It's been several minutes now. I've been staring at the floor this entire time. I couldn't really think about anything, just drifting. The only thing I could do was try to collect my scattered thoughts.
Come on, I think to myself. Stay focused. You can't let the black pit swallow you, not now.
Taking a large breath, I walked back through the doors. Amy was sitting in the corner with her face inches from her laptop's screen. Charmy, Espio and Vector were in their own circle on the other side of the room. And Silver was leaning against the wall watching everyone. However, I notice that he kept taking glances at me.
He didn't trust me. I can't blame him. Silver doesn't know anything about me.
Besides, the mistrust was mutual.
Knuckles was speaking to someone over a transmission, standing at the end of the table and looking into a tablet of sort. Knuckles and the other person were obviously well into their conversation.
"How's Sonic doing?" Knuckles asked the screen, eager. Everyone quickly twisted their heads to Knuckles at the mention of Sonic's name.
"He's been better..." a female voice responded. Her voice was sly, almost seductive. "Soon he's going to be banished into space."
The way she said those few words were almost too calm. Now this has piqued my interest. I move my position as everyone crowded around the screen. I stood slightly further in the background of the screen's view, enough to barely see who was on the screen, but not anywhere near the crowd where I could be noticed.
The voice belonged to a female bat. I could tell by the giant ears sitting atop her head. She wore a ton of blue eyeshadow and pink lipstick. Her style of clothes was... questionable. I had a feeling of irritation, I frown. Girls who dress and speak like that get on my bad side. It isn't easy to explain the reasons why, just that most girls who act like that are often bad news. Also, most girls like that have... larger chests, and I'm not... I'm completely lacking because of my uneven growth from irregular periods of feeding. I haven't been made fun about it directly yet, but I have a sense that other girls feel that they are better than me.
I don't know where I come up with these thoughts, my insecurities get the better of me. But I did know that I wouldn't get along with this bat if we met face-to-face. I try to remind myself that there's more to people than what's on the surface, but sometimes I can't have empathy towards certain people. So instead of putting myself in the bat's shoes, I remind myself that we will likely never meet.
"You can't be serious!" Silver yells, placing his hands on his head.
"Eggman's kept him alive through the whole war so he could show Sonic his completed empire. When that time came, he was going to banish him," the white bat continued.
It confused me that she knew all this. I guess the doctor would be ecstatic that he is finally going to kill his nemesis and would likely broadcast it to the entire world. But Robotnik has changed his ways for this war, he never let anyone know that Sonic was even being held prisoner.
Was the bat the one who told Knuckles that Sonic was being tortured in the first place? I guess she's the "spy" everyone keeps talking about. She must be very good at her job if she managed to find out this information... Then again, it took six months. Sonic has been waiting half a year for somebody to break him out, but the outside world is tearing itself apart and isn't even aware that their hero is still breathing.
"And torturing Sonic just to pass the time!?" Knuckles hissed, slamming a fist on the table before taking a deep breath. "...That's low, even for Eggman."
"Eggman" that's a silly name. That alias sounds so childish, like a joke. It makes it seem as though you are underestimating what he's capable of. I don't. Not after what that insane doctor did to me.
"Eggman's got wind of our rescue plan, now he's moving forward with his ahead of schedule," the bat replies, crossing her arms. How does Robotnik know? He must have ears everywhere. "The clock is ticking, boss."
"But we don't know where he's being held captive!" Amy pointed out.
"Yes, we do," the Bat replies. "Eggman's rebuilt the Death Egg. That's where Sonic is being kept."
Oh no... Robotnik has rebuilt his war machine. The chances of winning back this war seems more impossible each day. Every moment, more lives are lost, and the doctor's army grows larger. The Resistance fights with living souls. He fights with robots, an army of mindless pawns with nothing to lose...
"Oh, man... How are we going to beat that?" Vector inhaled. He pinches the corners of his closed eyes with one hand. "This is not good..."
"None of this is good, Vector. This is war," Knuckles turns to Vector, bluntly. Knuckles clearly did not bother sugar-coating anything.
Knuckles takes a step back from the tablet and the table, glancing at everyone. "Now, let's go get our friend back."
"We'll meet up in a bit, see you on the other side," Vector says, waving to me as he walked away towards Charmy and Espio.
We were splitting up again, just like the last mission. I was lucky, Knuckles had told me that I could "go solo" for a while until I'm comfortable with my new teammates. I was very grateful, since I doubt that I will stick around for long. Either I'll die, run off on my own, or the war will finally come to an end.
I make myself focus on the current moment. We were inside the Death Egg. The deep space made the metal surfaces and surrounding air a bit colder, but it wasn't anything I couldn't deal with. What made me shiver was the fact that the one who built this machine may be here with me.
I nodded to Vector and the others then turned and ran the opposite direction. Rushing down a metal slope, I pull up my bandana up over my mouth, another finger held up to my ear checking that I had my earpiece. I did.
"Listen up, rookie," Knuckles' voice said over the channel. I silently scowl at the name "rookie". It was starting to spread. A part of me didn't want to be labeled as "rookie" for the duration that I am serving with the Resistance. I am a corporal, not a private, I know what I'm doing. "Our forces are busy, and it looks like you took the best route".
What was he trying to say?
I launch my grapple as I reached a sharp turn in the metal path ahead, keeping myself from falling to my death. When the turn evened into a straight path forward, I detach. Except now there was a dead end, a drop off into nothing. I fired my grapple again, being lifted onto a higher level over the gap.
"It's up to you to save Sonic now," Knuckles insisted. "I'm counting on you!"
I landed; my eyes went wide. ...Me?! Why me?! Sonic has never met me. He could attack me! What he needs is a familiar face. After the torture he went through, his mind will be scattered, and he won't know what's real or a piece of his mind.
I pull down my bandana to my neck. Wearing it will only scare him even more.
Left with no other choice, I kept running. Blazing through robots with my Wispon as I traveled through the inside of the massive death ship.
Eventually, I found a staircase. Thinking about how much time that could take, I simply jumped down the center of the spiral, not wanting to waste any time that I could spend searching for Sonic. I held my breath, hoping I won't break my legs as I descended. I landed. It didn't hurt much but it still took a moment for me to double check that I was "fine".
"The prisoners are being held some kind of interment facility," the bat says, who's name I found out was "Rouge". Her voice was still as alluring as before. "Sonic is probably there too. Security's tight though, watch your backs."
Too late, I had already finished blazing through another cluster of robots as Rouge was speaking.
Often if there are guards, that means that there is something they don't want you finding. I carried on.
"Nothing here," Silver growled over the coms, frustrated.
"We're still trying to fight our way out! They've got us pinned down!" Vector says, gunfire echoing in the background.
Concern edged my mind, but I push it away. I remind myself that they can take care of themselves. They wouldn't still be here if they couldn't. They would have been long gone, reduced to decomposing corpses somewhere if they were incapable of helping themselves.
The number of robots increased as I pushed further into the Death Egg. It made me feel confident that I was on the right track. Though bullets were starting to get harder to dodge.
"It's empty!" Vector exclaims.
"It appears that many of our comrades were kept here," Espio adds, voice cold.
Did he mean that the doctor... "banished" them? Oh god. All those souls... did they go quick? Or were they cramped in a cage with several others, given barely enough food to survive, then murdered after weeks, or months of trauma?
"That's one more thing Eggman will answer for!" Silver growls.
I could add to that list.
More robots were turned to molten metal as I rushed down a hall. I leaned to the side to dodge a bullet. It grazed my arm, barely leaving a scratch. Another knocked my Wispon out of my grasp. A small amount of blood trickled from my cut. I looked from it to the one who caused it. The cut didn't even hurt, I wouldn't have even notice unless I was watching the bullet. I've experiences so much pain in my life, I've started to go numb to certain forms.
I quickly do a flip over the head of the robot and land on it's back. I wrap my hands around the sides of its large head, then pull upwards. Growling as the wires were revealed as the head was pulled from its body, my legs planted into the robot's body as the cables snapped. Soon the head was torn off. I jump off before it fell to the ground. Sparks flew from its broken wires. I toss the head at its body.
Loud sirens went off, red lights flashing with them. It startles me. I hold my hands over my ears. The noise... it hurts.
"They're on high alert now..." Rouge informs.
Recovering from the loud sound, I grabbed my Wispon and continued running down the hallway. I wince at the sirens. It was painfully loud, more than anyone would understand.
"I sense Sonic's presence... He's close!" Espio says.
He "senses" him? What does that mean? I need to learn a lot about these Resistance fighters, they all seem to have their own secrets and stories. But then again, it is just barely my second day. And I don't want to grow a connection too quickly.
In hopes to get away from the blaring sirens, I pick up my speed. My mind tries to block it out by thinking about Sonic. He is here somewhere, beaten, starved and scared. He is alone. This makes me more determined to save Sonic. I was in his place one.
I must find him, I think. For his sake, and the war's.