... So that's how it is, huh?"

It most likely hadn't been what Sally expected Sorun to say based on how the smile dropped off her face in lieu of confusion, nor the way he said it. That blank, almost sad tone. Even stranger was the small smile that adorned his face that completely contrasted with his tone as he leaned on the table right next to Sally, both arms folded under him. A breathy chuckle left him as he dipped his head down.

"When's all this happening?" Sorun quietly asked her.

"Um... tomorrow," she answered.

"Right. Okay." Sorun breathed in deeply, and then slowly exhaled. "Am I going alone?"

"I, um... didn't feel comfortable sending you out alone so soon after the doctor cleared you, no, so I was thinking of sending Shadow along. Just as some backup in case something bad happens. I summoned for him, too, but you got here first." The corners of her mouth lowered a bit when she saw the human continued to have his head bowed down. "Sorun? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm... I'm fine." He exhaled through his nose and lifted his head up so that his singular eye met up with both of Sally's. "You know, I suddenly remember that we shook on a deal day two of me coming here," he suddenly said. "I believe the deal was I would be a Freedom Fighter until we found all the Chaos Emeralds, after which you would make it a top priority to find a way to send me home." He sent her a wry grin. "You kinda broke your promise to me, Sally."

She actually began to look a little distressed when Sorun pointed this out to her. Sally opened her mouth to say something, but the only thing that managed to come out was a sigh as she looked away from him. "Sorun, I... I-I don't..." She began stuttering as she searched for the right words to say to him. "I didn't mean to do something like that," she said as she turned back to him. "I'm sorry, I wouldn't have-"

Sorun had reached a hand out and softly tapped the center of Sally's forehead, making her words die in her throat. "I know. It's okay," he calmly said to her. "I already said I forgive you all, didn't I? I know you never would have made that deal with me if you knew my return home was impossible. It's partly my fault for touching the first Chaos Emerald anyways," he reasoned as he lowered his left hand.

"No, Sorun, don't say that. You couldn't have known," Sally denied, shaking her head.

The reaction elicited a small chuckle from Sorun. "Yeah. Seems like we all did stuff without knowing the consequences. That's life, I guess," he said. "Nobody to blame, so what are you to do?"

"Keep moving forwards, I suppose," Sally answered. "What else is there to do?"

Sorun breathed outward as a small smile grew. "I always admired that about you. The way you just... remain so unshaken no matter what," he said, causing Sally to turn to him in surprise. "So cool. A cool, level head, cool personality, cool everything." Sorun's eye glanced at Sally's torso. "... Maybe not so much a cool fashion sense."

Sally sent him a flat look. "What's wrong with my vest?"

"Nothing, nothing, just... you know, it wouldn't hurt to invest in a shirt or something. Just saying."

"I don't want one."

"Of course you don't," he sighed out. "Back on topic... I don't know, you just seemed to have it all. No powers like me in the beginning, but somehow you got to be up there with the best with all that talent of yours. I would say I was a bit jealous, but if I'm being honest with you I was a bit jealous of everybody back then because of how strong you all were," he admitted, making Sally's expression soften. "But you had kindness above all that. There I was, some random useless guy fresh in this new world, and you go out of your way to try and get him settled. Even when it seemed like he didn't really like anybody around him, which... admittedly at the time I didn't... you still tried to make friends with him just because you were worried over him. And in all that time, over all those missions, you never lost your cool, and it actually helped to keep my own head on straight. And... you really are nice to be around." He turned his head towards her, a smile on his face. "I just wanted to say thank you for being my friend, Sally. You're really great."

"Sorun..." Sally grew bashful as a small, happy smile graced her lips. Happy. But still bashful. "That's very sweet of you to say, but what brought all this up?"

He shrugged. "Who knows? I just felt like being spontaneously nice."

"Well, thank you for the compliments, Sorun. I'm happy to hear you think so highly of me." The smile on her face lowered a bit as her posture deflated slightly. "I just wish we could do more for you. I know you've moved past it all for the most part, but I still feel bad. Part of me still blames myself and the Freedom Fighters for you winding up in this war alongside us. Getting hurt so badly just because you chose to stick with us."

"..." Sorun leaned towards her and clapped his hand on her shoulder, making her jump slightly in surprise. "Try to let go of those feelings by tomorrow, huh? For me?" he asked her, still maintaining a small smile. "No matter what happens, I don't blame any of you, alright?"

Eventually, Sally managed a smile that mirrored Sorun's. "Alright. I'll do my best. Now why don't we wait for Shadow so we can plan this properly?"

"Can do, Sally."


Shadow had arrived at some point after that. Wasn't much to say; it was all business and straight talk at that point as they tried to figure out the best way of going at this, which simply boiled down to the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix flying up to Eggman's ship while it was en route to New Mobotropolis to fight there. Meanwhile Sorun and Shadow would go to the storage facility, where Sorun would absorb the final Chaos Emerald and then use Yamato to transport both him and Shadow to the ship to join the rest in the fight. Simple and efficient.

So that was that, then. He was gonna die tomorrow.

The only solace he took was in the fact there was a high likelihood Eggman would be on that ship. No, it was almost a positive certainty he'd be there. If there's one thing Sorun learned about him, it's that he liked to have a personal presence for these big showdowns. It was all but guaranteed he'd be there. All Sorun had to do, with all his powers and lack of pain, was push his way to Eggman and end him before his body finally gave out and he died. At least, that was the plan.

"Can't believe this is it. Last day today, then tomorrow... tomorrow that's it." He leaned back on the park bench he sat on as he gazed back into the sky. "I could do what Merlin said, separate that curse from me, but... I don't know. It's already way too late. I'm dying as-is. Nothing anybody can do to change that. Might as well go all in tomorrow to try and finish this for good."

He would have expected to feel nerve-wracked. To feel nail-biting panic, to be freaking out to the point he was a broken down, nervous wreck, but... oddly, he didn't feel any of that. He didn't know what he felt, what he was supposed to feel at this moment. Acceptance? No, there was none of that. He didn't want to die, or leave these people. He didn't want any of that. He only did it because he had to do it, but just because he endeavored to do it didn't mean he was at peace with it.

Just as he told Merlin. He didn't accept it. He just learned to live with it. But even that was beginning to crack apart.

"What's even gonna happen to me when I die? Does it all just go black, just like that? Like going to sleep forever? Endless void for all eternity while I'm in a state I can't even think because I'm nothing? Do I go somewhere? Do I even have a soul that can go somewhere?" These were the questions that kept haunting him the longer he thought about this. Questions he'd once long ago didn't worry about and figured he'd deal with if he was ever near-death or was getting to that age. But here he was, planning on dying tomorrow, and he couldn't help but wonder what it was going to be like.

Gloomy. Forlorn. Frightened. He didn't know if these words applied. He felt these emotions, but at the same time didn't. Like hollow feelings running through him. The only solid emotion he felt was a desire to just continue to sit on this bench all day, and then tomorrow, and then the day after. Or to do something and just stall. Anything to make tomorrow not come.

The irony of somebody like him who could briefly stop time not being able to stop tomorrow from happening elicited an almost muted chuckle bereft of all joy from Sorun.

Slowly, groggily, like he'd just woken up from a deep sleep, he stood up off the bench. "I guess I'll just walk around. See where my feet take me," Sorun decided. "Don't know if it'll help ease all this existential dread I'm feeling, but... eh. I'd teleport up to Angel Island to see the Chaotix, but I don't wanna make things weird showing up out of nowhere acting all strange, so... I'll just see what happens."


Blindly wandering through the streets of New Mobotropolis, Sorun didn't know what to expect. A chance encounter with somebody, maybe, or just him biding his time as he waited for the inevitable. He hadn't made up his mind on what he was supposed to do with what little time he had left, and just thinking about that alone had his stomach turn over.

And then life threw a yellow thing clothed in black and red at him.

It happened out of nowhere. He was walking along the streets, probably looking like the most pathetic thing on the planet, when a Mobian he'd come to know and fear just popped up out of nowhere and put him in a bone-crushing hug. At least he assumed it was a hug that tight. The pressure felt high and he couldn't breath.

"Oh, you beautiful, beautiful man, you!" Honey released her hold on Sorun and stepped back. The relieved, warm look that had been on her face was wiped off in microseconds, after which she'd placed her hands on her hips and was angrily squinting at him with her golden eyes. "I spend all this time worrying about you being hurt and I don't even get so much as a hello at the new boutique when you get out of the hospital? What's the big idea, hm?"

Sorun gave her a flat look. "Yeah. I could really tell how worried you were from all the visits. All zero of 'em."

"I wrote you a card. You should be thankful," Honey asserted, turning her head away from Sorun while raising a palm up to his face. "Oh, it's been absolutely dreadful, Sorun. My entire stock got blown to smithereens in Knothole! Nicole was nice enough to make me a new shop, but I had to outsource brand new materials from the marketplace and then I had to remake my entire stock from scratch! I'm practically ready to fall apart here..."

"..." Sorun looked to his lost arm, and then looked back at Honey. "Ah-huh."

"Oh, but I guess it hasn't been that bad. Believe it or not my business has been doing better than ever, having to basically restart aside. I've been getting a ton of requests left and right to the point I'm always busy." She turned back to Sorun with a bright smile on her face. "I even had to set up a PO box since I've been getting requests from outside the city! I, uh... eh-heh, had to mail everybody the new mailing address since, y'know, Knothole, but otherwise it's been great! Can you believe I've even been getting some requests from Station Square!? The people there really seem to like my products!" She'd clasped her hands together and stared up at the sky, with stars practically in her eyes. "It's... all I've ever wanted aside from world-renown fame..."

Sorun found himself being a bit surprised at the exuberant cat. He didn't think he'd ever seen her this happy, but he supposed, at some level, it made sense. Honey was somebody lucky enough to know what they were truly passionate about and made a business out of it. And now her business was blooming at a level she had to work to keep up with... no doubt with his help, he'd thought to himself. He went to great pains going out of his way to advertise for her.

Well, it seemed to pay off. She was happy and in a good place, and Sorun... well, he felt he could at least take some solace in the fact he did a little good for somebody he liked. To some extent. The craziness under that seemingly-harmless exterior made him question himself on this assertion. But she was good people, and he was happy for her.

"Well, good for you," Sorun said to her with a nod. "I gotta go-"

"Nuh-uh-uh!" A low-energy, annoyed groan left Sorun when he felt Honey grab his left wrist. She'd whirled him around so that they were directly facing each other, and that wide smile just refused to drop off her face. "I got it through some pret-ty reliable sources that you had a large part in all this success I'm seeing."

"What exactly kind of sources does a clothes maker have?" Sorun questioned her with a raised eyebrow.

"It's fashionista, get it wrong again and I'll slap you," she threatened in a serious tone. "Also one of my customers that wrote to me said they heard you promote my brand on TV over there."

Sorun blinked, and then looked upwards. "Oh, yeah, I guess I did do that. Wow, I didn't think it'd actually take off." He looked back down at Honey. "Er... you're welcome?"

"Oh, you..." Her face, which had dropped to a blank expression, made a small smile as she looked down at the wrist she held. "You know, Sorun, back in the village where I used to live before coming to Knothole I... I don't know. I always had big dreams, but even with all my skills and my ideas I just never seemed to take off living in such a small place. Knothole was a big change, but it offered so many opportunities that I thought I could finally make something of myself. And then you came along and, well, I'll admit I made that deal of ours more out a whim than anything else, but... but you really did more for me than I could have ever asked for."

Growing a bit uncomfortable from the contact, Sorun made a small scoff and turned his head away. "I just spread the word about your clothes around a bit. That's all," he said. "Even a braindead idiot like me couldn't have screwed it up."

"Yeah, I know," she said, making a tic mark appear on Sorun's forehead, "but you still went way above and beyond to advertise me during all your travels as a Freedom Fighter, and now... heh, it just seems so unreal. I feel like my life is finally going somewhere, and it's all thanks to you."

When she picked her head up so that they were eye-level with each other, Sorun saw the smile on her face. Probably the first genuine smile Sorun had ever seen Honey wear. There wasn't an ounce of the teasing or manic nature he usually associated with her whenever Sorun was with Honey. All he saw right now was a single, pure smile full of gratitude that was directed right at Sorun. He was stunned into silence from the sight.

"So yeah. Thank you. Really," Honey said. "And for, you know, saving the whole city from Eggman and the death robot and everything."

"Y-yeah, sure." His spectral arm unconsciously rose up and began scratching the back of his head. "I'm sorry the coat got ruined during the fi-"

"You should be sorry!" And there it was. The craziness. The absolute mania that overtook Honey's angered face as she tore her hands from his wrist and began pinching a struggling Sorun's cheek. "I slave away to make you that coat only for you to get it ruined in front of the whole city! How do you think it reflects on my brand when they see the sleeve get torn off so easy or how well the blood stains the fabric!?"

His spectral arm snapped forwards and slowly began to pry the yellow cat's hand away from Sorun's face. "Forgive me," he ground out in a sarcastic voice, "I should have known the coat wasn't stress-tested to withstand being hit by a wrecking ball...!"

"Hmph!" Honey pulled her hand away, causing Sorun to stumble a bit from the sudden motion. She'd turned halfway away from him after, arms crossed with her nose turned upwards. "I suppose I can be magnanimous enough to forgive such a transgression," she said, turning a bit towards him as a grin spread on her face. "I seem to remember a certain human I know that admitted to how much he really appreciates my work in the face of death."

"Tch." He pocketed his hands and glanced away. "Musta been all the blood loss. I was delusional. I don't even remember saying that."

Honey tittered a bit at that, tail playfully swaying behind her as she rolled her eyes. "How silly of me, of course you weren't in a well state of mind. You would have been singing my brand praises otherwise. I know you value it that much." Before Sorun could retort, she held something out to him. "So here. In return for all the gratitude you made me feel. And saving my life. And everybody else's, too. Really you're just a great guy and I wanted to give you this."

Sorun found himself startled by the sudden appearance of a white box being held out to him. Half because he didn't know where Honey had even been hiding the box, and half because he hadn't been expecting a gift. He looked back up at Honey, who was just smiling at him expectantly as she shook the box a bit at him. Hesitantly, he accepted the gift from the cat and proceeded to open it up and look inside.

"... A new coat?" A white one, too, from what he observed. Virtually identical to the blue long coat Honey had gifted him prior before he'd ruined it in the fight against Eggman. He looked up while giving Honey a questioning look. "Why white?"

"Well, I needed something to contrast with the blue arm thing you have. Blue coat would blend too well," she said with a dismissive wave. "Honestly, I'm gonna have to rethink your whole color scheme now that you have that thing. Do you know how stressful you make my life?"

"Yeah, poor you." He gave her back the empty box after taking the coat out, and then slipped it over his black shirt. It was, of course, a perfect and comfortable fit. As good as slipping on a second skin. "It's okay, I guess," he said to her in a bland voice.

She playfully huffed at him. "Just try not to mess this one up, huh?" she asked him.

Sorun glanced down at the white sleeve covering his right arm. Long enough that only his spectral hand was revealed. "I got something important coming up. So no promises." He looked back up at her. "White doesn't play nice with oil stains, either, so don't expect anything."

In response, Honey lightly hit him on the chest. "You're awful." She turned around fully, looking back to give him one last smile and a wave. "I gotta get back to the shop to fill some of these orders. Stay safe, Sorun."

"Yeah..." Sorun watched the golden cat walk off down the street. He absentmindedly ran his left hand along the right sleeve of his new coat as he watched her disappear around a corner. "You too, Honey..."


He entertained the idea of going around to everybody, individually. Saying his approximation of goodbye to them all, maybe even go pay Virgil a visit. Something to make him feel better as he got closer to the end and to give them all some sort of closure on things. He'd gotten the idea around when he was with Sally, when she'd all but given him a date on his death and he had spontaneously blurted all that stuff out to her. Figured maybe it was the least he could do.

But then Honey happened and all it had done was make him feel worse, not better. So he decided against it. Couldn't take the heartache, too much pressure. That left him sitting up on the ceiling like a creep.

The ceiling in question was in the new air base Nicole constructed inside of New Mobotropolis. Tails finally got that paved runway he wanted for the plane. And a new Freedom Fighter Special made from nanites since the old one got destroyed along with the rest of Knothole. And here it was, stored in an air hangar with everybody running around in preparation for the mission tomorrow. Rotor was sitting in a nearby chair, crutches leaned up against a computer as he read off some string of diagnostics. Tails and Antoine were off to the side discussing something, while Bunnie was hefting up some large, mechanical part with her mechanical arm while she idly chatted with Amy. People who he'd gone on to consider actual friends. Funny to think about seeing as how much he disliked them when he first got here. Tails especially.

Were Sorun made of sterner stuff he might have been able to endeavor to say something to them all before tomorrow happened instead of him watching them as he sat on a support strut on the ceiling, but he wasn't, so he couldn't. Maybe it was for the best anyways. Made things less weird. And besides, he wouldn't even know what to say. So he was content with just sitting up here and watching them work.

He probably stayed up there for a whole hour before he teleported away.


It was with a reserved sigh that Sorun sat down at the stool. The aged, blue hedgehog behind the counter looked a bit surprised to see him sit there, as he'd been in the middle of cleaning a glass. Sorun offered him a slight nod as he slumped forwards on the counter.

"Heya, Chuck," Sorun quietly greeted. "How's the new diner holding up for you?"

Fuck it, why not get a last meal? He doubted he'd be able to stomach breakfast tomorrow, and the sun was getting low to the horizon. And he was not eating hospital food as a last meal. Unfortunately, he also didn't know of any decent food places, and he had no money to buy his own, or even supplies or the know-how to prepare anything, so... he was here. In Chuck's Diner. The new one that came with the new city.

"It's been doin' me fine, Sorun," Chuck answered in a light tone as he set the glass down. "What's gotcha so glum, chum?"

"Eh, you know... big mission thing tomorrow. Haven't really been out and about in a while. A bit nervous," he lied. "Wanted some food to take my mind off it all, so... here I am."

"Ah, I getcha," the aged hedgehog said with a nod. "So, what'll ya have?"

It was only at that moment did the fact that Sorun had no money caught up with him. It'd caused his eye to widen slightly, and mentally he'd cursed himself out for having forgotten something so important. "You know on second thought," he decided as he made to leave, "I'm thinking maybe-"

"Nah, nonsense. It's on the house," Chuck offered, causing Sorun to freeze. "Least I can do to help. I know things must not be so easy for you at the moment."

"You've no idea," Sorun sighed out as he sat back down. A feeling of gratitude flooded him as he looked up at the mustached hedgehog. "Thanks. I really need it."

"It's no problem, Sorun, no problem at all," he assured with a hand wave. "What'll ya have?"

"Did you ever start making french fries?" Sorun asked him with a hopeful tone. He hadn't had any good fries since coming to Mobius. They'd been his favorite. He wanted that much at least.

Alas, and much to Sorun's dismay, Chuck shook his head. "'Fraid not, Sorun, sorry. It's not really that popular a request, so, uh... yeah. I could get you a chili dog?"

"I'm not having the last thing I eat be one of those abominable things," Sorun harshly thought. "Just get me a regular hot dog with ketchup," he softly requested. "I don't like that chili stuff."

Chuck had the gall to look almost offended by the claim, but Sorun didn't care. Ketchup was the superior condiment in his opinion: more consistent texture and it didn't override his taste with all the flavors mixed into chili. He absolutely refused to eat chili on anything as a final meal. He'd rather not have his final meal be a fucking hot dog, either, but his options were limited.

A loud, zipping sound followed by a gust of wind ruffling his hair drew Sorun's attention to his left, albeit in a slow and languid manner. He wasn't all that surprise to see Sonic there sitting on the stool next to him, that trademark smirk on his face, green eyes of a nebulous quantity fixed on Chuck.

"Yo, unc," he greeted with a small nod. "Get me the usual?"

Chuck nodded. "You got it, sonny! Comin' right up!"

He left to go prepare the food. Sorun had felt eyes on him the second he'd went away, but he merely sighed as he stared down into the counter. So Sonic had been the one to start the conversation.

"So, Sorun," he greeted in that same, carefree tone, "what brings ya here?"

"I'm sick of jello."

"... Huh?"

"All day. Every day. Since I've been in that hospital. Jello." Wasn't even the good shit he had back on Earth. Jell-O. It was some off-brand Mobian knock-off. And unlike Chao Cola it didn't really compare to the original Sorun was accustomed to. "If I have to eat one more cup of that stuff I don't know what I'll do, Sonic."

"Alright, alright, heh heh, chill," Sonic soothed with a half-amused voice. "Guess I can't blame ya if you've been livin' off that junk this whole time. Blech." He snapped his fingers and pointed at Sorun. "Oh, hey, you got a new coat. Honey?"

"Mh." He forced himself to turn towards Sonic. "What brings you here?"

Sonic nodded his head behind him. Sorun followed the nod, and saw two older blue hedgehog sitting at a table nearby in the diner. One organic, one made of metal. "Me and the 'rents wanted to go out to eat," Sonic said as his mother waved to Sorun, who gave a half-wave of his own. "Wanna come say hi?"

"... I'm good," Sorun replied as he faced back forwards on the counter.

The reaction had caused Sonic to pause. He tilted his head a bit to the side, and then leaned on the counter so he was somewhat closer to Sorun.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked, the barest hint of concern lacing his voice. "You look a bit out of it."

"It's the thing tomorrow."

"Oh, yeah, that." Sonic nodded and straightened up in his stool. "Ehhh, don't sweat it, Sorun. All of us against one measly ship fulla Badniks? It ain't even a question of if we'll win it or not. Eggman'll go crying back to whatever's left of New Megaopolis with his tail tucked between his legs, an' the rest of us'll come back home to get ready for the next time fathead pulls a fast one," he claimed. "You're worrying over nothing."

"Hn." If only. "I wanted to apologize." While he still had the chance to, at least.

"Huh?" Sonic blinked. "What about?"

Sorun sighed in response, straightening out in his stool so he could look Sonic in the eye. "I was unnecessarily hard on you for a majority of the time I've been here," he began. "It was for various reasons. Frightened of my situation, anger over the circumstances, confusion, hopelessness over it all, I... never really felt that good," he said, causing Sonic to go still. "I kept pushing you away when all you wanted to do was be a friend. I don't know, maybe you saw how bad I was hurting and just wanted to be there for me to make it easier. Practically everybody did. I kept denying it over and over again for stupid personal reasons." He turned his head forwards so he didn't have to look at Sonic. "I'm glad I gave up eventually and just decided to accept it. It's been... easier, since then. If I had any regrets, it's that I didn't do it sooner." His fingers tapped on the counter. "So... yeah. Sorry about that." He shook his head. "I'm no good at this-"

"Nah, no, Sorun, it's okay. I get it." When he glanced back at Sonic, he saw the hedgehog giving him a small smile. "I'll be the biggest of bigger men-"

"Not a thing."

"- Totally is, shut your mouth - and say that I never really got what was going on in your head, still don't, really, but... yeah, you had me a bit frustrated there at times," Sonic admitted with a small laugh. "I mean, I guess I get it. You had stuff you needed to work out on your own, it's understandable. I just wanted to help since you always seemed... not good, you know? Like, all the time." He began to lightly kick his feet absentmindedly. "I was really glad when you started hanging out with Nicole since it was somebody you could air all this stuff out to instead of keeping it bottled up inside, and I saw it was working. It was, like, real tiny changes over time, but you started to become easier and easier to hang around with. You started doing stuff with other people, getting friendlier, the whole wedding thing threw me for a loop-"

"Can we not talk about that?" Sorun interrupted with a small groan.

Sonic made a sheepish laugh. "Heh, yeah, sorry. The point is I'm just glad you're finally, you know, cool with all of us now. So everything before? Water under the bridge, don't even worry about it. You're one of us. Nothin's ever gonna change that."

"... Thanks, Sonic."

"Don't sweat it, man, it's nothing," the hedgehog assured him. "Can I ask exactly what had you hung up for so long that it took you months to get over it?"

Sorun made a small hum. "I'll tell you tomorrow after the mission. How about that?"

"Sounds good to me." Sonic's black nose twitched, causing his head to snap forwards just in time as Chuck put a paper plate in front of each teen.

"Din's up, gents."

"Alright!" Sonic immediately dove for his, grabbing it at a blurred speed and opening his mouth like he intended to eat it in one gulp. He very well may have, too, if he hadn't seen the hot dog in Sorun's hand. The hot dog covered in ketchup. "Sorun. What's that?" Sonic demanded.

The human teen took a bite of the hot dog. It tasted bland. "A hot dog," he said.

"A hot dog? Not a chili dog?" He looked positively disgusted by the sight of it. "You would dare taint the food of the gods with an inferior condiment?"

Sorun rolled his eye as he took another bite. "My deepest apologies for not having your refined flavor pallet, Sonic," he said in a sarcastic voice. "You know, this kind of reminds me of back home," he suddenly said, getting Sonic to calm down. "Me and some friends at a diner after school. Kind of a trash place to be honest with you, but it was close and the food was decent. We always ordered the same things, every time. I'd always just get fries and a soda, David, I don't know why, he just loved this kind of hamburger they sold there, the kind of burger that didn't look like meat and that you instinctively knew you probably shouldn't put in your body, but Dave craved the things, never knew why." He took another bite of the hot dog, now three-fourths of the way through it. "This just reminds me of that. Of those times. Just nice to think of, is all."

"Yeah, I can see that." Sonic had already inhaled his own chili dog. "Must have been nice."

"It was," Sorun agreed. "There was this one waiter that worked there that was really nice. Cool guy, always knew when we were coming and had our orders all memorized and everything so we never had to wait and the food was hot. I think he was an illegal immigrant."

"What makes you say that?"

"'Cause when we came to the diner one day it was closed and there were ICE vans out in front. Never did see that guy again after that." Shame, too. The waiters they got after that guy never really hit the same notes as him.

"ICE vans? You mean like ice cream?"

Sorun laughed. "If only." He finished off his hot dog.

"Well, maybe we can make it a regular thing," Sonic offered, making Sorun turn to him in surprise. "Yeah, after the big mission tomorrow we'll all come here to celebrate. We could even make it a regular thing after missions. It'd be really nice, huh?"

It did actually sound nice to Sorun. Shame it couldn't be made a reality, but... it did sound nice. If not to relive his old memories, then to make new ones with new friends. Maybe then he wouldn't have been stuck as the nostalgic mess he was now, moping about the approaching end.

But that's all it was. A nice thought.

"Maybe. We'll see," Sorun offered, and to his amusement the blue Mobian next to him made a small fist-pump in victory.

"Yeah, alright," he happily hissed out in victory. "It'll be great, Sorun. You'll see."

"I've no doubt, Sonic." He spun around in his stool to directly face the hedgehog. He took a whole ten seconds to look at his face, near the end of which Sonic had grown a bit uncomfortable at the silent staring, causing Sorun to silently chuckle. "It's been an experience, Sonic." He hopped off the stool. "There's somewhere I want to be right now. I'll see you later. Tell your parents I said hi."

"Mm, alright. Bye."

Sorun didn't look back as he left the restaurant.


"Well... that's it, then."

These were Sorun's thoughts as he leaned his arms against the railings lining the hospital's rooftop. He stared out towards the setting sun, the horizon a clashing of yellows and oranges and reds while the sky above grew dark. He made a low sigh at the sight.

He hadn't expected his last day to be so... he didn't know, mundane? Then again technically tomorrow was his last day, but he considered this one to be his last free day, so to speak. His last day to enjoy himself.

Well, he didn't enjoy any of it. Never even got close to the precipice of accepting it all. If anything, he only went further away from it.

"I don't know what I expected," Sorun thought as he stared out into the sunset. "Some kind of, I don't know, happy ending to this. Something I could walk away with, anything, but I didn't get that." He shook his head. "Assuming I don't fuck it up tomorrow, at least everybody else gets a happy ending. That's what's most important, I guess. Woulda been nice if I got a happy ending, too, but whatever."

He couldn't help but wonder if he was even going to get any sleep tonight.

"May I ask why you are on the roof, Sorun?"

Sorun had to grimace to avoid sighing out loud when he heard that voice. She was the one person he wanted to see the most and avoid the most at the exact same time right now. And without any plan on what to do, he rapidly tapped on the railing with his hands a couple of times before he turned around.

Yep. There she was, looking the same as always. Same purple toga dress. Same brown and black fur. The same small and polite smile that shined brighter than any other smile Sorun had ever seen. Same green eyes he couldn't help but get lost in every time he looked at her. Every part of her had that effect on Sorun.

Hard to believe this was the last time he'd ever see Nicole.

"You never stared off into the sunset all dramatic-like before?" Sorun asked her as he leaned back on the roof railing, resting his elbows on top of them. He kept his tone casual and carefree, even if on the inside he felt like crying.

"No, I have not." Nicole had walked to the empty spot on Sorun's right side while giving him a curious look. "Is there a specific purpose this serves?"

"None at all."

"I see..." She leaned her back onto the railing right besides Sorun, though unlike him she'd clasped her hands together right in front of her. "You didn't answer my question," she pointed out.

"Ah, I dunno. I just wanted a quiet place to think," Sorun answered her as he tilted his head up to the sky. "Doc said I'm basically good to go, so after tomorrow it's no more hospital for me."

"You'll have to move the TV and game console out from your room," Nicole reminded him.

"Yeah, I'll put it back in the HQ," he assured her. "Tomorrow. After the mission." Let it never be said he wasn't lazy to the core. If there was one reconciliation he could get from all this, it was one less chore he had to do due to his impending death. It didn't bring any comfort at all, but it was still something.

"Actually," Nicole said, making Sorun tilt his head down towards her, "I've a better place in mind for them. But as you said, that can come later."

He made a small hum, his eye traveling to the side a bit. The long, black hair that Nicole's avatar body had was usually worn loosely and freely. All except for a strand of hair on each side of her head that was fitted through a line of purple and orange beads. He'd risen his spectral hand up just to touch and examine them, with Nicole not reacting at the slightest to the touch.

"You never told me why you put these in your hair," Sorun said as his clawed, blue thumb ran over the beads. "Or why you wear that dress."

"They're simply preferences of mine," she explained. "Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering." He carefully released the strand of hair and rested his elbow back on the railing. "It's a nice look for you."

There was a breeze that passed between them as the two silently looked ahead. Sorun not being able to think of anything to say, and Nicole... well, he didn't know what she was thinking. Whenever he'd glance at her from the corner of his eye, and act he was forced to turn his head a bit to do, he caught her in a look that suggested she was deep in thought. That and looking the slightest bit flustered. He didn't quite know why, but he suspected it was his earlier comment and had begun to feel somewhat regretful over it.

Sorun figured he might as well try diverting the conversation to a different topic.

"Hard to believe how far everything's come," he remarked as he faced back forwards. "From a little underground base to a city to fighting a bunch of killer robots to all this... it's been a pretty wild ride."

"It has been quite eventful, hasn't it?" Nicole agreed. "I myself had some difficulty believing it all when New Mobotropolis was first established, though these feelings have since subsided."

"Well, I mean, yeah. It's been a big change for you, hasn't it?" Sorun asked as he turned his head to Nicole. "You basically got everything you ever wanted, right? Full sentience and sapience, ability to feel emotions like organic beings, you can finally interact with the real world in a body you can keep up for as long as you want, and you made the city for everybody. You finally got your own life."

Nicole kept her head pointed forwards, with her face lowering down slightly. "You're kind to say as much, but I cannot say I have obtained everything I want."

Sorun readjusted himself to a more comfortable position on the railing. "Oh, yeah? What else is there?"

"Well, an end to the war so we could all live safely and peacefully would be optimal," she began. "Though even without that the opportunity to live life among others in of itself has been wonderful. Beyond wonderful, even." She held up one of her black-furred hands and began rubbing the fingers together. "I have you to thank for much of this."

"Pfft. I didn't do anything," Sorun denied with a shake of his head. "You had other people like Sally looking out for you. And you were the one that made that body and the whole city. Really, a majority of this is thanks you to. You should be thanking yourself."

"This is true. But I cannot take all the credit," Nicole said as she clasped her hands back together. "Yes, I was the one to create this body and city. I could not have made it this far without the help of my friends, though. And, beyond that, life would not be worth living if it was not with others, would it not?" The fingers on her hands began to wring together, almost nervously. "I'm grateful for Sally and the rest having been with me through this process, but I'm most grateful to you, Sorun."

Sorun narrowed his eye a bit in confusion. "What did I do?"

"You were always there for me. You spent so much of your time to collect those Power Rings just so I could manifest my holographic body, all to simply do activities together. We shared common interests and played games together, and I will confess playing those games with you has been the most fun I've ever had. You listened to me whenever I spoke, always was in concern over me whenever there was danger, and opened up more to me than anybody else. You also went to great lengths to worry me at times," she added with a small grin, "but I know your heart was in the right place. I do not think life without friends is one worth living, and I was fortunate enough to have those with the Freedom Fighters, but having a friend such as you has helped me realize just how much life has to offer.

"And so... to that end..." The grin fell away as a nervous look overtook Nicole. Her hands unclasped, with the fingers on her left hand flexing once before the hand itself began to move out to her side. "There is one aspect to life I have yet to experience, you see, but... it is not something I can do on my own." Her hand began to inch closer towards Sorun's blue, spectral right hand. "You are always there to help me experience new things in life, so... I would ask your help in this matter if you would be willing..."

Sorun tilted his head downwards, to his right side. He saw the hand that was approaching his own, his eye having widened at the sight. He mentally sighed out, with him just silently watching as the hand came closer and closer.

And then, right before they made contact, he snapped both his hands up and clasped them behind his head as his eye closed.

"You know what I want?" Sorun suddenly asked. "A statue."

Nicole had recoiled her hand back to her front in surprise at the sudden movement. She'd fully turned her head to Sorun afterwards, looking confused at Sorun's words. "A... statue...?" she echoed.

"Yeah, a statue. Not, like, a big one or anything, but I figured, y'know, maybe I could get one after everything I've done," Sorun said, eye opening up at the sky. "I mean you don't have to or anything," he continued as he looked back down to be eye-level with Nicole, "it's totally optional, I just always kind of wanted one of me."

He saw that she continued to look at him with that same, confused look, one that refused to dwindle no matter how much Sorun waited. Finally, he sighed and dropped his hands back down to his sides.

"I'm sorry, I just- it's the mission," Sorun apologized as he pushed off the railings. "It's got my mind all over the place," he continued as he turned to Nicole, "so I'm not really thinking straight. Can't really focus on anything else right now. I just got out of the hospital, you know, so it's my first official mission since the whole Knothole thing, I'm kinda nervous, it's-it's messing me up a bit," he said, making a nervous chuckle as he rubbed at the back of neck.

Nicole's ears perked up. "Oh! I see the issue." She actually seemed relieved for whatever reason as she herself pushed off the roof railing. She was even smiling a bit. "You're not in the right state of mind due to tomorrow's events, I understand." She clasped her hands behind her back as she began walking forwards, having moved past Sorun. "Perhaps I was wrong to have tried and asked this of you with your thoughts already occupied with tomorrow. My apologies, Sorun. It can wait until after you've all finished the mission."

"U-uh, are you sure?" Sorun asked, remaining rooted to the spot as he watched Nicole walk away. "You can- you can still ask me, it's not like I can't take some time to-"

"No, it's alright," Nicole assured him, turning her head back to him briefly to give him a smile. "You have enough to worry about without my request distracting you further. I'll simply ask tomorrow when you're all finished and there is no imminent danger."

Sorun's breath caught in his throat. There would be no time after tomorrow. "Nicole, I really think you should ask me right now."

"It isn't that time-sensitive, Sorun. It can wait a day."

He sighed out loud, mentally cursing at himself. "Hey, Nicole?"

The way he'd called out her name was in a softer tone than he usually spoke in. It was enough to get Nicole to stop and turn back around towards him, where she saw Sorun awkwardly rubbing at the side of his head as he looked towards her.

"Do, um... do you think we could have one more game?" When she gave him a questioning look instead of an answer, he spoke again. "Before the mission tomorrow," he clarified. "It helps calm me down. I just wanted one last game with you before tomorrow so I'm a bit more focused."

That wasn't the whole truth, but otherwise, he wasn't lying. Playing games with her had been his favorite pastime while stuck on this world. The only thing he looked forwards to every day and something he got lost in enjoying. And it was only ever with her. Always. It was always her.

He just wanted a bit more time with her. One more game. Just one before the end.

And then she had to go and shatter his heart when she shook her head. "I'm afraid I've other matters concerning the city I need to attend to," Nicole informed him. She offered him a small smile. "However, I'll be sure to clear up as much time as possible tomorrow so we can play after the mission. We'll have all the time we need to talk then."

"Yeah, that... that works. Sure." Sorun's hand flopped lifelessly back down to his side. He couldn't even manage a fake smile, so all he managed to offer Nicole was a small wave. "Goodbye, Nicole."

"Until next time, Sorun." With one last smile, and a nod, she disappeared on the spot.

The second she'd disappeared Sorun sighed loudly as his back crashed back into the roof railing. He ran his left hand over his face, pulling it up through his dark hair before letting it go limp to his side once again.

"Oof." A sad frown formed on Sorun's face as he looked at the spot Nicole had been standing in before disappearing. "Sorry, Nicole... that's not something I'm going to be able to do." He slowly blinked, and then turned his head to look at the city below. "I wonder what she wanted to ask me? Guess I'll never know now." Another sigh. "I never did get to tell her how much I really liked her. Maybe... no. I can't. It'd be too cruel to her. I just don't have time." He spun his body around so he could lean forwards on the railing. "Who the hell are you kidding, Sorun? It's not like she'd ever take a loser like you anyways."

At this point he probably could have thrown himself off the roof right there with how he was feeling. He wouldn't, of course, not with everything at stake. But there was still something tempting about having the option of throwing himself over right now so he could just end it at this moment so he didn't have to feel all this anymore. The disappointment, the sorrow, the dread. All of it weighing him down.

Maybe it was a good thing he'd die tomorrow. He couldn't handle this anymore.

"Ugh... I just... I just can't anymore. It's too much." He felt his body crumple against the roof railing. No energy in his body, no will to keep standing. All he could manage to do is look up at the sunset, his eye sunken in so far that he looked more tired than humanly possible. "I just really... really can't do this any longer..."


The next day

There had been quite a bit of commotion as tomorrow finally became today. The Freedom Fighters were scrambling around that large ship of theirs, chattering and offering words of encouragement as they prepared to take off. The Chaotix had come down from Angel Island to join them just for the occasion. He himself stood off to the side in the hanger, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed as he waited for his partner in this mission.

"Just where is he?" Shadow thought to himself as his crimson eyes glanced around. "It's not like him to be late like this. He's usually punctual for this sort of thing."

One of the better traits he could say about Sorun was that he liked to show up on time. He didn't care about being perfect in many areas, though one was his small little quirk about not liking to be late for things. It was a little eccentricity about the human that Shadow found himself appreciating in him in the time he'd gotten to know him. Among other things.

He could still hear Rouge's teasing voice in his mind, causing him to internally grimace.

"So, did you check up on him?"

"Yes. He seems to be doing well. Your worry was unfounded."

"Ah, yeah, my worry. Of course," she had said. "I heard from the pilot of the airship you rode to the city that you were pacing around pretty nervously during the whole ride there."

"Hmph. Maybe the pilot should be focusing less on me and more on driving the ship."

"Aww, don't be like that. I think it's kinda cute you're so worried about your new buddy like that."

"He is not a 'buddy'. He's a comrade. And a competent one at that. At least in some areas..."

He still couldn't shake that urge to roll his eyes at the bat whenever she brought Sorun up with him. He'd be first and foremost in admitting he hadn't liked the human when he first showed up in that base the Freedom Fighters had. He'd outright loathed his presence alone for how little he offered. His attitude hadn't made Shadow think any less of how utterly onerous his existence was.

That had been then, though, and the human had gone great lengths over self-improvement. Absorbed those Emeralds and gained those powers of his. Powers the origin of which Sorun had shared solely with Shadow.

It still surprised him, how much blatant trust Sorun had put in him despite the mutual dislike they shared for each other. Trust born out of logical necessity more than anything else, which Shadow could silently respect. And from that trust he'd learned a bit more about the human and found out they had thoughts and opinions that lined up with each other, and he grew to respect Sorun a bit more.

And then he'd gone and started going to Shadow for help in controlling his powers. He knew he'd periodically go to that coyote for help with swordsmanship due to his katana, but he almost exclusively went to Shadow for help with his abilities granted by the Chaos Emeralds. Again, a logical choice Shadow could respect, and it was one more thing to put over Sonic since he was coming to him for help and not the other, blue hedgehog.

Regardless of what Shadow felt for Sorun, there was no denying he was incredibly competent with his powers. Probably the most thing he was competent with was using them. That and those games of his.

He'd never play another video game with him again after that humiliating loss he suffered. A worthless pastime.

But they'd practiced, and Shadow had been impressed by the potency of Sorun's abilities. Enough that he'd taken one of his techniques for himself. And... much to his surprise, he'd grown to enjoy those little sessions of theirs. Particularly when Shadow had been showing him how to teleport- by far Sorun's hardest technique to master. Shadow hadn't been able to hold back the smirk at first when the human had been teleporting himself into trees, over and over, having to rely on Shadow to instruct him and on how to visualize where he wanted to appear, how to construct his own mental triggers to seamlessly perform teleports.

It was nice, being relied on, and having someone look up to Shadow for instruction. He didn't know why. The feeling was just... acceptable to him. They'd fought together some against the mad Doctor's Badniks, and Shadow was pleasantly surprised to find they worked well together. Sorun wasn't overly boisterous like the Faker, didn't crack jokes like him or some of the other Freedom Fighters mid-fight or hesitate. He was focused and endeavored to destroy his opponents as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Partly, Shadow suspected, because Sorun always had some fear of them, no matter how strong he got through his powers. Nonetheless, Shadow liked the way he fought, and liked how efficient they were together.

So, he'd decided to share private things with him. Things he shared with precious little others. Not everything, of course. But enough. To pay back that trust Sorun had given him, and to see what would happen if this trading of trust continued. More and more he'd been surprised by Sorun, the way he thought, his... pragmatism, and the inane way he managed to describe his brand of common sense. Inane, if not a bit amusing.

Sorun wasn't her. Not by a long shot; never would be. More than that, they were complete opposites. Even their looks were different- his blue eyes were a tad darker than hers had been, and much more piercing. But that inane, funny way he spoke in, the reasoning behind those silly words that resonated with Shadow so much, he couldn't help but be reminded of her, even if they were opposites.

From then on Shadow decided that he tolerated Sorun enough that he found him able to stand his presence. He'd wanted him to join G.U.N. after that, to join his team. Mostly because he legitimately thought the Earthling would fit in better with them than the Freedom Fighters, and because he considered him staying with the Mobians here was a waste of his skills and powers. Especially with that cold, pragmatic mind he hid so well behind his inane speech and mannerisms. And he'd figured it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, having somebody like him on the team. Shadow had been a bit dismayed to find Sorun didn't associate with Overlanders at all, something he'd hoped would actually serve to put Sorun at ease. He didn't associate with anything on the planet though due to his nature.

Much like Shadow himself, now that he thought about it.

Well, no matter what happened, Shadow trusted that Sorun would make the right choice. The fact he was actively plotting behind the backs of his comrades to kill Eggman said enough, something Shadow approved of and another reason he thought he should just leave them to join him and Rouge. Hopefully they'd be able to carry that pact they'd made out today to finally make the planet a safer place and out from under the thumb of the Doctor. It'd be tight timing, messy: they weren't in a position to plan something airtight. He himself wasn't comfortable at all with it. But Sorun was due to get a new power with this last Emerald. Maybe it'd be the edge they needed to pull off a miracle. Failing that, they'd just improvise.

"Hey. Shadow."

The familiar voice caused Shadow to turn to his side. He saw Sorun leaning on the wall next to him, a new, white coat on with his hands tucked into his pockets. He'd glanced up at the eyepatch that was on the human's face, and had to repress the scowl that threatened to form on his face from the sight.

He remember when he'd gotten that call from Rouge, about what had happened in Knothole and what Sorun had done in order to save everybody. He'd been conflicted. On one side, he'd been glad and had somewhat been proud over the fact that Sorun had been able to beat Robotnik at his own game. On the other hand, his mind wouldn't leave the subject of the wounds he'd sustained in the process, and he'd set out to check up on him as soon as possible because of it. As a professional courtesy.

When he'd finally seen the human with his own eyes, he'd wanted to hit him and yell at him for being so careless with himself and getting hurt bad enough he'd lost a limb and an eye. But, at the very least he'd substituted his arm with a Bringer Claw, and he seemed to have adapted to using one eye. In fact, he'd... seemed completely fine, despite the wounds. Speaking in that same, inane way of his. He'd fought a god and actually managed to wound him with his abilities, something Shadow couldn't even do, nor would acknowledge as long as the subject never came up. The worry had vanished in an instant leaving Shadow irritated over the human, and he'd left. Immense relief as well that he was fine. But mostly irritation.

Sorun was fine, so there was no reason to think more on it. Even now he looked fine. A bit tired-looking, perhaps, but that could have been due to any number of factors. But he doubted it affect Sorun in any negative way. He looked calm, and if his greeting said anything his head was in the right place right now. Focused on the task at hand with little room for words.

As it should be. And the same reason working with him was refreshing to Shadow.

"What took you so long?" Shadow questioned, tone annoyed. "You're late."

"Am I?" Sorun quietly mumbled out. "My apologies. Overslept."

"Hmph." Shadow uncrossed his arms and pushed off the wall. "It's no matter. The plan is still a go?"

"Yeah, I got the coordinates for the facility with the Chaos Emerald and the location of the ship. Making portals won't be a problem. We'll go, I'll get the Emerald, then I'll take us to the ship so we can meet up with everyone else."

"And the other plan?"

"... We'll see what happens," Sorun said to him in a low tone. "No matter what he's dying today. We're just gonna have to wait for a good time to go for it."

An unsettled hum left Shadow. "Not ideal. We'll have to make do," he decided. "Are we going?"

Wordlessly, Sorun turned his head around. By now the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix had piled into their ship, and its thrusters were beginning to warm up as it prepared to take off. He looked back at Shadow and nodded.

"No reason to delay. I'll get us going." His katana flashed into his hands, which he proceeded to unsheath. "I know she wasn't part of the plan," he said as he slashed the sword downwards in the air, "but how come Rouge isn't coming with us on this?"

As a horizontal slash was made, making a hair-thin, blue cross in the air, Shadow answered him. "She said one of her sources gave her a 'lead' on something concerning our target location, and went to investigate it. G.U.N. provided an escort for her and a ship for faster transportation."

"Generous," Sorun succinctly replied as the cross folded inwards to make a portal.

"We do work for them. And they have a vested interest in this operation going smoothly," Shadow explained.

"Sure." Sorun sheathed his sword. "Kinda a little late going to investigate something we're about to walk into, isn't it?"

Waving a hand, Shadow began to walk towards the portal. "That was hours ago. If something was truly amiss, we would know about it by now. She wouldn't be that slow. I imagine all went well and she's to meet us on the Doctor's ship." He took his first step into the portal. "Now come on. Time's wasting."

He heard a sigh from Sorun. "Time. Right..."

And with that, they both ventured into the portal.


Hours ago

She'd be spending a lot of time telling Shadow she'd been right about the bad feeling she'd gotten when they met back up.

The base she was in was an old one, one of Eggman's old bases. Decommissioned by the Freedom Fighters some time ago, but the computers here were still operational and had a link to the Egg Network. It was always finicky getting the generator in the place up and running, but it was always worth it seeing as some divine oversight made it so the computers' logins weren't password-protected. A simple switch on to access the network, no fuss, no muss, no encryption to work around. Direct access.

Maybe at one point Rouge should have told her superiors she had access to a source this good, but she wasn't one to give up good sources. And the people that worked at G.U.N. may have been good people, but she didn't a hundred-percent trust somebody at some point to not screw something up, somehow alert Robotnik this computer existed, and then do something to pull the plug on it. It was more like she was ninety-eight percent certain, maybe ninety-nine since they were professionals.

That one percent was a bit too big for comfort, though. Besides, she wouldn't be much of a spy if everybody knew where she got her info from.

On the bright side Robotnik wasn't exactly as shrewd as she was when it came to secrecy. Oh, sure, it wasn't like he broadcasted his entire plans on the network for everybody to see, he wasn't a genius for nothing, but it didn't stop him from leaving clues. Listed objectives and progress updates, lines of communication here and there, bits and pieces of information one could use to construe a convincing-enough solid chunk of intel. It wasn't foolproof. It was more often than not she came up with nothing fishing around the network for information. But, just sometimes, she'd find something that made the effort worth it. Like right now for instance.

Something like the mention of "artificially-generated Chaos energy waves" being thrown around over and over. Numbers being listed for the amount of Badniks being loaded into the ship the Freedom Fighters were set to assault. A set of coordinates that just happened to be the exact same location that Shadow planned on raiding with Sorun because they received a reading of a Chaos Emerald there. Around the exact same time Eggman was preparing to launch his attack.

Didn't take a genius to see where this was going.

"It just had to be a trap, didn't it?" Rouge sarcastically remarked as she shut the computer down. "Fake Chaos energy readings to try and split the group up during the attack. Trying to lead some people into a trap, huh? Kinda sad nobody saw it coming, really. Ah, well. Looks like I better go make a trip."

One small detour to shut the generator down later, and the bat Mobian was outside the base. Right in front of her was a shuttle. A small thing, only fit four people, pilots included. But it was fast, which was what she needed right now. Cool on the exterior she may have been, but a small bit of her was concerned about the trap her partner was about to fall into. The more rational side of her managed to remind herself that it wasn't for hours yet, and this shuttle was fast enough to make two trips all the way to New Mobotropolis. Everything was fine. She'd make it with time to spare to warn everyone.

"Alright, pack it in, boys," she called out to the three Overlander soldiers standing guard outside the ship. "We're all done here."

"Ma'am." The three soldiers briefly saluted her and turned around to the small, gray-colored shuttle. She wasn't too far behind them, being the last to fit into the small compartment in the shuttle. The door leading to the interior closed, and the four thrusters on the corners of the small ship fired to life.


He felt a shudder underneath his feet as the G.U.N. ship began to lift up off the ground. Soon after the ship itself rose high up into the air, while the thrusters readjusted positions to push the ship forwards. The man standing on top of the shuttle paid none of this any mind as he fiddled with his hands.

"Poking your nose where it shouldn't belong, Rouge? Well that's just unfortunate for you, ain't it?" Had the roar of the shuttle's thrusters not been drowning it out, there would have been an audible snap! as Rubrum finished covering his hands with tight, black gloves. "Can't have you just go and ruin the show, now, can I?"