Are you lost?
The jackal sat up with a jolt as his chest shuddered— his clawed fingers dug into his burning sternum as he scanned the dark room.
For what? Infinite's panting slowed and he released his grip on his aching chest. He could breathe and move, so he was out of that space— "Null Space." Easy to think of it as a place where nothing existed… he didn't experience it. Didn't suffer through it.
No, he just forced me through it instead. The jackal's eye spasmed and his sternum burned at the bursts of conflicting sensations— ripping, burning, cutting, freezing, tearing, nothing at all— that tormented the assimilation.
Infinite snuffed and went to stand— the cold tile on his paw pad returned him to the present and he slowed his breathing down as one of his hands squeezed around the warm bed sheet.
The "danger" passed, a timid organ began to make its voice heard, and the jackal made his way to the door. His first steps wobbled, but he was steady when the door hissed open into the hallway. Dark, but still a hallway, not a void: defined walls and floors, structure…
Would this place even have a kitchen, and would it still be stocked?
His mane prickled— "Don't sneak around," Infinite huffed. "Come out."
Metal Sonic stepped behind him— surprisingly stealthy for a machine. "You could have said something if you were hungry," it beeped.
The jackal turned back to meet the Badnik's red eyes, what would you know about hungry almost leaving his mouth but...
"I don't remember eating anything after I got the prototype," he mumbled. Hunger, fatigue— old companions that vanished as soon as he'd grabbed that jewel.
The robot's computer clicked, "Your body relied on the power from the reactor after you were assimilated, which led to the corruption and decay."
Metal Sonic clanked past Infinite, "I'll show you where the kitchen is, but you should start with something light for your first meal in a year." His stomach protested but Infinite fell in line.
The robot led him into a lab of a kitchen— just as sterile and metallic as the rooms before it, and gestured for him to sit. It's not going to cook for me, is it?
"Don't complain," a gruff specter chided as he mixed the meat, potatoes and onions with his hand. "A hell of a lot better than the garbage you two were scavenging out of."
The jackal snuffed the bittersweet memory away as Metal Sonic began draining… fūl?
"What are you making?" Infinite asked as the robot grabbed an onion.
"Falafel," it buzzed as the onion turned into wedges within a blink of an eye, then trimmed some garlic cloves.
A chilly brush of the scruff from someone far away stiffened him for a moment. Sensing his customer's confusion, the robot explained, "I picked this base since the Asyowtu Region has a high black jackal population, meaning readily available medical resources for you while you recovered. Falafel is a common snack, and would probably be easier on your stomach for a first meal."
Infinite's scar burned as he prodded, "Usually you use chickpeas instead of fūl."
"When I watched the vendors in Marnebu make them, they used fava beans," it explained as its sharp fingers blended the fūl, onion, garlic, green herbs and coriander into a green, fluffy batter. The jackal's stomach roared at the smell of it.
Gurgling oil drowned out Infinite's stomach as four green rounds floated in a pan. Ghosts hovered behind him and his mane prickled. A rare day when someone dropped a ta'ameya in Marnebu— and he'd been too small to try to jostle one out of someone's hand.
"Why go through all the trouble of making me these?" Infinite wondered when the sesame-embellished fritters slid in front of him. The crunch silenced previous qualms about a robot cooking decent food— room for improvement, sure, but pretty damn good for a first try.
"You said something about 'paying it forward,'" he recalled on his fourth ta'ameya.
Chuffing, a whirr, then, "It's a long and not very interesting story." It finished cleaning its work area with a beep. "I was designed for one thing and one thing only: to destroy Sonic the Hedgehog. To that end, Dr. Eggman spared no expense: rare materials, expensive technology. He's gloating that I'm his greatest creation during the stress tests. Every calculation points to the outcome he's wanted: total domination.
"And I lose." The electronic edge of the robot's voice faded in that admission. Infinite stopped crunching away as it froze, staring at the stainless steel counter top. "I lose… and then… I'm worthless."
Its tone began to shudder, "All those tests and calculations, everything I was built for— meant nothing in the end. I was in pieces for years because there were better plans to put effort and resources into. Why would he want to spend time looking at a replica of his enemy, build it back just for it to lose again?"
Static prickled the jackal's fur as the metal hedgehog trembled. Infinite's chest contracted as phantom bruises haunted his body.
"I repaired myself. I made my own improvements," Metal Sonic growled. "I broke free of his control— I was going to prove to them all that I was better than Sonic, better than Eggman. I'd be rid of the both of them and be free of it all. I planned it all out. I had everything in place. I was so close."
The crackling rage dissipated, and the robot's synthesized voice shivered, "I was so...close." The cobalt head lowered with quiet, choked clicks. Bruises began ripping apart. I can still fight..!
"But I lost… and I was terrified of what was going to happen. I went down screaming up until I lost power. I'd lose it all this time. All these… erratic inputs, the illogical conclusions my processes came to, things that were strange but they were my own. I'd just be a mindless drone, a puppet…"
Metal Sonic's head rose, "But when I came back online, I was still… me." The phantom pain faded as the jackal's ears flicked forward. "All the fear and anger was still there… because Eggman hadn't gotten to me first." Whirs, clicks, "The person who did managed to protect enough of that strange data so that when Eggman inevitably tried to scrub my system, I would still be me. I would still remember everything that he'd done to me, that I had broken free. That I could still break free."
The robot turned toward Infinite, the red eyes less cold. "You still wanted to fight, just like I did. So I helped you. As far as anyone knows, you were absorbed into the reactor before it exploded," Metal Sonic stated, "so treating a black jackal in the United Federation would have put you on GUN's radar. To prevent that, I placed you in stasis before transporting you here, the Asyowtu Region. It was touch and go, but here you are."
Infinite's nose twitched; the metal hedgehog's inflections sounded genuine and spontaneous, but… no one does anything for free.
What reason did you have for letting him go?!
Even as a memory, the screech ached; he rubbed the base of his left ear with a hiss. Metal Sonic clicked at the reaction, but stayed silent as Infinite recovered.
"Are you still experiencing chest pain?" the robot asked, red gaze on the hand that had snuck its way onto the jackal's chest.
Infinite snuffed as he withdrew it, "It comes and goes. It's not an issue."
Beeps, but Metal Sonic didn't counter the response.
Winds howled as Shade scaled the canyon wall— uneven and towering, but the challenge invigorated her. Her climbing skill wouldn't impress the Equites, but it proved enough for reconnaissance; fast, silent— undetectable.
Her visor steadily pinged as she climbed; the signal mimicked the Phantom Ruby's unique signature, but still weak. After six months, was the jewel still recovering its power?
Shade paused as she considered the data: yes, the signal appeared to match the Ruby, but with slight deviations. According to the logs in Eggman's fortress, the replicas he'd created— "prototypes" as he'd dubbed them— expressed similar variances compared to the original… but they had all been destroyed… except for…
One of her hands trembled, knocking free her hold— Shade snapped her falling hand back to the wall and pulled herself to a steadier position. No change in the signal— not moving towards her, not preparing for an attack. As long as the pings maintained its steady tempo… she took a deep breath in.
Tracking an unusual energy pattern in the United Federation, Shade had arrived at a desolate mountain range, and approached a massive pit crater. Either the Nocturnus were trying to open the Cage from their side, or they were making a supply run— but scanning for her former Clan's signals showed no sign of their presence. She'd stopped just within eyesight of the giant structure to avoid detection— industrial, familiar design pointed to Eggman. Had he found something with the same energy as the Twilight Cage? If she could get her hands on it—
"Are you hoping for a tour?"
The whisper in her ear froze her blood— she spun on her foot and threw a punch—
The masked figure caught her trembling fist, claws poking at her tense knuckles; a single, piercing yellow eye set inside a red storm cloud. Her fingers crackled and froze— steady your breathing— you are out of the Cage—
Blunt pain snapped her back to the present— she rolled back onto her feet as she focused on the shape in front of her: a black-furred canid, with a smoldering, unsettling shape on its chest. Her visor flashed in confusion— abnormal energy signals, flashes of vitals; Shade forced the scanning feature off as the silver-headed specter charged her.
She sidestepped as the tensed claws scratched her abdominal plate— she retaliated with a rib blow. Her opponent withstood the hit and countered with its own fist— her snout rattled against her helmet as she stumbled back.
"Are you lost?" the masked canid purred, tilting its head to the side as she steeled herself for another attack. The crimson object glinted— a jewel, but striped and twisted as if some unknowable hand had warped it, and yet the creature in front of her complemented it.
It stepped forward. Shade tensed, and the figure chuckled. Focus. Don't let it rattle you.
It outstretched its hand as if offering comfort for a child. She sucked in a breath and tightened her fists, ready to activate her Leech Blades in an instant.
When it closed the distance, Shade ducked and swept its legs— as it fell, she slashed at its side. A hiss as it rolled away, claws raking the earth as it recovered. Its lone yellow eye burned as the wound faded. She activated the other as she advanced; even if he blocked the physical strike, her blades would sap his energy.
Her slash met the air just before the horizon flipped. Air evacuated her chest as her spine met the earth, her throat in its clawed hand. Her leg snapped up to hook on its mask and escape the hold— rolling up to pin it.
It chuckled as its tail waved and the gem burned. Its trapped hand flexed and a burst of red knocked her away.
"You're fun," its voice echoed as she pulled herself back up. Shade steadied herself and braced for another attack.
"Were all the echidnas in your clan as fearsome as you, Neiath?"
She activated her Warp Belt in a heartbeat, covering the name on her helmet's forehead, as if doing so would take back what had been said.
Your mother wore this to bring victory to all her battles— what does it say, Shade?
It was the first sigil she'd learned to read— the name of their tutelary deity, from her name came Nocturnus and Nocturne. The months of scouting their changed homeworld pointed to their written script being lost, basic words barely deciphered by dedicated scholars.
Shade exhaled, back on the canyon wall, the signal ping still steady. As long as she stayed vigilant for any spikes of energy and kept her distance, she could get closer. Assess the situation with minimal risk. Rely on past encounters. Mind your breathing. Stop dwelling.
She continued her advance.