"After a recent … setback," the voice of an angry Doctor Robotnik rang out, not wanting to admit a loss, "All old robots built before the beginning of this year are to be turned into scrap metal without exception. All parts will be salvaged, and re-designed into more efficient, more powerful robots in the glory of the empire."
Today, it had to be said, was not a good day to be yesterdays model. It was an even worse day to reveal your hidden sentiency. Ever since a near fatal error with the Metal Sonic resulted in the entire destruction of the Egg fleet, a large batch of airships designed like fish, something which had cost Robotnik greatly, sentiency was strictly forbidden in robot design. Of course some robots were sentient, and with sentiency come a desire to survive at all costs. Hence the previous order made two robots very nervous.
There names were Decoe and Bocoe, two robots designed to look vaguely human. There primary function was that of pilots for large airship. Robotnik had always been wary of completely automatic large airships to pilot themselves; having pilots who weren't directly connected to such a vessel meant that it would be possible to land the craft if the electronics within it began to falter. It was an important safety feature for any large vehicle to be landed in the event of any destruction, which was more than likely with Sonic involved.
Today, however, was the day the pair of robots finally decided to fully betray there orders. Filled with dread at the idea of there own destruction, the pair had deliberately left the compounds of Robotnik's base. However neither of them had actually developed a plan, and being chased by three gun wielding large blue robots didn't really give there electronic components the chance to process one. Fleeing for their artificial intelligence, the pair dived into the woods.
Unfortunately, gold and silver aren't the most practical of colour schemes when it comes to hiding, and despite the density of the woods, their pursuers kept pace very easily the fact that neither robot was capable of running very fast did not help.
"Duck!" came a shrill cry from above. Reflexively the gold and silver robots did. There three pursuers however lacked such intelligence, and were immediately crushed by a large boulder.
"How on Earth did you get a large boulder into such a narrow tree?" the gold robot asked.
A silver and blue robot, at least a foot taller than the silver Bocoe, but about half a foot shorter than Decoe stood in front of the pair. He had chicken like features, and looked slightly rusty. "That's nothing," he replied, "The hard part is making sure you don't get crushed yourself when you drop the boulder. Speaking of which," the robot continued, "you alright Grounder?"
A muffled cry of "no" came from underneath the boulder. Despite this, a head eventually poked out from underneath the large rock. "Does anyone want to remove this rock?"
"Would you two care to help?" the chicken like robot asked.
The gold and silver robots nodded, knowing they owed there freedom, at least for now, to this pair of robots. Together the three of them moved the boulder, revealing a pile of crushed parts, mostly blue from the pursuers, but there was quite a bit of the green Grounder amidst the rubble. "We'll take it all," the chicken bot said.
"Why?" asked Bocoe, "What do you need with the parts of the robots you were trying to destroy?"
"Ba-ha ha-ha!" the chicken robot laughed, "They've not been free long have they?"
"Sure haven't Scratch," Grounders severed head replied, referring to his chicken friend.
"I dunno what you're used to," Scratch continued, replying to the silver robots question, "But when you're not part of the empire repairs ain't free. There's no National Repair Service when you're defying Robotnik."
"But master Eggman respects all his creations." Decoe replied.
"Respects?" Grounder asked rhetorically, "That's your programming talking. Think he's gonna rush out to repair me now?"
"Tell me then," Scratch continued, "If this Eggman fella respects his 'bots, then why were ya fleeing?"
Neither Decoe nor Bocoe answered. The silence went on for several seconds before Scratch replied with a comment of "thought so." The three vaguely human robots continued walking, all carrying parts of the four robots that had been dismembered by the boulder.
"My nose is itchy," Grounder eventually said, breaking the silence.
"You don't have a nose," Bocoe replied in his slightly electronic sounding synthesised voice.
"Then my drill is itching me," Grounder replied, "Would you scratch it?"
Bocoe relented, scratching his rounded metal fingers over the drill on Grounders face. "Where are we going anyway?" he hesitantly asked.
"We have a little hideaway for robots on the run. There's a few of us there, you're welcome to join if you wish." Scratch answered, "So long as you can pass an initiation test first."
"What happens if we don't?" Decoe asked nervously.
"Ba-ha ha-ha, tell them Grounder." Scratch replied.
"But I don't know," Grounder replied, "Nobodies ever failed to pass it."
"Shush," Scratch said, trying to silence his dismembered green partner, "They're not s'posed to know that," he said quietly.