- Chapter 44 -

Depression

Robotropolis

A few days had passed after the Egg Dungeon breakout. The 6-S are walking through the Citadel discussing things.

"Dr. Robotnik just hasn't been the same the past couple days," Grounder noted.

"That's silly!" Scratch insisted. "I bet he's already thinking of new ways to take Sonic out."

"Really?" Orbot asked.

They happened to enter the TV room, seeing Robotnik sitting on the couch wearing a set of pajamas, consisting of a button-up red shirt with white polka dots, a white sleeping cap with red polka dots, red slippers, and green pajama pants. A record player was sitting off to the side, playing Let the Heartaches Begin. He had a pint of ice cream in his lap, and seemed to be eating straight from the carton.

"It seems to me all he's been doing is lounging in his pajamas," Orbot finished.

Robotnik slowly turned to see the 6-S standing there looking at him.

"Just leave me alone to wallow in my own filth and self-pity…" he managed.

"You okay, Doctor?" Cubot asked.

"I'm fine," Robotnik snapped. "Now, didn't I tell you rust buckets to scram?"

"Doctor, what's wrong?" Orbot questioned.

"I don't want to talk about it," Robotnik snarled, glaring at them. "Will you JUST GET OUT OF HERE?!"

They fled from the TV room in a hurry. Once they were out, Orbot sighed.

"It used to be funny, you know," he mused. "The doctor would be fuming over his latest defeat. 'I hate that hedgehog,' next evil scheme, big explosion, etc., etc. But now... it's just not funny anymore."

"We should do something," Decoe suggested.

"But what?" Bocoe asked.

"Can you keep it down?" Robotnik called from the TV room. "I'm trying to watch my stories."

Knothole

In Tails' lab, he was conducting a thorough medical examination on Sonic. Sally sat off to the side.

"I told you I'm fine," Sonic insisted, annoyed.

"You were squeezed by a Robian until you passed out, and unconscious for a week," Sally replied. "That, and I think something might be wrong with your ribs."

"What makes you say that?" Sonic asked.

"You keep grabbing it every now and then," Sally explained. "I want to make sure it's not permanently damaged. It may have healed wrong."

Tails finished his examination before turning to Sally.

"His rib's fine," he reported. "No signs of a fracture or anything."

"Are you sure?" Sally asked.

"I'm positive." Tails replied. "It's as if the break never happened."

"Then why does he keep grabbing it?" Sally asked.

Sonic shrugged. "I'm not sure myself."

Tails perked as he thought things over. "Wait… didn't he have an episode when we found out about the Egg Dungeon?"

"Now that you mention it, yeah," Sonic recalled.

"I think I might know the problem," Tails deduced. "It's a psychosomatic wound, triggered by the trauma of his failure."

"Psycho-what now?" Sonic asked.

"It's in your head," Sally clarified.

"That's the rib Kat broke, right?" Tails questioned, getting a nod. "You associate it with your failure to free everyone from the Death Egg, and whenever a situation similar to that happens, whether it be people being taken prisoner of people in danger, it aches, yes?"

"Yeah…" Sonic admitted.

"You're not actually feeling pain," Tails explained. "But your brain is making you think you are. Like… like how I mess with my tails when I'm scared. Remember, everyone would always pull on them when we were little. So when I get scared, they always feel like they're being yanked."

"I get it," Sonic nodded.

"No wonder you were so determined to get everyone out of the dungeon," Sally sighed. "Oh, Sonic…"

Sonic stood up at that. "Nobody gets left behind or forgotten on my watch again, Sally. I can't take it easy. I can never take it easy. Not for one second, okay? The minute I forget that, someone like Kat pays the price."

He turned away, clenching his fists. "I'm gonna go check on Mina…"

With that, he walked out, Sally and Tails watching him go.

"I never thought he'd take what happened on Angel Island this badly," Tails admitted.

"He's never failed so badly before," Sally said. "And from what you've told me, this Kat didn't take it well."

"I know," Tails recalled. "But Sonic had no way of knowing there were that many people on the Death Egg. We've told him again and again he did everything he could. That it wasn't his fault."

Sally sighed. "If only it were that simple…"

-X-

Meanwhile, Sonic had approached the room Mina was provided. He knocked on the door, but got no answer, so he tried again.

"Don't bother," Shortfuse told him, coming out of his own room. "She won't come to the door."

Sonic turned to him before going about it again, knocking once more.

"Mina? It's me," he said. "Can we talk?"

A sigh came from the room. "Sonic, please, just go away."

"Mina, please, just let me in," Sonic insisted.

"No…"

Seeing he would get turned down no matter what, Sonic simply opened the door and entered. Mina was laying on her bed, facing the wall. She looked like she had been crying, and from the trays of cold food, she hadn't eaten.

"I told you, I don't-" she began.

"I don't care," Sonic cut her off. "You need to eat something."

"I'm not hungry," Mina replied.

"Hey, I ate that slop they served in the prison," Sonic pointed out. "I know it's not filling, and I know you're starving."

Mina said nothing, getting a sigh from the blue blur.

"Mina, c'mon," he began. "I know you're hurting, but I can only help you if you let me."

"You can't help me with this," Mina replied. "My mom is gone. They took her away and i'll never see her again…"

"Don't give up hope," Sonic pleaded. "Tails and the others have been working on a De-Roboticizer. We'll get her back someday."

"And how close are they to finishing this De-Roboticizer?" Mina questioned.

Sonic's resulting silence gave her all the answer she needed.

"What am I supposed to do until then?" she went on. "My mom was all I had, and now…"

She curled up tighter before crying.

Sonic stood there for a few minutes, debating what he could possibly do to comfort her, before sighing.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save her, Mina," he said at last before departing the room, defeated.

Robotropolis

Coconuts was chased out of the bathroom, a bar of soap and a bottle of shampoo pelting him as he went.

"You lame-brained, knuckle-dragging dork!" Robotnik ranted from within. "How dare you bother me when I'm taking a bath with my rubber crocodile?!"

Coconuts went to rejoin the rest of the 6-S.

"Okay, this is just ridiculous," the monkey Badnik griped. "He's just sitting in the tub, moping now!"

"You know, in retrospect, maybe you shouldn't have tried to cheer him up while he was naked and in the tub," Orbot suggested.

"Need some brain bleach, buddy?" Cubot offered.

"I'll be submitting for a processor wipe later," Coconuts replied.

"Maybe Metal Sonic can get through to him," Scratch suggested. "He likes Metal."

They found Metal curled up in his charging port. His optics were on the ground and he was clutching his servos.

"He was stopped by a Robian… in less than a minute," the Sonic bot lamented.

Orbot facepalmed. "Oh, no…"

"Only because they were playing on Sonic's emotional attachment to that particular Robian," Decoe pointed out.

"I was nothing more than a way to buy time…" Metal grumbled. "I was useless…"

"I think this is more shock than anything," Bocoe mused.

"Didn't even think robots could go into shock," Decoe said.

"Guess we can," said Grounder.

"Alright, I don't think we'll be getting any help from Metal at the moment," Orbot decided.

"Maybe Snively or Grimer?" Scratch offered.

"Worth a shot," Coconuts suggested.

They headed to the lab, where they saw Snively and Grimer discussing the situation.

"Ever since my uncle returned from the Egg Dungeon, he's done nothing but lounge around the Citadel in his pajamas like a beached whale," Snively grumbled. "It's pathetic."

"I'm aware," Grimer noted. "I believe he's simply moping though. All we need is something to lift his spirits."

Knothole

Sonic was taking Muttski out for a walk. The dog had just finished doing his business when loud ranting from Freedom HQ reached their ears.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Shortfuse screamed.

Sonic immediately dropped everything and ran back to HQ. The others were following, seeing Shortfuse loudly ranting at Mina, who's expression could best be described as "deer in the headlights".

"Of all the lame-brained, idiotic, piss-poor reasons to-"

"Hey, hey, HEY!" Sonic pushed Shortfuse away from her. "Back off, Shorty!"

"Don't stop me this time, Sonic!" Shortfuse snapped. "You didn't hear what she said!"

"What'd she say, then?" Sonic demanded.

"She said 'It would have been better if I'd been roboticized as well'!" Shortfuse replied.

A dead silence followed at that.

"It's true," Mina admitted. "At least then I'd be with my mom. I wouldn't be alone. We'd be-"

"Enslaved and toiling away, that's what!" Shortfuse cut in sharply. "Do you have any idea what robotization means, Mina?! I was lucky to just get encased in this Badnik shell. I can't eat. I can't feel the sun or wind on my fur, or the temperature of this room. I can't even use a bathroom anymore. Can you even begin to imagine what hell that must be?"

Mina flinched at the venom in his tone. "I'd give anything for the simple pleasures the rest of you enjoy all the time, and here you are, wanting to throw it all away!"

"But you have people!" Mina shot back. "You have so many people! I have no one, and it hurts! It hurts all the time and I hate it! I just-!"

She deflated, collapsing to her knees. "I just want it to stop hurting…"

"We all get that," Sally told her gently. "But would your mother want you to throw your life away?"

"What do you know?" Mina snapped. "Nobody in your family was taken by Robotnik and turned into a cold, unfeeling machine!"

"But somebody in my family was," Sonic cut in.

That got Mina's attention. She turned to face him.

"My Uncle Chuck," Sonic went on. "He was the first person Eggman roboticized. He did it right in front of me."

"I'm sorry…" Mina told him sympathetically.

"As am I," Sonic replied. "But neither your mother nor my Uncle Chuck would want us to wallow in our pain and loss. They'd want us to keep fighting, keep living, and keep pushing forward as best we could."

"Sonic's right," Tails added. "Your mom might be gone, but it's not forever. And you haven't lost everything yet. Can't you see you're not alone?"

Mina looked up, seeing everyone crowded in the room, checking on her. She sniffed, then clutched onto Sonic, just crying. Sonic gently wrapped his arms around her, petting her head.

"There you go," he soothed. "Just let it out…"

Muttski trotted over, laying his head on her lap in a comforting manner. After a while, Mina composed herself, wiping her eyes; while they were wet and red from crying, she looked much more at peace than she had in days.

"I'm sorry," she told them. "You've been trying so hard to help me, and all I've been doing is pushing you all away so I can keep feeling sorry for myself."

"We're just sorry we let it go on this long," Sally told her.

Mina pulled away from Sonic at that.

"I want to help you guys," she decided. "People are suffering and dying because of Robotnik, all over the world. I can't just sit back and do nothing. Or let him do to anyone else what he did to my mom."

"Don't push yourself too hard," Sonic told her. "You still need to take time to heal yourself."

Mina just nodded. Sonic was quiet for a few moments before getting an idea.

"So, back in the dungeon, Ray and Mighty told me you're a pretty good singer," he recalled.

"It's nothing major," Mina replied. "I was mostly just singing to keep the younger ones quiet."

"Know any Crush 40?" Tails asked.

"A few songs, but I'm more into pop music than rock like that," Mina said. "Ever hear of the single Follow Me?"

"You like Follow Me?" Amy questioned, stepping forward. "That's my favorite song of all time! I've got it memorized!"

Mina smiled at that before turning to Sonic.

"Why'd you mention my singing?"

"It's an idea I had. Until you're fully recovered, physically and mentally, I don't want you to join us on the field. So I figured maybe you could sing for the troops. Boost morale."

"That, I can do," Mina promised.

"But first, let's get you some food," Sonic insisted.

"I got this, Sonic," Amy declared, offering a hand to Mina. "Come on. We can listen to some of my CDs while we eat."

Mina took the offered hand and the pair walked off.

"Well, that's that," Sonic noted.

"Seems you're good at giving advice, though not following it," Sally mused. "You should take time to heal too."

Sonic turned to her, shaking his head firmly. "I can't, Sal. Too many people are counting on me."

Before Sally could refute that, Sonic just turned and walked away. She let out a sigh.

"He is so stubborn…" she griped.

Robotropolis

Grimer was running scans on the supercomputer.

"There has to be something we can find to snap the doctor out of his funk," he muttered. "The Chaos Emeralds, a stash of Power Rings... anything that can get him back to normal."

Snively looked over the scans before catching a blip.

"Hello, what do we have here?" he pondered.

"What is it?" Grimer asked.

"There's some kind of new power source on the planet," Snively explained. "Judging by the scans... it's somewhere on Angel Island."

"There again?" Grimer questioned. "I recall the doctor mentioning something about a 'Master Emerald', but need I remind you of the trouble he had the last time he was there?"

"First off, it's giving a reading that, while similar to the Chaos Emeralds, is somewhat different," Snively explained. "And second, would you rather he continue to laze around the Citadel, wallowing in his own self-pity?"

"A fair point," Grimer conceded.

"I'll go show him the readings," Snively said. "Who knows? Maybe he's finally out of the bath."

He went out of the lab, seeing Robotnik once again seated on the couch watching TV. Thankfully, he had the sense to change into a fresh set of pajamas.

"Get out!" Robotnik snapped, throwing the now-empty pint of ice cream at him, which Snively ducked.

"Sir, Grimer and I have been running scans," he told him. "We found something we believe you'll be interested in."

"I don't care!" Robotnik growled. "Now leave!"

"Just take a look, sir," Snively insisted. "I think you'll find it most interesting."

Robotnik sighed in resignation. "Fine."

He handed over the scan. Robotnik took a look, his eyes going wide. He got out of the couch, pulling his nightcap off.

"Enough moping around in the Citadel," he declared. "It's time to get back to business. Whatever this power source is, it's our key to victory."

"Your orders, sir?" Snively asked.

"Are the Hard-Boiled Heavies ready for deployment?" Robotnik questioned.

"We've been putting the finishing touches on them, yes,"

"Perfect. Deploy them at once," Robotnik grinned. "And if they happen to run into any Echidna while up there, see that the race truly becomes extinct."

"And if Sonic and the Freedom Fighters show up as well?"

Robotnik scoffed. "Bring them on."

Outside the room, Grimer pumped his fist in excitement.

"Success!" he cheered to himself. "I knew that would break the doctor out of his malaise!"

Angel Island

Before the Master Emerald shrine, Knuckles and Kat appeared to be in an all out fight with one another.

"Is that all you've got?!" Knuckles demanded.

"Bring it on, Knux!"

Kat charged at him, swinging a large, stone club right at him. He slid under it, kicking her legs out from under her. She landed and rolled, preparing to get up. Before the fight could continue, both of them were suddenly hit with a wave of unease and nausea.

"What the hell…?" Knuckles managed.

"What's going on?" Kat wondered. "I feel sick…"

Within a certain spot in the jungle, the ground began to glow with an ominous purple light. Red electricity began to violently discharge from the ground before a wave of energy engulfed all of Angel Island. Space itself seemed to twist and distort around the island as it rumbled before slowly descending to the surface like a meteor…

Author's Note:

Yep, that's right! Thus begins a Sonic Mania adaptation. I'm setting it in the same universe as everything else for two reasons. 1: I'm using Sonic and everyone else's modern designs from the start. 2: I also plan to adapt Forces down the road, and as much as I liked that game, let's face it; Classic Sonic had no real place in the story.

The song Let the Heartaches Begin is a real-life blues song sung by Robotnik's Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog voice actor, the late great Long John Baldry. In general, this chapter took cues from the Sonic Boom episode "Aim Low," taking different paths in regards to Mina and Robotnik's depictions of depression. Mina's depression is far more justified, since she was imprisoned by Robotnik and lost her mother, her only family, to the Roboticizer. Robotnik's just moping around after his latest defeat at Sonic's hands, and is basically acting more like a teen or young adult who's bored and confused about what to do with his life. Long story short, Mina's depression is played seriously, whereas Robotnik's is played for laughs.

Next chapter, the Freedom Fighters reunite with Knuckles and Kat just in time to see what this new power source is.

Please R&R. Until next time!