"I must reach him, if that's alright with you?"
Viracocha glared. "I have no idea what you're on about!"
"Aaaaand, he's getting mad-" Silver remarked awkwardly, quickly growing worried as all he could understand in their conversation was tone. The language they spoke in was entirely unfamiliar.
Tikal's expression was stern. "Knuckles has learnt... what he must. You may now rest, Viracocha."
Whatever Tikal said caused Viracocha's frown to disappear - the echidna's face instead just looked tired. "If there is a soul within my body, then it is deeply buried."
Tikal nodded before turning to Silver. "Knuckles is in there, he must be. It is why we were brought to this place." She told him. "I believe you have the strongest chance of reaching him. Speak to him, and bring him back to the surface."
Silver scratched the top of his head. "Um, how am I supposed to do that?" He asked her with a small, uneasy laugh.
"Just talk to your friend, remind him of the man he is."
That was easier said than done, right? Was he the only one who thought that instruction was vague? Silver walked in front of the echidna before him and found the similarities compared to Knuckles quite uncanny. His eyes... they were exactly the same, and that crescent...
Silver cleared his throat. "I... Hey, Knuckles. Can you hear me?"
The burgandy echidna stared at him blankly.
"I... I don't really know what to say to you." Silver admitted, looking down. "We're not the closest, but we've spoken a few times. I think you're really cool!" He admitted sincerely, finding himself smiling. "You're always so strong, you fight so hard - you're there for us when we need you! Yeah... that's it. We need you, Knuckles. We need you back. We want you back."
Nothing had changed.
"I'm... huh-?" Silver saw Metal approaching him out of the corner of his eye. "Hey-!" The hedgehog let out as the robot abruptly shoved him aside and opted to stand in front of Viracocha instead.
Silver's eyes widened as a recording began to play.
"Old Eggy rebuilt you again, huh Metal?" Sonic's voice sounded out, cocky as ever. "Let's see if you're at least more of a challenge this time!"
"Sonic! Look out for-!" Tails' voice called out with concern before he was interrupted by a loud crush.
"Woo! Nailed it!" Sonic was enthused.
Then there was Knuckles. "We could have gotten in a surprise attack if you hadn't charged ahead!"
"Aw, come on Knux! Where's the fun in that?" Sonic asked him.
Viracocha stared on with what almost appeared to be a look of horror, his face growing pale.
"Any injuries you get as a result of this, you deserve..."
"Yeah, yeah - you can lecture me when we're off the battlefield- GAH-!" Another crash, had Sonic been hit?
"Sonic!" Knuckles yelled with concern.
"Sonic...?" He said finally.
Recongnition flashed in his eyes. "Metal?" He asked, and then looked over to the others. "Silver? Tikal?! How are you guys here?! Where, I-? How am I here?" Knuckles asked frantically, clutching his head.
Silver heaved a large sigh of relief at the return of his friend. Even though he still looked and sounded like another person - it was undoubtedly Knuckles that was speaking to him. It would seem like Metal Sonic had his uses after all. "It's all a very long story, and we don't understand it all either-" Silver. "But come with us, we need to find the train again and then we can talk-"
"Train?"
"I know, I know it's confusing-"
"Our transport!" Tikal exclaimed, pointing up at the sky.
Most bizzarrely, the train they had arrived on was floating down in the air towards them - as though it were some sort of flying catterpillar. It made its way down at a steady pace towards the group - ready to pick them up.
At least it was complying.
"What is going on-?" Knuckles breathed out, but Silver had already surrounded him in a teal aura along with the others - floating them all towards the train.
"Welcome to the Time-Travel Train, Knuckles... The title is pending since I made it up just now-" Silver explained, and while it ultimately answered none of Knuckles' many questions swirling in his head - it at least gave him some idea of what to expect - complete and utter nonsense.
He wasn't crazy, was he?
He wasn't missing anything. He couldn't be, not after checking over and over again.
Miles logged into the old G.U.N. systems in the morning, just as he said he would. Unfortunately, this hadn't yielded the answers he had been hoping for. There were no files behind the creation of the ARK's doomsday programming, nor the re-programming of the Ultimate life form.
That, however, wasn't the reason behind his confusion. In fact, he had somewhat expected a lack of results in that department.
After he was led into a dead end, he decided to give into curiosity and some research behind the identities of the rebels that had started to cause more havoc recently. The G.U.N. database had information logged about every citizen – birth certificates, places of education, job profiles, marriage certifications – and so, so much more that were definitely breaches of privacy. How ethical.
Rouge's profile was easy to find – and her criminal record was extensive. Some of the most invaluable, infamous, and precious gems had been supposedly swiped under her name. She was caught eventually though, making her feats and skills far less impressive in the long run. Miles always found himself fascinated by the stories of thieves that weren't discovered until these criminals were far into their elder years.
To remain under the radar for so long – that took skill.
Once captured by G.U.N. - rather than being punished appropriately for her crimes – she was offered a position within their ranks. Yet again, how ethical.
Ah well, at least father took off her arm. That should have taught her a lesson.
Through the early years of the Empire's takeover, she had laid low until making her show as a rebel – he wondered how she had managed to recover and resurface with a metal arm. Aside from her ingenuity, she possessed an inhuman level of strength – she was, by all accounts, a formidable adversary.
Her alliance with the experiment was going to be a pain to deal with – she likely had any supply of information he could need.
What did she gain from helping him, anyway? Did she want the world to be destroyed – or was she that much of a fool and allowing herself to be used?
"Hello, Miles." Orbot's voice said from behind him. "Any progress on the information you're looking for?"
Miles let out a grunt as he was snapped out of his thoughts. "No… but I found something weird."
Orbot's curiosity was peaked by his statement. The robot hovered up to the fox's side, and awaited Miles to elaborate.
"I was looking through the old G.U.N. databases for profiles on the rebels. Rouge's old crimes are recorded here, and the lemur girl – Tangle, seems to be just some ordinary kid from Spiral Hill village. But Sonic…. He's a different story." Miles frowned. "There is no record of him at all in their database."
Orbot took a moment to think before responding. "Well, what about the EggNet database?"
"That's where it gets stranger." Miles said. "His name is recorded here, but his details are so… lacking. It says here that Sonic's birthplace is non-applicable." Miles swivelled around on his chair to look down directly on the small robot. "How can someone's birthplace be non-applicable?"
"Hmm, that is quite strange." Orbot agreed. "If there was no birthplace in G.U.N. records at all – perhaps N/A is just the default in our systems when we don't have the information?"
"No! You don't get it!" Miles snapped impatiently. "N/A isn't the default marking! This means that Robotnik purposefully wrote in his profile that Sonic's birthplace is non-applicable. What is that supposed to mean?"
Miles' mouth set in a firm line. "Perhaps I'll get the chance to find out soon."
"What do you mean by that?"
"A video came through the EggNet, CCTV footage of a fight between Sonic and Project Shadow in Central City. The crazy part? Sonic was actually holding his own." Miles explained. "He's just as fast too, if not faster. Which is an insane level to think about… which is exactly why I need to capture him. If I can roboticize him, remove all of his organic flaws – he could be our own unstoppable weapon to utilise against the ultimate life form!"
"And… you believe you can do all that before Shadow triggers doomsday?" Orbot asked slowly.
"I have to. The only way Robotnik will start trusting me again is if I'm able to get the results he wants! That's what you said to me, right? Give him what he wants without him giving me the order? I'm taking your advice. I have the key to stopping that abomination, so I'm going to be the one to enact this plan!" Miles announced, suddenly standing up as he did so – as if to assert the idea more into Orbot's head.
Orbot's head twisted around, looking around the room without responding his thoughts – leaving Miles to impatiently wait as his fur bristled. Finally. Orbot sighed. "You'll be careful, won't you?"
"I always am."
"Look at us! Navigation masters! And you said we were gonna get lost, psssht - how wrong could you be, Cream?" Ray asked with a grin that was far too confident when he turned back to the girl. As they emerged onto the hilltops overlooking the murky and smog ridden Station Square - Cream's heart pounded louder within her chest.
"This isn't funny anymore, Ray!" Cream told him desperately. "And it wasn't funny to begin with! Please turn back before you get yourself into trouble..."
Even Cheese shared in the rabbit's sentiment, he had his tiny little arms crossed as he huffed at Ray - only Cream could understand that Cheese was lecturing Ray about how disappointed Vanilla was going to be.
Ray placed his hands on his hips, frowning at his friend. "Listen, let me lay down the facts-"
Cream was already raising a skeptical brow.
"When life ain't fair, when the world is getting you down - you can't just sit around and wait for things to get better! If we have the power to act and change the things around us - we have to use that power."
"Ray, I'm 9-years-old, you're 10 - maybe we're not qualified enough to be heroes!"
"Just because we're young - doesn't mean we're less capable." Ray corrected her poor judgement. "So let's get to hunting for these magical emeralds and get the world back on track!"
With Ray already marching ahead, he left the rabbit behind to do nothing but let out a defeated groan - sharing a look with her chao.
"So sorry for dragging you into this, Cheese..." Cream sighed.
...
Nerves sparked frantically within the rabbit's veins at every step along the abandoned streets of Station Square. The silence was uncomfortable and eery - but at least the presence of Cheese floating beside her presented an assuring sense of comfort. She couldn't remember a time where he hadn't been at her side.
Ray's company, on the other hand, was infuriating. She liked Ray, they were close friends - but this had to be the worst stunt he had ever pulled.
He had been so close to getting himself into a brawl at several points already. Cream had to remind him of the importance of stealth - and how maybe walking in broad daylight where Egg Pawns wandered the streets wasn't the best idea - and that maybe, just maybe - sticking to shady spots and smaller pathways was the better alternative.
Even she knew that.
"Look at us! Ultimate stealth duo!" Ray called out enthusiastically, announcing to the world how cool they were was starting to become a dangerous habit.
"Don't be so loud-" Cream told him pleadingly, lingering behind him.
"Right, right-" Ray said dismissively, but obliged to her wishes. "We've gotten this far though, isn't that cool?"
It could have been anything - his nonchalent words, the way he placed his hands behind his head - but something inside Cream finally snapped. She wanted to yell, but again, she was fully aware of the situation they were in - so it came out as an aggessive whisper. "There's nothing cool about it! You're dragging us all into unnecessary danger!"
Ray bit his lip as his irritation grew. "I didn't force you to come with me! If you're going to complain the whole time, why don't you just turn back?" He asked her, whipping around to face her.
"Because I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let you go out here on your own and you got hurt!" Cream argued. "Come on, aren't you thinking about how worried mama is back home-?"
"I left her a note! She knows where we are - what's there to worry about?"
Was Ray delusional?
No, she didn't think so - more-so he was just trying his hardest to ignore all the consequences of his actions.
Suddenly, Ray's tone softened and became more sincere. "Seriously Cream, if ths is too scary for you - don't force yourself to be here. I can handle myself, ya know? I fought alongside Mighty plenty of times - I can handle myself. But I'm not coming back with you, I'm tired of leaving all the work to the adults when I can help too!"
She knew why he was like this, and she could call him out on it - but to mention his name would be cruel. The rabbit had no idea how else she could even get through to him, so just rubbed the temples on the side of her head - letting out a frustrated sigh.
"Chao! Chao!" Cheese called.
A warning?
Cream gasped, turning her head in the direction Cheese was looking in. Ray did the same, expecting a foe - raising his fists. In the darkness of the alley, something appeared to be taking shape into a figure.
It was a silhouette, growing larger in size as the unidentified person drew closer.
"CHAO!" Cheese snapped, doing his best to ward off the stranger with a threatening tone. Cream could not find it within herself to try and intimidate the enemy, instead - she cowered, bending her body low and flinching in anticipation.
This was it, wasn't it?
"Show yourself, coward!" Ray yelled.
Oh, Ray-
"Jeeze..."
Cream's eyes opened at the sound of the voice.
It wasn't threatening. In fact, it sounded like a kid... just like them. Cream allowed herself to look as the person finally stepped into the light - visible fort them all to see.
It was a young bee, perhaps her own age - wearing the odd combination of an orange jacket and a helmet, with a small backpack on his back.
"I was expecting you two to be friendly..." The bee said, looking between them with a midly miffed expression. "What are you guys even doing here?"
Knuckles, thankfully, had approved of the plan to split the group up to tackle both of the problems the team faced. He gathered them in the clearing of the camp, with Tangle having retrieved Whisper and filling her in on the situation.
The wolf kept her face hidden underneath of her mask - making it impossible to read her expressions and figure out what she might be thinking.
"Lanolin's ready to manage the camp in our absence again!" Tangle told the group. "And she's going to make sure that Vanilla is well looked after until we can retrieve those kids."
Knuckles nodded firmly. "Good work." He praised, and Sonic couldn't help but notice how the lemur's tail began to wag. Knuckles continued on. "The problem is - how are you going to figure out where those kids even went?"
"I don't think they could have gone far - they both can fly, but they're young so I can't imagine they've gone far - if I'm to guess, they probably went emerald hunting in Mystic Jungle near the old base. It's familiar to them, right?" Tangle offered up.
Sonic honestly agreed with her - it made the most sense to him. He gave her a thumbs up. "We'll drop you and Whisper off there then, and see if you can find them."
"We'll do our best." Tangle assured him. As much as she was trying to keep up her usual, peppy energy - the tired undertones still lingered behind her voice and eyes. A lot had happened in the span of a day - including a massive revelation, he wondered if Tangle had actually managed to even get that much sleep. "Worst case scenario... those kids could have ran off into Station Square - but they wouldn't do that... right?"
"Get to looking in the jungle first. City later." Knuckles tried to get her to focus. "One at a time."
Whisper slowly folded her arms, saying nothing. Sonic supposed that meant she had no objections?
"Right! One at a time..." Tangle spoke softly, before blinking. "Wait, how are you guys getting to Central? We had to steal a whole plane that ended up getting shot down..."
"I can warp us there now that I know what the place looks like." Knuckles reminded her.
"Ooooooh, right! Woah - so it's like, unlocking fast travel in a video game?!" Her voice then pitched in eagerness. Sonic found himself grinning in amusement as Knuckles stared at her blankly after the remark.
Tangle rubbed the back of her head with an awkward smile. "Never mind..."
Knuckles shook his head. "Let's waste no more time then - otherwise everyone's going to run off before we can catch up with them." Knuckles said. Sonic knew he wasn't just referrring to the kids, he was also referring to Shadow and Rouge. The last thing anyone wanted to give them was a headstart.
They blinked out of sight.
...
They re-appeared in the depths of Mystic Jungle. "Nothing you need from us last minute?" Knuckles asked the two of them, wasting no time - not even leaving a moment to breathe.
Tangle shook her head. "We've got it from here, Red Riot. You do your thing and track that hedgehog down!" Somewhere within her, she had somehow dug deep and found the energy to encouragingly fist pump the air.
Knuckles gazed at her with an expression somewhat filled with awe - Sonic wondered if he was also admiring Tangle's ability to be cheery, even as nothing seemed to be going in their favour.
Whisper voiced no other concerns or needs, so Knuckles decided it was time to depart.
They disappeared in a flash - leaving Tangle and Whisper alone in the jungle, stood side by side - the only sound in the air around was the breeze causting the leaves on the trees to bristle.
"Sooooo... weather ain't too bad- Oh, you're already... gone-" Tangle remarked, her attempt at small talk failing as Whisper walked ahead deeper into the forestry. "Hey, wait up!" Tangle shouted after her. "Don't leave me behind!"
...
Sonic walked alongside Knuckles on the rooftops of Central City in an uncomfortable silence. The echidna was ignoring him on purpose. Seems like his anger from before had yet to pass... and he supposed he couldn't blame him.
Even as Knuckles was pretended he didn't exist, Sonic found himself basking in a new feeling of relief. Where it stemmed from was hard to tell, but as he made another small glance at Knuckles' face - it became clearer.
It just felt nice to be beside someone so familar. They were alone, just like old times. Often, Tails was there too - but Sonic and Knuckles had plenty of alone time together. More than anyone else was aware of.
"Knux..." Sonic finally spoke. "I promise I'm not gonna rest until I get that emerald back." Sonic told him.
The echidna scoffed. "I'll believe it when I see it."
Sonic's ears drooped as he looked away. "I was dismissive earlier, but believe me - I know how important the emeralds are. Not just to you, but for the safety of the world. They're incredibly dangerous in the wrong hands... just know I'm going to fix this."
Sonic looked back at him, watching as Knuckles slowly took in a breath - closing his eyes as his chest rose. "We are going to fix this. I have a duty to fix this, and restore the faith my ancestors once had in me."
The blue hedgehog still didn't understand why Knuckles had been ignored by the emerald. He had never seen it happen before, in any timeline.
"Did they say anything last night?" Knuckles then asked.
It took a moment before the memory of the night before came flooding back. Knuckles had asked him to say if his ancestors ended up visiting him in his sleep. The answer was no - as Sonic had fully expected. Tikal had said it herself - he was no prophecized hero, there were no dead people out there ready to bestow him with ancestors.
All he had was the knowledge of another timeline.
"I'm afraid not." Sonic said. "Radio silence - maybe they're mad at me too."
Sonic wasn't as worried about the disapproval of dead people as Knuckles was, but even still - he hoped this little remark would help soften the blow for Knuckles a bit if he knew he wasn't the only one in this situation.
The gloomy frown never seemed to leave Knuckles' face, no matter what Sonic said. He thought it was stupid how Knuckles was always made to worry about the judgement and problems passed down by his ancient, long dead ancestors. It was because of them that Knuckles found himself to be alone, chained down to his work - carrying a burden that was, for some inexplicable reason, his.
Sonic's mind drifted to the old timeline - and then his thoughts brought him back to thinking about Silver and Tikal. He wondered what those two were up to right now...
As soon as they stepped foot into the flying train, Knuckles had returned to his normal form. Even without a mirror, he seemed to realise this as he looked down at his arms that had been restored to their original, bright red hue.
Silver heard his breath was shaky.
Tikal looked away from the other echidna, keeping her distance - while Metal ignored the scene entirely and took a seat.
"Knuckles...?" Silver spoke to the echidna who was staring at the floor.
"What does this mean, Silver?" Knuckles suddenly asked, now looking the hedgehog in the eyes. His gaze was surprisingly desperate. "Why was I trapped in another guy's body? Why did I have to live through the destruction of my clan?!"
"You - what?" Silver blinked.
"Where are the others?! Why are you here?! Are our friends alright? Eggman showed up with a weird Time Eater thing and that's the last I heard-" Knuckles didn't stop to take any breaths.
"I feel like we're glossing over the whole clan destruction part-"
"Is Sonic okay?!" Knuckles grabbed hold of Silver's shoulders.
"Yes!" Silver raised his voice over Knuckles' frenzy. "Sonic is okay. Things are as okay as they can be..."
"How did you... how did you find me?" Knuckles finally panted.
"Long story..." Silver took in a breath, doing his best to fill Knuckles in on all of the details of their situation.
...
The trio stepped out of the house and into the rain.
"So..." Silver filled the silence. "In that house over there - nice people." He said, pointing to it. "And in this one-" He pointed behind him. "Vengeful old man." Silver smacked his lips. "Just your... classic suburbian neighbourhood."
"Let us not stand for long, the rain is cold." Tikal pointed out quietly. "We shall move with our investigation swiftly."
"Right, right - yeah I mean, the rain is already clinging to my fur. Oh, and is it just me or... does the rain seem a lot more like- colourful?" Perhaps he was just desperate to keep a conversation flowing - especially after having spoken with a man like Gerald.
Gosh, when he saw Shadow again - how was he going to react when he found out he spoke to Gerald... was it even wise to tell him?
Eh, he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.
"I notice nothing different about the rain." Tikal responded stiffly, walking ahead - and Silver was too absorbed in his thoughts to notice or question just how eager Tikal was to keep moving forward.
Metal Sonic offered up nothing - as usual.
The trio walked and walked for what felt like years. It didn't help how every building along the street looked the exact same, and how all of the houses were perfectly opposite to each other. It was all too perfect, it made it boring to look at. Once you'd seen a handful of houses, you'd seen it all.
At least he liked the aesthetic of cobblestone pathways. The stone glittered and shined due to the rainfall.
...
"Another train station... but this time - with an actual train." Silver said aloud - staring at the station with bewilderment. Once more they had been wandering the streets, but suddenly at the end of it - they had encountered the large train. It had a modern and sleek design - lending itself to feel out of place amongst the old-fashioned cobblestone streets.
"This contraption should be useful in our travels." Tikal said with a nod. "We should board it and take it shelter."
"As silent as it is... it doesn't look like a deathtrap. I think that's a good call." Silver said, giving her a thumbs up.
Metal folded his arms.
"I guess we're doing this."
...
The train itself had a perfectly ordinary interior. The seats were made of a standard blue moquette fabric, comfortable enough to sit on for a few hours - but not particularly luxurious. The train did have tables though! That was something at least...
Tikal took a seat, taking a moment to close her eyes. Metal wandered around in circles mindlessly - gazing at his surroundings. Silver wondered curiously if Metal Sonic had ever even been inside of a train before.
"Well... I don't know how we're going to start this thing, it's not like any of us are trained in train driving-" Silver was cut off by a beep.
"DESTINATION: KNUCKLES THE ECHIDNA."
"What-?"
...
"And then the train moved so fast that both Tikal and I were screaming at the top of our lungs, that journey was only a minute. Like at max. And I still don't know how we ended up falling out of a train in the sky but we did, I didn't get a chance to even look out the window on that journey- I-"
Silver saw that Knuckles was staring down at the ground again, probably not even listening.
He wasn't getting help from Tikal - as she was now laying across a couple of the seats, closing her eyes and trying to get rest despite not having seen her do so yet. Metal Sonic, similarly, was sat facing away from them. Silver wasn't sure how Metal could be useful anyways.
Silver sighed softly. "Hey, what's wrong, Knuckles?"
"Everything, it feels like." Knuckles said bitterly.
"Come on, don't say that-"
"Do you know how long I was in that guy's body?" Knuckles held onto his own arm. "It's been over a year, Silver. Over a year."
Over a year? Silver wanted to offer up words that could possibly soothe him, but Silver felt as though offering some basic comforting phrases would probably be more insulting than helpful right now.
"I lived the destruction of the clan... I was there. I couldn't stop it- I've kept failing and- Oh Silver, I don't know how long it's been for you but-" Knuckles stared at the hedgehog - almost as though he was truly seeing him for the first time. "I haven't seen you in a whole year... I've seen none of-!"
Knuckles was silenced as Silver wrapped his arms around him in a tight embrace.
"Things are going to turn out okay, Knuckles." Silver spoke softly. "I promise..."
"It was almost 2 years, Silver!"
"I know, I know-" Silver said, making sure to smile. It was still hard to process the fact that it had truly been a year for the echidna, an entire year he had spent living in another body.
"It's good to have you back."
"I reckon... we could probably get to Apotos by nightfall."
Shadow found his whole body relax after Rouge's statement.
Good.
He had lost track of all her whining about how uncomfortable sitting in the car was, and how it far too hot - claiming that she was being baked alive in an oven. As far as Shadow saw it, she had two options - deal with a stuffy car, or Shadow could skate her all the way to Apotos at extremely fast speeds and blow her brains out in the process.
The car was a lot better, right? He was sure she would agree.
"Can't wait to stretch my legs..." She droned on. Shadow couldn't wait for some peace. He usually didn't have things to say, but even when he did - he decided to purposefully give her the silent treatement, which finally seemed to be grating on Rouge's nerves.
"Were you built with a 'conversation function' by any chance?" She huffed at him.
"Holding conversations isn't my primary purpose." Shadow told her dryly.
"So, what is your purpose?" She asked, sounding bored.
Even so, Shadow found himself oddly taken aback by the question. The answer sould have come to him simply, and yet nothing came to him immediately. He had a promise he had to fulfill for Maria, but he hadn't been created with that in mind.
Well, he was the weapon of mass destruction - wasn't he? He was the creature that was going to destroy all life on the planet of Mobius - bringing an end to all of the cruelty and hate. That was what he was made for... wasn't it?
Sometimes, he heard their voices - they said things that didn't make sense.
"Humans, mobians - they're a little weird, and we certainly have our conflicts - but all in all, we are social creatures that thrive when we are living together in harmony. You'll love it there when you finally get to see it, Shadow."
Gerald was speaking, but for some reason - Shadow couldn't see him, as though the scientist was concealed behind a smoke haze.
"I hope to visit Mobius one day, imagine all the wonderful people we'll get to meet, Shadow!"
Maria's voice was muffled, as though she were speaking underwater - and he couldn't make out her face. He didn't understand why his memories were so... no, they weren't memories. They didn't make sense. They didn't like the planet, they wanted it gone-
"Are you doing that thing where you phase out again?" Rouge suddenly asked, growing impatient.
"I'm thinking."
"You do a lot of that."
Shadow's eye twitched.
"Is it that hard to remember your purpose?" Rouge rose a brow.
"I live to serve." Shadow finally said, and that would settle that. It was the answer he knew that she wanted to hear.
Rouge leaned back in her seat. "Sometimes I forget you're not a real person until you say stuff like that - then I remember you're artificial." She commented, a snort of laughter escaping her lips.
Shadow gripped tighter onto the wheel.
...
Gerald came into the room with a spring in his step, and a smile plastered over his face. "Come here, my boy!" He told Shadow cheerfully. "They're ready to see you in your full glory!"
Shadow peered over the top of the book he had been reading, before setting it down on the bed and then promptly standing. "The G.U.N. members?"
"Exactly! They're not... the exact people I was hoping for. I wanted the higher ranks to get a good look at you, but I understand their plates are busy at the moment - they'll be able to see you in due time. For now, we just have to focus on impressing this crowd. Think of this as a test run, before we meet those that actually matter. With me so far?"
"Understood."
"That's my boy." Gerald grinned. "Come on, let's go." The professor said, finally leading Shadow to the room where the party was being held. Maria had told him about how parties should be - full of jovial people dancing and singing in each other's company.
It was something he was supposed to enjoy.
Then why had this ended up being one of the worst nights of his life?
There was nothing happy or exciting about it. The scientists and officers stood around helping themselves to flavourless snacks and small alcoholic beverages, murmuring to each other quietly. There was no music, and no one was dancing.
No one smiled, in fact - it looked as though everyone was just scrutinizing each other.
Shadow had stood close to Gerald's side, even as the old man moved around talking to the guests. In contrast to everyone else, the man was jovial - laughing at his own jokes, comfortable despite the cold atmosphere in the room and showing off his new, prized creation.
"What does it do?" The first officer asked dismissively, seemingly having had very little prior knowledge of the project beforehand.
Shadow couldn't help himself staring with wide eyes. 'It'? He had never heard himself referred to as an 'it' before.
It... felt degrading. It wasn't personable, it just made him feel like an object.
"Why, Shadow is capable of many things, for example -" Shadow tuned out Gerald's response, unable to get over the initial question.
"So he can talk?" The officer asked dryly.
Although Gerald's eyes were hidden behind a pair of glasses, Shadow knew for certain that the old man had to be staring at the G.U.N. officer judgementally. "Yes, I did just say that he is the perfect recreation of an organic mobian-"
"Say something." The man cut him off, looking down towards the hedgehog instead.
Words alluded him - his attempt at speaking failed to yield a sound, just a silent breath. Shadow found himself looking the strange man all over - he was well-groomed, with a pronounced beard. His eyes were a peculiar, icy blue - capable of making you shiver.
"Something...?" Shadow finally spoke.
Shadow could hear the clock ticking on the wall, until Gerald broke out into laughter. "HAHA! Oh, unique sense of humour this one. What a card!" Gerald claimed, giving Shadow a firm slap on the back. Shadow knew the gesture was supposed to be affectionate, but it was rather harsh.
The officer's sour expression contrasted the doctor, and Shadow wasn't even sure how his comment had gotten any sort of reaction when he had just fulfilled a request.
The bearded man then grunted, and walked off towards his colleagues - leaving Gerald's smile to fade in his wake. Gerald took the time to adjust his tie before looking down at him. "People who work for the military aren't... the friendliest-" He explained hesitantly. "But the work they do is honourable, and they're just curious about you - they want to know about how you will be helping the planet."
Was it really curioisity when they all looked so apathetic?
"I understand." He told Gerald.
The professor looked as though he wished to say more, but the man from earlier came back - this time with a group of men in tow, all habouring expressionless faces and empty eyes.
They were all looking right at him.
"The man of the hour has arrived!" Gerald announced pridefully to the group, presenting Shadow to them as though he were an exhibit. "Sorry to have kept you waiting, I know what you came all this way for-"
They wasted no time in voicing their opinions.
"I expected more..."
"The ultimate life form is just some... hedgehog?"
"It's supposed to be indistinguishable from real mobians - but it's obvious he's artificial."
"It's those soulless eyes."
Shadow fought to keep his expression neutral, to not give the remarks the dignity of a response. These were the first group of people he had met outside of the scientists that lived on the ARK, and first impressions certainly weren't great. No one had ever spoken to him like this before. In fact, they weren't even speaking to him directly despite the fact they were all face-to-face - no, they were talking about him.
"Come now, come now-" Gerald laughed awkwardly. "If you get to know him more, you'll find out quickly that he's just like you or me-"
The man from earlier bent down to Shadow's level, and for whatever reason - decided that it would be appropriate to poke and prod the hedgehog. He hummed to himself as he abruptly poked Shadow in the cheek - and the hedgehog couldn't help but make a disdainful expression.
"And he can feel pain, yes-?" The officer suddenly pinched onto Shadow's ear and tugged it. The hedgehog winced - because it was, in fact, quite painful. Shadow stared at the man in disbelief, especially as he realised the man was ready to touch him again.
Shadow quickly grabbed hold of the man's arm with a firm grip, before then sending a small jolt of chaos energy out of his hand so that it sparked the man's arm. The pain was supposed to be light, barely more than a prickle as a warning. Shadow let go as soon as the deed was done.
Yet the man screamed.
He jumped back away from Shadow, clenching onto his arm as if to cover his non-existent bullet wound. Was this seriously the fragility of humans? Wasn't this man supposed to be a part of the military?
"Ask before you touch." Shadow glared without sympathy. "Wouldn't you want the same?"
The bearded man shakily pointed a finger back at Shadow, his other colleagues stepping in front of him as though to act as barrier between him and the three-foot hedgehog. It was so pathetic.
"It attacked me!" He wailed.
"It's out of control!"
Thankfully. Gerald had little patience for this sort of thing either. "Honestly, what drama queens you all are! Shadow just stated his boundaries and gave you the equivalent of a slap on the wrist - I expect better of military men! You're all blowing this far out of proportion..."
"I refuse to be in the same room as th-that thing!" The man continued to cry.
Murmurs of agreement rose within the crowd, leaving Gerald no choice but to agree to their demands - but he made the point of first letting out a rather loud sigh. The professor looked down at Shadow. "You can go now, perhaps you'd be happy to check on Maria?"
"Thank you for the dismissal." Shadow told him genuinely. He'd rather be in any other place right now - even scrubbing the ARK's toilets sounded more enjoyable. He wouldn't even make the effort to walk out the door - instead choosing to warp on the other side of it in the midst of the hallway.
Shadow was startled to see Maria. The girl was leaned against the wall - and while her expression was initially shocked, it softened and became warm. "Hey, Shadow."
The hedgehog blinked. "What are you doing here?" He asked her. "Were you... trying to spy?"
"Yeah, but... haven't gotten very far with that." She admitted with a small giggle. "But from what I could make out, it doesn't sound all that interesting anyway in there. How did it go for you?" She asked him.
"They dislike me."
"Oh... oh dear- Actually, I'm not surprised-"
He gazed at her with hurt in his eyes. "Am I... that unlikeable?"
"Huh? Oh! No, no - not like that!" She clarified with a soft laugh, bending down so that she could rub the top of Shadow's head fondly. "Those that are working for G.U.N. are looking for every reason to dislike you, simply because they don't trust you."
"Surely they should be aiming to build trust then, rather than fabricate stories for the sake of antagonising me?" It was all so confusing.
She placed her hand on his shoulder, the difference between her and the soldier was night and day. Her touch was delicate and soft - as though she were scared that Shadow was fragile enough to break if too much pressure were to be applied.
"You're right, that would make more sense." Maria agreed. "But some people don't like to admit when they're wrong. Quite a lot of people are bad at that, actually." She spoke honestly. "Listen, I'm only quoting the things I've heard grandfather mutter to himself. They'll..."
Whatever words she spoke were drowned under the sound of a ringing in his head, her face gradually faded into a blur - as did the surroundings, until all he could make out with his vision was blobs of colour floating in the air.
...
Shadow's ears perked at the sound of Rouge's voice booming within the car. In the backseat, she held up her hands to the heavens - as though she were giving the theatrical performance of her lifetime. "Thus conscience does make cowards of us all, And thus the native hue of resolution, Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought-"
"What... are you doing?" Shadow asked slowly, not certain if he actually wanted to know the answer.
"Well, you did that thing where you space out and ignore me again - so I wondered how far I could get into a Shakespeare monologue before you even noticed what I was doing. Which, by the way, I'm almost at the end of it. You seriously didn't realise all this time." She let out a small chuckle, as this was amusing to her - and only her.
"I see." He couldn't wait to get out of this damn car. "Now are you going to stop reciting Hamlet?"
Rouge smirked. "Only if you can finish the monologue."
That could be arranged. "And enterprises of great pitch and moment, With this regard their currents turn awry, And lose the name of action."
Rouge's eyes were wide before she smiled again, seemingly impressed. "Heh, you really want me to shut up - don't you? You've read a lot of Shakespeare then?"
"Somewhat. I enjoy reading literature."
Rouge clapsed her hands together. "A man of culture! Finally... you know how hard it is to find men that are able to appreciate the classics?"
"Wouldn't know."
He allowed her to drone on, this time not escaping into memories - just simply tuning her out so he could focus on the road ahead. His eyes drifted to the surrounding cars, all continuing on at the same monotonous pace.
...
They weren't the only organics on the road.
A few cars down from them, there were three mercanaries sat within a vehicle. The polar bear sat silently gazing out of the window in the backseart, while the green duck restlessly bounced in his chair - humming tunes with no distinct melody.
"Alright boys, so we're on the same page..." His eyes narrowed. "As soon as those bastards step out of their car-"
He licked his lips, able to taste that hefty, juicy reward.
"We ambush."
Knuckles is back! The time trio have a train now! We'll be getting very cozy with this train, believe me XD - more answers are heading your way soon! Meanwhile Cream and Ray have encountered Charmy? And the heroes are split off looking for the kids and Shadow respectively - all while Shadow and Rouge continue their ride to Apotos, but with the hooligans on their tail...
On an entirely unrelated note, I wonder how the Chaotix are doing right now...
Next time - fight scenes! Birds! Angst! And relationship development~ It'll be a doozy. But I'm afraid it's coming out after the 26th, since the Christmas season be upon us.
As always, thank ya'll so much for the love this fic has recieved. It means so, so much to me! Feel free to leave a review and let me know your thoughts on the latest update! :) And also a happy update - my PMs just got sorted out! So if I haven't responded to your review yet - I'll be doing so when I wake up tomorrow!
For now though, I'll see ya'll later. And I wish you all happy holidays! :)