The silence of the Barrenlands was absolute, broken only by the rhythmic, predatory hiss of Mecha Sonic's cooling vents and the ragged, sobbing breaths Daiwa drew against my shoulder.
"You're late," she choked out. Her fingers dug into my lab coat with a strength that would have bruised a mortal man. "You're... you're always making me wait, Mother!"
"Well," I said, my voice uncharacteristically soft as I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her into a tight embrace. "I am here now."
Behind us, the atmosphere was thick enough to choke on. Amiya and Z23 stood like twin statues amidst the settling dust of the battlefield.
"Agnes..." Amiya's voice was small, a ghostly flicker through the comms. "We have to go."
Z23 stepped forward, her eyes darting nervously between my "daughter" and the terrifying metallic monstrosity standing guard nearby. "Sorry to cut the reunion short, but the clock is ticking," she added urgently.
I turned, keeping a protective arm around Daiwa's shoulders. "Let's move."
"We can't stay here!" The Doctor's voice crackled over the long-range link from the landship. "That explosion just rang the dinner bell for every mercenary within fifty kilometers. Agnes, get your daughter onto the transport. Kal'tsit is already looking for an excuse to have your head."
"Father... what's wrong?" Daiwa asked, her ears twitching.
"Nothing is wrong. Just get inside the transport," I said, gesturing for her to follow Z23.
At the mention of "nothing," her pride finally resurfaced. She pulled back, wiping her eyes with a soot-stained glove and straightening her crooked tiara with a sharp, flick.
"I am Daiwa Scarlet!" she declared, her voice regaining its royal vibrance. "The Triple Crown winner! Daughter of the great Agnes Tachyon!"
"She's definitely yours," Z23 muttered under her breath.
We scrambled into the transport. Mecha Sonic didn't seat, he simply magnetized himself to the exterior hull, his singular glowing blue eye scanning the horizon for targets. As the engines roared and we banked hard toward the Rhodes Island landship, a blue window flickered into existence before my eyes.
[Mission: Find your missing daughter.
Reward: Filling the hole in your heart.]
[STATUS: COMPLETE]
I stared at the text for a moment before clicking it away. "Mecha," I said into the internal comms. "I have a special mission for you. Kill them all."
The hangar of Rhodes Island was packed. Word travels at terminal velocity on a landship, and the "Mad Scientist's Secret Daughter" was the biggest headline since the Doctor's return.
As the ramp lowered, the first person we saw wasn't a medic. It was Kal'tsit. Behind her, Mon3tr loomed like a jagged shadow of bone and concentrated malice.
"Agnes," she said, her voice a frozen tundra. "You have brought a stranger onto my ship, bypassed three safety protocols, and deployed a forbidden AI weapon."
Daiwa stepped out from behind me, her horse ears pinned back as she sized up the ancient feline. "And who is this? Depressed looking hag?"
The entire hangar went silent. Even the Doctor, watching from the balcony above, seemed to lean forward in anticipation of the inevitable explosion.
She's really just like Agnes! the onlookers thought in collective horror.
"She's the one in charge of the needles, Daiwa," I whispered urgently. "Maybe don't roast her just yet."
"What!? Really mother?" She said very quietly.
Kal'tsit's eyes narrowed, but then her gaze dropped to the girl's legs the powerful, trembling muscles of a world-class runner and the distinct lack of any visible Originium crystals. Her expression shifted from icy anger to a terrifying, clinical curiosity.
"To the medical bay," Kal'tsit commanded.
"All of you. We have much to discuss regarding this child."
Later, after the gauntlet of blood tests and frantic questioning, I found Daiwa sitting on a gurney, swinging her legs. She was clutching a cup of Rhodes Island tea.
"Father," she said quietly. "Is this place... home now?"
I looked out the porthole at the desolate, moving landscape of Terra. It was a world of Catastrophes, war, and endless sorrow. But looking at her, I felt a spark of the old madness the good kind.
"For now," I said, leaning my head against hers. "But don't get too comfortable. I still have to build you a proper race track. You can't let your form slip just because we're in a wasteland."
She smirked, a flash of that brilliant, competitive fire returning to her eyes. "As if I'd ever let anyone beat me. Even in another world, I'm the leading lady."
"Then after this... care for a race?"
Before she could answer, the door was kicked open with a resounding bang.
"Agnes! You didn't say you were a mother! Is that why you helped us?" Martha shouted, her face a mask of shock. Ruby stood behind her, looking a bit nervous.
"Hello," Ruby said tentatively.
"Hello. I am Daiwa Scarlet," the girl replied, puffing out her chest.
"Wow... big sister is so cool!" Ruby beamed, and I could practically see Daiwa's ego inflating in real-time.
"yes that's right! Prise me more!" Daiwa said laughing.
"Answer me, Agnes!" Martha began shaking me by the shoulders.
After a "mostly true" explanation and a few well-placed nods from Daiwa, Martha finally gave up.
"Fine," Martha said, a smile returning.
"After this, we're doing some family bonding time. Z23 included!"
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the Barrenlands, mecha sonic was cleaning up loose ends.
"Is that your best!" Mecha Sonic boomed, his voice a mechanical roar as he unleashed a volley of rockets into the mercenary ranks.
"What the hell is this thing?!" a mercenary screamed before being erased by a plasma burst.
"I am the mightiest in the universe!" Mecha shouted. He tucked into a metallic sphere, spinning with such velocity that he became a blur of blue steel, shredding through the ranks like a saw blade.
"Our crossbows can't penetrate the armor!"
"Retreat! Fall back!"
As the survivors turned to flee, Mecha Sonic came to a halt. He reached into a hidden compartment, pulling out a glowing red crystal.
"I am Sonic... the real Sonic. CHAOS CONTROL!"
The world turned grayscale as time ground to a halt. Mecha drifted through the frozen battlefield, stopping before a Caster whose spell was still mid-formation.
"Lifeform data successfully copied... Scan."
He stood amidst the frozen chaos, copying every spell, every technique, and every of data from the mercenaries. Then killing them all with out mercy. When he reached a survivor, he leaned down.
"Please... spare me..." the man wheezed, his body broken.
"Mercy is not in my database," Mecha replied. Then stomped his feet into the man head with a resounding pop.
A moment later, mecha sonic mk2 ignited his boosters, soaring toward the distant silhouette of the landship. "Doctor. Mission completed. Returning to base."
"Copy be sure to enter to the back entrance." I said before cutting the communication.
"I wonder... Why am i feeling to do a low Cortisol dance?" I thought before dismissing it.