Chapter Text
Eggman drove his mobile base, scanning for any sign of unusual status readings, his mind already racing with greedy new plans.
He held a strange disk in his hand and slotted it into the console. Almost immediately, the system flickered and locked onto the disk. Eggman let out an evil laugh, grinning at the readout in front of him.
"Eh... I think I've made a bit of a mess this time," Eggman muttered, confused, as he looked up. Above him, the sky itself had begun to glitch and fracture.
Before long, Eggman found himself puzzling over a strange, glitching presence — a mysterious girl. He would come to learn who she truly was only after following the signal into a shimmering cyber room deep in the network. He grumbled about the glitch the entire way there, but the moment he arrived, she was already waiting for him.
"I am Sage. I'm an AI, and it's nice to meet you. May I help you?" Sage said, calm and composed, having just finished wiping out a squadron of military vehicles in his defense. She bowed respectfully.
Eggman, still muttering complaints about his malfunctioning robots, barely noticed her at first. Sage stepped forward, patient, standing before him.
"I would like to note that I am not affiliated with your associates, Orbot and Cubot," Sage said simply.
Soon after, the two found themselves standing together in the heart of a massive battle, a colossal Titan looming over them. Eggman ducked behind Sage for cover, still grumbling about the corrupted, glitching sky above — everything around them was shutting down, system by system.
"I'm sensing this thing is extremely dangerous... but don't worry, I'll let you know if anything changes!" Eggman said, unable to hide the worry in his voice as he glanced toward Sage.
"I'll handle it. Just stay behind me," Sage replied, her tone laced with concern for him.
With that, Sage turned and interfaced with a nearby hacked system — one capable of controlling the Titan itself. In an instant, she launched upward, soaring high into the fractured sky.
"Be careful!" Eggman shouted after her. "That's... that's my daughter!" he added quietly, almost to himself. Somehow, Sage heard him anyway.
Sage guided the Titan higher and higher until it struck against the very edge of the moon, causing a brilliant explosion to ripple across the sky. Watching from below — perhaps through a monitor inside his base, or perhaps simply staring up in wonder — Eggman saw the shooting stars rain down. He raised his arms triumphantly as Sage descended, and for a moment, father and daughter simply looked at one another.
"Let's go home," Eggman said softly.
"...Home?" Sage asked, reaching out to take his hand.
Later, back at the base, Eggman constructed a small black orb — a compact holographic projector designed to let Sage manifest and move freely within his workshop. The moment her form flickered into view, she bowed respectfully.
"Yes, Father?" Sage said, her voice warm with quiet devotion.
"I need you to be careful from now on. There are... limits to what I can protect you from," Eggman said, his voice uncharacteristically gentle, worry evident beneath his usual bravado.
"I have new information for you. Metal Sonic is ready — I'll take you to the rocket," he continued.
"I don't think I'll be able to reach my full potential without finding Metal Sonic first," Sage replied thoughtfully.
Afterward, Eggman glanced around the empty room, feeling strangely at ease with his daughter beside him. Sage gently reminded him to stay cautious, as always — but for the first time in a long while, Eggman felt something unfamiliar: complete trust in another person.
Next: Sage POV – Metal