Chapter Text
An ugly stench of detergents burned nostrils as badniks scrubbed off the room after another failed test. Walls, floor, equipment – all covered with remains of his failures.
One by one the so-called “Artificial Chaos Creature 2.0” prototypes torn to shreds, but a unique specimen survived. A glowing blob of goo swirled inside a capsule, surrounded by tubes coming out of it. There was a thin metal plate attached to it with an engraved name – J-1N-X.
“I thought it would be impossible for it to hold this long,” Eggman muttered while analysing statistics on the screen before him. “So much unstable energy, yet it still holds together. Great progress for my future evil plan! Ha-ha-ha!”
“Doctor,” Orbot announced, floating in with Cubot close behind. The bot held up a handful of reddish fur. “We got you some raccoon fur!”
The fat man’s moustache turned straight for a moment before he groaned, yanking it. “Imbeciles! I told Metal to get a sample from a Chaos-wielding rat, not you! And you bring me trash panda fur?! I should take this as an insult to my genius.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling. “Ugh, whatever. I suppose it’ll work for trial tests.”
“This much for hard work...” Orbot would’ve rolled his eyes if he could.
“Work? But we-" Cubot immediately earned a bump against his square head.
“Tss! He can hear us!”
“Get out!” Eggman’s yell sent them scrambling for the door. Once they were gone, he grumbled, “Now, where was I? Oh, right.” A robotic arm emerged from the floor, plucking the fur from his glove.
It was time for another round of tests. He had a vision – something his grandfather Gerald would never consider when creating those Chaos-like soldiers to guard the ARK. His new creation would become a dangerous being, a piece of the puzzle to hint at worse things coming their way, maybe even rougher (though less uncontrollable) than Metal Virus.
Lately his genius mind was swirling with possibilities artificial chaos creatures had; they were beings of water and condensed chaos energy, capable of creating tentacles out of their morphable body. He wanted to take this ability to a new level – mix in some organic coding, so that the creature could weaponize energy within itself like Chaos-holders and use it against all life beings on its way, leaving even Sonic, his nemesis, powerless! What a way to take Mobius under his control!
“Hm, let’s see...” Eggman remotely controlled claws to chop off a small part of J-1N-X’s gelatinous body, placing it into another glass container. “I’ll name you J-1N-X Jr., or – to shorten the pronunciation...Jinxy. You’ll do nicely to lead me towards perfection!” Evil laughter echoed through the chamber.
He spent hours tinkering around and making notes. The raccoon whose fur those good-for-nothings brought was a mere mobian with low tolerance for Chaos Energy; its DNA and artificial creature’s structure didn’t coexist well, nearing it to self-destruction.
Tapping the screen, Doctor’s eyes narrowed at the fluctuating energy readings. “Still unstable! Leave it without an energy source and it will fall apart...but it refuses to give up so easily.” He stroked his moustache thoughtfully. “So, it’s gained a survival instinct. A flaw – or a strength. If desperation drives it to hunt for fresh energy, I could weaponize that instinct. Cubot! Orbot!”
Two robots returned, not really excited for whatever task he had ready for them since usually it was something pretty tiresome.
“Take the capsule to the reserve chamber. I’ll return to it once I acquire a proper DNA sample.”
“On it, boss!” They saluted rather cheerfully. Cubot started grabbing it a little carelessly with Orbot trying to hold it right as they headed out into the corridor.
“You’re tilting it too far.” The red robot scolded.
“No, I’m not! Your sensors are crooked.”
Both of them bickered the entire way through before finally entering the reserve chamber, looking for an unoccupied freezer lot in the wall to place it into.
“I barely see a thing, where’s the light switch?”
“Seriously, Cubot? We are robots – we have night vision.”
Orbot got smashed against the wall because of Cubot’s clumsiness, his metal head hitting a big button which had ‘ejection’ written on it. “Hey! Watch where you’re pushing that thing!”
“Sorry...”
An alarm blared. The airlock behind them opened, wind howling through the chamber. To avoid being sucked out, they dropped the capsule, which promptly rolled through the open hatch and vanished into the clouds below.
Orbot managed to press the same button to close the door. Tense silence filled the room once it sealed.
“We’re doomed,” they concluded in unison.
Another Eggman’s hidden base turned into ruins after Team Dark’s initiative. Well, more like...Shadow’s initiative. The dark, broody hedgehog stood at the edge of a broken corridor that used to connect two factory campuses, watching piles of robots he just dealt with lying on the ground below.
A sound of a metal can scattering onto the floor made him jump into action – fists tight, eyes fierce, firm leg position. “Show yourself.” he commanded.
Shadow cautiously stomped to an L-turn at the back; pieces of broken concrete crunched under his hover shoes. This building lacked windows, leaving every room and pathway uncomfortably dark. With a swift move he reached the source of noise, sparks coiling at his quills. “I know you’re-” his gaze trailed downwards, meeting a glowing pile of semi-transparent mass on the floor, “here...”
The jelly creature quivered in fear and fled away, leaving a faint sparkling trail.
“I am not done with you!” The hedgehog clenched his teeth as he followed. “If that’s a part of Eggman’s new scheme, I’ll put an end to it!” He growled, speeding up.
Next turn could be either left or right and it had no idea what the plan of this building was, so it chose next direction randomly...ending up in a dead end.
“Stay. Right. There.” Shadow caught up, preparing to shoot a chaos spear, when it unexpectedly jumped at him. The hedgehog grunted in pain as paralysing shock spread through his body, making him stumble backwards, hitting a broken console screen on the wall. His vision swam as he processed his surroundings and shards of glass in his quills.
The feeling was strange, burning, as if he pushed himself to a breaking point. How was it possible for an Ultimate Lifeform like himself to experience this kind of fatigue? And all that in a matter of a few seconds...
The slime shined brighter than before, stolen energy swirling inside it like a galaxy. It used his rare moment of vulnerability to run away.
Warm sunrays scattered over Green Hills. Long blades of grass bended in the direction of light wind. Loopy loops towered amidst fluffy palm trees, casting long shadows beneath. Big the Cat sat by the lake with a fishing rode, his purple fur catching sun’s warmth. He patiently waited for the fish to bite while his best friend Froggy caught flies nearby.
A certain blue hedgehog passed by; he was in the middle of his morning jog, which was already brightened up by a weird encounter with Metal, who smacked him on the head and flew away as if nothing happened. He expected a fight...anything actually, but not that.
Sonic dug his heels into the ground, letting the dust curl at his feet, when he saw three familiar faces in the Sunset City. “Hey there, detectives. Already on a new case?”
Leader of the Chaotix Detective Agency – Vector, and his teammates – Charmy and Espio – stood with notepads in hands, chatting actively. Except for the young bee who found it more interesting to doodle instead of doing actual work.
“You bet.” Vector said sourly. “We got a new client who was attacked and it turned out he wasn’t the only one. We’ve been asking around for witnesses.”
Espio quietly turned pages over as he joined the conversation. “Some mobians were found in a state of bad exhaustion after interacting with some...slime. Semi-transparent, ‘sparkling as if it ate a firework’, small.”
Sonic raised a brow as he stretched. “Slime?”
“Yes.”
“And here I thought nothing could surprise me at this point.” The blue hedgehog grinned, clearly interested now. “How about I help you guys question folks? Surely Sunset City isn’t the only one you need to be running around.”
“Fine by me! With you we’ll crack the case in no time.” Vector chuckled. “Just don’t take all glory to yourself once we’re done, most of it still belongs to Team Chaotix. As well as the payment...”
On the way back from shopping, Amy carried heavy grocery bags with ease. She was very excited for the upcoming picnic with her girlfriends and even more for the cooking she had already planned out in her head. Sandwiches, sausage rolls, salads and Amy Rose’s special – a yummy strawberry pie!
Little did she expect to find someone unconscious amid the flowerbeds on her route back home...
“Oh-oh, hey! Are you alive?!” Pink hedgehog forgot about bags and rushed to stranger's side. Relieved that the cat was breathing, she gave them a little shake, after which their eyelids opened. “Phew, I felt scared for a moment. How are you feeling?”
“Uhh...huh?” It took some time for them to adjust to light. “Where am I?”
“We’re at the Central City’s fountain park.” She offered support, holding them as she stood up. “Should I get some help? You look pale.” Amy helped them to a nearby bench, offering a bottle of water she had among her groceries. “Here, I’ll stay until I make sure you’re okay.”
The cat nodded in gratitude before taking a good swig of liquid. It soothed the headache a little, which was a relief.
The cute hedgehog took a seat next to them. “So...I’m Amy. What’s your name? What happened?”
“My name is Loo...” Their brows furrowed, then recognition flickered in their frightened brown eyes. “Some kind of slug attacked me, ugh, my head hurts so bad...”
“Poor thing, perhaps shock affected you.” Amy looked at them sympathetically. “Do you live close by? Any family members or friends around?”
Loo tried to focus, weakly nodding. “No...I think I need to get to the hospital first. I don’t feel so good...”
“Alright, let’s get you to a doctor ASAP.”
After chatting with the second victim, they headed to the last, who was located in the Central City’s hospital. Detectives sat by their bed, while world-famous Blue Blur found it more comfortable to stand, not without occasional walking around.
“It happened so fast...” The traumatised mobian recalled. “I was helping my father transport crops from the Windmill Village for market. We carried crates with goods to our stand, when that thing emerged amidst apples...” Their fingers dug into the blanket draped over their legs. “At first, I thought it was Chaos, the one who brought a flood onto the Station Square years ago, but it was so small and...fragile-looking. It touched me and next I wake up here, being told I was this close to never waking up again.”
“Chaos, huh?” Sonic’s face hardened slightly in thought. “That’s...not entirely impossible knowing one guy's experiments. Releasing such beast freely and without an evil monologue is unlike him though.”
“Situation could be worse if these incidents turned lethal. Thankfully, you and the rest of victims are recovering safely.” Espio concluded, making sure to note important observations as Charmy studied the neat handwriting over his shoulder.
Vector nodded in agreement. “I think that’s enough information for today. We finally have a proper picture of events.”
After wishing the mobian to get well soon, they stepped out into the hallway, mentally evaluating all findings to discuss later. Unexpectedly, down the hall they saw Amy talking to a mouse in a white lab coat.
“How are they doing?” The pink hedgehog asked.
“Stabilising. It’s our third patient with intense fatigue symptoms this month.” The doctor sighed, adjusting his glasses as he searched for the right words. “I’ve never encountered anything like this before. And certainly I’ve never heard about energy-sucking beings.”
“Me neither. It’s quite terrifying now that I think about it.” She smiled sadly. “Can I see Loo now?”
He shook his head. “It is recommended for them to rest. But when they get better, I’ll inform you.”
“Thank you, doc.”
Once he left, friends approached, making her gasp in surprise. “Amy!” Charmy greeted excitedly with the rest.
“Didn’t expect to run into you here. Are you volunteering at the hospitals now?” Sonic asked with an amused grin; he knew how much Amy loved to help.
She chuckled bashfully. “No, but I found an unconscious mobian in the park and brought them here. They kept saying something about a weird slug-looking blob that attacked them.”
“You did the right thing, Amy.” Vector approved. “Though their situation looks like a fresh add-up to our case...”
Crash! Bang! Noise erupted inside patient room where the cat was, raising awareness. A loud yelp followed.
“Stay away from me!"
Everybody tensed up; Amy was the first to approach the door and knock lightly. “Loo? Are you okay?” Getting nothing in response only made the gut feeling worse.
Sonic stepped in front of Amy, pushing the door open out of quick-thinking. With Loo shaking in the corner and holding a pillow as a weapon, the slime they were looking for was right there, on the floor, glowing amidst fallen bedsheets and a drip stand. It must’ve followed Amy’s chaos energy trail from the park.
“Uh, why do I have a feeling you don’t like me?” The blue hedgehog muttered when it pounced. He dodged and started running away with it speeding right after him – good at catching up to his surprise! “We need to find a way to stop this thing without hurting it. It’s clearly not in its right mind!” Sonic yelled over his shoulder. “Don’t touch it directly!”
“Ahh!” Doctors and patients screamed and scrambled out of the way. The sound of shattering glass and clattering equipment filled the air as slime rampaged behind the hedgehog.
Amy, ever the strategist, immediately took the situation under control. “Charmy, Espio, look for something to catch it into. Vector, let’s get the empty hospital beds out of unoccupied patient rooms to block the path.”
“Got cha!” The three of them nodded before getting straight to work. They had no doubt in Amy’s solving abilities, especially after seeing her at work during the Eggman War and Metal Virus apocalypse.
Meanwhile Sonic tried his best to avoid crushing any more stuff in the thin corridor. He had been in this hospital before, so he figured that each section of the building’s floor had pathways connecting them together. Using this knowledge, he made a sharp turn to the left, returning to the same spot they found the creature at.
“Wow, you sure are fiery!” Sonic laughed at its failed attempt to stick to his sneaker.
As they approached the destination, the path was blocked by hospital beds jammed together like a barricade. The blue hedgehog jumped, leaping through the small gap between the obstacle and ceiling, while the slime bumped into the soft mattress, momentarily dazed by the disappearance of energy it was trying to catch. Espio, who turned invisible, got out of his hiding spot and quickly scooped it into a plastic waste bin, firmly closing the lid.
“Ha-ha, yes! We got ‘em!” Charmy yahooed, sharing a high five with Vector.
“Honestly, I expected it to be more ugly after hearing all those descriptions.” Sonic admitted, tapping the see-through container. The little monstrosity responded by pressing against the opposite side of its trap like a disoriented bunny.
“Well, our job is done here – the rascal is caught.” The crocodile concluded. “You’ll figure out what to do with it by yourselves?”
“Yup, like always.” Sonic winked, accepting the bin from Espio. “See ya, detectives!”
The mouse doctor stood at the end of the hall, his glasses crooked as he took in the mess on the floor. “Heroes…” He sighed in disappointment despite knowing they’d help clean up afterwards.
After such an erratic sequence of events, Sonic and Amy rushed to Tails’ lab in the Emerald town, careful not to rise citizens’ concern about the tantrum-throwing slime kept in the box.
“Oh my god, that’s Sonic! Is something happening?!” A paranoiac passer-by would ask.
“Just carrying a new kind of jelly, nothing much.” He’d say to brush it off with Amy smiling sheepishly by his side.
Soon enough they reached their friend’s head-shaped house with round windows as eyes and two yellow ears on the roof. The door flew open with Sonic zooming in and placing the bin onto busy fox's desk. He was tinkering with an old emerald-tracking device of his and it immediately began beeping like crazy. “Whoa! Sonic, what is this?!” He yelped, turning it off to get rid of the annoying noise.
“Sorry, buddy, but this is an emergency.” Sonic apologised, pressing his hand firmly against the lid for additional safety; Amy waved in greeting. “This one here really, really loves sucking out mobians’ energy. Literally. Can you maybe analyse it or something?”
“Oh, yes, of course.” Tails carefully moved his equipment out of the way and roamed through boxes under his desk, retrieving a glass capsule with a bunch of tubes and wires. “You’ve probably seen the test chamber I had back in my workshop, this one is a prototype of it but smaller.” He plugged the components into his big computer, making sure everything is working right. “Alright, now we need to place this creature inside.”
The top panel of the capsule opened after Tails typed in a command. Sonic approached, fingers gripping the edge of the bin’s lid while Amy stood close with a bucket she found amidst fox’s trinkets to catch it in case it slipped away.
“On one, two...three!” The hedgehog quickly released it, letting it plop against the bottom of its new chamber. “Oh. That was easier than I expected.”
“Um, Tails, what are all those readings on the screen?” Amy asked, causing them to switch their attention to a whole bunch of information the computer was gathering from the subject.
“Hmm,” Tails hummed thoughtfully as his fingers flew across the keyboard. “There is a DNA match in my database. What I can say now for sure is that it is eighty percent the same as the artificial chaos creatures from the ARK.”
“And how did it end up here if ARK exploded years ago?” Sonic tilted his head in confusion.
“I don’t think it came from the ARK...It’s most likely Eggman’s attempt at using his grandfather’s findings. Who else would know about inventions like this one?” The fox’s eyes widened as he scrolled further, glancing at the capsule, then back at the screen.
“What’s wrong, Tails?” Amy asked, feeling uneasy. “...Tails?”
“The other twenty percent...” he gulped, “belong to a mobian.”
“So that means this is a hybrid? Or...uh,” the blue hedgehog approached the specimen to get a better look. “Well, this thing did feed off mobians’. Maybe that’s the case?”
“The energy level does seem to spike in a weird way. See the scaling on this monitor and the way the red bar jumps up and down? This creature can’t hold energy for a long time, so it leaves its body in a surge.” His finger tapped against the monitor.
“It doesn’t look well.” Amy’s voice sounded worried as she watched the creature begin to melt slowly. Right away the red bar on the screen dropped to the lowest point.
“Ah! Quick, where are the chaos drives?” Tails jumped off from his chair and started rummaging though the big organiser shelf. “Okay, this should do to stabilise it for a long period of time. I think.” He inserted three of those into a tube extension leading to the capsule and turned the purifier on.
At first nothing happened, the energy levels were critically low...But then everybody got flashbanged by the explosion inside the capsule, which got demolished too under the pressure. Thankfully, Sonic took off in time to move Amy and Tails out of the way, now crouching with them behind a short row of lab cupboards. Tails’ computer and desk turned into scraps from the wreckage, still, the rest of their surroundings remained undamaged, even if now dust settled everywhere.
Once the whistling faded from their ears, the fox stood up to observe what happened. “Where have I miscalculated...? It wasn’t supposed to ignite such strong reaction.” His brows furrowed sadly.
“Don’t beat yourself about that, Tails. What’s important is that we are alright!” Amy put a reassuring hand onto his shoulder. “Let’s see if anything survived and clean up the mess.”
“Good thinking, Ams.” Sonic agreed, rounding the counter when he froze in his step. “Guys...am I tweaking or those are someone’s feet?”
Everybody switched their attention to a pair of red-furred legs poking out behind the broken desk. Investigating further, they were met with an unconscious raccoon mobian laying on the cold floor.
Silent static noise filled Tails’ lab. Wires attached to a battery of sort led to the slowly awakening raccoon on the couch, keeping her stable in this form. She stirred, struggling to open her eyes because of the burning sun rays striking her face through the circle-shaped window.
The raccoon turned her head to the side, mentally noting attachments on her upper arm, then noticed strands of pink hair. A girl fell asleep while sitting on a stool nearby, her face resting on folded arms.
Careful not to disturb her, she gently pulled out the threads, feeling a strange feeling of fatigue wash over her. She stood up, bare feet nearly knocking against each other on the move to the door. Pushing it open, early sunlight filled the entire living room, birds could be heard chirping as they played in bright green grass.
A gust of early morning wind made Amy shiver, she rubbed the sleep off her eyes with a soft yawn, heart skipping when she saw the empty couch. Worry spread across her features but faded as soon as she found her adoring the view from the doorway like a child who set their foot into the world for the first time.
The raccoon met hedgehog’s gaze from the other side of the room, a wide smile curling at her lips. “Hi!”