To Make an Omelet Chapter 1 Draft v1.3

Omletta had a feeling this war was going to take longer than promised. Her hands were raw, and her little spine throbbed. As she dried herself off with a towel in one of the Death Egg’s restrooms, she yearned for the quickness of a sanitation unit back home. She threw the towel into the corner, seeing as the laundry chute was currently non-operational.

She slipped on her black dress with poofy shoulders, three gray buttons, and a white ring flanked by a yellow collar band. It ended in a skirt, with golden arms of a fat star originating from the center, and stretching down red fabric. Leaning against the metal counter, the girl pulled her long black leggings on and stepped into her inklike boots. The rubber underfoot was faded and gray.

Once she had her egg-white gloves on, she equipped her pince-nez glasses and retrieved a brush from a steel drawer, pressing and holding the hair gel button. She glided the greased up bristles through her fiery locks until they were spiky, just the way she liked it.

“Phew...” Omletta put away the brush and searched the mirror for mistakes. ‘Good enough.’ She thought, even though her hair was still rather damp. She slipped on her golden, red jeweled tiara and adjusted it until she rendered it symmetrical. The door slid open, and as she walked out, she hobbled down the dark hall to save her energy until she was being observed.

Once back in the hangar a few rooms away, she called out with her hands cupped around her mouth. “I’m back!” She stood up straight, although her gaze eluded the man she spoke to, focusing on the wall covered in vandalized photographs and portraits of high ranking G.U.N. agents and United Federation politicians. Many of them had horns drawn to their heads, complemented with pointy facial hair. Others had more silly additions, such as large gaps between teeth or an arrow comically shot through the skull.

Fluorescent lights buzzed from the ceiling, illuminating the workspace. The blue-ish gray walls were rusted and stained by sources of known and unknown origin. Smashed up badnik robots lay on steel tables, and seeing as how the spherical animal capsules in the corner were empty, there was no getting the robots back online even with the proper repairs.

“There you are!” Her father Lord Robotnik yelled back. Like Omletta, he hid his eyes behind pince-nez glasses, and his red nose poked above his large brown, spiky mustache. He wore an extra wide, bright red military jacket, with similarly colored cuffs and bright yellow buttons on each, as well as white gloves now stained with motor oil. “Did you manage to clean yourself?”

Omletta gave a thumbs up and a nod. “Yes. Plumbing’s fixed.”

“Good.” Over his shoulders he wore a yellow cape that extended down to his lower back. His dark brown pants, matching the color of his pointy boots, were held together with two yellow buttons on the front. The division between his trousers and shoes was visible, if looked at closely enough, although it was often very hard to tell they were separate articles of clothing. “Now then, be more careful when handling robot grease! Mecha Sonic Mk. I won’t make itself a successor, and we’re running out of time!”

“Okay okay, sorry, but um-” She ran back to her station and hovered over the humanoid mess of scrap and titanium, now thoroughly lubricated. “Do we have enough Chaos Energy to get it started?”

Lord Robotnik grumbled as he hammered out a serrated dent in his Egg Mobile, a half-sphere hovercraft with a small wing on each side. He had already dusted off its leather seat, checked the back thruster for damage to which he found none, repainted the hazard marker encircling its bulky frame, and plucked the odd quill from the vehicle’s seams to set them down on a tray. “Why are you asking me? You’re the Chief Robotics Engineer here!”

“If I put too much in the battery, we can’t do another launch. I don’t want to be stuck up here!” Omletta’s mind played through scenarios where fleets of Skybound airships descended upon the Death Egg, bombarding her with missiles and mortars. Scenes of death squads pouring through the Death Egg’s halls tortured her imagination, as well as visions of the aftermath and the chaos that may ensue back home. “W-What if G.U.N.-”

The fat man groaned at her. “Oh please, Angel Island is outside of Federation jurisdiction. Even if we do get stranded, they won’t do anything about it. We’ll be fine.” When his daughter didn’t respond, he turned to her and spoke again. “Did you hear me!? We’ll be fine!”

“I know...!” She didn’t know. “I just don’t want to-”

Robotnik jolted from his spot and power walked to the command console on his side of the cockpit. “If it’ll get you to pipe down, I’ll run a quick diagnostic!” The screen hanging from the ceiling lit up with numbers and graphs. “See? Fifty-two percent power! You only need three percent for that battery, and thirty percent for a successful launch into orbit!”

Omletta nodded. “Okay, but is that enough to-”

“When we get the Master Emerald, it won’t matter! This conversation is useless.” He stated, walking back to his hovercraft and lowering his voice. “All this worrying, all this mewling. For goodness sake, child, learn to go with the flow and trust me for once.”

“Okay...” Omletta sighed and wiped her brow. She didn’t feel any better but continued to work, plugging three wires into their sockets, and screwing in a few more components. She used a blowtorch and a stuffy mask to weld and prepare the plating for installation, regularly checking her blueprints. Her father approached just as she began installing a wheel, setting his tray on the table next to her with a startling clatter. The girl jolted and snapped her gaze up, pulling the mask away from her face.

“Here, if power is such a concern for you, see if you can squeeze some extra juice from the rodent’s leavings.” Robotnik pointed to the quills. “He’s practically half Chaos Energy, if readings are anything to go by.”

She hesitated, then gulped and nodded. “R-Right.” In a compartment tucked away in the corner, she pulled out a conductor, and a spare Chaos Battery with its associated port adapter cord. Once she had everything plugged in, Omletta collected the hedgehog’s spines and assembled them into the device. She shut the hatch, and activated it with the press of a button. It let out a high pitched whir and a crackle, glowing with blue electricity that flowed through the wire and into the power source.

“So?” Robotnik asked as the machine quieted down. “What did you get out of that?”

Omletta looked at the battery and squinted. “Uhhhhh- twenty-... Yeah, twenty six percent.” She turned to her father. “That saves us some energy for the Death Egg!”

Robotnik placed his hands on his hips and leaned forward. “Feel better now?” The Lord’s face was a foot away, but his breath had the range of three feet; Omletta struggled not to make a face and ceased breathing. She nodded, truthfully, though doubt still nipped at her. “Good.” He noticed the blueprints on the table and picked them up.

“Wha- Hey, I’m using that!” Omletta whined, reaching for the papers.

“Just a moment, dearest. I want to look over what you’re building so that I know what we’re working with.” Robotnik scanned the document, seeming to fixate on something specific. “You really need to work on your handwriting, young lady. I can barely read this. What does this note say about the legs here?”

She pouted. “It’s not that ba-”

“The note!” Robotnik barked. “I don’t care about the handwriting, tell me what the note says.” He pointed at the paragraph and tapped at it.

Omletta reeled back and bit her tongue. “It says, well, uh- that it has Chaos Energy conductors in its legs and hands s-so it can collect energy directly from the Master- um... Emerald?”

“Your sputtering aside...” He put the papers back down and rubbed his chin. “That’s not bad. Good thinking, dearest. I would have thought of something similar.” After a brief moment, he perked up. “Oh, That gives me an idea! Perhaps we should have Mecha replace that idiot as the Emerald’s guardian!”

She nodded. “Y-Yeah, that makes sense. But... I would have to make a new one to actually go after Sonic...” Omletta huffed.

“And?” Robotnik walked back to his Egg Mobile and returned to his repairs. “It’s your job to build things, isn’t it? Once we have the Master Emerald, there won’t be much else for you to do anyway, so suck it up.”

Things remained silent between them for a time. Omletta thought back to what her scout badniks found as she worked. The Chaos Energy readings all pointed to Sky Sanctuary, a curious place with no need for land bridges or other common ways of keeping it in the air; the energy emanating from the Master Emerald was more than enough. With it soon to be gone, that wouldn’t last.

She managed to finish both legs, then moved on to screwing in the cyclopean eye port, connecting it to the battery, and hooking it up to the memory drive. Once everything was in place, the girl retrieved the eye from below the table. She strained and wheezed under its weight, then carefully set it down.

“Um... Daddy? I need a little help...”

The Lord groaned and put his screwdriver down. “What is it now, dearest? I’m busy with something here!” He motioned his hands at the open control panel.

“The eye is too heavy, and I don’t want to break anything... Sorry.” Omletta looked away, bracing herself.

“I should have brought technicians on board. This is their job, not mine!” Robotnik traveled across the room and snatched the eye. “Give me that.” Looking over the plans, he tsked. “Again, I can't read that handwriting... What do I do here, Omletta?”

“Just uh... screw it in.”

“That’s all?” Before his daughter could answer, Robotnik slotted the eye in and turned it clockwise until it stopped. “There. Anything else while I’m over here?”

Omletta shook her head. “I’ll let you know.”

“I’m sure you will.” Robotnik huffed and marched away. Once he was back to his side, he yelled across the room. “After you’re done building Mecha Sonic Mk. II, I want you to focus on getting everything else up and running. Just about half of the Death Egg is still offline!”

“Can I at least take a break after Mecha’s deployed?” She whined. “I’m really tired...”

“Keep it brief. The rodent is already- GAH!” He growled and stared at a display showing a blue and orange duo moving at a lightning pace.

Omletta jumped and spun around. “Huh? What's wrong!?”

Robotnik slammed his fist down onto his desk. “Sonic and his fellow fleabag are gonna get here a lot sooner than I anticipated! I wish your badniks would work properly for once and destroy these living inconveniences!” He turned to her. “No time for breaks! Get that thing up and running and fix the Death Egg ASAP! If it comes down to it, you may need to launch it by yourself!”

Omletta’s face dropped, and she shook her head. “Daddy, I know we all went over it a million times, but I don’t know if I can-”

The Lord roared, pushing his Egg Mobile upright just before grabbing a step ladder leaning against the wall. “Yes you can, don’t be a coward! If your refusal to do what needs to be done is what loses this war, all of our blood will be on your hands, so don’t you dare mess this up!”

Omletta clenched her jaw, wanting to scream but not knowing how to respond. Robotnik didn’t bother pestering her for a response, only starting up his vehicle and activating the half-spherical windshield. He pressed a button on his PDA: a small, red, rectangular device with dark gray buttons and a small blue screen. It opened a port in the ceiling, through which he departed.

Away from judging eyes and ears, the girl let out a shrill cry and grabbed at her hair. She leaned back down over her current project and returned to work, praying she wouldn’t need any more help. “I’m not a coward!”

The conductors fit perfectly into the hands, slowly filling Omletta with a renewed confidence as she got back into her work. Not much was left to install with her current progress, other than the jaw, the armor plating, and the paint. “Wait, the paint... Uggghhh!” She moaned and dropped her shoulders. “I left the blue paint shipment on the Sky Deck!”

Omletta sighed. “Just as I was getting back into the zone!” She stomped back into the hall and summoned the elevator once she made it there. Much like the rest of the station, it was unpolished and covered in a thin layer of grime.

The elevator’s buttons glowed, though dimmed by a lack of sufficient power. “Stupid Sonic.... Stupid fox... Stupid Board...” She stepped in and watched the double door close. A screen just above displayed a light blue map of the Death Egg, with the current position near the left side of the station highlighted in red. She pressed the button for the Sky Deck and waited.

...

“Come on... Come ooonnn!” The girl bounced in place, sweating profusely. “Come on!” She screamed at the screen, hoping that she could, in some way, command it to display ‘Sky Deck’ faster. Once she heard a ding and saw the doors slide open, she bolted forward.

Omletta scrambled around the cockpit, punching inputs into the keyboards, yanking levers, smashing buttons, and slapping switches to activate the Death Egg’s thrusters and perform a litany of other tasks. The space station rose from the ground, rumbling and rattling. Out the window located between the Death Egg’s eyes, she saw debris, what remained of Angel Island’s volcano, and the rest of Planet Freedom falling beneath her.

Once all of the systems were online and a course was set for orbit, the girl turned on the Red Eye, the Death Egg’s artificial intelligence. She sprinted towards the other end of her side of the room, panting and mumbling all the way.

The Death Egg righted itself, face no longer looking downward. The Sky Deck tilted in sync with the rest of the space station and remained upright. Now at her desk, Omletta watched the ocular camera display of her invention zipping through Sky Sanctuary in a heavily damaged Egg Wrecker, an Egg Mobile with a wrecking ball attachment; it lacked its wrecking ball at this time. The greenish yellow bricks glared at the screen with the sun’s reflection, only dampened by the thick moss and overgrowth sprouting from nearly every crack.

Its architecture was unlike anything Omletta had seen before. The lack of light fixtures, let alone utilities, seemed to be an impossibility made real. She yearned to explore this place and document anything she could get her hands on, but the reality was that victory likely entailed destroying this place. ‘Sacrifices must be made.’ She parroted to herself.

Sonic and his friend were not far behind, tearing through the stationed defenses and lighting up a separate screen full of errors and warnings. The copycat bailed out of the vehicle and landed on a platform affixed to the side of a grand pillar, leaving the Wrecker to fall. It initiated defensive combat protocols, and waited for its enemies to arrive. “Could really use that emerald right now...” Omletta whined.

Thoughts stampeded through her mind. ‘Gotta get the Master Emerald to the city and switch out living batteries, and diesel, with Chaos batteries. We’ll need new defenses, turrets- we need to protect it, and we need to prepare for Sonic to tell everyone that we have it. This war is going to get worse if Sonic lives. Mecha needs to win!’

Sonic leaped into the camera’s view from a platform somewhere below. He stood as a blue bipedal hedgehog with underdeveloped black eyes, black nose, peach-colored muzzle, arms, inner ears, and stomach, and white gloves not dissimilar to Omletta’s. He wore shiny, blood red shoes with a white stripe painted over each one, tightened with brass buckles and ending in sock-like cuffs around his ankles.

Behind the hedgehog flew his companion, a red fox known as Tails, who ascended by spinning his two white-tipped namesakes like propellers. His eyes and nose were black and his gloves white the same as the other rodent. His shoes were of the same shape, though lacking buckles and being colored white on the front half, and red on the back.

The hedgehog rolled his head around and cracked his knuckles, smirking. The fox landed and prowled around the rear, defiantly glaring at the bot. “Please work...” Omletta wiped her brow and took a deep breath. “Pleeeaaassseee...”

Mecha began its attack phase, blacking out the camera by rolling into a razor sharp ball and dashing forwards. The robot unfurled and saw the combatants unharmed. Sonic stood to its left, and Tails stalked from atop a pillar. The robot primed itself, ready to parry the enemy’s counter attack.

Sonic snickered and shook his head, rubbing his twitching nose with his finger. “Again with the robotic copy schtick?” He asked, sounding as if his nose was clogged. He put his hands on his hips and leaned forward, growling with his eyes and mocking with his upturned mouth. “You’ve always kept things fresh before, but now your tactics are getting as stale as the rotten egg you hatched from.” Omletta rolled her eyes. From behind himself, Sonic produced the green Chaos Emerald, a gem of immaculate cut and immense power. He tossed it up into the air, and it hovered and circled around his person.

Omletta’s eyes went wide. “No... Don’t you dare!”

After the green one, he produced the red one, and the dark blue, the yellow, the silver, the purple, and cyan. All seven orbited him, increasing in speed. Tails said something inaudible. “Don’t sweat it little buddy, just follow my lead!” The emeralds moved faster and faster until they rocketed into his torso, phasing through his flesh and becoming one with his being.

The screen flashed a yellowish white. The girl cried out and shielded her eyes with her arms. The sound of damage warnings and screeching metal assaulted her eardrums. Once her eyes had adjusted, Omletta looked at the screen only to find static, though audio still came through. The battleground beneath them crumbled and sent it all hurtling into the Land of Darkness below from the sound of it.

A boom rang out from below. Omletta gasped at feeling a slight vibration rattle the Sky Deck. “What the heck was that!?” The screen to her left displayed a damage warning in one of the lower sectors, as well as movement and reports of badniks going offline in the area. The entire room flashed red as an alarm blared in her ears. Clacking keys and clicking icons, Omletta pulled up the camera feed.

She witnessed a ball of light soaring over pitfalls, vaporizing badniks and removing their living batteries, and moving past the spikes and springs activated by the space station’s defense systems. Behind him, Tails scooped the critters into his arms despite their wriggling.

Omletta yanked out her PDA and found her father’s number. It rang once before he picked up. “Are those fleabags on the Death Egg!?” He screamed over the sound of mechanical whirring in the background. The same alarm was audible on his end.

Her eyes fixed squarely on the motion tracker, she replied. “Y-Yes, they are! Sonic just went super and completely trashed Mecha, and now they’re both on board! I repeat, Sonic and Tails are here! From where they entered from, they’re headed for the Red Eye! If- no, when they break it, the Death Egg’s Chaos battery will start going crazy and everything’s gonna blow up! They’re going to kill us, what do we do!?” She shrilled.

“Why must you be so useless!?” Robotnik snarled back at her. Omletta reeled back, feeling her eyes grow warm and tingly. Without letting her respond, the Lord continued. “I am initiating Plan A-2. I will initiate Plan B if Sonic retakes the Master Emerald, so don’t think your work is done just yet! Make sure the Red Eye’s defenses are online! After that, get into an escape pod and go home!” Robotnik commanded.

“O-Okay, doing that now!” The little scientist disconnected from the call. She pulled up the camera feed for the AI’s chamber and was greeted by the sight of a metal pillar extending from the floor to the ceiling, segmented into two parts with coolant pipes running into each segment. The halfway point was slimmer than the rest of it, and housed the intelligence that looked back at the camera with a singular crimson iris. She ran diagnostics, and seeing that defenses were primed, she was satisfied.

Omletta fled through the sliding door and towards the elevator down the hall, and hit the button for the escape pod floor. The elevator closed, leaving Omletta to wait. She pulled out her PDA again and accessed the Red Eye room’s camera. Anticipating the rodent’s onscreen arrival, she squirmed, writhed, and grit her teeth. This was the nightmare scenario, and what ‘everything going wrong’ looked like. What of the future? She was promised simplicity, as well as a short, easy, effective campaign. Omletta didn’t think of her father as a liar, but more than anything she felt disappointed.

Omletta had no doubts her people could manage anything thrown their way, but she couldn’t help but think that she would miss out on her whole life over something that was supposed to be a footnote in her personal history. A hateful fire burned in her chest, making the air feel thicker than it was.

“Stupid Sonic...” She grumbled, still staring at her device. As she held onto the rails with her other hand, she looked up to take one last glance at the colorless and utilitarian aesthetics of the place, noting the fact she wouldn’t miss it. It was all a waste of time, she thought. ‘I wasted so much time I could have spent sleeping on fixing this stupid thing, and now it’s all going up in smoke...’

The door opened. Omletta followed the sign protruding from the ceiling and bolted down the flashing hall, running and passing doors and patrolling robots until her legs burned and her lungs heaved. After a while, she gave up and slowed to a jog. Once she made it to the pods, she chose one at random: a simple square hatch with smoothed corners and red paint around the outline. Out of breath and dripping with sweat after her long sprint, she pulled in the pod’s handle and twisted it, opening it.

A distant boom rang out. The lights flickered and the hall rumbled, knocking Omletta off balance. “W-Whah!” She cried out. She pulled up the camera again, but she couldn’t see much past the flashing colors. From what she could tell, the Red Eye’s core was dislodged and had deployed its bottom-spiked platforms to bludgeon the intruder. Sonic’s super state persisted, rendering them useless. Even if she heard it through lower fidelity speakers, Omletta recognized the sound of metal breaking and wires snapping. ‘I’m running out of time!’

Omletta found her footing and jumped in with little regard for her immediate comfort. She jerked the hatch back down; it hissed at her as the airlock reengaged. She buckled up and grabbed onto one of the safety handles. Out the window, she gazed upon Planet Freedom growing smaller below.

‘Pretty...’ She thought. The ever shifting clouds and the fertile majesty of the Land of the Sky were a sight to behold. ‘Too bad that’s where all my enemies live.’ Omletta pressed a button and pulled a lever, activating the launch sequence and lighting up the console in front of her.

A prompt came up on the screen. “Select your destination.” It requested in a flat voice. Omletta took a deep breath and picked Robotropolis out of a long list of other locations in both parts of the world. Once she finalized the destination and pressed ‘YES’ when prompted if she was sure, the console displayed a countdown from ten.

The anticipation was always the worst part, she thought. The console displayed a sprite of an Egg shaped robot waving underneath a graphic of a dotted line going from the Death Egg’s nose to a location just underneath the edge of a Skybound plateau. “Thank you for visiting the Death Egg. Glory to Robotropolis.” With a jolt, the space station shot her pod planetwards. For a few brief moments, there was silence. Omletta turned her PDA off and put it away, then held on as tight as she could.

Once she reached the planet’s atmosphere, things got much harder to see. The roaring, fiery air resistance blocked most of the view. As the light from the window became dark, she knew she passed through a gap between the Skybound continents.

Omletta reached down and deployed the parachutes. The sudden change in speed tugged her down, almost causing her to bump her head on the console. She breathed a sigh of relief, then waited until she made contact with the surface. The safety handles proved to be an example of good foresight.

The pod hit the ground and leaned to the right, nearly falling over. Omletta whimpered as she threw her bodyweight the other direction to prevent it from tipping. Through her efforts, it fell back onto its bottom and settled on the ground.

Omletta unbuckled herself and took a look out the window. To her chagrin, a downpour of rain descended from the heavens. Acid rain too, as evidenced by the thick smog surrounding the area. Omletta sighed and took out the escape pod’s emergency filtration mask from its storage. She secured it over her face, unlocked the door, grabbed her things, and climbed out.

Omletta had landed on a sidewalk next to an apartment complex. She felt the rain pelting her and soaking into her hair and clothes. People of all kinds, humans and animalfolk alike, gathered around in their masks and hooded plastic ponchos. They crowded around Omletta, many of them murmuring amongst themselves and each other. “Didn’t she come from the Death Egg? Is everything alright up there?”

“Hey! What’s going on?” She heard one of them ask her. One of them approached, an animal judging by the shape of his body. “Didn’t Scratch and Grounder on the radio say you guys had this war under control? W-Why are you here in a pod?”

“Why are you people here!?” Omletta shot back. “It’s acid-raining out, get back inside on the authority of the Robotropolis Board! Don’t make me call the General Guard!” She frantically pointed at all of them, flipping her pointer finger around like a baton. The people recoiled, backing away into nearby buildings and alleyways. Some with no place to be continued down the cracked sidewalks and weathered road. Now that she had some room to breathe, Omletta scrambled around for a familiar landmark.

She spotted it. An enormous light fixture arranged in her father’s image cut through the smog, guiding her on where to go. If she squinted, Omletta could make out lines that were supposed to be the front part of his cape. The lights of the fixture shined more vividly than all the other lights of the city; it was an eyesore to be sure, but one with purpose.

The girl sprinted through the streets of the metropolis, passing by blocky residential apartments made of brick, run-down warehouses composed of sheet metal, neon-lit businesses owned by corporate snakes and government, and the occasional Moto Bug with extended claws putting sleeping people onto gurneys. She hoped they were okay.

Plastered upon the occasional wall and dissolving in rain puddles were wanted posters of Sonic and Tails, depicting them with savage looks in their exaggeratedly large eyes, sharp toothy grins across their mouths, and filth and scuff marks all over their fur. Even now, she feared her father demanding yet another revision due to them not looking ‘evil enough.’

‘ENEMY OF THE STATE!’ The posters read, with a reward of one million robiums each. Their crimes were listed as terrorism, assault on a member of the Robotropolis Board, verbal assault on a member of the Robotropolis Board, attempted murder of a government official, destruction of government property, grand theft of government property, and destruction of private property. His crimes were undoubtedly more numerous than that, though there was only so much one could print on a piece of paper.

One of the robots scooping people off the street spotted her and waved her down. As Omletta approached, it spoke to her in a stilted yet articulate cadence. Its synthetic voice that clawed at chalkboards. “REQUESTING TRANSPORT, PLEASE REMAIN STATIONARY, dearest egghead.” It ended off with Robotnik’s prerecorded voice.

She nodded, fighting to catch her breath through the stuffy mask as she got progressively more soaked in toxic water. She felt ill. The other badnik, another of the same make and model, slammed the back of the retooled old-world ambulance shut. It rolled into the vehicle with a ramp deployed on the passenger side.

Omletta peered up at the roof of the rocky, cave-like roof Robotropolis resided under, then at a nearby car wreck caused by a fallen stalactite. She cringed at the thought of one falling and squishing her as she wrung her trembling hands together. Down the road she saw a human man stumbling out of a bar without a mask. Just as he tripped over himself, a human soldier approached and shoved him back inside before slamming the door.

He donned a black dome-shaped helmet with a dark gray spike protruding from the top, and a filtration mask to protect his lungs. He viewed the world through a crimson visor that cast a hazy glow, reflecting against the slick concrete and hanging in the thick air. From the neck down, he wore black metallic body armor with thick leather shoulder pads, black leather plating on his arms and legs, black combat boots, fingerless leather gloves, and a dark gray urban camo undersuit. He carried a rifle made of wood and steel around his torso on a sling, along with a sidearm saddled in the holster strapped to his right thigh.

On each of his forearms was a fin containing a retractable blade surgically connected to, and activated by the nervous system. This was a member of the Robotropolis General Guard. He turned to see Omletta standing in the rain, and made his way over to her at an eager pace. Once within range, he halted and stomped once in place, standing as straight as an arrow and saluting her. “Ma’am!” He belted out. “How may I be of assistance?”

Somewhat startled by his sudden arrival, Omletta gave herself a moment to think of anything this man could possibly provide her. He looked at his badge to see that he was Rank #15, the one of least influence. “Do you have an umbrella I could borrow?” She asked.

The Guard hesitated before giving his answer. “N-No, ma’am...”

Omletta sighed. “That’s fine. Just uh... keep me company until my ride gets here, please. I already have an Egg Mobile headed my way.”

“Yes, ma’am!” He exclaimed, taking his place next to the #2. As they stood, she occasionally peeked at him, seeing that his straightened posture never once waned or shifted. He was as still as a statue, save for his breathing. To stamp out the boredom, she thought of attempting conversation with him, but she had no clue as to what she could say to someone so beneath her in Rank. She had nothing in common with him as far as she knew.

After a few minutes of waiting around, an Egg Mobile arrived and landed nearby. Its door opened, and another Moto Bug wheeled out. “My ride’s here.” Omletta said. She turned to the soldier. “Thank you. You’re dismissed, so continue as you were before.”

“Yes, ma’am!” He repeated. As Omletta jumped in and turned on the windshield wipers, the Guardsman continued his patrol down the road. The girl took off her mask and piloted the vehicle towards her home. Her true home. She passed by skyscrapers cluttered in scaffolding, search lights, and other aerial passengers moving towards their own destinations.

She pulled up out of the smog, now able to fully embrace her city’s glory. The neon metropolis seemed sleek, glowing with electricity from where she sat and betraying its upclose grit. She looked out to the center of town, which sat on a large hollowed-out mountain filled with sublevels and stations of varying purpose.

Omletta zeroed in on a runway located just behind the lights assembled in Robotnik’s likeness. Guard Bot marshals holding glowing batons greeted her with signals and gestures, telling her where to go. With their guidance, she safely flew into the Egg Mobile hangar and parked it.

The hangar buzzed with artificial life as Moto Bugs transported fuel and other resources, and Guard Bots stood by the exits and entryways. Lines of soldiers marched through, many of them being fresh recruits.

The Guard Bots themselves saw through blood-red visors on their blank faces, with spiked balls for hands, spikes protruding from their shoulder plates, and three metallic horns jutting from their heads. Their bodies were spherical and bulky, designed for brute force and defense. Despite their aggressive design, their spiked limbs came outfitted with utilities and tools.

“Achoo!” The smell of gasoline and chemicals assaulted Omletta’s nostrils, causing her to sneeze and rub her nose. She’d get used to the aroma of progress eventually, she thought. The bright lights on the ceiling cast a harsh reflection on the perfectly shined floors, stinging the young inventor’s eyes.

One thing at the top of Omletta's mind was hygiene. Acidic, toxic water soaked her clothes and hair, rendering her a sopping wet biohazard. She wrung herself out to the best of her ability and approached the nearest Guard Bot, leaving a puddle behind. “Hey! Scan me for rads!” She demanded. The robot turned to her and produced a geiger counter, waving the contraption around her body and pulling up negative readings.

‘Close call...’ She thought. “Thank you. Now, escort me to my living quarters.” It nodded and saluted her, then led the way. They entered a small door on the farthest wall, which bypassed the terminal lower ranking individuals usually filtered into. It led into a narrow hallway, which spilled out into another via a reinforced metal door.

The smell of gasoline was absent here, but the stench of chemicals remained. More polished floors, fluorescent lights above, and white walls lined with panels. Omletta squinted to shield her eyes from the brightness of it all.

The girl and her escort passed by the familiar shape of a hunched over, saggy, sickly-green figure in the shape of a man. His fiery red eyes sunk deep into his angular skull, and shadows cut deep into the wrinkles and boney concaves of his face. His gelled hair took on the appearance of a spider’s legs, although he had a scruffy bald spot in the center of his shiny scalp.

He wore a large, black bowtie on the collar of his white lab coat over a purple undershirt. The man carried a bulky metal backpack, fitted with storage capabilities and connected to his internal organs by a series of metal tubes, supplying them with life-extending nutrients and self-made compounds. His badge read ‘Rank: #3 Head Scientist G. Wormtongue’.

Omletta noticed her colleague carrying his arm in a sling. “Guard Bot, stop.” Both it and the Head Scientist came to a halt and turned to face her. “Grimer, what happened?”

“What do you think?” He croaked. “The guard rail broke! I lean up against it for two seconds to catch my breath after hours of hard work, and it just gives out and drops me like an unwanted child! Tell your father I need a break so I may recover from this! I can’t work with only one arm available!”

She shrunk down, raising her shoulders and holding her hands up. “I’ll see what I can do... D-Daddy’s a-”

“A very busy man, yes. You have said that before, little one.” Grimer spat. Omletta clenched her teeth and withdrew even further. “Are you or anyone else going to actually do something about these work conditions for once? Or, are you going to keep-”

“Watch your mouth!” Omletta erupted. “If daddy finds out you’re talking that way to me, he’ll make sure both your arms are broken!” Grimer backed off, grumbling something under his breath as he continued back down the hall. Omletta sighed once he was out of earshot, thinking she may have been a bit harsh.

The rest of the girl’s trek through the corridors was rather quiet, save for the clunky stomps of the robot in front of her. Near the Robot Generator and her workstation, she found her door. It didn’t stand out much against the rest of the wall as a security measure, but she could always find it due to the unique scuff marks and subtle dents in the paneling.

She withdrew her PDA and tapped it against the door, opening it. She entered her room and turned back to her escort. “You’re dismissed. Thank you, Guard Bot.” It saluted her and headed back to the hangar, leaving the young inventor to her devices.

Instead of the hard and shiny surfaces of the hallways and hangar, her room was much softer, more fragrant, and relatively darker in coloration. She chose a dark, royal purple for the wallpaper, and a vibrant red for her bedsheets. Soft crimson lights affixed to a malleable, yet sturdy plastic wire hung from above, casting a glow over all four corners of the domicile. Omletta smiled, looking at the other set of vandalized G.U.N. and Fed portraits on her wall.

As she undressed, she sent her clothes and tiara into the laundry chute near the door, and climbed into the sanitation unit located in the back. She didn’t have the opportunity to stylize this contraption into something that wasn’t a hideous gray with sickly yellow curtains, lest she void the Serpentine Solutions warranty.

She always found it odd how she needed to adhere to such pointless bureaucracy when she sat just under the leader of Robotropolis in terms of rank. She could easily make something like this by herself, but rules were rules, and she had to follow them. She was just glad it worked as fast as it did.

She shivered as it sprayed chemicals and cold water over her, then sighed in relief once the warm water came on. The robotic arms and automatic processes made quick work of her filth, then dried her body and hair just as fast.

She got out, dressed herself, and retrieved her freshly cleaned tiara from the laundry chute’s output. As Omletta brushed her hair, the adrenaline crash set in. She yawned and considered going to sleep despite being dressed for work.

Omletta called her father on her PDA, to which he picked up after three rings. From what she saw on the caller ID, Omletta knew her father answered from the massive mech modeled after his appearance as per Plan A-2. Even with the PDA automatically connected to Robotropolis’ impressive wireless networks, the connection was shoddy at best. “Ab..ut time! The R... Eye is kapu... and th... D...th Egg is ...lf-dest...ting as ... speak! Not ...ly that, but n... he’s-”

A loud thud interrupted the Lord. “Gah! ...’s in his su...r form again, Oml...! I’...ot sure how m... longer I c... keep ... away!” The girl’s heart raced as she listened to Sonic batter her father’s vehicle in between moments of dead air. The metal of the mech shrieked and groaned as he ripped it apart and crashed his body into the mech’s frame.

With one last impact, an alarm blared out. “Daddy! Daddy, did you make sure that the proper atmospheric re-entry-”

“Yes, you blas... incom...tent!” Robotnik barked at her. “I’..... survi... the trip ...ack down, but th... is not a.....ll my conc...! The rat ...d that m...gy fox are goi... to t...ke the M.....r E...rald back regardl....! Why w....d I care about ba.... safety fea..... right n...!?”

“I’m sorry...” Omletta squeaked, clenching her free hand into a fist.

“Sor...? Oh, y...’ll have plenty to...e sorry for...” The Lord growled in a low voice. She heard the mech’s jets give out as gravity pulled him back down to Planet Freedom. “We’ll t...k later!” Robotnik disconnected from the call, leaving his daughter in silence.

Omletta put down the PDA and turned on her command console. She input some pre-made orders for Plan B, then took off her tiara. No point in looking her best now, considering there was nothing she could do at the moment. Even more wasted effort, she thought. She climbed into bed, not bothering with undressing any further. She huddled up into a ball and waited for sleep to take her, not expecting to rest for very long.

...

The PDA blared and beeped, vibrating on the bed. Omletta grumbled, wiped her puffy eyes, and picked it up. As the connection established itself, she looked at the time to see she slept for five hours.

“Omletta, dearest!” Her father came through much clearer than last time. His tone was rather chipper, much to her confusion. She didn’t hear anything happening in the background.

“Uh...” She sat up and took in a yawning breath. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, just a few bumps and bruises. I managed to crash land in the Darklands, and I have reinforcements escorting me back home. What about you? Are you alright, my sweet little egghead?” Robotnik cooed.

The young engineer mumbled. “Mmm hmm... I’m okay, daddy. I’m safe.” She furrowed her brow as she spoke, feeling a knot grow tight in her chest.

“Good!” The Lord cheered. “Did you get a notification on your PDA?”

Omletta hummed. “Gimme a sec to check.” She pulled the device from her ear and thumbed through it, until she read that a squad of Egg Robos recovered Mecha Sonic Mk. II. Just as she commanded, they started running repairs and recharged its battery. “I see it. Mecha’s being worked on.”

“This fight isn’t over!” Her father’s voice boomed. “We don’t need to destroy that blasted hedgehog just yet! Angel Island is still ripe for the taking! All we need is the Master Emerald. Once we have that, we have no need to fear Sonic’s interference anymore!”

Omletta did her best to sound uplifted. “Yeah, we’re still in this, daddy. I believe in us.” She smiled and lazily pumped her fist into the air.

Robotnik chortled. “I can tell you just woke up, my dearest. I will let you rest. You’ll need it. Good night!”

“G’night, daddy.” Omletta promptly flopped back onto her bed. Daddy’s happy, she thought. That’s all she needed for now.

...

A bright light shone upon the Boardroom’s red table with Robotnik’s logo printed on it, yet its glow did not reach much else. Darkness swallowed the farther corners and obfuscated the greater detail of each Board member’s face, though two pairs of glowing eyes pierced through the dark and stood out among the rest.

Omletta found the chair she sat upon uncomfortable and hard, betraying its ornate and throne-like appearance. Every other chair, colored a dark red, looked much softer in comparison. She wished she had a normal chair like everyone else, especially considering how some of these meetings could take hours to complete.

As she settled in, Omletta found herself surrounded by a group of five odd characters other than herself and her father, all wearing Rank: #3 badges on their chests. She knew their voices, names, and roles to play in the war effort, but she did not know most of them personally.

There was the Commander, a knight from somewhere far away, or that is what she had been told. He resembled one in his blueish gray armor, with a fuzzy light red plume shooting from the top of his helmet. He wore a fur coat of the same material. The helmet itself was blank and utilitarian, with icy yellow eyes that betrayed the warmth of their color. She wondered if there was any flesh underneath his metallic exterior. All she knew for certain is that his large hands and weapon of choice, an electrified trident, intimidated her.

Omletta knew the man with a double role as Tactician and Diplomat well. Some of her earliest memories included him. He was a small man in a spiffy suit and brown skin, slick black hair, and a thin beard. As far as she knew, he previously served as Robotnik’s lab assistant for many years beforehand, and owned a coffee shop before even that. His calm demeanor and the subtle mocha scent emanating off him at all times gave Omletta some comfort and familiarity with the man. She knew him as ‘Uncle Stone’ prior to his current title, but she was unsure if it was a surname or a forename. However, the one thing that bothered her was that the Tactician smiled at nearly all times.

The Civil Servant, Bokkun, was a pesky, puny black robot that could easily fit into a locker if shoved into one. He had bat-like ears on the sides of his head, and beady yellowish green eyes, wearing white gloves, red boots, a belt with the letter ‘M’ as the buckle, and a jetpack. For who knows what reason, he had the capacity to talk and was given the most ear piercing voice imaginable, along with an insufferable personality to boot. His duties betrayed the civilian implications of his title, as he was a state-enforced reporter for the news, and a messenger.

Head Scientist Grimer, still wearing a cast on his arm, was tasked with research and development for various fields, including food production, robo-biotic engineering, energy production, and Chaos Energy research among other things. He had always unnerved Omletta since the day they met; first due to his wiry frame and the dead glint in his eyes, then for his discomforting presence. For as useful as he was, she secretly hoped he would get too old to work by the time she took over as Lady of Robotropolis. She respected the man and his accolades, but she knew it was not reciprocated. She knew how badly he wanted her position.

Then, there was the Accountant, but Omletta knew him as ‘the snake.’ A long, green cobra piloting a man-sized mech with a black painted torso, reinforced shoulder pads, and black fingerless gloves and military boots. His robotic torso had four orange triangle-shaped buttons on the front, with white painted stripes circling from the buttons and around the back. Omletta preferred to keep her eyes on the masterful work done on his robotic body rather than his long fangs, his wriggling forked tongue, or his shifty eyes. Every time he licked the air, Omletta shivered a little.

The only person she felt as if she truly understood was her father to her left, Dr. Ivo Robotnik, Lord of Robotropolis. Even now, she did not understand why he seemingly wasn’t angry. The light fixture in the city exaggerated his size to a degree, though he was still quite large.

In front of each Board member, save for the Lord, Commander, and Civil Servant, lay a steaming paper cup of coffee. Robotnik had his mixed with goat’s milk in a mug labeled ‘World’s Best Father’, while his daughter had the same, but decaf in a mug labeled ‘World’s Best Daughter’.

“Good evening, everyone.” The Lord cleared his throat and scanned the room, taking a careful sip. “From video gathered from Mecha Sonic Mk. II, as well as readings taken during yesterday’s events, we know that the rodent used the seven Chaos Emeralds to bypass our defenses.”

Omletta nodded, playing with her hands in her lap. “Yep...”

Robotnik glanced at her, then continued. “I’m going to make this quick, as I am still gathering my lost patience. We’re making some changes to Plan B.”

“Changes, sir?” The Tactician asked, grin faltering. “Is there something wrong with the current plan?”

The Lord grunted. “Things are not working out the way we imagined. Sonic nearly took my life again, and I’m growing rather aware of my mortality. We’re still going through with Plan B, but I’m going to limit my time on the field.”

“Who will lead the charge then, my Lord?” The Commander inquired.

The Lord hummed and leaned back in his chair. “Nobody, yet somebody at the same time...” He scratched his head. “Something... remote. Omletta?”

She jolted as she was lifting her own cup, nearly spilling its scalding contents. “Y-Yes?”

Robotnik turned to her and relaxed his face. “I will have you upgrade one Egg Robo with remote control capabilities, and you get the honor of piloting it.”

“Huh?” She hesitated and shifted in her seat. “Me? Control the Egg Robo? Why?”

“Simple.” He answered. “My original plan was to have an AI controlled badnik take my place for the time being, but your AI is normally substandard, and downright terrible under our current conditions.”

The Commander and Grimer both nodded in agreement, exchanging glances with one another. Bokkun struggled not to laugh by putting both hands on his mouth. The snake and Tactician remained unphased. Omletta took a deep breath through her nose and tried to blink away the tingly feeling in her eyes. She didn’t object or complain, only nodding. ‘He’s not wrong...’ She thought. She wrapped her fingers around her hands and squeezed.

“Ahem!” Robotnik caught everyone’s attention. “We don’t have any Guard Bots to spare at this time, so we are left with no other choice as of now. However, I see this as an opportunity. This is your chance to prove yourself, Omletta. A way to show us all what you are capable of. Even if your artificial intelligence is lackluster, I know that your brilliant mind is not.” He smiled and ruffled her hair, causing her to whine and pull her head away.

“If I may...” Dr. Grimer piped up, one arm resting on the table. “Perhaps this is not at all necessary. This is a lot of pressure to put squarely on one person. Perhaps I could-”

Robotnik cut him short. “No. We’ve discussed this, Grimer. Omletta is my Chief Robotics Engineer, not you.”

After a brief pause, the Head Scientist smacked his lips and continued. “I understand, my Lord; however, I fear you may be forgetting that she is but a child. She lacks experience, whereas I-.”

“She may be a child, but her head is screwed on a lot tighter than yours. Besides, she’s not the one wearing a cast!” He waved his hand at Grimer, holding his fingers flat and pointing at him.

The room fell into silence, and the board members around the table stared blankly at the green doctor. Omletta sensed the opportunity to chime in and seized it. “U-Um... Dad-?”

“We’ve been over this. Refer to me as ‘sir’ in front of other people.” Robotnik grumbled and pinched his temple. He took a hefty swig from his cup without ensuring it was cool enough, and grimaced as he did so.

“Sorry sir, but um...” She squeaked. “D-Doctor Grimer says that a guard rail gave out... That’s why he’s hurt...” The girl pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose and swallowed. ‘Please don’t get mad.’ She thought.

“Hm.” Robotnik moved his fingers from his temple to his chin. “And why is that? Were you slacking, Grimer?” He accused, looking back at the cripple.

Grimer’s face contorted into an uneasy, brow-furrowed grin. “No, not at all my Lord. I just needed to rest but for a moment!” He motioned his free hand around as he spoke. “You see, I had been working for quite a while and merely needed a breather, and the rail fell apart as I did so.”

“Hmm...” Robotnik clasped his hands together. “Yes, I suppose that is logical on the surface, but I ask why you did not request for any of our workers or Guard Bots to fix the issue instead of coming to Omletta or myself for this. I say again, there is a reason my daughter is the Chief Robotics Engineer and you are not. She would have handled the issue post-haste instead of making such a distracting racket.”

The Head Scientist’s pitch lowered, dropping the fake grin and motioning towards Omletta. “B-But with all due respect sir, she is the one who-”

“No more!” Robotnik snapped, leaning over the table and verbally shoving Grimer into the backrest. “I will not hear of this again! Do your job, and quit wasting our time. Understood?”

After a moment, the green man nodded. “Yes my Lord.”

Robotnik sat back down with a huff. “Anyway, Omletta. The Egg Robo will also need some tuneups in the armor and lethality departments. I don’t care how it gets done, just do it and make it worth our time and resources.”

Omletta nodded again and wiped her eyes when nobody was looking, though the Head Scientist was still an object of concern. Not long after being silenced by Robotnik, he showed no contempt for him whatsoever, instead shooting occasional dirty looks at her for the rest of the meeting.

The Lord thought for a second. “Now, with that done, I’m trying to think of any more-”

“Are we free to go now?” Bokkun whined. “This was a pretty dumb meeting to have when you could have just told us with a text message.” He flapped his hands into the air. “I got stuff to film! Stories for the masses to-”

“Shut up!” Robotnik snarled, hurting Omletta’s ear and causing her to wince. The robot sat back down, pouting, and kept his arms by his sides. “We’re not done here! I still have other things to cover! Vile, impatient little...” He let out a grumbling sigh. “You’re throwing me off track when I’m trying to think. Just keep quiet!”

“Fine...” The messenger leaned and fell back into his seat, then hunched over with a scowl and crossed arms.

The Lord stopped himself before he yelled at the nuisance any further. “Anyway!” He turned to the Head Scientist. “Grimer, what’s the progress on your current project? Any updates?”

He blinked and swallowed, giving himself a moment to think. “Ahem, well, progress on theproject is going quite smoothly, my Lord. It just needs a few... adjustments.”

“Adjustments you say?” Robotnik probed. “What’s its effect at this very moment?”

“It does its job at constricting movement splendidly on dry land, but it dissolves in water rather fast.” Grimer elaborated. “It’s exquisitely toxic when ingested of course, but only a fool would do that. Rain presents an issue, as do large bodies of water.”

Omletta thought for a moment. ‘Dissolves in water... Toxic... That could hurt a lot of people.’ Cringing, she opened her mouth to speak.

“My Lord.” Stone cut her off.

“Tactician.” Robotnik acknowledged, meeting his gaze.

“If what the Head Scientist says is true...” His grin grew wider as he spoke. “Then I propose we keep the current formula and save it for later. I’m thinking its toxic properties could be good for wreaking havoc on Skybound ecosystems and food production. I suggest that we should use the refined formula for general use.”

“Oh, I had an idea!” The Accountant said. “By general use, I’m thinking of doing away with metal shackles and handcuffs for our prisons! Imagine how much metal we could conserve!”

The Lord snickered. “Heheh... Good thinking, you two. However, for lethal use... We already have plenty of other substances-- W-Wait!” A wide grin spread across the Lord’s face. “If we combine an improved version that doesn’t dissolve in water with other toxins...!”

“...We could create something not just deadly, but also very difficult to remove.” Grimer finished in a giddy voice of fluctuating pitch. “Do you understand why we have meetings now, Bokkun?” He asked, glaring behind a crooked smile. The robot’s frown only deepened in response. Omletta shifted uncomfortably in her seat, clenching her teeth and sweating. She ground her toes against the soles of her boots and held onto the sides of her seat.

“Indeed.” Lord Robotnik nodded. “Here are your current orders, Grimer. Save the current formula for later, but keep working until we have a finished product.”

The Head Scientist bowed, folding his good arm over his chest and closed his eyes. “Yes, my Lord. I will not disappoint you.”

Omletta wanted to say something, but the conversation carried on without her. Robotnik hummed at Grimer in acknowledgement, then pressed on. “Now, Accountant, we’re going to need more materials. Before I plan out asset retrieval, ensure we have enough money and resources to keep us going if Plan B fails.”

The snake licked the air. “Yes, sir. I’m thinking of increasing our export of milk, although I will need to renew one of our trade contracts before that.” He turned his attention to Stone. “I will need to speak with you about the latter, Tactician. My plans are rather... uncertain at the moment.” The little man gave a relaxed double thumbs up. “Thank you, Tactician.”

Bokkun hopped up and raised his hand, his grimace replaced with inquisitive, wide-eyed excitement. “Anything for me?” Omletta let out a breath through her nose, closing her eyes and preparing for the volume to get loud.

“Just keep making sure the Media Manager is doing his job.” Robotnik scoffed, not even looking at the subject of his annoyance.

The little robot stood up straight, stomping one foot and saluting the Lord. “Aye aye, Lord Dr. Robotnik!”

“It’s just Lord Robotnik to you, and your current orders are to sit and remain silent for the remainder of the meeting!” He said through his teeth. Bokkun plopped right back down and nodded, going right back to scowling.

“What else did you wish to discuss, sir?” Stone asked.

“Ahem, I uh... Huh.” The Lord scratched his chin. “Nothing else, I believe. Commander, anything of note to report?”

The knight responded. “A man from the Guard and my own forces partook in fisticuffs in the mess hall. Otherwise, no, my Lord.”

Robotnik waved his hand around in circles, lazily nodding. “Were the men involved dealt with?”

The Commander nodded. “Yes, my Lord.”

Lord Robotnik sighed. “Then that’s it. You’re free to go, everyone. Omletta, you have the rest of the day off. Report back here at oh-seven-hundred in the morning on the dot so we can get Plan B underway. I’m heading to my own quarters so I may rethink a few of my plans.” He got up the fastest out of everyone in the room, rubbing his eyes and holding his glasses in the other hand.

Omletta waited for everyone else to leave before she did, but tensed up when Grimer returned and retook his seat. “A moment, Omletta.” She didn’t engage in eye contact, but she nodded as a cue for him to speak. He placed his good hand on the table and took a deep breath.

He narrowed his eyes, though one of them was more open than the other. In a slithering voice Omletta had come to despise, he spoke like spoiled butter: smooth but dripping with slime. “Your father puts a lot of trust in you. A lot of trust. Much more than he does for me, despite my decades of diligence and hard work.”

The heir said nothing in response, attempting to emulate a statue and staring into the darkness.

Grimer waited for a moment, and continued. “You are so very lucky, little heir. Shame that luck is all going to waste...” Omletta’s brow moved, slightly. “I find it interesting that you model your badniks on Skybound wildlife. Do you have some sort of fascination with The Land of the Sky?”

Omletta shook her head. She knew where this was going and wished the man would go away.

Grimer chuckled. “It is strange then, how your badniks look nothing like the General Guard, or any other Darklandian soldier for that matter. They are all Skybound animals. I wonder... Are you doing this on purpose?”

The girl shook her head again. Her heart raced and her face dampened with sweat. He leaned in, opening his eyes wide and exposing the red, pulsating muscle in the back. In a hushed whisper, he asked one last question.

“Then what are you doing here?”

He shot up out of his seat and left, not waiting for a reply. As he trekked down the hall, Omletta approached the door to turn off the lightswitch. She guided herself with the glow of her PDA and sat down in the corner, curling into a ball and biting down on the base of her right index finger. Her free hand clenched at her hair.

‘Tomorrow is another day.’ She thought. ‘Tomorrow is another day.’


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Pub: 02 Jun 2023 18:59 UTC
Views: 123