*Sonic POV 3rd person 

The video ended and Sonic, Knuckles, Brian, and Kytra all stood quietly as static filled the room. Everyone seemed confused by the feed, except this generation Sonic, who looked determined and deep in thought.

“Okay, I have no clue what any of that means.”

Leave it to the pink feline of the group to break the silence.

“I have to agree with my sis. What exactly was taken? And I have no clue about that location either.”

“I’m lost too.” The Commander agreed, then looked at the blue blur, “Sonic?”

“I… I think I know what he wants.”

“You do?!” Kytra inquired loudly.

Nodding, the Sonic of this time knew exactly what Infinite wanted, or at least, he was pretty sure. The only thing taken in a sense, was Gadget. Sure, there had been shuttles, data disks, and other pieces of tech the Resistance had smuggled from the Doctor, but he was never one to care that much, unless it was something unique and/or powerful. 

That message though, hadn’t been from Eggman, but from Infinite. Also, he didn’t use just anything to request an exchange, but a person, a person everyone knew was close to Sonic, which was Tails. Sonic helped Gadget escape, but after that, Infinite targeted the wolf specifically in the Rosen City attack.

He could very well be wrong, and he hoped to be, but, the chances of that were slim. A frown tugged at his lips as he tried to decipher the next best plan of action.

“Sonic? You okay man?”

Snapping out of his thoughts, he realized everyone in the group stared at him in concern. The downturn of his mouth deepened before letting out a quiet sigh.

“I know what Infinite wants. I’m pretty sure I know anyway.”

“What is it?” Knuckles asked, seriousness thick in his tone.

“It’s not what it is, but who it is.”

That seemed to spark with the echidna as realization came upon his face as he mumbled, “Oh shit.”

“What?” The siblings spoke simultaneously.

Not being answered, the Commander said, “Sonic.”

“On it.”

And he was gone a moment later; leaving the two and the shorter Sonic still lost on what was going on. A sigh left Knuckles as he rubbed his temple, fighting a headache.

“You gonna tell us what’s going on?” Brian brought up, hoping for answers.

“I’m hoping we’re wrong and we won’t have to.”

?

As that happened, Sonic traveled all through the base, looking in every room he could think of to check. No results were found in the break room, locker room, cafeteria, or any other public locations. Giving up on those, the last place he could possibly check was his bedroom.

Arriving to the designated door, a few knocks were given, but no response sounded. Hoping the other might just be just resting or hadn’t heard him, he entered the unlocked room, only to see no one inside. 

“Huh? Where is he?”

His communicator then beeped.

“Yeah?”

“Did you find him?”

It was Knuckles.

“No, I can’t seem to find him anywhere. He’s not even in his room.”

“Hm, well keep looking. He’s got to be around here somewhere.”

“Will do.”

“Excuse me Commander.”

Sonic heard Espio on the other side of the link talking to Knuckles.

“Hey Espio. What’s up?”

“Did you send someone out? I was doing my rounds and noticed one of the transporters was missing.”

“No, I didn’t. It’s been pretty quiet today so I haven’t had to send anyone out for anything. I didn’t even worry about sending anyone for reporting missions since we were all pretty stretched thin from yesterday.”

“That’s what I thought. That’s why I wanted to ask you.”

“Hm… Hey Sonic,” Knuckles spoke into communicator, “Did you by chance send anyone out?”

“Oh, hello Sonic,” Espio greeted.

“Hey Espio. And no, I didn’t either. That’s weird. I wonder who left, and why?”

“Well, we’ll try to figure it out. You keep searching for the Rookie.”

“Will do.”

The communication was shut off, ending the chat with Sonic.

“The Rookie?” Brian voiced, realization dawning in his face, connecting the earlier conversation with Sonic to this, “You mean Gadget?”

Not realizing until then he’d said that out loud, the echidna sighed, “Yes.”

“He couldn’t have gotten too far, I wouldn’t think. He was here about ten minutes or so ago.”

Everyone stared at the feline. Knuckles spoke up, “What?”

“Yeah, he was here during the time as we watched the video. He didn’t come in but he was outside the door.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?!”

“What? I figured he’d just come in when the video was over since he doesn’t like to interrupt stuff, but he left. Why are you guys looking for him? I thought you were looking for whoever Infinite might have been referring to in that vid.”

“Sis… You make me hurt inside sometimes.”

“What’d I do?!.......Oh.”

It then clicked with her.

As this was going on, it was all completely missed as Sonic of this generation had hung up on his end several minutes beforehand and currently was standing in Gadget’s room.

“I wonder where he went,” Sonic mused to himself.

The only place he can he hadn’t technically checked were the shower stalls/restrooms. With how much time he’d taken searching around the based, he doubted the wolf was in the restroom, but he could have been taking a shower.

Deciding to wait a bit as his search hadn’t been fruitful, the speedster took a seat in the desk chair. Eyes glanced around the room slightly before settling on the bed and the neatly placed sheets; nothing seemingly out of place.

Thoughts wandered to just yesterday night, and when they shared their first kiss, and many more following after. His muzzle began to heat up as he then remembered the feeling of that ruby fur underneath his gloveless fingers; lightest of brushes, and soft kisses along his body.

Shaking his head, hands tapped his cheeks as he tried to come back to Mobius. Turning away from the bed was when he noticed something on the desk. There was a folded piece of paper on top of the desk. It was addressed to him. 

“Huh?”

Picking it up, a smaller folded up paper fell on the desk with Gadget’s name written on it. However, he chose to read what was addressed to him specifically.

“Sonic, I’m sorry I left without saying goodbye.”

Left without saying goodbye? What? 

“I wish I could have been able to help you more, because trust me, I wanted to tell you the truth. I wanted to tell you everything.”  The hero frowned a bit, having a bad feeling where this was going.

“There’s a letter inside here…. sorry, it’s getting a l-lit...tle hard to wr-ite. I hope thi-s… gives a……..clue.” 

The writing seemed a bit choppy and messy there. He wondered why. And a clue? A clue to what? Was that what the second letter with Gadget’s name on it meant? He wasn’t sure, but wouldn’t know unless he kept reading, and he did.

“Maybe, when this is all over, we can see each other again. I hope so. As you said about wanting to get to know me more, I feel the same about you. While I admire your positivity, radiance, and strong will, I want to learn more than just what you choose to show the world. The real you.”

That section made his heart race, as hope flared in his chest; hope that maybe, just maybe, Gadget wanted to try being with Sonic. It sounded like he definitely wanted to know him better, as Sonic wished to learn more about the wolf that captured his affection.

“Be safe, and don’t give up, ever. I believe if anyone can succeed, it’s you Sonic. Best, Gadget.” 

That was the end of the letter. There was no denying, the one who left, most likely had to be Gadget. But why? He hadn’t seen the video from Infinite, right? But, Knuckles watched it before Sonic and Gadget’s siblings had seen it. Maybe he’d caught a glimpse and left? He hadn’t said anything, and it wasn’t like him to go off like that. Based on this letter of farewell, the hedgehog was sure the Rookie left, and his heart dropped from this knowledge.

Pushing those feelings aside, he picked up the second letter that had Gadget’s name on it. The paper was freshly white, but was all wrinkled and held small tears; making him wonder if this sheet of paper was old or new. Fingers carefully opened it as to not damage it more than it already was. Green eyes scanned the letter and began to read its contents.

“My dear Gadget.” 

Dear? This was obviously someone close to him; making something chern in Sonic’s stomach, but he didn’t let that stop him with the task at hand.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be there when you woke up. Another day, another task. I’m unsure when I will return but I think tonight would be the latest. I do not see the events of today lasting long, but I’ve been wrong before.”

Yep, there was no denying this was someone close to Gadget. Was this who he spoke of that he was trying to get over?

“I cannot tell you how happy I was to find you that day in Metropolis. I apologize for all the times I attacked you. I didn’t know it was you, though I did think you looked like Gadget, but I believed it to be impossible after what I thought was an inevitable death for you all those years ago. To be wrong in this case, I cannot express how glad I was to be wrong.”

What?? Attack? Inevitable death? This section was a bit strange. The speedster wasn’t sure what to think of it. 

“I left a few sandwiches, snacks, and drinks by the flowers if you hadn’t yet seen those. I’m sorry to be away for so long. I promise, when this is over, I more than plan to make up all the days I missed with you. Stay safe my love. I’ll return to you soon. Love, Zero.”

So, this was for sure who Gadget mentioned he was trying to get over. They were together for a time. Zero? Where had he heard that name? This Zero guy seemed pretty serious about Gadget, but something happened between them. Maybe, it had something to do with the attacking and death portion he read about? The file at the base honestly didn’t give many details about the Rookie, just basic stuff. Nothing that could help explain any of this.

Wait… Zero was the name Gadget mentioned when Sonic and the Chaotix Team found the wolf outside, the night he brought him back to the base. When brought to his room, he said Zero in his sleep. Who was Zero? Did Gadget give this as a means to tell Sonic more about his past romance since the Sonic clearly wanted to get closer to Gadget and get to know him more? 

But, he spoke of giving a clue in the letter addressed to Sonic. If this other letter to Gadget was what he meant by a clue, what was it a clue to? This seemed to bring more questions than answers to the now unsettled hedgehog.

The communicator watch beeped.

“Sonic?”

It was Knuckles. “Yeah?”

“We have a reason to believe the Rookie was the one who left. I guess he saw the video at the same time you and his siblings did.”

“That’s because he did leave,” Sonic confirmed, “He left a letter on his desk addressed to me; telling me goodbye.”

“What?!” He heard Kytra shout over the comm. “Why!? That’s not like him at all?”

“He must have understood the message,” Brian cut in, “The message mentioned ‘no prying eyes’. Maybe he couldn’t tell he was leaving. I’m not sure, but Gadget’s smart and resourceful. If anyone can help save your friend Sonic, it’s him.”

“I’m worried for both of them,” Sonic replied honestly, “Infinite is no joke. But, there’s not much we can do… Knuckles?”

“Yeah?”

“Get a hold of Shadow and Rouge. Tell them what we know. They might be able to find some clues, or maybe even track Gadget and Tails down.”

“Roger that!” Knuckles confirmed.

He hung up. The Commander then looked around the room in confusion.

“Where’d the other Sonic go?”

Both siblings shrugged, not realizing he’d left; doesn’t help he’s so silent. The Commander sighed before going to the task at hand, hoping for a clear solution, and fast.