DISCLAIMER: The Sonic the Hedgehog setting, Metal Sonic, and Robo Knuckles belong to SEGA. This particular characterization of Robo Knuckles was inspired by Netraptor's Sonicverse fanfics, however. Brooke's character concept belongs to my friend who doesn't have an internet alias. Finally, Aile Graff belongs to me.
Woo, canon characters!
Chapter One: Rude Awakenings
Aile slowly opened his eyes like waking up from a dream. His vision swayed in and out of focus, and he tried and failed to stifle a huge yawn. His head hurt for some reason… The Mobian ottsel frowned and shook his head a little as he tried to get his bearings. What happened? Last he knew… Well. He didn't know. His memory of the last few hours was just a total blank as he mentally shuffled through everything. That was unusual.
"The subject is returning to consciousness."
Aile squinted, but couldn't make out anything. His head throbbed in protest; it felt like he'd been hit by a freight train. Where had that voice come from, and why did it sound familiar? It sounded synthesized, like it was spoken by a text-to-speech program. He perked up his ears and caught onto a quiet humming that grew louder to fill his surroundings, mixed in with other various sounds he couldn't identify but sounded electronic in nature. It was like he'd stumbled onto the set of a sci-fi show.
"Okay, joke's over," Aile mumbled. His voice was hoarse from disuse, and he winced at how scratchy it was. Where was he? Whatever he was standing on (when had he started standing?) slowly became warm under his sneakers (why had he been sleeping in his clothes?) and made him become strangely nervous. He looked down and his vision cleared enough for him to see a metal disk with a glowing light in the centre that was getting steadily brighter. Even in his dissociated state, Aile could feel his heart start to speed up in fear at it. What's going on? He reached out to steady himself, and then looked up with wide eyes as his gloveless fingers bumped against glass.
Glass. Head hurting. Bright light. Loud humming. And on the other side of the glass—Metal Sonic.
Memories flashed through Aile's mind's eye almost too fast for him to understand. He—Aile Graff, age 17, a short and slightly chubby sandy-brown ottsel whose most defining feature was a long tail bent downward at the end— had been walking home from school with Brooke—best friend, classmate, friendliest skunk he had ever met, had known Aile since he was ten— and chatting eagerly with her about their plans for the weekend. The Brooke had frozen, dropped her textbooks to the ground, and stared over Aile's shoulder with a look of terror he would never forget. Aile had started to turn to see what she was staring at, his mouth half-open with a playful quip ready to reassure her fears, then—
Then pain. Then pain and loud humming and weightlessness and reaching out to try and grab Brooke's fingers as he was taken away—and then blackness.
His head throbbed and brought him back to the present. Aile slumped against the glass of the capsule, eyes closed, his knuckles white from how tightly he was balling his fists, and could barely muster the energy to swear. He'd been taken. The abductions in the newspaper had been happening all the way on the mainland, so he'd never thought that he'd ever be in danger. And now here he was, captive to Metal Sonic, and the humming was getting louder and aggravating his headache even more to where it almost felt like his head would split open.
It took Aile a bit to register that Metal Sonic was still there watching him. He opened his eyes and jerked back, hitting his head against the other side of the capsule, as his eyes met the glowing red circles of Metal Sonic's own. Behind the robotic hedgehog stood a crowd of others he didn't recognize, all gleaming metal with red eyes shining with as much malicious intent a machine could muster. Metal Sonic took notice. "Glorious, are they not? You will make a nice addition to their ranks." His chuckle sounded like cracking static, and Aile's fur stood on end.
"No!" Aile slammed his fist against the glass and shouted in pain; the glass remained unbroken, but pain shot through his knuckles and dropped him to the knees. Reinforced, he thought in horror. The chamber had likely held Mobians much stronger than he was. He needed a way out, and fast, but his frightened glances around himself revealed that the capsule was seamless. Metal Sonic watched him with what might have been amusement before stepping over one of the large cables snaking across the room and walking over to another android seated behind a control panel.
"Initiate the conversion process," Metal Sonic said with a tone that suggested barely-hidden glee.
Aile looked up just in time for the lenses at the top of the chamber to flash blindingly white. He screamed and hunkered down at the bottom with his arms crossed over his head as if to shield himself from it, but searing pain spread across him like he was being stabbed with thousands of tiny heated needles. His eyes welled up with tears. This is how it ends, he thought. I'm going to be turned into a bloodthirsty robot and no one'll notice I'm even gone. Reality began to blur and shift around him as the pain drove him back closer to unconsciousness, and then everything went black.
But not silent. The humming simmered down to a quiet whine before disappearing altogether. Mechanized voices shouted things Aile couldn't comprehend, and the ottsel dragged himself up into a shaky crouching position to discover the entire room was dark save for the LEDs of his robotic captors' eyes. A power outage. He could almost cry with relief. Aile's arms felt strangely heavy and numb as he got to his feet, and his entire body felt like he'd been pounded into submission. The androids were too focused on each other and the power outage to notice Aile as he tried to escape. There had to be a mechanism to open the chamber somehow, he figured; they had to put him in there somehow. But with the power off, would it even work? He had to act fast, though; who knew when they would get it back up and running again? To his dismay, however, he couldn't see anything in the darkness that could possibly be a switch. It was probably over on the console, he realized with dread. There was no way they would put it in reach of their captive.
Aile winced as he remembered the unsuccessful attempt at breaking the glass, but he'd been through far worse pain since then. It was his only option. Aile screwed his eyes shut tight, wound up for a punch, and slammed his fist into the glass—and it shattered from the force of his swing. Aile involuntarily cried out as his momentum carried him through the hole and sent him crashing into the floor. His world spun around him, but the ottsel was filled with relief. He'd done it, he was out! The commotion caught the attention of the robots, though, and Aile pushed himself up to his feet before bolting towards the slightly darker patch of darkness that he hoped was the door. Synthesized screeches of "CAPTURE IT!" followed him down the corridor, but Aile couldn't risk looking back as his footsteps thudded against the metal floor. His heart pounded in his ears to match the rhythm as he barreled straight ahead, for lack of any sense of direction. If he charged into a dead end, he was done for, but the base was a confusing labyrinth that all looked the same in the darkness.
A bone-chillingly familiar sound reached his ears and Aile was certain his heart stopped. The whine of jet engines grew louder as the robot closed in on him, and the ottsel forced his protesting legs to move faster in the hopes he could outrun it. If only his arms weren't so heavy: it felt like they had been replaced with fifty-pound weights, and the added weight was slowing him down. Luck wasn't in his favour, however. A thick security door blocked his progress, and all Aile could do was stare at it in terror and dismay before forcing himself to turn around to face his pursuer.
Malicious green eyes stared at him through the darkness, and Aile felt chills run down his spine. The lights sputtered and flickered on overhead to reveal a red-painted robotic echidna. Eight-inch claws, tipped with something that glittered like diamond, extended out of its hands; Aile stared at them in horror, knowing that the robot was itching to skewer him with them. "I do so love a good chase," the robot said, and its engine almost seemed to purr like a predatory cat. "But playtime is over. I can either take you back to Metal Sonic to finish the roboticization, or…" Aile could almost sense the wide, toothy grin in its voice. "I could kill you, drag your corpse back to Metal Sonic, and tell him that you had an… unfortunate accident."
Aile gulped, but steadied himself. With no other option, he raised his fists in preparation to fight… and his vision wavered as bile rose in his throat. If he could scream right then, he would have, but his body wouldn't obey him any longer.
The feeling of weight suddenly made sense. His hands were plated with shining steel, and if it wasn't for the current situation they would have been beautiful in their craftsmanship. The segment over the knuckles of his left hand was dented and slightly out of place, right where he'd injured it trying to punch his way out the first time. A slow, almost painful glance up his arm revealed that the roboticization had succeeded all the way up to the shoulder, and, judging by the weakened sensations in the other arm, had done the same on the other side. Aile staggered. He felt immensely sick, and his vision seemed to fade out as he yet again threatened to pass out.
Sensing his weakness, the echidna robot moved with a roar of engines and reached out to impale him. When looking back on it, Aile couldn't remember why he responded the way he did, but despite his slowed reflexes he reached out to grab the charging android's arm and redirect it. Aile cried out as the claws sliced through his already damaged hand with ease and came through the other side of the palm, but he turned, the other hand grabbing the robot's arm just below the shoulder tight enough for the metal to buckle, and threw the attacker's weight against the door with surprising force. The echidna sputtered like a dying modem as its eyes flickered erratically. With his heart racing a thousand miles per hour, Aile grabbed the android's wrist and yanked its claws out of his hand, then hesitated and gave its head a hard kick for good measure.
Knowing he only had a short amount of time before the other androids followed him in pursuit, Aile braced himself and slammed his undamaged fist into the door. It buckled inward with surprising ease, and after catching his breath Aile continued to pound against it until it was finally knocked out of its supports and flew a good few feet. To his shock, he didn't even feel tired from the exertion, but he didn't have time to stand around wondering. The ottsel immediately bolted down the corridor; with the lights now on, he caught glances of numbered sectors and—to his relief—signs leading towards the exit. His relief was short-lived, however. The roar of engines filled the air again and made the floor shake from the vibrations, and Aile risked a glance over his shoulder to discover with terror that the echidna android from earlier (now sporting a sizable dent from where Aile had slammed him into the door) was giving chase. To make things worse, klaxons rang out and doors began to slam shut around him, and Aile pushed himself to go as fast as he could possibly go.
It wasn't fast enough, but that didn't stop him. Every time a security door closed in front of him, Aile swung a fist and the sheer force behind it would crumple it before him. Yet each door was another delay, and the android was closing in. After what felt like forever, the exit was finally in sight… with a small problem. The corridor widened out into a hugely spacious room, and on the far end was the largest, most imposing door Aile had ever seen. Aile froze and skidded to a stop in the middle of the room. There was no way he was going to break it down in time, he realized with dread. Not with the echidna practically on his heels.
As if to verify that, the robotic hunter closed in on his prey with a menacing synthesized chuckle. Aile whirled around and stumbled backwards as it approached. He tried as much as he could to put distance between himself and the android, but finally his back pressed up against the massive door. He had nowhere to run, and the echidna took great pleasure in that.
"Well that was entertaining." The robot cocked its head at him. "But you've pushed your luck too far, I see. I will have fun tearing you to shreds." It lifted one of its hands and Aile's heart stopped as he saw the slick oil that now stained it. The same substance was dripping down from the gash in his hand, and the ottsel's gaze followed along the floor to see a trail of oil splattered in a shaky line leading to where he stood now. He'd left a trail, and the android had followed it. How could he have been so stupid?! Aile hissed defensively as the echidna stalked closer and lifted his chin up with his clawtips. The other hand closed around his injured arm, right where Aile had grabbed the android earlier, and pinned the arm against the door."Now, now. There's no need to rush, is there? There's plenty of time to enjoy your screams. After all, you're trapped, in case you haven't noticed." Aile wriggled in frustration to try and unpin himself, but the android moved to press the forearm of the arm not restraining Aile's arm against his chest. Aile gritted his teeth; he looked over the echidna's head and saw a crowd of other robots starting to file into the room to spectate.
Aile closed his eyes shut tight, took a few deep breaths, then opened his eyes again and stared at the android defiantly. "No," he hissed. "Not yet." The android had neglected to pin back his other arm, and Aile took advantage of that by slamming it into its head. The android hissed as it was shoved back, the black glass covering one eye now sporting a large crack, but Aile followed up with a stronger punch to what would've been its gut. He yelled as his injured arm was jerked forward; the echidna's claws raked across the metal, slicing through wired and tearing it open like it was made of paper. The android skidded across the floor to come to a stop in front of the rest of the robots before picking itself back up, but Aile had already turned away to start punching at the giant door with his good arm.
"No!" the robot screeched. It lumbered towards Aile, one leg bent unnaturally to one side, but the ottsel didn't register it approaching. "You don't know what you're doing!" Still Aile hammered away at the door with determination. He was so close to freedom, he just needed to keep at it… "Get it!" the echidna android screeched, and the army surged forward like a swarm of glittering metallic insects. Aile didn't even turn as they approached; in fact, his attacks got only more and more intense. "Stop, you idiot! If you want to keep living, stop—"
Too late. The door creaked with the final blow, then with a pneumatic hiss folded out. Aile screamed as his momentum launched him forward and sent him skidding along the length of it. He dug his fingertips into the metal in hopes of hanging on, but fierce winds assaulted him like he was caught in a hurricane and his grip was slipping. Aile squeezed his eyes shut tight and gritted his teeth; his other arm wouldn't respond to his brain's commands, and he dimly realized that important wires had been severed during the fight. He looked up to see the androids staring at him, not even moving to try and recapture him, before he was sent careening head-over-heels into empty air. As he tumbled, he got a glimpse of the airship as it shrank from the increasing distance, then all he could see was water rising up to meet him.
Author's Notes:
Alternate title: The Absolute Worst Day of Aile Graff's Entire Life.
Okay, okay, so I said to not expect this fic until halfway through Chaos Theory. I lied. Well, to be more specific, I got intense plotbunnies for how to finally write this out, and seeing as I was anxious yesterday and needed to get my mind off what was making me anxious, I hunkered down and wrote this.
It actually came out pretty well, in my opinion. This will be a lot more action-y than Chaos Theory, and should only have a few lull points. Which means, of course, that I'll be focusing mostly on getting Chaos Theory done and only updating this occasionally, because action scenes are difficult for me to write and this will have oodles of them.
Conversion can be considered a universe removed from Chaos Theory. Tide, Caracal, and SK won't be appearing in this at all, and plot things that happen here won't apply to Chaos Theory... although plot things in Chaos Theory definitely affect this in ways that won't be very apparent.
Chaos Theory Chaos Theory Chaos Theory. It doesn't even look like a name anymore. Amazing.
And yeah, Aile's an ottsel. Stupid, I know. In my defense, I couldn't decide if he should be an otter or a weasel, and a friend suggested he could just be a cross between the two. He's the only wacky hybrid that'll show up in my fics, though, with the exception of possibly a side character in Chaos Theory (because said character looks very little like the species they were intended to be. Oops).
Well this got off-topic fairly quickly. tl;dr: This fic is going to be slow to update, it has some connections to Chaos Theory but not much and with a completely different cast, and HEY LOOK I'M ACTUALLY USING CANON CHARACTERS THIS TIME.