"Where are you...?" I mutter to myself, peaking through another doorway. I've been through so many before, several dozen. I was beginning to lose hope. All these rooms were empty, no signs of life. Just monitors, graphs, screens, and other strange readings of information. This would make my stomach fall every time seeing these things.
I quickly step into the doorway, and look around the room. It was very tidy, and relatively empty. Just a few tables, laptops and stuff. It didn't take much to know that nothing was in the room.
The same gut-dropping feeling found its way to my stomach again. I sigh in disappointment. Then return the way I entered.
I cross the hall, carefully stepping as to lower the sound of my footprints echoing off the metal walls. I step to the door, readying my assault rifle. Anything could be inside, there were never any windows on the doors, just a number. There could be robots, illusions, or – God forbid – Infinite.
Taking a deep breath, I step in front of the door's sensor, and it opens. At first glance there was no other presences, but I didn't let that fool me. The last time I believed that my team got wiped out and I nearly lost Felix.
Where is he now? I think to myself, lowering my rifle slightly while I stepped into the room, remembering when he told me he couldn't fight the rest of the war. I miss you, buddy.
This room was unlike the others, there were monitors everywhere, some metal tables, syringes and IV's were placed carefully on them. The fluid inside most of them was clear or opaque. Others would be a strange purple. I shivered at what poor soul would have these mystery fluids entered into their bodies.
There were several sheets of paper stacked carefully on a table alone. I walk to it, lowering my rifle to my side. The sheet had graphs and tons of information on it. Most of the things written down was foreign to me, it was like a different language of biology, math and theory's. I push the top page to the side, scanning the sheet below. This one I could read.
The subject has bonded well with the Phantom Ruby. It would stand to believe that they are becoming a single entity, by the way the subject has grown such dependence on it. The subject is so determined to become a master of the Phantom Ruby's abilities that they constantly overuse it, causing migraines, quickened heartrate, sweating, exhaustion, and even hallucinations.
Whenever the subject becomes highly emotional, it would create illusions with the Phantom Ruby during their distress. It is likely accidental. These "episodes of distress" have grown rarer. Either the subject has learned proper control of the Phantom Ruby, their emotions, or has found a way to use its power to "numb" out emotions. This theory is very likely as the subject barely expresses anything sign of joy, anger or sadness. They have also grown a higher tolerance of pain, or simply does not complain.
Continue to monitor vitals and behaviour, as the subject has shown some mood swings, and seeming switches of personalities.
Who is this...? This page was dated from just a month before the war. I quickly flip to the next page in hope for answers, such as a name, or anything.
The subject has not taken to the Phantom Ruby well, unlike subject J.S-0.I, and has gone into a coma-like state. The subject will be kept in Base: 18 until further development.
That was it, the rest of the papers didn't talk about these "subjects". If it did, it wasn't written out in a way I could understand. Even though I was relatively smart, I wasn't on this level.
I shake my head, frustrated. Then I force myself not to get worked-up and to stay on task. I step away from the table and keep looking around. Soon, I see another table. And this made my heart pound.
The snake coiled, scales glistening a colour that I couldn't name. Its tongue stuck out, fork transforming from a bright red to purple. I couldn't move, all I could do was stand there, not even able to turn my head to look away from the unsettling creature.
The thing turned hostile; its scales transformed into a jet black. It opened its mouth, baring its fangs. It was venomous, I just knew.
It dashed at me; my heart pounded as it was inches from my face. But it disappeared, and something worse took its place. The undead. A zombie. I couldn't recognize who it used to be it had decayed so much. The skin was dark, and their eyes were lifeless. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't.
Finally, I could move. So, I ran, and ran. But it kept chasing. I tripped, and I couldn't get back up, I couldn't move. The undead thing was getting closer, I could hear it.
Something bad took over me, and my body got up. Muscles moving too smoothly, exerting little effort, it seemed like I had floated. My hand was covered in a dark glowing force, I aimed it at the zombie, and it evaporated.
I fell from this possessed state, falling endlessly. I want to scream, but my mouth wouldn't even open. Like it was glued shut. Eventually, it just seems like it won't end, and I accept my fate. The panic slowly goes away, and I just close my eyes, still falling, letting the wind hit my back.
I open my eyes again, just for a moment, and my heart pounds out of my chest when I hit something. I gasp, then air becomes impossible. The grey sky above me becomes blurry, and then dark. I am underwater, sinking.
I knew how to swim, but my body wouldn't respond to my commands. And I endlessly sank into the blue and black.
Something grabs me by my arm, and they – or it – carries me up and out of the water, high above a cliff and over land. I could only stare below me, neck and head forced to stay in one place. No matter how much I tried, I could not look at, nor struggle against whoever is carrying me.
I am dropped into a bright place. I think it was the clouds. I couldn't understand how my weight didn't fall through the fluffy pillows. I lie there for a while, on my stomach, it was comfortable. But I force myself to get up eventually, sooner than I would have wanted.
I look up to see a figure before me. They look at me, and I stare back. I didn't have any emotional response to their presence.
Infinite. His chest was empty, it seemed bare. This detail bothered me for some reason. His face was missing, the environment was so bright, his eyes were barely visible. The most I could see was a bit of a slash across where his right eye should be.
The clouds under him crack like stone, and he falls. I am there in an instant. I have my hand grabbing his, and he dangles. He looks down below him, extra arm by his side, not reaching out to me. Infinite had his mouth open like he was screaming, but no noise escaped. This expression quickly disappears. Infinite then looks back up at me, deprived of expression.
He was slipping from my grasp; I couldn't hold onto him. Infinite was aware, but he didn't seem to care. His eyes looked from our connected hands to me. His eyes finally visible, the bright, dangerous yellow, and the calm blue. They were becoming flat, dead, unnaturally calm. It seemed as though no light found them.
I was started to get dragged down with him. I try to push down on my other arm to bring us up. But I can't. I'm too weak. Infinite and I were connected only by fingertips now. I desperately try to hold on, but Infinite wasn't making the same effort.
Our hands break apart. Infinite falls through the sky. He looks up at me, eyes still glassed over, dead. And they dulled of colour as he fell further and further through the sky.
I scream out for him. "Infinite!"
"(Y/N)! (Y/N), come on, wake up!"
My eyes barely flicker open. My heart was beating quicker than usual, I could hear it. My lids start to fall into my head, I was so tired. It felt like I haven't slept in days. And I know what that feels like, after Gamma Squad was butchered, I had spent many nights awake in the city. I was paranoid about being found. And I was often disturbed by their deaths and it was nearly impossible to find rest.
Something shakes me by my shoulder and arm, calling my name again. I try to force my eyes open, but it was no use. I couldn't open my eyes. After a few moments and murmurs that I couldn't hear, something cold coats my face. My eyes open and I cough slightly, some water up my nose and in my eyes. I sit up, coughing up a bit of water.
I look around me, scared, still hacking up liquid. My heart was racing. There were monitors everywhere, one measured my heart and brain activity which was currently high. I saw syringes, needles, and I panicked. There were wires put into my body, there was an oxygen mask on my face that the water leaked under. I instinctively rip them all off without a second thought.
No! I can't go through this again! I think, gasping.
"Hey, calm down!" the voice said. I turn to face it, hyperventilation already beginning with the remembrance of the tortures I went through before.
It was Gadget. His eyes were as innocent as I remember, largened by the lenses in his large glasses. He looked worried. He has his hands up, in a calming way, in one of them was a canteen.
I hold my hands out, body reacting. I think my instincts were about to make me shove the young Wolf away, but my hands were shaking too much and I could barely do that.
I stare at my trembling hands, it looked like I was having a seizure, I couldn't control myself. Unsteady breaths pass through my mouth. My eyes were wider than they ever have been, thoughts and memories kept flooding my head. My past of being Robotnik's project, what had happened before I went into this sleep, my dream, and now. I was trying to separate them all.
Gadget says something, but I can't make it out. I just keep staring at my shaking hands. I notice my right glove has a giant hold in it and the palm underneath is bleeding. There is a large indent in the center, and there are tiny little pieces of red and purple in my flesh. It was then that I realize how much pain I am in. My entire body was wretched. My black bodysuit was torn, ripped, covered in dirt. Some blood seeped through some places. The rest was stinging scrapes, burns, and bruises.
"(Y/N) stop, you're scaring me," Gadget says, nervous.
I couldn't, the panic of everything was overwhelming, and I didn't know how to control it. I couldn't make it go away. My head was becoming light, it felt like I wasn't breathing enough though that's all I did. The shaking spreads up my arms from my hands to my entire body.
Hands grab me and pull me towards them. I am looking into Gadget's large eyes. They weren't childish, innocent, or nervous like they usually were. They were serious now. It was like a whole different person.
Gadget was going to say something, but he stopped himself and just pulled me towards him. Wrapping his arms around me. My body continued to tremble, and I still breathed too fast, but my heart felt ache.
I try to pry away from Gadget, but he doesn't let go. Was I that lacking in strength, or was it just my current state?
Slowly, the shaking begins to fade away, and I am able to breath steadily. My head span less, but my heart still hurt. Why? I don't understand.
Soon, it turned to comfort, and I let myself be held.
A minute passes, but it felt like forever.
"I'm not going anywhere," he whispered several times.
Slowly, he lets me go, and looks at me – into me. His eyes look me up and down, taking in my injuries. He looked concerned. Did it look worse than it felt?
I curse myself, wishing that I had kept my bottle of painkillers as the pain continues to seep in to my awakening body.
My gaze shifts to a table, and it sticks on a row of syringes filled with different serums.
"He didn't use anything on you," Gadget says. "There were just wires to be able to measure your heartrate."
I look towards him, wanting to ask for a breakdown of what had happened while I was asleep. There was no whiteboard on my belt when my hand went to search for it. All my pouches and gear were missing. I look around for where they may have put my things.
Gadget went on to explain while I searched, knowing that I should know what was going on outside. "After you made the sun disappear, you fell out of the sky. Then you vanished, people had reported that Eggman and Infinite brought you up here, but no one really knew what was going on. A lot of people became delusional from the heat from the sun."
Did they care that I was taken? I wondered while I still searched. My legs wobbled, and the exhaustion began to return to my body.
"The illusions have begun to thin out, and Eggman has started bringing in robots to fight instead. People say he's desperate. But our army has been cut down, and people are exhausted."
I find my whiteboard and my belt, but my grenades, pistols and knives were missing. Just some bandages, gauze and other supplies like that were left. I suppose Infinite and Robotnik were smart enough to not leave their prisoner armed.
My bandana was neatly folded beside them, I snatch it up, squeezing it slightly, finding assurance and comfort in the small cloth that meant so much. I quickly tie it around my neck, grateful it wasn't destroyed.
I find a marker from nearby and grab it, buckling my belt around my waist.
Is the gang okay? I write, then show in Gadget's direction.
"Yeah, they're all alive. Hurt and tired, but alive."
I sigh in relief. Gadget walks towards me, to the door. He hands me his pistol. "Here, take this," he says. "Consider it an apology for nearly drowning you." He smiles. I take the pistol with a nod and slight smile, folding the whiteboard and putting it on my belt, in its specified place.
Before Gadget walks closer to the door, he looks at me, face more dire. "Sonic, Silver and Shadow have been on radio silence for a while now. Amy said she saw Shadow got shot by a canon midair and fell."
My heart sinks, my eyes widen. My half-brother might have been killed. I needed more information. I look at Gadget, waiting.
"But he got back up and came to the top of the tower," he continued. "Man, Shadow's tough..."
I nod. That seems accurate. I sigh in relief, but the concern was still there. Then I realize something, and it made me feel... I don't know what the word to describe it was. That "something" was if anyone else tried to find me. I understand that many were engaged in battle and didn't have the time, but...
The door opens and Gadget steps through, we hold up our guns, both aiming down one side of the hall. My side was empty, just the metal walls, floor, ceiling, and endless doors.
"Clear," he informs, I turn to face him and nod.
We walk down the hall, careful to be quiet and avoid the sights of any security cameras.
I eventually pull out my whiteboard. Thanks for saving me.
"No problem," Gadget smiles warmly. "You saved my life. I'm not going anywhere."
I wanted to ask if he was to only one to attempt trying to find me, but I decide against it. We have more important things that need our attention. Like fighting this war, and saving my brothers.
I glare at the hall ahead of me.
And defeating my enemy.