The weapons room was still. Too still. Shadie stood alone in the center of it, surrounded by rows of gleaming metal and heavy silence. Yet the air felt wrong—tight, pressing in from every side like invisible hands were trying to crush the space around her. Her breathing hitched. A burning spike stabbed into her skull, cold and vicious, dragging across old scars inside her mind. Not controlling her — just scraping, trying to dig deeper, trying to pry something open. A whisper slithered through her head: “…yield…” Shadie’s eyes widened. Another whisper — closer, colder: “…break for me…” Her legs trembled. Her hands shook violently. Her vision twisted, like someone was bending the room around her consciousness, trying to crack it. A mask flickered at the edge of her sight— not fully there, not powerful enough— but close enough to dig nails into her memories with a slow, cruel drag. Eggman’s old control. The part of her mind he once hijacked. The holes he left behind. Not possession. Just pain. And pressure. And invasion. Shadie gasped— a small, wounded sound she didn’t mean to make— and instinct kicked up like fire exploding in her chest. “STOP.” Her voice ripped out of her, raw, furious. The pressure cracked. The flickering vision snapped. The cold whisper dissolved into static and vanished. Shadie stumbled forward, hands on her knees, breathing hard and shaking like something had tried to tear her mind in half. She won. But barely. And it terrified her. The door BURST open. “SHADIE?!” Rouge’s voice made the whole room jump. She sprinted inside, heels clacking sharply on the metal floor. Omega stormed in behind her, scanners flashing red. “VITAL SPIKE DETECTED,” he boomed. “UNSTABLE NEUROLOGICAL PATTERN. EXPLAIN.” Rouge ignored Omega entirely “Hey—hey, baby girl, what happened?” Rouge put a hand on Shadie's shoulder gently, careful not to startle her, looking her over with frantic eyes. “You look like you’re gonna faint. Talk to me.” Shadie didn’t answer. Couldn’t answer. Her lungs felt tight. Her hands still trembled. Her mind buzzed from the aftershock. Rouge’s voice softened instantly, almost scared. “Oh, sweetheart…” She pulled Shadie forward into her arms, wings folding around her like a shelter. “You’re shaking,” she whispered. “You’re scaring me a little.” Omega stepped closer, his tone tense but trying to be gentle in his… Omega way. “ALERT: UNKNOWN EXTERNAL FORCE MAY HAVE TARGETED YOU. REQUESTING PERMISSION TO HUNT IT DOWN.” Rouge shot him a glare but didn’t loosen her hug. “Omega, honey, not now.” She stroked Shadie’s back, slow and grounding. “You don’t have to talk yet,” Rouge said quietly. “Just breathe. I’m right here.” A tiny tremor ran through Shadie’s fingers as she clutched Rouge’s sleeve. She wasn’t okay. She wasn’t safe. And she wasn’t alone. Rouge held her tighter, voice barely above a whisper. “Whatever scared you… whatever hurt you… I’m not letting it near you again. I promise.” Omega’s chest thrummed with a low mechanical growl. “HOSTILE ENTITY WILL BE TERMINATED.” Shadie’s breath shook. Infinite had failed to get inside her mind. But he had gotten close. Too close. And now she wasn’t just scared. She was angry.
