Chapter 6: Cyber Tower (サイバータワー; saiba tawa)
NOW EDITTED!
The weather was good today. The ocean below was brilliant blue. Among the clouds we can hear the cry of seagulls and the sounds of an airplane moving. We'll see Tornado II soon. Sonic was lying on the plane while Tails was flying the plane. The little fox looked at the radar and looked for Dr. Eggman's tower, which could also fall into this world. The search continued until a bright dot appeared on the radar. Noticing the point, Tails directed the plane in the direction where the radar was pointing.
"We'll be there soon." Said the little fox. "On the way, we can make a plan about what we will do in the tower." I have this option. First, we will clean up the tower itself and go to the communications department to connect to our world and tell our friends that we are okay."
As soon as the little fox finished, he suddenly remembered that the hedgehog was not in the cockpit, but on the wing. Because of this, Sonic could not hear Tails' plan.
"Oh..." Said Tails, and an anime-style drop fell on his head. "I'll probably tell him the plan when we arrive."
The plane continued moving in the same direction. Sometime later, Tornado II began to fly up to the tower. The tower itself was on a rather small island. Inside the cabin, Tails smiled, but when he saw something near the island, he made a puzzled face.
"Someone was here before us." Tails thought, still looking at the mysterious boat.
Soon they arrived at the tower. Tails landed the plane on the water and opened the cockpit. Sonic jumped from the top of the plane onto the wing. The little fox climbed out of the cockpit, grabbing his bag and Miles Electric in the process, and landed on the wing.
"How are you doing, buddy?" The blue hedgehog asked his friend.
"I'm fine." Tails replied before asking the speedster. "Sonic, did you notice that motorboat that stands next to the rock? Someone was here before us."
"I have the same feeling." Sonic answered. "Judging by the boat that is here, the arrival is still in that tower."
"I have an idea that this could be Dr. Doppler's soldier or someone else." Said the little fox. "But this is all just my theory. We need to test the boat to confirm the theory."
"Okay." The blue hedgehog said before he turned around. "But first we need a plan from our most brilliant mechanic in the world!"
"Well, okay." Tails said and began as he and Sonic began to walk towards the mysterious boat. "This will be a simple plan with several stages. Stage 1 - we will make our way inside the tower. Stage 2 – we will find a communication center and possibly a portal. Stage 3 - We will contact the others using the computer. Step 4 - I'll do a little digging and grab some files. And stage 5 - we stay here a little to check how things are going with the portal and go back."
"Simple and fast!" Sonic commented and stroked the little fox. "Well done, Tails!"
"He-he,." Shyly laughed the little fox, scratching the back of his neck. "Thank you, Sonic."
Soon they both approached the motorboat. They dragged the ship a little ashore (although it was difficult for them to do this) and began to examine it from all sides. While the blue hedgehog was looking at a few things like a rain jacket, a flashlight and batteries left on this boat, he heard his friend calling him.
"Sonic, look at this!"
The speedster approached the little fox, who was on the right side of the boat.
"What is it, Tails?" Asked the blue hedgehog.
"This emblem…" The little fox began, pointing to the stylized letter "∑" on the side of the motorboat before he turned to Sonic. "This boat belongs to the Sigma army!"
"Sigma?" Sonic asked. "That Big Bad you told me earlier...Hm?"
"Sonic?" Tails asked questioningly as he saw Sonic turn his head in a different direction.
"I'll be a minute." Said the blue hedgehog and ran to where he saw something.
Having stopped, Sonic found himself at another motorboat, which was closer to the shore. The blue hedgehog began to look at the ship and saw a sign. The emblem was a yellow diamond, which was poked into an orange straight triangle and from below the triangle was supported by two holders, spread upward like the wings of a bird.
The hedgehog remembered where he could see this symbol earlier. At the Maverick Hunters base...
"Sonic!" The little fox said loudly when he got to Sonic.
"Tails, this motorboat belongs to the Maverick Hunters." The blue hedgehog turned to the little fox.
"How did you know that?" Tails was surprised.
"I was at their base earlier." The blue hedgehog answered seriously. "So they are here too... We need to find them and Maverick. If they are in this tower, then there is a chance that something could happen to the portal."
The little fox nodded his head, agreeing with his friend, and he and Sonic walked towards the tower.
Meanwhile…
Inside the tower, the reploid walked silently down the corridor with dead eyes. At some point he stopped before the wall.
This reploid had dark red and black armor and a helmet. He had an open face, and it was clear that the pupils of his eyes were light-purple, and his eyebrows were light brown.
He entered another corridor. Meanwhile, in the corridor where the mysterious reploid had previously walked, a black shadow appeared, walking slowly, and looking for something. Soon the shadow disappeared.
To Sonic and Tails...
Inside, they walked along a corridor that took them on a route to the communications department. Soon our heroes turned right and walked along the next corridor. They walked like this until Sonic heard something with his sensitive ear. He stopped and turned his head towards the sound.
"Sonic, what is it?" Tails turned to his friend. "Is it because of these sounds?"
"Yeah, Tails." Answered the blue hedgehog. "Maybe this is the same Sigma soldier or Maverick hunters. I'll go check."
Sonic walked closer to the corridor where a sound came from there. He entered and began to look around. Soon he saw a figure walking slowly down the corridor. Having become wary and looking around, the hedgehog spotted a dark red reploid. By the looks of it, it was clear that not everything was all right with the dude. Sonic began to approach the reploid.
"Hey, dude." The blue hedgehog turned to him. "Are you all right?"
Hearing the voice, the reploid looked at Sonic with dead eyes before answering.
"Not very. You can recycle me. I deserve it."
"Recycling?" Tails asked puzzled as he approached. "You deserved that? What in the name of Freedom are you talking about?"
As soon as Tails said this, suddenly he and Sonic heard a grinding sound that came from somewhere in the corridor. Suggests that the situation was serious, the blue hedgehog turned to his friend:
"Tails, stay by my side for now!"
"Okay." The little fox agreed before he took out a flashlight and turned it on.
Tails shined the light down the hallway, and everyone saw that it was a badnik that was modeled after a rhinoceros beetle. This badnik had blue and yellow metal colors and had a circular saw on its horn. The badnik himself looked tired for some reason, as evidenced by his slow movement and barely glowing eyes. He slowly approached the reploid.
"That's strange." Sonic said, looking thoughtful and suspicious. "He seems to be moving, but he doesn't attack us right away."
"Maybe it has something to do with the energy in the tower." Tails answered. "Maybe when the portal started working, it could absorb a lot of energy. I'll check how much energy is in the tower. You can protect him for now."
"Okay." The blue hedgehog said before he turned to the reploid. "I'm sorry that we didn't introduce ourselves to you right away. My name is Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog. And this is my friend, Tails. What is your name?"
"Lurk." Replied the reploid.
"Hello, Lurk." Said Sonic. "Are you a Maverick hunter? Are you here to catch the maverick?"
Lurk fell silent for some reason.
"Lurk?" Sonic asked him again. "Are you all right…?"
The blue hedgehog noticed that the badnik was approaching the reploid.
Well, at least this badnik doesn't pose a threat... thought Sonic, when suddenly the badnik's saw started working and brought it closer to Lurk's leg.
Seeing this, Sonic sharply kicked the badnik, sending him into the wall. There, due to a collision, the badnik broke and switched off.
"That was close..." The blue hedgehog said before he turned to Tails. "Well, how?"
"Sonic, I noticed one strange thing." The little fox answered and approached Sonic with Miles Electric. "This tower has 31% energy, and it continues to grow. Maybe…"
"I know why." Lurk suddenly said, which is why Sonic and Tails paid attention to him.
"Do you know the reason why energy jumps upward?" Asked the little fox and approached him.
"This...This is..." Lurk began before he said the shockingly complete sentence. "It's from those Maverick Hunters and something else..."
"What?" Asked a shocked Sonic, looking at Lurk. "Lurk, you..."
"Ex-maverick." Said the dark red reploid with a gloomy tone. "I will only cause problems, and everyone will be better off when I die in this place."
"Can you tell us your story from beginning to end?" Tails told him, looking a little worried. "After that, we can decide what to do with you."
As soon as the little fox said this, suddenly everyone heard sounds from the end of this corridor.
"Maybe later." Sonic said and began to prepare to fight. "Tails, you and Lurk leave for now. I'll deal with this myself."
"Be careful." Tails said and turned to Lurk. "Let's go. You can tell me on the way."
The dark red reploid looked into the small fox's eyes before he began to stand up. To their surprise, Sonic flew straight and hit Tails and Lurk, causing them to land in another corridor.
BIP
The three noticed how strange red cyber squares began to fill the corridor.
"What's happening?" Tails asked, not understanding what was happening.
Sonic and Tails closed their eyes from the bright light except for Lurk. When the blue hedgehog and the little fox opened their eyes, they saw that they were in the center of a digital city. The buildings were completely black, so much so that you couldn't see the outlines. The "ground" was covered with red transparent nets, and the sky glowed yellow. Letters, words, and numbers in the form of ribbons flew around. The atmosphere of this place was eerie and disturbing.
"Where are we?" The hedgehog asked, looking around.
"It reminds me of cyberspace from the movies I watched." Tails replied. "It or they probably threw us through an invisible portal. I have a theory that it may be that Dr. Eggman added these invisible portals as a defense to the tower. Thus, those who came to this tower could fall into this trap. Maybe the same thing happened with the Maverick hunters. And...They are used as a living battery...Lord, I don't want to imagine this."
"Well, what are we going to do?" Sonic asked.
"We'll be together." Tails answered with a serious look. "I can find a way out of this place and explore cyberspace to... Lurk, are you okay?"
The little fox noticed that the reploid was looking somewhere into the distance. Since because of his helmet it was not visible what was on his face, but from his body language you can understand that he saw something that made him calm down in horror.
"Lurk, are you okay?" Sonic asked, causing the dark red reploid to return to reality.
He looked at Sonic and Tails who were looking at him with concern before he answered.
"I saw them..."
"Maverick hunters?" Asked the blue hedgehog and looked where Lurk was looking.
But he didn't see anyone. Sonic turned to the dark red reploid.
"They were here, right?"
To this Lurk replied:
"Yes, but they are no longer "they". They are already one."
As soon as Lurk said this, suddenly everyone heard a loud roar. Such a roar made Tails' fur stand on end. Soon, around the corner, all three saw a creature emerging from the darkness. The creature itself consisted of some bodies that were crookedly connected to each other by many wires. He had a huge, colossal body with a huge mouth with sharp teeth. Although his arms and legs were large, they were crooked. They had sharp claws. The body itself also consisted not only of metal, but also of many wires. The most remarkable thing about this creature was its huge bull horns and bright green eyes, which looked at Lurk with anger.
"This...This is..." Muttered Tails, looking at the creatures in horror.
"OH-HO-HO!"
While Lurk looked up, puzzled, with a misunderstanding of what was happening, Sonic and Tails recognized this laugh.
"EGGMAN!" The little fox and the hedgehog said loudly.
"Well, how? Do you like my newest invention? Several creatures into one!"
""Newest invention"?!" Tails shouted. "Eggman, are you out of your freaking mind?! This being that is made up of living beings and you call it an "invention"? And how do you even communicate with us if you are still on our planet...Oh, yes. Master Emerald."
"That's right, Tails!" Said Eggman and there was pride in his voice. "I can't believe you both fell into my trap and ended up here! I always planned to send you to another place so that you would not interfere with my conquest of the world!"
"Without the Chaos Emeralds?" Sonic asked sarcastically. "They are also in this universe. I can say with 100% confidence that you will not have time to quickly take over our world in such a way during this time. And the Master Emerald is not enough for this. Have you by any chance forgotten who is the guardian of the Master Emerald? ~"
"Knuckles won't get to this base." Eggman said in turn. "I have a top-secret base with top-secret security, and this echidna won't have a chance to get there."
"You better not hope." Sonic added. "I know him. He's determinator and he never gives up until he gets the Master Emerald back."
"He won't succeed."
"Are you sure~?" Sonic asked with a grin.
At this point he heard some approaching sound. In the blink of an eye, someone grabbed the hedgehog by the throat and flew somewhere with him. The most noticeable thing was that there were purple and pink lines emanating from the attacker.
"SONIC!" Tails shouted as he saw his friend being carried away from them.
"What do you get when you mock me!" Lurk and the little fox heard the voice of the evil scientist. "Now let's see how you and your robotic friend get on in other places!"
"What?" Asked the little fox as portals formed under him and Lurk.
They both fell there screaming.
Meanwhile…
"Ouch!" Sonic said as he hit something.
When he came to his senses and stood up, he saw that he was in some place that immediately reminded him of Stardust Speedway, which he had passed through on Little Planet. This place copied Stardust Speedway in every way except for the yellow highway with red edges and a lot of traps. There were more of them than at the old Stardust Speedway. The blue hedgehog noticed that everything was empty. Sonic started walking along the highway, looking around, and stopped in the middle. He looked where the highway led before he thought:
So, this cyberspace can copy the places where Tails and I were. I don't know what's wrong with my friend and Lurk, but I need to hurry before they…
As soon as the blue hedgehog said this, he heard strange sounds. It looks like something, or someone is approaching him. Sonic turned to see what was there, but suddenly a phrase flashed through his thoughts:
"Destroy the annoying hedgehog."
Sonic quickly moved to the side and a shadow flashed past him. When the shadow stopped, it revealed itself as... The evil metal counterpart of our heroic hedgehog - Metal Sonic. They both looked at each other in silence. The silence was shattered when a thought flashed through Sonic's head:
"Hello, Sonic the Hedgehog."
"Hello, Metal." The hedgehog greeted him in response. "I see that you are alive and well. How are you doing?"
Metal Sonic looked at our hedgehog with a clear sign of hostility. Sonic noticed this and asked:
"What is it, Metal? Are you mad at me for something?"
"Do you remember what happened to me on the Glacial Bridge?"
Hearing what Metal said, Sonic fell silent. He remembered what happened on the Glacial Bridge back on the planet Freedom.
In the memories of a hedgehog...
Sonic was in a subglacial volcano, extending his hand towards Metal Sonic. The metal double climbed towards the hedgehog.
"Grab my hand!" The blue hedgehog told him loudly.
Knuckles appears behind Sonic and grabs the hedgehog.
"Don't Sonic! He will take you with him!"
Metal Sonic's hand reached out to Sonic's hand, but instead of grasping, he punches Sonic's hand, thus rejecting help. The puzzled hedgehog looks at his double. Rising lava began to cover Metal Sonic. But the metal double managed to say:
"There is only one Sonic."
Before magma covered him, destroying the robot copy...
Back to present...
"I remember what happened to you, Metal." The blue hedgehog answered in a gloomy tone. "You died in the magma after you saved the President and the Old Man from death. But I have a question for you: What do you want from me?"
"I want to find out which of us is the real Sonic." Metal Sonic answered. "Even when I'm already dead, I can't find peace because of my doubts about being the real Sonic. To find out, I want to race you. In the end we will decide which of us is real. This way I can find peace."
Sonic thought about it. He continued to glare at Metal Sonic. He knew that he needed to explore this territory and find a way out for his friends, but looking at Metal Sonic, the hedgehog understood that the ghost of his double would not leave him alone. Sonic wanted Metal Sonic's "soul" to finally find peace after death. After quick thinking, Sonic replied:
"I agree. Just promise me that we will do this quickly. I want to go to my friends and help them."
"Okay." said the metal double, approaching the blue hedgehog.
After that, they walked to the starting line, where his long-dead evil doppelganger was. Sonic and Metal Sonic sat down like athletes at the start line before running. The blue hedgehog glanced at his opponent. He knew that in this way he would help Metal Sonic find peace after his death. But on the other hand, he wanted to finish the race quickly and return to his duties.
Sonic and Metal Sonic began to prepare. A traffic light for racing appeared in front of them, and the color was red. Soon a voice was heard:
ON YOUR MARKS. PREPARE.
Tails, Lurk, thought the blue hedgehog. Wait for me.
The traffic light turned green, and the voice said one last word before the start of the race:
GO!
With that word, Sonic and Metal Sonic ran down the highway.
Meanwhile with Tails...
"Oh...Where am I?" The little fox quietly asked himself, starting to get up and come to his senses. "I remember that I fell into the portal and... IN THE NAME OF FREEDOM, THIS IS EGGMAN'S BATTLESHIP?!"
The little fox saw that he was on a large air flotilla, which reminded the little fox of the flotilla when he was on Angel Island for the first time. There was currently a thunderstorm and rain. He stood up and looked around in shock.
"Everything is the same..." Said Tails. "And this! And this! There's even that chicken robot on the platform! And... THUNDERSTORM?! Why does it always have to be a thunderstorm?!"
At that moment he clapped his hands on his cheeks and thought:
Tails, come to your senses! thought the little fox. This is cyberspace, and she can copy the places I've been. I need to find a way out of here and help Lurk and Sonic!
BAM
"AH!" Tails shouted in fear, and he ran further along the battleship. But as he ran, the little fox did not notice the figure that was watching him.
With Lurk...
The dark red reploid looked at his surroundings, which he believed came from his nightmares. He saw in front of him a sprawling, destroyed mechanical cemetery. Everything was dark and cold, and only the cry of a bird could add a little eeriness to the atmosphere. Lurk stood on the hill and looked at the nightmare place. Then, plucking up courage, he began to walk down the hill.
Along the way, he remembered his past and the reasons why he joined the Sigma Army. The dark red reploid was once a Maverick Hunter who was in Commander Sigma's group before the rebellion occurred. He was the only lower-ranked hunter in a group that consisted of A-rank hunters, to his surprise. He got there because of the merits he made during his service in the Maverick Hunters organization, and he could be promoted. Lurk himself was a close friend and subordinate of Commander Sigma and knew him quite well. Sigma was a proud and noble commander who was an excellent tactician. He cared about his group and the other Maverick hunters, including Lurka. He did not tolerate it when someone offended or humiliated another, and he had a strong sense of justice. At that time, reploids were treated with great prejudice, which bordered on discrimination and even violence against them. This became even worse when incidents with Mavericks began to occur frequently, leading to enormous paranoia among the human population. There were such cases that, out of fear, people attacked reploids, who, in their opinion, could be a maverick, and without trial or even evidence, they lynched them. Sigma and his group never liked this and wished that one day humans could coexist peacefully with reploids without harming each other. Lurk also wanted this, so that reploids could live normally and be accepted into society. But they could not do anything about this since they were Maverick hunters and this position prevented them from taking and protecting a reploid who was suspected of being a Maverick. But something happened that changed everything.
Kyle, a colleague, friend of Lurk and Sigma's group, and a top-ranking hunter, was attacked by people who mistakenly thought he was a Maverick. He was beaten so much that parts of his body were no longer repairable. Kyle could have been killed if members of the Sigma group and Lurk had not come and taken him. The poor reploid was sent to the emergency department. Lurk recalled that when he arrived, he saw Kyle moving his body in pain. As the dark red reploid walked out of the room where Kyle was, he saw Sigma's face, which looked like a devil.
The next day, during a mission, Lurk was called back to the Maverick Hunter base. When he arrived, he saw Kyle who was on the table. Still in damaged shape. Before the dark red reploid could even ask what was going on here, Sigma, along with a member of his group, entered the hall and said that Kyle had betrayed the reploids and sided with the people. Lurk was very surprised, because he clearly remembered that it was the people who attacked Kyle. Before he had time to say anything in defense of his friend, everyone shouted something about how reploids are superior to humans in terms of development and so on. But what Lurk remembers is how Sigma used his fingers to shoot Kyle, who was in the hands of Mega Man X, thus ending the life of the suffering reploid.
In the present, Lurk stopped because he noticed one grave with a name that seemed familiar to him. He sat down on his knee and reached out to wipe the dust off the tombstone so he could take a closer look. As soon as he saw what was written on the tombstone, the pupils of his eyes shrank. On the tombstone it was written:
GRIGORY KUSTOV
Meanwhile, Sonic...
Sonic continued to run along the highway, competing and fighting with Metal Sonic. The highway itself lengthened with every step of the riders and seemed to be endless. Soon a hole appeared on the highway with sharp spikes at the bottom. Sonic jumped over the hole and continued running. Soon, Sonic noticed red squares that filled the entire area, except for the highway, Metal Sonic, and the blue hedgehog himself. When the red squares disappeared, Sonic realized that they were no longer in the digital city, but at the North Pole of the planet Freedom. The hedgehog looked around in surprise. The strangest thing is that he immediately felt cold, as if it were in reality. Sonic noticed something ahead. He placed his palm vertically on his forehead to make it easier to examine what was there.
Glacial Bridge...The place where Metal Sonic was destroyed.
I'm starting to guess that Egghead is specifically using all this to mentally suppress us, Thought Sonic. But I won't let this happen!
With confidence, he quickly ran forward, overtaking Metal Sonic. The metal double, in turn, picked up speed and flew further along the highway.
With Tails...
The little fox was inside the battleship and walked past the traps that were there. After some time, Tails managed to get through this part and climb onto the deck of the flotilla. The little fox looked tired from everything he had to go through this nightmare section.
And I thought it was worse in Metropolis Tails thought before he looked all around and started walking in the rain. But there's one question: Why Eggman specifically recreated zones inside cyberspace? Maybe he wants to play and suppress us or...
"Hello again, Mr. Prower."
Hearing the familiar voice, Tails almost jumped on the spot. His fur stood on end and goosebumps ran down his spine. The little fox turned and began to look all around until he looked up and saw a figure familiar to him. The one that Tails thought was worse than lightning. It was Beat.
"Bit, what are you..." Began the little fox, before he suddenly realized something. "No, you are not real Bit."
"That's right, Tails." Said the yellow reploid. "You are still a smart little fox. No wonder Dr. Doppler wants you."
My first theory is correct! Tails thought. Eggman is deliberately recreating all this to scare and suppress us! Maybe the tower has a special function in which it can read thoughts and minds, so that it can then recreate it all here.
"Why are you smiling so much?" Asked the yellow reploid, seeing a determined smile on Tails' face.
"Are you talking about this?" The little fox asked and grinned. "I'm just glad I have a chance to practice before I face the real Bit. I still feel anxious, but knowing that you are fake, I can defeat you with no problem!"
Bit didn't answer, just looking at the little fox with fury. Soon he pulled out his glowing sword and jumped down from above. Tails began to prepare for battle.
With Lurk...
Lurk stood and looked at the grave with dead eyes. This grave belonged to a teenager who lived with his parents and brother in a small town on the Amur River. When his city was attacked, Lurk, instead of killing him and his brother, decided to help them escape the city so that they would survive. But, unfortunately, only the brother managed to survive. Memories of what happened to Grigory flashed through Lurk's head.
"Lurk, you idiot! Why did you let that little brat escape?!"
"Please don't touch him or his brother! It's not their fault that reploids are treated like crap!"
"Shut up, bastard! We'll figure it out ourselves!"
"No! No! NO!"
BLAM
He was unable to save this teenager or his parents, who also died during the Maverick attack. While Lurk was looking at the grave, he suddenly heard someone's voices, one of which belonged to him, and the other to the commander of Sigma. He turned to see a hologram of him talking to Sigma about what happened with Kyle.
"Commander Sigma, why did you shoot Kyle? He had a chance to recover from his wounds."
"It's difficult, Lurk. I did this to convince everyone to take my side. M had not previously been told that Kyle would remain disabled for the rest of his life since some important parts of his body were no longer repairable. I didn't want him to suffer any further in his life. I ended his life and suffering."
"But Commander Sigma! There are ways for us reploids to express our opinions about how people treat us. And this is through peaceful means, and not through violence!"
"Lurk, you must understand that sometimes, in order to achieve justice, you need to use force, not words."
"But among people there are also those who are not guilty of the fact that we are treated as a threat. For example, when I walked past the park, I saw children playing with a reploid..."
"Lurk, this is an illusion. These people are the real mavericks who are slowly destroying us while they enjoy their lives. If you want to help your species, then join us. Knowing you, you are a good reploid with concern for others. I'll give you time to think."
Lurk gritted his teeth in anger. He approached the hologram, namely in the direction of Sigma, and raised his fist. At this point, his eyes turned from light to more bright purple, and a dark purple aura appeared around his body.
"ARGH!" in rage, Lurk hit the hologram of the commander, whom he had once been inspired by and look up to.
The hologram disappeared. Lurk sat on his knees and looked down. He began to remember what happened next after this conversation.
He did join Sigma's army, and now he considered it the worst mistake of his life. Observing what happened around him during his entire service in the Sigma army, he became convinced that in the end the reploids themselves who were in the army became worse than their oppressors (humans). Lurk saw how his kind burned, killed, robbed, and sometimes did worse than that to the people. Among Sigma's army there are noble reploids who refused to do these things to people and even helped them escape. They did this in secret, because if they were caught doing this, they could be branded as traitors and sent to death. Although Lurk was caught doing this, he was not executed or harmed due to the fact that he was a close friend of Sigma. Lurk's most memorable moments are what happened to the teenager and his fellow reploid Sean, who also saved people and died painfully in the end. What he saw, did or heard, he wrote down in his diary so that he would not forget it later.
As he was remembering his past, suddenly he heard a sound. Lurk stood up and looked around, but there was no one. He had déjà vu that he had heard this before, when he, Sonic and Tails first ended up in cyberspace. Suddenly he heard sounds again. Lurk turned and was horrified to see the very creature that reminded him of his guilt for what happened to the Maverick hunters. The creature slowly walked towards him, slowly raising its hand, and growling loudly.
With Sonic...
Sonic and Metal Sonic reached the Glacial Bridge. Two riders were damaged, but this did not stop them from continuing the race. The highway beneath their feet disappeared, replaced by an icy road. The finish line was visible on the horizon. This place reminded the blue hedgehog of his fight with Metal Sonic in this place back when on planet Freedom. As soon as they were in the middle of the Glacial Bridge, suddenly the metal doppelgänger of the hedgehog began to attack Sonic.
"Hey! What's the matter?!" Asked the indignant hedgehog. "I thought that..."
Before the hedgehog could finish his sentence, he felt that the Ice Bridge was shaking under his feet. A crack appeared on the bridge, into which the damaged Metal Sonic fell. Seeing Metal fall into the crack, he remembered the last moments of the metal double.
"Not again." Said the blue hedgehog and jumped into the crack.
Clinging to the wall of the crack, he began to climb down. Below, Sonic saw Metal Sonic and magma that was slowly rising. The blue hedgehog extended his hand to his double, who was climbing towards him.
"Metal, grab my hand!" Shouted the heroic hedgehog.
Metal Sonic's hand reached out to Sonic's hand, but the metal doppelgänger punched the blue hedgehog's hand, rejecting his help. The magma began to reach Metal Sonic's body.
"There is only one Sonic." Said the metal double and the magma had already reached his feet.
This phrase awakened something in Sonic. He took Metal Sonic's hand, to the robot's surprise, and began to pull him up.
" !" The blue hedgehog shouted in a slightly angry and determined tone.
Sonic turned onto his stomach and used his legs to run upstairs, dragging Metal Sonic with him. When they were back on the bridge, the blue hedgehog helped his counterpart to his feet.
"Why did you do that?" Metal Sonic asked in a robotic but puzzled voice.
"Metal, I won't let you die the same way I did last time." Sonic replied before grinning. "Well, shall we continue the race?"
"No." Said the robot.
"Why?: Sonic asked with a grin. "Are you afraid that I'm winning this race?"
"I already realized which of us is the real Sonic." Said Metal. "When I watched you in the race, I saw that you have something that the real Metal Sonic did not have until the moment of his death... This is your free will..."
"Free will?" Sonic asked.
"I'm just his illusion, assembled from the matrix." Metal Sonic answered. "I personify him... And you have now proven to him which of you is the real Sonic... And who is just a copy..."
""Copy"?" Sonic asked.
"In his life, Metal Sonic wanted to be a real Sonic, to be original..." Said "Metal Sonic". "It's hard for him to be someone's copy and that's why he wanted to prove that he is Sonic. But...You, Sonic the Hedgehog, proved the opposite...Thank you...Now I...I will...K-k-know."
After the robot spoke his last words, his body began to disintegrate into red squares.
"WAIT!" Sonic said loudly.
But "Metal Sonic" had already disintegrated into matrices, completely disappearing. At first the blue hedgehog looked quite shocked by this until he smiled and said quietly:
"Rest in peace, Metal Sonic."
In his heart, Sonic felt better, as he was able to deal with his guilt for what happened to Metal Sonic. Suddenly, he heard a soft sound and he turned to see a huge golden ring levitating in the air. The blue hedgehog sped up and jumped through the ring. The ring immediately disappeared when Sonic jumped through it.
With Tails...
The little fox continued to fight with Bit's double. Since according to his theory, the tower could read their minds and thoughts and copy something from them into cyberspace, this version of Bit is weaker than the original version of Bit, since Tails still did not know about him much. The yellow reploid attacked him with the same moves he used back in the weapons factory, and Tails, who knew from experience how to fight him, attacked him with a spin dash and tails. In his head, the little fox was creating a strategy plan on how to easily defeat Bit. Eventually, Tails made one last final blow to the yellow reploid's armor, causing Bit to be defeated. It was already completely damaged by that time. The reploid fell to the ground and disintegrated into matrices.
Sighing in exhaustion and relief, Tails began to look around him in search of a way out and found a flying golden ring that was not far from him in the sky. The little fox flew on its tails towards the ring. On the way, Tails thought about what he said to Bit earlier and now he was starting to get nervous about fighting the real one. As he was thinking, lightning hit, causing the little fox to scream and quickly fly to the ring. Tails soon entered the ring, which soon disappeared.
With Lurk...
The dark red reploid fought the creature that attacked him first. In his heart, Lurk did not want to harm this creature, since it contained innocent Maverick hunters who chased him into the tower. He didn't want this to happen to them. But he must fight so that this creature, or Golem, as Eggman called it, does not harm him. He was angry at Eggman for what he did to the poor reploids who were just doing their job. As he fought with him, Golem took his head and threw Lurk into a nearby dead tree. The dark red reploid hit a tree and crawled down. While he was recovering, the Golem began to quickly approach him, trying to hit him. Lurk managed to stand up and raise two hands above him, and in the end the creature hit him directly in the hands. The reploid struggled, trying to stay on his feet.
"I beg you, don't do it…" Lurk muttered. "Don't do it... Don't make me do it..."
But Golem didn't seem to hear him. He began to literally press Lurk to the ground. The dark red reploid felt that inside of him he was filled with anger and hatred towards the people who controlled living beings, frustration due to the situation he found himself in and guilt for allowing all this to happen. At this point his eyes turned back bright purple. Lurk bared his teeth. He struck the Golem's forehead with his straight hand, and it flew to the other side of the area. After he did this, the dark red reploid quickly ran towards where the Golem had landed. At this moment he looked like a real demon.
With Sonic and Tails...
"Sonic!"
"Tails!"
When both heroes from other dimensions came out of the portal, they saw each other. The little fox smiled, and he ran towards Sonic.
"Sonic, I'm glad to see you!" Said Tails.
"Me too." The blue hedgehog said with a smile before he looked at his surroundings. "Are we in Metropolis? I thought it had been destroyed a long time ago."
The environment looked like an exact replica of Metropolis back on West Side Island. Sonic and Tails were in what looked like an arena.
"Wait, where is Lurk?" Tails asked worriedly, remembering the dark red reploid.
"Maybe he's still in another place in this cyberspace." Sonic said.
"You know, after I visited one of these mini levels myself, I have a theory that the tower can read our minds and copy from it into cyberspace so that Eggman can manipulate us and suppress us." Tails replied.
"I thought the same thing." Sonic said. "Well, Eggman remains Eggman. Listen, Tails, do you have any ideas on how we can get to Lurk?"
"Not so fast!"
The blue hedgehog and the little fox looked up due to Dr. Eggman's loud voice before they noticed something falling into the arena. Sonic put his hand over Tails to protect him. Soon a huge mecha landed in the center of the arena. The mecha looked like Egg Breaker (again for this month), but it had dark red armor, bright red eyes, and an enclosed cockpit. Tails raised his fists and prepared to fight while Sonic just smirked sarcastically and looked at Eggman.
"Eggman, have you run out of ideas or what?" The blue hedgehog asked Eggman. "Why are you using this mecha in every battle this month?"
"That's why I don't want to waste time building new ones. This is more convenient for me, even in cyberspace."
"Then what did you spend the whole month on?" Tails asked, narrowing his eyes.
"I built a tower to lure you."
"That's all?" Sonic replied, his eyes empty at this answer.
"I'm already so tired of you that I'm even starting to have problems thinking about and engaging in my new projects. When you left, everything became calm for me."
Sonic and Tails looked at each other, but they had neutral expressions. Two anime-style blobs formed on their heads.
"What about your robot friend, he's currently dealing with his own problems in the mini-cyber system. If you want to get to him, you must fight me first. Although I myself doubt that when you arrive, he will be the same good fellow you met."
"What are you talking about?" Sonic and Tails asked, a little puzzled by Eggman's words.
With Lurk...
The dark red reploid continued to fight the Golem. But because his mind was clouded with negative emotions, he couldn't control or even understand what he was doing now. He brutally punched the Golem several times until it jumped and landed in the middle of the chest. With his hand, he penetrated inside the creature's body and...
K-K-KRACK
He pulled one cable towards himself and tore it away from the monster's body before he could continue doing so. During this, Lurk seemed to be in the dark and did not see what was happening. The reploid soon came to his senses as he began to calm down. He staggered, trying to balance himself. He looked at his hands...And fell silent. Lurk saw that there was motor oil on his hands, which somewhat resembled blood. In horror, he looked back at the Golem and...His eyes became smaller. The creature lay on the ground and slowly growled in endless pain. There were cables scattered everywhere, bodies of Maverick hunters with body parts missing, and the entire area was covered in oil. Realizing what he had done, Lurk slowly muttered:
"No. No! NO!"
He ran towards the Golem and looked at it carefully. But before he do something else, reploid sensed some dizziness before, he fell to the ground and looked straight into the sky. Lurk began to remember what happened to him next.
After Sigma was defeated the first time, Lurk stayed behind to help the reploids who remained in the army. Six months later, he learned that Sigma had been revived and was once again leading Sigma's army. But in his eyes, this was no longer the same person he knew before. He was a ruthless and fascist leader whose heart already hated all people on earth. Many people and reploids were killed under him. And what is most disgusting for Lurk is that Sigma did not regret it and instead of focusing on the balance of the world between humans and reploids, he paid more attention to revenge on the person who defeated him the first time, his power and ideology. During his second reign, punishments for soldiers in the army became harsher, including death and painful punishment for those who betrayed, disobeyed orders, or simply ran away from the army.
After the death of his friend named Sean, Lurk decided that he had enough. When Sigma died for the second time, the dark red reploid fled because he didn't want to have anything to do with this horrible place and army anymore. He, along with his things and supplies, arrived at the small base where the boats were stored and took one of the boats and sailed off into the night. He wandered the sea for several months. He checked the list on his small device, which contained the names of the reploids who were to be executed. Fortunately, he was not on this list. Even so, Lurk wanted to die as he felt he deserved it due to his guilt over the deaths of reploids and humans. He tried to kill himself several times, but he failed because of the fear of death, which he probably earned while serving in the Sigma army. Also, because he was often filled with negative emotions, Lurk had breakdowns that led to undesirable consequences, such as him beating one damn white shark to death. Not long ago, a group of Maverick hunters noticed him and chased him. Lurk, out of fear of death, hid in Eggman's tower, who was nearby, to hide from his pursuers. He ended up getting lost in this maze. And then...Next...He didn't want to think about it.
Soon he closed his eyes and completely lost consciousness. The last word he heard before passing out was his name.
With a blue hedgehog and a little fox...
Sonic and Tails began to fight Egg Breaker. The hedgehog and fox ran all over the arena while the mecha attacked them with a spiked ball. When the ball hit the ground, the arena shook violently. While this was going on, suddenly an idea popped into Tails' mind. This idea gave the little fox a smug smile.
"Sonic!" The little fox turned to his friend in a whisper, attracting his attention.
Sonic moved a little closer to Tails, who told him the whole plan. After listening, the blue hedgehog made the expression of any prankster. Straining their heads, the two friends noticed that... A mailbox had appeared on the road.
"BOX?! WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE...AGH!?"
The box hit the mech's head.
"WHAT ARE YOU RATS THINKING...GAH?!"
Before Eggman could say anything further, many things began to be thrown in his direction, from the sofa to the refrigerator and the badnik.
"AH YOU ARE DAMMITED CROOKS! HOW DARE YOU USE MY TOWER SYSTEM TO YOUR FAVOR!"
"But reading our thoughts in order to suppress you is also a scam and that's a fact." Said Tails.
"I WILL NOT TOLERATE SUCH INSULTS IN MY SIDE! I WILL DESTROY YOU TWO!"
"We've heard this many times, Eggman." Sonic said with a smile. "Knowing you, I am sure that you will lose again no matter what. And I can say good things about you, which you are much more intelligent than one such person we met in this world."
"Who is he?" Eggman asked puzzled.
"We won't tell!" Sonic and Tails said before they both rolled into balls and headed towards the mecha.
They hit it before bouncing off and continuing to run around the arena. This angered Eggman even more because he was distracted by their words about another mad scientist.
"The thing that pisses you off the most is your chatter!"
With these words, the mecha again threw the ball at them. Sonic and Tails jumped a little in the air, and the little fox took the blue hedgehog's hand. Tails flew up and looked at the hedgehog.
"Shall we do the same as X did with his opponents?" The little fox quietly asked his friend.
"Yeah." Sonic answered.
Eggman's mecha began shooting lasers at the two heroes. But thanks to maneuvers, Tails managed to deviate from the laser. He began to spin in the air with his friend in his arms before he let go of the blue hedgehog. Sonic curled up into a ball and headed towards the mech.
CRASH
Upon impact, Sonic went through Egg Bricker's head, leaving a large hole. The huge robot staggered until it fell to the ground and exploded.
"GAH!"
"What is it, Eggman?" The blue hedgehog looked up and smiled broadly and smugly. "Lost again?"
"Why you little...Wait, both of you. I will set more of my robots that remain in my arsenal against you, and you..."
"Everything is clear." Said Sonic and turned to Tails, who was holding Miles Electric in his hands. "Tails, come on!"
"Roger!" Said the little fox with a smile and pressed the screen of the device.
"WHAT ARE YOU THOUGHT..."
But the voice turned off. As soon as the voice disappeared, the blue hedgehog and the little fox noticed that cyberspace was disintegrating before their eyes. When it disintegrated, Sonic and Tails stood in the middle of a dark, cold large room.
"Wow." Said the little fox, seeing what happened before his eyes. "I don't say this often... It's just amazing."
"It's not for nothing that Eggman has an IQ of 300. He does amazing things with that." Sonic said, then he said in a serious tone. "We must find Lurk. If cyberspace has disintegrated, then in theory it should be..."
"Lurk!" Suddenly exclaimed Tails, who for some reason became worried, and ran somewhere.
"Tails?" Asked a puzzled Sonic and ran after his friend.
They ran until Sonic arrived first. Seeing what was there, he turned and stopped Tails.
"Tails, you shouldn't see this." The blue hedgehog said before he explained. "There... Not a very pleasant scene..."
"Sonic, can you let me pass?" The little fox asked his friend, taking out a repair tool from his bag. "I've already seen everything. They need urgent repairs and help. Can you help me during that?"
"As you say." Sonic agreed and let Tails pass.
Tails looking at the bodies of Lurk and what was left of the Golem. During this, Tails found out that Golem has one cable, what lead to somewhere. While Tails start repairing Lurk, Sonic run to the place, the cable led to. When he arrived, he saw the bodies of Maverick hunters that was on the energy storage of the tower. There are many devices and engines that contained the energy for the tower. There are many cables that plugged into their bodies. He torn off cables around bodies and he took out each body. It took about hour and half for Tails to restore not only Lurk, but Maverick hunters, that Sonic bring to little fox. The blue hedgehog help him with the repair like gave to him instruments and connecting the some of systems inside the bodies of reploids. After this, the heroes decided to take all these bodies outside to protect them from what was in the tower. They took them out one by one. When they did this, the little fox and the blue hedgehog went to the energy storage to collect energy for the bodies. Another reason why they went to the energy storage was to stop the tower's full function so that this place could not harm others who would come here or use it. During this, they specifically checked the tower for the presence of other badniks, but, fortunately, there were none. On the way, they investigated the room where there was a portal. The portal, fortunately, was intact. Later they checked the communications department, but they decided that it would be later from the fact of complete shutdown of the tower. The heroes decided that when they collected the Chaos Emeralds, they would turn the tower back on, but only to return home.
Back outside, Tails began charging the reploids' bodies while Sonic helped him. When the job was done, the little fox took out a container from his plane that contained food and drinks, and they sat down to eat.
Somewhere in the middle of dinner, Tails noticed from the corner of his eye that Lurk began to wake up.
"Lurk!" Exclaimed the little fox, smiling and waving his hand.
Sonic turned to the dark red reploid with a smile. Lurk, staggering, began to stand on two legs, while his head was still spinning.
"Sonic? Tails?" He asked. "Where am I?"
The little fox and the blue hedgehog came up to him and helped balance him.
"We're outside, Lurk." Sonic answered him. "We were eating when you woke up. Are you all right?"
"How do you feel?" Tails asked the reploid.
"My head is a little dizzy." Lurk admitted honestly. "And everything is fine with me. Physically."
By that time, his vision had become clear, and he could already see everything around him. When he regained his balance, the hedgehog and the little fox let him go.
"Where are the hunters?" Asked the dark red reploid.
"They're here too." Tails answered. "But they are unconscious now. I'm afraid I'll have to wait a while for them to come to their senses."
"I see." Lurk answered gloomily.
The blue hedgehog and the little fox noticed his tone. Because of this, they remembered that Lurk never told the whole story about what he did in the past and how he got to Eggman Tower.
"Listen, Lurk." Tails turned to the reploid. "You can tell us everything so that my friend and I can decide what to do with you."
"About that..." The dark red reploid said, then he sighed heavily.
Sonic and Tails invited Lurk to sit with them. Since evening was drawing near, the little fox took the container that contained the remaining energy from the tower to serve as a fire for all three of them.
Lurk began to tell everything from the very beginning. He said that he used to be a Maverick hunter, the reasons why he joined and left Sigma's army. Also, the dark red reploid told everything that he saw in both the Maverick hunters and Sigma's army. When he finished, Sonic looked at the reploid with a serious and thoughtful face while Tails just looked at him with regret.
"Lurk, I'm very sorry that this happened to you." The little fox expressed his regret. "It must have been difficult for you to be there."
"I hated being there." Lurk said. "I was lucky that I wasn't on their list, but still. I still feel guilty for everything I did. How much pain I caused to innocent...How many lives I destroyed and taken…"
"Lurk, it's not your fault." Sonic said to the surprise of the former soldier Sigma. "You didn't want to do this and even helped the victims on the battlefield. You didn't want to take the lives of others because you understood that there were those who didn't hurt your kind. Sincere regret for what you did is enough to let you go."
"Me?! LET GO?!" Lurk was surprised. "You are sure? After all, there can be no place for a criminal like me to be free!"
"It's your decision." Said Sonic. "I value the freedom of others, especially if they are robots. To be honest, you and your species are much more interesting than the robots Eggman builds. Unlike these dummies, underneath your metal body there is a spark of consciousness and life. I even started to adore your kind."
"Thank you." Said Lurk, smiling a little that he was next to people who understood him.
"By the way, Lurk." The dark red reploid turned his attention to Tails, who called him. "While I was checking on you and the others, I noticed an anomaly in your electronic brain."
"What anomaly?" Lurk asked, looking at the little fox with a puzzled look.
"Well, let's say that, unfortunately, I discovered that you have the Maverick virus inside your body." Tails said to the reploid's shock. "But unlike the manifestations of this virus in reploids that we saw earlier, this virus, instead of charging you, gives you its energy, transforms you, and gives you power. It's like a mutagen that transforms DNA, while giving the individual superpowers, like in the comics I read. It's the same with you."
"I'm…I'm a robotic mutant?" Asked the surprised Lurk, who already understood what had been wrong with him in recent months.
"You could say that." Tails replied. "I don't know how this happened, but it may be since you have a different design that distinguishes you from an ordinary reploid or a strong antivirus that has merged with the virus itself. The good thing is that you keep your sanity, but the bad thing is that when your negative emotions are at their peak, you will experience something resembling an angry outburst, causing you to harm everyone around you. Luckily, in my opinion, you can control this."
"How?" Asked the dark red reploid.
"Maybe you can take therapy for anger issues or knitting?" Sonic said. "I think it will help."
"There are other ways." Said Tails. "Like martial arts, for example. Your effect can help you in battle."
"Does this effect have a name?" Lurk asked out of curiosity.
"I don't think your effect is known to the world." Tails admitted honestly. "We were the first to discover this one."
"Let's call it the "Lurk effect" in honor of you, Lurk." Said Sonic, joking on this topic. "Or maybe Maverick's Fury."
"Maybe Anti-Maverick." said Tails. "Well, the meaning of the name is that Lurk, although technically a maverick, he retains his sanity and himself and does not attack others."
This led to a debate about what to call Lurk's effect. During this, Lurk did not listen to their conversation and smiled to himself, because not only did his soul feel lighter, but he was also glad that these two individuals listened to his story and understood him.
"Tails, are you okay?" Lurk suddenly heard Sonic ask his friend, who for some reason was worried.
"Doppler." Answered the little fox.
"What about Doppler?" Asked Lurk, who was puzzled by Tails' reaction. "I heard about Doctor Doppler back when I was in the Sigma army. He is a very good person, as I heard."
"Not anymore." Said Sonic with a gloomy expression on his face. "Doppler has become evil and crazy, just like Eggman, who constantly talks about evolution. Perhaps he became like this because he had a virus in his body. Lurk, be careful. If Dr. Doppler finds out or hears that you are a reploid with this trait, he may experiment on you. I don't know what will happen there, but I'm sure it will be not pleasant for you."
Lurk looked at the hedgehog with huge eyes, not only filled with surprise at what he heard, but also with fear and anxiety for himself.
In the next morning…
Sonic and Tails were about to fly away from the island. The little fox prepared the plane while the blue hedgehog talked to Lurk for the last time.
"Thank you both for helping me, listening and understanding." The dark red reploid thanked Sonic. "My soul became much easier. Although I'm still worried that if Dr. Doppler finds out about me and... I don't even want to think about it."
"You're welcome, Lurk, and try not to get caught by him." The hedgehog said with a smile. "By the way, what are you going to do next?"
"I'll stay here and look after the Maverick hunters until they come to their senses." Lurk replied. "I still decided that I would go to prison because I was previously a Sigma soldier. I will accept responsibility for my actions during this time."
Sonic heard this and fell silent. On the one hand, he didn't want a person like Lurk to go to prison. But, on the other hand, the blue hedgehog knew that this was his own decision, and he could not change anything about it.
"Okay, Lurk." Sonic sighed heavily. "Although it's a pity that a person like you will be put behind bars. You could change the way others think about your kind."
"I know." Said Lurk. "But I'm afraid it will be later. I'm not sure I can fix the situation between reploids and humans."
"Try." Said the blue hedgehog. "You have potential, and I can sense it in my brain. If you want to change the relationship between humans and reploids, then don't give up. I believe that your dream will come true sooner or later. See you soon, Lurk."
"You too." He said before he added. "Listen Sonic, I remember you mentioned after you told me about Doctor Doppler that you and Tails know X and Zero. If you have any questions about their organization and their conflict with the Mavericks. I thank you for your help. I hope we really see each other soon."
Hearing the reploid's words, Sonic made a thoughtful face about it. Soon Tails called the blue hedgehog, and he sat down in the cockpit of the plane. They both said goodbye to Lurk before they flew away. Watching them fly away, suddenly the dark red reploid heard sounds behind him and turned to see one maverick hunter who began to pass into himself. Having calmed himself a little, Lurk approached the hunter to help him get up and fully recover.
"Hello! Are you okay? How do you feel?"
Meanwhile, in the sky, Sonic, looking at the sea in the cockpit, thought about Lurk's words and the questions that arose in his mind about the organization of the Maverick Hunters.
In the world of Sonic...
"Gah!" Eggman exclaimed furiously, trying to restore communication with the tower. "Why does this happen every time?! These damn little..."
Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly heard a crash behind him. Turning around, the mad scientist saw how the metal door in the room had been broken and, on the threshold, stood Knuckles, Sarah, Fly and five anthropomorphic animals: Espio the chameleon, Mighty the armadillo, Ray the flying squirrel, Vector the crocodile and Charmy the bee.
What a bummer... Eggman thought with disappointment.
Next time...Pyramid!
Wuh! I finally finished chapter 6! You know, this chapter was very difficult for me because I had to rewrite it to make you interested in this chapter. Initially, this chapter was somewhat like a horror story about the fact that the tower is in fact alive and can devour reploids. Then I changed the script and later it changed too. Although a lot has changed since the second census, some details remain. Oh... For me, rewriting the text turned out to be a difficult task for me, but in the end, I gathered my strength into my fists and finished it all.
As you noticed, I delved a little into the topic of the conflict between two species on Earth, and into the story of Lurk and what he experienced (I will talk about this in more detail in the Conclusion at the end of the fanfic).
In the next chapter, adventures in the pyramid await you!
EDIT 1: For those who follow me or like my fanfics, I have an important update for you. I'm afraid that the annual will come out later this year since I'm currently busy with the Sonic and Tails in Mega Man X3 manga and Sonic Realization 2. I think I can start the annual itself once I finish both of those fanfictions. Besides this, I am going to write two more fanfictions this year, which will also be released later in 2024. I wish you all good luck and all the best in your life.
EDIT 2: I delved a little into the relationship between humanity and reploids, and reploids and mavericks. As it turned out, it was quite more difficult than I imagined. This is a theme in the Mega Man X series that has always made me think about it. Since Sonic and Tails are in this world for the first time, I decided to confront them with this problem to study this world and... The conflicts in which all this happens. Eh...This reminds me of a funny story, when I was introduced to the Mega Man X series, I thought that Zero first appeared in the second part of the series...Mega Man is a confusing series. I'll go into more detail about this in the Conclusion, where I'll share some thoughts about the Mega Man X series and manga.