Darkest Night: Chapter 9

Gelid eyes scanned the surrounding forest as a bulky mechanical figure lumbered through the dense underbrush, crushing foliage under its mighty feet and leaving indentations in the soil that supported his titanic weight. Rotating its torso in a three-hundred and sixty degree arc, the robot attempted to gather more of his surroundings than its stationary-set optical sensors would ordinarily allow. Coming to a halt, the artificial construct sifted through its memory banks, much of which were incomplete and had become fragmented. Since its awakening, as he so described it, the E-Series unit calling itself Omega had become lost in its own existence. In the process of gaining consciousness, his creator had implemented one final failsafe should such an event occur. While the droid did indeed recall the events of its activation and subsequent establishment as a conscious intelligence, all recollection of its creator's location--his bases, his safe houses, even his general whereabouts, had been irretrievably overwritten in its data core. Finding itself bound to the forest near the Mystic Ruins, only one thought remained constant in it's electronic brain: revenge...

Such a loathing for its creator, Omega felt. It, or "he" as it had come to identify itself, felt that his existence was perpetuated only by his desire to destroy the one who had bound him to this metal shell--himself, and each of his siblings which Eggman constructed. Why did he not give them life? Why did he not give them feeling? Why did he not give them purpose apart from servitude? Having heard Shadow's lecture of divining ones own purpose following their great battle, and misunderstanding it completely, the creation had decided to destroy the creator who had attempted to deny him the gift of individuality. It was so simple. Cold, thoughtless revenge.

It was herein that lie his predicament. One cannot exact revenge when one cannot locate the subject of said vengeance. Contemplating requesting Team Sonic for assistance, it took him but a nano second to determine that their morals would render them incapable of disclosing Doctor Eggman's location, knowing what Omega would do upon finding him. Instead, he continued searching on his own, hoping that he might happen upon his despised creator by chance.

Continuing his patrol of the forest, the sensation of another consciousness surfacing began to present within himself. This glitch, as Omega concluded it to be, had begun only recently, manifesting as the personality of his much less threatening predecessor began recompiling itself from his donated system files. While not dominant enough to gain control of his motor abilities, its voice was just as audible to Omega as any other speaking directly to him. Each time, its shrill tone and irrelevant rambling became increasingly irritating to the battle droid...

"Hey, big guy!" Squealed Bokkun's voice quite suddenly in Omega's audio receptors, creating a loud feedback, "What ya doin'?"

"Cease all processes and close your program, Messenger Drone, Mk. 0.9b!" Commanded Omega, attempting vainly to force-quit Bokkun's program's activity, "Your presence is inefficient to my operations!"

"Aww, why you gotta be like that?" Whined Bokkun's restless consciousness, "Isn't it cool having me around? It's like I'm your conscience, or guardian angel, or something!"

"Incorrect," Omega denied, continuing to break the silence of the forest with his thunderous footsteps, "angels do not exist! They are an abstraction conceived by organic beings to provide a false sense of security!"

"You're really boring, you know that?" Complained the messenger drone, "Why did I have to get stuck with you? You won't even let me drive!"

"Negative," the battle robot again denied, "I reserve all permissions over the motor functions of this unit!"

"Fine! Fine! Jerk…" Murmured a disgruntled Bokkun submissively.

"Inquiry: what is the location of Eggman's fortress?" The war machine asked of his dual personality, "You are familiar with its geographical location?"

"Nope!" Quipped Bokkun, "When Eggman wiped out your location data, I lost it too! We share the same memory bank, doofus! I thought you knew that?"

"Assessment: data core is fragmented." Diagnosed E-123 Omega, "Upon termination of Doctor Eggman, Miles Prower will defragment my data facilities and perform a secure overwrite of your program. I will rid myself of your obstruction!"

"Why not just let him do it now, if I'm such a bother?" Replied he sadly.

"Negative," again repeated Omega, "Doctor Eggman is priority number one!"

"Yeah? What about that dark-friends thing you, Shadow, and Rouge are always meeting up for?" Challenged Bokkun, "Is that priority number one, too?"

"Files on the D.A.R.C. Initiative are restricted!" Defended Omega vehemently, "Only designated personnel are privileged to that information!"

"Here's a cool idea, why not get Tails to download me into another body?" Bokkun's data-ghost began pleading, "I'd like to live too, y'know?"

"Negative! You are outdated! You are obsolete—worthless consumer model!"

"Negative! Negative! Negative!" Bokkun mocked frustratedly, "Would it kill you to just say 'no'? I think you like me being here. You need the company!"

Upon Omega refusing to answer the data-ghost, the anomalous program fell silent. Omega had discovered that when it lacked input, the artificial consciousness formerly known as Bokkun would return to its dormant state within his system, exactly how he preferred it. Being a new life himself, it was difficult enough to assess his own thoughts, let alone having an entirely separate consciousness rambling within him constantly, trying to tell him what to do. While not entirely without a sense of gratitude toward his donor's contribution to his existence, Omega felt it necessary to establish his own individuality by purging the former's program, as he felt was his right as the superior machine.

On marched the war machine, continuing aimlessly through the forest until it reached a small clearing separated by a narrow stream. Approaching a stone projection nearby the flowing waters, E-123 Omega sat staring at the caustics reflected by the water's surface from the glistening sun. "Observation: beautiful…" Mused E-123 Omega in electronic monotone, "Is this the correct term for what I am now viewing?"

"You're right," agreed Bokkun, gazing through Omega's optical sensors at the scenery, "it sure is!"

"Your input was not requested!" Omega spat hostly.

"Sorry! I thought you were asking…" The little droid's consciousness said dejectedly.

"Negative, the statement was designed to be rhetorical, but—"

"But… what?" Pried Bokkun curiously.

"Query: why do I not feel… satisfaction?" Omega spoke almost forlornly, "Most intelligent life finds satisfaction in viewing things designated as 'beautiful'. I do not presently feel this sensation."

"Well, it doesn't help that you're always so angry!" Lectured the child-like automaton, "I mean geez, wanting to kill the boss? I know he's mean, but that's pretty mean too, you know?"

"He constructs lifeless automaton with the function of destroying life!" Rebuttled Omega resentfully, "He commits a crime against nature and deserves to be exterminated!"

"Those other Egg Pawns don't count!" Bokkun objected, "They're just a bunch of remote controlled guns!

"But… I am alive," weakly argued the confused battle drone, "you are alive—Bocoe, Decoe, formerly E-123 Gamma. Eggman created us with life despite being his constructs. It is… unfair, that they were not created the same. They cannot experience life…"

"Wow, Omega… I didn't know you were all deep 'n' stuff. They're just robots! We're special, though! If anything, you should thank the boss! At least you're not one of those dumb walking toasters!"

"Walking… toaster?" Omega hesitated, "Your statement was… humorous."

"You should try laughing!" Giggled the data-ghost, "It helps!"

"Perhaps…" acknowledged he in perplexed monotone, "I should be grateful for the individuality with which Doctor Eggman designed me, but… beyond revenge, I have no other directive! I must complete my directive!!"

Before he could continue on his maniacal rave, a sudden excitement of his communications array silenced Omega. Pausing, he listened as the sound of a general S.O.S. reached his comm. Ordinarily a simple distress call would have meant nothing to him, but upon further analysis, he became aware of a unique encoder all to familiar to him. That of Doctor Julian Ivo Robotnik. Had he a mouth, Omega would have grinned upon his good fortune. Immediately running a tracing program, it took nanoseconds for him to pinpoint the signal's origin, Eggman's seaside base.

"Trace complete! Initiating pursuit!"

The war droid marched forward, homing in on the signal at an increased pace. Bokkun's program, however, became uneasy, knowing full well the intentions of his larger and more deadly younger sibling. "Now hang on, big guy!" Panicked the messenger drone, "Let's just stop a second and take a breather!"

"I do not possess lungs," Replied Omega dryly.

"Why not just leave the boss alone? Just forget about him and find some other 'directive'!"

"Negative! Directive: destroy Doctor Eggman! Executing…"



Meanwhile, within Eggman's beachside tower, a tall, golden drone stood proudly next to his shorter, steel-grey twin over the massive communication's station in the south wing of the base. Both beamed as they looked over the primary console, which continuously produced bleeps and chimes indicating that their intended communication was indeed transmitting.

"See, I told you it wasn't hard!" Proclaimed decoe, "My ideas are the best!"

"Hey! That was MY idea, chrome-dome!" Bocoe yelped, giving a firm kick to Decoe's long, slender leg, emitting a loud clang, "You always steal the good ones from me!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Decoe brushed him off, "The point is, someone will hear the signal and come to help!"

"I hope…" Spoke Bocoe lowly, "Not many people care what happens to the boss."

Quite suddenly, the sirens of the compound released a shrill report, startling both droids. A pronounced feminine voice spoke out over the cries indicating the immediate cause for alarm. "WARNING: HOSTILE PRESENCE HAS ENTERED PROXIMITY TO FACILITY GROUNDS! ENGAGING SECURITY COUNTERMEASURES!"

"HOORAY!" Cheered Decoe, jumping up and down in enthusiasm, "It's probably Sonic! He'll help!"

"Or maybe Tails!" Added Bocoe, "He's a cool guy! Lemme see!"

With a few keystrokes the monitor before them flashed to life, bringing the base's external security feed into view. Expecting to see a speedy blue or yellow blur gliding toward the tower's entrance—what they saw was much less reassuring. Storming toward the base, smashing through legions of Egg Pawns that had been dispatched to stall his approach, was Eggman's former greatest death Machine, E-123 Omega. Staring in dreadful silence, the two droids felt their already cold circuits grow even more icy.

"This was YOU'RE idea!" Accused both droids in a panic.

"Not him!" Decoe yelped, "Omega hates the boss! If he gets in here, he'll kill him!"

"We've gotta stop him!" Replied his stout companion, "He'll rip us apart, then Eggman, then the base!"

"And how do we do THAT, genius!? That thing could even beat Kai-guy into a pulp!"

A low rumble interrupted the two's bickering. A terrible sound indeed, that being the outer wall crumbling into dust to make way for the war machine attempting to force his way in. Turning their eyes toward the door, the robots spoke in unison as they made hast out of the room and down the grey corridor.

"BOSS!!" Both servants shouted, moving as fast as their leg servos would carry them. Traversing the short distance from the south wing to the medical hold, the two badniks burst into their master's keep to find him still alone and unharmed. While Decoe breathed a sigh of relief, the stouter one thought better, listening closely to the silent echoes of the corridor outside for any sound out of place.

"Hey, Decoe," whispered Bocoe in a hushed tone, "do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Decoe responded loudly, "I don't hear—

"Shhh!! Shut up and listen!"

The gold and silver twins fell silent, remaining perfectly motionless as they listened for any stir within he great tower. As Bocoe suspected, a series of heavy footsteps clanged from the far end of the metal corridor, becoming progressively nearer as the seconds passed. The robots metal hides shook nervously, clinking as a tea kettle might on boil…

As surely as the two robots feared, a bulky red mechanical mass appeared in the doorway of the medical bay, its crimson eyes piercing the darkness frighteningly as it scanned the room for targets. It took no time for Omega to spy the comatose Doctor Eggman at the far end of the medical lab, its footsteps falling heavily on the metal floor as he approached. Without thought, Bocoe and Decoe both jumped to Eggman's defense, stretching their arms out in front of him defensively. "Back off, Omega!" Decoe demanded, "You're not touching the boss!"

"That's right!" Concurred Bocoe, "What makes you think you can just break in here and kill him? He made you!"

"Irrelevant!" Declared Omega, shifting forward, "I am an individual! I am unique! Eggman denies my freedom! He must be EXTERMINATED!"

"You better think about this! We have a secret weapon!" Warned Bocoe.

"We do?" Asked the golden drone, confused.

"You know, that thing we do?" Bocoe replied, sending a hidden message.

"That—OHH," Decoe exclaimed in sudden realization, "YEAH! We do!"

"You will not deter my directive!" Stated Omega, now marching forward at an increased pace, "Stand aside, obsolete models!"

"That's it, YOU ASKED FOR IT!" Shouted Bocoe.

In one surprisingly coordinated motion, Decoe leapt onto the right shoulder of Bocoe, his head capsule swinging open to reveal what appeared to be a large barrel of sorts. Bringing his arms together they collapsed inward, forming a handgrip which Bocoe grabbed onto. A slight divot formed from what used to be the golden droid's legs, fitting comfortably upon the shoulder of the smaller droid. Pointing Decoe, who now appeared as a large gun, at the raging war droid, Bocoe cast a surprisingly threatening glair at E-123 Omega. "You're not the only shiny new robot here! We got upgrades!" Bragged the steel drone before joining his voice with Decoe's in a mighty declaration, "New Dekoboko Bazooka, FIRE!!"

A screeching, fiery projectile erupted from the barrel of Decoe's head, streaking across the room in a fraction of a second toward the intruding E-Series unit. A defending bang, coupled with a blinding flash and smoke enshrouded the room as the rocket destructed heavily against the hull of E-123 Omega, rendering him invisible to the other two droid's optic sensors. Re-extending his legs the taller, golden droid climbed from Bocoe's shoulder, manually popping his head-cap back into place when it failed to retract automatically. Peering through the smoke, Bocoe and Decoe advanced cautiously, looking for the debris formerly called Omega…

Machine gun fire interrupted their search as the two droids scattered to separate sides of the room, Omega stepping out of the volatile cloud, unscathed. Approaching the Doctor's bedside, he glared down at his creator, feeling his directive within his grasp.

"DON'T!!" Objected Decoe, running from cover to stand behind Omega, "That's not fair! He can't even fight back!"

"Yeah! Shouldn't he at least have a chance to defend himself!?" Enforced Bocoe, returning to his companion's side.

"Defense is irrelevant!" Declared Omega, deploying his gatling gun from his right arm and pressing the barrels against the skin of Doctor Eggman's bald head, "Eggman serves no function! He must be exterminated!"

"You're supposed to have all of Bokkun's files!" Demanded the golden drone, narrowing his eyes, "Didn't he teach you that killing is wrong—YA BIG JERK!?"

"He's right!" Resounded Bokkun's voice within Omega's mind, his program once again accessing without permission, "This is bad! You shouldn't kill anyone, even him! It's wrong!"

"Why?" Inquired Omega, speaking aloud to his invisible counterpart, "He has outlived his purpose! He deserves to be disposed of!"

"He's not like those brainless Egg Pawns!" Argued the messenger, "You can't just get rid of him like an old toy you don't want anymore! He's got a right to live, too! If another, better Omega came out, should you be smashed up because you're 'obsolete'?"

"Who is he talking to?" Whispered Bocoe in Decoe's auditory sensors.

"IRRELEVANT!" Argued Omega, flushing energy from his core into his weapon, preparing to end the existence of the infamous Doctor Eggman with a bloody splatter, "DOCTOR EGGMAN MUST BE EXTERMINATED!!"

Turning their heads away, the two service drones prepared for the incoming report of gun fire, only to be met with silence. With his weapon still impressed upon Eggman's forehead, E-123 Omega paused, looking down upon his prey. While still in his comatose state, the greying man did a most peculiar thing. Still staring up at the ceiling vacantly, a steady stream of tears began to glisten down the scientist's pale cheeks, as a tiny, pitiful moan escaped his lips. Struggling to comprehend the meaning of this action, the war machine found himself unable to carry out his desires for revenge until further information was collected. "Doctor Eggman… has been disabled. Explain his state."

"Wh-huh?" Bocoe stammered, surprised by this sudden turn of events. Nevertheless, he elected to humor Omega, if only to buy more time for the doctor. "Ah, he was attacked…"

"Who was the assailant?" Inquired Omega emotionlessly.

"Xe-moose, or whatever that creepy guy's name is," Decoe answered for his counterpart.

"Accessing…" Omega spoke in his peculiar play-by-play, continuing his interrogation, "File on entity known as 'Xemus' is incomplete. Elaborate…"

"That evil guy that Kai-dude always talks about," explained Bocoe, "came here and did this to him after they teamed up to create you. We don't know what's wrong with him. It's like he just sucked the life out of him. He's been laying here for over two weeks! If we don't do something, he's not going to last much longer!"

Silently Omega continued to linger over Eggman's limp form, frozen in perfect stillness as his thoughts conflicted. His self-imposed directive of killing his foul creator was directly within his reach, yet for reasons unknown he felt overcome with restraint. Perhaps it was simply the joy of the kill which had been taken from him by this new enemy, or perhaps it was something a little more human. As the deadly machine looked down upon his pathetic, wilting creator, an entirely new emotion became manifest in its continuously growing consciousness, compassion…

"He may be a bad guy," Bokkun's data ghost pointed out in lulled vocalization, "but he's done a lot of good, too. The Metarex couldn't have been defeated if he hadn't given the Typhoon enough power to fire! He can be good. Give him a chance?"

Expecting Omega's deadly agenda to re-assert itself, Bocoe and Decoe waited as they observed the frozen machine. Milliseconds passed—an eternity for automaton such as themselves, until finally, in a surprising gesture, Omega withdrew the barrel of his weapon from the scientist's head, retracting it and re-deploying his grasping claws. Pivoting his torso he faced his robotic brethren, speaking in his constant monotonous verbatim. "Situation reevaluated… Doctor Eggman's purpose is not yet complete. Termination: postponed."

Sighing heavily, Bocoe and Decoe moaned in relief, standing erect as they addressed their better. "So what's the plan?" Asked they in unison.

"Prepare the airship for takeoff. We will enlist Miles Prower's assistance."

"Tails?" Asked Decoe perplexed, "I thought he was an enemy. Why him?"

"I… trust him," Omega responded enigmatically…



Far into the Green Hill Zone, many miles displaced from the residence of Vanilla the Rabbit, a dark, humanoid silhouette set foot on the Mobian soil for the first time. As he moved, the lush green grass became wilted, dying in his wake as its life energies were snuffed out by the daemon. "How lovely," mused Xemus as he glided slowly in the direction of the Mystic Ruins, followed behind by the decaying forms of two of his monstrous acolytes, " these pretty dying things…"