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A Tail of Onyx City
“Who the heck is this jerk?!” Silver the hedgehog exclaimed.
It was just an ordinary afternoon in Onyx City for the recently formed trio Silver, Gold, and the kindly (albeit kooky) genius, Professor Von Schlemmer.
Or… so they thought.
When the hedgehog and tenrec walked into the Professor’s lab, they were surprised to be face-to-face with a new figure. A yellow lizard with pink glasses, a lab coat, and black gloves. He stood almost a foot taller than the psychic duo, however that may be due to the fact he wore boots with boosted heels.
“Jerk?” The lizard scoffed. “Why, yes. You could say I am one. Though the more popular insult is Lizard Brain. But if you really must know, my name is Obligate Draco Obani. Lower-level scientist, tech worker (though primarily Civil Protection repair), and IT Support. And you are…?”
Before the psychic mobians could answer, the lizard looked at them closely with his bright blue eyes, staring them down in recognition.
“My, you are the hero who fought the Second Devourer, are you not?” He asked the white hedgehog.
Before Silver could even react, Obligate then glared at the tenrec with almost a scowl.
“And Number 5 is alive it seems.” He hissed. “I almost did not recognise you without your mask on.”
As he commented, he leaned back onto his tail like a stand or seat, before falling onto the floor. He cringed in pain as he landed on the stub where a tail should have been.
“What is a plagiarist like you doing here?!” Gold snapped. “What do you want with the Professor?”
“First, Reverse-engineering.” He clarified. “I do not even look at other blueprints. I just see if I can replicate a concept or idea and improve upon it under my own power. Right, Bit?”
Yes.
As if waiting to be called out, a clump of polygons manifested nearby, hovering around the reptile, answering in a synthetic voice.
The lizard pulled himself back up, pointing to the bandaged stub he landed on.
“And second, this is why.” He explained. “A little while ago, I lost my tail. And before you ask, no, it will never be able to grow back. The part of my body capable of that is damaged beyond recovery. So… I need a prosthetic. Now, the genius I am, you would think I could build one myself. Alas, my speciality is software. So… I was hoping to attain assistance of someone who is more… experienced with biocompatible prosthetics. Considering his track record with DIY operations and implants, I felt like out anyone else, I could at least turn to him.”
“And you’re ok with that, Professor?” Gold asked the kindly scientist.
“… Ja…” He sighed. “Obligate… might be… not-so-sociable at times…”
“I believe the word you are looking for is Antisocial…” Obligate interjected. “Well… that is the more polite term others ascribe to me…”
“Perhaps not as harsh.” The professor continued. “But… He is someone in need. Sometimes, a brighter tomorrow starts in the kindness of today. If he needs ein neuer tail, it should be finished by morning. Why not come back while we sort this out?”
“Agreed.” The lizard nodded. “No offence, but I doubt you two would provide much valuable insight compared to the intellectual elite. So, bye-bye.”
Not wanting to be somewhere they weren’t welcome, the two psychics left without saying a word, not wanting another moment with the infuriating reptile.
“Anyways… I was going to build a DNA-Base coding sequencing for the programming, bypassing any necessity for any brain implant or modification of such (Because unlike you, I do not have one) …” He explained to the professor before both the psychics left earshot.
“Who does that guy think he is?!” Silver snapped after he and Gold were about a block away and very much out of earshot.
“Unfortunately, he’s a very typical case.” Gold explained, much calmer than before. “You probably wouldn’t know this as a Teal Class, but Yellow Class are often overworked in a different way. They’re under constant pressure to innovate and have to take extremely difficult exams every year just to stay in their grade. As smart as they are, the constant pressure… Can cause many of them to turn jaded and bitter, or suffer complete breakdowns, or even go completely insane. Sometimes, all of the above, in that order. I have seen it happen before back when I was on The Council.”
“Wait, so you knew him?” He asked, a little stunned.
“Yeah… I saw one or two of his presentations back in the day. He was prone to stealing ideas and rambling on about magic. I wouldn’t worry about him as a threat. The Professor should be fine, maybe just… annoyed at worst. Why don’t we just browse the Night Market for a while and check them in a few hours?”
As much they disliked the situation, the two psychics sighed and forced themselves trust the Professor’s judgement, even if it was the same judgement that caused mishaps like Silver’s shampoo accidentally being replaced with Static-Electricity-Conductor-Solution one occasion…
After some brief collaboration (though not without argument), a working prosthetic tail managed to be put together, dubbed the “Drachenkraft” (a name they managed to agree on). All that was left was a test run.
After booting up the DNA-Base Program and powering the machine on, it flailed wildly and unruly like it was possessed. It swung with so much force that it completely detached from the lizard altogether and caused him to trip and fall to the floor.
Respective assistants hid behind shelves, hoping to avoid potential debris.
An awkward silence followed once power was shut off. Obligate barely moved from where he was.
“Bit…?” He asks his assistant. “Diagnostic Report: Was this a hardware error?”
No.
The lizard’s eyes widened and a small smile crawled across his face.
“Heh… Heh…” He mumbled. “Must be a software problem…”
His smile widened further. It wasn’t a smile of joy.
A tear started to trickle down his face.
Despite being absent-minded at the best of times to the point of not always being able to read the room, even Von Schlemmer could tell the lizard was going into a dark place.
“It’s ok, mein Kollege.” He tried to comfort him, attempting to disrupt a potential spiral before it started. “We can fix this…”
“WHAT?! YOU CAN SUDDENLY FIX EVERYTHING BETTER THAN ME NOW TOO?!” The lizard exploded, more tears falling down his face. “LIKE HOW YOU ARE ALWAYS BETTER THAN ME AT EVERYTHING ELSE?!”
Obligate started to shake a little, his breathing unsteady.
The Professor was taken aback. While not expecting the most positive response, he wasn’t expecting a reaction like that.
Clearly this went deeper than just the loss of his tail.
“… Was?” Was all he could utter in response.
“What? You think I do not notice how quickly you put stuff together capable of ridiculous feats?” He continued ranting. “Even this tail prosthetic. The construction is remarkable and you only whipped it up in what? 15 minutes? That is Ludicrous Speed! You tinker like you are from a Saturday Morning Cartoon! And… And if it is not the hardware… That means the fault is me! And… If I cannot… Software is my speciality… Then… Then… WHAT EVEN AM I?!”
Finally breaking down, the lizard started to cry.
“I know… I am pathetic.” He whined. “A lizard-brained idiot. I already wasted your time… It should not be up to you to fix my mistakes, especially when that mistake is me…”
Schlemmer glanced towards the door, at a bit of a loss. Usually, Gold was a little better at handling a situation like this, but she and Silver were out and wouldn’t be back for a while.
But that didn’t mean he lacked any ideas. He knew what it felt like to be rejected and like he made a fool of himself before, even if he often forgot how much it stung.
While the tail needed fixing, it was clear the user was the one currently broken.
“You are not a mistake.” He said, his tone friendly and warm. “Und you are not as idiotic as you think, either. Replicating technology at a glance? That’s impressive.”
“I am a plagiarist… All my original ideas kept getting rejected…” The lizard retorted. “The Council would tell me I am too wrapped up in fairytales! All I said was their Grand Unified Theory was flawed for failing to account for the existence of magic.”
“… I know how that feels, Obligate…” Schlemmer continued. “I have been there. Why don’t we talk about this for a while? We could use a break, und Ze Bits can make a mean latte.”
“… What about tea?” He asks, sniffling a little.
“Ja. We can do that too.” The professor answered, offering his hand to pull him back up again.
And so (after Obligate quickly retrieved his pot and tea leaves from his own lab), they sat down to have a break. It was a lengthy conversation. From successes, to failures, to the pressures Onyx City imposes on Yellow Class.
“How do you handle it?” Obligate asked, finishing off his drink. “Is it just your madness keeping you afloat?”
“No madness about it.” He replied. “With two heroes und a little luck, we hope to form a rebellion to change the system for the better…”
Obligate walked out of the lab, the sun rising, and the Drachenkraft working like a dream (turned out the software error only required a minor patch). Despite the mechanical prosthetic being heavier, he felt… Lighter.
As he walked back to his own lab, his assistant trailing behind him, he saw two figures in the distance walking his way. It was the two psychics he met earlier.
If it were any other day, he would have just ignored them. Instead, he got a strange idea.
He ran towards them.
“Hey! You there!” He called out. “Good morning!”
The silver hedgehog reacted by grabbing him in a psychic hold.
“What are you trying to pull?” He asked, on the defensive.
“Certainly not your leg.” The lizard replied. “I heard from the Professor that you were hoping to rally resistance against The Council? Well… I would like to be your first recruit!”
At first, they thought he went mad, but eventually, Silver let him go and he walked with them.
“I know it is not enough to change the system,” Obligate explained. “But maybe a little kindness and patience is enough to help lead people to a brighter tomorrow…”