Blaring alarms shook through the space colony, not too dissimilar to the ones ordering the evacuation of all the inhabitants not too long ago. Or rather was supposed to, Lec doubted that anyone who fled in any of those pods had lived. And the thought of it sickened him.
All of those people, hoping for a chance at escape, were all dead simply because he existed. Or at least, because the body he was currently in existed. He wondered how the original events had unfolded; had he and Maria escaped instead of going back to search for her grandfather? Did anyone die?
Shaking his head, Lec swiftly decided all those thoughts were useless to him at this moment. The only thing he needed to focus on was finding the doctor. Not just to find him for Maria's sake, but also for him to explain what the hell is going on.
The blaring alarms had begun not long after the pair of children left the escape room with the intent of searching for the good doctor. And at first, they both assumed the alarm was going on a loop. But that wasn't it; they sounded different. Very different. If the alarms for the escape pods were jarring and obnoxious, the new alarm was more rhythmic...if that made any sense.
Finally nearing the doctor's lab, Lec froze in his tracks. Something was wrong, something was really, really wrong. "Lec, is everything okay?" Maria asked from behind him, her tone becoming one of concern.
"Why were they so sad?"
"What?"
Turning around to look at Maria, he'd simply shake his head. "The Artificial Chaos, I can sense the emotions left behind by their faint traces of chaos energy. But I can't fully sense them, so they're not in the lab anymore. Your grandfather probably isn't either...Wait here."
Walking ahead, Lec all but commanded the blond-haired girl to stay put.
Walking into the lab, the first thing the young boy saw was dozens of charred corpses. Filling the room with a strange smell. Trying his best to tear his eyes away from the disturbing scene, he'd eventually relent and walk towards the bodies.
"They're all G.U.N....Did the Artificial Chaos do this? I can sense its emotions all over them...damn, that sounds weird when I say it to myself."
Turning around, Lec paused, looking at a wide-open vault. "The emeralds are gone..." Moving closer to the open vault, he'd try his absolute hardest to sense even the faintest traces of chaos energy.
"Nope, nada. Seems I really can only sense emotions tied to chaos energy, and not the energy itself, after all. That's bullshit."
Sighing, he'd rack his head with any sort of idea. He needed to think of something fast; time is of the essence, or something like that. 'Think, think, think, how are you going to find the doctor and the...that's it!'
Looking back, he'd approach the charred corpses once more and close his eyes. Drowning out the loudness of his mind to try to feel something. To find the doctor, he'd need to find the Artificial Chaos, and to do that, he'd need to follow the trail of despair following the creature.
***
Gerald Robonik was at the end of his rope. Placing the last of the chaos emeralds onto its designated pedestal. Oh, how he hated this room. It perfectly encapsulated all of his flaws, his failures, and especially his regret.
Looking away from the makeshift shrine he had built for the chaos emeralds, he'd approach the multiple Artificial Chaos he had activated. "I want half of you to scour the Ark and find any remaining G.U.N soldiers. Once you find them, kill them and return." Hesitating to say the last part, he watched as his creations did exactly as he ordered.
"And for the rest of you, simply guard me as I do what must be done."
'For my family, I'd do anything.' And so, the good doctor had completely given up all hope on humanity. As he looked around the room, he dared not gaze upward towards the dark ceiling. After all, he could tell that it could sense him from within its tank.
He did not know how it had woken up from its state of suspended animation; perhaps it was the closeness of the chaos emeralds, but it didn't matter that much. The prototype barely had a mind of its own, and he doubted that it would act against him right now.
Ignoring the uneasiness settling within him at what he was about to do, he'd reach into his coat, dirtied with blood, and pull out a remote. With the simple press of a button, he'd guarantee Maria's safety from any threat, and no one could stop him. The gods were much too busy, after all.
But before he could press it, a shout stopped him right in his tracks.
"GRANDFATHER!"
***
As soon as Lec told the blond-haired girl where the trail led, she almost immediately burst out in a sprint. Leaving Lec confused, of course, he wouldn't question her at a time like this, and instead ran beside her and picked her up into his arms.
Maria was a normal human, so Lec restrained himself from running at his fastest speed, but they were still covering far more ground than before. The Ark was truly massive, perhaps just as large as the NQSC. Sighing, Lec tried his best not to feel the dread from earlier, but he was now beginning to think that feeling dread at this moment was completely warranted. Maria sure wasn't hiding hers.
Her face was a mixture of fear and indignation. Lec could almost swear he heard her say, "No, he wouldn't do that."
"Perhaps now is an amazing time to question what is going on." Lec's voice seemed to snap the usually bright-eyed girl out of her stupor, although it did almost nothing to wash the fear from her face.
"I-I'm not too sure myself, but the trail you sensed from the Artificial Chaos leading to the middle of the Ark means that my Grandfather is there as well. Along with the fact that the chaos emeralds are missing, that can only mean one thing."
"Which is?"
Gulping, Maria struggled to provide a follow-up before relenting. "Grandfather is going to fire the eclipse cannon."
Lec had no idea what that meant, but given the fact that it had cannon in the name, it was bound to be nothing good. 'It sounds kinda...cool though.'
Shaking his head, he'd smack his face in his mind. 'Not the time.'
Eventually, the pair closed in on the room, and Maria practically jumped from his arms as she turned the corner and spotted the good doctor. Her face was one of confusion...and despair.
"GRANDFATHER!"
Soon turning the corner as well, Lec watched as Maria ran into Gerald's arms and softly smiled. 'Thank god he's alive.' Lec didn't really know what he'd do if he wasn't.
Walking further into the room, the feeling of dread didn't disappear. In fact, it only increased as the onyx-haired boy broke into a cold sweat. Looking up, he couldn't help the fear that gripped his heart. He might not have been able to see the creature, but just sensing the emotions coming from it was enough to make him quiver. And that emotion was pure and unadulterated madness.
A madness so deep that it made the G.U.N soldier he had taken the life of look like an innocent baby. A madness so deep that it had begun breaking his mind. He couldn't, wouldn't keep thinking about it. 'I-I have to-'
"Lec?"
"H-huh?" Tearing his eyes away from the ceiling, he'd find both Robotniks staring at him with worry, making his smile return at the sight of Gerald being okay. 'The sooner we get out of here and into escape pods, the sooner I can get away from...that.'
"I'm fine...just surprised by the scale of this room. This eclipse cannon must be pretty damn important, huh?" Gerald's eyes widened at Lec's words as he looked away in shame. Separating from Maria, to her confusion, he'd walk towards the pedestal holding the chaos emeralds.
"Yes, I suppose it is pretty important. Now more than ever." Nodding along, Lec stared intently at the chaos emeralds, trying to use them to distract himself from the thing on the ceiling. And surprisingly, it was working. Despite the emeralds not being living beings with emotions, at least he thought so, he could still sense something. It was definitely not the energy itself, since he still hadn't unlocked the ability to do that.
'I wonder...'
Gerald's voice continued, "You know that I care a lot about you two, right?" The question was rather confusing for both children. Why would Gerald be saying this now, of all times?
Lec and Maria exchanged a glance before the latter spoke up, her voice careful. "Grandfather...what are you trying to say?" The old man's shoulders sagged as he seemed to become even older than he already was.
"I plan to fire the eclipse cannon to destroy the world."
.
.
.
The words hung heavy as the recipients of that info struggled to comprehend what had just been said. It was impossible; the Gerald Robotnik they had known would never say something as preposterous as that. "Destroy the world?" Maria muttered, her voice soft as she repeated what he said over and over again in her head. And she knew her grandfather wasn't the kind of person to say things for no reason. If he said that he'd do something, he would do it. Which is what scared her.
Lec was less...calm. "What the hell are you talking about?" His near mutter seemed to become a scream in the quiet room. Turning, Gerald raised an eyebrow above his glasses. "I said that I was going to-"
"I heard you! I meant for you to explain why?!" If he was only muttering before, then he was definitely screaming now. "Because from what I've seen, you don't seem like the kind of person to just go and do that on a whim!"
Gerald tried his best to calm his nerves, avoiding eye contact with his creation. He'd steel himself and begin to recite what he had prepared himself to say. "I'm doing this for both of you."
That seemed to make Lec stop, but only for a second, as his rage seemed to come back full force. "Bullshit, quit making excuses. Who in their right mind would sacrifice the entire world for two measly people?! I expected that a man as principled as you would be able to come to an obvious decision."
"Yes...The decision was very obvious. I'd pick both of you." Raising the remote, Gerald showed it off to Lec and the frozen Maria. "With just a click of a button, I can eradicate the G.U.N soldiers waiting for us to land, as well as the wretched human race."
Lec's face shifted into a scowl as he raised an accusatory finger and pointed it at the old man. "Ah, so that's it! You were already thinking about doing this far before this incident! I know people like you; in fact, I used to be just like you. I used to be someone who had given up on the world as well." Stepping forward, Lec glared intensely at the good doctor. "But that doesn't give you the right to play god like this!"
Gerald merely shook his head, a mirthless chuckle escaping his lips. "Oh, Lec, I've been playing god far before any of this. You are an example of this, after all." Taken aback by this, Lec remembered what he was in this nightmare: an experiment to create the ultimate life. A perfect example of him playing god.
"Tell me, Lec. What would you do if you were given a choice between someone dear to you and an entire population?"
Lec was quick to fire back. "The hell kind of question is that? Of course I'd pick..." He paused, an image of his dead sister appearing in his mind. What would he do, really? Would he really choose Lyra over every living being? The answer was obvious. It was a resounding yes.
Seeing Lec's hesitance, Gerald simply shook his head before continuing. "Exact-"
"I wouldn't..."
Gerald turned to see Maria's quivering form, but there was no fear. There was only conviction. Her small body had been filled with determination. "Maria?" Gerald asked, confusion in his voice as he stared at his granddaughter.
"Grandfather, you never once asked me what I thought about this." The words landed quietly but with the weight of everything behind them. Gerald stilled completely. He was at a complete loss for words.
"You've done so much for me. You created Lec for me. And I love you so much for that." Her voice wavered but didn't break. "But grandfather...did you ever stop to think that maybe what I wouldn't want this? You've been trying to protect me so much that you've abandoned who you truly are. My caring grandfather."
Gerald tried to open his mouth, but nothing came out; his hands were trembling as Lec watched on with hope. He was never really good with words, but if anyone could get through the old man, it'd be her.
"I want them to be happy." Her storm-blue eyes held his. "All of them. Every single person down there. I want them to have the chance to live and love and be silly and make mistakes and find something worth protecting." A single tear escaped. "That's what I want. That's all I've ever wanted. So please, don't do what you're about to do in my name. I couldn't hope to bear it. The despair from that alone would likely kill me."
The silence after that stretched for an unbearably long time, so long in fact that the remaining Artificial Chaos had returned from their expedition.
Lec watched the interaction with hope, watching every tremble in the old man's hands, every tear rolling down Maria's cheek. And finally, he watched as Gerald dropped the remote, falling to his knees.
"I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry." The good doctor's voice rang out as Maria ran to him and pulled her grandfather into an embrace. Approaching the two, Lec couldn't help but sigh with relief, a pressure lifting from his mind. That could have gone badly, horribly even. Lec looked away to give them that moment, a small smile creeping onto his face despite everything.
'Maybe, it'll all be okay after all.....SHIT!'
CRACK!
Racing towards the grandfather and daughter duo, Lec managed to pull them both away and towards the chaos emerald altar as madness incarcerated descended down into the middle of the massive room, crushing any Artificial Chaos beneath it.
It was...horrifying.
The creature that descended from the shattered tank was massive. Orange flame-colored skin stretched over a long neck and thick, rounded torso, its dark gray underbelly dragging as it moved on stubby forelegs. Where the rear legs should have been, there were only stumps. Four short flippers scraped the floor behind it. Its pale mouth hung open, rows of small, sharp teeth catching the light, four yellow spikes jutting from its lower jaw.
It was kept alive by machinery. A large disc-shaped life support system dominated its back, a red orb pulsing at its center, green cables running from it to the creature's jaw and spine.
Despite the creature's seeming blindness, it found the group rather easily, turning to face them.
"W-what the hell is that?" Forcing himself to ignore the pure madness emanating from the creature before him, he'd turn to face the two Robotniks, who both had a look of shock, one more than the other.
Gerald's voice came out first, somehow both assured and unsure of their current situation.
"That...is the Biolizard. The prototype of the ultimate lifeform, your prototype."