SONIC RESURGENCE

Chapter 25

What must be done... ...The servers are the seven Chaos.

Chaos is power. A power enriched by the heart.

The controller is the one who unifies the Chaos.

...Feel within... The sea of Chaos... And the ancient waves.

May the light of its power shine down eternally and protect us all.

Computer Room, Egg Carrier, Miles Away From the Great Canyon

Saying that Dr. J. Ivo Robotnik was frustrated would have been an understatement. While Metallix had nearly recovered from his grievous injuries from his last battle with Sonic and his allies, he could not find the two remaining Chaos Emeralds for the life of him. It was as if they weren't on Mobius.

So, one could imagine how aggravated he became when he realized that the gemstones sent themselves back to those dreadful pocket dimensions that were the Special Zones. If only he hadn't gone balled in his mid-thirties, he would have torn it all out of his scalp. Bah! Why settle for a head of hair when he had his magnificent mustache? Ivo always thought about the finer things in life that count.

Still, after all the years that he spent studying the Gems of Miracles and its uncanny ability to warp space-time, the doctor should have expected something like this to happen. So, until the remaining Chaos Emeralds returned to Mobius, he could work on a few of his...greater projects.

Speaking of which, the Eggman had so far had two recruits for his Egg Bosses program and recently had been contacted by a middleman from the Eggman Empire of a potential client in need of resources. From studying the client from Holoska, Eggman learned that the client was a revolutionary currently battling a group of former-GUN-operatives-turned-slavers. Needless to say, an enraged and gung-ho revolutionary did pique Eggman's interest. After all, a desperate and determined pawn was a potentially useful paw.

And a potential Egg Boss.

And thanks to the success of the Ixis Magick-laced Power Rings that Naugus the Dark had been providing him, Robotnik had a window of opportunity to look at his previous machines and see how he could improve them using this new source of power.

Returning to the present, Eggman was currently on his computer while continuing to develop a new artificial intelligence to better assist him since he got rid of SNIVELY. Although he found the AI's "personality" to be amusing for a time and the use of a digital copy of his deceased nephew's consciousness had provided him with decent assistance, he knew that with a threat as great as the princess' extremely advanced digital entity NICOLE had displayed, it high time to step up his game. This was one of the many reasons why he kept his activities discreet from the public. After all, he was a large man with even larger master plans.

"This will be one of the most advanced artificial intelligence that I've ever created. Even more so than Metal Sonic's original AI," Dr. Robotnik stated while typing on his keyboard with his large gloved fingers, grinning like the madman that he was. "...Yes! Soon, it will prove to surpass SNIVELY in every way as a proper administrator and monitor for my glorious Egg Network."

'...Perhaps a code name for this project is in order. But it has to be appropriate enough to make sense, but it mustn't lack style. Hm... Autonomous Digital Assistant Manager?...No. Photographic Algorithmic Guide? No, that won't do! ...How about...wait! Yes! Strategic Administration Guardian of the Eggnet! Yes... SAGE. I'll call it Project SAGE!' The Eggman thought to himself.

Suddenly, a page with the term "Incoming Call," with the caller ID showing Zero's name below it. Seeing this, Dr. Robotnik paused what he was doing, then switched to one of the side computers to answer the call.