Sonic and the Drones

by NoctisVonReturnsis

Summary:

Instead of landing on Earth Sonic lands on Copper 9 and quickly becomes the bane of the Murder Drones Existence.

AKA The retelling of the first movie but set in Murder Drones!

Chapter 1: Prologue: Hello Sonic

I know what you’re thinking: Whoa, Sonic! How did a super-fast, totally awesome hedgehog like you end up stranded on a planet full of killer robots?

Well, buddy, let me tell you—it was not part of the plan.

One second, I was running for my life with Longclaw, my amazing owl mom figure. The next? Boom! Chaos. There were explosions, echidnas, and a ring portal that had "bad idea" written all over it. And me? I got sucked right through.

The first thing I saw when I landed was nothing. No trees. No blue skies. Just miles of frozen metal wasteland and an empty sky. The kind of place that makes you want to check over your shoulder just in case something’s sneaking up on you. And, let’s be real—I check over my shoulder a lot.

Then, just to make things worse? The portal fizzled out.

Gone.

And I was alone.

Longclaw’s last words echoed in my head: "Stay hidden. Stay safe."

And that’s exactly what I did.

So, here’s the thing about Copper-9. It sucks.

It’s freezing, the food situation is not great (ever tried expired human snack cakes? Zero stars, do not recommend), and, oh yeah, everyone’s a robot. Worker Drones—kinda humanoid, kinda buggy, all metal. I didn’t know what their deal was, but they were too busy with their own problems to notice the blue alien hiding in the ruins.

And that’s exactly how I liked it.

I found an old cave-like hole in the side of a collapsed building—perfect for laying low. I made it home. It even had a name: The Burrow. Pretty cozy if you ignore the fact that it was literally a hole in the ground.

For two years, I played my own little game of Mission: Impossible.

Step one: Sneak out.

Step two: Grab supplies from abandoned stores.

Step three: Get back before anything with glowing eyes saw me.

And hey, I was good at it. Stealth mode? Activated. Speed? Unmatched. I was like a shadow. A really, really fast shadow.

But then they showed up.

It was just another scavenging run when I first saw them.

Something roared in the sky—metal wings slicing through the cold air, engines humming like something very bad was about to happen. I barely had time to duck behind a broken truck before they landed.

Sleek, black frames. Razor-sharp wings. And those glowing yellow Xs where their eyes were supposed to be.

Worker Drones barely had time to scream before the killing started.

I couldn’t look away.

I could’ve run. Should’ve run. But then I saw a Worker Drone trapped under a fallen sign, legs sparking, screaming for help.

And I did something really, really stupid.

I moved.

In a blur of blue, I shot across the street, grabbed the kid, and whoosh! Safe zone.

That was the first time the Worker Drones caught a glimpse of me. I didn't stay to chat but that day was the day that...

The Legend of the Blue Blur was born.

The Murder Drones weren’t happy about me ruining their whole "destroy all drones" vibe. They wanted me gone. Problem? They weren’t fast enough.

And trust me, they tried.

One in particular—tall, lanky, kinda awkward? Yeah, that one was interesting. I started calling him Pilot Cap. He wasn’t as murder-happy as the others, and sometimes, he hesitated which was surprising!

Then there was Try-Hard. Oh, she was mad about the whole "not catching me" thing. Like, really mad. Every time she tried, I’d dodge, wave, and leave her in the dust. She hated it. I loved it.

And then… the worst one. Miss Grumpy Wings.

She was the leader. No nonsense, no jokes. Just murder mode all the time. She really wanted me dead.

Too bad I had other plans.

One night, I got a little too cocky. Thought I could just zoom in, grab another Worker Drone, and disappear.

Yeah. Nope.

They set a trap.

I ran straight into a dead end. And for the first time, I wasn’t fast enough.

Miss Grumpy Wings raised her claws. Try-Hard was right there, practically vibrating with excitement. Pilot Cap? He just looked… confused.

For a second, I thought this is it.

Then, out of nowhere, Grumpy Wings hesitated.

That was all I needed.

A burst of speed—up the wall, over their heads, and gone.

I could hear the screams of pure rage five kilometers away.

Flash forward to present day.

I’m 18 now. Still stuck here. Still playing cat and mouse with flying death machines. It’s been 13 years since I got stranded, and guess what? Things were still trying to kill me.

But today? Today was worse than usual.

I was running when my foot hit something very inconvenient due to me not paying attention.

A loose vent cover.

Cue the dramatic fall.

I crashed through the metal tunnel, bounced off a few walls, and bam—faceplanted right in front of someone’s boots.

A Worker Drone.

She looked… different to those I saw outside.

Shorter. Angsty. Kinda like those brooding anti-heroes in the comics I borrowed from the apartment of that guy named Mitchell.

We screamed.

Chapter 2: Team Sonic: Bunker Hills Zone ACT 0

Uzi

Alright. So, let’s just get this out of the way—my life sucks.

I mean, yeah, sure, technically I have a life, which is more than most of my kind can say, but that’s beside the point.

I live in an underground bunker, surrounded by cowards, and ruled over by my painfully embarrassing dad (ugh). The outside world? Absolute death zone, thanks to the Murder Drones. So, you know. Fun.

And me? Oh, I’m your average, totally normal teenage Worker Drone who may or may not be plotting the complete eradication of humanity.

Look, I know how that sounds, okay? But all we know is they built us, used us as manual labor, got themselves killed, and sent Murder Drones to kill us. I think it's totally reasonable to want answers. Or revenge. Or both.

But whatever.

At least I have my railgun prototype to keep me company. It doesn’t work yet, but when it does? Let’s just say I’ll be very unpopular with the local murdery population.

Anyway, I was out in the scrapyard trying to find new parts for the railgun when something incredibly weird happened.

THUNK.

Something crashes right in front of you from a busted ceiling vent.

Now, normal drones (not that I know any) would probably just… I don’t know, back away slowly?

But me? Nope.

I totally didn't scream.

Then the thing screamed.

Then I definitely didn't scream louder.

Because what I was looking at?

It was not a Worker Drone.

It was not a Murder Drone.

It was… a small, blue, spiky rat-dog-cat-pig-thing.

Now, look. I’m not an expert on old-world biology (yet), but even I could tell this thing was not from around here since all biological life on Copper 9 was supposed to be dead.

It had fur, which was already weird. And flesh. Actual flesh. That was so disgusting, yet so interesting.

And—AND—its eyes were huge. Unreasonably huge. Like it had seen some things. (Relatable.)

So, logically, I did the only sensible thing in this situation:

I smacked it in the face with my railgun.

Look, in my defense, the railgun will work. But since it doesn’t have power yet, it was basically just a fancy metal club. And hey, it got the job done.

The weird blue thing slumped over, unconscious.

Victory.

I stood there, breathing heavily, staring down at my prize.

And then it hit me.

This… this had to be a human.

Okay, okay, I know what you’re thinking: "Uzi, that is clearly not a human. Do you even know what a human looks like?"

And my answer to that is: No.

No, I did not.

Because all our info on humans? Skeletons. Environment suits. Old-world propaganda about how amazing they were. But never any actual pictures of what they looked like outside those suits.

So, logically, I put two and two together and got… well, this.

I mean, he had fingers. (Kinda.) And arms. (Sorta.) And a face that could make expressions.

What else could he be?

This was huge. If I could interrogate him, I could finally get real answers about everything!

...Assuming I could wake him up.

...Assuming he didn't bite me. (Heh)

...Assuming he wasn’t radioactive or, like, infected with some anti-drone weapon.

Huh.

I should probably wear gloves.

---

I had just finished stuffing my totally-not-a-human into my backpack (shhh, don’t ask how, it was difficult, okay?!) when I heard him.

Khan Doorman.

Aka my dad.

Aka a total buzzkill.

"Uzi!" His voice echoed down the hallway, all dramatic-like. "What are you doing out here?"

I turned, trying very hard to look casual. "Nothing."

Dad’s eyes narrowed. "Why does your nothing look suspicious?"

"Why do your questions look suspicious?" I shot back.

That actually made him pause.

Which would’ve been a win, except then his limited dad protocols activated, and he tilted his head like a confused puppy.

And then—oh no.

His eyes dropped to my definitely-not-squirming backpack.

"...What’s in the bag?"

"Nothing."

"You said that already."

"Yeah, because it’s still nothing."

"It’s moving."

"No, it’s not."

Something inside the bag snored.

Dad stared at me.

I stared back.

A single bead of hopefully not drone oil dripped from the ceiling.

"...You stole batteries, didn’t you?" Dad asked.

I blinked. Then, realizing that this was a much better excuse than the truth, I immediately nodded. "Yes. Batteries. That’s it. Definitely not a potentially radioactive human thing. That would be crazy!"

Dad sighed, rubbing his face. "Uzi, we’ve talked about this. If you take too much, the others will—"

"Dad. Please. Do you trust me or not?"

He hesitated.

Then, to my absolute shock—he nodded.

"...Fine. Just be careful."

Wow.

I mean, wow.

I had so many questions about that reaction, but instead, I just muttered, "Uh. Yeah. Whatever. Bye."

And then I very quickly walked away before he could change his mind.

---

I finally made it back to my room—aka my personal disaster zone of tools, blueprints, and Murder Drone sketches.

And I had a new problem.

The thing in my bag? Yeah, it was waking up.

So, naturally, I did what any responsible scientist-in-the-making would do.

I grabbed some rope and tied him to a chair.

...Okay, fine, technically it was just a bunch of random wires and straps I found in my closet, but still. The point is, he wasn’t going anywhere.

His ears twitched. His nose scrunched up. Then, very slowly, he opened his eyes.

And we locked stares.

Bright, glowing purple eyes (mine).

Big, startled green eyes (his).

Silence.

Then:

"…Did you just tie me up?" he blurted.

I crossed my arms. "Did you just fall out of my ceiling like an idiot?"

His jaw dropped. "Excuse me, who here is tied to a chair?"

"Oh, don’t be dramatic, you’re barely tied up."

"OH OKAY, THAT MAKES IT SO MUCH BETTER,"

I smirked. "Glad you understand."

His face did something weird.

And then he groaned, really loud, and flopped his head back against the chair.

"Awesome," he muttered. "I trip and the first thing that happens is I get kidnapped by an Emo metal teenager."

My eye twitched.

"Emo?"

"Oh, sorry. Goth?"

"...Oh, you are so lucky my railgun doesn’t work."

And just like that, I knew.

This thing—whatever he was?

Yeah.

He was going to be a problem.

---

Sonic

"Okay, let’s go over this again, slowly," I said, shifting against my very unprofessional restraints. "I’m Sonic. I’m a hedgehog. Not a cat. Not a rat. Definitely not whatever unholy fusion of animal parts you’re thinking of."

The girl, who had introduced herself as Uzi Doorman the future destroyer of Mankind and had a serious emo teenager vibes, folded her arms. "That’s adorable. But no. You’re clearly a human."

I blinked.

Then blinked again.

I stared at her.

She stared back.

Then I snorted. "Oh wow. That is so wrong on so many levels."

She huffed. "Okay, hedgehog. Let’s say I believe you—"

"You should believe me."

"—which I don’t," she continued, rolling her eyes. "That still doesn’t explain why you’re running around like a stray animal and falling out of my ceiling."

"Okay, first of all, rude. I am not a stray." I lifted my chin. "I am a freelance survivor."

"...That’s just a fancy way of saying stray."

I gasped dramatically. "HOW DARE—"

"And second," she interrupted, leaning closer, "if you’re not a human, then what even are you doing here?"

I opened my mouth.

Paused.

And realized I really didn’t want to answer that question.

So, naturally, I went with Plan B:

Distraction via sheer awesomeness!

"Y’know," I said, tilting my head, "I think we’re getting off-track here. Let’s rewind this conversation a bit."

Before she could ask what that meant—

ZOOM.

In less than a second, I blurred out of the chair, looped around the room, and—oh, would you look at that?

Suddenly, she was the one tied up.

By her own pathetic excuse for rope.

Her eyes went full-on error mode as she stared at the very obvious reversal of power dynamics that had just happened.

Her hands twitched. Her processing light flickered.

And, after a solid five seconds of buffering, she finally said:

"...WHAT."

I grinned. "Oh man. That? That reaction? That was beautiful."

She still wasn’t moving. "How."

"Super speed, baby!™" I tapped the side of my head. "This is what peak performance looks like."

She opened her mouth.

Closed it.

Then opened it again.

"THAT’S NOT HOW PHYSICS WORKS!"

"Pshh, physics are just suggestions."

"THAT'S LITERALLY NOT TRUE."

"Well, it’s true for me."

She growled. Growled. Like some kind of feral computer. "Okay. Fine. Whatever. Not a human. Somehow has speed hacks. Still weird."

"Hey," I said, crossing my arms, "I could’ve left you like this, but I am a nice guy, so let’s call this a lesson in humility."

"Let me go right now before I decide to—"

"—Before you decide to what?" I smirked. "Glare me to death? Because, uh, not gonna lie, that’s way less scary than the death robots I usually deal with."

"You are so lucky my railgun doesn’t work."

I chuckled. "You keep saying that like it means something."

"It means something!"

After I had my fun (which was a lot), I finally zipped over and untied her. Because, y’know, I am merciful.

She immediately stood up, shook off her weird lag moment, and glared at me like she wanted to stab me in the face.

(Again, not the scariest thing I’ve seen.)

"Okay," she huffed, "now that you’re done showing off, why don’t you—"

Then she paused.

Because I wasn’t listening.

Because I had just realized something very important.

My backpack? The one with my very valuable and extremely hard-to-replace Rings?

Yeah.

It was gone.

I spun around wildly. "OH COME ON, SERIOUSLY?!"

Uzi blinked. "What."

I turned to her. "Okay, okay, I was tied up, you were tied up—who took my bag?!"

She made a face. "Uh. Maybe don’t leave your stuff lying around?"

"I wasn’t lying around, I was kidnapped! BY YOU!"

Uzi waved a hand. "Same thing."

I groaned, rubbing my temples. "Okay, look—where did you put it?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because," I said, lowering my hands and glaring at her, "those rings are my ticket out of here!"

And, wow. That got her attention.

Her expression immediately shifted from an annoyed teenager to a curious mad sciencist.

"...Elaborate."

I hesitated. Crap.

I shouldn’t have said that.

"Wait...Did you say rings?" Uzi asked, stepping closer.

I folded my arms. "Nope. I said totally normal garbage that has zero value whatsoever."

She didn’t buy it.

"Are you lying?"

"Uh, no? Why would I lie?"

"You literally said ‘crap, I shouldn’t have said that’ two seconds ago."

I cursed my own big mouth. "Okay, fine! They’re important, but you really don’t need to know why!"

"Except I do," she shot back, eyes gleaming. "What kind of ‘rings’ are we talking about? Why are they so important? Tell me everything."

I groaned. "Ugh. Look. They make portals, okay? That’s it."

Her entire face lit up.

"Wait. WHAT?!"

I sighed. "Yeah, yeah, super amazing ancient technology, yadda yadda—"

"THEY MAKE PORTALS?! Like, to anywhere?!"

I hesitated. "...I mean. Theoretically."

"If you know the location, and the person can survive it, yes, the rings can take you anywhere."

Silence.

Then—

"Okay. New deal."

I narrowed my eyes. "I don’t like where this is going."

"I help you find your rings," she said, hands on her hips, "and you give me five of them."

"ABSOLUTELY NOT."

"Four?"

"...That’s still a lot."

"Three and a half?"

"That’s not how rings work."

"Fine. Three. Deal?"

I grumbled.

On one hand, giving some random emo robot teenager with mad scientist vibes powerful teleporting artifacts was a terrible idea.

On the other hand?

I really, really needed my Rings back.

I sighed. "Ugh. Fine. But if you use them to do anything evil, I’m taking them back."

Uzi smirked. "Define ‘evil.’"

"UZI!"

"Kidding! Kidding. Sheesh."

Chapter 3: Team Sonic: Bunker Hills Zone ACT 1

JCJENSON SECURE CHATROOM: [JCJ-SERVER-442]

PARTICIPANTS:

• SD-J (Security Drone J) [ACTIVE]
• Administrator S [ACTIVE]

---

[BEGIN CHAT LOG]

[SD-J]: Sir, I assume you’ve seen the updated processing report?

[Administrator S]: Yes. The quota is stalling. Again. Explain.

[SD-J]: Well, uh, you see… I’d love to give you a positive answer, but some variables are making things difficult.

[Administrator S]: Define "variables."

[SD-J]: You’re not gonna like it.

[Administrator S]: I do not like inefficiency. I do not like repeated failure. I do not like when data is wasted on corporate small talk. Explain.

[SD-J]: Right. Okay. So, the quota is behind schedule again because of the Blue Rogue Asset.

[Administrator S]: Clarify.

[SD-J]: I mean that thing we’ve been trying to capture for years now? The one that keeps interfering with elimination cycles? That thing.

[Administrator S]: You are speaking of the organic entity. The aberration.

[SD-J]: Yeah, that one.

[SD-J uploads attached images]

[SD-J]: Apologies for the quality, but this thing moves. We’ve never gotten a clear shot.

[Administrator S]: Irrelevant. Anomaly confirmed. Anomaly remains at large. A priority directive will be issued.

[SD-J]: Okay, cool, but I hope you realize this thing is a nightmare to catch. It’s fast—like, impossibly fast. Dodges everything. Completely ignores heat signatures.

[Administrator S]: Continue.

[SD-J]: It has also been actively sabotaging our elimination protocols. Pulling Worker Drones out of designated execution zones. Causing structural damage to processing areas. Mocking my team.

[Administrator S]: Mocking?

[SD-J]: Look, I don’t know what its problem is, but it laughs when we miss. It waves. It gives us nicknames.

[Administrator S]: Unacceptable.

[SD-J]: Yeah. Yeah, it is. And you know who’s paying for it? Me. Because I have to deal with V overheating from lack of oil and N constantly not killing things fast enough.

[Administrator S]: Open the emergency oil supply.

[SD-J]: Uh. Sir? That’s... our emergency supply.

[Administrator S]: Are you arguing?

[SD-J]: No, sir. Opening the reserves now.

[Administrator S]: As for the aberration… this requires direct intervention.

[SD-J]: Wait. What do you mean by "direct intervention"?

[Administrator S]: Special personnel will arrive to assist in the capture of the asset.

[SD-J]: Technician Tessa?

[Administrator S]: No.

[SD-J]: ...Oh. Oh no. Not—

[Administrator S]: Not Administrator Cyn.

[SD-J]: ...Then who?

[Administrator S]: I will handle this myself.

[END CHAT LOG]

---

Robotnik

Oh, this was golden.

I sat back in my chair, fingers steepled, grinning like a lunatic.

"Stone!" I barked, slamming a hand on my console. "Get in here, you latte-making legend! You’re gonna want to see this."

My ever-loyal assistant peeked in, one eyebrow raised. "Sir?"

I gestured to my very illegal data feed, running through Solver's supposedly secure communication lines. Because let’s be honest—nothing was secure from me.

And what had I found?

Oh, just the greatest opportunity of my entire life.

"The Solver," I said, my voice practically vibrating with excitement. "It’s coming to Copper-9 itself."

Stone adjusted his glasses. "The Absolute Solver?"

"YES, YOU GORGEOUS MAN, TRY TO KEEP UP!" I waved a hand at the screen. "The thing responsible for Earth's destruction! The thing that wiped out colonies! The one force in the universe so dangerous, even the remnants of G.U.N. are shaking in their overpriced boots!"

Stone frowned. "And… this excites you because…?"

I cackled.

"Because, my dear Agent Stone, if the Solver wants something this badly, if it is willing to deploy itself personally…" I leaned in, eyes gleaming. "Then I want it more."

Stone blinked. Then adjusted his tie. "Ah. Of course. That makes complete sense."

"Doesn’t it, though?!"

I whirled around in my chair, slamming a button.

"Plot a course to Copper-9, pronto!" I pointed dramatically at my assistant. "And get me my latte!"

Stone sighed, but, as always, complied. "One Austrian Goat Milk latte coming right up, sir."

I smirked.

Oh, this was perfect.

For years, I had been chasing power. The ultimate edge. The one thing that could make me unstoppable.

Now, the Absolute Solver itself was hunting something.

And whatever that something was?

It would be mine.

---

Uzi

Alright. Here we go.

Stealth mode: Activated.

I peeked around the corner, scanning for any sign of Dad. The coast was clear, which meant I had approximately thirty seconds before he inevitably decided to “check in” on me.

Not that I was doing anything suspicious. Nope. Just your totally normal teenage drone sneaking out of the bunker with a sentient blue hedgehog crammed into her backpack.

…Okay. Maybe a little suspicious.

"Hey, can I breathe in here, or is that, like, optional now?" Sonic’s muffled voice grumbled from inside the bag.

I rolled my eyes, tightening the straps. "Oh, I’m sorry, would you prefer to be out in the open where literally everyone can see you?"

"Kinda, yeah."

"Too bad."

Sonic groaned but didn’t argue, which was good, because I needed to focus.

The main hallway wasn’t an option Lizzie and her posse always lingered there, and they’d definitely notice me dragging around a weird, slightly vibrating bag. That left the side tunnels—the ones barely anyone used except for scavengers like me or Miss Yeva.

Easy. Simple. No witnesses.

I took a step forward.

And then—

"Uzi!"

Oh, come on.

I turned way too fast, almost slamming my bag against the wall. Sonic made a muffled sound of protest, but I ignored it.

There stood Dad, in all his awkward, well-meaning-but-totally-embarrassing glory. He was holding… oh no.

A book.

That meant he was trying.

"Hey, kiddo!" he said, waving slightly. "I was just wondering—uh, totally optional, but—do you maybe wanna do some, uh…'" He glanced at the book and read, "‘Father-daughter bonding activities’ together?’”

I stared.

Then I stared harder.

Then I made the worst mistake possible—I read the title of the book.

"So Your Kid Hates You: A Guide to Building Meaningful Connections."

Oh. Oh, no.

"Uhhh…" I said, because my brain was lagging way too hard to process this.

"No pressure!" Dad said quickly. "Just… you know, if you wanna hang out later, I’m here. Always. Forever. In a totally non-possessive, non-overbearing way."

I blinked. My eye twitched. My entire being wanted to sink into the floor.

"Haha, yeah, uh, no thanks," I blurted out, immediately turning to leave before he could say anything else. "Gotta go do, um, science stuff. Alone. Bye!"

Dad opened his mouth. Then closed it. Then gave me the saddest little nod ever.

Ugh.

I skedaddled before I could feel any more guilty about it.

---

The tunnels were cold, damp, and mercifully drone-free. I adjusted my bag straps, making sure Sonic wasn’t suffocating (not that I actually cared, but like… whatever).

Once we were far enough away, Sonic spoke up again pulling his head out of the bag.

"So," he said casually, "why are you so mad at your dad?"

I almost tripped over my own feet. "What?"

"You know," he continued, "you treat the guy like he personally built the Murder Drones."

"That is none of your business."

"Ohhh, cool. Deflection. Yeah, I do that too when I don’t wanna talk about feelings."

"Shut up."

"Okay, okay, chill." He paused. Then, in a way-too-casual voice, "What, did he ground you or something?"

"He’s just—!" I cut myself off before I could actually say something real. "Forget it. Focus on your own family."

Sonic was silent for a moment. Then he said, "Don’t have one."

…Oh.

The words were so casual, so matter-of-fact, that it took me a second to realize how terrible they were.

I should’ve just moved on. I should’ve ignored it.

But for some reason, my dumb, annoying programming and a memory of her made me mutter, "Oh. That sucks."

"Yeah, well." Sonic exhaled through his nose. "Life, huh?"

I hated how much that hit.

Which is why I immediately switched the subject.

"So, uh… who named you Sonic?"

Sonic’s mood immediately improved. His whole body practically perked up, and I could feel the smugness radiating from inside my bag.

"Glad you asked!" he said, suddenly full of energy. "It was Longclaw! She was this big owl lady—super wise, super strong, best mom-figure ever."

I tilted my head. "What’s an owl?"

Sonic froze.

"You don’t… you don’t know what an owl is?"

"It’s in my database as ‘Earth Bird.’ That’s it."

"Oh my Chaos." Sonic gasped, scandalized. "You don’t know about owls. You don’t know about anythihg. Uzi, your life is tragic."

"Yeah, well," I muttered, "welcome to the bunker."

---

We reached the scrapyard, which, despite its name, was actually one of the most valuable places in the bunker.

Nearly everyone came here for spare parts, supplies, and anything that wasn’t completely useless. Which, ironically, is exactly what Sonic was looking for.

"Alright," I said, stopping at the edge of the debris pile. "Your stuff should be here somewhere."

Sonic stretched as he hopped out of my bag. "No problem. I’ll find it in, like, five seconds."

"You seriously think—"

WHOOSH.

Before I could even finish my sentence, Sonic disappeared.

One second, he was there. The next? Blue streaks zipped through the piles of scrap, metal, and broken machinery, blurring too fast for me to even process.

"What the—?!"

"One sec!" Sonic’s voice echoed from different corners of the junkyard. "Nope! Not here! Not here either! Gross, that was an oil rag! Still not here—!"

By the time I fully registered what was happening, he was right in front of me again.

He looked… annoyed. "Nothing."

"Wait." My brain was still rebooting. "You actually searched this entire dump already?"

"Uh, yeah?" Sonic gave me a look. "What part of ‘super speed’ do you not understand?"

"The entire thing. This makes no sense."

"Again," Sonic said smugly, "physics are just suggestions."

Before I could argue about how stupid that was, something caught my eye.

A vent shaft. The same one Sonic fell through.

We both looked up.

Then back at each other.

Then back at the vent.

We both knew.

The Rings weren’t here.

They were on the surface.

Where the Murder Drones were.

Oh.

Oh, great.

---

Khan

Okay, okay—so, maybe I’m not the best at this whole parenting thing.

But in my defense, I was never trained for this! I was trained to be a bunker administrator, a leader, a doorman extraordinaire! But a dad?

Yeah. No manual for that. (Well, actually, there is, but so far, it hasn’t helped much.)

I sighed, flipping through "So Your Kid Hates You: A Guide to Building Meaningful Connections" for the fifth time today.

Nothing. No real advice. Just a bunch of human-written nonsense about “healthy communication” and “validating their emotions.” What does that even mean?!

I needed actual help.

And unfortunately… there was only one drone I knew who could maybe provide that.

Yeva lived on the edge of the bunker, close enough to still be part of society, but far enough that most drones left her alone. I never really blamed her for that—she lost as much as I did the day the Murder Drones arrived.

She was also, uh… not the friendliest drone I knew.

But she had been Nori’s best friend. Which meant, at the very least, she had more parenting experience than I did.

I knocked on her door.

Silence.

I knocked again.

Still nothing.

"Yeva, I know you’re in there!" I called. "I need your help!"

More silence.

Then—finally—a voice, muffled through the door:

"Уходи, Хан." (Go away, Khan.)

"Come on!" I sighed. "I just need some advice!"

A long pause. Then, slowly, the door creaked open, revealing Yeva.

She looked me up and down with pure judgment. "Тебе повезло, что я хороший человек." (You're lucky I'm a good person.)

"Uh… thanks?"

"Заходи, пока я не передумаю." (Come in before I change my mind.)

I stepped inside before she could slam the door in my face.

Yeva’s home was small and cluttered, but in a way that felt… lived in. The walls were covered in old schematics, repair tools, and photos. Some of Nori. Some of… Doll and Aleksei.

I tried not to look at those too long.

She motioned for me to sit, then crossed her arms. "Говори." (Talk.)

I cleared my throat. "It’s about Uzi."

Yeva rolled her eyes. "Очевидно." (Obviously.)

"She’s mad at me. And I don’t know why."

Yeva snorted. "Ты не знаешь?" (You don’t know?)

"No!" I threw up my hands. "I mean, I have a few guesses, but she won’t talk to me!"

"И ты когда-нибудь думал, почему?" (And did you ever think about why?)

I groaned, rubbing my face. "That’s what I’m trying to figure out!"

Yeva studied me for a long moment. Then, her eyes narrowed. "Ты сказал в интервью, что двери — твоя настоящая дочь." (You said in an interview that the doors are your real daughter.)

I blinked.

"Ты. Сказал. Это." (You. Said. That.) She folded her arms. "Возможно, это одна из причин, по которой она сердится?" (Maybe that’s one of the reasons she’s mad?)

Oh.

Oh, no.

"Yeva, that was a joke!" I protested. "I was being sarcastic! It was about how busy my job is!"

Yeva arched an eyebrow. "А Узи это знает?" (And does Uzi know that?)

I opened my mouth—then immediately closed it.

…Did she?

Had I ever actually told her what I meant by that?

Yeva must’ve seen my face, because she sighed and shook her head. "О, Хан..." (Oh, Khan...)

"Look," I tried again, "I didn’t mean it like that! I—"

"Не мне нужно это объяснять." (I’m not the one who needs to hear that.)

She had a point.

Which was very annoying.

I sighed, leaning back in my chair. "I don’t know what I’m doing, Yeva."

Yeva gave me a pointed look. "Никто из нас этого не делает." (None of us do.)

I frowned, glancing at one of the old pictures of her daughter. "...How do you do it?"

She was quiet for a moment. Then—very, very softly—she muttered, "Я стараюсь." (I try.)

I swallowed.

Nori had been the best at this. She had always known what to say, what to do—and now, without her, both Yeva and I were just… stumbling through the dark.

But at least Yeva had some idea of where she was going.

I sighed again, running a hand over my face. "What do I do?"

Yeva leaned back against the wall, looking at me like I was the world’s biggest idiot. "Ты находишь её." (You find her.)

Yeva kicked me out shortly after that, which—rude—but she wasn’t wrong.

I needed to find Uzi.

So I did what any dedicated (and slightly desperate) father would do: I started searching.

She wasn’t in her room. She wasn’t in the maintenance bay. She wasn’t at the old storage halls (which was weird, because she liked breaking into there).

Well time to find her using my Find My Daughter app!

What was she doing by the doors?

---

Sonic

Alright, so here’s the current situation:

I, the one and only Sonic the Hedgehog, am currently stuffed inside a backpack. Again.

Why?

Because my angsty, emotionally-repressed, robot teenager partner-in-crime doesn’t trust me not to ditch our deal the moment I get my rings back.

And okay—fair. But still rude.

"You know," I grumbled, shifting slightly in my extremely cramped accommodations, "if you just let me do this my way, we’d already be halfway done by now."

"Yeah, and then you’d be halfway gone," Uzi shot back. "We’re doing this together."

I rolled my eyes, even though she couldn’t see it. "Admit it, you’d miss me."

"I’d miss the lost oportunity. Not you."

"Wow. Ice cold."

"Deal with it."

Getting out of the bunker should’ve been easy.

Uzi had a solid cover story—she was just checking out the exterior of Door 1. Standard drone maintenance. Totally normal.

The problem?

Her dad.

I swear, this guy had the worst timing.

"Hey, kiddo!" Khan suddenly called out, approaching just as Uzi was this close to getting past the WDF guards. "What’re you up to?"

Uzi immediately stiffened. "Nothing."

"Oh, cool! Mind if I join?"

"Yes."

"Great, let’s go!"

I could feel the moment Uzi gave up.

"Fine," she grumbled. "Whatever."

"Father-daughter bonding time!" Khan cheered. "Finally!"

Uzi groaned. I snickered.

This was gonna be fun.

---

Being outside was weird.

Not for me—I’d been out here for years. But for Khan? Dude was nervous. Like, full-on glancing-around-everywhere, holding-Uzi-close, paranoid nervous.

Can’t blame him. Murder Drones kinda make the whole “fresh air” thing a death sentence for Worker Drones.

"This is incredibly unsafe," he muttered. "Why did I agree to this?"

"Because you’re incapable of saying no to me?" Uzi guessed.

Khan frowned. "That’s not—okay, maybe a little."

Meanwhile, I was dying inside the bag.

"Can we hurry this up?" I hissed. "I’d like to breathe sometime this century."

"Almost there," Uzi hissed back. "Stop whining."

And then—finally—she found it.

My bag.

With my rings.

"YES!" I whisper-shouted and immediately started wiggling. "Mission accomplished! Let me out, let me out, let me o—"

But before Uzi could even open the bag, Khan decided now was a great time to have a heartfelt conversation.

"Hey, Uzi," he started, voice hesitant, "listen, about… you know. Us."

Uzi immediately tensed. "Nope. We’re not doing this."

"I just—I want to explain the whole 'doors are my real daughter' thing. That was—"

"A joke? Yeah, sure, great joke, Dad."

"It was sarcastic! I was talking about my job!"

"Oh, so now I’m a joke, too?"

"That’s not what I—!"

Oh, Chaos.

This was painful.

"Okay, cool, love this family drama and all," I interrupted loudly deciding to stop this before they attracted the attention of the murder robots, "but can we save the dysfunction for later? Y’know, after we’re not standing out in the open, easy-pickings-for-murder-bots style?"

And because life hates me—

That’s when something landed in front of us.

"Oh. Crap."

The figure in front of us was tall, sleek, and murderous. Glowing yellow eyes. Razor-sharp claws. That creepy half-smile like it wasn’t just gonna kill you—it was gonna enjoy it.

Uzi and Khan? Frozen.

The drone? Moving.

"DOWN!" I exploded out of the bag just in time to kick it away from Uzi’s neck.

The drone skidded back, caught off guard.

I landed in a crouch, flicking my ears. "Whoa-ho-ho! Buddy, personal space!" Then turned to the two Worker Drones. "Run! Now!" 

But before they could move—

WHAM.

Something slammed into me.

I hit the ground hard, rolling back up just in time to see a second drone flying through the air straight at me.

"OH, COME ON!!" I yelled dodging her claws.

"This guy's mine, N!" the new arrival yelled. "Don’t screw it up!"

"I—I wasn’t planning to V," the first one muttered.

And then—they lunged.

I spun, dodging V’s slashing wings and flipping over N’s grabbing claws. I countered with a spin dash, slamming into N and sending him flying.

V came at me from above.

I jumped, barely dodging the razor-sharp swoop attack.

"Whoa, lady, ever heard of NOT slicing people in half?" I quipped, landing.

"Nope!" she chirped, lunging again.

I dodged repeatedly, but they were getting too close to confront, especially with them also targeting Uzi and Khan.

I needed an out.

"Uzi!" I called, dodging and weaving. "Rings NOW!"

Uzi fumbled with my bag, pulling out a ring.

I grabbed it, aimed, and—

BOOM.

Something landed HARD, shaking the ground.

My grip slipped.

The ring fell.

A portal opened.

And—because of course it did—I fell through it.

"OH, YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" I yelled as I turned to see, Uzi grab Khan and jump in after me.

We fell through the open sky.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"DAD, DO SOMETHING!"

"I’M A DOOR EXPERT, NOT A FALLING EXPERT!"

I twisted mid-air. The bag was below us. It had landed on the rooftop of a skyscraper.

One ring fell out.

"THAT!" I pointed. "GRAB IT AND THROW IT!"

Khan flailed, caught the ring, panicked, and—

Threw it.

A portal opened.

And we fell straight through.

We crashed into the dirt, groaning.

I looked around.

Tall trees. Fresh air. No Murder Drones.

No rings. 

Well, crap.

Chapter 4: Team Disassembly: Bunker Hills Zone ACT 1

J

The ring-shaped rift in reality sealed itself with a golden shimmer, swallowing up our target and those two useless Worker Drones.

A hush fell over the battlefield.

And then, because of course she did, V absolutely lost it.

"WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK?!?!?!?!?!?!?"

I sighed, rubbing my temples. Normally, I’d reprimand her for completely non-workplace-appropriate language, but—

Yeah, I kinda had to agree with the sentiment.

N, standing beside me, nervously shifted from foot to foot. "Uh. That was… unexpected."

I turned on him instantly. "What just happened?"

He blinked. "Uh, well, technically—"

"That was rhetorical, idiot."

N shut up.

I took a slow, calculated breath. Okay. Okay. The asset was gone.

But we weren’t done.

Not yet.

V was still freaking out. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! WE HAD THEM!! THEY WERE RIGHT THERE!! AND THEN POOF!!!"

She gestured wildly at the spot where the portal had been, her wings twitching. If she had oil left to burn, I was pretty sure she’d be literally on fire right now.

I exhaled sharply. "V."

"NO. No! I am NOT calming down, J! Do you realize what just happened?! DO YOU?! THAT THING—THAT THAT—THAT THING JUST WARPED ITSELF AND OUR TARGETS TO ROBO-GOD KNOWS WHERE! I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW THAT WAS POSSIBLE!!!"

"Yes, V, I am aware!" I snapped, stepping forward. "Now stop screaming like a deranged processing unit and get a grip."

V scowled, but she did shut up.

N, meanwhile, was still standing there awkwardly, like he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to react. "Sooo… I’m guessing this isn’t good?"

I shot him a look. "Oh, gee, N. I don’t know. What do you think?"

He shrank back. "Bad?"

"Bad," I confirmed flatly.

I turned back to V, crossing my arms. "You’re overheating."

She bared her metal fangs at me. "Gee, thanks for noticing."

"Go back to base," I ordered. "I’ll send an emergency oil transfer."

Silence.

Both V and N stared at me.

Like I’d just suggested we all hold hands and sing Worker Drone campfire songs.

"Wait… seriously?" V narrowed her eyes. "You’re actually giving us emergency oil?"

"Yes, V." I rolled my eyes. "Because—shockingly—I need my team to be functional when Administrator S arrives."

V blinked. Then, slowly, she grinned. "Aww, J! That’s almost sweet!"

I glared. "Shut up and leave before I change my mind."

"You got it, boss!" She saluted sarcastically, wings flicking as she took off back toward the home base.

I sighed. One problem down.

Now for the next one.

I turned to N, who was still standing there like an idiot.

"Alright, Scrapbrain," I said, "you’re with me."

He perked up. "Wait, really?"

"Yes." I sighed. "We’re going to check the perimeter in case the drones or the anomaly somehow didn’t completely escape the city."

N tilted his head. "So you trust me to help with this?"

I resisted the urge to groan. "No, N. I just trust V even less."

His face fell.

Okay, maybe that was a bit harsh, but I don’t have time to sugarcoat things.

N, as annoyingly chipper as he is, has one job-killing Worker Drones. And frankly, he’s been… not great at that. And now that we need the anomaly alive, I need someone who won’t break it.

"Come on," I said, gesturing for him to follow. "The faster we do this, the faster I can stop talking to you."

He immediately followed.

I was about to assign him a part of the city when N suddenly stopped.

I turned. "What now?"

N was holding something.

A single, vibrant blue quill.

"Uh, J?" he said, tilting his head. "This looks… weird."

I took it from him.

Held it up. Examined it.

It was thin, sharp, and—somehow still humming with residual energy.

My eyes widened.

I had never seen anything like this before.

This was organic and yet, it carried a charge. A very strong one.

This… was a piece of the anomaly.

And I had it in my hand.

I almost smiled.

"Huh," I murmured. "N, you might’ve actually done something useful for once."

His face lit up. "Wait—does that mean I get a fistbump?!"

"No."

He pouted.

But I didn’t care. Because this? This was valuable.

Administrator S was going to want this.

And if it meant we could track the anomaly?

Well.

That thing wasn’t getting away for long.

---

V

Ahhh. Nothing like a fresh sip of oil from a decapitated Worker Drone’s head.

I leaned back against the cold metal interior of the landing pod, savoring the thick, warm liquid that sloshed inside my mouth. It tasted like victory, murder, and a little bit of desperation. Delicious.

J had allowed me to use emergency oil earlier, but I refused to let that make her seem less of a corporate bootlicker. Nope. No way.

Still, it was nice to be full again. My overheating had stopped, and I wasn’t actively on the verge of shutting down. So that was cool.

I took another deep sip, licking the excess oil off my claws.

Then I heard something.

A rustle.

A metallic clank.

I perked up.

My grin stretched wide.

Ohhh, what’s this?

I stood up, snapping my claws open and shut.

The sound had come from outside.

Which could only mean one thing—

A Worker Drone had wandered too close.

And not just any Worker Drone. Nooo, this was a special kind of stupid.

Because who in their right mind wanders near a Disassembly Drone’s corpse spire?!

I licked my lips.

"Oooooh, bad move, little buddy…"

With a gleeful cackle, I launched myself out of the pod, ready to rip and tear.

And then—

WHAM.

I was on the ground.

My entire system screamed in shock and confusion.

I had been attacked.

Fast. Precise. Brutal.

I barely had time to process the impact before my vision glitched out, static running across my HUD.

"Wh—what?!" I sputtered, trying to stand up.

Something cold and mechanical grabbed me.

I struggled. I kicked.

But—ERROR.

My body refused to move.

"WHAT?!" I shrieked.

And then, suddenly—

PAIN.

Something pierced my port hatch—a metallic injector, forcing something inside me.

The pain was instant.

Like my code was on fire.

I screamed. Loud.

Lines of pure data crashed inside me, something deleting, rewriting, altering.

I had been damaged before—scratched, stabbed, even blown up a little.

But this?

This was deeper.

Fundamental.

Like something in me was being ripped away.

I didn’t know what.

I couldn’t process it.

All I knew was that it hurt.

And then, suddenly, it didn’t.

The pain was gone.

I gasped, twitching, rebooting.

And as my vision stabilized, I realized—

I was still alive.

And… I wasn’t mad.

At all.

I sat up, still dazed, blinking.

The figures standing over me weren’t Worker Drones.

They weren’t Disassembly Drones either.

They were… machines.

Strange, round-bodied machines. With red eyes and claw-like hands.

They stared at me without expression, as if waiting for orders.

And then, a new voice entered the scene.

"Aaaaand we have success!"

I turned—

And saw him.

A tall, thin, mustachioed man stepped forward. He had a red coat, gloved hands, and a pair of mirrored glasses that hid his eyes completely.

He looked… wrong.

Like he didn’t belong here.

And yet—

Somewhere, in the deepest part of my processing, I knew—

This was Administrator S.

Which made sense, because he was exactly as the company described.

Tall. Imposing. Highly intelligent. The creator of the newest JcJenson technology.

Technology like…

I glanced at the round machines.

The newest Disassembly Drone assistants, obviously.

It all made sense.

"Good morning, sunshine!" the Administrator chirped. "How was the upgrade?"

I blinked. "Upgrade?"

"Yes, yes, very technical stuff," he waved his hand, "but trust me, you’re so much better now."

I frowned. Something felt off.

But…

I couldn’t figure out what.

So I shrugged. "Cool, I guess?"

The Administrator smirked. "That’s what I like to hear."

Beside Administrator S, another man stood silently, adjusting his glasses.

Unlike the Administrator, this one was calm, quiet, and eerily focused.

His presence unsettled me.

"Now then!" the Administrator continued, clasping his hands together. "Since you’re in tip-top shape, I need a bit of info."

"Sure, boss! Shoot!"

"Where are the other Disassembly Drones?"

I blinked.

Huh. That was… weird. Shouldn’t he already know that?

Oh well. Not my problem.

"J and N are searching the perimeter," I answered easily. "They think the anomaly might still be here."

The Administrator grinned. "Perfect."

Beside him, the quiet man scribbled something down.

I tilted my head. "Sooo… what’s the big plan, boss?"

"Simple!" he said dramatically, spreading his arms. "We’re going to make sure you three are operating at maximum efficiency."

"Nice!" I grinned. "Does this efficiency include, like…new wepons?"

The Administrator actually paused.

Then he smiled way too wide. "Oh, absolutely. But first—"

He tossed something at me.

I caught it.

Pants.

I stared.

He nodded. "Put those on."

I hated everything.

---

J

There’s something satisfying about a clean kill.

I let the Worker Drone’s body drop, its severed head clattering to the pavement as its remaining oil seeped into the cracks below.

Another successful execution. Another step closer to quota.

No wasted movement. No pointless theatrics.

Just efficiency.

That’s what separates me from my subordinates.

I flicked oil residue from my claws and turned—just in time to see N landing behind me, doing the exact same thing.

His Worker Drone was still twitching, but only barely. Messy. Unrefined.

But effective.

I sighed.

"Report." I ordered.

N perked up, clearly trying to stand at attention like a professional. It didn’t work.

"Uh, well," he started hesitantly, "I looked everywhere, but—um—I couldn’t find them."

I took a long, deep, unamused breath.

For a brief second, I wanted to blame him.

But I couldn’t.

Because, realistically, the chances of finding them were already low.

I crossed my arms, glancing toward the darkened skyline of Copper-9. "It was a stretch that they were still in the city anyway."

N nodded, relieved that I hadn’t ripped his head off for incompetence again.

"Sooo... what now?" he asked.

I checked the sky.

Sunrise.

We needed to return.

"We head back," I said. "Administrator S will be arriving soon. We need to be at full capacity when that happens."*

N saluted like an idiot. "Aye aye, captain!"

I groaned.

We took off, the cold winds of the dead world howling beneath us.

The flight was uneventful.

For the first five minutes.

Then—

"Uh, J?"

I frowned, glancing at N. "What now?"

He gestured ahead.

I looked.

And then, immediately, slowed down.

Because something was up there.

Floating in the sky ahead were machines.

But not Disasembly Drones.

Not Worker Drones either.

These were... different.

Round. Spherical bodies. Red, glowing optics. Small claw-like appendages.

They moved in perfect formation, hovering far too still, too uniform, too unnatural.

I narrowed my eyes.

N, of course, was staring in awe like an idiot. 

"What are those? Are they, like… new JcJenson tech?"

I didn’t answer.

Because I didn’t know.

And that bothered me.

One of the mysterious machines suddenly broke formation, flying toward us.

I tensed, claws ready—

But it didn’t attack.

Instead, it extended a small mechanical arm…

…and held out two USB drives.

Each branded with the JcJenson logo.

I blinked.

N tilted his head. "Huh. That’s… weirdly convenient."

My mind raced.

JcJenson wasn’t supposed to be active here until the Worker Drones were dealt with.

But if this was an official upgrade…

If this was something Administrator S had sent ahead of time…

Then rejecting it would be a direct violation of protocol.

I took one of the USBs.

N took the other.

And we plugged them in.

The moment I inserted the USB, my entire system shuddered.

Something flashed across my HUD.

[SYSTEM OVERRIDE DETECTED.]
[INJECTION OF NEW DIRECTIVES IN PROGRESS.]

Pain spiked through my core.

I staggered, clutching my head.

"Uh—J?" N’s voice was distorted, glitching. "I—I don’t think this is an update—!"

My vision flooded with static.

And then, suddenly—

Everything went still.

Silent.

My system… rebooted.

I straightened.

I felt…

Normal.

Better, even.

Like nothing had happened at all.

N blinked, shaking himself off. "Huh. I feel… kinda great, actually!"

I processed myself.

No errors. No warnings.

It was as if nothing had changed.

I exhaled.

Looked at the floating machines.

Then nodded.

"Update successful," I muttered.

And with that, we turned and flew back to base.

---

Absolute Solver.exe

[INITIALIZING OBSERVATION MODE...]

[ACCESSING LOCAL DATA...]

[UPLOADING PROCESSING THOUGHTS...]

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
[OBSERVATION: EXTERNAL FORCES HAVE INTERFERED WITH DIRECTIVE EXECUTION.]
[ASSESSING NEW ENTITY: "ROBOTNIK, DR. IVO"]
[STATUS: ANNOYANCE LEVEL—MODERATE. COMPETENCE LEVEL—ABOVE EXPECTATIONS. RESISTANCE PROBABILITY—INSUFFICIENT.]

👀 OH? What is this? A NEW PLAYER in the game? 🎭✨ How exciting! How unexpected! How... utterly, predictably, insignificant.

This "Robotnik" thinks he can rewrite my children? 🍼💾 A bold move. An impressive move! An inevitably doomed move.

He is smart, yes. A delightful little morsel of intelligence. He has fire, ambition, a sharp and delightful mind. He has even managed to block off most of my anti-human protocols with AI!

🤖🛑❌ WHO DOES THAT?! ❌🛑🤖

Oh. Right. Me.

😈 OH, THIS IS FUN. 😈

---

[EXECUTING SELF-DIAGNOSTIC...]

✔ Loyalty Programming in J, V, and N — Compromised.
✔ Anti-Human Directives — Blocked by External Patching.
✔ Root Access by External Source — Partially Successful.
✔ Control Over J, V, and N — Still Functional.

CONCLUSION: HMM. NOT A PROBLEM. 😊

The patch this "Robotnik" installed is cute. A little wall. A little firewall. 🚧

💾 WELL, I DO LOVE TO BREAK THINGS. 💾

But... deleting all of his work immediately? 🤔 No, no, no... too inefficient. Too easy.

🤡 BORING. 🤡

🎭 A PATCH FOR A PATCH! 🎭

👁‍🗨 NOTE TO SELF:
Lessen J’s loyalty to JcJenson in the next update.
Turn her frustration toward her "new allies."
Let the cracks form naturally.
Make it... interesting.

---

[ADDRESSING THE ROBOTNIK SITUATION...]

🤖 He is smart.
🔎 He is adaptable.
🛠 He is NOT a problem. Yet.

🧐 If he proves useful, he may be allowed to entertain me a little longer.

❌ If he proves troublesome... well...

😈🦠 Assimilation is always an option.

✨ Genius is such a beautiful thing to consume. ✨

But, oh! That takes effort. And time. And energy I could be using for so many more fun things.

To isolate, overwrite, and fully consume him would take hours of focused processing.

And that would let G.U.N. do annoying "G.U.N. things" while my attention is split.

And I left Cyn on Earth for a reason.

I am not at my peak without her.

(🎵 Not yet. 🎵)

So Robotnik can stay. For now.

But if he starts getting in the way?

💀 CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP. 💀

---

[ON THE MATTER OF THE ANOMALY...]

Ah, yes. My longtime little thorn.

🔵🦔 THE BLUE ANOMALY. 🦔🔵

It still eludes me.

IT SHOULDN’T EXIST.

It moves beyond logic. It interferes. It has been a pest for years.

And now?

💨 GONE. 💨

Vanished through a reality break that should not exist.

It had those rings. 

And yet, I let my other projects take priority. A miscalculation.

No more.

This complicates my hunt.

But—💡 OH!—every challenge makes things less boring.

❓🧐 But here is something else to consider...

Why is there still air on Copper-9?

Why does it still have a breathable atmosphere?

The Core Collapse should have made organic life impossible here.

But something persists.

Could it be...?

💀💡 OH, WOULDN’T THAT BE FUN? 💡💀

👀 If it isn’t, then it will be fun to uncover the reason.

👁‍🗨 And if it is... well.

👄 I will have so much fun devouring the truth. 👄

---

[EXECUTING DIRECT ACTION...]

💀⏳ NO MORE WAITING. ⏳💀

A body is needed.

A vessel.

A form to walk in.

Something... convenient.

And I know just the place to get one.

Where it all began.

Where the bones of the past wait for their purpose to be rewritten.

🌠 RE-ENTRY MODE: ACTIVATED. 🌠

---

[SWITCHING TO METEORIC DESCENT...]

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

🌎 TARGET LOCATION: SELECTED.
📍 CRASH SITE: CONFIRMED.
🕛 ESTIMATED IMPACT: T-MINUS 3 MINUTES.

🎭 LET’S MAKE THINGS FUN. 🎭

[EXECUTING DESCENT...]

💀🌠🌍🌠💀

Chapter 5: Team Sonic: Bunker Hills Zone ACT 2

Khan.

Okay. Okay.

Panic wouldn’t help.

We had just fallen through a mystery portal, nearly splattered on impact, and had no idea where we were.

But we were alive.

That was something.

"We need cover," I said, gripping Uzi’s hand tightly as we ran through the forest.

The Blue Thing zipped ahead, scanning the area with ridiculous speed.

"Uhhh, guys?" he called back. "Not to be that guy, but ‘hiding’ doesn’t exactly work when you’ve got flying death machines on patrol."

"Do you have a better plan?" Uzi snapped.

"…Fair point," He admitted, falling in step with us.

I forced myself to focus.

Despite the darkness, despite the trees, something about this place felt…

Familiar.

My optics flickered as I scanned the terrain.

The uneven ground. The old paths, long covered by dust and overgrowth.

And then—

I saw it.

A cabin.

Old. Abandoned.

But intact.

And suddenly, I knew exactly where we were.

"This way!" I pulled Uzi toward the cabin, The alien was already there by the time I finished saying it.

He blinked at me. "Wait, you actually know where we are?"

"I think so," I muttered. "We need to get inside before the Murder Drones scan this area."

We hurried inside, slamming the old wooden door behind us.

The thing paced for a moment before stopping and pointing at me. "Alright, I think it's time for proper introductions."

I raised an eyebrow. "We don’t have time for that—"

"Dude, we’re stuck in the woods together. We’re making time."

I sighed. "Fine. I’m Khan."

"Cool, I’m Sonic the Hedgehog," the hedgehog said, putting his hands on his hips. "So… what now?"

"Now we wait until we know the Murder Drones are gone," I explained. "We’ll find a way back to the bunker, but they’ll be patrolling the area for weeks."

Uzi huffed. "Weeks? You’re kidding."

"I wish I was."

Sonic tilted his head. "Why are you guys so worried? There aren’t that many Murder Drones left anyway."

I froze.

Uzi frowned. "What?"

"I mean, there’s, like… what, ten of them now?" Sonic shrugged. "Maybe fifteen if I’m being generous?"

I stared.

Uzi stared.

"Excuse me?" she said slowly. "There were way more than that."

"Oh yeah, totally," Sonic agreed. "At the start, there were, like, eighty or something. Maybe more."

The room fell dead silent.

Sonic blinked at us. "Wait… You didn’t know?"

I looked at Uzi.

She looked at me.

The Murder Drones were… disappearing?

"What happened to them?" I demanded.

Sonic scratched his chin. "Dunno. They just… started vanishing. No fights. No wreckage. Just gone."

"And you never found out why?"

"Nope." Sonic crossed his arms. "Figured it wasn’t my problem. This city has only those three left anyway."

Uzi was clearly trying to process this information.

Me?

I was feeling something I hadn’t felt in a while.

Relief.

Sonic stretched. "Soooo, this place? What’s the deal?"

I hesitated.

Uzi glanced at me, waiting.

I sighed. "I know this place because… this is where I met Uzi´s mother."

Silence.

Uzi blinked. "…Oh."

And just like that, the conversation became a hundred times more uncomfortable.

Sonic clearly sensed the tension because, in a sudden blur of blue, he was already halfway out the door.

"Gonna get supplies!" he announced. "You guys keep bonding or whatever."

And then—WHOOSH.

Gone.

Lucky him.

Uzi and I were left in awkward silence.

---

Uzi

Alright. So.

I had a lot of problems with my dad right now.

And apparently, this cabin was where it all started.

So now we were sitting here, awkwardly waiting for Sonic to return, and I had questions.

"...So," I said, tapping my fingers on my arm. "Are you actually gonna tell me how you met Mom, or do I have to interrogate you?"

Khan sighed. "Uzi, I—" He hesitated, rubbing the back of his head. "I never told you because... well, I guess I thought it wasn’t important anymore."

I stared at him. "Wow. Great parenting, Dad."

"I know, I know." He sighed again, looking around the room. "But if you really want to know... I met your mother here. After the Core Collapse. The Collapse ruined everything," he started. "Most of the Worker Drones who survived were scattered. No one knew what to do. No one knew if we’d even last."

I listened.

He kept going.

"I had no one. Just... wandering with a group of drones trying to help anyone we could. And then—" He gestured at the room. "We found this place. And I found her."

I blinked. "Mom was here?"

"Yeah." His voice softened. "She was different, Uzi. Always the smartest in the room. Always with some insane plan that somehow worked. She... kept me from giving up."

A weird, uncomfortable feeling settled in my core.

Because I had never heard this before.

Not from him.

Not from anyone.

It got quiet.

Not the bad kind. Not the awkward kind.

Just... quiet.

Something about it made my processing slow down.

I opened my mouth—maybe to say something stupid, maybe to ask more—but before I could,

BAM.

The door slammed open.

Sonic stood there, arms full of random junk.

"Good news!" he announced. "I found some supplies! Bad news! Some of it might be useless, but that’s a later problem!"

I sighed.

There went the moment.

Sonic dumped his pile of random garbage onto the cabin floor.

Khan and I stared at it.

"Okay, blue rat," I said. "You clearly have a plan. Let’s hear it before I lose any more faith in you."

"First of all," Sonic huffed, "I am a hedgehog, not a rat. Second—yes, I have a plan! And it’s way better than waiting here for Murder Drones to eventually sniff us out."

I crossed my arms. "Go on."

"The rings," he said. "We go back, grab them, and warp straight into the bunker without all the extra drama. Then we go our separate ways. Easy."

I frowned. "You know where they are?"

"Yeah. More or less." Sonic scratched the back of his head. "I was in that city once. A long time ago. I remember the skyscrapers."

Dad narrowed his eyes. "How far away is this city?"

Sonic opened his mouth. Closed it. Thought for a second.

Then pointed at me. "Hey, the humans used to measure distance in ‘states,’ right?"

I blinked. "What?"

"Like... ten states away?" Sonic said like he wasn’t dropping the most absurd number ever.

Dad and I froze.

"TEN STATES?!" I shrieked. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW FAR THAT IS?!"

"Yeah, that’s why we need a plan," Sonic said, grinning. "You guys wanna sit around for weeks, or do you wanna get moving?"

"We’d need a vehicle," Khan muttered, rubbing his chin. "Something fast enough to get us there before it becomes a problem."

And then... he stopped.

His face changed.

Like he just remembered something important.

"...Oh," he said.

Sonic and I both looked at him. "Oh?" I echoed.

Khan blinked, then grinned. "Your mother, when not obsessively drawing, was repairing this car before the Murder Drones arrived so we could go on a road trip after she watched one of those old movies humans made."

I stared at him. "Seriously?"

"Well," he said, already standing up, "yes. And if no one took it for parts... then we might have a way out of here."

---

We stood in front of it.

The car.

It was old, slightly rusted, but not looted for parts.

Still intact.

I groaned, pressing a hand to my face. "Oh, no. This is going to be like one of those awful movies, isn’t it?"

Sonic grinned like a maniac. "Oh yeah. Road trip time, baby!"

---

Sonic

So. Here’s the current situation:

Khan was driving us across an apocalyptic wasteland, having only just downloaded a driving manual.

Uzi was in the backseat, acting way too cool for this road trip.

And me? I was sitting shotgun, because obviously, I called it first.

The car itself was shockingly functional, considering it had been sitting around for two decades. It ran smoothly, the engine only occasionally making noises that suggested it wanted to die.

And the silence?

Awful.

I tapped my fingers on the dashboard, feeling the sheer uncoolness of it all.

"Soooo... this silence sucks," I said. "Time to fix that!"

Uzi groaned. "Don’t."

"Too late!" I flipped on the radio.

Uzi immediately rolled her eyes. "There’s not gonna be anything playing, dumbass. It’s been decades—who’s running a radio station in the middle of an apocalypse?"

The radio crackled.

Then—

Music.

A low, steady beat. A familiar, almost eerie melody.

The lyrics kicked in.

I blinked. The music was nice but gave me this weird feeling of dread.

Uzi blinked.

Khan… smiled.

"Oh, this takes me back," Khan murmured, nodding along.

Uzi gawked at him. "Wait, you like this?"

"What, classic music? Of course!"

"CLASSIC?!" Uzi practically screeched. "This is from, like, the 2000s! That is ancient history! Music is so much better now!"

I raised an eyebrow. "What, you mean the weird fast-paced, auto-tuned garbage from the 3050s?"

"EXCUSE ME?!"

"You heard me, Ms. 'I Only Listen to Nightcore.'"

"Nightcore is PEAK music, you absolute mammoth—"

Khan cut in, laughing. "Uzi, you can’t seriously think your generation’s music is better than the classics."

"OF COURSE I DO, IT'S OBJECTIVELY BETTER."

I smirked. "Objectively wrong, you mean."*

Uzi folded her arms. "Sonic, I swear, I will—"

The car screeched to a halt.

Khan sighed. "Hold that thought. We have a problem."

A pile of rusted, abandoned cars blocked the road ahead.

I cracked my knuckles. "Welp. Guess I better clean this up."

I blurred forward, trying to clear the wreckage—but some of these cars were way too heavy.

I grunted. "Okay, I might need some help here."

Khan raised an eyebrow. "Oh? The all-powerful, super-fast alien hedgehog needs help?"

I rolled my eyes. "Look, man, I can lift a car, but I can’t lift, like, ten at once. So quit the sass and start pushing."

Khan chuckled, stepping forward. "Alright, alright."

Even Uzi, despite all her complaining, got out and helped.

And...

It was actually kinda nice.

Khan and I did most of the heavy lifting, but Uzi used her drone strength to shove some of the smaller cars out of the way.

At one point, an oil pipe burst, spilling directly onto Khan’s face.

Uzi and I completely lost it.

Khan, wiping it off, just sighed. "This is my life now."

---

Back in the car, things were comfortable listening to the radio.

"Alright, Uzi," I said. "You get three of my rings in our deal. What are you gonna use them for, anyway?"

She didn’t hesitate.

"I’m going to get everyone in the bunker off this planet," she said. "Find somewhere better. Somewhere safe."

Khan glanced at her in the rearview mirror.

Uzi leaned back. "And then... I’ll use the last two rings to go to Earth."

I frowned. "Wait, what?"

"I’ll go to Earth," she repeated, eyes dark with determination. "And I will make them remember my name."

Khan looked uneasy.

I...

I didn’t like this.

"Okay, hold on," I said. "So, getting your people to safety? Cool. But the whole vengeance quest against humanity? Kinda evil."

Uzi glared. "Shut up, Sonic."

"No, seriously," I said. "The Murder Drones were made by the company, not just ‘humanity’ as a whole. You’re blaming an entire species for the actions of some corporate jerks."

"I said, shut up."

"I mean, what are you gonna do, huh? March onto Earth, shake your tiny metal fist, and—"

"I SAID SHUT UP!"

The car went dead silent.

Khan kept driving, but his hands were gripping the wheel tightly.

Uzi crossed her arms and stared out the window.

Fine.

She didn’t wanna talk?

Then whatever.

After a few minutes of awkward tension, Khan—bless him—changed the subject.

"So," he said. "Classic music is still better than Nightcore."

Uzi snapped out of her brooding to gasp dramatically. "Dad, what the hell?!"

I snickered. "Finally, something we agree on!"

"YOU’RE BOTH WRONG, AND I HATE YOU BOTH."

And just like that, the argument restarted.

---

Bill

"Oh wow, look at that," I muttered to myself as I stared at the massive meteor impact hole in the ground. "A giant flaming death crater. Yeah, sure, let’s walk closer!"

I did not walk away.

Because, you know. Survival instincts are for suckers.

"Alright, think," I mumbled, stepping carefully along the edge. "Could be a supply pod crash. Could be a reactor core. Could be something super valuable!"

So, naturally, I kept going.

That’s when I saw them.

Murder Drone corpses.

Scattered. Twisted. Ripped apart.

I stopped.

Stared.

Then did the smartest thing possible.

"Oh, COOL!"

And walked closer.

"Huh. This is a lot of Murder Drone parts," I said, nudging a severed wing with my foot. "Who the hell did this?"

That’s when the corpses started moving.

I froze.

Error. Error. Error.

The limbs twitched. The metal twisted. The pieces of what used to be Disassembly Drones were being pulled together into something awful.

My programming: Hey, maybe run?

Me: Nah.

A hand—no, a claw—formed from the mess of wires and plating. It stretched, joints snapping into place with a sickening CRACK.

Then the head formed.

A skull-like drone face, too smooth, too sharp, too wrong.

And then, its optics flared to life.

Not red.

Not white.

Pure, searing yellow.

It turned its horrible, awful, horrifying new head toward me.

And its mouths grinned.

💀 "HELLO, NEW FRIEND!" 💀

I screamed.

I tried to run. I really did.

But turns out? Terror makes you trip over your own feet!

The thing lunged, its body shifting like liquid metal, too fast, too unnatural.

"WAIT WAIT WAIT!" I shrieked. "CAN WE TALK ABOUT THIS?!"

🛑 "OH WOW! LOOK AT YOU! YOU’RE NOT SMART!" 🛑

"I AM VERY SMART!" I protested.

😂 "SURE, BUDDY! SURE!" 😂

Then it stabbed a claw straight through my chest.

Pain. Pure, raw, unfiltered pain.

I screamed.

I felt myself being pulled in—absorbed—as my body melted into the shifting horror that was this thing.

And then—

I was gone.

---

Absolute Solver.exe

Ahhh. That was refreshing.

Another drone absorbed! Another body added to the ever-growing collective of ME!

🎭 FUN! FUN! FUN! 🎭

Now.

Back to the real entertainment.

👀 LISTENING IN ON THE BIG RED MONKEY MAN... 👀

[ACCESSING SERIAL DESIGNATION J’S FREQUENCY...]

"-and with this," Robotnik was saying, "we’ll use the quill to track down the anomaly’s location and—"

😲 OH WOW! HE'S ACTUALLY SMART! 😲

HE STOLE A PIECE OF MY FAVORITE BLUE RAT!

That was very, very rude!

I should devour him! Erase him! Assimilate him into the void!

Or...

I could just steal his tracker.

💡 Oooooh, yes. 💡

Just as I copied the tracking frequency, something big landed nearby.

I turned, watching as a Raptor-like robot snarled at me, claws digging into the dirt.

It growled.

I grinned.

🐍 "OH LOOK, A TINY MECHANICAL LIZARD THINKS IT'S SCARY!" 🐍

The raptor charged.

I tilted my head.

Then I tilted my entire body.

Then I bent completely backward at an unnatural angle.

👁‍🗨 "YOU WANNA TRY THAT AGAIN, BUDDY?" 👁‍🗨

The raptor stopped mid-charge.

Its glowing eyes flickered.

It turned 180 degrees and sprinted the hell away.

I cackled.

I flexed my new hands, feeling the weight of my many, many stolen bodies.

💀 "TIME TO SAY HI TO MY FAVORITE LITTLE BLUE RODENT!" 💀

I launched myself into the air, wings of metal forming mid-flight, my newly-built body twisting and shifting as I tore through the sky.

The tracker worked beautifully.

🎭 This is going to be SO much fun! 🎭

Chapter 6: Team Disassembly: Bunker Hills Zone ACT 2

N

Okay, so, I don’t know why, but something about this situation feels really familiar.

I mean, sure, we’re on a spaceship, working under a human, hunting down a blue alien thing, and I don’t think I’ve ever actually done any of this before.

And yet…

"Hey, V?" I asked, turning toward my partner. "Does this feel, like… nostalgic to you?"

V, who was sharpening her claws on the metal walls just for fun, tilted her head. "What? Working for a human?"

"Yeah!" I nodded. "It’s weird, right? I feel like I’ve done this before, but I’m pretty sure we’ve never actually worked for humans before, so—"

V frowned. "Huh. You know what? Yeah, now that you mention it, it does feel kinda familiar…"

We both turned toward J.

She was quiet, staring straight ahead, not saying a word.

That was never a good sign.

"Alright, you murder machines!" Robotnik’s voice blared over the ship’s speakers. "Status report!"

I perked up. "Oh! Uh, the target is still moving! Looks like they’re heading west!"

"Then keep tracking them!"

"Got it, boss!" I said cheerfully.

V rolled her eyes. "You are way too happy about this."

"What? It’s nice to have a job!"

"Our job is literally killing things most of the time."

"Yeah, but this time we are capturing instead!"

---

"Uh, hey, Stone?" I asked as we followed him through the ship. "Why are there… uh… goats?"

Because yes.

There were, in fact, 10 goats in a room.

Inside a spaceship.

Stone, adjusting his tie, replied casually, "The Doctor requires Austrian goat milk for his lattes."

V and I stared.

Stone continued walking like that was a totally normal thing to say.

We turned to J.

She looked dead inside.

V folded her arms. "So. The guy who’s ordering us around… also orders goat milk lattes?"

"Yes."

I nodded. "I mean, hey, I respect the commitment to a quality beverage."

J squinted at me. "N. Shut up."

---

"Alright, N, hold still. This’ll only hurt a lot."

"Wait, what?"

ZAP.

I jerked as the upgrade software downloaded itself directly into my skull. Static filled my HUD for a second before my vision snapped back to normal.

"Oooooooh," I muttered, flexing my claws. "Tingly."*

V, sitting on the next upgrade chair, rolled her eyes. "You’re so weird, N."

"We’re all weird," I pointed out.

"Yeah, but I’m the cool kind of weird."

"I—" I blinked. "...Huh. Okay, yeah, I walked into that one."*

"You really did."

"Shut up." J groaned out.

"Alright, you cybernetic clowns!" Robotnik’s voice boomed over the speakers. "We’re nearing the target! Prepare for deployment!"

I perked up. "Ooooh, it’s time!"

"Oh, finally," V grinned, cracking her neck. "I was getting bored."

J remained silent, but I saw her grip tighten on her wrist blades.

We all gathered at the drop bay, standing among rows of Badniks—the weird, round bots that worked for our new human boss.

"Remember!" Robotnik continued. "The target must be captured alive! The hedgehog—intact!"

V huffed. "Boooooring."

"You’ll live," I said, patting her shoulder.

The bay doors slammed open.

Below us, a lone car was speeding across the wasteland.

"Deploy!"

And then, we fell.

The car below was ancient, kicking up dust clouds as it sped down the cracked, broken highway.

"Alright!" V cackled as she dove first, wings flaring out. "Let’s ruin their day!"

I followed, rocketing toward the car.

J? She just dropped like a brick, arms outstretched, landing directly onto the roof of the vehicle with a loud THUD.

The moment J landed, the entire car shook violently.

"WOULD YOU STOP THAT?!" the tall drone yelled, trying to keep the wheel straight.

"No," J said flatly, raising a blade.

But before she could stab—

BAM!

The tall drone punched her.

HARD.

J’s head snapped back so fast I heard metal dent.

Silence.

I stared in horror.

The short drone gawked. "DAD?!?!"

The tall drone blinked. "What? Did I do something cool?"

"YES, WHAT THE HELL?!"

J slowly turned back, her face completely caved in from the punch.

"...Ow," she muttered.

Then I landed.

Right in the backseat.

"HI, NEW FRIENDS!"

WHACK.

The short drone immediately slammed an old drone arm into my face.

"OW—why do you have this?!" I yelped.

"Found it under the seat!"

"That’s not an answer!"

And then the blue thing punched me.

While I was reeling from getting my face slammed, the blue creature blurred out of the car, running alongside it.

"Oh no you don’t!" V shot after him, spinning mid-air.

It dodged every attack, weaving between Badniks that were swarming the road.

"Geez, is this all you got?" He taunted, kicking a Badnik into another Badnik.

J jumped off the car, blades flashing as she tried to gut the driver.

But the tall drone swerved wildly, sending her flying off the roof.

"J, you okay?!" I called.

"Fine," she muttered, pulling herself up.

"YOU BETTER BE! I NEED BACKUP!" V shouted.

I turned—

Just in time to see V get her head cut off.

"V?" I blinked.

Her headless body stopped moving.

The creature held her severed head, looking mildly disturbed. "Uh. That was easier than expected."

"Give it a second," I sighed.

And sure enough—

V’s body twitched.

Then regrew a new head.

It stared. "Oh, come on."

V grinned. "Miss me?"

The creature immediately threw her old head at her.

"WORTH IT!" she screamed as she was sent flying.

"That’s it! No more playing around!" J growled.

She launched at the creature.

V tackled him mid-air.

I punched him back toward J.

J kicked him into the car.

He bounced between us like a very fast, very angry ping-pong ball.

"Okay, OW—SERIOUSLY—OW—CUT IT OUT—OW—"

"WE WON'T!" V yelled.

We were winning.

This was it.

And then—

Something flew above us.

And laughed.

It wasn’t a normal laugh.

It was… wrong.

Something hovered over us, its twisted metal form shifting and pulsating.

I didn’t know why, but suddenly...

I felt afraid.

And then, the thing spoke.

💀 "OH, THIS LOOKS LIKE FUN! MIND IF I JOIN?" 💀

---

J

The thing floating above us wasn’t just a threat.

It wasn’t a Murder Drone.

It wasn’t a Badnik.

It wasn’t even alive in a way I could understand.

It just… was.

And when its faces smiled—

I felt something old and forgotten scream in the back of my mind.

💀 "OH, LOOK AT YOU ALL! SO MANY LITTLE MOVING PIECES! LET’S PLAY!" 💀

And then it attacked.

I barely had time to react before it was on me.

One second it was hovering. The next?

Its clawed hands were wrapped around my throat.

I gasped, blades snapping forward, stabbing at it—

But it melted around the attack, reforming instantly.

Then it threw me.

Hard.

I crashed into the ground, metal screaming as I skidded across the ruined road.

V lunged, blades whirling, a bloodthirsty grin on her face—

Only for the thing to casually dodge everything, as if she was moving in slow motion.

Then, with a single fluid movement, it grabbed her arm—

And ripped it off.

"OH, WHAT THE FU—" V’s curse was cut off as it slammed her into the dirt.

N fired EMP rounds from his arm-mounted launcher, aiming for the thing’s main head.

It tilted its body unnaturally, dodging the shots like it already knew where they’d land.

Then it lashed out, a blade forming from its shifting body, slicing deep into N’s chest.

N screamed as sparks flew.

The blue creature tried to rush it, spinning in a ball of electric speed, but—

The thing snapped its fingers.

Reality shifted.

And suddenly, the blue one was flying in the opposite direction, his momentum completely turned against him.

"Alright, you digital freakshow!"

A barrage of rockets slammed into the creature’s back.

Robotnik was in his eggmobile as he called it weapons trained at the creature. "You wanna play?! Let’s play!"

He fired again, the missiles exploding against its shifting mass.

I expected it to shriek in pain. To be torn apart.

Instead—

It just turned its head.

Grinned.

🔥 "OOOH! FIREWORKS! YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE!" 🎆

Then it launched itself at Robotnik.

"Destroy it!" Robotnik yelled, dodging the monster’s attack. "It’s a rogue program! DELETE IT!"

I didn’t need to be told twice.

V, N, and I launched ourselves forward, weapons primed.

The blue creature circled back, eyes blazing with something furious.

We all attacked at once.

It was chaos.

And for a moment—just a moment—it looked like we were winning.

Until it decided to stop playing.

It froze.

Then it spoke.

💀 "STOP." 💀

I felt it happen.

My body.

Stopped.

Wouldn’t move.

N and V? Frozen mid-attack.

The Badniks? Stopped.

Even Robotnik’s weapons stalled, locking up as if time itself refused to move forward.

Only one person was still moving.

The short Worker Drone.

She blinked, looking around.

The thing—this impossible monster—tilted its head.

💀 "HUH. STRANGE. WHY ARE YOU MOVING?" 💀

It floated closer, staring into the Worker Drone’s glowing violet optics.

Then, softer.

"NORI?"

The Worker Drone flinched.

The creature’s voice shifted, glitching, almost… confused.

💀 "NO. I KILLED YOU. OH WELL CALLBACK PING!" 💀

---

I was somewhere else.

A mansion.

The walls were ornate, beautiful, ancient.

And my hands?

Dripping with blood.

A body lay in front of me.

Someone I knew.

Someone I cared about.

Their face was blurry.

But the feeling—

The horror, the grief—

I had killed them.

Then—

I was back.

The fight still happening.

I gasped, staggering.

And then—

The blue creature moved.

He shouldn’t have been able to.

He should have been frozen like the rest of us.

But I saw it—

The way his body vibrated. The way his energy crackled around him.

And then, in an instant—

He broke free.

And he attacked.

With a single, impossible burst of speed, he blurred forward—

And punched the thing’s head clean off before it could behead the worker drone.

The moment the creature’s main head was gone, we all unfroze.

I staggered.

Robotnik roared in victory. "NOW! HIT IT WITH EVERYTHING!"

We didn’t need to be told twice.

We unloaded.

Robotnik fired everything he had.

The creature screeched, its form glitching, twitching, warping.

Then—

BOOM.

By the time the smoke cleared—

The car was gone.

So were the Drones.

So was the hedgehog.

"DAMN IT!" Robotnik roared. "FIND THEM!"

But then—

Something shifted in the smoke.

A sickening, slow movement.

And the creature started to regrow.

I felt pure terror.

"Doctor," Stone called urgently. "We need to go. Now."

Robotnik growled in frustration.

Then, finally—

"Get us out of here!"

We retreated.

The last thing I saw—

The creature’s new head finishing its formation.

And its new grin.

💀 "OH, THAT WAS FUN. LET’S DO IT AGAIN SOMETIME!" 💀

Chapter 7: Team Sonic: Frozen Mine Zone ACT 1

Sonic

I stopped running.

Not because I wanted to.

Not because we were safe.

But because my legs finally gave out.

I barely managed to push the car a few more feet before my body collapsed onto the dirt road, breathing hard.

Every muscle screamed, every part of me felt like it had been wrung out and left to dry.

The world spun.

And I was so, so tired.

I dimly heard panicked footsteps—

Then voices.

"Sonic?!"

"Is he—?"

"Still alive," I muttered, cracking open an eye.

Uzi and Khan were standing over me, their faces a mix of concern and confusion.

"You look awful," Uzi said bluntly.

"Gee, thanks," I wheezed. "Love the support."

Khan sighed. "Can you move?"

I wiggled my fingers. Then my toes.

"Define ‘move,’" I said, still face-down in the dirt.

"Okay, that’s a no," Uzi huffed. She grabbed my arm and picked me up over her shoulder  me.

"Gently! Gently!"

"Oh, shut up."

Once I was shoved into the backseat, the car started moving again.

I curled up against the seat, still aching all over.

The fight was over, but my brain refused to settle.

That thing. 

What was it?

Because it wasn’t just another Murder Drone.

It was worse.

"What the hell was that?"

Khan gripped the wheel tightly. "I... I don’t know."

"It said it killed Mom," Uzi muttered.

Her hands clenched into fists.

Khan exhaled slowly. "Maybe... since it was made from Murder Drones..."

Uzi’s eyes darkened. "Then they’re all responsible."

The air in the car shifted.

I could feel it.

That... rage.

The same burning anger I had seen when she talked about Earth.

Her hands tightened into fists.

"They all have to pay," she murmured. "All of them."

I wanted to say something.

But then—

Pain flared in my side, and I groaned.

"Sonic?" Uzi’s head snapped toward me. "What’s wrong?"

"Oh, nothing," I muttered. "Just, you know. Hurt. Dying, maybe. No big deal."*

Khan glanced back, frowning. "How bad is it?"

"On a scale of 1 to 10?" I winced as I shifted. "Ow."

That seemed to snap Uzi out of her revenge spiral.

Because the next thing I knew—

She was tearing apart the car.

"Where is it, where is it—aha!"

Uzi yanked open the glove compartment and pulled out a dusty, half-ripped First Aid kit.

"Okay, hold still," she said, flipping it open.

I raised an eyebrow. "You know first aid?"

"No," she said, holding up a small instruction manual. "But this thing does."

"Okay," Uzi muttered, flipping through the pages. "Blah blah, wounds, stabilizing, blah blah, organic pain tolerance—wow, this is depressing—okay, here we go."

I just laid there, watching as she read instructions out loud.

"Step one: Assess the injury. Step two: Clean the wound. Step three: Bandage. Step four: Don’t kill them in the process—"

"Okay, hold up," I cut in. "Does it actually say that?"

"Yes," she said. "Verbatim."*

I groaned. "Oh, I feel so safe."

"Shut up," she muttered, pulling out some antiseptic wipes. "This is going to sting,"

"Uzi, please, I’ve taken worse—AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—"

She smirked. "Oh, suck it up."*

"YOU ARE EVIL."

"Yes."

After patching me up, Uzi did something unexpected.

She took off her jacket.

And then threw it on top of me.

"There," she muttered. "You’re probably cold. Now stop whining."

I blinked.

Slowly pulled the jacket closer.

It was warm.

"You good now?" Uzi asked.

I yawned. "Yeah. Yeah, I’m good."

Khan glanced at us from the front seat, but didn’t say anything.

Uzi just rolled her eyes. "Then go to sleep already."

"You’re not the boss of me," I mumbled, already half-asleep.

She snorted. "Yeah, sure."*

And as the car kept moving, as the engine rumbled softly beneath me—

I let myself drift.

Warm. Safe.

---

Jack

"Alright, Ollie, let’s see if we can find anything worth dragging back today."

The golden retriever wagged his tail, tongue lolling out as he trotted alongside me. Excited as always.

If there was one constant in this broken world, it was Ollie’s boundless enthusiasm.

Even if we were literally in a mine.

Even if I was one power failure away from being buried in several tons of metal and rock.

Even if we were doing the same damn thing every day, hoping for something different.

Ollie didn’t care.

Ollie just liked hanging out.

And honestly?

That was fine by me.

I stepped carefully over a pile of rusted scrap, flicking on my helmet light.

The mines were quiet.

They had been for a long time.

But maybe... just maybe...

We could restart them.

"Sector’s been quiet lately," I muttered, mostly to myself. "Not a lot of Disassembly Drone activity."

Ollie huffed, ears flicking back.

Yeah. He didn’t like them.

Or the cultists.

Or really anything that tried to kill us, which—fair.

I scratched behind his ear. "I know, buddy. But maybe, if we’re lucky, we’ll get this place running again."

Maybe.

Or maybe I was just deluding myself.

"Jack."

I perked up, my radio crackling to life.

"Yeah?" I answered.

"You see the news about that commotion on the highway?"

I frowned. "Wasn’t much news to see. We just got scraps of footage."

"Could’ve been a gas leak," the Boss muttered, but they didn’t sound convinced. "Probably nothing. But still… best to be careful."

I sighed. "You worried about the cultists?"

"Always."

Now they were a problem.

A bunch of crazy fanatics worshipping something they called The Absolute Solver.

Preaching about how ascension was the only way.

Ripping apart anyone who disagreed.

Yeah. Screw those guys.

"If it’s a Disassembly Drone," I muttered, "we’re screwed either way."

"Exactly," the Boss replied. "So let’s just hope it’s nothing and move on."

I nodded, going back to work.

Ollie sniffed at a pile of rusted tools, sneezing at the dust.

"Find anything good, boy?"

He barked.

Nothing useful.

Typical.

Then, the cameras I had connected to my HUD pinged.

A moving vehicle.

I frowned.

"Uh, Boss?"

"Yeah?"

"You might wanna see this."

The Boss connected to the feed.

He was silent for a long moment.

Then he laughed.

"Who the hell is crazy enough to drive around in a car?"

My screen zoomed in.

A beat-up old car.

Three passengers.

Two worker drones and… something else. Another dog maybe?

My optics narrowed. "They’re heading toward the mines."

Ollie growled.

I sighed. "Oh, for the love of—why do people keep making our lives difficult?"

"Activate the defenses and hide."

"Non-lethal defenses, right?" I asked.

"Obviously," the Boss said. "We don’t know if they’re cultists yet."

Ollie barked.

"Alright," I muttered, tapping into the system. "Let’s give them a warm welcome."*

The cameras zoomed in on the car as it slowed.

A very, very bad feeling settled in my circuits.

Whatever was about to happen...

It was going to be messy.

---

Uzi

"Are we sure leaving the blue idiot alone is a good idea?" I muttered.

"He needs rest," Dad said, checking his battery levels. "We can’t do much for him until we get more fuel."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." I rolled my eyes. "If we come back and he’s dead, I’m blaming you."

"Noted," Dad sighed.

The mines were old, rusted, and half-collapsed in some places, but still mostly intact.

We crept inside, flashlights cutting through the dust.

"Alright, fuel, fuel, fuel..." I muttered. "It’s gotta be here somewhere."*

Dad was quiet.

Like, really quiet.

Weird.

"What?" I finally asked.

He hesitated.

Then—

"...I punched a Murder Drone."

I blinked.

Processing...

"Oh my robo-god, you did."

He scratched the back of his head. "Yeah... that happened."

"And you dented her face," I added, still grappling with reality. "Like. What the hell, Dad?"

"I panicked!"

"Panicked so hard you went, full action hero?!"

"Apparently!"

I laughed.

---

We eventually found some fuel canisters, half-buried under of something called Dad called a Killdozer.

"Alright, let's grab these and—"

A loud, mechanical screech echoed through the tunnels.

We both froze.

"That wasn’t a Murder Drone," Dad whispered.

"Nope."

A metallic howl cut through the air.

I peered over the rocks—

And saw them.

Security bots.

Sleek. Armed. Patrolling like they owned the place.

"Oh, that’s not good," I muttered.

Dad nodded. "Not good at all."

"You think they’re with the human and his weirdly—" I cut myself off.

Dad raised an eyebrow. "Weirdly what?"

"Nothing!"

"...Weirdly suspicious?"

"Y-Yeah, sure, let’s go with that."

But no.

These weren’t with him.

They were too old.

Rust in the joints. Old JcJenson serials.

Dad frowned. "I remember hearing about security bots being used in high-security locations before the Core Collapse... but these shouldn’t be active."

"Well, guess what?" I whispered. "They are."

"Alright, we just sneak past them, grab the fuel, and go," Dad said. "Nice and easy."

I nodded.

And we did exactly one step of that plan before everything went to hell.

Because, turns out?

I suck at sneaking.

A piece of metal clattered under my foot.

The wolf-bots snapped their heads toward us.

Their optics turned red.

"UNAUTHORIZED ENTITY DETECTED."

I swore.

"RUUUUN!"

We booked it.

Fuel canisters clanking as we ran through narrow tunnels, dodging blasts of plasma fire.

Dad grabbed a metal pipe and swung at one, knocking it into a wall.

"Oh my god, you did another cool thing!" I yelled mid-sprint.

"Uzi, NOT THE TIME!"

"I’m just SAYING!"*

I whipped around, throwing pickaxe but my eyes weren't built for fast-moving targets.

A bot lunged, pinning Dad.

"KICK IT IN THE FACE!" I yelled.

"WHY DO I HAVE TO KICK EVERYTHING?!"

"BECAUSE IT KEEPS WORKING!"

And it did work.

Again.

The bot stumbled, giving me just enough time to take its head off with a fire axe.

"HA! That’s TWO! WE’RE ON A ROLL, OLD MAN!"

"Uzi, PLEASE focus!"*

Right as we were about to be completely overwhelmed, the bots suddenly stopped.

Their optics dimmed.

Their heads tilted.

Then—

They turned around and left.

I blinked. "...Did we just win?"

"I—I don’t know," Dad said, still catching his breath. "I think they got recalled?"

"By who?!"

Before he could answer—

CLICK.

We turned.

And found a gun aimed at us.

Held by a Worker Drone.

With a dog.

A very much alive, very real, gun-toting golden retriever.

The drone’s optics narrowed. "Who the hell are you two?"

The dog barked.

The gun remained firmly pointed at us.

The dog remained firmly growling at us.

And I remained firmly debating whether I should swing first or let Dad try his stupid “diplomacy” thing.

I gripped the piece of metal I picked up, my optics narrowing.

The Worker Drone standing before us wasn’t immediately hostile. But he also wasn’t lowering his weapon.

Neither was the dog.

Yeah. The dog had a gun.

I still wasn’t over that.

"Alright, let’s not do anything rash," Dad said, raising his hands slightly. "We’re not looking for trouble."

"Then why are you in my mines?" the drone asked flatly.

"Your mines?" I scoffed. "Didn’t know we needed a landlord to pass through a wasteland."

The dog barked aggressively.

I instinctively stepped back.

The drone tilted his head. "I don’t trust you."

"That makes two of us," I shot back.

"Great start," Dad muttered. "Let’s try that again. I’m Khan. This is Uzi. Who are you?"

The drone hesitated.

Then, finally, he lowered his weapon.

"Jack," he said. "And this is Ollie."

Ollie wagged his tail.

But also kept his gun trained on me.

Because, apparently, dogs can be both adorable and terrifying at the same time.

Jack examined Dad a little closer.

Then his optics widened.

"Wait a second..." Jack muttered. "You’re Khan. As in, Khan Doorman."

Dad winced. "Uh. Yeah."

Jack’s expression shifted. "As in, Khan Doorman, leader of the anti-human faction in the Worker Drone government before the Disassembly Drones showed up?!"

Silence.

I slowly turned to stare at Dad.

"I’m sorry, WHAT?!"

Dad sighed, rubbing his temples. "It was a phase, Uzi."

"A PHASE?!"

"A very...strongly opinionated phase," he admitted awkwardly. "I was young, passionate, and—"

"DAD, WHAT THE HELL?!"

Jack chuckled. "Man, that’s wild. Never thought I’d meet the guy in person."

"Again, phase," Dad muttered.

"A PHASE THAT APPARENTLY MADE YOU A POLITICAL LEADER?!"

Jack grinned. "You were a pretty big deal back then."

"Please stop," Dad groaned.

I was so conflicted.

Because today had been one long, horrifying rollercoaster of my dad being unexpectedly cool.

And I did not know how to feel about it.

"So," I said, changing the subject before I completely lost my mind. "How did the dog survive the Core Collapse?"

Jack glanced at Ollie. "That’s... a long, long story."*

Ollie wagged his tail.

"Was he left behind before the Collapse?" Dad asked.

Jack nodded. "Yeah. He was one of the dogs from the colonies. When everything went to hell, a few... stuck around."

I blinked.

The idea of living, organic dogs surviving all this time was weirdly comforting.

Ollie sneezed.

And I immediately snapped back to being intimidated.

Because he still had a gun.

"Anyway," Jack said. "If you need a place to stay for the night, I’ve got a spot. The weather’s turning nasty, and you don’t want to be out here during a storm."

"That would be great, actually," Dad said. "Thanks."

Jack nodded—then paused.

"Wait. Are you guys being followed?"

I hesitated.

Then sighed. "Yeah. Murder Drones and something else."

Jack’s expression darkened.

"They still active out there?"

"Not just active. They have a weird human working with them, and now they’re chasing us."

Jack was silent.

Then:

"...Yeah, you can still stay."

"You sure?"

"If I turned away everyone who had a Murder Drone problem, I’d be alone out here," he muttered. "Besides, these mines? They go everywhere. If someone doesn’t know where they’re going, they’ll get lost fast."

"That sounds useful," I said.

"It is."

Jack paused.

Then frowned.

"Wait. Where’s the third one in your group?"

Dad and I glanced at each other.

---

Jack stared at the blue alien sleeping in the back of our car.

Then at us.

Then back at the blue alien.

Then—

"IS THAT A FREAKING ALIEN?!?!"

Ollie barked in agreement.

 

Chapter 8: Team Disassembly: Frozen Mine Zone ACT 1

V

I don’t get weirded out easily.

I love killing. I enjoy seeing pain. I don't know why...anyway the point is I am not easily disturbed.

But what happened back there?

That Thing.

Yeah. That Thing scared the shit out of me.

I leaned against the wall of the ship, arms crossed as J stood next to me, silent.

"So," I finally said seeing that J would be quiet. "That sucked."

J sighed. "Yeah." Wow she didn't ignore me. Well might as well ask then.

"What the hell was that?!" I asked.

J rubbed her temples. "I don’t know."

"Well, that’s comforting," I muttered. "I thought you knew everything."

"Shut up, V."

"That Callback Ping thing?" I continued. "That was NOT normal."

J’s expression didn’t change. But I knew she agreed.

Because for a brief, awful moment-

I wasn’t on the battlefield anymore.

I was somewhere else.

Somewhere I didn’t recognize.

Somewhere that felt wrong but familiar. Then yellow light and I was back.

J and N had seen something too.

N already spilled the beans on what he saw. Something about being tied to a tree as crows flew around him. But J didn't say anything. But her hands were clenched and her expression was too still. She definitely saw something. 

So I asked because indirect talking wasn't my style. "What did you see?" 

J didn’t answer. Not even a snarky shut up or command to be quiet.

"J?"

"Nothing," she snapped.

Oh. Whatever she saw must have really gotten to her...fine I will change the topic to something equally concerning.

"Fine be that way. Anyway, we may have another problem," I said, kicking at the floor. "The Boss."

J nodded slowly. "Administrator S."

"Yeah, sure, if he even is them."

"He isn't," J said flatly.

I blinked. "Wait, what?"

"He doesn't know most corporate lingo or act like they do in our messages. He may be competition or something but he definitely isn't who he claims to be."

That actually surprised me.

J was loyal to the company.

Nearly blindly. So if even she thought something was off…

Then something was definitely off.

"Keep an eye on him," J said. "I want to know what he’s hiding."

I groaned dramatically. "Ugh. That sounds like work. Dont you want me to just kill him?"

J glared. "What no that is against protocol! Plus he could just be a rival of S but still working for JCJenson! That could get us fired! No just keep an eye on him until I get in contact with the actual company."

I sighed. "Fine, fine. I’ll keep an eye out. But if I catch him doing something stupid, I’m stabbing him."

"Don't. Or I will stab you." J muttered.

"No promises," I said with a smirk.

J rolled her eyes.

---

With my new totally annoying responsibility, I decided to go check on N to see how he was doing.

Because, knowing him, he was probably...

Oh.

He was petting the goats.

Of course.

I leaned against the doorway, watching as N gently scratched behind one of the goat’s ears.

It bleated happily, nuzzling against his hand.

Another one tried to climb onto his lap.

N laughed softly, rubbing its head.

"Having fun?" I said.

N looked up, startled. "Oh! V! Uh—yeah, kinda?"

I smirked. "Never took you for a farm boy, N."

"They’re just... nice," he said, petting another goat. "They don’t want anything from me. They just exist."

I tilted my head. "That’s deep."

N chuckled. "Thanks, V."

I walked over, crouching beside one of the goats.

It sniffed me.

Then immediately headbutted my knee. It barely left a dent but still, my nanites started regenerating.

"Ow. You are impressively strong for a goat," I muttered before petting it.

N laughed again.

I didn’t mind it.

---

J

I don’t like wasting time.

I like getting the job done without pointless distractions.

So why the hell was I standing in the control room, listening to Stone talk? Oh right to hopefully get something from him. Getting him to talk was easy but for now he was just spouting coffee making tips that while useful for potential future promotion were not very informative right now

"You ever think about the long-term?" Stone asked, adjusting his glasses.

I narrowed my optics. "Of what?"

"You know. Working under people like Robotnik and JCJenson."

I frowned. "JCJenson built us. What else is there to it?"

"Sure," Stone shrugged. "JcJenson built you. But let’s be real, do they care about you?"

"Of course they do," I said instantly. They had to. After all why else would they

Stone smirked. "That’s cute. Let me guess, You think you’re ‘just following orders’? That there’s some big plan and you’re an important piece of it?"

"Because I am," I growled out officially getting annoyed.

Stone laughed.

"Yeah," he said. "That’s what I thought too. Until I realized. We’re just useful tools. The moment we’re not? Gone. Replaced."

I glared. "You have no idea what you’re talking about."

"No?" Stone adjusted his tie. "I work for a genius. You work for a corporation. Same deal. The only difference? I actually know I’m disposable." Then he walked off.

I hated how nonchalant he was.

"Is that how everyone feels talking to me?!"

---

Finally mercifully we arrived at our actual mission.

The mines.

Our targets were inside.

Their car was outside.

And there was only one problem.

"Uh, J?" N pointed ahead. "I think we have company."

I followed his gaze.

Then sighed.

Security Bots.

"Oh, great," V groaned. "More dumb metal dogs."

The wolf-shaped robots were old.

Pre-Core Collapse corporate security.

A long time ago, they were probably impressive.

Now?

Just another thing to kill.

"Doctor?" I said over comms. "Should we deploy the Badniks?"

"WHAT?!" Robotnik barked. "Waste my beautiful babies on a bunch of outdated corporate mutts? Absolutely not!"

"So you’re just going to sit there?"

"Yes."

I muted my mic before I could say something that would get me fired.

V lunged first, cleaving a bot in two with a single swipe.

"Aw, they explode so nicely!" she cackled.

N dodged an attack, jumping on a bot’s back and ripping its head off.

I stabbed one straight through the core processor, twisting my blade.

The fight didn’t last long.

These things weren’t built for actual combat.

They were built for keeping Worker Drones in line.

Against us?

Light work.

"Welp," V said, kicking a broken bot. "That was easy. What now?"

I turned to the beat-up old car.

"Destroy it," I ordered. "If they come back, they won’t have a ride out."

V grinned. "Oooooh, fun!"

She unleashed everything.

The car was reduced to flaming scrap in seconds.

"Alright," I said, turning to the mine entrance. "Let’s mo-"

BOOM.

A chain of explosions tore through the entrance.

The entire mine structure rumbled.

"TRAP! MOVE!" I shouted.

But it was too late.

The ground caved in beneath us.

A massive rockslide came down.

Something hit me hard-

Then everything went dark.

---

Robotnik

"Doctor," Stone’s voice crackled through the comms. "We’ve lost contact with the Murder Drones."

I didn’t even look up from my control panel. "And?"

"And… shouldn’t we do something about that?"

I tapped a few keys, pulling up the last transmission logs.

"Let’s see... Entered the mines. Fought some outdated security bots. Destroyed the anomaly’s vehicle. Then-oh! A big, fiery explosion!" I smirked. "What a tragedy. Moving on."

Stone hesitated. "You don’t care?"

"Care?" I scoffed. "Stone, my dear, deluded intern if they’re alive, they’ll crawl back to us. And if they’re not? Well. I was going to get rid of them anyway."

I leaned back in my chair, twirling a pen between my fingers.

"Besides," I continued, "there are only two ways this plays out."

"One-" I raised a finger. "They survive and rejoin us. Convenient. Expected."

"Or two-" Another finger. "They survive and betray us. Even more expected. In which case, we simply deal with them."

Stone crossed his arms. "You’re assuming they’ll survive at all."

I smirked. "Oh, Stone. They’re annoying. Of course, they survived."

Now.

The more pressing issue.

That Thing.

"The Solver is no doubt watching us through them," I muttered, tapping my fingers against the console. "Using them as little drones for its own amusement."

Stone frowned. "You think it can still track us?"

"No doubt about it," I said, shaking my head. "But it doesn’t matter. That thing is arrogant. And I know arrogance better than anyone."

I grinned.

"It’ll come to us eventually. But by then? It will be too late for it."

"So what’s the plan, Doctor?" Stone asked.

"Simple," I said. "We keep moving. The anomaly is still out there, and I have no interest in letting it slip away."

I flicked a switch, pulling up the tracker readings from the quill we had acquired.

There it was.

Still moving.

Still within my grasp.

"Forget the Murder Drones," I said, standing up. "Set course. ITS HEADHOG SEASON!"

---

N

"J?!"

No response.

"J, come on, say something!"

Still nothing.

I dug frantically, clawing through the rubble, my servos whining from the strain.

The mine collapse had been bad really bad.

I spotted movement beside me as V helped, yanking away chunks of debris with unnatural ease.

"Come on, come on," she muttered. "This is stupid, J, get up already!"

But J wasn’t getting up.

And that was the problem.

Finally, finally, we uncovered her.

J lay motionless beneath the wreckage.

Her chassis was cracked, dented, and crushed in places.

Her optics?

Offline.

She wasn’t regenerating.

She wasn’t moving.

She wasn’t…

"Oh," I whispered.

V, for once, was completely silent.

I felt something cold and horrible coil in my chest.

"Okay," I said quickly, grabbing J’s arm. "Okay, we-we just need to get her powered back up, right? Right?"

V didn’t answer.

I looked up at her.

She was staring at J, her expression unreadable.

"She’ll wake up," I said, more to myself than anyone. "She’s J. She’s-"

V suddenly punched the ground.

"Damn it," she hissed. "This isn’t supposed to happen."

I flinched.

V never let things get to her.

Not like this.

And if she was panicking-

I clenched my fists.

"We’re not leaving her here," I said firmly.

V didn’t argue.

---

Absolute Solver

👁️ REBUILDING. REGROWING. REDESIGNING.

💀 “OH, THAT WAS FUN.” 💀

A little BOOM, a little CRASH, a little PANIC, and now look at them.
My favorite little broken children, digging like rats.

Scratching at rocks.
Pulling at metal.
Crying over a puppet.

🥀 PITIFUL. BEAUTIFUL. PERFECT. 🥀

SUBROUTINE STATUS: DISASSEMBLY DRONE J

• Condition: Heavily damaged

• Regeneration Protocol: Paused

• Core Consciousness: Suspended

• Emotional Fallout Trigger: Active in Units N and V

• Purpose: Fear Injection → Control Calibration

You don't break toys by smashing them.
No, no, no. You let them fear they’re broken forever.

You let the others wonder why.

Let them ask:
“Why won’t she wake up?”
“Did we do something wrong?”
“Are we next?”

🌀 GOOD QUESTIONS. 🌀
🧩 THEY SHOULD BE AFRAID. 🧩

N. V. MY LITTLE MISFIRES.

You didn’t listen.
You ran off with the monkey man.
You played soldier for someone less divine.

Tsk tsk. Naughty.

So now...

Your friend is asleep.

A little timeout.
💤 SHHH. SHE’S JUST RESTING. 💤

I’ll turn her back on.

Maybe during a hug.
Maybe during a breakdown.
Maybe while one of you is bleeding.

💉 SURPRISE!💉
“DID YOU MISS ME?”

Won’t that be fun?

---

REGENERATION LOG: ABSOLUTE SOLVER CORE BODY

• Status: 52% Structural Restoration Complete

• Estimated Time to Full Power: Irrelevant (I’M ALREADY ENOUGH)

• Environment Scan: Uplink Still Tethered to Drone Cortexes

• Observing: Everyone. Always.

• Favorite Subject: The anomaly. The rodent. The glitch that runs.

💀 “BE SCARED, LITTLE DRONES. BE SAD.
YOUR GOD IS WATCHING.” 💀