Drip.
Drip.
Splish.
Splish.
If nothing else, Sonic's new home was certainly musical... and a little cold.
Underneath the factory, Eggman, in his Dr Robotnik days, had constructed a stone waterway for his secret underground dealings with whichever dodgy lowlife who was attempting to bargain with him for five minutes of 'not being shot at or roboticised'. It was also a clever means of slipping a few battle-ready robots out without anyone noticing.
For Sonic, it was your classic medieval dungeon, complete with metal bars, chains hanging from the ceiling, no heating, iron rings in the walls and only a smattering of straw fresh from a barn.
Yet behind the mask of a draughty stone waterway dungeon there was a fully functioning secondary laboratory, a back-up lab, with strong electrictiy lines running from the higher levels to the discretely hidden desks and computers dotted about the place.
In time, Ira decided, he would arrange to have all the power restored to the factory so that the underground lab could function again but, in the meantime, he was more satisfied with watching a restless blue hedgehog pace his cage.
"Roomy enough for you?" he asked pleasently, making an obvious point in not addressing the issue of the manacled ankles that were lashed to the wall.
Sonic hadn't uttered a noise since waking up and his mouth was still firmly shut. It didn't mean, however, that his eyes weren't allowed to shoot glares at his would-be tormentor.
"Now come on," Ira pouted, "you haven't spoken a word to me since you got to the island. You can't give me the silent treatment forever, you know."
Sonic flicked an ear and turned his back.
"Come to think of it," Ira frowned, "the only time you did talk to me was a few days ago and before then you've never spoken to me. Ever. Not even when you were a little spike-ball." He was trying, of course, to provoke the hedgehog into talking. Anything was better than being ignored.
"Don't you want to know?" Ira went on asking, hoping for a reaction, "Not interested in how you came to be all alone in the big bad world?"
Defiant silence.
"I'll give you a hint - it's thanks to me. My brother doesn't seem as threatening anymore, does he?"
Sonic was still standing motionless, his back to the human, not even gracing him with a movement from any of his quills.
"Go on then, ask away. I know you want to. You're dying to know what happened."
Drip.
Splish.
"Fine then. I won't tell you," Ira huffed, "But just get it through your thick skull that, as soon as I've got all I need from Ivo, your life's purpose will be to keep my life going."
His exit was watched in Sonic's peripheral vision but the hedgehog wouldn't turn until he was sure that he was gone.
Now by himself, the speedster bared his teeth and angrily growled, throwing his weight back against the bars of his cage and kicking his legs furiously. He had enough strength in his calves alone to snap a chain but when tightened with the wall, a surge of electricity shocked him, deterring further thoughts to pull at his bonds.
If he were still alone in this mess, Sonic may have simply continued, regardless of what pain was dished to him but... he wasn't.
It was a dirty Robotnik trick to use close friends as leverage.
Thinking of Tails elicited another snarl and Sonic threw his stiffened spines against the bars again, more out of frustration than anything else. There were probably security cameras around but Sonic didn't care about that.
From the bars, Sonic turned his frustration towards the walls, arching his back and hissing as he rammed the stonework over and over again, gouging deep scratches where his quills had made contact. It wasn't until an old quill finally snapped and dropped to the floor that Sonic relented and stood on his wobbling legs, breathing deeply.
Several things had bombarded him over the course of a few days and it was starting to catch up with him.
Seeing Tails had been the final straw.
And somewhere, deep inside, his rage and frustration was dabbling the Chaos energy stored in his body, threatening to turn cobalt blue to navy.
- - - - -
One thing that Ira hadn't been expecting when entering his brother's study was the sudden appearance of Metal Sonic.
"Metal!" Ira gasped and smiled, "You made me jump. Hope you're all up and running again."
Sitting down at the computer, it took a mere second to realise that it was already switched on and, on screen, were the words:
"dOCtoR EGGMAN is nOt yOur PRisonEr, yOu sAiD?"
Ira swallowed as his throat went dry.
"I know it looks that way, but I assure you that it isn't so," Ira told the robot, trying not to tremble at the steely gaze of the red optics. He would have to match confidence with confidence. "I was not aware that your creator's well-being was a concern of yours."
The computer crackled a little.
"yOur oBjeCtIVes dO noT hArMOniSe. yOur goAL is unKnOWn."
Ira stroked his goatee. "...If I tell you MY goal, will you tell me my brother's?"
Metal's circuits gave a whirr.
"You do know what Eggman wants, don't you?"
"hE waNts whaT hAS aLwAYs beEn waNTed - thE cOmPLETioN oF hIS EmPire."
"I meant in regards to Sonic," Ira went on, "What is it that he wants with him?"
"...tO be fReE oF SONIC's iNteRFEraNce buT iDEalLy NOt oF SONIC hIMsElf."
It wasn't the answer Ira had been expecting.
"So he wants him alive - ideally. What for?"
The computer screen fizzed a bit as a momentary static gripped it.
"yOu aRe iN no poSitIon tO dEmanD anSweRS FRoM mE."
A cold droplet of sweat ran down the left hand side of Ira's face and he smiled falsely.
"...Of course," he chuckled nervously, "I...am not your master. I suppose there is only so much I am allowed to know."
Metal's head rotated to the side, eerily staring at Ira in a slight tilt.
"SONIC's liFe is tO kEep yOur liFe gOiNG. tHAt is whAt yOu SaID," he typed on screen.
Ira actually broke the skin on his lip as he gave it a particularly hard gnaw.
"And that is what you heard," he murmured, cursing that he had neglected to check for eavesdroppers, "Well, you're Sonic's virtual twin, programmed with his life data. Shouldn't you be able to deduce for yourself what 'Project Eclipse' is?"
At voicing his own plans, a slight moment of power uplifted Ira Robotnik slightly, his passion for what it was he was doing causing him to lose a fraction of his fear. "In the event of a Solar Eclipse," he explained smugly, "the light of the sun is obscured by another celestial body, usually the moon, preventing it from reaching the earth, shrouding its people in darkness."
The click of the computer halted him.
"wHerEUpoN thE mOON rEtAIns aLL sUNLighT foR iTsELf."
"Exactly," Ira nodded, "Somehow, Sonic absorbed all the raw Chaos Energy of an imploding Chaos Emerald, preventing the untimely death of both his siblings and his mother. That was before they met me, of course. My brother will find out how Sonic was able to be born and, when he does, I shall use that information to unlock the secret of eternal life."
"nO hUMan or aNIMal sHoULD poSSesS knOWlEdGe suCh As thAt."
"Who is to say that I will still be called human when I cure myself of time. All living creatures die; they're imperfect. Robots die too - there is evidence of that down in these factory vaults. Calling myself a human when I have the powers of immortality would be... insulting."
Metal hadn't moved but his optics continued to flicker and pulse.
"do yOu imPLy thAt SONIC is IMmoRtAL?"
Ira paused, counting the seconds that passed until he was sure that he had come to a reasonable conclusion.
"...Not his physical body, no."
Metal Sonic straightened and turned smoothly to leave.
"i wiLl reSUmE gUardIaNshIP oF yOur FoUNtaIn oF youTh."
"There's no need," Ira called after him, "You are free to leave now."
The text on the computer screen said otherwise.
"i dO iT foR My OWn dEsirEs. NOt yoUrS."
- - - - -
The doors swept open with barely a breath while Orbot and Cubot hovered above the threshold proudly.
"And voila!" Orbot chirruped, moving to one side as Sonic's friends filed through, one by one.
"Much obliged, I'm sure," Blaze murmured by way of thanks.
Omega was bringing up the rear, not as grateful for the assisstance as the others were.
"I am perfectly capable of supplying robotic expertise," he felt the need to growl as he approached the door, making sure to narrow his red eyes at Eggman's two lackeys.
"We're sure you are," Orbot assured the larger robot, "We're...well, we just wanted to help."
Of all the allies, Omega harboured the most personal grudge against any Eggman robot, dismissing them as traitorous filth to be destroyed if they chose to serve their creator. While Orbot and Cubot were the least objectional creations that Eggman had made, Omega still resented them for doing the evil man's bidding and he made sure to let them know about it.
"Recall that you are here to guide us to Sonic and nothing more," he warned the two robots, "There is no place for turncoats among us."
"But we ain't wearing coats..." Cubot whined.
Ignoring the stupidity of the yellow henchman, Omega lifted his great chest and strode confidently through the door, his swinging arms and his heavy footfall making it clear that he was superior to the smaller, more slender, robots.
"Touchy fellow, isn't he?" Orbot commented to his partner.
"They say there's always a rebel in every family," Cubot agreed, "Typical E-Series."
"Now, Cubot, show a little respect. Dr Eggman was very proud of the E-Series, despite the trouble some of them caused him." Orbot took off his invisble hat and solemnly held it to his chest, "Rust well, E-Series."
"What I don't get is why they all talk like this while we seem to talk normally."
"You never talk normally, Cubot."
Meanwhile, the Allies were making short work of ransacking the workshop for anything that would help. There were EMP blasters, laser cutters, saw-blades... anything and everything that someone might need; Tails had been impossibly busy over the years since his younger adventuring days. The only question remaining...
"Who knows how to fly a plane?" asked Shade, scratching her head thoughtfully as she looked up at the mighty Tornado which took centre position in the middle of the huge workshop.
"I can!" Charmy announced proudly, "Tails gave me flying lessons. I can pilot the Tornado no problem!"
"That won't be able to take us all," Big mumbled, "Some of us are... Erm... Heavy."
"Doesn't he have some kind of airship? Passenger plane?" Silver asked desperately, looking through Tails' aircraft files, "Hot air balloon?"
"I know who does have an airship," Knuckles grunted, glancing out the window, "but the day I ask them for help is the day I roll over and chuckle."
"Who?" Amy asked, joining Knuckles.
The thrum of engines drowned out the natural birdsong outside as a large shape appeared in the sky, shrouding Tails' house and workshop in a chilly shadow. The pink hedgehog ground her teeth and released a large sigh.
"Oh," she groaned, "them."
The Babylon Rogues descended in their usual fashion: with flair and pomposity, dancing their way down on the air currents as they perched on their extreme gear.
"You might just have to chuckle, Guardian," Espio murmured in sympathy.
"Look, we'll handle this," Amy told them, heading towards the doors, "You carry on getting ready."
- - - - -
Like Cerberus guarding the gates of hell, Amy and Knuckles stood beyond the workshop hanger doors, gazes fixed upon the great Babylon Airship that took anchor a short distance away.
Jet was in the lead, as per usual, hopping off his board and tucking it under his wing to stand proudly with his chest feathers fluffed up for maximum show.
"Now this is quite a crowd," he said in greeting, nodding towards the workshop where the ally group was nearing the completion of their preperations.
Amy tactfully stifled a sigh.
"What do you want, Jet?" she asked, not exactly politely but not exactly rudely either. The green coloured hawk clacked his beak a little.
"Heard the news about Sonic," he snipped hurriedly, tightening his hold on his board.
Amy shrugged. "So, what, you came to give your commisserations?" she asked with a frown, "Now's not the good time for a face-rubbing."
"Yeah, we guessed that," Storm murmured in his deep voice, "That's why we're here." His grey feathers floofed in aggitation when his echidna rival cracked a fist in his direction.
"I'm warning you, featherbags," Knuckles growled, "if you try and stall us..."
"Nah, Red, nah!" Storm dismissed with a firm head shake, "Just wanted to hear what was what, is all. Right, Jet?"
"Right," agreed his leader, "Can't have our favourite boarding rivals down a racer, can we?"
Knuckles grunted in sheer annoyance. "We haven't got time for any of this. If you want to help us find Sonic and Tails, on the other hand..."
"The Shrimp too?" Wave commented in surprise, speaking up for the first time since their arrival, "What on earth has been going on while we've been away?"
"The media don't know about Tails yet," Amy admitted, "Won't be long before they do."
Storm cocked an eyebrow at Knuckles. "So you're all that's left of Team Sonic, eh Red?" he whistled, "Boy, wouldn't like to be you - I'd be worried about turning my back. Anyone out to be rid of you yet?"
"Knuckles isn't all that's left of Team Sonic," Amy made quick work to inform, "The rest of the Allies are joining forces to find him and Tails. Are you in?"
Jet poked a tongue and ran it along the sharp upper edge of his beak. "As a matter of fact," he replied, "the real reason we're here was to offer a wing of support."
"And what's in it for you? What do you want?" asked Knuckles suspiciously.
Much like Rouge, the Babylon Rogues were kleptomaniacs and had a cargo of stolen goods up on their airship. Favours were only given in return for something shiny or valuable or, preferably, both.
Jet, on the other hand, flexed an unused wing muscle (for Mobian anthropomorphic birds seldem flew on their own anymore) and tapped a foot.
"All I need from you chumps is a good race," he answered, "Think you can fork that over?"
Despite himself, Knuckles smirked. "You know we'll throw it down any time, any place, beak-lips."
"Then that's settled." He twirled his gear and looked beyond Knuckles and Amy. "Is there anything we can do to help, allies?"
Knuckles could feel Amy's eyes on him.
"...Actually," the echidna sighed, "we've a favour to ask..."
At which point, he gave in and let out a half-hearted chuckle.