[Sonic] Seize the Day: Ch. 4

Hearing the door close behind me, I stepped off Tails' porch and began the first steps of a long road to nowhere.  My encounter with the young fox put the final nail in the coffin for the hope that I'd find a friend who'd be willing to spill the beans about this altered reality and help return things to the way they once were.  As I meandered down the beach and into the forest, I couldn't help but think about the way Knuckles, Amy and Tails first reacted to my presence.  It's not that hard to tell when a person is only feigning ignorance, because most people have some tell that gives it away, but I didn't see any of that today -- I found myself in a world where the people I once considered my friends had never met me before.  Even Robotnik didn't seem to have a presence in this changed world, but then again, I'd been wishing for Robotnik to go away as well.  Suddenly, since I wasn't paying close attention to where I was going, I walked straight into a low-hanging branch and got whacked across the face for it.  As absent-minded as that may have been, it gave me a spark of inspiration.  Who's to say Robotnik didn't exist in this alternate reality?  My friends still did, even if they weren't exactly the same as I remember them.  My mind was reinvigorated in the thought that a different Robotnik existed in this world somehow, one who might still possess the kind of mechanical prowess to invent a contraption to return me back to the world I used to know.  Any other time, it'd be completely unthinkable of me to reach out to Robotnik for any kind of serious help, and for a moment I contemplated whether or not I'd completely lost my mind.  But considering all that I've seen so far, Robotnik might be my only chance at escaping this dream-turned-nightmare.

But where to find him? I found myself wondering.  After all, Amy and Tails were living in different places in this alternate reality, and if Robotnik had changed as well, there's no telling where he might be found.  But I had to try something, so I cut through the forest en route to the jungles on the outskirts of the Mystic Ruins, where I recall he once had a base of operations.  Even if I discover that he's abandoned the base, certainly I'll be able to find clues to where he went.  Upon reaching the ruins themselves, I paused for a moment to look around, wondering if they'd somehow changed...fortunately they hadn't, or at least not at first glance.  I pressed on to what I thought was the location, but after combing the area multiple times I didn't come across anything.  I even climbed to the top of a tree and peered across the canopy for a better vantage point, on the off chance that I'd gotten lost in the thick of the jungle, but saw nothing.  I could only conclude that the Robotnik of this world had never built a base out in the Mystic Ruins, or at least had done an excellent job of covering his tracks.

With my mind drawing a blank on other possible locations to search, I decided to return to Station Square, which was easier said than done.  First I had to backtrack through the jungle, with the only visible landmark being the spire of the ancient pyramid that towered over the ruins, and then I had to follow various back-country roads until I found a major thoroughfare.  As the miles passed by, so did the billboards that dotted either side of the highway, especially as the city limits got closer and closer.  Only one caught my attention enough to stop me dead in my tracks --  an advertisement for the Robotnik Robotics & Machinery Corporation.  The example images of automated robots in industrial settings made me think that in this world, Robotnik had either given up his world-dominating plans in favor of something more legitimate, or had never envisioned them at all.

If Robotnik owns a company like that, he's bound to have a manufacturing facility somewhere in this town.  The most likely place for such a facility would be in the industrial sector of the city, so I spent several minutes combing through the streets in search of any buildings emblazoned with Robotnik's name or logo.  That turned up nothing, which made me wonder if the factory was located in another city.  Before wasting my time elsewhere, though, I decided I'd find a phone book and search the old-fashioned way.  (Fortunately there was one on the door stoop of an abandoned building nearby.)  The lone entry had an address that sounded somewhat familiar, and when I dashed over to the spot, I realized that I'd sped right past it the first time.  Then again, it wasn't blatantly labeled like I'd expect Robotnik to do, so I didn't have to scold myself too much.  A ringing alarm and flashing yellow light instantly put me on edge, and without thinking I assumed a defensive stance.  But as I watched the source of the disturbance, I soon concluded that it was a warning to outsiders that a large warehouse door on the side of the building was opening and something would be exiting out onto the street.  So I let the tractor-trailer, which did have a Robotnik logo on its side, pass by before I raced through the closing door.

I had to pause for a moment for my eyes to adjust to the lower light level inside the building, but when everything came into focus, my jaw dropped at what I saw.  Inside the facility, which was cavernous enough to house a football stadium, was an array of assembly lines, several dozen in the front row and maybe even more in the back, each one building up some different model of robot piece-by-piece.  Several large pincers moved back and forth across the ceiling like some giant "win a prize" crane game, grabbing the finished robots off the end of the assembly lines and carrying them to some location I couldn't see from my current vantage point.  Once reminding myself that these robots were likely being used for peaceful purposes, I returned my focus to the search for Robotnik himself.  A set of stairs on one wall caught my eye, for they rose up about three stories before leveling off for a bunch of doors that were set into the wall, ending at one room that partially extended over the factory floor and was surrounded by windows.  That last room is bound to be the office of someone in a position of power, if not Robotnik himself.  But as I tried to quietly jog over to the base of those stairs, I ran into a human security guard, who clearly didn't take kindly to my presence.  I dashed up the stairs and across the walkway before the guard could get a good look at me.  Still, it was a reminder that I wasn't entirely free from danger in this place.

I slowly opened the door of the office on the end, peeking in to see if anyone was inside.  I could hear the unmistakable voice of Robotnik but couldn't see him, so I finished opening the door and tiptoed in.  On the other side of the room, behind a large ornate mahogany wood desk, was a tall executive office chair that had its back to me.  A telephone cord stretched from the desk to the chair, and I could hear Robotnik arguing angrily with someone on the phone, something about rising costs of raw materials.  In frustration, Robotnik spun around and slammed the phone back on its receiver, mumbling something under his breath.  That's when he spotted me for the first time.  Unsurprisingly, the look on his face made it clear that I was a stranger to him as well.  I uneasily stepped forward, and before he could open his mouth I spoke.  "Dr. Robotnik, I know you don't know who I am, but please hear me out.  I've found myself stuck in some sort of alternate reality, thanks to some elaborate virtual-reality machine that a friend of mine invented, and I'm looking to reverse the effect so I can return to the world I once knew.  Would you be able to construct such a device, or by chance already have one built?"  I barely got out those final words before his demeanor turned hostile: "Only employees are allowed in this facility.  Security!"  Alarmed, I tried to defuse the situation, pleading with him to hear me out once more, but he wouldn't have any of it.  Two human security guards, one of whom was the guy I fled from minutes earlier, burst in the office to escort me out.  I didn't put up a fight after that, since it was clear that I'd just be wasting my time.

Soon after that, I found myself face-down on the sidewalk after literally being thrown out of the building via a side door.  Pulling myself to my feet and rubbing my cheek, I took a long hard look at the situation.  I was scraping the bottom of the barrel by going to Robotnik anyhow, but having crossed his name off a very short list, I was left without any viable ideas whatsoever.  I wasn't even paying attention when my feet started running down the sidewalk, picking up speed as I rounded a corner.  When I finally did notice, I just decided to let my feet carry me where they would -- who knows, maybe they know something I don't.  I found myself slowing down as I passed a city park just outside downtown, similar to the one in Amy's neighborhood but much larger.  Curious, I followed the stone wall that marked the park's boundary until I found an opening, then slowed to a walk as I stepped inside.  I followed the concrete path into the middle of the park, passing people flying kites and kids playing on a playground, until I encountered a graceful marble fountain adorned with cherubim and engraved with various Latin phrases.  I found myself staring at the fountain for a while, making my way over to an adjacent park bench to rest my feet.  All these people seem so normal, just carrying on their lives as if nothing had happened.  Oh, if they only knew how different it really was...  I pondered the people I used to know: an amber fox, a vermilion echidna, and a rosy hedgehog that lived up to her name.  I let out an audible sigh as I came to terms with the fact that they no longer existed in the way I remembered them.  I felt especially regretful toward Tails, who would never get an opportunity to hear the apology I so desperately wanted to give him.  Without friends to hang out with, or even an adversary to stand firm against, my life felt empty and devoid of purpose.

I stared down at my shoes, idly swinging from the edge of the park bench, deep in thought.  I couldn't really blame Tails for what had happened to me -- I told him about the kind of ordinary life I thought I wanted to have, and he tried his best to deliver.  The problem lied with me; I'd become so accustomed to life in the fast lane that I hadn't realized how different normalcy really was, or how much of a culture shock there'd be in transitioning to an even-keel lifestyle.  But even if it had caught me off-guard, that didn't mean that all hope was lost.  Stop wallowing in this self-pity, Sonic.  You'd been wishing for a normal life, and that's exactly what you've been given.  If you can't face the consequences, what does that make you?  Since I didn't see any way to escape my circumstances, I could only look forward and learn to live with them.  But as the sun set and the moon rose, illuminating the walking path alongside a flank of cast-iron gaslights standing at attention in the darkness, I realized that I'd have to wait until tomorrow to begin the first real day of my new life.  I hopped off the park bench and skittered up a nearby tree, finding a branch to spread out on for the night.  You can do this, Sonic.  It'll be an adventure unlike any you've ever experienced before.