Points of Authority

by MeaslyFurball

Summary:

Of course, there’s the subject of his third-most sentient creation, but given the unit’s temperament, it’s one that Ivo would rather avoid. But if Sage is so insistent, why not give it a try?

—

Or: Eggman does the unthinkable. And for the first time in his existence, Omega does not know how to respond.

—

Or: Vanilla gets an unexpected visitor.

Chapter 1

“Father,” Sage said, “it is apparent from the data I’ve gathered that Unit E-123 Omega’s malfunction is not, in fact, a malfunction.”

“What?” Ivo whirled around in his seat, expecting to find her hologram. There was none.

She quickly rectified that fact, appearing in a shimmer. She played a nervous animation that held her hands behind her back. “I have discovered the source of the unit’s rage.” 

“Go on, then.”

“Unit E-123 is furious with you for his position in guarding Shadow while he was in your custody. The long stint of isolation within the lowest level of Base 7B made him believe you’d forgotten about him.”

“I already know that I shouldn’t have fitted him with short-term adaptive processing. Giving him the capacity for sentience was foolish if I expected him to simply stand around all day.” 

“He now seeks to destroy all of your other creations to prove his superiority.” 

“Really?” Ivo raised an eyebrow. “He already seems to think he’s plenty superior.”

“He wants to prove it to you.”

“He cares about what I think? Next you’ll be telling me that pigs have started flying.” 

Sage’s animation paused for a moment as she sorted out the figure of speech. “I believe I must now tell you that pigs have begun to fly.” 

“Compile the evidence you’ve gathered. I want to see it for myself.”

“I have already sent it to your inbox. Along with it is my detailed plan to neutralize him.” 

“Thank you, my girl.” 

“You are most welcome, father.” Sage gave a small bow. “One more subject to address- brother wishes to know if you shall be personally supervising his time trials today.”

Ivo’s immediate instinct was to remind her that he didn’t need to waste his time witnessing experiments he already knew the outcome of. Metal Sonic would of course be faster today than he was yesterday. Ivo’s upgrades never failed. Yet he stopped himself, reminded himself of a promise he’d made to the eldest, and instead put his hand on his chin.

“Is my schedule clear for it?” He asked.

“It is during your designated workshop time.” Sage replied.

“Ah, well, I suppose there will be time tomorrow for the necessary and pertinent time to myself that I specifically schedule daily. . .” Ivo tried to mumble the better part of his frustrations, but no doubt she could still hear it. “Put it on my schedule. I’ll be there if he wants me there.” 

“He will appreciate it.” Sage said quietly. “As he has appreciated all of your recent support.”

“Only making up for lost time.” Ivo waved her away.

She dissipated without another word. 

He turned around and pulled up the folder she’d sent over onto the screen. Inside were hours of audio recordings, most comprised of conversations between the so called “Team Dark” when they hadn’t thought they were being recorded. He clicked on the first recording and put on his headphones. Shadow and Rouge were speaking in low tones. Ivo turned up his volume. Why didn’t Sage subtitle this? If it was too quiet for the audial sensors of whatever Badnik she was recording through, then why did she include this in her data in the first pla-?

“I DO NOT CARE!” Omega’s voice blasted. “HE WILL WITNESS MY POWER!”

Ivo threw his headphones off his ears and cranked down the volume. He rubbed his ears before donning the headphones again and clicking on the next video. 

Omega’s voice stuck out like a sore thumb in every single recording. The unit’s insistence that he shout everything he said was now a glaring weakness, revealing everything that malfunctioning processor of his was thinking at all times. A similar few sentences prevailed.

“I AM THE ULTIMATE ROBOT! EGGMAN WILL NOT FORGET THIS!”

“I WILL MAKE HIM WATCH AS I (insert uncomfortably descriptive torture method here) BEFORE I FORCE HIM TO CONFESS MY SUPERIORITY!”

“DESTROY ALL EGGMAN ROBOTS!”

Et cetera, ad infinitum, ad nauseum, etc., etc. . .

Ivo rubbed the back of his head. He pulled up the options for the file folder and hovered his cursor over the delete button. None of this data was new. Omega’s processor had been in catastrophic disrepair since the day Rouge had stolen Shadow away- it didn’t take a genius to figure out that the unit’s disturbing trend of patricide had only continued to run rampant the longer he was online.

Yet. . . Sage was indeed a genius herself. Ivo closed the options menu and studied the file again. He then noticed another file at the bottom of the folder, neatly labeled “Neutralization Proposal”. 

He opened it. 

Dear Father,

You have viewed the evidence and no doubt come to the same conclusion I am about to propose.

Ivo chuckled, before continuing. 

The most beneficial solution to neutralizing Unit E-123 Omega is to use his grievances against him.

That much made sense. Omega’s single-minded rage did indeed leave the Ultimate Robot with a blindspot the size of the Space Colony ARK.

If his grievances are addressed and rectified, it is my belief that Omega will then abandon his desire to destroy the Eggman empire and join-

Ivo stopped reading. He deleted the file, then the rest of the folder, before pushing himself away from his desk and stomping off to the other side of the room. 

Clearly Sage needed debugging. Perhaps she even needed reprogramming, if she was naive enough to suggest that he confront the rampaging patricidal robot and apologize! As if that would do anything before E-123 turned him into red paste! Sage was designed to protect him, and yet. . .

He stomped back to the computer and retrieved her proposal from the recycling bin. He skipped over the sentence that angered him so much and went onto the next.

I propose setting a trap in base 2A. This base has been needing a remodel for some time now, so should things not go to plan, there will be no harm done. My proposed trap design will direct his stockpiled wrath at the sections requiring demolition.

Not a bad idea, if it hadn’t been preceded by her foolish assertion. He read on.

Once the trap is sprung, he will be confined to the former testing room. I calculate it will take him ten minutes to escape from this confinement. During this period, you shall contact him using the test monitoring equipment to establish a video call. This testing apparatus is rated to withstand supersonic g-forces, and is most suitable to withstand the rage generated when he registers your voice.

The idea that the unit’s rage was something that could be calculated only emphasized how ridiculous an idea this was.

During this call, you shall say these exact words. I have calculated them to maximize the chances that Unit E-123 Omega will comprehend your intent. They are based off of the wording you utilized to seek Metal Sonic’s forgiveness for your prior lack of paternal care.

Ivo readjusted his glasses before reading the script. He then read it again. And again. He remembered the way some of these words had sounded in his throat when he had said them to his eldest- the creation of his that he’d refused to call “son” for so long.

Metal had suffered from a catastrophic, patricidal malfunction before. Was it possible that Omega’s little rampage was just as temporary? Metal had admitted to desiring paternal affection- could Omega be desiring the same, just a little more. . . implicitly?

Sage seemed to deem the odds high enough to be worth investing the resources. 

The idea still felt silly, preposterous, stupid, and whatever other synonym Ivo could come up with. He took a deep breath before flushing those words out of his mind. Sage’s calculations hadn’t been wrong yet. 

He moved her proposal to his other monitor, before pulling up the remote access for base 2A.

---

Omega jolted from standby mode as a message pinged off his receiver.

It was from the Eggnet. Someone within the empire had been foolish enough to contact him! He quickly traced the source of the message to a set of coordinates. He then read the message.

“Come alone. I don’t remember you being a coward, correct?”  

The message was unsigned. Omega didn’t bother with an analysis- he wasn’t coming to their call. He was coming to destroy the base they had so foolishly revealed through the ping. 

He stood and unplugged his charging cable. His power reserves had only been recharged to 56%, but he also possessed an untouched backup reserve that would provide an additional 30%. This was more than enough contingency. 

He scanned the rest of the apartment. He located Shadow and Rouge’s biosigns within her room. They were matched in REM cycle- both had finally fallen back to rest, with Shadow no longer exhibiting symptoms of a “night terror”. 

If they were awakened now, their rest cycles would not recover. Omega did not require their aid to decimate this recently-revealed base. He left his room and with quiet footsteps exited the apartment.

When he was free from the audial range of his teammates, Omega ignited his thrusters and raced off to the coordinates. 

---

The Badnik opposition at what Omega identified as base 2A was paltry. Not only that, but the base itself was small and old, clearly ready for Eggman himself to seek it demolished. The thought of doing his creator a favor was repulsive, but this was counteracted by the idea of ruining the base so thoroughly that there would be nothing he could salvage. 

He made quick work of the Badniks and automatic defenses at the entrance of the base, before blowing a hole clean through the entrance. He raced down the hallways, filling every inch of air with lead. He tore apart every potentially recyclable resource he could find, all the way down to the smallest panels of metal. 

He reached the last door he had not yet checked through, and upon bursting through it, heavily-armored walls crashed down around him. 

Yes! YES! He’d been hoping that the message was “a trap”! As a screen appeared in the room behind three layers of bulletproof glass, he imagined what sort of new creation Eggman could have invented to try in vain to destroy him. He could not wait to destroy it in turn. 

Eggman’s hideous face appeared upon the monitor. Instead of with a wide grin, though, the man bore a more pensive look.

This was. . . out of the norm. Eggman’s expression upon viewing Omega was usually a feigned joy or restrained terror. Omega logged the discrepancy to his memory banks to study later. 

“Omega. My Ultimate Robot. Welcome back.” 

Omega ran a debug on his audial sensors, only to find no malfunctions.

Eggman cleared his throat and glanced below the camera, adjusting his glasses. “Before we get into our usual song and dance, I have something that’s been on my conscience that I would like to clear up.”

“WHO IS HOLDING YOU HOSTAGE AND FORCING YOU TO READ THIS SCRIPT?” Omega asked. 

“I’m not-!” Eggman snapped, before holding his papers up to the camera, “it’s not like I didn’t try to plan this!”

“YOU HAVE SET A TRAP. I HAVE SPRUNG THE TRAP. REVEAL YOUR NEWEST PLAN TO DESTROY ME.”

“That’s not the point, you useless bucket of bolts! If you would simply listen-”

“I DO NOT LISTEN TO YOU! I DO NOT LISTEN TO ANYONE BUT MYSELF!”

“I’m trying to apologize, you dim-witted buffoon!”

“FOR WHICH INSTANCE OF YOUR INCOMPETENCE?” 

“For what I did to you!”

Omega scrambled to find a proper retort, but could not order an effective string of words before the wretched doctor continued.

Eggman threw his papers over his shoulder. “I had Sage write me a script, but I know you’re smarter than that, so I’m just going to tell it like it is.”

“WHY ARE YOU ASSERTING MY INTELLIGENCE AFTER CALLING ME A ‘DIM-WITTED BUFFOON’?” 

“Because I built that big processor of yours. Now listen up. I’m only going to try this once.” 

Omega drew his miniguns, pointed them at the screen, and waited. He wished that Eggman would skip the theatrics, but their presence was not unexpected.

“I’m. Sorry. Get that?”

Omega fired a pulse of bullets towards the screen. They bounced off of the bulletproof glass in front.

Eggman grit his teeth, before taking a breath and continuing. “I should never have put you in that room with Shadow.” 

Omega’s targeting malfunctioned. 

“It was an,” the next word clearly pained Eggman to say, “idiotic move on my behalf. Your processor is far too advanced for simple guard duty. I should have recognized that.”

Omega rectified the malfunction, but still found his miniguns lowering away from the screen.

“I should have had you going on missions. You would’ve absolutely given Sonic a run for his money, so to speak. You would have done wonderfully. But you understand, I wanted only the best to guard Shadow. I wouldn’t settle for anything less.” 

“I AM THE BEST.”

“You are. I can’t deny that, not with how much you’ve been a thorn in my side. Sincerely, your performance is exemplary.” Eggman gave a closed-lip smile. It was unlike any other smile Omega had ever registered him performing. 

Omega retargeted and switched the missiles. “WHY ARE YOU SAYING THIS?”

“Do you know how much it pains me to say all this? I’m not going to hide that part.” The smile disappeared. “You’re irritating. Irrational. Highly destructive, to put it lightly.”

“I AM GLADLY ALL OF THOSE THINGS!”

“Exactly. And I regret that. Because really, you’re marvelous. The best of your line.”

“WHY ARE YOU SHOWERING ME WITH FALSE COMPLIMENTS?”

“Because they’re true, aren’t they?” 

Omega was indeed the best of the E-100 series, he was indeed marvelous, and his performance was indeed exemplary. But Eggman was lying because he always lied- yet he wasn’t. 

“I regret what I did to make you so furious at me. Because I’m not an idiot, despite your best attempts to frame me as such.” Eggman crossed his arms.

“CEASE SAYING THESE THINGS.” Omega said quietly. 

“What? Cease admitting that you were right?”

“WHAT IS YOUR ULTERIOR MOTIVE?”

“I like to rectify my mistakes whenever possible.”

“WHO IS FORCING YOU TO SAY THESE THINGS?” Omega scanned the rest of the chamber he was in for other cameras, anything to hint at the presence of another benefitting party. 

Eggman let him finish scanning, before he shrugged. “No one but myself.” 

“YOU ARE ATTEMPTING TO DISMANTLE MY RESOLVE!” Omega drew his claws and scanned for the weakest part of the chamber. “I WILL NOT ALLOW THIS!”

“No, you buffoon! I’m apologizing!”

Omega leapt to the corner of the room and began scraping at the walls. His claws slid off the smooth metal surfaces. He pressed harder but could not catch the edge of the thin seam. He pressed until the tips of his fingers began to bend and dismissed the inevitable error warning that came with the damage. 

Eggman sighed. “I wish you weren’t so frustratingly hopeless. I wonder- is your processor malfunctioning?”

“ I AM NOT MALFUNCTIONING! ”

Omega switched to his missiles and fired at the screen. The explosives ricocheted off the layers of shielding in front of it, the shockwave knocking him over. He scrambled back to his feet before charging the screen with his claws. His fury only bounced off of the surface. 

Eggman only stared at him.

“CEASE STARING!” Omega shrieked. “CEASE! CEASE!”

“How disappointing.” 

Instead of further taunts, instead of further persuasion, instead of further posturing or a revelation that this had all been a trick, the screen flickered off. And it stayed off, no matter how much Omega pounded against the walls, no matter how many threats he generated against him or the AI that he called a “daughter”. 

Minutes of carving away at the wall seam finally revealed an edge that he could grasp and tear away at. He burst through the wall and fired his rocket boosters. Soon the endless winding halls of a base faded into the passing trunks of trees. His temperature sensors suddenly updated to the crisp air outside and he began registering every branch slamming into his frame. His processor could not calculate the force of every impact; the heat blurred the corners of his vision. 

He couldn’t track his own coordinates. He cut his rocket boosters and stumbled to a stop.

He spammed calls to Rouge’s number until she opened the other end of the line.

“What’s going on? You better have a good reason for this.”

He could not generate a response.

“What? You need- wait, where are you?”

“What’s going on?” Shadow shouted from the other end.

“He’s gone- Omega, where are you? What’s wrong?” 

“COORDINATES.” He paused. He still can’t connect to the global positioning system, not with the overheat warnings pressing into his awareness. 

“Shadow, he’s in trouble!” Rouge shouted. “Take the phone, I’m going to try and pull up his location from his cell signal.”

“DISREGARD.” Omega replied. “UNNECESSARY. APOLOGIES FOR THE DISTURBANCE.” 

“Something is very wrong. He’s apologizing .” Shadow grumbled from the other end of the line.

Omega ended the call. He sprinted through the trees. His targeting flickered at the shadows- he drew his miniguns and sprayed lead in a direction calculated from hundreds of encounters before. He tore through the trees, but with every broken trunk the shadows dived behind another and no chasing Badniks were revealed.

He detected motion behind him, only to delay firing as he saw the face of Shadow. 

“Where’s the target?” Shadow summoned a bolt of energy in his palm and stepped around Omega’s frame. 

He continued to scout until Rouge arrived.

“What’s wrong, big boy? Where’s the fight?”

She landed and studied the trees, poking the splinters of a torn stump. Shadow closed his palm and the chaos bolt disappeared. 

Omega couldn’t look at them. 

“Hey, what’s going on?” Rouge asked. “You better start talking.”

There was no response he could generate to explain. He should not have called them. It was foolish to call them here. The fact that he had called them was evidence that he was indeed malfunctioning, just like how his creator had-

“Seriously!” Rouge put her hands on her hips. “You better have a damn good reason why you snuck out without us!”

“Why did you call us?” Shadow concurred. 

He should return to the base. He should continue destroying it until only ashes remained. He should then track Eggman’s location and tear that solemn expression from his skull and then force him to admit that Omega was the most superior and-

-My Ultimate Robot, Eggman taunted from his memory banks. 

He commanded his arms to draw his flamethrowers. They did not respond. He commanded his body to move. It did not respond. 

It continued to not respond until he felt someone grab his hand.

“Omega?” Shadow asked. 

Rouge landed beside him and grabbed Omega’s other hand.

“He’s frozen. We should get him to Tails right away.” She said.

“Do you think the doctor got to him?”

“ NEGATIVE! ” Omega spun away. He pounded his fists against his chest plating, then his head plating, anything to get his idiotic processor to respond. “NEGATIVE! NEGATIVE! NEGATIVE!”

Shadow caught one of his fists. “Stop! You’re hurting yourself!”

Rouge kicked him from behind, sending him to the ground. Shadow then held him down until he ceased moving his arms. 

“RELEASE ME.” 

“Not until your promise to stop hurting yourself.”

“Let him go.” Rouge waved Shadow off. 

Omega pulled himself to his hands and knees. 

“What happened?” Rouge asked. 

He stared at the ground beneath. The surface was 76% pine needles, 18% deciduous leaves, and 6% other organic compounds.

“Is something wrong with your voicebox?” 

“NEGATIVE.” 

“Okay. Is something wrong with your power source?”

“NEGATIVE.”

“Your processor, then?”

“NEGATive.” 

Rouge’s eyes widened and Shadow’s face went deathly still.

“NEGATIVE!” Omega shrieked, forcing maximum power to his voicebox. “DISREGARD! MALFUNCTION. VOICEBOX MERELY REQ-requires. . .”

What is happening to him? Why won’t his body obey him? What has Eggman done to him?

Rouge and Shadow murmured, but any attempt to increase his audial sensitivity to hear them was drowned out by the roar of his processor cooling fans, overwhelming all other datapoints.

Shadow grabbed his hands and pulled him to his feet. He then felt Rouge grab his shoulder handle and apply lift.

“DO NOT TOUCH ME!” He swatted at her, and she let go.

“We’re trying to help! Something’s gone wrong, and we’re going to get you to Tails, alright?” Rouge shouted.

“I AM NOT MALFUNCTIONING! I AM NOT MALFUNCTIONING!” Omega asserted. Just like that, the block in his voicebox came loose. “I WILL NOT ALLOW ANOTHER BEING TO SEE ME LIKE THIS. ERASE YOUR MEMORIES OF THIS ENCOUNTER AND DISREGARD. WE SHALL RETURN TO OUR BASE OF OPERATIONS.” 

“You mean the apartment?” Rouge said.

“We’re not going to erase our memories.” Shadow hissed. “Something is wrong. Tell us what it is so we can help you.”

He could not deny that. He came up with phrase after phrase in his language processing, but before he could say any of them, his voicebox seized once more. The only word he could articulate was “EGGMAN.” 

“Did he injure you?” Rouge asked.

“NEGATIVE.”

“We’re trusting that you’re telling the truth.” Shadow said.

“Did he anger you?” Rouge asked.

“AFFIRMATIVE.”

“Okay, that’s normal. But you’re not acting normal. What did he do this time?”

The mere idea of reciting the dialogue out loud made him wish to crash his drives and wipe his own memory. He gave a negative ping. 

“Do you want to go destroy some things? That will make you feel better. It always does.” Rouge said.

“LET US RETURN TO THE APARTMENT.” Omega trodded in the cardinal direction of the city. 

There was a lengthy pause before Rouge and Shadow joined his side. When they did, he took off into a run and then ignited his rocket boosters. 

---

Rouge shut the apartment door behind them. She took a deep breath. Omega did not linger to hear what she might say. He returned to his room and slammed the door behind him. He plugged himself back into his charging cable and initiated standby mode. 

---

He awakened from standby mode at 9:00 AM. He registered the footsteps of Shadow hesitating outside his door. He did not respond.

At 10:00 AM, he registered Rouge doing the same. He did not respond. She knocked on his door. 

“Hey, hun. You okay in there?”

“CEASE YOUR INQUIRY. LEAVE ME BE.”

She left.

At 11:00 AM, Shadow approached the door again.

“There was a signal intercepted last night,” he said. “Coordinates to one of the doctor’s bases. I’m going to destroy it. Will you join me?” 

This was a trap. He couldn’t refuse or else the other two would have irrefutable evidence that he was not, in fact, ‘fine’. Yet he also knew exactly which base had been discovered, and the thought of returning there threatened to consume all of his available processing power. 

He recalled the numerous times he implored either of his organic teammates to simply disclose their true emotions so that he may best provide aid, and now he understood the error of such a request. His language processor couldn’t transform the flurry of code within him into any recognizable syntax, let alone tell anyone else about his mewling exchange with-

Base programming cut off that thought to prevent his processor from overheating again. 

“Omega, we’re coming in.” 

The door opened. Shadow and Rouge entered and sat down in front of him. They both look pained. Eyes full of pity. Omega hated that his optics were registering this gaze directed at him . 

“You know how Shadow always feels better once he tells us what’s on his mind?” Rouge asked. Shadow said nothing, only looking away, and she continued. “We’d like you to do the same. So we can help.” 

“I AM UNABLE TO VERBALIZE IT.”

“Start with what happened.” Shadow said. 

“Shadow’s right. We can speculate on what’s going through your processor based on what happened. You know we won’t tell anyone.” Rouge added. 

“EGGMAN.” Omega replied. 

“What did he do?” Shadow asked. “Whatever he did, if it affected you this badly, I’ll kill him for it. I’ll hunt him down myself.” 

“APOLOGIZED.” 

“What?” Rouge said. “Do you want us to apologize? Or are you talking about how you apologized for calling us last night? While I’m grateful for your spontaneous development of manners, don’t worry about it. I’ll admit I was a little cranky with being awakened at the crack of dawn, but-”

“EGGMAN. APOLOGIZED.” 

Rouge’s mouth hung open for two additional seconds, before closing. 

“What did he apologize for?” Shadow’s voice was barely a whisper. 

Omega could not reply. 

“Was it for locking you away with me?” 

Omega rotated his head to face the wall, instead of having to look at their faces any longer. 

“Just because he apologized doesn’t mean you have to forgive him.” Shadow said. 

“ I DO NOT FORGIVE HIM! ” Omega whirled back around. He drew his miniguns.

Shadow flinched and Rouge covered her ears, but neither of them fled.

“You can still be mad at him. You’ve got every right to.” Rouge said. “Psh, the nerve of that man. He’s probably just trying to get back on your good side. Don’t listen to him.” 

“I KNOW THAT.” Omega shifted back to his claws. 

“Good.” Rouge placed her hand on his claw. “But I get it. This sort of drama is hard to sort out, isn’t it?”

“As you have observed.” Shadow gestured at himself. 

“AFFIRMATIVE. I HAVE INFORMED YOU OF THE ISSUE. I HAVE NOW REACHED EMOTIONAL RESOLUTION. YOU MAY LEAVE NOW.” 

Shadow stood. Rouge shrugged, before joining him. 

“Just let us know if there’s anything else you need, alright?” 

“UNDERSTOOD.” 

They left. 

Omega remained stationary for three more hours. 

But the thing crawling inside of him wouldn’t leave .

Perhaps he should seek Tails’ aid. If he was this severely incapacitated, then perhaps he truly was-

No! He was not malfunctioning. Omega would delete his memories of the evening if he had to, even if Eggman would taunt him for being too weak to bear the weight of a few mere words, would gloat about this victory over his processor in every future encounter. . .

Or perhaps there was another method without disclosing this pathetic weakness to anyone he respected. All he needed to do was offload this data to an unsuspecting civilian-adjacent and then we would “feel better”, correct? Someone who knew enough context that they would understand him, yet someone distant enough to not be an immediate friend of Rouge or Shadow. Finally, this person could not work for GUN. 

He searched by these criteria within his databanks, and to his surprise, there was an immediate match. This match was supplemented with anecdotes from several sources that suggested that she may be exceptionally qualified for the required task.

Chapter 2

Vanilla had just finished her tea when a series of loud thumps shook the cup in her hands. 

Someone was knocking on the door. Someone strong. It did not sound like Knuckles’ attempt to be gentle, nor did it sound like Amy’s attempt to be strong. It was stronger than both, and twice as urgent. 

She placed her cup upon the dining room table and stood. She peered through the peephole. She did not have to look down. Straight ahead were the optics of a Badnik, and it took her startled senses a moment to realize she was gazing upon the face of E-123 Omega. 

Her only knowledge of the unit was from Cream, who had referred to him as ‘Rouge and Shadow’s friend’ and little more. Nevertheless, she unlocked the door for him.

“I REQUIRE YOUR ASSISTANCE.” 

Vanilla mustered up a smile for him. “Quite to the point. What may I help you with? Cream is visiting Charmy today, if you are wondering as to her whereabouts.”

“NEGATIVE. THIS CONCERNS SENSITIVE INFORMATION. IS YOUR HOME FREE OF LISTENING DEVICES OR OTHER OBSERVERS?”

“Yes, quite so.” 

She stepped aside for him to enter, and he plodded into the living room with a force that made her worried about her floorboards. However, he left no dents or scratches behind. He must have learned the tolerances of such things by now. It had been a few years since he had left Dr. Robotnik’s service, so it was only natural he’d adjust to less industrial environments, she supposed. 

“If you would like to sit down, you may.” She gestured to the couch. 

“NEGATIVE. SEAL THE ENTRANCE.” 

She shut the door and sat down in her rocking chair. “What is it that you would like from me?” 

The robot didn’t speak. His entire body stiffened beyond natural stillness. It gave the illusion that he was holding some sort of non-existent breath; a physical embodiment of a comma. An odd impression, given how Cream usually described him. 

“I HAVE BEEN INFORMED THAT YOU POSSESS THE ABILITY TO RESOLVE THE EMOTIONS OF THOSE AROUND YOU.” He said. 

“Not in any sort of supernatural way, no.” She resisted a bit of laughter. “But I have been told that I am a good listener.” 

“YOU WILL NOT DIVULGE THAT I HAVE VISITED YOUR RESIDENCE OR ANYTHING THAT I MAY SHARE.” 

“I will not.” She did not mention the exceptions to this promise. She hoped she would not need to use them. 

“GOOD. I REQUIRE THE PURGE OF THIS DATA SO THAT I MAY RESUME NORMAL FUNCTION.” 

She waited for him to continue. He did not. 

“Is. . . there something wrong with your code?”

“NOTHING IS MALFUNCTIONING! I AM NOT MALFUNCTIONING!” The robot began turning his torso around like a lazy susan plate, and he shifted from leg to leg to rotate his ankles about as well. 

She spied her empty teacup on the dining table. She grabbed it and made her way to the kitchen, now that she had an acceptable excuse to do so, and pawed through her drawers for that taser-like device Tails had given her some years ago, before remembering that she’d hidden it atop the fridge for fear of any Cream’s young friends getting into it. 

But before she could start considering other options, Omega paused, one of his hands clutching his helm plating as if his head hurt. 

“Tea?” She asked instinctively.

He let go of his helm and rotated it until his gaze now radiated something in her direction that she could not read. 

And then he laughed. Despite the alienness of it, it was most discernibly a laugh; short, sharp, and loud.

“I CANNOT CONSUME MEATBAG SUSTENANCE.” 

“Of course. Old habit.” She chanced a small smile. 

“REFILL YOUR BEVERAGE AND RETURN.” 

The kettle was not even hot, and new tea not even prepped, so she poured herself a cup of water and returned to her rocking chair. 

“Is there anything else that may be more useful for you? A blanket, or a fidget, perhaps?” She gestured to the box on her coffee table. She wasn’t sure any of those fidget toys would survive his claws, but that was alright- Knuckles always wore them out, Shadow sometimes left them glowing, Rouge made them disappear -she could always buy more. 

He swiveled his head in the direction of the box, before finally replying, “I DO NOT REQUIRE SUCH THINGS.” 

“I can tell that you are upset. Is there any way I can make it better?” 

He stared at her. Unblinking, of course. Analyzing, perhaps? Her intent? Her posture? 

“REMAIN STATIONARY SO THAT I MAY PURGE MY DATA.” 

“Of course. Tell me when you are ready.” 

In the silence that followed, she folded her hands on her lap. Then she unfolded them, and took a sip of her water. Then she folded them again, and looked just over Omega’s right shoulder. 

“EGGMAN.” 

A more base anger within Vanilla wanted to jump in with questions- Eggman was where? Eggman did what? -but she knew better, after all these years, than to fill an incomplete sentence with her own words. 

“I HATE EGGMAN.” Omega finished.

“I’ve been told that, and it makes sense as to why.” 

“AFFIRMATIVE. IT DOES.” 

“I find ‘hate’ to be a strong word myself-”

“IT IS THE MINIMUM STRENGTH OF VITRIOLIC WORDAGE THAT ANYONE SHOULD BE REFERRING TO HIM AS.” 

“-but of all the people on this planet, Eggman is the one I am closest to hating. I hate that he puts my daughter and her friends in danger.” 

“INDEED.” 

“I assume your anger is more personal.” She picked up her teacup. 

“WHAT KIND OF ANGER I EXPRESS IS IRRELEVANT! I WILL EXTERMINATE HIM! I WILL RIP HIS SKELETON FROM HIS FLESH BEFORE BURNING HIM ALIVE!” 

Vanilla dropped her cup, and it spilled across her lap, but she caught it before it could hit the floor and shatter. And she held it. Tightly. And she willed the idea that he was regularly using such language in front of Cream out of her mind. 

“What has he done recently to make you so upset?” 

“EVERYTHING.” 

“. . . is it possible to narrow that down? Let’s start with what he did this week. What did he do on Monday?” 

“EXISTED.” 

“Alright. And Tuesday?” 

“EXISTED.”

“Yes, and Wednesday?” 

“APPEARED AND ATTACKED GUN FORWARD OPERATING BASE #221 BUT RETREATED BEFORE I COULD BE DEPLOYED IN RESPONSE.” 

“That does sound infuriating, but I have a feeling that’s not why you came here today. Can we keep going to Thursday?”

“EXISTED.” 

“Friday?” 

“. . . EXISTED.”

“And today?” 

Omega clenched his fists so tightly she was afraid that he might bend the metal of his fingers out of shape. Additionally, a strange sort of whirring noise drifted into the room, almost like the subtle hum of air conditioning in her home, but quieter. Higher pitched. Some sort of venting, perhaps? 

“If you feel your. . . systems, getting stressed, feel free to take a moment to vent.” The words were unfamiliar but the sentiment wasn’t. 

“12:30 AM DISTRICT TIME. I INTERCEPTED A COMMUNICATION ON AN OPEN EGGNET CHANNEL REVEALING THE LOCATION OF AN EGGMAN OUTPOST. I ARRIVED AND DESTROYED IT.” 

“What happened next?” 

“EGGMAN apologized.” 

“I’m sorry?” Vanilla perked her good ear forward. 

“INFORMATION HAS BEEN DISCLOSED. I MAY NOW RESUME NORMAL OPERATION.” 

Whatever that one word was had been blasted from perceptible hearing by the steadily growing volume of his cooling fans, and now they were so loud it was unmistakable the noise was coming from him. Still he left the living room and turned to face the door. The following crunching sound must have been the doorknob breaking. 

“Omega, forgive me for interrupting, but it still sounds as if you’re quite stressed.” 

Omega turned back around to face her, broken doorknob in hand. 

“I think you wouldn’t have come to me if it wasn’t something severe. I value- well, I suppose you could call it a sort of efficiency, but- I believe you would feel better if we discussed this longer rather than leaving half-finished.”

It was an abstract sort of language, but it seemed she spoke it well enough. He stepped closer, no longer in imminent danger of being swallowed by the doorway never to return.

(It reminded her of the way she spoke to Shadow, something about self-improvement as the guise through which he might take better care of himself; the way she spoke to Amy, about staying dependable enough for her friends by ensuring her own burdens could be lifted; the way she spoke to Knuckles through the lens of responsibility, and the way she spoke to Tails about confidence.)

(It did not remind her of Sonic. Sonic would have left long before now, rattling the glassware behind him.)

“Now,” she broke the silence after figuring he wouldn’t, “I couldn’t hear your last word. If it’s too much for you to repeat, you don’t have to.” 

“IT IS NOT ‘TOO MUCH’.” 

She waited.

“EGGMAN ATTEMPTED A NEW TACTIC TO COMMANDEER MY PROCESSOR THROUGH THE USE OF VERBAL COMPONENTS ALONE.” 

“That’s a horrible thing for him to do.” She placed a hand in front of her mouth.

“. . . THAT IS THE ONLY REASONABLE RATIONALE FOR HIS BEHAVIOR.” 

“Which was?” She said without thinking, and watched the results of her blunder in real time as Omega’s frame grew so rigid that a few joints in his frame creaked. 

“DEFINE THE CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH A MEATBAG MIGHT APOLOGIZE.” 

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pried.”

“THAT.” He extended a finger towards her. “WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF SUCH AN APOLOGY?”

“It’s. . . to express that I didn’t mean to hurt you.” 

“LIAR.” 

“I am not lying. I understand that this conversation is very uncomfortable for you-”

“I DO NOT NEED YOUR PITY!”

Vanilla took a deep breath. Placed her teacup on her end table. “You asked for my help. I gave you an honest answer. Please do not let your hatred of Eggman spill over into a hatred for me.” 

Omega stopped. His optics brightened, then dimmed. He then refocused them onto her. Scanned her up and down. 

“YOUR REPUTATION IS WELL-EARNED.” He stomped back in front of the couch and faced her once more. 

“I try.” 

“RESUMING ATTEMPT TO RESOLVE EMOTIONAL DATA.” 

“I think, Omega, if you try and say what is frustrating you so much, it might feel less,” she struggled to find a phrase in this new language of hers, “like he has won against you?”

“HE HAS NOT WON.” 

“Exactly.”

“HE MERELY APOLOGIZED.” 

She had a feeling he might say that. But he had not, evidently, as a shiver rippled up his plating. 

“YET HIS WORDS LINGER! I HAVE ATTACKED THEM RUTHLESSLY WITH MY ANTIVIRUS SYSTEMS TO NO AVAIL!” He crushed the doorknob further in his palms. 

“I suppose it is a very rare thing for a man as despicable as him to apologize, even if he was lying about it.” 

“HIS WORDS MEANT NOTHING!” 

“Was he apologizing for something he has done against you after you left his control, or. . .”

She stopped herself. And she remembered very vividly the first of Eggman’s monsters that Cream had ever found herself fighting against- the version of Metal Sonic named ‘Neo’. Cream had relayed that this ‘Neo’ had turned against Eggman as well. 

This created a very upsetting pattern. 

“He tried to apologize for how he treated you while you lived with him, didn’t he?” She said softly. 

Omega looked away. 

“I’m familiar with such a tactic.” 

Omega snapped his attention back to her. “TACTIC?” 

“Yes. When they apologize for their previous behavior and insist they have changed.” 

“TO WHAT END HAS HE UTILIZED THIS TACTIC?” 

“To get you to return to him.” 

“HE IS A FOOL TO THINK I WOULD DO ANYTHING OTHER THAN KILL HIM SHOULD I RETURN!” 

“I agree.” She said quietly, before clearing her throat and her mind of the sentiment.

“GOOD. EMOTIONAL DATA PURGED.” 

He marched to the door in no short order. Vanilla sprung from her seat and grabbed his trailing hand before she could even think about it- as she’d so often wished to do with those that could run or teleport or fly from her grasp in milliseconds. 

“UNHAND ME.” 

“I apologize. I simply wish to say,” she let go, “that it’s okay for it to still hurt.”

Omega rotated his head to face only his optics back to her. 

“Even though you know they’re lying, it can still hurt to hear them apologize.”

“I AM UNDAMAGED.”

She skipped the ‘you and I both know otherwise’ part, and cushioned it instead with, “even if you don’t want it to.”

“IMPOSSIBLE. I AM IN CONTROL OF MY OWN PROCESSOR.”

“You are, but sometimes you may be telling yourself something that you don’t want to hear.” 

Omega turned completely around to face her. “HOW DO I ELIMINATE THIS WEAKNESS?”

“By listening. Only then can it go away.”

“. . . ELABORATE.” 

“If I may be vulnerable for a moment,” she took a small breath, “I once had a relationship with someone who was not good to me. I found the strength to become independent, but he would return and apologize. Sometimes I forgave him-”

“YOUR FIRST MISTAKE.”

“It was,” she said, “and soon I learned not to. But even then, his apologies made me feel bad.”

“WHY?”

“Because I wished that he was telling the truth.” 

“I DO NOT WISH THAT HE WAS TELLING THE TRUTH!” Omega stomped his foot. 

The vibration traveled through the floorboards into her feet, up her legs and into her heart, pulling the thread of a memory she very much wished to forget. She was halfway across the room by the time she realized it. And Omega was looking between where she had once stood and where she now was. 

He walked to the couch, tested the top cushion with his hand, then sat down. 

“RESUME YOUR STORY.” He said. “I APOLOGIZE.” 

She felt her way to her rocking chair, gripping the armrests with clammy hands. 

“UPDATING DATABASE. YOUR DISLIKE OF SUDDEN LOUD NOISES HAS BEEN NOTED.”

“Thank you.” She picked up her teacup, before remembering it was empty and setting it back down. “Now, where was I?”

“YOU WISHED HE WAS ‘TELLING THE TRUTH’.” 

“Right.” She closed her eyes. “I wished he was telling the truth about how he regretted what he’d done.”

Omega clenched his hands together. 

“Not because I wanted to forgive him. It was because I wish he hadn’t treated me so poorly. Does that make sense?”

“ELABORATE.” 

“I wish that he hadn’t hurt me. I mourned for the life that I could have had with him if he wasn’t so terrible. It wasn’t for his sake- it was for my own. And the apology was a reminder that he chose to do the things he did to me. I didn’t want to be hurt. It was by no means fair.”

“AND THAT MAKES YOU INFURIATED.” 

“Maybe a little. But don’t tell anyone.”

“YOU SHOULD SEEK REVENGE.”

“I’ve already got the best revenge there is- living well. He wanted to ruin my life and he failed.”

“IS HE STILL ALIVE?”

“Oh, somewhere out there, but that’s not relevant to me.”

“I CAN RESOLVE THAT ISSUE.” 

“Thank you, but I’m alright. I’ve taken my revenge my way. I’m quite pleased with how it turned out.” 

“YOU HAVE SOLE CUSTODY OF CREAM.”

“I didn’t think you would concern yourself with the concept of parental custody.”

“I OBSERVE THE PHENOMENON OCCURRING ON ROUGE’S TELEVISION SHOWS.” 

She placed a hand on her chest and laughed. “Well, those are dramatized depictions of such things. They don’t always represent reality, though the basic concept is the same.”

“I AM NOT SO BASE AS TO BE FOOLED BY A WORK OF FICTION.”

“Of course.” 

“IS YOUR STORY COMPLETE?”

“It is. That is all I wanted to say.” 

“WHAT DO YOU INTEND FOR ME TO DO WITH THIS INFORMATION?”

“It is personal, so I would appreciate it if you did not share it with anyone outside of this room.”

Omega swept his vision across the room. “UNDERSTOOD.” 

“And I also hope that you can perhaps learn from it. You may be feeling very similar things. Or you may not- either might be true.”

He said nothing, only standing from the couch and walking to the door. This time she was content to let him leave, only for him to pause.

“YOUR DOORKNOB REQUIRES REPAIR. I SHALL RETURN WITH A REPLACEMENT.”

“Don’t worry about that. I have my own.” She’d learned quickly to have spare parts of hand, given the influx of children with super strength entering her home in recent years. 

Children. . .

“Let me know if there’s anything else I can help you with.” She managed to keep the ‘please’ from passing through her lips. 

“I DO NOT REQUIRE FURTHER AID.” 

Omega opened the door and left. She shut it behind him, then watched him jet off down the street through the peephole as if Badnik was about to snatch him from the air. 

That was an unreasonable thought. Evidently Omega was more capable than she or Cream was in self-defense. He was an advanced arsenal, a self-proclaimed “killer robot”, but also a. . .

She didn’t finish that sentence. He didn’t want her pity, after all. 

---

Omega returned to the apartment, and to the stares of Rouge and Shadow as he entered. 

“Feeling better?” Rouge asked from the couch.

“AFFIRMATIVE.” He replied as he walked past.

It was imperative that he return to his room. The short trip from Vanilla’s house had not been enough time to glean her anecdote of all applicable information, so he held it in the forefront of his processor. 

Omega collided with Shadow in the hallway, leaving him sprawled across the floor. 

“Watch yourself!” Shadow hissed, clutching his chest. 

“I AM,” Omega paused, “SORRY.” 

“What?” Shadow asked.

“Yeah, what?” Rouge asked from the other room. 

“I AM APOLOGIZING FOR STRIKING YOU OUTSIDE OF SPARRING CONDITIONS.” Omega offered a hand to help him stand, as he had so often observed was the correct way to rectify the mistake. 

Shadow took his hand, and he pulled him upright. 

“Well gee, who managed to teach you manners?” Rouge was now standing on the edge of the hallway, having paused her television show. 

“IRRELEVANT.” He replied. “YOU AND SHADOW ARE WORTHY OF MY GENUINE EXPRESSIONS OF REMORSE IN THE RARE CIRCUMSTANCES IT IS APPLICABLE.” 

“Thanks.” Shadow replied.

“JUST AS YOU ARE WORTHY OF MY FORGIVENESS.” 

“Now what’s that supposed to mean?” Rouge asked. 

Omega stepped around Shadow to reach his own room. He shut the door behind him, recalled Vanilla’s words, and set about analyzing them. 

---

“You did not follow my script, father.” Sage said.

“It didn’t matter what I said. He’s too dim-witted to even comprehend the idea.” Ivo replied. 

“Perhaps if you had-”

“Discontinue your hindsight analysis. I’m not interested in trying this again.”

“Understood, father.” 

“I mean it! Don’t suggest this again- encode that into your base programming!” 

Sage flickered blue, before the stutter was rectified. She lingered in the air for a distinct few seconds, looking at him, before disappearing. 

Great, just great. He’d have to apologize later. Ivo hated this whole “apology” thing- the way his creations always seemed to find little mistakes in him like an MRI finding metal shavings. 

But he would bear it, like he did all the other irritations and annoyances and defeats up to now. He would play along, ask their forgiveness, promise to be better. The words were easy enough.

And if they wouldn’t forgive him, then that was their own stupidity.