Well, hot badgers. I'm back. Sorry for the rather obscene lack of stuff from me over the summer. I got both lazy and tired from various things for various reasons. But I'm back now, and it's not as though the last three months have been spent doing nothing. I've fleshed out some old ideas, and come up with new ones, like this fic, for example.
Now, dedicating the rest of this introduction to the story itself: this is a rather odd idea that popped into my head awhile ago (and absolutely refused to leave), and only now am I really adding to it and making it into something fic-worthy. This chapter is really more of a teaser; an opening to get things moving, essentially. Or something. One other thing I should note, not a whole lot is planned out, so don't expect a dark-fest, or something light-hearted. Don't expect anything, because even I'm not entirely sure what this will end up being myself. Not that I have no direction at all. But this is somewhat an experimental work. With that said…enjoy.
Disclaimer: I own nothing of Sonic the Hedgehog, sans some games. StH is copyrighted to Sega.
Chapter One, "Team Dark"
A balcony. Situated above a wide plain of steel, turrets, and barriers, all enclosed in a cavern of reinforced titanium.
A man leaned against the railing of the balcony. The lighting was neutral; not overly bright, not overly dim. It could be seen in this light that this man was tall, of an odd build: lanky limbs and a plump torso, clad in red and black. A large, brown, eccentric mustache could be noticed as well as a large, somewhat elongated and pink nose. Certainly not an average man by any standard. In fact, many questioned and even denounced this mans humanity. Given his actions, there was little seeable reason to deny these claims.
Ivo Robotnik. Eggman, if you prefer. A master of machines, a skill only matched in quantity by his madness. What goes on in a scrambled mind? Few truly know. The Eggman is one such being.
A figure glided into the light. This figure seemed no more than a mass of flowing royal purple robes, wrapping and twisting around what could be a human shape, always moving, as though the robes themselves were alive. Perhaps even the whole creature. It spoke with a completely human voice, a stark contrast to its alien and wraithlike appearance.
"Have you reached your decision?"
A response slowly came from the quiet madman. "…yes."
"Odd. I expected you to deny my help." The robes replied, sounding somewhat thoughtful upon the matter, in the same distorted, static-ridden voice the doctor had always heard from him.
"Get to your mission. I expect results." An unusually, for Robotnik anyway, icy demeanor could be felt even with merely a rear view of him.
"Heh. Very well." The cloths seemed to collapse in on themselves, eventually losing their texture and fading into a pinprick of light, before that too, collapsed inward, leaving nothing visible to the naked eye in its wake.
Silence fell. A second. Two. Three. Four. And then…
"I know it makes no difference, but I still don't agree with this entirely."
Robotnik knew the voice; Sonic, but mechanical and given a decidedly evil, sinister taint that made it as far from the hedgehog's voice as could be imagined.
"You haven't spoken in months." Robotnik sounded as though he completely expected this event.
"I never speak unless I need to." The same, unchanging venom issued from the metal parody.
"You don't like this." The creator stated a fact. The creation nodded.
"He'll be powerless against me. I was hoping for a rematch." An edge entered the venom.
Amusement entered Ivo's voice. "Would you like me to bring you down to the level he'll be at? I'm sure it could be arranged…"
"No. I was merely expressing my annoyance at an opportunity being lost." The edge had dulled quickly.
"Hmm." Robotnik moved a hand to support his chin, and intensified his lean. "I understand, however that is not your purpose. Your purpose is to stop Sonic in the almost impossible event that this plan fails."
"…"
Robotnik continued. "This will end it, Metal. After the countless defeats I've suffered at him and his friends' hands, it will be ended, and Eggman Land will become a reality. And then…"
"And then…"
Ivo fell into silence as he seemed to be re-consumed by thought. He never noticed Metal Sonic leave the room.