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Chapter Text

Rain and thunder plagued the skies of Momentus on this fateful day. Each individual and differing raindrop all met the same fate as they pat, pat, patterned onto the steel roof of the secret base of the notorious Ivo Robotnik, known by the citizens as Doctor Eggman.

Normally, Ivo would be working on his next scheme, his next evil plan to make the island of Momentus his and to finally squash his pathetic and quick witted nemesis, Sonic The Hedgehog. Ivo hated him with a passion, sure he reluctantly teamed up with him a few times, but he sure still held that grudge. Time and time again he was foiled by the constantly quipping and patronizing blue rodent, always getting in the way of what he wanted the most, control.

But this day was different… Ivo for the first time in his life, felt his age getting to him. After many years of doing battle with Sonic and his friends, he felt old and tired, he sat in one of the various chairs of his secret lair and watched as his artificial intelligence he called Sage ran tests on him. Sage was a program he created to assist him in a takeover of the Starfall Islands a few years ago, but he soon grew attached to the little girl and became an adoptive father to her.

Ivo carefully examined his daughter’s expression as she carefully ran diagnostics on his current condition. He looked at her as if he was going to see her for the last time, wondering why he let his anger control him for so long… Until Sage finally got results.

“Father… I apologize but… It’s uncertain how long you have, the signs are already showing but according to statistics it's… likely you might have to take better care of yourself, or else…” Sage wasn’t able to finish the sentence, but Ivo got the idea. He ruminated on what Sage told him, trying to come to grips with his current state and if he could continue on this life he led for many years…

Then he came to realize. He couldn’t let this happen. If he were to slow down and god forbid, give up. He would be letting the hedgehog win once more… Permanently. The thought drove Ivo up the wall, he, the SUPERIOR Doctor Eggman failing to complete his only mission, to eradicate that stupid blue inferior anthropomorphic hedgehog? How could he ever be at peace if he died unfulfilled and a failure to the ones before him?

He gritted his teeth, growling and stood up from his chair with sheer defiance. “NO!!” he yelled and kicked the chair he once sat to the ground.

“Curse this stupid SHELL of a BODY! It’s like there’s a god and he’s MOCKING me for my repeated failure! I can’t let that blasted rodent one up me again! I refuse to become old and brittle! My grandfather was over sixty and overcome with grief, yet he was able to complete such monumental achievements!! Yet here I am, nearly struggling to walk.”

Eggman paced around the lair, ranting and raving to himself about the repeated failures he faced over his many years of life as Orbot and Cubot stared at him, concerned.

“Perhaps sir, maybe you haven’t tried harder? Sonic is a formidable opponent!” Orbot replied reassuringly. “Or maybe you’re just insecure about your age and are deathly afraid of passing away as an unfulfilled man?” Cubot put it bluntly.

Eggman slams the desk the two were cowering behind, a rage filled and almost manic expression on his face.

“WHO. MADE YOU.” Eggman bellowed at his two creations.

“Y- Y-You did sir?” The two replied nervously.

“Exactly. I MADE YOU! I made tons upon tons upon TONS of mechs, biological weapons and wonders! Yet none of them were EVER truly successful against that wretched hedgehog! All my beautiful creations have been destroyed or have FAILED!.. All except my magnum opus. But he’s off the grid and I haven’t been able to locate him since.“

Eggman walks up to his work desk, hunching over it and examining the multitudes of blueprints, notes and unused tech. Unlike the calculations he memorized and repeated multiple times, nothing was adding up in Eggman’s head.

“Years and years of grueling hard work yet I HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!! WHAT IS HOLDING ME- BACK!?”

Eggman swiped all of the objects that were once on his desk in one smooth motion, straight onto the floor, landing on the floor with a loud clunk!

After a few seconds, Eggman rested his hand on his face, trying to calm himself. Yet he couldn’t stop the feelings of anger, disgust and shame he had for himself, he attempted to focus on the objects he threw at the floor to distract himself…

But something caught his eye. A prototype helmet he made for a robot that he was working on, Eggman walked towards it, it shined as he got closer and his reflection became clearer and clearer until all he could see within the helmet… Was himself.

Then suddenly, it hit him like a left hook to the face from Sonic’s gloved fist. It all began to make sense, why he failed for all of these years, what held him from his true potential.

“I got it!.. I GOT IT!! THE ANSWER was so OBVIOUS!” He shouted with glee, letting out a shrill chaotic laugh that made Orbot and Cubot to cringe, usually when he does that it never ends well after all.

“For years I studied robotics, cybernetics, code and designed robots of my own powered by other unimpressive living BEINGS… But in actuality. The only unimpressive being… Was ME! I used my genius to improve others… So why not improve MYSELF for a change?” He said as he picked up the helmet and slid it onto his head, a perfect fit.

“Father?.. Are you talking about a mechanical suit? Haven’t you done some of those before?” Sage asked, confused at what Eggman was implying.

“No no no my dear daughter… I’M TALKING ABOUT A NEW BODY FOR YOURS TRULY!” He smiled toothily as he turned to the three of them.

“This wrinkly old and haired covered PRISON is what’s been holding me back all this TIME! It took YEARS for humanity to evolve from simian-like creatures into what we are today… I will be taking the first step to go BEYOND!!” Eggman triumphantly screamed as he raised his fist in the air.

A few hours later, after Eggman had used the spare parts from his desk to construct a basic robot suit out of an old unfinished Badnik design that he never used and the helmet he took a liking to. He attached the suit to multiple wires that would power it on once the sequence was commenced.

“Boss, sir. I- I apologize for not being completely convinced of your GENIUS plan! Heh heh… But how is this going to work?” Orbot asked as he approached Eggman, who was crudely painting decals on the robotic suit.

“Oh Orbot, I should’ve given you a better processor. Think of it THIS way! Humans are a lot like robots. Over time… They begin to RUST. Degrade. Deform and eventually, break down into a pile of scraps! Now what do robots need when they begin to degrade?.. UPGRADES!!” Eggman said as he finished the last touches on the suit, which had been painted with a red and black palette, with his signature symbol embedded on the helmet.

“Oh- S-Sir I didn’t mean like THAT! I mean logically, how will you… (ahem) Upgrade yourself?”

Eggman smirked as he reached for and pulled out a singular circular disc out of his jacket. “This right here was only a prototype, but I managed to make some final last minute changes. Feast your eyes on the Hardware Acceleration Reformation Transmitter! Or as I like to call it, The Heart.” Eggman explained as he displayed the disc as its screen displayed the familiar red logo of the Eggman empire.

“UH… Why is it spelled “H.A.R.T” then?-” Cubot said before he was interrupted by Eggman.

“NAMING CONVENIENCE!!” Eggman shrilly replied.

Eggman parted his jacket to reveal a device strapped to the middle of his chest, he placed The Heart in the circular hole within the device. The device hummed as the various screens and buttons began springing to life.

“When I’m within the suit, just like my current body, The Heart will be within the center of it! As soon as Sage starts the sequence, power will SURGE through the suit and right into the device! Once that happens, it will begin the transfiguration of my body and the suit, fusing me and it into one singular ORGANISM! Making me a NEW MAN!” Eggman proclaimed with glee as he approached the suit.

“FATHER WAIT!.. What if this is too dangerous? What if something goes wrong!?” Sage said as she pulled Eggman away from the suit for a bit.

“My calculations say the chance of this having negative effects on your mental state or your physicality is very likely… What if I lose you?”

“Sage… What other choice do I have? The greatest men on earth were confined to their mortality. They left when they had so MUCH left to say or do… I won’t follow those footsteps. I have to be here for you… and for the world.” Eggman said as he took his daughter’s hand and clasped it with his other.

Sage looked at Eggman with hesitation… But after a moment of consideration of her father’s condition, she figures he was right… What other choice did he have if he wanted to continue his amazing work?

“I’ll set up the sequence.”

“That’s my girl.” Eggman smiled and nodded.

Eggman climbed within the suit, triggering the suit up protocol. The suit began to snap into place around his limbs and body, the metal parts clasping around him. The suit provided him many physical upgrades, making him larger in stature and taller, but that was merely the tip of the iceberg.

“The sequence is ready to commence, father… Are you… Ready?” Sage hesitantly asked.

“START THE SEQUENCE! NOW!” Eggman bellowed in desperation, cutting off Sage.

She nodded in response and began to make the final adjustments, once she was finished, she pressed the glowing red button, beginning the countdown.

“Transfiguration occurs in t-minus 10... 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2… 1!”

Giant bolts of electricity sparked from the machines and trailed from the gigantic wires right into the suit, Eggman shook and rattled around violently from the shock, grinding his teeth together. Soon the electricity reached The Heart inside the suit, after what felt like hours, there was a loud explosion of smoke as air escaped from the suit, ending the transfiguration, Eggman’s robotic body whizzed as his torso bent down to his knees.

“FATHER!?” Sage cried out in fear, as Orbot and Cubot cowered behind her while examining the aftermath. The three slowly approached the suit that was once standing upright, now hanging limp like a dead animal.

Orbot shakily reached out and tapped the suit, suddenly the head of the suit shot up. Sage flinched as he did while Orbot and Cubot screamed in fear as they hid behind her. The suit began to hum and shift as Eggman removed himself from the machine, the wires plugging out of the suit as walked away from the machine and tore them out of his limbs. His expression is unreadable.

“F-Father?.. W-What’s your status?”

“I feel… WHOLE.” Eggman replied, he stared at his hands and moved each of the fingers one by one, as he examined his robotic self, he reached for the helmet and tried to take it off… and was met with physical resistance. Eggman smiled toothily, the experiment was a success. “I feel… REHATCHED!!” Eggman exclaimed, laughing maniacally. He eagerly shoved the three of his creations aside and stared at himself in the mirror, giggling like a mad man as he admired his new robotic physique.

“My MY! This is PERFECT! I’m a born again man! The suit and I are ONE!.. No. Even better, this is my BODY!” Eggman said as he examined his new enhancements. Sage, Orbot and Cubot, admired in wonder.

“Good Gaia sir! This is revolutionary! One of your best creations YET! Your physical traits have been organically transmuted within the suit, making you the perfect specimen of both mech and man!” Orbot said enthusiastically.

“YEAH AND NOW YOU’RE HALF ROBOT TOO!” Cubot added.
“Father, this is amazing! You truly are a genius!” said Sage ecstatically, as she hugged Eggman, a bit put off by his new cold metal exterior.

“Oh dear daughter, this wouldn’t have happened if not for ME!... and you.” Eggman said as he pat Sage on the head. “Now!.. We move onto Phase 2.” Eggman sneered. “Sage, Orbot, Cubot. I want you three to alert all of the badniks we have! Tell them to prepare for battle! For tomorrow, we will MARCH into Sunset Heights and DISPLAY OUR NEW FOUND POWER!”

Eggman busted down the door to his balcony as he looked at the world around him, soaked from the rain, all Eggman could see in his head was that carefree hedgehog running off to who knows where… But he knew deep in his heart that he would not be ready for what he would be doing now. Now. This world was all his for the taking.

“WITH THIS POWER AND MY ARMY, THE EGGMAN EMPIRE, SHALL RISE ONCE MORE! GYAHAHAHAHAHA!!”

Sage watched as her father laughed maniacally, she smiled at the sight of seeing her father so happy at his success, but overtime, doubt began to creep in. She remembered the statistics and couldn’t help but wonder if the man she saw outside was really him… Or something more sinister had been awakened within him.

All she could do was wait for tomorrow… and hope for the best.

Chapter Text

Eggman grinned mischievously as he watched his glorious army march into his newly improved Egg Carrier, carrying tools, weapons, spare parts and more. He guided his troops as they sorted out the final preparations before his plan would go into effect, however, Eggman felt a tap on his shoulder.

“WHAT IS IT!?” He replied frustrated. His tone quickly shifted as he saw his daughter behind him, looking startled.

“Oh. Sorry Sage.” He said, changing his tone now to sound more casual, despite the outburst he had a few seconds ago. “Just trying to stay focused, that’s all. What’s the matter?’

“Father… We… We ran into an issue. That troop you sent to grab those remaining parts haven’t reported back, I looked into it and… We’ve been intercepted.” She explained.

“W-WHAT!? BY WHO!?” Eggman replied in shock, a look that was a mix of both confusion and rage on his face.

Sage gave her father a knowing look, wincing.

“... Oh.” Eggman replied, monotone.

“It’s him. ”

____________________________________________________________________________

“Sorry fellas! But whatever you were doing seemed really suspicious, can’t let your boss get any ideas y’know!” Sonic The Hedgehog said as he propped his foot up proudly on one of the broken heads of the Badniks, standing in the middle of a scattered grassy field of robot scraps and smoke.

“Now, what were you hunks of junk up to?”

Sonic examined the field of the now destroyed Badniks, finding a communicator used between Eggman and his troops in the hand of a crushed robot. Sonic grabbed it out of its hand and read the contents.

“‘Need spare parts for the Egg Carrier, just in case, get them from the warehouse and transport them back to base. Do not disappoint me’. Egg Carrier? (sighs) Looks like good old Baldy McNose hair is up to no good again.” Sonic shook his head as he facepalmed himself. He adjusted the purple and blue bandana around his neck, it was a habit after many battles and it drove him crazy not to. Suddenly, Sonic heard a loud beeping sound from his earpiece, he reached for the communicator on his ear and pressed the button on its side.

“Blue Blur checking in, who’s this?”

“SONIC! The Egg Carrier has been spotted from afar and it’s headed towards us! OVER!” yelled the voice from the earpiece.

“What’s your location? Over!” Sonic asked.

“Sunset Heights! Arrive there ASAP! OVER!” the voice said as they ended the transmission.

“Sunset Heights huh? Ugh, this is sounding way too familiar.” Sonic said as he stretched his limbs and neck. He reached down to the ground and got into running position, taking off and heading towards Sunset Heights.

The wind blew through his quills as he ran, Sonic reached for the earpiece once more, sending a transmission to the remaining resistance members in the city.

“This is Blue Blur! I need someone to contact GEM headquarters, tell them of Eggman’s approach and request them to send any troops if they can! Over!” Sonic explained as he ran.

“This is Sunset Heights HQ! Why would we need the help of those guys? Aren’t they supposed to protect the Master Emerald? Over!” The transmission asked.

“Don’t worry about that, a good friend runs the whole dang thing! He’ll understand! Okay I’m nearly there! Over and out!” Sonic exclaimed. Smirking as he ran freely, his head raced with excitement at the thought of some action after what felt like years of uneventful patrols. Sonic wondered what the Doctor was trying out this time, but he didn’t anticipate for it to blow him away, after all. It’s Doctor Eggman he’s talking about, the same incompetent genius who rarely gets good ideas and whenever he does get them, the world nearly ends.

“Whatever Eggface is planning, it has to be something pretty big if he needs to send out those guys to pick up some of his stuff he left lying around. Pff, what did he make this time? A giant exploding egg with an off switch? Another death egg robot? Or gaia forbid, he rebuilt the Egg Dragoon for the fifth time.” Sonic joked to himself.

“But I still can’t help but… Wonder if this might be harder without everyone else. Tails, Amy and Knuckles went on their own adventures. While the others have their own responsibilities.” Sonic thought to himself. “I know I can’t handle everything by myself… But I shouldn’t overthink this! Whatever Eggman has in store, I can-”

Sonic’s thoughts were cut short as soon as he arrived at Sunset Heights. All he could see were thousands of robots made by Eggman marching throughout the place, causing havoc and destroying anything in their path. Smoke rose through various parts of the city as he saw multiple citizens run away in terror.

“This feels like deja vu… and not the good kind.” Sonic said to himself nervously. He looked above and noticed the Egg Carrier, fully repaired and with a different color scheme and logo.

“Heh! Guess Eggface gave himself a rebranding! Guess that upped his ego enough to try this out! That just means I have to give him a quick reminder of who’s in charge here.” Sonic said, palming his fist. He ran down into the city and began his assault against Eggman’s troops. Crashing through their metal exteriors and ripping them apart like paper as he dashed through the city and launched himself at them with his homing attack.

After a few minutes, Sonic stopped to rest, exhausted as he examined his surroundings. The robots surrounded Sonic, their eyes glowing red as their arm cannons aimed directly at him. “Guess you guys came back with a vengeance, didn’t think you took those years of spindashes to the head personally!” Sonic chuckled, panting as he did. He got into his attacking stance once more, preparing to face the assault until…

Multiple green blasts of energy hit multiple robots that were surrounding him, Sonic turned to the source of the attack and was relieved to see other Mobians wearing that familiar greenish black uniform. The GEM division, an attack force composed of the remains of the now defunct GUN corporation, tasked with protecting the Master Emerald as its echidna protector was away.

Sonic smirked and fist bumped one of the soldiers. “Thanks for the assist! I’m glad your boss was able to send you guys to help!” Sonic said cheerfully.

“Boss sent us over without a second thought… and I have a feeling he–” The soldier was cut off by a giant red explosion of electricity that emanated through one of the city squares. “- would show up eventually.” he finished.

Sonic’s shock was replaced with excitement, was it really him? Did he really leave his position just to help out? Sonic ran off towards the site of the explosion, only to suddenly get ambushed by much larger Badniks. Sonic fought them off hard, struggling to keep them at bay, getting knocked back by one of them. When suddenly…

A streak of red electricity bursted through three of the robots in a row, destroying them in an instant, exploding on impact. Standing where they once were was a familiar face, a black quilled hedgehog with red highlights, wearing a dark red leather jacket with the GEM logo on its front. Shadow The Hedgehog.

“Still brash as always despite all these years?” Shadow said, his voice still that familiar deep and raspy tone. His face wearing that same scowl Sonic always saw on his face during battle.

“Geez, good to see you too Shads.” Sonic chuckled, reaching out his hand to him.

Shadow stared at his hand for a moment, then returned a small smirk of amusement, grabbing his hand and pulling him up. “I would be lying if I said it wasn’t nice to see a friendly face after all this time.” Shadow said.

“Awh, I can’t believe you missed me!” Sonic said teasingly. Shadow rolled his eyes, but Sonic couldn’t help but see his face turn a darker shade after he said that.

The two were caught off guard by a nearby explosion and the sounds of clanking feet, as the two turned they saw a huge group of Badniks running towards them.

“Skip the pleasantries. I go right!” Shadow said, getting into his attacking stance, facing the remaining robots.

“I  go left!” Sonic responded.

The two charged straight at the charging robots, charging through them and reducing many of them to scrap, the two ran throughout the city, attacking all the robots they could as they assisted the citizens that were fleeing from danger. They came to a stop at the main city square as they heard noises coming from above. The two turned their heads to the sky and saw the Egg Carrier’s side doors sliding open as they saw an unknown robot appear from the darkness of the ship. The robot jumped from the giant ship and landed on the ground below creating a large crater where it stood, right in front of Sonic and Shadow. The figure stood to its full height, its body surging with blue energy that emanated in the middle of its black and red metal plates.

“Hello Sonic.” The robot said with an oddly… calm demeanor.

“Uh… Hello?” Sonic replied, sounding confused, giving a hesitant wave to the figure.

Sonic turned his head to observe Shadow, who’s eyes narrowed, his fists tightening, Sonic couldn’t blame him, even he knew something felt… off, about the machine that stood before them. Whether it was its large build or its oddly calm demeanor, this thing didn’t act like any of Eggman’s past creations. Shadow shifted into a battle stance once more.

“Who are you, machine?” Shadow demanded, his tone full of suspicion and caution.

The machine who stood before them exclaimed in a familiar tone, “Someone who knows you little runts very well!”, its voice matching the grand gestures it made as it spread its arms out and tilted its head, acting as if it was like an old friend they didn’t recognize.

“Okaaaay, that’s ominous.” Sonic said, his body cringing in response. “Look pal, we don’t have any clue who you are and I’m a busy rodent, so let’s skip to the part where we kick your-”

“SILENCE!!” The robot bellowed, detaching a rod that once was attached to its back, twirling it around its head and pointing it threateningly at the two hedgehogs, electricity spark from the ends of the rod as a glowing red plasma spear head appeared. The faceplate of the robot shot up back into the helmet, to reveal the grinning face of someone Sonic knew all too well.

“Eggman.” Shadow said through clenched teeth. Sonic’s nerves at that moment settled, realizing the being before them was nothing more than just good old Baldy McNosehair. “Love the new get up Egghead! What was the inspiration, a can of beans?” Sonic snarkily replied. Shadow sighs at his quip, but the hint of a smile was plastered on his face, Sonic could see deep down that even someone like Shadow missed his nonsensical banter.

“Oh you silly rodent, enjoy quipping while you still can, hopefully this little plan of mine will shut you up for good.” Eggman replied, his metallic finger grazing softly against the edge of the plasma blade without breaking eye contact with the two, sparks lightly flew from the tip of his finger as he did. Shadow teleported towards Eggman using his chaos control technique, landing multiple strikes upon him to no avail. The doctor either blocked or took the hits as they barely put a dent into his new robotic armour, despite how fast Shadow was, the old man could instinctively block or sense each attack, like the suit was giving him heightened senses. After taking a few more hits, Eggman grabbed Shadow by the leg and swung him violently away from him, Shadow yelled in surprise as he flew towards the nearest wall of a building, crashing through the brick infrastructure.

“Shadow!!” Sonic yelled in a mixture of fear and surprise. Eggman giggled maniacally, as his head slowly turned to face Sonic. Sonic gritted his teeth and growled a bit in frustration, charging at the doctor, swinging at him multiple times, attempting to land a punch. The doctor simply dodged every single strike until he grabbed the hand of the hedgehog as quick as he could, blocking the attempted attack. Sonic attempted to swing again with his other hand, but was met with the same result. The doctor cackled as he watched Sonic’s arms shake as he attempted to break free from his grasp. “You’re too slow.” Eggman said in a sing-songy tone, before violently kicking the rodent away. Sonic skidded across the concrete floor of the city square, as Shadow ran quickly to his side and helped him up.

“I can’t even land a hit on him.” Sonic said, sucking the air through his teeth in pain. “The suit is his source of power, it’s heightening everything about him that he lacked, strength, reflexes, perhaps his intelligence as well.” Shadow observed. “Great, just what we needed, an Eggman that’s stronger, faster and smarter.” Sonic sarcastically remarked. “What if we tried to remove the suit?” Shadow theorized. “Wait, my instincts tell me that if we get rid of that helmet on his head, the neural… whatever stuff will disconnect and make him the same old Eggman again!” Sonic replied. “But will it work?” Shadow asked. “Hey, we might as well just try! We’re out of options right now!” Sonic responded. The two nodded and turned to Eggman, smirking, a new goal in their minds. Chip away at Eggman as much as they can until they get an opening.

The two charged at Eggman, the two put up a decent fight against the doctor, managing to find openings to attack, landing blow after blow. Eggman growled as they landed hit after hit after hit, the doctor seemed determined to not let this plan of his turn out like the rest of his schemes. However, the doctor found himself being restrained by Shadow against the ground, using all of his strength attempting to break free. “LET GO OF ME!! YOU ROGUE LAB EXPERIMENT!!” Eggman bellowed, his voice strained and manic. “Sorry Doc! Looks like we’re gonna have to cut your little test drive short!” Sonic said as he reached for the helmet and began to lift it off his head… but was met with resistance, he tugged harder… and Eggman let out a noise of sharp pain, Sonic noticed the skin of Eggman’s forehead and face were stretching along with the helmet. Sonic flinched away and raised his hands in shock. Eggman grinned mischievously and proceeded to kick Sonic in the chin hard, the force of the strike launching him into the air. Sonic landed on the ground, his face skidding against the pavement, scratching it, the dirt from the hard rocky surface smudging against his face. Sonic groaned in pain and stood up as Shadow ran up to Sonic to check on him.

“The hell was that!? Why did you let go you!-” Shadow said in slight frustration but was cut off by Sonic. “Did you see what was happening to Eggman when I was moving the helmet up? His SKIN was moving too!” Sonic said in shock. “His skin?.. Oh no.” Shadow said, worried. “What is it?” Sonic said concerned. “I think that’s not a suit he’s wearing Sonic… it’s his body.” Shadow said, sounding disturbed. Sonic eyes widened in horror, he turned to Eggman, who was giggling like a mad man as he stood up. “Eggman… W-What the hell did you do?” Sonic asked, fearfully. “I evolved.” Eggman replied through closed teeth, a toothy smile on his face, his eyes emanating a light blue glow similar to an electronic screen. Sonic’s throat went dry, for once he didn’t know how he could respond.

Eggman raised his hand to his temple and pressed a button on the side of the helmet. A microphone popped out from its side, Eggman adjusted the long black sound device to be close to his mouth. He cleared his throat and then began to speak.

“CITIZENS OF MOMENTUS. AFTER ALL OF THESE YEARS… (sing songy) GUESS WHO’S BAAAAAAAACK!! MANY OF YOU EXPECTED ME TO DESTROY THIS BELOVED CITY OF YOURS AS AN EXAMPLE, BUT NO!... THERE IS NO EXAMPLE. THIS IS A WARNING… and an INVITATION! Starting today the Eggman Empire is accepting new members… forever! Although admissions will close once I breathe my final breath. Spoiler alert, with this new body of mine, my lifespan has been multiplied by A HUNDRED! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Now you are all faced with a CHOICE!.. Join me!.. Or face the same fate as your beloved heroes… I don’t anticipate many new members, but I hope you all will prove me wrong. And for those who are loyal to the resistance… Today was just a fraction of the power I hold now. Do you really wish to see me use it to its FULL EXTENT?.. You, your friends, your family and especially that BLASTED HEDGEHOG, will PERISH trying to beat me. So I suggest a career change. You have 72 hours… Before THE AGE OF EGGMAN BEGINS! HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAA!!”

Eggman continued to laugh maniacally as his robotic feet began to spark and flames began to emerge from the bottom, the jets lifting the mad doctor into the air and back into the Egg Carrier. Sonic and Shadow were stunned, but Shadow held his resolve, a large scowl on his face, but all Sonic could imagine was the state Eggman was in. The two watched the doctor and his forces fly away and off into the horizon. Sonic had no words.

Chapter Text

“Hold still.” Shadow grunted, his hand reaching to Sonic’s face, cleaning the multiple scratches and bruises on his face with an alcohol wipe from a nearby first aid kid he found in one of the thankfully undestroyed medical offices. The cool liquid made the cuts on Sonic’s face sting, small irritating waves of pain flew through his face, Sonic moved his face instinctively. Shadow grabbed Sonic’s face and moved his head to face him. “I said, hold still.” Shadow reiterated. Sonic felt his face warm up at that moment, but brushed it off and allowed Shadow to disinfect his injuries.

The two of them sat in silence for a while, Sonic stared off into the distance as Shadow tended to him. Sonic kept thinking about where they could possibly go from here, him and Shadow could barely handle Eggman. It felt like a miracle that they lasted as long as they did against him. But that image of Eggman's body, now fused with metal, was burned into his mind. “Has he finally lost it?” Sonic thought to himself. Sonic could not find any logical or sane reason for why Eggman would choose to do such a thing, but then again, the words “logical” and “sane” aren’t ones you’d use to describe Eggman. Sonic’s thoughts begin to spiral, but he’s quickly brought back to Earth thanks to Shadow.

“Could you NOT be a hero for once and rip that helmet off the next time you see him.” Shadow said, somewhat jokingly, but Sonic knew him long enough that there was definitely a large part of him that was genuinely asking him that. Sonic chuckled a bit, “It’s not just something I can switch off and on, Shads.” he replied. “You’d benefit from an off switch…” Shadow mumbled, “I would, or would you?” Sonic replied snarkily. Shadow stared at him with that same blank, fed-up looking scowl, then returned a smirk. Sonic smirked back at him. Shadow continued to focus on cleaning the various bruises and scratches on Sonic’s arms. That was always something Sonic admired about his friend, he always had that look of determination on his face. One of pure concentration, like he’s doing some sort of calculation in his head with every little move he did, Sonic found it endearing… Cute, even. “What’s with the look?” Shadow said, not looking up from what he was doing, Sonic snapped out of his trance and felt his face heat up as Shadow’s acknowledgement brought him back to earth. “Duh- It’s nothing, just… Kinda weird you of all people are doing this. Considering… Y’know, everything.” He said, looking away, trying to hide his embarrassment.

“Hmph. I understand. That was a long time ago, things have changed. Especially with things happening around at GEM.” Shadow explained, still concentrating on Sonic’s injuries. “Yeah. I can’t believe you of all people, no offence, managed to fully convince Knuckles to leave the Master Emerald for once.” Sonic said, “What’s your secret to getting through old Knucklehead?”. “I told him the facts, he could either take the chance to find out more about the Echidnas and explore the world… Or he could go back to the uneventful life he knew.” Shadow replied.

“Damn, you really didn’t sugar coat it for him. He was definitely on board with it while we were at the Starfall Islands, guess the second guesses were about to get to him if not for you.” Sonic said, smiling at him. “Then again, he wouldn’t leave unless I made sure Rouge was unpermitted from entering the facilities.” Shadow said, smirking up at Sonic. “Has she tried breaking in?” Sonic asked. “No, shockingly.” Shadow answered. “She really misses him”.

“Ugh, those two drive me nuts sometimes, like, why don’t you two kiss and make up already!” Sonic chuckled. Shadow sighed, “If only they weren’t so prideful they would.”. “Kinda reminds me of a certain hedgehog I knew.” Sonic said, nudging Shadow a bit. “Same here.” Shadow replied with a smug look on his face. The two chuckled a bit at their banter… until that uncomfortable silence slowly came upon them once more. The two sat there collecting their thoughts, wondering what they should do next.

Shadow breaks the silence. “We need the others, Sonic.”

Sonic felt a bit of relief at that suggestion, but then hesitation began to creep into his mind. “Shads, you know they’re off doing their own things. On their own adventures and stuff like that. I… I can’t just bring them back to the very thing that was HOLDING them back in the first place! That would be-"
"Completely reasonable?” Shadow said, cutting him off. “Eggman is back. The entire world is at stake once more. You saw how we struggled against him and his army! We don’t need a two man army Sonic… We need the resistance.” Shadow said, pulling out a yellow and black communicator, with an all too familiar logo on it’s backside. Written in big bold black letters, “Miles Electric”. Sonic smiled at the sight of it. He walked up to Shadow, staring at the screen of the communicator for a few seconds… Then sighed with a smile on his face. “Ah screw it.”

Sonic pressed the big red “emergency contact” option on the screen, sending an urgent signal from high in the mountains, deep into the pits of archaeological sites, nearby towns, offices, facilities and all across their world. Sonic felt that same rush of excitement from the early days of his life once again, he turned to Shadow with a determined look on his face.

“Say, do you think the HQ is still intact after all these years?”