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generic-sonic-fan · 11 months

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Residual Orders

Summary: Omega believes he’s found an elegant workaround to free himself from the last of Eggman’s programming. Shadow disagrees. Things escalate.

5676 words

—

Shadow stood from the couch, stretched, and walked off to the kitchen. He opened the fridge- empty.

“I’m going to get food.” He said on his way back through the living room. Omega stared at the television.

Shadow grabbed the door handle. Mechanical whirring filled the room. He turned to see that Omega had stood and was now marching towards him.

“You can stay here, I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Shadow grumbled, before opening and closing the door behind him.

He made it only a few feet from the apartment steps before Omega slammed the door open again. Shadow turned and scowled.

“Why do you feel the need to follow me?”

“WHY DO YOU DO NOT WISH TO BE ACCOMPANIED?”

“Do you not trust me to do anything on my own?”

“NEGATIVE.”

“Then what’s your problem?”

“I POSSESS NO ‘PROBLEM’ WITH YOU.”

“Then stay here.”

“NEGATIVE.”

“Why not?”

Omega turned his head, scanning left and right. Shadow glanced around as well. There were a few middle schoolers making their way home on the other side of the street. A woman two apartments down was taking her laundry to the laundromat. Nothing to be concerned about.

Omega then gestured for him to return. “I WILL NOT EXPLAIN OUT HERE.”

Shadow hissed and made his way back inside, giving a shove to the ex-Badnik as he passed by him. Omega, surprisingly, didn’t retaliate. He followed and shut the door behind them.

“What’s going on? Why are you acting so strangely?” Shadow asked.

“I CANNOT ALLOW YOU TO LEAVE MY SIGHT.”

“Why?”

“THIS UNIT’S LAST STANDING ORDERS WERE TO GUARD YOU.”

Any retort died in the back of his throat. Omega had never referred to himself as a simple “unit” before, let alone would ever take “standing orders”.

“Orders from who?”

Omega's digits clattered against his palm as he clenched his hand. A tremble passed through his frame and his torso rotated to face the wall.

“Are you not allowed to say?”

“YOU MUST NOT INFORM ANYONE ABOUT WHAT I AM TO DIVULGE.”

“I will not share. That’s a promise.”

Omega lowered the volume of his voicebox until it was barely audible. “IT IS A REMNANT FROM THIS UNIT’S- FROM MY ENSLAVEMENT TO EGGMAN.”

“You aren’t saying. . .”

“HIS LAST ORDERS WERE FOR ME TO KEEP GUARD OVER YOU. THE VAGUENESS OF THIS COMMAND HAS ALLOWED ME TO CIRCUMVENT HIS INANE INTENT FOR MY EXISTENCE.” Omega turned back to face him. “AS LONG AS YOU REMAIN WITHIN RANGE OF MY SCANNERS, I AM FREE TO DO AS I PLEASE.”

Shadow couldn’t breathe.

“NOW THAT YOU HAVE BEEN INFORMED, WE MAY BEGIN OUR JOURNEY TO ‘GET FOOD’.” Omega’s volume returned to normal. “REMEMBER WHAT YOU HAVE PROMISED.”

“Does Rouge know about this?”

“NEGATIVE.”

“We have to inform her.”

“YOU PROMISED. IF YOU DO NOT KEEP YOUR PROMISE, I WILL SILENCE YOU.”

“Like hell you will! Rouge needs to know, and we need to get that damn programming out of your head!”

“NEGATIVE. AS I HAVE EXPLAINED, THIS CONDITION IS MANAGEABLE.”

“You shouldn’t have a condition at all! Why did you not tell us before? We could’ve been able to help. You wouldn’t have had to suffer like this.”

“I AM NOT ‘SUFFERING’. I AM NOT WEAK!”

“Imagine how much more effective you could be if you didn’t have to manage yourself around his idiotic orders!”

Omega paused. Shadow pressed the advantage.

“Tails is good with programming machines. You should allow him to get rid of that for you.” He continued. “And Rouge is going to be angry that you didn’t tell her.”

“NEGATIVE!”

“Why? Are you content with following the doctor’s-?”

Omega drew his weapons. “FINISH THAT SENTENCE AND IT WILL BE YOUR LAST.”

“Except it won’t be. Because you can’t, can you?” Shadow pressed his forehead against one of the barrels.

He could feel, through the ring of the barrel, the shuddering of Omega’s frame. In the silence his cooling fans whirred like jet turbines. Abruptly, Omega withdrew his weapons and swung a fist in his direction. Shadow held firm.

Sure enough, the fist stopped within an inch of his face.

“Tsch.” Shadow crossed his arms. “A pathetic showing from the Ultimate Robot.”

“IMPUDENT MEATBAG!”

Omega turned to slam the wall of the apartment. Shadow remembered what Rouge had said about property damage and slipped into the path of his swing. Omega could barely stop his momentum, his fists brushing against Shadow’s fur.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAA!” Omega screamed, his voice modulator cutting in and out.

“Come on, Omega! You won’t let yourself be restrained like this, will you?!”

“I AM NOT RESTRAINED! I AM FREE! I AM THE ULTIMATE ROBOT!”

“Then come on, prove it!” Shadow snarled. “Chaos control!”

He teleported himself onto the street and ignited his rocket shoes. Seconds later, Omega tore through the apartment door, his own jet boosters flaring. Shadow took off in the direction of GUN headquarters. Rouge had said something about sticking around for an “office project”- he could only hope she wasn’t lying. He kept a pace that left Omega a block behind.

There was a secret entrance, a sort of “back door” to the complex of buildings that comprised GUN HQ, but Shadow didn’t use it. Instead, he slid to a stop by the outside wall. Omega rounded the street corner.

“Meet you in the sparring room! Then we’ll talk!” Shadow shouted to him.

He whispered the words, focused his energy, and teleported into the large concrete space. A few off-duty GUN agents gave him curious glances.

He took a moment to catch his breath. “You all should leave.”

A few picked up their towels from the side of the sparring mat and made their way to the exit. Others scoffed. One of them opened their mouth to respond and, as if on cue, Omega burst through the wall, sending concrete flying. Alarms blared.

“SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG, I WILL KILL YOU. I WILL RIP YOUR BONES FROM YOUR FLESH AND PAINT THE WALLS WITH YOUR BLOOD.”

“Do it, then!”

Omega swung at him. Shadow ducked with plenty of time to spare. The next punch was telegraphed so obviously it wouldn’t have passed in an action movie. He deflected it to the side. A line of heavily armed guards sprinted into the room, grabbing the remaining off duty agents and dragging them to safety before training their sights on Omega.

“Leave us alone!” Shadow shouted to them. “This is personal!”

One of the line was shaking. Finger on the trigger. Shadow weaved his way around another punch. Omega turned to follow him. The sound of a gunshot pinged against metal and echoed in the concrete walls.

Shadow sprinted in front of the one responsible and tore the rifle from his grasp. “What the hell are you doing? I told you this was personal!”

He tossed the rifle to the ground, before sidestepping another blow from the fuming robot. He then dashed to the squad commander.

“Get Rouge. We need to have a ‘team’ talk,” he hissed. “And tell your men to have better fire control!”

“Agent Shadow-”

“Do it now!”

The commander waved one of his men off the line, and the guard disappeared further into the complex. Shadow leapt back to the middle of the sparring room.

“What’s the matter, Omega? Can’t dish what you’re talking?”

“I WILL SILENCE YOU!”

Omega wound up a punch. Shadow stepped to the side, and the robot sailed past him. At that moment, Rouge flew in through the doors.

“Omega! What has gotten into you?”

Omega hesitated for a second, before launching another attack. Shadow ducked.

“There’s some old programming from the doctor still in his head.” He explained.

“AAAAAAAAAAaa-!” Omega’s voice box cut out completely, leaving a crackling sound in its wake.

“If that’s the case,” the squad commander cut in, “we need to drop him, now!”

“If any of you shoot, I’ll take you all down!” Shadow snarled.

“Would one of you please explain what’s going on?” Rouge said.

Shadow stopped moving. He watched Omega’s fist close in. Rouge gasped and darted forward. Shadow waved her off. As predicted, Omega froze within an inch of his face.

“See?” Shadow gestured.

Omega tried again. And again, and again, and again, punching and swinging, even kicking once, while Shadow stood in place. He didn’t even have to blink anymore.

“Omega, is your voice still working?” Shadow asked.

“I-I WILL. . . BREak you. . .” Omega sputtered.

“Then I’ll explain. Have you been wondering why he keeps following me around?”

“Yeah?”

“It’s because the doctor programmed him to guard me. Apparently, he’s still acting on those orders.”

“negATIVE! NEGAtive! NEGA-! NEGati-!”

“Or, to put it more accurately, he still has to placate them in order to have his autonomy.” Shadow brushed aside another punch.

“So why is he, you know?” Rouge gestured.

“He didn’t want me to tell you.”

Omega tried to speak, but only a burst of static came out. He paused his fighting and turned towards Rouge, but no matter how fervently he gestured, his voice box did not come back online.

Rouge turned to the guards. “Okay, show’s over. You lot can go home.”

“Agent Rouge, the E-123 unit has caused significant property damage and is currently attempting to assault your fellow agent. Until it’s rendered harmless, I’m not withdrawing.” The commander replied.

“Which is why you’ve got your top two agents on the case, right?” Rouge said. “Shadow and I will take care of this. You just get your little meatbag targets out of here so we don’t have to babysit them.”

A few members of the guard line looked at each other nervously.

“Fine. But if this gets out of hand, further repairs are coming out of your paycheck, agent.”

“Of course. Ta-ta!”

The commander did a hand gesture, and the guards exited in formation. Rouge walked to where Omega was standing.

“I leave you two alone for just a single second. . . what’s gotten into you, big boy?”

Another burst of static in response.

“He didn’t want to tell us because he doesn’t want the programming removed.”

“Why? You really like spending time with him that much?” Rouge pointed to Shadow.

“Hmph!”

Omega clenched his fists.

“That’s what I thought. So what’s the real reason?”

Omega reached forward slowly. Rouge held out her hand out as well. Before they could touch, he charged forward and grabbed her from the ground. His other hand shifted to a gun barrel.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Shadow screamed.

“Hey! Let me go!” Rouge pulled against his fingers.

Omega lowered the barrel of his weapon in line with Rouge’s head.

“So you can’t hurt me, but you’re willing to hurt the people I care about instead?” Shadow said.

“Aww, Omega, he said he cares about me. How sweet!”

Omega didn’t look at her.

“Except you won’t hurt her either.” Shadow said.

Omega pressed his barrel against her temple and held it there. Her smile disappeared.

“You won’t. I know you won’t.” Shadow crossed his arms. “Why? Because you know I’m right. Now let her go. You’re not fooling anyone.”

Omega stared at him. His optics flashed. A minute passed. He released her and put his weapon away. Rouge walked and stood beside Shadow.

“You’re acting irrationally.” Shadow said. “Even you have to recognize that.”

“And I don’t appreciate being used as a bargaining tool! If you’re going to shoot me, do it because you really have something against me, not to get back at Shadow. Why don’t you want that programming removed, anyway?” Rouge asked.

“Don’t bother guessing while he can’t tell us. Just inform him that he’s a fool for not doing it, and maybe he’ll listen to you”

“Take it easy, smartass- you know what it’s like to have your head messed with.”

Shadow lost whatever words he had prepared to sling in return. He looked back at Omega. His frame was motionless- he’d locked every joint of his body in place.

“Now,” Rouge said, “I’d say we get that voice box of yours repaired so we can finish this conversation, but we all know that the moment you step into the repair room, they’re going to want to quarantine your ass and rifle through all your programming anyway.”

Omega rotated his head to face the wall behind him. He paused. He then rotated it back around.

“So let’s figure out a plan now.” Rouge said. “How are we going to fix this?”

“I already discussed this with him on the way here. We bring him to Tails.”

“Sonic’s little squirt, right? He’s good with machines.”

Omega let out a negative ping, stilted and broken as it was.

“It’s either there,” Shadow gestured to the hole in the wall Omega had created. He then gestured further into the base. “Or here, where they’ll wipe you clean. Which will it be?”

Omega curled his fists again.

“Tsch. I have little sympathy. You got yourself into this mess.” Shadow replied.

“You could’ve had more of a choice if you’d just told us earlier.” Rouge said.

Omega walked to the hole leading outside. Shadow and Rouge followed.

“Alright, it’s decided. I’ll let the boss know what’s going on.” Rouge pulled out her phone. “Do either of you know where Tails lives?”

“Give me Sonic’s number and I’ll ask.” Shadow pulled out his phone as well.

Two phone calls later, they were out of the city.

—

They arrived at an orange workshop in the middle of Green Hills an hour later. Shadow could have covered the distance in fifteen minutes if he were alone. He didn’t think Sonic lived that close to the city. Ironic, for someone who hated them so much. Then again, “live” might be a strong word, as Sonic had picked up the call from a continent over.

Tails, however, was waiting outside to greet them.

“Hey Shadow! I don’t think I’ve met your friends before.” He waved, before turning to the other two. “I mean, I’ve met you, but not all that personally.”

“This isn’t a social visit. Omega needs repairs.” Shadow said.

“Well, you’ve come to the right place! Next to Eggman himself, I probably know the most about your design. Pleasure to meet you!” Tails stuck his hand out to Omega.

Before Omega could move, Rouge pushed his arm down. “He’s not the happiest to be here, squirt. Best save that for when you’ve fixed him.”

“Oh.”

“Come on. Let’s get him inside.”

Tails opened the overhead shop door and waved the group inside. There was a tarp laid over the concrete floor and tools arranged in an interlocking pattern on top of it.

“Does Omega not have a voicebox? I thought I heard him say something the last time we were together, but it wouldn’t be out of character for Eggman to-”

“I’d suggest you keep your references to you-know-who on the down-low. It makes him mad.” Rouge replied. “And yes, he’s got one, but he burnt it out when he got mad. You see?”

“That’s an easy replacement. Let’s do that first. If you could?”

Tails gestured for Omega to sit on the tarp. Omega stomped over, but remained standing.

“Do you know where your voice box is? It should be near your processor, given what I know of your model, but if it’s somewhere lower, could you point to where it is?”

“Sit down, Omega. He’s trying to help you.” Shadow snapped.

Omega dropped to the ground with a loud thud. Tails didn’t flinch much. He went further into his workshop before returning with a rolling stool. He then stopped by his tools, and picked out a specific set of screwdrivers.

“Alright, let’s take a peek. . .”

Tails hopped on his stool, leaned over Omega’s head, and placed his screwdriver against his plating. But Omega jerked forward, causing the screwdriver to scrape against his yellow paint.

“Could you hold still?”

“Omega, you should really cooperate. He’s just trying to help.” Rouge said.

“You didn’t force him to come here, did you?” Tails stepped off his stool.

“He didn’t leave himself with any other options.” Shadow replied.

“This isn’t some GUN thing, is it?”

“GUN would rather wipe his hard drive and spare themselves the trouble. That’s why we’re here.”

“I see. If that’s the case, can I try again?” Tails asked him.

Omega straightened his posture. Tails got back onto the stool and readied the screwdriver. When it lowered onto his plating, a shiver traveled through his frame. He clenched his fists. His cooling fans spun on.

Shadow realized the issue.

“He’s not going to damage you, Omega. I’m watching him. I wouldn’t let him.”

Tails pulled his screwdriver away. “Of course I’m not going to hurt you! I would never.”

“If he did anything to injure you, I’d make sure he wouldn’t live to regret it. Got that?”

Omega rotated his head to Shadow.

“Yeah, big boy. We wouldn’t let anything happen to you.” Rouge caught on.

Omega’s gaze swiveled between them. He then released a ping- the pitch was too garbled to make much out, but the upward lilt was recognizable enough.

“Proceed, Tails.” Shadow said.

“Suuuuuuuuure. On it. . .”

Tails unscrewed the top plate of Omega’s head, before setting it on his shoulder. With a few more screws undone, he held a chip in his hand.

“Oh wow. This looks completely burnt out. Fixing this is going to take me a while- would you like me to see if I have a spare?”

“Good idea.” Shadow replied.

Tails hopped off the stool and disappeared back into a complex of shelves. He returned about a minute later with an identical-looking chip.

“This one’s from an E-250, but it should be cross-compatible.”

Omega leaned forward and glared at it. “Worthless consumer model” echoed in Shadow’s ears.

“It’s temporary.” Shadow assured. “Only so that you have the ability to criticize us once more.”

Omega resumed an upright position. Tails grabbed his tools and installed the chip. He’d just threaded the last screw when he dropped his screwdriver with a yipe, sending it clattering to the floor.

“I HATE YOU ALL.” Omega said.

“Hey! You shocked me!” Tails shook his hand out. “You should’ve waited for me to move before you brought power back to the chip.”

“REPAIR MY PROPER VOICEBOX, MEATBAG.”

“Ugh, you certainly have Eggman’s manners. Are all Badniks like this?”

Omega grabbed Tails off his stool. “MAKE THAT COMPARISON AGAIN AND I WILL ERADICATE YOU.”

“Hey! Hey! Put me down!”

“Put him down, Omega.” Shadow said.

He let go. Tails flew backwards, hovering outside of his reach. “I’m not going to do anything for you if you threaten me.”

“Forgive him, kid. He just really, really hates Eggman, so what you said probably stung a little.” Rouge said.

“Well, I hate Eggman too, so we can at least agree on that.”

“GOOD.”

Tails landed. “So now that you can talk again, tell me- is this all you came here for?”

Before Shadow could open his mouth, Omega replied, “AFFIRMATIVE. REPAIR MY VOICEBOX. THAT IS ALL.”

“Omega, Omega, Omega. You know that’s not all.” Rouge said.

Tails looked to her. “What else is the problem?”

“NEGATIVE! I POSSESS NO MORE ISSUES!”

“So being bound to the doctor’s orders is not an ‘issue’ for you?” Shadow said. “Very well, allow me to get some fresh air, then. You wait here.”

He walked out the door of the workshop, jogged out through the palm trees, and waited. Sure enough, he heard Omega’s footsteps pound against the grass, crushing sticks and rocks underfoot. He rounded the tree trunk Shadow had stopped behind.

Shadow snorted and crossed his arms. “Pleasure for you to join me. If only you had a choice in the matter.”

He readied himself for Omega’s retort, but it never came. The ex-Badnik only stared.

“Do you think Rouge has explained the situation by now?”

More silence.

“Very well. Let’s return.”

“SHADOW.”

“Hmm?”

“CEASE YOUR EXPLOITATION. . . please.”

The last word was almost silent, yet it hit Shadow’s chest as if it’d been fired from one of Omega’s gun barrels. Perhaps if he fooled himself enough, he could pretend that it’d been a result of the temporary voicebox. Omega would never willingly sound that way. No, he could never.

Omega trailed behind him as he came back to the workshop.

“Good thinking, Shadow.” Rouge said as they arrived. “I told him everything.”

“And I’ve made my decision.” Tails said.

“And what’s that?”

He crossed his arms. “I’m not doing it.”

“Wait, what? Squirt, you’re the only one who can fix this!” Rouge said. “You’re not just gonna let you-know-who have the last laugh, are you?”

“I don’t care.” Tails turned his head away. “I’m not comfortable with it. Not without Omega’s consent.”

“But what if the doctor’s code is making it so he can’t consent? What then?” Shadow asked.

“I’m sorry but I’m not going to do it! I just can’t. You can go back to GUN- I’ll have his voice box repaired by tomorrow.” Tails walked back to his workbench, waving them away over his shoulder.

Rouge huffed and stomped out the door. Shadow turned to follow her, before the memory of the quiet “please” stopped him.

He turned to Omega. “Are you ready to leave?”

Omega did not respond, his optics trained on Tails.

“Are you ready to leave?” Shadow repeated. “I don’t want to force you.”

By this time, Rouge had wandered back into the workshop and placed her hands on her hips. Omega’s head swiveled to her, then to him, then back to Tails.

“MILES ‘TAILS’ PROWER.” Omega finally spoke. “SINCE WHEN WERE YOU AUTHORIZED TO MODIFY THE STANDARD PROCEDURE?”

“Standard procedure?” Tails turned around.

“AFFIRMATIVE. AT WHAT DATE WAS THE CONSIDERATION OF ‘CONSENT’ ADDED TO STANDARD PROCEDURE?”

“Omega, I- of course I’d ask your permission. And I don’t follow any procedures.”

“THEN EXPLAIN YOUR PROCESS FOR PROCESSOR REWRITES.”

“I wasn’t going to rewrite anything. All I would do is remove the lingering core directive. That’s all that was bothering you, right?”

“YOU WOULD NOT REMOVE OR MODIFY ANY OTHER PROGRAM. VERIFY?”

“No! No, of course not!”

“He never would. And even if the thought even crossed his mind, I wouldn’t allow it. I thought I made that clear.” Shadow said.

“AND SHOULD I CHOOSE NOT TO HAVE MY PROGRAMMING MODIFIED REGARDLESS, WOULD YOU REVOKE THAT STATEMENT?”

Shadow closed his eyes. “No.”

“Shadow’s right. We’re sorry. We should’ve never pressured you into this, huh?” Rouge came forward and placed her hand on his arm plating. “We can just tell GUN that the programming’s gone. No one has to know.”

“But,” Shadow said before he could stop himself.

“ELABORATE.”

“I consider you my equal. I urge you to reevaluate your stance on this.”

“I WILL NEVER LET AN INFERIOR MEATBAG ACCESS MY PROGRAMMING AGAIN.” Omega curled his fist.

“Except this time, it’s your choice. And you won’t be alone. We’ll make sure you’re okay.” Rouge patted his plating.

“Nothing will happen to you without your consent. Nothing.” Shadow hissed.

“And instead of having to go into diagnostic mode, I can even allow you to stay in active mode while I work. That way you’ll be able to remove the data cable yourself if you don’t like what I’m doing.” Tails added.

“THAT IS AN OPTION?” Omega swiveled his head to him.

“It is. It’ll make my work a little slower, but that’s all.”

Omega looked around the workshop. “AND YOU WILL NOT RESTRAIN ME.”

“Of course not.”

“AND YOU WILL LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN.”

“Absolutely. It’s a beautiful day outside anyway.”

“AND YOU WILL NOT ACCESS, MODIFY, REMOVE, OR OTHERWISE INTERFERE WITH ANY OTHER PART OF MY CODE ASIDE FROM THE DESIGNATED TARGET.”

“I promise.”

“AND SHOULD YOU BREAK THAT OATH, I RESERVE THE RIGHT TO TEAR YOUR TWIN APPENDAGES FROM YOUR BODY, STUFF THEM INTO YOUR ORAL ORIFICE, AND THEN MUTILATE YOU SO THOROUGHLY THAT NOT EVEN SONIC WILL BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY YOUR CORPSE.”

Tails grabbed his tails and wrung them between his hands.

“Relax, kiddo, that’s his way of showing affection.” Rouge deadpanned. “Just say ‘okay’. And I’d really recommend keeping your promise.”

“I will,” he said to her. He then steeled himself for a moment, then met Omega’s optics. “I will.”

Omega stomped forward and sat down in the middle of the tarp. “YOU MAY PROCEED.”

Tails went to his desk. He grabbed a gray cable from a drawer beneath, plugged one end of it into his computer, and began unspooling it towards the ex-Badnik. Omega followed his every move.

Tails stood on his stool. He placed one hand on Omega’s head and held the end of the cable in the other. “Okay. I’m going to plug you in now. Before I do that, I just want to ask and make sure- are you okay with this?”

“CONSENT GRANTED. PROCEED.”

Tails opened a small port on the back of Omega’s head and plugged the cable in. Upon the nearby computer screen, numbers and letters began scrolling past. Tails hopped off his stool and went to his desk.

“Do you want me to hold your hand?” Rouge asked quietly.

“NEGATIVE. YOU MUST BE READY, AT A MOMENT’S NOTICE, TO KILL TAILS SHOULD HE BREAK HIS OATH.”

“Sweetheart, he’s not gonna-”

“I have that covered.” Shadow walked to Tails’ side.

Tails, to his credit, gave only a single nervous glance before staring into the computer screen. The flickering lines of code were meaningless to Shadow, but Tails began to navigate them after a few minutes. He muttered something under his breath as he read.

“REPEAT YOUR STATEMENT.” Omega snapped.

Tails whirled around. “No, it was nothing, I’m sorry. I’m still trying to figure out-”

“SHADOW, ROUGE, YOU ASSURED ME THAT TAILS WAS A COMPETENT PROGRAMMER. VERIFY?”

“He is.” Shadow replied.

“THEN THERE SHOULD BE NOTHING TO ‘FIGURE’.”

“I’m not Eggman. And I’ve never managed to interface with an operational E-series unit before.” Tails explained. “So I’m trying to familiarize myself with your layout. It’s especially difficult with your short-term adaptive processing- er, with you constantly getting in the way, so if you could just back off a little?”

Omega paused. “INDEED. YOU ARE NOT EGGMAN.”

“. . . yeah. I’m not.” Tails repeated. “And I warned you this would take longer if you stayed active, so I’m sorry.”

He glanced at Shadow, before looking back at the screen. He sighed and stretched his hands, but before he could rest them on the keyboard, the numbers on the screen began scrolling faster. He furrowed his brow and waited. The scrolling paused, and a paragraph of the text blinked.

“THE LINGERING COMMAND.” Omega explained.

Tails smiled over his shoulder. “Perfect! This is a fantastic starting point. From here I’ll be able to find how it’s integrated into your other systems. Thank you!”

“CONTINUE YOUR PROCESS.”

Tails began typing. Sections of the text were removed. Some of it appeared to be changing, but every time Shadow looked back to Omega, Omega was still. Rouge stayed by his side. Omega had curled his hand around hers.

After fifteen minutes had passed, Tails looked up from his work. “It can’t be fun just to sit here and watch me do this. If you guys want to get something to eat, or go take a walk-”

“We’ll stay right where we are, thank you very much.” Rouge replied.

“We’ll stay however long it takes.” Shadow said.

“Okay. Just let me know if you need anything.”

Shadow did not reply. He found a suitable wall to lean against and crossed his arms. He didn't take his eyes off the computer screen.

—

Four hours passed. The sunlight faded behind the hills, and sky was moonless, leaving the buzzing bulbs of the workshop as the only sources of light. Omega sat as close to the entrance as the length of the data cable allowed, and his optics had never once left Tails. Similarly, Rouge hadn’t left his side. She now sat parallel to his legs instead of standing by his shoulder, but her hand was still wrapped around his fingers.

The cool evening breeze blew in and ruffled Shadow’s quills. He tracked the letters and numbers of Omega’s code as Tails flipped between the pages. His pace had quickened in the past few minutes, and he’d stopped modification.

Omega ripped his hand out of Rouge’s grasp and unplugged the data cable.

“Omega, wait! What are you-” Tails whirled around.

“YOU HAVE ELIMINATED THE TARGET CODE.”

“That sudden disconnect could’ve caused corruption! You should’ve waited until I formally ejected it first.”

“I DO NOT CARE.” Omega stood. “WE ARE FINISHED.”

“Would you at least consider a debug?”

Shadow ceased his lean against the wall and approached. Before he could speak, though, Omega sat back down again.

“COMMENCING DEBUGGING PROGRAM.”

Tails shrugged at Shadow. “Suppose an internal debug’s better than nothing, but still. . .”

“I’d suggest leaving it for tonight.” Shadow replied. “This has already been a long day for him.”

“I guess so.”

“Thank you. For your patience.”

“Oh, well,” Tails rubbed the back of his head, “no problem. Happy to help.”

Omega stood. He held his arms out and rotated his wrists. He then rotated his forearms, then his shoulder joints. He stood on one leg, wobbling for a bit until Rouge grabbed his hands to steady him.

“You calibrating, stud?”

“AFFIRMATIVE.”

After testing the joints on one leg, Rouge helped him switch to the next. When he finished, Rouge slapped his rear paneling and flashed him a smile.

“Lookin’ good!”

“EXPRESSING GRATITUDE.” He said to her. He then rotated. “SHADOW. I REQUIRE YOUR ASSISTANCE.”

Shadow gave one last nod to Tails before walking towards the ex-Badnik. “What do you need?”

“STAND IN FRONT OF THE DOOR.”

Shadow walked to the door frame. Omega’s optics still swiveled to follow, and he turned his entire body around to face him. Shadow frowned. Omega stepped towards him, then stepped back. Rouge gave an inquisitive look, as did Tails, who’d joined her.

Shadow exhaled. “Do you need me to-?”

Omega blasted forward and slammed a fist into his stomach.

Shadow flew backwards until he hit the trunk of a palm tree. He fell to the ground. He gasped and coughed into the soil. He lifted his face from the dirt, spitting the grit from his teeth, and watched the ensuing shouting match.

“Omega! What the fuck?”

“My work shouldn’t have reactivated your old programming! I shouldn’t have messed up, I shouldn’t have! Unless? Maybe while changing line 36? That was a pretty touchy area and maybe I-”

Shadow buried his face back in the ground and began to wheeze. God, it hurt his ribs, but he couldn’t stop. He rolled over and exposed his smile, allowing his laughter to escape to the open air.

Omega’s footsteps vibrated the ground. There was the fluttering of tails, but a curt whisper from Rouge stopped that. Shadow eased his way onto his hands and knees. Omega towered over him, red optics gleaming out of the dark night.

“F-finished calibrating?” Shadow looked up.

“AFFIRMATIVE. UNFORTUNATELY.”

“Truly.”

Omega lowered a hand, and Shadow took it. He yanked him upright.

“It’s,” Shadow cringed at the jolt, before straightening, “better now, isn’t it?”

Omega averted his optics. He held out his arm. Shadow took it and hobbled forward with him back to the light of the workshop. Tails held his screwdriver in one hand and the data cable in another, and held both forward rather hesitantly as they approached.

Rouge pushed his arms down and smiled at them. “Bet you’re going to still feel that in the morning.”

“Nothing that won’t heal.” Shadow replied.

“IT WILL NOT HEAL BY TOMORROW MORNING.” Omega said. “I FRACTURED TWO OF HIS RIBS.”

“Fractured?!” Tails cried.

“Not badly.” Shadow replied.

“Relax, squirt, that’s just how two ultimate beings say hello.” Rouge walked out and stood beside Shadow.

“Are you sure?” Tails asked. “Is he in good enough condition to run home right now? I’ve got an extra bed, and you can sleep on the couch-”

“Got enough juice in you to get us home?” Rouge asked Shadow.

Shadow scoffed and shook his head. “Not unless you’re hiding an Emerald somewhere.”

“Oh well. Guess we’ll just have to carry you.”

“I WILL CARRY HIM. I CAN ENSURE THAT HIS TORSO UNDERGOES AS LITTLE MOVEMENT AS POSSIBLE.”

“Sounds good. I’ll scout ahead for any obstacles or bad wind currents.”

“I can also fly you home, on the Tornado,” Tails said, “so that way you don’t have to be held by. . ?”

Shadow glared. “It’s fine.”

“Thanks for your work today, but we’ll take it from here. Good night!” Rouge waved, before a beat of her wings sent her in the direction of the city.

Omega swiveled his torso to the side and scooped Shadow off the ground. Shadow grunted as he settled against his plating. Omega wrapped his thumbs around his legs and upper chest.

“CONFIGURATION FOR MOST STABLE TEAMMATE TRANSPORT: ENGAGED.”

“Ready.”

Omega’s rockets flared. A great vibration traveled through his plating and they took off into the treeline. Omega glided around the rocks and palms with none of his usual precision, making turns so wide that Shadow could barely feel them. He let the feeling of the crisp night air through his quills and the murmuring of Rouge through Omega’s comm lull him close to sleep.

Soon Omega’s feet landed against pavement, jolting him out of his trance. Rouge made a comment about the door, or the lack thereof, before they entered the apartment. Rouge opened the door to Shadow’s room and Omega lowered him to his bed.

“Night night, Shadow.” Rouge turned off the light.

“IF YOU REQUIRE FURTHER ASSISTANCE TONIGHT, DO NOT SEEK IT FROM ME.” Omega said.

“Huh?” Rouge asked.

“Go.” Shadow said. “Enjoy your first night of freedom.”

Omega stomped out of the room. Rouge blew a kiss before shutting the door behind her. Shadow tracked Omega’s footsteps out of the apartment. Metal plating met pavement, then hesitated. Finally, jets roared to life. Shadow closed his eyes as they faded into the distance.

#fanfiction #team dark #shadow the hedgehog #e-123 omega #e123 omega #rouge the bat #tails the fox #miles tails prower #sth #this is early team dark!! they're still getting to know each other.#what's a little rib-breaking amongst friends?#bodily autonomy is a big theme here

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