Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Who thought this was a good idea?

Eden's Gate's NUTS. They truly are. Or were.

They got their apocalypse, all right.

More of the nuclear variety, but beggars can't be choosers in a cult.

Rookie's mind paced as he stumbled to the car, as the bomb first dropped. Where they got it from? Didn't matter. The car didn't start? Didn't matter. Run all the way to the bunker. All that mattered was trying not to die. Not how they were going to do it. He fumbled his way, trying to find the closest thing to stopping what seemed to be an inevitability. The Seeds killed them all, he was just trying to run from the Reaper. Now, the Reaper got what he was due.

The mushroom cloud was oddly...beautiful, from the lense of the last thing you will see. Rookie's survival instincts gave way as he looked at it. It's a nice orange. He pulled out a ration. One that was for wilderness survival. Funny. Yesterday I was just fighting the elements, trying to keep the piece in this god-forsaken hellhole. And now I'll just miss the moment the apocalypse starts. Rookie pulled out his pistol. A not standard-issue pistol, maybe. It was a 2011, not the Glock he was given when he joined the force. His dad loved his old 1911. He wanted to keep up the tradition.

I think I just missed the point for it. I can't pull the trigger fast enough to make this be any less painful. And, he was right, as the shockwave hit him, he collapsed, the last sight being his own demise.

The blackness overtook him. It was better then the seemingly unceasing pain of the blast, but...emptiness feels just as bad as eternal pain.

Why? Why can't I just succumb to death? Be nothing forevermore?

But...he didn't. He just didn't. He tried to scream, but no sound came out. He tried to run, but he had no legs. He was nothing, but he was everything.

"Hey, kid! Wake up! Wake up!" He heard someone say. Please, god, no. Please don't let it be-

He was still alive. He could open his eyes. No. No. No. I wanted it to be over. Why couldn't it have been over?

He thrashed out of bed. Almost rabid, foaming at the mouth to see what woke him up for what he wanted to be his final slumber.

"Kid! You're finally up! ...Nightmares about that last fight again, right?" Who are you calling "kid"? I'm in my forties.

Rookie looked around. He was in somewhere considerably more industrial than he was used to for the past month. He was in some kind of barracks. In the open air, no less. Is this what they mean by your life flashing before your eyes? 

He looked at the main that spoke to him. 

He wasn't human. He was some kind of animal...thing. Some kind of anthropomorphic bear creature. With a white streak of fur indicating a scar over his eye.

"Captain's orders: Get out of bed, and take a look in a mirror. We tried to fix you up the best way we could. We just need to know if the face is all right." He could identify the creature as the captain. He had the right uniform, but he apparently was a bit too chubby for the full outfit.

Yeah, right, "sir". Rookie stood up, and tried to find the closest mirror. He could identify the restroom pretty quickly, though not without some gesturing from the captain....

He was also some kind of animal. A red fox thing, to be specific. Rookie looked down at his hands, and saw he had the same military gloves he was wearing before. But these were not his hand. He was human. This thing he's seeing is not him. It couldn't be. Why would-

His head started to pound. A total, throbbing pain in his head, from just trying to think about his situation. Can't think on that too long.

"We also have some news. You're going to be meeting with the bigwigs today. They seem to have some use for you. You're even getting special transport with the Babylon Rouges."

Who the hell are the bigwigs? Am I meeting with the president of the United States of the Amazon Rainforest or something? Keep calm, Rookie. Remember training. Just go along with it. Keep cool. Breathe.

Rookie was handed a pair of glasses and a headset. For some reason, he didn't notice how shit his eyesight became. Everything was blurry, and it was hard to see. Putting on the glasses made it, very much so, in fact, better. The headset was just a typical radio headset.

"Also, kid, head to the armory before you go. Got your Wispon repaired." Do you mean "weapon", sir? Is it some kind of weird speech pattern?

Rookie walked out of the barracks, to what seemed to be the common grounds for all the soldiers. He saw LOTS of anthropomorphic creatures here, to the point it looked almost like a cheesy Saturday morning cartoon he watched in the 80s or 90s. Bears, Foxes, Wolves, Sheep, even Cats, Dogs, etc.

It was a completely different experience moving. He was much younger, more spry. And that's why he called me kid. I'm actually younger. Another topping to the shitty sundae.

He kept his cool, even when his head started pounding thinking about his situation. Just great. 

I wish I could have-

Nope. No. Don't lose your cool. You are not the deputy of Hope County anymore. You are now some...random guy, in this weird military bullshit.

He walked into the armory, where he was met with a stash of guns. Lots. And lots. Of guns.

"Hey, Rookie!" The girl, a shark girl, said. Don't call me by that name. Please. Rookie gave the girl at the desk a harsh look. She seemed to be a fresh-faced teen. Maybe not even older than 16-17. Oh, god. They recruit CHILDREN here? Why?  "I got the Wispon ready! The fire one, right?" Fire? Also, that strange enunciation. Wispon?

The girl handed over a pistol-like weapon. It seemed to be a pistol with...no magazine in sight. A cursory glance suggested that, and, holding it in his hand, Rookie could tell it was true. How does this bastard even fire? You handed me an un-fireable gun.

"You seem...confused." The Rookie pointed to the lack of a magazine. "Oh, uh...didn't you forget? That's a flamethrower!" YOU GAVE ME A FLAMETHROWER, AS A FOOTSOLDIER? I NEED BULLETS, MY GOD. DO I HAVE TO MAKE A BOW AND ARROW JUST SO I CAN KILL SOMEONE?"

"I can give you the hammer if you want." Rookie held out his hand, and he was handed a rectangular hammer. This is...a loadout for the ages. No wonder I apparently have nightmares of a past battle, our army is shit.

"Hey, Rookie. Got the Wispon? Let's go." Suddenly, he was called out to from behind. He turned around, seeing a green hawk person.

"Oh, Babylon-1! Are the other two okay?" And that's the Rouges, I'm guessing.

"Yeah. We're fueling up right now. Hovercar's full. We just need the wispon on top to be filled up, and we're good." Yeah, maybe it's an actual gun this time, not some kid's toy.

Rookie left the armory, back to the common grounds. There was a hovercar waiting, of course. Rookie didn't pay any mind at this point, considering the insanity that he just experienced, but it didn't help. This place is weird.

"ROOKIE! GET IN THE CAR!" He saw the Wispon up top, and to his utmost hatred, it was nearly identical to the one he held. Why. Why me.

He got in the car, as his driver welcomed him. A red echidna. He wore what seemed to be boxing gloves instead of regular military gloves. Now, do I beat the shit out of him for wearing boxing gloves in the military, or for wearing boxing gloves while driving a car?

"Kid." The driver seemed, again, around 16-17. WHAT KIND OF ARMY IS THIS? THE ARMY OF NEVERLAND? IS PETER PAN COMING?

"I know how the past battle went, Rookie." Because we gave our teenager soldiers flamethrowers and hammers as standard-issue, yes. "But Eggman's forces have been acting...strange." Taking bets, Eggman's a chicken. "You have the best experience fighting them. We'll need you for something." Where have I heard THAT before?

Rookie scanned around the area as he drove. So, fairly young, and I was apparently in a battle. Am I in a WARZONE right now?

Suddenly, Rookie caught something out of the corner of his eye. A humanoid robot.

"BADNIKS! ROOKIE, MAN THE WISPON!" Do I? Do I REALLY have to man the- wait, "badniks"? Isn't that from some 90's game or something? I think I remember playing something like that as an ACTUAL kid.

Rookie climbed to the top of the hovercar, as he grabbed onto the flame Wispon. He, albeit reluctantly, fired at one of the humanoid robots. a burst of flame, like a flamethrower, came out. That confirms my suspicions. I've used flamethrowers, before, though, so this isn't TOO crazy.

However, unlike what he would think, the flamethrower was decently effective at the incoming robots. The moment the flames touched them, they immediately collapsed, a small animal leaving the carcass of the broken bots. I'm in the world of a 90s game. Jesus.

"YOU SEE THE BABYLONS, ROOKIE?" The red Echidna said. Looking around, he could see a second truck, being tailed by the Babylon Rouges. He nodded "no" to the Echidna's question.

"SHOOT! THIS IS TOO ORGANIZED! ONE OF THE CAPTAINS ARE HERE! WHICH ONE IS IT?" Suddenly, Rookie saw another figure out of the corner of his eye. Some kind of Witch-like figure, riding a minecart. There were, seemingly, no rails. Okay, so there ARE humans. I'm just not one of them, apparently.

"HAHAHAHA!" The witch cackled. It was surprisingly robotic, almost distorted in some way. What the hell is she? He didn't get to see for long, as a blue ball came out of nowhere, knocking the witch away. What the hell?

Rookie looked around, and saw no more enemy combatants. He climbed down, back into his seat. The red echidna put his hand on his forehead.

"We just lost our best guards." What, they are actual adults?

Rookie pointed to a nearby store. What seemed to be a hardware store. I'm just going to improvise something real quick. We also need to lay low for a second. More could be coming.

"There, Rookie?" The Red Echidna drove through the open space for supply trucks, parking. They closed the door, and headed inside. "Now. While we have the time: I am your new supervisor, Knuckles. We are taking you to the HQ." Oh, great. We're going to the HQ of this god forsaken group.

Rookie didn't much pay attention to Knuckles, instead opting to go through the store. Where the hell's a nail gun in this place? If this thing's pressurized gas, then I can maybe... Rookie finally found a nail gun, and, as he took it apart, he found that the Flame Wispon surprisingly shared some parts. Homemade weapons?

"Rookie, what are you doing with that nail gun?" Knuckles said. Making what amounts to a regular gun.

Rookie put the finishing touches on the gun, as he saw another patrol of badniks coming through. Good thing we did this. 

"We need to go quickly. If we stay here, they'll probably still locate us." You think I don't know that, dipshit?

The two got back in the hovercar, and continued driving. "Nice improvisation skills, Rookie. We need more people like you in the resistance." Oh. I'm in...another resistance...Rookie's head started to throb, yet again. The moment of his death started to repeat. He felt himself start to shiver uncontrollably. Why. Why. Why.

"You ok, Rookie? We're almost to our stop. You can get rest there." Knuckles said, as he continued driving. Thank god. The drive continued uneventfully for another 10 minutes.

But, it was pure torture for Rookie.

Chapter Text

"What's the Sitrep, commander?" A silver hedgehog said to Knuckles. THEY GOT THE COMMANDER TO ESCORT ME?

"Happy to see you're all still alive. Eggman's forces have chewed through the defenses at Green Hill, and-" Before the door closed, the Rookie entered. Why the hell did they close the door on me? "I didn't expect you to come in so early, but you can stay, Rookie."

"That's one of the survivors, correct?" A pink hedgehog, again, clearly young, said. Again, with the child soldiers leading. What the fuck kind of fucked up world is this?

"Yes, Amy. One of the survivors of Infinite. He knows better then most of us what he can do. We'll need his help if we want to take on Eggman's forces." WHO IS INFINITE?

"Are you sure we should do this? We're bringing him to one of the most dangerous places in the universe to break out Sonic." Sonic? That 90s game character? THAT Sonic? ...Is this hell?

"He's used to danger by now, probably." Not robots or witches on carts, but yeah. 

"How are we even going to go on the Death Egg? Tails is missing." Oh god, it's coming back to me. I didn't remember Sonic games being this...dystopian, though. Also, who the fuck was the witch on a cart? That wasn't in the games I played.

"We'll have to break into his workshop. It's the only way we can get the ship. Rookie, come with me!" Knuckles said, as the two left. I AM in hell, I guess.

The two decided to run to the workshop on foot. Quieter, smaller footprint, allows them to take shortcuts that weren't possible before. So...I'm in the world of a 90s game. Yep. Perfect description of hell.

"Rookie, keep watch for any more of those weirdoes around. That Witchcart lady has been causing serious trouble for us." Oh, so she's literally named Witchcart?

"Tails knows how to deal with her, but I haven't seen him around." Suddenly, Rookie saw a blue blur out of the corner of his eye. That's not Sonic, surely? Rookie, somehow, also saw an Orange blur. That's Sonic? Aren't we trying to FIND him, right now?

They kept moving, looking down alleyways and other paths for any patrol robots. Not like they're any threat. They're made of cardboard and tissue paper

"Rookie, What do you know about Infinite?" Knuckles said, as they were running.

Suddenly, another headache. AHHHHHHH, OHHHHH, THIS ONE'S A BAD ONE. GOD.

"I can taste your terror, child. All that anxiety and doubt...how delicious." Rookie heard a voice say in his head. I never heard that voice before in my life. Wh-

"Sin must be exposed so it can be absolved"

"Walk the path"

"Walk the path"

"Walk the path"

Walk...the path?

"ROOKIE! Are you okay, Rookie?" Knuckles put his...frankly massive gloved fist onto Rookie's shoulder. "Take your time. We have all the time we need. It must have been horrible for you." Wh-what? Oh, right, uh...Infinite...

Knuckles quickly released his hand, exchanging a worried glance at the scared "teen", as they stopped.

"You looked like you were hurting. I know it must have been horrible for you, kid." I'm 40, and you're 16. I don't need that kind of talk. Not from you.

"You want to keep going-" Rookie shoved Knuckles aside. What the fuck do you think? I have a job to do. Knuckles, again, looked worried as Rookie quietly, or well, even more quietly, walked off without him.

They continued going, looking for patrols and whatever else would come their way.

"The roads are quiet. Good. I've never gone to this part of town, I'm just following the ma-" Rookie decked Knuckles. Punched straight into the jaw. SHUT THE HELL UP.

"Rookie! Why did you do that-" Rookie had the map in his hands, and was walking away. I could do more. Just shut the hell up, and let's do our fucking job.

They continued...quietly. No one said anything. No one WANTED to say anything. They both said as much as they needed to. Rookie had a fury in his eyes. One that wasn't helped by Knuckles talking to him. It was a fire as red as both of their furs. It was respectable, at least to Knuckles, but...sorely mismanaged.

Not really to Rookie, though. Rookie was..,lost in his thoughts. He was tired. Tired of everything around him.

God will not let you take me.

Violence is the only language you choose to speak

The Collapse is Upon Us.

The Collapse...

The Collapse.

The. Fucking. Collapse. That. That was Rookie's mind. A broken mess of ideas and thoughts. Anger directed at no one, and everyone. Just follow the damn path, Rookie, and get to that two-tailed brat's house.

They continued down the alleys of the city, Rookie with his gun at the ready. They came close to it, and...

An armed guard of bots surrounded the place. God damn-it. Rookie readied his pistol, and his hammer.

"Rookie, what are you think-" Rookie leapt at the bots, dodging plasma shots and other weaponry. Strafing runs by drones quickly ended by the almost super-sonic nails of the gun. Rookie was much more than just a good soldier.

He was an animal. He grabbed one of the robots, using it as a shield from the others, as he fired off. He let go, and bashed the bot's head in with the hammer to make sure it was down. But...It instead turned into a giant, blue cube. One he kicked across to another bot, bashing it against a wall, breaking the cube. Then, a shot to the head finished the wall-pinned bot, and then...

Silence. Pure, intoxicating silence. Knuckles picked off the stragglers, as Rookie just...stood there. With his thoughts. With the adrenaline rushing through his veins. He hadn't fought in a bit, but...

He was fast. Blazingly so. He felt a rush he had never experienced in a while. And he was both amazed...and afraid. He...he took them all out like it was nothing. Like it just...happened. What kind of person is he?

If violence is the only language you choose to speak, then I'll speak your language.

As he came down from his adrenaline rush, Rookie dropped to his knees...and started to cry. Cry like he'd never done before.

Chapter Text

Rookie sat there.

What am I doing?

Why am I here?

Why?

What did I do wrong?

Knuckles put his hand on Rookie's shoulder, a supposed to be reassuring gesture.

But the sudden touch just made Rookie push Knuckles away, snarling like an animal.

"ROOKIE! WHAT IS GOING ON! SNAP OUT OF IT!" Knuckles said. Suddenly, a red wave washed over the two of them.

In front of Rookie...

Stood John Seed.

"Wow...A strange development, indeed." A voice in his head said.

WHY IS HE HERE? HE SHOULD BE DEAD! WHO IS THAT? TELL ME YOU PIECE OF SHIT!

"You are surprised to see me, sinn-" Suddenly, Rookie grabbed ahold of John's neck.

"YES! YES!" John Seed yelled out. What the hell?

A sense of pure...confusion washed over Rookie, as the illusion faded. He was, in fact, currently trying to strangle Knuckles.

Knuckles punched the Rookie in the face, as he got back up.

"Mecha Sonic...How did they rebuild you?" God damnit, that was an illusion?

Yeah, that's something new. Not. Now, let's see my options. Kill the character I had seen, like twice, one being my nephew playing a game on their phone-who am I kidding, I'm just running.

Rookie stood his ground, but only to shoot a nail into Knuckle's foot.

"COME BACK HERE! I'LL CRUSH YOU!" Knuckles said, as Rookie ran off. They entered the tiny fox inventor's house, as they searched for any vehicles. So there should be a weird ship thing here. Rookie saw a PDA-looking thing, and grabbed it. It acted just how he wished it would: It was just a glorified smart phone. He also grabbed another gun. Can't have enough. I had 4 of them on me in Montana.

Suddenly, Knuckles burst through the wall, trying to swing at the Deputy. Rookie dodged, smacking Knuckles with his hammer thing, and grabbing a giant key-ring, with a bunch of borderline car fobs on it. Abandoning this guy's the best choice. Less people to suddenly go insane and try to dismantle me.

Rookie parried Knuckle's punch, countering with a swing of the hammer. Knuckle is thrown into the wall, creating a giant hole he tumbles out of, knocked out. See ya. Gotta save a blue prick now.

Rookie looked around for the nearest vehicle, finding...an airplane. We weren't GENUINELY going to go to space with that, right?...Right?...

That was genuinely the plan. After calling Amy with Tail's PDA, and showing her the plane, thankfully avoiding Knuckle's knocked-out body, she told him the idea. WHY? WHY?

So, now he was flying to a giant space station in an air plane. He was a skilled pilot, somehow. Didn't Nick have years of experience? I'm a city boy, and I'm somehow doing this with no training.

Anyways, his ascent up was pretty smooth. Again, somehow. Why would anyone build a bi-plane that can go up to space?

Suddenly, he heard shots fire nearby, as he saw approaching Eggman drones in the sky above. Ok...where are the machine guns on this thing?

Sonic was still trapped in jail. I mean, he was trapped for months, after all. It wasn't like it surprised him anymore. He just kinda...sat back, relaxed, and made fun of ol' Egghead a bit.

"HEY, ZAVOK!" Sonic yelled at one of his captors. It was usually a rotation of Zavok, Chaos, and...some crystally clone of Shadow. No one seemed to like the third guy. Not even Eggman.

Zavok...did not respond. Tough reception, I guess. I did beat him up before. Probably just a bit butthurt.

"IF YOU DON'T RESPOND, I'LL BREAK OUT OF HEREEEEE!~"  That made Zavok perk up, but only so far that he didn't notice Sonic's "nigh-unbreakable" handcuffs were still not broken out of.

"You're no fun." Sonic sulked as Zavok turned away. Can't they just bring Shadow in here? He's at least not QUIET about hating me-

"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER SPEEDING THROUGH PREMISES. ARMED AND DANGEROUS." An alarm blared. speeding through? Armed and dangerous? Awwww, he came back for me!

Sonic immediately broke out of the unbreakable handcuffs. If he did that earlier, he would probably have to get a new one, which, while funny, involved being poked and prodded a lot, and that was annoying.

Zavok seemed to focus on the hedgehog in front of him rather than the potential intruder around him, as the ground shook. Suddenly, Zavok was standing on a large spherical robot.

"That seems very...Un-Zavok of you, Zavok. Wasn't that another one of your crew's thi-" As Sonic left the cell, he was almost crushed by the moon, as Zavok started bouncing around. Sonic dodged the Sinister Single foe easily, but there was something weird about it.

It seemed like he could read Sonic's mind. Where he thought to go, Zavok followed, and when Sonic thought he had an opening, Zavok suddenly guarded it.

Which didn't matter, as an explosion ringed, as a badnik was thrown at Zavok, before getting pestered by nails. AWWWW, YEAH, SHADY! LET'S GO-

It was not, in fact, Shadow. It was a very tired, very confused Rookie.

"Hey friend! Hey-hey rookie! Can I call you Rookie? Is it Rookie or Rook?" Sonic pestered Rookie. God, I realized why I stopped playing these games.

"That's a cool thing you got there! Shadow also has a gun, but its less colorful, has a magazine, and-" Rookie shot a nail at an approaching badnik. Please, god, shut the fuck up.

"Well...Are you still here to save me?" Rookie, reluctantly, nodded yes. "GREAT! I've partnered with people who wanted to kill me more, so why not now?"

Sonic immediately grabbed Rookie's hand. Rookie realized something. The kid he's supposed to be...was REALLY young. He remembered a comic saying that Sonic was 16-maybe 17. But, looking at his hands compared to Sonic's...Either Sonic is BUILT for his universe, or Rookie was a KID kid.

And he was a soldier.

As Rookie held up his gun, he suddenly realized its heft. Its big. As big as his head. Holy fucking shit.

"ROOKIE! WHERE IS THE TORNADO? WAS TAILS WITH YOU-" Rookie nodded no, as he blasted at a couple approaching robots.

"DO YOU KNOW WHERE WE EVEN AR-" Rookie nodded no, again. Guess the true evil plan was making people get lost forever in a labyrinth of corridors. Because how the hell else do you make a full city in a fucking moon.

"So...we're lost...THAT'S OKAY! WE CAN JUST SMASH THE DEATH EGG TO PIECES, CALL FOR BACKUP-AND BE ON OUR WAY!"

They kept on running. There should be a hangar. That's where I parked, I think. They weren't really getting anywhere, or at least that they could see.

But they did find...something.

A laboratory. Seems to have been cleaned out from the intruder alert, but it was...very poorly done.

Especially poorly, in fact, because they left one whole Chaos Emerald unattended, which Sonic happily grabbed.

But Rookie found something even more interesting, something he kept hidden from Sonic.

Upload the data to the PDA...Gotta get that done. We have all the time in the world, and this probably has the wifi pass-...

Right next to the computer was a ruby.

A red ruby, with stripes of pure black.

Chapter Text

Probably should grab that. Rookie grabs the ruby, as he starts to get another headache.

Rookie grabs his head. Sonic looks towards his new buddy, with a look of concern.

Rookie seemed...not the most calm and collected at this moment.

"You will not hide any longer. Your true self will spill out on this floor. "

Rookie's mouth was foaming, as he started screaming. His head was THROBBING.

"You've served your purpose"

Sonic walked up.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap on the metal.

Rookie didn't hear.

But the moment Sonic put his hand on Rookie's shoulder...

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Three shots tore through the air, as Sonic dashed out of the way.

Rookie stops, and drops the ruby.

And his splitting headache stops.

Wh-what? What was that?

Sonic picked it up. Rookie looked incredulously at the blue hedgehog, like he still couldn't believe his eyes.

God. What did I do to deserve this.

"Probably should keep this, then." Sonic said. "One less toy for Egghe-"

Suddenly, an explosion rings, as Zavok rushes into the lab. 

"OH! THE GIANT RED GUY! HOW COULD I FORGET YOU?"

"IT'S ZAVOK!"

"Right. Totally remembered that."

I hate this guy. Rookie aimed his gun at Zavok, and fired. The bullet was immediately caught by the red giant, as Sonic tried to spindash right into him.

It failed. Zavok picked up Sonic, and threw him across the lab.

"Hey! There's the guy I totally remembered!" Sonic chided the Zeti.

The Zeti did not reply.

"Huh. Tough crowd."

Rookie grabbed the hammer, hitting Zavok, as the titan tried to guard. Rookie pulled out his wispon with his other hand, firing nails into the red creature. JUST DIE ALREADY, AND LET US LEAVE!

Zavok grabbed Rookie's hammer, and smacked him across the face. He also got flung around, but used his grappling hook to stop a bit faster, stopping just before hitting a tube of an unknown green liquid. Thank god I have this.

"You know what to do, Rookie?" Sonic said. Rookie looked at him incredulously. We are outgunned here. I shot him in the chest 3 times, and he still isn't dead. What the hell you think I'm going to do?

"Eh. If you don't know, it's fine." Sonic grabbed Rookies arm, pressing a button on his glove, lurching them forward, and dislodging the hook.

Rookie tries to throw Sonic off, but Sonic jumps off the disgruntled fox, yelling "THANKS FOR THE LIFT!"

Sonic spins up, and launches himself at Zavok, pushing him back a bit. Rookie falls forward, firing more shots at the red Zeti, before the Zeti drops Rookie's hammer.

Rookie, using the hook, grabs the hammer, and smacks Zavok into the chasm off the railings of the Death Egg.

"Whew. That was a good workout. Got a bit of stretching in, some cardio. Perfect way to celebrate my free-"

Suddenly, as Sonic was speaking, a massive platform raises, as suddenly Sonic and the Rookie are teleported onto the platform.

Rookie notices a figure overlooking the both of them. I swear to god, if he has psychic powers-

Zavok rolls towards the two heroes, Sonic grabbing Rookie's hand.

"I'm surprised you're jacking your crew's style, Zavvy. I thought you guys were a tea-" Suddenly, the giant ball starts shooting missiles. "And I think I get why you have that."

Rookie launches a grappling hook at a missile, and starts swinging it. Letting go, the missile hits the ball, pushing it away.

"Sweet moves, Rookie! But watch th-" Sonic tries to say, before one of the missiles quickly comes towards him. Panicking, Sonic grabs onto one of the missiles, redirecting it towards Zavok himself.

"I thought I had more time, but!" The missile hits Zavok, Sonic jumping off, doing a homing attack for good measure. Zavok hits the wall of the Death Egg, as both our heroes notice a door, seemingly leading out of the Death Egg, but it was closed.

Okay, so...Go there, leave this giant sphere. How? Rookie quickly got his answer, however, when Sonic landed, grabbing Rookie's hand.

"HANG ON TIGHT!" Sonic said, as he wrapped the broken rope of Rookie's grappling hook around his arm.

"DOUBLE...BOOST!" Suddenly, Sonic lurched forward at super-speed onto Zavok's moon, as they ran into the door, Zavok planted against it. 

The door broke open, kicking Zavok forward into space, as the two heroes zoomed forward.

Once they left the Death Egg, Rookie looked around for an entrance back in. I CANNOT BREATH IN SPACE. I REPEAT, I CANNOT BREATH IN SPACE.

Rookie spots an opening for ships...

One that happens to also include the Tornado he rode in on.

Swinging Sonic around, Rookie throws the hedgehog, redirecting the two to the airlock.

They zoom straight into the ground, basically faceplanting in front of the Tornado. Ow.

Sonic stands up defiantly, quickly dusting himself off. "Nice quick thinking, Rookie!" You were the one that sent us into SPACE, dipshit. You're lucky I found my parking spot.

"Wow...quiet guy, huh?" Rookie still had his face FIRMLY planted in the ground. "You know how to fly?"

Rookie got up, and nodded yes. Got taught by the...not best, but good enough for me to dogfight a cult leader.

Rookie grabbed the controls, and Sonic hopped on, as the two rode away from the Death egg.

Eggman stopped in front of Infinite.

"WHY DID YOU LET THE BLASTED HEDGEHOG GET AWAY! WE EVEN LOST ONE OF OUR PROTOTYPES!" The doctor yelled.

"All in the plan, Doctor. I'm just having...complications right now." Infinite replied. He knew something no one else did.

The Rookie...was not normal.

Behind the mask, Infinite grinned.

It seems like I have some...more interesting work to do. 

Infinite headed to the security room, and replayed some footage.

So...He had a reaction to the Ruby. Hm. In any case, from this, that means he isn't a threat. At least not now.

I still will have to end him myself, though. Can't let this loose end get away.