Central Freedom HQ, New Mobotropolis

Lunchtime

"...Any news from Tux's group?" Sonic asked Sally. Them, Tails, Johnny and Gadget were heading down to Central Freedom HQ after their lunch at Uncle Chuck's.

"Last I heard from them this morning, they're still following Lindsey's trail. I'll go and check in on them to see what's up." The royal chipmunk responded to his question. "I know you'd rather be out there helping with the search than waiting around here."

"I understand. Requires a more delicate touch and a lot of waiting for your target to arrive somewhere interesting."

"As soon as we can locate where they're hiding out at, we can take over from there and bring along some support from the R.A.A."

"Must be serious to call in the army."

"If those "Badniks" from last night are any indication, it's better to be prepared than to have a repeat of Resort Island."

"Touché."

"That and we have other things like trying to search for the Dark Legion's current whereabouts. They've been too quiet for my liking."

"Think they're staging an invasion?" Tails wondered with Sally considering the thought.

"They've been busy seizing some territory belonging to their former allies and likely already secured said territories including footholds in the U.F. The thought of Lien-Da having this capital invaded would definitely send a strong message to the rest of the world." The chipmunk grimaced at the idea. "Everyone's blaming the Eggman Empire for everything including that they're allowed to slip under the radar and I really want to believe they're the ones harboring Tarek's people."

"We know they made off with a lot of their designs and resources. So they're definitely involved." Sonic says with a wag of his finger. "It's easy to pin a crime on people who don't want to risk outing themselves just to clear the record on the fact that they didn't actually invade Empire City."

Gadget pondered on the connection between the two cases. "Perhaps t—"

Before he could voice his train of thought, he suddenly got hit with a tomato that exploded on his face.

Over at the entrance of Central Freedom HQ, a small group of people were making their opinions vocally known about their local heroes and pelting the building with spoiled vegetables. No doubt thanks to I.G.N and their other detractors helping to fan those flames.

"You oughta get your eyes checked dumbass!" One of the protestors jeered at the red wolf with his friends joining in. A squad of Royal Guards and policemen were called to the scene to try keeping the peace and stopping the rowdy lot from getting any closer to the building.

"Hey Nutmuncher, you need to give a slap to that blue punk over there for being a real naughty boy this year!"

"We deserve real heroes, not embarrassments!"

"You're really desperate for recruits if some no-named four-eyed dork is the best you schmucks can muster! I should be on the team too!"

"Are we really paying our taxes to feed a pack of Grade A morons!?"

Sonic heard someone yell that one out at them while he and his group were making their way over to the front entrance. All kinds of insults and jeers thrown their way as they do their best to ignore the small unhappy crowd.

Then one of them hurls a very scathing comment at Sonic that got to him. "We only just got out of one war and we don't need the Blue Idiot over here to go off to ignite another one for us!"

Gadget caught the corner of Sonic's mouth twitching into an almost snarling frown before heading inside Central HQ and the noise outside becoming muffled. The five were more than relieved to be out of the heckling zone.

Johnny wiped off some of the litter that got onto his cardigan and voicing his mounting frustrations to his leader. "Can we charge those tossers at I.G.N for public incitement or anything to shut them up? This is getting beyond ridiculous, we're only one more bad media coverage away from getting a molotov thrown at us and I just about had it up to here with this!"

"We have to actually prove they're inciting these things and they'll simply just turn around to say we're "suppressing" freedom of the press. It'll be more hassle than what it's worth" Sally wipes off some of the veg on her. "But you're not wrong on the fact that this is only going to lead to catastrophe if they keep this up."

"And body bags will be filled too." Cobalt walked in to greet the group and looked them over. "Holy Tikal, it's like you came back from a football game. How did the council meeting go?"

"They're with us in pursuing this case. Hamlin included."

"He actually conceded and gave us the okay without moaning about it. Shocking, I know." Sonic sardonically says as he goes to fetch a cloth for Gadget who was picking off pieces of the tomato on him. The wolf is picking up on how choleric he seems to be right now from that comment.

Sally continued. "Once we showed them our evidence of Tarek, it was a unanimous vote."

"Least we're all on the same page on this one." Cobalt looked over at Gadget, quipping to him. "Bureaucrats are as much a pain in the ass as any of Robotnik's schemes and they love to act like they know all the answers. Bigger obstacles than any Perfect Chaos could ever be."

Sonic came back to hand the wolf a cloth while they all headed on over to the briefing room. The wolf politely thanked him and used the cloth to clean the tomato mess off his face.

The Freedom Fighter Special Mark III, Great Canyon

Lunchtime

A black bow-tied penguin seated in the cockpit answered a hail on the control console. "Ahoy-hoy, Tux here."

"This is Central HQ speaking." Sally's voice came through the radio. "What's the report on your current mission?"

"We've followed Lindsey and her crew to Big Kahuna Island according to our map after they got picked up at an extraction point. Likely in the abandoned West Robotropolis." Tux reported on his team's mission progress. "We're at the sea coast near the outskirts of Great Canyon and have the island under observation with our long-ranged equipment as per orders. Currently awaiting your next set of orders."

"Remain as you were and keep an eye on it until further notice. We'll try to meet you at your position as soon as possible."

"Understood." Tux said before getting a hail from one of his teammates. "Hang on, Kira's got something. What's up?"

"I saw an aircraft approachin' towards the island." Kira reported through his earpiece, reporting what she's seeing on her end with the equipment. "The make of it is a… Egg Predator! It's an Egg Predator!"

"Egg Predator?" Tux repeated the name and promptly got back to Sally. "Kira had just reported the sighting of an Egg Predator flying to Big Kahuna Island. I repeat, an Egg Predator was seen flying towards Big Kahuna Island."

In the briefing room of Central Freedom HQ, Sally was in the middle of communicating with Tux's team on a computer when the penguin reported an aircraft sighting. Perking Sonic's attention.

"Egg Predator?" Sonic said in confusion. Remembering that the Egg Predator is a one of a kind design by Ivo that was seized by the Underground Resistance during the First Robotnik War.

"That Slimy one is a major plagiarist alright." Manic remarked to his half-brother. "I wouldn't think to use that one in a frame-up."

"Report the rest of your updates to Nicole unless it's very urgent. Over and out." Sally signs off as she goes over to the round table with Sonic, Tails, Manic, Johnny, Gadget, Rotor and Cobalt in attendance. "Big Kahuna Island appears to be where Lindsey's gang have headed to and at West Robotropolis. If they're there with the chip, then we can safely assume Tarek and Slimy are hiding out at it. Likely doing their experiments as we speak."

"Are we certain that this is the right one?" Cobalt voices his question. "We haven't had much luck finding these guys. The S.I.D might know but we're not hearing anything from them."

"Given that Tux's team has been following the tracker in Lindsey's handbag all night and the use of Eggman Empire designs, I'm certain that this is the one." Sally answered him. "West Robotropolis was designed by Doctor Julian to be a facility to test out secret projects after all and wouldn't put it past them to actually use it as a hideout as well as to perform their experiments."

"Rather audacious of them to hide in a place that's already known to us." Johnny remarked on the choice of location. "Hiding right under our noses and selling the illusion that our old friends in the Eggman Empire are at it again."

"They're going to a great deal of trouble in trying to make it look like Eggman's behind this one." Tails commented, having noticed a pattern with this case. "Tarek and them must be up to something so great as to frame them to keep us from figuring out what they're up to."

Rotor nodded in agreement, thinking the same thing. "I suspect the Dark Legion are involved somehow. It would explain the use of designs made by Robotnik but no appearance from Robotnik himself and how Tarek's group are getting the resources to pull off these elaborate deception shows."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Sonic shot up from his chair, hungry for action. "Who knows how long it'll be before him and his cronies pack up shop."

"Hold your horse for just a moment." Sally put a hand up. "We need to approach this with caution. They got the better of us last time at the last hideout and we don't know what surprises they have waiting for us when we go to that island. It's better that we go in stealthily and assess the base's security before we charge in."

"And making sure to cut off their escape routes, I get ya." Sonic caught onto what she was getting at. "That way, we can finally nail that mad creep for what he's worth and drag him back to stand trial along with his friend. We'll have him right where we want him…"

"Sonic?"

"If we bring him back alive and make him plead guilty for his crimes, we'll all have our names cleared. We'll show those jerkwads over at I.G.N and Boris on who the real bad guy is here…" The hedgehog responded with an intensity rarely seen from him. "We'll make that psychopath get his just-desserts."

"Sonic, we'll get him bu—"

"Johnny's right. It won't be long before one of us ends up hurt by those who think we're the root of all of their problems." Sonic interrupted her with a serious expression and is making his point be heard. "Unless we bring him in or we get a confession out of him, we're gonna be stuck with the label of pariahs forever."

Cobalt looked up at Sonic with a quip. "It's not like you to be caring about how you're being perceived by the public. Really letting those schmucks get to you with their badmouthing."

"For someone who's supposed to be a physician and trained to give diagnoses, I expect a more intelligent comment out of your mouth instead of that." The blue hedgehog responded back snippily. "You know full well why we've been having a hell of a week or must I spell that one all out for you so you'd comprehend it better?"

"I'm only pointing out how stressed out you're being right now but you didn't need to be giving me that attitude." Cobalt replied in kind with a soured frown and Sally knew he wasn't one bit pleased at being talked to like that. The others were a little shocked at his curt display.

"We all have our off-days. It's called being a mobian Doctor."

Sally stood up and calmly diffused the tension with gentle diplomacy. "Cobalt. Sonic will express himself however he may feel and being annoyed is on the emotional spectrum last I checked. Sonic. He is just trying to do his job and isn't a mind reader on everything that goes on in another person's life. Let's not get short with each other and be civil here please. We're all feeling the pressure here but we all need cool heads here…"

After discussing her plan with the team and dismissing the briefing to allow everyone to go get prepared for their new mission, Sally stopped Sonic as he was ready to leave. She wanted to speak with him in private.

"That was uncalled for what you did there." She told him, chiding the hedgehog over it. "You didn't need to be speaking to him like that."

"He knows full well why I'm being tense. He knows how this week has been going for everyone here." Sonic crosses his arms. "He should know what's up after everything I've said there."

"He'd understand if you just explained it to him calmly and politely." The chipmunk shook her head. "After what happened there, I am seriously considering having you benched—"

"Benched!?" Sonic exclaimed with firm indignance. "We've just had our biggest breakthrough all week and you're thinking of putting me on the sidelines when we're this close? That's not fair!"

"And it's not fair that you won't tell us what's wrong after all we've been through together!" Sally yelled back, quickly calming herself down. "You've been cagey and quick to anger lately. I have even seen you coming in with bags under your eyes two days ago. All pointing towards you under severe stress and it's really worrying me."

"We've all been under stress lately, what with the heckling but yet we're not making a deal about it except when I'm the one expressing it." Sonic retorted curtly. "I've had one minor outburst today and that's enough for you to get me booted off the team."

"I'm not booting you from the team." Sally stressed to him. "I didn't say you were off the roster and I was actually going to suggest that you go see a therapist because this is unhealthy for you."

"Oh, that's just beautiful..." Sonic ran down the hands over his tired face and put out a forced laugh. "I give the team medic a little bit of backtalk the way he would whenever he's grumpy to us and that's what breaks the camel's back for you? Show a little attitude towards someone who's had more sour days than most of us here and I'm out? Are you for real?"

"I can't in good conscience let you go out there when you're showing clear signs of an oncoming nervous breakdown." The auburn noblewoman stood her ground while keeping a stern impassive facade on. "And you're refusing to tell us what's gotten you into this state as of late."

"You want to know the answer to that? You should have asked me that right from the start."

"Then I'll ask why you are like this." Sally then adds; "And that's not a request, it's an order."

"Fine…" Sonic took a deep breath. "It's about the fact that I have caused this mess that we're in and that's been eating away at me. Half of the public turned on us over punching him if the destruction of Reactive Factory wasn't it."

"They only because they're buying into the rubbish being put forth as "news" and those people outside are just a vocal minority either misinformed or looking for any good excuse to be a griefer. The rest of the world is still on our side and understands it was a tragic situation."

"But for how long? How long before they turn on us as well? Never underestimate the media to sway opinions one way or another. Give them an inch and they'll take a mile." Sonic gesticulated with his hands. "I have to see the consequences of my own actions through you guys, how you're all being treated and you know I'm not down with that. I want to right that wrong and helping to bring him in could be a way to redeem us in their eyes."

Cognisant of what she's going to say next, he preemptively counters her argument before she'd get to say it. "Either you bench me and I go rogue in chasing after them myself or I go on this mission and have a chance to redeem myself. Let's not go through the old song and dance please. We both know what usually happens in those."

"...Ever since you came back from that Death Egg, you've been a different person and the return of Mecha Sonic hasn't helped it either. Your walls are all erected around you and it's as if you're just pretending to be your usual self to keep the rest of us from looking in any further." Sally stared at his green eyes, trying to read his real emotions through them. "I… I wish you would just let me in and see what's wrong. If not me, then let Tails or anyone else close to you know what's bothering you under the surface and let them help you."

Sonic let the memories of his stint on the Death Egg swim around in his thoughts.

Nine Months Ago…

Death Egg, Space

Evening

"You can keep trying all you want but I won't yield to you!"

"Insolent blue rat, you overrate your own strength of will against my own abilities."

"For the last time Darth Edgelord, I am not a rat!" Sonic in his prison was getting tired of this frankly arrogant figure calling himself Infinite with the jackal standing outside and having one hand over the right side of his face. The one that recently defeated him in a fight and dragged him all the way to the Death Egg to be a prisoner of war.

Doctor Eggman looked real pleased upon seeing the infernal hedgehog getting his ass royally kicked by Infinite and his posse. He gloated that none of his friends will be bailing him out this time with them all left to believe he actually kicked the bucket this time.

Sonic can remember Tails screaming out his name in horror before blacking out and praying that he got out of there safely.

He doesn't have any idea of who he is or what dark parts of Mobius that Eggman got him from but he is not too impressed with the guy's manga villain presentation and thinks he only got lucky in their first battle because he didn't know about his set of powers and his methods of combat. There is also the shock of seeing Shadow the Hedgehog and Chaos in the same company as Metal Sonic and Zavok as they all join Infinite on beating him up until he's down on his face.

Is it a newer and more realistic looking Android Shadow, has Shadow been brainwashed to serve Eggman again, an obedient clone made in his image, an evil Shadow from another universe or is it actually Eclipse the Darkling looking for revenge and disguising himself as the Ultimate Lifeform to ruin his good name?

Sonic just refuses to believe that Shadow has actually turned his back on everyone after everything they've been through and willingly aiding the man in his schemes outside of possibly working undercover to figure out what Ivo is up to. Chaos could be duped or put under a means of mind control and made to serve the mad scientist against his will. Eggman might have also found a way to force Zavok to serve him again.

The next time he and Infinite fight, he won't make those same mistakes again.

The masked being haughtily scoffing at Sonic's defiance. "It does not matter to me what you are because in the long run, it won't matter to you either once I have you broken and submitted to me like the lowly peasant you are. It is only a matter of time before I wear your spirits down and we have plenty of time to get there..."

"I don't want to make a big deal about it and I can't stand it when others around me make a big fuss about it as though it's as serious as the end of the world." The former P.O.W responded.

"It is serious when it's making you act like this along with the very worrying thought of Mecha Sonic influencing you through the link and the last thing I want to be seeing from you is you going through the same episode as my own brother. You think we'll judge you for th—"

"We judged Fiona after we forced her to fess up about her criminal past and we all know that turned out. We're not exactly experts on handling personal problems within our team when they come up." Sonic rebuked her. "We all have a certain idea of who someone is supposed to be in our minds but when they deviate from that exact vision, we're quick to forget they've got their own feelings, their own vices and their own views different from ours'."

Brushing his quills back and exhaling through his nose. "I can be a cocky arrogant dickhead, be a reserved gentleman, be an unabashed romantic who charms maidens and everything else that my own free will allows me to be if I so choose. Even shed a tear or two. I'm a living being with a soul, not a mascot character who can only be one thing at all times."

Eight Months Ago…

Death Egg, Space

Afternoon

"You're all sights for sore eyes around here you know!" Sonic quipped to Tails, Knuckles and Bunnie. Having been busted out of his prison by them after they found him. The hedgehog was relieved that his friends had actually come for him.

"Sorry it took us a while Sonic!" Tails said to him while the gang hurried through the halls of the Death Egg. "We weren't too sure where you were at and we can't do anything against Baldy McNosehair without you!"

"Cueball's in for a rude awakening when I get my hands on him and that masked weirdo Infinite too!"

"Who's Infinite?" Knuckles said in mild confusion. As glad as Sonic was to see him again, there is something about the echidna that seemed off to the hedgehog.

"Duh, he's the guy who got me captured in the first place!"

"Oh…" Knuckles nodded with vacant look to his eyes. The voice and inflection he's speaking with made him sound much less intelligent than Sonic remembers him being. Speaking more like a heavily concussed boxer than a warrior educated in the realm of the Chaos Force.

"I doubt I have the courage to face him on my own without Sonic here. I had to flee the scene because of how scary that guy is." Tails said to the echidna and those words didn't sit right with Sonic. He knows that the only reason Tails didn't get involved in that one-sided fight was because he told him to get out of there with the civilians. The young fox is not a coward and he's more than capable of fending for himself without him.

"Tails, I told you to flee the scene and get those civilians to safety." Sonic corrected the fox. "And what about your investigation into Infinite's new powers?"

"Inconclusive." Tails replied robotically. "I cannot figure it out myself."

"Yep. His cornbread ain't done in the middle I tell ya." Bunnie remarks, pointing a thumb at the fox before shooting him a sultry look. "Ain't got your handsome features and build sugah~"

"And how's your husband Antoine been doing?"

"As if I would actually marry that yellow-bellied doofus Antoine Depardieu for a husband!" Bunnie derisively snorted as though offended at the thought of it and using a nickname that's fallen out of use years ago. That right there confirmed Sonic's suspicions.

"The real Bunnie would whoop anyone that insults her husband and Tails! You're not my real friends!" Sonic stopped and pointed at the trio with a glare. "You're all—"

But his "rescuers" suddenly flicker out of existence along with the hallway they're in and Sonic finds himself right back in his cell that he was in earlier. It was an illusion and he had bought into it.

A mocking laugh greets him from outside. The jackal is accompanied by Grandmaster Lien-Da of the Albion Dark Egg Legion and her right hand woman Kommissar Gae-Na. Both echidnas witnessing firsthand the power of Infinite.

"You seriously believed that you were being rescued by your friends just now." Infinite points his nose down at Sonic as the hedgehog checks his own surroundings. "In reality, you didn't do as much as move from your spot for five minutes. Reacting to nothing."

"Lord Robotnik was not lying about your feats." Gae-Na commented in faint astonishment by her standards, turning to Infinite. "Not only could you materialize an entire army from nothing against our enemies, you can even manipulate their perception of reality and make them fall for your illusions."

Lien-Da wasn't as impressed and scoffs at the masked jackal's display. "It's nothing more than smoke and mirrors. I doubt that without the Phantom Ruby, the blue spaz would be as easily tricked and I bet I could have had him captured by my men. Don't see what exactly makes you that special in Ivo's eyes."

"Mmph. I have expected such jealousy coming from you Lien-Da but you never cease to amaze me with your lack of imagination and delusions." Infinite rebuke the older echidna like she was a child asking a very stupid question to a professional. "It's not that surprising that the Dingo Regime has more favor with Robotnik these days than your Dark Legion given both your leadership and track record for failures."

Sonic sees Gae-Na quickly grab Lien-Da's arm and wordlessly advising her leader to not lash out at the jackal for his comments.

Appears to him that the Dark Egg Legion aren't in great standing with the Eggman Empire these days compared to the Iron Dominion and the recently re-added Dingo Regime if Infinite's statement is anything to go by.

Before he could witness any more Saturday Morning Conflicts between his villainous captors, Infinite turned his attention back to him with his piercing gaze and a purplish-red aura appeared around him. "What you both have just witnessed now is a little trial run for what I intend to do to him as the days passes. Everything I've done to him so far are merely the warmup acts..."

"Then why assume the persona around the others while you are hurting on the inside? Sonic, this is not normal behavior and an unhealthy thing to be bottling this all up." Sally pointedly said with a frown, trying not to get emotional and maintain her composure. "...What have we done to alienate you so much to where you can't even tell us what is going on inside that head of yours? What did we do wrong to earn your distrust of us?"

'You all left me to suffer. You all left me to be Infinite's toy for six months. You all left me to be kept in a closed space where I could see no skies for months and came for me because you were all desperate.' Sonic turned away with his back facing to her, very hesitant to look Sally in the eyes when he answered the question. "You did nothing. None of you did. When I felt the grass and soil between my fingers after coming back from the Death Egg, I came home a changed man and have been trying to make sense of things since."

Five Months Ago…

Death Egg, Space

Night

Sonic had tried to get some sleep on his cell bed but he struggled to doze off and stared at the blank wall next to him. The anxieties, the nightmares, the torment from Infinite and all other unpleasantries brought upon by this cold, sterile environment left him restless.

Having lost track how many times Infinite has subjected him to his tricks and how some of them portray his fears.

The latest of Infinite's mind games being a rerun of Operation: Endgame except Sally dies for real from her fall, Knothole Village gets cratered for good and Snively doesn't interfere with Julian's invention as he'd be caught before he could tamper with the weapon. A version of Julian Robotnik's final days where he had succeeded in his scheme to wipe out all Mobians from Mobius in one swoop.

It started as simple illusions meant to gaslight him before gradually becoming more elaborate until Sonic was reliving his worst days all over again as part of the jackal's mission to locate his breaking point. The only respite he ever gets from him is whenever Infinite is needed elsewhere and it's never a guarantee that he'd be gone for too long. It's unsettling how persistent that masked jackal is with him to where he'll even harass him in his sleep.

The hedgehog thought about something and all he could think of presently is Fiona Fox. Someone who's been imprisoned by a Robotnik like he is now and left to rot away in a cell like a toy stuffed away in the attic. Like her, he can sense the hopelessness coming from these walls around him and hates to even tolerate his cramped world.

Why her of all people? Could it be that her experiences by chance mirrors his' and able to relate to what she was put through? Is he finally coming to understand her suffering a lot better now that he's been in her shoes?

He now knows why she has such a jaded view of other people and he understands the severity of his failure to rescue her years ago. He let her down and she never truly forgave him for it. Before, he thought it was hypocritical of her to make amends with him only to take that back later but now he gets it. Sonic now understands where she's coming from and how that shaped her experiences.

He may be about living in the moment and not dwelling on the past but for people like her, the past is this inescapable shroud that haunts them in the present and possibly their future.

If he were to see Fiona now, he will tell her that he gets her and tell her how truly sorry he was for letting something like this befall her along with the regret over his failure to prevent it. Perhaps then that would make Fiona see she's not alone and he doesn't blame her for being reluctant to fully trust other people.

It's been five months since he's been captured and nobody has come to rescue him outside of Infinite's cruel pranks. He's feeling tired, hungry and just exhausted from living like a mouse in a cage. All adding towards his own growing frustrations by the day...

"You reached out to me when I felt a lot of depression from being Mecha Sally, you reached out to Tails after losing a loved one to the Metarex and you reached out to Knuckles when he thought he'd be the last of his kind again..." Sally reminds him of three of his past gestures to those who were in the same spot he's in now. "Nicky, why can't you let us reach out to you for once?"

Her using his real name tells him that this is something very serious.

"...I'm one of those weird kids that had read a book on Zeno of Citium's fragments from my uncle's collection at an early age and actually understood it." Sonic stares at the Republic of Acorn banner up on a wall. "Everything I have endured from five years to now, I learned not to complain or show too much emotion over my own suffering as part of my own busidō. It's my burden to carry and no one else's. I just want to forget those six months, put it all behind me and go on with my life like I always do."

Clenching the tips of his fingers into his forearms, trying to control his own frustrations from bubbling to the surface. "Last thing I need is having everyone around me fussing over my issues like I'm a child that can't handle anything unexpected if as much as one thing disrupts his routine or like I'm made of glass. I'm made of sterner stuff than that. I am no—"

He'd then felt Sally hugging him from behind and a crack in her voice gave away how she's feeling about this vinegar attitude of his' that he has going on. "N-No one has ever s-said you're weak. N-Not before a-and not after surviving those six months with your sanity intact. N-Nobody would t-think any less of you if they know what you're going through... Why c-can't you see how concerned we are that you're doing this to yourself!?"

Sonic can feel the moisture of her tears on his back and that is enough to snap him from his own state of tristitia, turning around to face a tearful Sally Acorn as he pulls her into his hug. He may have his current unspoken grievances with her and the others but he hates to see someone cry around him. Especially when he's the cause of their tears.

Four Months Ago…

Death Egg, Space

Lunchtime

It could have been six months he's been here or it could have been two years, time has become a blur to him and he's known this cell as home for most of it. Sonic gazed up at the ceiling with tired and weary eyes as he expected to be subjected to another of Infinite's tricks like a routine work session.

Six months of torment, confusion and misery at the hands of Infinite. Six months of being holed up in a claustrophobic space where the hedgehog has no room to run around with and no sign of his friends anywhere. Six months of Eggman and his empire having most of Mobius right in their grasp while he's out of the picture and powerless to stop them.

During all that time, not once has Tails, Knuckles or any of his friends and allies come for him. His captors Eggman and Infinite have made a point of making that the hedgehog be kept out of the loop on what's been happening at the planet below while feeding him lies meant to like Tails bailing on his friends like a coward or that a group of Freedom Fighters have perished but doesn't specify which one exactly. Anything to chip away at the mental fortress of Sonic.

He had hoped for them to come rescue him and had faith in them to figure out that he's actually still alive. However, that was six months ago when he had a more firm will in spite of his captivity.

The effects of his imprisonment, hearing next to no word from his own friends the whole time he's been here and the seeming bleakness of his inescapable material hell are gradually taking a toll on him both emotionally and mentally. Most of it due to Infinite and his psychological mind games through his illusions in a quest to break him.

Every time there is a sliver of hope for his emancipation or seeing a friendly face again, the jackal would make sure to take the sole of his shoe and grind it under his heel. He wanted to grind out every last bone of hope in the hedgehog's body. As long as there is even a cell of hope alive in him, the jackal will see to it that despair is what shall dirty the yolk of his soul and extinguish the amber of his spirit to kill Mobius' shining hope.

Only through his stubbornness and refusal to satisfy either Infinite or Eggman has Sonic yet to buckle but he knows that even that's on borrowed time. It is only a matter of time until he eventually loses the war of attrition unless he can get out of here and he already feels like he's teetering on the edge of his sanity as is. The nightmares haven't let up, the anxieties would bubble up and the feeling of helplessness is damn near suffocating for someone like him.

Then there's this growing, festering resentment within him aimed towards all of his friends and allies who are letting him go through this slow suffering. Swirling in the hedgehog's thoughts like a tumor or weed. Feeling the same emotions that Fiona Fox had experienced while left to rot in her cell and gradually coming to understand why she developed her abandonment complex.

Under better circumstances, this would be enlightening and eye-opening for him but instead of understanding; it's anger towards those he has fought for and helped out many times in the past.

He's never one to ask anything in return from all his time in helping others yet not knowing if they're all still alive or not and feeling personally betrayed by their absence when he needs them most has allowed this part of him to manifest. Knowing exactly how Fiona felt when he failed to rescue her from Julian all those years ago. Feeling abandoned by them.

Perhaps they are all actually looking for him and he's being unfair to them yet he can't shake off the sentiments. What he is certain of now is that he no longer faults Fiona for her cynicisms after enduring all of this. How can he look them all in the eye after this without any bitterness or resentment for them taking that long to get to him and seemingly only when they actually needed his help?

He needs to get out of here before he loses his life or loses his mind. Get out of here before these dark, primal thoughts from the darkest depths of his soul start to become too great to be kept down and swallow his light whole where damnation shall await him...

"Maybe… Maybe I've underestimated how much this is actually hurting all of you guys and I'm sorry about that." Sonic said to a sniffing Sally with a thoughtful frown, stroking the back of her auburn hair. "I'm used to dealing with my own problems and being able to get through them alone as a byproduct of my own upbringing as an orphan. Having another person help me out with them feels... Weird to me."

Clicking his tongue, finding the right words to verbally express to Sally. "I was never taught how to deal with this and it really shows. It's… Not a thing I ever felt comfortable facing. Feel comfortable talking about it out loud. Sonic the Hedgehog doesn't talk about his personal issues; that's not how he rolls. He's supposed to be cool and carefree about everything."

Pulling back to see Sally's face and using his thumbs to wipe away the tears on her face. "Perhaps you're right. I… I might have a serious problem and been trying to avoid confronting it for so long because of what I'll find there."

"Infinite might have left his mark on you psychologically and we are only just seeing the effects now. I wanted to give you space to come around on talking about it but I should have put my foot down much sooner…" Sally said with a more steady voice. "You're not the first nor the last that goes through a crisis like this. Even if you've never told us the extent of what went on in those six months as a prisoner, it's clearly left you traumatised and you've been in denial of the fact since. Mecha Sonic, Tarek and everything else that's been going on are only just aggravating it."

She'd ask about what she's been suspecting for some time. "From what I know of your rescue mission and from how you've been acting, you were on the brink of losing your mind before Gadget came along. Is that part of your reason for begging me to give him a membership?"

"I think he earned his membership. Thought it'd be the best way to repay my gratitude to him."

"Or maybe it is because you actually see a lot of yourself in him like what Charles said." Sally said the quiet part out loud. "You feel such a strong attachment to him on your end that you have become emotionally dependent on him to function and if someone is doubting him, it's as though they're doubting you. I doubt he'd feel good about being the reason you're doing this to yourself."

"I never wanted to be one of those heroes who disappoints someone that looks up to them. Gotta put a brave face on and not worry him with my issues. Be the Sonic the Hedgehog who believes in him."

"You raised Tails who idolizes you as a big brother but never like this." Sally shook her head. "I think this hero worship you have of him might be partially born from what you went through and you project much of your old self onto him. The ghost of the Sonic you once were in your own eyes."

Sonic silently averts his gaze from her and she reaches up to touch his cheek, then gently directs the blue hedgehog's gaze back on her. "You might be a changed hedgehog and perhaps that is true to some extent but you will always be the same Sonic as you are at your core. Personality and traits may change with time. Morals and ethics don't unless you're willing to betray them. You're merely just in a rough headspace right now and that's only temporary."

With her comforting words, Sonic gave a nod. "I suppose I really do need to seek out help for what I'm going through. Talk to someone trained to handle somebody like me."

"I can refer you to Doctor Sorders. She has helped me to learn to get over the trauma of being Mecha Sally and tackling other problems about myself to be better." Sally offered.

"Well, we can put a pin on that one for later if you don't mind." Sonic said as he scratched his cheek. "Right now, we have some mad scientists, a pack of thieves and an evil robot to take care of. Once we catch those guys, stop their mad scheme and take care of that pile of scrap infringing on my likeness, then I'll go see her."

Seeing that she's gotten through to him and knowing tge hedgehog well, she accepted the answer. "Very well but I won't hesitate to have Knuckles and Shorty drag you down to her if you're trying to avoid attending counseling. Make sure you get the help you need whether you like it or not."

"Sal. You don't need to worry about me not going to therapy." Sonic assured his koibito with a smile, running a gentle set of fingers over the beautiful facial features that Sally inherited from her own mother. "Your tears are more than enough to convince me to go."

"That's all I ask of you. I had let you help me then and I want to help you now." Sally said softly to her blue hero. "If not for me, then do it for him."

"Tails? Chuckie? Johnny? Muttski? Akira?"

"I won't say who other than that he matters to you." The chipmunk boops him on the nose. "That's for you to figure out."

"You never make it easy for me."

"You do have a thing for cutting to the climax."

"What can I say?" Sonic shot her the familiar sight of his grin and being his charming self again. "I'm all about the speed and climaxes~"

"Phrasing Sonic."

"Phrasing is a social construct like the concept of region-locking entertainment and healthy fast foods." Sonic pulls in Sally to kiss her on the cheek and releases her afterwards. "We're already wasting enough daylight chatting away in here."

Sally nodded before asking him; "There anything you need to do before we leave?"

"I don't think I..." Sonic pauses when he remembers something he was supposed to be doing today. "Shoot! I haven't given Buddy his present yet!"

"Then get a move on slowcoach before you forget about it." Sally smiles cheekily as the blue hedgehog quickly leaves the briefing room. Once he was out of her sight, the smile disappeared. The war has changed and shaped the landscape of Mobius into the world it is now.

Her, Sonic and everyone else that survived through those life-changing six months have emerged as new people. Some are more monumental than others. All of them asking the same question on where they stand with this new Mobius born from the ashes of the Phantom Ruby War.

The one person among them who should be able to flow with the winds of change is instead asking himself the hardest question he's missing the answer to.

Down at Rotor's Workshop, Gadget was assisting Rotor with the reconfigurations of the scanning devices to try picking up on new readings that aren't Chaos Energies or other common materials found on the planet and the walrus guiding him along whenever he needed a hand.

The wolf had told him about how the Acorn Council had reacted to his findings and the fact he knew of Penelope which is promising to Rotor since it meant he's getting used to his teammates now.

"...She's a good girl. Got along with her the best after Charles during my time as a councilman." Rotor commented, reassembling a tricorder device on his workbench while Gadget works on reprogramming the software for another device to pick up on elements that aren't of natural origins. "I think she has mentioned something about you before and I'm only just remembering it."

"Probably not very cool things about me…"

"On the contrary, she speaks well of you." Rotor countered, examining his device as he's putting it all back together. "Says you were a kind-hearted and loyal kid who could achieve big things if you put your mind to it."

"That's based on what she remembers of me years ago." The wolf shrugs. "People change in over fourteen years."

"You don't seem to have changed that much from what I could gather." The walrus was snapping the casing back together. "If I recall, I think she had tried to reach out to you a few times when she was able to call across the pond but you didn't answer any of her calls."

"...When was this?"

"Back in 3237 if memory serves as that was when I was a councilman then. She assumed you either weren't living in Golden Bay anymore or were too busy with your life like she was. I would have thought you'd be eager to pick up the phone and call back. You use voice mail, don't you?"

"It's… It's complicated…" Gadget sighs, closing his eyes and pausing at his work when he thinks back to his early teens. Back to his troubled days.

Rotor glanced over his shoulder. "You wish to talk about it? You don't have to talk about it if you want to."

"I was going through a turbulent phase in my life and close to throwing away all the good I had going on…" The wolf's response tells the seasoned team member that it's a touchy subject for him. "I was rolling with the wrong crowd before I broke away from them eventually. That's probably why I didn't notice she was trying to call me then and she hadn't brought it up to me when we met up today."

"I understand that's a sensitive matter for you from what I could gather and I wouldn't want you to feel pressured about it."

"It's a part of my life I want to put behind me. Let it be the past."

"The past has a way of finding up in the now one way or another even if we want to keep it buried. I'd know because I got my stepfather Tundra as one of the Egg Bosses being one of mine." Rotor inspects his now fully-reassembled tricorder and tests out the functionality of it. "My real father Sherman was K.I.A and my mother would remarry with Tundra who happened to have been my dad's romantic rival from back then. It… Wasn't a happy relationship."

"...I take it that him being one of Eggman's enforcers is the least shocking thing about him?"

"He's not exactly a good father figure to me or my little brother Skeeter and him becoming an Egg Boss was expected of him. Only because my older brother Boomer had gone M.I.A did he avoid getting his teeth knocked out but history is history and we're all better off without him. A lot happier these days."

"You miss your older brother?"

"Everyday. Skeeter never even got to meet him."

"Sounds like we both have that in common. An older brother that's been M.I.A for years." Gadget ruefully remarks with a quiet chuckle, looking over to the expert inventor. "Also, weren't you called Boomer as well?"

"By mistake, yes and I had to make a sign telling people that my name's Rotor." The walrus shook his head, looking back on that with amusement. "I'll tell you about how the mistake came about some other time. How's your program doing?"

"Almost done… Annnd it's finished." The wolf announced with some joy in his own work. "It should be able to pick up on elements that aren't naturally sourced anywhere and the programs on these things are a dream to work with. Who made this?"

"Me and Lewis made it with help from Tails and Nicole. The regular mass-market programs that everyone uses just weren't cutting it for someone like me looking for something much more nuanced and we decided to make our own from scratch. The software for Miles Electric is built on that same architecture." Rotor told him. "You like it?"

"I'd love to mess around with it if I get the time."

"I'll be more than happy to show you everything there is to do on it and its features when we get a day for it. Even program your own games on it." Rotor offered, picking up on the wolf's enthusiasm. "And yes, it can even run Chao in Space: Project-06 on a potato laptop with how it manages that game's technical specs."

"Looks like you two brainiacs are getting along well like peas in a pod." Sonic commented, making his presence known in the workshop and holding a present in his hands. "How's your thingamajigs going?"

"This tricorder here is ready to pick up on any elements and emissions not in our database." Rotor held up his own device when he mentioned it and then pointed over to the device Gadget was working on. "That analysis machine over there Gadget had just updated the software for should be able to give us much more accurate readouts in plain terms. Basically, we should be able to track the cold fusion emissions much more reliably and track down whatever it is that made Lindsey's handgun."

Sonic glanced over at Gadget, flashing him an impressed look. "With your mentoring of Tails being anything to go by, Buddy's getting a better education than what college can teach him."

"You forget that Tekno and Lewis had helped out as well. I'll be glad to have another computer geek on the team to take off some of the pressure." Rotor did a little stretch, taking note of the present. "Who's that for?"

"It's for Akira. Been meaning to give this to you." Sonic went up to Gadget and handed him the present. "Meri Kurisumasu Buddy."

"O-Oh, thank you very much." Gadget offered a grateful bow as he accepted the gift from his hero, taken aback by the gesture. "I uhh, certainly wasn't expecting this sir."

"It's the holidays and we can all do with a little cheer. Hope you enjoy what I got for ya whenever you get to open it." Sonic winks at him. "I even threw in a few extras too to express what an awesome pair we made as partners."

"It's the least I could do for you." Gadget rubbed his neck with a bashful smile, touched by his words. "Oh and I got your present at home. I did have to ask the others on what to get you…"

"It's the thought that counts, not the gift." Sonic told him as he glanced at Rotor. "I got you a present too. So don't worry about being forgotten by yours truly Boomer."

Rotor rolled his eyes at the teasing. "Were you seriously eavesdropping on our chat?"

Sonic looked at his fingernails under the gloves. "I'm all for a good bromance and eavesdropping is more of Rouge's t—"

Nicole suddenly appears in the workshop to tell the boys the news. "All of you come to the briefing room at once. Sally says it's urgent…"

"How urgent?" Sonic quizzed her.

"Doctor Ellidy just called in. He wants to talk to us about Tarek Mengele…"

Author's Notes: Wasn't expecting this to be as long as it is but here we are.

Wanted to get into Sonic's head some more, show what sort of psychological torture he had went through at Infinite's hands, the negative power of the media, touch on his character and foreshadow the inevitable moment that's coming soon. Have some emotional bits to this one and shed light on where Sonic's current state of mind had originated from.

Hopefully, the next chapter should provide some action and intrigue since we're going to the villains' hideout.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the reviews and I'll see you all another time.