Chapter Text
A chilling breeze swept from over the hill towards two shadows whose shoes crunched through fading snow and dead grass, blowing fractals of snowflakes and dry soil to the South. Over the rolling hill was there a sharp drop, the ground fading into a frozen dirt before into a dark and dull sand. The scent of the air was crisp and salty, yet muddy like a forest after a rainy day. The smell of the air, the smell of the ocean, was welcome. It was organic, full of life despite the snow of Northern Eurashia’s cold grasp. Full of life.
Mighty the Armadillo slid down the slope leading to the beach, looking up to Ray the Flying Squirrel, who merely glided down to take his place next to his friend. Ray was much smaller than Mighty, landing with a light thud compared to the heavy landing of the armadillo, but that just meant that the duo was balanced in capabilities. The power and the flight, the earth and the sky. In front of them was the ocean, and not far out from the shore was the faint silhouette of an island. Mighty squinted, trying to make out the shapes of the island, better yet, if he could see anyone on their way across the ocean to the island.
“Ray? Do you have any visual?” Mighty asked, shutting his eyes to try and blink out the tension from squinting so hard.
Ray hummed next to him before putting his goggles over his eyes. “Give me a boost!” They called, holding a hand up at a diagonal point in the sky for Mighty to aim for.
The armadillo grinned, holding out a hand for Ray to curl up into. The flying squirrel was light, easy to toss. They’ve honed this move to perfection, so almost immediately as Ray leapt into position Mighty tossed them as far as she could, trusting Ray’s ability to glide. A yellow shape soared through the sky, overlooking the ocean as he uncurled and glided over the vast blue, reflecting the dull color of the murky grey sky. Mighty steadied his breath from the shore, keeping an unmoving eye on Ray as he got further away. He just hoped the wind wouldn’t blow the glider into the sea. She wasn’t quite sure if he could swim, which was the first uncertainty of the day.
Mighty and Ray were always certain of where to go and what to do. That’s why they had been brought here, this certainty in the right thing. Only a few weeks ago, the duo had been among the alleyways and backstreets of a peaceful town, not too big but not too small, of Eastern Eurish. Mighty never liked being around that many people, and Ray was shy around strangers, so they were both comfortable watching people pass by from afar. They were nomadic heroes, helping people wherever their feet guided them. It was a peaceful life, far from the chaos of the majority of large scale climatic events. Mighty knew that her old friend Sonic had everything handled. Sonic always loved the loud adventures, bashing bots and stopping the evils of Doctor Robotnik (who has been nicknamed Eggman now? Strange, why would he accept such a nickname?). Mighty put his trust in Sonic for that, it was the job of his own and Ray for the smaller things.
Smaller things. Was an attempted murder really that small?
That brings her to the reason why she and Ray were out so far north; they had witnessed the attempted murder of a passerby. Within that town of Eastern Eurish was a quaint little shop that sold handmade traditional trinkets, quite popular among the citizens of the town and visitors. Mighty couldn’t rationalize the audacity of a man who decided to trash the place, seal all the cash and valuables he could find, and have the audacity to put a bullet through the owner of the shop.
He remembered the sudden freeze of Ray’s steps before the flying squirrel leapt to action, running to the scene of the crime right as the criminal jumped out of a shattered window, gun smoking and eyes mad with the thrill of the run. Ray ran into the shop as Mighty stood there bewildered for a moment, finding the shop's owner to be wounded and bleeding, tears running down their face as they shook with horror. Mighty remembered how she stepped in, being hit with the shocked silence at the mess and the bleeding owner. The duo were lucky that there was someone there who knew first aid and could keep the owner alive until medics arrived, but Mighty could vividly remember the sheer anger in Ray’s stance as they got up and ran out of the store, running after the getaway vehicle of the criminal they both knew the name of.
Fang the Hunter.
If there was anyone besides Dr. Robotnik that Mighty hated most, then it was Fang. Some would know him as Nack the Weasel, when in fact he wasn’t a weasel but actually a jerboa. The bastard. He was only in it for the cash, doing whatever it takes to get another cheap buck. So they found him on the run after he shot an innocent person, and that led to Mighty and Ray here at the border of the ocean, the trail of Fang leading right here.
“He’s heading for the island!” Ray’s voice called from above, hinted with anger as he flew back to shore, dusting off his wings upon his landing before pointing to the island. “It looks like Fang and the Marvelous Queen are slowing down. He might be running out of fuel.”
“And that island doesn’t look like it’s connected to any other landmass. Can we check the map?” Might crossed his arms, trying to warm himself up from the chilly breeze of the ocean.
Ray pulled out his map of the world, looking over it before pointing for the line that separated Northern Eurashia and the ocean. Their finger moved up to a small island that was marked, the name of the island known as Zemlya.
“It’s name is Russian I think.” Ray commented. “But that’s the island. Seems to have some kind of cultural significance if it’s named.”
“Does it have civilization on it?” Mighty tilted his head, looking at the map over Ray’s shoulder.
Ray only shrugged before he closed the map. “Either way, we need to get moving if we want to corner Fang there. It’s our biggest chance to catch him!” Ray’s voice raised with an anger that made Mighty’s teeth clench.
“I agree, but we must remember to keep a level head and not let anger get the best of us.” Mighty closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath of the cold ocean air. “We are here not because of anger, but because of justice.”
Ray hummed, shutting his eyes with Mighty and attempting to clear his thoughts of the anger that motivated him. Mighty couldn’t blame him, he had witnessed injustice and was acting. Perhaps it was the passion of Ray’s emotions that drove Mighty to travel so far, and the armadillo was glad for that. He smiled slowly before he opened his eyes, looking to the horizon.
“Are you ready?” He asked, his voice smooth like the gentle lap of the waves on the shore.
Ray opened his eyes, and nodded.
The duo found their way to a dock with a few boats, abandoned for reasons unknown. They were luckily able to find a speedboat in good enough condition, pushing it to the shore before Mighty was able to push it out to sea, turning it on to drive the duo towards the island. Due to the island being in between the rest of the ocean and the shore, the waves weren’t that much of a problem (even if Mighty worried that the waves would try and knock them down). The drive was…admittedly slow. And not because the boat was slow, but because of how slowly time began to pass.
Mighty’s eyes began to sting sooner than later, the air growing heavy with pollution. The sun’s few rays between the clouds were starting to shift the hue of the air. The water slowly but surely turned black as the clouds grimly turned hues of red, bathing the boat in its ominous aura. Ray coughed a bit.
“Are you okay, Ray?” Mighty called from his place in the driver's seat.
Ray turned around from his place in the front seat. “Me? I’ll be…the air is polluted heavily. It’s kind of giving me a headache.”
“Do we have any water in those supply bags you brought?” Mighty replied.
“I should!” Ray nodded.
“Please, drink some.”
“Shouldn’t we ration it, if we can’t find any clean water on the island?”
“Drink water.”
Ray finally shrugged, digging into his bags and pulling out a water bottle, drinking from it. As he did so, Mighty could feel his chest tighten ever so slightly with anxiety. The island was industrialized, heavily industrialized. Tall buildings and structures soared above the sea, metal plating rusting and falling apart. It was an entire city, and it just got bigger as the ship got closer. When it finally docked, the duo was silent, frozen just for a moment. Then, Ray finally moved, landing on the shore of the island first before Mighty followed. He tied the boat to a stable pillar that was nearby before he turned back to look at Ray. Ray looked up at the buildings, his eyes wide, edges a bit red with dryness.
“You need to drink more water.” Mighty commented. “Your eyes look really dry.”
“Oh I know.” Ray shook his head and screwed his eyes shut. “It’s really dry here, and dear Chaos the air is heavy.”
The duo walked across the shore before finding an entrance into the urbanized ruins, the shadows cast by the buildings bathing the duo in a dark red light. It was almost like the dark shades of dried blood. The thought disturbed Mighty as he reached into Ray’s supplies and pulled out a flashlight. They winded through a tight hallway in between buildings, eventually finding themselves going down a road paved with rusted metal. The flashlight was only needed for a little bit as things opened up a bit, but Mighty still held onto it, knowing that they would eventually need it. Neither of them talked, but they were thinking the same thing: what kind of place is this?
Who built this?
Their answer was quickly answered.
They were stopped by a fallen statue, formerly painted gold, but now has been so covered with dust and debris that its shine was diminished. But the form of the statue was unmistakable. The figure was human, their body rotund and egg-shaped, one of their hands raised in the air triumphantly.
Dr. Robotnik.
“I bet this was the epicenter of one of Robotnik’s schemes in the past.” Ray stated, crouching down to the statue's face, the mustache broken from its fall. “But how did he even manage to urbanize this entire island?”
“Perhaps he did it in the background while he distracted Sonic.” Mighty replied, crossing his arms to try and keep his cool. “But this place has been abandoned.”
“Of course it was. Because Sonic won!” Ray made an effort to smile as they got back up to their feet, leading Mighty away from the statue.
Now, here they were at the entrance of the main city, a rather small doorway despite the large city. The door led to a dark hallway, which very likely led into the city after a bit. Or they didn’t know, maybe a dead end. But it was the only way forward, and the door was big enough to let the Marvelous Queen in. The doorway also smelled heavily of rust, not pleasing to either of the duo's minds, especially not to Ray’s headache.
Mighty turned the flashlight on, shining it down the hallway before exploring the area around, her explorations eventually leading her to the text that laid right above the entrance and right below another Robotnik-shaped statue.
“‘Eggmanland’”, Mighty read.
“Kind of sounds stupid.” Ray commented, putting their hands on their hips.
“Agreed.” Mighty nodded before shifting the hand that held the flashlight, assuming her place besides Ray.
She looked over to him, finding his gaze to be fixated on the darkness. There was no light that shined in his eyes due to the reflection of the shadows, but it just made his eyes look empty. And yet Mighty could tell that Ray was dead-focused on the task on hand; catch Fang, bring him to justice.
“Are you ready?” Mighty asked, taking Ray’s hand.
Ray looked up to him before nodding, turning his attention back to the entrance of Eggmanland’s ruins. “Yes, I am ready.”
And the two of them plunged into the inky black.