Thank you so much for the review Emerald the Lynx! Knowing that people are interested in it is what keeps this story going, and you guys will finally learn more about Touka and Shadow's past and how they're connected to Toshiro and Mephiles.
Enjoy!
Entry 23
Stop & Rewind
''Day and night my mind is running, reaching out 'cause I want something more that I've never had before. I'm scared to chase what I've been dreaming beyond a want and now I need it, push me by surprise, so I can take the dive! Day and night my mind is racing, dents and footprints I've been pacing, what am I supposed to find? My God, I'm the bait and the predator's my mind, it eats at me all the time (it eats). Can we stop and rewind? (Can we stop and rewind?) I'm not so sure…''
– StopRewind by NateWantsToBattle
xXxXxXx
''You're dead!''
An aggressive wild dog Irregular was almost sallivating as he cornered Minami in front of a building at Sentoraru, sensing her BioEnergy. He was accompanied by two more wild dog Irregulars, their sudden appearance causing a local evacuation until the Irregular Hunters could arrive. Fortunately for the civilians, both humans and ARNavs, there was someone who could handle them until reinforcements arrived.
''Get away from her!'' Amy charged at the Irregular, her Piko Piko Hammer held up high and she smashed it against him, sending him flying. The other two Irregulars appeared to be a little fearful of her, hesistating to attack Amy, who just charged at another Irregular. The wild dog Irregular dodged one of her swings, allowing for the third one to go after Minami. However, before he could do anything, a blue ball slammed right into him, leaping back unfurled and revealing himself to be Sonic.
''Hey, Ames! Do you need help?'' Sonic asked as Amy hit the other Irregular, who went flying into a building, with Sonic wincing as he saw that. ''Or, maybe not?''
''I can handle myself, but I don't mind a team-up,'' Amy replied, twirling the Piko Piko Hammer as she and Sonic observed the aggressive Irregulars, who were slowly getting up. ''Have you seen the Hunters anywhere?''
''I just passed them,'' Sonic replied. Amy smiled, brandishing her hammer.
''Good to know. I didn't want Minami to play bait longer than necessary,'' she said.
''Hey, I'm completely fine with this idea!'' Minami protested, grinning in response as she saw the wild dog Irregulars giving them a confused look, clearly having overheard the conversation.
''This was a SET UP?!''
''Not really, but frankly, you asked for it by starting the attack,'' Minami replied. The leader of the trio growled.
''Who cares?! You have the BioEnergy, we want it! GET HER!''
The leader charged in first, only to get hit by a combo of Amy sending a curled-up Sonic flying into him with her hammer, with Sonic then stepping in front of the leader, hands on his hips. ''Now, I know you guys don't need BioEnergy. I'm giving you a chance to leave now.''
''Forget it!'' The leader Irregular snarled, with Sonic sighing and shrugging. His ears twitched and he heard the other two Irregulars charging at him, but simply turned around with a tiny smirk, observing Amy as she knocked the other two Irregulars away with her hammer, leaving them bruised and battered.
''I guess you can't negotiate with them,'' Amy said casually, leaning against her hammer. All three of them were alerted to the sudden appearance of the Alpha Unit, led by Commander Loki. The wolf Hunter prepared for the battle, to be baffled when he saw Sonic, Amy and Minami standing among the beaten Irregulars. It took a moment for Loki to collect his bearings.
''Secure the area and arrest the Irregulars,'' he told the Hunter next to him, then walked over to the three, growling with each step, mainly staring at Sonic. ''What. Are. You. Doing. Here?! I told you civilians should stay clear of Irregular attacks!''
''If I see one of my friends in trouble, I will help them,'' Sonic replied, folding his arms across his chest, with Loki glancing over to Minami and Amy. Sonic glanced at them too, smiling. ''Although, they had been handling the situation greatly.''
Amy smiled at Sonic for the compliment, then turned towards Loki. ''We got caught off guard, and I'm good at fighting, so I figured that I could protect Minami. I hope I hadn't broken any rules.''
Loki sighed. ''No, you didn't. This is a matter of safety, and I don't want people to be sent into hospitals because of an inexperienced civilian trying to be a hero.''
''Don't worry, we got things under control here,'' Amy replied. Sonic just gave Loki a thumbs up.
''Yeah! We had our fair share of battles of our own,'' he said. Loki gave him a raised eyebrow, about to question him, when Minami suddenly stepped in.
''Well, everyone's fine, so I think we should go,'' she said, quickly ushering Amy and Sonic away. The moment they were out of hearing range, she added, ''I'm not sure how much of a good idea would be to tell them about our exploits against Eggman or other Irregulars.''
''Huh, usually, you'd be the one to brag about that,'' Amy snarked, a grin on her lips, with Minami giving her a sheepish grin. Amy then turned to Sonic. ''Where'd you come from?''
''Oh, I was hanging out with Lucas when we saw the Hunters and…'' Sonic facepalmed. ''I totally left him behind!''
''Hey!'' The three saw Lucas approaching them on his hoverboard. ''Are you guys okay?''
''Well, we're still alive, so I guess we are okay,'' Sonic said. Lucas snorted.
''Now, that's a low bar. What happened?'' he asked.
''A bunch of aggressive Irregulars attacked us, but we dealt with them quite easily,'' Amy explained.
''It helps that they weren't juiced up on BioEnergy, unlike that lizard Irregular,'' Minami added.
''I see,'' Lucas muttered, humming thoughtfully. ''You know, now we are aware of the origins of Irregulars, but it's not like we can stop the aggressive ones from constantly appearing, since they're basically glitches who randomly manifest without anyone knowing.''
''What do you mean by that?'' Minami asked.
''I just… I just had that thought of what we can do about it,'' Lucas explained. ''Maybe take the risk and go into the offensive…''
''Against whom?'' Amy asked. Lucas fell silent.
''Just… forget it. It's a stupid idea,'' he murmured.
''I think this whole thing is getting to your head,'' Sonic commented, drawing Lucas' gaze. Sonic placed his hands between his quills casually, grinning. ''We're doing a good job as it is, and you yourself said that it would be impossible to track down any dangerous Irregular within the city, let alone the entirety of Starpoint Area to make sure no one gets hurt. I think we should just stick to the usual – if they attack, we fight back. Otherwise, it's live and let live. Or live an learn if you prefer that.''
''Yeah…'' Lucas fell silent, shuffling a little, the look of embarrassament being clear on his face. After learning more about the Irregulars, he felt as if he was responsible for using that information to help people, but after some thinking, he realized that he was getting himself into something he couldn't handle. Sure, he choose to be a leader, but it seemed that it still didn't hit him that he also had to learn to pick his battles. He was thankful that he had Sonic by his side to give him a reality check and to talk to him whenever he felt overwhelmed, as his partner's carefree nature helped him with his own anxiety. ''It also makes me wonder why they're so aggressive, unlike you guys.''
''Honestly, I don't really have an answer to that,'' Amy said, glancing at Sonic, who just shrugged.
''I dunno. I had been trying to talk to those Irregulars earlier, but they're all just focused on absorbing BioEnergy as if they can't live without it, when that's not the case,'' he explained.
''Maybe they really can't live without it,'' Minami suggested, getting questioning looks from her friends. ''I think we may have talked about it before, but as a refresher, Irregulars use BioEnergy as a source of power and from what I've seen, they can become addicted to it. If they're so hellbent on absorbing BioEnergy, I doubt that just talking to them will make them stop. That's why we have the Hunters.''
''Or us, in case they're too slow to the battle,'' Sonic added cheekily, with Amy elbowing him in a playful manner.
''Hey, they are trying their best doing their job,'' she noted.
''I know, but have they mistaken you for Shadow?'' Sonic replied.
''Haven't you told us they were just searching for a hedgehog, not specifying which one?'' Amy responded. Sonic paused.
''Okay, point taken,'' he conceded.
''Speaking of which, how are you dealing with the information about your origins?'' Minami asked, addressing Sonic. ''Amy and I did talk about it but…''
''Eh, I don't really think about it. It's a nice explanation to why I don't remember anything before waking up, but it's not like I'm going to lose sleep over that,'' Sonic replied casually, then glanced at Amy.
''It's the same for me, and I think it's the same for everyone else,'' Amy replied, but a shadow of concern appeared on her expression. ''At least I hope everyone's feeling the same.''
xXx
''Subject S-2005 vitals are all normal. There is also no sign of typical Irregular aggressiveness either and the Subject also responds to all verbal contact well. The Subject has shown confusion at the questions I had stated, remaining silent unless prompted to answer, but I'm attributing this to his recent awakening. Further examination pending.''
Professor Hiroshi Sakamoto pinched the bridge of his nose after writing down his observations. Sitting on the bed across his work desk was an black and red hedgehog Irregular, staring blankly ahead, his head lowered. Around his left arm was something resembling a blood pressure cuff wrapped, and placed on his chest and temples were electrodes, the wireless devices sending information back to Sakamoto's computer. The hedgehog was fiddling with the golden ring on his right hand from time to time, clearly showing discomfort with the whole situation. Sakamoto ignored the apparent discomfort his research subject was showing, being more interested in the dormant energy the hedgehog had.
''You stay still until I return,'' Sakamoto said, standing up and exiting the room. Unfortunately, his devices were not strong enough to properly analyze the energy, so he needed to get something that would help him with this.
The hedgehog stared blankly as the door shut behind Sakamoto, being left alone with his own thoughts in this cold and sterile room. It had been only a few hours since he had awoken and was released from the stasis pod, with the Professor introducing himself as his creator and immediately putting him through several tests, prodding and examining him and asking him questions. Some were seemingly easy to answer, like whether he could move his arms or legs; but others left him puzzled, like whether he knew what exactly he was. He was uncomfortable with all the procedures, but he wasn't sure how to verbalize it. Any time the Professor would address him, he felt a spike of anxiety, not wanting to respond at all, but forced himself to do so whenever he sensed that the man was getting impatient with his silence.
The hedgehog's ears twitched as he picked up the sound of the door opening, but to his surprise, it wasn't the Professor who entered the room, but a teenage girl with brown hair that reached to her shoulders. Unlike the Professor, who was dressed in a lab coat, she was wearing a red short-sleeved hoodie with black markings, a black skirt and knee-length leggings and sneakers; her casual appearance clearly clashing with her orderly environment. She quickly closed the door behind her, looking around for a moment until she spotted the hedgehog, a bright smile spreading on her lips as she approached him.
''Hey there,'' she said, bowing over to be at the hedgehog's eye-level. ''I had overheard that you were supposed to be released today, so I wanted to visit you. I'm not sure if you remember me, but I saw you a few times before when you were still asleep.''
The hedgehog stared at her, a vague memory of this girl floating in his mind. He did recall her voice, but it felt like it was more of a dream than a real memory. However, he nodded in acknowledgement. The girl smiled back, glad to see him respond.
''My name is Touka,'' she introduced herself. ''I had been hoping that, once you awaken, we could be friends, Shadow.''
The ebony hedgehog suddenly gave her a strange look, almost as if intrigued by the name she had called him. He stared at her intently, as if wanting her to repeat it. He certainly heard it before, but considering how the Professor only referred to him as ''Subject'', so he didn't think much about it. He did notice the sudden look of concern on Touka's expression.
''Don't you like the name? If not, you can tell me how I should call you. I didn't mean to offend you in any way,'' Touka said, her tone apologetic. The hedgehog was slightly puzzled by her worry for his feelings, especially given the previous treatment. He remained silent though as he thought about his response.
''Shadow… I recall hearing you calling me Shadow the Hedgehog,'' he said, gazing at Touka with his crimson eyes. ''I want that to be my name.''
Touka smiled in response, then looked at the electrodes attached to his body. ''How do you feel? I suppose Prof. Sakamoto is doing exams on you.''
Shadow nodded in response. ''I don't like being here.''
''I understand. I also have to do health examinations every day, even though Kisaki tells me that I'm as healthy as I can be. It's really no fun,'' Touka said. ''Do you want me to stay with you?''
Shadow paused for a moment, then nodded. Touka sat next to him, still giving him enough space in case he wasn't too comfortable with her presence. She remained quiet, with Shadow being thankful for her silence, as he wasn't in the mood for a conversation. Minutes later, Sakamoto entered the room, holding another device, only to give Touka a cold glare when he saw her sitting next to Shadow.
''Touka, what are you doing here? You know that you're not allowed to be here,'' Sakamoto told her. Shadow glanced at Touka, expecting her to apologize for disobeying the Professor, but instead she gave him a defiant gaze.
''Yeah, I do, but I wanted to meet Shadow on my own terms,'' she replied in a steady tone. ''Are you going to be done soon? I wanted to show Shadow around Codex.''
''Subject S-2005 is going to be here for further examinations and you should leave. Do not test my patience, Touka. You know you're already in trouble for sneaking around areas I strictly forbid you to go to,'' Sakamoto responded, clearly irritated. Shadow glanced at Touka, stunned to see that she was standing her ground.
''I'm going to stay with Shadow until he's done,'' she growled. Shadow tensed when he sensed the clear animosity between the two. He didn't understand why, but at the moment, he felt more comfortable in her presence. He also shared her sense of animosity towards the Professor.
''I want Touka to stay,'' Shadow suddenly said, frowning as he glared at the Professor. ''I also want you to call me Shadow, Professor.''
Sakamoto was a little surprised that Shadow responded to him like that, glancing for a moment at the monitor that was showing him Shadow's vitals. There was a momentary spike in his energy levels, something that intrigued the Sakamoto quite a bit. He wondered whether Touka's presence had to do anything with it.
''Fine, Touka can stay,'' he relented.
Shadow felt a sense of relief, glancing at Touka who gave him a comforting smile. He hoped that he would be able to spend more time with her.
xXx
''Project Shadow Log #98. Subject S-2005 is developing as predicted. It's power is growing exceedingly, and the Subject has shown great control over its abilities. Some struggles have been observed, but I believe that those can be ironed out. However, what is of concern is the Subject's emotional state. I had stated many times that, while the Subject's connection, or dare I say, bond with Touka is quite beneficial, it also might be a double-edged sword. I have yet to see how the Subject's presence affects her BioEnergy. Perhaps the fact that Touka has an unusually high amount of BioEnergy stored within her is the reason for this? I would have to do further testing.''
Touka stopped reading when she saw Shadow shaking, his fists balled. The ebony hedgehog was sitting nex to her silently on the platform on the rooftop of a building, staring ahead at the street below them, his brows furrowed and his ears pinned close to his head. Even if he tried to show no signs of distress, it was clear how much he hated listening to those logs. Touka couldn't blame him, as it was clear that Prof. Sakamoto thought of him only as an experiment and a weapon. It took quite a while until the Professor started to even refer to Shadow with his actual name in the logs.
''Shadow, if you want to, we can take a break,'' Touka suggested. Shadow just shook his head.
''No, you can continue,'' he replied in a firm tone. Touka exhaled, turning towards Shadow instead.
''Shads, I know you're upset because of how Sakamoto and everyone at Codex had treated you,'' she told him. She could see Shadow only frown harder, then responding.
''I'm just angry that they tried to use you as a 'Living Battery','' Shadow replied in an even tone, still staring ahead. Despite his seemingly tranquil demeanor, Touka knew that Shadow, if given the opportunity, would chase down Sakamoto and take his anger out on him. He suddenly felt Touka's hand on his head, feeling tense for a moment, only to realize that she was scratching him behind the ear to put him at ease.
''Well, I don't care about that. I'm more angry with how everyone treated you and considered you as just a weapon,'' Touka replied.
''Tch, why should I care about that…'' Shadow grumbled, leaning against Touka. He rarely showed affection, being always aloof and reserved, but he did allow himself to show some vulnerability around his sister. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down and just process the information they had learned.
They already knew that Project Shadow was not only about learning more about the Irregulars, but also finding a way to weaponize Shadow and use Touka as a source of BioEnergy. However, reading the logs, they found out more details about the experiments Sakamoto had conducted, including releasing Irregulars they had captured so they could put Shadow and Touka in a situation where they had to fight them off. The results varied, but Sakamoto always expressed dissatisfaction at the fact that Shadow never attempted to use Touka's BioEnergy to empower himself and take on the Irregulars. The reason for neither of them ever remembering any of those events was because of Sakamoto tampering with their memories, making sure they forgot everything and restart the experiment again. No one at the facility ever objected to this kind of treatment and from a comment in Sakamoto's logs, he made sure this would be done whenever Kisaki wasn't around, as she was the only one who showed any care towards Touka and Shadow. Sakamoto even expressed that she might be a liability if she ever learned of her true intentions and was disappointed that he couldn't really limit any contact between the three.
Touka then opened another holographic screen, reading through another log. This one described Shadow's progress with his training and Sakamoto's amazement at his powers.
''…I admit, I wasn't really sure what to make of Subject S-2005 abilities when I first witnessed them. The Subject referred to them 'Chaos Powers', but it showed no signs of understanding to why it called them that. My contributor did tell me that they'd offer me help in creating 'The Ultimate Lifeform', and they certainly did, but it was quite embarrassing to have to explain to the agent that had come to oversee the Subject's growth as to why it looked like a cartoon animal that would appeal to a child. As a matter of fact, I didn't even know the Subject was even a hedgehog until my contributor informed me of that…'' Touka trailed off, pausing for a moment. ''You know, considering everything we found out and the fact that you're an Irregular based on a video game character, it makes me wonder no one at Codex ever made that connection or questioned anything.''
''Shows just how ignorant everyone was,'' Shadow responded, folding his arms across his chest. A tiny smirk formed on his expression, as he was slightly amused at the irony of the whole situation. At this point, he knew the whole backstory of his counterpart, but he didn't care that much. After all, what happened to his counterpart wasn't his life. He was his own person and he wanted to live his life the way he saw it fit. ''Do you plan to do anything with all the information?''
''Not really,'' Touka replied, shaking her head. ''You?''
Shadow just shook his head in response, but he did notice that Touka still seemed to be a bit troubled. ''There's something else, isn't it?''
''I was just wondering whether there would be any information regarding how I ended up at Codex,'' Touka admitted. Shadow gave her a look of concern.
''You still don't remember anything?'' he asked. Touka shook her head.
''It's like my memories of anything prior to Codex just don't exist,'' she replied. ''It was always like that, even back then. However, I do remember being confined to a wheelchair and being outside, and feeling really weak.''
Touka then reached for her pocket and taking out a photo, which she unfolded. Shadow noted that it was the photo Knuckles and Silver had found at Codex, that of Sakamoto and Tomoe. He felt that it was quite uncanny how Tomoe looked like she was Touka's twin.
''I suppose the only one who could provide me with any answers is Sakamoto, but we don't know whether he's even alive at this point,'' Touka added.
Shadow was silent for a moment, then proceeded with another question, ''If we ever managed to find him and you got your answers, what would you do?''
''Honestly, the ideal answer would be to live my life, but…'' Touka trailed off, staring at the photo and gesturing at it, ''…after this, I don't know anymore.''
''Do you think you still have a biological family somewhere out there?'' Shadow asked. Touka shrugged.
''I don't know,'' Touka said quietly, almost defeated. ''Should I even care at this point?''
Shadow had no answer to that. However, he still wanted to comfort his older sister. ''Whatever you decide, I'll be always with you.''
Shadow was startled when Touka suddenly hugged him tightly, burying her face into his fur. ''You're the best little brother ever!''
Shadow just smiled in response, hugging her back. The world didn't matter to him, as long as he had Touka by his side.
xXx
Lily took a deep breath as she and Knuckles walked through Eden Botanical Garden, stretching her arms, feeling content. It was a beautiful day, and Lily suggested they visit Eden so they could relax after last night's events. However, it seemed like someone refused to relax, as Knuckles remained tense and on guard.
''You're still worried about Rouge trying to steal from our home, aren't you?'' Lily asked.
''I wouldn't be surprised if she did. But, I can assure you, I will be waiting for her. She has made an enemy with her thievery,'' Knuckles replied. Lily was about to continue, when Silver suddenly flew past them in a hurry, panicking quite a lot.
''Hey, Silver!'' Lily called out of the grey hedgehog, getting his attention and he flew back to them.
''Why are you in such a hurry?'' Knuckles asked.
''Something happened to the rose bushes we had replanted and I'm trying to find Makoto,'' Silver explained, still hovering via his psychokinesis.
''We'll come with you,'' Knuckles said, him and Lily following Silver. They managed to find Makoto helping a few people to find their way around and returned with Silver to the rose bushes at the pond outside the building. To their shock, the roses were covered in crystal-like material.
''What happened here?'' Makoto asked.
''I don't know! I was about to water the rose bushes when I found them like this,'' Silver explained. Makoto stepped closer to the rose bushes, examining the crystal-like material covering the plant.
''It looks like those crystals we found together with Warren and Tails at Infinity Forest,'' he pointed out.
''Didn't those crystals also appear at Codex?'' Lily noted.
''You're correct,'' Knuckles said, circling around the rose bush. Silver groaned.
''Why did it appear here? Why are the roses covered in it? It makes no sense!'' he said in frustration.
''I think we should call Warren and Tails for help,'' Makoto suggested. ''They should know what to do with this.''
xXx
''Professor?''
Toshiro called out, walking through one of Egg Bases that were spread out across the Starpoint Area. Frankly, he had no clue when Dr. Eggman had the time to build all of them, but they were well hidden and only a few selected people knew where each Egg Base was, him being one of those people. The reason he was even here was mainly because he didn't want the Doctor to read him a riot act again for slacking off on his responsibilities as an errand boy… uh, Enforcer.
Tch, the Doctor is a complete joke. Toshiro walked past a couple of Egg Pawns, going towards the research laboratory, hoping to find Professor Sakamoto somewhere here. The man had been so immersed in his work, Toshiro had to wonder whether he was even sleeping or eating. Whatever he was doing, it certainly didn't help his mental state, from what Toshiro had seen.
''Professor Sakamoto?'' he called out once again, peeking into the research laboratory. It looked like a complete mess, papers, pieces of metal and trash strewn across the room. Toshiro then spotted an older man in a white lab coat leaned against the table, his grey hair and beard dishelved, and his spectacles slightly askew, barely hiding his sunken eyes. He was breathing heavily, making Toshiro wonder if the Professor had another mental breakdown. However, before he could call out for the weary man, Toshiro's own shadow moved, splitting into two and moving across the floor into the room, with Mephiles rising out of the black hole in the floor.
''Are you suffering from delusions once again, Professor?'' Mephiles asked. Hiroshi Sakamoto looked up upon hearing Mephiles' voice, his grey eyes wide and his irises shrunken, confirming Mephiles' suspicions. Mephiles then turned his head to the empty glass tank in the room, wires floating in the liquid. ''You know that no one is inside it.''
''Shut up…'' Sakamoto hissed in annoyance. Mephiles merely snorted in amusement, a shadow appearing suddenly in the tank. For a moment, the old man stared at the tank, as if recognizing it, but then it vanished, causing Sakamoto to turn back to Mephiles and glare at him, causing the Irregular to chuckle softly. Clearly, Mephiles couldn't resist to mess with the old man's mind. The Professor sighed, taking of his spectacles and pinching the bridge of his nose. ''What do you two want now?''
''The rest of the data for the Chaos Drives research and whatever Chaos Drives you had made. The Doctor is getting impatient,'' Toshiro responded, walking inside.
''They're all in the safe,'' Sakamoto grumbled, grabbing a keycard and giving it to Toshiro. The teenager looked at it, then gazed at Sakamoto with a questioning look. ''I have completed my part of the deal with the Doctor. I don't care anymore what either of you two are going to do with your lives. I just want to be left alone.''
''You're really willing to let a living weapon, your own creation, to roam around without any supervision?'' Mephiles asked, his tone filled with snark.
Sakamoto shot him a glare, then turned back to his table, staring at the frame on it. Toshiro and Mephiles glanced at each other, shrugging and leaving the room, going towards where the safe was. Sakamoto then picked up the frame, staring at the photo on it. It was of him in his younger days and a teenage girl sitting in a wheelchair. Despite the clear exhaustion, she was still smiling for the camera.
''I'm so sorry… Tomoe…'' he whispered.
''Daddy, when I recover, I'll be able to go outside again, right? Not only walk, but also run as much as I want.''
''Yes, honey, I promise that you will. I promise.''
Sakamoto exhaled as his mind replayed the conversation he had with his late daughter. Tomoe had always been so bright, so full of life, and it broke his heart to see her confined to a wheelchair due to her illness, wasting away. He watched over time as her body became her eternal prison, desperately searching for a way to save her. He thought he had succeeded in saving her, but then she slipped away… forever.
''One day, I will be free to go wherever I want.''
Meanwhile, Toshiro and Mephiles picked up a box filled with the Chaos Drives and the remaining data they needed, then turned on their heels, walking out of the base. They had passed once more the research laboratory where Sakamoto was, still unmoving and grieving. Toshiro frowned, scoffing at what he saw.
''Don't tell me that you feel compassion for the Professor?'' Mephiles asked. Despite not having a mouth, Toshiro knew that his partner was sneering at him.
''Why would I?'' Toshiro replied in a snarky tone.
''Oh, I don't know… Maybe the fact that you have a familial connection to him,'' Mephiles replied, clearly amused by Toshiro's reaction.
''So do you,'' Toshiro told him in a deadpan tone, falling silent for a moment. ''I was just irritated with how obsessive he is over his late daughter and still trying to revive her.''
''Ironic how his attempt at manipulating life allowed him to create two dangerous weapons,'' Mephiles commented. ''Once we're done with our task, we can finally invite Shadow and Touka to our little family reunion. I'm looking forwards to seeing their reactions.''
''If we collaborate with the Doctor, we will be able to achieve our goal,'' Toshiro said, thinking about their plan. ''Hopefully, he'll agree to our plan to taken on Touka and Shadow by ourselves.''
''Even if he doesn't, I don't care. We're going through with our plan regardless,'' Mephiles responded.
xXx
''Hmm…'' Tails hummed as he read the data on the Miles Electric. ''You're right, this is the same type of crystal, or rather, crystallized data we encountered before.''
''Do you think it will spread towards the other plants?'' Makoto asked.
''No, I don't think it will. I'm sorry about the rose bushes, though,'' Tails replied.
''The only one who should be sorry is whoever vandalized them like this!'' Silver responded in an agitated tone, floating in the air.
''Unfortunately, we don't know who or what caused this…'' Warren trailed off as he thought for a moment. ''Although, when those crystals appeared back at Codex, we also had to deal with that countdown mysteriously restarting.''
''So, it is possible that a person is actually responsible for this,'' Lily said.
''The only question that remains is who?'' Warren said.
''I recall Ferra talking about someone sending her a message about the Codex's whereabouts. It may be the same person,'' Knuckles suggested.
''Okay, fine, but why are they now targeting the roses?'' Silver asked, pointing at the bushes. ''Is this supposed to be some kind of prank?''
''I don't think so, considering this person's actions resulted in all of us almost dying and Starpoint Area getting destroyed,'' Makoto replied.
''So, any ideas what we should do about this?'' Lily asked.
''Obviously, find the culprit,'' Silver said, still angry.
''I admire your determination, but do you know where to search?'' Knuckles asked. Silver was stumped for a moment, realizing that Knuckles had a point. They had no clue who the culprit was, so there wasn't really anything they could do.
xXx
''Doctor, we have brought you the Chaos Drives,'' Toshiro said. A devious grin of satisfaction formed instantly on Eggman's face as he saw the two carrying the box with the last piece of what he needed for his plans.
''Excellent!'' he grabbed the box, then turned to the intercom. ''Metal Sonic, Ferra, front and center!'' The two arrived only moments later, shooting a glare at Mephiles and Toshiro, as if questioning what these two were doing here. Eggman noticed this, but he didn't care about whatever animosity they had towards each other as long as they got things done. ''Now that I got everything I need, we can finally go over my newest plan, Operation: Divide and Conquer.'' He gave the box with the Chaos Drives to Orbot and Cubot, then pressed a button on the keypad, opening a holographic screen showing footage of the previous battle between Team Neos and the Death Egg Robot. ''Obviously, even with countering all of their abilities, they managed to take down the Death Egg Robot by working together, so this time, we will isolate them. Specifically, we'll isolate Sonic.''
''That's our job, right?'' Ferra asked. Metal Sonic's red eyes started immediately glowing at the suggestion.
''Precisely,'' Eggman replied, furrowing a brow. ''Nevertheless, the rodent's friends will come to his help and therefore it is necessary to find a way to either keep them busy or make sure that the Hedgehog doesn't contact them.''
''I believe that everyone in Team Neos has an AR Visor,'' Ferra replied, with Metal Sonic nodding in agreement. Eggman walked up to a drawer, grabbing something from it and tossing it towards the two.
''This jammer should be enough,'' Eggman told them, with Ferra catching the jammer. ''You will be given time and space to deal with the Hedgehog. Do not disappoint me.''
''Don't worry Doctor.''
'We won't.'
Eggman then turned to Mephiles and Toshiro, who seemed to already have an idea what they're supposed to do. ''As for you two, since the target is Sonic, I expect from you to keep his friends from trying to come to his aid. I don't care how you do it, just do your job this time.''
''Ah, so we're the distraction. Now, that's a novel idea,'' Mephiles responded in a rather deadpan tone. Eggman frowned.
''Don't sass me, Mephiles. Prof. Sakamoto may have created you as The Ultimate Weapon, but I'm the one who's calling the shots. You two will do as I say,'' Eggman told him in a stern tone. Ferra and Metal Sonic glanced at Toshiro and Mephiles, giving the two a curious look. They knew that Hiroshi Sakamoto was quite an important person, but they had no clue regarding what Toshiro and Mephiles' connection was to him.
''Yeah, sure, whatever you say, Doctor,'' Toshiro added, exchanging knowing glances with Mephiles. Eggman, eyebrow raised as he expected more complaining, just shrugged it off and turned back to the monitor, now showing footage of Sonic running and destroying one of the robots.
''Game on, Hedgehog.''