Chapter Text
A fox, bigger than usual, walked into the room he was searching for. In his wake he left destroyed G.U.N’s security bots and the echo of his mech’s footsteps. As the door closed behind him, he lowered the machine under his control and stepped out of it. Approaching the middle of the almost empty room, he couldn’t help but chuckle at the little hologram above the terminal – the reason of his break-in.
Right behind it was a hole in the floor – one housing a capsule pushed deep underground to seal all its walls.
Military’s secret weapon was as good as his.
Swiftly he put in the user data, his paws already hoovered over the keyboard as the next step arrived. The terminal prompted him to input a password. Expecting that, of course, he still clicked his tongue in annoyance. Nonetheless, he pulled out the stolen notes.
“So this is their top secret weapon, huh?” Skimming through the logs, he mused, “Grandfather apparently put a lot of work into it…”
His smile widened when he found what he needed. Gloved fingers once again hit the keys with audible strength, this time typing in the password – LE-GA-CY.
Well, it was his grandfather’s legacy, he supposed.
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a Chaos Emerald, then completed the process by putting it into the console. As soon as the gem touched the surface, he jumped over it to see the reveal better.
To his amazement, smoke came out of the hole, as it slowly but loudly dislodged. Eyes almost sparkling under the glasses, he observed the buried capsule rise to its full height. Where he expected a creak, it opened with a soft click. More smoke filled the space, but it quickly ventilated. Ivo watched in disbelief as a figure stepped out of the capsule. It gripped the frame tightly for stability and groaned, scanning the room. Confused gaze landed on him, beginning a staring contest.
The secret weapon – Project Sonic – was a mobian.
As if processing, the blue hedgehog kept looking at him, before something akin to recognition flashed across his face.
“Professor Gerald…?” He winced, a hint of hope in his eyes. Ivo could only stand frozen, trying to make sense of the situation. “I- What-” the hedgehog grabbed his head and took another look around. “Where are we? Why- what’s up with my memories?” His tone shifted into something more panicked, desperate, “I can’t- he- where is he? His name…”
Ivo wasn’t sure what he expected the weapon to be, but definitively not this. Conflicted, he let the silence hang in the air, before swallowing nervously. With some remaining hesitation, he spoke up.
“G.U.N kidnapped you. I came to your rescue,” he lied, voice shaky, praying to Chaos he won’t be caught. Something screamed at him that having the smaller mobian on his side would be for the best.
“G.U.N?” the hedgehog questioned, before his eyes brightened with realization. “Are we back on Mobius?”
“Yes. We’re...” Ivo confirmed, gears turned inside his head as he looked for a good enough lie. “We’re going to take revenge.”
“Revenge?” Frowning, the hedgehog questioned further, “What did they do?”
“For… kidnapping you! And messing with our memories!” thinking quickly, he made up and excuse for the future.
“Our memories? They did this to you too?” Worry laced the hedgehog’s voice, “Did they do this to him?”
Ivo stole to glance at the other mobian. He didn’t know who “he” was, but it was quite obvious that Project Sonic would comply if “he” was on the line. Rage directed at G.U.N – or even better, the whole world – was what Ivo needed from the weapon.
“It would appear so,” each lie came easier, maybe because Sonic seemed to trust his words.
“Do you…” Hopeful once again, he asked, “Do you remember his name?”
“I- I don’t. Everything is jumbled. Your name and-”
“What?” interrupting, the hedgehog frowned. “It’s Sonic- the whole project was named after me?”
“Ah, right-” Ivo cursed himself internally, he should’ve expected that, “Forgive me, I’m still piecing everything together,” and this time, it was not a lie.
“I understand Professor.” Sonic’s expression softened, “Do you… do you have any clue about his whereabouts?”
“Not quite.” Shaking his head, Ivo turned around. As he walked away, with a wave he prompted the other mobian to follow, “I’m not sure what they did to him. We don’t know if he’s not hurt.”
Predictably, the hedgehog stilled, quills bristled ever-so-slightly in agitation. His face went from surprise to anger in seconds.
Success, thought Ivo, before turning back towards Sonic. With fake sympathy, he squeezed his shoulder, glasses hid the deception. The gesture calm the other, but that didn’t deter him. All he needed from Sonic was for him to believe that Ivo cared.
As they passed the terminal, the hedgehog stopped. Tightly he grabbed the Chaos Emerald, fondness behind his eyes as he looked it over. Then his expression sharpened, and landed on Ivo.
“So what now?” through gritted teeth, he questioned.
“I say…” the fox cleared his throat, fighting the urge to grin in satisfaction, “let’s threat them for information.” Then, with only a hint of hesitation, he proposed his actual intention, “Or destroy the place they care about so much. Build something better on top of it.”
Taken aback, Sonic stared, but shook the shock off. Thinking it over, he nodded in agreement.
“I trust you, Professor,” he voiced. “We should find all the Emeralds and bring them to the ARK, in that case.”
“ARK?” It was Ivo’s turn to be surprised, “The Space Colony ARK?”
“How much memory did they take from you?” Sonic frowned, concern on his face evident.
“Qui- quite a bit,” nervously, the fox responded.
Eyes on the floor, Sonic’s paws curled into fists. Expression suddenly unreadable as he processed all the information he just learned. He quickly walked past Ivo, towards the door.
“Let’s go.” He glanced back one last time, before exiting.
Ivo couldn’t fight the smile any longer. That was going much better than expected.