After leaving the private treasury, Sonic couldn't help but think about those relics that Zeena and Zavok had stolen. They had really peaked his interest, but he didn't know how to describe them. Before Sonic could ask anything, Zeena led them to another room, and when the doors opened, Sonic was speechless by what he saw. "Woah. This is incredible!" he exclaimed. The three had stepped foot in Zavok's workshop, and it was amazing. Weapons lined the walls, and even a huge glass window was shown, giving away great views of the city.
Shadow and Silver walked up to one of the shelves, mesmerizing the weapons that lined them. "These look so cool! I've never seen anything like them!" Silver exclaimed. Sonic looked back at Zeena, who said, "I've known Zavok for a very long time when I was starting my villain work. He was the guy I turned to for these weapons, machines, and even the mech stored in my dress." Sonic's eyes winded at that. "HE made your mech dress?!" the blue hedgehog exclaimed, making Zeena laugh. "Indeed so! He also repairs it too," she then said.
Sonic and Zeena continued to talk as Shadow exclaimed, "Hey Silver! Check this thing out! I wonder what it does!" Silver joined the black hedgehog, seeing that he was standing in front of a rounded machine with a ton of wires hooked from its top. It was a bright maroon in color, some patterns decorating the outside. Sonic eventually joined them, but looked at the machine from afar. It was super impressive, but he wondered what it did.
"So, I see you've discovered my secret weapon," Zavok said from above, a coffee cup in his hand. He held a stirring stick in his other hand, which was a robotic arm. "'Secret'?" Sonic asked in confusion as he, Shadow, and Silver all faced Zavok, who explained the secrecy of the machine: "Well, you see, when it's finished, it will go from being my secret weapon to my ultimate weapon. As of now, it's experiencing some technical difficulties due to the energy its being powered by, so don't touch or go near it until its finished ok?"
The hedgehogs all agreed, but Sonic kept looking at the secret weapon. Zavok said it was being powered by some kind of energy, and the patterns painted on the machine's maroon surface questioned him even more. "Zavok, may I ask what kind of energy you're using to power it?" Sonic asked, his curiosity striking. Chuckling, Zavok then said, "It's being powered by Dark Gaia energy, the second most powerful energy source under Chaos energy. I've been researching the energy for a long time now, hoping to harness its power through my secret weapon."
Dark Gaia energy huh? I wonder why he would want to use that "secret" weapon to harness it, Sonic thought, rubbing his chin. He wanted to question more about it, and what Dark Gaia energy could do, but he decided to wait and ask later. "So you're here for gear," Zavok then said, getting to the point. He finished his cup of coffee and used his robotic hand to grab onto the railing and lower himself down to the three hedgehogs. When he landed, the robotic arm retreated.
"Silver. Silbert. Silvey my boy," Zavok started as he pointed at Silver, who said, "Yep. That's my name!" in an excited way. "You get control over my stretch suit," Zavok then said, stretching the robotic arm again. He took it off and handed it to Silver, who thanked him. Zavok also told Silver that the suit would shrink to fit Silver's arm fully, so he didn't have to worry. "Next, we have Sonic. The Sonk. Fastest thing alive," the zeti said, turning to Sonic. He smirked in response, liking that last line. "Oh hoho that's my title and don't wear it out!" Sonic exclaimed, making Shadow roll his eyes.
Zavok began to fill a gun with boiling hot lava. "You get to use my lava gun. This baby shoots actual lava!" he exclaimed, handing the gun to Sonic. "Woah. Incredible!" Sonic exclaimed. Zavok told Sonic that the glass part got hot really easily, and the blue hedgehog took that to precaution. With the cool weapons Silver and Sonic got, Shadow surely had to get something cool. "And finally, there's Shads. Shadow. The Ultimate Lifeform," Zavok finally said to Shadow, saying his name in a dramatic way. Shadow smirked at his title and said, "I am indeed the world's ultimate lifeform."
What Shadow didn't know was that Zavok was grabbing a weird hat from a cabinet. "I have the coolest thing for you," the zeti finally said. Shadow was getting excited, but Zavok placed the hat over Shadow's eyes. "Hypnohat!" Zavok exclaimed. The black hedgehog was starting to complain, for he couldn't see, but the hat activated itself, hypnotizing Sonic and Silver as he tried to pull it up. "You can use that baby to hypnotize anyone. ANYONE!" Zavok exclaimed with a laugh.
Shadow eventually got the hat above his eyes, finally happy that he could see again. He looked at Silver and Sonic, who had the cool weapons like the stretch suit and the lava gun. It made him jealous to see this, but Shadow just sighed and took the hat anyways. Didn't want to complain with Zavok. Zeena joined her partner and smiled. "Oh, look at my three little guinea pigs. I feel like a proud mother raising three kids," she said. Shadow and Sonic both looked at Silver, who was struggling to get the suit working. "You'll get used to it," Zavok told Silver, who sighed in relief once the suit calmed down.
"Now now, I know you three had a busy day, but I bet you would like to explore the town am I right?" she asked the hedgehogs, who got excited. "Explore the town? I'm in!" Silver exclaimed. "We got here, so might as well," Shadow said with a smile, taking his Hypnohat off. "Of course! We'd love to see what's around here!" Sonic exclaimed. Zeena smiled happily and said, "Excellent! You three can put your weapons up and go see the town. Just be back at the castle by dusk."
Zavok showed the hedgehogs their spaces for their weapons, and Sonic thanked Zavok for turning his lava gun off so it wouldn't burn the cabinet. Shadow hung up his Hypnohat and Silver grabbed the additional parts to the stretch suit before heading out the door. Shadow and Silver were almost out, but Sonic remained in the lab. "Hey! You coming?" Shadow asked the blue hedgehog, who replied, "Yeah. I'll be there in a bit!" After hearing that, the two hedgehogs left, leaving Sonic in the lab.
He decided to ask Zavok a few more questions about the Dark Gaia energy he was using for his secret weapon, and he gladly answered a few questions and let Sonic read a few bits of his journal, where he was keeping his research. Sonic found out that Dark Gaia energy can infect someone negatively and bring out their true thoughts and how they felt for others. The energy could alter ones appearance if zapped with enough of it. Zavok even told Sonic about the dark god's minions, and how they sometimes tended to roam around the world at night.
Sonic then thanked Zavok for all of this information and then headed out the door to go meet Shadow and Silver. "You sure that was a good idea?" Zeena asked Zavok, who said, "He was just curious, so I had to tell him." Zeena sighed, happy over the fact that Zavok didn't tell Sonic about the true purpose of his secret weapon. That would have to be a story for another time.
------------------
"Shadow! Silver! Wait up!" Sonic exclaimed as he met up with Shadow and Silver, who were a few blocks away from Zeena's castle. When Shadow asked what took Sonic so long, he explained that he was getting more information on that Dark Gaia energy and even told the hedgehogs what he had learned from Zavok. "That's interesting. Did Zavok tell you what the secret weapon could do?" Silver asked after the explanation. Sonic shook his head, and it was for the best Zavok didn't tell him. "I see. Well, let's get exploring. I'm hungry," Shadow finally said.
The hedgehogs began to explore the town and everything it had to offer. They climbed up and ran around the clocktower, got a glimpse of the Spagonian University, where their mission was being held, and they tried a barista to get something to eat. The food was really enjoyable, and the hedgehogs enjoyed it very much. They got some gelato for dessert before arriving at the Gaia temple, something that the barista owner had told them about.
They walked into and explored it, the history surrounding them ever which way they turned. The relics in this temple were still standing, so that had to mean that Zeena and Zavok stole those relics from another place. It was near dusk by the time they were done exploring the temple, so they headed back to Zeena's castle, where she showed them the room they would be staying in. It was a lot nicer than a mall for sure with a patio and everything.
"Goodnight my hedgehogs. I wish you the best of luck on your mission tomorrow," Zeena smiled as she and Zavok waved them off. The three of them got comfortable in their guest room, even changing into spare pjs that Zeena had laid for them. The hedgehogs decided to watch the sunset together from the patio. "We're gonna do well for our first mission. I'm sure of it," Sonic told his hoggers, who agreed.
The questions still laid in his head: Zeena wanting the governor's crown to maybe rule over the town, Zavok's Dark Gaia energy powered machine, and the Gaia temple that talked a bit more about the Gaia story. So many questions and so many answers, Sonic didn't know where to start. All he was focused on was finishing the mission and getting the job done. When night fell, the hedgehogs watched the stars and the moon shine above them before heading inside to call it a day.
Silver had his bear still in his hands as he immediately fell asleep, making Sonic and Shadow laugh. "Night Sonic. I'm hitting it," Shadow said as he yawned and snoozed. Sonic looked back out the window one last time, the clocktower standing tall in the distance. I won't let you down Zeena. I won't let my tribe down. I'm going to become a hero. I'm going to save them, Sonic thought to himself with a smile. He too snoozed, readying himself for his first day of work tomorrow.